WE MIGHT HAVE BEEN!
T U B. LANDOK.
W might have bttn thaw mn but common wonfa,
And yt they bare the mm of life' bewailing;
They are the echo of thoee finer chord .
Whoao tonee reverberate, when unavailing
We might have been!
We might hare been ao happy. eaye the child,
Featin the drear echool-roouj'a etifling heat;
When the green ruahra, 'raid the manhra wild,
Recal part joya, and with vain hopea repeat
We might have been!
It li the thought that darkeua on our youth,
When finrt experience tad experience tcachea
What fallaclea we have believed for truth,
And what few trutha our beat eudeavor reaches
We might have been !
It 1 the motto of all human thing
The end of all that waita on mortala' eel ing
The weary weight upoa Hope'a flagging wing-
cry of ino worn neaii, wnm uniming
It if the cry i
Wo might have been !
What in thia bleak wide world can e'er reetore ua,
The feeling, hope, and fancies, left?
Had we but known the bitter path before at,
Alas, how different from what we are
We might have been !
A GAT,FISH" 8TPRY.
Ben Snaggletrco seated himself in our
society the other day, overburdened with a
Mississippi yarn, which embraced ono of his
hair breadth 'scapes, and which he had re
aolved on relieving his memory of by having
it chronicled. ,
Ben was an old Mksissip roarer none of
your half and half, but just as nativo to the
clement as if he had been born in a broad
horn. Ho said he had been fotehed up on the
river's brink, and " know a snappin' turtle
from a snag without larnin'."
" One night," says Ben, " about as dark
as the face of Cain, and as unruly as if the
elements had been untied and. let loose from
their great captain's command, I was on the
old Mississippi. It was, in short, a night
ugly enough to make any natural born
Christian thin'k of his prayers, and a few
converted saints tremble. I walked out up.
on the steam-boat " guard" to cool off from
the effects of considerable liquordom's, par
ticipated in during the day, but had scarce
ly reached the side of the boat when she
struck a snag, and made a lurch, throw
ing me about six feet into the drink. I was
sufficiently cool, stranger, when I came to
the surface, but I had nigh in a short time set
the Mississippi aJiVn', my carcase grew so
hot with wrath at observing tho 'eld boat
wending her way up stream, unhurt, while
I, solitary, unobserved, and alone, was float
ing on the old father of waters. I swam
to the head of a small island some dis
tance below where we struck, and no sooner
touched ground than I made an effort to
stand erect. You may judge of my horror
on discovering my landing place to be a Mis
sissippi mud bar, and about as firm as a
quicksand, into which I sunk about three
feet in a moment.
" All was dark as a stack of black cats
no object visible save the lights of tho rece
ding boat no sound smoto upon tho car but
the lessening'blow of tho 'scape pipe and
k. r.lncliin nf thn siirrnnndino' waters.
illD illitoiniijj .. n -
The first sounded like the farewell voice of
hope, while tho latter, in its plashing and
purling, was liko to the jabbering of evil
spirits, exulting over an entrapped victim.
" I attempted to struggle, but that sunk
me faster. I cried out, but fancied that too,
forced me deeper into my yielding grave.
Ero daylight dawned I felt sure of being
out of sight, and the horrid thought of thus
sinking into eternity through a mud-gate,
made every hair stand 'on its own hook,'
and forced my heart to patter against my
ribs like a trip-hammer. I mid been in ma
ny a scrape, but I considered this the nasti
est, and made up my mind that tho ball of
yarn allotted to me was about being spun
out my cake was all mud I I promised
old Mississippi, if permitted to escape this
tirne, I would lid: anythin' human that said
a word agin her; but it was no use she
was sure of mo now, and, liko old ' barcboocs'
to .an expiring African, she hold on, and
dtJcper and deeper I sunk. In a short time
ttftf'forced to elevate my chin to keep out
of'rny mouth an over supply of the tomper
ance liquid, which was flowing so coaxingly
about roy lips, My eyeballs were starting,
my teeth set, and hope had wasted to a mis
ty shadow, when something touched me like
floating plldj I inaMjy gwd. itIt
11 1 soon discovered I had made captivo a
mammoth catty, hugo enough to bo tho pa.
triarch of his tribo, and a set of resolutions
was quickly adopted in my mind, that ho
could'nt travel further without company.
A dosporate start and vigorous wrigglo to
cjicano was mado by my friend tho catty,
but thoro was six feet in length of desperation' man naturo is strongor than book. IV'1
ly obsorved, would crush tho greatest geni-1 HArf Liru A Parable. Two pilgrim
us that was over sent by Heaven to brighten, woro jburnoylng togothor over tho desert-'
orthodivincst excellence that, ever was ont '"' mounted on a camel) with a lofty pa.h
bv Heaven to gladden tho world. What , w uushion, Bn( a Mn01y above his head,
wmild Nmvtnn ntul thn wlmln host of Una. ' o,ll0'. wi unsandlid feet, lacerate
Hsh worthois have born, if thov had thus " "corclicd ny lira burning sands, anil tin
lu,o.. l. 1 Iti.i !! !. .,mi...l. Iiu. lurbunetl head, which throbbed almost to-
.'V... ..tWM(,ll I ', --- ..W , --.,
UU Uiwiv "" -- p- "I - .
attached to his extremity that could neither
l maxed nor shook off. Soon succeeded
another start, and out I camo-liko n cork
from a bottle. Off started tho fish, like a
cornel, and aftor him I went, a muddy spark, '
at the end of his tail. By a dexterous twist
of his rudder, I succeeded in keeping him j
on the surfaco, and steered him to a solid
landing, whore I set him loose, and wo shook
ourselves, mutually pleased at parting com. j
pany." !
" That will do, Bon," said wo, " all but ,
the tail." I
" Tail and all, or none !" laid Bn ; so
hero you have it. Ben swears he'll futhcr
it himself. St. Louis Reveille.
L ABO It j
For there is a perennial nobleness, and
even sacredncss, in work. Wore he never,
so benighted, forgetful of his high calling,
there is always hope in a man that actually
and earnestly works : in idleness alone is
there perpetual despair. Work, never ho
Mammonish mean, is in communication
with nature ; the real desiro to get work
done will itself lead one moro and more to
truth, to nature's appointments and regula-.
tions, which are truth. I
It has been written, 4 an endless signifi-j
canco lies in work ;' a man perfects him-J
self by working. Foul jungles are cleared
away, fair secdtields rise instead, and state-1
ly cities; and withal the man himself first '
ceases to bo a jungle and foul unwholesome
desert thereby. Consider how, even in the '
meanest sorts of labor, the whole soul of a
man is composed into a kind of real harmo
ny, the instant ho sets himself to work !
Doubt, desire, sorrow, remorse, indignation,
i despair itself, all these like ht-lldogs lie be. .
I leagucring tho soul of tho poor dayworker,
I as of every man ; but he bends himself with
' free valor against his task, and all these arc
i stilled, all these shrink murmuring far off
into their caves. Tho man is now a man. i
The blessed glow of labor in turn, is it i
not as purifying fire, wherein 'all poison is
burnt up, and ot sour smoke itscu mere is
made bright blessed flame !
Blessed is he who has found his work ;
let him ask no other blessedness. Ho has a
work, a life-purpose ; he has found it, and
will follow it ! How, as a free-flowing chan
nel, dug and torn by noble force through the
sour mud-swamp of one's existence, like an
ever-deepening river there, it runs and flows; .
draining off the sour festering water, grad.
ually from the root of the remotest grass. 1
ii.j. !. ; . if ! .:..!... I
Diaue , matting, liiuitnuui pcaim-iium snuuiji,
a green fruitful meadow with its clear-flow-ing
stream. How blessed for tho meadow
itself, let the stream and its value be great
or small ! Labor is life : from the inmost
heart of the worker rises his god-givMsJbrce,
the sacred celestial life-essence breathed in
to him by Almighty God ; from his inmost
heart awakens him to all nobleness to all
knowledge, ' self-knowledge' and much else,
so soon as work fitly begins. Knowledge !
The knowlcdco that will hold good in work-
ing, cleave thou to that ; for nature herself
accredits that, says yea to tnat. rropony
thou hast no other knowledge but what thou
hast got by working : the rest is yet all an
hypothesis of knowledge ; a thing to bo ar-
UirhniiL'd head, which thrnhhed almost
i bursting with tho sun's fiurcu rays,
i ' CSod is ureal t" inoculated tho
poor
nllta ttinln nml Ci'mrim mm unnnillnln lilulllt
! V 1 -wiw!v----- M .fca ft a
it as they like; they mnv givo a long cnta. wroteU un tint. Ho would relieve mo
Inminni' trifl ,.Jt.,w Vi.il mP i...l!m.u ..m. from this dreadful agony ! I'or what cnmo
". .. --a -v. . . . . .. I ,l..,
scriptions, by which it is to bo fitted for
tho company of decent, rcHcctiulP, and
twaddling people liko themselves; it may
submit to their losons for a time, but anon
it lnughs at all their foolish formalisms, ri
ses to its full height of glory, and rushes with
invincible and luminous step toward its des.
lined supremacy. Kvery child has a ilis.
tinctive nature of its own ; ami th.U (lis.
tiuctivo nature should l' the hw of its edu
cation. If we adopt the principle f cduc.i
ting children not by suppression, but by c
pressiou, not merely will it be liitiml that no
one family can lie educated like any other
family, but that no two children of the same
family can be educated precisely in the same
manner. All tne children ot tlie same lam
inn I thus severely punished 1"
" Poor brother, how I pity thee !" replied
tho well. mounted traveler, "but thou know,
est that suHbriug is n necessary discipline
for human hciuus. Do content with thy lot."
" Alas! if thou wouldst hut lot tnu mount
thy beast, ami ride one hour, my life might
perhaps bo saved. Thy sandals would pro.
tect thy (eel, and turhuii shield thy bend."
'My wail is griuU'd for thee," said his
sympathetic friend with n deep siuh ; but,
verily, if a camel had been best for thee, tho
uise sovereign of thn earth would hot have
withheld it. It is our duty to bow to the be
hests of Providence."
Unwind they journeyed one feeling as
much compassion as u beurt overflowing with
(. . i a I rril it I tilfi milil rwttiffiiit tint fildatr tfrt'lliir (n
il v nave a uitlcrent character; unv should i ,'""" .". .-.... .....,, .-
they all he educated alike. If tiliu child M)lv,t: .,lie l,rn,1',,'llV w,,.v M,dl l,rul,f,t, ,nc'
has a brilliant imagination, another the most iiaiiii--s mnu paiw.
nvnmullii unitLiltililiitu n trkf lit lltn ntnl lnni '
VAiiunut fit iirtiti i(ivi uiiuiiivi lliv ni'i'i i"i
cal capacity why should they all be edu
cated in tho same way, merely because they
happen to dwell under tho same roof Not
Another hour ami the bleediiiL' fett, and
aching brow, arid' bursting heart, were ut
rest on the desert.
The favorite of Heaven or Fortune,
only would it ho infinitely better for each to ""'! "" ' " loiiiioriuwe seai an i
be educated according to his distinctive r..- , exclaimeil, ,,,.,,
ture, but infinitely better for them all. " biilortiiniiw friend, wmhl tlm' llenvon
Muceall. ',!l" bestowed on thee n camel, that I uiiylit
'.still enjov ihv coiiipauioiiHliip and not be
Tub Feakfl'l Malaiiv of Amiiition. blu.'ed to' cros the trackless desert alone ;
Scott had some X'JUUU a year without wri- 1 1 tho gnrd Jod be praised that he has pre
ting books at all. Why should ho mai.ufac- ' SL.ru.j ,m, fmm ., dreadful a file as thine !"
tore, anil not create to make more n ncv ,
Statistics woiirn Kxhwi.n'o. In Oreat
.! iBAn M .. m !. ..kM M I 1 I I a m lllm
U1IIJ II ill IIIUS I'll IIIU.-.", 1111 il U I'lllllIZ H llllll- ,. ., V . , I I . .
,r .-,,.1 . ii i ii I :, Hritaiu, the iiiiinber el iildividuti s in a state
sr f, til the pile toppled, sank, and b'iricd W , , e ., c ... . .
. ' . i ' i i ' i r i .i iV i o bear arms from the a'c o! sitilen to six.
its ruins, when he had a safe, pleasant dwell. . -,, .,., '. , ,
, ... i, ,', , L. ... ..i tv, is -, i-M.Sli. i he number of man nget
ing ready of its own accord? Alas! Scott, with . . ' .,., , . ., . , ,r
' i i.i r . i i r .i r h aboit l)i,0:if) vearlv; ami i has been
al his health was infected ; sick of the fear. , . ,... ' . . ,f r,i
' .. ' Mfilrniwul flint iti ovli lltftwi r fliui lltiiimu
fulcst malady, that of ambition To such a , ," ""'" " r '' " , . ' V ' '
i .i i i .T i.s i i i.i. inere were ouiv inrce
lenglll lluu wiu kiiij n uunmi'iuv, uie niiriu n .
which nun iiii issue.
Tin niiin Imt of ile.nl lis is iiIkiiiI '.VA''1li)
favorite, and ' sixteen parties a dav, Itroiight ' , ... , i..-r,,., .1
.. ... ,. e .1 1, . ...1 vearlv, which makes near v'J.i.oOinoiitiiv,
it with him. So the insane racket must fie , ' .. ... , , .. , ... , .-'
, , , , , i- 1 J,!10S week y, Oil duty, and III hourly,
kept up, and rise even h igher a id liigher. ,. . , ., " ,i
' ' ' , , .... ,b. 1 Vi - ' I ho deaths among the women are, in pro.
So masons labor, ditchers delvo ; und there . rcti .. ,.,'. '
,, 11. .1 i ... ortioii tomen.as fifty to fortv-five. Iliemar-
is endless correspondence nltOMetlier about . . ..' . . .
I IILII t'lll.11 II, IJ I
marble slabs for tables, wainscoting of rooms,
onger
.,.," ' y .:. 1 ' tinue in ceuwacy. 111 110 cnuniry 11 e men 1
curtains, with the trimmings of curtains , . . , e . ., . . ' , ,
, s ,,riii it lli. iiimilinr i (liililriui tirmliifiil
"- " ; 1 --"
by each marriai;o is Tour; in towns the pro.
orange colored or fawn colored ; Scott, one
r .1... ;r.. 1 i .1.. 1K...1. 1 i.i... i.t ri.i..ii
Ul IIIU UlllCU Ui IIIU IIUIIU, t.nuill III-, llillllll- 1 - . . r ,,.,
11. 1 . t. 1 ' .. . 1:11 1 ,.ir liortion is seven Tor every two inarnnL'es. I no
ers cal the most gifted, must kill himself ' . . , . .1 b 1
.i.. i: ...... l, ,. l,n ,,1I,lnumlK.rof married women is, to the general
P , eJ r . . 1 -.1 1. : niiinber of individuals of the sex, as one to
founder of a nice of country minis. It is , . , , . : .
P ., . . . . 1 1 : ..:. I three : urn the number or married men to
one of the st rankest, most tragicul histories. , J. .. . . .. . . , . .
. , 1 .1 .... , . that o all the individuals of the male se,
ever enacted under the sun, So poor a pas. , , . . . . . '
: i.i ,. m !.!. m..LJ.... I as ,,irce ,0 ow i ,,ut ,!ie "umlfrr f widows
niVJ Vital iVa! ((viiav haiw . wiv..
Surely, were nqt a man a
might say there wau sou
distructing 111 this, end as
tor Scott writing daily with the ardor of a "
steam-engine, that ho might mako 15(1,000 ; l"uc''
. . . M i..i. :.i.!. w .. lore
UUll IIIUII U.IIWIIII..i. , , . .1 . I I
. f,.i i, .. who murry nguiu i, to that of widowers in
I fool always, one . e .
..!:.. ,..;.,i,. the same case, as seven to lour. 1 he nidi-
nctliing eminently, . , , , . , , .. 1 . 1 . . r
:, ., ..f.i f Wn 1 viduuls who inhabit elevated stations lives
II houiii, 01 a ai- . , , , . , ,,., 4, .
longer than those who reside in less elevated
aces. 1 he hall of the individuals die he-
.1... ..r 'IM...
w, ,' 11. ' :.i. i T .... lore uuu 11111K 11 u uku ui scvcihccii. i iiij
a year and buy upholstery with it. locov. . r t . o. . .. ...
': . J 1 . ' . , nnmlwr of twins is. In I nit nf ordinary births.
. ... , v ... ... ,
A.l.. ..tM1ln .r n ..,AM. lmr.f.ai 1.1 Hl t I rtuli I r.i
LT II1U IXIII9 Ul U OIUIIU IIUU.TV III Wbiniin.111111. .' t T
ti-Ill, Ifnlnlcnnes nnnient lirrnor. and Lrcnoa. , US nJ0 Xiy'VO
" w....-, .-..-.-... r - 0------
gued ot in schools, a thing lioating in tne
clouds, in endless logic-vortices, till we try
it and fix it. Doubt, of whatever kind,
can be ended by action alone.' Carlyle.
Hone Education. Another "important
ruin in hnmn nducation is. that wo should
aim at evolving tho nature of a child, now
by suppression, but by expression. Bring,
forth all the good, and tho evil will perish
of itself. .."Tlje patent modes of education
all adopt tho plan of taming down, checking,
pruning; they all resolve themselves into
the command Do not: tho undone in a
crowd of petty particulars passes for tho
virtuous; and the sou is so exnausea, uiai
it has not strenirth to nut forth a fruitaco of
grand and generous aotions. Most books on
education are written by old maids who
know at much about education as about
horsedeaUng ; and therefore 'those books
abound with a thotffimd minato and silly
details, wbkK, if invariably and orupulous-
According to calcula
tions, founded upon the bills of mortality, ono
ly in :s,12" attains the ngeol 100
number of births of the mnlo
ire 01 1 ' . - . . ,, r , .
Selkirk should be joined together on parch. I -, " " ' , J ,X V'
alter 1 v
logical shields, what can wo name it, hut a !'""'. 0,1!,tItM
being bit with a delirium of a kind ? That , dividual 0,1
tract after tract of moorland in the shiro of . )cnr.s- ' "
ment and bv rinc fence, and named
one's name, why it is a shabby small typo
of your vulgar ftapoleans, Alexanders, and
conquering heroes, not counted vcnerablo by
any teacher of men. Carlyle.
A Secret. " How do you do, Mrs. Tome,
have you heard that story about Mrs. Ludy?"
" Why, no really, Mrs Gad, what is it do
tcP '' "Oh, I promised not to tell it for
all tho world ! No, 1 must never tell on't.
I'm. afraid it will git out." " Why, I'll ncv
er tell on't as long as I live, just as true as
the world; what is It, come, tell." "Now
you won't say anything about it, will you ?"
"No, I'll never open my head about it nev
er. Hopo to die this niinuto." " Well, if
you'll believe me, Mrs. Pundy told mo last
night, that Mrs Trot told her that hor sister's
husband was told by a person who dreamed
it, that Mrs. Trouble's oldest daughter told
Mrs. Nichens that hor grandmothor hoard
by a letter sho got from hor third sister's
sccbjid husband's oldest brother's stepdaugh
ter, that it was reported by the captain or a
clam boat just arrived from tho Fcojco Isl
ands, that the mermaids about that section
wore shark skin buttles stuffed with pickled
!' tOMt"
Foiims op Intemi'Ekamck. There is the
intnmporancn of mirth, and then its victim is
a silly buffoon.
Tho intemperance of seriousness, and then
ho is a gloomy ascetic.
Tho intrmporanco of ambition, and then
he is thn laureled hero of u hundred fights,
u mad.cappoct,or mountebank statesman.
The iiitemperanco of love, and then ho is
a good for nothing driveler.
Thn intemperance of anger, and then ho
is a frothing madman.
The iiitemperanco of dress und manners,
and then ho is a glittering fop.
The intompcranco of tho purso, and then
ho is a sordid miser.
Tho intompcranco of tho plato, and then
ho is a filthy glutton.
Who Swallows? A novel way of
catching rabbits is practised on tho southern)
coast of England. Thoy scatter a quantity
of snuff at thirmouth of their holes, cover
ing it with green parsley, of which tho game
is remarkably fond. On partaking of the
delicious herbago, they are seized with such
a fit of sneetingniikthey inwiably Hti
their brains outturn roc