16 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



J I l.V 18, 1^3S. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



LINES TO POVERTY. 



BY MRS SARAH WEKTWORTH MOi:T 



Oh Poverty ! hard TeHtured d;iinc, 

 VV'i ence grow flie terrors of tliy name \ 

 'T is said lliat from tliy serious eye. 

 The laughing train of pleafurcs fly; 



That deep within lliy mansion rndc, 

 Lurks the black fiend, iiigraiiiuHe; 



That toil, and want, and shame are known^ 



'J'o make thy heartless hours tli^ir own. 



'Till guilt, his phrenzird eye on fire, 



Bids the last famii^hcd Iwpc expire. 



Thus epe^iks the world — to mammon true, 



While wrongs thy pleading worth pursue; 



To mc— and 1 have seen^ ihee, near. 



Though harsh thy withering look appear. 



Though stern the teachers of the poor. 



And hard the lesson, to enilnre, 



Yet many a virtue horn of thee, 



Lives sundered from prosperity. 



Religion that on heaven relies, 



'J he moral of thy mind supplies. 



— Pily, with plaintive aecent, kind 



An) patience toh?r fite resigned, 



Are seen thy lowly cut to share, 



While temp raiicc dwells an inmate there 

 Love joined by truth — no rival's eje 

 Wakes to the wish of poverty, 

 B»t all the blest aflections twine 

 RiMmd many a rustic home of thine, 

 • lose circling with the nuptial tie, 

 Joys, whiidi a monarch could not buy, 

 Though bonnless, and to praise unknown. 

 Oft is the lustred life ihy own- 

 To thee the priests of (lod belong. 

 And thine the Poet's deathless son"; 

 1 hee, toiling science lives to claim, 

 Thou lead'st his thorny step to fame! ' 

 Creative genius feels thy power. 

 Coeval with his natal hour; 

 On him the rays of glory shine 

 Toobte — his parting breath is thine 



Let me thy simple g'anccs meet. 

 Near the green hamlet's calm retreat; 

 Not where the city thronged with sin, 

 Bills all ihe monster crimes begin. 

 Thence will thy timid virtues fly, 

 Scared by seduction's serpent eye. 

 Their fate, each murdered hope to see 

 While every suffering lives to thee; 



Not that along the « intry shore 

 The fisher plies the wearying oarj 

 Not that amid the sultry plain 

 The peasaot piles the labored graiil, 

 Wilt thou with frowning brow appear, 

 To wring the grief-extorted tear. 

 But when to wrongs thy sufferings lead, 

 While shame and false reproach succeed; 

 When genius, doomed wiili ihee to,rnonri>i. 

 Sees bis unsheltered laurels torn ; 

 While ignorant malice rushing liy 

 Quick glances with insidious eje; 

 When nil thy cultured virtues move 

 Nor sense to feel, tior heart to hjve; 

 While, treachery uniler fnenilsliip's guise, 

 Bids the pernicious hiunor rise, 

 Still aiming with enveuonu'd dart, 

 To reach the life pulse of thy heart- 

 Then roverty, hard featured dame. 

 We feel the miseries of thy claim. 

 Would from thy clo.«e ejubi an s lly, 

 Or in their pai.<ying pressure die. 



TllK R.ML-UOAD SIKAMER. 



BY JA.MES JOII.NSO.V, M. D. 



Were nriy of tin; Hiificnts to rife froiti tlieir 

 tombs, anil heholil n stetitii-nliip full of inisseiigors, 

 il.irtini; ti|) tli« Thaiiif.", nr a Ir.iiii of carriages, 

 wild a tliotis.Tiul |..o li-, flv iiij aloiij; a rail-roiid 

 at llio late oC ',tO miles an liDiir, lliey woulil l)e 

 very apt to ilouht the I'nct of their revisit lo the 

 same platiet they had left — sinee a thotisaiid years 

 hi the (i,r:iv(: may |>roliahly seem no loii(;«;r than a 

 short siesta after liinner. Their surprise would 

 not he much les.'iened, hy Ihe slj.'n of a column of 

 hrilliHiit (lame. Rprinuing up from the middle of a 

 street, or issuing from ten thousand iiietallic itilies, 

 mid tttrniiig the darkness of iiijrht into the glare 

 day ! Hi while gazing at tin se phenomena, they 

 saw a man, or even ti monkey, ilesceiid from the 

 clouds, suspendiwl aa the pendtihimof a htigu iiin- 

 hrella, they would no longer douhl that they had 

 got into " aiKiiher, if not a hetter world," than 

 thul of their birth unil death! 



Hut 10 return to the rail-road steamer. Willioiit 

 rudder or rein; without tug or tow-rope; without 

 idiart or eompa-ss; wilhoiii linjiulse from man^ or 

 tr.-ielion from beast — this ma.ximum of power in 

 miiiiiiiiiiii of space — this iiiagie automaton, darls 

 forwiiril, on iron pinion, like an arrow from a bow, 

 along Its deytiticd course. Devised by science, 

 but devoted to industry ; harmless as the dove, if 

 mioiposed ; Imt falal as the thunderbolt, if ob- 

 structed in its tareer; this astonishing otfs)iriiig 

 of human invention ; this giant in strength, though 

 a ilwarf in stature, drags along, and apparently 

 without eflort, v%hole cargoes of commerce; Hier- 

 chants ami their merchaiulise, artisans and their 

 arts, ti-avellers and their traffic, tourists and their 

 tours (some of them heavy enough) — in shoit, 

 evety thing that can be chained to the tail t/f this 

 herculean velocipede! 



The steam-carriage nearly annihilates distance 

 betwei'U the inhabitants of a .state, and thereby 

 converls, as it were, a whole country into a city, 

 securing all the good eTects of combination and 

 concentntlion, w ithoul the detrimental consequen- 

 ces of a crowded population. l{y the rail-road, 

 Liverpool, Manchester, Urimingham and the Me- 

 tropolis, tin? constituted cnnliguou.i cities, while 

 wide an. I fertile tracts of iimutry intervene! 

 Thus, steam multiplies the products of human la- 

 bor, by increasing their sale and diminishing their 

 price. Il will enable us to cimvert millions of 

 •s from pasturage into eornfichls, and conse- 

 quently the provender of horses iiiio I'oeij lor 

 mail. 



The whole transit of a rnil-ronil steamer is n 

 series of miracles, which, in former days, would 

 have been attrihiiied to angels or demons. At 

 starting, the tnighly atitonialon sudflenly suppres- 

 ses his torrent of hi.ssing steam, and beh-hes forth 

 11 (h'ep and hollow eoilgh, which is reit raled at 

 shorter iiiid slioiier pi^rimis, like a bui;e aitimal 

 paniiiig fm- brealh, as tbt^ engine, with ils train, 

 labors up the ascent from Knstou .square. These 

 belchiiigs more nearly resemble the pantiiigs of a 

 ion or li-rer, than any other sound that I know 

 of. Willi liie slow motion, on any con.-iilenible 

 ascent, the breiilhiiig of llie ainiuated maciiiiie .ap- 

 pears lo berouie mure laborious, and Ihi' e.spln. 

 sinhs more distinct, id: at lengih the animal >e. ins 

 xl.ausliil, .-ind groaiis, as it were, under the trc- 

 iiei;diiiis efiiiit. I'.iit the engine having mastered 

 tilt- (liMiculiy, acquires veloi-iiy licHue it plunges 

 i the dark abyss of thf tuuied inider I'rimrose- 



liill. There the peal of thunder; the sudden im- 

 mersion in Cimmerian darkness; the clash of re- 

 vcrherateil sounds in confiiied space ; the alnios- 

 plieric chill that rushes over the frame; all com- 

 bine to induce a nioiiientary shudder, at the 

 thought of some possible collision or catastrophe 

 in this subterranean transit, which is increased 

 rather than dimiiiished by the gleams of duliioiis 

 light that ocCHsioiialiy break in from above, or the 

 sp.arks of lire that issue every iiisl/int from the 

 chiiiiney, rendering " darkness visible." On 

 emerging from the gloomy and gelid cavern, every 

 thing appears of drizzling brightness, anil we 

 breathii with delight the |iure atniusphere of 

 heaven. 



'I lie moment the highest point of elevation on 

 any part of the road is gained, and a descent com- 

 mences, the eiigitie, with its long train, starts oft" 

 with augmeining velocity, dashing along like 

 iighlning, and with an uniform growl or roar, like 

 a continuous dischargt of distant artillery or thun- 

 der. The scene is now grand — I h:id almo.st said 

 terrific. Alihoiigh it may be a complete calm, 

 the wind ap|eiirs like a litirricane ; and. while the 

 train is flying along the raised embankn.entg. as 

 near Watlonl, it is impossible not to feel .some 

 sense of daiigrr, or an apprehension that some 

 unexpected iiii] eiliment may hurl the whole ca- 

 valcade into the yawning gulf below. 



The meetings of the trains flying in opposite 

 ilirections [on double tracks] are scari:ely h'.ss agi- 

 latiiig^ to the nerves than the transits through the 

 tunnels. The velocity of their course — the pro- 

 pinquity, or apparent identity of the iron trajets 

 along which these hissing meteors move, raise the 

 involuntary but frightful thought of a possible 

 collision, with all its horrible consequences. The 

 period of suspense, however, is hut luutneiitary. 

 An electrifying concussion, as it were, of sense, 

 sight and sound lakes place, anil, in a few se- 

 conds, the objict of terror is out of view behind. 



But such llerculeaii labor cannot he carried on 

 in so small a coinjaiss, without great ex| endilure. 

 'ihe automaton thirsts; he knows the places of re- 

 freshmeni ; ullers a loud and | iereing whistle, or 

 note of preparation ; ^luc■kells his pace ; halts at 

 the foiiniain, and iiigiirgiiales a deluge of water, 

 to quench his burning drought. In live minutes 

 he is able to rtuievv his giganlir task, 



'Ihe steam s..ri. k is a new phinomenoii on the 

 rail road, and a very .startling one it is. U\ open- 

 ing a snii;ll valve in the boi.er, a volume of steatri 

 is driven, with tremendous liirct; and velocity 

 ihroiigh a iiariow aperture, in imiiaiioii of a 

 throat, caiisiiig !i shrill sliri'k, unlike the voice of 

 man, or idany known animal, but so loud as to 

 l/e heiird two miles off. It is it most untarlhly 

 yell, or scream; or whistle; which was compared 

 liy a distinguished poet, who sat by iiie, (Camp- 

 bell,) to the cry of some monstioiis animal w hile 

 being gored to death. Jt forms an e.\ccll.nt ala- 

 rum, to clear the roid for the traiii, and iqiprise 

 those at the stati-'Us, that the cng lie approaches. 

 —To be eontinued. 



Journal of the American Institute. 



THE NEW KKGLA.' D FAIiMKIt. 



Is published every Wodncsilaj livening, at S3 per annum 

 payable at the end of the year— but those who pay within 

 sixty days froin the tiinc of subscril/iag are entitled to a de- 

 ductiunof j;o ccuts. 



TUTTLE, DENNETT AND CHISROLM, PRINTERS, 

 17 SCHOOL STRBKT.. ..UUSTON. 



