AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[December, 
F 1 It S T 
"From the cradle to the grave man needs assistance," 
said a celebrated writer. The artist has worked this 
thought into the above beautiful picture. The aged man 
totters along with the help of crutch and cane ; the little 
one has the aid of a friendly hand*m its first uncertain 
steps. Every hour of life, from its beginning to its end, 
illustrates this truth. Not a morsel of food, not a shred 
of clothing, nor a necessary thing or comfort, not a book, 
a game, nor any luxury or joy can we have, unless some 
one has helped to bring it. Even though all assistance 
from man be denied, there is yet the Loving Father who 
feeds the fowls of the air, clothes the lilies of the field, 
and cares for all his children. What a rebuke to selfish- 
ness is this. A child's first experiences are practical les- 
sons in the law of love : he who will make this the rule 
of his life, will follow the footsteps of Him who has gone 
to prepare a place in Heaven for his children, and when 
this law is fully learned and heeded by all, the world 
will be what its Creator intended— a type of Heaven. 
I\ow for that Wood Pile, Boys ! 
One of the most pleasant things we remember of our 
boyhood days, is the grand wood hauling and wood cut- 
ting "bee," we boys used to have, at the house of a poor 
widow who was struggling to support herself and her two 
children, one of them a cripple. Every December, some 
of the men would go to the forest with stout ox teams, 
and each bring a nice load of logs and leave them in her 
door-yard. Her house was near the school, and a lot of 
ns would go over every noon-time and chop away at these 
logs until every one was cut and split fine. The little 
boys, too small to swing an ax, and the girls helped too. 
It was fine sport ; it paid, boys, and it has been paying ever 
since. Suppose you try it. There is perhaps a soldier's 
wife or widow, or some other helpless woman in your 
neighborhood, or town. See what you cln do for 
her. Make one snow fort less, while you gather at her 
door a pile of wood ; or if wood be not used, contrive 
Engraved for the American Agriculturist. 
some way lo collect a good heap of coal, Perhaps some 
of the kind neighbors will fill your hand-sleds with coal 
if they know what you want to do with it. How many 
of the boys in our great American Agriculturist family 
will try this ? Please let us hear from those who do so. 
Fortunes of War— Singular Sleeting;. 
A friend contributes to the American Agriculturist the 
following incident, which recently occurred in Brooklyn, 
N. Y. Several military gentlemen who had served dur- 
ing the present war, happened to meet and were recount- 
ing their experiences. One of them was formerly a Union 
citizen of Texas, but he had been forced into the rebel 
army, made prisoner, and afterward released on taking 
the oath of allegiance. He was asked " Where were 
you captured?" "At the battle of Spottsylvania, near 
the Court House," was the reply. " I was there," re- 
marked a Colonel ; "and I also," said a Captain ; " and 
I too," said the third, a Lieutenant. The Texas gentle- 
man continued : " During the battle, General Lee rode 
near us and asked ' What regiment is that V and was told 
'The — th Mississippi' ■ ' Just the one I want,' exclaim- 
ed Lee, and gave orders for them to retake an earthwork 
from which your Union forces had driven us, and had 
posted artillery. We started across an open field through 
a storm of death, arrived in a hollow in front of the work 
where we were sheltered from its fire, and formed ranks. 
There were only 267 men remaining. We carried the 
earthwork, but it availed little ; for soon from your in- 
fantry, which must have been arranged in four lines of 
battle, came a perfect sheet of minie balls across the top 
of the parapet, cutting down every man who showed his 
head above it. A ball struck the bow of my spectacles, 
grazed my temple, carrying away a lock of hair, as you 
see (showing a small scar). A tree 22 inches in diameter, 
near which I stood, was literally chipped in two by the 
storm of balls, and fell, killing two men. Out of that 
267 men only two besides myself escaped unharmed." 
" I can corroborate your 
story" remarked the Colonel. 
I was in command of the in- 
fantry who made that attack, 
we were in four lines, and 
after the action I measured 
the stump of the tree you 
mentioned." " When you 
were taken, did you not wear 
a haversack bearing a ma- 
sonic emblem?" asked the 
Lieutenant. "Yes," was the 
reply. "And I am the man 
who made you prisoner,' 
said the former speaker. 
" Your countenance seemed 
familiar, but I could not at 
once recall where we had 
met before." Strange as 
is this account, it may be 
fully relied on in all its de- 
tails ; and it forms a most 
striking illustration of the 
curious chances of war. 
*< Little Tilings." 
When Columbus was mak- 
ing his first voyage in search 
of the new world, as he drew 
near the shores of the un- 
known continent, the direc- 
tion in which his vessel was 
sailing would have led him 
to the peninsula of Florida. 
One of his officers having 
noticed a flight of birds in a 
southwesterly course, pre- 
vailed on him to shift the 
helm and steer that way. 
This brought him to one of 
the West India Islands, and 
the Spanish colonies were 
founded there, instead of on 
the main land, which was 
kept for the more enlighten- 
ed nations of England and 
France. Thus the history 
of the world was changed by 
a flight of birds. Many young 
readers of the American Ag- 
riculturist will be reminded 
of the declaration in the 
New Testament, " Not a 
sparrow shall fall on the 
ground without your Fath- 
er."-In 1829, the Directors of 
the Liverpool and Manches- 
ter railroad in England, offered a prize for the best loco- 
motive engine. One built by a young Swede gave the great- 
est promise, but some part was broken during the first 
trial. He asked and obtained two weeks for repairs. 
Again his engine seemed the most successful, but unfor- 
tunately (he thought) some weak part gave way. He 
asked one day more, which was refused ; the engine 
built by George Stephenson took the prize, and was at 
once adopted on the railways of England. The Swede, 
discouraged by his ill success in England, came to Amer- 
ica, made many inventions, and finally built the first iron 
clad vessel, the celebrated Monitor, which, as all know, 
beat off the monster Merrimac, and perhaps saved a 
large part of our shipping on the Atlantic coast. This 
event has made the name of Ericsson a household word, 
revolutionized naval warfare, and largely aided in pre- 
venting intervention by England in our national struggle. 
l*et Boys and Girls Learn to Give. 
We know a gentleman who gives away a large share of 
his income, though so many of his donations are to dis- 
tant objects and in so private a way, that no one knows 
how much he gives every year. In a speech in behalf of 
a good object, he urged parents to teach their children to 
give, and stated that when a boy, his parents always di- 
vided among the children every donation to the Mis- 
sionary Societies, etc., so that each one became accus- 
tomed to give something to good objects. They were 
poor, but managed to give a few pennies to every benev- 
olent enterprise. The habit thus formed had grown with 
his years, and had given him a world of pleasure. Let 
every boy and girl acquire this good habit; and it is 
well for them to learn to give something that they have 
themselves earned, or saved by their own efforts. It is 
more blessed to give than to receive. The kind hearted 
benevolent man or woman is always the happy one. 
We hope the young readers of the American Agricultur- 
ist will early learn this way of securing happiness 
