AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
107 
Ppallaiwm. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
NOT ABOUT SCHOOLS, 
BUT TO BOYS WHO HAVE NO SCHOOLS TO WHICH 
TnEY CAN GO. 
And why, says the inquirer, address a letter 
to such, when not one in a thousand can read, 
and not one in a hundred thousand of those 
who can read, will ever see this article in the 
Agriculturist. Well, it is for this one, I write 
this article. Be it so; but if one in a hundred 
thousand shall be rescued from mental darkness, 
and put into the road leading to self-culture, 
and consequently to eminent usefulness, (for 
such are always more so than those fostered in 
schools and colleges,) I shall feel myself amply 
rewarded. Another class may object and say, 
no part of these United States can be found in 
this state of destitution. To such I will an¬ 
swer, read the reports of the colporteurs sent 
i out by the Bible and American Tract Societies, 
and you will learn that millions of square miles 
(not in one body) are settled with a people 
grossly ignorant; destitute not only of the Bi¬ 
ble and religious books, but of all books ; and 
we have not to go far from this city to find such 
a region of country. 
To boys thus situated, I will say, if your pa¬ 
rents are ignorant—which they must be, thus 
to neglect you—and if society takes no interest 
in your welfare, make use of such means as a 
kind Providence has placed within your power. 
Go to the nearest store—not a rum-hole—and 
ask the store-keeper to procure for you three or 
four primary book-', beginning with Stanley’s 
Pictorial Primer, or a primer of any other 
author, and you will surely find some one to 
teach you the letters, with their proper sounds, 
after which you can learn to read. When this 
is accomplished, you can, without a teacher, 
learn arithmetic. 
If this doctrine be true, many tax-payers for 
the support of public schools may be ready to 
say, what is the necessity of all this expense of 
our educating the common people? To this 
objection the answer is obvious. Children of 
both the rich and the poor, as a general thing,* 
would never of themselves learn to read ; and 
since the birch has been laid aside, and moral 
suasion introduced in its place, the diligent, pa¬ 
tient, untiring teacher is subjected to every 
annoyance on the part of the children, who 
have never been taught the first lesson of obe¬ 
dience at home. They arc impatient of all re¬ 
straint when sent to school, and the sufferings 
of the teachers become more intolerable, if pos¬ 
sible, than those of some of our chief magis¬ 
trates of these United States, in days that are 
past, and are now only told as history. Never¬ 
theless, the laxity in their government answers 
the design for which they are intended, and but 
for them, with all the overwhelming flow of ig¬ 
norance annually pouring in upon us, we should 
in the next generation be approaching to some 
of the European States, with a pope for our dic¬ 
tator, and a despot to execute his decrees. But 
the boys, for whose benefit I commenced this 
article, may exclaim, when some kind friend 
who can read, is reading it to them, “We don’t 
understand this.” But you will soon be able 
to understand it if you will learn to read, which 
you can do if you have the desire. No Ameri¬ 
can need grow up in ignorance, unless it be his 
own voluntary choice, but may obtain an educa¬ 
tion sufficient to guard him against the imposi¬ 
tion of those who know more than he does, and 
to make him an intelligent and respectable 
member of society. 
Almost an Octogenarian. 
-—•-© ©- 
A HINT TO MOTHERS. 
“ I wish I needn’t go to school, to-day,” said 
Johnny to his mother, one bright, pleasant 
morning. “ I don’t like my school, and never 
did ; I don’t want to go.” 
This was a feeling which Johnny had always 
had, and it was his mother’s fault that he had 
it; for from the time he was two years old, 
whenever he had been doing any thing wrong, 
or had been noisy about his play, his mother 
had always said, “ If you are not a good boy, 
I’ll send you right off to schoolso that he 
had grown up with the feeling that school was 
of all other places the least to be desired. 
If he had committed any little misdemeanor 
in the morning, he w r as started off for school a 
full half hour earlier than usual, as a punish¬ 
ment. Johnny must indeed be a genius to 
withstand such influence. Would it not be better 
for every mother to teach her children to love 
school; to inspire them with ambition to attend 
school; to be always punctual, and always pre¬ 
pared with good lessons? Would it not be better 
to have all the errands attended to the evening 
before, so as to insure a punctual attendance ? 
Would it not be better to neglect every other 
morning duty rather than allow a single child 
to be five minutes late ? 
Mothers are hardly aware how much they 
can encourage their children by expressing an 
interest in all that concerns the school; listen¬ 
ing to the story of their sports in recess, and 
seeking for a detailed acccount of each day’s 
recitations; not with a view to finding fault, 
but simply to show an interest, which is always 
delightful to a child. If they have failed in one 
recitation, encourage them to feel that the next 
will certainly be perfect. 
Let the sunshine of a mother’s love fall into 
every child’s heart, and let her words of en¬ 
couragement to do well—yea even to excel— 
lead many a wanderer who now hates his school, 
to love it, and seek it as a delightful place.— 
Norwich Examiner. 
HOME POLITENESS. 
Why not be polite? how much does it cost to 
say, “I thank you?” Why not practice it at 
home ? to your husband ? to your children ? 
your domestics? If a stranger does you some 
little act of courtesy, how sweet the smiling ac¬ 
knowledgment ! if your husband, ah ! it is a 
matter of course; no need of thanks. 
Should an acquaintance tread on your dress, 
your very, very best, and by accident tear it, 
how profuse you are with your “never minds, 
don’t think of it, I don’t care at all;” if a hus¬ 
band does it, he gets a frown; if a child, it is 
chastised. 
Ah! these are little things, say you. They 
tell mightily upon the heart, let me assure you, 
little as they are. 
A gentleman stops at a friend’s house, and 
finds it in confusion. He don’t see any thing 
to apologize for—never think of such matters. 
Every thing is all right—cold supper, cold room, 
crying children—perfectly comfortable. Goes 
home, where the wife has been taking care of 
the sick ones, and working her life almost out. 
Don’t see why things can’t be kept in order— 
there never were such cross children before. 
No apologies accepted at home. 
Why not be polite at home? why not use 
freely that golden coin of courtesy ? How sweet 
they sound, those little words, “ I thank you,” 
or, “ You are very kind.” Doubly, yes, thrice 
sweet from the lips we love, when heart-smiles 
make the eye sparkle with the clear light of 
affection. 
Be polite to your children. Do you expect 
them to be mindful of your welfare ? to grow 
glad at your approach ? to bound away to do 
your pleasure before the request is half spoken ? 
Then with all your dignity and authority, min¬ 
gle politeness; give it a niche in your house¬ 
hold temple. Only then will you have learned 
the true secret of sending out into the world 
really finished gentlemen and ladies. 
What we say, we say unto all—Be polite. 
PROFESSOR MORSE AND THE TELEGRAPH. 
A Washington correspondent of the Tribune 
gives the following interesting item, which we 
extract from a letter dated the lGth inst. 
Professor Shaffner, Secretary of the Ameri¬ 
can Telegraph Confederation, is at present in 
this city, and he has kindly placed at my dis¬ 
posal the followfing statistics and information. 
Ten years ago Professor Morse was just erecting 
the first experimental line of Telegraphs, 
between this city and Baltimore. Professor 
Morse, like all scientific benefactors, had ex¬ 
hausted his means, and had become as poor as 
Lazarus, and as lean and hungry-looking as any 
veritable Calvin Edson you ever saw. One day 
while eating a sumptuous dinner of bread and 
molasses under the shade of a tree, about two 
miles from Washington, Amos Kendall ap¬ 
proached him with such a lean and hungry 
look, that he at once divided his dinner with 
him, and before it was concluded, he gave the 
dilapidated Post-master-General an interest in 
his Telegraph patent, which has since made 
these two shadows of a shade corpulent with 
wealth. They now “have lands and beeves,” 
like master Robert Shallow, Esquire. There 
are now 41,392 miles of telegraphic wires in 
this country, with a capital stock of $G,671,800. 
Professor Shaffner is perfecting a system of 
union and concert between the various lines in 
this country, with a prospect of an ocean line 
soon to be laid, connecting us with the Trans-At¬ 
lantic Telegraph, so that the close neighborhood 
of nations may be considered as settled. 
R. M. 
A FOX’S REVENGE. 
A respectable man of the county of Mont¬ 
gomery resided on the banks of the Hudson 
river. One day he went to a bay on the river, 
to shoot ducks or wfild geese. When he came 
to the river, he saw six geese beyond shot. He 
determined to wait for them to approach the 
shore. While sitting there, he saw a fox come 
down to the shore, and stand some time and ob¬ 
serve the geese. At length he turned and ivent 
into the woods, and came out wfith a very large 
bunch of moss in his mouth. lie then entered 
the w T ater very silently, sank himself, and then, 
keeping the moss above the water, himself con¬ 
cealed, he floated among the geese. Suddenly, 
one of them v r as drawn under the w r ater, and 
the fox soon appeared on the shore with the 
goose on his back. He ascended the bank, and 
found a hole made by the tearing up of a tree. 
This hole he cleared; placed in the goose, and 
covered it with great care, strewing leaves over 
it. The fox then left; and while he was away 
the hunter unburied the goose, closed the hole, 
and resolved to await the issue. In about half 
an hour the fox returned with another fox in 
company. They went directly to the place 
w T here the goose had been buried, and threw 
out the earth. The goose could not be found. 
They stood regarding each other for some time, 
wfiien suddenly the second fox attacked the 
other most furiously, as if offended by the trick 
of his friend. During the battle he shot them 
both.— Murray's Creation. 
W hat is the particular sorrow of a sad iron ? 
