fjfcH£Ml£TJlYtg*; 
^mechanics 
PHILOSOPHY' 
Written for Moore's Rural New-Yorker. 
OUR TEACHERS. 
How thoughtless must they be who can appre- 
cia'e no lessons but those that they receive from 
professed teachers; and how illiterate must they 
be whose guide in practical life is confined to the 
say-so of books? Books are great belp3, and they 
point us to the beautiful objects that surround us, 
the formation of which displays the skill of a super¬ 
human artificer; they inspire ns, too, with lofty 
aspirations, and kindle the flame of human ambi- 
to confine their 
Written for Moore’s Rural New-Yorker. 
HELP IN COMPOSITION. 
QUEER NOTIONS. 
tion. But who would bo willin L 
knowledge of this world to what they may learn 
from professed teachers and books ? Let us ramble 
abroad, with eyes open, and see these things for 
ourselves. Behold the modest, blushing flower as 
it springs forth from the bosom of mother earth; it 
clings to her like a lond child to its parent; it 
sucks from her unbounded resources all its rosy 
tints and mellow hues—and is nature impoverished 
by thus giving? No. Look again, —that flower 
begins to fade; its love-blushes are gone,—the 
soft blending of light and shade in its velvet petals 
. ? RIEND KDRAL ; -I n perusing the Young Rural- 
uts C0 ' Ufnn > I observed a short effusion from the 
pen of Chips, entitled High Notions; and, as my 
notions do not exactly coincide with his, I take 
the liberty of disagreeing with him. I think that 
there is an old adage which says, practice what 
you preach, which is equivalent to this, vi z ., that 
in order to preach you must have some practice. 
If friend Chips would grasp the plow-handle for 
one year, and hang on to it, l think that his ideas 
It has come to be quite a general article of belief 
with people who attend common school exhibitions, 
that the papers and separate essays, which form so 
large a snare of the entertainment, and claim to be 
the work of the pupils, are often little more than 
examples of what Swift mildly terms “digressing 
from one’s self.” Assuming that foundation for such 
belief exists, it is but fair to regard those who thus 
pass off as their own what belongs, in whole or in 
part, to another, as more sinned against than sin- 
D jng in the case; since, in perhaps nearly every 
instance, the attempted fraud is less the result of a 
disposition to deceive, by appearing in borrowed or 
stolen plumage, than of a wish to come up to the 
requirements of ambitious teachers and no less am¬ 
bitious friends. In many cases the pupil ismerelya 
passive party to the fraud; the piece which the pub¬ 
lic are to suppose he composed being placed in his 
bandsand hiraselfexercisedin the proper delivery of 
it; or his own production submitted for criticism 
and correction, being returned to him so altered that 
he recognizes it only by the title. Without inquir¬ 
ing into the wisdom of obliging pupils to write, or 
to appear to write, when they feel that they have 
nothing to say, let us indulge in a few general 
ve at, of beginners Use of Knowledge.—S ome men think that the 
or borrowing the gratification of curiosity is the end of knowledge; 
oduction ; said in- some the love of fame; some the pleasure of dis- 
sacking works on p U te; some the necessity of supporting themselves 
:perienced writers by their knowledge; but the real use of all knowl- 
; elements of their edge is this, that we should dedicate that 
reason 
which was given us by God to the use and advan¬ 
tage of man .—Lord Bacon. 
The Life of James Watt, wfih Selections from his 
Correspondence. By James Patrick Muirubad, M. 
A., author of “ The Origin and Progress of the Me¬ 
chanical Inventions of Watt,” “ Correspondence on 
the Discovery of the Composition of Water,” etc. 
Illustrated, [pp. 424.] New York: D. Appleton & 
Co.—1859. 
During the year 1S54 a volume entitled “ The Origin 
and Progress of the Mechanical Inventions of Walt,” 
made its appearance in London, and, although a costly 
work, illustrated by numerous large copper-plate en¬ 
gravings, was well received. This fact led the author 
to the preparation of a book comprising all of interest 
which the volume mentioned contained, and, at the 
Messes. Eds.:— In looking over the Young Bu- 
ralist of June 11th, I saw some very curious 
statements, made by a Young Ruralist of Illinois, 
in an article entitled The Supply of Streams. He 
says the constant supply of streams i 3 from a 
depth, the water rising, and that water is raised 
up to^high fountains by the weight of the land— 
with philosophy and science, 
learly as high, hut cannot rise 
-whence it issues, un¬ 
it is well known 
which is at variance 
Water will rise ne 
higher than the source from 
less it is by capillary attraction. 
that though rivers frequently rise in lakes or 
springs from small elevations, the gre%t store- 
honse from which the mightiest streams are sup¬ 
plied are the ice-clad mountains of the tablelands. 
That streams are supplied by rain and snow 
from the surface of the earth, is proved by many 
demonstrative facts, as we have the largest streams 
where the surface of the land contains the most 
water, and vice versa. 
The w riter also says, that inland seas in 'de¬ 
pressed valleys are salt, for the reason that fresh 
water goes up to higher fountains, not by capillary 
attraction, but by the weight of the land, in which 
I think my friend is mistaken. 
It is well known that all lakes and seas that 
have no outlet, are salt, as they have no means of 
discharging the saline matter that is brought 
down by streams; such as the Caspian Sea, which 
This edifice, though small, (being 50 feet front 
by 88 deep,) will, when compiled, be one of the 
most- tMtefnlI «Wol.« in ^ u - as 
menced in 18o6; the basemeetTor lower room is 
finished and occupied, but the audience room is yet 
in an unfinished state. The style partakes some¬ 
what of the Romanesque, but like the great major¬ 
ity of American churches, belongs to no order, 
unless it be an American Church Order. It is 
built of brick, and is to be covered with mastic; the 
roof is slate, the window's stained glass. The 
spire, which is very tapering and graceful, is 160 
feet in height. 
The audience room is to be 48 feet wide by 74 
deep, with a Gothic ceiling, divided into panels by 
raised mouldiDgs. The height from the floor to 
apex of ceiling is 36 feet, and 23 feet at the sides. 
The basement or lower room, for itr.nn Wdlv ho 
called a basement, being entirely above ground, is 
the pleasantest room of the kind in the city, — dry, 
airy, and the arched windows and stained glass 
give it au air of taste and neatness not usual in 
church basements. The ceiling is eleven feet from 
the floor. This room is uow used as the audience 
room, but is designed for the Sabbath School and 
weekly meetings. 
The building, when finished, w'ill cost about 
$15,000. Messrs. Austin & Warner, of this city, 
were the architects. 
Rev. Israel H. Kellogg is the present Pastor. 
allowing another to say for us what we are pretend¬ 
ing to say for ourselves, constitute the entire disad¬ 
vantage of accepting this falsely-termed aid. It 
exposes us to the danger of self-deception—of un¬ 
consciously falling into the persuasion that we are 
really profiting in a disciplinary sense—are gaining 
skill and execution by these efforts of others added 
to trifling exertion of our own. But the immense 
moral injury involved outweighs every other con¬ 
sideration. Though innocent of willful fraud in 
presenting as our own creation what is only partly 
; ours, the practice, perhaps slowly and insensibly, 
but surely, induces a false estimate of respecta¬ 
bility; an estimate in which appearance supplants 
reality—sham and show take the place of substance, 
and the superior ease of shining by reflected light 
| sets aside the homely, prosaic truth that more 
honor resides in professing but little and being but 
little, than in high, baseless pretension. We see, 
then, that what our distorted vision too often 
regards as helps, are, in both a moral and an intel¬ 
lectual view r , the worst of hindrances. 
How many of us, though scorning to accept tan¬ 
gible aid, and jealous of anything that proposes 
i 0 smooth the difficult approaches to the formida¬ 
ble task, yet find ourselves longing for direction— 
jiidance! But the feeling of satisfaction with 
*hich we contemplate the finished work, fully bai¬ 
lees the dread we experience in entering on its 
execution; when commencing it, w r e, in spite of our¬ 
selves, wish for some invisible agency, something 
that will not detract from our own merit,.if merit 
cere be, that will assist us and yet not assist us, 
so that the work when done, shall be fairly and 
completely ours,—to help us through it. When 
completed, we rejoice that we were compelled to do 
it alone. 
He is, indeed, fortunate, w r ho early learus that in 
the world there is no help for him equal to self- 
“ d P; that though millions combine to thrust great¬ 
ness on him, they cannot elevate him a hair’s 
breadth above his purchased level,—purchased by 
conquering, inch by inch, and step by step, the 
ground that lay before him, and making it, by dint 
of careful guarding, a fast possession. a. 
South Livonia, N. Y., June, 1859. 
ing all matters requisite for a complete and graphic 
life-history. These opportunities were eagerly em¬ 
braced, and the work happily carried forward to com¬ 
pleteness. The reputation of the publishers is a suffi¬ 
cient guarantee of the good style in which the whole is 
presented. For sale by Dewey. 
The Art of Extempore Speaking. Hints for the 
Pulpit, the Senate, and the Bar. By M. Baht a in 
Vicar General and Professor at the Sorbonne, etc* 
etc. With Additions by a Member of the New York 
Bar. [pp.8G4.] New York: Charles Scribner. . 
An acute observer of American institutions once re¬ 
marked that “ in no country whatever is a genius for 
writing or speaking a more useful or commanding en¬ 
dowment than in this.” The truth of this .assertion 
being admitted, the careful study and practice of the 
precepts contained in just such volumes as the one be¬ 
fore us, will form a most important part of the educa¬ 
tion of ail who are preparing to become public speakers 
in any of the callings of life. Prolific as is the English 
language in Treatises upon Rhetoric, and the Arts of 
Composition and Delivery, we do not know of a work 
that will rival M. Bautain’s. The chapters added by 
the American editor, contain much valuable informa¬ 
tion, and his brief summary of “ Rules of Order and 
Debate” will bo found very useful to presiding officers 
and debaters. For sale by Adams & Dabney. 
EFFECT OF MUSIC ON ANIMALS. 
That music has a charm on the animal creation 
has long been known. The sense of hearing in 
many animals is very acute. They love to hear 
gentle voices, and are grateful for kind words. 
The tiny mouse charmed by the whistle of the 
Alpine herdsman, will abide in his hut, and come 
fiom its covert to listen to his song. In ancient 
times the grazing herds were charmed in listen¬ 
ing to the flute of the shepherd. The bell cow is 
proud of her bell, and shows it in her gait, as she 
leads off the herd, and shows grief when it is 
taken from her, and cattle have been known to pine 
away and die when deprived of their harmonious 
ornament. The horse is particularly charmed 
with music, for 
At the shrill trumpet’s sound he pricks his ears. 
Many will remember the account of the Libyan 
mares, who would only be handled when soothed 
with soft music, aud of the horses of the Syba¬ 
rites, that had been taught to dance to pleasing 
melodies, and then, when bearing their masters 
into battle, suddenly heard, in the enemy’s 
ranks, the well-remembered sounds, and instant¬ 
ly set to dancing instead of fighting! The same 
love of music in the horse has been noted in 
more modern times. The eccentric Lord Hol¬ 
land, of the reign of William III., used to give 
his horses a weekly concert in a covered gallery, 
especially erected for the purpose. He main- 
IS THE NEW CENT POISONOUS? 
Eds. Rural :—Sometime since I noticed an ac¬ 
count in a New York paper of the death of a child, 
caused, it was supposed, by swallowing a cent of 
the qoinage of 1857—otherwise, the “new cent.” 
This account was sent abroad on the authority of 
the attending physician, and at the same time im¬ 
plying that the swallowing of this coin was most 
baneful in its effects. Since then every mother 
has guarded the new cent with more than a 
“miser’s care,” least her child should lay hold of 
the poisonous currency. This course is right 
enough; but as I have never seen the New York 
physician’s statement contradicted, the facts of the 
thing are different from his account, as there is but 
very little or no danger from the injesta of this 
coin. 
Twelve cases are reported where children, from 
the ages of ten months to five years, have swal¬ 
lowed the new cent, none of which proved of any 
injury to the child, and but little or no change was 
produced in the appearance of the coin. 
The new cent was to weigh 72 grains—43 grains 
being nickel and 24 grains being copper. “ Nickel 
resembles very much the ferruginous (iron) pre¬ 
parations, and is not injurious when taken into the 
system.” This being the case, the danger, if there 
is any, must be from the copper, and that cannot 
be very great, for often has the cent of the “old 
coinage ” been swallowed without any bad conse¬ 
quence, and there being less copper in the new 
Our favorite among the Quarterlies — the London 
Review— has come to hand for April, and the present 
issue fully sustains its goodly reputation. The political 
article in this number, “ Foreign Affairs — Bar in 
Italy,” has a peculiar interest just now, discussing, as 
it does, the views and position of Austria. We have 
also a review of Carlyle’s Frederick the Great; The 
Minstrelsy of Scotland; National Galleries; Devon¬ 
shire; George III and Charles James Fox; Lord 
Brougham and Law Reform; Bunsen’s Egypt and the 
Chronology of the Bible. The latter paper is the most 
thorough and best worked out of the eight comprised 
in the Table of Contents, and will prove of intense 
interest to students of biblical literature. Republished 
by Leonard Scott & Co., New York. Dewey Agent 
for Rochester and vicinity. 
FOR YOUNG MEN TO THINK OF. 
In the latest of his preachings upon “ Po-pular 
Proverbs,” Dr. Holland closes a thoughtful and 
suggestive discourse on sensual pleasure, with the 
following earnest remarks to young men, which 
deserve to be thought of: 
“Oh! if this world could 
rise out of this swamp 
of sensuality, rank with weeds and dark with deadly 
vapors — full of vipers, thick with pitfalls, and 
lurid with deceptive lights—and stand upon the 
secure heights of virtue, where God’s sun shines, 
and the winds of heaven breathe blandly and 
healthfully; how would human life become blessed 
and beautiful! The great burden of the world 
rolled oft, how would it spring forward into a 
grand career of prosperity and progress! This 
change, for this country, rests almost entirely upon 
the young men of the country. It lies with them 
more than any other class, and more than all other 
classes, to say whether this country shall descend 
still lower in its path to brutality, or rise higher 
than the standard of its loftiest dreams. The de¬ 
votees of sense, themselves, have greatly lost their 
power for good, and comparatively few will change 
their course of life. Woman will be pure if man 
will be true. Young men ! this great result abides 
with you! If you could but see how beautiful a 
flower grows upon the thorny stalk of self-denial, 
you would give the plant the honor it deserves. 
If it seems hard and homely, despise it not; for in, 
it sleeps the beauty of heaven and the breath of 
angels. If you do not witness the glory of its 
blossomings during the day of life, its petals will 
open when the night of death comes, and gladden 
your closing eyes with their marvelous loveliness, 
and fill your soul with their grateful perfume.” 
Books Received. 
ins New American Cyclop.edia: A Popular Diction- 
ar> of General Knowledge. Edited by George Rip¬ 
ley and Charles A. Dana. Vol. VI. Cough-Edu¬ 
cation. [pp. 772 ] New York : D. Appleton. Sold 
m Rochester by D. M. Dewey, Subscription Agent. 
Country Life : A Handbook of Agriculture Horticul¬ 
ture, and Landscape Gardening. By R Morpis 
Copeland. [Svo.-pp. 813.] Boston : John P. Jew¬ 
ett & Co. Cleveland: Henry P. B. Jewett. From 
the Publishers. 
Farm Drainage. The Principles, Processes, and Ef 
fects of Draining Land with Stones, Wood, Plows 
and Open Ditches, and Especially with Tiles; includ¬ 
ing Tables of Rain-Fall, Evaporation, Filtration 
Excavation, Capacity of Pipes; Cost aud Number to 
the Acre, of Tiles, <&c., &c., and more than 100 Illus¬ 
trations. By Henry F. French. [12mo.—pp. 384.1 
New York : A. O. Moore & Co. Roehestcr-E. Dak- 
ltow & Bbo. 
John Halifax, Gentleman. By the author of “ Olive ” 
“ The Ogilvies,” “ Agatha’s Husband,” “ The Head of 
the Family,” “ A Hero, and other Tales,” etc. With 
Illustrations by Augustus Hoppin. [ 16 mo — pp 4S51 
New York : Harper & Bros. Sold by Dewey. ’ 
Cosmos: A Sketch of a Physical Description of the 
Universe. By Alex. Von Humboldt. Translated 
from the German by E C. Otte and W. S. Dallas 
S’ L ' 8 : „ Vo1 ' v - [16mo.—pp. 402.] New York: 
Harper <fc Bros. Rochester— Dewey. 
Nature’s School; or, Lessons from the Garden and 
the Field. [16mo.-pp. 347.J Philadelphia: Ameri- 
Koutine and Guessing in School. — Almost 
>.\ery profession has its peculiar perils to the 
■iioral and intellectual nature of the man, and 
t iat of the teacher is by no means exempt from 
t 'em. Besides the danger of growing arbitrary 
mil dogmatic, which he ought to remember in his 
ai \ P ra y er i be is particularly liable to become a 
outinist. As he obtains experience in his calling, 
* s as valuable to him as to the physician or 
•He lawyer, he may sink into that state of indifter- 
mce wherein his words and his acts are lifeless; 
crein he becomes a machine, and discharges 
uties as a grist-mill grinds corn. In this 
otd V) 00 ’ * 16 * S D ° lon S er a teacher; he literally 
^ aiars lessons.” He puts questions, and, by 
answers “® cka °i ca l skill > determines whether the 
from the fnro lgh c t l 0r l .' vron ^' He scolds and frets 
irritated hv tb° f ^ abl t’. rather than because he is 
scholar rSfy and carelessness of the 
He is no mean philosopher who can give a-rea- 
son for half what he thinks. 
Wisdom is the olive which springs from the heart, 
blooms on the tongue, aud bears fruit by the actions. 
