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MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL, LITERARY AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER, 
actions may be easily implanted. The 
thoughts can be made to flow in any desired 
channel. Then how important it is that the 
impetus be given toward some noble point. 
What almost holy sensations thrill through 
every pulse, as we behold some bright and 
beautiful truth springing in the mind of our 
youthful charge. None but a teacher can re¬ 
alize the ecstacy of the moment, when after 
long days of unremitting toil, we behold the 
mind of some wayward and perhaps neglected 
child, expanding with high hopes and noble re¬ 
solves. And the consciousness of having been 
the instrument of awakening within the soul 
of one such being, the before hidden impulses 
of goodness, is a satisfying reward to the true 
teacher for many months of the severest toil. 
McDonough, March 15, 1855. R. BEE. 
ORIGIN OF SILK, 
In the early ages of the Christian era, the 
inhabitants of the little Island of Ceos, in the 
Aegean, near the coast of Africa, were accus¬ 
tomed to manufacture a species of silk, or rath¬ 
er a sort of thin gauze, from the web of a worm, 
which they fed upon the leaves of the oak, the 
ash, and the pine trees ; and this Coan manu¬ 
facture, the invention of a woman was long 
admired, and extensively used, both in the east 
and at Rome, for female dresses. They were, 
however, after a while, superseded by the Chi¬ 
nese silks, which at that early period were so 
costly that but few, comparatively could afford 
to wear them. Aurelian is said to have com¬ 
plained that a pound of silk was sold at Rome 
for twelve ounces of gold, 
HIS DUTIES, QUALIFICATIONS, RESPONSIBILITIES AND CLAIMS. 
Written for Moore’s Rural Now-Yorker. 
MY FATHER’S GRAVE. 
So much has been said on this subject, that 
it seems superfluous to add more. Yet there 
are a few thoughts that I wish to present, which; 
although they may not be new, yet deserve to 
be kept before the public mind. 
1st—His Duties.— Of these I shall mention 
two classes—those that he owes to parents and 
children, and those that he owes to his country 
and to posterity. The first he will have dis¬ 
charged, when he shall have faithfully instruct¬ 
ed the young in the proper business of the 
school; the second, when he shall have done 
his part towards fitting them for usefulness in 
the world. 
2d — His Qualifications. — What these 
should be, may be inferred from a knowledge 
of his duties. His business is to educate, in 
the broadest sense of the word, and for this he 
should be qualified. Not that he should know 
everything, and teach everything, but that he 
should know, and teach, all that is implied in 
the word education, so far as his particular 
situation and circumstances require. 
Remark.— In regard to his knowledge of the 
subjects taught, it may not always be necessa¬ 
ry that this should be perfect, yet should be 
such that he could fully 
w nere tae solemn shadows creep, 
And the loud winds moan a requiem o’er 
The grave, where the night-dews weep. 
No eye holds watch where the rank gra .33 grows. 
And the whisp’ring pine trees wave, 
While the sullen tide forever flows, 
Around his lonely grave,— 
And chants a song like a mourner’s wail, 
O’er the loved forever lost; 
And the noiseless wake of the whitened sail, 
Floats on, like a restless ghost. 
No bitter tears from his stricken child, 
E’er fell where the wild vines wave,_ 
No murmured prayer in that dreary wild, 
Has hallowed my father’s grave. 
For stranger hands put back the locks, 
Where loving fingers strayed, 
And the crested foam, ’neath frowning rocks, 
O’or his silvered ringlets played. 
Earth-worn, he rests on that craggy steep, 
But his spirit’s angel-free, 
And he sings, where Heaven’s sunbeams sleep, 
While the darkness dwells with me. 
Buffalo, March 19, 1855. 
The Phoenician 
women sometimes unraveled these costly fab¬ 
rics, and multiplied the precious materials by 
a looser texture and an intermixture of linen 
threads. For more than two hundred years 
after the age of Pliny, the use of silks as a gar¬ 
ment was entirely confined to the female sex, 
and it is said that the Emperor Elagabalus 
was the first Roman who by the adoption of 
this effeminate habit “sullied the dignity of 
an Emperor and a man.” 
Silk was supplied to the Romans by the 
agency of the Persians, who, in their turn, pro¬ 
cured it, with quantities of aloes, cloves, nut¬ 
megs, and sandal wood, from the Chinese mer¬ 
chants, and conveyed it to their own country, 
at first by long, toilsome and dangerous jour- 
neys, in caravans, and subsequently by vessels 
which carried on beneficial trade between the 
silk merchants of China and the inhabitants of 
the Persian Gulf. 
As the use of silk became more and more 
indispensable to the Romans, the Emperor 
Justinian, in the middle of the sixth century, 
seeing with concern that the Persians had se- 
Qualifications for the Admission of Pu¬ 
pils into the Grammar Schools of Canada. 
—The regular periods for the admission of 
pupils commencing classical studies, shall be 
immediately after the Christmas and after the 
Summer vacations ; but the admission of pu¬ 
pils in English studies alone, or of those pupils 
who have already commenced the study of 
the Latin language, may take place at the 
commencement of each term. The examina¬ 
tions for the admission of pupils shall be con¬ 
ducted by the Head Master, as also examina¬ 
tions for such Scholarships, Exhibitions and 
Prizes, as may have been instituted by Muni¬ 
cipal Councils as authorized by law, or by 
other corporate bodies, or by private individ¬ 
uals. But the Board of Trustees may, if they 
shall think proper, associate other persons with 
the Head Master in the examinations for such 
Scholarships, Exhibitions or Prizes. 
Pupils in order to be admitted to the Gram¬ 
mar School must be able to read intelligibly 
and correctly any passage from any common 
reading book. To spell correctly the words of 
an ordinary sentence. To write a fair hand. 
To work readily questions in the simple and 
compound rules of arithmetic, and in reduction 
and simple proportion. Must know the ele¬ 
ments of English Grammar, and be able to 
parse any easy sentence in prose ; and must be 
acquainted -with the definition? and outlines of 
Geography. 
ENGLISH VERSION OF THE BIBLE. 
One of those who has forsaken the com¬ 
munion of the English Church* has expressed 
himself in deeply touching tones of lamenta¬ 
tion over all which, in forsaking our transla¬ 
tion, he feels himself to have forgotten and 
lost. These are his words : 
Wlio wifi not say that the uncommon 
beauty and marvellous English of the Protes¬ 
tant Bible.is not one of the great strongholds 
of heresy in this country ? It lives on the 
eni, like a mu^ic that can never be forgotten, 
like the sound of church bells, which the con¬ 
cert, hardly knows how he can forego. Its fe¬ 
licities Oiteu seem to be almost things rather 
than mere words. It is part of the national 
mind, and the anchor ot national seriousness. 
; ■ • I h e memory of the dead passes into it. 
The potent traditions ot childhood are stereo¬ 
typed m its verses. The power of all the 
griefs and trials of a man is hidden beneath 
its words. It is the representative of his best 
moments, and all that there has been about 
him of sofc and geutle, and pure, and penitent, 
and good, speaks to him forever out of his 
English Bible.It is his sacred thing, 
which doubt has never dimmed, and contro¬ 
versy never soiled. In the length and breadth 
of the land there is not a Protestant with one 
spark of religiousness about him, whose spir- 
explain the subject to 
the mind of the student, and remove all his dif¬ 
ficulties. 
3d—His Responsibilities. —These may be 
understood from bis duties, from which they 
spring ; and when he shall have faithfully per¬ 
formed his duties, he will have met his responsi¬ 
bilities. The influence of his labors, however, 
is not confined to time—it affects the immortal 
mind, and is itself immortal in its results.— 
Hence his responsibility must be estimated 
accordingly. 
4th—His Claims. — The manual laborer 
who performs his daily task and receives his 
stipulated price, has received the full value of 
his services. So with every one who deals in 
things material, and for this simple reason : 
that their labors, aud the influence of those 
labors, are confined to matter, and exert no in¬ 
fluence—no permanent, no perpetually-spread¬ 
ing and increasing influence on the world—on 
posterity. Not so with the teacher—(I do 
not say all, but the faithful, conscientious 
teacher)—his influence still lives and spreads, 
and will continue to live and spread long after 
he shall have passed from the scene of his labors. 
If his influence while living was for good, it 
will continue for good, and vice versa, till the 
end of time—nay, it will not be bounded by 
time, but will coutiuue forever, so long as the 
minds that he influenced shall continue to exist. 
Look at our schools, aud see their influence 
on our country. And will any one say, that 
this influence will not affect posterity ? And 
if the character of posterity is thus affected, 
will any pretend that the teacher’s influence 
is limited to the age in which he lives ? 
What, then, shall be said of the teacher’s 
claims ?—(some doubtless receive all, and per¬ 
haps others more than they deserve, but with 
these I have nothing to do.) Shall the fre¬ 
quently small, and often paltry pittance they 
receive, be considered a full compensation for 
services of which the world is forever to con¬ 
tinue to derive the advantage ? They are 
among the framers of the character, the fram¬ 
ers of the destiny of our country. Their labors 
cannot be fully appreciated — the value of 
them hardly known—even in this world, until 
the destiny of the world is decided. Their com- 
Phligious Exercises in the Schools of 
Upi’Er Canada.— With a view to secure the 
Divine blessing, and to impress upon the pupils 
the importance of religious duties, and their 
dependence on their Maker, the Council of 
Public Instruction of Canada West recom¬ 
mend that the daily exercises of each Common 
School be opened and closed by reading a por¬ 
tion of Scripture and by prayer. The Lord’s 
Prayer, alone, or any other prayer preferred 
by the Trustees and Master of each School. 
But the Lord's Prayer shall form a part of the 
opening exercises ; and the Ten Command¬ 
ments shall be taught to all the pupils, and 
shall be repeated at least once a week. But 
no pupil shall be compelled to be present at 
these exercises against the wish of his parent 
or guardian, expressed in writing to the Mas¬ 
ter of the School. 
ILLUSTRATED ENIGMA, 
He talked of daggers and of darts, 
Of passions and of pains, 
Of weeping eyes and wounded hearts, 
Of kisses and of chains ; 
He said, though Love was kin to Grief 
She was not horn to grieve ; 
He said, though many rued belief, 
She safely might believe. 
But still the Lady shook her head, 
And swore by yea and nay, 
My whole was all that he had said, 
And all that he could say. 
He said my first, whose silent car 
Was slowly wandering by, 
Veiled in a vapour faint and far, 
Through the unfathomed sky, 
Was like the smile, whose rosy light 
Across her young lips past, 
Y'et oh ! it was not half so bright, 
It changed not half so fast. 
But still the Lady shook her head, 
And swore by yea and nay, 
My whole was all that he had said, 
And all that he could say. 
And then he set a cypress wreath 
Upon his raven hair, 
And drew a rapier from its sheath, 
Which made the lady stare, 
And said, his life-blood’s purple flow 
My second there should dim, 
If she he served and worshipped so 
Would weep one tear for him. 
But still the Lady shook her head, 
And swore by yea and nay, 
My whole was all that he had said, 
And all that he could say. 
£17° Answer next week. 
LEGAL INTEREST IN THE UNITED STATES. 
In twenty-one of the States the legal rate of 
interest is six per cent. ; in four States it is 
seven per cent.; in Texas and Alabama it is 
eight per cent. ; in Louisiana it is five per 
cent..; and in Mississippi it is ten per cent. 
California has no usury laws. The Bankers’ 
Magazine says: 
“ There are various States that permit a 
higher rate of interest on special contracts, viz: 
In Vermont, seven per cent, may be charged 
upon railroad bonds ; in New Jersey, seven per 
cent, may be charged in Jersey City and in the 
township of Hoboken ; in Maryland, the pen- 
alty is a matter of some doubt, in consequence 
of a late decision of Judge Taney, which does 
not, however, meet the assent of the bar of Bal¬ 
timore ; in Arkansas, ten per cent, may be 
charged on special contracts ; in Illinois, the 
banks may charge seven per cent., and ten per 
cent, may be charged between individuals, cm 
special contracts ; in Iowa, ten per cent, is al¬ 
lowed on special contracts ; in Louisiana, eight 
The Teacher’s High Vocation. —If that 
man deserves well of his country, who accord¬ 
ing to an ingenious statesman’s observation, 
makes three spires of grass to grow where 
only two grew before, what praise does he 
merit who multiplies intelligence, who expands 
the slumbering faculties of the human soul, 
who calls forth into exercise powers capable of 
increasing the public stock of wealth, of vir¬ 
tue and happiness, and of exalting the possess¬ 
or to his proper station of usefulness and im¬ 
portance ? If that potter who has moulded 
the unresisting clay to forms of beauty and el¬ 
egance has deserved our patronage, what glo¬ 
ry shall be his, who, faithful and diligent° in 
his functions, has shaped the minds of men, and 
all to honor and virtue ?— Dr. Henri) Hunter. 
There are families in whose midst there is 
no music. Sweet songs are never heard there; 
a cloud blacker than a funeral pall han r ^s over 
them in sullen folds. Anger and discontent 
crouch on the hearth flags ; the mother caunot 
speak, in love, nor the father without curses. 
0 ! the horror of such desolation ! the chill 
that creeps over one to see sister vieing with 
brother to make home unhappy. Think of 
them sitting at the same table, partaking of 
the same loaf with hatred in their hearts._ 
Who would dread a more awful hell, than in 
that place which should be the holiest and 
where in the guise of angels, devils dwell ? 
Discord at home! Let trouble, sorrow, 
poverty come—-but keep forever that dreadful 
demon from our door, so that our song may 
ever be as now, “Sweet Home.”— Olive 
Treatment of Children.— That which I 
have often blamed as an indiscreet and dan¬ 
gerous practice in many fathers, is, to be very 
indulgent to their children whilst they are lit¬ 
tle, and, as they come to ripe years, to lay 
great restraint upon them, and live with great¬ 
er reserve towards them; which usually pro¬ 
duces an ill understanding between fa (her and 
son, which cannot but be of bad consequence. 
And I think fathers would generally do better, 
as the sons grow up, to take them into a near¬ 
er familiarity, and live with them with as 
much freedom of friendship as their age and 
temper will allow. 
per cent, may be charged; in Michigan and 
Ohio, contracts in writing are legal to charge 
ten per cent.; in Texas, twelve per cent, may 
be charged on special contracts. The penalties 
for a violation ol the usury laws are different 
in most of the States. In Michigan there is 
no penalty ; in Massachusetts and New Hamp¬ 
shire, the usurer forfeits three times the whole 
interest; in Maine, the excess of interest is 
not recoverable; in Vermont and Rhode 
Island, the excess may be recovered back ; in 
Connecticut there is a forfeiture of all the in¬ 
terest.” 
Written for the Rural New-Yorker. 
STRAY LEAF FROM A TEACHER’S DIARY, 
ANSWERS TO ENIGMAS, &c. IN No. 
Mine the task, to guide the opening flowers 
of earliest thought. Mine the privilege to di¬ 
rect the unfolding energies of those youthful 
ones, who gather around my path—who look 
to me for counsel and instruction. The 
choicest jewels of many a home, are entrusted 
to my care. The deepest love of many a 
mother's heart has been bestowed upon each 
member of this little circle. They are the 
flowers of Heaven—the hope of the future. 
Upon what does the future rest, if not upon 
the future generation ? In our primary schools 
may be found the future of America. But 
who can grasp the mighty thought ? It is as 
broad as the limits of civilization; and the 
whole force of the question can no more be 
comprehended than eternity itself. 
Who can tell what mighty forces are even 
now slumbering within the undeveloped minds 
of countless children, which are to influence the 
future of men and of nations. In the future of 
America, is to be realized the highest hopes 
of a more perfect state of existence. And up¬ 
on me rests a part of the great responsibility 
of moulding mind for that future. I am sow¬ 
ing seed here on earth the fruit of which is to 
be gathered in the world to come. 
The mind of children is Perotean in its na¬ 
ture ; and the germs of good deeds and right 
Answer to Geographical Enigma in No. 12, 
— Richard, the Lion hearted. 
Answer to Charade in No. 12 : 
You’d be a wondrous architect, 
Could you an edifice erect, 
As cheaply as your Room you make 
By riddling lines for Fancy’s sake. 
And outdo Milton with your chime, 
And “ build ” a “ lofty ” room, not “rhyme." 
Ul-furnish’d garrets often fit, 
The upper story of a wit, 
Both empty, noticed oft to quit. 
Rooms silent are from wall to floor, 
Or set the tables 
Pres Schools.— We find in au Albany pa¬ 
per, the following comparative table of the 
amount of money raised annually for the sup¬ 
port of Free Schools and Police, in half a 
dozen of our principal cities : 
Amount raised 
for the support 
Cities. of Police 
Bufl'alo.. $36,000 
Boston. 190.000 
Rochester. 14)000 
Syracuse. 5,500 
Utica . 3,000 
Albany. 41,000 
STATISTICS OF OLD AGE, 
The census of 1850 shows that the oldest 
person living’in the United States was 140.— 
This person was an Indian woman, residing in 
North Carolina. In the same State was an 
Indian aged 125, a negro woman 111, two 
black females 110 each, one mulatto male 120, 
aud several white males and females aged from 
106 to 114. In the Parish of Lafayette, Lou¬ 
isiana, was a female black aged 120. In sev¬ 
eral of the States there were found persons 
white and black, aged from 110 to 115.— 
There were in the United States in 1850, 2,- 
This shows that 
Light, tue Shadow of God.— Light makes 
some things invisible. Were it not for dark¬ 
ness, and the shadow of the earth, the noblest 
part of creation had remained unseen, and the 
stars of heaven as invisible as on the fourth day, 
when they were created above the horizon 
with the sun, and there was not an eye to be¬ 
hold them. The greatest mystery of religion 
is expressed by admiration, and in the noblest 
part of Jewish types we find the cherubim 
shadowing the mercy seat. Life itself is but 
the shadow of death, and souls departed but 
the shadow of the living. All things fell under 
this name. The sun itself is but the dark Sim- 
ulachrune, and light but the shadow of God._ 
Sir T. Browne. 
Amount raised 
for the item of 
Teachor’s wages. 
$S0,000 
-80,000 
28,000 
14.000 
11,000 
12,595 
in a roar. 
In modern phrase you may have learned, 
A House is out of windows turn’d, 
Whether a rich man’s or a poor’s, 
Ne’er was a room turn’d out of doors. 
A sick room left with scarce a shred, 
Is better if it keeps its bed. 
How sad the Room where misery lies, 
How gorgeous where the rich man dies— 
Where jewels shine in nightly blaze, 
Where lovers up to windows gaze ; 
Where in despite some day-blind covers 
The scrutinies of sun and lovers, 
Giving their good look-out chagrin, 
But not allowing looking in ; 
And tho’ it furnished be with glasses, 
No spectacles can see what passes, 
For windows are but eyes disposed 
To let in the most light when closed. 
The term infantry is said to be derived from 
an event in Spanish history. An Infanta of 
Spain having assembled a body of troops 
and marched to the aid of her father, by their 
aid defeated the Moors, the foot soldiers were 
in consequence held in greater estimation 
than before, and were distinguished by the 
name of the person who had thus led them on 
to victory. 
555 persons over 100 years, 
about one person in 9,000 will be likely to live 
to that age. There are now about 20,000 per¬ 
sons in the United States who were living 
when the Declaration of Independence was 
signal, in 1776. They must necessarily be 
near 80 years okl now, in order to have lived 
at that time. The French census of 1851 
shows only 102 persons over 100 years old ; 
though their total population, was near 36,- 
000,000. Old age is, therefore, attained 
among us much more frequently than in Paris. 
Try to take cheerful views of Divine things. 
Dwell on your mercies. Look at the bright 
! as well as the dark side. Do not cherish 
gloomy thoughts. Melancholy is no friend to 
devotion. It greatly hinders the usefulness of 
many. “ It falls upon a contented life like a 
drop of ink on white paper, which is not the 
less a stain because it carries no meaning with 
it*”. Let your soul rove through the truths of 
fecripture as the happy herds through the 
green pastures. 
I here are now eight historical paintings in 
the Rotunda of the Capitol, as follows: the 
Landing of Columbus ; the Discovery of the 
Mississippi by De Soto ; the Baptism of Po¬ 
cahontas ; the Embarkation of the Pilgrims ; 
the Declaration of Independence ; the Capitu¬ 
lation at Saratoga ; the Capitulation at York- 
town ; ashington resigning his commission. 
Be wise ; for in gaining wisdom you alsc 
gain an eminence from which no shaft of jeal¬ 
ousy or malice can hurl you. 
... 
