spires the hope that Albany, like them, will 
soon pay more for her schoolmaster’s services 
than for police officers. Let the day soon 
dawn. *Owe*. 
but they are speedily withdrawn from the 
southern one as the equinoctial line is crossed. 
There are several aay3 at this season when 
the variation in length will be very little, if 
any; the reason of which is this. ^When 
the sun reaches the extreme limit of its path, 
and i3 about to return, there is a considerable 
distance where the ecliptic is very nearly 
parallel with the equator, and therefore the 
luminary neither approaches nor departs 
north or south. 
If the two circles we have named coincide 
throughout,—that ia to say, if the earth '3 axis 
was perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic, 
the sun would always be on the equator ; 
there would be no changes of seasons ; the 
days and nights would always be twelve hours 
each ; and our daylight and darkness would 
be such as we experience on the twentieth of 
March and the twenty-third of September. 
PHONETIC SPELLING. 
For the Rural New-Yorker. 
GOD IS EVERYWHERE. 
EDUCATED AND UNEDUCATED MEN, 
Great stress has been laid by the advo¬ 
cates of phonetic spelling, upon the ground 
that it wonderfully facilitates an acquisition 
of orthography; that children would become 
expert spellers in less than half the time now 
required, and would, therefore, be prepared at 
an earlier day to enter upon more advanced 
studies. “ Children,” they say, “ now linger 
in the shades of a primary department, poriDg 
over their spelling books, when, with the ad¬ 
vantages of phonetics, they would be filling 
seats in the intermediate or even senior school¬ 
rooms.” 
This is mere assertion and speculation, and 
we beg leave to doubt it most respectfully.— 
The faculties of the young mind must be dis¬ 
ciplined before it is capable of grasping ab¬ 
struse propositions, and the exercises must be 
of a character correspondingly simple. Edu¬ 
cators contend that much of the study pre¬ 
scribed even in a college course, is designed 
more for mental discipline than for any prac¬ 
tical value it will be in after life, and that, if 
the subject matter should be subsequently for¬ 
gotten, its effect will not be lost. Cannot 
the same train of reasoning be applied to these 
juvenile exercises in orthography with even 
greater cogency, from the fact that the daily 
use of the exercises through life never permit 
them to bo forgotten ? 
The simplicity of phonetic spelling is more 
imaginary than real, as the alphabet has to 
be much enlarged by the addition of symbols 
representing compound letters, as any one will 
see by reading an article printed according to 
the system. We recollect a discussion upon 
this subject had several years ago at a meet¬ 
ing of the teachers of this city. One of them, 
advocating the system, and insisting upon the 
ease with which it ceuid be acquired, observed 
that, after studying a page of phonography 
for five minutes, the first time he ever saw 
one in his life, he could read it about as read¬ 
ily as ordinary orthography. He was an¬ 
swered by a fellow-teacher with the following 
apt illustration: A man had spent thirty 
years of his life whittling shingles, and had 
become an adept in that kind of business.— 
Having at length obtained a new knife and a 
piece of pine of a different form, he, to his ut¬ 
ter astonishment, in five minutes, whittled out 
a cider tap, notwithstanding he had never un¬ 
dertaken to make one before. 
The fact was, the first-named teacher was 
thoroughly versed in ordinary orthography, 
and had spent all the years of his manhood 
teaching it to others ; and the new mode was 
only a modification of the old. Take $ juve¬ 
nile, just entering with faltering and uncertain 
footstep upon the rudiments of an education¬ 
al career, and see if such an one would master 
phonography any sooner than the ordinary 
mode of spelling. In the former instance, it 
was only a new method of applying previous 
knowledge ; in the latter, it would be the ac¬ 
quisition of new ideas. 
BY HENRY A. KENDALL. 
His home is on the mountain’s crest, 
And in the valley low ; 
And on the mighty ocean’s breast, 
Where waves tumultuous (low. 
His voice is heard in every dirge, 
He’s in the lightning’s glare ; 
Ihe mournful murmur of the surge 
Proclaims that God is there. ' 
He holds old Ocean in His hand, 
And bids the storm abate, 
Or scatters all along the strand, 
The treasures of a State. 
His homo is in the caverns wild, 
And in the forests drear, 
Where Nature only is His child, 
“ And none but God is near.” 
His iovo is in the secret soul, 
To bless and to be blest ; 
And when the angry passions roll, 
He calms the soul to rest. 
Great God ! Thy home i 3 everywhere ! 
We feel Thy mighty power ; 
Oh ! may our hearts ascend in prayer, 
And own Thee every hour. 
Homer, N. Y., 1S03. 
CRAVINGS FOR OFFICE, 
The following truthful article, which we 
cut from the Ingersol (C. W.) Chronicle, is of 
equal application on our side of the border. 
How many men can we all call to mind, who 
are ready to abandon a certain and tenable 
means of livelihood, for an uncertain and pre¬ 
carious office whose emoluments are no more, 
the labor equally as hard, the expenses im¬ 
mensely greater, and the fact certain that 
sooner or later, not unfrequently in a single 
year, the revolution in politics will throw 
them out of employment, and perhaps reduce 
them to distress. Let all political aspirants 
whose eyes fall upon thi3 article, ponder well 
its import: 
“We once knew a decent neighbor who 
owned a snug property in one of our western 
towns, to go in search of a Government situa¬ 
tion at Quebec. The property he sold for 
£300; and with this capital the applicant 
set out on his weary pilgrimage. Nine 
months were spent in a fruitless attempt to 
get the ear of the Minister in whose Depart¬ 
ment the candidate desired to serve, and in 
that time half the sum realized from the sale 
of the village property wa3 gone. The situa¬ 
tion was at last promised — a beggarly affair 
of £125 a-year—but six months more elapsed 
before the appointment could be made. And 
in the meantime the £300 had dwindled down 
to a sum of £40. 
This was the personal history of the candi¬ 
date for the first fifteen months of his career 
as an applicant for Government favors. Since 
then he has been two years in office, and du¬ 
ring that time he has earned just as much as 
he lost during the period of his candid at eship. 
It has all gone, however, for bread and butter 
for the children, and the man is sufficiently 
needy to awaken our pity. What has been 
the history of his little village property du¬ 
ring the same time ? We shall not enter into 
details, but the sum of the matter is this :— 
Three months ago it was sold for the sum of 
£1,900—a sum equal to more than the man ’3 
salary will amount to in fifteen years. This 
narrative is strictly true. And surely it con¬ 
veys a moral. The rage for Government sit¬ 
uations at this moment is beyond all bounds. 
And this, notwithstanding the fact that every 
branch of industry is prospering—labor well 
paid for—property increasing in value to an 
extent which can hardly be estimated, and no 
one under the necessity of being poor.” 
PREACHING, 
The great purpose of preaching, as Jona¬ 
than Edwards said, is to make a present and 
effectual impression on the hearers, so that 
they may repent and be converted to God.— 
It i3 also eminently necessary that the Lord’s 
people be comforted, directed, and admonish¬ 
ed. To do this will keep a preacher busy._ 
Let him present his doctrines upon the au¬ 
thority of Scripture, and then illustrate their 
application and enforce obedience to them in 
every way he can. Such a preacher will not 
find heretical opinions much in his way._ 
They are commonly the mere out-croppings 
of a stony heart. They are the intellectual 
contribution to the carnal appetites of the 
natural man. Nothing so suddenly converts 
a man to orthodoxy as the conversion of his 
heart to God. The sorrow and dread that 
humbles the sinner mightily exalts the Sa¬ 
vior. Make a man feel that he is a condemned 
sinner, let him get a sight of hell, and the 
whole Trinity will hardly suffice for him. So 
the Deism of the present day has very little 
of the intellectual about it. It is commonly 
a mere overall for a vicious heart and an un¬ 
quiet conscience. The unhappy Deist is very 
willing to enter into a controversy with us 
for his external wrapping. He is pleased to 
keep our attention off of his heart." Bat let 
us ask him about his life ; inquire whether he 
lives as a holy man before God; ask him 
about his prospect 3 for the world to come ; 
make him say whether he is a sinner because 
he is a Deist, or a Deist because he is a sin¬ 
ner ; press upon him the truths of sin and 
righteousness and a judgment to come, and 
his opinions will not trouble us long.— Rev. 
Dr. Bond. 
APPORTIONMENT, 
The Statuti 
of this State provides that 
“ whenever an apportionment shall not be 
mode to any school district, in consequence of 
any accidental omission, to make any report 
required by law, or to comply with any other 
provision of lav/, or any regulation, the State 
Superintendent may direct an apportionment 
to be made to such district, according to the 
equitable circumstances of the case.” The 
discretion to be exercised, is granted only 
where the omission is accidental, not where it 
was foreseen and intended. As it would ope¬ 
rate very inequitably to permit districts which 
maintained school five months and twenty-one 
days, to fare no better than those which had but 
two mouths’ school, it is regarded by the Su¬ 
perintendent as an equitable rule (where the 
facts sworn to sho w that the omission was 
owiDg to fortuitous circumstances, and may 
be properly excused,) to direct that the dis¬ 
trict shall receive the same proportion of the 
apportionment to which it would have been 
entitled, that the period of school maintained 
bears to six months. This will make it ne¬ 
cessary for the affidavit of the trustees to state 
the length of time with precision, as well as to 
show clearly the facte which prove that the 
omission is not the result of neglect or de¬ 
sign.— N. Y. Teacher. 
WHITFIELD'S FIRST SERMON. 
W riting on this subject to a friend from 
Gloucestershire, on the 30th June, 1786, Mr. 
Whitfield thus refers to the first sermon he 
ever preached :—“ Last Sunday, in the after¬ 
noon. I preached my first sermon in the 
church of St. Mary de Crypt, where I was 
baptized, and also first received the sacrament 
of the Lord’s Supper. Curiosity, as you may 
easily guess, drew a large congregation to¬ 
gether upon the occasion. The sight at first 
a little awed me ; but I was comforted with 
the heartfelt sense of tho Divine presence, and 
soon found the unspeakable advantage of hav¬ 
ing been accustomed to public speaking when 
a boy at school, and of exhorting and teach¬ 
ing the prisoners and poor people at their 
private houses whilst at the University. By 
these means I was kept from being daunted 
over rnach. As I proceeded I perceived the 
fire kindled, till at last, though so young, and 
amidst a crowd of those who knew me in my 
infant, childish days, I trust I was enabled to 
speak with some degree of gospel authority. 
Some few mocked, but most for the present 
seemed struck ; and I have since heard that a 
complaint had been made to the Bishop that 
I drove fifteen mad the first sermon. The 
worthy prelate, a3 I am informed, wished that 
the madness might not be forgotten before 
the next Sunday.” 
Singular Arithmetical Fact. —Anynum- 
ber of figures you may wish to multiply by 5 
will give the same result if divided by 2, a 
much quicker operation ; but you must re¬ 
member to annex a cypher to the answer when 
there is no remainder, and when there is a re¬ 
mainder, whatever it may be, annex a 5 to the 
answer. Multiply 464 by 5, and the answer 
will be 2,320; divide the same number by 2, 
and you have 232, and as there is no remain¬ 
der you add a cypher. Now take 357, and 
multiply by 5, the answer is 1,785. On di¬ 
viding this by 2, there is 178, and a remain¬ 
der ; you therefore place a 5 at the end of the 
line, and the result is again 1,785. 
Lieut. Maury remarks that the Gulf Stream 
is a river in the ocean, whose banks and bot¬ 
tom are of cold water, and whose current is 
warm, with its fountain in the Gulf of Mexico 
and its month in the Arctic seas; with a 
speed more rapid than the Mississippi or the 
Amazon, with waters as far out from the 
Gulf as the coast of Carolina, of an indigo 
blue, and the track so distinctly marked that 
its line of junction with the common sea water 
can be discerned by tho eye. It is like a 
stream of oil in the ocean, preserving a dis¬ 
tinctive character for more than three thou¬ 
sand miles. 
***r\**\t\*'\4'****'m*\>'\**4*u*\*t\*\4*****\t\4\****\*\**4*u* 
NORMAL SCHOOL CHANGES, 
[From Our Own Correspondent.] 
The death of T. Romeyn Beck has made 
necessary several appointments, as he held 
several positions of honor and trust of a civil 
and educational character. Dr. S. B. Wool- 
worth, the Principal of the State Normal 
School, has been elected Secretary of the 
Board of llegents. This was the leading of¬ 
fice held by Dr. Beck. Dr. Woolworth 
brings to the position the highest moral, in¬ 
tellectual, and social .qualifications. He is 
too well known in Western New York to 
need more than the mention of his name, hav¬ 
ing been at the head of Homer Academy for 
over twenty years. He has acted a conspic¬ 
uous part in the Teachers’ Association of the 
State, and will undoubtedly unite the various 
intluenoes in the State, and advance the cause 
of education. His age is a slight detriment, 
but his powers still remain in full vigor. 
This v/ill make it necessary to select a new 
Principal of the Normal School, to enter 
upon duty at the beginning of the next term. 
There have been several other changes in the 
Faculty of this Institution, which the people 
will bo interested to know, as it is a State 
School — their property. Summer G. Webb 
has left to accept an appointment in the New 
Jersey Normal School. G. W. Plymfton, 
the late Professor of Mathematics, has resign¬ 
ed, and hia place is filled by Charles Davies, 
L. L. D., the author of a series of mathemati¬ 
cal works. Miss E. C. Hancb left at the 
close of last term, and Mrs. 11. B. Hewbs of 
Syracuse is in her place. Mr. A. N. Dusted 
and Miss Emily Rice are also employed to 
supply tho vacancies created. Dr. Davies 
has a young man assisting him in his depart¬ 
ment. 
The educational interests of the city are 
also coming up. The Council a few weeks 
since ordered tho raising of #30,000 in lieu of 
about #15,000 heretofore. This, however, is 
small in comparison with the enterprise of 
the western citie3 of our State ; but it in- 
IIkcent Geographical Discoyerirs.— Do 
teachers know how much is to be learned ev¬ 
ery year in geography? In Africa, there 
have been great discoveries made respecting 
the Interior ; on the coast of Japan, in India, 
and more lately in the Northern Ocean ; ad¬ 
venturous men have pushed the line of obser¬ 
vation till we may know something new and 
interesting every day. We hold that it is a 
part of a teacher’s daily business to read books 
of travel—Bayard Taylor’s for instance—and 
and reports of exploring expeditions, that 
they may have fresh facts and illustrations for 
their daily recitations. 
The sun reaches the winter solstice on the 
twenty-second day of December, which is of 
course the shortest day of the year to the peo¬ 
ple residing in the Northern Hemisphere.— 
But why is it the shortest day ? The inclina¬ 
tion of the ecliptic or sun’s path in the heav¬ 
ens to the equator, causes that luminary to 
pass twenty-three degrees aid twenty-eight 
minutes alternately north and south of the 
equator, and it is on the named 
that tho sun this year reacue’b $Ua extreme 
southern limit. As it is a law of mechanics 
that a luminary can light bi t half a sphere 
at one time, of course the northern limit of 
the sun’s rays must fall just as many degrees 
short of the north pole as the sun itself is 
south of the equator ; and the illumination at 
the same time reach an equal number of de¬ 
grees over and beyond the south pole. 
The Northern Hemisphere will therefore 
have more shadow than light, and the nights 
will be longer than the days. The further we 
proceed from the equator, the greater the dis¬ 
crepancy will appear, until we reach the 
north pole, which is immersed in a rix months 
night. The sun will not lift its disc above 
the horizon to a person standing at the pole 
For Moors’B Knral Now-York®r. 
MISCELLANEOUS ENIGMA 
I am composed of 28 letters. 
My 1, 21, 3, 13, 28, 26, 10, 5 is a celebrated 
author. 
My 11, 8, 5, 24, 7 was a public benefactor. 
My 12, 28, 27, 24, 25 was a celebrated poet. 
My 0, 10, 14, 22, 6, 15 is what the allied ar¬ 
mies should be. 
My 23, 18, 11 is a woman’s name. 
My 20, 4, 11, 26, 21 is a man’s name. 
My 22, 24, 24, 16, 13, 2, 17, 19, 28 is what 
people are apt to he. 
My whole should be in the possession of 
every individual. 9 . a. 
St. Vin/ent, Grey Co., C. W. 
Answer next week. 
ANECDOTE OF REV. JOHN WESLEY 
Education vs. Crime. —According to Dr. 
Grimshaw, of 732 convicts in ihe Auburn 
State Prison, 517 were never instructed in 
any trade or calling whereby to earn a sub¬ 
sistence. Of 646 males at the Sing Sing 
Prison, 487 have never been taught a trade ; 
60 oonld not read, and 149 could read but 
very indifferently. The number of convicts 
triwl in Courts of Record iu New York State, 
from 1840 to 1848 inclusive, amounted to 27,- 
949 ; and of this aggregate, 26,225 had re¬ 
ceived no education whatsoever. Of 276 con¬ 
victs in the Ohio Penitentiary, nearly all were 
below mediocrity, and scarcely able to trans¬ 
act the ordinary business of life. 
When Mr. Wesley visited America, he 
sailed in the same vessel with General Ogle¬ 
thorpe, the Governor of Georgia. Hearing 
an unusual noise in the general’s cabin, he 
went to inquire the cause of it. “ Mr. Wes¬ 
ley,” the old soldier fumed out, “ you must 
excuse me. I have met with a provocation 
too great for a man to bear. You know the 
only wine I drink is Cyprus wine, as it agrees 
with me better than any other. I therefore 
provided myself with several dozens, and this 
villain Grimaldi (his foreign servant, who 
stood by almost dead with fear,) has drank 
up the whole of it. But I will be revenged. 
I ordered him to be tied hand and foot, and 
to be carried to the man-of-war which sails 
with us. The rascal should have taken care 
how he used me, for I never forgive.”_ 
“ Then I hope, sir,” said Mr. Wesley, “ you 
never sin.” The general was confounded. 
Putting his hand into his pocket, he took out 
his bunch of keys, which he threw at Grimal¬ 
di, saying, “ There, sir, behave better for the 
future.” A word spoken in due season, how 
good it is! 
WrUteufor Moore’s Rural New-Yorker. 
Study.— Euclid, the mathematician, being 
asked by a kiug whether he could not explain 
his art to him in a more compendious man¬ 
ner, replied “ there is no royal road to geome¬ 
try.” Other things may be seized by might, or 
purchased by money ; but knowledge is to be 
gained only by study, and study to be prose¬ 
cuted only in retirement.— Johnson. 
Place thirty men in a circle, fifteen black 
and an equal number white, iu such a way 
that every tenth man being removed success¬ 
ively, all the black ones will be taken, and 
all the white ones left. s. b. 
Hubbard’s Corners, Mad. Co., N. Y. 
flW” Answer next week. 
Conversation. —Life is a mixture of pains 
and pleasures; of good and evil days ; be 
equally varied in your discourse ; show your¬ 
self by turns sad or gay, serious or sportive, 
according to the subject or the circumstances. 
Answer to Geographical Enigma in No. 310: 
Remember now thy Creator. 
Answer to Mathematical Problem in No. 310 
Number of barrels 40; cost $10. 
Hs that is good will infallibly become bet¬ 
ter ; and he that is bad will as certainly be¬ 
come worse; for vice, virtue, and time, are 
three things that never stand still. 
