MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
THE STUDENT’S GREETING. 
FROM H1LLBROOK GLEN. 
Friendly “ Student,” glad are we 
Thy loved form once more to see; 
Warmly we will bid thee come, 
Welcome 1 welcome 1 to our home! 
Longing hearts e’er wait to greet thee; 
Eager hands oft haste to meet thee; 
Thine approach is loved by all, 
Thee, with earnest voice, we call. 
Thine’s the page of love and truth, 
Thine’s the sphere to teach the youth; 
Noble work ! and well fulfilled, 
Pure the thoughts by thee instilled. 
Wisdom on each leaflet lies 
Knowledge pure, which never dies: 
Countless pearls thou dost unfold, 
Heavenly gems, more worth than gold. 
May God bless thy progress here, 
Grant thee still a bright career ; 
Hallowed truths by thee be given, 
Which shall lead young hearts to heaven. 
(The Strident. 
[Written for Moore’s Rural New-Yorker.] 
DIFFICULTIES IN SCHOOLS. 
It is no new thing under the sun. There is 
frequent insubordination in school. The “ mas¬ 
ter ” mefcts with dificulty in ruling in his little 
empire. In the administration of his guberna¬ 
torial fiat£, there are often great impediments. 
The teacher, as a governor, should possess 
qualifications peculiarly adapted to the una¬ 
voidable necessities he is called to meet. No 
doubt, many undertake the management of 
children, and youth, who are in no wise quali¬ 
fied to “ rule,” and find, to their regret, the 
sad mistake they have made. A governor 
cannot manage his affairs profitably and suc¬ 
cessfully, unless he has a knowledge of the dis¬ 
position and wants of his subjects. Nor can 
he always succeed with this acquirement. lie 
may know what is necessary to be done, and 
yet have very little skill to do it. He may 
know there should be peace, order and pros¬ 
perity in all Iris borders, still be ignorant of the 
proper means to bring about those desirable 
ends. Perhaps this may be considered one of 
the primary causes of difficulty in school. Not 
the first, but one of the first. The talent of 
ruling well is as much a “natural gift,” as 
that of doing anything else; and, like every 
other “ natural ability,” this may be greatly 
improved. No matter what may have been 
the advantages or literary attainments of the 
teacher, unless he has a consciousness of his 
aptness to govern well, he should engage in 
the management of youth with great diffidence. 
Do not imagine, because you may have ac¬ 
quired a reputation for proficiency in literature, 
you are every way qualified to manage a 
school. Teachers have a very inadequate esti¬ 
mate of the importance of their calling, who 
deem this sufficient. Truly, a teacher cannot 
teach others what he does not know himself, 
nor can he teach those whom he cannot gov¬ 
ern. The picture has two sides. Teachers 
frequently make their ow T n difficulty. They 
sometimes mistake their calling, and undertake 
to teach, when it is very evident that: 
Whatever station they might fill, 
In teaching they have little skill. 
And their w r ant of success does not so much 
arise from their want of literary acquirements, 
as their want of power to rule. Do not, then, 
charge all difficulty in schools to the “ incor¬ 
rigible pupils,” or the extreme waywardness 
and fastidiousness of parents. Most children 
have a tender place in their hearts. True, 
in many cases, it may lay “ far up a good 
many flights of winding stairs.” It may have 
been callused by the icy touch of thi3 world’s 
friendship, and it may require much patience 
to reach it, yet it is there. Hence the great 
importance that the teacher should understand 
the multiform exhibitions of human character 
—that he should be enabled to trace the con¬ 
nection between the eye and mind. But I do 
not design to dwell upon the qualities of a good 
teacher, however desirable this may be. I 
will assert what I have before stated. The 
primary cause, or at least, one of the primary 
causes of difficulty in schools, is a wrnnt of 
adaptedness, on the part of the teacher, to his 
business. Very many “ quacks ” enter the 
school-room, and attempt to deal out their 
nostrums to the young mind. 
From such apostles, 0 ye sceptered heads. 
Preserve our schools. 
J. W. Barker. 
Brockport, N. Y., 1854. 
To the Student. — Confidence in our own 
faculties and pow'ers, in our own ability to do 
something, is a quality'of which many of us are 
deficient. We think we are weak, unable to 
do but little, (we are truly ) and thus rest upon 
the endeavors and attempts of others. Believe 
in the old adage, “ Where there’s a will there’s 
a way.” Great achievements are attained by 
(Comparatively small efforts. Did we but real¬ 
ize the regret which will fasten upon us in after 
years, doubly keen would be our anxiety to 
accomplish something. We should not de¬ 
spond because the clouds look dark, but press 
onward to the accomplishment of great mental 
achievements. p. 
[Written for Moore’s Rural New-Yorker.] 
SUGGESTIONS UPON READING —TO THE 
YOUNG. 
To be able to read well is a valuable ac¬ 
quisition; and one of which the young in 
modern days are particularly neglectful.— 
While other branches of education are pur¬ 
sued with vigor and thoroughly investigated, 
that of reading has been but little regarded; 
and that more especially as the pupil pro¬ 
gressed in the higher branches of study. If he 
but call the words correctly, mind the pauses, 
and give the due inflections of voice, it is usu¬ 
ally considered sufficient The thought does 
not seem to present itself, as to what, the object 
of reading is. I would here ask, whether the 
mere conning of words ought to be termed 
reading? The child reads through from be¬ 
ginning to end, his whole series of School 
Headers; commits them perhaps, to memory; 
and yet when done knows but little more than 
as if he had never perused them. He has 
learned it because it was required of him as a 
task. He has not been interested, his imagina¬ 
tion has not been excited; he has not com¬ 
prehended its meaning or ultimate design.— 
The object to be obtained in reading is, to 
make the thoughts —the knowledge of others 
our own. To do this, our mind—our whole 
attention must for the time be directed to it. 
We must enter into the feelings, aspirations, 
and imaginations of the writer; and learn at a 
glance the meaning he would convey. We 
must w’eigh the thoughts, discover what it is 
which excites our admiration or emotion; and 
judge of its fitness and accuracy. Not only 
this, but we should make a proper use of the 
thoughts of our own minds, naturally produced 
by coming in contact with those of another.— 
The knowledge thus obtained may be of in¬ 
calculable value. This knowledge does not so 
much depend upon the quantity we read, as 
hoiv we read it. 
Too little attention also, has been paid as to 
what young people read. Their parents and 
guardians have permitted them to read pro¬ 
miscuously whatever fell in their way, seeming¬ 
ly contented if they but read at all. In this 
way their minds have often been misdirected; 
or, to say the least, have become so confused 
and unmethodical in their arrangement that 
nothing can be drawn from them. They con¬ 
tain a smattering of everything, with no knowl¬ 
edge of anything. The habits induced by this 
superficial course of reading are highly perni¬ 
cious. The mind unaccustomed to be fixed 
upon any particular object, loses the control of 
its powers; and weakens its natural energy. It 
should be, I think, with those who have charge 
of the young, an indispensable requisite, to se¬ 
lect their reading for them, and direct their 
tastes for them. Much of the character of 
young people, depend upon their choice and 
manner of reading. Good books are the friends 
which give a charm to solitude, an impulse to 
the expanding intellect of youth, direction to 
the mental powers, strength, beauty, wisdom, 
and refinement to the mind. 
RoyaltoD, N. Y. B. A. McN. 
Stray Leaf from a Teacher’s Journal.— 
Where am I? Ah! I may well ask that ques¬ 
tion: but my heart only replies, “Far from 
home, and in a land of strangers.” And must 
I toil in this desert place five long months?— 
Oh for guidance from ou high! Help me, 
Heavenly Father, to bear all and patiently en¬ 
dure to the end. 
It was with a sad heart I bade my home and 
dear ones farewell, but little did I know where 
my summer was to be spent! “The whole 
heart is sick and the whole head is faint.”— 
Home and all its endearments rushes to my 
mind, and “tears unbidden start!” 
But a voice within bids me “Never, never be 
dismayed;” and I will arouse myself; and per¬ 
haps in this obscure and remote place I may 
scatter sfced that shall bear fruit to the honor 
of Him who careth for and vvatcheth over us 
all. 
“ Sure H« who knows my every sorrow, 
Knows and will reward my hope.” 
— JY. Y. Teacher. 
Common Schools. —In an oration at Wil¬ 
liams College, Mass., Hon. Edward Everett 
once said: 
“ I would rather occupy the bleakest nook 
of the mountain that towers above us, with 
the wild wolf and the rattlesnake for my near¬ 
est neighbors, with a village school, well kept 
at the bottom of the hill, than dwell in a par¬ 
adise of fertility, if I must bring up my chil¬ 
dren in a lazy,jpampered, self-sufficient igno¬ 
rance.” 
Breaking the Rules of School. —Three 
brothers are confined in the Ohio Penitentiary, 
two for seven years and one for three. They, 
with others, had formed a secret society for the 
purpose of carrying on a regular business in 
house-breaking, the plan of which was found 
in their pockets when they were arrested. 
Now it is well for every boy to know what 
the apprenticeship of such a business was, and 
let him mark it seriously. They began law- 
breaking by violating and defying the just 
rules of school. 
Knowledge may plumber in the memory, but 
it never dies; it is like the dormouse in its 
home in the ivied tower, that sleeps while 
winter lasts, but wakes with the warm breath 
of spring. 
FACTS IN HUMAN LIFE. 
The number of languages spoken in the 
world amounts to 8,064; 587 in Europe, 896 
in Asia, 276 in Africa, and 1,264 in America. 
The inhabitants of the globe profess more 
than 1,000 different religions. The number of 
men is about equal to the number of women. 
The average of human life is about 28 years. 
One quarter die previous to the age of 7 years; 
one-half before reaching 17; and those who 
pass this age enjoy a felicity refused to one- 
half the human species. To every 1,000 per¬ 
sons, only one reaches 100 years of life; to 
every one hundred, only six reach the age of 
65; and not more than one in five hundred 
lives to see 80 years of age. There are ou 
earth 1,000,000,000 inhabitants; and of these 
33,333,333 die every year, 91,334 every day, 
3,780 every hour, and sixty every minute, or 
one every second. These losses are about bal¬ 
anced by an equal number of births. The 
married are longer lived than the single, and 
above all those who observe a sober and in¬ 
dustrious conduct. Tall men live longer than 
short ones. Women have more chances of 
life in their favor previous to being 50 years 
of age than men have, but fewer afterwards. 
The number of marriages is in proportion of 
75 to every 1,000 individuals. Marriages are 
more frequent after the equinoxes; that is, 
during the mouths of June and December. 
Those born in the spring are more robust 
than others. Births and deaths are more fre¬ 
quent by night than by day. The number of 
men capable of bearing arms is calculated at 
one-fourth of the population. 
THE SHELLS. 
A father returned from the sea-side, and 
brought home for his son some pretty shells, 
which he had gathered on the beach. The 
boy’s delight was inexpressible, when he receiv¬ 
ed the beautiful and many-colored productions 
of the sea; he arranged them with care and at¬ 
tention in a neat litile box, and exhibited them 
to his playmates; so that there was much talk 
among the children of the village about the 
beautiful shells and the treasure box of the 
boy. He counted them every morning, dis¬ 
covered daily some new beauty, and gave to 
each shell a name. For the love and delight 
of childish simplicity are ingenious, and rich in 
pleasant words. 
After some months his father thought, I will 
prepare for him a greater pleasure and delight. 
And he said to him: “ We will go to the sea¬ 
side; there you will admire the number of [ 
beautiful shells, and may collect as many as 
you desire for yourself.” 
When they went to the beach at the ebb of | 
the tide, the boy was surprised at the abun¬ 
dance of shells, of divers colors, which lay scat- 
tered about; and went up and down collecting 
them. But each appeared to him more beau¬ 
tiful than the last; and he continued picking 
up new odes, and exchanging those which he 
had for those which he found. Thus he went 
on, choosing, changing, and doubting, and af¬ 
terwards became confused. Tired, at length, 
with stooping, examining, and comparing, he 
threw away all the shells he had collected; and 
when he returned home, empty-handed and out 
of humor, he gave away those which had be¬ 
fore afforded him so much pleasure. 
Then his father was very sorry, and said:— 
“I have not acted wisely; but my foolishness 
has taken from my child his simplicity, and 
from both of us our joy.”— Kruinmacher’s 
Parables. 
NEW CURE FOR STAMMERING. 
mill's Canter. 
ILLUSTRATED CHARADE. 
The last number of the Scientific American 
contains quite a long article on Bates’ appa¬ 
ratus for the relief of stammerers. This appa¬ 
ratus consists of “ a belt intended to be worn 
around the neck after the manner of a stock, 
with a view to pressure on the glottis as the 
seat of the difficulty with respect to guttural 
sounds.” By means of a screw and a pad, the 
glottis is acted on so as to allow a free passage 
for the air. A thin tube of gold or silver, at¬ 
tached to the roof of the mouth by a gum-elas¬ 
tic spring, is also worn—one end opening 
against the teeth and the other extending 
backwards. The use of this tube is to “ carry 
off the breath, wdiieh would be converted in its 
absence into a spasmodic lingual sound.”— 
There is yet another instrument—“a small 
metallic disk, convex on both sides and hollow. 
In the centre of one side is an aperture, design¬ 
ed for the ingress of the expired breath to its 
cavity, while in its periphery there is another 
aperture for the egress of the breath from its 
cavity into a little straight tube, which con¬ 
veys it from the cavity of the mouth. This in¬ 
strument has reference to the labial sounds.” 
Professor Dunglison and other medical gen¬ 
tlemen are said to have pronounced very fa¬ 
vorable opinions on the merits of this inven¬ 
tion. 
Y iolence ever defeats its own ends. Where 
you cannot drive, you can always persuade. - 
Few people will submit to coercion. A gentle 
word, a kind look, a good-natured smile, can 
work wonders and accomplish miracles. There 
is a secret pride in every human heart that re¬ 
volts'at tyranny. You may order and drive 
an individual, but.you cannot make him respect 
you. In the domestic circle, especially, kind 
words and looks are most essential to connubi¬ 
al felicity. Children should never be spoken 
harshly to. If they commit a fault, they 
should be corrected in a mild but firm manner, 
and the impression it makes upon them is sure 
to prove salutary. 
Many a true heart, that would have come 
back, like a dove to the ark, after its first 
transgression, has been frightened beyond re¬ 
call by the angry look and menace—the taunt, 
the savage charity of an unforgiving spirit 
I graced Don Pedro’s revelry, 
All dressed in fire and feather, 
When loveliness and chivalry 
Wero met to feast together; 
He flung the slave who moved the lid 
A purse at maravedis; 
And this that gallant Spaniard did 
For me and for the ladies. 
He vowed a vow, that noble night, 
Before he went to table, 
To make his only sport the fight— 
His only couch the stable— 
Till he had dragged, as he was bid, 
Five score of Turks to Cadiz; 
And this that gallant Spaniard did 
For me and for the ladies. 
To ride through mountains where my first 
A banquet would be reckoned— 
Through deserts, where to quench their thirst 
Men vainly turn my second— 
To leave the gates of fair Madrid, 
To dare the gates of Hades, 
And this that gallant Spaniard did 
For me and for the ladies. 
|»^i” Answer next week. 
[Written for Moore’s Rural New-Yorker.] 
MISCELLANEOUS ENIGMA. 
I am composed of 37 letters. 
My 2, 19, 7, 4, 5, 22, 10,29,34 is a silver coin. 
My 32, 23, 4, 33,16 is a dramatic composition. 
My 37, 6, 20, 14, 15, 17, 9, 18 is eminent. 
My 35, 12, 25, 1, 11, 36 is a city in Europe. 
My 3, 27, 5, 24. 13, 8 is to rely. 
My 31, 1, 28, 26 is recovering something lost. 
My 21 as a numeral is 500. 
My whole was the saying of an eminent 
American statesman. c. u. 
Answer next week. 
Mathematical Problem. —A strong man, six 
feet in height, weighing 162 lbs., can bear 30 ibs. 
at arm’s end, the weight of his arm being equiv¬ 
alent to 4 lbs. at arm’s end, What must, be the 
height and weight of that man who can bear the 
greatest possible weight at arm’s end ; also, what 
must be the height and weight of a man who 
can but just extend his arm horizontally ? 
West Somerset, N. Y. A. b. b. 
{gp* Answer next week. 
[Written for .Moore’s Rural New-Yorker.] 
MY THOUGHTS. 
Why is it so ? Who, who on earth can tell 
Why those we love so tenderly, so well, 
Our dear nnd only ones, so soon must go— 
’Tis right, but who can tell why it is so ? 
Complain : I would not, would not lose my breath 
By prating, “ Spare my child from pain and death;” 
He is not mine, such precious flowers as this 
Must early bloom in Heaven : where all is bliss. 
Emma. 
ADAM AND THE FLOWER. 
BY T. J. OUSELEY. 
When Adam named the beauteous flowers, 
One tiny gem escaped his view ; 
The meekest in all Eden’s bowers, 
Its simple robe of turquois hue;— 
This little flower with modest shame, 
Said “ Lord, I grieve—sad is my lot; 
I only—am without a name,” 
He, smiling, said—“ Forget-me-Not.” 
[Written for Moore’s Rural New-Yorker.] 
THE CONTRAST. 
Answer to Illustrated Itebus No. 36.— Gcdli- 
nipper, Musquito King, Borlanded out of Grcytown. 
Answer to Historical Enigma in No. 35.— 
Diogenes the Cynic, a Philosopher of Sinope. 
Answer to Arithmetical Problem in No. 35.— 
7 cows, 21 sheep, 72 geese. 
Upon a low couch, surrounded by weeping 
friends and relatives, lies a dying man. Bitter 
tears of sorrow are shed for him, the impenitent 
one. How he clings to earth; and as one by 
one the objects of his afflictions and worship 
fade away, ’tvvould seem as though his very 
heart strings were being torn asunder. Life 
becomes more and still more precious, as its 
waning hours grow less; and death (truly a 
“ King of Terrors” to him who approaches the 
grave “without hope and without God in the 
world,”) is pictured, In all its fearfulness, upon 
the chambers of his heated brain. Anguish 
sits solitary upon his countenance; for his soul 
is overcast with the fearful forebodings of the 
future. Who shall conceive the agony with 
which his heart is wrung, at thus leaving the 
world, where all his desires are concentrated, 
and upon which he has squandered all his 
noblest energies? He feels not underneath him 
“those everlasting arms”—and the thick dark¬ 
ness of those last hours is not illuminated by 
the presence of the “ Dear Kedeemer.” One 
unavailing effort to speak — one faint, low 
whisper—one convulsive shudder—one heart¬ 
rending groan, and the “ungodly” man is in 
eternity ! 
But turn we to the dying moments of the 
“ righteous man,” and mark the contrast How 
calm and peaceful are the closing hours of his 
weary pilgrimage. For him tears are shed, but 
they are tears of mingled sorrow and joy; of 
sorrow, because a beloved parent and friend is 
about to depart forever—and of joy, because a 
“a good man dielh .” 
With meek submission he calmly awaits the 
final summons, that is to transport him from a 
world of care and trouble, to that blest place 
where “ God will wipe all tears from off all 
faces.” With him, “it was not all of life to 
live,” and hence death has no terrors for him. 
A “still small voice” speaks to him the cheer¬ 
ing promise, “ He that believeth in me shall 
never die—and he that liveth and believeth in 
me, though he were dead, yet shall he live 
again.” “Ministering spirits” watch by his 
bed-side, and when the last struggle is o’er 
conduct his enfranchised spirit to God who 
gave it. O let me die the death of the right¬ 
eous, and let my last end be like his.” In wit¬ 
nessing such a scene, we arc reminded of those 
sweet words of the poet, n 
“ How sweet tiie scene when Christians die, X\ 
When holy souls retire to rest: 
How mildly beams the closing eye, 
How gently heaves the expiring breast." 
Ionia, Mich., Aug., 1S54. S. A. E. 
A Sunday Family Dinner. — A Sunday 
family dinner, where all its members, after be¬ 
ing separated perhaps for a week, unite under 
the parental roof, appears to us one of the 
most delightful circles imaginable. When 
home loses its attraction, we may rely on it 
there is fault somewhere: parents have become 
unkind or children prodigal; and when aver¬ 
sion takes place, how great a source of enjoy¬ 
ment is cm off from the parent—how great a 
privilege is forfeited by the children! where 
can we find a welcome like home? It is at 
once the altar where we worship—a sanctuary 
where we flee. 1 low many temptations are 
resisted, where the child thinks of home, or 
when the parent thinks of the child!—each to 
the other is a monitor—couscions that the oth¬ 
er is watching his conduct and his welfare. 
China. —The British Banner states on the 
authority of Dr. Tinman, that in China alone, 
there are 443 missionaries, 698 native teach¬ 
ers, and 20,000 church members; and on the 
authority of Rev. W. G. Mitre, that there are 
51 missionary openings on the coast of Chiua, 
where are more than 70 missionaries, and 41 
chapels, with an average attendance of 200 
persons; and in connection with these are 28 
native assistant teachers; and in three years the 
Chinese emigration to Ban Francisco lias 
amounted to 100,000. 
Precept is instruction written in the sand— 
the tide flows over it and the record is gone. 
Example is graven on the rock, and the lesson 
is not soon lost. 
St. Hillary, bishop of Poitiers, is said to 
have been the first to compose hymns to be 
sung in churches. The Greek hymns, attribu¬ 
ted to Homer, are the oldest known, addressed 
to the Pagan deities. The oldest sacred 
hymns, addressed to the true God, of which 
we have any knowledge, are the Psalms of Da¬ 
vid, and certain passages in the book of Job. 
