376 
MOOSE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER! AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
^tntealbtnth 
EXCELSIOR. 
1CMMA C . CARTES. 
Unfurl the banner, let its folds 
Float o’er our noble land,— 
Proud Science’s banner, starred with hope 
And striped by Truth’s pure baud. 
Upon the widening field of mind, 
There let this banner wave; 
Marshal beneath it Learning’s troops 
With earnest spirits brave. 
Break down the ranks of Ignorance, 
Ye heroes of the ruind, 
And light till round thy victor brows 
The laurel wreath is twined. 
Raise up the standard, plant it high 
On Knowledge’s towering mount; 
Lead up child-soldiers, let them drink 
From Wisdom's gushing fount. 
Go, bear this banner, Teachers, go, 
With pure hearts, true and strong; 
Let “ Onward” e’er your motto be, 
“Excelsior,” your song. 
( ft&swhi . 
BUSINESS THE CHARM OF LIFE. 
INSTRUCTION IN SARDINIA. 
The Italian correspondent of the Newark 
Advertiser writes as follows:—The annual re¬ 
port. of the Sardinian Minister of Public In¬ 
struction, just presented to Parliament, fur¬ 
nishes good reason to hope that the means 
now employed to instruct the people of this 
kingdom, will ere long raise them above the 
dominion of superstitions. The four Univer¬ 
sities of the State comprise at this moment 
over 3000 pupils, who are receiving instruc¬ 
tion in all the higher branches of science and 
learning, which is a considerable increase since 
the last report. That of Turin has over 1,600 
in the several departments of law, medicine, 
theology, physics, language, &c. The number 
of theological students has so remarkably di¬ 
minished as to have excited general observa¬ 
tion. There are but seven in the University 
at Turin, and only one in that of Genoa!— 
where a few years ago there were hundreds. 
The secondary schools immediately connected 
with the Universities, comprise, according to 
the report, over 12,000 pupils, pursuing the 
various elementary branches of learning. Y'ou 
will also be pleased to hear that common dis¬ 
trict schools are being established under the 
most flattering auspices, in portions of the 
country hitherto without the means of instruc¬ 
tion .—Connecticut Com. School Journal. 
MARE YOUR PUPILS LOVE YOU. 
After exploring the ground the first thing 
to be done, as a preparation for reforming in¬ 
dividual character in school, is to secure the 
personal attachment of the individuals to be 
reformed. This must not be attempted by 
professions and affected smiles, and still less 
by that sort of obsequiousness common in such 
cases, which produces no effect but to make 
the bad boy suppose tllaf-his teacher is afraid 
of him; which, by-the-way, is, in fact, in such 
cases, usually true. 
A most effectual way to secure the good 
will of a scholar is to ask him to assist you.— 
The Creator has so formed the human heart, 
that doing good must be a source of pleasure, 
and he who tastes this pleasure once will al¬ 
most always wish to taste it again. To do 
good to any individual, creates or increases the 
desire to do it. 
Another means of securing the personal at¬ 
tachment ol boys is to notice them; to take an 
interest in their pursuits, and the qualities and 
powers which they value in one another. It is 
astonishing what an influence is exerted by 
such little circumstances as stopping at the 
play-ground a moment, to notice with interest, 
though perhaps without saying a word, speed 
of running or exactness of aim; the force with 
which a ball is struck, or the dexterity with 
which it is caught or thrown. 
Henry Clay’s Letter to Children. —The 
Richmond (Ya.,) Penny Post contains the 
following characteristic letter, written by the 
late Henry Clay to the children of a gentle¬ 
man of that city. It has never before been 
p ublished, not having been written with that 
purpose: 
Washington, Feb. 18, 1838.—My dear 
children: Having made the acquaintance of 
your father, and received from him many acts 
of kindness, I take pleasure, in compliance with 
his wishes, in addressing these lines to you.— 
During a long life, I have observed that those 
are most happy who love, honor and obey 
their parents; who avoid idleness and dissipa¬ 
tion, and employ their time in constant labor 
both of body and mind; and who perform 
with regular and scrupulous attention, all thei 
duties to our Maker, and his only Son, our 
blessed Saviour. May you live long and prove 
a blessing to your father and mother, orna 
ments to society, and acceptable to God.— 
Such is the hope of your father’s friend, and 
although unknown to you, your friend, 
H. Clay, 
No passion is more ruinous than “the haste 
to be rich.” It is condemned alike by revela¬ 
tion, reason, and sound practical experience of 
life. It leads men into unsafe and ruinous 
speculation; it seduces them from fust anchor¬ 
ed property to the mirage that glitters. It 
allows the hands of industry and employment 
to stand still on the dial-plate of life, while 
men grasp at shadows. It, is this passion that 
separates the business past from the business 
present by so wide a gulf. 
The modern merchant, with small capital, 
and that, perhaps, not. his own, with his granite 
store, his mahogany desk, his country seat, fast 
horse, and rash speculations, scorns the exam¬ 
ple of his sire, who at his desk of pine and 
baize, sat each day sixteen mortal hours at his 
business, doing his own errands, and being his 
own clerk. With so wide a contrast it is not 
strange that so many begin business where 
their sire left off, and leave off where their 
sire began. 
It is employment we all need—employment 
till life shall end. The plowboy is happy in 
his furrow, and the hours pass swifter than the 
weaver’s shuttle, while the matron and maid 
sing amid their daily duties. No success and 
no wealth can make that man happy who has j 
nothing to do. We have seen a boy grow up 
to the full stature of manhood, take his stand 
by the side and as one of our richest men; his 
elegant city residence and suburban abode be¬ 
came the envy of men—his horses and equip¬ 
age the most perfect in our midst. We have 
seen him, with his fortune made, bid adieu to 
the toils and vexations of business, take the 
balance of his life to himself, and resolve to be 
happy at his ease. We have watched him in 
his elegant retreat, possessed of “ more than 
heart can wish,” After a few years we have 
sought and found him not, learning, with sor¬ 
row, that, not able to endure a life of leisure 
and ease, he had gone uncalled for into the 
presence of his Maker. 
An eminent merchant of Boston, when ask¬ 
ed why he did not quit his business, as his for¬ 
tune was ample, replied, “ that his repose 
would be his death.” We know well that the 
spring of enjoyment would dry up, and soon, 
with inactivity, life would become a burden — 
The celebrated commentator, Dr. McKnight, 
completed his work on the epistles when not 
far from sixty years of age. Nearly thiriy 
years of his life had been occupied with that 
great labor. His employment had been regu¬ 
lar and cheerful, and the purple current of his 
life had flowed noiselessly and joyously along, 
lie refused to go on with his Gospel as he had 
earned his respite, he said. His facuhies were 
in their usual vigor. In leaving his regular 
employment his mind soon lost its tone, and he 
sunk almost into a driveling idiocy. Had he 
continued his employment, a mellow and a 
green old age would have been his portion, 
and his sun gone down at last with unclouded 
plendor. 
It is employment that has made us what we 
are. Our sky is inclement, our soil hard and 
tough; but the sun shines on no land where so 
many people enjoy so much substantial good. 
The alchemy of labor can turn our ice into 
gold and our rocks into bread. Employment 
given to millions of Europe now indolent and 
hungry, would quench many a volcano and put 
down misrule and insubordination. It was 
Lord Bacon, I think, who said that, “all rebel¬ 
lions commence in the stomach.” Let a nation | 
be both destitute and idle, and itw’ould not be ! 
strange if they were to become turbulent also. 
Sodom had three great sins; one of them was 
an abundance of idleness.” Palestine, in the 
time of Solomon, contained a nation of men 
who were daily employed, and a race of women 
who could both “clothe their households with 
scarlet,” and “consider a field and buy it.”— 
These were the days of Israel’s prosperity. 
Gold and silver were abundant; the mountains 
were terraced up to their summits, aud the 
valleys were hot beds of vegetation. It is 
now a land of indolence. The same sky is 
above the people, they tread the same soil 
beneath their feet; but all is desolate, because 
all are indolent. The owl and the cormorant 
sit now in the palaces of David and Solomon. 
When men were proud to say, “ I am a Roman 
citizen!” Rome was governed by Emperors 
whom she called from the plow. They led her 
invincible legions to conquest. Now indolence 
broods over the whole land of the Caesars like 
STOKE-WARE MAKING.-THE KILNS. 
THE MANUFACTURE OF POTTERY. 
(Concluded from page 360.) 
After the ware has been moulded or turn¬ 
ed, it is subjected t,o a drying process, either of 
exposure to the sun or by means of artificial 
heat. If now the vessels were burned in this 
condition, they would be so porous as to per¬ 
mit liquids easily to ooze through them, and 
in this way cups used in the manufacture of 
galvanic batteries are formed. To render the 
O t - 
ware impervious to liquids, the surface is wash¬ 
ed in a solution containing the constituents of 
glass, which, when subjected to the action of 
fire, melts and covers the whole vessel with a 
vitreous surface. 
The kilns in which the ware is burned are 
generally of a circular form, varying from nine 
to fourteen feet in diameter, and from ten to 
eighteen feet high. The fire-holes, from five 
© ° # 
to eight in number, according to the size ot 
the kiln, pass through the thickness of the 
brick work, and are placed at regular distan¬ 
ces from each other. After the kiln is filled 
the doorway is bricked up, fire applied to the 
furnaces, and the heat, gradually increased un¬ 
til the ware is found to be properly burnt 
which usually requires about two days and 
nights. During the process of burning, the 
man in attendance continually looks into the 
kiln, through sight-holes, in order to see wheth 
er the fires are burning alike, and thus keep 
ing an equality of heat through his kiln; when 
he considers it nearly finished, he draws trials 
through a hole in the doorway, until he finds 
the glaze melted and bright, which shows him 
the kiln is finished; whereupou the fire3 are 
allowed to go down. 
STONE-WARE MAKING. — THE KILN. 
An English paper gives the following account 
of the most celebrated oaks in England: 
The oldest oak in England is supposed to 
be the Parliament Oak (from the tradition of 
Edward I. holding a parliament under its 
branches) in Clipstoue Park, belonging to the 
Duke of Portland, the park being also the 
most ancient on the island; it was a park be- 
The Age to begin School. —Children are 
generally sent to school too young. This is 
the testimony of all experienced teachers.— 
Children sent to school at four years of age, 
and those sent at seven will be, in almost all 
cases, equally advanced at nine, with the ad¬ 
vantages for future progress all in favor of the 
latter. Thousands of young minds are stunt¬ 
ed and permanently dwarfed, by too early ap¬ 
plication to study, and thousands of young 
hearts receive an ineradicable taint of moral 
corruption by too early exposure to the evil 
influence unavoidably found in a promiscuous 
gathering of older children.— Mich. Jour, of 
Education. 
the miasma over the whole pleasant home of 
man—desolation and ruin are seen on all sides. 
We should be glad to address you on many 
other topics which will, and must enter into 
your business prosperity. That courtesy to 
all, based on principle, that costs so little and 
yields so large a return; that courage and busi¬ 
ness faith that will not only make you enter¬ 
prising and far-seeing, but enable you to be 
singular and odd even, when duty culls or dan¬ 
ger is to be avoided; that regard for your 
word that will command credit; that high 
moral character which will make your word as 
good as your bond; that integrity that will in¬ 
duce you to meet with amputation sooner than 
repudiation, and cause you to select some other 
road to fortune than that of defrauding your 
creditors, that principle without which no 
smartness, no talent will avail; but these and 
all other things by them suggested, must be 
left to your own thoughts and your own appli¬ 
cation, and so also must that certain success 
that will attend the application to the business 
of life .—-Hunt s Merchant's Magazine. 
[Written for the Rural New-Yorker.] 
DEATH OF THE YOUNG. 
I saw him when the glowing lints of health 
Threw over neek and brow a roseate hue 
Which lingered long upon the rounded cheek, 
And delicate, curved lip. 
A sunny smile 
Was often on his f.iee, yet oftener still, 
The language which his beaming eye gave forth. 
Breathed of another world. O, who will say 
That that young spirit had not, even then, 
Heard strains of music from the heavenly shove— 
Seen angel forms, and heard sweet whisperings 
Of Homo in Heaven.” TooTair he seemed for death, 
Yet that dread spoiler loves the beautiful; 
Not even childish innocence can stay 
The hand of the destroy cr. 
Disease came 
With wasted, hideous form, and sick’ning breath, 
And in her talon-fingers held a worm 
With which to gnaw the hidden cords of life, 
And fright the soul to wing its flight to Heaven. 
Friends wildly wept, and oh ! how wildly prayed; 
Vain were their tears, yet were not all in vain 
Their agonizing prayers, for Heaven that claimed 
An angel, showered drops of balm upon 
Each mourners heart. 
Ere many days had passed, 
I saw that childish form wrapped in its shroud. 
A heavenly smile was wreathing the pale lip, 
As if the happy spirit lingered long 
O’er its deserted clay. 
S ry, what is Life, 
That e’en the slightest breath of pale disease 
May lay the fairest form low in the dust. 
And vet, O, Death! destroyer as thou art, 
Thou can’Rt not blight the soul. 
Gerry, N. November, 1854. 
SPEAK IT BOLDLY. 
Bk tnou like the Grstapostles; 
Bo thou like heroic Paul; 
If a free thought seeks expression, 
Speak it boldly—speak it all! 
Face thine enemies, accusers; 
Scorn the prison, rack, or rod I 
And if thou hast a truth to utter, 
Speak ! and leave the rest to God. 
[Written for the Rural New-Yorker.] 
THE TIME TO PRAY. 
C 0 N V E R S A TI 0 N. i CELEBRATE D ENGLISH OAKS. 
iFyou would wish to learn all abouta man’s 
birth, life, occupation, habits, and associations, 
you have only to talk with him. If he is a 
sportsman, the second sentence—if not the first 
—will be race horses, dogs, guns, grouse and 
snipe shooting; and ten to one he will give you 
an account of his success in bagging game 
and coming in foremost on the race course. If .... 
you happen to get into the company of a Her- f OI . e |] 1(J conquest, and was seized as such by 
gyman, you are sure to have a little theology tbe coll q Ue ror. The tree is supposed to be 
wedged into the conversation, and every one 1500 years old. 
of his assertions, whether truth or its opponent, | tallest oak in England is supposed to 
will be clinched with a rivet from Scripture. be t } ie property of the same nobleman; it was 
A lawyer’s ideas are all “situate, lying and ca jj e( | lbe - Dike’s walking stick,” was higher 
being” between the covers of Blackstone’s than Westminster Abbey, and stood till of lute 
Commentaries and law reports; and rarely soar _ earg 
beyond the foggy and mystified regions of " -p| ie i ar ^ es t 0 ak in this country is called 
mortgages and red tape. A school teacher— j Qalthorp Oak, Yorkshire; it measures 78 feet 
that is, a regular knight of the _ birch—rarely j iu c j rcmn ference where the trunk meets the 
has an idea outside of the comic sections, al- g rovm( j 
gebra and arithmetic, and looks upon his ferule j 'pi, e « r pi, roe Shire Oak,” at Workshop, was 
as the great Archimedian lever that is to ele- j g0 ca i; ec j f rom jt s covering part of the coun- 
vate the world to the highest pinnacle of its ! t j eg () f York, Nottingham, and Derby. It 
destiny; while his eu pire is disputed by nobody ba( j t | ie g rea test expanse of any recorded in 
but the dry nurse who has the advantage of t his island, dropping over 767 square yards, 
forming the young idea after all. To the little j q>j ie nJOg( . productive oak was that of Gelo- 
urchins, however, among whom he stands—; n0Si j ri Monmouthshire, felled in 1810. Its 
like Gulliver among the Lilliputians—he is a 1 bar j i br0U ght £200, and its timber £670. 
very important personage, if to nobody else.— j j n the mansion of Tredegar Park, Mon- 
The doctor, like the rest, has but one string to moiithshire, there is said to be a room 42 feet 
his violin, and on that he is always harping j p, roa d, and 227 feet long, the floor and wain- 
the same old tune of emeries, powders, pills and 1 gcolg ^ which were the production of a single 
boluses, and the best remedies for measles and 
marasmus. 
You can find out a young lady’s character 
by the same means If she talks of the last 
sleigh ride, the latest kind of ribbon imported, 
boasts of the number of balls she ha^ at tended 
during the season and discourses of the last 
novel issued, she may lie a pretty ornament to 
oak tree, grown on the estate. 
Ant’s Nest. —There is in Australia a species 
of ant, which builds its nests in trees by bend¬ 
ing down several adjacent leaves and glueing 
them together in the form of a purse.. Says 
Hawksworth, in his account of Cook’s first 
"a pari ori but never will be useful lor any pur- 1 voyage:— “Their method of bending down the 
poses of practical utility. The cause of the leaves we had no opportunity to observe,_but 
When morning light dispels the shades and 
again reveals the earth deeoraled with the 
handiwork of the Creator, when the first beams 
of the sun render the dewdrops more sparkling 
than the brightest gems, the pure atmosphere 
tints the cheek with roseate hue, and we feel 
that the weariness of yesterday is exchanged 
for strength and buoyancy of spirits,—when 
we feel that through the defenceless hours of 
slumber guardian angels have watched over 
us, and when all animate creation, refreshed by 
nature’s balm for the weary, are praising their 
Creator with a thousand harmonious notes, 
then is the time to pray. 
When sombre night rests upon the earth, 
hushing all nature to silence, and we feel that 
during another day a merciful Providence has 
been our protector, that our wants have all 
been supplied from His bounties,—when that 
best hour for reflection, evening twilight, 
brings to mind our many transgressions and 
His innumerable mercies,—when the hour of 
rest invites us to repose, then is the time to 
commit ourselves into the hands of God; yes, 
then is the time to pray. 
When overwhelmed with adversity, friends 
forsake and future prospects are darkened,— 
when clouds of affliction shroud our brightest 
hopes in gloom, loved ones are torn from our 
fond embrace, the mouldering earth covers all 
that we hold most dear, and our hearts are 
wrung with anguish, thcji, would we find sweet 
relief, we must seek it in prayer. The listening 
ear of the Saviour is ever open to our requests. 
His words of comfort and consolation fall up¬ 
on the wounded heart like gentle showers of 
summer upon the thirsty flower, reviving its 
drooping petals, restoring its fragrance and 
giving it new life and beauty,—yes, when sor¬ 
row is ours, then is the time to pray. 
Yates, Orleans Co., N. Y. Lilly. 
Indulging iu dangerous pleasures, is like 
licking honey from a knife, and getting cut 
with the edge. —Burmese Proverb. 
What is a mountain? It is to one man a 
mine, where a treasure may be hid; 10 anoth¬ 
er, pasturage for (locks, or a site for a house; 
to an artist, it is chrome lake, yellow ochre, 
burnt sienna, and indigo; to the geologist, it is 
trap, quartz, schist, limestone, sandstone, horn¬ 
blende, rilex aud the like; to the poet, it is a 
temple and a throne, an oracle of pines, a 
ladder for angels, a landing-place for Mercury. 
To most men, it is a mountain—nothing more. 
poses of practical 
insipidity of modem conversation is that most 
people have but one class of ideas on which 
they can prattle for an age; but it you intro¬ 
duce another subject they flonndei like a fish 
on dry land. Of all bores and penalties of 
boredom, deliver us from the man ot one idea 
and his monotonous and everlasting reitera¬ 
tion of it. The man of general information is 
never tiresome; but he who fancies that be¬ 
cause he is interested in some little narrow 
mental tread-mill, everybody else must lie in¬ 
terested jn it also, and bores them accordingly, 
ought to be hung up in a cage with a parrot 
where they could not chatter away without 
torturing others of a wider range of ideas than 
themselves. 
Be quick in resolving, and bold and deter¬ 
mined in executing. 
we saw thousands uniting their strength to hold 
them in this position, while other busy multj^ 
tndes were employed within, applying the glu¬ 
ten that was to prevent their returning back. 
To satisfy ourselves that the leaves were sent 
and held down by the efforts of these diminu¬ 
tive artificers, we disturbed them in their work; 
and as soon as they were driven from their 
stations, the leaves on which they were em¬ 
ployed sprang up with a force much greater 
than we could have thought them able to con¬ 
quer by any combination ol their strength; 
but, though we gratified our curiosity at their 
expense, the injury did not go unrevenged, for 
thousands immediately threw themselves upon 
us. and gave ns intolerable pain with 1 heir 
stings, especially those which took possession 
of our necks and hair, whence they were not 
easily driven.” 
MYSTERIOUS PROVIDENCES. 
Oxe man sucks an orange, and is choked by 
a pit; another swallows a penknife and lives; 
one runs a thorn into his hand, and no skill can 
save him; another has a shaft of a gig driven 
completely through his body, and recovers; one 
is overturned on a smooth common and breaks 
his neck; another is tossed out of a gig over 
Brighton Cliff and survives; one walks out on 
a windy day and meets death by a brickbat ; 
another is blown up in the air, like Lord Hat¬ 
ton in Guernsey Castle, and comes down unin¬ 
jured. The escape of this nobleman was in¬ 
deed a miracle. An explosion of gunpowder, 
which killed his mother, wife, and some of his 
children, and many other persons, and blew up 
the whole fabric of the castle, lodged him in 
his bed on a wall overhanging a tremendous 
precipice. “ Perceiving a mighty disorder, (as 
well he might) he was going to step out of his 
bed to know what the matter was, which if he 
hud done, lie had been irrevocably lost; but iu 
the instant of his moving a flash of lightning 
came and showed him the precipice, whereup¬ 
on he lay still till people came and took him 
down. 
Persecution. — As long as the waters of 
persecution are upon the earth, so long wC 
dwell in the ark: but where the land is dry, the 
dove itself will be tempted to a wandering 
course of life, and never to return to the house 
of her safety. 
