MUSIC IN SCHOOLS. 
The following is an extract xrora a s 
Gov. Banks, of Massachusetts, delivered 
Music Hall, a short time since: 
The study of music is one of the most 
studies in which mru or women can engftf 
is no hour of the day, no hour of life, no o 
in which men or women may be engaged, 
power of impressing the human thoug 
human sympathies in harmonious numb 
only practicable, but where it is not 
It sortens the atmosphere of the boudoir 
pleasant the darkened shop of tl 
the street it takes the place of riot ant 
hatever association or on what 
men or women may be gathered, 
BOYS IN WINTER EVENINGS, 
[Written for Moore’s Rural New-Yorker.l 
In- the Bubal of Dec. 10, containing the report 
of a recent meeting of “The American Institute 
of Instruction ” at Bedford, Mass., I note the above 
as one of the topics of discussion on that occasion, 
and l believe it to be one which ought to bo dis¬ 
cussed and acted won, not only in public educa¬ 
tional gatherings, but also in our school districts, 
and in our home circles. 
The subject is, indeed, one of no little impor¬ 
tance. The very words which compose it imply 
whole volumes of instruction which should be I m 
sown broadcast throughout our entire land. Our 
Common Schools are, emphatically, the rock— the 
foundation of our Government-, for there is the 
youthful mind moulded into shape and developed, 
_ there it receives its first and lasting impressions 
of good or evil,—there are formed those habits of | nmg 
person and of character which follow their pos¬ 
sessor through life, and which fail not to point out 
the sluggard, the villain, or the man. When we 
the subject in its immediate bearing 
more, 
in 
and in w 
sion, 
of common utterance, and human synipiuums ... 
these harmonious numbers as expressed by that 
most majestic organ, the human voice, never, never 
can he heard without moving the heart to its 
deepest, highest and severest pleasure. More 
| than that, teaching music in the Common Bchoo s 
tlio first step in physical culture. It is a Step of 
the highest and most important character. It is 1 lie 
culture of the voice, the human voice, that organ 
which has move power over the world than any 
other power of which man is the possessor. More 
than the love of the schools, more than the cun- 
- = - 0 f the artisan and the craftsman, more than 
the skill of the professor, the human voice can 
mould and direct the masses of men In the right 
wny, to the general good. And there can be no 
culture of this majestic organ of which alone the 
poet has well said that it has the power of 
« Untwisting fill tho links th&t tie 
The bidden aoul of harmony”— 
there can he no general culture of that organ, 
except it he through music in the Common 
Schools, to the high and the low, to the learned 
and the unlearned, to those who have taste and to 
those who bnvo come to acquire a taste. And to 
rriv a this nnwer to one and to all, is the only 
HOME OF THE LATE WASHINGTON IRVING. 
honored little mansion. The lioncysuciue ami 
the sweet-brier crept up its wall; the wren and 
the phocbe-l.ird built under the eaves; it grad¬ 
ually became almost hidden among the troos 
through which it looked forth, as with half shut 
eyes, npou the Tnppau Sea. The crow-stepped 
gables were of the primitive architecture of the 
province. The weathercocks which surmounted 
them hftd crowed iu the glorious days of the 
New-Notherlands. The one over tho porch had 
actually glittered of yore ou tho great Vandor 
Hoyden Palace at Albany.’ 
This is as truthful a picture of the quaint old 
homestead at this moment as it ever was. For a | 
miiufte history we commend the reader to Mr. 
Irving’s researches into the records of * Wolfert’s 
iConst,' in the volume published under that title. 
Hero he will read how in years long gone by, tho 
edifice received its original name from its ancient 
owner, Wom'eut Acker, who inscribed over its 
portals his favorite motto of'Lust in Bust,’ or 
pleasure lu quiet; Imnce it became known as 
Wolfort’s Best, says the historian, and ‘ by tho 
uneducated who did not understand Dutch, 
Wolfert’s Boost.’ This was at tho period of the 
Dutch ascendancy in the Now-Motherlands, when 
Peter Htovvksant ruled the land with bis iron 
The last issue of the Bubal contained a por-1 
trait of Washington Irving, and we now present 
a view of tho beautiful spot which his graceful 
character and cheerful mien so much adornod. 
Upon tho return of Irving from Europe he 
established a home, and the name he gave it — 
fiunnyside—was emblematic of tho hours ho 
passed therein. Irving never married,—an early 
grave chronicled the only sad episode in bis life,— 
but here he lived in the devoted attachment o! 
bis younger relatives, a large circle, who sur¬ 
rounded him with every token of affection. Quite 
a number resided with him; others flitted to and 
fro as inclination prompted, for the doors of the 
“Cottage,” as it was familiarly tormod. were over 
generously opened. “Sflnnysidc" has a peculiar 
and interesting history, and wo extract from 
onr land, and takes his stand ou equal terms with and in 
the philosopher and the divine. Praise he to the with 
founders of that system which has brought the systen 
teacher to his noble position, and which is con¬ 
tinually working throughout the mass, like leaven Nob 
in the loaf, raising the standard ol teachers' quail- the 1 
fications to a still higher degree of perfection. have 
Parents, it is true, have done much for the the re 
advancement of this educational reform; hut, by en 
parents, much yet remaiua for you to do. A our prove 
interest in tho great cause does not end in perfect- law. 
ing the teacher. No; it is with your child, and Btate 
f„n,.K-a vmir child through life. It is linked with mode 
SPARE THE BIRDS, 
To all our young readers wo say, spare the 
birds. Their usefulness, if not their beauty and 
innocence, should not appeal In vain for mercy. 
Our plums and apples and cherries, and almost all 
other fruits, are suffering more ami more from 
insects; and thousands of troos are annually 
destroyed by them. The evil is increasing, and 
whoever nftw undertakes to grow fruit must wage 
a long and persevering war against Bcorea of 
destructive depredators, on both trees and fruit. 
YV».„ this evil mi tho increase? Because our 
ii-ing tin- Revolution, tho Boost was the borne 
\con Van Tassel, a valiant patriot, who con¬ 
ed his hearth into a private military post. It 
in the heart of the neutral ground heretofore 
Honed as the Africa into which both armies 
ie time carried their devastating war, and of ! 
rse it Buffered no little damage thereby. In 
it of fact, it degenerated into the ruinous 
do of bats and owls only. At this second 
ch in its history it was called the 1 Van Tassel 
ise.’ Mr. Irving’s residence in tho eventful 
ihIoiv began about the year 1835, when it 
•ived its present agreeable and characteristic 
dismal of ‘ Suriuysble.' The cottage stands 
[Written for Moore's Rural New-Yorker.] 
MYSTERIES OF NATURE 
accustomed to trace in the order 
To him who is 
and variety of Nature’s works the evidence of 
a designing mind,—to investigate with philo¬ 
sophic minuteness the phenomena daily occurring 
within the limits of observation,—her mysteries 
present an inviting field for laborious research, 
speculation, and bold experiment. 
Tho mvstory which hangs over this untrodden 
territory seems to awaken curiosity, and fan into 
a ilame the zeal id’ those indomitable spirits who 
arc striving, each ill his proper sphere, to extend 
the domains of science and “bring to light the 
hidden things of darkness.” With cautious tread 
the Chemist seeks to enter the vast laboratory | 
where Nature's agents are busy in decomposing 
and re-organizing animate and inanimate matter, 
giving form to each perishable atom, and 
breathing into tho inactive mass that vitality 
which shall prepare them for the several stages of 
progress and decay. He gazes in silent wonder 
and admiration at the exhibitions ot that power 
which confers, with such case and rapidity, upon 
all its fair creations their separate properties and 
combinations. The hand of Nature has given to 
light around the weary earth. With azure and 
,ermlllion she colors the fleecy clouds, and traces 
the brilliant hues of the rainbow where dwells 
the spirit of the beautiful, unapproachcd by 
mortal passion or mortal care. Nature alone 
stands on the brow of the awful precipice, heed¬ 
less of the warring elements; measuring the roar¬ 
ing torrent in tho hollow of her hand; saying to 
the mighty deep, “hitherto Bhalt thou come, and 
here shall thy proud waves he stayed,” and 
“weighing the mountains in scales, and the hills 
in a balance.” When we turn our eyes upward 
to examine the fields of ether, who shall number 
for us the stars, guess the date of their existence, 
to him the cause of that endless flow, wave after 
wave, in quick succession, across the “wide waste 
of waters.” From the ocean’s surface rise iunu 
movable mists, which ascend to the summit ot’ 
lofty mountains and form their cloudy canopy. 
What unseen hand congeals the ice-bound glaciers 
upon those lofty mountains, “where the eagle 
spreads not his pinions, and tin* startled chamois 
fears to climb?” Whose the strength to hurl the 
mighty avalanche from Alpine heights, ol weight 
sufficient to crush the inhabitants of the lowly 
vale beneath? Wc ask, and the echo dies away 
unanswered. Wo know not where the storm- 
THE EDUCATION MOST NEEDED. 
The idea too commonly prevails that a mere 
knowledge of books is the beginning and end of 
education. The sons and daughters, especially of 
the rich, grow up with this notion, iu idleness, as 
it were, with little idea of the responsibilties that 
await them. Their natures revolt at the mention 
of “labor,” not dreaming that the parents before 
them obtained tbe wealth they are so proud or by 
industry and economy. How many young men, 
faint memorial rescued from the oblivion ot an 
antediluvian age, 11 is is not a fruitless seaiuh, 
for there, imbedded in the primeval rock, are 
bidden images of those forms long since passed 
away and forgotten. 
Nature has consigned to the coral caves of 
ocean a numberless store of her choicest treasures. 
There, in rich profusion, are scattered pearls and 
shells of rainbow hue aud uncqualcd form, and the 
«Sea-girt halls where the Mermaid spreads her couch.” 
Prom those unmeasured depths comes up a con¬ 
fused murmur, w-hich is caught by the listening 
ear, and interpreted in the beautiful and impulsive 
language of Nature. There, too, the raging 
whirlpool, styled not inaptly “ the hell of waters,” 
I where they ci howl and hiss, and hoii in endless 
ady to swallow the presump- 
How many young women, though tuey nave 
acquired all the knowledge and graces of the best, 
schools, know how to do what their mothers have 
done before them, and which the daughters may 
he compelled to do at some period of their lives? 
The children of the poor have to labor or starve, 
and as far as that goes they are educated to be 
practical. The education that scoffs at labor, and 
encourages idleness, is the worst enemy for a girl, 
man or woman. Instead ol'ennobling, it degrades; 
it opens up the road to ruin. The education which 
directs ns to do what we are fitted to do—that 
respects labor—that inculcates industry, honesty, 
and fair dealing, and that strips us of selfishness, 
is the education we do need, and that which must 
become the prevailing system of the country be- 
GRASSnOlTEKS.—I W0UK11IKC to inquire uuougu 
the Rural or some of its readers about grass¬ 
hoppers. Whether they hutch from an egg depos¬ 
ited in the ground, or whether they arc brought 
- m to existence through or by some other insect; 
and if so, what is the average age? It is argued 
by some farmers that their wings become afiectcd 
at a certain age, and after that they can do no 
harm to growing crops. What I want to know 
is, If any person has any positive knowledge.— 
B. G. H., Oswego Co., N. Y., 1800. 
---- 4 **-*—- 
Hoard the Minutes. —Try wluit you can make 
of the broken fragments of time. Glean up its 
golden dust—those raspings and parings of prec¬ 
ious duration, those leavings of days and rem¬ 
nants of hours which so many sweep out into the 
waste of existence. Perhaps, if you he a miser 
of moments, if you he frugal and hoard up odd 
in'unites and half hours aud unexpected holidays, 
your careful gleanings may eke out a long and 
useful life, and you may die at last, richer in 
existence than multitudes ivhoso time is all 
their own. 
Day-Dreaming.— Like the dreamer woo is get¬ 
ting great sums of money in his sleep, and who, 
when he awakes, opens his till or his pocket-book, 
almost expecting to find it full; so the day-dream¬ 
er, the projector awaking up at the close of file, 
can hardly believe that after ills distinct and glo¬ 
rious visions, he l» leaving tho world no wiser, I 
mankind no richer, aud his own home no happier, 
for all the golden prospects which have (lilted 
through his busy brain. What a blessed world it 
were, how happy, and how rich, it all the idlers 
were working, if all tho workers were awake, aud 
if all the projectors were practical men! 
___- -- 
Our sweet illusions arc half of them conscious 
;ii„ a s„„ D ul-p afreets of color thatAve knotv to he 
torture,” yatvns re _ 
tuous wretch who dares venture withiu its whirling 
bounds. Well may the terror-stricken mariner 
turn pale and tremble, in view of that maddened 
Maelstroom, in tvliose seething vortex his frail 
bark would find a “long, last resting place.” 
Guided safely o’er “old ocean’s wild domain” by 
his compass and chart, lie vainly asks, “why turns 
the needle to the pole.” Nor will Nature reveal 
it 'phe gtorfi of rainbow color which the seeds conceal 
(Sheds out its tints from its dim treasury 
To flash, aud circle in the flower.” 
■When the rosy fight of morn gleams faintly in 
the East, unaided and unseen, Nature throws wide 
tho gates of day and bids the (laming chariot of 
the sun roll its appointed round, and when “eve is 
mirnlintr cliff and cave” she draws the curtain of 
governments, 
Humboldt said ten years ago 
religion, property, books, arc nothing but the scaf¬ 
folding to educate a mao. Earth holds up to her 
Master no fruit but the finished man. Education 
is the only interest worthy the deep, controlling 
anxiety of the thoughtful man.” 
