Ti»mm»t»nitmnra»uj? | j 
iimmijm*'; 
1iun^t5uI3uu^iu-=J 
MOOllE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER 
harvest was ripe, and laborers were working with 
sickles in the small patches of grain. The farm 
houses are similar in construction to those in Eng¬ 
land being built of brick with heavy slate roofs, but 
they have not the same homelike ami comfortable 
look. They are commonly surrounded by flowers 
and vegetable gardens, and a few shade trees stand 
in their vicinity, but one does not gaze at them 
with that full satisfaction, which is experienced 
when looking at the rural farm houses of England. 
There is an air of deadness about them, which 
probably is partly owing to the fatness of the 
country, 
WANDERINGS IN EUROPE.—NO. I, 
BLESS THE LORD, ALL HIS WORKS.” 
BY GLKZEN P. WILCOX. 
Lbt the fields and the blossoms that bloom 
With the joys and the beauties of Spring, 
And the hills that were mantled with gloom, 
But with low ices of cattle now ring, 
And the songsters that warble their lays 
In the charm of the lbet-leafing wood. 
Join with man in one jubilant praise 
To the giver of all that is good ; 
“ Who renewetk the face of the earth." 
Let the brook toat lay fettered in trance. 
Bound with winter's dear prison and locks, 
Again hallow, with musical dance. 
The great Might that has channeled the rocks ; 
Or the sileDt but soul thrilling stream. 
That now glides o’er the Tail’s greening sod, 
Send up praise from its own crystal gleam, 
Borne on heaven-sent rays to the God 
“ Who renewelh the face of the earth.” 
Let the winds that went howling their way 
Through the widowed and ice weeping trees, 
Bearing joys on their wings to the gay, 
Who were shielded in mansions of ease— 
Ent more woes to the shelterless poor— 
Now return to the being that breathed 
Them, with odors, that joy, to adore, 
For the God that with flowers hath wreathed 
Them, “ reneweth the face of the earth.” 
[The Sower. 
From .London to Brussels. 
For three days only did I remain in London, 
daring which time I got my passport properly 
vised, and then, one fine afternoon, in company 
with my fellow-traveler E-, took the oars for 
Dover. As we sped out of the city I watched the 
huge black dome of St Paul’s Cathedral, and the 
grey towers of Westminster Abbey, until the ra¬ 
pidly moving train bore U3 away from their sight 
The twilight was deepening on the landscape as 
we approached Dover. I observed the country 
round about it. bore strong resemblance to some 
parts of Salisbury Plain, the soil and rocks being 
apparently similar, though the surface was more 
uneven. 
We walked to the wharf where the boat for Os- 
tend was moored, and alter securing our passage, 
set out for a stroll about the town. It was too dark 
to visit the castle, which we could dimly see on 
the heights, but on the slope was encamped a regi¬ 
ment of Highlanders, just returned from the Cri¬ 
mea, and the lights which shone through the white 
canvas tents, together with the lively music of bag¬ 
pipe and drum, and sounds of laughter and joviali¬ 
ty which swelled on the night air, attracted us 
thither. We conversed a while with a tall soldier 
whose face was brown from exposure to sun and 
storm, looked at his tent and accoutrements, and 
listened to many thrilling anecdotes of the seige 
in which he was engaged. It was astriking scene; 
and perhaps I remarked it the more, as I thought 
it was the last I should behold in England. The 
large lights, here and there in the town below, look¬ 
ed like fallen stars; away to the Eastward stretched 
the sea; there was a confused murmer in the air, 
but one could distinguish the sounds of the camp, 
the hum of the town, and deeper than all, the moan 
of the sea at the bottom of the chalky cliffs. 
We descended to the boat to seek a little rest, 
and found that the blundering steward had select¬ 
ed for me a berth which waspre-occupied.and there 
were no more vacant ones left. I secured a large 
arm-chair, however, in the stem of the cabin, and 
disposed myself very comfortably. The waters 
were still. When below we could scarcely per¬ 
ceive any motion, except that disagreeable jar 
which attends all steam vessels. We slumbered 
through the night, and when day broke went on 
deck from which nothing could be Been but the 
•vessel and water. A fog shrouded all, and the offi¬ 
cers were somewhat anxious, keeping a sharp look¬ 
out — for they were behind time, and as the tide 
was rapidly ebbing, it was impossible for the boat 
to enter the shallow harbor of Ostend. Presently 
the fog parted, and through the rents we perceived 
a low, uninteresting coast; then a lew huge wind¬ 
mills loomed out of the mist, and afterwards the 
spires and part of the town. We saw a few carts 
driving along the sandy beach, and bathers plung¬ 
ing into the surf. 
A couple of boats came along side, manned by 
lusty Dutchmen, and baggage and passengers went 
into them j.romlcotionaly. Tho tinsgengors were, 
of course, mostly English, and not in the best hu¬ 
mor after the night’s voyage. Their faces did not 
brighten into smiles when the boatmen demanded 
a fee of two francs apiece, for rowing us along side 
of the pier. On the way, one of them disposed him¬ 
self carelessly on the baggage, without heeding 
the damage he might cause. lie happened to put 
his huge feet on my knapsack, but I did not ob¬ 
serve it, until I heard E-, who sat nearer, sing 
out in the coolest tone imaginable — “I*say, old 
fellow, take your feet off that baggage, will you.” 
He understood enough English to comprehend, 
what wa3 said, and with a bear like grunt, drew 
himself into a smaller compass. YVhen we had as¬ 
cended tbe ladder and stood on the pier, an officer 
in uniform with a sword by his side, received our 
passports, while our baggage was taken into the 
custom house to be examined. They did not make 
us much trouble or detain us long, scarcely look¬ 
ing at most of the baggage, and after having se¬ 
cured our passports we went immediately to tbe 
railway station, and took tickets for Bruges. The 
train was ready to start. Scarcely had we taken 
oar seats, when, instead of a whistle from the en¬ 
gine, an officer blew a lively flourish on a bugle, 
and we moved ol£ A ride of fortymiputes brought 
ns to our destination. 
We left the station at Bruges for the purpose of 
seeing a little of the town, and obtaining our break¬ 
fast. Immediately after getting clear of the gates, a 
number of guides who could speak a little Eng¬ 
lish, beset us, and very pertinaciously pressed us 
to accept their services. YYe wanted no guide, as 
we had determined to remain in the city but a few 
hours, and cared only to see tbe marketplace and 
two or three churches, which we knew were easily 
to be found. Through this eagerness to get the 
advantage of one another, the guides quarreled 
among themselves, and Unally came to blows. I 
was surprised at this, for I bad expected tbe police 
would be everywhere, but there were none in sight, 
although we were but a few steps from the railway 
station. We finally employed one as the easiest 
method of riddiug ourselves of their annoyance. 
The city looked very gay, for the King of Belgium 
had recently paid it a visit, and the flags yet hung 
out from almost every window, and the showy 
arohesstood in the marketplace and public squares. 
We went to the market place, and asoended the 
tall old belfry on which Longfellow has written 
a poem commencing with these two lines: 
“ In the market place et Bruges stands the belfry old ami 
brown, 
Thrice consumed and thrice xe-builded, still it watches o’er 
the town.” 
The Burnmit overlooks the city and a wide extent 
of surrounding country. We waited to hear the 
chimes which are rung every quarter of an hour 
by very curious and complicate machinery. After¬ 
wards we visited two or three churches, which are 
always open for inspection, to see the valuable 
Paintings which they contain. 
It was not yet noon when we w?re riding towards 
Brussels. The appearunco of the country is not 
prepossessing, being too level to interest, and the 
total absence of fences adds nothing to its pic- 
turesqueness. Thero are plenty of trees along the 
roads, around tho buildings and iu the Helds. The 
Landscape gardening is nowhere so 
highly developed as in England; in Belgium there 
is scarcely any attention paid to it whatever.— 
Everything is sacrificed to utility, and the land la 
all put in a state of useful cultivation. As in Eng¬ 
land, there are many single trees scattered over the 
landscape, but they have quite another character; 
for instead of having wide-spreading tops, and 
a mass of luxuriant foliage, they are closely trim¬ 
med and made to grow up tall with small heads, so 
as to cast but. little shade. The utilitarian may 
commend this, but the admirer of the beautiful 
will not look upon it with satisfaction. As we ap¬ 
proached Brussels, the surface of the country be¬ 
came more undulating, rising up like the long 
swells of ocean, but nowhere showing a hill After 
dining we spent the remainder of the day i^ look¬ 
ing about the city, strolling in the palace parks by 
the sparkling fountains, at which, underneath the 
trees, crowds of people were assembled to listen to 
the bands of music. 
The building is of brick, 50 by 90, two stories 
high, plain, but elegant and substantial, — taste¬ 
fully finished with blinds and surmounted by a 
belfry. The ground floor is divided into two rooms 
of equal size for the primary and intermediate 
departments, to which are attached the necessary 
recitation rooms, wardrobes, Ao. Commodious 
stairs lead to the second floor, which contains the 
senior room, 16 by' 56 feet, two recitation rooms for 
the assistant teachers, wardrobe, library room, Ac. 
In the Principal's room where all the pupils stady, 
are 86 desks capable of seating two pupils each, 
fronting an ample rostrum, blackboards, Ac.,— 
For Moore's Rural New-Yorker. 
A TRIBUTE. 
If there is any one thing more than another of 
which the Empire State has just cause to be proud, 
it is her comprehensive and efficient system of 
Common School Education. Having been brou ght 
into life and action along with the earliest civil 
organization of the State, it has grown with her 
growth and strengthened with her increasing 
strength until it has become one of the most en¬ 
during monuments of the intelligence, liberality 
and prosperity of her people. 
“Beginning with the primitive structure of rough 
For Moore’s Rural New-Yorker 
THE COMET OF 1857. 
’Tis the soft, balmy hour of twilight, and mem¬ 
ory is busy, visiting the dim haunts of her castle, 
waking remembrances of loved ones that have 
cheered and gladdened our hearts and homes for 
a while, and then passed away like a summer cloud, 
leaving them sad and desolate as the streams of 
affection flowed back, crushing the beautiful flow¬ 
ers Hope aud Love, till the heart has grown weary 
and sighs for the rest they have found; aud we in¬ 
voluntarily ask, 
14 What are our joy t but dreams ? 
And what our hopes but goodly shadows in a summer 
cloud ? ” 
Memory in visiting the “ shadowy land of the past” 
lingers lovingly, trustingly around on? whom, when 
bat a novice in the ways of the world, I learned to 
love; and I almost forget at times that the sounds 
which I seem to catch are but sad echoes, and that 
she is now buried with the " ashes of other mem¬ 
ories.” 
A happy, joyous girl was Nellie C-, one 
whom the hand of time had touched but lightly— 
one of whom it is “ sad to remember, bnt oh, how 
sweet” It was when all the beautiful flowers were 
faded and gone, and the merry, warbling birds had 
left for a more congenial clime, and the moaning 
winds of autumn 3ighed through the branches of 
the leafless trees and found an echoing response 
in our sad and bleeding hearts, that they laid her 
le rest —stricken down while yet the roses of youth 
bloomed on her cheek, and the elastic.step and 
sparkling eye told too plainly of the buoyant hopes 
and bright anticipations formed for the future— 
hut to he blasted. 
“ Life's fitful fever” burned slowly, but surely,— 
blanching the rose-tint on her cheek, and fading 
the luster of her sparkling eye, until hope, faint 
and weary with watching, yielded to "nature’s 
stern decree,” and we knew that she must die. DU 
—-oh how we shrank from the conviction that it 
must be so—that one we had loved so weLl must so 
soon pass away. But slowly and with noiseless 
step came the messenger of death. Father, moth¬ 
er, sister and friends gathered mournfully—tear¬ 
fully around that dying bed, and, with a parting 
kiss, she sweetly said—•' I shall soon be happy.”— 
The purple current ceased to flow—the wheels of 
Life stood still— "the silver cord was loosed, and 
the golden bowl broken.” In the quiet grave¬ 
yard, in the beautiful village of-, overlook¬ 
ing the bright waters of our owu Cayuga, the 
marble monument points to all that remains of our 
beloved and cherished Nellie C. 
Sheldrake, Sen. Co, N. Y., 1857. Flora Alley. 
“Suddexlt there came a fiery star, 
Wandering from out it* orbit, masterleas.” 
Tde expected re-appearance of a comet which 
for three hundred years has been wandering far 
out in tbe boundless regions of space, naturally 
calls up an unusual degree of attention, and ren¬ 
ders the subject of cometary influence, an inter¬ 
esting and instructive one. The composition of 
these wonderful and erratic bodies, their some¬ 
times frightful aspect, their vast magnitude, terri¬ 
ble rapidity, and above all the possibility of a col¬ 
lision, are discussed with as much earnestnes as 
the Drep Scott case, or the Mormon problem. 
But who of all the philosophers that, talk so 
learnedly of the extreme tenuity, and the slight 
cobweb texture of these fiery wonders of the uni¬ 
verse, can give us any correct information of that 
distant portion of space where our comet has 
passed three centuries of time, yet still returns at 
its appointed year. YVho can penetrate the un¬ 
knows fields of space beyond tbe planetary world, 
and poiut out tbe orbit of this celestial visitor, 
and the errand upon which he flies with such as¬ 
tonishing velocity, from the sun to the outmost 
verge of Creation. 
The first and unpredicted appearance of this 
flery star, took place in the year 43 B. C., soon 
after the assassination of Julius C-esar, and was 
supposed to be his angry ghost portending dire 
calamities and destruction to his enemies. The 
last time it made its appearance was in the time 
ot the reign of Charles V., of Germany, the most 
powerful and talented monarch of the age, who, 
according to historians, was so struck with alarm 
and terror at the frightful appearance of the sup¬ 
posed instrument of God s wrath, that, he abdicat¬ 
ed his throne and retired to a convent in order to 
atone for bis past sins by a holy life. 
It is carious to observe the influence of these 
extraordinary bodies upon the popular mind in 
the difl'orent ages of the world. Once they were 
Bnpposed to portend all sorts of terrible evils to 
the human race, and the wars, plagues, earthquakes 
and floods that spread terror and desolation in 
their path were attributed to the ill-omened in¬ 
fluence of these blazing Btrangers. Even in the 
light and education of our own day, we find men 
predicting the destruction of the earth by a colli¬ 
sion with one of them, when the fact that it would 
be resisted by the surrounding atmosphere is as 
fully established as almost any other astronomical 
discovery, and it is probable that our planet whioh 
has stood for myriads of ages as au evidence of 
the Omnipotence and universal benevolence of 
the incomprehensible Being who has framed the 
machinery of the universe in so perfect, a manner 
that no serious clashing has ever taken place, will 
still revolve, until His purpose is fulfilled, when 
some more powerful agent than a misty comet 
will be used to burn up th.e earth and the works 
of man. The comet of 43 B. C., was so brilliant 
that it could plainly be seen at noonday and was 
described as "exceedingly terrific,” but many 
comets have decreased in brightness at succes¬ 
sive periods of return, and have finally disappear¬ 
ed altogether. 
The material of which they are composed, the 
eccentricity of their orbits, the immense extent 
and various shapes of their tails and the astonish¬ 
ing rapidity of their motions, renders this branch 
of astronomy one of peculiar interest The tails 
of one of these eccentric prodigies is 130,000,000 
of miles long, and so thin that the light of a star 
sutlers no retraction by passing through it. The 
tail is supposed to be an emanation from the 
nucleus, and difl'erent comets are characterized bya 
corresponding diversity iu their tails, while a few 
have been discovered which navigate the etherial 
ocean without a rudder. The most wonderful 
phenomenon about the comet, ib that when pas 
sing round the sun at its perihelion the tall re¬ 
mains Inflexible and unbroken, although whirled 
at the rate of millions of miles a minute, and starts 
again upon its distant journey, with the tail always 
pointing directly from tho great planetary centre. 
The oomet Of 1843 passed so near the sun that 
it experienced an it)tensity of heat sufficient to 
melt the hardest rocks, and yet wns sweeping 
around the snn at the rate of 400 miles a second. 
The idea of attributing any peculiar influence 
upon tho weather or crops to their advent, is cer¬ 
tainly ns absurd as the ancient notion of their 
foretelling wars or tho death of great men, for 
scarcely a year passes without the presence of a 
comet in our system. 
One arrangement in connection with this sub¬ 
ject which shows the foresight and care of God is 
that when a comet approaches so near any of the 
pi a nest as to occasion any disturbance, the orbit 
of the intruder is so clmnge.d that it never returns, 
ol whioh fact two or three examples have been 
recorded. Thus tho great Creator framed tho 
planetary world in that exact and porftet shape, 
that all perform their proper round supported only 
by Ilia Providence. Cosmos. 
Wyoming, N. Y., Jane 12th, 1857. 
FIRST FLOOR. 
logs, erected by the combined efforts and labors of 
tbe backwoodsmen, the school houses have not, as 
a general rule, kept pace with the wealth and ad¬ 
vancement of the people, though there have not 
been wanting exceptions, creditable exceptions, to 
the general rule. For years, there was general and 
just cause of complaint of a want of comfort and 
adaptation in the school houses throughout the 
State; but for a few years past there has been a 
marked and gratifying improvement not only in 
country school houses but in the larger and more 
pretending buildings erected for school purposes 
in villages and cities. 
all conveniently arranged and well adapted for 
a first class school room. The building is heat¬ 
ed by stoves, furnaces having been found less 
desirable. The system of warming, ventilation 
and other arrangements of the house are all that 
is desired. The school is under the able super¬ 
vision of Edward Webster, A. M., assisted by 
seven female teachers, presenting a corps of faith¬ 
ful and efficient instructors, who are alive to the 
importance and responsibilities of their vocation, 
and every way worthy the high trnst reposed in 
them. 
Some idea of the capacity of the bouse may be 
"O, Sabbath! Needed for a world of inno¬ 
cence— without thee, what would be a world of 
sin! There would be no pause for consideration, 
no check to passion, no remission of toil, no balm 
of care! He who had withheld jthee, would have 
forsaken the earth: Without thee, He had never 
given to us the Bible, the Gospel, the Spirit! We 
salute, as thou comest to us in the name of the 
Lord—radiant in the sunshine of that dawn which 
broke over nation's achieved work — marching 
downward in the track of time, a pillar of refresh¬ 
ing cloud and guiding flame, interweaving with 
all thy light new beams of discovery and promise, 
until thou standest forth more fair than when re¬ 
flected in the dews and imbibed by the flowers of 
Eden—more awful th3n when the trufnpet rung of 
thee in Sinai! The Christian Sabbath! Like its 
Lord, it bnt rises again in Christianity, and hence¬ 
forth records the rising day. And never since 
the tomb of Jesns was burst open by Him who re¬ 
vived and rose, baa this day awakened but as the 
light of seven days and with healing in its wings! 
Never has it unfolded without some witness ana 
welcome, some song and salutation! It has been 
the coronation-day of martyrs, the feast-day of 
saints! It has been from the first until now the 
sublime custom of the Churches of God! Still 
the outgoings of its morning and its evening re¬ 
joice! It is a day of heaven upon earth! Life’s 
sweetest calm, poverty’s birthright, labors, only 
rest! Nothing has such a hoard of antiquity on 
it! Nothing contains in it such a history! No¬ 
thing draws along with it such a glory! Nurse of 
virtue, seal of truthl The household’s richest 
patrimony, the nation’s Inoblest safeguard! The 
pledge of peace, the fountain of intelligence, the 
strength ol law! The oracle ol instruction, the 
ark of mercy! The patent of our manhood’s 
SECOND FLOOR. 
We have had occasion heretofore to chronicle 
the liberality with which Rochester fostered her 
public schools, as well as the heavy expenditures 
in the erection of large and commodious school 
houses, and now give the elevation and plans of one 
of the largest and best school houses in the city. 
It was erected in 1853 at an expense of $7,300. 
had from the fact that, during the winter term just 
passed, 623 different pupils attended school, of 
which 190 were in the senior, 216 in the interme¬ 
diate and 217 in the primary department. The 
teachers employed are three in the senior, two in 
the intermediate and three in the primary depart¬ 
ment. 
urement. The reason is obvious—man is not only 
the most irregular, and the most intemperate, but 
the most laborious aud hard-worked of all animals. 
He is also the most irrit-ible of all animals; and 
there is reason to believe, though we cannot tell 
what an animal secretly feels, that more than any 
other animal man cherishes wrath to keep it warm, 
and consumes himself with the fire of his own 
secret reflections.— Blackwood, 
But few men die of age. Almost all die of dis¬ 
appointment, passional, mental, or bodily tqjl, or 
accident. The passions kill men sometimes, even 
suddenly. The common expression, choked with 
passions, haa little exaggeration in it; for ewen 
though not suddenly fatal, strong passions shorten 
life. Strong bodLd men often die young—weak 
men live longer than the stroug, for the strong use 
their strength, and the weak have none to use. - 
The latter take care of themselves; the former do 
not. As it is with the body, so it is with the mind 
and temper. The strong are apt to break; or, like 
the candle, to run; tbe weak burn out. The infe¬ 
rior animals, which live, in geueral, regular and 
temperate lives, have generally their prescribed 
term of years. Tbe horse Uvea twenty-five years; 
the ox fifteen or twenty; the lion about twenty; 
the dog tea or twelve; the rabit eight; tbe guinea 
pig six or seven years. 
These numbers all bear a similar proportion to 
the time the animal takes to grow to its full size. 
But man, of all the uuimals, is the one that seldom 
comes up to his average. He ought to live a hun¬ 
dred years, according to this physiological law, 
for five times twenty are one hundred; but instead 
of that he scarcely reaches, on the average, four 
times his growing period; the cat six times; aud 
the rabbit oven eight times the standard of meas- 
Habit. —“I trust everything under God,” said 
Loid Broughman, "to habit, upon which, in all 
ages, the lawgiver as well as tbe schoolmaster has 
mainly placed his reliance; habit, which makes 
everything easy, and casts all difficulties upon a 
deviation from a wonted course. Make sobriety a 
habit and intemperance will be hateful; make pru¬ 
dence a habit, and reckless profligacy will be as 
contrary to the child, grown or adult, as the most 
atrocious crimes are to any of your lordships.— 
Give a child tbe habit of sacredly regarding the 
truth; of carefully respecting the property of oth¬ 
ers; of scrupulously abstaining from all acts of 
improvidence which involves him In distress, and 
be will be just as likely to think of rushing into an 
element in which he cannot breath, as of lying, or 
cheating, or stealing.” 
The Atlantic Ocean is estimated at three miles 
and the Pacific at four miles deep. 
The guilt of one sin is a greater misery than the 
burden of a thousand crosses. 
