MOOSE’S RUSAL MEW 
^T3Mr> 
. 2 . -§ 
i 
f 
f 
I 
k 
H 
[Written tor Moore's Bural New-Yorker ] 
MY FRIEND. 
I Dio not know her in mv childhood'* yrars, 
When all the world scciued like a fairy land, 
And love a thing of eourwt; or in my youth. 
When to the future hope* bright promise* 
A gorgeou* coloring 'gave, and the light heart, 
By Borrow un»ubdued, hail not been taught 
The worth of faithful love; hut after year* 
Of wel experience in the world'll cold ways, 
Trusting too oft a fair outride to find 
Myself betrayed by seeming truth, when I 
Had almost learned to doubt as false 
Each friendly tone I heard she came to me. 
She loved tne. O, to woman, in her hours 
Of Hadness or discouragement, how such 
Appreciating love can warm the heart 
Into new life, how such true friendship takes 
The sting from all our griefs. 
Seldom 'tia given 
The precious boon, a heart that loves us. and 
A mind that under*toud* our feelings too. 
Such was my friend; who not alone gave me 
Her loving sympathy, but knew besides 
Why I was snd. She chided not when I 
To my sad thoughts gave words, but. by her love 
Chased each dark cloud away. 
How ofteu in our youthful zeal we prate , 
Of faithful friendship, hut to years mature 
Tis given alone to know its real worth. 
Geneva, Win., 18(50. ' B. C. D. 
♦ • ♦ * ♦ 
| Written for Moore's Rural New-Yorker.] 
OVER-DRESSING, AGAIN. 
It is well that the Rural, has opened its pages to 
discussion upon this subject, for extravagance in 
dress has become the national sin of American 
women, and notwithstanding Linda’s spirited de¬ 
fence, they are without excuse. 
The fact that husbands are often bought by an 
expensive toilet, Is the very reason that over-dressing 
should be avoided, for what true women would wish 
to marry a man who wedded only for wealth. How¬ 
ever, that class is small which, in seeking u bride, 
places wealth before personal attractions, and when 
introductions are solicited to "that little butterfly of 
a coquette, made radiantly beautiful by silks and 
laces,” in nine eases out of ten it Is something in 
the look, word, manner, or in the taste displayed, 
that is the chief feature of attraction; and, generally 
speaking, an elaborate and showy wardrobe does 
little to assist in gaining admiration. On the con¬ 
trary, (if we dress to /dense tlie gentlemen,) they must 
often be dutpleased, if riot disgusted at the low stand¬ 
ard by which we judge their taste in our extravagant 
attire. 1 am sure they would be better pleased, if 
the fair ones used a little more common sense, be¬ 
coming women of America in the nineteenth century. 
Linda says that "personal beauty is rarely appre¬ 
ciated, except it be assisted with the elegance of 
dress.” In good society at present, personal beanty 
in simple but tasteful array is appreciated more 
highly than plainer features associated with rich 
apparel. Hut few things have a greater bearing upon 
our success in society than dress, which depends not 
so much upon its elegance, as its grace and fitness. 
Expensive attire may usually be dispensed with, hut 
taste and neatness can never be omitted. I know a 
beautiful lassie who wns wood and won in a corn- 
colored print, and whose suitor was highly educated 
and refined, moving in the first circles in our great 
metropolis. Her beauty was none the less appre¬ 
ciated because of her simple dress. Vulgarity is 
often clothed in a silken garb, but refinement cannot 
be mistaken in tasteful though unassuming garments. 
"And often the chief attraction of the handsome 
face is dependent on some peculiarity of stylo, or 
shade of color in dress, which is made the .subject of 
study by those who know the secret of their power 
in society.” It is the duty and privilege of woman 
to make her dress a subject of study, and adopt that 
which is most becoming. Every delineation of form 
and feature should ho taken into consideration, anil 
from among the great variety of styles in fashion, 
that one selected which will enable her to appear to 
the best advantage. Expensive and superfluous dress 
is not necessary to produce a pleasing effect. It is 
good judgment and skill in every department of the 
toilet, however minute. If I were to appear an eve¬ 
ning in company with a view to charm an ideal ad¬ 
mirer, T should certainly choose the dress which 
would give the best effect, though it were of plain 
material, rather than the most elegant, if it were de¬ 
ficient in any particular. Let the clothing he fash¬ 
ionable and faultless, but it need not be superfluous 
to he admired. 
Certainly, American gentlemen do not prefer the 
stolid English, the phlegmatic Herman, or the plain 
features of the French, to our fair and spirited 
women, with all their sin of dress: but if the dear 
little wife who presides in the sweet vine-wreathed 
cottage of our own beautiful land, without adopting 
the sober colors of the English, would study more 
perfectly the true science and art of dress, in which 
the French excel, she could, with less inconvenience, 
be arrayed becomingly in the style her husband most 
dearly loves to see, which is oftener the tidy print, 
or the robe of plain material. Is it not, gentlemen? 
As we like to please the fastidious of the other sex, 
let us hear their views upon this important subject. 
I’iffurd, N. Y., Jan., 1861. ,1 ank K. Hiobv. 
the virgin huntress Harualyce she vies with the 
wind in swiftness, 
“ Volum-m fuga praevertitnr Eururo v 
or, without apparent effort, like the circling bird of 
prey, sails in gentle curves. Her dress, added to an 
inborn ease of carriage, gives her, when at full 
speed, an airy lightness, which man. with his still' 
clothing, can never perfectly acquire. 
And then, as a health giving exercise, it is unsur¬ 
passed. No swinging of heavy dumb-bells within 
the four walls of a gymnasium, no scaling of lofty 
ropes and ladders, not even the exhilirating canter of 
a spirited pony, can suffuse the ebooks with a more 
glowing tint of Nature’s rouge. How the deep respi¬ 
rations of the pure and bracing air of Winter 
expand the I rings, quicken the circulation, brace up 
the weak nerves, and cause the spirits to overflow 
with gushing exuberance. 
The peculiar aspect of things at this season lends a 
kind of charm to the sport. The delicate frost-work 
with which the trees are fringod, glitters in the sun¬ 
beams like the flash of myriads of gems and con¬ 
trasts bo strongly to the deep green lines of Hummer. 
The heautifbl nights, too, seem to possess additional 
brightness, and skating has almost the fascination of 
a scene of enchantment in the soft radiance of moon¬ 
light. Resides these attractions, the rapid motion 
which u tew skillful strokes give the practiced skater, 
produces sensations of delight which Can scarcely 
ever wear away. It seems apparently unaccountable 
to glide so swiftly almost w ithout exertion, that we 
can hardly realize we are not inspired by some wierd 
influence, or like Mkkcttry, have wings to our feet. 
Indeed, instead of being boyish, ns many were 
wont to think, it is one of the most manly, exciting, 
invigorating, and delightful' recreations with which 
we are acquainted, and we only wonder that it has 
hitherto mot with ho little favor from the fair Hex. 
Americans, and especially American ladies, arc justly 
censured by foreigners for not taking sufficient out 
door exercise, and their pale faces and fragile forms 
show the accusation to be only too well founded. 
We hope there is a good time coming, when the 
youthful maiden will discard the pule lily and take 
up the blushing rose as the emblem of true nobility. 
And, fair ladies, let me add, when you seek to paint 
your cheeks with that ruddy hue, don’t wend your 
way to the apothecaries, but with a pair of trusty 
skates betake yourselves to the ice, and be assured 
that from those who seek Nature’s favors in the 
right way, she will not withhold the boon. 
Poughkeepsie, N, Y,, 1801. Cokur. 
HOPE FOR ROUGH HOYS. 
(For Moore's Rural New-Yorker ] 
SKATING FOR LADIES. 
Wk have observed with much satisfaction that the 
art of skating iH becoming popular among the ladies, 
and though it would hardly be considered an innova¬ 
tion in Holland, where it has long been practiced by 
the rural dames, yet here it is comparatively a new 
thing to see ladles striking out upon the ice with all 
the boldness aiuMudiffrencc of practiced skaters. 
The ladies, I think, show their good sense in enter¬ 
ing with so much zeal into a recreation at once ho 
beneficial and so free from all objection. 
It is to he hoped that this manly and invigorating 
sport will receive a new impetus from its fair de¬ 
votees, and be no longer looked upon as mere child¬ 
ish amusement. Tho effect is already becoming ap¬ 
parent, for grown men, who lately thought themselves 
far above such child's play, as they termed it, arc 
often seem conducting their fair companions to tho 
ice, and teaching", them to perform evolutions they 
had themselves almost forgotten. The ladies, how¬ 
ever, frequently evince such an aptitude in learning, 
that their instructor,s are speedily left behind, and 
they can then smile at the awkwardness of their less 
graceful teachers, and exult in their own stability, 
though hut a short time before they never ventured 
on the ice hut to find themselves sadly removed from 
the perpendicular, A good skatress (pardon the 
new wood) is a most graceful object whether, like 
Don’t he discouraged, mother. What though the 
boys are rude and rough, that should not discourage 
you. The new farm is rough and rugged when the 
husbandman first begins to till it, hut by patient toil 
he gradually extracts the roots, removes the bould¬ 
ers, levels the knolls, and fills the hollows. If the 
soil seem at first to refuse a return for his toil —pre¬ 
senting only heaps of rocks, and more unsightly 
heaps of barren earth don’t let him he discour¬ 
aged, for there is a mine of wealth in thg deeply-dug 
and well-wrought field, which shall soon yield ample 
profits for the labor and pnlirnre invested. The old 
marsh shall blush with beauty und health. The sand¬ 
hill shall yet be spread with a carpet of green a mon¬ 
arch might lie proud Hi own and tread. The bould¬ 
ers shall yet kiss the foot of both the proud and hum¬ 
ble the poor and tho rich and draw forth praises 
from the man of science and of taste. The tough, 
unsightly tuBunck shall yet yield food that feeds the 
tiller. Don’t bo discouraged, mother; for those very 
forbidding characteristics in your hoy, when checked 
and moulded by an Intelligent and persevering disci¬ 
pline, will be of vast worth to him when a man. It 
may cost more to subdue and direct a stubborn will, 
but when the work is done, you have made an 
efficient commander. It may cost more to polish the 
rude boy, but you have succeeded in giving the 
world a man instead of a statue. There is a jewel 
under that forbidding frown und hostile resentment. 
If you would realize its full value, he very patient. 
Train surely and carefully. 
Your investment may not at oner yield you a re¬ 
turn; nay, it may be years ere it affords you much 
fruit of a desirable beauty or richness; but be well 
assured of this: the more diligent and patient your 
toil, the sooner will you lie blessed with a satisfac¬ 
tory return. 
♦ - ♦ • ♦ 
FASHIONABLE WOMEN. 
Fashion kills more women than toil and sorrow. 
Obedience to fashion is a greater transgression of the 
laws of woman’s nature, a greater injury to her phys¬ 
ical and mental constitution, than the hardships of 
poverty and neglect. Thu slave woman at her task 
will live and grow old, and see two or three genera¬ 
tions of her mistresses fade and puss away. The 
washer woman, with scarce a ray of hope to cheer 
her in her toils, will live to see her fashionable 
sisters all die around her. The kitchen maid is 
hearty and strong, when her lady lias to be nursed 
like a sick baby. 
It is a sad truth that fashion pampered women 
arc almost worthless for all the good ends of human 
life. They have but little force of character; they 
have still less power of moral will, and unite as little 
physical energy. They live for no great purpose in 
life; they accomplish no worthy ends. They are 
only doll forms in the hands of milliners and ser¬ 
vants, to bo dressed and fed to order. They dross 
nobody; they teed nobody; they instruct nobody; 
they bless nobody; and save nobody. They write no 
hooks; they set no rich examples of virtue and 
womanly life. If they rear children, servants and 
nurses do all save to conceive and give them birth. 
And when reared, what are they? What do they 
ever amount to. but weaker scions of the old stock? 
Who ever heard of a fashionable woman’s child 
exhibiting any virtue and power of mind for which 
it became eminent? Head the biographies of our 
great and good men and women. Not one of them 
had a fashionable mother. They nearly all sprung 
from strong minded women, who had as little to do 
with fashion as with the changing clouds. 
A Touching Sight, Nothing can be more touch¬ 
ing than to behold a soft and tender woman, who had 
been all weakness and dependence while treading the 
prosperous paths of life, suddenly rising in mental 
force to he the comforter and supporter of her hus¬ 
band under misfortune. As the vine which has long 
twined its graceful foliage about the oak, and been 
lifted by it into sunshine, will, when the hardy tree is 
rifted by the thunderbolt, cling round it with its 
caressing tendrils, and bind up its shattered boughs, 
so woman, who i» the dependent and ornament of 
man in his happier hours, should be his stay aud 
solace when smitten with sudden and irretrievable 
calamity. , 
[Written for Moore's Rural New-Yorker ] 
THE BEGGAR. 
BY AMANDA T. JON KB 
Br the (lavement, July rousing 
In the glowing autumn air, 
'Mid the din of wheels confusing, 
Stands the beggar, pale with care 
Along the street tin wearied feet 
Of trade worn men go t.o and fro, 
And laughing girls gold-crowned with curl*. 
Leap by with faces all a-glow 
Crimson robes, in gorgeous fashion, 
Wave before him in the breeze, 
But hi* eyes are dim with passion, 
Taking no delight in these 
O’er his head locks are spread 
White aa moon-illumined cloud; 
He is old,— but how cold 
Is the pity of a crowd! 
Rays of sunshine, quick and elfish, 
Touch hi* eye* of faded blue, 
As if even light were selfish 
And would mock him with ita hue. 
Glide away, oh, scarlet day,— 
I.et night hide his sorrow deep, 
Twilight rain sooth his pain,— 
None should see an old man weep 
See him dutch the iron railing 
With his seamed and dusky hands; 
For his little strength is failing, 
And he swaycth a* he stand*. 
Who will heed his hitter need? 
Stalwart form* are stalking past — 
All unheard his pleading word, 
And the red sun sinketh fast 
Oh, if hut A liny would sadden 
To a look of gentle ruth! 
As he hurries by Id gladden 
Some dear home with sunny youth 
Woe is deep, smiles are cheap, 
But a smile can half restore 
Gleams of thought richly fraught 
With the light and love of yore 
Once how bravely could he tussle 
With the strong in friendly strife. 
Proud of well-tried limb and muscle, 
Valient in his vigorous life 
Now his arm, hardly warm 
With tho red blood’s lazy tide. 
Weak and old—scarce can hold 
By the railing at his side. 
Ago has smitten him with languor, 
But with sudden, desperate treftd, 
And with self accusing anger. 
Start* ho forth to earn his bread 
Vainly starts, soon departs 
All the strength that longing gave, 
Sinking down — ah, me! the town 
Soon must dig this beggar's grave 
Kindly, Twilight, bend above him 
With thy meek and ti nder grace — 
Gentle Winds, draw near and love him — 
Clouds, rain dew upon his face, 
All the crowd, worn and proud, 
Shall look down with saddened eyes, 
When the day, red and gay, 
Gilds the pavement where he lies 
Black Rock, N. Y , 1861. 
|Written for Moore's Rural New-Yorker.] 
ELEMENTAHV^ LITERATURE. 
Thu world is suffering under a flood of books got 
up expressly for the benefit of children und youth 
Scores of second rate minds, ambitious of imparting 
their knowledge and thought, und perhaps sensible 
of their comparative unfitness to address the ina- 
turor intellects of men and women, are continually 
turning to the field of so-called juvenile literature to 
find a suitable sphere for the exercise of their talents. 
Thus we arc met on every hand by books for begin 
tiers,— books designed to simplify the principles of 
science 1o the understandings of the young, and to 
reduce thought to the level of their capacities. The 
value of this class of writing is of course various; 
while some are so very simple as to disgust those for 
whom they are intended, and others so admirable as 
to be the almost equal delight of young and old, the 
majority have, per Imps, no very decided character, 
as is to be expected of works making no claim to 
originality, but only aiming to present in a popular 
and attractive form the discoveries and sentiments of 
original thinkers. Passing by the probable good 
accomplished by this multitude of hooks for elemen¬ 
tary instruction and entertainment, let us consider 
lor a moment the disadvantages of placing in the 
hands of tho young, for study or perusal, works 
giving at second-hand the information originally pre¬ 
sented by a superior class of books. 
Persons of any considerable reading cannot have 
failed to notice in how much more clear, forcible, 
and intelligible manner, opinions, sentiments, and 
truths are placed before the reader’s mind by writers 
to whom they belong by original thought or dis¬ 
covery, thun by others who have no right to them 
lmt that of acceptance, and who only aim to interpret 
and popularize them. The reason of this is evident. 
The processes, often severe ami toilsome, by which 
the searcher for new truths reaches his object, the 
patient going over again and again, all the ap¬ 
proaches to the subject in hand, ho familiarize the 
whole matter to his mind that when lie comes to 
speak of it he does so with ease, and naturally em¬ 
ploys the plainest., simplest language. In announcing 
and explaining Iris discovery. Whatever additions 
subsequent investigation may make, the original or 
central idea of any science or system is not likely 
ever to be stated with such distinctness und direct¬ 
ness as by its founder, for no other can be said too 
have such intimate and thorough acquaintance with 
it, and it is to be supposed that tho one who under¬ 
stands a thing best will communicate it best to 
others. The opposite notion, that the appreciative 
disciple will make the principles or doctrines of his 
master more intelligible to the common mind than 
the master himself, is the excuse for a large propor¬ 
tion of the book-making now and for years past 
going on. That the proposal to play the interpreter 
between the great teachers and the ma»8 of learners 
is quite gratuitous, so far as any desire on the part of 
the former to be so explained is concerned, no one 
will be disposed to deny, while tho encouragement 
the latter continually receive in their efforts to sim¬ 
plify and reduce to common comprehension tho ideas 
of their masters, is due to the fact that tho studying 
and reading world have fallen into the belief that 
they are not endowed with minds capable of receiv¬ 
ing those ideas as originally enunciated. 
And this leads u* to speak of the greatest disad¬ 
vantage the use of juvenile books is likely to prove 
to us; it tends to frighten us away from better hooks. 
If one had courage and resolution to break through 
the dread of great authors, which an exclusive ac¬ 
quaintance with inferior ones inspires, the harm of 
studying only those of the latter class to early life 
might be in considerable measure repaired in later 
years; but to such an extent does the ordinary 
system of education increase our natural awe of great 
names, that too often we content ourselves with 
drinking from the lesser streams of thought and 
knowledge rather than attempt (what seems too hold 
an undertaking,) to reach the highest sources-of 
human wisdom. Rut if, as wo supposed above, the 
discoverers in science and the great masters of 
thought communicate themselves more successfully 
than others can speak for them, what hinders bur 
going directly to them for instruction? We surely 
do ourselves u wrong if we accept anything less than 
then best teaching we can obtain. What boy or girl, 
old enough to read anything worthy tho name of 
poetry, but can understand Shakspeaur, and Mil- 
ton, and Homkr, better than scores of the minor 
poets? Why then should they not he encouraged to 
read those flint, leaving an acquaintance with singers 
of feebler, more imitative strain, till they have 
secured the best? There is certainly no need of ap¬ 
proaching, through a crowd of lesser lights, the 
poets who are acknowledged on all hund 3 to express 
themselves in the clearest, simplest, most natural 
language in which poetical thought can he clothed. 
And, what i- true of I’oetry, is equally so of Philoso¬ 
phy, Mathematics, History, Political Economy, or 
any other branch of Mcicnce. Clearness of thought 
gives clearness of expression; and whoever is master 
of the principles of any science is master of the 
language of that science, and of course can make its 
principles more easy of comprehension by others. 
The only necessity for the great proportion of ele¬ 
mentary books of science arises from children being 
set to study at a very early age; but we deny that 
there Is really anything gained by such a course; 
when boys and girls are old enough to undertake 
with profit, Geography, History, Mathematics, Lan¬ 
guage, Ac., they are sure to get the best help from 
the best writers. A. 
South Livonia, N. Y., 1861. 
G 
BORN ABROAD.” 
Now, brothers are born abroad, by the wayside, on 
the train, in town and country — everywhere, but in 
the old "homestead.” There is even a bond woven 
closer than a common pulse, the bond woven of iden¬ 
tical association. The same trees to dream under, 
the same hearth to creep to, the same wood to be 
sprinkled with rainbows, the same meadows tor the 
berries and the birds, and the one brook for the ang 
ling, the same birthplace tor the dead—for they are 
“born into the spirit world” nnw-a-day the like 
sweet faith for the living; these are the things which 
make that saying true, "better is a friend that is 
near, than a brother afar oil.” Not horn along the 
trail or the warpath, hut in the place hallowed by 
that love whose embrace warms us Into life, and 
those dyings that ally us to the dwellers in the bright 
homestead of Heaven, and make ns "poor relation " 
of the people in Paradise. 
To be born at a neighbor’s, to sit in the twilight of 
an alien, to love the vine that stranger hands have 
trained, is the lot of more than half the world. 
Happy is he who can trace the far apart threads of 
lives that are lovely, till they all converge in some 
dear beginning of living and loving. Let those 
threads be gossamer, floating never so lightly on the 
summer wind, if only they are fastened there; let 
that beginning be of the humblest, if it only be my 
home tied yours; if only ours aud theirs. 
And happy he, the landscape of whose childhood 
cannot be effaced by Vandals like a record upon a 
slate; where God did some plowing as we thiuk, and 
left the furrows of hits hills, or the mighty " bout” of 
his mountains, but where In fact He wrote with His 
fingers, even as on the tables of stone on Sinai, and 
sculptured a borne for us when living, that should 
outlast the Sexton’s for us when dead. Thank God 
they cannot say to the great billow of green that 
tossos a forest above " the cot where we were born,” 
“ Peace be still,” and those billows Bhall obey. They 
may make an eyelet hole indeed through the moun¬ 
tain, and fling the iron shuttle with its thread of 
thunder from base to base, but the sun must still 
climb those eastern cliffs ere it ih morning, ami they 
must glow with the last steps of day before it cun be 
night. fi. /■’. Taylor, 
HOW TO SECURE INDEPENDENCE. 
To secure independence, the practice of simple 
economy is all that is necessary. Economy neither 
requires superior courage nor eminent virtues; it is 
satisfied with ordinary energy, anil the capacity of 
average minds. Economy, at bottom, is but the 
spirit of order applied in the administration of do¬ 
mestic affairs: it means management, regularity, 
prudence, and the avoidance of waste. The spirit of 
economy was expressed by our Divine .Ntoster in 
these words, "Gather up the fragments thurromain, 
so that nothing may be lost.” Ills omnipotence did 
not disdain the small things of life: and even while 
revealing His infinite power to the multitude, He 
taught the pregnant lesson of carefulness of which 
all stand so much in need. 
Economy also means the power of resisting present 
gratification tor the purpose of securing a future 
good; and in this light it represents the ascendency 
of reason over animal instincts. It is altogether dif¬ 
ferent from penuriousness: for it is economy that can 
always best afford to be generous, it does not make 
money an idol, but regards it as a useful agent. As 
Dean Kwiit observes, "we must carry money in the 
head, not in the heart.” Economy may be styled the 
daughter of Prudence, the sister of Temperance, and 
the mother of Liberty. His eminently conservative 
of character, of domestic happiness, and social well¬ 
being. It allays irritation, and produces content. It 
makes men lovers of public order and security. It 
deprives the agitator of his stock in trade, by remov¬ 
ing suffering, and renders his appeals to class-hatred 
completely innocuous. When workmen by their 
Industry and frugality have secured their own inde¬ 
pendence, they will cease to regard the sight of 
others’ well-being in the light of a wrong inflicted on 
themselves; and it will no longer be possible to make 
political capital out of their imaginary woes. — Lon¬ 
don Quarterly Rerim. 
[Written for Moore'*Rural New Yorker.] 
CONSOLATIONS OF HEAVEN 
BT JBNNIK 11. WARD 
How oft have hope’s vision* 
Deceived the fond-hearted. 
Like the rainbow they Rhone — 
Like tho rainbow departed — 
When their light, that once sparkled, 
I* darkened and gone; 
See! the rainbow that fades not, 
It arches God’s throne! 
Earth’s grounds, oh, how tempting 
Their flower* and their fruit, 
How we love their sweet shadow, 
But a worm’s at the root! 
When lh;/ gourd, that once sheltered, 
Is withered away. 
Be the shadow of Junes 
Thy shelter and stay! 
As the Dove, when of old, 
From the ark it went forth, 
Some green spot to rest on, 
To seek through tho earth; 
When it found that the deluge, 
So deep and so dark, 
Left no green spot uncovered, 
Returned to the ark,— 
So, when floods of affliction 
Have deluged all round, 
And no green spot of gtadne**, 
No Hope-branch 1* found, 
Then flee to the Savior, 
The true ark of rest! 
Ob, there’* no place of shelter 
Like Hi* pitying breast! 
From Him, thine own Savior, 
Wliate’er may betide thee, 
No distance cun sever, 
No sorrow divide thee; 
Earth’s friends may far sake — 
But He’ll forsake —never; 
Earth’s loved one* must die ,— 
But He lives—forever. 
Wilson, N. Y.,1861. 
The truest criterion of a man's character and 
conduct is invariably to be found in the opinion of 
his own family circle, who, having daily and hourly 
opportunities of forming a judgment of him. will not 
fail in doing so. It is a far higher testimony in his 
f.ivor for him to secure the esteem and love of a few 
individuals, within the privacy of his own home, 
than the good opinion ol' hundreds in his immediate 
neighborhood, or that of ten times the number 
residing at a distance. In fact, next to a close and 
impartial self-scrutiny, no question comes so near the 
truth as for a man to ask himself —" What is thought 
of me by the familiar circle of my own fireside?” 
\V*ould that all remembered this! 
fWrltten for Moore'* Rural New-Yorker ] 
TRUST IN GOD. 
" Carting all your care upon Him; for he enroth for you.”—1 
Pktkk, 6: rib 
Few things are more calculated to prevent us from 
serving God effectually than carking care. Yet, 
there is much in the world that is fitted to beget such 
a feeling in the mind of the Christian. The corruption 
of his own heart is often a source of unhappiness to 
him; and even if, by the grace of God, all his inward 
foes are not only subdued, but are utterly driven out 
of his bosom, there is still enough to weigh down 
his soul. Ami the temporal circumstances of tho 
child of God arc often such as to beget anxiety. His 
home is often the abode of poverty. Frequently he 
watches duy after day at the couch of a loved one. 
ami sees the light go out from eyes that have beamed 
softly upon him. Or he him stood by the lifeless 
form of the companion of his childhood, or followed 
to the grave her who had been tho "angel of his 
household." Under such circumstances, we are in 
danger of being swallowed up with over much sor¬ 
row. But the text recommends a better course of 
action, namely, casting our care upon God. 
The text does not recommend u trust i» (ion that 
allows Its possessor to neglect any duty. Many live 
as though they supposed they had nothing to do in 
regard to their salvation. They act as though they 
expected to be wafted to heaven without exercising 
any watchfulness in avoiding the dangers that beset 
the voyager upon the sea of life. Such carelessness as 
this has no warrant from the Scriptures; but they 
everywhere tench the necessity of watchfulness. 
They represent tho Christian as a warrior. If the 
soldier fails to be on his guard, ho is likely to be 
surprised by Iris toes, and to suffer loss. Is the care¬ 
less professor likely to " Fight the good fight of 
faith?” We will never wear the victor’s crown until 
we have fought many battles. Rut after we have 
discharged our duty, we should then leave the result 
with God. We are to rely unfalteringly upon His 
promises, even when to the eye of reason all appears 
dark and hopeless. The man of strong faith is care¬ 
ful for nothing. Though his bark is out upon the 
stormy sea, and the clouds gather darkly around him, 
he does not despond, for faith shows him Christ 
standing at the helm. 
Many aro the reasons why the Christian should cast 
his care upon Gon; but the one given in our text, 
that “He carcth tor him,” is suiliciont. There is a 
heartless philosophy in the world, that seeks to rob 
man of the watch-care of God. It asks scofiingly, 
whether the sovereign of a million worlds will con¬ 
descend to take any notice of ho insignificant a crea¬ 
ture as man. Rut it 1ms never yet been proven that 
man holds an inferior place in the seale of being; 
and whatever false philosophy may teach, the 
believer in Revelation knows that God watches over 
the interests of lliBchildreu with the greatest care. 
The infidel may tell us that— 
“To Him no high, no low, no great, no small, 
He fills, he hounds, connects, and equal* all 
******* 
He sees with equal eye, as Gon of all, 
A hero perish, or a *parrow fall; 
Atom*, orsystems, into ruin hurled, 
And now a bubble burst, and now a world." 
Rut Christ said to his disciples, "Ye are of more 
value than many sparrows. As long as it is admitted 
that “Gon so loved the world that He gave His only 
begotten Son to die, that whosoever belioveth on 
Him should not perish, but have eternal life,” it will 
be impossible to deny that He takes a deep interest in 
the welfare of His children. 
The character of God is such, as to afford a firm 
foundation tor trust in Him. lie cannot fail to 
supply the wants of His children on account of igno¬ 
rance of those wants. The child may die for want of 
the comforts of life, which its earthly parent would 
rejoice to supply, was he not ignorant of its condi¬ 
tion; but the eye of our heavenly Father is ever upon 
us—His ear is open to our faintest cry. How cheer¬ 
ing to the humble Christian is the language of 
CnKisT, " Ln, 1 am with you always, even to the end 
of the world,” 
And his power is equal to his knowledge. Many 
an earthly parent has wept over tho misery from 
which he was unable to shield his child. Often has 
the earthly monarch seen the huppincsB of his faithful 
subjects destroyed by a ruthless invader, whose pro¬ 
gress he had not the power to stay; hut no being in 
heaven or earth has the power to pluck His children 
out of the hand of Gon. 
Shall he be cast down who has such a proteetor? 
Shall he repine over the petty sorrows of life, whose 
privilege it i-. constantly to look up arid say to Goo, 
" WhAt time I uru afraid I will trust in Thee.” Hhall 
he not rather rejoice in the fact, that God has assured 
him that "llis light atltictions, which are but for a 
moment, shall work out for him a far more exceeding 
and eternal weight of glory.” K. L. Leonard. 
Bristol, WiS 186b 
amm 
wmm 
