COMING HOME. 
BY PBCBBE CARY'. 
0 brothers and sisters, growing old, 
Do you all remember yet 
That home, In the shade of the rnstliDg trees, 
Where once our household met? 
Do you know how we used to come from school, 
Through the summer’s pleasant heat; 
With the yellow fennel’s golden dust 
On our tired little feet? 
And how sometimes in an idle mood 
We loitered by the way; 
And stopped in the woods to gather (lowers, 
And in the field to play; 
’Till warned by the deep’ning shadow’s fall, 
That told of the coming night, 
We climbed to the lop of the last, long hill, 
And saw our home in sight? 
And, brothers and sisters, older now 
Than she whose life is o’er, 
Do yon think of the mother’s loving face, 
That looked from the open door? 
Alas, for the changing things of time; 
That home in the dust is low; 
And that loving smile was hid from ns, 
In the darkness, long ago! 
And we come to life’s last bill, 
From which our weary eyes 
Can almost look on that home that shines 
Eternal in the hkieH. 
So, brothers and sisters, as we go, 
Still let us move as one, 
Always together keeping step, 
’Till the march of life is done: 
For that mother, who waited for us here, 
Wearing a smile so Bweet, 
Now waits on the hills of paradise 
For her children's coining feet! 
Chambers' Journal. 
[Written for Moore's Rural New-Yorker.] 
THAT LINE OF DISTINCTION, 
Wno can be the author of the sentiments conveyed 
in the piece entitled “ Homo Work and Office Work,” 
in the Rural for October 5tli? Can they be the 
ruminations of man or woman? Whose opinions 
are thus unselfishly exposed to the public? 
Our unknown friend considers woman’s proper 
sphere as only compatible tvllh that which the 
polished furnace decorates. Her accomplishments 
are to he acquired among the devolving duties of 
the culinary department. Indeed, friend Anonymous, 
think you the genuine wife material will be seriously 
impaired by practicing some of the once considered 
esse,Ill'll rules of mathematics which they have toiled 
long, tedious hours to fully understand und commit? 
Why have they been compelled to labor during many 
wearisome school hours, among distasteful pages, 
for that which brings no subsequent remuneration? 
Has woman so inferior an intellect, that her brain 
can contain but one idea, and that idea housekeeping 
and its contingencies? 
I consider the proposition an erroneous one, that 
woman unfits herself for efficient action in presiding 
over her future husband’s household (for of course 
she will eventually possess Buch a “necessary evil,”) 
by entering into the details of any other business 
than domestic duties during her brief girlhood days. 
Much the reverse is my opinion. Her intellect Is 
strengthened, mind mutured, and general womanly 
character made more beautiful and wholesomely 
conspicuous, by the opportunity of pursuing such 
courses as have stimulated her studious career. Is 
that man’s time lost, who. though he has trod the 
classic halls of learning, chooses a retired farmer’s 
quiet, and seeks Home aud Happiness away from the 
THE SYRIAN CHILDREN. 
Children in Syria dress precisely as grown 
— people, and even the babies do not look like babies, 
because their garments are cut in almost the same 
fashion as those of their parents. This little body, 
with a pnrple velvet cap and gold tassel, trailing 
robes of yellow satin, hands which, in the operation 
of dyeing, must have cost her as much pain as that 
suffered by the little Effendi in the process of lacing, 
looked and bore herself a little Sultana, had she not 
been decked off by her fond mamma with an enor¬ 
mous lace collar, quite large enough for her great 
grandmother. Bnt thus it is in the East; the goddess 
Fashion receives a very questionable sort of homage, 
and ages pass without the idea once occurring to an 
Oriental, that to he respectable and to escape the 
finger of scorn, ho must make an sccasional altera¬ 
tion in the fashion of his dross. It seems very odd 
to see the order of things reversed, as it so frequently 
is in this part of the world; for while the diminutive 
waist of a Turkish Effendi, or officer, occasionally 
gives undeniable evidence that he is addicted to the 
habit of tight lacing, in the case of a lady you only 
see the loosest of jackets, and waists uutouched, even 
by the girdle, for that is never tightly drawn. 1 am 
rejoiced to bsv of our sex in these climes, that none, 
ub far as I am aware, Can be accused of the suicidal 
practice of tight lacing.— Syrian Correspondent, 
BODILY HEALTH. 
Beauty has its foundation in physical well being. 
Health has its laws, which must be understood and 
obeyed; and these laws are clearly Indicated in our 
physical and mental constitutions. They demand: 
1. Proper food and drink, in such quantities as 
the system is capable of readily assimilating. 
2. Air and sunlight in abundance. 
3. Sufficient exercise, rest and sleep. 
4. An agreeable temperature. 
5. Perfect cleanliness. 
Do you envy the good looks of your neighbor 
Brown’s plump and rosy-cheeked daughter. Do you 
think poor Molly possesses some cosmetic that is 
beyond your reach ? By no means. The whole 
secret of a full form and rosy check lies in pure 
blood, manufactured from wholesome food, by 
healthy and active vital organs, oxygenated and 
vitalized in well-expanded lungs, and kissed by the 
life-giving sunlight on the surface of the warm cheek. 
She who will have the color she covets on any other 
terms, must buy it of the apothecary, and renew it 
every time she makes her toilet. 
[Written for Moore's Rural New-Yorker.] 
THE AFFECTIONS. 
This world hath many a home 
That’s hidden and unknown, 
Quite like a fairy cottage 
Not built of wood or stone. 
It hath for place secluded 
The bosom of a friend, 
And thither oft, when absent, 
The willing thoughts do tend. 
And is that friend a true friend, 
Whose sympathies are known,— 
That cottage hath an open door 
Which ever welcomes home 
Around its consecrated walls 
The Ivy loTes to play, 
And clustering on every side, 
Prevent*, its quick decay. 
Upon th* old gray door stone, 
Thro’ elm trees waving shade, 
By sunlight, and the fluttering leaf 
Are cartons shadows made. 
That Ivy which, with tendrils fine, 
Doth ever faililFul cling, 
Though many summers wax and wane, 
And many sougvters sing, 
Is a symbol of that friendship 
Which, faithful, will not die 
Though the form that once inspired it 
In dost or ruin lie; 
ADd the figure* so fantastic, 
But all dnvoid of art, 
Are flitting shadows mingled with 
The sunshine of the heart. 
So Friendship, Love, and Sympathy, 
A noble trinity, 
Divine appointed, have on earth 
A chosen ministry. 
They give us brnader views of life, 
They warn us when in wrong, 
They teach us from auother's woes 
To suffer and be strong. 
They prompt to high soul’d word and deed, 
To sacrifice and pain, 
And in it all that seems a loss 
Is really purest gain,— 
For all in life that’s beautiful 
From these bright fountains flow, 
Not fragrance of tbe choicest flowers 
Did e'er *0Cll sweetness know, 
Rochester, 1861. s. i 
[Written for Moore's Rural New-Yorker.] 
POLLOK. 
to view, and only his rays, like streams of light, 
painted the motionless cumulus clonds that lay pile 
upon pile, raising their ragged heads like mountains 
against the sky, with crimson, gold, and azure, and 
filling with the reflection of his beams the whole 
blue dome with a flood of glory? Who has not 
gazed with rapture upon such a scene, and dreamed 
of Heaven? 
How often, too, have we loved to watch the fleecy 
cirrus borne gracefully along by gentle zephyrs, 
ever changing, yet ever beautiful, and fancied them 
to be angels of light looking down with eyes of love 
and pity, and hovering over us like guardian spirits. 
And even Nimbus, rising in his majesty, sending 
fiery bolts thundering through tbe heavens, is beau¬ 
tiful and sublime beyond the power of feeble words 
to portray, and we can look only with feelings of 
awe upon snch a scene, while onr souls expand and 
thrill with emotions of love and gratitude to Him 
who rules the storm and sends rain upon the just 
and npon the unjust. i 
The clouds that darken the sky are often likened to 
mental obscurations, or clouds of adversity. They 
vail the heavens at limes, it is true, with a thick and 
almost impenetrable drapery; but when they have 
dissolved themselves in tears over a suffering world, 
how the face of nature brightens, and the hills aud 
valleys smile and rejoice in freshness and verdure. 
T Inis are onr trials sent only to interrupt the flood 
of sunshine that would soon blight and wither all 
the beautiful blossoms of gratitude springing up 
along our pathway, and cloudy days are but the har¬ 
bingers of future joys. 
Pike. N. Y„ 1861. Fredrrika Fexwoo'd, 
[Written for Moore's Rural New-Yorker.] 
SUGGESTIONS. 
Ignorance produces half the miserv and all the 
[Written for Moore's Rural New-Yorker.] 
GUARDIAN ANGELS. 
Has not each one who tarries here 
Some guardian In yon npper sphere? 
Some gentle one, gome spirit bright, 
To guard them in the path of right; 
To save them from each danger nigh. 
Cause sorrow from their hearts to fly, 
To soothe uh w hen our false friends wound, 
To shedt'oeit peaceful influence 'round, 
To fill our hearts with worthy thought, 
And bless ug a ith Its love unbought? 
0 tell me not from that bright sphere 
No guardian spirits linger here; 
They do, they ponr their healing balm, 
And make our trouhted spirits calm; 
Preserve us from temptations power, 
And guard and watch as every hour. 
They linger near when sorrow weighs, 
Rejoice with ns in joy's bright days. 
And teach os, through the good that’s given, 
To turn onr waiting hearts to heaven. 
Geneva, Wisconsin, 1861. u. o. n. 
(Written for Moore's Rural New-Yorker.] 
THE PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE. 
It is presumed that every one has in view some 
favorite object as the end of his exertions in life,— 
some fanny which his energies shall strive to make 
real in time,—something on which he may rest his 
labors as the climax of all his earthly desires. This 
thing hoped for may differ as do tbe tastes and cir¬ 
cumstances of individuals. One will not view life 
but from the Hilt of Science; another arms himself 
with one of the professions and sets out for the prize; 
A Rich Cmi.o.— Little Nellie L- had lost her 
father, and her mother waa poor. Her sweet temper 
and her winning ways gained her many friends. 
Among these was an excellent lady, Miss N-. A 
glimpse of Nellie's bright face peeping in at the door 
It will require but a few words to relate the life 
of the author of the “ Course of Time." He was 
horn at Muirhouse, in Scotland, Oct. 19th, 1798. 
His childhood was spent on Hits father’s farm, but 
before lie was fourteen years old he was put to learn 
a mechanical trade. It was not to have been ex* 
iu ,j m ’ always brought a smile of peculiar tenderness over pected that a mind like his would have been at home love and herself with loving. Indeed it may be doubt¬ 
ful 'imKes AHS8 N - 8 Pladd feature8 ' iQ sudl au employment. Genius will find the proper ful whether personal beauty be a blessing or a curse, 
itineration? She loved to set by the child and softly stroke her field for the display of its powers. You may put though, in the face both of reason and example, 
, ' V 7 anU aU 1,16 Bome perceive the goal to be riches, lying through the 
awkwardness of hfe. The ability to trace causes and labyrinths of mercantile and other pursuits; while 
infer effects, saves tears, and hence adds years; and others find it where 
wisdom is self-possession. 
T> „ , . ,. , , , Battles’ blood-red billows clash 
I botle that never accomplish any thing always And tideg of Blaughter flow 
commence, people that do accomplish something 
always begin. People that cannot sleep always retire; S0Dfle purpose is well if selfish desires do 
people that can Bleep go to bed. People that are not us in t,1G attainment of the desired 
seeming Christians always attend divine service; poo- Object; ins toad of self-glory, distinction in life is 
pie that are Christians at heart go to church , and so fi0Ugbt onl y for the good of the human race. If the 
forth, showing that the head is too often schooled at true P rinci P 1e8 of humanity actuate the mind in its 
the expense of the heart, and that wordy peeple are exGrti0118 ' W *R a Pl'b' itself in practice to the execu- 
not an acting people. tion of tll08e principles, being content to accept dis- 
A writer’s immortality is proportioned to the ^ionas * "atoral result. One great man Influences 
amount of truth he tells: and when he tells the whole ° ! lho « sand8 of t,lis ^owd; therefore if 
truth, us Shakspeare has done, he will enjoy a perfect he “ Ct ? | for thdr 1 g °° d and dearest rigbts > he is 
immortality—if such be possible on earth; for, that M T y re8 P ecled M a ^factor. And as public 
we do toll the truth, is all either earth or heaven re- ° P " <0n “V? u P on the acti0M of men - 
quires of us. we 866 why tbo good alone are 8 rea L” He who cem- 
, , . mands the fear rather than the love and respect of his 
A pretty, and especially a pretty powerful woman, fellow m , n> possesses a fame which affords him hut 
we maintain, is a totality, both to herself and to little pleasure. Alexander, though ruler of the 
others. Witness Cleopatra, who killed Antony with | world, adraircd the phil oso P hy, an J loDged for the 
independence, of Diogenes, Truly, he who conquers 
only to conquer, occupies no enviable place on the 
page of history. 
It is because Washington labored sold}- for the 
good of humanity that his name is loved by his 
country, and revered by the world. It is because the 
great Italian hero claims his right to be simply 
Guiseppk Garibaldi and the true friend of the land 
of the C.esakb, that tbe peans of the civilized world 
proclaim his glory. 
ho Wilo tO aCCtiiiAvvl»*tc rroolih 
Alma Mater of his ennobled genius? Emphatically, mther run in llfcht ,or bonnet than wear her old one 
no. He is thus prepared to enjoy true home happi- a >’ ear tll<? niodt ? give a ball, and stint the 
ness, inasmuch us he is qualified to adorn his home fa,,,il y dinner for u month after? take a large house, 
circle, and, with the unity of his congenial counselor and furnlril handsome reception rooms, while her 
—wife—exert an elevated and refined influence over 
his household circle. Man cannot confine his capa¬ 
city to histore calling, nor will woman. 
Many girls there are who are compelled by the 
decrees of l-’ate " by tile sweat of their brow to earn 
their daily bread;” and, though I am not personally 
acquainted with numbers of this class, stilt I know 
not why even the factories might not employ as great 
a number of girls worthy the position of wife, as the 
kitchens of our homes tolerate. True, “ it is not tho 
duty of every girl to go out into the world;” though 
there are many who are not so indolently dependent 
upon generous homes, as to infringe upon the liber¬ 
ality of their kindest benefactors by inactivity. 
Ogden, N. Y., 1801, L. B—.v. 
-—— f » ^ l »--- 
[Written for Moore's Rural New-Yorker.] 
YOUNG LADIES. 
Did you ever think what a contrast there is 
between the young lady of to-day and the one of 
fifty, or even a score of years ago? Then a lady was 
one who could take care of herself,—could sing in 
plain, musical English, wash, hake, and cook all 
kinds of food, milk a cow if necessary, and make 
herself useful generally. If she didn’t, she was 
called lazy, that was all there was about it. But 
now we have no lazy women,—they are all delicate. 
hair, and while looking thoughtfully into hersmiling Bloomfield upon the shoemaker’s bench in a garret; 
eyes, would often say, “Poor, poor Nellie!” hut you cannot keep him from writing the “ Farmer's 
When Nellie shook her head, with her heart too Boy." Even ignorance of literature cannot always 
happy to forbodc evil, her friend yvouUI caress her prevent the mind from displaying its ability. Some 
more fondly, and then say “Poor, little Nellie!” of HoGa’S songs were read by tho public before 
The child’s heart seemed troubled by these pitying their author was able to read them, 
words, for she asked one day “ Why do you call me ' But Pollok was not condemned to pass Iris time 
poor? Please don’t, Miss N-. Pm not poor—why, in an uncongenial employment. He soon was per* 
I’ve got twenty live cents and a good mother /” mitted to devoto his Jinm to the cultivation of his 
“Rich little Nellie,” said her friend. “A good intellect. Alter spen^.ig several years in study, he 
mother! Ah, how long T was learning what this was licensed as a minister of the gospel in 1825. It 
little one knows.” was about this period that tho 44 Course of Time ” 
“A good mother!” Could any earthly treasure have was published. But his race was almost run. He 
made her so truly rich? died of the consumption Sept. 18th, 1827. 
-♦ ■ ♦ ■ ♦- Our author left behind him a few short pieces of 
The Young Wife.— “It takes a heroine to he P oelr y tho world ha* not thought worthy of 
economical,” says Miss Mutoch. “For will she not. noticc * T «<> case is different with the "Course of 
rather run in debt for a bonnet than wear her old one It has been extensively read. Doubtless 
a year behind the mode? give a ball, and stint the n,an y re,td it upeu its first appearance out of sympa- 
faniily dinner for a month after? take a large house, thy for its author; and the favorable notice which it 
and furnish handsome reception rooms, while her received from l’rof. Wilson, in tho review of which 
household huddle together anyhow in nntidy attic he was Gditor * helped to bring it into circulation, 
bed-chambers, aud her servants swelter on shake- R was not hastily composed; but tho first plan of it 
towns beside the kitchen fire? She prefers this a was conceived fourteen years before tho poem was 
hundred times to staling plainly, by word or man- published. It is not without faults, and gives evi- 
ier:—‘My income is ao much a year—I don’t care deHCe of being the work of an immature genius; 
who knows it— it will not allow me to live beyond a y G ^ HQ ordinary mind could have produced it. In 
certain rate, it will not keep comfortably both my oni ' °Di TJ i<»n, its plan is at least equal to that of 
amity and acquaintance; therefore excuse my pro- " Paradise Lost, and riuny parts of it are grandly 
bring the comfort of my family to the entertainment executed - Who but a trfte poet could have written 
if my acquaintance. And, society, if yon choose to tbc description oi Lord Hykon or oi the meeting of 
ook iu upon ns, you must just take us as we arc, tbe b)Vers ' 
rithout any pretenses of any kind; or you may shut Perhaps Pollok died at a fortunate period for his 
he door, and — eood*bv!’ ”— Water-Cure Journal. reputation as a poet. It is far from being certain 
The Young Wife. —“It takes a heroine to he 
economical,” says Miss Mutoch. “For will she not 
rather run in debt for a bonnet than wear her old one 
V Omat wU1 re « wd H iD th0 fu,mcr Iigbt * It is because Washington labored solely for the 
Because all the men to whom the world lias attri- good of humanity that his name is loved by his 
buted genius have come under that class which Emkr- country, und revered by the world. It is because the 
son terms the positive ilass in society, we are led to great Italian hero claims his right to he simply 
the conclusion, that genius is simply strong indiindu • OutflKPPK Garibaldi and the true friend of the land 
ality —that the peculiarity which distinguishes men of the Cacsahb, that tbe peans of tho civilized world 
of genius from other men is, they eurpass them in proclaim his glory. 
the vital element of being — in soul. Again, he TO ilCCIliunlutc rronlth 
And after nil, vro don’t f«v«r. Wc ail nitonu to, or I per sc, lives and toils to no purpose. Money is a 
household huddle together anyhow in nntidy attic 
bed-chambers, aud her servants swelter on shake¬ 
downs beside the kitchen fire? She prefers this a 
hundred times to stating plainly, by word or man¬ 
ner:— 4 My income ie so much a year— I don’t care 
who knows if it will not allow me to live beyond a 
certain rate, it will not keep comfortably both my 
family and acquaintance; therefore excuse my pre- 
fering the comfort of my family to the entertainment 
of my acquaintance. And, sooioty, if yon choose to 
look iu upon ns, you must just take us as we arc, 
without any pretenses of any kind; or you may shut 
the door, and —good-by!’”— Water-Cure Journal. 
Sensible.— Jane Eyre says:—“I knorv that if 
women wish to escape the stigma of busband-BCokiug, 
they must act and look like marble or clay, cold, 
expressionless, bloodless; for every appearance of 
feeling, of joy, sorrow, friendliness, antipathy, admi¬ 
ration, disgust, are alike construed by the world into 
an attempt to hook a husband. Never mind! well 
meaning women have their own consciences to com¬ 
fort them after all. Do not, therefore, he too much 
afraid Of showing yourself as you are, affe.tionate 
and good hearted; do not too harshly repress senti¬ 
ments and feelings excellent in themselves, because 
you fear that some puppy may fancy that you are 
letting them come out to fascinate him; do not con- 
wish we Imd, but never do. It is thus half an uneasy 
waiting and half a vain regret, so that Yve die at last 
with very little realized happiness. 
Might should he tbe servant of right, but not the 
master; for passive right makes but a poor figure by 
the side of active might. Hence the former should 
dictate, tbe latter enforce. 
A half-measure in politics is little better than 
none, and sometimes worse; because, both parties 
being eqiially powerful, neither one gains its own 
good or coiiquers the other's evil, and the matterthus 
becomes only a postponement. 
Concentration is the soul of achievement. One 
thing at a time and one thing for all time—this is 
what makes a life successful. 
If women are less happy than men, it is because 
they are less selfish—it is because of their charity, 
their sympathy, their sensibility. Things which, in 
men, produce bat a casual remark or glance, iu 
women produce an earthquake of nerves. Men phi¬ 
losophize where women feel aud, all sympathy being 
powerful lever for the elevation of man’s condition 
if properly applied, and from this purpose it should 
not he perverted. There is enough wealth in the 
world to materially benefit the human family if its 
possessors would hut learn its proper use. The 
miserly accumulation of wealth is one of the most 
senseless things imaginable. The miser contrives 
and calculates, counts and computes, making invest¬ 
ments with as much care and concern as if bis life 
depended npon the further acquisition of a cent, 
— accumulating money with which to make more,— 
always drawing it from its proper channels and 
heaping up to no purpose; and when death comes he 
goes into eternity with his hands empty, and unhappy 
with the consciousness of being a public robber. 
And this class of men is not few in numbers. The 
spirit of selfish gain, we are sorry to say, is the 
animus of the exertiuns of thousands of our business 
men; aud in its effects on them it tends to harden 
their hearts, destroy the finer and nobler feelings of 
their natures, causes contentions, rnakeB paupers, aud 
instantaneous, they become the necessary victims of then oppresses them; destroys communities, and 
their own natures, though withal, woman’s sorrow is 
more divine than man’s stoicism. Hence it is that 
the best Christians are women; for religion is essen- 
leads to the destruction of free institutions. 
We are intelligent beings, endowed with minds 
capable of forming ideas and gaining knowledge. It 
tiat 16 wou 1 _ bav ‘* lul T led 1,10 ex P oc tations to tially a warm and living attribute—the product of the is certainly necessary that we should gain a knowl- 
whicli the Course vj ' one had given birth, in i iea[ . t> Man's highest sympathy is half self—woman’s edge of business; but let us also learn to comprehend 
lespei t to ilia future productions. Many poets have a ]] uharity; man's sufferings are half alleviated tho great cause of our existence; learn that 41 ’tis not 
The modern young lady is a strange compound of dc,Iln yourself to live only by halves, because if you 
dress and nerves,—by which wc mean those “ex- fi fi°w d too much animation, some pragmatical thing 
quisite susceptibilities” which cause her to shudder 5,1 breeohea might take it into his pate to imagine 
when she sees a wash-tub aud scream at the sight of tbat y° u dGsi gHcd to devote your life to his inanity.” 
a cow. She is a living image made to he waited -■*— 
upon. She sings “divinely,” and plays the piano 
“exquisitely,” but neither one of these affects you as 
much as the jabbering of a “North American Indian,” 
for it is not half as intelligible. She lounges about 
in the morning, crochets or embroiders a little, then 
dresses liersell up, aud promenades for the benefit of 
some “genteel exquisite.” Thus pass her days. 
Now you needn't toll me that old bachelors are for¬ 
ever harping on women’s faults,—that we do not 
find any such ladies,—that they are the same now 
they always were. It is no such thing. It is an 
uncommon thing to find a young lady now-a-days 
that half pays for the food she eutu. She is nothing 
but a hill of expense.to her father, and a larger one 
to her husband, for he not only has her to support, 
but one or two hired girls to wait upon her also. 
My advice to every young man is to beware of a 
fashionable young lady. Never marry the girl who 
sits in the parlor while her mother stands in the 
kitchen. It won’t pay. x 
A single snow-flake—who cares for it? But a 
whole day of snow-flakes, obliterating the landmarks, 
drifting over the doors, gathering upon the mount¬ 
ains to crash in avalanches—who does not care for 
that? Private opinion is weak, but public opinion 
is almost omnipotent. 
Matrimony and Happiness. — Sam Slick, in his 
“Wise Saws,” says that the nature of matrimony is 
one thing, and the nature of friendship is another. 
A toll man likes a short wife; a great talker a silent 
woman, for both can’t talk at once; & gay man likes 
ft domestic woman, for he can leave her at once to 
nurse children and get dinner, while he is enjoying 
himself at parties. A man that hasn't any music in 
him likes it in his sjionse, and so on. It chimes 
beautifully, for they ain’t iu each other’s way. Now, 
friendship is the other way; you must like the same 
iu each other and be good friends. A similarity of 
tastes, studies, pursuits, and recreations, (wh it they 
call congenial souls;) a toper for a toper, a smoker 
for a smoker, a horse-racer for a lior-e-iucer, a prize¬ 
fighter for a prize-fighter, and so on. Matrimony 
likes contrasts; friends flip seeks its own counterparts. 
Children, —Hard be his fate who makes no child¬ 
hood happy; it is so easy. It does not require 
wealth, or position, or fame; only a little kindness 
and the tact which it inspires. Give a child a 
chance to love, to play, to exercise his imagination 
and affections, and he will he happy. Give him 
the conditions of health— simple food, air, exercise, 
and a little variety in Ins oc cupations, and he will be 
happy, and expand in happiness. 
respect to his future predictions. Many poets have 
written their best poems at the commencement of 
their literury career. The “ Pleasures of the Imagin¬ 
ation ,” and the “ Pleasures of Hope," were written 
when their authors were in their twenty-third year. 
Byron was only about twenty-four years old when 
the first two cantoes of “ Ciuhle Harold ’’ were pub¬ 
lished. Perhaps Scott would have had a higher 
fame as a poet than he ikiv litis, if he had not written 
any long poem alter t ie nihRcation of the “ Lady 
of the Lake," Every time that an author sends forth 
a new work after havinj Green successful in one 
attempt, he jeopardizes at least a part of the repu¬ 
tation that he has ►lretay gained. And could 
Pollok ever have written another ]>oem as interest¬ 
ing as the “ Course if Tone?" Where would he 
have found another sihjeit as sublime as the one 
about which he lia9 i-utg? He might have produced 
a poem with fewer blemishes than the one that he 
has given to the? world, but it is questionable whether 
it would have had as nany good qualities. 
S. L. Leonard. 
[Written for Moo e's Rural New-Yorker.] 
THE CLOUDS. 
Through all the walks of nature, everything is 
beautiful, perfect, and ktrauinous, that has not been 
touched by the hiightiig hand of sin. The earth 
bringing forth her increase; the regular succession 
of spring-time and harvest; the waters separated from 
the dry land, and the litiit. established to which they 
uniy go, but may not pd-s; the majestic movement of 
the planets, the suns siri systems revolving in beau¬ 
tiful order around their) centers,— all unite to till our 
souls witii wonder and admiration, and lead us to 
adore the greut Architect of so glorious a universe. 
Everything is perfect ia itself, and occupies its own 
proper place. But one of the most beautiful accom- 
panjinenls of our globl are the clou-is. So pure, so 
chaste are they, so tor nrioved from all that could oou- 
tomiuate, who cau lods upon them without being 
awakened to higher purposes and aspirations after 
purity and holiness? 
Who has not gazed with delight far away to the 
western horizon when the chariot of Apollo was lost 
through an arrogant egotism—woman's sufl'erings are 
complete through a divine resignation. Man’s cau- 
kers consume ostentatiously—woman's secretly, like 
the coke-pile. 
Ali. Theory affects more than it. *>/fects. Indeed, 
this is the one distinction between theory and prac¬ 
tice. 
Most persons ascribe their adversity to Heaven, 
but their prosperity to their own prudence. 
Necessity makes what necessity demands. 
Genius, like charity, “covereth a muDitude of 
sins.” 
A little everything desirable is “a dangerous 
thing." Henri Dcmars. 
Jacksonville, Morgan Co., Ill., 1861. 
Anecdote of Whittier. —An anecdote of John G. 
Whittier is told by the Boston Transcript as follows: 
On a recent occasion he was traveling with a friend 
over a New Hampshire railroad, and during conver¬ 
sation, Mr. WhiUer’a friend, who is also a member 
of the Society of Friends, told the poet that he was 
on his way to contract for a lot of oak timber, which 
he knew would he used in building gunboats at 
Portsmouth, and asked him whether he thought it 
was exactly in consistence with the peace doctrines 
of the Quaker denomination. Without saying any¬ 
thing calculated to decide the question, the two 
arrived at their parting place, when Mr. Whittier, 
idiakiug his friend's hand, said; “Moses, if thee does 
furnish any of that oak timber thee spoke of, be sure 
that it is all sound." 
Moral Perspective. —Falsehood, like a drawing 
in perspective, will not bear to he examined in evei-y 
point of view, because it is a good imitation of truth, 
as a perspective is of the reality, one iu one. Truth, 
like that reality of which the perspective is the rep¬ 
resentation, will bear to he scrutinized in all points 
of view; aud though examined under every situation, 
is one and the same. 
It is as meritorious to attempt sharing in a good 
man’s heart, as it is contemptible to have a design 
upon a rich man’s money. 
all of life to live ” and make money, or glory for our- ' 
selves, but that we should improve what God has 
given us, storing up knowledge while here which will 
fit us to do good to our fellow men, and which will 
prepare us to enter joyfully upon an unending 
eternity. Levite. 
Litchfield, Pa., 1861. 
FAMILY RELIGION. 
A want of familiarity between parents and children 
upon religious matters, and a constrained inter¬ 
course between them, is a key to the failure of 
many parents in their efforts to train children in the 
way they should go, as well as a fruitful source of 
infidelity iu the child. A want of freedom begets a 
want of confidence mutually, the natural result of 
which is a loss of religious influence on the one 
part, and a want of filial trust on the other. The god¬ 
ly mother holds in her bands the spiritual destiny of 
her child, and may Y ield a power to save it, of incon¬ 
ceivable greatness. Beginning with the mind in its 
most impressible state, she may write upon “the 
fleshly tables of the heart ” lessons which can never 
he forgotten. For the religious influences of a Chris¬ 
tian home, and the godly instruction of pious parents, 
there are no substitutes. The want of these is a re¬ 
ligious bereavement for life. The Sunday school is a 
powerful auxiliary, aud as such deserves the patron¬ 
age and support of every parent; hut the instruc¬ 
tion of the Runday school can never be relied upon 
as a substitute for that instruction which God com¬ 
mands the parent to give his child in his own house. 
The two may well combine and work harmoniously 
to produce the same fruits—the salvation of souls. 
In the long run, that Christian will come out well 
who works cheerfully, hopefully, heartily, without I 
wasting his energies upon vain regrets and passionate 1 
murmurings. The bird sings in the storm; why may t 
uotthe child of God rejoice too, even though passing 
clouds lower? 
-« ■ ♦ ■ *-- 8 
The best atonement for evil deeds is to set about / 
the performance of worthier ones. h 
