death and time, to the poet departed. I cannot 
tell you how inexpressibly mournful seems to 
me the contrast between his present felicity of 
fame and the neglect wbleh embittered his life. 
He died alone and almost unfriended; the hor¬ 
rors of an impending jail, for a debt of six 
pounds, added to the paugs of disease. A few 
years later, and Scotland set his name os a pre- 
cions jewel In her crown, and princes and people 
alike delighting to honor him, came together, 
and with imposing ceremonies, reared a stately 
monument to his memory amid the Beenes con¬ 
secrated by his song. lie was a man much of 
whose life was Inspired by the noblest and purest 
emotions, a man possessing that exquisite ap¬ 
preciation of friendship and kindness shown 
him, and that warm and abiding gratitude, in¬ 
separable from a noble nature, which made the 
recollection thereof part of the vital current of 
his soul. * * * * Ho possessed 
such great and varied intellectual ability that 
the scholars and philosophers of Edinburg— 
Dugald Stewart, Robertson, the historian, and 
others—said of him that his conversation was 
far more wonderful than his poetry, and that he 
was capable ot success in any field—a man whom 
For Moore's Rural New-Yorker. 
A SHOWER OF METEORS. 
According to a statement recently made by 
Prof. Newton of Yale College, the great me¬ 
teoric display of 1833, will be repeated on the 
13th and 14th of the ensuing November. Be¬ 
tween the years 903 and 1833, thirteen of these 
meteoric showers are recorded. That of 1833 
was witnessed by the writer of this at Girard, 
Erie Co., Pa., and an imposing display it was. 
The Bight was remarkably calm and not a cloud 
was visible, leaving the whole arch of the 
heavens free to the sight of the beholder. Ac¬ 
cording to onr recollection of the occurrence 
now, the shower of stars, so called, commenced 
60 on after 11 o’clock, in the evening, and con¬ 
tinued for an hour or two, more or leas. From 
all sections of the arch of the heavens the stars 
seemed to be dropping out and descending earth- 
word. Some were shooting from the north to 
the south, and from the south to the north, 
while the east aud weBt bore their part in the 
grand display. 
It was a phenomenon of an Impressive char¬ 
acter, and naturally enough gave rise, among a 
pri relative population, to various conjectures as 
to tlm particular and immediate significance of 
a celestial display so Imposing. That it por¬ 
tended an immediate and dire calamity to the 
country was the conviction of not a few, and it 
is due to the truth of history to add that some 
there were who believed that these portents of 
evil to come, were the legitimate result of re¬ 
electing Andrew Jackson to the Presidency. 
The meteoric shower, in November, will be the 
last one to be seen during the present century.— b. 
NEW STYLE OF BUILDING IN PARIS. 
There is at this time in conrse of construc¬ 
tion, as an experiment and possible model, in 
the Quartier do Rouel, a house having nine sto¬ 
ries above the ground floor, aud with basment 
and cellars, altogether eleven stories, As land 
in the center of Paris is of great value, aud con¬ 
sequently, rents very high, the object of the 
building in question is to obtain increased space 
by increased elevation. The house will have 
this peculiarity— that it will have no staircase, 
but it will he provided with an hydraulic appa¬ 
ratus similar to that in use by the builders to 
raise their materials to upper scafl’olda. This 
apparatus consists of two large flat forms 
ascending and decending every minute without 
making any noise. Upon these platforms will 
be placed seats, so that the lodgers in the house 
will be enabled to reach the highest storieB 
without any fatigue. From this arrangement it 
would follpw that the upper stories, being the 
THE NATURALIST, WATERTON 
The late Charles Waterton of Yorkshire, 
England, celebrated for once having ridden a 
crocodile, was a man of remarkable physical 
power and singular habits. It is related of him 
that when seventy-seven years of age he scratch¬ 
ed the back part of his head with the great toe 
ot his right toot. The crocodile-rid log was one 
of Mr. Watertou’s humblest feats, for the brute 
had been caught by an Immense hook baited 
with raw flesh, and was being dragged along the 
river banks by a crowd of natives, when Mr. \V. 
jumped astride him. Something akin to this, 
only much bolder, was his hugging the Borneo 
onrang-outang in the Zoological garden in lbdl. 
Think of an old gentleman seventy-eight years 
old, entering the cage of a ferocious ape, and 
while clasped in its horrid embrace, studying 
the formation of its hands and teeth. At the 
same age he jumped over u fence three feet 6ix 
iuches high without touching hand or foot. Mr. 
Waterton never, in his whole life, drank wine, 
spirits or beer, delighting iu very weak black 
tea. For thirty years he never slept in a bed, 
but found the hard boards a pleasant couch. 
Then he was perpetually bleediug bimself when¬ 
ever he felt a tightness in his chest or any sort 
of illness, taking from himself as much as six¬ 
teen or twenty ounces of blood at a time, and 
BUKNS AND HIS HOME 
lam hud got daunted, nnco right. 
Fast, by an ingle, bleezlng finely, 
w' reaming swats that drank divinely: 
And at t»Si* elbow, Boater Johnny, 
Ilist ancient, trusty, droutiaie crony." 
No one could look at them without catching 
their glee and laughing with them ; and, what¬ 
ever they may lack of artistic linish, they are 
certainly admirable representations of the two 
who 
"Had boon fon for weeks theglther." 
A moment’s walk brings you to the “Auld 
Brigg” over the Doon, which here flows gently 
between green and wooded banks to the sea. It 
was too late for the “ flowering thorn,” but the 
birds were singing on bush and spray, and the 
wild rose and the woodbine (our honeysuckle) 
twining in many a fragrant bower, fair us when 
the the poet felt their charms and celebrated 
their sweetness in song. 
The only relatives of Burns now living in the 
neighborhood are his nieces — the Missus Beggs 
— daughters of his youuguBt sister, who inhabit 
a small flower-encircled cottage, half-way be¬ 
tween the monament, and the town. As they 
cherish with fond pride their uncle’s name and 
fame, and are happy to see his admirers, 1 went 
to call on them the morning of my second day 
In Ayr. I did not see the elder sister; but the 
younger came in from her garden, where she 
was at work, and, throwing otF the large sun- 
bonnet she wore, greeted mo with much cordi¬ 
ality. She cannot be less than fifty years ot age; 
but her bright, dark eyes and fresh color, and 
the sprightliaess and warmth of her manner, 
make her seem far younger. She spoke with 
much feeling of the honor given to her undo in 
America, and especially of Mr. Beecher’s ad¬ 
dress at the Burns’ Centennial Celebration In 
New York, and brought forth her treasures to 
show me in the way of photographs of her uncle’s 
children and grand-children, aud autograph let- 
tere to various members of the family. Judging 
from portraits, his only surviving son, now 
living in retirement near London, is not so much 
like the poet in looks as is this kindly, appre¬ 
ciative niece. 
It is a jdeasant drive of twelve miles to 
Mauchline, much of the way along the banks of 
the “ winding Ayr,” and through scenes sacred 
to the memory of “Highiuud Mary.” Mauch¬ 
line is a common-place, poorly-built, town of 
1,300 inhabitants, having, in Burns’ day, ub now, 
neither much beauty nor dignity, but only the 
ordinary elements of life, which his genius illu¬ 
minated. Yet it will always be a place of sur- 
BY EDNA DEAN PROCTOR 
Ayr, Scotland, Aug. 32, 18(5(1. 
This is literally the land of Burns. At. the 
Ayr railway station in Glasgow, and, indeed, at 
all intermediate stations, his pictured face upon 
the wall invites the traveler to the. place of his 
nativity. The book stands are covered with 
various editions of his poems, and with “guides” 
to the localities which he has made famous; and 
the whole region of Alloway and Ayr, uncon¬ 
scious of its honor in giving him birth, has 
become, from grassy lane to busy Btrect, his 
prouud mausoleum. 
The town of Ayr contains some 18,000 inhabi¬ 
tants, and is built on both sides of the Ayr river 
(crossed by the “ twa briggs,”) just. above its fall 
into the sea. 
THE EYEBROWS, 
The eyebrow is one of the most expressive 
features in the human face. We must all of us 
have observed how prodigiously its lines vary; 
how In one case the eyebrow will slant upwards 
from the root of the nose towards the temple — 
as iu the popular ideal of Mephistoplieies—or 
the reverse way, the eyebrows elevated where 
they approach most nearly towards each other, 
and drooping as they neur the temples. This 
slant will very commonly he exhibited in devo¬ 
tional pictures of 6aiuts and others engaged in 
supplication. Sometimes, again, these features 
will adhere to a line which is very nearly or 
quite straight; aud sometimes very commonly, 
by the way—there will be an angle at or near 
t he middle of the eyebrow, an obtuse angle with 
the point upwards. Lastly, this feature will 
occasionally describe the segment of a circle,— 
presenting that arched form which is so much 
and so generally admired. All these forms, and 
endless variations of each of them, are taken bv 
Abont it, is an open, rolling country, 
highly cultivated, and stocked with the fine Ayr¬ 
shire cows, feeding In herds of twenty or thirty, 
in the smooth, green fields. But the town, 
the fields, the river, were chiefly interest¬ 
ing because they made up the scene on which 
the eyes of the young poet rested; bo, first 1 
went two miles away, to the cottage where he 
was born. It is a low, whitewashed, thatched* 
roof dwelling, close to the road-side, and belongs 
still to the corporation of the Shoemakers of 
Ayr by whom, with the grounds adjoining, it 
was purchased of the poet’s father, for the 6um 
of one hundred and twenty pounds. It con¬ 
sisted originally of but two rooms, which have 
been kept, as nearly as possible, in their first, 
condition—the same flag-stone floors, and small 
windows, and recess iu the wall for the bed; but, 
having been long used for an iun, it was found 
to be too small for the accommodation of its nu¬ 
merous guests, and, some years since, a large 
dining-hall was built iu the rear. This hall is 
fitted up with an orchestra, aud i3 the favorite 
place for the parties and merry-makings of the 
town and neighborhood; the memory of Burns 
giving zest to pleasure much of the time. Dur¬ 
ing the summer season, at least, the cottage is 
thronged with visitors from every land and 
clime; carriages wait before the lowly door 
while their occupants turn back to look again 
with sad interest, at the narrow walls, or to select 
some photograph of the room, or to beg a flower 
from the. garden, as a memento of him who has 
made himself to every man a brother. 
And 60 on to the ruined kirk of Alloway, 
which rises a little beyond the cottage, on the 
same side of the way. It has been roofless for 
many years, but the stone walls are carefully pre¬ 
served, aud the bell still hangs iu the small tower 
at the eastern end. * # # 
Written for Moore’s Rural New-Yorker. 
CULTIVATE THE MIND AS WELL AS 
THE SOIL. 
It Is the 
Mind makes the man — 
Want of it the fellow. 
These lines, somewhat altered from Pope, have 
a peculiar bearing upon the man who tills the 
Boil. The farmer possesses all the privileges 
and most of the advantages of other classes of 
the community—and If he will improve his 
mind, his influence will be us potent, aud hiB 
example as salutary, as the influence and exam¬ 
ple of any other profession. The richest natural 
soil will produce neither bread nor meat without 
culture. The highest natural gifts of intellect 
will not profit the possessor unless, like the 
rich soil, they are cultivated with assiduity and 
care. Good culture not only improves the mind 
aud fits it lor high mental gratification and en¬ 
joyment, but It lightens the toll and greatly 
increases the profits of labor. Franklin owed 
his fame, his fortune and his usefulness to his 
early habits of study arid Industry and virtue. 
Without these early habits he probably would 
have neither risen to fame nor fortune. 
Some minds, like soils, are naturally richer 
than others; yet those apparently sterile like in¬ 
fertile soils, may by good culture be made to 
yield great returns. Let the young farmer then 
aBpiro to the highest honors of the nation by 
endeavoring to improve his’ Intellectual facul¬ 
ties; and if be does not. attain the goal of his 
wishes, he may be sure of greatly improving his 
condition and of benefiting others, provided 
always he is industrious aud honest. Ilowever 
menial and servile agricultural labor may have 
been considered among the uppertendom of 
Europe, and the aristocracy of this country in 
the past, It has commanded the respect of good 
men in every age. Foots have deigned to sing 
Its praise, and It has the study and employment 
of such men as Wash i noton, Jefferson, Madi¬ 
son, Monroe, Jackson ; and uIbo of a Hum¬ 
phrey-, a Livingston, a Shelly, an Armstrong, 
a Lowell, a Lincoln, and a host of other giant 
minds whose names will live aB long as time 
endures. Then let not the young, or those ad¬ 
vanced in years, say there can be no mental 
progress made while engaged lu the cultivation 
of the soiL The farmer can, if he properly sys¬ 
tematizes his labor hours, have the most time 
for study and reflection of any class. The mer¬ 
chant has to bo at his post behind the counter 
on rainy as well as fair days, and the long winter 
evenings innat be spent away from his family, 
and all must admit that he has but little time to 
systematize his thoughts. 
If I wished for samples of vigorous minds, I 
should go back among the Granite Hills—to the 
hard working, reading farmer, who studies Ag¬ 
ricultural Books and Journals, and does not 
discard book learning. When ho sees a new 
idea advanced that carries on the face of it a pro¬ 
gressive hitch to the wheel, he grasps it at 
once, and hence Bavcs time and hard labor, 
which also gives him additional time for study. 
And the life of the fanner cannot be too highly 
extolled. He is surrounded with all the beauties 
of Nature, and as he gazc6 at the far-off moun¬ 
tains, piled against the blue vault, his thoughts 
are carried to the Great Architect of the Uni¬ 
verse—to Him who guides the seasons so wisely. 
Tuftouboro’, N. If., 1806. J. L. n. 
MOVEMENT OF SOUND. 
Under a calm condition of the atmosphere, 
sounds have been heard at a great distance. Dr. 
F. U. Robinson asserts that the report of artil¬ 
lery at the battle of Gettysburg, Fa., was dis¬ 
tinctly heard by himself and many other citizens 
at Greensburg, in the same State—a distance of 
125 miles from the battle-field. 
The velocity of sound in common river water, 
at a temperature of 15 deg., centigrade, is 4,7(50 
feet a second, while at a temperature of 30deg., 
centigrade, it is 5,000 feet a second. Iu solids 
the velocity is much greater than iu liquids. In 
fir-wood, for example, it is 15,000 feet a second; 
in iron, it is 17,000; in lead, however, it is only 
4,000 feet a second. 
When sixteen vibrations or sounds reach the 
ear iu a second they produce the sensation of a 
musical note of the lowest pitch which the ear 
is capable of appreciating. When 32,000 reach 
the ear in a second, the note produced is the 
highest which the human ear is capable of ap¬ 
preciating. Any number of sounds, or vibra¬ 
tions less than sixteen in a second, conveys no 
THE COBOURG FAMILY 
The Cobonrg Family, during the .last fifty 
years, have been noted for their good luck. 
Prince Leopold of Saxe-Cobourg, whose whole 
income was a shabby three hundred pounds a 
year, married the heiress of the British throne 
in 1810; dropped into a life pension of fifty 
thousand pounds, on her death in 1817; was 
chosen King of Greece in 1830, but declined; 
became King of Belgium in 1831, and reigned 
for twenty-five years with great-success. Hia 
sister, a poor widow, though "a born princess,” 
married one of the English Royal Dukes, and 
their only surviving child now occupies the 
British throne; her daughter will one day be 
Queen of Frnssia. Another of the C'obourg 
family married a daughter of Louis Philippe of 
France. Yet another is father of the present 
King of Portugal. Leopold’s eldest son espous¬ 
ed an Austrian Archduchess, and his only daugh¬ 
ter is Empress of Mexico. 
Influence of the Lightning Rod. — A 
French electrician, M. Charles, says that a light¬ 
ning rod protects a circular space (around the 
rod,) the radius of which is equal to twice the 
height of the rod above the roof of the building 
to which it is attached. According to tins 
theory, if a rod extends ten feet above the top 
ol a house, it protects a circular 6pace of forty 
feet in diameter. 
BROTHERS OF TENNYSON AND DICKENS, 
Tennyson and Dickens have each just lost a 
brother by death, that of the former at home in 
England, and that of the latter here in America, 
where he had been for many years arcsident and 
a worker. “ Mr. Septimus Tennyson (says the 
London Athenexun) was a singer without a pub¬ 
lic, but not without troops of friends, in whom 
he found ample compensation for lack of a 
wides circle.” Augustus N. Dickens, a younger 
brother of the novelist, nicknamed in his youth 
at home “Boz,” whence Charles Dickens bor¬ 
rowed that original nom de plume for himself, 
came to Illinois many years ago, and not suc¬ 
ceeding in farming and mere bandising, became 
a clerk in the land office of the Illinois Central 
Railroad at Chicago, and in that city died last 
week, nis life In this country has been humble 
but honorable, and few knew that we had so 
near a relative of the immortal novelist, and the 
rtal original ** Boz,” among us. 
the more close connection with plants of another 
habit than their own; for instance, potatoes and 
cabbages,tobacco and tumips,onions and lettuce, 
cucumbers and radishes, peas and parsley, beets 
and bell- peppers, egg-p lants and summer savory. 
New DisiNFECTANT.-The New York Tribune 
says that carbolic or phenic acid, a new product 
obtained from the distillation of coal, is the 
most powerlul disinfectant ever discovered, and 
that with this and sulphurous acid, cholera has 
been entirely controlled the present season in 
the city of New York, and with it the rinderpest 
has been alrnoBt subdued in England 
burns’ monument. 
Burns’ monument crowns the banks of the 
Doon, midway between the “Auld Brigg” and 
Kirk Alloway, and but a stone’s throw from 
either. It is a pleasing structure; a circular, 
classic temple, resting on a triangular base, 
within which is an apartment, containing vari¬ 
ous mementoes of the past. The most interest¬ 
ing of these are the Bibles presented to High¬ 
land Mary, with her name and bin, in his own 
handwriting, upon the fly-leaf, and beneath, a 
lock of her flaxen hair. The grounds abont the 
monument are exquisitely adorned and kept, and 
in a grotto at their south side are the renowned 
life-size statues of Tam O’Shanter and Souter 
Wind.—A gentle wind—one that presses with 
delicious coolness npon the brow in the heat of 
summer—travels at the rate of four miles an 
hour. Alight gale—such as blows pleasantly 
Horn the sea—moves at the rate of from ten to 
fifteen miles an hour. A high wind — one that 
Bhrilly whistles around the corners when the 
earth is fettered with frost aud snow—travels at 
tb« rate of thirty-five miles per hour; and the 
hurricane, before whose might and fury stately 
forests bow, has a velocity of 80 miles per hour. 
Goodness.— Be always at leisure to do a good 
action; never make business an excuse for 
avoiding offices of humanity. 
Why is blind man’s buff like sympaty? Be¬ 
cause it is feeling for others. 
