LVvv •, 
RURAL iew-yorees. 
dtntiiu, ®$M f is. 
Written for Moore's Rural New-Yorker 
BOOKS AND BOOK-MAKING. 
A new book U a “thing of life” (when of 
the right kind,) which may well be regarded 
with no little satisfaction by all lovers of truth 
and progressive industry. When viewed by 
the enlightened eye, and considered by mature 
judgment, a new book is something more than a 
mere production of the muscle and mind of the 
maker. Unlike the wares of the producer which 
are meant and designed for the outward man, 
the product of the author lasts a lifetime, and is 
not then decomposed like compounds of element¬ 
ary substances, but transmitted from one genera¬ 
tion to another throughout all coming time. 
Observing the notice of the ^ Practical Shep¬ 
herd," 1 which you had in course of publication, I 
set at work my thinking machinery, contrasting 
the present time with the primitive, and com¬ 
paratively recent state of the world in efforts at 
book-making. When, at last, my eyes beheld 
the work l, in all its glory,’’ my poor human 
nature almost envied the author and publishers 
the proud eminence on which they stood before 
the world as dispensers of truth (scientific truth) 
and new light upon one of the most important 
branches of American economy. 
Mankind, up to a recent period in the world’s 
history, have been deprived of a ray of light 
only equaled by divine inspiration. But few of 
the primitive inhabitants of our sphere ever 
received the enlightening influence of education, 
and vague and unsatisfactory must have been all 
attempts to instruct a people moping and grov¬ 
eling in the chaos of intellectual darkness. 
While now and then a mind soared into (he 
atmosphere of literature, or studied the sciences, 
the great mass walked out their existence in the 
sink of ignorance, or wallowed in the quag¬ 
mires of sloth, superstition, and other pools 
characteristic of the leading traits of the human 
mind when uncultivated and left to roam 
throughout the entire space allotted to It by 
the laws pertaining to Its nature. Had learning 
made any perceptible progress In the antide- 
luvian and pro-Assyrian periods, even hyero- 
glyphlcally, the ‘‘Confusion of Tongues” at 
Babel must have “confused” all ideas for centu- 
turies in efforts to penetrate the heathen mind 
with loftier thoughts than war and rapine. But 
brighter era-were to succeed the rise and over¬ 
throw of mighty empires enshrouded with cano¬ 
pies of wickedness joined to ignorance. The 
“Star of Bethlehem” piloted (ho shepherds to 
the manger wherein beamed the glory of a 
Messiah. But that “glory” needed u medium 
beside the “Appointed” and “Anointed” to 
send its effulgent beams to the “uttermost parts 
of the earth.” The Gospel was lo be preachy 
to an people; out. sometrnng more man toe word 
of mouth would seem to have been necessary to 
expedite the work. The slow and expensive 
manner in which the Scriptures were promul¬ 
gated would render a “world without end” none 
too long to even give aglimpse of them to “every 
creature.” Long and dreary, however, were the 
centuries which must intervene ere the world 
was to be electrified a second time by a most 
remarkable event. Dark ages must supervene— 
must take the place of the benign influence of 
Christian enlightenment in that part of the world 
where it originated. Both Christian and Ma¬ 
hometan had deluged the earth with blood to 
establish and maintain their own cherished 
tenets. For more than five hundred years pre¬ 
ceding the fifteenth century, the world appears 
to have been sunk deeper, four-fold, than at any 
time previous. Superstition stalked with ghostly 
tread throughout the entire length and breadth 
of what was called civilized community, uh well 
as among those who were denominated bar¬ 
barians. 
While the earth was thus surrounded with 
strife, misery and ignorance, the cities of Haar¬ 
lem and Mentz, in Germany, became distin¬ 
guished as being the birth-places of an Art 
destiued to overthrow the prevailing absurdities, 
become the main-spring in dispensing the Word 
of Life, and usher into being a revolution against 
which all the armies of Christendom would be 
unable to cope successfully. 
Previous to this lime the people were depend¬ 
ent for what little knowledge they might receive 
upon those who taught as suited their own 
fancies or interests; and few were the number 
blessed with instruction of any kind beyond that 
afforded by Nature. The Bible, and some other 
books, were in existence, but being in manu¬ 
script, and necessarily very expensive, not one 
in a million of the common people, it is very 
probable, ever beheld their contents, much more, 
became an owner. Much time was necessary to 
write the entire Bible, and but few ever were 
completed. A manuscript Bible, finished in 121)4, 
and sold in England a loDg time afterward, is re¬ 
corded in history to have been 50 years in process 
of construction. It was written on vellum, and 
beautifully illuminated with illustrations. The 
ordinary people, of course, could never own, or 
even see, such a work, er any other book of con¬ 
sequence, in those days. It is not supposed that 
all Bibles manufactured before printing was dis¬ 
covered. required as much time to complete them; 
but the most ordinary ones must have been 
rarely seen by the great mass of people, as they 
cost from $600 up to many thousands. Pope 
Nicholas V., at a sale of manuscript books in 
Rome, bid as high as five thousand ducats, 
($5,000,) for the Gospel of St. Matthew in 
Hebrew. 
Books, we read, were first printed on blocks 
of wood. The Roman letter was not used, but 
letters bearing a close similitude to written 
characters; thus, a printed book bore a stroDg 
resemblance to a written one. Soon, enterprising 
men found means to take an important step in 
this infantile, yet most important, discovery. 
First, movable type of wood, and then of metal, 
(the letter or character being cut,) were made. 
Shortly after this advance, they discovered the 
mode of making type as they are made at. the 
present day, by casting. [Type-metal is usually 
a compound of lead and antimony, to which a 
small portion of copper is sometimes ordered to 
be added by master-printers to give it still 
greater durability.] 
But little had been accomplished in the art of 
printing before 1450, during which year the first 
Bible was completed after about eight years’ 
labor. Faust, Gctthnbeug, Costar, Scuief- 
fer, and others, had experimented in Haarlem 
and Mentz for a number of years before bringing 
the art to that state of perfection which was 
likely to become remunerative. Like inventions 
and discoveries of the present, time, it had its 
enemies; and while the founders of the system 
w ere straining every nerve to make it available, 
competition was unhampered by lawful enact¬ 
ments, and efforts were made to filch this dear- 
bought treasure from its rightful owners. 
Faust, we are told, visited France in 1462. and 
sold Bibles in Paris, first at 600 crowns each,and 
afterward at much smaller prices. The people, 
ignorant of the new art, believed Faust to be 
an evil genius, (hia books, in considerable num¬ 
bers, all appearing to be written alike,) and 
arrested him and put him in prison. The perse¬ 
cuted book-maker, to relieve himself from the 
odium of a knowledge of the “ black art ” of Old 
Nick, and to regain his liberty, was obliged to 
divulge the secret. 
The Roman letter was first used in 1471. about 
the time printing was introduced into England. 
At present, few languages spoken by any con¬ 
siderable number of people, are un graced by 
this noble art. No part of heathendom has 
been unremembered by the Missionary, and the 
translator can point with inward satisfaction to 
the "Wild Men of America as they turn to the 
Sacred Scriptures printed in their own gutteral 
dialects. 
An important auxiliary in the manufacture of 
books, as many may not be aware, is the Art of 
Stereotyping. Standard works, aa the Practiced 
Shepherd is destined to be, require, sometimes, a 
number of editions. To obviate the great ex¬ 
pense ot ro-seuiug the type for each edition, as 
the wants of the public and the popularity of 
the work require, the pages are stereotyped sep¬ 
arately, fastened upon blocks of wood of proper 
dimensions, the number of books printed to meet 
the present demand, and the plates packed away 
lor future use. 
But, in the first place, a man must have brains 
or he can never write a book which will be 
acceptable to the public and remunerating to 
himself. To be a favorite companion of the 
reader, it must contain value, and that value 
placed within its folds by the most intense appli- 
v-mion of the <vuth<v> pnbMnfcrr, printer, bNt.io- 
typer, book-binder, and nil concerned. Of the 
anxieties attendant upon the publication of an 
extensive work, few can comprehend. Perplexi¬ 
ties the most dire, sometimes rack the intellec¬ 
tual faculties of the author and publisher, while 
the humble personage (the compositor) may not 
always be considered the wickedest, of the trio, 
when he gives vent to his pent-up feelings in 
language not the most, refined. While decipher¬ 
ing and bringing into proper shape the pro- 
fouudest thoughts, not unfrequently mystified 
into 11 quail-tracks,” the printer, may bo forgiven 
if he feels his importance in placing in the hands 
of hundreds of thousands of admiring readers 
a work calculated to bring still more distinction 
upon a great and worthy man. l. w. 
SEEING AN AVALANCHE PASS. 
Mu. Francis Galton, a well known English 
traveler and member of the “Alpine Club,” has 
this summer made a singular experience. He 
discovered a spot on the Jungfrau raDge where 
he might stand in safety and watch the ava¬ 
lanches sweeping past him, within thirty feet of 
his person. In one half day he saw three de¬ 
scents. The avalanches slid two thousand feet, 
then leaped two great bounds of a thousand feet 
more to the channel, close to which he was stand¬ 
ing; and then burst out at the toot of the channel 
“like a storm of shrapnel.” Mr. Gallon, describes 
the general appearance Of the avalanche, when 
seeu at so short a distance, as that of “ an orderly 
mob filling the street, and hastening, not hurry¬ 
ing to the same object.” Something of the same 
impression is made upon one who looks attentive¬ 
ly at the great sheet of water which rolls slowly 
down on the Canadian side of the falls at Niag¬ 
ara. The motion is majestically deliberate, and 
though swift, not hurried. The noise of the 
avahmohe in motion Mr. Galton likens to “ the 
sound of a rapid tide rushing up many channels.” 
The avalanche is described as consisting of a 
mass of ice-balls, usually from a foot to a yard 
in diameter, which produce “the fearful rattle of 
the ice-cascade.”— N. Y. Evening Post. 
The Largest Crrv in the World.— A very 
erroneous idea is indulged in by many people in 
regard to the largest city in the world—many 
confidently asserting that London, or, as it is 
frequently termed, the Great Metropolis, is far 
superior both in size and number of inhabitants. 
But such is not the case. Jedo, the capital of 
Japan, is, without exception, the largest and most 
populous city in the world. It contains the vast 
number of one million dwellings, and five mil¬ 
lion human souls. Many of the streets are nine 
Japan sens iu length, which is equivalent to 
twenty-two English miles. 
A discovery, it is said, has been made in 
Russia, whereby the mercury used in the manu¬ 
facture of looking-glasses may be so hardened as 
to bid defiance to humidity, friction, or blows. 
The plate-glass thus prepared may be transport¬ 
ed without fear of damage. 
PERSIAN HOUSE-KEEPING. 
The usual mode of living in one bouse s«emed 
pretty nearly the same in all that fell under the 
range of Mr. Burton’s observation. They get up 
at sunrise, when they have a cup of coffee. The 
few hours iu the day which the Persians con¬ 
descend to labor in any way, are from sunrise 
until 8 o’clock in the maiming. After that the 
heat becomes so intense ([frequently [08 or 100 
degrees in the shade) that all keep within doors, 
lying about on matsiu pa#:;iges or rooms. At 10 
they have their fisubstantial meal, which con¬ 
sists of muttuxl and rice, atlwed together in a rude 
saucepan, over a charcoal!-e built out of doors. 
Sometimes, in addition tdthip dish, they have a 
kind of soup, or “ watoj-iueat” (which is the 
literal translation of the Ibi-gian name,) made of 
water, mutton, onions, jw it-ley, fowls, rice, dried 
trulls, apricots, almonds, s;d walnuts stewed to 
together. But. this, as we i my guess from the mul¬ 
tiplicity of iha ingredier is. was a dainty dish- 
At four o’clock, the pan tin Persians, nearly worn 
out by the heat of the dayl* ike a cup of strongly 
perfumed tea, with a littfl bitter orange juice 
squeezed into it; and aftei| lis tonic they recover 
strength enough to sinOkJ i:ul lounge. Dinner 
was the grand meal of S t.»y, to which they 
invited friends. It was u| unlike breakfast, but 
was preceded by a desssr, at which wine was 
occasionally iutroduced,bi|which always consist¬ 
ed of melons and dried ft® s. The dinner was 
brought in on a pewlcr tr.u; but Mr. Burton re¬ 
marked that, the pewter c&ltos were very dingy. 
A piece of common print was spread on the 
ground, and cakes of breul put on it. They bad 
no spoons for the soup. “ \futer-moat,” but soaked 
their bread in it, or curled T, round into a hollow 
shape, and finished up whft they could out of the 
abyss. At the Mlrza’s they had spoons for the 
sour goat's milk which eea&jod to be one of their 
delicacies, the ice is brought down from the 
mountains, uud sold pretv cheaply in the ba¬ 
zaars. Sugar and salt areeaton together with this 
iced sour goat’s mitk. *Sn firing narghilahs be¬ 
guiles tho evening hours Very pleasantly. They 
pluck a qnanity of rose-blpesoms, and put them 
into the water, through which tho smoko passes; 
but tho roses last in season only a month. Mirza 
Oosan Koola had a low chairs in tho house, for 
the use of the gentlemen of the embassy. 
INSTINCTS OF SPIDERS. 
SPIRIT OF THE WESTSRN SOLDIERS. 
TnE army correspondent writes to the New 
York Times ,from the Missisappi river, as follows, 
respecting the earnest spirt of the Western sol¬ 
diers: 
It would amuse you to wttch the Western sol- 
*U<m-* ihat »v- TowiTni- j .t regiments. 1 
aakod ouo ol' them if bow mid not like to Imve 
s tail! longer,and heanswe'lsi to at q he wan home¬ 
sick to get back to bis rCgtooitV “ Yes,” said 
another, who had overhead him. “your best 
friends are there.” “You’re right there,” ho re¬ 
plied; and then followed such a torrent of invec¬ 
tive, curses, con tempt and bitterest, hatred against 
the copperheads, as would do credit to an abolition 
King Lear, it was refreshing to me to travel 
from Indianapolis to Memphis, in company with 
returning soldiers, and nothearasingle curse for 
the administration, the Secretary of War, the ne¬ 
groes or the abolitionist. 
I believe John A. Logaa Is the exponent,—the 
representative man—of this army. His creed 
consists of a single Idea—to support the adminis¬ 
tration. Nothing more. Give all your energies, 
time, talents, property aud Influence to the support 
of the measures adopted bv the government. You 
cannot change them. There is no time to discuss 
them. We must fight—not talk. Let the next 
Presidency take care of itself. It is our business 
to support and encourage the present, administra¬ 
tion. 1 ts members, standing at the head sources 
of information, must necessarily bo better judges 
what to do then we are. By energetic and Implicit 
obedience we may accomplish much; by luke¬ 
warmness, and discussion, and temporizing, 
nothing. The rebellion musl he crushed, and there 
is only one way In which It can bo done, while 
there are forty ways in which it may not be done. 
-.-- - - 
TELEGRAMS FROM REMOTE PLACES. 
Two congratulatory telegraphic messages 
passed through the Chicago office ou the 23d 
ult., which, coming as they did from points but a 
brief period ago deemed beyond each by any of 
the rapid means of communication this age has 
brought out, deserve a passing notice. One was 
from Omsk, Eastern Siberia, and the other from 
Alexandria, Egypt, and each were directed to 
San Francisco, California. The Russian Tele¬ 
graph Company expect in the next two years 
to complete the connection between St.. Pi*, 
tersburg and San Francisco, Under the Rus¬ 
sian charter, the wires have now reached Omsk, 
and are rapidly progressing; while the Calfornia 
State Telegraph Company are moving on the 
American end of the great line with all possible 
speed. These messages were severally dated 
September 13th, and were delivered in San 
Frauci SCO on the night of the 23d, making ton 
days’ time between these remote local cities, 
including the conveyance ucross by steamers 
Thus one more link is added to the chain which 
will ere long circumvent the world. 
To Destroy Infectious Air,— At a late 
meeting of the British Scientific Association at 
Newcastle, Dr. Richardson said the best way to 
destroy organic poison iu rooms was to place 
iodine in a small box with a perforated lid. 
Dui ing the epidemic of the small-pox iu London, 
he had seeu this used with great benefit Dr 
Murray Thorasou said charcoal was now used in 
India with beneficial effect. It was hung up in 
bags from the rafters. 
Spiders are greatly influenced by atmospheric 
changes; and on that account they have been 
termed “living barometers.” If the weather is 
likely to become rainy, windy, or in other re¬ 
spects disagreeable, spiders fix the terminating 
filaments, on which tho whole web ia suspended, 
unusually short. If, on the other hand, the ter¬ 
minating filaments are made uncommonly long, 
the weather will be serene, and continue so at 
least for ten or twelve days. 1 f spiders be totally 
indolent, rain generally succeeds; though their 
activity during rain is certain proof that it will 
be only of short duration, and followed by fair 
and constant weather. Spiders usually make 
some alterations in their webs every twenty-four 
hours; If these changes take place between the 
hours of six and seven in the evening, they indi¬ 
cate a clear anil pleasant Dight. Sailors assert 
that when gossamer alights on'the rigging of a 
ship, lino weather will prevail. 
They do not proceed by a blind impulse, but 
they accommodate themselves to varying circum¬ 
stances. Mr. T. A. Kulgbt. in his “Treatise on 
the Culture of tho Apple and Pear,” Introduces 
this anecdote:—“I have frequently placed,” ho 
writes, “a spider on a small, upright slick, whoso 
base was surrounded by water, to observe its 
most singular mode of escape. After having 
discovered that the ordinary means of retreat 
are cut off, it ascends the point of the stick, and 
standing nearly on its head, ejects its web, which 
the wind rapidly carries to some contiguous 
object. Along this the sagacious insect ellects 
his escape; not, however, till it has previously 
ascertained, by several exertions of its whole 
strength, that its web is properly attached at the 
opposite end.” 
It has been said that man is tho [only animal 
that makes war on his own species; but Insects, 
who outdo us lu so many things, vie with us in 
that species of policy too. Spiders seem pecu¬ 
liarly gifted with this human propensity. M. 
Reaumur, who distributed ubout live thousand of 
these creatures iu different cells, discovered that 
although they were well led Upon files and other 
dainties, tho stronger and more ferocious soon de¬ 
voured the weaker; and they kept on at this kind 
of cannibalism until they bad almost literally de¬ 
stroyed each other, for only one or two were found 
in each cell. 
COFFEE SHOPS IN BEYROUT. 
Written for Moore's Rural New-Yorker 
ADAPTATION. 
Some persons are so sensitive about the har¬ 
monious adaptation of things to each other that 
any departure therefrom which con es uuder 
their notice, gives them pain. Thoy would 
rather see a coarse, loud-voiced woman standing 
in the door of a tumble-down house, eyeing, with 
a contented expression, the door-yard usefully 
devoted to raising cabbages and turnips, while 
rickety turm implements occupy the corners of 
the fences, and a general took of disorder pre¬ 
vailing, marking tho home of an indolent or 
shiftless farmer, than to see a refined and culti¬ 
vated woman in her [dace who must necessarily 
long for neat and attractive surroundings, and to 
w bora order and beauty are necessary to enjoy¬ 
ment, but who Is forced to sutler from the tm- 
thriuiuess ot those about her, because she would 
be so little adapted to her place. 
Many people, owing lo some mischance, follow 
tho wrong pursuit in life, one to which their 
talents are not adapted, but by the aid of perse¬ 
verance achieve considerable success. Some 
writers could be mentioned who are favorites 
with the reading public who are not yet adapted 
by nature to their profession. Their dry, hard 
style tells at once that nature never gave them 
language, that their achievements are all ac¬ 
quired, and not the result of a natural gift. 
Some men set up for farmers who are not fitted 
tor that employment. Thoy may bo good, pru¬ 
dent, industrious men who spend no Idle mo¬ 
ments, and yet, from the lack of a certain faculty, 
well called among practical men “calculation,” 
they will come out in tho end far behind tho 
man who, perhaps, does not labor half of the 
time, yet who watches tho weather and the mar¬ 
kets, and works at that which will pay the best 
aud makes every movement tell. Some men are 
better calculated to work for a salary than to 
plan business of their own. Happy is it tor 
them when they follow the line of life for which 
nature intended them. Observation and self- 
knowledge ura both requisite in order to know 
in what pursuit our talents will be best em¬ 
ployed. B. C. D. 
Blkhorn, WU., 1863. 
~-- ---— i 
FINISHING. 
They have a lawn outside where small stools 
like a cubic toot are placed for the accommoda¬ 
tion of the customer; a raised tire-place is in the 
corner, whereupon the coffee pot is heard sim¬ 
mering, whilst immediately above it are two 
shelves where the narghelea are placed. The 
customer here enjoys the luxury of ft smoke and 
a cup of coffee tor the trifling sum of ton paras, 
about two farthings. Some of the large coffee 
rtorn tu »t>nanda£ti of -i story-teller, who 
vwucfl of on evening, and either entertains the 
audience with ustory from the “ Arabian JN Iglits,’' 1 
or relates to them some gallant deed of some de¬ 
ceased warrior. These stories are well received. 
In relating the story the speaker does not stand 
on a platform, as in’tbe West The customers aro 
divided to two sides, and an open space is left 
between them. 1 n this space he walks to and fro. 
He begins the story by clapping his hands, which 
at once secures for him 1 ,breathless attention. I n 
place of the “ ladies and gentlemen ” of the West, 
the story-teller, on clapping his hands tor atten¬ 
tion, addresses them thus:—“ My honored sirs.” 
He speaks a little, then helps himself to a whiff 
of nargbelefrom one of the customers, who gladly 
offers it to him; ho speaks a little more, takes an¬ 
other whiff from the narghele of another custom¬ 
er, aud so on until he is done. 
PERMANENCY OF PHOTOGRAPHS. 
Toe Paris correspondent of the Photographic 
(London) News states that, at a late meeting of 
the Paris Photographic Society, M. Davadne 
presented two photographic pictures on paper 
which had been submitted to the. test of expo¬ 
sure in tvvoexhibitions, (1861 and 1862,) and which 
Showed no signs of fading or alteration whatever. 
This, then, may be accepted as satisfactory proof 
that photographs, when carefully prepared, are 
permanent; for the pictures in question were 
Submitted to the severest test to which photo¬ 
graphs are over likely to be exposed, the condi¬ 
tion being every variation of light, heat, moisture, 
Ac., and they remained aa fresh and pure as at 
first. It was also remarked that photographs are 
more liable to change when kept in a portfolio 
than under glass, exposed to luminous action. 
A sulphurized proof, if kept in a perfectly dry 
place, remains for a very long time without ex¬ 
hibiting any signs of alteration, while iu a damp 
plucc change is immediately evident. Thus, a 
photograph carefully framed is much better shel¬ 
tered from humidity than when kept in a portfolio. 
Another Use for Leather.—Iu the stores 
is now offered trimming for ladies’ dresses and 
cloaks, made of leather, it is of all widths, cut 
from the prepared.calfskin into patterns like those 
with which pastry cooks embellish the margins of 
their pies. Tho leather is cut in its natural color. 
A taw library might then be disposed of to advan¬ 
tage. Tho trimming is novel, aud immensely 
durable. For its beauty we haven’t much to say. 
For anything that can he called odd, however, our 
crinoline will go to Us entire length. Leather 
belts, dyed in all colors, and ornamented with 
steel in the similitude of screw heads, and other 
divines, with bright steel buckles and mounting, 
are mush in vogue. They are not durable, and 
unless in the russet soon part with their bloom. 
Bonnets of leather will be shown at the next mil¬ 
liners' opening. Tho material is precisely like 
that used by book-binders. This use for sheep 
skin must increase the demand and cause the sheep 
to take an increased importance .—Philadelphia 
Gazette. 
“What is that?” said Mrs. Haines to her 
daughter Edith, as they came to some earth 
thrown up in one corner of the garden, where 
nothing but grass bad previously been seen. 
“Oh, it is one ot Fetor’s beginnings,” said 
Edith. “ He was going to have flower beds to 
make boquete for the market: he worked hero 
a part of one afternoon, and then quit it,'Vs 
usual, lor son:nth’. ng r.,'50. ! do w:-b he WOti'.d 
stick to something.” , 
Mrs. Haines said nothing. She was sorry to 
see auother indication of tho unfortunate habit 
of her son, of beginning things, and then aban¬ 
doning them. There were a great many illustra¬ 
tions of this habit about the place. There were 
boxes, and wagons, and wooden guns begun, 
and left in that stale. 11 was said that Peter wob 
never known to finish anything. 
His beginnings were not confined to material 
objects. He was desirous of mental improve¬ 
ment, and formed a great many plans of mental 
inprovement, and entered upon them, but never 
finished them. Now he marked out a plan of 
reading, and entered upon it with great zeal; 
but in a day or two his zeal would flag, and he 
would leave tho plan for another. Then, per¬ 
haps, he would form a plan for improvement in 
composition. Ho would write a composition 
every week. Among his papers there could be 
found a composition begun; it was never finish¬ 
ed; nor would hu proceed uny further in the 
execution of his plan. 
His prospects for success In life were very 
poor. Mon succeed by energy and perseverance. 
If habits of energy and perseverance are not 
formed In youth, they will never be formed. 
Young persons should not hastily form plans 
of any kind. Think about a thing before you 
resolve to do it. Having resolved to do a thing, 
do it, unless you discover that, it is wrong. Form 
tho habit of finishing whatever you begin. The 
habit cannot lie formed, unless you always 
finish what you begin. Do not say, I will finish 
all important things I begin; finish everything. 
Do not leave a thing because you get tired of it. 
Finish it for tho sake of the habit 
By this means you will establish a reputation 
tor reliability. When you undertake a thiug, 
men will have confidence that it will be done. 
This gives one a great weight of character and 
Influence. Think well before you undertake a 
thing, but having undertaken it, persevere till it 
is done. 
The Truly Useful. —No one has a right to 
trifle even with the slightest opportunity of 
being useful. Few can work out splendid 
achievements; but that individual who unobtru¬ 
sively pursues his way, aud feels a quiet joy in 
dropping an appropriate word of rational in¬ 
struction, who judiciously expresses sympathy, 
or utters his convictions in tones ol virtuous 
persuasion, may do more in the course of his 
humble life than another who endows hospitals, 
patronizes popular Institutions, and blazes out 
into sudden acts of brilliant munificence. 
Practical wisdom acts in the mind as gravita¬ 
tion does in the material world; combining, keep¬ 
ing tilings in their places, and] maintaining a 
mutual dependence amongst the various parts of 
our system. It is forever reminding us where 
we are, and what we can do, not in fancy, but 
in real life. It does not permit us to wait for dain¬ 
ty duties, pleasant to the imagination; but in¬ 
sists upon our doing those which are before us.— 
Helps. 
Hi 
