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February 3, 1849. . THE NORTHERN STAR. s...
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BEAUTIES OF BYRON. Secosd Series. T. Tho...
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TILE COMMONWEALTH—A Monthly i?ccord of D...
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Tlie History of Ireland. B y T. Wright. ...
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The Plain Speaker. Edited by Thomas Coop...
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The Colombo Observer thus enumerates the...
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'RICHARD COBDEN, THE MODEL AGITATOR.'
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Mr. Editor,—-The above heading is the th...
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SADLER'S WELLS. Shakspoave's A'ini; John...
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Railwat Slaughter.—Seven she-op, out of ...
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To thosr Sehkino Empi.otmkst.—The Albany...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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February 3, 1849. . The Northern Star. S...
February 3 , 1849 . . THE NORTHERN STAR . s ii ' ' ' -B— _---SiS --- _^— ~ m . = _* == = -J , " _,... " _* ' -- _______ _*><>'• in i ii .. | | ; . _
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Beauties Of Byron. Secosd Series. T. Tho...
BEAUTIES OF BYRON . _Secosd Series . T . Tho following lines , though not addressed " Fum the Fourth , " were evidently intended apply to that royal worth y : — The last of the Fools and Oppressors called 'George . '" TO BELSHAZZAR . Belsiuizar ! from the Banquet turn , Nor in thy sensual fulness fall ; Behold ! while yet before thee burn Thc graven words , the g lowing wall . 3 _Lanv _iTdespot men miscall _Crown'd and anointed from on high ; Bnt thou , the weakest , worst of allfc it not written , thou must die ? Go ! dash the roses from thy
brow—Grey hairs but poorly wreathe with them ; Youth ' s garlands misbecome thee now , More than thy very diadem , "Where thou hast tarnished every gem : — Then throw the worthless bauble by , ¦ Which , worn by thee , ev'n slaves contemn ; And learn _lilte better men to die ! Oh I early " in the balance wcigh'd , And ever light of word and worth , Whose soul expired ere youth _decay'd , And left thee but a mass of earth ! To see thee moves the seorner ' _s mirth But tears in Hope ' s averted eye Lament that even thou hadst
birth-Unfit to govern , live , or die I We selected the above principally on account of its brevity , that we might have room to add the following tribute to thc character and motives of the Irish State Prisoners . The lines are extracted from the Dublin University Magazine .
THS FALLEN . Wc had hopes that rose as proudly As each sculptured marble shrine ; And our prophets snake as loudly As their oracles divine . Grand resolved of giant daring , Such as Titans breathed of old , Brilliant aims their front uprearing , Like a temple roofed with gold . Souls of fire , like columns pointing , Flame-like upwards to the skie 3 ; Glorious brows -which God ' s anointing Consecrated altar wise . Stainless hearts , like temples olden , Jfone but priests hath ever trod ; Bands as pare as were the golden Staves which bore the ark of God .
Oh , they built up radiant visions , Like an iris after rain ; Uoty all Paradise traditions Might be made to live again . Of humanity ' s sad story , How their hand should turn the page And the ancient primal glory , Fling upon this latter age . How with God-like aspirations , Up the souls of men would climb , Till the fall'n , enslaved nations Trod in rhythmic march sublime : Reaching heights the people knew not , Till their prophet Leaders led—Bathed in light that mortals view not , While the spirit life lies dead . How thc pallid sons of labour , They should toil and toil to raise , Till a glory , like to Tabor ,
Once again should meet earth ' s gaze Bow the poor , no longer keeping Count of life alone by groans , With the strong cry of their weeping , Start the angels on their thrones . Ah , that vision ' s bright ideal , Must it fade and perish thus ? 3 Iust its fall alone be real , Are its ruins trod by us ? Ah , they dream'd an Eldorado , Given not to mortal sight : Yet the souls that walk in shadow , Still bend forward to its light . Earnest dreamers , sooth we blame not If ye failed to reach the goal—If the slorious real came not
At the strong prayer of your soul . By the path ye ve trod to duty , Blessings yet to man may flow , Though the proud and stately beauty Of your structure licth low .
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Tile Commonwealth—A Monthly I?Ccord Of D...
TILE COMMONWEALTH—A Monthly i ? ccord of Democratic , Social , and Industrial Progress . No . I . February . London : 1 G , Great Windmill-street . That the Labourer magazine has ceased lo appear must hy this time he generally known t ) the numerous circle of readers who were ' _-lrchasers of that periodical . The incarceration of Mr . Erxest _Joxes , and the multifarious and unceasing labours of Mr . _O'Coxxob , l ' _-ft the Labourer almost unedited , and at _h- _' _-gth caused its abandonment . Fortunately fvr the eause of Democratic Progress a suecessor to the Labourer has started into existonce , the first number of which we have the pleasure to introduce to our readers .
The _Comtnomcealift , in form and price , imitates its well-known predecessor , but has this advantage to recommend it , that it has some _ciMioiiLujji * to j . vcouuui .-iiu . it , _iuuii i \ i _iiaa _auiuc
< ; twelve pages more than the Labourer con-: lamed . From the publisher ' s " Address , " we _k-ani that the " leading principles" of which the Commonwealth is intended to be the _exiiyiient , are : — " That Taxation without _Ke-I _' . _vwcutation , is Tyranny ¦ and therefore every ; adult , of sound mind and untainted by crime , ] <¦ :: ght to have a vote in the election of those _; who impose taxes and make tlie laws . * * That Labour is the Source of all Wealth ; and _, those engaged in its production have the first ; 1 _i-xht to share in the results of their toil . * *
_i ; : at the Land , Labour , Skill , and Capital of 2 a country ought to he combined and applied in . su ' .-h a manner as to promote the well-being of 1 _cr-.-ry individual in the community . * * * : _/ _Tl-at as an essential pre-requisite topermanent 1 * . < _- _""ie prosperity , the capabilities of our own F : - c . il ought to be full y developed . " From •} _t- _' _- 'se extracts it will be seen that democratic £ and social reformers , trades unionists , and the I advocates generall y of a fair day ' s wage tor a lair day ' s work , will find this publication the _ninthl y representative of their views , and ad-K _vir-ate of their measures . The first article in
the number before us is an elaborate and ably-D - written account of " The Gold Region of Cali-£ - _J-iniia . " The subject will suffice to command the attention of most readers . " Pauperism g and Poor Rates" is the first of an intended g . _* _--. 'ries of articles on the " Condition of Eng-H lind Question . " The valuable statistical mat-Is t < _-r , and the sound arguments based thereon , H _1-md Question . " The valuable statistical matis t < _-r , and the sound arguments based thereon
, || wiii give to this article a more than ordinary Sgfiuterest in the eyes of political readers . || jLA . jiother valuable article , entitled " _Compara-E _t've Productiveness of Large and Small S | F _*! nus , '' ive may warmly commend to all Sh '* - ' - take an interest in Mr . O'Connor ' s _&| vLand Plan , or who look forward to the _es-^ talilishnient of Home Colonies as one of the fs j ? a _' _'aiis of social redemption . A review ofthe | | | P . evolution of 1848 appropriately finds a place jap .- } ' the side of an article on Louis BlAXC .
| t » i the latter of these articles our readers may pudge for themselves , as we have extracted the p'niicipal portion thereof into another column _| c : £ this page ofthe Star . I . From a brief but pointed article by _« . A _Contributor" ( G . J . Holyoake ) , we give the foluwing extracts : —
* srr axd plotting _ststkii . It ' h seems for a time to destroy all hope , and to _fp'i k ; . ' a man despair of poUtical improvement , when gi ; = ees flagrant iniquity flourish in high places , gii . li the applause of the public . But despair _notg-iatever is corrupt is mortal . K la the late spy trials our Government came into ¦ pit , and accepted the aid of men , to obtain _conjMouons which rendered them execrable . The go-Kiiunont stooped to do that which it would be bound » _" - _"V _\> y , i ic and punish in anv member of the state W 2 » aad done it . It dipped its hands inthe blood of If . 7 J' - * - ' * --. }\ taught the worst and most _dangergP- _ivsson whieh rulers can teach the people—itVlid ___ . .. J , M , _^ comc - But Tn < - good will not _Bfcr , J _* ! _"x 5 c'rM isold-the principle is bad , MB got * never yet came and never will come of it . gg _^ the duty of a government to nrotect it-- _<** ihm _ _$ mm _ _ft _ _r ____^& _£
Tile Commonwealth—A Monthly I?Ccord Of D...
withdraw the exciting cause-to volunteer instruction where error has to bo corrected-in fine , to prevent the evil vrith all _pomible alacrity , and by all _possible means . If a state will not do this , or does not do it-it is no longer the parent of the peopleit is the incubus of the people , and ought to be thrown off with all convenient speed . If , on tho contrary , the state shall initiate disorder—shall itself teach the lesson of rebellion in order to imbrue its hands in the blood of its _children—language is inadequate to execrate it sufficiently , and the mind labours for greater ability of detesting it . Such a government dies by its own hand . The practice of _employing spies has ever been reprehended by all who would make policy moral .
Burke has described its revolting effects with an indignation { which I am afraid lie never felt after he w . _i 3 pensioned ) every right feeling man shares . "Under such a system , " says he , ''the obnoxious people are slaves not only to the government , but they live at the mercy of every individual . They are at once the slaves of the whole community , and of every part of it , and the worst and most unmerciful men are those on whose goodnes 3 they most depend . In this situation men not only shrink from the frowns of a stern magistrate , but are obliged to fly from tlieir very species . The seeds of destruction are sown in civil intercourse and in social habitudes . The blood of wholesome kindred is infected , the tables and beds are surrounded by snares ; all the means given to make life safe and comfortable are perverted into instruments of terror and torment . This species of universal subserviency , that make the very servant who waits behind your chair the arbiter of vour life and fortune , has such a
tendency to degrade and debase mankind , and to deprive them of that assured and liberal state of mind which alone can make us what we ought to be , that I vow I would sooner bring myself to sentence a man to immediate death for opinions I disliked , and so get rid ofthe man and of his opinions at once , than to fret him with a feverish being tainted with the gaol distemper of a contagious servitude , and to keep him above ground an animated mass of putrefaction , corrupting himself and corrupting all around him . " It is thus that upright men feel towards the spy system— what must be their indignation -of the plotting system , such as our government have lately identified themselves _withi' How looks it in a court ' of "law to see our judges , who vaunt the purity of their ermine , draw on the cap of condemnation with venal or blood-stained fingers . Yet it came , virtually to this when _Towell , and others of his genus , were accepted as evidence for the Crown ..
"When I was in Oldham , and other northern towns , in the summer , I found paragraphs creeping into the provincial press , which I foresaw were intended to be used in courts of law . I pointed out one in thc Reasoner at the time , in which things were charged upon Mr . George White , which I believe he never said , and upon going to him and putting the case to him , I found his words had been entirely perverted . Our local magistrates , who have these things done through prejudice , should remember that nothing
lowers the law so much as making it the handmaid of horrible malignity . Two persons were some time ago walking on the platform ofa railway station on the North Midland line waiting for the train ; one , a well-coated , selfimportant manufacturer , turned to the other , who appeared in the roughor coat of a respectable artizan , and said : " What a truly wonderful contrivance is this electric telegraph . " " Yes , " answered Third Class , " very wonderful , but I don't exactly see its use . "
" Not see its use ! " " replied First Class . " Why , see how it catches thieves . " " Ah ! ' * said _THinn Class , " its use is not quite perfected in that respect yet . " " Think you so ? " inquired First Class . "In what respect could it be improved ?" " Why , " replied Third Class , " it catches the thief who robs the rich man—it would he doubly useful in my opinion , did it enable us to catch the thief who robs the poor man . If the electric telegraph wa 3 universally employed , " added Third Class sarcastically , " we should find many a Manufacturer and Capitalist detected who now escapes . " First Class parted from Third Class to meet again as Magistrate and Prisoner . Third _^ Class was our waggish friend Goorge White , whose wit has many a time endangered his liberty .
In the provinces the Spy and Plotting System has often been set going , to revenge defeated pride on hungry wit . Poor Ellis , now enduring twenty-one years' transportation for an offence which it seems he never committed—can illustrate this melancholy truth . In Kirkdale gaol lies George White , separated from his family , who are left in necessitous circumstances . Let our friends who execrate the Spy and Plotting System remember George White , West , Leach , and its other victims , who aro now White's prison companions . We consider the Commonwealth a very desirable publication , and we have much pleasure in rocoinmonding it to the readers of this journal , and the friends of Democratic and Social Frogress generally .
Tlie History Of Ireland. B Y T. Wright. ...
Tlie History of Ireland . B y T . Wright . Part VI . London : J . and F . Tailis , 100 , St . John-street . This Part contains the history of Ireland from the close of the reign of Henr V . to the end of the reign of _Henky VII ., embracing the reigns of the Sixth Hexby _, the Fourth Edward , and the Third Richard . During the ( English ) " Wars ofthe Roses , " Ireland appears to have been but little troubled by English interference . The English-Irish of the pale , " were , generally , in _fiivour of the House of York , and , when
defeated , the adherents to the "White Rose " usually took refuge in Dublin . In the reign of HExnr VII ., Ireland was the focus of most of the intrigues directed against that Prince . Here the celebrated " pretenders" ( ' impostors" they are commonly called ) Lambert Simxel and _Perkix Warbeck , first made their appearance , and set up their claims to the sovereignty of tho two countries . The facts worthy of notice throughout this period of Irish History ( nearly one hundred years ) , are exceedingly few . Of course , the Irish were , as usual , " at war with each other . If ,
for a moment , two or three tribes became united , for the purpose of executing some foray at the expense of the English settlers , momentary success sufficed to set them tearing each others throats , to determine which faction should monopolise the spoils of victory . In almost every page , the Historian records the lamentable fact , that English tyranny _ivas maintained only by Irish dissension . It is impossible to feel much sympathy for a people who , instead of directing their united strength against their oppressors , chose rather to be engaged in everlasting quarrels among themselves , accompanied by the most abominable
atrocities . These pages contain almost one uninterrupted record of strife , pillage , aud massacre , followed by their natural consequence **—famine and pestilence . The English settlers . contributed largely to these horrors , hut it must be admitted that the Irish did their part in making their country a " Hell upon earth . " The last page of this part opens "Book HI ., " in which will be written " The Age ofthe Pieformation . " The illustration to this partis a splendid steel engraving , of Henry II . presenting the Pope ' s Bull to the Archbishop of Cashel .
The Plain Speaker. Edited By Thomas Coop...
The Plain Speaker . Edited by Thomas Cooper , Author of the " Purgatory of Suicides . " _Nos . 1 and 2 . London : B . Steill , 20 , Paternoster-row . A new weekl y publication , written with the power and ability for which the well known editor is celebrated . Some of Mr . Cooper ' s views we dissent from , but we have no inclination to be critical , when the work , as a whole , commands our good wishes . Inthe first number is a ** Speech" which the Queen " ought" to have delivered at the opening of
Parliament ; and a letter to Richard Cobden , M . P ., both worthy attentive perusal . The second number contains a capital letter to " The Duke of Grafton , a descendant of one of the fifteen bastard children of King Charles the Second ; " headed by the appropriate motto , y Soft words butter no parsnips . " We may state an interesting fact , that the Plain Speaker will , in future , number amongst its contributors Mr . Jonathan Wooler , the talented editor of that once-popular publication , the Black Dwarf .
The Colombo Observer Thus Enumerates The...
The Colombo Observer thus enumerates the advantages of Lord Torrington ' s rule in Ceylon : * ' Full dress levies , haughtiness and assumption ; the elephant kral and displays of temper ; rash and illadvised legislation , disturbances , rebellion , and bloodshed " . ______
The Colombo Observer Thus Enumerates The...
LIFE AND WRITINGS OF LOUIS BLANC . ( From the Commonwealth . ) Louis Blanc has lately occupied much of the public attention , hi consequence of thc part he acted as a member of the late Provisional Government of France . The foreign correspondents of the English newspapers have zealously laboured to defame him in the eyes ofthe British people , and they have no doubt succeeded to some extent , particularly with those who implicitly rely on the veracity of newspaper scribblers for their information relative to thc principles and lives of public nren . It ia consolatory , however , to reflect that the influence of these men on society is becoming gradually
more and more limited . The " prejudices which they assume to suit the papers for which they write , being meant only for a temporary purpose , become in a short time transparent to their readers , and their self-contradictions arc so flagrant and numerous , that all they say is taken with a large reservation by such of their readers as possess the least controul over their own judgments . It would be a mistake to suppose that Louis Blanc is an unpopular man even in this country , and in France he is venerated by all who wish to see a peaceable regeneration of society , whilst he is hated with an intense hatred by the ignorant and grasping of the middle class , those who believe that the salvation of the world depends upon the glitter of their shops and the favourable state of their cash
accounts . In giving a sketch of the life and writings of Louis Blanc we shall endeavour to show as clearly as wc can the character of his mind , and tho modem which it has impressed itself upon thc a _^ e and country in which he laboured ; for not merely as a historian , or as a politician , is Louis Blanc to be viewed . He is also a profound statesman and philosopher , the whole of whose ideas are devoted to the emancipation of humanity , not only from the tyranny of kings , but also from tho detestable thraldom of commercial competition , an insatiable tyranny which is hourly destroying its ten 3 of thousands , body and soul , quietly , but surely and remorselessly . Those who have watched the march of events in Europe within the last twelve months must have noticed the
remarkable prominency of the working men a 3 actors in the movements wliich have taken place : previous to the revolution of last February , kings , priests aud _aoldim \ -cvc tha _^ _tfomm , and _fa-mily , or class interests , were the moving pauses . The people , chained to the car ofsome selfish dynasty , have been driven like dumb cattle in any direction indicated by kingly ambition , and their interests , their comfort and prosperity , were only studied as a means of giving stability to the thrones of kings or the tyrannic privileges of aristocracies . The February revolution of 1848 has , however , disclosed a new condition of things . In it the people not only manifested their power , but also made the influence of their ideas strongly felt in the political discussions that grew out of the political changes then made .
The painful situation of the working people has been a subject of much consideration on the part of the benevolent , and many have sought to mitigate their sufferings by the establishment of hospitals and other institutions of a similar description ; experience has , however , proved , that , though these are good in their way , yet they do not meet the evil with a view to subdue it . A few , however , with the same benevolent feelings , but with more practical wisdom , have examined into the causes of this suffering with a view to its complete abolition , and they have discovered that this can only be done by . a total , but gradual and peaceful , alteration of the whole constitution of society . This is , no doubt , an extraordinary recommendation to hazard , and yet the circumstances ofthe case seem fully to warant their audacity .
Amongst this last number is Louis Blanc ; he is yet a young man , but the labour which he has bestowed on this subject , proves that it has had the entire use of his time and his faculties . Those who only know him through the newspapers know little of him ; those who write of him in the newspapers know less ; to know him he must be studied through every page of his writings , political and social * , it is there only it can be seen how completely he is devoted to thc interests ofthe human family , and how wisely and powerfully he has laboured to promote them . There is no falser opinion than that which holds Louis Blanc as a
destructive , or a disturber of the peace and security of society . Ilis heart holds love for all ; its pity is for the people , and its indignation only for those who rely upon brute force for the conservation , not of order , but of a most insensate anarchy . His " Organisation of Labour" we look upon as the least important of his works , considered by itself ; its great value lies in the powerful manner in which it exposes the evils of present society ; its adaptation to the public mind by its size ; the clearness of its reasonings , and the force of its
conclusions . * * * His " History of the First French Devolution , " is as yet an unfinished book ; but , as far as it has gone , its scope is much Lvger , and its aim higher , than any work as yet produced in relation to that extraordinary event . * . * * His " History of Ten Years" is his great work . Great in its execution , and wonderful in the influence it has exercised on recent events . It is a complete key to the Revolution of February . It precipitated the event , and called out the actors .
We need not inform the reader that the author is a Eepublican , nevertheless monarchy and its supporters are treated with great car dour and fairness . Partisanship is kept in abeyance , and public men spoken of with reference only to their individual worth . At first view it may appear that the supporters of Republican ideas meet with undue favour , but when we reflect that they have always been the subjects of obloquy and reproach , an act of the commonest justice looks like an act of partiality ; whilst the tools of kings have been so grossly flattered by the sycophants of courts , and so puffed out of all proportion to their real merit , that to speak of them in the language of truth and justice , carries with it the appearance of hostility .
" The character of Louis Philippe was , in this book , for tho first time placed in its proper li ght . He is hero viewed as a man totally without genius , but with wonderful capabilities for such government as depends on tact and cunning ; supremely avaricious , and capable of great powers of dissimulation . When this estimate of thc royalty of the revolution made its appearance — ' _ " See , " cried thc king ' s flatterers , "how far party spite can carry a man . Here is the great man of his age—the Napoleon of Peace—treated as a greedy , cunning , clever trickster . " Fortunately for Louis Blanc , the events immediately preceding and following the late revolution , have proved the correctness of Jiis estimate to the letter , and the world now pronounces for the historian _.
Tk * great object of the writer's hostility , however , is the bourgeoisie ; that is , those citizens who , possessing implements of labour or capital , work with means of their own , and are not dependent on others , except to a ccrtain extent . By tho people he means the whole body of citizens who , not possessing capital , depend completely on others , and especially as regards the prime necessaries ot life , lie shows how the capitalists have carried on a war with aristocratic power , destroying its privileges and immunities , subjecting all power to thc influence and control of the chamber , and confining all electoral power to themselves , excluding the
people , and controlling the aristocracy , and thus , by the monopolisation of all political influence , working out a policy which aims at nothing higher than a mean and selfish materialism . It would occupy more space than we can at present give , to present the history of this struggle . When we review the book in its social aspect , wc shall allude more fully to this ; in the meantime we shall conclude by giving a . few cabinet portraits of men who have acted , and are now _acting , a prominent part in the politics of France , that the reader may judge , not only of thc style and power of the writer , but also of liis wonderful capability to correctly comprehend the character ot public men .
M . Guizot . — " Another member of this ministry was M . Guizot , a man of sour and haughty temper , steeped in pride , impassioned under an outward appearance of calmness . You could easily recognise the man by his noble but melancholy forehead , his drily cut lips , his cold disdainful smile , and a ccrtain drooping ofthe body , the index of a troubled soul . Wc have since seen him in the Chambers , his bilious and worn features distinguishable far oft * from all around him . When provoked by his adversaries he bent upon them a look of piercing scorn , and erected his head upon his bent frame with an indescribable expression of anger and irony . His peremptory gestures , and his dogmatic tones ( he was a protestaut and a professor ) gave him something of the air of one who was not to be put down ; lmt his firmness was all apparent ; in realityhc
possessed no activity of mind * or vigour of will . Tlie consistency even wliich was remarked inM . Guizot ' s writings had in it something of the pertinacity of the master who will not condescend to contradict himself before his pupils . He was thought to be cruel ; perhaps he was so only in his speeches ; but in the refinement of his pride ' , he was iond of compromising himself , and whilst he wilfully and designedly let his virtues be overlooked , he made a parade of vices artificially put on . The versatility of his political conduct was no secret to any one in 1830 , and the recollection of the part he had played in 1815 had made him the object of keen attacks . He took little heed of them : faithful in friendship , that none might have cause to repent of having trusted in ftis fortunes , he had always affected to despise his enemies that he might not be suspected of fearing them . His talent consisted in _veiling under the solemn pomp with wliich he enunciated them , a great poverty of views , and sentiments devoid of grandeur . His word nevertheless had w _eight ; and his disinterestedness , the grave tenor of his life , his domestic virtues , and the austerity of
The Colombo Observer Thus Enumerates The...
his manners , marked him out from the frivolous and greedy society in which he moved . Add to this , that he had the art , like _Casimir Perier , of ennobling mean desi gns , and of serving whilst appearing to reign . " n , ul ffi _« "i _* ° * after a " . was better _cal-? _£ _TJ i _w " ,, * Thicr 3 t 0 , ead th ( - bourgeoisie ; his Shrewd intellect ; his subtle , but good-humoured countenance ; his easy , unaffected _mannorgjhis nveiy ch-. _tterin- " , and the careless grace with which lie made light ot his own importance when need was ; all these rendered his superiority light to be borne , and all the better secured its empire . All this was of service to him amongst a class which likes leaders of easy access , and who do not stand too stiffly upon their personal merits . He had risen from -i
very low station , and this gave him a claim to the favour of the _^ _an-cntw , who beheld in him the _lc-itimacy of their own fortunes . Aud , then , what a fecundity of expedients did he display ! What a vivacity of intellect ! What aptitude for comprehending , for explaining everything ! M . Thiers was a journalist , a man of letters , and a financier ; he would have made himself , had occasion offered , general of an army , and , even despite the direction his studies had taken , there was nothing he so much envied as the career of a warrior . In the History ofthe French Revolution , he had affected a great knowledge of strategy ; and nothing would have so delighted him as to mount his charger , review troops , and curry popularity among the soldiers . Eloquent
he was not , and his small figure was strikingly to Jus disadvantage in the tribune ; but he was so lucid in his exposition of affairs ; he spoke with such a heartiness of his love for his country his pantomime was so expressive ; his shrill and feeble voice acquired such a plaintiveness from fatigue , that ho obtained success b y means of his very defects ; by the absence of all noble appearance , by Ulffuacncss , excessive negligence , and commonplace demeanour and tone . No one better than he knew the art of assuming mediocrity in an assembly . His ideas were manifestly turned towards the empire ; he would have the executive to be active and respected ; ho disdained it when scrupulous ; as for principles , he had a hair-brained ,
and sometimes ' impertinent scorn for them ; for , in politics , he recognised no other divinity than force , and this he adored in its most opposite manifestations , provided always it showed no features of rigorism .. He loved it equally well as a means of tyranny and as an instrument of revolt ; he had admired it in Bonaparte ; he had admired it in the impetuous _Danton ; and he would have admired it even in Robespierre , if in Robespierre he had not found it united with austerity : for the rest , he had no consistency in his conduct , little depth of sentiment , more restlessness than activity , more turbulence than audacity : he proved himself , at times , adequate to an emergency , and he would have . " possessed elevation of mind , had he
been gifted with more elevation of heart , In many respects , M . Thiers was a Danton in miniature ; he had , nevertheless , much more probity than he was given credit for , and his enemies threw out unjust accusations against him in this respect ; but being a man of imagination , loving the arts with a childish passion , devoured by frivolous wants , capable of forgetting the affairs of state for the discovery of a bas-relief by Jean Goujon ; impetuous in his whims , eager to snatch the enjoyments of the present moment , lie gave a ready ha _' ndle to calumny . Though , individually , he had no rancour or malice , as a minister he was much less averse than M . Guizot to violent measures ; it is true , that he did not , like M . Guizot , make a parade of despotism ; he would gladly have terrified his enemies , without feeling any desire to boast of their fears ; tho essential thing for him being to put in operation the system of intimidation which M . Guziotlaid dov ? n in theory ; forthe
one panted to act , the other to appear . Sometimes , after resisting pernicious designs in the council , M . Guizot stood up in thc tribune as their apologist , and uttered implacablo words , words of that kind that stick fast in men ' s minds . It was not so with M . Thiers , who was an indefatigable corrupter of the press , and skilful tamperer with public opinion , and the successful flatterer of that portion of the bourgeoisie wliich piqued itself upon liberalism and national pride . At any rate , M . Thiers possessed neither love of humanity , nor an apprehension of its possible progress ; guessing at nothing beyond the horizon , he made little account of the people ; he admired it only in the battle-field , where it rushes upon destruction , and thought it good for nothing , but as matter to be worked upon by those insolent speculators , who , under the usurped name of statesmen , parcel out amongst them the spoils of nations . "
'Richard Cobden, The Model Agitator.'
' RICHARD COBDEN , THE MODEL AGITATOR . '
Mr. Editor,—-The Above Heading Is The Th...
Mr . Editor , — -The above heading is the thesis of an article which appeared in the Spirit of the Aye newspaper of Saturday last , in which the writer essays to convince his readers that Mr Cohden is an agitator of such rare and extraordinary qualifications that the annals of popular movements cannot furnish his parallel . The writer not only quaffs his goblet of turbid laudation to the excellencies of his friend , but at the same time pours , copiously the phial of his condemnation upon all agitators and agitations , save Cobden , and Corn Law Repeal 1 The one is the model agitator , and the other is the bright oasis in the desert of political movements . That the partisans and friends of Mr . Cobden should
express their admiration of that gentleman is perfectly natural and fair ; but in so doing they have no right to misrepresent the motives , deride the objects , or depreciate the means of other pioneers in the path of progress . The following extract from the letter of ' Ion' may be viewed as a fair sample of the wholesale condemnation heaped upon all men and measures , not within the holy precincts ot Anti-Corn Law Leaguism- — -The loud invectivethe untiring accu 3 ation—imputation which knew no justice , and mendacity which knew no truth ; and everlasting appeals to tl e passions , and a pandering to popular vanity , which made the people who tolerated it seem not worth the saving ; these were
the constituent elements of old demagogmaw . If statements were made they were random ; if arguments were used , they were perverted , Btrained , or illogical— -everything was sacrificed to bouncing , and no victory was esteemed like that of a cheer . Wbat wretched—what miserable , impotent propagandist *) was this ? Clap-trap was its staple , and delusion its end . And yet in too many quarters , even now , men delude themselves that this species of exhibition is patriotism , and can serve a useful end . ' Now , there is a specimen of modest diction , which would require some diligent searching to find its parallel . For my own part , I can saj that I have been an observer of tbe progress of several agitations
in this country , and I think it may be affirmed of them , without at all incurring the charge of being hyperbolical , or in the slightest degree of derogating Mr . Cobden ' s real merits , that they have been as ably , as truthfully , and as disinterestedly conducted as any with which that gentleman has ever been allied . Indeed , it requires very little controversial tact or logical dexterity , to fasten upon the great champion , and the squires of the immaculate League , the greater number of the charges enumerated in the above paragraph , and sought to be attacked elsewhere . Talk of invective , accusation , and denunciation ! Why every man in England knows that every epithet of opprobrium in our
language has been brought into requisition by the League orators to designate tbe aristocracy of this country . Some of the choicest samples of respectable Biningsgate ever heard , have been fulminated from time to time by the satellites of ' _IoaV model agitator . And as regards -random statements , ' -perverted arguments / the bouncing , ' the ' clap-tkap , ' and the ' delusion , ' all the world knows that these were the weapons supplied frcm tbe League armoury , wherewith to fight itt battles . Many are the starving stockingers in the Midland Counties ; many are the wretched weavers of the North , whose miserable wages were mulct on the Saturday night , to promote that great and glorious change , tbat was to make
England an El Dorado of peace and plenty , who , in the bitterness of their disappointment , execrate the whole tribe misnomered Free Traders , for tbe rank impositions and heartless delusions practised upon them . Notwithstanding the dogmatism of ' Ion ' upon this point , there is a large portion of the thinking community exceedingly sceptical as to Mr . Cobden ' s consistency . His profession of Republican principles , and his repudiation in the House of Commons of the idea of man having natural rights , is a paradox which I shall leave the admirers of his consistency to reconcile . The people are just hecoming cognizant of the fact that all the predictions ofthe great political oracle of the League have so far been rather reversed than fulfilled
Tbere is yet no sign of England becoming a corn-exporting country ; there is yet no tendency to enhancement in the wages of labour ; neither is there any proof of that increased trade and commerce which were with such oracular confidence predicted as the consequences of triumphant Leagueism . Those who are not oblivious of these things will be rather inclined toregard Mr . Cobden ' s political preseience as a somewhat questionable matter , asa thing the existence of which may with some show of reason be denied ,
• Ion' goes on to tell us tbat Mr . Cobden ' took no steps but upon the firmly paved ground facts . ' I must take exception to this assertion . That Mr . Cob-
Mr. Editor,—-The Above Heading Is The Th...
den is a cautious , _ealeulatitt ** politician no one will deny ; nevertheless , it is obvious to those who can take « n impartial retrospect of hi-public career , that even he has been sometimes wont to indulge in the vagaries of theory . Speeches of Mr . Cobden are producible in abundance , in which he says that after the Repeal ofthe Corn Laws , England would become the granary of the world , and be a corn-exporting country . How could this position be reconciled with the assertion that we should have increased commerce in the same ratio as we imported grain ? Mr . Cobden and his omniscient _co-agitatorg were in the habit of presenting Corn Law Repeal in three
different respects , as circumstances required . In the firat place , Repeal was sought in towns , where the audiences consisted of the _shopkeeping and working classes , on the ground that it would increase wages and improve trade . Time bas shown this to be claptrap of the first water . Then the light in which the cause was set before the agricultural clodpoles wa , that it would enable the farmer to obtain better prices for his produce , and Baptist Noel argued that it would secure to the landlord a better rent . And the third position , which is significantly suggestive of the real motives ofthe misnomered Free-traders , taken in
was up the legislature , which was tbat Repeal was required to enable the British manufacturer by cheap production to maintain his position in the foreign markets of the world ! It always puzzled simple-minded men to understand that if the high prices of our manufactures was an impediment to their disposal in the foreign market , how such impediment could be removed by enhancing tke cost of production , or , in other words , by increasing the wages of labour . It requires no argument to show that any one of these positions is contradictory of the other two . So much for the consistency of tbe omniscient agent .
' Ion' has fallen into another error when he claims moral heroism fir lhe Leaguers . He would have us beliere that the League missionaries were ever willing and anxious to engage their opponents in controversial warfare . Why there is no fact in the histoiy of political agitation more notorious than the habitual aversion of those gentlemen to discussion . It is well-known that doubts were entertained as to the value of Repeal , * and it is also well-known that whoever presumed at any of the League meetings to express his dissent from tbeir orthodoxy , was met witb contumel y and reproach , and in a multitude of instances has had his temerity chastised by the bludgeons of the police , at tbe instigation of the orators
themselves . This may appear to ' Ion' to be ' quiet ' « refined' and ' polished' agitation , but to the vulgar optics of common people it seems quite another thing . Before Mr . Cobden ' s time , we are assured that political agitation was an immense bubble . Of course we are expected to infer that he made it a great blessing . But , soberly and seriously , what has Mr . Cobden done to warrant this wholesale panegyric ? What boon has this neplus ultra of agitators conferred upon society ? We have yet to learn the answers . It is true that be basaided
, by a vast sura of money , much of which was risen in a somewhat questionable mode , been instrumental in effecting the repeal of the Corn Laws of 1815 ! That he was ardent and persevering in the pursuit or his purpose is conceded by all , but that purpose was wanting in the length , breadth , and _deptb _, which would make it the enduring basis of an honourable and dignified politieal reputation . I must , with all respect for 'Ion ' s' judgment , demur to the assertion , that agitation anterior to the Cobden era was an immense bubble . The Charter and Socialist
agnations have done much to arouse from torpor and inaction the national mind , and to concentrate it upon those great social and political problems which wisdom and justice must solve ere liberty or happiness can prevail . Catholic emancipation-Negro emancipation—municipal and parliamentary reform were so nuny recognitions of true principles —steps , though small , nevertheless as important in the path of progress as Corn Law Repeal or Financial Reform , And the agitations whioh won these concession ? , were characterised by leadership as sound , effort as persevering , talent as genuine , and genius as bright as the Anti-Corn Law League , in its palmiest days , could boast of .
It seems rather inconsistent in the writer to _denounce the loud invectives in which some agitators indulge , while , at the same time , he is bitterly _inveighingagainst all agitators , save the model one . If invectives be reprehensible in others , by what immunity is it indulged in by 'Ion' ? He arrogates to himself a censorship to wbich I , for one , am not disposed to recognise his claim . Had he adduced facts , instances , cirounistan- . es , and made them the groundwork of his conclusions , he would have acted fairly , hut when he indulges his penchant for
censure by a sweeping condemnation of the public conduct of all save his own protege , he does injustice to men to whose hearts the weal of humanity is near and dear . Modes of agitation , like everything , are susceptible of reformation and improvement . Experience will show the inefficiency of some means and the necessity of devising and applying others . We must not , however , be surprised in a nation like this , writhing as it is under an accumulation of political and social wrongs , to hear occasionally the angry remonstrances of tbe bruised spirit—the bitter ebullitions of the seared heart . Such has been
humanity in every age and clime , and such was designed to be by the inscrutable power that made the instinct to resist oppression an ineradicable portion of the nature of man . 1 am not the defender nor apologist of all that has taken place in the Chartist movement , for that is tbe agitation censured by implication , and I do not think that ' Ion' would like to be held accountable for all the sayings and doings of the Leaguers , notwithstanding the enthusiasm of his admiration of the model agitator . If errors h _&** e bten committed , hitter and
indiscriminate censure will not correct them . Man may be reasoned out of his faults but cannot be bullied . The vain assumption , however , of the part of censor , and the haughty exercise of his prerogatives , so far from tending to improve , only beget disgust . Let our wise-men , therefore , when they deign to dispel our ignorance and give us the guidince of their experience , do so without the censorimsness of the cynic or the anogance of the pedant , and the people will nut be found wanting either in attention , respect , or reverence . London , Jan . 24 , 1849 . Junius .
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Sadler's Wells. Shakspoave's A'Ini; John...
SADLER'S WELLS . Shakspoave ' s A'ini _; John—a play altered as little as possible from the original text—was produced on Monday night , for tho first timo in London since it was brought out by Mr . Maeroady at Drury-lane . There is great merit in Mr . Phelps's performance of King John . Thc dialogue with Hubert , in which he makes known that the life of Arthur is an impediment in his way , was given with much subtleness , and he was highl y successful in rendering the restless anxiety and infirmity of purpose which mark the latter part of John's career . Thc Constance of .
Miss Glyifwas excellent ; her grief and her indignation have no lack of intensity , she seems filled with a determination to give all her words and all her by-play their full expression , and some of her points are made with striking effect . The character of Hubert was well sustained by Mr . G . Bennett , and the celebrated scene with Prince Arthur ( very prettily acted by Miss Mandlebcvt ) , received the accustomed applause . Mr . Mansion ' s conception of Falconbndgo was very good . Tho decorations at this theatre have been executed with care , the most effective scene being tho view of Swinstoad Abbey . The house was crowded in every part .
SURREY , A new drama , entitled The Bivouac of the Hills , or the Bridal , was produced here last night . The plot is destitute of novelty . A quarrel takes placo between a private soldier and his commanding officer abont the sweetheart of thc former , resulting in the condemnation of the soldier , who is saved at thc moment of execution by thc lady , whose heroism secures a husband and rids her country ( Switzerland ) ofits French invaders by thc same act . The piece which was respectably acted , especially the part tilled by Mr . Emery , and well put upon thc stage , was successful , and may possibly run for some weeks .
Railwat Slaughter.—Seven She-Op, Out Of ...
Railwat Slaughter . —Seven she-op , out of a flock which had strayed upon the Kendal and Windermere line on Thursday evening week , were killed by tho mail-train from Birthwaite , or so mangled that it was found necessary to slaughter them , The accident arose from tho inefficiency ofthe fencing . A little oirl at Leebrook was choked last week by swallowing a screw . . . From the Broker , Virginia mine , 2 , 842 pennyweights of gold have been taken out by twelve labourers in two months . The Californian Herald , printed on , yellow paper , typical of the golden treasures in that peninsula , is announced for immediate publication .
Tho New York Harbinger states that a Yankee in Boston has taken passage for California with a venture , consisting of Jive thousand bonnets . ' There has been an enormous emigrant arrival in New York during the year just brought to a close . The total number arrived is not far short of 300 , 000 The great proportion of these have found then way to the Far West ,
V&Vittitfi.
V & vittitfi .
To Thosr Sehkino Empi.Otmkst.—The Albany...
To _thosr _Sehkino _Empi _. otmkst . —The Albany _Express has the following advertisement : — " Wanted , an able-bodied Irishman to hold my wife _s tongue—sho and I both being uuable to keep it quiet . " r Impudence . —When hypocrisy has lost tho mask of shame she puts on painted pride , and she is then called impudence . —Ruffon . SUEKR Work . —The following curious extract is c from the Morpeth Register : — " 1711 , September 2 d . —John Brown and _Esther Burns , after three times calling , was married in the gaol by reason he could not get liberty to come to church , and Susanna , their daughter was baptised that same ( day ) and the bride was churched that day also . "
Military Wit . —A soldier one day entered a country shop , and seeing a small quantity of red herrings upon the counter , asked the shopkeeper , — " What is them ? " The shopkeeper replied , " Them's sodgers , sir . " " Well , " exclaimed ifc * son of Mars , " I shall take them up as desertws , for they are here without leave of absence , " and with that he walked off with the lot , to the no small surprise of the shopkeeper . _Tkuk !—There are many who decorate the tombs of those whom , when living , thoy persecuted with envy . —Socrates .
A Tkxder Pair , —A rustic recently offered for sale in Matlock Bath , two over-sized and corpulent geese , hut had , contrary to usual custom , _tiedthent fast by the necks , and seemed very anxious to sell them as a couple , and not singly . " He found a purchaser on his own terms , and the buyer was led to inquire the reason for the apparent eccentricity of the vendor , when an explanation was rendered as follows \— " Whoi , sir , the poor things have been an affectionate couple on T _.-msley Common for the last twenty-five years , and I thought ' twould be a pity they should be separated at last . "
A Good Law , " and a Good Rkasox iron it . —It was one of the laws of Lycurgus , that no portions should be given with young women in marriage . When this great lawgiver was called upon to justify this enactment , he unserved , " That in tho choice of a wife merit only should be considered ; and that the law was made to prevent young women being chosen for their riches or neglected for their poverty . " Jonathan' Agai . v . —A genuine Yankee adventurer , having heard that a now speck had been discovered on the sun ' s disc , asked if it was a " safe spec , " as ho wanted to do a little trade in that quarter .
A Lo . ho Shot !—A person shooting last winter on Mount Lebanon , when near the summit , on the sido of a deep declivity , put up a hare , which took a downward course , and which he immediately shot ; but the impetus of running caused her to roll over several times . The snow stuck to the skin , and formed a ball , which increased every turn . Dragged down by its own weight , whieh kept augmenting , ib rolled to the foot ofthe mountain , and was ao largo and so hard , tliat the chasseur was obliged to call some peasants to " cut it open with their axes and spades to get puss out of her shroud . "— - _-lint-rtca" * i ' aiier .
Mourning Habits op Different Nations . —In Europe , black is generally used , because it represents darkness , which death is like unto , as it is a privation of life . China , white , because they hope the dead are in Heaven , the place of purity . Egypt , _yellor . _* , _Representing the decaying of trees and flowers , which become , as they die away , yellow . Ethiopia , brown , denoting the colour of tlie earth , from whence we come , and to which we return . In some parts of Turkey , blue , representing the sky , where they hope the dead the dead are gone ; but in other parts , purple or violet , because , being of a mixture of black and blue , it represents , as ic were , sorrow on onc side and hope on the other . Why is a blacksmith thc most likely person in trade to he corrupted ? Because he is surrounded by vices and old files .
thk warrior , Mark ! where carnage and his conquests cease ; He makes a solitude and calls _it—peuv-e ' . —Huron . War—Dr . Johnson laughed at Lord Kaines' opinion that war was a good thing occasionally , as so much valour and virtue were exhibited in it . " A fire , " said the Doctor , " might as well be considered a good thing . There arc the bravery and address ot the firemen in extinguishing it—there is nmeb humanity exerted in saving the lives and properties ofthe poor _sutterei-s , * yet , after all this , who can say that a tire is a good thing ? Women' of _Aazareth . —The women of Xazareth are lovely ; I never saw so many beautiful women , and there is no abominable veil over their faces . They wear their raven haircut straight over their forehead , which , though it mars tiTe intellectual beauty of thc brow , yet gives a certain piquancy to the expression .
Bkuinu the Belles . —Thc women of Poland have a watchful eye over their daughters , and make them wear little bells on tlieir persons , to denote where they are and what they are about . I _' kmalr Tkmpkii . —• No trait of character is move valuable in a female than the possession of a sweet temper . Home can never be made happy without it . It is liko flowers that spring up in our pathway , reviving and cheering us . Let a man go home lit night , wearied and worn out with the toils of the day , and how soothing is a word dictated by a good disposition . It is sunshine falling upon his heart . He is happy , and the cares of life are forgotten .
Thk _Sivokd and the Pen . —That was a beautiful tribute of Napoleon to the supremacy of mind over physical force in the long trial . " Do you know , Fo ' ntancs , " he said , " what I admire most in the world I It is the powcrlcssness of force to found anything . There are ouly two powers in the world —the sabre and the pen—and , in tlie end , the former is always conquered by the latter . " Bath . —In the year 1700 , subscription rooms wero opened for prayers at the Abbey , and gaming at the rooms . At tho close of tlie first day , the number of subscribers for pravers was twelve , and for _yaniin-r
sixty-seven . This circumstance occasioned the following linos at the time : — " The Church and llooinsthc other day Open'd their books for Prayer and Play : The Priest got twelve , Iloylc _rixty-seuat ; How great the odds for Hell ' gainst Heaven ?" Force of Hahit . —Lord Campbell , in his " Lives of the Chancellors , " says that Lord Teiitcrdeu , the celebrated judge , expired with theso words on hrs lips— " Gentlemen of the Jury , you will now consider vour verdict . "
The Miser . —A Fable . — - " \ Yhat an unfortunate wretch am I , " complained a miser to his neighbour . ' Some onc last night has taken away the treasure which I buried iii the garden , and laid a cursed stone in its place . " " And yet you have never used your treasure , " answered his neighbour . " Only bring yourself to believe that the stone is still your treasure , and you are none the poorer . " " If I am none the poorer , " returned the miser , " is not some one else the richer : So much the richer !—the thought is enough to drive me mad . _"—Jessing . " 1 believe vou , my Boy !"—" What would my poor mother think , if she knew I wero hero ' < " sni ' d one officer to another , during one of the terrible charges at Waterloo . " Pooh , man '" said the other , " that's nothing to the funk my tailor would be iu if he knew the chance he has for his bill . "
" What ' s the Price of Uauiks ?"—" Well , m ' m , and what aro you axing for Little Johnny the day V asked au Irish mendicant in the costume of a " Distressed Mother . " " Only sixpence , " _answered the purveyor of sympathetic objects . " Oeh , _g'lamr wid you !'' exclaimed the haggling whhler , ' Sum I'd get a cripple for fourpence ! " The Pooit Man _-inu thk Miser . — A poor man once came to a miser , and said " I have a favour to ask . " " So have I , " said the miser ; ' ' grant mine first , then will I comply with thine , " " _Atrreed . " " My request is , " said thc miser , " that _yoiiask me for nothing . " Difficulties of AuniORsnip . —There are three difficulties in authorship ; to write anything worth the publishing ; to find honest men to publish it ;
and to get sensible men to read it . America's _Feastisg . —A Kentuckian , on hearing praised the Rutland punch-bowl , which on the christening" of the young Marquis , was built so largo that a small boat was actually set sailing on it , in which a boy sat down who ladled out the liquor , exclaimed — " I < jucss I ' ve seen a bowl that ' ud beat tliat to eternal smash ; for , at my brother ' s christening , the bowl was so deep that when we young 'uns said it warn ' fc sweet enough , father sent a man down in a diving bell to stir up the sugar at the bottom . " An _In-ceniocs Arab . —Mr . J . It . Gliddon relates in his lectures on Egyptian Arclueology , reported in . tho _Archeologicctl Journal of the past and present month , that "An Arab discovered thc northern airchannel of thc Great Pyramid to be open from top
to bottom , by placing a cat at the outer orifice , and hor kittens at the other , shutting them in with stones . The mother soon found her way down through the Pyramid , to her little family ; thus proving that this hitherto mysterious passage communicated with the outside . Previous to the clearing of these passages the air in the Pyramid was quite suffocating . '' , . , „ , , Trutu and Kindness . —In the minds of the best ot men there is , always has been , and always will be , some difference of opinion as to what is truo ; but everybody knows and feels what is kind . " How old are you , Sir ? " said a clerk of indictment to a convict at an assize . " I believe , sir , I ' m pretty well as old as I shall be , " he replied . And in good truth , for he " -vita hanged on tho Monday following .
Legal Humbug . — -At the late Staffordshire sessions it was formerly decided that a widow is not a single woman , and a thief got off in consequence of such a misdescription of tho owner of stolen goods . Home . —How sweet a thing is love of homo . It is not acquired—itis a feeling that has its origin elsewhere . It is born with us , brought from another world to carrv us on with joy in this . It attaches to the humblest heart that ever throbbed . —ife « _' « montel .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Feb. 3, 1849, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_03021849/page/3/
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