The Southern journal., August 12, 1845, Image 2

About The Southern journal. (Monticello, Miss.) 184?-18??

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day in September next, at 12 o’clock,
there will also be preaching at the same
hour in the Academy.
Mh. McLaine, one of the faculty of the
Clinton, Miss., College, is spending a few
days in our village—he represents that in
stitution in a more flourishing condition
than it has been since its first establish
ment. This gentleman has preached in
this place several sermons, and those who
have heard him are exceedingly well pleased
—he will deliver a Temperance Address in
the academy in this town on Tuesday
night next—wo hope to see all our friends
there.
Mississippi College.
This Institution is located at Clinton and
is now under the care of Clinton Presby
tery.
The first Monday in October next, will
commence its seventh session, since it has
been placed under the direction of the
Presbytery. The trustees of this Insti
tution feel much encouraged, from three
years experiment, to expect much in
their endeavors to build up a permanent
literary Institution, inferior to none in the
Southern country. The Institution is al
ready furnished with a tolerably good chi
mical and philosophical aparatus—and
the Tiustees are determined to spare no ef
forts until it is completed.
Being on a location, proverbial for
health; blessed with pure water—being
easy of access to all portions of the coun*.
try, and one, which for cheapness of living
is surpassed by none in the State, those
connected with the Institution have no
hesitancy in saying they feci fully pre
pared to give satisfaction to all who may
find it1 convenient to nalmnivn Ihn In.
siitution.
Tuition per session of five months is
In preparatory dep’t. $15 00
In classical and scientific! 20 CO
Bor.rding can be had in good families
covering all expenses from $8 to $!0
per month.
For the Journal.
Messrs. Editors:
When I saw in your last paper my com
munication all in print, I must acknowl
edge that I experienced the most happy
emotions. Indeed several times I was on
the very vege of betraying my authorship
by cackling around like an old hen when
she has laid nn egg in her new nest. Bui J
as yet the schoolmaster who lives with me j
is my only confidant, and I assure yap we
made quite a night of it over my Momngii
hela. When I reflect how agreeable my j
feelings were towards all the world, I ceme
to the conclusion that if a man is satisfied
■with himself he is not apt to be very cen
sorious upon others. You would have
been heartily amused if you had seen how
childish we two old fellows became. There
lay the Journal on the table, he on one
side, I on the other with the decanter and
glosses convenient. Our conversation
naturally turned upon the poor crazy tra
veller to whom I referred in my former
communication. The schoolmaster at
length proposed that (as lie had never seen
it( I should do him the favor of reading
the manuscript which had been left with
roe. Asl had never perused it thoroughly,
1 consented; and when Mr. Hawkins had
composed himself to an attitude of pro
found attention, by placing the forefinger
of his left hand on his temple and bend
ing slightly towards me, I read as fol
lows :
“The strong cord3 that bind men to
gether in society, arc a good religion, and
a good government.
Oh God! Thou hast commanded me to
assemble a nation in the bright land of
California, give me wisdom to recommend
the true religion, and the best govern
ment .
I have a great woik to perform, let me
not do it negligently.
1 discard the prejudices imbibed from
my education. I take nothing for granted,
without careful investigation.
On the subject of Religion three ques
tions at once present themselves to the
wind.
i 1st. Is my system of religion desirable
| in a civil society ?
2d. If so, which system?
! 3d. Peculiarized with what forms?
1 firmly believe that I, as a lawgiver,
ought to recommend religion-to the nation
that will shortly flourish in California and
for these reasons. Man is a religious ani
mal. He constantly resolves in his mind
the subject of spiritual existences, of a
! future state of rewards and punishments,
j and of an overruling power. Again—It is
; necessary to the safe administration of the
! laws, that the consciences' of persons tinder
oath should be affected by religious mo
tives and feelings. But above all other
reasons, Religion especially to the afflicted
offers to hope a fountain of comfo t and
happiness which counterbalances the se
verest misfortunes to which we are ex
posed.
The second question is easily answered.
Who can believe that the divine Being who
wept at the grave of Lazarus, was an im
postor? Jesus Christ was notan impostor.
An impostor is cold-blooded, lie seeks his
own exaltation, he has no sympathies.—
Jesus Christ raid while enduring mortal
agony on the cross to his disciple John,
“behold thy mother! ’ And to his mother,
‘Woman! behold thy son!” And to the
thief on the cross beside him, “This day
shalt thou be with me in Paradise.” Im
postors do not act in this way.
Would that I could say that having ad
vunced thus far, hut few difficulties re
mained, but in reality it is in the remaining
cfuoctlon that tho main d;ffiou!ty lios. Sayc
in Theology! Learned and pious doctors
of Divinity! Solve this question. Among
all the Christian denominations, which
most effectually promotes virtue and happi
ness, and diminishes vice and misery?—
Alas! You disagree among yourselves
! more than I do with either of you. Thus
11 am driven to tiie exercise of my own
i judginen t in the choice of a form of church
government, to recommend to my people.
I certainly have a considerable variety to
choose from.
The greatest external diffe-ence that 1
discover, consists in the observance of forms
and show, by some, and the discarding of
them by others with a sort of philosophical
contempt.
I have been amazed that the genius of
this age and country would allow the little
show that is retained in militnrv rKcntnv !
We have become so discriminating between
form and substance, that it is a wonder
that a captain can retain I113 feather and
epaulettes. But in divine worship the
radicalism of the times has pretty effectual
ly levelled pvery thing like form. The
question is, have we acted wisely? Is it in
truth sound philosophy? Indeed were they
in old times such fools, as we now consider
them, when the priest had his gown, and
bands, the church its holidays, when they
had cathedrals instead of log-houses? Fcr
my own part 1 think that religion ought to
have solemn forms.
It leaves a more enduring impression on
the mind. Look at the solemnities of the
Jewish religion which were prescribed by
God himself. So interwoven did that sys
tem become with the affections of that na
tion that the poor captive carried into a
strange land cries out in an a gony of ten- |
deremotions “When I forget thee oh Je-,
rusalem let rr.y right hard forge.t her cun i
ning.” In these times though; some inqui- i
sitive wretches would be peeping into the!
sanctum sanctorum handling the vessels t
of the altar, and enquiring by whom they
were made, they would pry, handle, rea- :
son, philosophize, discuss, until they!
would tear down the veil of the temple—
they would strip off the robes, and breast
plate of the High Priest, they would catch
the scape goal and teat him, and declare
: his flesh was as good as any other goat—
they would sneer at the festivals—they
j would drink rum out of the sacred vessels
of the altar—they would level every thing,
divest everything of mystery and solemni
ty, and tu-y with an air of selfcomplancy,
“you can’t humbug us, we go for substance
and not forms.
In times of persecution religious enthu
siasm docs not require so much the help o!
external forms, but I think that when a
church is at peace, we ought to have some
thing that will impress awe upon the mind
of the beholder. Divest religion of all
mystery and all forms, and you take away
one of its greatest attractions. And child
ren raised up in a country where there are
tio features and character (so to speak) in
the ceremonies of religion do not receive
thst strong and abiding impression that is
never totally eradicated from tire mind'ol
a person whose education has been amid
awful external forms. We every day sec
the ruinous effect of this radicalism in rc
ligion. The priestly office is degraded
and trampled in the dust. We feel very
little reverence for the ministers of religion,
1’ney arc not distinguished for any tiling
We criticize, and condemn without scruple,
their doctrine, their style and their lan
guage. You may hear a man with a sleepy
yawn say, “Well I believe I will patroniz
the Baptists.”
Some persons have taken up the opinion
that our Saviour was a sort of a democrat,
that he discouraged furms and that lie vir
tually recommended preaching in thcopeti
air. But I cannot infer that from any thing
he said. I fear we have beer, a little too
smart, after all. There is much that is in
tlie abstract commendable in most of the
Chr istian denominations, hut I do not be
lieve there is sufficient reverence felt for
religion generally in the country. Among
so many conflicting opinions professors of
religion are too much blown about 1>y every
wind ot doctrine, i herefore in California
ihe following sliall lie the outline of the
church which I will recommend.”
Here Ihc manuscript was so blotted and
interlined that I could make but little of it,
and as Mr. Hawkins looked as though he
wished to drink my health again, I read no
more. By the way I do not wish to leave
the impression that Mr. Hawkins relaxed
his attention. He is a gentlcmar, every
inch of him, and no gentleman will, when
another is reading for Iris amusement, turn
hi? attention to something o!?e. Nothing
provokes me so much as that. I will re
serve for another communication my politi
cal essays.
T. GRESNIIAT.
T\j be Continue.!.
From theN.O. Picayune.
The Great Fire.
Further particulars of the disastrous con
fig ativn in A car York—number of
buildings destroyed—probable lo s of
life and property.
The mail of yesterday brought the grat
ify ing intelligence that the great conflagra
tion in New York, which our previous in"
tclligenee lelt still burning, had finally
beet: checked, and without doing much
further damage. At 9 o’clock on the
morning of the 19th inst., it was still rn.<
ging, and by 12 the flames were got under
and the further progress of the destruction
arrested. We make up our account of
this fearful calamity from the different
New York journals. •
Tho Journal ol Commerce thus defines
the limits of the ravages:
“On the east side of Broadway every
building from Exchange Place commen
cing with the YVaverly House, to Market
field street, is utterly consumed, also
three or four dwellings bclmv Marketfield.
The house on the corner of 1; tone and
Whitehall streets remain comparatively
uninjured. Thence to Broad stect Stone
is the boundary. Through Broad street,
from Stone to the public stores, wi'hin
two or three doors of Wall street,the buil
dings on both sides are all destroyed. A
line drawn from the public stoics lo tjio
Wjivcrly House is the limit on the north
west. In Beaver street all the buildings
* C
on both sides are consumed, from the Bow
ling Green to within five or six doors of
William street. On the Y\Test side of
Broadway the buildings are all destroyed,
from Morris street to No. 13, occupied bv
Mrs Barker, as a boarding house—this
last included.”
Here we might observe, on the author
ity of the Commercial Advertiser, that the
burnt district is the most important and
valuable part of the city, being composed
of large and costly buildings, filled will)
expensive merchandise. The French and
German merchants congregated chiefly in
that district.
The Journnl of Commerce says that the
dry goods jobbers escaped almost entirely,
but the domestic goods factors suffered se
verely, and several large stocks of foreign
manufacturers were destroyed. The whole
loss of dry goods was perhaps two millions
and a half of dollars. Among the heavi
est sufferers were Bird, Gillilan &.C<>.,
$300,000; Reiss, Brothers &. Co., $300,'
0C0; Fearing & Hall, $350,000; Mali &
Co., $200,000; Gay, Lussac &. Co., pltffc
Glass, $210,000; Post, Phillips & Dale
$!00,000; Richards & Cronkite, $150,
000; Itu(e!iiqJk>&. Tiffany, $100,000
B irher &. BrofflSrs, $75,000; Rhodes &
•Co.,^100,000; Sergnett & Co., $150,.
000; llcnnequin, $150,000. The total
amount oi'insurance is $1,215,000 in 35
American offices, and $400,000 in Furopr
on the plate glass ware-house in Broad
way.
Among the goods destroyed by the firr
M,300 bales cotton, 20,000 chests tea, 3,
000 to 4,000 hhds. and 150 boxes browi
sugar, S,OG0 to 9,000 bags coffee, 601
pieces carpeting, 2,000 bbls. and 500 t.
600 hhds. molasses, 100,000 lbs. fieecr
anJ pulled wool, 500 bales Smyrna wool
The following says the Herald, is tin
estimate made of the whole number o
buildings destroyed by the fire:—
Broad street, east side, 31
“ west side, 3 :
New street, east side, £(
“ west side, 21
Broadway, east side, 21
“ west side, f
Whitehall street, S
Beaver street, 4[
Marketfield street, K
Slone street north side, 1
Exchange Place, south side, 13
‘ north side, 12
South Wil iam street, west side, IS
“ east side 2
261!
We belive the loss in buildings arid trier
chaudiso will be not less thangG,000,000.
From the N.O Picayune.
News from Mexico.
By tho arrival yesterday of the schooner
Equity, Capt. Smith, from Mutamoros, we
have dates from that city to the 21st ol
July. Among her passengers was Theo
dore A. Malthv, one of the Texan Mier
prist tiers. He was badly wounded in the
bead at that desperate and sanguinary bat
tle, and after lying many months in Mexi
h mil Ms Ins finally reached his native
i 'and in safety.
A letter received by a commercial house
in this city, dated on the 20th ult., state
that a new tariff will shortly go into
operation much lower limn tho one now
existing.
By this arrival we received no papers,
hut verbally we learn that theie are but 3
or GOO badly fed troops in the neighborhood
of Mutamoros—discontented fellows, who
would run away at once if they knew where
<o go. Their commander, Gen. Garcia,
received an order a short time since to
build a fort in the neighborhood which
would afford protection to the city. He
picked out a soft spot, where the digging
was easy, and sethis men at work; hut it
is slated that a vessel cap approach within
three hundred yards without being seen
and throw bombs inlo the fortification until
doomsday without the risk. This thing of
selecting a site for a fortress because it
happens to bo easy digging, we believe
to be a new wrinkle in military sci
ence.
Uur intormnnt stales that Gen. Paredes
was at San Luis Potosi when he came thro’,
and had in the neighborhood of 5000 troops
with him. These were tolerably well uni
formed,and the horses of the cavalry were
in fair condition. After arriving at Mon
lory, our informant heard that Paredes was
on his march towards that place. He has
always been intemperate, though a brave
officer, and is said to now more addicted to
liquor than ever.
The traitor Seguin was at Monterey a
short time since on his way toCamargo.—
lie styles himself captain of tiio Bexar com
pany, and probably has a number of San
Antonio Mexicans under him. Seguin was
on the Texan side at the battle of San Ja
cinto, and for a long time was hand and
glove with the Americans; but in on evil
hour he deserted them, and it is said that
he now bitterly repents him of his trea
chery.
I'iie above are all the items of the least
importance we have been enabled to glean
from o'ur informants. If we can believe
the Mexican stories, 30,000 men are to ad
vance upon the Rio Grande; but these sto
lies must te taken not with grains hut
pounds of allowance. We know full well
thatnrnyof the more influential men in
Mexico would not hesitate a moment about
plunging the country in a war, with or
without foreign assistance, for the sake of
the opportunity it would afford to slip some
of the money raised for its support into
' their own pockets; but whether these poli
j tical gamblers are to prevail is a ques
i tion. A few weeks or months will tell the
' story.
Our National Anniversary.
Independence! glorious word. There’s
music in ihc sound. Independence! the
1 priceless blessing handed down to us hy
patriotic hands fiotn fields* of glory, and
> the Council Chambers of ’70. How the
bare mention of that word thrilled the
nerves and quickened the heart’s warm
cuircnt as it broke upon the car of the
multitude in front of the Carpenter’s Hall
1 in Philadelphia, at the dawn of the revolu
tion.
It was whispered in the wilderness, and
llie'deep vistas and wild glens sent forth
its echoes.
<•
It was Spoken in the desert, and solitary
1 place, and the blue distance gave back its
'' murmur.
It was announced in the churches, and
the great congregation sang hosannas ic
1 the God of bailies and swelled iheajiilicm
of the f:cc. .
It was proclaimed at the head of li;e ato
1 my and the battallions we electrified. '
It was breathed upon the ocean, and
1 the seamen on the dizzy mast, the exile on
bis distant shore, and the pilgrim in his
lonely way heard it with wonder end shout
ed it wiih'enlhusiasticjoy.
The kings of the world upon their
thrones guarded by hireling bayonets, sup
ported by brutal ignorance and sprinkling
with innocent blond, heard it and trem
bled. Nations enslaved, clanked their
chains in glee, and for a day, imngii&d
themselves free as their fellows in the
Western land, while sire and son, matron
and maiden, the prisoner in his dumgeon,
and tbe free man on the hills, hetrd the
t'i.iutjgu »uiu, ami 1 ''c weir icci
"ith hearts swelling with new emotions
and eyes glistening with tears from new
fountains of bliss.
Well may xve keep alive the recollec
tions of that day that gave to us a ^natne
and a country.
Well may xxe remember tlio stern vir'
lues and noble deeds of the fathers and
mothers of thi revolution.
And xve l may xve rejoice when the sig
nal gun and the matin hell break upon the
stillness of the morning, and we behold
from every height the beautiful banner of
onr country waving bright and glorious as
when it streamed above the ramparts of
Yorkioxvn or the heights of Niagara.— U.
S. Journal.
Excessive Heat twenty Years ago.
The Boston Traveller say:—“On the
12th of July— just twenty years ggo—the
theinorneterat 0 in the morning was 82,
and during the day it rose to 98. The
heat for many successive days was very
oppressive. On the the 15th July, the
mercury ranged variably at ICO to 101.—
On the 21st it rose to 102. Many lost
■heir lives in consequence' of the beat,
ihiough excessive fatigue or imprudence
in drinking cold water. Twenty-five or
thirty fell victims in this city alone. Two
hundred deaths occurred in the first week
iu July in New York—GO more than ever
before happened in any one week. Thir
ty three of these died from drinkinnr m! ft
water. One young woman in Salem was
so much affected by the sun for a short
time, that derangement ensued. A iady
in New York was so overcome by the heat
that she fell in the strec', and was after,
wards attacked with fits whi t con: :od
through the night. The !. t was eqn-!'
destructive to the brute creation. A I i e
number of horses in various places were
lost by owners of stages; and even the fish
in some of the ponds were suffocated, and
died in large numbers through the intense
nc.-:s of the heat. At the suggestion of
the Mayor, the master workmen in the ci- j
ty suspended their labor from 12 to 5 o’ j
clock, for several days. The air became j
so thoroughly heated as to afford no relief |
from the scorching rajs of the sun The
almost insufferable heat continued through
the month of July; and the ravages of death
inconsequence were melancholy in vari
ous parts of the country. On the 24th, I
twenty-five inquests were held in New
Y ork over the bodies of persons who died
suddenly from the effects of the heat.”
Extraordinary Delusion.—A remarka
ble examination of lunacy lately came bs
lorc the commissioners in London and a
distinguished physician of the Metropolis
in the instance of a man whose case seem,
cd remarkably singular, owing to the pe
culiar lmlucinations under which ho was
laboring. Amongst the most extraordina
ry was the idea that he had got several men
in his insi le, who were complete masters
over him, that unless he did whatever they
wished,his death would be tho conse
quence. He also said that they had got
fivo machines, which they set to work at
one time, so that he was afraid that the
violence of the motion would shatter him
— - ■■ 0
to pieces. They would not allow him to
move without paying an enormous sum,
and for walking to this inquiry they had
charged him three thousand trillions for ev
ery step he took!
A penchant fo’r the professions is a
growing evil in this country, and the yeo
manry of the land contribute much toils
growth Instead of filling the offices in
their gift with intelligent, strong minded
men from their own ranks, nine-tenths of
the official stations are occupied by pro
fessional men, who, for want of something
else to do, make poli ics a trade, and are
'poking to the plucking of the public goose
for the means of living in comparative easo \
and idleness. Ambitious young men see
that the road to political preferment is in a j
professional way, and eagerly crowd the
thoroughfare; and the very fact that law
I &. politics go hand in hand,leads thousands
to condemn, and shun the honest, honora
able, and competency securing avocations
of their fathers.
Make intelligent, educated farmers and
mechanics of your sons, would you confer
a blessing on them and posterty.
Beautiful Figure.
Life is beautifully compared to a fountain
fed by a thousand streams that perish if
one bn dried. It is a silver cord twisted
with a thousand strings that part assunder
if one be broken. Frail and thoughtless
mortals are surrounded by innumerable
dangers which make it much more 3trango
that they escape so long, than that they
almost all perish suddenly at last. Wo
are encompassed with accidents every day
to crush the mouldering tenements that
U'fi inKoKit TKo e.om-lj f* rl’ar»cr* o m
planted in our constitution by nature —
The earth and the atmospheie whenco wo
draw the breath of our life are impregna
ted with death—health is made to operate
its own destruction. The food that nour
ishes the body contains the elements of its
decay; the soul that animates it by a vivi
lying lire tends to wear it. out by its own
action; death lurks in ambush along our
piths. Notwithstanding this is the truth,
so palpably confirmed by the daily exam
ples before our eyes, bow little do we lay
it to heart! We see our f iends and neigh
bors perish around us, hut how seldom i
does it occour to our thought that our kuel! 1
shall, perhaps, give the next fruitless war- '
ning to the world.
The Knickerbocker fit July contains a
notice of the late Thomas Ilood, and soma
extracts from his latest productions abound
ing in humor and wit. The following is one |
of them:
‘•Mrs. Gardiner” is a widow, devoted to
'he cultivation of flowers in her door-yard
garden, w ho has the peculiarity of identi
fying herself with each variety. Hood,
standing at the little gate, compliments her
on the appearance of her carnations—to
which she replies, “Ye*, I’ve a tronger
hlaw than any one in the place and as to
sweetness, nobody can come nigh me.—
Would you like to walk in, sir, and smell
me ?”
Accepting ihc polite invitation, I step*'
ped in through the little wicket, and in
| another moment was rapturously sniffing
at her stocks and the flower with the san
guinary name. From the walls 1 turned
on to a rose-bush, remarking that there was
a very fine show of buds.
“Yes, hut I want sun to make me bust.
You should have seen me last June, sir,
when 1 was in my full bloom. None of
your wishey washy pale sorts—[this was a
(ling at the white roses at the next door]—
none of your provincials or pale pinks.
There’s no maiden blushes about me. I’m
the regular old red cabbage!”
And she was right; for, after all, that
hearty, glowing fragrant rose is the best
of ihe species, the queen of flowers, with a
ruddy embonpoint reminding one of the god;
desses of Rubens.
“And there’s my American creeper.—
Miss Sharp pretends !o creep, but Lord
bless ye!—afore ever shi: gets up to her
first floor window I shall he running nllover
die root ol die willa. You see I’m over the
portico already.”
Obituary.
Died—At his residence, on Fair river,
in this county on the 3lst ult., Mr. James
Steen, aged 02 years.
Mr. Steen was one of the oldest resi
dents of this county—anil by his amiable
qualities endeared himself to the whole
community- By his industrious and fru
gal habits, he amassed a large fortune, and
raised his children ip such a manner that
it will be used by them as a fund in trust
—he has long been a leading member of
tho Baptist church, who will, as well as
the community in general, long lament his
'oss.
V>:.