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shall find that others, besides poor and unknown adventurers, were attracted to these shores. The noble and persecuted Huguenots of France, the impoverished but loyal cavaliers of England, the stanch Dutch burghers, with their unpronounceable names and substantial respectability; the Puritans, with their uncompromising love of freedom and of truth: these form an ancestry which should stimulate their descendants to something like an emulation of their virtues.

But, strange as it may seem, those who can look back to "gentle forbears," are those who generally say the least about it. Like an old garment, it is worn easily and without restraint, while pretenders have all the stiffness and want of ease of entire newness. The former have coats of arms, which they care not to display; the latter have them manufactured, and place them everywhere. You will see them on the panels of their carriage, on their ample signet rings, stamped on their note and letter paper, and even on the walls of their houses. In the language of the French comedy,

44

"Ils en ont mispartout,"

and you are not very likely to forget that they consider themselves fully entitled to display their armorial bearings, having paid honestly for them at the herald's office.

In the olden time heraldic cognizances were adopted to distinguish the numerous adherents of one noble house from those of another. They originated generally in some feat of arms, and perpetuated the high daring, or the religious devotion, of the noble founder. They are retained in these great families as lineal proofs of their descent from those who have left names in history and romance. Abroad, they give importance because jealously guarded, and we imagine that they will add to our consequence at home; but we might as well have coroneted carriages, and expect they will secure to us all the respect and distinction which they elicit where they are only used by the highest nobility.

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We have borrowed much from France; yet the sunny land of Italy has not been without a certain influence upon our tastes and habits. It is impossible for a poetical nature to visit the birth-place of art and behold its wonders, without new feelings and emotions. The matchless beauty of VOL. XI.-11

artistic forms, whether in sculpture, painting, or architecture, presented to the eye in the loveliest frame-work of nature; the picturesque grace with which even ruder forms are invested; the poetic element which gives to vulgar and sordid natures glimpses of beauty and touches of feeling; the music of a language sweet as the most exquisite melody, everything contributes in Italy to wake up the latent love of art, if any spark of it exists within the breast. But most people in our colder clime are prosaic and matter of fact; they feel not so much as they reason; they do not give themselves up to the unshackled influence of art; the beautiful ideal is, with them, swallowed up in the real; they will discuss coloring, proportion, perspective; they will admire the mechanical execution, the anatomical exactness, the truth of each separate detail; but they are insensible to the harmony of the whole. They are styled connoisseurs, and speak the true artistic cant; they return home rich in technical phrases, and learned, it may be, in artistic lore; they may be able to tell an original from a copy, and the works of one master from those of another; but their souls have remained untouched. They do not feel themselves, neither will they allow others to feel, the ennobling influence of art.

We must confess that the presence of one of these great connoisseurs is the greatest drawback to enjoyment. If you are yielding yourself up to the entrancing power of music, they will tell you it is good; but then they have heard so much better abroad: if, gazing upon a masterpiece of art from the magic pencil of one of our best painters, your spirit is filled with unwonted emotions, they will call you back by some of the common - places of criticism, and destroy all your illusions at a blow. But this is not all: the language of art is borrowed by those who do not understand its principles, and we are assailed by second-rate criticisms, or wearied by indiscriminate admiration. Woe to the hapless wight who sees not as they do; he is assailed, it may be, by a score of fair combatants, till he is constrained to yield or beat a timely retreat.

We do not think art has done much for the American mind Perhaps we are too positive a people to be influenced by its purely aesthetic aspects; and though its material appreciation will tend to cultivate

taste, it will not produce the still higher effect of developing the more graceful faculties of the mind by its quickening and stimulating action.

The climate of Italy is proverbially beautiful, and nature has lavished her gifts there with an unsparing hand. Physical enjoyment is one of the first requisites in | a country where it can be procured at so slight a cost; and a love of indolence, or, as they term it, the "dolce far niente," is generated and developed without effort. Living in Italy, one might become enamored of such a life, and feel, in that dreamy intoxication of the senses, an equivalent for more manly and active pursuits. Where pleasures, varied so as not to cloy, fill up all the avenues to the senses, and the very air you breathe is fragrant with sweets, is it any wonder that man becomes enervated and indolent?

Besides, we must not forget that the political condition of Italy prohibits many of those pursuits by which manly energy would be developed and cultivated. In our country the case is different. With every incentive to the most energetic action, drawn from competition and emulation, with everything urging and even goading the mind to continued effort, with the spirit of activity all around us pressing men forward in their various careers, it would seem impossible to indulge in dreamy delights or trifling and aimless pursuits. There is, we think, no person so unhappy as one who has nothing to do, where every one else is occupied. Ennui hangs around his path, and wraps him in her dusky vail; he tries to do everything to dissipate it; rises late, lounges about, gives importance to trifles, drives furiously to carry off his superfluous energy, goes often to parties, where he is of some importance as an available partner, drinks champagne to brighten his intellect, and retires late to begin again the same round, and thus walk through the tread-mill of society. Nobody respects him, for he fulfills no condition of his being; nobody appreciates him but a few women as silly as himself; and, were he to leave the stage of life to-day, nobody would be the loser by his departure.

If the republican simplicity of our fathers had been retained, and rich men had educated their sons, physically and intellectually, as if they had no fortune in store for them, we should not see so many lan

guid and nerveless victims of ennui. Their wealth, instead of being a blessing to themselves and others, becomes a cause of serious unhappiness; they have never known any other condition, and therefore are denied the pleasure of contrast, and looking upon poverty as a frightful bug-bear, they never attempt to alleviate it by any efforts of their own.

As we review the whole subject, we cannot but come to the conclusion that the foreign influence introduced among us by more extensive intercourse, has done more harm than good to American society. The national character was developed under peculiar circumstances; elements of the noblest character took their part in its formation, and stamped it with the true simplicity of greatness. It might have been wanting in refinement and grace, but it was strong and vigorous; it lacked poetical warmth and genius, but it glowed with patriotism and true benevolence. The refining influence of cultivation would have thrown over society its softening touches without destroying the strong identity of the national character. As it is, we have gained a love of luxury and ease; we are better judges of art; we have more numerous authors; our imaginations are not only fed, but pampered by works of questionable merit and utility; the elegant forms of the beau monde are introduced among us; the separation between different classes of society is greater; but have we not lost what is more than an equivalent for all? We leave the answer to the judgment and good sense of our readers, if we shall be so fortunate as to find any willing to accompany us to the end.

I HAVE always held that the life of man's mind, where man has a mind, (which is not always the case,) is a thing of fits and starts. I even doubt whether any one who will take the trouble to recollect, will not be able to lay his finger on the precise periods at which new views of every thing suddenly opened before him, and he emerged at once, if not into new powers, at least into a new use of them. The frame may grow like a tree; the faculties may grow as imperceptibly as the frame; but the mind acquires that knowledge of life which forms its exercise, its use, and perhaps its essence, by bounds and flights.-Lord Clarendon.

HUGGED BY A SERPENT.

I WAS brought u

WAS brought up near the Canadian My father owned a large farm, though he was an iron worker by trade. I think he made some of the best rifles ever used. Not far from his farm was quite a lake. We used to enjoy ourselves at fishing and sailing, for we had one of the best sail-boats ever put into fresh water. We knew there were plenty of snakes about this lake, especially one part of it—a wide piece of flats, where the water lay most of the year, and where the tall grass and reeds grew thickly. It was a sort of bay, making up into a cove on the opposite side from the farm. We had seen some large snakes in the water there, and I had tried to shoot them as they swam with their heads up, though I never happened to get one of them in that way. I am sure I hit some of them, but they managed to get away into the grass; and I had no desire to follow them, especially into such a place. Most of those that I saw were the common black water-snake, but they were not all alike. Some of the largest ones had a light-colored ring round the neck; and I was told, by those who knew, that these latter were by far the strongest and most dangerous.

However, I was destined soon to have my eyes opened. One afternoon I saw a flock of black ducks fly over the house, and I was sure they lighted on the lake; so I seized my double-barreled gun and ammunition, and started off. When I reached the landing I saw the ducks away off by the opposite shore. I at once cut some green boughs with my knife; and having rigged up the bows of a small flatbottomed scull we kept on purpose for such work, I jumped in and started off. There was a hole in the stern through which we could put the oar, and thus scull the boat without sitting up in sight, so from where the ducks were my contrivance had the appearance of only a simple mass of boughs floating along upon the water.

I had got near enough for a shot, and had drawn in the scull, and was in the act of taking up my gun, when the ducks started up. As quickly as possible I drew one hammer and let drive. I hit two of them, but they didn't fall into the water. They fluttered along until they

fell among the tall grass up in the cove. The water was low, and the place was dry where they were. I pulled up as far as I could, and got out and waded up. I knew very near where one of the ducks had fallen, and very soon had my eye on it. As I ran up to take it I saw the head of a black snake pop out and catch it by the wing. I saw only the head and neck of the reptile, and had no idea how large a one it was; or, if I had, probably I should have done just as I did, for I had no idea of fearing such a thing. I had left my gun in the boat, and had nothing to kill the chap with; but as I took the duck I just put my foot upon the thief's neck.

The ground was moist and slimy, and the snake had his body braced among the roots of the stout reeds; he took his head out from under my foot about as quick as a man could comfortably think. I thought I'd run back to my boat and get my gun, and try to kill this fellow; and I had just turned for that purpose, when I felt something strike my legs, as though somebody had thrown a rope around it. I looked down, and found that the snake had taken a turn around my left leg with his tail, and was in the act of clearing his body from the grass. I dropped the duck and gave a smart kick, but that didn't loosen him; so I tried to put my right foot upon him, and thus draw my left leg away; I might as well have tried to put my foot on a streak of lightning!

And hadn't I been deceived? I had forgotten the proportionate size of the head of this species of black snake. I had expected to see a snake four or five feet long; but instead of that he was nearly eight feet and a half! Still, 1 hadn't yet any great fear, for I supposed that when I put my hands on him I could easily take him off, for I was pretty strong in the arms. In a few seconds he had his body all clear, and it was then that the first real thrill shot through me. There he held himself by the simple turn around my leg, and with his back arched in and out he brought his head just on a level with mine. I made a grab for him, but missed him; and then, as quick as you can snap your finger, he swept his head under my arm, clear around my body, and then straightened up and looked me in the face again. I gave another grab at him, and another, as quick as I could, but he dodged me, in spite of all I could do.

I next felt the snake's body working its way up. The turn of the tail was turned to my thigh, and the coil around my stomach commenced to tighten. About this time I began to think there might be some serious work, and the quicker I took the snake off the better. So I just grasped him as near the head as possible, by taking hold where he was around me, and tried to turn him off. But this only made it worse. The fellow had now drawn himself up so high, and stretched so, that he whipped another turn about me. His tail was now around my left thigh, and the rest of him turned twice around my body; one of them being just at the pit of my stomach, and the other one above it. All this had occupied just about one half a minute from the time he' first got the turn round my leg.

way into

then, and could not put that snake's head
around my back! I tried it until I knew
I could not do it, and then I gave it up.
My next thought was of my jack-knife;
but the lower coil of the snake was directly
over my pocket, and I could not get it.
I
now, for the first time, called out for
help. I yelled with all my might, and yet
I knew the trial was next to useless, for
no one could easily gain the place where I
was, except with a boat, Yet I called
out, hoping against hope. I grasped the
snake by the body and pulled—I tried to
break its neck. This plan presented itself
with a gleam of promise; but it amounted
to nothing. I might as well have tried to
break a rope by bending forward or back-
ward!

A full minute had now passed from the time when I first tried to pass the snake's head around my back.

His body had become so elongated by his gradual pressure around my body, that he had room to carry his head around in a free and symmetrical curve. He had slipped from my grasp, and when I next caught him, I found that I was weaker than before! I could not hold him! The excitement had kept me from noticing this until now. For a few moments I was in a perfect frenzy. I had leaped up and down, cried out as loud as I could, and grasped the snake with all my might. But it availed me nothing. He slipped his head from my weakened hand, and made a blow at my face, striking me fairly upon the closed lips.

The snake now had his head in front of my face, and he tried to make his my mouth. What his intention was, I cannot surely tell, though I have always believed that he knew he could strangle me in that way. He struck me one blow on the mouth that hurt me considerably; and after that I got him by the neck, and there I meant to hold him—at least, so that he could not strike me again. But this time another difficulty arose. The moment I grasped the snake by the neck, he commenced to tighten his folds about my body! It wasn't over a few seconds before I discovered that he'd soon squeeze the breath out of me in that way, and I determined to unwind him. He was in this way the turn around the thigh was from left to right; then up between the legs to my right side, and around the back to my left side, and so on with the second turn; thus bringing his head up under my left arm. I had the snake now with the left hand, and my idea was to pass his head around my back until I could reach it with my right, and so unwind him. I could press the fellow's head down under my arm, but to get it around so as to reach it with my right hand, I could not! I tried; I put all my power into that one arm, but I could not do it. I could get the head just about under my armpit; but here my strength was applied to a disadvantage. Until this moment I had not been really frightened. I had believed that I could unwind the serpent when II had no help! I, a stout, strong man, tried. I never dreamed what power they was being actually held at the deadly will had. Why, only think, as strong as I was of a black snake! My breath was now

But the moment of need was at hand. I felt the coils growing tighter and tighter around my body, and my breath was getting weak. A severe pain was beginning to result from the pressure, and I saw that the snake would soon have length enough for another turn. He was drawn so tightly, that the center of his body was no bigger than his head! The black skin was drawn to a tension that seemed its utmost; and yet I could tell, by the working of the large hard scales upon the belly, that he was drawing himself tighter still!

"For God's sake!" I gasped, stricken with absolute terror, "what shall I do?" What could I do? The enemy for whom I had at first held so little thought, was killing me; killing me slowly, openly, and

short, faint, and quick, and I knew that I was growing purple in the face! My hands and arms were swollen and my fingers numbed! I had let go of the snake's neck, and he now carried the upper part of his body in a graceful curve, his head vibrating from side to side with an undulating motion of extreme gracefulness. At length I staggered! I was losing my strength rapidly, and the pain of my body had become excruciating. The snake's skin, where it was coiled about me, was so tight that it seemed almost transparent. He had found me, or I had found him, in a state of hunger, his stomach free from food, and his muscular force unimpaired. A second time I staggered, and objects began to swim before me.

A dizzy sensation was in my head, a faintness at my heart, and a pain the most agonizing in my body! The snake now had three feet of body free. He had drawn himself certainly three feet longer than before. He darted his head under my right arm, and brought it up over my shoulder, and pressing his under jaw firmly down there, he gave sudden wind that made me groan with pain. Each moment was an age of agony! each second a step nearer to death!

a

My knife? O! if I could but reach it!

With a

I

tense skin, and drew it across. dull, tearing snap the body parted, and the snake fell to the ground in two pieces! I staggered to the boat-I reached it, and there sank down. I knew nothing more until I heard a voice calling my name. opened my eyes, and looked up. My father stood over me with terror depicted on his countenance. I told him my story as best I could. He went up and got the duck I had taken from the snake; the other one he could not find; and also brought along the two pieces I had made of my enemy. He told me he had heard me cry out, and at once started off in the large boat after me, though it was a long while ere he saw my boat. I had lain there over half an hour when he found

me.

When we reached home the snake was measured, and found to be eight feet and four inches in length! It was a month before I fully recovered from the effects of that hugging, and to this day there is something in the very name of snake that sends a chill of horror to my heart!

TRY YOUR FRIENDS.

AN EPISODE IN THE LIFE OF JOSHUA TUBBS.

JOSHUA TUBBS sat in an easy

Why not? Why not tear it out? My M arm-chair, staring at a very dull fire

arms were free. Mercy! why had I not thought of this before, when my hands had some strength in them? Yet I would try it. I collected all my remaining power for the effort, and made the attempt. My trowsers were of blue cotton stuff, and very strong; I could not tear it! I thought of the stitches. They might not be so tenacious. I grasped the cloth upon the inside of my thigh, and gave my last atom of strength to the effort. The stitches started; they gave way! This result gave me hope, and hope gave me power. Another pull with both hands, and the pocket was laid bare! With all the remaining force I could command, with hope of life, of home, of everything I loved on earth in the effort, I caught the pocket upon the inside and bore down upon it. There was a cracking of the threads, a sound of tearing cloth, and my knife was in my hands.

I had yet sense enough to know that the smallest blade was the sharpest, and I opened it. With one quick, nervous movement I pressed the keen edge upon the

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in his parlor grate. There was a sympathy evidently between the gloomy red of the hollow mass of coal and the character of Mr. Tubbs's thoughts. For as the fire was waning, Mr. Tubbs's spirit was fading; and as the fire reminded one of a firm relinquishing business and retiring, so Mr. Tubbs's mind rested upon a general closing and winding-up of his earthly con

cerns.

Verifying that ancient adage as to misfortune entertaining a great aversion to loneliness, all his speculative transactions of various kinds, hitherto so prosperous, turned upon him with a frown as black as night. So no wonder Mr. Tubbs was gloomy, and sat staring with that leaden eye at the expiring flame.

"That bill," he muttered," must be met to-morrow without doubt, and yet, how in the world is it to be done?"

That certainly was the question. A few months back, if anybody had hinted to Mr. Tubbs that a matter of five hundred dollars would be a difficulty to him,

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