THE PANAMA RAILROAD is described by Bishop Janes as the greatest wonder of the Isthmus. Often, says the bishop, when traveling on Northern railroads, as I have passed through deep excavations in the granite rock or well-made tunnels through opposing mountains, have I paid a spontaneous but silent tribute of glowing admiration to the genius and enterprise which have thus opened and graded these thoroughfares of inland commerce and these highways of journeying humanity. But the Panama Railroad is the greatest achievement of them all. Built in the same latitude, and under similar circumstances with some of these other roads, it would be an inferior work. But the sickliness and lassitude of the climate, the great difficulty of obtaining laborers who could at all endure it, the great distance that the materials had to be imported, and other serious embarrassments, rendered the enterprise one of unrivaled interest. The mere survey of the route, through tropical swamps and over chaparalcovered hills, was a service of difficulty, of danger, of skill, of courage, and of perseverance rarely equaled. The first twelve miles of the road from Aspinwall is across a morass, so soft, when the vines, and reeds, and shrubs were cleared off, that piles sixty feet long would settle down out of sight by their own weight; yet across this almost bottomless slough, bringing timbers from the States, and stone and dirt from a great distance, a substantial railroad has been built. The road is about forty-eight and a half miles in length, and, with its dépôts and running stock, has cost the company about eight millions of dollars! THE NEW CENT furnishes a theme for ridicule in every direction. The omission of the word "Liberty," heretofore found on our American coins, it is said, renders it more acceptable in certain portions of this great Republic. A German paper, published in Baltimore, says: "The unsightly, humpbacked eagle will never soar high enough to reach the throne of Jupiter. Images of the king of birds are found in such variety upon ancient coins, that one would suppose it easier to select from among them a suitable device than to concoct such a wretched original. A picture which is daily before the eyes of the million should not be a deformity." "It is," another critic says, "base, alloyed metal, and looks shame-faced about it. flesh, nor fowl! simply one of those abortions of amalIt is neither fish, gamation for which Germany has been so long noted, and which we utterly abominate. The eagle on the one side looks like a butterfly with lopped wings, or a fish-hawk rising from a missed swoop after a sea-bass. The coining is worse done than that of any other piece ever issued from the mint, every coin being uneven in thickness at one edge and the other." The unfortunate eagle, according to a wag who is fond of a pun, seems to be going somewhere "in a desperate hurry, probably because he has just got on a new scent." boatman added, that the needle pointed to the south! Wishing to change the subject, I remarked that I concluded he was about to proceed to some high festival or merry-making, as his dress was completely white. He told me, with a look of much dejection, that his brother died the week before, and that he was in the deepest mourning for him. On landing, the first object that attracted my notice was a military mandarin, who wore an embroidered petticoat, with a string of it was with some dismay I observed him mount on beads round his neck, and who, besides, carried a fun; my attention was drawn to several old Chinese standthe right side of his horse. On my way to the house, ing on stilts, some of whom had gray beards, and nearly all of them huge goggling spectacles; they were delightedly employed in flying paper kites, while a group of boys were gravely looking on, and regarding the innocent occupation of their seniors with the most serious and gratified attention. Desirous to see the literature of so curious a people, I looked in at a book The proprietor told me that the language had no alphabet, and I was somewhat astonished, on his opening a Chinese volume, to find him begin at what I had all my life previously considered the end of the book. He read the date of the publication-The fifth year, tenth month, twenty-third day.' would speak of their ceremonials. He commenced by our dates differently,' I observed; and begged that he We arrange saying, When you receive a distinguished guest, do not fail to place him on your left hand, for that is the seat of honor; and be cautious not to uncover the head, as it would be an unbecoming act of familiarity."" store. The action of galvanism in the earth upon iron and steel has been recently tested by an seemed to be much improved when it had beeminent London cutler. Observing that steel come eroded in the earth, he made the experiiron in the earth, where he let them remain unment by burying razor-blades and parcels of disturbed for three years. On removing them he found that the steel in the razor-blades had very much improved, and that from the iron he procured different varieties of steel, from the most inferior to the most unequaled quality. in the earth. This conversion is attributed to the galvanism GOOD ADVICE.-A lecturer inquiring of a clergyman, "How long a discourse do you suppose your people will bear?" was told he hadn't better try the experiment. "With me, the consideration is not how much the audience will bear, but how much they will listen to with profit-that is, with pleasure. Beyond that point I don't intend to go, and I advise you to adopt the same rule." vocabulary of their meanings would be as sweet NAMES.-Names have mnemonic power; a as the songs of the Troubadors. It would be like breaking into old royal tombs, the laying bare of old battle fields, the disclosing of old fossils. We should wonder how much of poetry, of history, of biography, may be wrapped up in a couple of syllables; what pictures may be painted with a word or two. The learned language of Europe can have nothing more beautiful than the dialects of the red children of the West; and yet that word "dilapidated"—it would take the happiest day that Angelo ever saw to paint it; the stone apart from stone, the CHINESE CUSTOMS THE ANTIPODES OF ENGLISH. -The very striking contrarieties in comparison with our own, is amusingly given in the follow-crumbling wall, the broken turret strewn among ing extract from a work published at Macao: "On inquiring of a boatman in which direction Macao lay, I was answered, in the west-north, the wind, as I was informed, being east-south. 60 in Europe, thought I; but imagine my surprise We do not say when, in explaining the utility of the compass, the the weeds. The word "disastered"-without a Elegy what a tale its tones are telling of the times of the old Norman; how it lets us into the secret of domestic economy eight centuries ago; how it sets the bells a ringing, and covers the Saxon fires, and plays Othello with the light of home. HOW A SUN-STROKE AFFECTS MAN.-The general impression is that death by sun-stroke is very painful, but the contrary would seem to be the fact, judging from the following account of the effect of such a visitation, given by General Sir C. J. Napier. He experienced an attack while in Scinde, where the thermometer, according to the general himself, was of as much use to him as it would have been to a boiling lobster, and wrote as follows to one of his daughters: "The sun-stroke was a staggerer; yet my hope is to die by one, for never can death come in an easier shape. I was just deadly sleepy; it was deadly had I been left alone; but the only feeling of the transition would have been a tiredness, like that experienced at being suddenly waked up before time. This was to a degree almost to be called painful; then came a pleasant drowsiness, with anger that the doctors would not let me sleep. Were it not for others, would that my horn had then sounded-so easy, so delightful, I may say, was the approach of death. This resembles the accounts that have been given by men who have been saved from freezing to death, after having got far down into the dark valley; so that the excess of heat and excess of cold produce precisely the same effect. A NEW TRANSLATION.-A certain Mr. Black is lecturing the people of England on the necessity of a revised edition of the English Bible, and he sustains his plea on the ground that the present volume is very incorrect. One of the prominent instances he adduces is the expression of the Lord's Prayer, "Give us this day our daily bread," which he contends should have been rendered, "Give us this day our tomorrow's bread!" The Protestant Churchman, which is not often witty, in noticing this version says: "We have not heard that this 'accomplished scholar' has been added to the learned corps of revisers employed by the Bible Union,' in this country, but the specimen above of his abilities has such a family likeness to the work which Drs. Maclay and Judd exhibited last summer, that we are free to commend Mr. Black as just the man for a situation on the new Bible, if there is a vacancy. The harmony between Black's work and Shepherd's is another illustration of the sympathy in great minds, even with an ocean between them." A SUBSTITUTE FOR GOLD. - Oreide is the name of a new metal which has recently made its appearance. It resembles gold in many respects, and may be used in a pure condition, or as a base for gold plating. Its cost is about eighty cents per pound, and yet its appearance is such that it would readily be taken for gold by most casual observers. It is a compound of several metals, refined to such a degree that it does not easily oxidize or tarnish. These qualities make it a valuable acquisition to the metallic arts. When tested with nitric acid, ebullition takes place, but no spot remains. This quality, though valuable for utensils, makes it a dangerous metal for dishonest men. It can be used in counterfeiting gold so readily that it will be exceedingly difficult to detect counterfeit from true coin. When placed side by side with gold, it requires close scrutiny to decide which is gold and which oreide. In France a law has already been passed to prevent frauds, by compelling, under severe penalties for neglect, all manufactures of "oreide" to stamp the word upon the articles produced. A manufactory has recently been started in Waterbury, Connecticut, capable of turning out any quantity of the new metal. It is said that a great deal of the late imported gold chased ware is nothing but oreide! It has already made its appearance in counterfeit coin out West. A metal having so many of the characteristics of gold will soon find its way to the hands of dishonest men. The public need to be on their guard in the purchase of gold chased ware and gold dust. It is an easy matter to transport a metal to California which costs but eighty cents per pound; and it would be quite as easy for a dishonest man to mix the cheap material with the costly. It is likely, however, that science, while furnishing a combination of metals so useful, will also furnish a detector against its use as a counterfeit. Nature is always true to itself, and the ability to create so valuable and yet (when used dishonestly) so dangerous an ar ticle, argues the ability to produce that which shall be a safeguard to the public against the dishonest purpose. Meanwhile, it is quite likely that till the qualities of the metal are better known the public will be most woefully cheated. STRENGTH OF WOMAN.- Cornelius Agrippa meets the assertion of Aristotle, that of all animals the males are stronger and wiser than the females, by quoting St. Paul: "Weak things have been chosen to confound the strong." "Adam was sublimely endowed," he adds, "but woman humbled him; Samson was strong, but woman made him captive; David was religious, but woman disturbed his piety; Solomon was wise, but woman deceived him; Job was patient, and was robbed by the devil of fortune and family; ulcerated, grieved, and oppressed, nothing provoked him to anger till a woman did it, therein proving herself stronger than the devil." WEST POINT MILITARY ACADEMY. - It ap pears by the report of the Board of Visitors who attended the last annual examination at this institution, that almost every class is greatly reduced in numbers before completing the course of study. As an instance, the last graduating class numbered only thirty-eight members, whereas its original strength was ninety-six. The Board attribute this to the overtasking system of education practiced in the academy, requiring the most unremitting intellectual effort during the entire term of the cadet. Several changes are recommended in the course of studies. The Board also recommend that the number of appointments to the academy should be increased by giving to each Senator in Congress the privilege of nominating a cadet, as the staff of instruction is large enough for a much greater number of students. PRICES OF ENGLISH AND AMERICAN BOOKS.A correspondent of one of our cotemporaries says: "It is something worth noticing, by the way, the wonderful difference in price between the English and American editions of books. There is, for instance, Miss Mulock's little collection of stories, 'Nothing-New,' costs twenty-one shillings sterling in London, while here the price is fifty cents. Wilkie Collins's Dead Secret' exhibits the samne disparity of price. 'Little Dorritt' sells in the same way. Α new cheap edition of John Halifax' (published here at fifty cents) is announced in London at ten shillings and six-pence, or about two dollars and a half. An advertisement in an English paper before me an nounces a number of second-hand copies of works for sale; among them I notice Charles Kingsley's 'Two Year's Ago,' for four dollars, while Ticknor and Fields have published the same work for a dollar and a quarter. Aurora Leigh' can be had at a bargain for two dollars. Anderssen's book on Africa (a rare chance) for four dollars. Professor Aytoun's 'Bothwell,' only two dollars. Mrs. Oliphant's 'Zaidee,' for two dollars and a quarter. Dr. Doran's Monarchs Retired from Business,' two dollars and fifty cents. All these works are second-hand copies, and are thus offered as a rare bargain for book-buyers. Yet each one of them has been republished in this country at not more than one quarter the prices above mentioned." SMALL CHANGE. DOUGLAS JERROLD. The English papers abound in witticisms and bon mots attributed to this well-known wag. Some of them are worth preserving. His definition of dogmatism, for instance: "Dogmatism is puppyism come to its full growth!' has a meaning deep and philosophical enough for an essay. "His winding up a review of Wordsworth's poems was equally good. 'He reminds me,' said Jerrold, of the Beadle of Parnassus, strutting about in a cocked hat, or, to be more poetical, of a modern Moses, who sits on Pisgah with his back obstinately turned to that promised land, the Future; he is only fit for those old maid tabbies, the Muses! His Pegasus is a broken-winded hack, with a grammatical bridle, and a monosyllabic bit between his teeth!' "At the Café de l'Europe there was a famous dish made of calves' tail, which was considered as a greater dainty than ox-tail soup. Albert Smith was reveling on this dish one day when Jerrold took a seat near him. The gourmand said, Are you not surprised, Jerrold, to see me eating such a dish as calves' tail?' "Not at all," replied the other; extremes often meet r "One evening, at the Museum Club, upon Smith's ostentatiously saying, Wasn't it strange, we had no fish at the marquis's last night? That has happened twice lately. I cannot account for it.' 'Nor I, replied Jerrold, with a serious air, except they ate it all up stairs a cool intimation that Smith had dined with the flunkeys in the kitchen. "It was Smith who boasted that he and Lamartine were so intimate that they might be said to row in the same boat, on which Jerrold retorted, That may be, but with very different skulls ! pointing significantly to his head. NEWS BY TELEGRAPH.-The daily papers are in the habit of receiving items from various places by telegraph. For these, of course, they have to pay a good price, and not unfrequently the news is of little consequence. A paper at Chicago received the following: "New York, 30th.-The report that the Astor House of New York has raised its price to three dollars per day is without foundation." To balance which, the editor sent, by the same conveyance, this equally important item: "Chicago, 80th.-The report that an old lady fell down in Dearborn's Park this morning lacks confirmation. Mum's the word. Keep shady until you hear from us again. Be virtuous and you will be happy." EATING ONE'S MONEY WORTH.-The Newport correspondent of the Providence Journal tells the following story: "A sickly looking man accosted another visitor by remarking, You appear to be well; what do you visit this place for? To enjoy myself; are you ill?' 'O, terribly so! Then permit me to remark, as a friend, that, even if you were in the most robust health, you eat altogether too much.' At this sickly looked a little indignant, but the next moment he cooled down, and replied: 'I like your conversation very much, but what on earth is a man to do who is here paying two dollars and a half per day?'" SCENE IN A KENTUCKY COURT-HOUSE. - In the good old times in Kentucky, when "substantial justice" was administered in a log cabin, after a very free and easy manner, a suit was brought to recover certain moneys of which it was alleged plaintiff had been defrauded by the ingenious operation known as "thimblerigging." In the course of the trial plaintiff's counsel, who happened to be an 'expert," undertook to enlighten the court as to the modus operandi of the performance. Putting himself into position, he produced the three cups and the "little joker," and proceeded, suiting the action to the word: "Then, may it please the court, the defendant placing the cups on his knee thus, began shifting them so, offering to bet that my client could not tell under which cup was the 'little joker,' meaning thereby, may it please the court, this ball, with the intention of defrauding my client of the sum thus wagered. For instance, when I raise the cup so, your honor supposes that you see the ball.” "Suppose I see!" interrupted the judge, who had closely watched the performance, and was sure that he had detected the ball, as one of the cups was accidentally raised. "Why, any fool can see where it is, and bet on it, and be sure to win. There ain't no defraudin' thar." "Perhaps your honor would like to go a V on it?' insinuated the counsel. "Go a V? Yes, and double it too, and here's the rhino. It's under the middle cup." "I'll go a V on that," said the foreman of the jury. after the other, until each one had invested "And I, and I," joined in the jurors, one his pile. "Up!" said his honor. "Up" it was, but the "little joker" had mysteriously disappeared. Judge and jury were enlightened, and found no difficulty in bringing in a verdict in favor of the plaintiff, on the ground that it was the "derndest kind o' defraudin'." Faulkner, who edited the Dublin Journal, announced in glowing terms the arrival in that city of a distinguished member of the British nobility. On the next day his paper contained the following very Hibernian correction: For "Her Grace, the Duke," in yesterday's Journal, read "His Grace, the Duchess." He improved the matter quite as much as the good clergyman in England did, who, without book, was praying, and said: "O Lord, bless all classes of people, from the beggar on the throne to the king on the dunghill-we mean from the king on the dunghill to the beggar on the throne." A DISCOMFITED POET.-The Boston Post very coolly informs us of the manner in which the principal editor of that able journal used up Mr. Nonfit, a local poet: 'No? "Newcome Non fit is a poet. He showed us one of his effusions the other day, and, as it wasn't long, we read it. It proved very plainly that Mr. Nonfit was one of those poets who are neither born nor made. So we said, softly, 'Why don't you write prose, Mr. Nonfit?' Nonât smiled, and answered, like a man who could afford to waive the honor, 'Never write prosehave no taste for it-poetry comes much more natural, and I always write poetry, if anything.' But "morn" and "dawn" are not rhymes, Mr. Nonfit.' they're allowable, ain't they?' said the poet, surprised at this unexpected criticism. 'What would you do where the words won't rhyme exactly?' 'Leave 'em both out,' we suggested. But how, in that case, would you save the couplet?' said Nonfit. Omit the couplet, and it's safe enough." But that would sacrifice the thought! said Nonfit, amazed. the better, we answered, getting earnest as the discourse went on-so much the better. A thought you can't express in good verse mars the poem, and two or three murder it outright. Try prose a while, Mr. Nonfit; learn grammar-its useful even to a man of genius and a poet. Tax yourself with syntax; then go from 'So much prose to prosody. You have ears enough, but culti- SINGULAR, VERY.-The Syracuse Journal, hav- Prob The only remarkable case of this kind on record is that of the Yankee soap man, who, in a violent storm at sea, saved himself from death by taking a cake of his own soap and washing himself ashore. UNFORTUNATE SLURRING.-A chorister of a country church lately made a sad mistake in the choice of a tune, there being a long slur in it, which came directly upon an unfortunate word, which produced a startling effect, namely: "With reverence let the saints appear, And bow-wow-wow before the Lord," The clergyman's little wisset pug, happening to catch the note, sung out his treble pipe, started the squire's old Towser's full bass, and in an instant the whole posse of dogs set up such a chorus that Handel's hail-storm would have dwindled into mustard-seed in comparison. LOCAL EDITOR'S CHARACTER LOST.-The local editor of the Louisville Democrat thus advertises his lost character: "Lost, somewhere between the Journal office and the east wing of the Galt House, on Saturday last, the character of a local editor, done up in a yellow package. The editor prizes it very highly, as it was one of Dr. Fowler's best, and was pretty much the only one the owner possessed. The finder will recognize it by its dominant traits. The mental predominate over the vital functions-devotion is very full-the descriptive and imaginative organs are large, and the admiration for women is almost extinct. No other traits remembered." Recent Publications. The Oity of Sin, and its Capture by Immanuel's | Army, is the title of an allegory by the Rev. E. F. REMINGTON. The author is a clergyman of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and his volume is preceded by a well-written introduction from the pen of Dr. Cheever, the well-known Congregationalist preacher of this city. When we add that the book is issued by the publishing house of the Methodist Episcopal Church, it may be inferred that it has no sectarian aim. It is, in fact, an honest effort to do good, and evinces considerable skill in threading this rather perilous field of authorship. Mr. Remington says in his preface: "John Bunyan, in his 'Pilgrim's Progress,' has erected a Parthenon; Dr. Cheever, in his Voyage to the Celestial Country,' has built a Theseum; but the writer, has not been deterred on that account from rearing his humble cottage, hoping that its friendly roof will afford to some care-worn traveler shelter and repose." Messrs. Carlton & Porter have done their part well in giving to the book an attractive exterior, and we bespeak for it an extensive circulation. The Messrs. Carter have issued in a neat little volume a series of sermons, entitled The City: its Sins and Sorrows. They are founded upon the text: "He beheld the city and wept over it," and are marked by the vivid language, the striking illustrations, and the evident aim to magnify the cross, which are so apparent in the "Gospel in Ezekiel," recently published by the same author, the REV. DR. GUTHRIE. - Another little volume by the REV. DR. HAMILTON, of London, has just appeared from the press of Carter & Brothers. It is called Lessons from the Great Biography, and discusses, in successive chapters, the Early Incidents in the Life of the Great Teacher, his Miracles, Discourses, Interviews, and the "Final Glimpses" of the risen Redeemer, which are found in the gospel narrative. The volume is full of practical and pertinent reflections and observations, and is admirably suggestive of thought for the pious reader. T. F. RANDOLPH MERCEIN was a minister of the Lord Jesus from whom the Church had expected many years of successful toil. But he who doeth all things well called the young evangelist to his rest and his reward in September last. His fellow-laborers who yet remain in the vineyard have caused to be printed, in beautiful style, a sermon from his pen, entitled The Wise Master-Builder. It was intended as the annual missionary discourse before the New York Conference, and was read before that body by a friend of the departed. The sermon lacks the finishing touches of its gifted author, but will well repay a careful perusal. We quote the closing paragraph as suggesting the drift of the sermon and conveying an important practical lesson: "Brethren! there is a glory in bringing forth the topmost stone; there is a thrill of pleasure in feeling that we shall see the completion of God's building: yet, let us humbly take our place with others who, From the press of M. W. Dodd we have a new edition, the third, of Fashionable Amusements, by the REV. D. R. THOMASON. The author takes up successively, the Theater, Card Playing, Dancing, and Novel Reading; and shows, in clear and pointed style, the evils resulting from them. A part of this edition is devoted to a review of Dr. Bellows's plea for the stage, which we commend to those who may have any doubts upon the subject. The following incident is told upon the authority of Mr. Thomason. There can be no doubt of its truth, or of the fact that some persons can look upon that about which they would blush to talk: "It was not long since a party returning from a visit to one of our theaters, were discussing at the fireside, which they had just reached, the merits of the performances which they had that evening witnessed. The performances of a celebrated figurante were referred to in glowing language of admiration by one of the party, when a sober and serious gentleman, who had committed the error which Dr. Bellows points of staying at home, inquired whether such exhibitions of the female figure did not shock the delicacy of the plied a young miss, scarcely yet in her teens, 'you audience, at least the female part of it?' 'O sir,' reknow she had tights. Our 'serious' friend gravely asked, 'What are tights?' and answering his own question, he ventured a further inquiry into the nature and design of these articles of stage costume. He observed, however, that the faces of the ladies were suffused with blushes. At once suspending his dissertahave given you pain, but as you did not blush to see tion, he kindly remarked, 'Ladies, I am sorry that I the tights, I do not know why you should now blush to hear them spoken of."" The Olynthiac and other public Orations of Demosthenes have been added, from the English edition, to Harper's Classical Library. The second volume contains that great master-piece, said to be the greatest speech of the greatest orator in the world, the Oration on the Crown, upon which the translator, CHARLES RANN KENNEDY, has evidently bestowed great labor. Competent scholars, we think, will agree that those, and they are numerous, which have herein many respects this translation is superior to cuted in a scholarly style; the notes are espetofore appeared. The whole whole work is execially valuable. It was our privilege to know the late DR. LANSING, than whom few ministers were more laborious in the pastoral office, and very few more successful in winning souls. He died at the ripe age of seventy-two, and a discourse commemorative of his life and labors, entitled The Faithful Preacher, by REV. J. P. THOMPSON, |