NOME, let us walk by the sea-shore, up- winged teals, that love to sit together and

on the smooth sands of the winding sun themselves on the sands— and the beach. Let us search for its colored surf and the golden-eyed duck, that swim shells and curious pebbles. Let us and dive among the breakers; these, and gather the delicate blossoms of the sea- many others, haunt the sand-bars, and side pea, that loves to draw its freshness the low, reefy shores. God careth for and tender beauty from the thirsty soil, them all. He teacheth some of them to along the edges of the yellow shore. collect the drift sea-weed for their nests, Take up handfuls of the sparkling sands. and others to hollow out the sands. Can we number the shining grains? No, Though no reeds, or grass, or leaves, we cannot; but God knoweth the sum of screen these nestlings, yet God provideth the sands of the sea, upon its thousand, for their safety. No bright or various thousand shores. plumage attracts attention towards them. Let us watch the little flocks of beach Colored like the sands on which they run, birds, skimming low along the sands, if danger approach, they cower down, keeping time with the flowing and re- motionless as the small stones of the treating waters. Listen to their voice, beach, till the deceived eye is turned low, soft, and musical, as if they sang to away; while the tender mother entices the waves. Here are the ringed plovers from them the foot of the stranger, in -the sand-pipers- the purres, flying in vain pursuit of herself. flocks, throwing alternately their dark How solemn is the lonely shore, where and light plumage to the eye-the sheer- the sea uplifts its voice, as it were the water with its curious bill- the blue-voice of God! No one dwelleth here.

The fisher moors his skiff, and seeks his home in the cheerful village. And we also must go away to our evening rest. But the spirit of God will still move on the face of the deep. And in the stillness of the night we may wake and listen to the waves, as they break and dash upon the distant beach. Let us not go away unimpressed with the wisdom and goodness of God. The sea obeys his will; but it is unconscious of its obedi

W

Return of Reason.

E stated the other day, in general terms, the case of a man in the Newton poor-house who, after an insanity of about forty years, (thirty of which he was chained,) had recovered his reason. The name of the unfortunate man is Elisha Robbins, formerly a shoemaker by trade. He was born about the

year 1786, and is therefore nearly sixty. four years of age. He was twenty-four ence. Let us also obey him- not as years old when first seized with insanity. the passive sea, but with the active intel-At that time, he had just lost his wife ; he ligence of living spirits, to whom he has had two children then living. Soon after given his written and perfect law. —Juv. his seizure, he was so violent that it beMiscellany. came necessary to chain him down, with out clothes, save a shirt, and with only straw to sleep upon. This course was rendered absolutely necessary by his habits, which were no better than those of the beasts of the field.

The Child's Oration.

YOU'D scarce expect one of my age
To speak in public on the stage;
And if I chance to fall below
Demosthenes or Cicero,

Don't view me with a critic's eye,
But pass my imperfections by.
Large streams from little fountains flow;
Tall oaks from little acorns grow;
And though I now am small and young,
Of judgment weak, and feeble tongue,
Yet all great learned men, like me,
Once learned to read their A, B, C.
But why may not Columbia's soil
Rear men as great as Britain's isle?
Exceed what Greece and Rome have done,
Or any land beneath the sun?
Mayn't Massachusetts boast as great
As any other sister state?

Or where's the town, go far and near,
That does not find a rival here ?
Or where's the boy, but three feet high,
Who's made improvements more than I?
These thoughts inspire my youthful mind
To be the greatest of mankind;
Great, not like Cæsar, stained with blood,
But only great as I am good. EVERETT.

At one time, the paupers were farmed out by the town to the lowest bidders. Among others was Robbins, who was chained in a barn by his keeper, where he was found one day with his feet frozen so as to render their amputation neces sary. He was forthwith removed, and since that time has had every comfort com. patible with his situation, his room being always kept warm. About a year ago, Robbins first began to exhibit signs of returning reason. It was observed that he paid more attention to personal cleanliness. He was encouraged, and shortly appeared, after the lapse of nearly a cen tury, in the clothing of a man. after, he was allowed to wander about the building; and at times he would turn to and help in light work, such as husking corn, &c.

Soon

Finally he began to talk of persons and places familiar in his youthful days, before reason was clouded; but beyond that period all to him is blank. He described with perfect accuracy places with which he was conversant in his earlier days; spoke of the companions of that period; one in particular whom he denominated a "gal," though, if now living, she has attained to over threescore years. He has been tried in various ways as to the verge of his memory; but it always stops at the commencement of his insanity. One day, the marriage of an acquaintance, which took place in his early days of reason, was mentioned, and the name of the bride intentionally misstated. He instantly corrected the error, and gave the right name. When asked in what year he was born, he replies, "About 1786," but still insists that he is but twenty-four years of age. At the last accounts, he continued to improve, and it was hoped that Reason was again firmly seated upon her throne. Boston Traveller.

Anecdote.

CELEBRATED divine, who was remarkable, in the first period of his ministry, for a loud and boisterous mode of preaching, suddenly changed his whole manner in the pulpit, and adopted a mild and dispassionate mode of delivery.

One of his hearers, observing it, inquired SANTA CLAUS CAUGHT AT LAST.- -One of him what had induced him to make of the southern papers tells us that on the change. He answered, "When I Christmas morning, (1848,) a negro was was young, I thought it was the thunder found fast in the flue of a chimney at Sathat killed the people; but when I grew vannah, and was with difficulty extricated. wiser, I discovered that it was the light- He represented himself to be a runaway, ning; so I determined to thunder less, and to have entered the chimney to es and lighten more, in future." cape detection.

HIS is a thin column, or pillar, marked | inches each; the space marked on the in divisions to ascertain the rise and column is somewhat more than thirty-six fall of the River Nile. It is situated feet.

T

in the midst of a round tower, on the

This column is of the greatest impor

chief means by which he is enabled to fix the tribute or tax, according to the height of the inundation.

Island of Rhoda, between Cairo and Gee-tance to the pacha of Egypt; it being the za, and is built in the middle of the river. In this tower is a cistern of marble, through which the Nile flows; the bottom of the river and the bottom of the well being on The tower in which the Nilometer is the same level. From the centre of this placed, is lighted by about eighteen or well rises the slender pillar, which is twenty windows, which form a bell round marked into twenty divisions of twenty the base of the dome: immediately be

neath these windows, and considerably | accident, no loss, no injury, no ill-treatabove the basin or well, are rooms or ment, could ever alter. Some have be

lieved that he was by nature hasty and passionate, and that the moderation to which he had attained was the effect of his reflections and endeavors to subdue and correct himself; which would still add to his merit.

apartments for those who come to see the height of the Nile, from whence a flight of about twenty-five or thirty stone steps leads to the marble pavement, which forms the top of the cistern or well, and in the centre of which the Nilometer is placed. On ascertaining that the overflow will Finding himself, on one occasion, in be such as to fertilize all the land, the great emotion against a slave, "I would grand canals are opened with great cere-beat you," said he, "if I were not angry." mony, festivity, and rejoicing. As soon Having received a box on the ear, he conas the Nile retires from the fields, they tented himself by only saying with a smile, are sown with all sorts of grain, and in a "It is a misfortune not to know when to put short space of time, the face of the whole on a helmet." Once meeting a gentlecountry is variegated with the hues of man of rank in the street, he saluted him, flowering plants and ripening corn. but the gentleman took no notice of it. His friends in company, observing what passed, told the philosoper, "that they were so exasperated at the man's incivility, that they had a good mind to resent it." But he very calmly made answer, "If

your

Historical Examples of Patience. F all the philosophers which the sect of the Stoics produced, Epictetus is by far the most renowned. He is you meet any person on the road in a supposed to have been a native of worse habit of body than yourself, would Hierapolis in Phrygia, was for some time you think that you had reason to be ena slave, and belonged to Epaphroditus, raged at him on that account? If not, one of Nero's life-guard. He reduced all pray, then, what greater reason can you his philosophy to two points only, viz., have for being incensed at a man of a "to suffer evils with patience, and enjoy worse habit of mind than any of pleasures with moderation;" which he selves?" expressed in these two celebrated words, Bear and Forbear. Of the former he gave a memorable example. As his master was one day squeezing his leg, it to the severest proof by her captious, in order to torment him, Epictetus said passionate, violent disposition. to him very calmly, "You will break was a woman of so furious and fantastical my leg;" which happened accordingly. a spirit, and so bad a temper. There "Did not I tell you," said he, " that you would break my leg?

One of the most striking qualities of Socrates was a tranquillity of soul that no

Without going out of his house, Socrates found enough to exercise his patience in all its extent. Xantippe, his wife, put

Never

was no kind of abuse, or injurious treatment, which he had not to experience from her. She was once so transported with rage against him, that she tore off