ner, and afterward entered his study and wrote several letters. While there, conversing with two of his sons, he complained of a stricture across his breast, and almost immediately expired.

66

No man ever did as much for, or received so largely the confidence and honors of the people of the State of New York, as De Witt Clinton. His successful efforts in internal improvement gave an impetus to business throughout the country; gave birth to western prosperity; changed howling forests into a garden; opened an empire to civilization, whose infant strength foreshadows results before unknown in the history of mankind.”

Unlike the victories of the warrior whose chaplet drips with gore, were Clinton's bloodless triumphs. The price of their purchase contained no orphan's tear, nor widow's sigh. "His was, indeed, the triumph of art over nature, of civilization over barbarism, making the desolate wilderness vocal with the hum of peaceful industry, and planting homes for happy millions where the deer disported, and the hungry wolf prowled for his prey."

Perhaps you will think it odd that any one should inquire why fishes die when they are taken out of the fluid in which they have hitherto lived; but this inquiry is one which will be useful to us, if, in seeking for the answer, we are led to a better acquaintance with any of God's wonderful works.

George admits he is somewhat puzzled; but Catharine, and Sarah Ann, and Joseph, have given a ready answer; but the readiest reply is often the most erroneous, and hasty conclusions are seldom in accordance with truth. And so it is in this in

stance. George says he does not know, and is determined to inquire further; while some of the rest of my young audience, like many older heads, having got hold of a plausible answer, are satisfied with it, and examine the matter no more.

Catharine and her party say that the fish dies for want of water, and they laugh at their grandfather for expressing an opinion that it dies for want of air. "Grandpapa must be joking," say they ; "because a fish has more air than it ever had when it is taken out of the water, so it can't die for want of breath."

In one of my earliest lectures I told you the story of a boy who caught a little minnow, and put it into a bottle, in which it lived very comfortably for a short time; but that one day its young keeper corked the bottle for awhile, upon which the little fish quickly died. It has been observed, moreover, that if the mouth of the globe in which gold fishes are confined is covered with varnished silk, and the surface of the water thus excluded from the air, that the fish soon manifest signs of uneasiness, and shortly afterward die.

It is related that some wicked men once stole a large quantity of oil from a gentleman's warehouse, and hid the barrels, in which the liquid was contained, by sinking them in some fish-ponds in the vicinity. The oil escaped, and, floating, spread itself in a thin layer over the surface of the pond, and, in a few hours afterward, a large number of the fish were found to be

dead. The oil excluded the air from the

surface of the pond, and the fish were suffocated, just as was the minnow in the boy's bottle; they died for want of air.

But some of you reiterate the objection, that if fishes required air, they would live best where they had the most, namely, when taken out of the water. If you will give me your attention for a few minutes, I will endeavor to explain to you how it is that the breathing apparatus of the fish, though exquisitely adapted to act upon the air contained in water, becomes inefficient when exposed to dry air.

Fishes breathe by their gills-those curious, bright-red fringes, which lie under the plates on each side of their head. These organs correspond to our lungs, and

decompose the air exposed to them in the current of water taken in at the mouth, and pushed back through the openings of the side of the neck.

If you watch the gold-fish in the globe yonder, you will find that they are constantly opening and shutting their mouths, in fact, breathing. While the water containing air is thus driven past and between the blood-vessels of the gills, the blood is forced into these organs by the action of the heart, which is constructed upon the most perfect form of a force-pump.

The gills, or lungs of fishes, are formed of an immense number of small bloodvessels, or capillaries, arranged in loops, like fringe, and covered with a thin and transparent membrane, resembling goldbeater's skin. This membrane loses its transparency when it becomes dry, and, in drying, contracts, and thus impedes the circulation of the blood through the vessels. Moreover, the blood, in its passage through the gills, when the fish is out of water, dries up, and becomes thickened, and unfit to circulate. You will now see how it is that these organs become unable to abstract oxygen from the air, and how it happens that the fish can no longer breathe. It dies from suffocation, or want of air.

The power of living out of the water, nevertheless, in different species, is traceable to the peculiar requirements of the animal in its "native element." The fishes which are in the habit of swimming near the surface of the water, require and consume much more oxygen, and hence die almost immediately when taken out of the water; on the other hand, those fish which live near the bottom of the water, or in the mud, have a comparatively small requirement for oxygen, and sustain life for a long while after they are caught.

The proverb, "Dead as a herring," has probably arisen from the suddenness of the death of that fish upon its removal from the water. Mr. Yarrell states, that perch (a common fresh-water species) has an extraordinary power of retaining life; and that these fish are 66 constantly exhibited in the markets of European countries, and if not sold, are taken back to the ponds from which they were removed

in the morning, to be re-produced another day."

A rare little fish, known by the name of the Anglesea Morris, has been known to live after having been carried in brown paper in a gentleman's pocket for three hours. The carp, a common resident in the ponds of the west of England, is also singularly tenacious of life, as might be anticipated from its ground-haunting habits.

When a boy, I was present on an occasion when the water was "let off" from a large fish-pond, in which were a great number of this mud-loving fish, and about fifty of the smaller fry were given to me. They were packed in a basket with damp straw, carried a distance of more than ten miles, and after being out of water for nearly three hours, on a fine warm day, were found to be alive at the end of their journey. They were turned into a small pond, when five or six only, out of the whole number, were discovered to be unable to resume their ordinary activity.

The class of animals called Fishes are, for the most part, oviparous. This term is derived from two words, meaning "egg," and "to be born;" it signifies that the young are produced from eggs. Almost every person has seen the roe of the common herring. This is a mass of eggs, and would take you a very long time to count its contents. In a common perch, weighing half a pound, the number of eggs was discovered to be no less than two hundred and eighty thousand! In a moderate-sized cod fish, it is estimated that the number is usually several thousands of thousands!

These arrangements for the reproduction of the species prove how necessary these animals are, for such a provision for their multiplication would not have been made unless they fulfilled some important part in the great system of nature. What that part, or what the purpose of the Creator in so carefully guarding against their extinction, may be, has not yet been discovered, and must be left for the enlightenment of future time to determine.

In the meanwhile, let us learn patiently to use such light as may be given to us, assured that the most significant portions of the great balm of nature are necessary

and important parts of a grand scheme which ministers to our benefit and joy. Yet let us not arrogate to ourselves the sole rights to happiness in this beautiful scene, but remember, that the lowliest living thing has, in its sphere, a happiness of its own, that we have no right, in mere sport, to destroy.

THE FADING FLOWER.

BY J. H. HANAFORD.

I'VE seen a flower, a lovely flower,

With petals white and fair; I've seen, as morn's first rays appear, The dew-drops glistening there.

As softly breathes the zephyr mild,

O'er mead and smiling plain, I've seen the leaflets sweetly wave To welcome morn's glad train.

Far, far around its odors sweet

On wafting breezes stray, And, smiling, look so sweetly up, To sip each welcome ray.

Yet, ah! how soon the northern climes
Send forth a chilling breath!
How soon the hoary frosts appear,
Enshrouding all in death!

Each tendril's twining, faithful grasp
Is rudely severed now;
The waving branch and flowing leaf
In somber sadness bow.

The tiny stem, now drooping low,
Its stricken blossoms shed;
The opening bud, so early sered,
Its lowly bed d'erspreads.

Not so when Death's cold grasp is felt,
And kindly ties are riven;
Not so when earthly germs expire,
And bloom anew in heaven.

"Twelve or fifteen years ago, I left Washington three or four weeks during the spring. While at home, I possessed myself of the letters of Mr. Adams' mother, and read them with exceeding interest. I remember an expression in one of the letters addressed to her son, while yet a boy twelve years of age, in Europe: says she, 'I would rather see you laid in your grave than that you should grow up a profane and graceless boy.'

"After returning to Washington, I went over to Mr. Adams' seat one day, and said to him, Mr. Adams, I have found out who made you!'

"What do you mean?' said he.

"I replied, I have been reading the letters of your mother!' If I had spoken that dear name to some little boy who had been for weeks away from his dear mother, his eye could not have flashed more brightly, or his face glowed more quickly, than did the eye and face of that venerable old man when I pronounced the name of his mother. He started up, in his peculiar manner, and emphatically said,

"Yes! Mr. Briggs, all that is good in me I owe to my mother.'

T

HE Arms of Arkansas, as represented on the seal of the state, consist of shield, the base of which is occupied by a blue field, on which is a white star, representing the state. The middle portion is occupied by a bee-hive, the emblem of industry, and a plow, representing agriculture; while the upper part contains a western steamboat, the representative of the commerce of the state.

The crest is the goddess of Liberty, holding in one hand her wand and cap, and a wreath of laurel in the other, while she is surrounded by a constellation of stars, representing the states of the Union. The supporters of the escutcheon are two eagles, each standing on a cornucopia filled with fruits and flowers.

The motto of the state is Regnant Populi-"The People Rule." Around the border of the seal are the words, SEAL OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS. This state received its name from the great river which runs through it.

Arkansas is one of the Western States. It is bounded north by Missouri, east by the Mississippi river, which separates it

from Tennessee and Mississippi, south by Louisiana, and west by the Indian Territory. Its length from east to west is about 260 miles, and its width 240 miles. The state contains 54,500 square miles, and is divided into forty-eight counties. The population is 195,000. Little Rock, the capital, is situated on an elevated, rocky bluff, on the bank of the Arkansas river, one hundred and fifty feet above its level, and one hundred and twenty miles from its mouth. Its population is about 5,000.

The State of Arkansas was settled at Arkansas, in 1685, by the French. This is the oldest settlement west of the Mississippi river. This state was originally a part of the Louisiana purchase. It was made a separate territory in 1819. In 1836 it formed a constitution, and was admitted into the Union as an independent state.

The surface of the state is extremely diversified, and the soil of very unequal quality. On the margin of the rivers, with which the state is abundantly watered, the soil is fertile, but back of this it is generally poor. Prairies are abundant,

and of immense extent. The eastern part of the state, bordering on the large rivers, is low and swampy, and usually has a heavy growth of timber. In the western parts, the Ozark mountains, rising sometimes to the height of 2,000 feet, extend into the northern part of the state from Missouri.

Cotton and Indian corn are the staple productions, but wheat, rice, tobacco, po

[The following original declamation was delivered by tute, for the term ending June 5, 1851.]

The country is well adapted to raising cattle. Wild animals, such as the buffalo, deer, elk, otter, beaver, wolf, bear, &c., are abundant. The mineral productions of this region are bituminous coal, salt, and granite.

The internal improvements of this state consist only in post-roads, and some improvements made in navigable rivers. There are neither canals, railroads, nor telegraphs, in the State of Arkansas. It has no direct foreign commerce. The business is principally transacted through New Orleans.

There are no colleges in the state, and only some ten or fifteen academies, and about 150 common schools. But Congress has granted large tracts of land there for the support of schools, and the State Legislature has liberally seconded the bounty. It is now hoped that the time is not far distant when the people will enjoy liberal means for education.

Near the center of the state there are numerous hot springs, the temperature of which vary from 110 to 150 degrees. They are about fifty in number, and empty into a small stream which forms one of the branches of the Wachita river. They are frequented by invalids, especially those afflicted with chronic rheumatism, scrofula, gout, or cutaneous affections. The chalybeate springs are three miles northeast of the hot springs. The water of these is cold, and impregnated with iron. The sulphur springs are thirty miles from the hot springs. These have been known only a short time.

0

TRUTH! what apology can he present, who now with feeble hand would fain essay to touch thy strings of heavenly harmony, that their vibrations may wake the cords responding in each human heart-those cords which neither loss of pristine innocence nor sin's destroying curse were able to untune?

What can he plead, when the loftiest intellects that ever illumined our world with momentary radiance, by thee conferred, have found themselves baffled in every attempt to compass thine eternal self? When those whose names never born to die have shrunk from the task of depicting thee, as from a duty more befitting spirits infinite than the sin-fettered mind of man, small indeed must be the indulgence such as myself would claim.

were

What one of the thousand modes in which Truth manifests itself shall I select? Every form that it assumes is worthy of being made the subject for a volume. "Tis the honor of the gentleman, the glory of the moralist, the insignia of the Christian, the white robe of the saint, the power of the archangel, the brightest gem in the tiara of divinity. But from this brilliant array of subjects, I turn away to hold it up for your contemplation as a heavenborn principle implanted in the human breast, which ever influences its possessor to attain to truth in all things.