And now the time in special is, by privilege, to write and speak what may help to the further discussing of matters in agitation. The Temple of Janus, with his two- controversal faces, might now not unsignificantly be set open: and though all the winds of doctrine were let loose to play upon the earth, so Truth be in the field, wed>>' • injuriously, by licensing and prohibiting, to misdoubt her strength. Let her and falsehood grapple. Who ever knew Truth put to the worse, in a free and open encounter. Her confuting is the best and surest suppressing.— MILTON'S AREOPAGITICA. OUll EDITORIAL CONCLAVE. " When shall we three meet again ?" SHAKESPEARE. $ cene, the snug parlour in our Observatory. In the centre of the room stands a three- cornered table, with three old fashioned oak arm- chairs, around it. Bottles, glasses, pipes, cigars, Sfc. are placed upan the table. The Hermit, alone, looking over a large bundle of letters. He pauses, fills his glass, avul having drunk it, sings,— Here's a toast and success To our glorious " Free Press," And long life to the Editors three, Sir. THE KNIGHT, ( entering and taking his seat.) Yon're in a merry mnod, to- night, my old friend. Lots of correspondence, I see. THE HERMIT. Lots, indeed ! More than you would like to read in a week, and more than we could print, if we pub- lished everyday for a month to come. THE KNIGHT. Why; I never was much of a reader, myself. I'm more for deeds of arms and feats worthy of knight- hood ; aud though, may be, I've as much learning as would save my neck, I can't pretend to vie with your- self and our friend the Monk. Your leisure and your situations are favourable to reading.— But wbere's the Monk ? He's generally punctual. THE MONK, ( entering and laying a bundle of papers on the table) I am'rather late, friends; but " better late than never " quoth the old proverb ; and I delight in the good sayings of our wise and holy ancestors. THE KNIGHT. And I delight most in their djeds. I think lightly of their sayings. THE HERMIT. Well, gentlemen; to business. We have much to do. So, let us fill onr glasses, and begin with our standing toast, " The Free Press, and our own liditorial Selves." THE MONK. With all my heart! ( The toast is drunk, with honours; and the- party having resumed their seats, the Hermit unfolds a letter.) THE KNIGHT. What's that I THE HERMIT. A prose essay from a gentleman who promises to become a regular correspondent. THE KNIGHT. A fig for such promises. Like pie- crust and election pledges, they're only made to be broken ; but what's the subject of his essay ? How does he " frame " for the job ? THE HERMIT. Rather untowardly, I ween; yet he's honest enough, and modest enough too; judging from the private note that accompanies the communication. He calls his paper " A Half Chapter on Cobblers." THE KNIGHT, [ singing.) " A Cobbler there was and he lived in a stall." THE MONK. And, cobbler- like, intends doing things by halves, I suppose. ( THE KNIGHT. Well; half a loaf is better than no bread, as the lad said, when he licked the outside of the treacle cask. THE MONK. You can quote old saws, when it suits you, as well as any one else, Sir Knight! THE KNIGHT. Aye, to be sure. One can't be much in bad company, but one learns bad practices; and this comes of your example. THE HERMIT. Well, gentlemen ; to the matter in hand, as the cobbler said when he stuck to his last. Our new correspondent signs himself X. L. Y. THE KNIGHT. That's as muchas to say " I excel; but why ?" THE HERMIT. He is, himself, rather suspicious of his own per- formance. He says,'— " lam afraid you will think my ' Half Cflftpter on Cobblers' rather too personal,— a circumstance which cannot possibly be avoided, if we draw from real life. However, rather than wound the feelings of any single individual, for the sake of amusing the many, I beg you to reject the sketch at once." THE KNIGHT. I like the tone of that. It shows good feeling. THE MONK. But I don't like the title of his paper. Why must he take off the cobblers, any more than the linkers or the tea- dealers ? I can't see why one particular trade or profession should be singled out for the amusement of the public, apd its members held up to ridicule or contumely. THE KNIGHT. But I like the fun of it. Priests and Monks were always fair game ; and why should not cobblers be made game of, too ? THE MONK. No personalities, I beg. Let us hear the essay. THE HERMIT. The " Half Chapter" contains notices of four members of the " gentle craft." THE MONK. All disciples of good Saint Crispin, 1 suppose. THE KNIGHT. And they're sure to suit your taste, if there be but a little saintship in the matter. THE HERMIT. And you, Sir Knight, would cut but a sorry figure in a passage of arms, were it not for your tutelary saint. But hear the introduction. ( Reads.) " It has frequently been remarked that all Cobblers are eccentrics; and in the whole course of my life I never knew one who was not, and who had not some trait or peculiarity uncommon in other men. " Bloomfield was a cobbler, and he was a poet; ergo he was, as a matter of course, an eccentric. Holcroft and Gilford were true sons of Crispin,— so was Drew, the Metaphysician, and each hadbis peculiarity. The craft has been exceedingly prolific in producing men of genius; and though eccentricity is no proof of genius, yet it is frequently a concomitant ingredient therein. " To substantiate my remark, Mr. Editor, I shall just notice one or two local characters drawn from my own personal observation. " The first individual I shall notice is, or was, our Village Cobbler, ( for he has been many years dead.) He was a noted bookworm, as most of his craft are, and he was exceedingly fond of having his volumes done up in splendid bindings ; and of many of these you might with some degree of reason have exclaimed with Byron ' Doff that covering where morocco shines. And hang a calf- skin on those recreant lines.' He had, however, as thorough an abhorrence of poems, novels, and romances, as the renowned Dominie Sampson. Theology and polemical divinity were his favourite studies, although his method of communicating his ideas to others was passing strange, and to me utterly unintelligible; he professed, however, to be very explicit in laying down every strange harangue with saying, " tho point lies here 1" ( which of course no one ever denied.) His answer to the why and wherefore was invariably, " these things is so because they are so !" He was a - Unitarian; and he once assured me that ' no other sect whatever had a peg to staud on!' though he could not tell why.'' THE MONK. Very good, so far ; and as the subject of the sketch has shuffled off the coil of mortal life, nobody's feelings can be hurt. Then, there's nothing ill- natured or satirical in it. X. L. Y. seems to bear in mind the good old adage De mortuis nil nisi bonum. THE HERMIT. Now, for the portrait of a living character. ( Reads.) " I shall pass over many little eecentricities of this in- dividual, and proceed to notice one who is still living, and who resides not a hundred miles from * The Free Press Office.' He is a ' noticeable man,' as Coleridge says of his friend Wordsworth; for if an itinerant portrait- painter should happen to visit the town, you are sure to see the portrait of the old ex- cobbler, ( whose likeness has been caught flying,) stuck in the artist's window:— you cannot mistake the resemblance,— it is him to the life ! Though aged, he walks erect, has a light elastic step, a quick eye, and moreover wears a low- crowned castor, whose brims are of no ordinary dimensions. " He is an enthusiastic lover of nature, and has visited the lake and mountain- scenery of Westmorland and Cumber- land ; whether he has ever had an interview with the great poet of the Lakes, this deponent sayeth not. " Should you meet him on a Spring or Summer morning, in all probability he will have a large bouquet of flowers with him,— big as a scavenger's broom ; or, having a due regard for culinary observances, you may possibly see him hastening from the neighbouring gardens, or from the market, with a few sprigs of mint or parsley, or a bunch of scallions, a dish uf radishes, or a small basket of salad. Should some wag. who knows his ultra- radical principles, accost him with " well, Mr. , what progress is mak- ing in such and such a bill ?"— a measure, by the way, which is sure to " go against the grain," he will, without stopping to reply, and with a slight shake of his walking- stick, good humouredly exclaim—" young tastrill!" He is one of the old school; one who cares not for the fashions and follies of the day, but one who— ' Along the cool sequester'd vale of life Keeps on the noiseless tenor of his way.*" KNIGHT. A hit to the very life, and THE Capital ! Excellent 1 no mistake'. THE MONK. True ; and nothing offensive. I think we may print so far. THE IlERMI'T. But the next I'm rather doubtful of. It speaks of a son of the- last- named hero of the last. THE KN1 JHT, ( sinking.) oil! what's the matter ? What is't that ails young what's the" matter ? I H G THE MONK. Come, Sir Knight. Leave Wordsworth's ballad alone, and let us hear more of these knights of the awl and lapstone. THE HERMIT. It is, I must say, rather too hard a hit; but I'm not for leaving it out. We mustn't spoil ( he family picture. ( Reads.) " This said old ex- cobbler has a son who has also been in the cobbling line ; he has, however, during his whole life been much fonder of jovial company than of the awl and shoe- stirrup. Symptoms of contrition have, however, oc- casionally been manifested even by him, and many are the resolves he has made, like the prodigal of old, of ' return- ing unto his father ;' indeed he has returned, and so often, that the old gentleman wishes most devoutly that he would " return" no more; for lie has well- nigh ruined him THE MONK. I don't object to the personality of t » at; but I don't quite like the allusion to F^ Scripture. It savours of profaneness. _ 1S KNIGHT. You're too brother. THE MONK. impossible, on a point like that. I hold it to be a thing he advanced: he would place the forefinger of his « . . c .... . , , ... right hand in the ralm of his left, and comment I Profanation of Holy Writ, to introduce either its 2 THE HALIFAX FREE PRESS. sacred language, its historical facts, or its chaste and beautiful imagery, into any writing that is of a secular character, and especially if it be jocular or humourous. THE KNIGHT. Well, well ! No sermonizing, to- night. Proceed with the reading. THE HERMIT. The next " son of Crispin," and there is but one more, sketched by the writer, is so distinctly marked out, by allusions and quotations, that I must pass over the introductory remarks,— especially as the anecdote told of him is not very complimentary. THE KNIGHT. Well ! Pass it by, and come to the pith of the story. THE HERMIT. X. L. Y. describes the premises of the individual spoken of, and then he says,—( reads) " Gentle reader, it was only a cobbling shop, after all! but hark thee ! as winter was approaching, I resolved to order a pair of good substantial " stouts," suitable for the approaching season, and accordingly I called upoa this rara avis who manufactured them on " scientific principles," and " on the shortest notice." This was on a Monday evening, and they were to be delivered at my house on the following Saturday. Nearly three weeks, however, elapsed before this expeditious artist had completed his order. They did come home at last,— certainlyaye, the shoes came home,— that is, they were brought,— my " stouts !"— • why, they might have been designed for a mountebank tumbler, or a Parisian dancing- master !— and what sweating, and groaning, and tugging, and straining, ere I could draw them on, even with a bran- new steel shoe- slip, purchased for the occasion !— A real Chinese fit they were, truly 1 " To make a long story short, I remonstrated personally with my mathematical shoemaker. He assured me they • were " a fine fit!"— would become much easier with wear- ing; and that though they were apparently slender, in realitif they were not so ! Though somewhat sceptical 011 this point, I was very willing to believe him with respect to their " stoutness," inasmuch as I internally argued that on my part it might be an optical illusion ! and that he who had made the understandings of others the principal study of his life, certainly ought to be a far better j udge of the matter than myself. Eventually I was persuaded to give them " a fair trial " I did so ; and in the course of four short weeks one of my " stouts" gave symptoms of decay by a most palpable outbreak in the upper leathers. I paid my early respects to my philosophical snob, and with a rueful count- enance pointed out the grievance ; instead of sympathizing • with me, and expressing his regret at the circumstance, he had the audacity to tell me with an 0 ssumed air of pleasantry that " it was high time the shoes were done! Should he have she honour of making me- another pair a size larger ?" Gh 1 the knave ! " Reader, cobblers are all eccentrics— but their eccentri- cities always ' lean to profit's side !'" THE KNIGHT. That's a tight fit, however, at the last. I would give it all ; and let the public know who the rogue is. THE HERMIT. And bring on us and our publisher an action for libel, Eh ! THE MONK. The threat of an action for libel would not terrify me, nor influence me to reject any communication, f I thought it my duty to print it; but I would say, with the poet, " Oh ! grant me honest fame, or grant me none." If we find that we cannot carry on the " Free Press " without descending to personal scandal and libellous insinuations, let it fall to the ground at once. THE KNIGHT. A little personality, though, is very good sauce to a dish, whether it be of literature or of politics ; and if there be but plenty of cayenne, it's sure to go down with a relish. TIJE HERMIT. Good- natured pleasantry : nay do ; but such things are apt to savour more of the pepper box than of the sugar basin-.' THE KNIGHT. And then the poor fellow who happens to be the butt of the joke, looks for all the world as if he'd just jumped out of the vinegar cruet. THE HERMIT. But our essayist has left out of his sketch some of the best subjects to be found among the whole batch of cobblers in the town. There's " R— 1 B— b." He'd have made a capital sketch. THE KNIGHT. A good subject to every one save to " the powers that be ;" and he's many a time, I trow, been a thorn in their side. THE MONK. - kye; and that old Jacobin, Citizen R— m. The cobbler i^ rned schoolmaster would be a fine mark to shoot at. KNIGHT. They're both good fen.,, j_ n) t0 be sure) is more Whiggish than he used ^ be . but B_ b- S trump. Give me an out- and- outer in 1— Utica. None of your milk- and- water men, for me. THE MONK. , I like neither your Whigs nor your Radicals. Oh for the good^ old times when working men were too wise to think differently from their superiors. THE KNIGHT. And when the dark cloud of ignorance shrouded and befriended the darker deeds , of tyranny and oppression. THE MONK. Aye, but those were indeed happy times. " Where ignorance is bliss, ' Tis folly to be wise." THE HERMIT. Is there bliss in ignorance ? You must prove your major, before you pronounce your ergo. THE KNIGHT. There's not much happiness, to my thinking, in book learning ; but I don't exactly think that the people ought to be kept in a state of feudal bondage. Freedom of thought, say I, and freedom of speech, too, for every man ; with as much freedom of action as is consistent with the safety of life and property, and the rights of conscience. THE HERMIT. But, the Cobblers! There's another member of the craft, that's worth a flying shot or two ; he that makes queer speeches at Anti Corn- Law tea- parties ; — he that walks upon horsehair; and makes the sides of his hearers creak worse than his under- leathers. THE KNIGHT. Aye; I know him well :— not imperial Alexander, " Philip's godlike son ;" but impilia Alexander,— the hero of shoe- leather,— the maker of Wellingtons and Bluchers. THE MONK. A truce to your personalities ! THE HERMIT. Not ill- natured per. onalities, at all events; but to the " Half- Chapter." I suppose we must put it in, with corrections and omissions. THE KNIGHT. Aye; aye ; and is there any other paper to be con • sidered to- night ? THE HERMIT, Here's a very angry letter from our fair correspon- dent, Cordelia Charlotte O'Chatterbox. It seems that the letter we printed was not intended for insertion in the " Free Press," but only for the guidance of the Editors ; and when her aunt Lucy saw the letter in print, she severely scolded the poor lass, and locked her up in her room for a week. Poor girl! She calls us all the ugly names she can think of; and -—— THE MONK. Well! Never mind an angry woman. She'll he friendly enough, by and bye ; if our scraps of poetry jump with her taste and humour. ( A bell tolls.) By the mass, ' tis the curfew, and the bell tolls to vespers Adieu. THE HERMIT. And we meet again to- morrow, to despatch more of our communication?. If we go on thus; and spend nearly a whole meeting over a single letter, we shall never get through,— no, not by doomsday. Exeunt. OUR, LETTER BOX. THE ALLEGED DECLINE OF SOLID LEARNING. To the Editor qf the Free Press. SIR.— In your paper of last week, I observed some extracts from a pamphlet by Mr. D. Mackintosh, ac- companied by some observations from " A Lover of Knowledge;" and the object of both was to prove that what is called Solid Learning is on the decline in England. I cannot but think these apprehensions groundless, and I will endeavour as concisely as pos- sible, to explain the reasons upon which I rest this opinion. In the first place, what is Solid Learning ? Is it not literature of any kind which instructs the intellect and improves the heart ? To attempt to say which is the most useful of all studies ( and consequently the most solid,) would be highly presumptuous. In that inquiiy, we must allow the opinions of those sages who, after devoting their lives to the great object of man's existence— viz, the benefit of his species, have, by the common consent of mankind, obtained a niche in the Temple of Fame, to have an influence on our decision. Pope, perhaps one of the deepest thinkers "-•' land has ever produced, delivers an opinion upon this point, which has since passed into an axiom ia philosophy : — " The proper study of mankind is man." And this is easily proved. When the materials of which the world is composed shall have withered into annihilation, beneath the frowns of the Almighty ; Man, fashioned in the likeness of his Creator, will be but in the dawn of his existence,— an existence com- mensurate with that of the Creator. Whoever con- templates his lofty destiny, his noble capacities, the vast, the imm asurable grasp of his intellect, will readily acknowledge that, though he ransack the uni- verse, he will find no nobler subject for study, than the nature, properties, capabilities, and destiny, of man. The chief object of the literature of the present day is the analysis of the human mind, or meta- physics. Nearly a score of magazines are monthly or quarterly issued ; above one half of which regu- larly contain iuquiries into this most interesting of all subjects. The inquiry may be called an essay, or it may disguise itself in a tale, it should be remem- bered. The true mode of communicating information is to mix the " utile" with the " dulce," in such a manner that the truths of science may be united to pleasing and amusing reflections ;—- causing the former to be remembered ; and impressing them upou the thoughts : and the best writers of the present day are adopting this mode, even as the sage of old led his scholars through scenes which delighted their senses, whilst be discoursed upon the loftiest themes which can occupy the mind, or enchant the soul. The youth of the present day, who are moderately well educated, leem to be aware that they are not created to dream life away; but that the legitimate objects of their anbition are. the Useful and the Good. I fancy, when Mr. Mackintosh speaks of the reader being " conducted into a vast amphitheatre in which all the actors are either inebriated or deranged, and in which buffoonery and horror succced each other as the lights and shades of the scene," he means such publications as Cleave's Gazette, or papers of that class; for the age when novels of this stamp were tolerated, has passed a. vay. And why are such cheap penny disreputable publications, the staple articles in which are Love and Murder," read ? Simply because the thousands which our manufactures have in a manner forced into being, indulge themselves, after a weeks toil, with a peep, on a Saturday night, it any thing which will amuse them. Hence in a great measure arises the sale of these trashy publica- tions. The evil is one which will be corrected, when- ever governments shall become sufficiently wise to adopt an energetic system of National Education ; and when they shall come to the consideration of the question, unfettered by party prejudices. When the Directors of Mechanics' Institutes, too, think proper to admit into their libraries the standard publications in every department of literature, it wili be in a great measure remedied. The pamphlet before alluded to says, " it is well known that few systematic works are now published jp comparison with those wl'cli once emanated from the press." The " well known" savours somewhat of the dogmatical style of reasoning ; and is besrging the question. I, for one, cannot admit it as a fact. Let any person read over the list of books advertised every month, in the various magazines. Within the last three months , I have noticed works in almost every department of science and literature. I need not allude to the general interest mani- fested with respect to the proceedings of the British Association at Manchester lately ; it will be fresh in the mind of every one. There are great numbers of works before the public, upon every branch of science; and I believe the public are quietly, yet surely, applying the information they contain. We are, as it were, engaged in looking back upon the height we have attained ; wo are pluming our wings for a higher flight: and I believe we shall continue to maintain our present proud posi- tion, viz., the foremost in the arts, sciences, and civilization. " Lectureson scientific subjects," says the pamphlet, " are not so well attended as they were twenty years ago." Perhaps not; for precisely as the sciences have been brought to greater perfection, if I may so speak, they have lost in novelty, which was the cause of the at- tendance of 300 ladies and gentlemen at a guinea 3 each, twenty years ago, of which the pamphlet makes mention. As a proof that there is as great a demand as ever for works in the highest branches of Philosophy, I wish to instance the avidity with which books upon Political Economy ( which, scccording to Ilelvetiu s, is the greatest of all sciences) are seized. Adam Smith, M' Culloch, Ricardo, Miss Martineau, with a few others, have successively been devoured ; and the public appetite is as voracious as ever. But I hasten to'the last portion of the pamphlet to which I shall allude, and that is the paragraph re- ferring to music, where he says " light, bombastic, and ephemeral compositions have in general taken the place of the productions of the great masters." This; assumption is not only gratuitous, but it is con- tradicted by daily experience. Some ten years ago, the popular taste was depraved; but the productions which pleased then, now repose quietly upon the shelves. Those who frequent concerts where nothing but'' drawing room music" is performed, arc almost exclusively of one class; whilst I have seen hundreds of all classes melted by the laboured sweetness of the " Creation," or awed by the majestic chorusses of the " Messiah." Never was music in so palmy a state as now. The songs which Maihzer gives his pupils ( and the very existence of such a flourishing system as his is a proof of its prosperity) are of the soul- stir- ring kind, and calculated to form the taste upon the best plan possible. It is somewhat singular that Mr. Mackintosh has placed Strauss and Herz amongst those whom he calls the authors of the light'and ephemeral com- positions, whilst, he has classed the imitator Spohr with Beethoven' ! If ever there was bombast in any thing it is in Spohr's productions; and every musician will know how to appreciate the beauties of Herz and Strains. I shall now leave the subject; confident that, with respect to our progress in intelligence and wisdom, it is not yet said " thus far shall thou come, but no farther:" and relying upon the benevolence of that Providence who, in his own good time, will remove whatever seems threatening or contradictory to the spread of knowledge. In all ages have the same fears exi- ted, as history testifies. When Chancer died, itrTfus said good poetry was lost for ever; and indeed theEnglh-. h lyre seemed dumb : hut afterwards Essex, Sptncer, and Shakespeare, struck it afresh ; and the effects startled and delighted the world. Such fears re a i n d me of nothing so much as the youth who feared the sail was about to be extinguished, because '' shadows, clou.!;-, and darkness covered the heavens." Hoping this will, not weary your patience, or that of your readers, I remain Yours respectfully, D. Halifax, Seutember 21, 1842. EXERCISES* REVIEWS, AND ACTION. To the Editors of the Free Press. GENTLEMEN,— In military affairs there are pre- liminary EXERCISES which have o be gone through again and again by noviciates, and when from practice and experience the individuals are found to understand and to be able to execute the movements thoroughly, they undergo REVIEWS, by which is meant submitting their evolutions to the scrutiny of " Spectators," " Examiners," " Observers," and the public at large, consisting of a miscellaneous assemblage of " Con- servatives" and " Catholics," " Patriots" and " Reformers," " Independents," and " Non- con- formists," " Watchmen," and " Warders," " British Statesmen," and even occasionally a " British Queen," and if the exhibitors manifest skill and cxpertness, they are considered ready for ACTION, and are brought forward immediately that any occasion exists for active service, when, if not before, the " Standard " is hoisted; the officer is appointed to his " Post," and if, as the result of repeated and per- severing attacks on the weak points of the fortresses and " Magazines" of their opponents, they are surrendered or destroyed, and victory gained in any quarter of the " Globe," a " Dispatch," announcing the fact is conveyed by an " Express," ora " Courier," with the swiftness of " Mercury," or by the still more rapid communication of the " Telegraph." A " Herald " proclaims it, it is placed on " Record " » Tills title is founded on thename which Colonel Thomp" on has given to his workB, recently published, namely ' Exercises, Political and others." n the " Chronicles" registered amongst the remark- able events of the " Times," and preserved in the " Tablet" of the memory; the " News" having previously been seized upon by the " Argus" eyes of the " Reporters," appeared in the morning and evening " Journals," the weekly " Press," the monthly and quarterly " Periodicals," and in the " Gazette," and conveyed by the " Evening Mails," " Packets," and " Messengers," to all parts of the empire. A garter or a. " Star " is conferred on the " Champion" of the " Ase," and his name shines like a " Mirror" or that bright " Luminary" the " Sun." May there not be some anslogv between military and political phrases and movements ? Should not political EXERCISES be followed by political HEVIEWS ? And if, on review, the tactics of the exhibitor are found to be scientific, if it shall appear that he is expert and skilful in an extraordinary degree, that, like the best rifleman, who points his rifle with un- erring aim, or the engineer who directs his more powerful battery with mathematical precision and ac- curacy, he invariably bits the mark, is he not a valuable man to bring into action against the enemy ? Need I say that in a political sense the enemy are those who have established or upheld restrictions and monopolies on the food, the franchise, the commerce, the liberties, the education, the religion, of the people. The Exercises political are shots fired at the political enemy, and at those ramparts they have set up in the shape of restrictions and monopolies. It is quite right then, there should be a review- day by Spectators, Examiners, Observers, and otln rs. I, too, as included amongst the others, claim the right to inspect, scru- tinize, and review, the operations ; and after scruti- nizing and reviewing, I shall have a word to say on the subject of action. That which I propose, however, is by no means limited to a review, for I intend to avail myself of the publication from which I have taken my title, to bring forward a series of papers on some of thesubjects therein treated on— not that I can hope to throw much additional light on what the author has already rendered so lucid, but I may perhaps be able to bring some of the points more into relief, apply them' to the passing events of the day, and introduce them to the notice of a large number of persons who are in the practice of perusing newspapers, but seldom read octavos, oreven duodecimos, especially when extended to six volumes. At the s; ime time I strongly advise your readers not to wait for, or be content with, the. specimens I shall produce, but to obtain the volumes themselves. They are highly interesting and instructive, and com- prise a varied range of subjects; they are withal un- usually and exceedingly cheap ; the object of the author being the dissemination of knowledge, not pecuniary gain. In anticipating a series of articles arising out of the works of an individual, let not your readers ima- gine they are to be saturated with the repetition of one idea. The subjects on which the volumes treat, are so varied, that it is impossible even to glance at the whole in a single paper. The author has writ'en on Political Liberty and Religions Liberty, on Corn Laws and Currency, on Peace and War, on Distress at Home and Slavery Abroad, on St. Simonianism and Oivenism, on Machinery, Mathematics, Meta- physics, Morals, and Music ; on Geometry, Grammar, and Education. The leading subjects are treated of in many separate articles. Thus under the head of Religious Liberty, we find separate papers devoted to the Catholics— the Wesleyans— the Jews— the Quakers— the Dissenters generally, and even the Mahomedans ;— under the head of Political Liberty are all the great questions of the day, of public interest in this country, and in Ireland; whilst abroad, Belgium, France, Russia, Prussia, Persia, Arabia, Egypt, India, China, Canada, and the United States, are all treated on. I do not contemplate following the author through all, or half, the divisions of the subjects; it will be sufficient that I make a selection, confining myself mainly to those on Civil and Re- ligious Liberty, and Free Trade. It may be thought that the questions which have been of public interest during the reigns of George III, George IV, and William IV, will have lost their in - terest in the days of Victoria. This is by no means the case— nor is it true, that the subjects have merely historical association. When questions are discussed with a view to compromise or expediency, which is the mode of arguing with the majority of public writers, what has been said in bye- gone days is of little interest, except in its relation to the past— but principles are eternal, they'have their' existence in the present and the future, equally with the past, and it may be - said with truth that the author us invariably contends for the principle of t> « point at issue, hcnce the permanent intetM* " fitch attaches to his writings. In this introductory paper I cannot do better than exemplify the applicability of the revival of the discussions, by an extract from his pre- face, especially as it is his Qwn Review of his own Exercises. " The first impression on review of this publication, part of which dates from a considerable time back, is the very slight degree in which circumstances are substantially altered. Like the mounted sentries at the Horse Guards, they might be taken for the same instead of a succession ; so like in all important points is the new face of things to the old. It may not be John, it may be Robert whose feet are actually in the stirrups ; but Robert and John are one in the eyes of the rustic spectator who looks only to the general effect. Scarcely any great quarrel existed at the earliest period referred to, of which the roots are not as much in the ground as ever, though some of the stalks have been pulled up. The argument on the Catholic question may be re- read with a transference to Church Monopolies of other kinds; and theagitation preceding the Reform Bill may hold a lantern to show how little has been accomplished and how much thrown away. In the department of Political Econo « my, something like a manual for one side of the struggle, at this moment at its height, may be collected from the sub- jects and quotations introduced." Yes ; the struggle still goes on, for whatever may be the foundation or the truth of the Persian mytho- logy— the Ormiizd and Ahrimanes, the good and evil geni ofthe moral world— it is perfectly obvious to the unprejudiced observer that there are the Ormuzd and Ahrimancs, the contending principles of the political world. The powerful influence of the author of the Exercises has been brought to wage war upon the evil principle. I will not shrink from assisting in the conflict, by consideration of the immeasurable distance between my skill and prowess and that of my chosen leader. With the arms he has provided I may strike a blow at the evil genius, and I cannot more effectually aid the good cause than by contributing to place in the hands of all good men and true, the polished weapons which he has made use of in his Exercises, and to disseminate a knowledge of the almost inex- haustible armoury where the weapons are provided. I am, & c. COADJUTOR. , To the Editors of the Free Press. GENTLEMEN,— Having read the remarks by Per- ambulator, whose eye has caught the intruders' foot- marks on the flower beds of the new Cemetery : I cannot charge them with ingratitude, or being wanton and malicious trespassers; yet I think there is just cause of complaint. I will state what came under my. notice a few weeks ago. As I was taking a walk in the grounds, 1 observed a number of children, apparently from the age of 8 to 14, rambling about where they please;!; some amusing themselves on the seats ; others playing in the chapel; which gave it more the appearance of a play- ground than a place appointed for the ashes oT the dead. I would respect- fully propose to the proprietors, to give orders to the persons who have the care of the Cemetery, not to allow children to go in, without some one to take charge of them. I hope, in future, there will be no further cause of complaint. I am, respectfully vonrs, A FRIEND TO ORDER. TO CORRESPONDENTS. The " Chronological Calendar £> r October " is accented with thanks; it adds much vafable matter to what we . had already collected. " Johannes Secundus " isdesirous that we should devote a corner of our paper U the service of mathematicians; and allow mathematical problems and theorems to be proposed and answered. This, he tells us, would con- siderably augment its lirculation. We doubt it; and are not inclined to the opinion that our readers generally would thank us for such articles: but if " Johannes Secundus " will guarantee us a large addition to our week- ly sale, we may, perhaps, try the experiment. The dialogue transmitted by " Johannes Secundus," in his second letter, is not deemed worthy of publication. An article on the " Statistics of South Australia " has reach- ed us, and will probably be inserted, in the course of a few weeks. It appears to be too long for one article, and will be divided into two or three, as we do not wish to occupyalarge portion of any onenumber with one subject. Similar articles as to other colonies, and statistics in general, will be very acceptable. Communications received later than Wednesday " ennlS' will not, in general, be attended to until tb' ncxt wee'• A letter signed " Present Time » is Ul0ae not re* ceived ill time for this number. „ • , » » ,„.,„ " Free Press " delivered re- Persons who wish to have ' , , » n. i uces, are requested to give their gularly at their resi''". 1 ... , „ orders to thei" -< « p « « ve newsvendors. Our publisher J J );„- i's til"" 1 at his office, for cash; and does not "" ill- take to set up the machinery necessary for delivery " o "^ ascribers. Our business- principle is, to open no rtccount. Letters from " A Townsman,"—" A Burgess of Halifax''— and " A Member of the Mechanics' Institution,' are in type; and shall appear in our next. THE HALIFAX FREE PRESS. 3 POETRY. ORIGINAL. ( FOR THE HALIFAX FREE PRESS.) TO A REDBREAST SINGING IN AUTUMN. BY THOMAS CROSSLEY. Sing on, sweet bird, no other voice But thine in wood or grove I hear, To bid the waning year rejoice, And thus my evening ramble cheer. Time was when every blossom'd bush Was peopled with the minstrel- band; From every glen there'came a gush Of mingled music o'er the land. But adverse hours such scenes o'erthrow ; The leaves wave weirdly on the trees :•— Withered and sere behold them now Shook down by every fitful breeze ! And, lo! the birds of fickl'fc wing, Which won our praise in vernal hours, Have vanish'd like the blooms of Spring, To chaunt their strains in foreign bowers. All heedless of the loss, to thee We turn, thy tuneful lay to hear. For thou dost pour with tenfold glee Thy Autumn solo, loud and clear. Sing on, sweet bird with blushing breast, Sing on till Winter strikes thee dumb; Then to my cot, aR annual guest, Come boldly,— thou'lt be welcome— come S Ovenden, near Halifax. SELECTED. SONNET TO MY NOSE. O Nose ! thou rudder in my face's centre, Since I must follow thee until I die ;— Since we are bound together by indenture; The master thou, and the apprentice I; Oh ! be to your Telemachus a Mentor, Though oft invisible, for ever nigh: Guard him from all disgrace and misadventure, From hostile tweak, or Love's blind mastery. So shalt thou quit the city's stench and smoke, For hawthorn lanes, and copses of young oak, Scenting the gales of Heaven, that have not yet Lost their fresh fragrance since the morning broke; And breath of flowers, with rosy May- dews wet, The primrose, cowslip, blue- bell, violet. OUR SCRAP BOOK. " A thing of Shreds and Patches." INTERESTING PRINTING ESTABLISHMENT.— In the town of Zablagen, Wurtemberg, a new printing estab- lishment has been opened by M. Helgerad. All the compositors are deaf and dumb, to the amount of 196', eleven of whom are women. They have all been educated at his own cost, for the employment in which they are now engaged. The King has con- ferred upon him a large gold medAl for this great reclamation from the social and moral waste. TRANSLATIONS.— It has been well said that to translate a book is like pouring honey from one vessel into another ; something must always be lost. Both the Dutch and the French words for translated will bear to be literally rendered,— overgezet, and traduit. Milton may more truly be said to be overset in one language, and traduced in the other, than translated into either. Done into English was not so happy a phrase, for many a book was undone by the operation.— Southey. A Yankee painter, in order to convey an exalted opinion of the happiness of his country, represented a number of angels, armed with rifles, emigrating from Heaven to tid* United States. DANGER OF DOING HOMAGE.— Mr. Carbonel, the wine merchant who servtd George the Third, was a Ki. eat favourite with the olu^ iing, and was admitted to the honours of the royal iunt. Returning from the chase, one day, his Majesty entered, ir. his usual affable manner, into conversation with him, riding side by side, for some distance. Lord Walsingham was in attendance, and watching an opportunity whispered to Mr. Carbonel, that he had not once taken his hat off before his Majesty. " What's that what's that, Walsingham ?" inquired the good hum oured monarch. Mr. Carbone! at once said, " I find I have been guilty of unintentional disrespect to your Majesty, in not taking off my hat; but your Majesty will please to observe, that whenever I hunt, my hat is fastened to my wig, and my wig to my head, and I am on the back of a high- spirited horse ; so that, if any thingyoes off, we must all go off together .'" The k'- ng laughed heartily at this whimsical apology. A las., was expressing her great fondness for suck' ING P'K> an Irish gentleman exclaimed, " Faith is you'd have saw. vou lfere fond of mc] cing lolly pops, I'd ha' thought of it. bnt sucking pigs is the queerest taste I ever Hv.. r( j 0f_ » A CLOCK- MILL.— About the MILAGE of tlle lgth century, Frey Rodrigo de Corcuera Im- enuj a In; n which worked like a clock ; a model of. whicl* be laid before Charles V. It was considered as an inventio of considerable importance in a country whererunuing streams are scarce and calms frequent; and the Emperor ordered him to erect one at Aguilar de- Campos. He died before it was completed. This same monk presented Maximilian with a sword, which, by means of a spring, shot out a point of diamond with such force as to pierce the strongest breastplate. When the Duke de Choiseul, who was a remark- ably meagre- looking man, came to London to nego- ciate a peace, Charles Townsend, being asked whether the French Government had sent the preliminaries of a treaty, answered, be did not know, but they had sent the outline of an ambassador. To TAKE GREASE OUT OF SILK.— If a little powdered magnesia be applied on the wrong side of the silk, as soon as the spot is discovered, it is a never failing remedy; the stain disappearing as if by magic. FEMALE GARRULITY.— Waterton, the celebrated traveller and naturalist, speaking of the Mallards, or Wild Ducks, says,—" At the close of the day they become exceedingly vociferous, the voice of the female being much louder and more frequent than that of the male; a circumstance too notorious in the human species." How IRELAND CAME BY HER MOUNTAINS.— An Englishman inquired of a Kerry peasant, how Ireland happened to have so many mountains ; to which the Kerry boy made answer thus:—" Ye see, Ireland being the finest and the best country in the world, in course was the last country Nature made ; and when Ireland was finished, Nature had a dale o' stuff to spare, so she left it there— and that makes the moun- tains."— Ireland, its Scenery, SfC. A wine merchant once left a suspected assistant in is cellar, and said to him, " now, lest you should drink the wine while I am awav, I will chalk your mouth so that I may know it." He then rubbed his nail across the man's lips, and pretended to leave the mark of chalk on them. The man drank of the wine, and to be even with his master, chalked his mouth, and thus discovered himself. TEMPER.— The first . and most important quality is sweetness of temper. Heaven did not give to the female sex insinuation and persuasion, in order to be surly; it did not make them weak, in order to be imperious ; it not give them a sweet voice, in order to lie employed in scolding; nor did it provide them with delicate features, in order to be disfigured. Speak not in high commendation of any man, to his face, nor censure any man behind his back ; bnt if thou knowest any thing good of him, tell it unto others; if any thing ill, tell it privately and prudently to himself.— Burkitt. ACTIVITY.'— I have lived to know that the great secret of human happiness is this,— never suffer your energies to stagnate. The old adage of ' too many irons in the fire', conveys an abominable lie. You cannot have too many ;— poker, tongs, and all; keep them all a- going.— Dr. A. Clarke. TIT TOR TAT.— The passengers on board an Aber- deen smack were most grievously annoyed by the nocturnal visitations of myriads of hungry bugs. These little blood- suckers were so incessant in their attacks, that to close an eye was utterly out of the question ; nay so severely did some suffer, that in the morning, when all hands were mustered in the cabin, their physiognomies were to be recognised with considerable difficulty ! One night their agonies became so intolerable, that they bellowed out to the master of the vessel, " O, maister ! maister 1 they're biting us !" " Wha the deil's biting ye ?" cried the master. " O, Sir! the boys." The response of the master, if not consolatory, was admirably laconic: " Weel, care feel ye, canna ye bite them again ?" IRISH WIT.— A traveller on horseback, meeting a Spalpeen, asked him, " Am I half- way to • town ?" " Plase yer wurtchip !" said the boy, " do I know where you come from ?" A person, subject to hypochondria, was quite morose in his replies to his wife. " My dear," said she, " you might have a right to be as unhappy as you pleased, if you were your own, but recollect you are mine." He smiled, and became kind. The following epitaph is copied, line for line and letter for letter, from a gravestone in Heptonstall church- yard. The date of the inscription is 1814. My Comarads dear, you have shod a Tear, for my Poor Body, laying here, A Tender wife, my Children Dear, i must lie here, Till Christ a Pear. UTILITY" OF TOADS IN GARDENS.— Practical men have long been aware that toads live chiefly on insects, particularly on beetles. Some persons have even made it a point to place them on their hot beds, for IUQ purpose of destroying wood lice, earwigs, & c. Mr. Rtcvp, an ingenious horticulturist, who has long eniployea toads as guardians of this melon and cucum- ber frames, fully corroborates all that has beep said respecting their usefulness in such situations, and is so attentive to them that, when they have cleared his beds of insects, and he finds them uneasy in their con- finement, he actually feeds them, in order to keep them there. lie offers them the different insects which are considered noxious in gardens, all of which they devour; even slugs are eaten by them. Thus we see that this despised reptile is a beneficial assistant to the gardener. A KINGLY SLUGGARD.— In the household book of the reign of Edward the Second, it is stated that he ordered to be paid to Sir Nicholas de Beck, Sir Humphrey de Luttlebury, and Sir Thomas de Latimer, the sum of twenty pounds ( then a very large sum in- deed) " far dragging the king out of bed on Easter morning." It must havrt been a most difficult duty, certainly, to merit suclf* a reward at the hands of the lie- abed sovereign. As, in the world, we oftener light into bad company than good, so in solitude we are oftener troubled with impertinent and unprofitable thoughts, than en- tertained with agreeable and useful ones : and a man that hath so far lost the command of himself, as to lie at the mercy of every foolish and vexing thought, is much in the same situation as a host whose house is open to all comers, whom, though ever so noisy, rude, and troublesome, he cannot get rid of; but with this difference, that the latter hath some recompense for his trouble ; the former none at all, but is robbed <? f his peace and quiet for nothing.— Mason. Shortly after the publication of " Marmion," so great was the concourse of admiring tourists to l'lod- den Field, that a canny Northumbrian thought he might do worse than open a small bouse of " enter- tainment for man and horse," in the middle of that classical moor. He wrote to the author of " Mar- mion," requesting a motto for his sign- post, and Scott good naturedly replied that there was a line in the poem itself, which, with the omision of a single letter, might perhaps serve his purpose. We all remember:— . " Drink, weary pilgrim, drink,— and pray " For the kind soul of Sybil Gray, " Who built this cross and well." The publican's invitation, in conformity with the poet's advice, ran more briefly :— " Drink, weary pilgrim, drink,— and Pay." TRANSPLANTING TREES.— In Southey's " Tlia- laba," the king of the Adites is represented as removing a fyll- grown forest to his garden of lre:. v. . Should the Kinar Wait for slow Nature's Work ? Where romancers and novelists stop short of posilive miracle, their most extraordinary inventions are paralleled or exceeded by the history of real Sife: The Czar Peter did the same thing as Sbedad ; and his method may be recommended to our nabobs who want trees about their mansions, andean afford to pay for the removal of live timber, They were4 dug up in winter, with plenty of earth about their roots, which being frozen did not d. rop off. It would be advisable to dig round them before the frost set in. • Care should be taken to replant the tree in the same,, position as that in which it grew. If its southern ' side be turned to the north, it will have new habits to learn, and may die before it has acquired them. FEMALE DRESS.— If women in general knew what was their real interest,— if they could guess with what a charm even the appearance of modesty invests its possessor, they would dress decorously, from mere self- love, if not from principle.— Mrs. II. More. GRAPES IN MADAGASCAR.— The grape was believed to be poisonous, in Madagascar, till the French taught the natives to eat it. Can this have been a mere pre- judice, or was theopinion introduced by some oftheir Moorish visitors, who thought prejudice a better security against the abuse of the grape than prohibi- tion would be ? Marriage is the best state for man in general ; and every man is a worse man in proportion as he is unfit for the married state.— Dr. Johnson. INTEGRITY. Happy the breast which feels no guilty joy, Nor tastes the pleasures won by smooth decit; AVhich knows each precious moment to employ In something which is truly good or great. HALIFAX:— Printed and Sold, for the Proprietors, at the General Printing Office of II. Martin, Upper George Yard. Letters to the Editors should be received at our pub- lisher's, by Wednesday evening, at latest; and advertisements by noon on Thursday. No credit will be given, either for the paper or lor adver- tisements.