The Texan Mercury. (Seguin, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 27, Ed. 1 Saturday, March 25, 1854 Page: 1 of 4
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[. T. BURKE,
roR.
SEGUffl, GUADALUPE COUNTY, MARCH 25, 1854.
Volume i.—number xxvii.
-1
i?**
TO JOEL FÜRBER.
not {hint that we can publish any
to that class
: it is particularly addressed,—than the
We commend it to
to young men.]
In May, 1831, from respect
i, memory of your mother, and from an
your capacity was a good one, I
> pre you an academical education,
if you made a good improvement of
« you might, in two or three years, get
might enable you to go
in a respectable situation. I did
lit the future. All
might
m
has now come when
t you to enter en the
furnish you with testimonials oT charac-
lettersto my friends in tiie west,
m finding enjoyment,, and With
■mi
• M
form of others. Here it is better to err on the
other side. Charity and politeness require you
should think favorably of your acquaintances;
and when you tan not do this be sure and keep
your thoughts to yonrself. This temper of mind
is perfectly consistent with personal independ-
ence and decision of character. You must on
no account sacrifice these. There is a satisfac-
tion in them, which the wavering and unsteady,
and infirm of purpose, can never know.
As a youth, your deportment, as far as I
know, has always been distinguished for modesty
and civility, especially toward the aged. "When
I see the reverse, as I often do, I augur ill of
the youth, and have seldom seen him grow into
a respectable i man. It is, perhaps, strongly
enoqgh expressed, already, that I would hare
you active, industrious—wide awake. You have,
>( hardly had an oppottunity to test your
active powers, mental or Ibdily. I hope you
have a good share of them. You must now de-
pend on yohrself, and be assured, if you sleep
you perish. You will, at first, find yourself a
own knowledge, and [little awkward in your new position: no one to
* advise—to remind—to direct; no am but your
C to lean on. I have Been young mot so sit-
fifferent courses. One class girded
ires for the race—put out all their
strength, mid though, from inexperience, corn-
many errors, yet daily rising in the
and, finally attaining a high character,
and a reputable place in society. The other
class, from timicfity, love of idleness, or. from
something worse, soon sinking into disgrace, and
becoming members of that class who prefer liv-
ing upon others to earning a living for them4-
selves. Idleness is the ruinof more young men
than any other sin that be^ts them, or than all
others put together: indeed, it is not long a
vicé. It draws after it a thousand others.
The idle fellow must have company, and his
w3l' be sure to be idle fellows like
of'themntves
realize how little friends
to do, or, Indeed, caá do,
ecess in life. It is is
> the first step, they
When your character and
you must rely
you business and friends,
and assistance are,
i of good.
better than
-
V* ♦
> y
it
It may.lxrtrever, do you
It is not my meaning
err on the other hand, and think
yourself, aid of your powers of
The excitement of drinking,—if excitement it
may be called,—will soon be resorted to, and
every other kind of dissipation will soon be
added thereto. When I hear you are idle—des-
titute of employment—are rambling about from
place to place, under pretence.qf seeking it, I
shall have before my mental eye a oomplete map
of your whole life. I shall see an end of the
man in whose Welfare I have taken so deep an
interest.
It must needs be that you will come in contact
the dissipated. Shun them as you would
persons ihfteted with
eare, and diligence, give bet*
life, you
tbe «mm l*.h
advantage of the modest
the very outset of
It will,lead you not to despise
as Am low for your capacity and
Depeaft Upon it, when you have exhib-
ÍV-. - _ m
tor
yon will have them,
of self to be a
is another error I have seen
young mien fall into: I
to seize the prizes—
labor, before they are earned. I
ins, ardent, in the
k aO the good you propose to
res should have praiseworthy objects
•your eyes, í
must never he
same time, moderate your expeeta-
smember, that a sanguine temper of
. to end in mortification and disap-
aflf so discourage exertion. No
obtained without time. The best
the slowest growth. This is the
Halve, and yon can hardly expect
will change for your special accom-
have myself observed that those
to be rich, and learned, in the end
is another tiling in which I am not
of you:f I mean an unsteady,
temper of mind. You may have ob-
when you happen to be in the
? but have you firmness and perseverance
in the right? I have known per-
«anting in judgment, but who were
in nothing but changes; ever doffing
; trying them for a short
giving them a lair trial, and
for «eme new project,
every great, as well as a very common
for many of the failures in
Be slow in adopting your
their working, and per*
your judgment is clearly con-
a laboring, and painful life,
ef a little more patient con-
to yen a just opinio n of
Wk toé high; but the
it Agarib the opinion you
have seen, in, the academy, many young lads, of
good parts, who have suffered disgrace from this
cause, alone. It has always appeared to me
wonderful, that idleness should seduce any one.
To me it has ever seemed odio and disgusting.
1 lazy man is my utter avezsibn.
On reading this to Mrs. Smith, she desires me
' ~" of * the entenda" the
of running in debt. She
avoid debts as you would any
other kind et servitude.- I have known many who
might, justly, aserlbe their ruin to this practice.
It inclndes, (and I would have you exclude,) all
kinds of speculation. Get what you get by
honest labor, and honest business. A little, thus
gotten, is better than a mickle gotten by specu-
lation. This has always been my way of think-
ing. I believé I never speculated to the amount
of a angle dollar; for which I desire to be
thankful to a kind Providence. I recommend
to you, early to acquire the habit of economy,
whether your gains or means be great or small.
Indeed, in this way a small estate answers all
the purposes of a great one. And, connected
with this, I would have you cultivate habits of
order and care in all business concerns. Hie
way to grow rich is, not by earning, but by
careful keeping, and prndent spending.
I have said nothing of religion and good mor-
als. Attention to them is indispensable. You
can not do without religion; and if, haply, you
find the right sort, your morals can not fail to
be pure and good.
I can only add, that, as to these loose hints,
drawn up without any regard to order or meth-
od, I expect little from them. I rely much more
on your own good sense, and good habits, to
conduct you in'the paths of wisdom and pru-
dence.
If you have any desire to repay the little I
have done for you in the last fifteen years, there
is no way in which you can do it so much to my
satisfaction as by continuing to act wisely and
discreetly for yourself*
Be an honest and virtuous man, and I shall
be prond of you, and continue to pray that God
may bless you and preserve you, here and here-
after. Jeremiah Smith.
th
Si*re Enough.—" Mother," asked a little girl,
while listening to the reading of Uncle Tom's
Cabin, "why don't the book never mention
Topsy's last name? i have tried to hear it
whenever it spoke of her, but it has not once
spoke it."
" Why, she had no other name, child."
" Yes, she had mother, and 1 know it."
? " What was it ?"
" Why, Turvy—'Topsy Turvy."
" You had better go to bed, my dear," said
the mother. "You are like your old grand-
mother; for she can't say pork withont beans,
for the life of her."
— 11 «
A man can not guess any thing that is better
than a good woman, nor any thing that is worse
than a bad one.—[Simonidcs.
[from household wobds.]
NOW.
Arise! for the day is passing,
While you lie dreaming on;
Your brothers are cased in armor,
- And forth to the fight are gone.
Your place in the ranks awaits you;
Each man has a part to play;
The past and the future are nothing.
In the face of the stern to-day.
Arise from your dreams of the future:
Of gaining a hard-fought "field;
Of storming the airy fortress;
Of biding the giant yield;
Your future has deeds of glory,
Of honor,—God grant it may!—
But your arm will never be stronger,
Or needed as now—tewiay.
Arise! If the past detain you,
Her sunshine and storms forget;
No chains so unworthy to hold you
As those of a rain regret:
Sad or bright she is lifeless ever;
Cast her phantom arms away,
Nor look back, save to learn tho lesson
Of a nobler strife to-day.
Arise! for the hour is passing:
The sound that you dimly hear,
Is your enemy marching to battle;
Rise! rise! for the foe is here!
Stay not to brighten your weapons,
Or the hour will strike at last;
And, from dreams of a coming battle.
You will waken, and find it past
GEORGIAN SANDS.
[from America's own.]
"There are Sands that not barren be."—[JamesL
If people never purchased their opinions at
Second-hand Thought Stores, a great amount'of
sarcasm, anathemizing and bigotry would speed-
ily disappear. Bad writers are seldom so bad
as they are commonly represented to be; many
authors, who, in certain circles, are acknow-
ledged as atheists and corrupters are in reality
devout and pious men. ' Who, for instance, has
not heard of the infamous George Sand? Who
has not heard of her hated Consuelo? Yet by
George Sand these thoughts were embodied in
her " worst" production—they we the " worst"
most "immmoral," most "infidel" in her book:
Simplicity is the essance of the great, the
true, the beautiful in art.
Talent without beauty is a misfortune, a
straggle, a perpetual torment for a woman.
Never descend to the language of flattery
even to your superiors, much less to those whose
suffrage you'disdain.
Ridicule is not less cruel in a gay and frivol-
uuu ugi, tlmu mmthji —t lliuiL BeilUUlr
iy here
When we give ourselves up to the world we
have not even the right to weep.
The extinction of self-idolatry in favor of
another, tetds to rise and ennoble, were it but
for an' instant, hearts the least susceptible of
pure emotions.
In llieatres the fair see, listen oCÉhmr with
their eyes than with their earp. [Wemay
state that it is a woman who Speaks.]
It i the peculiarity of selfish love to hate in
the object* irtiieh we love the pleasures which we
are not the means of procuring him.
, If you be filled with a great, and pure, Idea of
your Art or Work, your soul, your genius,' your
itire4teing shall mount heaven-ward and live
in holy únison with God himself. Whatever
you do, or wherever you we, in the Theatre or
in the cloister, you may be a saint, the bride of
Heaven.
If you are the most wretched bungler in the
world, the spirit of Independence and persever-
ance will raise up for you some zealous partizans.
There are so many folks who think to elevate
themselves by running down other/ that there
must needs ,be some who think to raise them-
selves by helping others forward.
All base spirits are inclined to love the more
in proportion as they are the more scorned and
outraged. •
„ Goodness finds strength where pride only
meets despair.
I grew accustomed to see'misery, injustice
and madnessreigns over the Earth; I looked on
men and their institutions, and indignation made
way for pity in my heart, as I perceived that the
misery of the oppressed is inferior to that of the
oppressors. •
Alas! how unhappy are those people who
have many possessions to take care of. Security
is the aim of their pursuits by night and day,
and so carefully do they Beek it that they have
no time to enjoy it.
Oh! apathy of immortal souls! You are a
blessing of God or an infirmity of incomplete
natures.
God docs not wish that man should abjure
the feeling and consciousness of his real life to
elevate himself—often by vague conceptions—to
an ideal world. Madness, the general result
of these hallucinations, is a punishment for his
pride and indolence.
Love imparts strength to the weakest.
Music impresses all that the mind dreams and
foresees of mystery and grandeur. It is the
manifestation of a higher order of ideas and
sentiments than any to which human speech can
give expression, it is a revelation of the Infinite,
and when I listen to mnsic I only belong to
humanity in so far as humanity has drank in
what is divine and eternal in the bosom of the
creator.
Contempt and love-sometimes go together.
With .energetic temperaments one kind of
weariness is a cure for another.
A woman who respects herself can always
command respcct by her countenance.
The pleasure which the beauty of a woman
produces on a very young man is always in some
sort mixed with a sort of fear; and the dress
which makes woman, even to the least chary
eyes, a veiled and mysterious being has much to
do with that impression. [A woman it is who
says so.]
Modest and simple-minded women seldom
think of men falling in love with them until it
occurs.
One must become rich and continue human
in order to do good. [A woman again!]
"What is more beautiful than calmness?
The skies are calm, the moon is calm, those
flowers whose peaceful attitudes you love."
"Their motionless quiet touches me," an-
swered the other, " only because it succeeds the
undulations which they borrow from the breeze
The purity of the sky would not charm us had we
never seen it blurred by the storm. The moon is
never more glorious than when she wades in
light through angry clouds. Can rest; except to
the weary, bring any real happiness? Can that
be called rest which is Eternal? No. It is anni-
hilation; it is death."
I despise advantages which are not acquiret
by our own merit.
It is always the case that something of resist-
ance is required to arouse to the greatest
energy any very powerful faculty.
The Hand of God is in every thing; and al
power, all inclination is his work, even when we
do not see the object. You must follow the
behest of your organization. Who ever inter-
feres with it inflicts on you a more terrible
death than that of the Tomb.
Time and study, in matters of art, are useless
to those to whom God has not given the innate
faculty.
The despair of losing those whom we love, not
unfrcquently resolves itself into selfishness and
abhorrence oí the new duties imposed upon us.
Death is not.
A SONG FOR AN AMERICAN EDITOR.
by william wallace.
!I:m of the press! Ijm of the press!
My throne a simple chair;
I ask no other majesty
Than strikes the gazer there.
The horse of fire obeys my nod:
My couriers walk the sea;
- The lightnings lift their flawing manes,
At Art's command, for me.
%
! I'm of the press! I'm of the pre !
? Do monarch's wear the crown ?
I waft my pen acras my page,
The clouds Seat on—tjie nations strive;
Without the thunder rolls:
Within, I brood the quiet thought
That changes all the souls.
!I'm of the press! I'm of the press!
The dead around me throng;
Their awful voices whisper Truth,
Mtoir eyes forbid the Wrong.
Fran them I gather joy and strength,
Nor heed pale Error's purse;
My faith in God large as the arch
He gave his universe.
!I.*nof the press! I'm of the press!
My host, embattled types;
With them I quell the tyrant's horde,
And rear the stars and stripes.
I give my hand to all my race,
My altar, Freedom's sod;
I say my say, Aid bend my knee,
Alone, alone, to God,
COMPETITION IN COTTON'MANUFACTURES.
The annexed article, copied from the London
Shipping Gazette, reveals a state of things in
connection with the cotton manufacture which
does not surprise us, for we have long seen that
the English monopoly in manufacturing was fast
passing away. We commend the article to the
attention of our readers. It is decidedly inter-
esting and suggestive.
The recent meeting of the Manchester Cham-
ber of Commerce deserves the serious considera-
tion of the people of England. We long since
warned the country of the danger of depending
on our cotton manufacturers as a branch of
trade of which the nation could never be de
prived. There can not be a dfcibt that our
cotton trade has been, and indéed is, a source
of great wealth to the country; that it has
afforded employment to many thousands of the
people, and that through its means a great
number of the working classes have been sup-
ported in ease and comfort. Bnt all these ad-
vantages have resulted from England having
a monoply oflfye trade: and when that monop-
oly ceases, through the competition of other
countries which haVe been preparing for it, the
trade can no longer continue that infallible na-
tional resource which it is supposed to be.
When we formerly wrote ón the subject we
said that the United States of America was the
country from which the greatest competition
was to be apprehended: we stated, what was
known to be the fact, that even then America
under-sold England in all the neutral markets in
the coarser fabrics; and, knowing the energy of
the American people, we naturally concluded that
they would not stop at that point, but that
those who could manufacture coarse cloths
would learn to manufacture fine cloths also.
This opinion is, in a great degree, borne out by
the statement of Mr. James Aspinal Turner, at
the meeting of the Manchester Chamber of Com-
merce. That gentleman observed that "there
was a close contest between the masters of this
country and those of America, and of Germany,
France and Switzerland, and many other coun-
tries, for the possession of the market;" and he
added that he had had samples laid before him
last week, showing that the Americans were
progressing ,with rapid strides in the cotton
manufactures, and that they were making most
beautiful cloth, not only of the coarser descrip-
tion, but of fine fabric; and that there was
nothing to prevent them passing us, excep
that labor was a little dearer there than here.
Of the competition of Germany, France, ánc
Switzerland, we think we have not much to fear
In some of these countries, no doubt, they equa
if they do not excel us in skill, but they labor
under the same disadvantages as we do, in hav-
ing to import the raw material: hence the cap-
ital of England, with her matured proficiency,
may afford a sufficient defence against these
competitors. With America it is very different
the Americans have the raw material on the
spot—England has to import every pound of it
either from the United States, from India, Bra-
zil, Egypt, or some other distant country. Bnt
we are told that labor is a little dearer
America than in England. We imagine, how-
ever, it can not long continue so; for some y^ars
past the United States have been enormously
increasing their population from these islands
and from Germany, and the process is still going
on. America, as compared to England, is an
untaxed country; provisions of all kinds are
abundant, and the circumstance of our import-
ing them to supply the wants of England, shows
that the markets there are cheaper than they
are here. Hence the price of labor can not
long continue high. Besides, there is in this
country a general demand for higher wages
and as regards the manufacturers especially,
there can be no doubt that they are commiting
a great error. They are at present engage<
in a very close and a very doubtful competition
with the United States and other foreign coun-
tries, and a very little may turn the balance
against England. But, besides America, the
chairman of the meetfhg said, "He had been
suffering a diminution of orders from the conti-
nent; and he had been told the reason was, that
continental manufacturers were progressing to
such an extent that they would be able very
soon to take several branches of his business
from him, and were already producing severa
articles he had baen accustomed to furnish, at a
cheaper rate than he could." If, in the face o'
these circumstances, the operatives-persist in
their demand for higher wages, they most inev-
itably hasten a catastrophe which it is impossible
not to see is already before the country—a seri-
ous falling off in the exportation of cotton goods,
monopoly of which it has so long had the undis-
puted enjoyment.
The chairman told the meeting that he ha<
himself, and many other gentlemen re-
ceived tempting offers to remove his capital a
industry out of this country, and had no doubt
that he could employ his money to nfore advan-
tage to himself abroad. In confirmation
which it was stated that two firms, the ««niff
which were given, were now bufldiqg factories
on the Rhine, .instead of in Lancashire, which
was their first intention. In this decision they
have, of course, been in some degree influence*
by the war now waging against capital on the
part of the operatives Jn Lancashire. But per-
haps it is not the only motive. If the price o'
operative labor be higher in America than it is
in England, it is cheaper on the continent; house
rent is also cheaper; and the mill-owners have
at last found out that they are burdened with
an income tax. This tax alone must give á
decided advantage to American and continente
manufactures over English. Hence heavy taxa-
tion ought not to be disregarded as one of the
causes which must aid the competition to which
the manufacturers of England are exposed. But
with prudence and a better sense of their real
interests, on the part of the operatives,
may enjoy for many years to come a prospect-
ive cotton trade. We would, however, have all
parties, and especially oifr statesmen and legisla-
tors, abandon the chimerical thought that the
country can, without fear or rivalry or competi-
tion, perpetuate a monoply in the trade. In war
it has been often found a fatal error to hold your
enemy too cheap; from what took,place at the
meeting to which we have been referring, it is
evident that the mill-owners of Lancashire are
not inclined to make this mistake. They appear
fully to appreciate the competition which awaits
them, and the danger with which their business
is threatened. This is commendable—it is pru-
dent—and we feel assured that there is safety
in it.
*
An Extreme Test.—If you wish to ascertain
the temper of a a young lady, look at her nails,
and the tips of her gloves. If they are jagged
and much bitten, you may be sure she is peevish,
irritable, quarerlsome, and too^eady to show her
teeth at the smallest provocation. This is an
infallible test that every ill-tempered young lady
carries at her fingers' cuds.
" How are ye Jones?" says Smith.
Jones pretends not to know him, and replies,
hesitatingly,
" Sir, you have the advantage of me."
" Yes," retorts Smith, "I s'pose so; every body
has, that's got common sense."
Jones looks unhappy.
Ritchie says, "No man can either live piously,
or die righteously without a wife."
A very wicked bachelor of our acquaintance
says to this,
"Oh yes! sufferings, ayd severe trials, purify
and chastcn the heart."
Curiosities of Waií. Street*—Wall
unto a large number of our readers, is
known and an unvisited place. We are
fied that if some enterpris
make a model of the street,
puppets in illustration Of ite<
if provided with a wide-awake i
ble of explaining the " does
that celebrated highway of i
muíate through the country' a
There are models of the Holy
Wall street as a wicked land?
models of California—why not atf
of the place where the western
minates its prosperity? There is room for a
rival to Barnard and Banvard—-those two bmf
" B's" of the managerial alphabet. Who Will
take the proposition?
Let the exhibitor divide his
three parts. " Wall street
street in full Blast/4' and ""Wall i
are three mattes veil
attention of a lover of
philosopher. From • daylight i
for the first; until four for the
mission of two hours; and <
out the night for the 'third.
rays of the rising sun saluU
steeple—which aspires to heaven, if
and laity do not—Wall street begins to,
eyes by the fid of the
offic&cleanere. """'
the doors where millions <
and whose panels are
echoes and:
remarks 1
only a straggling sailor, or,
ive book-keeper early astir to
certain entries, are to ha i
night-fall, indued. First, the
for Peart and Broad i
—then come porters
the
—then the
tarie8 and bankers and
can make in four horns i
ideas of worldly moderation will
He would be the pattern of all;
could give all information which a
gazing upon a Wall street
who could tell whether' it
widened; whether Leeds the i
his fortune yet;
had all the needs of 1
him by Ms propinquity to
•IK
New street and Broad,
congregate; what the big
builders, and contractors
walk find to
one p.m.;
in the bag
an "in" oran ^out";
office will be
k1r
and give his clerks a
right of arrogant
stone, brick, and
and monetary
If he could
more inducement to his
In olden times, rascals usi
to a church as possible when
encd—because that was a
but Trinity Church has no
s of asylfcn, and
from its belfry at all the
droppings of the
One of the latest curioóties ef
the establishment éf the M
fifty-seven banks of
daily exchanges of
for settlement of
which our readers are,
through the eobanns-ef the daily press,
as great a con lenience to them,
statements in the "Times0 of
morning is an inconvenience. This
worthy óf an occasional glance.
in the last issue, under sanction ef the
Department, we arrange some^
Bank of Commerce—which is one
deposit only—bus the lurgest capital, (five
lions,) and made the largest leans, (
millions out;) the Baa]
most specie in its vaults; the Bank of" the
of New York had the largest
notes; and the American
the largest amount of deposite.
Avenue Bank is the Lilliput in the
Its capital is but $100 000—it
$18 000—it had $4 000 of
seventy thousand dollars—and
deposits. Thirty-one banks had
circulation—most in the proportion
some one-half—and one eleven
out than specie .in. Hie
fifty-seven banks is ovei
their united specie neatly twelve
united circulation nearly
united deposits
exceeding the
The loans
ions. They
and persons,
lars in yearly
We make the
ares.—[Sunday Times.
]
Victory over one passion enables us
others.—[George Sand.
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Burke, H. T. The Texan Mercury. (Seguin, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 27, Ed. 1 Saturday, March 25, 1854, newspaper, March 25, 1854; Seguin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth180502/m1/1/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.