millions of our people with impunity?' Randolph remained silent for a minute, and then said, with emphasis, Sir, I do not care what Europe, or what the people of any other country, may think or say of us-this is of no consequence, and I wholly disregard it." He then, in a subdued tone, and with much earnestness, added: But when I reflect upon what God Almighty may think of us, I confess to you that I tremble for my country!'" ( FRIENDS' INTELLIGENCER. MARRIED, On the 16th inst., at the residence of R. H. Miller, according to the order of the religious Society of Friends, HENRY C. HALLOWELL, of Alexandria, to SARAH MILLER. And at the same time and place, HENRY REESE, of Baltimore, to MARY ANN MILLER, daughter of Robert H. Miller, of Alexandria, Va. On the 14th inst. at Friends' Meeting House, Lombard St., Baltimore, MARSHALL TYSON, of Philadelphia, to CATHARINE ELLEN, daughter of Matthew Smith, of the former city. DIED,-At his residence, Bayside, on Long Island, on First day 7th mo., 12th, 1857, JACOB H. WILLETS, (eldest son of Samuel Willets of New York city) in the 39th year of his age. For Friends' Intelligencer. When we take into consideration the labors and examples of those who are called from works to rewards, it seems as though there is something more due to their memory than just to record that they were born and have died. I feel induced to offer the following tribute of love to the memory of my deceased father, Stephen Bowerman, who died at his residence, in the Township of Hallowell, County of Prince Edward, C. W., the 3d of 6th month, 1857, in the 84th year of his age, after an illness of nearly fourteen months, the effect of paralysis, which rendered him both speechless and helpless. He was a member of West Lake Monthly Meeting, of which he had long been a useful one. He was born in Dutchess Co., N. Y., and emigrated with some of the older members of his father's family to Canada, in the 16th year of his age. performing the long wilderness journey on foot by the assistance of a compass. After he grew up to manhood, he and some others not feeling easy to join themselves to any religious Society except Friends, and there being no meeting settled in Canada for transacting the business of that Society, they sent their requests to Nine Partner's Monthly Meeting, where they were received members, and informed of their right of membership by a committee that was sent about that time to establish a Monthly Meeting in Canada, entitled "Adolphustown Monthly Meeting. As the country was new when he removed here, he became early inured to hardships and privations, and in his youthful days formed habits of industry, which in after life, when he became the head of a family, enabled him to adopt the language of the Apostle Paul, "these hands have ministered to my necessities and to the necessities of those that are with me." He also had a portion to spare to the poor and needy, whom he was ever ready to aid and relieve. It may be said he was a friend to the widow and a father to the fatherless, many of the latter finding a comfortable asylum in his hospitable home. For the last fifty years of his useful life he was seldom, if ever, without more or less orphan and destitute children under his care, to whom he acted the part of a father; he also obeyed this injunction, "be ye not forgetful to entertain strangers," as his home was ever His life and conversation were open to them. truly exemplary, yet be entertained a humble opinion of his own virtues, expressing in the latter part of his life that it seemed as if he had On the 13th inst., MARY JOHN, wife of Asa never done any good in the world. But, as our T. John, aged 68 years, eleven months and one day. Saviour said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for She was a member of Roaring Creek Monthly Meeting, their's is the Kingdom of Heaven." We trust and Shamokin Particular Meeting, in Shamokin town-his removal was from a scene of pain and afflicship, Northumberland County, Pa. tion, to that blessed mansion prepared for the righteous, where all is joy and peace, and none can say "I am sick." ELEANOR BOWERMAN. Bloomfield, C. W., 6th mo, 1857. His death occurred under peculiarly trying circumstances. About two months previous to it, he was bitten by a dog, which they had but little reason to fear was rabid, but still apprehensions were felt by his friends as well as himself, that such might be the case, and every precautionary measure possible was taken to avert the development of the dire disease, liable to be attendant upou such a casualty. But alas! their fears were but too well founded, and after the most intense suffering of about thirty hours duration, he has fallen in the prime of life, and vigor of manhood, a victim to the fell destroyer. He was an honorable and upright man, esteemed by all who knew him, and a useful member of the community in which he moved. Truly it may be said that the ways of Providence are inscrutable. He was surrounded by every comfort and luxury that wealth could purchase. A feeble wife, and five children, and parents looking to him as the prop of their declining years; yet he has been called hence "to be seen of men no more." Although his agonies during the paroxysms were extreme, yet in the intervals his mind was perfectly clear, giving satisfactory evidence that his peace was made and that he had a full assurance that he should enter into rest. The last words he uttered were. "Glory to God, peace on earth and good will to man, hallelujah! hallelujah!" On 7th day, the 11th inst., at the residence of Benjamin P. Moore, in Fallston, Harford Co. Md., MARY C. STABLER, wife of Edward H. Stabler, of Baltimore. FIVE YEARS IN BONDAGE. per business of the world, will absorb all the attention; or if other studies are persevered in, they engross and occupy the whole mind, so that rarely, indeed, do we find a love of natural science cultivated in mature life, unless it has been implanted at an early period. ENSLAVEMENT OF A BRITISH SUBJECT-FORTY | beyond the calibre of its as yet immature and not fully developed powers. But if this golden The New York Times of Friday publishes a opportunity be allowed to elapse, the mental aphighly interesting account of the struggle for petite will seek other and more grovelling gratifreedom of a man who has been cruelly and il-fications: the pleasures, the dissipations, the legally held as a slave for forty-five years. The subject of the history is a man who has lately arrived in New York from Savannah, where he was known by the name of Demock Charlton, and served forty years as a slave of various sons, while he claims to have been a British subject, and entitled to the protection of the British government. His orignal name was Tallen, and be was taken from Africa by a Spanish slaver, when only twelve years old. The slaver was captured by a British brig-of-war, when Tallen was sent on board the British brig Peacock, to serve as a cabin boy during the war of 1812. When the Peacock was sunk by the American schooner Hornet, in 1813, Tallen was sent a prisoner of war, to Savannah, Ga., where and seems NATURAL HISTORY, FOR THE YOUNG. The study of natural objects is now almost universally allowed to be one peculiarly suited to youth to that period, as Burke observes, "when the senses are unworn and tender, when the whole being is exquisitely alive, and the glow of novelty is fresh upon all the objects which surround us." Yet though all this is abundantly evident, it is singular, enough that the regular introduction of natural science into our educational seminaries in this country is as yet but of rare occurrence. The period from five to fifteen-that period which is usually devoted to elementary training-is that in which the mind has the greatest avidity for facts and phenomena It is pleasing at this period to see how the mind grasps at every kind of information regarding physical objects-how it delights in tracing analogies-forming combination-and arranging and methodizing into systems-how, in short, the ideas of beauty, order, fitness, and barmonious congruity take possession of the mind. The young and eager intellect at this period finds such studies peculiarly suited for its powers; there is nothing too deep for its comprehension-nothing too abstract, or too much these branches of early instruction than we are. Our continental neighbors seem more alive to There, botany, zoology, and geology are regularly taught in their elementary schools, and their connection with geography, history, and the arts of life fully demonstrated. To some extent these studies are gradually being introduced into our most approved seminaries in this country, though in a very small number, indeed, have they become regular branches of educational training. They are as yet only timidly introduced as extra and optional studies; encroaching sometimes on the hours appropriated to relaxation, or given so shortly, and at such long intervals, as to fail to make any due impression on the minds of the pupils. We hope, however, yet to see them introduced as indispensable branches of education, with competent teachers, into all our leading institutions throughout the kingdom. In a great commercial and agricultural community such as ours, the elements of natural science, in all its departments, ought surely to be within the reach of every individual, however humble the calling to which he may be destined. In our richly-endowed educational hospitals, where we occasionally hear of listlessness and insubordination on the part of the pupils, such studies might doubtless be introduced with the best advantage. We know nothing more likely to engage the youthful mind there, both innocently and advantageously, or more calculated to supply the absence of the domestic circle, and all the home feelings, of which they are necessarily deprived. A little work on zoology, intended as a textbook for school tuition, has prompted to the repetition of these remarks. It is the first part of a history of animal life, commencing at the lowest end of the scale, and including the invertebrate animals. It is not merely a common compilation, but exhibits the spirit and originality of a mind evidently well-stored with accurate facts, and enthusiastic in the admiration of the works of nature. Its illustrations are numerous, and consist of the wood cuts of Milne Edwards's French work on the same subject. Next to the actual objects themselves, good illustrations are indispensable to the student of natural history. During the past season, an unusual number of those jelly-looking creatures called medusa, or sea-nettles, have swarmed along our shores. They are amongst the simplest and lowest of the scale of animated beings, and are thus described : "There is much in the structure of these creatures to excite our surprise. Their frail and gelatinous bodies seem little else than a mass of vivified sea-water, or some analogous fluid. 'For,' says Professor Owen, 'let this fluid part of a large medusa, which may weigh two pounds when recently removed from the sea, drain from the solid parts of the body, and these, when dried, will be represented by a thin film of membrane, not exceeding thirty grains in weight.' They baffle the skill of the anatomist by the very simplicity of their structure. Feeble as they appear, fishes and crustacea are quickly dissolved in their stomachs. The organism of their stinging power is yet but imperfectly understood, and the luminosity which many species possess, equally demands investigation. They are found in all seas, and please the eye both by their glassy transparency and by their brilliant hues. Some are furnished with a central peduncle, and resemble a mushroom with its stalk; others have its place supplied by prehensile arms; some have one simple central mouth; in others both its structure and position are different: in some the margin is furnished with long contractile tentacula, whence the well-known stinging secretion is supplied; in others this formidable apparatus is altogether wanting. These differences, which are easily observable, enable the naturalist to classify the gelatinous medusa, for such is their collective appellation. Their locomotion is effected by the contraction and expansion of the outer margin of the disc, the animal striking the water in the opposite direction to that in which it is moving. The motion is easy and graceful, admitting of progress in any direction. The lower surface of the disc is covered with a delicate network of vessels, in which the circulating fluids are exposed to the oxygen contained in the sea-water. Each contraction of the margin, therefore, not only impels the animal in its course, but assists in the process of respiration. "The medusæ differ extremely in size. Some are occasionally thrown upon our coast which are as large as a good-sized umbrella; many are not larger than peas; and some scarcely exceed in dimensions the head of a large-sized pin. Some species are adorned with brilliant colors, and equal in the richness of their hues the brightest of our garden flowers. When from a small boat, in a glassy and transparent sea, they are beheld rising and falling at pleasure, and occasionally turning over in the apparent exuberance of enjoyment, they form objects of contemplation so very attractive, as to excite the astonishment of the child, while they furnish matter for the contemplation of the naturalist. "The species of medusa most abundant on our coasts during the early part of our summer (Cyanea aurita,) is well known by the four conspicuous lunar or heart-shaped figures which it exhibits. These are of a pinkish or purplish color, and are, in fact, the ovaries. Four pouches are observed on the lower surface of the body. To these the young, at a certain period, are transferred from the ovaries, and undergo a species of development analogous to that of the young quadrupeds of Australia in the marsupial pouch of the mother. After changes in their size and color, they exhibit a change of form, become clothed with vibratile cilia, and leaving the maternal pouch, swim freely about, the larger extremity being always in advance. The little creature soon attaches itself to some fixed object, and four arms appear, surrounding a central mouth. The arms lengthen, four additional ones are developed, all are highly contractile, covered with cilia, and actively employed in the capture of food. The number of these arms increases until it reaches twenty-four or thirty; and the body, originally about the size of a grain of sand, becomes a line, or the twelfth part of an inch in length. During the winter mouths it remains in security "where the waves have no strife," and even throws out germs or buds, which in time becomes perfect medusæ. But with the approach of spring, the body becomes marked with transverse lines, which gradually assume a wrinkled or furrowed appearance. These furrows become deeper, dividing the body into from ten to fifteen distinct portions, which for a time remain in contact, but without organic connection, "like piled-up cups." After complete separation, each part swims freely about, presenting an appearance so unique, that the young in this state has been figured, and described as belonging to a new genus. The last change observable is its putting on the appearance of the perfect animal, and under the influence of the sun, the waves, and the currents, becoming a mature medusa. 'We thus see,' says Professor Owen, that a medusa may actually be generated three successive times, and by as many distinct modes of generation-by fertile ova, by gemmation, and by spontaneous fission--before attaining its mature condition.' "With regard to the medusa, we may mention an anecdote which we learned from an eminent zoologist, [E. 1orbes,] now a professor in one of the English universities. He had, a few years ago, been delivering some zoological lectures in a seaport town in Scotland, [St. Andrews,] in the course of which he had adverted to some of the most remarkable points in the economy of the acalephæ. After the lecture, a farmer, who had been present, came forward and inquired if he had understood him correetly, as having stated that the medusæ contained so little of solid material, that they might be regarded as little else than a mass of animated sea-water? SIR JOHN FRANKLIN. [BY SIR JOHN RICHARDSON.] On being answered in the affirmative, he remarked that it would have saved him many a pound had he known that sooner, for he had been in the habit of employing his men and Owing to the fortunate rendezvous at Hobarhorses in carting away large quantities of jelly- ton of the scientific expeditions and surveying fish from the shore, and using them as manure ships above named, as well as many of her on his farm, and he now believed they could have been of little more real use than an equal weight of sea-water. Assuming that so much as one ton weight of medusa, recently thrown on the beach, had been carted away in one load, it will be found that, according to the experiments already mentioned, the entire quantity of solid material would be only about four pounds avoirdupois weight-an amount of solid material which, if compressed, the farmer might with ease have carried home in one of his coat pockets!" The waters of the ocean teem with life in a variety of forms. We cannot take up a glassful of this element without including many beings of interest. "The cheapness of the pleasures which natural history affords, should of itself form a reason for the general cultivation of such pursuits. They are within the reach of the most humble, and are not dependent on costly or complicated apparatus. By means so simple as a glass of sea-water, we have caused the balani or acorn-shells to exhibit a series of movements, which we have never shown to the youth of either sex without hearing from them expressions of the most unfeigned delight. Let the reader try the experiment. Go at low water to a rock on the beach, choose a few of the oldest and largest limpets left uncovered by the receding tide, and incrusted with the acorn-shells. As the inclosed animals have then been without nourishment for two or three hours, they will be quite ready for another meal. Thow the limpetshells into the glass of sea-water, and in a minute or two the acorn-shells upon them will begin to open. Presently a beautiful feathered apparatus will be extended, then withdrawn. It will again be put forth, and again retracted; but with such grace, regularity, and precision, that the eye regards it with ever new delight.' And when the same exquisite mechanism is exhibited by every one of them, either in succession or simultaneously, and when we consider that it thus ministers at the same moment both to respiration and nutrition, a train of ideas is excited which rises from the humble shell to Him by whom it has thus wondrously been fashioned." Chambers Journal. LONG PRAYERS.-Speaking against long prayers, Elder Knapp says: "When Peter was endeavoring to walk on the water to meet his Master, and was about sinking, had his supplication been as long as the introduction to some of our modern prayers, before he got half through he would have been fifty feet under water." Majesty's vessels engaged in the ordinary service of those seas, the intrigues of the family faction and their supporters in the colony being matters. of common discussion, became known to numbers of Sir John's brother officers, and a true estimate of the treatment he had received from the colonial minister was formed by the profession to which he belonged. He found, therefore, on reaching England, that the confidence of the Admirality in his integrity and ability was undiminished, and this was speedily shown by his appointment in 1845 to the command of an expedition, consisting of the Erebus and Terror, fitted out for the further discovery of the northwest passage. With an experienced second in command, Captain Crozier, trained under Parry and James Ross from 1821 in the navigation of icy seas, a select body of officers chosen for their talent and energy, and excellent crews, in ships as strong as art could make them, and well furnished, Franklin sailed from England for the last time on the 26th of May, 1845. He was last seen by a whaler on the 26th of July, in Baffin's Bay, at which time the expedition was proceeding prosperously. Letters written by him a few days previously to that date were couched in language of cheerful anticipation of success, while those received from his officers expressed their admiration of the seamanlike qualities of their commander, and the happiness they had in serving under him. In the autumn of 1847, public anxiety began to be manifested for the safety of the discoverers, of whom nothing had been heard; and searching expedition after expedition dispatched in quest of them in 1848, and the succeeding years down to 1854, regardless of cost or hazard, redound to the lasting credit of England. In this pious undertaking Sir John's heroic wife took the lead. Her exertions were unwearied, she exhausted her private funds in sending out auxiliary vessels to quarters not comprised in the public search, and by her pathetic appeals she roused the spmpathy of the whole civilized world. France sent her Bellot; the United States of America replied to her calls by manning two searching expeditions, the expenses of which were borne by Mr. Grinnell, a wealthy private citizen of great humanity and liberality; and the inhabitants of Tasmania subscribed £1,700, which they transmitted to Lady Franklin, as their contribution towards the expense of the search. In August, 1850, traces of the missing ships. were discovered, and it was ascertained that their first winter had been spent behind Beechey Island, where they had remained as late as April, which seemed to him to be closed, and turning to the west, made his memorable winter journey through a space, which, though he was ignorant of the fact at the time, had been previously examined. With the utmost economy in its use, fuel would soon become precious on board the Erebus and Terror; and it is probable that after three years one of the ships would be broken up to furnish this essential article. Provisions could not last longer without placing the crews on short allowance, and to do so in that climate, subjected them to sure and destructive attacks of scurvy. Fish and vension, it is true, might be procured in quantities sufficient to modify these conclusions, but not to a great extent and, beyond all question, the numbers of the intrepid sailors who left England in such health and spirits in 1845, had waned sadly by the close of the season for operations in 1849. The forty men seen by the natives early in 1850, were doubtless the only survivors at that date. Franklin, had he lived till then, would have been sixty-four years old, but no one of that age was in the number seen by the natives. Had he been then in existence, he would have taken another route on the abandonment of his ship, as no one knows better than he the fatal result of an attempt to cross that wide expanse of frozen ground lying between the mouth of the Great Fish River and the far distant Hudson Bay post on the south side of Great Slave Lake. Who can conjecture the reason that turned the steps of the weary wanderers in that direction? Perhaps the desire of solving that long-sought problem of a northwest passage, even then animated their emaciated frames, and it is certain that they did solve it, though none of them lived to claim the grateful applause of their countrymen. Later in point of time, and in a higher latitude, Sir Robert M'Clure also filled up a narrow gap between previous discoveries, and so traced out the northwest passage by travelling over ice that has in the five several years in which it has been attempted, proved to be a barrier to ships. If ever in the pursuit of whales, or for conveyance of minerals, commercial enterprise endeavors to force a north west passage by steam, the southern route, whose last link was forged by Franklin's party with their lives, will undoubtedly be ex-chosen. And it is to be deeply regretted that the parliamentary committee in recommending the grant of public money to Sir Robert M'Clure, which his courage and enterprise so well deserved, should have omitted to mention the prior discovery made by the crews of the Erebus and Terror.* 1846. Yet in spite of every exertion by the Spars and pieces of rail recognized as having belonged to the Erebus and Terror were picked up by Captain Collinson near his wintering place in Camsetting in that direction, through a passage incumbered bridge Bay, and are sufficient evidence of currents doubtless with drift ice. |