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EDITORIAL MISCELLANY.

seven miles an hour, a small craft on the Delaware, at Philadelphia. This steamer was called the "Perseverance." What a pity it could not have been preserved in some way till now, to be looked upon not only as a curiosity, but as the pioneer of the palace steamers that now float upon our waters and plough the ocean!

In 1796 Mr. Fitch propelled a boat by steam of a more perfect form at New York, not upon the Hudson, but upon a pond. This little vessel, of which the above cut is a representation, was eighteen feet long, and six feet beam, and driven at the rate of six miles an hour. In the low part of the city where the Tombs now stand there was a small lake or pond of water called the Collect, forty or fifty feet deep. Here the little steamboat was launched, and performed its voyages round and round this tiny lake.

LOSS OF LIFE IN WAR.-The waste of property in war, incalculable as it is, forms only a small item in the aggregate of its evils. Its sacrifice of human life is incomparably worse. Though less destructive now than in ancient times, it still numbers its victims by thousands, occasionally by millions.

War has ever been a fell destroyer of life. Reflect on the wholesale butcheries of ancient warfare; 300,000 in the battle of Arbela; 400,000 of the enemy alone by Julius Cæsar in a single engagement; more than 5,000,000 in the invasion of Greece by Xerxes; 1,600,000 by Jenghizkhan in the district of Herat; 1,760,000 in two other cities with their independencies, an average of more than half a million a year, near the close of his life; and during his whole reign nearly 32,000,000!!

Look at the havoc of life even in modern wars -at Eylau, 30,000; at Waterloo, 50,000; at Borodino, 80,000; in our own Revolutionary War, between 300,000 and 400,000; in six months of the Russian campaign, more than half a million; in all the wars consequent upon the French Revolution, no less than 9,000,000!

But war, as Dr. Johnson says with equal truth

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and beauty, "has means of destruction more formidable than the cannon and the sword. Of the thousands and ten thousands that perish, a very small part ever feel the stroke of an enemy. The rest languish in tents and ships, amidst damps and putrefaction; pale, torpid, spiritless, and helpless; gasping and groaning, unfitted among men, made obdurate by long-continuance of hopeless misery, and are at last whelmed in pits, or heaved into the ocean, without notice or remembrance. By incommodious encampments and unwholesome stations, fleets are silently dispeopled, and armies sluggishly melted away."

EFFECTS OF WRONG SPELLING.-Not long since, a gentleman, then a chorister of a certain choir in Vermont, wrote to a publisher in Boston for a copy of that popular singing book, "The Ancient Lyre." In his communication, he used the following language:

"Please send me the Ancient Liar, well bound."

The publisher, in answer to his request, replied:

"My Dear Sir-I do not doubt but the Devil has been, and still is, in Boston; but it will be difficult to comply with your request, for the reason that Boston influence is so strongly in his favor, it will be impossible to bind him."

THE AMERICAN NATIONAL PREACHER This valuable periodical is too well known to need any special commendation. It is now in its twenty-eighth year, and is ably conducted and edited by Rev. E. Carpenter, who has but recently engaged in the work. It is a monthly repository of original sermons, one of which is often worth a whole year's subscription. The February number contains two able sermons; one on the remembrance of the righteous, written on occasion of the death of Anson G. Phelps, by Rev. Owen Street; the other on the wisdom of winning souls, by Rev. C. C. Van Arsdale.

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BOOK NOTICES.

Book Notices.

HISTORY OF NEW AMSTERDAM : or, New York as it was in the days of the Dutch Goyernors. By Prof. A. Davis. To those who love to study the early history of New York, this book will be found fertile in pleasing incidents. It is written in plain, familiar style, and the author was evidently well qualified for his task. The cuts inserted in our miscellany may help to form some idea of this work. It is illustrated with several other engravings. R. T. Young.

MUSIC.-We would call the attention of the music-loving public to the following pieces recently published by the well-known firm of Hall & Son, 239 Broadway.

1. The Hazel Dell, a very pretty and easy song, by G. F. Wurzell.

2. The Greenwood Bell, with a beautiful vignette title plate, representing the rustic porch, lodge and bell tower of Greenwood Cemetery; poem by Fanny Crosby, music by Geo. F. Root. It represents first the funeral of a child, when the bell tolls one.

"Hark! hark! it tolls again,
A youth has passed away."

Again the bell tolls, and

"One has passed away

In manhood's bright career."

And then again,

"An aged one hath found

A rest from toil and care."

3. Verbena Schottisch, by Ths. Schallehn.

4. The Harvest Queen Polkas : No. 1, Plough Boy; No. 2, Corn Rigs, by John Pridham.

A large and choice selection of music and musical instruments may be found at Firth, Pond & Co.'s, 1 Franklin Square We have received the following new and choice pieces:

1. Mary Astore, a beautiful ballad, words by Mrs. Crawford, music by Stephen Glover.

2. Jessie Mowbray, Scotch Ballad, words and music by G. Linley.

3. My Canoe is on the Ohio, by N. Kneass, author of Ben Bolt.

4. Camp Quadrille, by B. McKenzie.

5. The Opera Schottisch, by H. Kleber.

6. The Camp Polka, by Chs. D'Albert. Nos. 5 and 6 are very fine pieces, and deserve high honor among this class of music, and the title-pages are beautifully embellished.

CALIFORNIA ILLUSTRATED: including a description of the Panama and Nicaragua routes. By J. M. Letts. This book is a lively and life-like description of California and its scenes, inasmuch as it is a transcript of the author's own experience. It is by far the best book on life, manners and customs in California, that has yet come under our notice. The forty-eight fine tinted lithographs with which the volume is so profusely illustrated, add immensely to its value. They bring all the important places directly before our eyes, and produce impressions that cannot be forgotten. The price of this book is only one dollar. Let every adventurer read before he starts, and carry it with him to read on the way. It is a mine of information more valuable than a mine of gold. R. T. Young.

CRUISE OF THE NORTH STAR: a narrative of the excursion of Mr. Vanderbilt's party to the most attractive and interesting localities of the old world. By Rev. Dr. Chowles, of Newport, one of the voyager's guests. The party visited England, Russia, Denmark, France, Spain, Italy, Turkey, &c., and everywhere received distinguished attention. The book is a plain, straight-forward story of persons and places seen and visited. The author was evidently put in very good-humor all the while by the position he occupied, and the scenes through which he passed and so much enjoyed. The book is beautifully got up, finely illustrated with engravings of important places, and every way attractive. Boston: Gould & Lincoln. New York Evans & Dickerson, 697 Broadway. Sold also by L. Colby & Co., 122 Nassau street.

FOUR YEARS IN A GOVERNMENT Exploring EXPEDITION. By Lieut. G. M. Colvocoresses, of the United States Navy. Commanded by Capt. C. Wilkes. This is a new edition of this truly useful and highly instructive work. It is a mine of interesting facts. It cannot be recommended too highly. It enlarges one's views to read it. It is a treasure to any family. It is worth more than a ship-load of the light reading of the day. The reader travels round the world with the author, and instead of seeing fictions and castles in the air, sees the grandeur of the ocean, and views all those places visited by the Expedition. It is illustrated with some twenty-five cuts. A dollar cannot be better expended than in the purchase of this book. R. T. Young.

THE RIGHT OF THE BIBLE IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS, by Rev. Dr. Cheever, is a timely and efficient effort in favor of incorporating religious teaching with our common school instruction. It is logical in argument, and clear and forcible in illustration. It is decided and perspicuous. As opposed to the arrogant claim of the Catholics, it is perfectly invincible. The argument is both ingenious and pertinent. It is in some respects a curiosity, and will be read with interest. R. Carter & Brothers.

THE POTIPHAR PAPERS. This book is a reprint of articles from Putnam's Monthly. It contains some curious stories and some capital hits on fashionable parade and the "best society." The reader is often compelled to smile at the so-called etiquette and pride of rank among "our best society." G. P. Putnam & Co.

MECHANICS: their Principles and Practical Applications. By O. Byrne. This is a concise and well-prepared little book, and the author appears to have a thorough and practical understanding of the subjects on which he treats. It is well illustrated with cuts and diagrams. Dewitt & Davenport.

THE OLD BREWERY AND THE NEW MISSION HOUSE AT THE FIVE POINTS. By Ladies of the Mission. This book is a well written and deeply interesting sketch of the history of the Methodist Mission at the Five Points. The work gives us a vivid impression of the value of the great reform in that part of the city. No one can read it without being greatly affected with aspects of misery and crime here brought to view. It is illustrated with several effective engravings. Stringer & Townsend,

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