Henry M. Brooks

“ If all his skill and efforts fail, such a person is as much lost to society as if he were dead. Now if such an one were plunged into water, and there kept until he was apparently dead, and was then recovered by the usual methods (and of which recovery we have now a moral certainty) I am apt to believe we should behold a perfect cure. There is, I own, something shocking to nature in the experiment; but if the patient be already lost, and dead to society, why should we hesitate a moment to make the trial, when the probability of succeeding is so flattering?
Salem Gazette, July 12, 1791. ”

“ To save the Metropolis of New-England from declining in its commerce and consequence on the return of a general peace—to open its internal resources, to unite New-Hampshire & Vermont to Massachusetts, by bonds of mutual benefit, as permanent as the rivers and canals, by which their intercourse will be carried on—to make Boston advance like New York, supported by a populous, extensive and productive back country, are considerations into which every reflecting man, every merchant, and every owner of real estate, must enter and must feel. ”

“ Every man in the Commonwealth, waiving all distinctions of condition or age, would have been seen, without consulting his neighbour or considering consequences, putting a new flint in his musket and girding on his sword. Thank God! our feelings and love of order and obedience to proper authority can never be put to such a trial; for the moment we became free, and created our own political institutions, we made it a fundamental article of our Constitution of Government that "no magistrate or court of law shall inflict cruel or unusual punishment." ”

“ THE DAYS OF THE SPINNING-WHEEL IN NEW ENGLAND.
Within the last few years many young ladies have searched country houses or ransacked old garrets to find spinning-wheels, which, like old chairs, tall clocks, and warming-pans, have now become objects of curiosity and interest to those who take a fancy to antique articles. It has become fashionable to have these things to adorn our Queen Anne houses. And brass andirons and shovels and tongs have come into request, so that we may enjoy the luxury of an open wood fire, which, to our mind, is one of the most cheerful things in this world. ”

“ Habit.—Mostly a shrub, but occasionally attaining a height of 25 feet, with a diameter, near the ground, of 6-8 inches; characterized by a short, straight trunk and slender branches; bright green foliage turning a rich red in autumn, and long-stemmed, erect racemes of delicate flowers, drooping at length beneath the weight of the maturing keys. ”

“ But while French go to war, and the English make hay,
Though the season proves wet, and hay gets in but slowly,
Yet I would not do other than keep the day holy.
Far, far be from me, to ape those saving Elves,
Who rob God of his due, to grow richer themselves;
But be mine the pursuit, which all good men approve,
To strive to be rich in the Regions above. ”

“ Let every man in possession of a White Oak Tree, be ambitious to be foremost in hurrying down the timber to Salem, and fill the complement wanting, where the noble structure is to be fabricated, to maintain your rights upon the Seas, and make the name of America respected among the nations of the world. ”

“ If that monster who committed the Stoneham murder in cold blood, impelled solely by avarice, had not put an end to his own life, but had awaited his conviction, had been sentenced to such a punishment, although he would have merited, perhaps more than any other offender who has appeared in our times, the greatest sufferings, yet such a sentence could not be carried into effect. The people would have risen at once, animated by one sentiment, and without the least previous concert have prevented it. ”

“ There are no doubt men who consider the too often expensive ways in which churches are supported as altogether beyond their means. The demands of civilization upon individuals in these restless times, when there are so many organizations, secret, secular, and religious, are indeed too great for small incomes, especially as the cost of food is continually increasing, and as society in other ways makes so many secular demands upon them. Public worship is after all, in the view of many persons, not a necessity, but only a luxury which can easily be dispensed with. ”

“ Habit.—A shrub, or small tree, rarely exceeding 25 feet in height; trunk 8-10 inches in diameter; branches straggling, thickish, mostly crooked when old; branchlets forked, straight, often killed at the tips several inches by the frost; head very open, irregular, characterized by its velvety shoots, ample, elegant foliage, turning in early autumn to rich yellows and reds, and by its beautiful, soft-looking crimson cones. ”

“ A lottery consists of several numbers of blanks and prizes, which are drawn out of wheels, one of which contains the numbers of the tickets, and the other the corresponding blanks and prizes. Besides the consideration that this, as well as all other kinds of gambling for money, tends to corrupt the public morals, it is also to be considered that the purchasers of the tickets are never permitted to play the game on fair and equal ground. The world neither ever saw, nor ever will see, a perfectly fair lottery ”

“ The Washington Correspondent of the Boston Morning Post, in describing Gov. Cass's soiree, thus notices some of the young ladies who were present:—
Miss Keyser of Baltimore, uniting youth and beauty, possesses an eye as dark as the absence of all light, beaming with a lustre that eclipses all. I never saw a countenance betoken such perfect happiness; it was like a star-lit lake, curling its lips into ripples in some dream of delight, as the west wind salutes them with its balmy breath and disturbs their placid slumber. I never before realised Byron's idea of
"Music breathing o'er the face;" ”

“ The grace of the Athenian beau and the dignity of the Roman senator shall be so intermingled in the grand contour of all who submit to his touch, that the toute ensemble cannot fail to kindle love and command respect. ”

“ When the ordinances of this holy day are forsaken and forgotten, the whole system of moral obligation must of course be also forgotten; the great, substantial and permanent good, of which religion is the only source, is effectually destroyed; the political peace and welfare of a community, the salvation of the human soul, the infinitely benevolent designs of redeeming love, the institution of the means of grace, and the obedience and sufferings of the Son of God, are frustrated and set at nought. ”

“ In Georgia such a punishment would not be inflicted upon a white man for any crime; and in the name of Heaven, who deserves the greatest punishment for offences,—the white man, who is instructed in the principles of religion and morality, and is therefore justly accountable for his actions, or the negro, who is kept by the policy of the laws and the power of public opinion in a state of absolute ignorance of his duties, lest he should obtain a knowledge of his rights? ”

“ Great Sir,—Your Kingdom is like a House divided against itself. Something Extraordinary must be done. Our Parliaments for fifty years past (or some of them) have ruined the Nation, in making a monstrous Debt by hiring Money, while greater Sums have been expended in Pride and Luxury. ”

“ When should doubt make worship impossible, or unbelief make worship wrong for the honest soul? When should 'personal consecration' say to a man, not stay, but depart? It is a grave question, and every one must shape his answer for himself. All I would say is: Give worship the benefit of the doubt: ay! give fellow-worshippers the benefit of the doubt. Continue with them as long as you can; if not as a full believer, then as a devout inquirer, a gentle seeker, a sympathetic friend. Why not? That is possible with us; for the very bond of our union is sympathetic regard for one another's freedom. ”

“ To these agreeable attributes and conversational powers he adds such a mirthfulness of fancy, and genuine heartiness of good-humour, to all men, women, and children who have the good fortune to make his acquaintance, that I should have no scruple—if it were not too great a liberty—in naming him as the person I have been most pleased with in all my recent travels. ”

“ Among the mass of advertisements that have appeared from time to time in newspapers are to be found some which are very quaint and curious. Such are not, in all cases, intended by the writers to be so; but they sound so, especially to those persons who have an ear for strange or humorous things. Sometimes, indeed, it is the intention of the writers to attract particular notice by the wording of the advertisement. Oftentimes the matter may have been dictated by illiterate persons. Frequently the nature of the subject is itself sufficient to excite our humorous feelings. ”

“ We know that population in our time crowds in cities; especially is this true of the classes most likely to furnish criminals. Still, in spite of this, do not most of us feel that it has of late years been rather safer to reside in a city than in the country? Consider the numbers of lawless and too often cruel tramps which have overrun the country towns and villages for a few years past, making it so unsafe for women to walk unattended in woods and highways, even in the quietest parts of New England, where once they could go with perfect safety alone and at all hours. ”

“ Instant July to be a Day of Public Prayer throughout the Province: Whereon the whole People may as at one Time humble themselves before Almighty God, acknowledging their great Unworthiness, and confessing their manifold Sins, and imploring the Supreme Dispenser of all Good, that He would be graciously pleased not to with-hold from them the Fruits of the Earth, but by seasonable and refreshing Rains bring what yet remains undestroyed to a due and seasonable Maturity. ”

“ Fifty years ago hardly any one thought of absenting himself or herself from public worship. People went to church as a matter of course, partly from a sense of duty, and partly from habit; and this is still the case to some extent. The majority of thoughtful persons of all religious persuasions are agreed upon one point, and that is, it is desirable to have Sunday set apart as a day of rest and change from the ordinary cares and business of life. From a sanitary point of view this rest is no doubt of the highest importance. ”

“ In lotteries the tickets are really not worth the price which is paid by the original purchasers, and yet they often sell in the market at a considerable advance: the vain hope of gaining some of the great prizes is the cause of this demand. In order to have a better chance for some of the large prizes, some people purchase several tickets, and others small shares in a still greater number. There is not, however, a more certain proposition in mathematics, than that the more tickets you adventure upon, the more likely you are to be a loser. ”

“ Salem Mercury.
A new way to cure insanity.
A CURIOUS IDEA.
Knowledge is attained with the greatest difficulty; we have it not by intuition, but acquire it by many unsuccessful trials and long experience. One gives a hint, and the other improves it; but prejudice and ignorance too often stand in the way: "That cannot be," or "I cannot believe that," has crushed many an useful project. ”

“ A correspondent desires us to mention, that at Johnston, a few days since, four industrious young ladies, by "laying their fingers to the spindle, and their hands to the distaff," completed, in one day, the spinning and reeling of 21 fifteen-knotted skeins of good linen yarn. Would to God, that the Gentlemen at the head of our political affairs in this State, were half so zealous in encouraging our own manufactures, as the fair sex are; who, at present, deservedly bear the palm, as friends to their country. ”

“ It is an ornament to the female sex, a token of subjection, an ensign of modesty; but modesty grows short in men as their hair grows long, and a neat perfumed, frizled, pouldered bush hangs but as a token,—vini non vendibilis, of much wine, little wit, of men weary of manhood, of civility, of christianity, which would faine turn (as the least doe imitate) American salvages, infidels, barbarians, or women at the least and best. ”

“ Our municipal authorities, and all others concerned in bringing this person to punishment, deserve the thanks of their fellow-citizens. The town of Salem, once so distinguished for the purity of its manners and the good order of its society, has been disgraced of late, by outrages upon the peace and quiet of the community, committed by noisy assemblages of young men at the public corners—and even females have been seen to exhibit a demeanor in the streets disreputable to the town, and disgraceful in the highest degree to themselves. ”

“ If the Sun or Moon look pale, look for Rain: if a dark Cloud be at Sun-rising, in which the Sun soon after is hid, it will dissolve it, and Rain will follow: if the Sun seem greater in the East than commonly, it is a sign of Rain, if in the West about Sun-setting there appear a black Cloud, you may expect Rain that night, or the day following, if in the winter time thick white Clouds appear in the South-east near the Horizon at Sun rising, they portend Snow, a day or two after: If black Clouds appear there, it is a sign of Rain. ”

“ Francis Bernard, demands a thousand Pounds Sterling a Year; one half that Sum is more than Enough, especially as the Nation is ready to sink with the Weight of its Public Debt. The Clergy can tell their Congregations that the New Testament rather reproves than commands the wearing of costly Array and faring sumptuously every Day; And I may venture to tell my Readers that all those who neglect taking a conscientious care to pay their Debts, private Debts, as well as public, are in the high Way to Destruction; the commonness of the Sin don't abate the Malignity of it. ”

“ Do we not, again, listen too much merely for delight? and does not the question, 'How did you like the sermon,' or 'How did you like the service,' indicate that we join in the service and listen to a sermon in an entirely wrong spirit? The critical or self-regarding spirit has its uses, but it may be fatal to 'personal consecration' in public worship. How often does an entire service depend upon our own temper, our own mood, our own spirit? And how often is it true that a congregation has as much to do with the making of a minister as the minister has to do with the making of a congregation? ”

“ At this day we believe it is the custom of the English authorities to treat all prisoners alike, whatever the charges against them may be. It seems as if they were desirous of degrading men as much as possible. Mr. John Boyle O'Reilly, a poet and gentleman of culture, who was unfortunately a political prisoner, was chained to a wife-murderer. And this the English call "justice,"—as if there could be no difference in offences!
Severe punishment used to be inflicted for the crime of passing counterfeit coin. ”

“ Samuel Deane of this town, more than one hundred of the fair sex, married and single ladies, most of whom, were skilled in the important art of spinning. An emulous industry was never more apparent than in this beautiful assembly. The majority of fair hands gave motion to not less than sixty wheels. Many were occupied in preparing the materials, besides those who attended to the entertainment of the rest,—provision for which was mostly presented by the guests themselves, or sent in by other generous promoters of the exhibition, as were also the materials for the work. ”

“ Whatever we may think or say or do, people nowadays will not be forced to attend church. Among all denominations the services are more attractive than they once were, and every year there is less and less of the repulsive kinds of doctrine preached. But in spite of this, while many men regard attendance on divine service as both a pleasure and a privilege, there are others, and they not few, whom no influence or persuasion can induce to attend Sunday worship. Such persons must be left to spend the day as they please. ”

“ As the devoting one day in seven to religious purposes is a bounden duty we owe to God our creator, and a most reasonable law of our Commonwealth—to see people riding on the Sunday in pursuit of their worldly affairs, is so disgusting to the man of true principle, that the neglect of our executive authority of so flagrant a crime, is to be lamented. ”

“ We know not the particular circumstances of the crime for which this poor wretch suffered, but as far as we can learn from the public prints, it was for the murder of his Master. The probability is there was some provocation; for such dire deeds are not perpetrated without a strong and powerful impulse. It is however of no consequence; no matter what was his crime, such a punishment was abominable, and could not be inflicted, even if the laws permitted it, in our State. ”

“ The accommodation offered for travel between Boston and New York before the Revolution must have been slim enough, judging from an advertisement in the "Boston [Pg 21] Gazette" in 1761. Passengers then went by vessel from Providence; that is, "Gentlemen Passengers." Whether ladies were accommodated or not, does not appear; but perhaps they were in the habit of going by stage, taking a week or so to accomplish the journey, or, more than likely, few ever travelled at all in those times. In our day, when every one is on the move, it is hard to realize this state of things. ”

“ Notwithstanding all the comforts and conveniences of modern places of worship, to say nothing about the more interesting preaching and other exercises, some people consider it a hardship to be obliged to attend even one service on Sunday. How was it in "old times"? Our ancestors were obliged to conform to the prevalent custom of going to meeting whether they liked it or not. The law did not then excuse any one from attendance at public worship, except for sickness. Not to be a "meeting-goer" in those days was to range one's self with thieves and robbers and other outlaws. ”

“ There is little in the appearance of Paris on a Sabbath morning to remind us that it is a day of rest; the markets are thronged as on other days, carts and drays and all sorts of vehicles, designed for the transportation of merchandise are in motion; buying and selling and manual labor proceed as usual; there is rest for neither man nor beast. In the afternoon the shops are usually closed; and labor is suspended, and the remainder of the day is devoted to pleasure. Few of those who go to church appear to have any other motive than amusement. ”

“ The very thought of going to church makes some people cough or have a headache. Theatres or concerts never seem to affect these people in the same way. Even the weather, which keeps people in-doors on Sunday, never keeps them in on other days.
Our own view of the subject is that while we should be glad to see more interest taken in public worship than there is at present, we think people should have the right of spending their Sundays in their own way,—always, of course, provided they do not interfere with the rights and feelings of others. ”

“ All the branches of morality are indissolubly connected. From one breach of moral obligation to a second, to a third, and to all, the transition is easy, necessary and rapid. From negligence of the duties we owe to God, the passage is short to contempt for those we owe to men. The Sabbath, in the judgment of reason and of revelation, is the great hinge on which all these duties are turned. ”

“ Le Sage felt some curiosity to know whether the author of Nature still continued to impose on himself the same law that originally marked the institution of the day of rest. It would have puzzled the first philosopher in Europe to think of any method by which this question could be brought to the decision of experiment: but the ingenuity of our young enquirer soon suggested an experiment.—He measured, with great care, the increase of a plant day after day, in order to discover whether it would cease growing on the Sabbath. ”

“ The dreadful tragedy performed in this town last April, and the subsequent arrests, developments, confessions, trials, &c., by keeping the thoughts and conversation of the community continually directed to that enormity, have led to the general but very erroneous notion, that there must have been a great deterioration of the public morals.—If the words of the aged are to be received as true, the very reverse is the fact. ”

“ We trust we shall no longer see the Sabbath trespassed upon by these official harpies, who, instead of spending the day as they ought, in worshiping God, confessing their own manifold sins, and praying that they may be endued with a more christian temper, are riding or walking the highway, "seeking whom they may devour," and gratifying at once their malice and their avarice, by plundering their fellow-citizens, and filling their own pockets. In some towns they have been stationed at every turn of the road, ready to dart out upon the traveller, like a spider from the corner of his web. ”