Various

“ If human nature were a fixed quantity, if any two children were alike, or anywhere nearly alike, if a certain act done for a child always brought forth the same result, then it might be possible to form an absolute system of pedagogy, as, with fixed elements, there is formed the science of chemistry. But the quick atoms of spirit that manifest their affinities under the eye of that alchemist, the teacher, are far more subtle than the elements that go into the crucible in any other of Nature's laboratories. ”

“ Whittier was present at these picnics whenever able, and, as has been said, sometimes wrote a poem to be read there. He never reads in public himself.
Although the Powow river has been made so emphatically a stream of use, there are glimpses of a native beauty in it that its hard fate has never obliterated; these are still there, as one stands upon the little bridge that spans its last few rods of individual life and looks up the stream upon a wintry landscape, or upon summer fields, and longingly toward the bend. ”

“ I thought of the feelings of this old and feeble woman as she was borne to the Salem jail, then a month later sent off, with other prisoners, to the jail in Boston (then a whole day's journey) , to be sent back to Salem for her final doom. I pictured her on trial, when, in the presence of her accusers, the "afflicted girls," and the assembled crowd, she constantly declared her innocence ("I am innocent, and God will clear my innocency") , and showed a remarkable power in refuting the questions of the magistrate. ”

“ Among this crowd stood two women, scarcely apart from the others, and yet everywhere that they moved, given place to with the unobtrusive courtesy that has always marked American men, so that one woman in a host of them feels herself, should danger come, in an army of protectors, and otherwise alone. Elizabeth had meant to be here earlier, and to put herself by the General's side, for her father had gone with dispatches to the fleet, but her duties had detained her, and now she was separated from him by nearly a regiment. ”

“ The first duty of an American citizen should be a thorough acquaintance with American political institutions, their origin, their growth and progress, their utility or their worthlessness. The right of suffrage is one of the inalienable rights of the people. It is one of their most sacred rights also, and ought not to be exercised except under most careful, candid and conscientious conditions.
One cannot suppose, even for a moment, that our people are not aware of the accuracy of these assertions. ”

“ We allude to the necessity of public lectures, in every community, on the great themes pertaining to American politics and history. It must be evident to every observer that our so-called "Lyceum Courses" are to-day sadly deficient in efforts to educate the people. There is a perfect craze at the present time for concerts, readings, and a similar order of entertainments,—all of which are doubtless good enough of their kind and are capable of exerting a certain moral influence that cannot be questioned. ”

“ The old Russian town of Sitka, the most northern on the Pacific coast, she describes as a straggling, peaceful sort of town, edging along shore at the foot of high mountains, and sheltered from the surge and turmoil of the ocean by a sea-wall of rocky, pine-covered islands. The moss has grown greener and thicker on the roofs of the solid old wooden houses that are relics of Russian days, the paint has worn thinner everywhere, and a few more houses tumbling into ruins complete the scenes of picturesque decay. ”

“ But there came a change, the mills were united under one control, and an agent was sent to Amesbury for the purpose of forcibly illustrating the fact that corporations have no souls. He did it admirably. Work was started at high pressure, there came a rush of foreigners into the place, many of the old towns people moved away in disgust, and the new took the place of the old as suddenly as if an evil magician had waved his wand and cried: "Presto!" But this agent soon gave evidence that great unscrupulousness doesn't pay, even as a financial investment. ”

“ Pickett had taken the key to the position and the glad shout of victory was heard, as, the very impersonation of a soldier, he still forced his troops to the crest of Cemetery Ridge. Kemper and Armistead broke through Hancock's line, scaled the hill and planted their flags on its crest. Just before Armistead was shot, he placed his flag upon a captured cannon and cried "Give them the cold steel, boys!"; but valor could do no more, the handful of braves had won immortality but could not conquer an army. ”

“ Every manufacturing town in New England has now its unwholesome because untaught population, a danger signal on the line of progress of the republic. It is only popular education that can remove this obstruction of ignorance. The foreign population of Amesbury today is large, and although it gives hands to the mills, it adds neither to the beauty nor the interest of the town. But it gives a mission to those who believe in the possibilities of human nature, and the right of every man to have a chance at life, even if the way he takes it be not agreeable to his cultivated neighbor. ”

“ Had he dreamed that Edmonson had learned of Katie's desertion, and was full of rage at every word of courtesy or interest that he spoke to Elizabeth, he would have felt his chance of life still less.
"Can't you hitch along, you fellow next me?" cried Edmonson. "I'm so cramped here I can't move a muscle, and I suspect we shall want them all in good order pretty soon. We are coming up to the old walls. Swift and steady, boys. Every man be ready with his muskets." ”

“ Stephen knew well enough that the old glamour would come back, but to-night he was full only of indignation against Katie. To have used Elizabeth as she had done was an added sin.
"I wish Bulchester joy of her," he muttered, then with a sharp breath recollected that this was only a respite, that he should not always feel too scornful for pain.
Three nights after this there was a silent and solemn procession down to the shore. Island Battery was to be attacked. Here was Archdale's forlorn hope ready for him, if he wanted it now. Every chance of success depended upon secrecy. ”

“ Stephen made no answer. He felt more strongly than ever that he needed good eyes and firm nerves. To be killed like a rat in a trap! His blood ran too warm in his veins to submit tamely to this. When the struggle should come yonder it mattered little whether it was by Edmonson's shot or another's, for if he fell in the heat of the conflict it would always be said that he died a soldier's death. And if he lived to come back Edmonson, should take boat first. He turned himself slightly toward his foe, and sat silent and observant.
Had Elizabeth noticed them enter the boat together? ”

“ So far as our knowledge extends, there is no other book which so exactly and thoroughly fulfils the needs implied in those titles. It is no mere collection of receipts, but a complete and common-sense treatise on the whole science of housekeeping, tersely and clearly written, with a flavor of experience about it that makes one accept it as authoritative. It is a staff upon which the young housekeeper may confidently lean, and by the aid of which she may overcome obstacles which without it would seem insurmountable. Mrs. Power does not believe in a house keeping itself. ”

“ Under the energetic auspices of Cupples, Upham & Co., it has become one of the most complete retail book establishments in the country, and so popular a resort that all Boston may with a little exaggeration be said to pass through it in a day. To every stranger it is, from its present literary attractiveness, a place not to be overlooked. The literary men of Boston make it their lounging-place and chief rendezvous. ”

“ A series of important papers, the like of which has never before been attempted, and which possess the peculiar quality of interesting every person in the land.—THE BEACON, BOSTON, MASS.
What a vast work for good in these several ways is the great magazine-publishing house of The Century Co. doing; what an uplift is it giving to good taste, good morals, good politics, and good manners, as well as to the dissemination of useful knowledge, to the culture of "the masses," to the comfort and peace and pleasure of home, to the welfare of society in general! ”

“ One uniform, unvarying, certain law has been thus established, which is that the rate of mortality, or in other words the cost of insurance, increases as a man grows older. From this law there is no escape. We must accept the inevitable. Hence any system of insurance which is not in accordance with this first principle, this unalterable law of nature, is unsound, and any company, whether charging level premiums or natural premiums, which does not recognize and conform to this fundamental law of nature, is doomed to disaster and wreck, sooner or later. ”

“ As a business man he was never a success. For years he kept the old malt house on Purchase Street, but he gave the business little thought, for his mind was constantly engrossed in public matters, and at last he made no pretext of attending to any matter of private business, depending for support only upon his small salary as clerk of the assembly. No one will ever accuse Samuel Adams of any selfish ambition, and, although his every act will not bear the closest application of the square and rule, yet he never deceived nor used a doubtful method in the least degree for personal gain. ”

“ The saddest feature in the case is the crass ignorance which Congress usually has displayed. Much of our legislation about money matters has been the merest experimenting, if not worse than this—the deliberate effort to enrich some one class of business men at the expense of the nation.
He utters a solemn warning of the dangers to which we now are exposed through our present acts of coinage and legal tender, whereby our gold coin sooner or later must be driven from the country and our standard must become a silver dollar of light weight and uncertain value. ”

“ It has defects that would strike a stranger, and beauties that one who has learned to love them never forgets; they linger in glimpses of wood and hill and river and lake, and often rise unbidden before the mind's eye. The poet Whittier says that those who are born under the shadow of Powow Hill always return sometime, no matter how far they may have wandered. He himself, though not Amesbury born, has found it impossible to desert the old home, full of associations and surrounded by old friends. He always votes in Amesbury, and he often spends weeks at a time in his old home. ”

“ The points of the author are so well taken, that the reader is forced not only to admit the reality of the evils he denounces, but to acknowledge the justice of the conclusions at which he arrives.
In the evolution of character the public school has come to be a most important factor. To it has been assigned a task equal to any other agency that deals with human nature. But in multitudes of cases it has become a mere mill for grinding out graduates. The "system" has largely lost sight of the grandest thing in all the world—the individual soul. ”

“ Paine as a lawyer and as a man, the writer, who was his pupil at Waterville Academy, and has enjoyed his friendship to this day, cannot do better than to cite the words of an acute observer who has known him intimately for many years. Chief Justice Appleton, of Maine, did not exaggerate, when he said: "He is a gentleman of a high order of intellect; of superior culture; in private life, one of the most genial of companions; in his profession, a profound and learned lawyer, as well as an accomplished advocate." ”

“ Peabody's reputation, as a vigorous thinker and manly preacher, is as wide as this Republic; and the volume of sermons before us is something more than a series of homilies. It is a collection of addresses to young men—students just ready to embark on the perilous sea of life—which may be profitably read by every citizen of our country. The preacher does not address himself to any single side of human life. He counsels the students in their duties as men in all the relations of life. ”

“ She has published a few books, made up from her fugitive articles in the Tribune, the London Times, the Athenæum, and the magazines, and more of this literature would be eminently refreshing and acceptable. It is no exaggeration to say that among the American writers of to-day no one has greater breadth, vigor, originality and power than Kate Field. She is by virtue of wide outlook and comprehension of important matters, entirely free from the tendency to petty detail and trivial common-place that clogs the minds and pens of many women-writers. ”

“ Paine finds that, large as was his bank account with Nature, he has been overdrawing it for years, and that he has now to repay these drafts with compound interest. The lesson he would have young professional men learn from his experience, is, that they should account no time or money wasted, that contributes in any way to their physical health,—that gives tone to the stomach, or development to the muscles. Let them understand that, though suffering does not follow instantly upon the heels of transgression, yet Nature cannot be outraged with impunity. ”

“ No doubt they are about here somewhere, only it takes a poet's eye to find them. And yet it was not very far from here that there lived a few years ago a young girl, a descendant of one of the early settlers of Amesbury, who on her engagement said to a friend proudly:—"I am going to marry a poor man, and I am going to help him." And so she always nobly did, in ways different from tawdry ambition. The courage of the old Puritans has not died out here any more than the old beauty has deserted the land. ”