140 OBSERVATIONS ON THE STUDY OF MINERALOGY. IN passing through a part of New-England, a short time since, I was surprised and gratified to see the increased attention that is now paid to the study of Mineralogy. A few years since, the science was never heard of in our schools, and a mineralogist might go from one end of the country to the other, and find none but professional men (and perhaps few of them) to sympathize with him in his favorite pursuit. But now, I rejoice to say it, the value of the science is beginning to be appreciated, and men are paying some attention to the acquisition of that knowledge from which they find they can draw much enjoyment; and which is of such importance, that several arts and manufactures owe their existence to it. Whether considered in the light of a pleasant recreation, or of practical utility, there are many inducements to the study of this science. To show these inducements, and refute objections, and, perhaps, by these means to lead others to turn their attention to the study, is my present object. The recent experiments made in many of our schools, and in, alas, too few of our colleges, show that the scholars consider the study and collection of minerals one of their most agreeable recreations; and all lovers of the science will say, with me, that the pleasantest part of their youth has been spent in this manner,—that their love for this has, in part or wholly, deterred them from the more useless amusements of boyhood, -and that, through all their after life, they have experienced and acknowledged the benefit of their early taste. No objection can now be made to lack of materials for pursuing this study. Our country, favored in this as in most respects, has few localities, where one can complain for the want of natural materials; and books upon the subject (it being a theme upon which books can be written, and, therefore, one which will not be deficient in instructive books in New-England) have been fast multiplying; so that, whether one intends to skim lightly over the surface of the study, and make it merely an amusement, or to dive deeper, and bring up the real fruits of his exertions, he will find books to guide him so far as he wishes. It is a recreation, also, suited nearly as well to the city as the country; for when debarred from the latter, the lover finds enjoyment in examining the collections of minerals and suits of crystals prepared for his use. Boston is particularly fortunate in this respect, having been lately enriched by an excellent cabinet of minerals, and a most complete suit of crystals, made of paper, which are now in the room belonging to the Society of Natural History, and which is open to every one on Wednesday of every week, and at other times to those particularly wishing it, upon application to one of the gentlemen to whom they are entrusted. This liberality is very pleasing, and is very different from the use made of most cabinets; for instance, a valuable one belonging to one of our public universities, which the students are not allowed to examine at all, and even to see through glass cases but a few times during the lectures, in their whole college course. This may be recommended to the student as a not unprofitable relaxation, and, at the same time, source of improvement. After hours of hard study, he would become refreshed, in body and mind, by "roaming o'er hill and dale," in search of minerals; would be acquiring useful information in one great department of God's works; and, if at all seriously inclined, would gain much moral improvement; for, like Jaques, he would find sermons in stones, books in the running brooks, and good in every thing." 66 Upon the professional man the science has a claim; for being, of course, from his situation as such, naturally supposed a person of considerable general knowledge, it is to be expected that he should possess at least some small information of this, and do something to help its diffusion. Besides, few sciences aid more in that opening and strengthening of intellectual faculties, which contribute most to the formation of the true philosopher. The man, who views the rock only as so much cubic matter, into which, unfortunately, the plough cannot pass, nor the seed be scattered, or he, who looks upon vast natural collections only with regret, that such quarries all unhewn should lie," may certainly be considered, in an intellectual view, as many grades below him, who sees in them the mighty works of a Divine power, capable, like all those of the same Author, of affording improvement, and inspiring devotional and generous feeling. To those, especially, whose avocations lead them away from the haunts of men into the country, that great repository of Nature's works, the science calls for patronage. Whatever may be their employment, they must meet with many specimens, which they now pass by disregarded, and to which, if possessed of little more knowledge, they would attach a high value. Our farmers' sons, to many of whom, although surrounded, perhaps, by valuable and curious specimens, it is a source of wonder "what the gentleman wants with those old stones," might soon be taught to search as eagerly and successfully, too, for those same old stones; and, if not benefiting others, they are at least not wasting their leisure hours by laying up a constant mean of enjoyment for themselves. How few there are of the many, who leave the city every summer, and travel from state to state, for health or amusement, and thus have the best opportunities for collecting minerals, care, or, perhaps, ever think of this pleasant employment. Although the plea of ignorance may now excuse them from this pursuit, there is no reason why their children, who, perhaps, may have the same advantages, should be kept equally ignorant of them. If the study does not accord with their tastes, (and that will rarely happen, if any pains are taken to teach them,) I would have them pursue it no farther than to become acquainted with the names, appearance, and value of most minerals that they are likely to meet with. I would recommend this branch of knowledge to the attention of ladies; for, as their sphere of instruction is constantly enlarging, there seems to be no reason why they should be excluded from a knowledge of mineralogy. Confined as they now are to sedentary employments, they are fast losing the strong constitutions and robust forms of their grandmothers, and that deadly disease, consumption, is for this reason making fearful inroads, where before it was hardly known. The study of Mineralogy, or of the kindred study of Botany, by giving an object, would induce many to take that exercise, which they now so generally need. Their health being thus preserved, they would become better enabled to acquire and retain that knowledge, which is now expected of them; and, instead of losing time, which many offer as an objection to such pursuits, they are, in reality, gaining time. No one can expect their daughters should enjoy perfect health in the life they now lead. After leaving school, we see them spending their time at home, perhaps visiting about, perhaps improving themselves quite as much in doing nothing, or, perhaps, reading or studying, or in any way rather than in that most important way of spending a part of their time-regular exercise out of doors. Our life was given to us for important purposes, and as we lose that by the death of the body, we ought to do all in our power to preserve the body strong and healthy. We know that exercise is indispensably necessary for this, and, therefore, we are unpardonable not to make use of it. I do not mean to say that young ladies should take equally as much and as violent exercise as boys; their frames are not fitted for violent exertion; but I do say, they should take mild exercise, and that regularly; and the best kind that is now known is walking; which is to be preferred not only as such, but because, in the time we spend in walking, we may gain intellectual and moral as well as physical improvement; for, whether we walk by the sea side, in the green woods, or over rocky hills, we every where find, either in the shape of shells, plants, and flowers, or stones, abundant proofs of a Divine Being, and of his kindness to man, which, as such, well deserve regard from those, for whose use or pleasure they were designed. It will be useless for me to say much of the practical utility of the study of this science, and, as proofs of it, to give an endless enumeration of the various uses to which minerals, whether as metals, marbles, clays, &c. &c. in all their varieties, are put. It will be sufficient to give an extract from the most valuable American work on mineralogy, by one who has devoted his life to this pursuit. He closes his first introductory chapter thus : "From a superficial view of minerals in their natural depositories, at or near the surface of the earth, it would hardly be expected, that they could constitute the object of a distinct branch of science. Nothing appears further removed from the influence of established principles and regular arrangement, than the mineral kingdom, when observed in a cursory manner. But a closer inspection and more comprehensive view of the subject will convince us, that this portion of the works of nature is by no means destitute of the impress of the Deity. Indications of the same wisdom, power, and benevolence, which appear in the animal and vegetable kingdoms, are also clearly discernible in the mineral. "The general view of mineralogy, which we have already given, will offer to the minds of many sufficient inducements to the cultivation of this branch of knowledge. It may also be remarked, that several arts and manufactures depend on mineralogy for their existence; and that improvements and discoveries in the latter cannot fail of extending their beneficial effects to the aforementioned employments. In fine, the study of mineralogy, whether it be viewed as tending to increase individual wealth, to improve and multiply arts and manufactures, and thus promote the public good; or as affording a pleasant subject for scientific research, recommends itself to the attention of the citizen and scholar." J. THE COLLEGE CATALOGUE. FIVE-AND-TWENTY years ago, there might frequently be seen, in the house of a country clergyman, or substantial farmer of Massachusetts, a printed sheet, about two feet square, stuck up over the ample fireplace. It had acquired, from time and smoke, a dingy hue, which was over and above the original complexion of the paper. It contained, arranged in parallel columns, a list of names, of which the baptismal portion was Latinized, with now and then such cabalistic abbreviations as V. D. M., Cantab., Oxon., &c. appended to them. Had a stranger inquired what it was, the reply would have been-" It is the College Catalogue." The college! The short space of a quarter of a century has worked its changes. Mulatto sheets of paper, even with Latin names on them, are no longer allowed to be attached to any thing but the walls of a bar-room. The catalogue has been banished from the parlors of our yeomanry, the memory of the college, in too many instances, from their minds, and the veneration of it from their hearts. The document itself has been changed from a single sturdy brown sheet to a many-leaved pamphlet, having its pages hot-pressed, its rough edges trimmed, neatly stitched, covered, and prepared to be buried in the heap of ephemeral publications and literary lumber, which accumulates every where in this reading community. It is consulted occasionally, with the view of ascertaining how many of our class are in the land of the living; but, on the whole, excites little attention or interest, among the multitude of those to whom it comes, as a matter of course, and who regard it rather as evidence of one of the rights acquired under the old forty-four cent regime, than as an article of any intrinsic importance. To the few, only, it is replete with entertainment and instruction. Those few, who are best characterized in the pregnant words of one, whom the decorum, proper to be observed, with regard to private character and living philosophy, forbids us yet to name and to praise openly, as the "disinterested lovers of facts." I know not whether I may class myself among this generation of pains-taking inquirers, whom an uncharitable world calls gossips; but one thing is certain, that I have so far the badge of the tribe, as to take a strong interest in the Catalogue. Long before I had experienced the high satisfaction of perceiving my own name fairly printed therein, the meed of a four years' sojourn "within the walls," the punctual footing up of sixteen times forty-four cents, and the final crowning peculium of five dollars. Long before I had thus acquired a right to consider myself as known to fame, I had learned to value the record, which was to bear me onward to it. I leave it to metaphysicians to decide whether this was prophetic, an inborn form of my central principle, or whether it was merely the result of the associa-tion, which connected veneration with every adjunct of the parson and the parson's house. All there was venerable; the mighty wig, which enveloped his intellectual powers, as omne majus in se continet minus; the animal pig-tail which hung over his coat, and the vegetable pig-tail, which filled his iron clam. His garden was not like other men's gardens, nor was his house like unto theirs; for the one had a bee-hive, and the other a study. Ah! that study! To that I trace the misfortunes of my life. The idea of it has stood perpetually between me and success. Alas for the time, which I have wasted in dreams of a study, with its quiet contentment and its roundabout chair, unlike the modern instruments of torture, which have usurped the name; the ample fire-place, and above it that Catalogue, wherein were found names, worthy to be written in Latin. But empty are all human enjoyments; I have lived to have a study and a roundabout, and have found them naught. I have lived to see my name in the Catalogue, and to feel that it would have been better to have seen it in a list of stockholders. Even the Latinity I have come short of, since my baptismal name is Hebrew, and defies translation, and though there be a few capital letters attached to it, what avails it to him, to whom they are the only capital? Still, as the twig is bent, the tree 's inclined; though a roundabout cannot always bring ease to a centre of gravity, it is not without its charms; and though the Catalogue is not quite that assemblage of the great ones of the earth, which it appeared to the imagination of youth, it still retains much of its interest. When I look at the class, I remember, as if it were yesterday, when, under the excitement of strong feelings, and, perhaps, other strong things, we bade farewell to each other and to Alma Mater, and dashed out into the world to scramble, as we might, up the steep ascent of life. Nor did we pause, till, arrived at the table-land of existence, we looked around to see who of our fellows were left to descend with us into the vale of years. Nearly half had been foiled in the attempt, and a star in the Catalogue marks their failure. And of those, who have arrived, but few have gained much besides the experience of trouble and labor. If one companion has picked up wealth, by looking always on the ground, the many have been too eager to cast their eyes upwards to discern what lay at their feet; and some, in their eagerness to clutch at unsubstantial visions of wealth and distinction, have even let go of that, with which they started. "That man," said an old friend to me, as we conned over together the fortunes of his class; "that man once owned the house in which I reside, and the extensive property, which is now mine. He was a rich heir, and I a poor student at law." "And where is he now?" said I. "Where is he now? Why, he lives on Peegan plain, and gets a living by selling whortleberries for the Indian squaws on com mission!" HARVARD. LOVE AND WISDOM. THOUGH 't is affirmed, by learned sages, But since they loved, as well as we, |