Oн, Time, how many painful things Purchased at Childhood's princely cost, They are the gifts of futile dreams A moment grasped, then wholly lost. My home! Oh, how that little word Which some would curse-but I behold Oh, Sister, does thy heart not ache To see the wrecks of things once dearDoes not remembrance often take A glance at each departed year- I know 'tis so; as flow my tears While thinking of the joys now past, When friends in name seem'd friends indeed, To him who toiled for their delight. We must not mourn that now are dead Their gentle spirits wrecked had been Take courage, then, a little while, A few short years can only pass, Ere death on us will surely smile- With firmness yet, oh, struggle on; TIME. BY ISAAC CLARKE PRAY. Он, Time, how inexpressible art thou! I feel thy progress cannot be controlled; Where Youth and Beauty both too quickly die? Thou heedest not! Well-stay not thy career- A vague report, at Tinnecum, had been going around for a couple of weeks, and gathering strength as it went, that a theatrical exhibition had been projected, and might probably take place at the inn. This, it appears, had some foundation, for the SELECTMEN were shortly called together to take cognizance of the matter; when the chairman of the meeting, swelling with importance, said he had received a communication, which he begged leave to lay before the board. Whereupon he thrust his hand into his side-pocket, and pulled out a letter, which he opened and read as follows: To the Honourable the Selectmen of the town of Tinnecum, the humble petition of GEORGE CHIPP respectfully showeth : That having fulfilled his engagements with the Metropolitan Theatres, he is at present prosecuting a tour which has for its end the promotion of the DRAMA in the provinces. His grand aim and object will be to resuscitate it where it has fallen into neglect; to uphold it where it is struggling; and in places where it has never existed, to give it that prominence as an institution of civilized society, which it has claimed in all ages; to vindicate it from the aspersions of its enemies, to establish it on a firm foundation as a school of morals, an adjunct of the pulpit, and a seminary for the rising generation. Mr. CHIPP is accompanied by his lady, whose celebrated versatility of genius will enable him to present for the approbation of his audiences some of the best creations of the tragic and comic school, with a cast of characters unequalled on any stage. In fostering the above objects, so dear to every lover of his country, Mr. CHIPP relies on the protection of your honourable body, and respectfully begs permission to give two successive representations of the legitimate drama during the evenings of the ensuing week, at which you are as a body invited to attend. And your petitioner will ever pray, etc. "There," said the chairman of the meeting, lifting his spectacles above his brow, when he had done reading, and wiping away the drops of perspiration which had started upon his forehead, "this communication come to me by special express yesterday, and I have pondered it a good deal, and had no rest last night, I assure you, gentlemen." "The public interest is always dear to you, Squire Sharkey," said the editor of the Tinnecum Gazette, speaking in bated breath to the most eminent man of the county. "A handsome compliment, and well merited," added Mr. Weatherby. "To be sure it is, to be sure it is," echoed all the board. A modest confusion overspread the face of the chairman. He rose from his seat, approached the fire-place, ejected a quid of tobacco, which had hitherto filled up all his cheek, and having thus gained a little time, returned to the table, and reflected on all present a self-approving and congratulatory smile. "I am glad my fellow citizens thinks well of my conduct," said he; "it is that what sustains me in upheaving the burden of this great community. You have justly remarked that the interests of Tinnecum is dear to me. Be assured of my cordial acquiescence, gentle men. Be assured that I wish to do what is right, and when that is the case, there is no difficul”, there is no difficul.” This prompt and generous expression of feeling on the part of the chairman received a most hearty response from all present; and the secretary of the board, who could hardly contain himself until the conclusion, rose up on his legs, his hair standing on end, and his countenance expressive of intense admiration, and beat the table enthusiastically with his two fists, so that the pens danced about, and the inkstand was very nearly overturned. 'I beg leave to move," said he, with a sparkling eye, which showed how much his feelings were enlisted in what he said, "I beg leave to move that them superhuman words be inscribed as a motto on the Tinnecum arms There is no difficul'; there is no difficul' !'" The chairman was completely overwhelmed. It is true that he thought he had always deserved the approbation of his townsmen, but this outbreak of honest feeling took him completely by storm. He wiped the corner of his eye with his knuckles, and when the secretary, with a delicate propriety, had put and carried the question without a dissenting voice, "Gentlemen," said he, "let us now proceed to the business of the board." The members obeyed the suggestion, and drew their chairs near to the table. The chairman then wiped his spectacles, placed them on his nose, elevated his eyebrows, wrinkled his forehead, opened the epistle of Mr. Chipp, and spreading it out before him, pressed it down hard with his right hand. He then took off his spectacles again, hemmed thrice, and looked round. A deep silence reigned in the room, unbroken by a single word. The hearts of the selectmen thumped audibly against their ribs, and they remained in utter ignorance of the course to be pursued. Perhaps they knew well, and could have stated, what their own desires were, but they held back with deferential awe. The chairman at last broke silence. "Gentle-men," said he, in that hushed whisper in which he always spoke when business of importance was pending, "the case is plainly this. We have a communication here from that eminent comedian, Mr. ChippSeveral members of the council breathed more freely. vened. 66 I But a long pause inter say, we have got a communication from that eminent comedian, Mr. Chipp; and we 'm now sot down to deliberate onto it. What we'd better do, will all depend on you, gentlemen, and your enlightened sentimens, guided in a measure, as I hope, by such views of duty A revulsion took place in the feelings of the members. By such views of duty as I shall lay before you. No doubt you 've all hearn tell of Theaytres, gentlemen. No doubt you know pretty nigh what they be. If you do n't, perhaps it would be extremely proper for me to inform you. I've examined that subject pretty thoroughly before I come up here, and from what I can find out, I'm compelled to say-gentlemen, I am compelled to say, that I am afeared theaytres is like some folks that I could mention in this community, no better than they should be," " Great emotion was manifested in the board when Squire Sharkey said this, and a sickly smile and approval of his wit. "And sooner," proceeded he, with emphasis, "and sooner, gentlemen, than the great cause of morals should be put into jeopardy at Tinnecum, I-I-I don' know what I would do!" 6 "A noble sentiment," ejaculated Mr. Weatherby, "and we 'll stand by you, Squire.” "Yes, we will!" exclaimed several in a breath. "The Press wont be backward in the present instance," said the editor of the Tinnecum Gazette, in a feeble, tremulous voice. "The press will be found a great moral engine." "What, sir?" thundered the chairman of the board. "What, sir?" exclaimed the secretary. "What, sir?" repeated all the rest. "I said that the press was a-a-a great moral engine," replied the editor, hesitatingly. "I hope I did n't say no wrong, sir." "Not a bit of it. Certainly not. I misunderstood your meaning. pardon, sir." "We ask your pardon, sir," echoed the board. I ask your "It's granted, with pleasure, gentlemen. The press, as I was saying, is a great moral engine, and I mean that it shall lift up its voice in this quarter against the corrupt stage." "The stage?-what stage?" said a man at the editor's elbow. We want a stage here. Do you mean to oppose a mail stage?" "If that's what your a-drivin' after," said another, "it's a pity your printin' ingine warn't heaved into the creek." 66 No, gentlemen, you misinterpret my meaning. I do n't mean to lend my columns to any such opposition. I am the firm and unflinching advocate of a mail stage.When I spoke of the stage, I meant the theaytre." you mean." "Oh-ah! That's it, is it? Then say what "There's no doubt that the theaytre is the wickedest place in the world," said the secretary. "Oh! certainly it is," replied Mr. Weatherby, with some degree of despondence in his tone. say, if "And since that is the case, gentlemen," said the president, with a severe dignity in his manner, 66 we had n't ought to patronize this thing. Certainly not, that is the case. The public morals is entrusted to us, and we 're bound to take care of them." If Mr. Chipp, of the great Metropolitan Theatre, could have looked into the assembly who were deliberating upon his case at this moment, he would have thought that the prospects of the drama, as far as related to Tinnecum, were very poor indeed. For the selectmen of the town appeared all to have their necks set the same way, and with infinite self-denial had brought themselves to toe what they considered the direct line of duty. Thus the matter stood, when a little, dark, bilious man, who had hitherto sat perfectly quiet at the board, and had taken no part in the proceedings, suddenly roused himself in his chair. Alas! alas! for the cause of good morals; if that little, dark, bilious man had only thought fit to have held his tongue, never had the reputation of that wild wight, Will Shakspeare, penetrated to these parts, and thou, Mr. George Chipp, great and swelling tragedian as thou art, would never have trod the boards at Tinnecum! But Mr. Chubbs, for that was the name of the personage already mentioned, took it in his head to speak out. "My christian friends," said he, "I'm pleased to hear you talk as you do. You speak like christian men. We don't want the dear Tinnecum youth to be corrupted by that devil's nursery. Our minister says he will have no such doings here, and that the theaytre is a notorious school of the devil." This little speech, which had been innocently put in with the best intentions, wrought wonders. Never had Squire Sharkey assumed such an air of offended dignity. He immediately drew himself up, and casting a terrible glance at the person who had spoken: "Sir," said he, “no dictation here. We want no dictation here. We shall submit to none." A sudden light seemed to break in upon the members of the board. They started eagerly from their seats, bent forward toward the discomfited moralist, and roared out in a furious voice: "No dictation, sir. We want no dictation. We shall submit to none." The poor man was nearly overwhelmed by so many speakers. But he endeavoured to bear up and support his cause. It was, in his view of the case, a sacred cause, and one in which the rising generation were concerned. "Gentlemen," said he, "I stated that the theaytre was the school of the devil." "Then, sir," replied the chairman, "you stated what you did n't know anything at all about. Have you ever been to the theaytre, sir?" "I can 't exactly say that I have; but-but-but-" "We want no buts here, sir; we want sound argument. If you've never been there, what do you know about it?" "Squire," said Mr. Chubb, with a cholicky expression of countenance, "I s'pose I need n't put my hand in the fire, to find out whether it will burn ?" "Insulting puppy! Do you mean to face me down here with your sophisms? Do you want me to demand the protection of this body? You talk about fire. Be keerful that you do n't burn your own fingers, sir!" This keen and cutting retort, enhanced as it was by a withering and demoniacal scowl, was received with the most uproarious applause. The secretary seemed acutely alive to it. His whole face was wrinkled up with smiles, and the tears fairly squeezed out of his eyes. At last he had to hide his head, out of feeling for Mr. Chubbs. "Oh! oh! oh!" whispered he, audibly, in the ear of the gentleman who sat next to him; "did you ever hear anything so severe !" The rest of the company, with less delicacy, fixed their gaze unremittedly on the obnoxious member, with an evident curiosity to see how he would look; and if I must state what was passing through their minds, they did think that he looked peculiarly small. Mr. Chubbs rose from his seat. "He's a-going out!" said they to themselves. "Now we'll have Mr. Chipp. It's high time that he went out. It's too hot for him here." What was the surprise of these men, however, when they saw the rash Chubbs actually gazing at the chairman with an unparalleled coolness, and only a little blacker in the visage than he was before! Squier," said he, in a tone half supplicatory, half interrogatory, "just let me ax you one question: Have you ever been to the theaytre?” 66 The chairman half rose from his seat, compressed his lips with great violence, so that his chin was covered with wrinkles an inch deep, and dropping his head on his left shoulder, without altering the position of his body, gazed sidelong for half a minute at Mr. Chubbs. Oh! that look! What a breathless expectation reigned in the town hall ! "Have I ever been to the theaytre?" Here the speaker again compressed his lips and paused; and then immediately dropping on his seat, and slamming his fist on the table, he added in one breath, and with a voice of thunder: "Have I ever been to the theaytre? YES! I was took to the play once-t, when I was a youth, and justice compels me to say, gentlemen, that -I was highly pleased with it!" The effect of all this was electric triumphant. The eyes of the members almost swelled out of their heads with admiration and delight. "Oh, Guy!" they all screamed; "only hark to the squire! The squire's been to the theaytre!" 66 "Yes, gentlemen, I have been there, although it was a smart spell ago; but I remember it as well as yesterday. It was when I was a boy. My uncle says to me, 'Bubby,' says he, 'you shall go to the play to-night.' And sure enough, when the night came, off we went to the theaytre. And when we got there, he sot me on his knees, and give me a hunk of gingerbread, and my pockets full of pea-nuts. Presently a wild Ingen come in, with a tommyhox in his hand. That frightened me, for I was but a child, and I hollered out. Bubby,' says he, 'it won't hurt you. There now, be a good boy.' First I wanted to go out, but bime-by I got used to it. And then I could have sot still all night.-This, however, was thirty years ago. And now, gentlemen, we have an application here from that distinguished comedian, Mr. Chipp; and with my strict notions with regard to justice, I do n't, when I come to think more on the matter, gentlemen, I do n't think it would be right to condemn him without a hearing. It is n't doing as we would be done by. It is not, you may rest assured." "Squire, your sentimens are noble, scriptural, and correct," said a member of the board, "and I honour them. If you have no objection, I should like to have that letter read over again." "Certainly," replied the chairman. "Mr. Secretary, please read that letter aloud for the benefit of the board." "There, This request having been complied with, the chairman exclaimed: gentlemen, I call that a very handsome letter. It is honourable to the writer and respectful to this board. It was only from the best motives that I hesitated. You all know my desire, gentlemen, to preserve the morals of Tinnecum entirely pure." The secretary grasped the hand of Squire Sharkey, and shook it warmly. "My dear sir," said he, "permit me, in the name of my associates, to say, that we have the fullest confidence that you will act for the best interests of this town and of this community." Squire Sharkey was much affected. He however went on to say: "What I propose, gentlemen, is this. Let us hear Mr. Chipp act this once-t, and judge for ourselves, and if we do n't like him, we won't never let him come here ag'in. That is easy enough. There is no difficul'. Will any gentleman make such a motion ?” It was immediately made and seconded, and the question put: "Those who are in favour of this motion, say "Ay.'" The walls of the building shook with a most hearty "Ay!" "Those who are of the contrary opinion, will please to say 'No.'" "No." "Gentlemen, somebody said No!'" Chubbs here rose up, unblushingly, and was about to speak, but a volley of groans and hisses was directed against that audacious man, which compelled him, after making several attempts to be heard, to sit down. The editor of the Tinnecum Gazette then took the floor, and having recovered confidence, thus spoke: "Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the Board:-Nothing was farther from my intentions when I came here this evening than to trespass on your patience; but, after what has just occurred, I feel myself compelled to speak boldly. We have here witnessed the spectacle of a single man creating tumult and discord in this body, |