The Sun.
London, England, 1864-12-30 00:00:00

num.

Frederick Douglass to the Negroes.

Frederick Douglass, in addressing the coloured
people the other day in Baltimore, gave them some
advice, which we find reported in the Cambridge
(Md.) Intelligence; as follows :—" I now desire to
make some remarks to try coloured friends. By
the adoption of the new constitution your condition
is radically changed. You are, in one sense, free.
But you must not think that freedom means absence
from work. Bear that in mind. I would impress it
upon your minds that if you would be prosperous
you must be industrious. I would advise those
living in the lower counties of Maryland to stick to
their agricultural pursuits. I believe 150 dollars in
the country is better than 400 dollars in the city.
There they can live more economically, and there
are not so many temptations to lead them astray.
If the coloured people of Maryland flock to Balti-
more, crowding the alleys and by-streets, woe be.
tide them. Sad indeed w;11 be their fate. They
must stick to the country and work. They must
be saving with their funds, and endeavour to buy
land. They must continually strive to become land-
holders. Nor is this sufficient. They must build
up schools and educate their children. Hitherto
you were wont to pride yourself on your muscle.
He who could shoulder the heaviest burden
was the greatest man in the neighbour-
hood. But you need something else now. You
must have mind. You must make yourself capable
of thinking as well as digging. If we wish to
enjoy the same privileges as the white man, we
must labour to become his equal. We must educate
ourselves. Let us resolve to point the finger of
scorn at every coloured man who refuses to send his
children to school. Yoa will find that the more in-
telligent and refined you become the more your
white brethren will respect you. I hold that all
men are equal naturally but not practically. We
need not strive to conceal that we are inferior to the
whites practically. They have their Clays, Web-
eters, and Calhouns. We have not. They can build
ships, while we can scarcely build a canoe, and it
will be lopsided. In fact in all the arts and sciences
they are immeasurably our superiors. Now, if we
will be studious and faithful to our interests, it will
not always be so. The black man is just as cap-
able of being great as the white. All it needs is
an effort—a persistent, untiring effort. You have
now the opportunity and I trust you will improve
, it."

TIIE MISTLETOE, though found occasionally in
all parte of England, is more rare in the northern
and midland counties than in the south and west; and of
all counties, its chief home is in Herefordshire. It is well
known that of all trees, this dainty and captious parasite
likes best to grow upon the apple; and in Herefordshire it
has an ample field for choice, taking more kindly, it is
stated, to those trees whose fruit is white-fleshed than to
those which bear yellow-fleshed apples. Curiously enough,
too, though found so constantly on apple-trees it seldom, if
ever, grows on the pear, and never, spontaneously at least,
upon the beech, the birch, the holly, the walnut, the elder,
the sweet chestnut, or the laurel. Next to the apple-tree it
loves the poplar, the line, and the white-thorn, and is oc-
casionally round on the maple, the willow, the sycimore,
and the acacia. There can be very little doubt, that in by
far the majority of instances it is chance-sown, mos; pro-
bably its seeds have been dropped by birds, but that, from
some other cause not as yet understood, the wood of all
trees is not equally fitted to receive it and support it. Where
its seed has once found a congenial home within the bark
of a tree, like a true parasite. it drives the fangs of its roots
deep into the wood, whence it draws its sap and nourish
ment growing with its growth, and strengthening with its
strength.—Once a Week.
DEAD LETTERS.—The report of Postmaster Den-
nison shows an extraordinary amount of careless-
ness on the part of the letter writing community. There
were 3,508,325 dead letters received during the past year—
over 9,C00 a day. Many of these letters contained money,
deeds, bills of exchange, drafts, cheques, jewellery, and
other valuables. Some of them were misdirected, others not
directed at all, others unstamped, and others only partially
directed. Thousands of these dead letters were returned
to the writers, but the great majority had to be destroyed.
—.Yew .York Paper..