The Litchfield County post., 1828-06-05

await her in this country. There are cer- tain occupations, in which she may assist her husband with this knowledge, and should she survive him, and agreeably tn the custom of our country, be the exec utrix of his will, she cannot fail of deriv- ing immense advantages from it.
 4. An acquaintance with geography, & some instruction in chronology, will ena- ble young lady to read history, biography and travels, with advantage, and thereby qualify her, not Gnly for a general inter- course with the world, but to be an agree able companion for a sehsible man. To these branches of knowledge, may be ad- ded in some instances, a general acquaint- ance with the first principles of astrono- my, natural philosophy, snd' chemistry, particularly with such parts of them as are calculated to prevent superstition, by explaining the causes, or obviatng the eff fects of natural evil, and such as are capa- ble of being applied to domestic or culina- ry purposes.
 THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA.
 From Washington Irring's acork entitled, ' 7he Lite and Voyages of Col~apbass''
 On the morning of the 7th of October, at sunrise, several of the admiral's crew thought they beheld land in the west, but so indistinctly that no one ventured to proclaim it, lest he should be mistaken, ,and forfeit all chances of the reward the Ni- na, however, being good sailor, pressed forward to ascertain the fact. In little while flag was hoisted at her masthead, and gun discharged, being the precon- certed signals for land. New joy was awakened throughout the little squadron, and every eye was turned to- the west.- As they advanced, however, their cloud built hopes faded away, and before eve- ming the promised land had faded into air. The crews now sunk into degree of de- jection proportioned to their recent excite- ment, when new circumstances occurred to arouse them. Columbus, having observed great flights of small field birds going to- wards the s. w. concluded they must be I secure of some neighboring land, where they would find food and a resting place.
 He knew the importance which the Portu- guese voyagers attached to the flight of birds, by following which, they had discov- cred most of their islands. He had now come 75O leagues, the distance at which he had computed to find the island of Ci- pangO as there was no appearance of it, he might have missed it through sume mis- ,ake in the latitude. He determined, ,there- fore, on the evening of the Eth October, to alter his course to the southwest, the di- rection in which the birds generally flew, and continue that direction for at least two days. After all, it was no great deviation from his main course, and would meet the wishes of the Pinzons, as we'll as be inspir- ',ing to his followers generally. For three days they stood in this direction, and the further they went the more frequent and encouraging were the signs of land. Flights of small birds of various colours, some of them such as sing in the fields, came flying about the ships, and they continued to- wards the southwest, and others were heard also flying by in the night. Tunny- fish played about the smooth sea and heron, a pelican, and duck were seen, all bound in the same direction. The herbage which. foated by the ships was fresh and green, as if recently from land; and the air, as Columbus observes, was sweet and fragrant as April breezes in Seville. All these, however, were, regarded by the crews as so many deiusions beguiling them on to destruction and when, upon the evening of the third day, they beheld the sun go down upon shoreless horizon, they broke forth in clamorous turbulence. They exclaimed against this obstinacy in tempt ting fate by continuing on into boundless sea. They insisted upon turning home- ward, and abandoning the voyage as hope less. Columbus endeavored to pacify them by gentle words, and promises oflarge re- wards, but finding that taey only increased in glamour, he assumed decided tone.- He told them it was useless to murmur i; the expedition had been sent out by the sovereigns to seek the Indies and happen what might, he was determined to perse- were. until, by the blessing of God, he should accomplish theenterprise. Colum- bus was now at open defiance with his crew, and his situation became desperate. l--Fortunatcly, however, the 'manifes- tations of neighbouring land were such on the following day as no l0noer to admit