Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1830-03-10
STEAM.


MA. the grand circuit Of creation Anon
Ih,v. . bilious friend, who is great admir-
md imi,ator Of Lord Byron; that is ne al
fsc,, missnthropy, mas,icates tobacco, has
-. sh;r,s made without collars, calls himseh
miserable man, and writes poety with glass
of Gin and water before him. His gin, though
Car from the first rate is better than his poetry;
he latter, indeed, being worse than that oi
many authors Of the present day, and scareey
f, even for an album; however, he does NOT
think 50, and makes great quantity. AZ
hi, lodgings, 4 few evenings ago, among ON
er morbid productions. he read me enc emil
tied "S,ean, written in very blank verse, and e.
yiden,ly modelled after the noble poets" Dark
ness" in which he takes birds eye view OF the
v.rld 2 or 3 centuries hence, describes thing'
il general, and comes to conslus,on wi'"'
"steam was the universe 9" Whether II was
from the fumes arising from this piece Of
I"wri,en" vapor, Or whe Their had unconscious
" imbibed more hollands than my temperate
habits allow of, l cannot say, but l certainly
retired 10 bed like O,hello, "perple1ed in the
,,,r.me." There was ne" dreamless sleep Tor
me ,ha, night, and Queen Nab drove full gal
Iop through every nook aad Granny OF my
brain. Strange and fanrastical visions Hoated
before me, till ., length came one with all the
force and clsarness Of reality.
/ thought l stood upon a genie sven OF
ground, and looked down orr the scene beneath
me. 1t was a pleasant sight and yet srah-
ger Nigh, have passed i, by UNDECIDED; but
10 me it was as The green spot in the desert,
for there I recognized the haunts or my boy
hood. There was the wild common on which
had so often srampered "frae mornin sun
till dine" .kirted by jhe old wood, through
W hich The burn stole tinkling TO the neigho9r
ing river. There was The little ivy covered
church with its modest spire and immovaoie
weathercock, and clustering around lay the
village that l knew coataihed SO many Sind
and loving hearts. All locked just as II DIG
on the summer morning when lett 1t, and
wen, a wandering over This weary woIla 10
me The very trees possessed an individuality;
| the branc hes Of the old oak ('here was but
one) seemed to nod Familiarity towards me, the
music of The ripping water fell pleasantly
on nv ear, and the passing breeze murmured
Of home, sweet home" The balmy air vas
laden with the hum Of un.een insec,s, and FL
led with the fragrance Of . thousand common
herbs s. flowers; and to my eyes the pla"r lsok-
ed pIe,tier and plesssnter than any they have
since rested on. As gazed, the womanlsh
moisture made dim my sight, and l ieit that
warming Of the heart which every man who
has soul lha, f.els-let him go where he will,
| or reason how he will,-on once more behold
ing the spo, whrre he the only pure uAsullisd
part Of his existence passed away. Suddenly
the scene changed.
| The quie, smiling village vanished, and
a busy crowded city occupied its place The
wood was gone, the brook dried up, and The
common cut 10 pieces and covered with KING
Of Iron gangways. looked upon the sur
rounding country, If country u could be caileu,
where vegetable nalure had ceased 20 exist
The ia, Trim gardens the verdan' lawns and
swelling uplands. The sweet scented meadows
and waving orn fields were are all swept away
and fruit, and flowers, and heritage, appeared
20 be things uncared for and unknown. Houses
and factories, and turnp,kes, and railroads
were scauerrd all around, and along the
lauer, as if propelled by some UNSEEN internal
power, monslrous achines flew with incon
ceivablr swiitness People were crowdlng aud
| jostliag each other on all sides l mingled
| with them, but they were not like those had
| formerly known-ihey walked, talked, and
transacted business Of all kinds with as'onish-
| ing celebrity. Every thing was done in hur-
~; hey eat drank and slrpt in hurry; thev
danced, sung and made love in hurry; they
married died, and were buried IN hurry
| aud resurrection men had hem out OF Their
graves before they well knew they were III
them. Whatever was done, was done upoo
the high pressure principle No person sop
ped 10 speak to ano, her in the stree; ou' as 'hey
moved rapidly on their way 'he men talked
faster than the women do now, aud the
women talk, d twice as fast ever. Many
were bald and on asking he reason, was Civ
en- to understand they had heen great travel
lers, and ha, the rapidly of modern conveyan>
ces literally scalped those who journeyed much
in them, sweeping whiskers, eyebrows, eye
iashrs, in fact every thing in any way movea'
bic from their faces. Animal life appeared tc
be extinct; carts and carriages came rafting
down the highways horseess and driverless,
wheelbarrows trunded along without any VIA
ible agency. Nature was out OF fashion, and
the world seemed to get along tolerably well
without her.
AT the loot Of the street my attention was
a,tracled by house they were building Of
prodigious dimensions, being not less than II
stories high. On the top Of il several meI
were at work, when dreadful TO relate, The foo
Of one Of them slipped, aud he was precipita,
| .c,l T,dx