Burlington hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1845-185?, 1851-04-17
STEAM.--How wonderful are the rev.

/ SIEAM.--HoW wonderful are the rev.
olutions which steam has wrought in the
world! The diamond, we are told, is but
pure carbon; and the dream of the alche-
mist has long been to disentom5 the gem,
in its translucent purity, from The sooty
mass dug up from the coal-field. But
If the visionary has failed to extricate the
fair spirit from its earthly cerements, the
practical philosopher has produced from
the grimy lump gem, in comparison to
which the diamond is valueless-has evok-
ed Titanic power, before which the gods
OF ancient fable could not hold their heay-
en- an hour; power welding the ,hun-
derboit of Jove, the sledge of Vulcan, the
club Of Hercules; which takes to itself the
taiaria Of Mercury, the speed of Iris, and
the hundred arms Of Briareus. Az, the
carbon gives us, indeed, the diamond af-
ter all; the white and fea,hery vauax.that
hisses from the painting tube, is the rfice-
less pearl Of the modern utilifarian. With
out STEAM man is nothing--a mere zoolo-
gical specimen -Monboddo' ape, withou,
the caudal elongation Of the vertsbrte.
With steam, man is everything. 4 crea-
ture that unites in himself the nature and
the power Of every animal; more wonder.
!ul than the orniihorhynchus--he is fish,
flesh and fowl. He can traverse the ILL.,
mitable ocean with the gambolings Of the
porpoise, and the snort Of the whale; rove
through the regions Of the earth with the
speed of the antelope, and the patient
strength Of the camel; he essays to fly thro'
the air with the steam-wing Of the aero
nauticon, though, as yet, his pinions are
not we'll fledged, and his efforts have been
somewhat Icarian. And, albeit our own
steam aeronavigation is chiefly confined to
those involuntary gamhols Gas S,erne
happily called Sancho's blanket tossing,
stance Of an exploding boiler, yet may we
have good hope that our grandchildren
will he able TO stake the wings of the
morning." and sip their cup of tea cenu-
inc at Pekin. He is more than human, and
little less than divinity. Were Aristotle
alive, he would define the genus ''homoa
neither as "animal ridens," nor ret "an-
imal sentien<," ba, "animal YAroRAx.."
True it is, doubtless, that man alone can
enjoy his joke. He hath his laugh, when
the monkey can bu, grin and the ape iab-
ber- his thinking he share, with the dog
and the elephant; but who is there that
| can "get up the steam" but man? MAN."
. say we, sis an animal that vApoRErH!'
and we vii. wager one of Stephenson's
patent high-pressure engines against our
cooks potato-st steamer, that DR. Whaiely
will affirm our definition.
TRUE SOCIAL DlGNITY,-To be
ashamed OF their origin is, Just now, in
| American Society, the weakness ofthe lit
tie minds that compose il. The man who
acknowledgement that the money NJ .ne ac-
bled him 10 buy that carriage wa. earned
by his father, dollar by dollar, with toll
and patience, in tan yard, behind the
counter OF shoemaker's or tailor's shop,
or by honest industry in some other use
ful occupation, below SO called the grade
of the merchant or professional man; as ii
! the man did not honor the work, ana not
the work the man.
To such let Daniel Webster speak
Hear him:-"It did not happen to me 10
be born in log Goblin, but my elder bro
! Tiers and sisters were born in log cabin,
raised among the snow drifts of N. Hamp-
shire, at period SO early that when the
| smoke first rose from the rude chimney,
and curled over the frozen hill, there was
no similar evidence of white mans habi-
tation between it and the settlements on
the river Of Canada. Its remains exist
make it an annna! visit. carry my chill
| dren to i, TO teach them the hardships en-
dured By the generations that have gone
before them. love to dwell on the ten
der recollection, the kindred tics, the ear
ly affections, and the variations and incl
dents, which mingle with all l know Of
this prima.ive family abode. weep TO
think that none of those who inhabited it
are now among the living, and if ever !
fail in afsec,ionate yeneratonsfor him who
raised it against savage violence and de-
struc,ion, cherished alldomes,ic virtues be-
meath its roof, and through the FIRE and
blood of seven years. revolutionary war,
shrunk from no toll, no sacrifice, to serve
his country, and raise his children to
condition better than his own, may my
name and the name Of my posterity be blot
ted forever from the memory Of all man.
kind"
And we will add, that he who is asham-
ed Of the poor father and mother, whose
honest labor supported him in childhood
and whose daily Toll was taxed to give him
the education by which he ha. been ena-
bleG to rise to condition above the one
they occupied, is unworthy TO be the as
sociate Of wise and good men. All such
will despise him; and no matter how lofty
he may carry his head, he is nothing in the
estimation of Americas true noblemnp.-
Home Gazette.
An elderly gentleman, accustomed to
indulge entered the room of certain
inn, where sa. grave Friend by the fire.
Lifting pair Of green spectacles upon his
forehead, rubbing his inhamed eyes, and
calling for hot brandy and water, he CON-
planned TO his friend that ''his eyes were
getting weaker, and even spectacles did
not seem TO do them any good" "I'll tel
thee. friend" replied the Quaker, "wha,
! think. If thee was TO wear thy specta
cles over thy mouth for few months, thy
eyes would get sound again.