Minnesota weekly times., 1855-05-15
SATURDAY, MAY IL, 1855.
sTEALtNGs FROM PRIVATE LETTERS,

sTEALtNGs FROM PRIVATE LETTERS.
P--,l don't necessarily stand for ''pumpkins;
bat if that vegetable is to be accepted the con-
Ncntional emblem OF superior calibrc, then the
-. who wrote what follows. stands con-
fesSel rs .somc considerable" OF that same
typical esculent. The premeditated diatrbes and
rompoas tiahorAtons of that celebrated individ
nal who exists somewhere in every community
under the general appellatcn of :. ''literary indi
,iIual'' and who invariably wears spcc.aclcs to
..wach the waning moon'' and cultivates palo-
ness AMI dirty fnyernails as cardinal vir:ues--are
genorallv ''smail potatoes to another vcgct-
able expression.
But for the pure Juice of literature gives Us
the sparkling buildings up of the home brewcd FAM
cv, the spontaneous aud impromptu overfowings
Of the heart in .'etter home' such as this of
P--'s which we have partly begged and
partly stol n from an escrtore all full. we know
OF ''th;nss"-as Lamb calls some of his choicest
pieces rich 10 quote among the ostcntatious
common-p,accs of Daily Journal.
All this is said, not so mach te intro luce the
following extract from an Off hand private letter,
as to introduce p himself, who. though
guilty of spectacles, is too refreshing an exam
PIE of genuine merit without sicky airs or pale
prctent;on, to be permitted to - hide his lcht''
any longer. lie will contribute to the Times here
after probably:--
..lou spoke. in a former letter, of having read
Mandatory book on Minnesota, at which &c
seized with paroxyslns of Western fever end
ing with his proposing summary emigration
hitherwarjs. | wonder if that wasn't Bonds
hook, Minnesota and its Resources" lie lays it
on pretty thick and not always with discrmna-
ton, bnt in the main, it is well meant (and quite
successful. ED.) attempt to state things as they
are, rather as they were, and to picture them
as they ought to be. The author am we'll ac-
quaintcd with. He is Jolly, open faced, indus
trous person, a resident of 81. Paul, who has re-
Gently returned from 4 pilgrimage unto the East,
unto the shrine IIymenial. Catch physician
gupng hs own decoction. Bonds advice
10 take Minnesota girls for wives, if you could get
'cm. Bat Il has set our Singlenesses good
ample for all. St. Paul Isl city Of frontier bach
cors. The poor fellows have crawled Westward
TO escape the arena Of operas and the coaxing
uitcherics Of soft eyes. They came, as they sup
pose, TO the land OF the swarthy, or at the uOrSt,
cream colorcd squaws, and are dismayeI to find
that blooming Yankee girls have preceded them
an follow quickly in their wake. Poor fellows!
Well there's a very Pacific Ocean awaits them
Lille further westward. There's a brusgeness, for
al though. about our western bachelors. They
have caught the free air of our praries. Our sun
has licked ,hs green pallor from their faces and
left there his embrowncd hue of health. They
are a better breed than the straight laced whim-
pering genus of your :'fxcd socictv.'' 1t is new
e:theless p:t;ful to think Of the affrighted sun
costing daily his disraught beams into tier Of
d;sicvellel companonless hunks stretching East
ana West through our town. 1t would certainly
cal:vcn your tidy housekeepers to witness some
OF our masculine efforts in their line.
In fact everything has changed here from things
rs they are with you The difference is obvious
enough, bat it requires residence among us to
appreciate fully the contrast between Eastern and
estcrn life. That spirit Of turbulent, of-hand
energy which constitutes q material element Of
Western growth is here apparent in every thing.
our climate superadds something that quickens
.hc step and insts sort of feyersh and exult-
ant furry in oar movements. St. Paul being
the capital Of Territory Of great promise, natur
ally attracts young men Of talent and ambition
who would grow up with the country. On this
account We are somewhat representative and cos
Inopolitan in character. | doubt if any other
place exhibit more of that effective wide
awake, work-day capacity, which is peculiar
ly fitted to carving out new communities. Grades
and marks Of distinctive classes measurably
o5itcratcd. Prctcnson can scarcely live here
Oar society is new and things are vet in less in
A. Il. L
I've rubbish cloggiag our economic wheels--few-
er hindrances to the assertion of real merit. The
people jnste each other familarly and prctenders
have little time and no hiding places in which to
cloak themselves. Our Politics is curious hy-
brid. Much of our loose spending money finds its
Ultimate footing in Uuclc Sans exchequer: and
this promotes much charitable feeling all around.
We re tolerablc refuge also for shelved politians
from the States. Government favortcs who have
been 8 sacrificed" through popular fanaticism
here nurse their easy virtue and earn their thirty
pieces Of silver in fat Land Offices; and political
rcncgadcs essay, amid Our green hills, to air the
putrid villainy of their Nebraskaism.
Thus you will see that We sort of recep-
raclc for disappointed persons in political, pecu-
nary. social, and matrimonial affairs throughout
the country. But we min.le fratcrnally together.
Ponderou' personagcs of obese and dilapidatcd
dignity with satternly yellow Hoosiers, brawny
voyaseurs with city cxquistes newly arrived, form
together Il jolly crew and the way they drown dull
care. during our long winters, in the mazy dance
and behind = 4O' horses, startlcs the comprehen-
sion of slow folks
SLOW many wants." saith j. p. F., an old
gentleman whose principal business seems to be
to try botanical experiments with exotic garden
seeds, and moralize on general subjects, ''IIow
many wants. quoth he musingly, ''depcnd on
one want. For want of rain, the river is getting
short of water; for want of water can't get logs
down from the Pineries; for want of logs the mills
have to stop and we're out of lumber; for want
OF lumber have to suspend building operations,
and mechanics want employment; for want of
houses rents rise. and immigrants unaccustomed