Grand River times. [volume] (Grand Haven, Mich.) 1851-18??, 1857-05-06

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periority,' if you wish to shew it, be moral,
and not longitudinal, and then we will bow
for to tell you the truth, entire nous, we
have nothing to boast of in that direction.
We said that Josephus loved to contem-
plate man in the various aspects of society,
and Western life gave him peculiar advanta-
ges for the study. There is an openness, a
frankness, and an approachability in the hab-
its of Western men, which amid all its
roughness he greatly admired. Under this
rough exterior he frequently discovered the
beating of warm, noble, and generous hearts
hearts pulsating to the calls of pity, be-
nevolence, or distress. His own nature was
in unison with the general temperament. He
had no sympathy with the cold, formal, I'M
bending ceremonial, which characterizes East
ern manners, and which not unfrequently
mars the usefulness of even good men, and
repels by a seeming hauteur and frigidity.
Josephus was, moreover, Christian man,
at least he himself thought so, although to
some minds who measure christianity by the
yard-stick, and by the length of the counte-
nance, and the sombre gravity of the extern
Or his christianity might be considered prob
lematical; but we believe he was right at
heart, his motives pure, and his aims correct,
even although he was found in all sorts of So
ciety; sometimes he would be found convers-
ing with the poor inebriate, sometimes, too,
in the bar-room, at others in the social circle,
and again at the Preside. In word, where
ever by direct address, or by the socialtv of
his habits, he could point word of advice,
he could stop the mouth of infidelity, or win
upon the affections, he was sure to be found.
True, Miss Prudery might turn up her nose
at the want of dignity, and Mr.. Stratlace
conclude that it was not canonical, but he
did not care, he chose to do his own work in
his own way.
Now the village, in which he resided, was
a manufacturing, steamboating, railroading,
bustling village. There was much of West
ern life, energy, enterprise, intelligence, and,
as we said, some piety; but the disease of
Money Mania had seized upon the whole
inhabitants-all classes were infected by it.
There was not house free. 1t had entered
into every dwelling place, and like one vast
leprosy had overspread the face of society.
The old medical book which gave sure direc-
tions how to avoid the disease, at the first,
and how to cure it when attacked they had
entirely neglected, or if ever they read or
heard anything from it, they neglected to put
the advice into practice, and so the disease
prevailed to an alarming extent and men
moved about their business, walking soul
cases, like caskets robbed of their jewels. We
could not say they lived, for life is a glorious,
heavenly thing; their life, if such you can
call it, was living death; and one peculiar
feature of this disease is, that the patients
think they are well; they can with great diff
ficulty be persuaded, from the good old book
even, that anything is the matter with them,
vi III CNci SuSil " IuouSuI oHIoiS Vic HIiiiu.
they will throw it aside as an unpleasant one,
and be off to their business to dissipate the
gloom. They never think Of dying; indeed,
if you listen to their plans and speculations
you will feel persuaded that they believe they
will live forever. Even the piety of the vii
lage was not proof against the disease. The
good old book if not literally laid aside, yet
its precepts were not proof against the ma
MIA. Hence no plan was put into effcctual
operation for the more perfect keeping of
Gods holy day. You could see vessels load
ing at their wharfs. You could hear the
creakng Of saws, the noise of the hammer,
the blowing off of steam, and the rumbling
of machinery-just as if the good old book
had never uttered the sentiment, "Remem-
Der the Sabbath day to keep it holy" Nay,
some, without any regard to the day, made
their journeys on it, and probably did their
office business upon it, or at least examined
their business letters, and planned for the
coming week.
This state of things caused Josephus much,
very much anxiety. How to remedy the dis
ease, how 10 alleviate the symptoms, how to
lead his townsmen, whom he sincerely loved, |