The Potter journal. [volume] (Coudersport, Pa.) 1857-1872, 1858-08-26
Chulre Reaning,
f,us7 H4.per's .FagagiFs for September.
The Family Newspaper.


deuce Of lhe family, considered in the
leh Of a domestic organization. As
ucu are better governed, as trade and
coInLiCrce are conioruled to natural laws,
as the various interests Of citizenship in
their bearing on the buslacss and general
wriiaTe gt the community are more fully
app.ecia(ed, the privacy aud sacredness OF
j me become More essential 10 the Sta
b.iity and growth Of society. At the
saute tine, the outward World acts with
greater influence Oh the tireslde. Civil
Institutions, prosperous industry, mechan-
ical ilnpfJfements, dilIusing Intelligence,
contribute TO the strength and happiness
Of the family. Aud, in turn, the family
p nmotes the advancement Of the state.
\ bcnihcent Interchange of good offices
]: hus maintained, each working in lis
0 u pr5yidential sphere for the good Of
+ other, and both combining their re-
spcctige agencies in the onward march OF
hInanity.
Never has home occupied its own
ground more completely than at present,
and B2yeF has the external life Of society
J en more closely connected with Its
character aud condition. \ modern
hou ,chJld is a miniature world, insulated
within lis own realm, exercising its own
rreroga'i and enjoying its privileges,
without Disturbance. Amidst this Sc
c,u.ion, it is intimately identified vi, h
I ie movements Of the age; it is, more
than e part of the brotherhood Of
mankind ana nothing can happen o. the
glubo that does not affect It's crcumStan-
ces. Every day places its pri, a for
tunes at the mercy of those changes
which are always going on in mercantile
sad national affairs. \ storm on the
ocs4I sinks its treasures, and battle In
India covers its walls with the shadow Of
death. But it is equally open to the me-
liorating influences Of civilization. The
great world takes no step forward that
home does not feel; ard as nations ad-
vance in the arts OF neace there Is ! deep
er significance given to marriage, child
hood rises to happier destiny, aud do
'L,8stic piety utters psalm OF deYouter
thanksgiving.
Among those ties which bind the ex-
tcrnal life Of society to the family we may
Hsme literature as one OF the strongest
and most Important Every man Of OBJ
servation knows how much the domestic
idea has entered into modern writing,
and what a marked change in the modes
and manifestations of creative thought
Las been produced since authors became
conscious Of the kind of patronage they
were to receive. IGdeed, the spirit OF
criticism which has been developed OF
late years in the private circle OF tie fam
ily has done more to elevate literature
than all our dQgm2ti0 reviews. Aud what
is sill more striking, the vast increase in
the number OF those books written for the
quiet hours of home, and especially for
the hands Of women and children, their
yapid gain, both in quality and quantity
over selecter- works Of science, shows US
that the intellect Of the world is enlarging
It's relations and coming into nearer con
tact with household mind. We rank this
fact among the most hopeful signs Of the
age. Whenever literature draws It's in
spiration from such a source, it must
gather the best Of wisdom as we'll as the
noblest of aspirations into itself.
But our present concern Is with the
newspaper in the family. The period
has not long passed when the newspaper
vas almost exclusively an organ for such
thoughts and communications as were
understood to have reference to men and
sheir pursuits. Business, politics, and
such other distinct interests as specially
appertaiped to professional and mercan-
tile ,ifa, occupied its columns. One sec
ton of the world, and it extremely limit
cd. was under the watchful eye OF the
editor. and his vocation was restricted to
a Jealous oversight of its affairs. \ man
among men, he had no other standard
than manly intercourse prescrIbes. His
ranCe.was narrow, and often his temper
narrower. But when the free spirit ofan
awakened and enthusiastic era penetrated
into the operations Of society; when.
above all. mind, as mind, received an hon
est and liberal recognition when intel
lect was liberated from It's inthrallment
TO classes and Fictitious associations and
taught to think and speak for kindred
intellect, wherever it had its abode then
the newspaper. first to herald the dawn
ing age and first to shine with Its early
light, spread its irradiating beams over
the broad surface of human life. The
change so effected, amounting to revo-
luton. proved most beneficial. If it did
rot restore the days of chivalry, it created
moral and social knighthood that refined
sentiment and improved character. 1t
made the editor something more OF a man
BY bringing the conventional rules OF 50,
n,nt,. - hnor ,,nor, him onh hr snhStl " L