Mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado Co., Cal.) 1854-1860, 1858-01-23

CAu u@ou bUBSn tno most 0e8uuIul COnCeps
tons, sublime, thoughts, and striking
figures; it cen az the attention Of
large coAcOurses Of people, and enchain
them to one spot as by the power of mag.
ic; and 1t can perfectly mirror forth itself
before its audience and infuse into the
minds Of the hearers its own bright
thoughts Because Of the vast powers Of
thehuman mind, man can arouse to anger,
or melt to pity; can excite to bravery or
alarm with fear large numbers Of men,
women and children, by reason Of coin.
ing in his brain "thOu0ths that breathe" "
and scattering them among the masses
clothed in ''toOrds tAGt burn. y o--------.---'-
The utter disregard Of suffering, toll or
even death, which men exhibit when the
mind is wholly intent upon one object,
shows how mighty is its contracting pow.
CT. When reused by hope, this sustain.
ing influence Of the mind Is strikingly
exhibited. Suppose . mourner to be in
your midst; the last earthly tie Of his aE-
fectiOn has been severed, the last loved.
one has been laid in the grave, his heart.
strings are torn and bleeding; oil is dark
about him, despair 6aps her raven-wings
DER him and scatters midnight blackness
ell around him. Not word of love falls
upon his soul, nothing but the jeers and
scorn Of heartless world form bis por-
ton in the midst of his heavy calamities.
His cheeks are sunken ard his head hangs
low with sorrow. He bows to the storm,
and IL about -ushering his spirit out from
the tempest here, into the more fierce
tempest Of Gods wrath hereafter, which
shall fall with fearfulness upon the self.
murderer. See, the blade glistens bright.
ly ~ It is raised to do its fearful work.
In one moment more the sufferer shall be
inSenSible to all life's woes and try.
ing the unknown things Of eternity. But
look, the steel il dropped, FIRE flashes
from his eyes, schange comes DER him.
His mind begins to recover from the
shock Il has experienced and reasons
truthfully upon the past and present, it
floats out, upon its wings Of imagination,
far beyond the storm and darkness sur.
rounding it and revels in the clear sun
light Of prosperous and happy days yet
to come. Imagination returns and brings
as her companion, bright winged hope to
the prostrste mOUrner. He raises him
self from the ground and stands erect,
braving the storm like the giant old oak,
and pressing his way on to the bright fu.
ture which lies before him, ike as some
magnificent vessel plOws the toaming waves
and cleaveS the tempest as she makes her
way grandly into port. During the ter.
rorS Of violent storm upon tine ocean,
the pilot by'a proper exercise Of the
mind'ScOntracting, or concentrating pow
er, loses sight Of the terrible grandeur
surrounding him, which might make him
falter and quake with dread, by keeping
the attention of his mind and eye fixed
upon the point to be weathered. 1t is
the faculty Of centering Ill the power Of
the mind upon one object which gives the
commander Of an army 80 much cOOlness
and bravery in the crisis Of victory or de-
feat He views the position 10 becarried
with such intense interest that he sees
not the balls which fall thick % hail
nor the dead who lie scattered around
like autumn leaveS Il Is this and
kindred powers Of the mind which
enable the child of genius TO pour forth
upon paper his beautiful thoughts, it may
be, within . gloomy loft where the win
try blast comes in at the broken pane to
chill his body but without effect upon the
fire Of his soul, unless it be TO fan It to q
greater fame. The power the will is in.
calculable. BY it we bring into suhjection
every member of our bodies and make our.
selves, indeed and in truth, the lords ofcre-
alton around us. It il the piU formed
into fixed determination, beaming from
the eye, which gives that member such
power Of fascination. The brute creation
bow before it and cover at the feet Of
man. Some possess eyes which seem to
fash fire, and there are those, the con-
action Of whose brows and steady gaze,
will make persons Of weak nerves to trem.
ble and cause strong men even to own the
singular power. Whence comes the facina-
ting and commanding pOwerof the human
eyeI tdoes not lie within that small
organ, nor consist in the peculiar manner
in which the eye and br0ws are worked.
A babboOn might make the most severe
grimaces imaginable, but their only effect
would be q feeling Of laughter at an ap.
pearAnce 20 ridiculous. This mysterious
influence of the human eye arises from
the fact that the mind or soul beams
through it The stronger the mind,
therefore, as regards SOiA the greater will
be the influence Of the eye. Much the
better portion of the pleasure derived
from listening to an eloquent speaker, is
lost II you fail to see him. Why! Be.
cause bis eye kindles with Rre, bis body
feels the giant movings Of his mind, caus-
Ing him to live and act his thoughts in q
storm Of passion before you. Instead,
then, Of entering your mind and heart by
the ear alone. he pOurS his feelings in q
stream Of elOquence through the eye and
ear and takes you captive at his viii. 1t
is by the use Of this power the wise faith.
er governs his child by mere look, the
teacher preserves sub0rdinatiOn in hiG
school, and the king keeps IL subsection
his thousands OF subjects.
And, while the mind thus governs ma.
ny in c0ercivo manner, IL also holds mil
lions VI people In pleasing state Of SER
vitude. Walter Scott, though dead and
buried, still exerts an influence upon men
through his wOrkA. His visionary char
scters excite the feeling Of hatred, love.
or pity in hundreds Of persons who even
now hang with intense interest over his
pages; their Eyes al with tears or con-
tract and daFken with anger a. they give
themselves into the NOvelist's hand and
become truly, for the time being, his slaves
to be led WithEEROever be chooses. Nil.
tons Paradise Loaf and HOmet's Iliad Ne
It'll read with delight, though the minds
which gave their grand conceptions birth,