Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1858-01-15
From the Stylus tBethany College Maga1ine.)

/ FROM tne StyluS NbetnAny SoueBe SAa6aA4AS-(
| GEORGE ID. PRESTtcE.-Our College World
was thrown into no small degree of excitement
not long since, by the announcement that the
renowned poet, wit and edltor-George u.
Prentice-woud deliver his lecture on the
| Present AsDect and IendeHcies of american
Politics, in the basement hall of the College. y
The hour having arrived for the lecture to be-
gin, the lecturer was introduced by our venera-
Bile President to the audience, which was very
large, considering that the evening was quite
unfavorable. OF course our expectations were
on tip.toe. We were lead to expect, through
the medium of news paper comments and from
/ several individuals who had heard Mr.. Prentice
deliver his lecture, that it was mastery COM
position. But, after hearing it, we were fully
convinced that ample justice had not been done
it, much less that it had been over-rated As
! nm intellectual effort it surpassed any of the
kind we ever had the pleasure Christening to-
The subject matter of the composition was
skillfully and philOsophically arranged, and or
namented throughout with the most beautiful
and apt Illustrations. The lecturer showed
himself to be fond of the classics, and his illus
trations drawn therefrom were elegant and APP
propos. For instance, in abiding to those mo-
BILE patriots and heroes, who, in few years
back, have been removed by death from the po-
| litical arena, he says; ATLAS has gone to the
| HesperideS; and ther is no one to support thee
skies. Ulysses has gone on his wanderings,
and there is no arm left at Ithica strong enough
to bend his natchless bow" In addition to elo-
quence and pathos, the lecture was enlivened by
many brilliant flashes OF wit, and characterized
| by some of the most whitening sarcasm OF
one-horse, selfish politicians, he drew most
| life-like and humorous sketch; and that 1t was
not over drawn, the slightest investigation into
the characters of majority of our public men
will testify. Mr.. Prentice indeed gave us gloo-
1 my view of the tendencies of our politics. Such
a state of things is painful in the extreme to
| contemplate. 1t seems that there is not the
feeblest spark Of patriotic fire left in the breasts
4 of our public men. Not enough of moral cour-
age TO cause them to sacrifice one iota of seit-in-
terest to the goodoftheir country. This sketch
too, though gloomy, no one will consider eNag-
gerated, if he will Lut take the pains to view
things as they are and not let a fOlish, fulsom
enthusiasm, which he mistakes for the love of
country, blind him to its real condition. tits
to be too true, that it is not with our modern
statesmen like it was the distinguished Athcnian,
Pericles; whose "rulng principle was "irst my
country, and then myself" nor as it was with
Alcibiades, the nephew of Pericles, whosemottO
was first myself and then my country" but
"fi' st myself, then-nothing.
BooT AND SHOE MAREET.-Since the COM
mencement of the year, dealers have been chief
ly occupied in consulting together as to the best
standard of credits for the coming season. The
/ majority have expressed their redinesS to adhere
4 to limit of six months, with notes payable at
bank but this loose agreement between dealers
we are not inclined to regard as likely to be pro-
ductive of the desired reform in their credit sys-
TEN; and upon the recurrence of few seasons
the trade will, in all probability, fall to its for
mer level of indulgence. The stocks are quite
moderate, both in manufacturers and jobers'
hands.
There is much diversity of opinion as regards
the activity in the trade next spring-conse-
quently in some quarters but limited prepare
lions arc being made and few goods putin hand
Others, under the belief that the long cessation
in manufacturing must have reduced the stocks
at the eastward to n low figure, are converting
the raw material with much freedom, relying
upon present prices being fully maintained un-
der n fair demand during the spring. AT all
events the business, from present appearances,
will not open fairly until the middle or latter
| part of February.
In the interior scattering trade will be car
ried on with few whose stocks are nearly eX-
hausted, and appear in the market looking after
cheap bargains.
From what we can learn. we conclude that the
business of collecting from the western and
southern traders, particularly the former, is not
attended with very hattering success. The nu-
mcrous extensions which have been granted
have necessarily involved our merchants
much embarrassment, and they are still suffering
much from delinquency on the part of those on
whom they relied for the means to eXtiDguish
4 their liabilitieS.-FiOm the N. y. Post.
EVERY harvest isa sort of miracle; that so de-
fenceless a thing as a grain of wheat corn,
with earth and air full of foes, should, year after
year, shine through the garner-clefts in seam
j ings of gold, and fill half the world with the
harvest-hymn.