Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1858-09-03
WHY LEFT THE ANVIL.
ny ELIHU BuRRIl

| see it! You would ask me what | have
to say for myself for dropping the hammar
and taking up the quill, as member of your
profession will be honest now, and tell
you the whole story. was transposed from
tho anvil to the editors chair by the genius
of machinery. Don't smile, friends, for it is
even so.
| had stood and looked for hours on those
thouyltess iron intelects-those fingered,
sober, supple automatons, they caught up
a bale of cotton and twirled it in the twink
ling of an eye into a whirlwind of whizzing
shrcds, and laid it at my feet in folds of snow
white cloth. ready for the use of the most
voluptuous antpodes. They were wonder
full things, those looms and spindles, but they
could not spin thoughts there was no attri-
butte Of divinity in them, and ! admired them
nothing more. They were excessively GU
rious, but | could estimate the whole COM
pass of their being and destiny in finger pow
er so | went away and left them spinning
cotton.
One day | was tuning my anvil beneath
heavy iron, and busy with the thought that
there was as much intellectual philosophy in
my hammar in any enginery a-going in
modern times, when an unearthly scream
reached my ears ! stepped to the door. and
and there it was--the iron horse, Yes, he
had come, looking for ii the world like the
great dragon we have read of in scripture,
harnessed to half living world, and landed
on the earth, where he stood braying with
surprise and indignation at the "base use" to
which he had been turned. | saw the gigan-
tic hexapode move with power that made
the earth tremblo for miles. | saw the army
of human beings gliding with the velocity
of wind over the iron track, and drovcs of
cattle travelling in their stables, at the rate
Of twenty miles an hour towards the city
slaughter er-house. 1t was wonderful The
little busy bee winged machinery of the cot
ton factory dwinded into insignihcance before
it. Monstrous beast of passage and burden
1t devoured intervening distance. and welded
the cities together! But for its furnace, heat
and iron sinews, il was nothing but beast
an enormous aggregation of horse power
And went back to the forge with unimpar-
ed reverence for the intellectual philosophy
Of my hammar
Passing along the street one afternoon, /
heard noise in an old building, as Of one
putting pair of bellows. So. without more
ado, stepped in, and there in corner of
room, saw the chef de aupre Of all machine.
ry that has ever been invented since the birth
of Tubal Cain. In its construction it was as
simple as cheese press. 1t went with a
lever with a lever stronger than that with
which Archimedes promised to lift the world.
" 1t is printing press said boy stand
ing by the ink trough, with a careless turban
of brown paper on his head. A printing
press /" queried musingly to myself A
printing press What do you print. / ask
ed. Print y said the hoy, staring at me
doubtplly, "why we print thoughts l"--
" Print thoughts :" ! slowly repeated after
him; and we stood looking for moment at
each other in mutual admiration he in tho
absence of an idea, and in pursuit Of one
But looked at him the hardest and he left
another inkspot on his forehead with pa
thetic motion Of his left hand TO quicken his
apprehension Of my meaning. why. yes,
he reiterated in a tone of forced confidence,
as il passing an idea, which though having
been current hundred years, might still DO
counterfeit, for all be could show on tho
spot. "wo print thoughts to be sure" "But
my boy" | asked in an honest soberness,
" what are thoughts, and how can you get
hold of them 7" Thoughts are what come