Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1859-07-13
EDITORS CORRESPONDENCE.

60
Dear Spirit A man while on a jaunt, -
ant help seeing thousands of little things, =.
unless he close his eyes, or keep well on a -
,pree most of his time; and yet thousands of II,
persons pass through the world observing y
of the most interesting objects, without ~
being able to communicate them in such q "
as to clothe them with any interest D
to others. =
That is too much the case with your cor :;
respondent but he proposes to make the :,
attempt in order that he may add some inter- +
est to the columns of your excellent and :
widely circulated paper. By the way, many :.
of your readers do not consider the vastness r
of the field open to them to converse with the :
thousands, through the columns of the Age.
If ! am not misinformed, your circulation is .
largely in advance of any paper in the State. !
Five thousand subscribers, | believe, seems .
to be your standpoint, sometimes more, some !
times less. 1t would be as easy for your
many warm-hearted, generous friends to make
it 10000. 1t is nearly double as cheap as
any weekly in the State, and there is not a
family in the commonwealth, which has two
or more members. who would not be inter-
ested and profted by its weekly perusal. A
circulation of 5000 gives us the opportunity
of cooperating upon nearly $4,000 minds weekly,
and 10, 200 subscribers would insure an au-
dience of nearly 50,000l Now, to move this
mass of mind for good, is worthy the effort of
the philosopher, the philanthropist nay, it
is not too 4s a&SS w1 H6n this prologue.
Washington is the port of entry, as you
know, to the waters of Tar River not Tar
River, as some of our fastidious, primp, affec-
ted fellow citizens would call it, but the hon.
est, time honored old Tar River. But bear
in mind, it does not derive it's name from sal
lor TocLr from tho Oroat orfioIo of oonn-
merce, tar, which used to employ so many
hands, but it IS an easy corruption of the In
dian word tau, and is made permanent by
custom and the ease with which it is ~enuncia-
ted. 1t was a little amusing to see the Jaw
wringing produced by the attempts of plain
folks to call it tao or tau, so unused were
the people of this section to the ta0isting ope-
ration.
The own lies along the river for upwards
Of a mile, and spreads out not quite half the
distance. 1t is consequently a n oblong
square, with the streets running at right an
giles. Tn stores, of which there are quite
enough, are conveniently situated for bust
ness, and the principal dwellings are arranged
in the two long streets that stretch the whole
length Of the town, running parallel with the
river. On Front street, besides dry-goods and
variety stores, dwellings, ct Get, the two Banks,
u - SAANN DANSO kNhOO u "a 0ANN
the principal Hotel are located.
The most careless observer on visiting this
place, will be struck with the extreme value
!, the early settlers put upon land. They mus
, have been of the old Anglo-Saxon stock, with
: whom land was a sine 9uG non. The streets
are about the width of ordinary alleys in gu
2 towns generally, and would about answer 70
a good, airy, side walk. Two teams meetin,
. on the streets must observe some care in pas
q sing, to avoid a lock or a smash up. Tn
), same liberality was observed in the laying O.
4 of lots, the houses being crammed together
as closely as possible, as if to avoid the dis;
u greeable necessity of making calls, or to a
ford each neighbor the high qualification
" inspecting the others laundry, or to know &
= a glance what each had in his dinner pot
" There is, however, economy and wisdom
y the arrangement. 1t saves Ldnd-the stree
ID are kept in good order at less expense-un
ia brellas can be dispensed with, as the beaut
. FIJI fEIps Gins g SOFA ean EsFrss the %s anse 6 ,pg g!SEtinhgg IS s Ct 8
e if you want a neighbor to hear-fatigue
sc avoided, 1t you must ruiz for the doctor, an
b. so on nor do they know any more abo'
other peoples business, than other towns v
" wot Of whose lots are measured by bro;
acres. For the reason that there appears
IS be much cultivation and refinement amor
D. the people, and enough to do, at least in fo
mer times, to make it necessary for each OF
d" to mind his own business.
e. There are five Churches here, but they fu
nish sitting to not more than half of the pc
- ~ulation. They are, / am told, not usual
well filled, with perhaps one exception, i.
$ the Methodist Church, the other congreg
if tons being ordinarily smaller. OF our
\ there must be many who seldom or nev
visit Gods house, whose time on Saba
10 must be spent idly, if not viciously. l a
p not prepared to judge of the ordinary cour
things take here III that matter, but to S
y grown up men on that holy day congress
y" ting at the Hotels or at the corners of t
OF streets, smoking cigars, talking politics
turning over the scandal of a place, while
sweet Sabbath morning bell is calling W.
shippers to the house of God, is a mark
50 barbarism and bold infdelity, which 1 tr,
1g does not mar the moral face of this otherw
re interesting and lovely town.. Indifference
bt this matter among genteel people, is so {
IDENTIFY a downward step, that | hope not
et see it in our North Carolina towns.
We l observed one popularity which STIR
Nv me as out of taste, if not positively pernici
to health and that was on the small plot
ground allotted to each Church, the d
have found a resting place. Some of tn
grounds are rearly filled, and they lie nea
III Cne HcdTC Vi Tie populdIlOn. LIE huU
tor tiles, | learn, are contemplating the locat
of a Cemetery beyond the limits of the to
re, The business prospects of the place, apr
tai to be on the decline. Formerly, | learr
rty its tonnage was large and a brisk trade
lie carried on. A good number of vessels
ms still owned here, and a respectable coas'
rec and West India trade exists, but it does
ass compare with its former state. The turf
ray tine trade is nearly done, which gave S
to activity and life to business. The lun
- business which formerly gave employmer
zen so many hands and which had decline,
by. now reviving.
wo- A traveller with half an eye will see
nds glance what the place lacks. Ingress
e of egress are difficult. The old methods of
lor- ell to reach it are still kept up. Few per
visit it on that account, and farmers seek
hey er marts rendered more convenient to t
by the introduction of Rail Roads. A
SER Road from this place stretching westwar
hey the only hope of the place. The last L
in lature granted a liberal charter for one
ave this place to Leaksville in Rockingham
t no as yet no movement indicative of the S
If of success has been made.
) do This whole region may be made a ga
That spot. Cotton and corn may be ~cultivat
IS of an unlimited extent, which farmers ere
ion- will doubtless see, and thus increase
hopes and prospects of this place.
emf Two things, | conclude, on a slight VII