Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1861-06-05
WHY LEFT THE ANVIL.
BY ELIUU BURRITT.

cry. Don't smile, friend, it is even so.
stood and look ed for hours on those thought
less iron intelects, those iron fingered, sober,
| supple automatOns, as they caught mp ball of
cotton and twired it., in the twinklng of an
| eye, into whirlwind of whizzing shreds, and
iald 1t at my feet in folds of snow white cloth,
| ready for the use of the most voluptuous
| tlpodes They were wonderful things, those
looms and spindles; but they could not spin
| thoughts-there was no attribute of divinity
| in them, and 1 admired them nothing more.
| They were excessively curious, but could
estimate the whole compass of their being
and destiny in finger power; so went away
and left them spinning-cotton.
One day was turning my anvil beneath
hot iron, and busy with the thought that there
was as much intellectual philosophy in my
| hammer as in any enginery going in modern
| times, when a most unearthly scream pierced
my ears. l stepped to the door and there it
was-the great iron horse. Yes, he had come,
looking for all the world like the great dragon
we read OF III the Scriptures, harnessed to half
living world, and just landed on the earth,
where he stood braying with surprise and in
dignation at the ssbaSe use" to which he had
been turned. l the gigantic hexapo0
move with power that made the earth trem-
bic for miles. | saw the arm of human beings
gliding with the velocity of wind over the iron
track, and droves OF cattle travelling in their
stables at the rate of twenty miles an hour to-
wards the city slaughter house. 1t was won
derful. The little busy, bee-winged machin-
cry of the cotton factory dwinded into insig-
niicance before it. Monstrous beast of pas
sage and burden, 1t divorced the intervening
distance, and welded the cities together!
But for its furnace, heat and sinews, it was
nothing but beast, an enormous aggregation
of horse power. And | went back to my forge
with unimpaired reverence for the intellectual
philosophy ofmy hammer.
Passing along the street one afternoon,
heard noise in an old building, as of some
one putting pair of old bellows. So, without
more ado, stepped in, and, in a corner of
room saw the chef d'ouvre of all machinery
that has ever been invented since the birth OF
Tubal Cain. In its construction it is simple
as cheese press. 1t went with ever-with
a lever longer and stronger than that with
which Archimdes promised to lit the world.
ssIt is printing press,' said boy standing
by the ink trough, with q careless turban OF
brown paper on his head.
ga printing press!'' Iqueried musingly to
myself. ga printing press. What do you
print ?'' | asked
s'Print 20 said the boy, staring at me doubt
fully; 'swhy, we print thoughts
ssPrint thoughtsl" l repeated after him
and We stood looking for moment at each
other in mutual admiiation-he in the absence
of an idea, and | in pursuit of one. But l
looked at him the hardest, and he left another
nk-spot on his forehead, from pathetic mo-
tion of his left hand to quicken my apprehen-
sion of his meaning.
sWhy, yes,'' he reiterated in tone of for
ced confidence, as if pressing an idea which,
though having been current hundred years,
might still be counterfeit, for aught he could
show the spot, sswe print thoughts to be
sure.''
ssBut, my boy" asked in an honest sober
ness sswhat are thoughts, and how can you get
hold of them 20
''Thoughts are what comes out of peoples
minds,' he replied. 'sGet hold of them in
deed ! Why, minds aren't nothing you can
get hold of, nor thoughts either. All the
minds that ever thought and all the thoughts
that minds ever made would not make ball
as big your fist. Minds, they say, are just
like air you can't see them they don't make
any noise, nor have any color; they don't
weigh anything. Bill Depent, the sexton, says
man weighs much when his mind has gone
out Of him, as he did before. No, sir all the
minds that ever lived wouldn't weigh on ounce
troy
ssThen how do you print thoughts If
minds are as thin as air, and thoughts are thin
ner still, and make no noise, and have no sub
stance, shade color, and like winds, are
anywhere in moment, sometimes in heaven,
and sometimes on earth, how can you see them
when caught, or show them to others 10
Ezekiel's eyes grew luminous with a new
idea, and, pushing the ink-roller proudly a
cross the metallic page of the paper, he re-
piled: ssThoughts work and walk in things
that make tracks, and we take them tracks
and stamp them on paper, iron, wood, stone,
or what not. This is the way print
thoughts. Don't you understand ?''
The pressman let go the lever, and looked
interrogatively at Ezekiel, beginning at the
patch on his stringless brogans, and following
mp with his eye to the top of the boys brown
putt cap. Ezekiel comprehenGed the felicity
of his illustration, and wiping his hands on his
tow apron, gradually assumed an attitude of
earnest exposition. | gave him an encourag
ing wink, and so he went on
''Thoughts make tracks, he continued i'm
pressively, as if evolving a new phase of the
idea by repeating it slowly. Seeing we assem-
ted to this proposition inquiringly, he stepped
to the case, with his eye fixed admonishingly
upon MS. 'sThoughts make tracks, he re-
peated, arranging in his hand score or two of
metal slips, ssand with these ere letters we can
take the exact impression of every thought
that ever went out of the heart of human man
and 'toe can print IL to- give US paper and ink
enough, till the great round earth is blacken-
ed around with coverld of the thoughts, as
much like the pattern as two pins.'
Ezekiel seemed to grow inch at every
word, and the brawney pressman looked first
at him and then at ME with evident astoDis-
ment.
'sTalk about the minds living forever !"
exclaimed the boy, pointing patronizingly at
the ground, as if minds were lying there in
capable OF Immortality until the printer reach
ed them helping hand. ssWhy, the world is
brimful of live, bright, Industrious thoughts.
which 'ud have been dead as stone if it hadn't
been for boys like me, who run the ink-rollers.
Immortality, indeed! Why, peoples minds"
he continued, with his imagination climbing