Litchfield enquirer., 1861-06-20

assaults and damages laid at fabulous figures.
 In vain l reconstructed, but too weak to ar que, I succumbed to his will. Mir. Meggles was forthwith attacked, with the aid of my lawyer, on every vulnerable side. In three weeks the trials began. On the charge of assault MT. costs. On the claim for personal damages, he was mulctad in the sum of three hundred dol lars and costs
 Out of this wind-fall, I reserved the price of one coat. to replace the one demolished by my assailant and with the balance, paid up my pa per bill in full. After that, we had, once more, a quiet spell of weather in the office.
 s* x
 I DISPLAYED, in fancy types at the head of the Wolftown Banner line asserting that journ- al to be Devoted to Politics, News, General Literature Of the first of these subjects have already given my opinion and partial expe- rience and the reader may judge how much esteemed the life of politician. However, may as well confess that in the purlieus of Wolf town, politics were staple article, and proved the main support of my paper
 Moneypenny and the ins' of his party always paid or indorsed for me literally, to keep me go- ing, and only required, in return. the aid of the press to advocate their principles and candidates
 As the news, sometimes we had something of a local nature to communicate that might inter- est the world at large but this good luck tran spired very sedom Editorials, aside from po- tical squis' related principally to the fact that z. Jones, at the brickstore. had received nice stock of fall and winter goods for particulars, see advertisement ; or that " idow Ms hen had emulatad the goose ill the size of her last lay or that B. Beebe's boy had nearly severed his little finger from his left hand with a new penknife, presented to him by his grandma
 Foreign and domestic Eews generally ranged, in age, from seven to ten days older than in neighhoring towns. We had no railroad in those days, running within forty miles of us, and our p Jstal arrangement with Uncle Samuel precud ed tine possibility of obtaining mail ofener than once week. The time for the arrival of the mail was on Monday and our publication day w:ls Saturday. The ellpse of time between the two Was favorable for the selecting and set ting up the intelligence thus received but not at all advantageous to that freshness which adds d specific interest to general news. However we claimed, ill Wolftown, to be contented and philosophical people, 50 that items were grcedy dayoured, if they did strongly smack of nmtul- ity.
 The general literature department of the Banner was however, a flvGrte one with me For this 1 selected weekly from my limited number of exchange papers, some magazine ar ticle, by one of our best American writers, or an article from Household Words, conducted by Dickens ; a change, by the way. of which he is about as innocent as is the barnyard chicken unfedged.
 Then I used, every month, to borrow Godeys of Ms. Moneypenny, the only subscriber to that delectable but effeminate concern in all Wolf town. From this 1 would copy, in about six weeks, the entire contents, fashions and all but, of course, without the illustrations.
 Think not of Wolttown was without it's lite raly aspirants, or the Banner unavored witn contributions from pens more prolific than bless ed with genius. Far different the case, I assure you Some few of these favors attained to the dignity of print; but my office-stove oftener be- came the receptacle of thoughts that burned and words that breathed.' l once made cal. culation upon the number of Essays written on the respective characters of William Shaks- peare, Esq, and George Gordon, Lord Byron, both of some poetical celebrity in times past. I think, now, | was favored within ten months with one dozen of each. Of this number I was cruel enough to burn all but ene and that treat ed of Lord Byron. It was judiciously written, and expressed the most sensible views of the literary meteor that 1 had ever met with. It came autographed in bold, free hand which failed to recognize, and was, by oversight or ex- cessive modesty on the part of the contributor
 
 pesitor, wrote commentary notice of it, gave it to the world in the Banner and discovered, within a fortnight, that had unwittingy pub lished one of the best articles in Tuckerman's s Thoughts on the Poets.'
 used to receive, on an average, about ten ori- ginal 'pomes' every week from our village poets, accompanied by requests to publish them, will ly nilly'
 Now have always borne the character of an accommodating, generous fellow, among those who know me best; but I have been stigmatized by the literary crowd of Wolftown, as a conceit- ed, grabbed, ,cOnsunlmate, confounded fool'--and why2 Only because could never find genius or common-sense, or poetry in the rhymed effusions of Fanny Flowerleaf' Wilhenna Willow, Frank Firleaf' or Getty Greenleaf' These four never failed to send me at first from ore to six pomes' every week, which, like the PhG- nix, (not John,) seemed to spring from their own ashes in my stove, so very similar were they to their predecessors. They all harped on the same themes-love and death usually-and, bearing the same general features reminded me, by their similarity, of bundle of quills. In all was in- formed that:
 ssIn death we all must die; Forever leave the earth; In the cold ground must lie; And wait our spiritual birth.' ssI tell thee, thou fair one love thee! Forever thourt find me thy slave; Oh smile like the heaven above thee,
 On thy lover, and say thou wilt hare,
 Or he fain would lie down in his grave.'
 Had been averitable disciple of old Epicu- rus their constant and vivid pictures of mortal ity held so unremittingly and originally before my eyes, must have forced me to renounce my comfortable creed, and devote myself to an as cetic and anchorite life. My mode of escape I wasb by deferring' the publication of these po- I etic nso,ceaur, on accountof the croWed state I of our columns,' to some indefinite period; and then allowing the manuscript to be accidentally mlsiald, at the same time expressing my regret that the world had lost so much of poesy by my |carelessness.
 l found it necessary, often by severity, to eneck the cacoetlses scs.ibendi of some few an I neylng ones, who,e undiscuurared hv my hints expressed in Notices to Correspondents, con hnued to bore me, week after week, with their