Middletown transcript., 1872-02-24
La IN asssnla.a.

the last oosp leaves Sos 60rOpe. SD yr0m
that time until tho nest Msy. they hsve
no eommsnicssion eth IT, eivilissa world;
their year 10 divided into one long day
snd ons long night. For many mosthu
the sun never ssls throughout the tWessy-
four hours. he 10 seen desevibiue Bis
brilliant cirsuit IN the uosthesu skies. IL
July you watch bic descent towards the
horison till he seems to dip bic golden
edge into the sea then. seeuliug 70 pausc
10 bis coursc for . momeut. Be. uouuts
again into the heavens. While 10 we're
there, month lister tho son disappeared
for lees than four hours; bed vstehsd
his setting q 10 r. NJ. covering tho ssa
and shy With gold and purple. but The
heavens remaiocd bright with . mellow
light. BY which l read during The brisf
night. snd u I o'clock A. NJ. he reap
pcared 10 glory. This wss = novelty.
aud I felt free from the slavery Of hours.
but that prolonged day brought With Il .
strange excitement. / knew not when to
retire or when 70 rise. Belle called ~ 10
breakfast, lunch aud dinner; bells called
% 70 repose and aroused ~ from our 6tful
slumber.
This lengthy day is followed BY m
equally long night. which brings mental
aud moral depression. Men are nopiug.
sesty, imaginative. aud appear colorless as
potato sprouts growing in . dark cellar.
Even the dogs suffered from the prolonged
darkness. Yet Greenland Is not without
some bouniics Of Providence. During the
brief summer the valleys are green with
grasses and MOSES. Some flowers have
been found as far north ms 80 degrees
Of course there are no forests but, as u
substitute. quantities Of drift wood from
North American rivers arc gathered on
the coast and used for timber. But IL M.
turc is scanty in her supply Of vegetation.
she is abundant in her supply Of fish, fowl
and beast, The waters abound in sal
mon. Goldfish, sturgeon, whales, the wal
rus and the seal. The very air is some.
times darkencd with ducks. geese and
quail. But the reindeer, the walrus. the
seal. and the bear are Of the greatest val.
ucs 10 the Esquinaux. both for food and
raiment. What the coconut palm. that
tree Of hundred uses, is to tho people Of
the Indies and the olive tree is to the in
labitan,s Of Palestine. the reindeer is to
the people of Greenland The acsh. the
tongue. the marrow Of the bones are deli
caccs the blood is ncurishing heve.
rage; j; the skin not only furnishes cloth
ing imperyious TO the cold. but also tents
aud bedding and out Of the bones and
horns are made all necessary household
utcnsila When an Esquinax catches
reindeer, he has, on four legs. lar.lcr
well filled. wardrobe well supplied. .
house we'll furnished.
Bear hunting is one Of the mos, exciting
scenes Of the popular regions A large
she bear. with four months old cub. was
attacked. frs, by the dogs. which she
caught up and flung 6r,t one and then
another. TO great distance. During the
struggle the cub was wounded By pistol
ball. At once the mother placed the cub
between her hind legs, and showing II a
long sought flight; but. wounded herself.
she faced about. .ose upon her hind quar-
icrs. placed the cub between her hind
legs. and bade defiance to her prrsuers
Wounded again she fell dead. and the cub
mounted this dead body of its mother, and
continued the fight till captured
Since the day Of job there has been no
snch patience us is now displayed by the
Esquimaux. when in winter he is hunting
the seal. Having nsoe,aincd where the
seal is gnawing beneath tho ice tor n
breathing hole, the hunter pcrforatcs the
spot with slender bone rod, with point
Ut one end aud knob ut the other. which
is moved BY the seal in coming to the sur
face. This may occur in twenty -four
hours. The hunter then builds wall Of
snow. four feet high. to shelter him from
tho wind. Seating himself behiud ii, he
places by ;,is side his spear aud lines. lie
must preserve the utmost silence, that hr
may hear the seal At work and not cause
fright TO the animal. lie even binds his
knees together with q thong to prevent
the rusiliug Of his clothes. and there he
sits for twenty -four hours waiting the COM
ing Of the seal 10 the surface, when be
cautiously rises with spear in hand, and
the long sought for seal Is bis.
NfvgR TOO OLD TO LEARN. We should
never consider ourselves too old to learn.
Socrates. at an extreme old ago. learned
to play on musical instruments. Cato. NJ
80 thought proper to learn the Greek Ian.
euaec; Plutarch commenced the study Of
Latin when between seventy and eighty |;
Sir Henry Spcl,nan neglected the sciences
in bis youth. but commenced the study Of
them after he bad turned Atty Alter this
time be became most learned antiquar-
ian and lawyer. Dr.. johnson spplicd
himself to the Dutch lsneuagc bat I iew
years before bic death. Frsoklin did not
fully commcnce bis philosophical pursuiss
uutil he reached bis ahieth year.
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Hon plsasant anrpeiae 4 4 ioo sec tho