lived, who was not sensible of owing much, in the course of his meditations and inquiries, to the influence of some mechanical employment. It is a mistake, then, to suppose the time wasted, that is We candevoted in such a way. It is gained rather. It is made. not conceive of a situation, where the labors of the intellect, be they ever so pressing and intense, will not be promoted by intermingled labor of the body. What excuse is there, then, for those, who, living but for their pleasures, labor with neither one nor the other? They, who live by their wits, as it is called, have been proverbially addicted to living scandalously. Secluded thinkers are apt to become dreamers. Unceasing readers grow too full for true mental vigor. The proudest achievements of the mind have been made, when it has exerted itself in connexion with material substances and the visible world. Away then with the apologies of the indolent and the superciliousness of the proud. The lowest craft, on which an honest hand can be laid, is more honorable than any trimly-dressed uselessness, that ever had the insolence to despise it. F. THE ITALIAN EXILE. WHEN the minstrel is sorrowful, sad is the lay- There passion breathes out from the lyre and the lute, Years vanish-their trace on my brow you behold, Ye Pilgrims of Beauty, from barbarous lands, Lost thoughts of your youth will that statue renew; Italy Italy never again May the minstrel revisit thy mountain and plain, Yet a vision of bliss on his slumber there breaks, But to dream of thy shores, though an exile, he wakes. Thy present is beautiful; great was thy past; H. THE LATE JOSEPH NATTERSTROM. THE great wealth of the late Joseph Natterstrom, of New-York, was connected with several remarkable incidents, which, under the pen of a writer of ordinary imagination, might grow into a romantic tale. The merchant of the United States frequently traces the origin of his prosperity to foreign climes. He holds a magic wand in his hand, which reaches to the extremity of the globe; and, if he waves it judiciously, he levies, from all quarters of the world, princely revenues. The restless sea and its richest contents, desolate islands, and the most circuitous rivers, the cultivated territory and the interminable wilderness, are as much the merchant's, as the rain and sunshine, the warm breezes and the fattening dews are the property of the husbandman. But the embryo fortune of Mr. Natterstrom was not of mercantile origin. It came from the heart of Arabia, and grew out of an incursion of the Wheehabites-a reforming and fanatic sect of Mahometans, who date from Abdul Wheehab, of the last century. This man, like Martin Luther, thought a reformation in morals and discipline had become necessary. About the year 1790, Ebn Beg and Ibrahim Hamet were returning home from Mecca to Abou Jbee, a village not far from the Rumleah mountains. They had united religion and trade together, as is sometimes done here by the sons of Mercury. In performing their pilgrimage to Mecca with a caravan, they furthered both their temporal and eternal interests; for, on their return from Mecca, they encountered a party of those children of the desert, who believe they have a divine right to all the goods of this world, which they can conquer; and what they spare, they credit to their magnanimity and generosity; and herein they do not greatly differ from most other people. But the caravan of Beg and Hamet proved too powerful for the children of Hagar, who became the prey of the stranger. The spoils of that day enriched Beg and Hamet, for those Arabs had shortly before enriched themselves at the expense of another caravan. With joyful hearts these two men approached home, having left the caravan at the intersection of the road that leads to Aleppo; rejoicing that their danger was over, that they had honorably obtained an accession of wealth, and that they had become entitled to the coveted name of Hadgee. But there soon came a blast from the desert, which converted the shady spot, with which they had encompassed themselves, into a sand-heap. When within a day's journey from home, they met a man whom they knew. It was Ali Beker. Said they, "Is there peace at Abou Jbee?" "God is great, there is peace at Abou Jbee," said Ali Beker, "the peace of the grave." He turned his head away, and said no more. Their hearts withered within them. Soon after they met another man; as he approached them, he looked at them earnestly for some time, and then said, "Do I behold the unhappy Beg and Hamet!" and he tore off his turban and flung it on the ground. They passed on, neither Beg nor Hamet speaking to each other. At length they approached the confines of their village, and learned the whole. The Wheehabites had been there, and, being powerfully resisted and nearly overcome, they left nothing but a heap of ruins to tell the story. Beg and Hamet were now alone on the face of the earth. They made a circuit around Abou Jbee, took a last look, and passed on to Smyrna. There they remained some time, and studied the French and English languages. From Smyrna they sailed to Marseilles; and there they assumed the European dress, and studiously conformed to the manners of that people-a seemingly impossible change, from a Turk to a Frenchman. From Marseilles they proceeded on foot to Paris, and, after remaining there a few months, they saw such strange mistakes made, that, fearing they might lose their heads, without a chance for explanation, they passed on to London, where they felt quite at home. There they remained during the winter of 1793. Chancing to meet Captain Dixon of the New-York Packet, who had been in the Smyrna trade, they became attached to him from an accidental expression which fell from his lips at the New-York Coffee House. Some one had asserted that there were not twenty merchants in the city of New-York, who would pass for genuine merchants on the Royal Exchange of London-such was the mercantile honor of Englishmen. An appeal was made to Capt. Dixon, who, waving a direct answer, said, "If you wish to find mercantile honor in perfection, surpassing the comprehension of a European, you must go to Turkey. A Turkish merchant's word is better than a Christian merchant's bond; the word is sacred; the bond may be disputed. I have seen many a Turk, in whose skin you might sew up half a dozen very decent Christians." “Allah!” said Beg, in rapture, infidel has spoken the truth! I wish the Prophet could hear that!" This incident led to an acquaintance with Capt. Dixon, who gave them such an account of the New World, as excited their curiosity to see it. Accordingly they sailed soon after, with Capt. Dixon, for New-York. an Beg and Hamet now began to speak the English language pretty fluently; and, concealing that they were Turks, they passed through the principal cities and towns, unconscious of the fact, for very decent Christians. Among the clans of New-England they passed current for two Dutchmen of New-York or Pennsylvania; and at Baltimore they were supposed to be two Scotchmen, so prudently and discreetly did they demean themselves. They spent a year in the United States, the chief of the time at New-York; and during that time they found ample food for their minds. Hamet told Capt. Dixon, that he had brought him not only to, a new world, but to a new race of men; a people not really civilized, yet far from savage; not very good, nor altogether bad; not generally intelligent, nor altogether ignorant; a calculating people, who reckoned up their rights as often as they did their money. In fine, said Hamet, I perceive this is a very young country, but a very old people. As Beg and Hamet travelled through the states, they were surprised to find so much order and tranquillity among a people without any apparent government; for, during nearly the whole year, there was no appearance of any government. In divers provinces, each of them bigger than the pachalic of Damascus, a few men would meet once a year, wind up the government like a clock, and leave it to run at random; for, after the public agents, like a dispersed caravan, had hastened home, all signs of government vanished. "How different," said Beg, "from all other countries! where the first object of government is, to make itself seen, heard and felt; whereas, among this strange people, you can neither see, hear, nor feel the government." Beg was greatly diverted in attending a lawsuit at Boston. There were five reverend judges, he said, with twelve men to help them, aided by four counsellors of the law, who consumed a whole day, and part of a night, in settling a case of twenty-five dollars; and said Beg, laughing, the next morning, the jury, as they called the twelve men, came solemnly into court, and said they could not agree, and never should agree; whereas, said Beg, one of our cadis alone would have settled it in twenty minutes. A few days previous to Beg and Hamet's return to Smyrna, as Beg was passing down Wall-street, he heard a man say, as he was leaving one of the offices, "I don't believe there is an honest man in New-York." "O, yes there is," said another, as he was passing, "there is Joe Natterstrom." At that moment, an unaccountable trance-like feeling came over Beg, and a voice, which seemed to him audible, said, “Beg, before you leave the country, see Natterstrom and prove his honesty." Beg had not proceeded far, before he saw two men in conversation on the side walk; and, as he passed them, he overheard one of them say, "Can I trust him with so much money? are you sure he is honest?" " Yes," said the other, "honest as Joe Natterstrom." This second incident, to a Mussulman, who believed in predestination, was as imperative as the voice of the Prophet. Beg responded aloud, "I will see Natterstrom, and prove his honesty." Presently after he heard two men disputing, in Broadway, with no little passion, and, as he approached them, one said, "I will refer it to Joe Natterstrom." Agreed said the other." "So," said Beg, "this Natterstrom is also a man of judgement. I will certainly see Natterstrom and prove his honesty." The next day, Beg inquired for Natterstrom, and soon learned that Natterstrom had become a proverb. "As honest as Joe Natterstrom," was in every body's mouth; but he could find no one, who could give him any account of Joe Natterstrom. All agreed that no man in New-York was better known than Joe Natterstrom, yet no one, of whom Beg inquired, could identify him, or tell where he resided. "Pray, Sir," said Beg, to a merchant on the Exchange, can you point out to me Joseph Natterstrom?" "No," said he, "I cannot; but his name and reputation are perfectly familiar to me; ask almost any man, and he will tell you where he is to be seen.' To the same question, another replied, "I have often heard of honest Joe Natterstrom; he must be known to almost every body; but for my part, I do not recollect ever to have seen him; ask that gentleman, across the way, in a drab coat; he knows every body." Beg, then accosted the gentleman with the drab coat. "Pray, Sir, can you point me to Joseph Natterstrom?" "Honest Joe Natterstrom, do you mean?" "Yes, Sir," said Beg, "honest Joe Natterstrom." "O, yes, I know Natterstrom," said the gentleman in drab, "every body knows Natterstrom; there is no man in New-York better known than Natterstrom." "Sir," said Beg, 66 can you describe him to me?" "I would have affirmed, a minute ago," said the gentleman in drab, "that I well knew honest Joe Natterstrom, but I must confess I cannot describe him to you, and do not distinctly recollect that I ever saw him, but almost every body knows Natterstrom." Beg was astonished. 'Here," said he, "is a man honest to a proverb, and no one knows him. Honest men must be very plenty in New-York." 66 Beg now thought Natterstrom must be known at some of the banks; and he inquired at the City Bank, if Joseph Natterstrom ever transacted business there? "Do you mean horrest Joe Natterstrom?" said the cashier. "Yes," said Beg. "No," replied the cashier, "but we should be happy to accommodate Mr. Natterstrom if he wants a loan." The cashier of the Manhattan Bank said he had paid many a check drawn in favor of Joseph Natterstrom, but did not recollect ever to have seen Natterstrom; nor did he know at what bank he negotiated his business; but said, "Joseph Natterstrom can have any accommodation at this bank." In short, Natterstrom was known by reputation, at every bank in the city, and it seems, could have commanded their funds, but none of the officers knew him. The next Sunday, Beg was certain he had obtained a clue to the person of Natterstrom. The clergyman, on whose preaching Beg attended, (for, though a Mussulman, Beg believed a full third of what he heard,) spoke of Natterstrom by name, as a man of such integrity, that his name had become synonimous with honesty. But, to Beg's surprise, the next day, the preacher told him he did not know the man, nor where he resided, though he supposed he was the most familiarly known man in New-York: for he often heard the children in the streets mention the name of honest Joe Natterstrom. Beg, now in despair of ever finding Natterstrom, began to suppose he was an imaginary being; and, as there was not an honest real man in New-York, the people had conjured up a phantom, and given it the name of Joe Natterstrom. Yet this was not the fact; for, a few days after, as Beg was walking through Pearl-street, he saw two men in conversation, and heard one of them "There goes say; Joe Natterstrom; let it be settled by honest Joe Natterstrom." Beg now followed Natterstrom in order to obtain a knowledge of his person. "Allah!" said Beg, after he had obtained a distinct view, "he has the mark of the Prophet; he would not be ashamed to look the Sultan in the face!" The next day, Beg, with studied secrecy, Hamet himself ignorant of it, disguised himself like an old man tottering on the brink of the grave. He painted his face more cadaverous than the natural look of death. Then, taking a bag of gold in his hand, he sought an opportunity about twilight, when Natterstrom was just leaving his compting room, and slowly open |