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in of pag eee a VOL. wth ' All extremes are ATR the popesite, of etiet is not truth but error; truth lies between the extremes." STRATFORD. WEDNESDAY, in advance. SHPTHMBER 23, 1863. NO. 13. Select Poetry, What I Live For. I live for those who love me-- For those I know are true; For the Heaven that smiles above me And awaits my spirit too. For all human ties that bind me-- For the task by God assigned me-- For the bright hopes left behind me-- And the good that I can do. I like to learn their story Who've suffered for my sake-- To emulate their glory, _ And follow in their wake-- Bards, patriots, martyrs, sages, The noble of all ages, Whose deeds crowd history's pages, And Time's great volume make. I live to hold communion With all that is divine-- To feel there is a union Twixt Nature's heart and mine; To profit by, afflictions, Reap truths from fields of fiction-- Grow wiser from conviction-- And fulfil each grand design, T live to hail that season By gifted minds foretold, When men shall live by reason, And not alone by gold. When man to man united, And every wrong thing righted, The whole world shall be lighted As Eden was of old. T live for those who love me-- For those who love me true; For the heaven that smiles above me, And awaits my spirit too. For the cause that lacks assistance.-- For the wrong that needs resistance-- For the future in the distance-- And the good that I can do. THE ROMAN. EMPERORS. BY JOHN 8. 0. ABBOTT. Julian the Apostate. The emperor Constantius was a nominal Christian. His father, Constantine the Great, who had. discarded paganism and established Christianity as the religion of the Roman Empire, died, probably a sincere disciple of Jesas. But Constantius was a Christian opty as thousands of unprincipled politicians now are Christians; that is, he was nota pagan and he gaye his intellectual assent to Christianity. He regarded Christ- ianity as a potent instrument of power, and upheld it by the energies of persecution. Constantius was a very dissipated man, and he lived in constant dread that some one would rob him of his crown, His sway ex- tended over the whole known world, reigning without a rival from the Tigris to the west- ern shores of the barbaric island of Britain, and from the impenetrable forests beyond the Danube to the unexplored wilds of cen- tral Africa. His cousin Julian whom he | finally associated with himself inthe cares of em- pire, with the title of Czesar, was.a man of books, an earnest impassioned scholar.. He loved poetry and revelled in the wild my- thology of ancient paganism. He was just one of those persons..whom we now call politely conservative men, and more graphi- cally "old fogies." He clung to ancient superstitions and crumbling abuses, and was quite opposed to the innovations which Christianity would introduce. Constantius at one time despatched Julian on an exped- ition to drive back the barbarians who were crowding into Gaul. Reluctantly he laid aside the manuscripts for the sword, ex- claiming "O Plato, Plato ; what a task for a philosopher." But immediately upon entering the camp this scholarly man developed traits of char- acter which surprised every one. He shared in the hardships of the humblest soldier, sleeping upon the ground, engaging in all toil and partaking of the humblest food. He developed also astonishing military " the throne. ability--that ability which education in military schools can improve but can never confer. At Strasburg, on the Rhine, by fsagacious and prompt combinations with but 13,000 men, he assailed and put to flight, after a terrific battle, an army of 35,000 of the fiercest warriors of the north. Six thousand dead barbarians were left upon the field. In this conflict 6000 Roman cuirassiers, assailed by an overpowering force of the enemy, in a panic fled. Julian punished them by dressing them in women's robes, and matching them along his lines, exposed to. the derision of the whole army. Upon the death of Constantius in Tarsus, of Cilicia, the birth place of Paul, Julian inherited the throne. He at that time re- garded Paris as his headquarters... Three centuries before Julius Cesar had found this now renowned city, but a collection of fishermen's huts, called Luletia or the place The little village had gradually increased, and Julian, pleased with the loca- tion, had built him a palace there. Julian Was 35 years of age upon his accession to He immediately hastened to Constantinople, where he was crowned Em- peror in the year 361. This extraordinary man now resolved to abolish, and if possible to annihilate Christ- of mire. ianity, which his uncle had established, and toreinstate paganism Roman empire. throughout the Tt was an act of apostacy so bold and so determined, as to occupy one of the most prominent pages in ancient his- tory. Publicly and with imposing ceremon- ies he made a renunciation of the Christian religion, and declared his devout return to'} the old idol gods of Rome. Earnestly he entreated all the subjects of the empire to follow his example. Immediately he com- menced wielding all the power, which the monarch of the world could command, to crush the religion of Jesus. The idol temples were repaired and garnished.' Tdol worship was reinstated in the palace with all conceivable splendor. Every effort was made to render idolatry fashionable and popular by court patronage and by the most gorgeous sacred rites, in which ceremonies Julian himself often officiated as priest. The Christian churches were robbed of their property. Christians were ejected from all lucrative and honorable offices, and their places were supplied by Pagans. The Christian schools were broken up, and the children of Christians were denied educa- Even the infidel Gibbon, in allusion to the inveterate zeal with which Julian persecuted the disciples of Jesus, quotes the stirring words of Milton, in reference to the apostate angel Satan, as, from hell's dark domains, he wings his flight to earth, for the seduction and ruin of our race. tion. " So eagerly the fiend, O'er bay or steep through strait, rough, dense or rare With head, hands, wings or feet pursues his way, And swims or sinks or wades or creeps or flies." Thus Julian, throughout his whole reign, exhausted his genius and his energy in the endeavor to crush the religion of Jesus and to restore the worship of the pagan gods. At this time the great majority of the popu- Tt was the inexorable and almost universal rule of war that prisoners were sold into slavery. As the conquests of Rome were almost ex- clusively over white men, Englishmen, Spaniards, Frenchmen, Germans, so was the slavery of Rome almost exclusively white slavery. Those who say that our Saviour, while preaching that all men are brethern, approved of this slavery, know not what they say. A Roman army would attack and conquer a rebellious province beyond the Danube. The infant children and the aged men and women would be pierced with the spear or brained with the club. The vig- orous young men and beautiful women would be seized by the brutal soldiery and appropriated to their own uses or sold in the market. Often after a successful war the lation of the Roman empire were slaves. market would be so glutted that boys and girls, who may have been the ancestors of any white man who reads this page, were sold for, two or three shillings a piece. Negro slavery was then almost unknown. It was white slavery which reigned through- out the Roman world. The majority of the inhabitants of Europe are the descend- ants of emancipated slaves. How glorious in contrast are the teachings of Christ " Whatsoever ye would that others should do to you, do ye the same unto them." " Break eyery yoke and let the oppressed go free." And how noble our own declar- ation of independence: ' All men are born free and equal, and are alike entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." One of the most marked predictions of our Saviour was that the Temple, at Jerusalem, should be utterly destroyed and should never again be rebuilt. One half of the' prophecy was already fulfilled. The Roman armies, in the year 70, had sacked Jerusalem and demolished the temple, leay- ing not one stone upon another. Julian, with the ayowed design of proying Christ a false prophet, declared that he would re- build that temple which Christ had declared should never be rebuilt. He sent thousands of workmen to accomplish his task, resolved to restore the temple to more than its an- cient splendor. Encountering unexpected obstacles in his plans he eens exasperated, and, with redoubled energy, pressed' for- wed summoning to 'his aid all the' powers which a Roman emperor: could' wield. It was his, boast that he would rebuild the Temple, and, in derision of the God of the Christians, would establish there an order of Pagan priests, and thus enthrone idolatry, in its most imposing and offensive forms, in the Fey citadel of the faith of the Christ- ians' God. To his astonishment, Julian failed in this enterprise, and failed entirely. Whatever may have been the cause of this failure, the memorable historic fact remains forever un- deniable. A haughty pagan' emperor, to prove Christ a/fals) prophet, invited" the Pagan and the Christian world to see him rebuild, the Temple. ; To accomplish | the deed he put forth all 'the power which, the sovereignty of the world placed in his hands. And he failed ; utterly, utterly failed... The fact. stands forth as one of the most remark- able in history, avowed by Christians and admitted by pagans, that the Emperor Julian could not rebwild the Temple at Jerusalem. It is stated, and the statement is con- firmed by very iniportant testimony, that the workmen were terrified and driven away, by phenomena' which 'they 'certainly © re- garded as supernatural. The fiercest tem- pests assailed them; bolts of lightning' de- scended upon them, demolishing their works and destroying the workmen. Harthquakes shook the foundations they attempted to lay, and voleani¢ flames burst up through the yawning crevices.) Thus baffled beyond all power of resistance, the enterprise was com- pelled to be abandoned. Even infidelity can not subvert the test- imony whiclr sustains this narrative. It is recorded by Ambrose, Bishop of Milan; by the eloquent Chrysostom of Antioch, by the renowned Gregory Nazianzen, and by the Roman. historian Ammianus Marcellinus. This: latter writer says that 'no one dis- puted the fact." "While Alypias," he writes, ' assisted by the governor of the province, urged with vigor and dilligence the execution of the work, horrible balls of fire, breaking out near the foundations, with frequent and re- iterated attacks, rendered the place, from time to time, inaccessible to the scorched and blasted: workmen. And the victorious element, continuing in this manner, abso- lutely and resolutely bent, as it were, to drive them to a distance, the work was ab- andoned." The career of Julian the Apostate is too important to be crowded into one number. The remainder we must reserve for our next. InroxicaTING Drinks.--Eyen Sterne, speaking as a mere man of the world says, " T never drink--I cannot do it on equal terms with others ; it costs them only one day, but me three. The first, in sinning, the sécond, in 'buffering, and the third, in reputation." Correspondence. PRAPRALAPPAAPAARAARARARAADRADRDR ARRAN Jottings to the Enniskillen Oil Wells, To the Editor of the Perth Herald. Mr. Eprror,--Hayving business in' the neighbourhood of the Enniskillen Oil Springs, I purposed paying them a_ visit, and jotted down a few notes of travel on the way; if you think them worthy of publica- tion, they are at your disposal. Went. to the station at 2 o'clock, A. M., intending to go forward by the night express ; found the station crowded with American ladies and gentlemen, who had been detained since the previous afternoon in- consequence of a "stock train" breaking an 'axle, which de- tained the Buffalo Express; hence the con- nection with the G. T. R.. was not made. Of course the two Railways came in for a full share of invectives;.the one for not making the connection, and the other for not waiting until the train arrived. It is amusing -to. notice the impatience of the American travelling public. If there is any delay--whether avoidable or otherwise-- everything Canadian or English receives a passing thrust. You can generally arrange their conversation while travelling, under three heads. 1st. The unhappy Civil War that now rages. 2nd. The nature and ex- tent of the business in which they are en- giged, or speculations that they are about to undertake) 3rd. Abuse 'wholesale of everything that is British. After waiting. two. hours, we heard the sound of the approaching train; it was a relief to us all. ' All aboard," shouts the conductor. We hustled on the train.as well as we could ; a sleepy looking set to be sure. T finally got a seat in the hindmost car but one, hoping to get one nap at least, before our arrival in Sarnia. Just as Somnes had touched my eyelids, theclattering of voices began; and loud above all was heard two distinct voices--a democrat Yankee from down 'Hast, and a red hot Western Repub- licanx--The Yankee abused the Lincoln Government without' stint, and the Repub- lican defended itoas best he could. . These two champions, of course, kept us wide awake, and amused us considerably. The Democrat, [ think, had_ the best. of the argument. Don't faney I am Democrat, not so, I'm a Republican--still am willing to award the victor his conquest. In due time we arrived at Sarnia station, which is one of the most important on the G. T. R. I will just state that I think Mr. Brydges deserves very great credit for coaxing the through travel from: Buffalo. to. the West, via Stratford and Sarnia without change of cars, if I 'am right, this will become a favor- ite route with Western tourists, but one thing must be done; proper connections must be made at junctions without delay. Mine Host of the refreshment saloon must have taken a pile of postage stamps, for the delayed. tourists. were in time for a good breakfast. Here I bade adieu to my American companions, they rushed to the boat for Detroit, while I mounted the stage for the G. W. Railway station, Sarnia. Train all ready to start, purchased a ticket for Wyoming station, " All aboard !"" was again heard. After a quick run of 16 miles, the brakesman sung out "' Wyoming." Sure enough we were at the outlet of " sea of oil," figuratively speaking. You are aware that all the oil from the Enniskillen Oil Wells is brought to this station to bo shipped by. rail, which, of course, makes a large business here. Two daily stages run from Wyoming to Oil Springs. The road, although pretended to be planked, is very rough; the country is quite flat, but finely timbered. After a four hours hard ride, we came to our desti- nation. On the way we met probably a score of teams hauling oil to Wyoming; such an oily set of teamsters you seldom meet. I could not help exclaiming, "if such be the teamsters, pray what must be the workmen engaged at the wells?" Sure enough, they all seemed as if they had been dipped in erude oil, and put out to dry. This is not the worst part of it; such an odor! Oh deliver me! If any of our alone of the candidates Stratford friends intend. , visiting Oil Springs, I would advise them to go into our friend Dutton's Drug Store and get something that will blunt their olifactories, otherwise they will be apt to smell the de" licious odor of coal oil for three 'days afterwards. " Oil Springs is the name of the village that has sprung up like a mushroom. It has 1500 inhabitants, 1 newspaper, 8 small stores, 5 public houses, and 2 churches, (both Methodist) The buildings are nearly all frame,and appear to have been built with the expectation of being removed some day after oily fortunes are made: A School. house; about 140 scholars attending), There are 20 refineries, and about 60 stills... The number, of wells I did not learn ; they have no more.» spouting wells. . The quantity of crude oil, gathered in a day just now. from all the. wells is not more than 300 barrels; this time last year the daily yield was 5,000. This shows. conclusively that the oil has failed. The Shaw, and ~ other spouting wells, spouted out thousands of barrels that ran down the creek, and covered the low ground around. ° Parties are now engaged in making trenches and) dipping the water and oil out, and: putting it in reservoirs or large: tubs; the oil goes to the top, the water is drawn off, and .of course} the crude 'oil remains. One or two barrels a-day are got in this way, from each trench, which pays $5.50 to $6.00 a barrel. The opinion which obtains here is, that the oil has been forced to strata near the sur- face, and when wells are opened, the pressure, of the gasses below drive it up through the aperture. These' spouting wells: flowed of course until the pressure ceased--then they ceased. It is said. that wells of 150 ft. are-as deep as the deepest oil wells in Pennsylania. Sunborn & Co. have a well 500 feet deep. This is the deepest old well... New wells are being con- stantly sunk, and old ones deepened with 'the hope of getting oil. As the price increases, of course vigorous efforts are put ik to get new veins if possible. ; Some of the refineries are very large : the greater number are small, howeyer. The largest one is owned by the Canadian Rock Oil Co., or, what is known here as the Glas- gow Co. Mr. Lockhart, the. gentlemanly manager, showed me every attention. It is said the whole cost was about $50,000. They have 5 stills capable of holding 80 barrels each. The next largest belongs to the Phenix Co., Detroit; Farewell & Co., of Oshawa; Monaghan & Co., Toronto. The Sun oil well, although a small one, is a very excellent brand; stands No. 1 in Montreal market. The proprietor, Capt Lisk, showed me some oil that was refined by him. T applied a lighted match to it, but it extinguished the match like water--this showed the non-explosiveness of the oil. If all the oil was manufactured like this, we should not hear of so many unfortunate accidents from explosions. Another feature of this oil was, that it was almost entirely without odor., Dark straw colored oil is the best. Light colored oil contains largely of benzoine, which is very explosive, and burns away very rapidly. Stage being ready to start, was obliged to bid adieu to " Oil Springs." Met an old friend, Mr. F. Davis, for the St. Clair Division. I hope he will be elected, as he is an enterprising and respectable man. 'E. Oil Springs, Sept. 1863 Why is the letter O like the equator ?-- Because itis a circle dividing the gl-o-be into two equal parts.. "Have I not offered you every, advan- tage?" said a doting father to his son" O, yes," replied the youth ; " but L could not think of taking advantage of my own father." A puffing wine merchant having sent a sample of wine to Harl Derby, which he avowed was a specific for the. gout, sub-| sequently wrote asking for an order. The Earl replied, presented his pT ee ON to Mr. ----, &., 'and begged to say he had tasted the" wine sent, cer aie 2 the gout. " my ab