men who can afford independent.. o voice forth on the side of our conm n humanity,

" Thoughts Chat broathe and words that bum," ~"""~ Gold is a wonderful power, and will procure a thousand things, houses, lands, luxuries, shares. It may be transformed into asoveroign, but not into the sovereign mind but the men will como in Heavens good time ; the men whowillprove bytheir actions the advantage of systematic toil over every grade of deceit; who will show by active"example, that the noblest life, that which contributes most to individual and national prosperity, is the life which is the most virtuous, the most angelic, and the. most God- like.—[ Blackmans. Memoir of William Cobbett, (unpublished)

Brian and Brass.

INTELLECT and impudence have a great influence in the economy of the present age, and it is rather difficult: to toll which is really the most powerful. Sometimes one predominates in an individual, some times the oilier, and sometimes both are wanting. Occasionally they aye found equally combined, but general'y we see a very little brain and a good deal of brass, which enables the possessor to make considerable noise in tho world on quite a small capital. He unblushingly sounds his own name far and wide, imagining himself to be the most wise, talented, and remarkable man of tho ago ; and the less brain lie has the more noise he will make. A man of real merit id generally quiet ;in<\ unpretending, and seldom appears before the public until his true worth brings him there, and often, for want of confidence in his powers, 'is born lo blush unseen.1 The mass of people do not know the difference between real worth and the tinkling sound of brass. They are apt to attribute a man's success wholly to the one or tho oilier, according to their pre judices ; but. on the whole, the noisy man, if ho has tact enough in his compound, can cast the man of genius completely in the shade, and the mass will follow after him with as much admiration as smaller bojrs do aftor the organ-grinder. A little of this metal in the composition of man's mind is excellent, because it serves to harden the tender nature of genius against the rough blows of iho world, which might otherwise crush its delicate form. But too much retards all progress in the pos sessor. Such a man can never be told anything that he docs not already know ; and no one can convince him, not even with the plainest truths, that he is in error. He is 100 wise <o learn, even from wisdom herself, and lie is never troubled, as men of genius often are, by meeting a superior ; and, unlike wise men, the older he grows the more he knows, in his own opinion. A wine man, as he advances in knowledge and science, sees so much before him which he cannot comprehend that he is never troubled with an uneasy sense of his own wisdom. He takes an enlarged view of human nature, and what little knowledge lie has acquired more than his fellows looks to him but a drop in the great ocean of science. Thus it is very easy to tell a wise man, even if he is by nature conceited. "Wisdom, if anything will conquer human nature in this respect. "Whenever you meet a man—no matter whether he is n noted politician, poet or philosopher —who has tho appearance of thinking himself a great man, you may safely conclude that there is a grcaS deal more for him to learn n this world. Ho has not taken the first step towards genuine wisdom, which is to have a realizing sense of our own ignor ance. It was the boast of Newton, the most, profound and originalofinvesf igators, that the more he learned tho greater was his sense of the littleness of his knowledge. Yet he had scanned the depths of tho invisible and visible world, and drawn lessons from the ' vast profound' which have been accepted by the wisest of man kind as tho actions of physical cause and effect. And yet how little brass had brain here !

A Sharp Arraingment.

A letter recently published from President Martin, of tho Park Com mission, to Comptroller Green, charg ing the latter with overstepping tho limits of official courtesy, and seeking indirectly to ignore the existence of three out of four of the Park Commis sioners, has excited considerable public curiosity. The writer is certainly an adept in the use of what Smollett called the language of ' sneer,' and if the Comptroller could be snuffed out by a deft use of polished abuse and insinua tion, the letter would be potent in the extreme. It may be said, to conceal much more than it reveals ; and there is an inquisitive spirit abroad to-learn what is at the bottom of the bitter feel ing against Comptroller Green on the part of tho Park Commissioners. The Park Commission is one in which the people of New York take a deep inter est. They aro especially interested in know ng that the Central Park is look ed after with care, as it is not alone a thing oJtbeauty and a joy forever in it self, but it stands alone as the only puble undertaking in the metropolis of thcWestern World that can take rank ■wiih the great places of popular recrea tion in Europe. Comptroller Green in speaking, among other things, yester

day, to a Hekald reporter, answered, on being interrogated as to the condi tion of the Park Department, that he thought it was grossly mismanaged; that the experienced and efficient men in various positions in the Central Park were being turned out to make room for the bummers of Tammany Hall. 'They have put in five men' said he, ' where in my time only one man was found neccessary They have done nothing toward forwarding the incompleted plans, and the indications are that they will essay some such ab surd improvements as Sweeny and Hilton undertook, but were fortunately prevented from carrying out. \ou re member the old Arsenal and the plan which, under my direction was started to trail ivy around its walls and give it an antiquo appearance Well, Mr. Hilton had all the ivy creepers torn down and the walls painted. He had the marble and bronze statues also painted, and the great work to which Professor Waterhouse Hawkins gave his best efforts, that of building up from a fragmentary part the whole structure of a prehistoric animal discovered in North. Carolina, was broken up and buried. The present Commission, as it is now controlled, has about as obtuse a sense of tho requirements demanded of such a place as the Central Park. It is now literally

IN THE HANDS OP POLITICIANS, and every competent man will bo soon removed. There is quite enough evi dence to show that they are unfit for the position, it was by the efforts of one of the present Commissioners that the Elevated Kail road was permitted to despoil tho Battery Park and cut down trees that in one sense were inva luable, because they can never be re placed. The same Commissioner is now actively engaged in trying to re vive that exploded imposition, the parade ground. Here is a piece of swamp at the northern end of the island that they want the taxpayers to give §1,500,000 to reclaim for tho

ostensible object of r- ■••: <!i- r n parade ground for the Js:;t . hard, but really with the purpose o. uenefiting a knot of property holders whose attorn ey this san .uimissioner happens to be. They will try by the usual mode to effect this end by getting all opinion from the Corporation Counsel; then th.3 appointment of a Commission by the Supremo Court, and finally get the opportunity of spending tho people's money to enhance the value of the real estate in the neighborhood of this parade ground.

Reporter: The Park Commission ers always, excepting Colonel Stebbins, lay the blame a your door fur the pre sent condition of Tompkas Square. Is that so ?

CoMPrnoLLEE G-eeeit: They lay the bliiina on mo for almost everything. They made some of the working-men believe that I. was responsible for the lack of employment in the departments; but the laboring classes have come clearly to understand what I am here in this office simply in the capacity of the city's paymaster, ready at all times to pay any honest warrant or claim on the treasury. In regard to Torapkins: Square, which is such a disgraeo to the city, I paid them all of the appropria tion of 830,000, and what havo they got I to show for it? A farmer can plough an acre ef ground for SCO an acre. All that was immediately required to be done was the ploughing up of tho ten acres in Tompkins Square and tho restoring of it to its normal condition. So much of the ground as they have broken up has cost at tho rate of 3,600 dols. an _ acre. They havo dug two largo holes at opposite corners and they havo placed the square in that condi tion that it will take twioo the sum already spent to bring it back to where it was before any operations were begun upon it Now, half the money this Commission receives goes for tho payment of a clerical force, which is six times larger than is necessary, and composed in a great measure of the friends of the Comirrisaioners, or tho appointees of Tammany Hall.

THE TOMPKTNS SQUAftE MATTER has been sadly bungled. The work was to bo done by contract, and the con tract is now here on file. The Com mon Council passed an ordauce that it be done by day's work. The Corpora tion Counsel has Ixien asked his advice if the latter course can bo complied with. Should the contractor be depri- Ted of his award he can bring suit against the city, and all this originally arose from tho wast of the right men in the Department of Parks? They rail against me because I happen by long experience to know just what they lack in the conduct of the department. Of course I speak of the majority in

the Board, who occupy their time more in the pursuit of political ambition and self-aggrandizement, than in attention to the business of the department. The foregoing is one of a series of items in the Arraignment against Comptroller Green, and all the rest appear to tell in the same direction. Is it impossible to find honest men for [ oaitions of public trust?

Better Late than Never.

11 wouldn't marry the beat man that ever lived !' And she meant it, -or, what answers the same purpose, she thought she meant it. After all, how few of us really know what we do

mean ? . , 'I engaged myself onco, when a girl, and the simpleton thought he owned me. 1 soon took that conceit out of him, and sent him about his business.' The voice was now a trifle sharp : What wonder with so galling a memory ? 'No man shall ever tyran nize over me —never! What the mischief do you suppose is^ho matter with this sewing-machine ?' ~ , , < nnoyed at your logic, most likely, said my friend," a bright-eyed young matron, as she threaded her needle. < My husband is not a tyrant, Miss Kent.' '1 am glad you are satisfied, was the laconic answer. It was quite evident, by the expres sion of the dressmaker's face, that she had formed her own opinion about my friend's husband, and was quite com petent to form and express an opinion on any subject. Miss Kent was a littlo woman, as fair as a girl, and as plump as a robin. She wasn't ashamed to own that she was 40 years old, and an old maid, -he bad earned her own living most of her life, and was proud of it? Laziness was the one sin Miss Kent could not forgive. She was a £rood nurse, a faithful friend, and a jolly companion ; but stroke her the wrong way, and you'd wish you hadn't in much shorter time than it takes me to write it. Her views on all subjects wore strikingly original, and not to be combated. ' What are you going to do when you are old ?' persisted the mistress of the establishment. ' What other old folks do, I suppo-e.' 'But you can't work forever.' ' Can't pay that want to.' ' Now, Miss Kent, a husband with means, a kind, intelligent man—' ' I don't want. I don't want any man. I tell you, Mrs. Carlisle, ! wouldn't marry tho best man that ever lived, if he was as rich as CrO33US, and would die if I didn't have him. Now, if you have exhausted the mar riage question, I should like to try on your dres3.' There was something behind all this, I knew well. My iVicud's eyes danced with fun ; and as Miss Kent . fitted the waist, she drew mo a letter from tho bureau. ' Read that,' she said, with a knowing look. 'It may amuse yon.' This is what tho letter said :— 'Mr Dba.ii Jennie : 1 shall be delighted to spaud a month wish you and your husband. There maaebs, however, one stipulation about my visit—you must promise to say no more about marriage. I shall nevor bo foolish again. Twunfcy-fivo yoara ago, to-day, 1 wrecked my whole life.' ' Better embark in a new ship, hadn't ho ?' put in Jennie, sotlo voce. 'So uusuitablo was this marriage, so utterly and entirely wrotohod have been its conae queuces, that I am forced to believe the mar riage institution a mistake, bo for the last tima lei; mo assure you that I wouldn't marry tho bast woman that ever lived, if liy 8o doing I could save her life. Your old cousin, Mark La.nsino.' ' .Rich, isn't it ?' said Jennie, and then pointed tj the chubby little figure whose back happened to- be turned. I shook my head and laughed. ' You'll see,' continued the incorri gible. ' See what ?' inquired Miss Kent, quite unaware of our pantomime. ' That particles which are chemically attracted will unite. Of course, an alkali and an acid—don't you think this sleeve is a little to lon*. Miss Kent?' 1 Not after the seam is off. But what were you sayiug about alkalies and acids, Mrs. Carlisle ? The other day, at Professor Boynton's, I saw some wonderful experiments.' ' Did they succeed ?' inquired Jennie, demurely. : 'Beautifully.' 'So will mine. I never botched a job in my life.' ' i don't think I quite understand you,' said Miss Kent, perplexed.

<No ? I always grow scientific when talking about marriage, my dear.' • Bother !' was all the little woman said, but the tone was much better natured than I expected. The next week Cousin Mark arrived, and I liked him at once. An unhappy marriage would have been the last thing thought of in connection with tho gentleman. He had accepted the situation like a man, Jennie told me and for fifteen years carried a load ot misery that few could have endured Death came to his relief at last, and now the poor fellow honestly believes himself an alien from domestic hap piness. Singular as it may appear. Cousin Mark was the embodiment of good health and good nature ; fatty, perhaps, though he didn't look it, and as rotund and fresh in his way as the little dressmaker was in hers. As I looked at him, I defied anybody to see one and not be immediately reminded of the other. True, he had more of the polish which comes from travel and adaptation to different classes and indi viduals, but he waa not a whit more intelligent by nature than was the bright little woman whom Jennie had determined he should marry. • I was surprised you should think necessary to caution me about that, ■ ousin Mark/ cooed the plotter, as she stood by his side looking out of the window. ' The idea of my being so ridiculous!' and, in the same breath, with a wink at me, ' Come, let us go to my sitting-room. We are at work : there, but that won't make any differ ence to you, will it?' i!f course Cousin Mark answered ' No', promptly, as innocent as a dove about the trap being laid for him. ' This is ray cousin—Mr. .Lansing, Miss Kent/ and Mr. Lansing bowed politely, and Miss Sent arose, dropped her scissors, blushed, and sat down again. Cousin Mark picked up the refractory implement, and then Mrs. Jennie proceeded, with rare caution and tact, to her labor of love. Cousin "dark, at her requst, read aloud an article from the Popular Science Monthly, drawing Mies ient into the discussion as deftly as was ever fly drawn into the web of the snider. ' Who was that lady, Jennie ?' Cousin Mark inquired in the evening. ' •' .Do you maan Miss Kent ?' said Jennie, looking up from her paper ' h, she is a lady L have known for a long time. She is making some dresses for me now. Why ?' ' .'ho seemed uncommonly well posted for a woman.' Under other circumstances Mrs Carlisle would have resented this, but now she only queried, 'Do you think so ?' and that ended it. Two or three invitations to the sewing-room were quite sufficient to make Cousin Mark perfectly at home there, and, after a week, he became as familiar as this :— 'If you are not |too busy, i should like to read you this article ;' and this is what Miss .^ent would say : — ' - ;h, I am never too busy to be read to. bit down by tho window in this comfortable chair, and let's hear it.' After a couple of week?, when the gentleman came in, hoarse with a sudden, cold, Miaa Kent bustled about her voice full of sympathy, and brewed him a dose which he declared he should never forget to his dying day; but one doso cured him. After this, Miss Kent was a really wonderful woman.

&\\, Jennie was an arch plotter, she let them skirmish about, but not once did she give them a chance to be alone together—her plans were not to be destroyed by premature confidences —until the very evening preceding Cousin Mark's departure for California. Then Miss Kent was very demurely asked to remain and keep an eye on Master Carlisle, whom the fond mother did not like to leave quite alone with his nurse.

'We are compelled to be gone a couple of hours; but Cousin Mark will read to you —v.Wt you, Cousin?' ' Certainly, if Mips Kent would like it,' replied the gentleman

The infant Carlisle, thanks to good management, was never awake in the evening, so the victims of this matri monial speculation would have plenty of time. The back parlor was the room most in use during the evening, and out of this room was a large do jet with a largo blind ventilator, and out of this closet af door leading to the back stoop and garden. Imagine my surprise when 1 was informed that Mr. Carlisle wag going to lodge this, and that we—after profuse warn ing about the baby, and promises not to be gone too long —were to proceed to this dxet; ov; r'.oolriog the back parlor, via back gate and garden. In vain I protested.

' Why, you goose/ laughed J n ' there'il be fun enough to last a time. John wanted to come awf but I knew he'-d make a noiaa spoil everything, so I wouldu't him.' The wiley scheemer had fa the to'lock'the closet * from the outside, so there was n ' of detection. _ On a high bench still as two mice, we awaited resul Cousin Mark (as if arousing f roi protracted reverie)—' Would you to have me read ?' Misspent: 'Oh, I am not* cular.' *' Cousin Mark: < Here is an eiCell article on elective affinities • W* you like that ?' ' Off*c Miss Keat: ' Who is it by ?' Jennie (clear into my ear)-' «mi to gain time ; see if it isn't.' Cousin Mark : ' It's by &J)mrn - French vvriter, I believe.' tt Miss Kent: • I don't think I for a translation to-night.' ( -Cousin Mark: ' N Qv j. ing of any kind. This' i a * evening m Now York, Miss Kent' Miss Kent: <I hope you've 1 your visit f J u. Jennie (into my very head this tia ' She's as shy as a three-year old Cousin Mark: ' I didn't tnini should feel so sorry about leaving' ; \ Jennie|: 'He is the wreck vL remember.' ' JUII A long pause. Miss Kent: * I think I hea> i baby.' Cousinf Uark: < Oh' no. you , fond of babies, aren't you, j£i sg v No answer from. Miss Kent *' Cousin Mark: ' 1 have been at lonely man, Mies Kent, but I J realized how lonely the rest of m 7 l must be until i came to this houso' Jennie.- ' Oh, how lonely Coußin Mark: ' Now I m Ust retp to my business and my boartf-v.,% i'hink of that, Miss Kent-Saroi house—boarding-house, for 3 mai , fond of domestic life aa lam j Kent.' ' Just then we very distinctly \ 6 a little kind of a purr, which g o j very like a note of intense sympai from vi isg Kent. Cousin Mara : 'I have friends San Francisco, of course, but no I side like this, nobody to care for m lam ill; nobody to feel veryW I die.' Jennie : ' That'll fetch her.' Miss Kent (voice a little quiverii 'I wish I lived in San Erancisco. 1 could always call upon me if \ needed anything.' (Jennie in convulsions.) Cousin Mark (abruptly): flfj will go to California 'with me, 1] Kent, I'll wait another Week.' ! Miss Kent: ' Why, Mr. lans| what do you meau ? What mil folks say?' Cousin Mark: 'We don't care folks, Miss Kent. If you'll go, will have a houso as pleasantas pi can make it. You shall have birds: flowers and horses, and all the scieni? Monthlies you want—deuced if i ; shan't—and you shall neyer se? ■ stitch for anybody but me. Willj | be my wife ?' Just then Jennie and I stepped another peg, and there was that lii old maid, who ' wouldn't marry besfc man that ever lived/huggedc! to the man's breast who 'ni marry the bes^; woman that everli j not even to save her life.' We fl away then, but it's my opinion if they remained in just that position we rang the bell half an hour ate 'How did you knowl' I di Jennie. ' My- dear,' she answered,' whole reliance wa3 upon to jf nature; and let me tell you, g« whatever else may fail, that un does.' * Why, Miss Kent, what mate | face so red?' inquired Jennie,s.': entering 'and Cousin Mark,'!! strangely you look ! Yourhaiiß mussed up.' '& nd I hope to have il * ; often,' said Cousiu Mark, boldly.'; Kent and I are to be married i; week.' Jennie laughed till her. fe« purple, and when I went sj !| Miss Kent was pounding Her W . Harper's Bazar.

A tender ccnsciepc?.-Diuicg a tht^' (•entliiuiau fcaVe3 ahacli down tlje Champi"^ tlie Faubourg St. Gernwin. H s toite^ fl»3h of lightning hii driver pious y a*"" the cross, and says :1 observe that yo»"w.,j You dj w 11.' 'Oh ye s; is is always m*> 2 are so macy trees, but once we setia«' llfn don't give a curss.'

Printed a'jd Published by the Propd*. B:-.ktt. of Piraell, at his Gmetal 6^l Office, Wyndham-stroet, in the City «** New Zealand : - M Saturday, November IBi ««

EVENING STAR SUPPLEMENT, NgVEMBEB^J^lglg.