GOSSIP WITH READERS AND CORRESPONDEnts. Many of our readers will have seen in the daily journals' full and particular' accounts of the recent Opening of the NewYork and Erie Rail-Road to Binghamton. We shall not run the risk of giving a second edition of JOHNNY THOMPSON's news; but, avoiding particular detail, we cannot resist the inclination to record a few of the objects witnessed and thoughts awakened during the interesting excursion in question. And in view of our subject, we remark first,' that no excursion could be better planned. It was a luxury to sail in the evening in the splendid' Oregon' steamer to Piermont; and most luxurious was the breakfast prepared next morning by Captain SAINT JOHN for his congregation, which consisted of the President and his Board of Directors, a large number of invited guests, including among them the Common Council, and eminent metropolitan merchants and financiers. We were off early in the morning; insomuch that it was scarcely gray dawn until we were some twenty-five miles on our way, our fleet of cars convoyed by the snorting fire-horse; cars which in space, comfort, and elegance, are not surpassed by any in the United States. As we have already spoken in these pages of the scenery and different points of attraction on the line of the rail-road between Piermont and Port-Jervis, we shall only ask the reader to survey with us some of the more striking scenes and occurrences of our first journey between the latter place and Binghamton. At about three miles from the Port' we crossed the Delaware on the Company's new bridge; a most substantial structure, with massive stone piers, some eight hundred feet in length. The track now lies for three or four miles along a rocky terrace, with a precipice sheer down a hundred feet below you, and above you the steep side of a mountain frowning terrible, impossible to climb.' It was almost fearful to sweep like the wind along the iron track at this dizzy height, hanging as it were directly over the river, rolling its waters, choked with snow-covered ice, to the main. This river, by the way,' is by the way for a good portion of the onward distance; ever rolling on, with solemn movement, bearing alike ice frozen in its stillness and congealed in its commotion; like the river of life, which sweeps contentious foes and peaceful friends into one common ocean at last. Crossing the Lackawaxen by another bridge, four hundred and fifty feet in length, we complete twenty miles from PortJervis, having encountered on the way scenery that it would be worth one's while to go a hundred miles to see. Let us premise, that the murky blue clouds which shut out the sun early in the morning, have proved to be foul with snow; and that we have arrived at Narrowsburgh, a hundred and thirty-two miles from New-York, in the teeth of a north-west storm of driving snow. Here, thanks to the care of Mr. LODER, the President, the Directors, and Mr. SEYMOUR, Superintendent-in-Chief, a liberal collation, well-flanked with hot and cold fluids, awaits us; which having despatched, we are again under way. After leaving Narrowsburgh, (following the observant eye of our friend of 'The Tribune' daily journal,) 'the road follows the eastern bank of the Delaware, through the same mountain wilderness, if possible of still wilder character. The snow now fell thick and fast, and the hills of pine and rock, seen through the driving flakes, had a look of dreary sublimity, which harmonized well with their rugged outlines. The streams were frozen in their leaps down the precipices, and hung in sheets of icy spar on the face of the rock. The primeval pines and hemlocks were bent down with their weight of snow, and half concealed the entrance to the dusky ravines slanting down to the river, which was swollen and turbid, and in many places nearly blocked VOL. XXXIII.

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with ice. It was a rare privilege to witness a wild winter storm among the unvisited wildernesses of the interior, with so much comfort. Following the windings of the river, we passed Hancock, where a number of fine deer, brought in by the hunters, were swinging by the heels in full view of the cars, and reached Deposit between eight and nine o'clock. At this place, where the ascent of the Summit ridge commences, hundreds of people from the country around were collected, and huge bonfires sent their flaming red light through the falling snow. Cannons were fired constantly, and the most vociferous cheers given and returned. A triumphal arch had been erected over the road, bearing the large letters WELCOME' upon it, over which a noble stag of ten tines' just killed, was standing upright.' We leave Deposit with the snow fourteen inches deep on the rails, with a team of locomotives, harnessed tandem, who toil up a grade of sixty feet to the mile, until we reach the Summit, whence we begin the descending grade to Binghamton. Nothing of a similar character in this country can compare with the scenery and the noble works of the hands of skill, labor, and capital, which suceeed. Inclement as it was, there was an OLD KNICK's head thrust out of the capacious window of the well-heated car, from Deposit to Binghamton. In the thick night, roaring with driving snow, we now and then beheld the team of iron horses, in the midst of the white steam-smoke that poured from their snorting nostrils, and enveloped them, rushing through the snow; now hurling the long train over a bridge an hundred and seventy feet from the bottom of the ravine which it spanned, down which you saw for a moment the tall pines, standing like sheeted ghosts in the half-lighted gloom; anon sweeping over a long viaduct, looking over which, far, far below you, you see spread out the streets and lights of a village, over which you are actually passing! At eleven o'clock at night we reached Binghamton, where we were received with every hospitable demonstration of welcome. The company, preceded by the President and Directors, Common Council, and other guests, were ushered into the Dépôt, a temporary and very spacious structure, through which extended tables, laughing (not groaning') under the weight of their good cheer, embracing all the come-atable luxuries of the season, not forgetting the varieties of game peculiar to the sylvan region round about. Most ample justice was done to the repast by all present; and when this ceremony' (which was enjoyed 'sans ceremonie,') had been concluded, the President, at the head of the table, stood high above the multitude, and in a clear voice submitted a report of the financial condition of the road, which was of such a favorable character as to command the loud applause of the stockholders, and others deeply interested in the welfare of this great enterprise; which, it may be well to state, without going into farther detail, will in a short time be in operation fifty miles farther, and in less than three years, under its present active and judicious management, will have reached Lake Erie; receiving on either hand, at every station in its advance, those collateral tides of business from the rich country which it traverses, that will eventually so swell the main stream, that the road must become one of the most commanding sources of profit in the State, if not in the Union. The main difficulties have been already overcome; the remainder of the way to Lake Erie being of comparatively easy construction, and much of it already graded. The President and his large family of directors and guests were quartered by the hospitable Binghamtonians at several excellent hotels and among obliging private families, in which latter category we had the good fortune, in company with a few kindred spirits, to be placed. One can see and admire, even in winter, the beautiful situation of this delightful town, reposing as it does at the confluence of two lovely streams,

the Susquehanna and Chenango, and surrounded by gracefully-sweeping mountains, with vales 'stretching in pensive quietness between.' We never thought to find at 'Shnang pinte' so lovely and prosperous a village as Binghamton. It was a sight to see' when the cars left at noon to return to New-York. It was clear and cold; the sleighing was superb; the streets were full of snow-vehicles from all the country round; and as the train moved off, the very mountains around echoed the interchanged hurrahs that rose from the cars and the long lines of citizens that thronged each side of the way. When we arrived at the great Starucca Viaduct, the first train of cars stopped, and their occupants followed the President down the precipitous snow-covered bank to the depths below. And well were they repaid for their trouble. A noble bridge of hewn stone, eight hundred feet long, with seventeen arches a hundred and ten feet high, met their eyes as they looked upward; and they could gaze but a moment before it was found necessary to give vent to their enthusiastic admiration in six hearty cheers; which had hardly been rendered, when six more were given to the second train, which now came up, and swept like children's toy-cars along the dizzy height; the passengers of the second train then went down and repeated the admiring huzzahs, until all rang again.' The train stopped, three or four miles farther on, at the Cascade Ravine, an awful chasm, arched by a wonderful bridge, with a single span of two hundred and seventy-five feet, one hundred and eighty-five feet above the stream! As you stand far beneath this stupendous arch, amid the wild scenery of the desolate chasm which it spans, with its only possible yielding point the eternal rocks, the mind is filled with a sense of sublimity, which it is impossible to describe. But hold! we are getting beyond our tether. Of the scenes at Deposit; of our journey back to Piermont; of the supper on board our friend SAINT JOHN's magnificent steamer Oregon;' of the resolutions, so well deserved, in commendation of the road; of the talents and energy of Mr. LODER, the President, Major BROWN, Chief Engineer, Mr. SEYMOUR, Chief Superintendent, Mr. MARSH, the Secretary, etc.; of the songs and rejoicings' of the occasion; of all these, we must forbear at present to speak; having space only for the expression of our firm belief, that the New-York and Erie Rail-Road will within five years become one of the most profitable enterprises of the kind in the Union, if not in the world. ... HERE is an exquisite limning of a good pastor, lately deceased. It is given by the Rev. Dr. BERRIAN, in a funeral discourse, from which the annexed extracts are taken. The whole sketch is admirably written:

'THE openness and benignity of his countenance were in perfect harmony with the frankness of his manners and the benevolence of his heart. His kind and gentle words fell pleasantly upon the ear, and his cordial sympathies with every human being with whom he stood in any endearing relation, touched tenderly upon the heart. There was nothing that in any way affected them, whether for weal or for wo, in which he was not concerned, and though in 'the changes and chances of this mortal life,' he had much to endure, and therefore much to blunt his sensibility in regard to others, yet to the very last he retained the same kindliness of feeling; and in this respect at least left most men his debtors. HERE, after a circle of twenty years, his thoughts fondly returned to the scene of his early labors; and it was his especial request, several months before his death, that his remains should be brought hither, in order, no doubt, that he might receive the tribute of grief and affection from the friends who should survive him; and that his ashes might be mingled with those of his people. The tenderness of the thought cannot fail to awaken a corresponding emotion in the hearts of those who hear me. For how intimate were the ties which, though temporarily loosened, still bound you to each other! ... THE greater part of you were, through his ministry, engrafted by baptism into the body of CHRIST'S Church, and regenerated with His Holy Spirit. You were afterward taught, in his simple and happy way, the value of the privileges which were thus secured for

you, and affectionately urged to hold fast of them to the end, by leading 'a godly and a Christian life.' In sickness and sorrow he was your guide and your comforter; and in health and gladness the helper of your joy. When life was all hope, and the future was bliss, he joined you in those holy bands which death alone could sever; and when hope was blighted, he buried your dead and soothed your pangs. All this, and more than I can tell, will rise up before you in sweet and sad remembrance, as his mortal remains lie before you. May none of his wholesome instruction, his godly counsels, his affectionate admonitions, his acts of kindness and loves ever escape from your minds, or fail of their effect upon your hearts and lives! May you still keep up in death, as in life, your communion with him; but in a higher and holier degree than can ever be realized while our friends are in the flesh.'

ON a preceding page will be found a poetical address to WILLIAM Wood, Esq., of Canandaigua; a gentleman who was long and favorably known in New-York as one of its most patriotic citizens, having, among many other good works, established the Mercantile Library by his individual exertions. It is chiefly owing to the stimulus excited by Mr. WooD among the young men of Canandaigua, that the streets of that lovely village are laid out with so much taste, and beautified with such an abundance and variety of fine trees. In consequence of the recent death of Mrs. GORHAM, the sister of this most estimable gentleman, he changed his residence, the well known 'SNUGGERY' referred to in the address. On taking possession of his new abode, his friend and neighbor, the Hon. JOHN GREIG, sent him the following elegant motto, to be placed over his door:

'Inveni portum, Spes et Fortuna valete,

Sat me lusistis luditi nunc alias.'

This motto has been translated as follows by WILLIAM JEFFEREY, Esq., nephew of Mr. GREIG, and also by Judge HOWELL of Canandaigua:

'A port I have found, up a long flight of stairs,

In which I now rest from life's troubles and cares,
Like a storm-battered bark, high and dry on the beach,
Which ocean's rough billows no longer can reach.

'So Fortune and Hope! I bid you good-by.
Enough you've beguiled me; I speak with a sigh;
On others, I pray you now play your worst pranks,
Just leave ME alone, and I give you my thanks!'

DID you never fall in, reader, with a puerile, puttering person, who was always seeking to find coincidences, which when found, and made note of,' were in reality no coincidences at all? Such an one it was, who happening the other evening to remember, in the midst of an interesting conversation upon the great discoveries of the earth, that a dove was called columba in the Latin, broke in with this searching remark: It's a very curious coincidence, is n't it, that the old world was discovered by a COLUM-ba, and the new world by a COLUM-bus? But when you come to pursue the subject in detail, is n't it very ex-trod'-nary that the one should come from NOAH, and the other from GE-noa! And the old spoon' looked at the unwilling auditors, into whose conversation he had interpolated this sage suggestion, with mouth half open, and an 'inquiring eye,' as if suggesting the surprise which the coincidence' should awaken. THAT is a very clever book, Leaves from Margaret Smith's Journal in the Colony of Massachusetts,' now in the press of Messrs. TICKNOR AND COMPANY, Boston, if we may judge from a goodly portion of the printed sheets, which have been sent us for perusal. The first date in the diary is May y eighth, 1678;' and the natural antiquity of the style could hardly have been more

apparent had the author really been a pupil of the gentle Lady WILLOUGHBY,' of whom 'of course' she must have been entirely ignorant! Right quaint and pleasant reading is here, any way,' as may be easily demonstrated, when the entire volume shall appear. We subjoin a passage or two, which will afford the reader some idea of the character of the work. The following is written after proceeding thorough the woods and along the borders of great marshes and meadows on the sea-shore,' through Linne,' Wenham and Salem, to Ipswich near Agawam :'

THIS morning we mounted our Horses, and reached this place after a smart Ride of three Hours. The Weather in the Morning was warm and soft as our Summer Days at Home; and as we rode through the Woods, where the young Leaves were fluttering, and the white Blossoms of the Windflowers, and the blue Violets and the yellow blooming of the Cowslips in the low Grounds, were seen on either Hand, and the Birds all the Time making a great and pleasing Melody in the Branches, I was glad of Heart as a Child. Just before we reached Agawam, as I was riding a little before of my Companions, I was startled greatly by the sight of an Indian. He was standing close to the Bridle-path, his half-naked Body partly hidden by a Clump of white Birches, through which he looked out on me with eyes like two live Coals. He was a tall Man, of very fair and comlie make, and wore a red woollen Blanket with Beads and small Clam-Shells jingling about it. His skin was swarthy, not black like a Moor or Guinea-Man, but of a Color not unlike that of tarnished copper Coin. He spoke but little, and that in his own Tongue, very harsh and strange-sounding to my Ear. ROBERT PIKE tells me that he is Chief of the Agawams, once a great Nation in these Parts, but now very small and broken. As we rode on, and from the Top of a Hill got a fair View of the great Sea off at the East, ROBERT PIKE bade me notice a little Bay, around which I could see four or five small peaked Huts or tents, standing just where the white Sands of the Beach met the green Line of Grass and Bushes of the Uplands. There,' said he, are their Summer Houses, which they build near unto their Fishing-grounds and Corn-fields.' . .. I looked into one of their Huts; it was made of Poles, like unto a Tent, only it was covered with the silver colored Bark of the Birch, instead of hempen Stuff. A Bark Mat, braided of many exceeding brilliant colors, covered a goodlie Part of the Space inside, and from the Poles we saw Fishes hanging, and Strips of dried Meat. On a pile of Skins in the Corner sat a young Woman with & Child a-nursing: they both looked sadlie wild and neglected; yet had she withal a pleasant Face, and as she bent over her little One, her long, straight and black Hair falling over him, and murmuring a low and very plaintive Melody, I forgot Every thing save that she was a Woman and a Mother, and I felt my Heart greatly drawn toward her. So, giving my Horse in charge, I ventured in to her, speaking as kindly as I could, and asking to see her Child. She understood me, and with a Smile held up her little Papoose, as she called him; who, to say Truth, I could not call very pretty. He seemed to have a wild, shy Look, like the Offspring of an untamed Animal.'

THERE is a young married lady, well known to this deponent,' to whom we have just read the foregoing, in the sure anticipation of eliciting this remark: 'Why, L—, how perfect a description that is of one of the Indian wigwams, and its occupants, that we saw at the Sault St. Marie! The western papoose it was, however, which impressed the scene so vividly upon her memory; for our own little folk were at that time 'far, far away,' and they had no representatives save the 'counterfeit presentment' afforded by an indifferent daguerreotype, which, bad as it was, was often consulted, and sometimes with tears. The annexed extract contains agreeable reading:

'I was awakened this morning by the pleasant voice of my cousin, who shared my bed. She had arisen and thrown open the window looking toward the sunrising, and the aire came in soft and warm, and laden with the sweets of flowers and green growing things. And when I had gotten myself ready, I sat with her at the window, and I think I may say it was with a feeling of praise and thanksgiving that mine eyes wandered up and down over the green meadows, and corn-fields, and orchards of my new home. Where, thought I, foolish one, be the terrors of the Wilderness which troubled thy daily Thoughts and thy nightly Dreams! Where be the gloomy Shades, and desolate Mountains, and the wild Beasts, with their dismal_Howlings and Rages! Here all looked peaceful, and bespoke Comfort and Contentedness. Even the great Woods which climbed up the Hills in the Distance looked thin and soft, with their faint young leaves yellowish green, intermingled with pale, silvery Shades, indicating, as my Cousin saith, the different Kinds of Trees, some of which, like the Willow, do put on their Leaves early, and others late, like the Oak, with which the whole Region aboundeth. A sweet, quiet Picture it was, with a warme Sun very bright and clear, shining over it, and the great Sea, glistening with the exceeding light, bounding the view of mine Eyes, but bearing my thoughts, like swift Ships, to the Land of my Birth, and so uniting, as it were, the Newe World with the Old. Oh I' thought I, the merciful God, who reneweth the Earth and maketh it glad and brave with Greenery and Flowers of various Hues and Smells, and causeth his South winds to blow and his Rains to fall, that Seed-time may not fail, doth even here, in the ends of his Creation, prank and beautify the Work of his Hands, making the Desert places to rejoice, and the Wilderness to