spot, whose presence and influence will react, with beneficent results, upon each and every laudable interest and enterprise. No folly or madness can be more extreme, than that of those who think they can sit down with folded arms, and realize dreams of fortunes to be made through enhanced corner lots. We have glanced at the material and political commencement, progress and prospects of Peru. Let us look at the moral and intellectual phases of her existence. Among her early settlers were many families of high culture, refinement, social condition, and moral standing. Of these were the families of George B. Martin, H. L. Kinney, S. Lisle Smith, D. J. Townsend, Wm. H. Davis, Fletcher Webster, George W. Holley, Lucius Pearl, H. P. Woodworth, W. B. Burnett, Gen. Ransom &c. Seldom has a new, obscure, western settlement, whose inhabitants were thrown together by chance, gathered so brilliant specimens of eastern intelligence and civilization. There was an under strata, however, which by no means tends to brighten the reminiscence. The idlers, adventurers and vagabonds, who follow public works in new countries, and who congregate at the termination of navigation, made a rendezvous here. Peru, as ought to have been mentioned before, is broken by a precipitous bluff nearly an hundred and fifty feet high. On a narrow strip between this and the river is a single street, upon which most of the stores, warehouses and shops are situated, in the rear of which runs the rail road.--Most of the dwellings are on the bluff, upon a plane inclining towards the river and somewhat broken with ravines. Formerly, as now, the street under the bluff was generally avoided as a residence by the more orderly and quiet citizens. This became the rendezvous of all the congregated rowdies and ruffians. In the night it was almost entirely given up to them. Orgies and revelry were always in order. As this part of the town was, and has continued to be the most visited by strangers, the steamboats landing in front then, and the rail road running through the rear now, the fame of its doings soon spread throughout all the land. The reputation, thus acquired, clung to it; and while no place has had a larger proportion of quiet, orderly, intelligent and refined citizens, no place has had a more unenviable reputation, unless it be the sister town of La Salle. So true is it that the fame of bad deeds travels further and faster than good ones, the writer, when abroad, on informing a stranger that he was from Peru, has observed that stranger involuntarily button up his pockets and move out of the neighborhood. What reason exists for this feeling may be seen from the fact, that during the whole period of the town's history, no riots; no fights, resulting in death or severe bodily injury with one exception, and that among a party none of which ever lived in the town; no robbery; and but few cases of burglary or larceny have occurred. No night police has ever been found necessary except at