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Little did we think when we mentioned in our last number the purpose of the publishers of the Opal to ornament our beloved monthly with an occasional portrait of our contributors, and possibly that of the Editor himself, how near that purpose was to accomplishment. Little did we imagine that it was in the kindly hearts of said publishers to bestow that favor so speedily upon our humble self. Far was it from our thoughts while we were then writing, the artist was actually at his work, and that a "picter" so faithful and striking, was to grace the head of our Editor's Table, in the very next number of the Opal! But lo! so it was to be, thanks to the enterprise of the Opal proprietors, and to the genius of their artist, W. H. GREEN, Esq. -- One thing all will admit after scrutinizing the above portrait, viz: that the wish we expressed in this connection about our face being "a little handsomer," was not superfluous. Not that it is not better to look wise than to look handsome; and that the head which Mr. Green has furnished is a wise looking one, we would not disparage his judgment nor our physiognomy by insinua-ting. But of course, if in addition to being so wise it were also a little handsomer, few will disagree with us that it would be an im-provement, and so our wish expressed in our last editorial stands justified.

A SLIGHT MISTAKE CORRECTED. We were struck with the appearance of an intelligent gentleman who came into the business office the other day. He had evidently read our remarks in the last Opal, descriptive of the location and character of our famous library. "Ah, said he, as he cast his eyes towards the south-west corner, 'here is the Opal library." "Ah, indeed!" said he again, as he took down a good looking volume from the shelves and ran over its pages, "well, really, that does not read so very much like as if it was written by an insane man after all!" After he had retired, we had the curiosity just to see what volume it was that had gained our friend's compliment, and found, to our edification," that it was "Peveril of the Peak"! Well, that book does not read, to our eyes, very much as if it was written by a crazy head. -- That's a fact; and what we want now to say to our friend, and any others that may have fallen in to his views, is, that we never meant to assert the contrary. We are aware, that Sir Walter, the gentleman who did write 'Peveril,' would have been a very desirable contributor to the columns of a paper of high character like the Opal, but we certainly never intended to claim him. As far as we recollect, he and the first volume of the Opal was not even contemporaneous. -- We only meant to say in our last editorial, as we thought we did in our usual lucid style, that the Opal library was purchased by the income of our excellent periodical. We did not mean that it was published by us, and especially not from the original writings of our contributors. No, no; lest such a supposition might be injurious to our paper, we hasten to correct it, and to claim for the monthly issues of the Opal, the entire and undivided talent of our whole corps of contributors. There is a great deal of original composition going on within our walls, but chiefly for the benefit of our own columns. We hope now that we are understood.

Speaking of visitors to our institution, we could not help but notice how one of them was somewhat "taken in" a while since, soon after crossing the threshold. He had separated a little from the rest of the company that were being shown through the establishment, and was gazing very intently at the "register" at the further end of Hall No.--. One of our fellow-inmates, a youngster with intelligence in one eye, and mischief in the other, observing our visitor's anxious look of inquiry went forward immediately to answer it. "Now what do you call that ere thing there?" said the visitor. "That!" replied his informant, "why hav'nt you heard about it, -- what not heard about the new invention for working us up by steam!"

"By steam! by steam!!" repeated he glancing around as though he expected operations would shortly begin. Considerably sudden was the manner in which our visitor left that part of the Hall, and applied for exit through the door that let him to the stair-way, to the manifest amusement of the crazy wag who stayed behind.

The Albany Evening Journal quotes from to our article on "Kossuth and the Fugitive Slave Law," and contrasts it with the resolution of Hon. Mr. Smith, of Alabama, touching the treasonable sentiments in the speeches of the great Magyar. The Journal kindly concludes that we are the sanest man of the two, and might with advantage to ourselves and the country, change places with him. We thank the Journal for the intended compliment, but must humbly decline accepting the comparison on which he founds it. We don't feel it any favor to have precedence assigned us over such genius as that Smith at all. In fact we don't like quite to have our place of abode mentioned along with the House he lives in! Who we beg to know ever passed through the N. Y. State Asylum, from No. 11, upwards without being obliged to confess the order which reigned throughout. But who that ever stepped across the threshold of the House of Representatives that could say any thing for the order that reigns in this establishment. Who ever saw, in our institution, such a crazy head as that Smith loose, and running at large, proposing resolutions, making speeches, and expecting to have them printed in the Opal! Besides the Asylum changes some two-thirds of its inmates, yearly, and sends out a large number of them much improved upon what they were when they came in. Can as much be said of the majority of those who go to Congress when they go home again? We should doubt it, if all reports of the doings in and about Washington by Honorable gentlemen be true. Speaking of comparisons between wise folks and crazy ones, we are sometimes tempted to draw them ourselves, even when they are not suggested from the outside. Witness the one we drew the other day, and guess in whose favor, when a party of ladies passing through Hall, No.-- and noticing two of its notables, and two -- let us say, of about as shrewd and knowing men as you will find inside or outside of our walls, playing checkers with a goodly company of brother inmates looking on the game one of the ladies aforesaid inquired of another in a not very inaudible tone: "Do you suppose they understand the moves?" It was a pretty sonorous roar of laughter that followed from the spectators of the checker board on that inquiry -- and declared the quite unanimous vote of the company upon the superior sagacity, not to say superior delicacy, which prompted the question. About as wise a question as that addressed to our Cicerone by a company he was conducting through the Asylum, "Sir, do these persons know one another!" Oh wise generation! Were you only in the Asylum, too, who would know the difference between you and the rest of us!

We believe our Chapel, at the Asylum, has never been consecrated, or if you please dedicated, and so the anecdote we are going to tell will please be understood as not applying particularly against us. We insert it chiefly for the benefit of those Churches in general, which are accustomed to be appropriated for all sorts of "doings," aside from the object to which they were originally set apart. They are welcome to make the application as may suit them to do.

As to the anecdote: Once on a time when the "Ethiopians" were in town, they kindly offered their services to the Asylum; which as you know we could not very well decline, we very gladly accepted. Ah, that was a high day when a platform was built over the pulpit, and all the people of "Asylumia" were gathered in the Chapel, to listen to the banjo and instruments and voices accompanying, of our glorious melodists. It takes us folks up here to appreciate good music. Well, after the performance was over, and with merry hearts forgetful of all our ills and aches, were getting down stairs; our good Superintendent chanced to ask one of the wisest and otherwise most remarkable of our number -- "Well -- how did you like the entertainment?" "Oh," said our shrewd brother, "oh, very well, very well, only I thought Doctor, the pulpit looked rather sneaking."

Editors, we notice, are fond of retailing compliments they receive from their readers -- we don't wish to fill our columns in this way, but the following specimen we cannot very well pass by. The former relations of our correspondent to our institution, will not detract from its interest: "I am very much obliged to my brother and sister Lunatics, for the words of wisdom which drop from their lips, (through the Opal,) and if I do not at times shed tears when thinking of that loved spot, 'tis not because I have not a heart susceptible enough to feel, but only because tears cannot reach what words cannot express. No.1, North, was my home. How pleasant the memory of those months, embittered as they were by my own waywardness. But all was patiently borne, and surely Heaven will reward those under whose care I was."

The fraternity of Editors, in New-York City, have had a glorious time, we notice, with Brother Kossuth. How we should like to have been there! But the fact was, our duties, and we may add, our privileges too, detained us. We fancy few of the Press are such keepers as home as we. -- The consequence is we rarely have any of those excuses to make about the appearance of our sheet that some editors indulge in. -- As the Sophomore observed, we are "semper paratus -- always."

Surely, no one who has read the Opal can have slighted the original and striking "Reflections on American Law," which we have published in successive numbers. We have "a few more of the same sort left," but lest our readers should think we were keeping them in too deep water, we shall have to forbear for the present. Papers, so profound, require time for consideration; witness the following sentence from a No. not yet published: "I will not expatiate upon this suggestion, because I believe that self-evident facts require little testimony, and when useful and important, should be cordially received, on sufficient examination, as a means of assuaging more necessary and complicated elaboration, and applying the best susceptibilities of industrious occupation with the most reasonable and abounding hopes of corresponding satisfactory and pleasing returns." Unless our columns should be otherwise occupied, we shall not fail to present our readers with occasional specimens of observations so lucid and important.

We hope, also, that our "Foreign Correspondence" will be appreciated by the readers of the Opal. They will have marked the freshness that characterizes it. Few of our contemporaries, we imagine, enjoy such facilities for the speedy transmission of letters from abroad as we have an arrangement which, for our purpose, nearly or quite supersedes the convenience of a Trans-Atlantic Telegraph. Our Correspondent dates from Turin, the present month. By another, we should not wonder if he had passed over to Vienna and St. Petersburgh, to report the effect of the last advices from the Kossuth celebrations upon the money market. -- Should he have any personal interviews with their majesties, Joseph and Nicholas he will report the conversation in full.

The thought has just struck us, that we have not said our full say -- that we have a few words for our patrons, exchanges, and the public generally, including of course "all the world and the rest of mankind and we won't stop till it is out. It is whispered in certain quarters of the outer world and thought in many others where it is not whispered, that the Opal, being the production of cracked brains, may not prove very reliable, but, by and by, bolt the track, and leave its readers in mental darkness. Now we, and we ought to know, say that no such thing will happen. Some delay has occurred in the getting out of this number, but hereafter we hope to issue it promptly on the 1st day of each month. We shall continue to send to all our old exchanges, and shall be glad to place many more new ones upon our list. The Opal will be sent to all who desire an exchange.

We now receive from nearly every State in the Union, and we assure our Editorial friends that our mental equanimity is not at all disturbed by the "noise and confusion" of the outsiders. Amid all the excitement of the coup d'etat inflicted upon half-mad Parisians by Louis Napoleon, and the Kossuth mania of our staid republicans, we float smoothly down the current of time's broad stream, with thick walls and strong doors between us and all such strange doings. And were it not that we are firm supporters of the doctrine of non-intervention, we would solemnly protest against these proceedings of mankind; as it is we will have nothing further to say, -- they must regulate their own actions without our aid. But we shall not refuse our advice, however, when it is called for. Wonder what the world would say if we should take a fancy to have a revolution here. Still, we are a little too sensible, just at the present, to wish for any other than the "established order of things." Perhaps our views may change on this point, and we may, at some future day, go in for the enlargement of our personal liberty. Shall reflect upon this, and possibly, have something more to say in our next.

But we are lengthening our Table out of all proportions with the room we have to set it in. We have expected, for some time, to hear our Publishers warning us off as a waggish attendant on Hall No. -- did a gentleman fiddler on that floor, who, though a very good performer, for one who had been no longer in practice, was yet perhaps rather unusually favored with the "gift of continuance" when once he had made a beginning. Even the cry of "Bed-time, gentlemen," was not always conclusive to his strains. -- "Sir," said our joker, "if you don't leave off a playing there, we shall have to get some fiddler on this hall that will." Well, for our part, we are willing to leave off, without putting our Publishers to the trouble of finding another Editor just to perform so easy and yet not so very easy a part of our office.

And now, good friends of the Opal, we have spread our Table before you. We would that it was supplied, with more rich and delicate viands, but you will recollect that our resources are yet crippled; when more light breaks in upon us, it shall be shed abroad over our pages.