f
" LIBERTY AND MY NATIVE SOIL."
VOL. 4. "" " ABBEVILLE C. H., S. C., JUNE 2, 1847. " N0 14
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TIip. Siicrcd IHiiiinf'iini:
M uv IJUVtVU UiUUlllUIUOl
MOUNT CALVARY.
BY J. T. IIEADLY.
Mount Calvary comcs last in the list of
u Sacred mountains," and by its baptism of
blood and agon}', its moral grandeur and the
intense glory that beams fiom its summit is
worthy to complete the immortal group ?
Its moral height no man can measure, for
though its base is on the earth, its top is lost
m the heavens. 1 lie angels hover around
the dazzling summit, struggling in vain to
scale its highest point, which lias never yet
been fanned by even immortal wing. The
divine eye alune embraces its length and
breadth, and depth and height.
What associations cluster around Mount
Calvary, what mysteries liovcr there, what
revelations it makes to the awestruck beholder!
Mount Calvary! At the. menlion
of that natne, the universe thrills with
o new anthem in which pity and exultation
iningie in sirange yei sweet accord. <^?iory
and righteousness are on that hill top, and
shall be to the end of time but there was a
morning when gloom and terror crowned
it, and heaven itself, all but God the Father,
gazed on it in wonder if not in consternation.
The sirange and painful scene in the
garden had passed by, and the shameful
examination in the lighted chamber of the
high priest was over. Insult and contempt
had marked ever}' step ol the villainous proceedings,
till at length one wretch more
impious than the rest, advanced and struck
Christ in the face. The cheek reddened
to the blow, but not with anirer or shame :
yel methinks, as the sound of that buffet
was borne on high, there was a rustling of
myriad wings, us angels started from their
listening attitude, waiting the thundeibolt
that should follow.
This too ha^ passed by; and alio the second
mockery of a trial in Pilate's hall;
and the uprisen sun was flushing dow n on
the towers and domes of Jerusalem, and the
vast population was again abroad,?thronging
every street. But a few took any interest
in the fate of Jesus of Nazareth, yet
these few were filled with the bitterest hate.
The victim was now in their power?given
up to their will?and they commenced the
bloody scene they were to enact, by spitting
in his lace and striking his unresisting
cheelc with blow after blow. To give
greater force to their insults, they put a
crown on his head made of thorns, and
mocked him with sarcastic words, and drove
with fiendish skill to irritate him into some
sign of anger or complaint. After having
exhausted their ingenuity, and failing in
every endeavor, they led him away to be
crucified. _
It was a bright and beautiful day, when
a train passed out of the gates of Jerusalem,
and began to ascend the slope of Mount
Calvary. The people paused a moment
as tne procession moved boisterously along
the streets, then making some careless remarks
about the fate of fanatics, passed on.
The low and base of both sexes turned and
joined the company, and with jokes and
:0!#? laughter, hurried on to. the scene of excite
ji me juui niiu.joir ui iut* great ciiy
fesus passed by fri the midst of the
is face was colorless as marble
re the blood trickled down his
om the thorns that pierced his ternknees
trembled beneath him,
ot with fear, and he staggered on
> heavy timber that weighed him
L at last he fainted. Nature gave
he sank to tfo* earth- while the
passed over his countenance.
H^^^Ke sudden Tush around him. caused
had subsided, the cross, or
^pH?, which bad carried, war given to
j^j^Hnndihe procession again took up
^HBfef jnarch. But suddenly over the
confused noise of the throng and rude shouts
of the mob, there came a wild lament.?
Friends were following after, whose sick
Christ hud healed, whose wounded hearts
he had bound up, and on whose pathway of
darkness he had shed the light of Heaven,
n ml t-tntir 1? f . I * * 1^ "
nwn nun uii^v 1IIIUII U|J II1CII VUlUl'S 111 UIIU
mournful cry. Flo turned at the sound and
lis.ened a moment, then murmured, in
mournful accents: Weep not for me, but
weep for yourselves, your wives and your
childrenJerusalem on fire suddenly rose
to his vision, together with its famine-struck
and bloated population staggering and dying
around the empty market places?the
heaps of the dead that loaded the air with
pestilence, and all the horror and woe and
carnage of that last dreadful siege ; and
forgetful of his own suffering, he exclaimed:
" Weep not jor me. but for yoursevles, your
wives and children "
At length the procession reached the hilltop
and Christ was laid upon the ground,
and his arms stretched along the timber he
had carried, with the palms upturued, and
through them spikes driven, fastening them
to the wood. Mcthinks 1 hear the strokes
of the hammer as it sends the iron, with
blow after blow, through the quivering
tendons and behold the painful working of
that agony-wrung brow, and the convulsive
:idd sivpllirxrnf flint hlpssorl linsnm
which seemed striving to rend above the
imprisoned heart.
At length he is lilted from the ground?
his weight dragging on the spikes through
his hands.and the cross-piece inserted into
the mortice of the upright timber, and a
heavy iron through his leet, fastening them
to the main post, and he is left to die.?
Why speak of his agony?of his words of
comfort to the dying thief?or of the disgrace
of that death. Not even to look on
that pallid face and flowing blood could one
gH any conception of the suffering victim,
x lit; oioo.fi uiiu terror that to Suihc"
o o o
round the soul, as every aid human and
divine, withdrew itself, and it stood alone in
the deserted darkened universe, and shuddered,
was all unseen by mortal eve. Yet
.i.:? .1 II*..? i i-!- i- i* ?
cvfii in Linsuitiiuiiii uuur ins ueari uiu 1101
forgot its friends. Looking down from the
cross, he saw the mother that bore him gazing
in tears upon his fjcc, and with a feeble
and tremulous voice,he turned to John, who
had so often lain on his bosom, and said,
''Son, behold thy mother." Then turning
to his mother, he said, " Behold thy son
[lis business with earthly thing was now
over, and he summoned his energies to meet
the last most terrible blow, before which nature
itself was to give way. He had hitherto
indured all without a complaint; the
mocking?the spitting upon the cross, the
nails and the agony?but now came a woe
that broke his heart. Ilia J at her1 s?his own
father's frown h?gan to darken vpon h in.?
Oh, who can tell the anguish of that loving,
trusting, abondoned heart at the sight. It
was too much, and there arose a cry so
piercing, so shrill and so wild that the universe
shivered before it! and as the cry :
My Co /, My Gody why hasf Ihoujorsaken vie ?"
fell on the ears of astonished mortals, and
filled heaven with alarm ; the earth gave a
groan as if she too was about to expire ; the
sun died in the heavens, an earthquake
thundered oifto complete the dismay ; and
the dead could no longer sleep, but burst
their ghastly eerements. and came forth to
look upon the scene. That was the gloomiest
wave thht ever broke over the soul of
the Saviour, and he fell before it. Christ
was dead!?and to all human appearance
the world was an orphan.
How Heaven regarded this disaster, and
the universe felt at the sight, I cannot tell
I know not but tears fell like rain-drops
from angelic eyes, when they saw Christ
spit upon and struck. I know not but
there was silence on high for more than
u half an hour" when the scene of crucifiction
was transpiring?a silence unbroken
save the solitary note of some harp string on
which unconciously fell the agitated trembling
fingers of some seraph. I know not
but all the raidant ranks on high and even
Gabriel h;mself, turned with the deepest
solicitude to the Fathers' face, to see if he
I 1 ..^4 LI.J -1! T
\ytio v.<iiiu u11u uiiiiuuuieu urmu 11 an. i
know not but his composed brow and serene
majesty were all that restrained heaven
from one universal shriek of horror, when
they heard groans on Calvary?dyivg
groans. I know not but they thought that
God had "given his glory to another," but
one thing I do know?that when they
saw through the vast design?comprehended
the stupendous scheme, the hills of God
elinrtl/ (a n eVinut ?ai?nr
"?"v"1" UC,VI? ,u,,8
their bright tops, and a crystal sea trembled
to a song that had never before stirred its
. bright depths, and the "Glory to God in
the Highest" was a sevenfold-chorus of
hallellujahs and harping symphonies.
Yet none of the cadences reached tne
earth, and all was sad, daik and desparing
around Mount Calvary. The excitement
which the slow murder had created vanished.
With none to.resist, and non6 to be slain, a
change came over the feelings of the multitude
and they began one by one, to return
.## . v. v.. r
to the city. The sudden darkness, also that
wrapped the heavens, and the throb of the
earthquake which made these three crosses
reel to and fro like cedars in the tempests,
had sobered their feelings, and all but the
soldiery were glad to be away from a scene
that had ended with such supernaiiona! exhibitions.
Gradually the noise and confusion
around the hill top receded down the
aiujjua 1 lie suauub ui even UI^mu IU eici:j?
over the landscape, throwing into still more
ghastly relief those three white corpses
stretched on high and streaked with blood j
and all was over. Not now, for the sepulchre
was yet to be open, and the slain Christ was
to mount the heaven of heavens in his glorious
ascension.
I will not speak of the moral grandeur of
the atonement?of the redemption purchased
by the agony and death on Calvary for
they are familiar to all. Still they consti
a i i__. _ r * I. i i
iuie uie greatness ana vuiue 01 me xvnoic. |
It is the atonement that makes Mount Calvary
chief among the "Sacred Mountains"
?gives it such altitude that no moral eye
can scan its top, or bear the full effulgence
of its glory. Paul called on his young disciples
to summon their strongest energies
and bend their highest efforts to comprehend
the u length and breadth and depth and
height"of hisstupendous theme?" a length
which reaches from evei lasting to everlasting;
a breadth that encompasses every intelligence
and every interest; a depth which
reaches the lowest of human degradation
and misery; and a height that that throws
floods of glory on the throne and crown of
Jehovah."
From the. N. (>. Picayune 20th ult.
Lulcr from General Scoll's Army.
It was not until yesterday morning that
we were placed in possession of the following
letters .received here on Tuesday by the
Mary Kingsland. It will be seen that Mr.
Kendall's letter is later than any thing
hitherto received Irom Jalapa, while the
letter from Vera Cruz gives a more definite
account of the the occurrences near that
city reported in our last upon verbal authorily*
. .
The most interesting passage in Mr.
Kendall's letter is that announcing that
Majors Borland and Gaines, Captain Clay
and the other officers taken in the North,
together with Passed Midshipman Rogers,
are at liberty in the city of Mexico. The
next step is to insist upon the immediate
release of the men who were taken with
Major Gaines.
Mr. Kendall's remarks upon a peace party
in Mexico will attract attention. He
has facilities for forming an opinion on the
subject which newspapers do not afford us.
Were we to rely upon the latter alone we
should form a judgment very different from
our associate, out we ao not cioubt tnat
he has access to sources of information far
better than our own.
VeraCkuz, May 13, 1847.
Gentlemen?A band of about 200 Mexicans
has been prowling about the mounted
riflemen's camp, four m?!es from this place,
two nights in succession, and last night the
men were aroused twice by the approach of
Mexicans.
Early this morning our gallant Captain
Walker started out to give th;Mn batlle and
had a nice little skirmish, killing four of the
enemy by the time my informant, an officer
. of the Rifles, left, and he represents Walker
along ways ahead of fie tcene of the first
brush, following them up. 1 guess the enemy
will find that they have got hold of the
wrong chap before Captain W. has done
with them.
This morning early "a dragoon came in
from Santa He, where he had been left with
seven others to guard sotne stores belonging
to Government, and he state that a body of
about 200 Mexicans attacked them last
night, killing all his companions and taking
possession of the stores, and he only
saved himself by running. There is another
company of Riflemen following up
Captain YV., but I regret that 1 do not know
by whom t is commanded. I am assured
by .an eye-witness that he saw four dead
Mexicans on the ground when Capt. W.met
the enemy. It is generally supposed
that this party of the enemy are near here
more for the purpose of plundering small
parties and stealing horses than any thing
else.
Jalaim, May 11, 1847?6, p, m.
Since the diligencia went out at noon
to-day for Vera Cruz, another diligencia
has come in from the city of Mexico full of
nafiOan/vAVA onrl Krinrrm/v nnitra aT rint n I ?
puoouil^u ICj UUU Ul 11'o ni6 iicwo U? liut U III"
tie importance. Among the passengers
was Mr. Kennedy, who, after being badly
treated here about the 1st of April, was
driven to the city of Mexico.
All the passengers confirm what I wrote
you this morning. They say that at the
capital there was no government, no order,
no responsibility?all wasanarchy. Anaya
was still President pro tern, but had neither
influence nor authority. A new President
is to be elected on the 15th of the present
month?the tenth Chief Magistrate this
distracted country lias had within tin; last
eighteen months. 1 cannot stop to count
them uli up, but such is the fact.
The lad rones?guerrillas I suppose they <
should be called now?are busy at work
upon tlit? road?, especially between Puebla i
and tin; city of Mexico. The same pnssen- i
gers were robbed the other day no less than :
seven times in one. stage, and the inference ;
is that the last robbers must have had rather i
poor picking if the first were very searching i
in their operations. The diligencia in <
which Mr. Kennedy came down was robbed
twice on the road. i
It is stated that the propoitions made by <
England some months since, to offer her :
iiiu-i vi-miuu in seining the Uillieulties be- j
twecn Mexico and the United Slates, have ]
recently been taken up by the Mexican .
Congress, and after a warm discussion, in |
which one of the members said that the
whole affair was but another attempt of the
monarchies upon the sacred liberties of the
Mexican Republic, the motion even to con- !
sider them was lost by a vote ol 44 to 33.
From this it would seem that the present
Congress is determined to shut every door
against all proposals of an honorable peace.
Santa Anna has sent a letter to Congress
from Orizaba. lie gives his own account
of the battle of Cerro Gordo, anil claims a
great victory 011 the first day of the light.
On the second day Providence, according to
his story, gave the advantage to the Yan
kees. He sa \ s nothing about the exertions
of the hitter. Santa Anna states that lie
now has seven thousand men, and that his
force is rapidly increasing; and moreover,
that all arc burning to encounter the Ainer-.
icans again. lie wants money to cavryon
his operations, but Congress has not seen
fit to vote him a copper?one reason probably
being that it has not a copper to give.
Santa Anna, so far as I can learn, is the only
man who has been spoken of in Mexico
as a candidate for the Presidency, and l.e is
in very bad oder with the mass.
The States north of Mexico?Guadalajara,
Guanajuato, Zacatecas, Durango, San
Luis, and oihers?talk openly of separating
fr< m Mexico, and letting her take care of
herself. Not a dollar in the way of supplies
:irr? thov srmdino- on for llm rrrlinf nf ft?o
General Government in its emergency.
They were still doing a little in the way
of fortifying the city of Mexico, but a Spaniard
informs ine that all the obstructions
they have erected so lar could be kicked
over with the foot. The city had been placed
under martial law, and the direst excesses
anticipated. The citizens had all been
called upon to take up arms in the common
defence, but unfortunately for them ninetenths
of them had no arms to take up. Nor
were there any cannon at the capitol other
than a few small and indiffererent pieces.
There is certainly a party, and an influential
one in Mexico, which begins to talk
of peace; and where four weeks since they
did not dare breathe their sentiments, they
now come out openly and avow themselves.
Still the measure is far from popular.
The peace party is composed of the more
nonesi ana intelligent property notuers, tne
merchants, and perhaps the clergy?to these
are opposed the military who h ive all disgraced
themselves, and all the demagogues
among the lawyers. If the priests could
he made certain that they would continue
to hold their rich benefices secure, they
would probably be in favour of peace. ,
On the approach of the Americans it is
said that congress, with all thearchieves of
the Republic, will move to the city ofMorclia.
Of course all my news is verbal, not
a paper having come through. I have des- (
patched a man to the capital for full files of
the public Journals, and if he gets back
safe they shall be immediately forward to ,
you
Majors Borland and Gaines, Capt. C M.
Clay, and all the officers taken in the North,
were at liberty in the city of Mexico, as was ;
:%.i- 1^1 n_ ? * nil ii
uisu i\ilusnipinun ivougers. i ney are till
said to be well and respectfully treated now,
though the latter was infamously abused 011
the way up to Mexico from Perote.
Gen. Canalizo was at San Andres, a
place north of Orizaba, at last accounts.?
The force with him is not stated, but is undoubtedly
small. Me is an old friend of
Santa Anon, and is probably working at
present for his master.
I write this in great haste, and have no
time to comment. One thing I must say,
and that is that there undoubtedly would
be a verv lar^e neace nartv in Mexico were 1
" O r - I j . t 1
it not for the overweening pride of the ma- ]
jority of'the inhabitants. It is hard to be <
thrashed into a peace, that's certain. (
I send this by a Mexican to Vera Cruz,
who promises to ride through at his fastest ,
speed. If it reaches you, well and good. I
Yours, &c G. W. K. J
City of Pucbla.
The city is walled and fortified. It js
built of stone, and the streets are well paved.
Here water is abundant, but from the National
Bridge to this plaoe. no water can be
obtained?the natives substitute pulque as a I
beverage. From Jalapa to. Pucbla, there t
. AM'* !". : SV '
are occasional heights near the road,which,
it* fortified, might annoy the invaders. In
fact from Vera Cruz to Puebla this is the
case, the traveler being alternately over
b. oad, unobstructed roads and narrow passes,
commanded by heights. The road pas
ses thrjugh Pucbla. The Pueblanos have
;i particular character; they aro cunning
a id courageous, and the most expert robbers
and assassins throughout Mexico, where
thore is no lack of such. Yet, Mr. Thompson
calls Puebla "the Lowell of Mexico."
If an offender is brought before the alcade,
Liny where else, and is known or ascertained
to be a Pueblano, his condemnation is
sure. Pucbla is situated at the extremity of
a, large plain, on the Vera Cruz side; its
population is estimated at 00,000 souls; the
streets are parallel, and very wide and well
paved?the houses, built with stone and covered
with terraces, and two or three stories
11 i <rli _ nn> rpmilrl.vilili- firm
.. Q..7 ?- - - ? M.M IIV* X liU |il(UiiV>
|)l;icc would be admired Ln almost any part
of the world ; it forms a perfect square ;
facing it stands the cathedral; on three side3
are m.ignilicent palaces. There arc many
other edilices strongly admired for their
beauty.
There are few churches in the world
more magnificently ornamented than the
cathedral of this city. All the chandeliers
and lamps, which arc in great numbers, aro
of massive gold and silver; the dome is in
marble of the country, of great beauty and
of fine workmanship. There are ten chapels
richly decorated, and closed each of
them with an iron gate door of very great
height and of the finest finish. This church
was finished in 1808, and it is said to have
cost $0,000,000. There are also many other
fine churches. The Almeida or public
walk, is very well kept. It is composed of
three alleys (of 500 to 600 feet each) of poplars
and other fine trees and is surrounded
by a wall at the foot of which runs a little
stream of water. There arc a good many
fountains in different parts of the city, and a
few jcls (Veau or water spouts. Few cities
in Europe are finer than l'uebla ; but much
cannot be said for the population, which
since the late expulsion of the European
Spaniards, who were by far the most intelligent
and industrious portion of it, leaves a
curious contrast between the present occupants
of public civilization. The same
may be said of the whole population bordering
the road from Vera Cruz to the city.
1 line will no doubt correct this. 1'ueb a is
distant from the capital about seventy eight
miles.
The route erom Puebla to the Cap*
ital.?The only town of any note between
Puebla and the city of Mexico is Cholula.
the ancient capital of a great independent
Republic, which contained during the time
of Cortez and according to his own account,
forty thousand houses. It has declined into
a town of six thousand inhabitants. The
noted pyramid here is a work of art which,
next to the pyramids of Egypt, approaches
nearer to those of nature in magnitude and
vastne.ss. Its base covers upwards ot forty*
eight acres of ground, or about four and a
half times more than the largest Eg ptian
nvramid. Cholula is seventy niilo.s frnm
Mexico. The capital is a walled city, but
is not supposed to be susceptible of a stub*
born defence. It is a very wealthy city,and
contains a population of one hundred and
forty thousand, abounding in fine buildiugs,
costly churches, public squares and broad
and regular streets.
Captain P. S. Brooks, of tho " Ola '96
Boys,1' passed through this place on Tuesday
morning last, on his way to hi3 way to
his home at Edgefield Court House. As we,
however, had not the pleasure ot greeting
the Captain in person, we are able only to
5$ive our readers the#is< of the intelligence
brought by him. We learn from him that
General Scott was preparing to go into
summer quarters at Jalapa and Pucbla, and
to act upon the defensive until summer.
YVc did not learn, however, whether this
policy ot " masterly inactivity" was dictated
by an indisposition on the part Gon. Scott to
procced farther without reinforcements, or
whether he has been so instructed from
Washington City. We learn further, that
all the 12 months volunteers were discharged
at Jalapa, and on their way home.
Captain Brooks brought with him a great
many Mexican curiosities, among them a
kind of fire arm called an " Escopettt," as a
present from the late^ sutler of our Regiment
(Major Smilh,) to a gentleman in this
place. It is about half the length, and ;;
carries a ball about twice the size, of the
ordinary musket.
Captain Brooks was accompanied from
Jalapa by Captain Secrest, of the Lancas,
ter Volunteers, who also, passed on to his
? - '* mi .1 ' ? .tt'i -
,ome in Lancaster, i ney are pom on ioavcv
Ssewe from their dutle., %? ?**
!l health. We regret to learn that Capt.
3 rooks looks very %