The new South. (Port Royal, S.C.) 1862-1867, December 05, 1863, Image 1
THETEWlls 0 U T H. .
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VOL. 2. \0. IS. WHOLE NO. 63. . POUT ROYAL, S. C., SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1803. PRICE FIVE CENTS.
i .a-r*
THE NEW SOUTH. |
Published every Saturday Morning by;
JOS. H. SEARS, EditoJ and Proprietor. ,
Price : Five Cents Per Cory.
Advertisements, fifty cents a line, each insertion.
Terms: invariably cash.
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OFFICE: Phoenix Building, Union Square. ;
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[From " Alice of Monmouth," by E. C. Stedman, to b? J
published in a few days by C'arlcton, we extract the follow- j
tug spirited Cavalry Song.]
Our good steeds snuff the evening air,
Our pulses with their purpose tinglo ;
The foeman's fires are twinkling there ;
He leaps to hear our sabres jingle I
Halt!
Each carbine semis its whizzing ball :
Now, cling! clang! forward all,
Into tbe fight!
Dash on beneath the smoking dome :
Thro' level lightnings gallop nearer!
One look to Heaven! Ho thoughts of honif,
The guidons that we bear are dearer.
Charge !
Cling! clang! forward all!
Heaven help those whose horses fall:
Cut left and riglit I
They flee before our fierce attach!
They fall! they spread In broken surges.
* ?v>?r, cc.jar.ules, boar our wo:uai*d bvk.
And leave the focman to his dirges.
whkel!
The bugles sound the swift recall:
Cling! clang ! backward fill!
Home, and good-night I
A Night with the Ghost of Hilton Head.
The Universe is one great circle of ever-recur-;
ring events: periodicity marks all the great move-!
ment, and even is plainly visible in the most '
Tho fiichirma r>f flivcnrhl nlso return :
with some regularity, and society is governed by :
some unknown law around which it revolves,? i
different periods of time are marked by peculiar :
beliefs, and these periods return, as Time in its
eternal march moves on. Ghosts are no novelt}--'
they were once, real and genuine; the people firmly
believed in their existence; this time has re :
turned, we have reached that point in the circle
of life?the ghost period.
In our cities they have been fashionable, and
(he elite of the avenues have nightly enjoyed the
presence of a ghost; why should they not deign j
to visit this spot ? why forget us in ouiv lonely ;
_ , o rr>< , O 1
iiours: u:>vc aoi no, tm ? ?? >
nights since the samlr beach of Hilton Head was
impressed by the elastic feet of such a sprite.
The afternoon had been pleasant, the sun in;
the blue vault bf Heaven was partially obscured
by fleeting clouds, yet his rays were full of the 1
tire of this southern latitu 1?, at the autumnal
* !
season: e veuing came on, and a peculiar sense off
dampness, gave signs of an approaching storm.
Sol had left his bright glory, in streaks of mellow j
light on the western sky, and nature lay calm, j
serene find peaceful, at this the hour of the dying i
day. The evening passed as usual, save in my |
ear the sound of some strange, magical music; it j
had the harmony of the .Eolian Harp, wafted by '
u gentle breeze o'er the vast expanse of Ocean; it
had a charm, and held entranced my senses, yet
with all its sweetness ami harmony, there was
something of sadness and untold mystery in
, **
the music. "With my head inclined so as to j
catch, if possible, the very notes and song of the |
singer, I gazed out into the night, nothing was
visible but the white-capped waves as they rolled
on the shore; the music still entranced me, and '
while thus gazing into the unknown and dark,? ,
suddenly the air began to grow damp and chill,
the darkness increased, angry clouds gathered in i
the kItv arid the ocean boiled V"ith agitation, white !
foam dashed against white foam, and the troubled j
spirit was on the waters. Hours passed on, I stillj
remained at my window,? the storm increasing in j
violence; ever and anon from out the darkness a [
sudden flash of electric light would illuminate the .
scene, and the roar of the thunder echoed through '
the darkness like the booming of cannon on the J
hotly contested field: thus hour after hour passed, |
and even amid this tempest and storm I could
hear the soft and hea% enly harmony of this mystic
singer. Firmly Tesolving to discover if possible j
this strange and wonderful mystery, I seated my- j
self in the window, watching and listening, think-'
ing that perhaps aided by the light of some flash,
the cause of this magic spell might be revealed.
It was approaching "the midnight hour, when
churchyards yawn, and hell -itself breaths forth
contagion to the world." I thought not of churchyards,
although with sorrow be it said, that many
a noble youth and patriot has found his grave, far I
away from the churchyard w^r:- his fathers sleep:!
nfhAr r>Wp breathim* ont contagion to the !
~ IT ?? O O |
world, I banished from my inind, although living {
in the land of foul treason, and on soil desecrated ;
by slavery and oppression.
While thus musing, having almost resolved to !
close the window and *'lie down to pleasant,
dreams,"?a sharp, quick and clear sound startled !
me, it was only a nearer approach of the storm, j
which now had full sway o'er land and eca. I
closed the window and lay down to sleep; alas!
no angel of Somuut came with gentle hand to
close my eyelids: I felt a something prompting
me to again rush to the window ;?it may seem
strange to the reader, but in this world, with its :
subtle influences and mysterious laws, notliing
should be startling; mankind must be schooled in
the wonderful, and even expect daily some grand
revelation open its mystery before them; many of
the sublime ami majestic movements in the universe
are wrought by the almost infinitesimal influance
of a universal power, eternal as the Divine,
and as infinate. Again 1 stood at the window,
fully determined to learn the cause of this peculiar
influence on my spirit; I could not resist the
spell that bound me to that spot, although I suff- '
ered from the storm beating on my brow, and at j
times almost blinding me by its fury: it was now j
twelve o'clock, midnight, an I I must confess I :
felt a kind of quaking fear and tremor; each crash oj ;
thunder aa it echoed from cloud to cloud made j
cfnvf- nnc m unqnt nnlr I mused. had I better
<>**. *. fc J W?W ?- ? ? ,
remain alone at this hour or summon my com- j
panions to the scene? perhaps they would laugh
at my cowardice, or sneer at my folly; yet again,
if there was a reality about this mystic singer,
they would be witnesses, and could testify of what
they ha.l seen. I resolved to awaken them, and j
in a few moments they were present; nil testified ;
to the peculiar sounds which echoed through the I
chill air and storm. The fury of the tempest j
soon abated, and my comrades one by one left;
one only remained, a stout, robust and muscular
man-a man of firm will and strong nerves- he
resolved to investigate and solve the mystery.
My friend E. was well adapted for this midnight
scene, accustomed as he was to graveyards and
the paraphenalia of the dead, (he was a doctor of
medicine,) he seated himself by my side; tne
window still open: here wo were in the silent
midnight, the wind had died away, tHe rain-drops
fell from the piazza, whils"*dhe wares with easy
and gentle motion washed the beach; it was an
hour I long shall find recorded in the book of
memory, dark and still all seemed in the midnight,
while thus seated, both giving oceanward, the
sweet harmony began, and I observed a form of
snowy whiteness in the distance, moving gracefully
through the darkness; my friend the doctor,
the same instant exclaimed, 'do you see that?' 'sea
what?' said I, endeavoring t?? ovince no uneasiness
at the sight of thi3 figure clad in the habliments
of the grave or of tho spirit world; in breathless
silence we watched the sepulchral form; again tho
mysterious song filled the air, and by its magio
power, we passed into that land of dreams, neither
spoke, both while thus sea .d yielding to
slumber.
Just as the morning streaked the east, my friend
awoKe, ana >vnn a nuuueu uupiuse siezeu uijr urm,
arousing me from what appeared, a stupiil sleep.
In a moment my friend, the doctor, began to
describe the image which last impressed him, he
spoke in Cowry language, with the peculiar .
nature of his warm and generous soul, he dwelt
in extacy over the beauty of the spirit form; describing
the lovliuess of the mystic song, and rejoicing
o'er the happy hour when the singer touched
the hidden harp.
I listened with amazement at his story, and
'ere the sun had risen from his watery bed, wa
were both firm believers in that ghost, which the
night before had charmed me with its music, and
nroiluccd in the doctor such extacy, contemplating
its beauty.
Reader, it is said that the same apparition presents
itself at the midnight hour, during the tempest
and the storm, when the waves roll and dash
in all their fun*.
?They have a poet in Bath, Mr. Demy Kelley,
who, in a card in the Times,
" Tenders his sincere thanks to the ladies and
gentlemen of Bath for their prompt and efficient
efforts in expelling that hated monster of destrucii
it.1 A! A xl. Am.ML.V_
UUIl, unit ul*i \ crest, i>|n-u m< miucu unu ^uuaiuuu
teetlieil beast which burst through my unguarded
windows on its errand of ruin, but who was driven
back in a fair fight by our brave members of
the Fire Department, and laid low, not in the
dust, but in its own heated rains."
?The Mayor of a town in France was astonished,
a few Sundays since, at seeing a raw leg of mutton
fall down from the sky! He called the municipal
authorities together to consult about the
matter. The explanation of this singular rncaieot
is to be found in the fact that the mutton fell from
M. Madar's great balloon, which was passing
over at an lmmence neigui.
?This is the way in which a soldier who had
been caught stealing clothing was drummed out
of the Camp of the Invalid Corps at Augusta :
The men were paraded, and the culprit having
had the sentence read to him, the buttons were
cut fioin his coat, the visor from his cap, which
was turned inside out, and a copy of the proceedings
of the Court placarded on his back. He was
then marched out of camp, a squad of soldiers
with fixed bayonets behind him, to the tune ol
*The Rogue's March."
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