Edgefield advertiser. (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, August 11, 1852, Image 1
44
$ Pnmwcraiii 30trind, Drf1Ah~ t~ o i9tilyx Uig3I~i5, lifWS, politiW5, f!*rd 311tiligfl, Citcratuzf Nondill, fligpatie, $$it xmiuc&*
"We will cling to the Pillars of the Temple of our MIrtni, and if it must fall, we will Pish smit the Rulns."
W. F. DURISOE, Proprietor. EDGEFIELD, S. C., AUGUST 11, 1852. - --.
JOHN THOMPSON'S DAUGRTER.
Tu following clever parody on Canipbell's ballad
of " Lord UIlia's Daughter," is taken from a Vir
ginia paper:
A fellow near Kentucky Clime,
Crieq, " Hoatinan. do nest tarry,
And 'll give thee a silver diimie,
To ro.v us o'er the ferry."
0Now who would ersess the Ohio,
This dark andi stormy water7"
I sin this young lady's beau,
And this John Thompson's daughter.
"We're fled before her father's spite ,
With great precipitation,
Anti should he find us here to-night,
I'd lose my reputation.
They've missed the girl an.1 purse beside,
His horsemen hard have pressed me:
And who will cheer my bonney bride,
If yet they shall arrest me ?"
Out spoke the boatman thenin time,
" You shall not fall, don't fear it ;
I'll go, nst for your silver dimie,
But for your manly spirit.
"And by my word, the bonney bird,
In danger shall not tarry,
For though a storm is coming on,
I'll row you o'er the ferry."
By this the wini more fiercely rose, t
The buat was at the landing,
And with the drenching rain their clothes
Grew wet where they were standing.
But still, a wIttler roe the wind1,c
And as the night grew drearer,
Just back a piece came the police,
Their trampling sounded nearer.
"0 haste thee, haste !" the lady cries,
" It's anything but funny;
I'll leave the light of loving eyes,
But not my father's money!'"
And still they hurried in the face, t
Of winld and rain unsparing;
John Thompson reached the landing place,
His wrsth was turned to swearing.
For by the lightning's angry flash, (
His lchild hie disl discover; ti
One lovely hand held all his cash, ti
And one was round her lover! S
"Come back, come back," lie cried in woe, t
Aeross the stormy waterI
My daughter, 0ia -ft ligtir." n,
'Twas vain ; they reached the other shore, b
(Sueh dooms the Fates assign us,) C
The gold he'd piled, went with his child,
And he was left there mnue.
e
THE DUEL IN THE DARK.
A 'TALE OF VICKSBURG. r
EvrnY traveller who has descended the S
Mississippi within the l:st twenty-ive years,
must rememnber Vicksburg. so ;singtdar in its
ur r
situation for a town on the shelving declivity
of high rolling hillr, with its houses scatter
ed in groups oin the terraces. Every reader t
of Amerirau iewsaipcrs dusrimg any one of
the Iast twenity-tive yeatrs must remember
Vicksbuirg, so rich ha~s bieun the fnd 'f nma
teriatl it hats sutpplied for the circ'ulatting hi
bratries of " horrible ine des," due'l', al'rs~t,
and exeenlltins, by alhl sorts ot .umr
forget the hatnging of the gambhlers and
steam-ldo ctors. In fine, everybody knowvs
that thne placee has been noted since its earliest
settlenmnt f'or tihe belligerent character of I
its inhabmitants, and the nunmer and atrocity
of the violent dleeds whuich may be asaerted I
with literal truth, to have stained its every
street with the blood of'humnan hearts.
It is noit our plresentt purpose, however, to
sketch any of these mnore celebrated brute
battles, th'at prove nothiing bieyotd the wilful
wickednecss of the respecLtive combatatnts.
Btut we will select for the sake of its mournl
ful moral alone, a solitary tragedy, wvhich was
brietly chronicled by the press of the day,
and then faded from the recollection of all,
save one froum whom the writer received the
story in all its paerticularity. She, of course,
could niever forget. The wife of thle mur
dered hero wvept at the sad reminiscence
twenty years after the date of the cattastro
phe.
Int the year 1827, a young lawyer, (wihoni
we shall call John Thomas, to avoid harrow
ing the memory of some relative or friend
who ight chance to skim over these col
umnts,) emigrated from W orcester, in Mas
sachusetts, to the State of Mississippi. He
was poor, had recenmtly miartied a beautiful
and accomp1lished wvoman wvho had re
nounced wealthy parents for his sake, anld
henee was anxious to better his fortune in
As little time as possible. T1his consideration
determnined the legal adventurer to locate at
Vicksburg, then considered in the West as
the paradise of the har.
In a very short time the new lawvyer bad
uemple reasons to congratulate himself onl
the choice of his position. His bland de
meanlor, studious habits, and more than all,
his eloquence In debate, wvon himt patronage;
and he rose, almost at a single bound, to
the first place in his profession. Hie wvas
pmployed in all the land suits, and it most
of the still more numterous and equally lu
crative cases of homicide, so that in the brief
period of two years after his advent be had
cleared .the routd sumt of thirty thousand
dollars. Let no0 sceptical disciple of Lord
Coke deem this statement incredible. S. S.
Prentiss, now of Newv Orleanis, realized,
cash in hand, forty thousand dollars by his
openaing speech in Vieksbsurg
During his career thtus far, young Thomas
was remtarkatble in one respect. Hie never
went armed, and although in the fierce atnd
fiery altercatlioris of the forumn, he necessari.
ly made some onemies, no attack had hithter
to b1-t ventured Ott hIs person, T'he athlet-|
cism ot his noble form, and the look of
avincible determination in his keen blue
yes, had donhtless warned the desperadoes
iat " the Yankee orator," as ie was gene.
allv termed could hit as hrd L'o.vs as the
Onrt iself. However this may be, two
ears elapsed, years too of eminent success,
iefore the peaceable attorney was even in
:ni1ted. Alas! tlis ll:dcyon period was
loomed to a change alike sudden and terri
V:e.
There resided at th:t time in the town a
otorious duellist by the name of Johnson,
those matchless prowess inspired universal
'ar. lie had slain hall a dozen foes on the
blie " field of honor," and as mnny' in
irivate and irreguNlar eneointers. All the
nemnhers of " the bloody fancy club" spoke
if Mike Johnson's feats with rapturous en
husiasm. But all good men, all lovers of
eace, when the " brave wretch" passed,
urned pale and were silent.
At the May term of the District Court,
829, the grand jury, munsteaing extraordi
mary courage, returned a true bill against
'ohnson for the murder of William Lee, an
noffensive youth, whom lie had shot down
n a drunken frolic, under circumstances of
eculiar aggravation. Thomas was retained
v a friend of the deceased to aid in the
rosecution, and notwithstanding the earnest
dvice of his well-wishers to the contrary,
ppeared on the trial (of the cause-one of
he most exciting ever argued at the bar of
7ickshurg. On the last evening of the ses
ion, after adjournment, Thomas rushed into
he presence of his wife, with looks of such
vident agitation as to fill her soul with over
owering alarm.
" My love, tell me, in the name of heaven,
vat has happened I" she cried, pale as a
orpse, and shaking like a leaf in the wind.
" Nothing," answered the husband, think
g to conceal the most fearful part of the
telligence. " Nothing, only the murderer,
like Johnson, after his acquital, grossly in.
lted me in the court-yard, and I knocked
im down."
" And lie challenged yon to fight him with
istols!" almost shrieked the wife, anticipa.
ng the rest, with the quickness of woman's
een common sense.
" It ii even so," replied the lawyer, mourn
illy.
" Oh! say that you will not meet him.
h swear that you will not turn duellist in
is Sodom of the South," implored the wife,
rowing her arns around his neck, and
)bing like a child on his bosom.
"There, do not weep now. I will not
rn duellist, dear Emma, although I much
ar thatthe cons ce will he b ,n -'"
an."
The next morning it was known in Vicks
urg that "the Yankee orator" had been
hallenged and refused to fight. According.
r, he was generally denounced as a coward
-a word which at that day, and even now,
ight be considered as expressing far deep.
r scorn than either robber or assassin. As
e passed through the streets, he was aston
hel to witness the coldness manifested by
is old acquaintances, and even professed
iiends, while the great mass of the people
eined to regard him wiith ineffable con
muipt. " Yankee white-liver," " boaster,"
potron," were the sounis most frequently
ung in his ears, especially when near the
roceries, and there was one then on every
Lrrace of the broken hills.
The matter grew still worse. About a
reek afte-rwards, Johntson muet his iictim ini
e public squa::re, presenated a cockedl pistol
t his heart with onme hanid, and helabored
imn unmmereifully with a cowhide which lie
~rsed in the~ other. Resistance at the
omenut was altogether out of the question,
ar the slightest motion would have been the
ignaul for immediate dheath. lHe thought of
mman: and lier sweet habe, and bore the
astigationi ini siletice.
Alter this, clients deserted his office, and
~entlemen refusedl to recognize him or re
urn his salute in the thoroughfares of busi
iss, or (durinig his morning strolls over the
ills. Had his touch been contagioan, or his
reath pestilence, lie could niot have been
nore caretully shtinned.
Another week passed, and thme degraded
awyr was in a state of min~d borderinig on
nsnity ; and yet all the while lie concealed
.he mental fortune from his affeeth' natte wife.
D)ne evening, in a more than comm on hitter
md gloomy mood, as lie wvalked through the
,blic square, he was again accosted by
~like Johnson, wvith his cocked pistol in one
1.d( sand uplifted cowvhide in the other. 'Thle
issault was the more aggravatia~g as the
hlace was thronged wvith spectatots.
" Cowvard and villain !" exclaimn ed John
ion, "did I not tell you that I w'ould cow-.
bide you ever - week; until I wiYIpd thie
ourage of a man and a geintlemnan mnto your
Yankee hide ?"
"I am not a cowvard," retorted Thomas,
ii a hollow tone, so unearthly fierce atd
wild that it caused every hearer to start. At
the instant, his lips were livid, und clenched
between his teeth till the blood ran. His
eyes wvere red as a mad dog's and the mnus
ees of his face quivered; but his body and
limbs seemed to have the rigidity of marble.
"Ho will fight now," rung in aii eager
whisper through the excited crowd, as they
saw the terriblo tokens of the fiend aroused
-the fiend which lurks, at different depths,
in all human nature.
" If you are not a coward, why will you
not fight" asked the duelist, somiewhat struck,
in spite of his thorough desperation, harden
ed in the hot gore of a dozena murders.
" I will fight, if y'ou wish it," wvas the
loud ringing answer.
" Then you accept my challenge ?"
" I do. Will any one present be so good
as to act as my second 1," inquired the law
yer, addressing the spectators.
For a minute or two nie one spoke, so
great wvas the dread of the arch-duelist, Mike
Johnson.
" Will no one in such a mass of generous
ei be my second I" repeated the lawvyer,
in a louder tone.
I will," said a shrill, trumpet-like voice,
on the outskirts of the crowvd, and a tall,
,,umndiig farm, with bravery wvritten on
is brow, and the eagle's eye leneath it,
made his way to the centre of the scene of
contention, and stood close fronting Johnson,
with a smiling glance, before which the lat
ter, for an instant, quailed.
The question " who is he t who is he?"
circulated among the lookers on. But no
one could answer; no one had ever seen
him before, and yet everybody would have
then sworn to his courage, so bold yet tran.
quit was his bearing.
" Who are you ?" inquired the duelist, re
covering his presence of mind.
A stranger from Texas."
"But who will vouch for your respecta
bilit I"
"I can give you vouchers sufficient," re
plied the stranger, frowning till his brows
looked frightful; and then stooping forwards,
he whispered something in Johnson's ear,
audible alone to him.
* I am satisfied," said the duelist aloud,
and trembling perceptibly. " Col. Morton,
will you serve as my friend I"
The individual laat addressed gave his as.
stnt.
" Now, let us adjourn to some private
room to arrange the preliminaries," remark.
ed the stranger; and the principals and se
conds left the crowd, then increasing every
minute, and excited near to madness by the
thick-crowding events of the hour.
The meeting took place the following
nigl.t, ia a daik room, with the door locked
and the two seconds on the outside. The
principals were pladed in opposite corners
of the apartment, which was twenty feet
squire, and each was armed with a large
bowie knife-no more. It was midnight-a
night without moon or stars. Black pitchy
clouds enveloped the sky, and a slight sifting
mist rendered the shadows of the earth more
intense. Hence, the room where the duel
was about to begin was wrapped in rayless
darkness. The combatants could not even
see the blades of their own knives.
At first, they both stopped and stealthily
untied and took off their shoes, so as to
make the least possible noise in walking over
the floor. The same thought had struck
them at the same time-to maneuvre for the
vantage-ground.
Thomas moved in a circle, softly as a cat,
around the apartment, till he got within a
few feet of the corner where his enemy had
first been placed, and then paused to listen.
For four or rive seconds he could hear no
thing in the grave-like silence but the quick
beats of his own busy heart. Presently,
however, there crept into his ear a scarcely
mudible sound as of suppressed breathing,
was trying the same stratagem. The ruse
was repeated thrice, with a like result. At
length Thomas conclided to stand perfectly
still and await Johnson's approach. Mo.
ionless now himself, he could distinguish a
soft rustling noise, like the dropping of
flakes of wool, cireling around the floor, and
gradually advancing towards him.
At last, when the sound appeared within
about three feet of the lawyer's position. lie
suddenly made a bounding plunge with his
knife, aimed iii the dark air, where he sup
posed the bosom of his foe to lie. His blade
struck against that of the other, and a few
sparks of fire rolled at the fierce collision,
and fell expiring on the floor.
And then, for an instant, the seconds with.
out the dour heard a sharp ringing of steel,
a groan, a fall, and all again was silent as
the ton! The duel at midnight had ended;
ut howi They were appalled at the hor
rible question.
Waiting some minutes and hearing no.
thing mtore, Col. Morton and the stranger
[prepared a light, unlocked the door, andic en
tered. The spectacle was most aff'ecting.
There hay the bloody corpse of the duelist,
.ohnson, mangled dreadfully, and above it
stood the erect and imposing form of the
lawyer, Tlhomas-nnhurt, not a cut on his
skin or a rent in his clothing, but ;veeping
a if his heart were broken.
H~e started back as thme tlashinmg light daz
zed his eyes, and, growing pale as thme dead
at his feet, exclauimed, in accents of immen
srable anguish-" Oh, God!I how, shall I
endure to meet my dear Emma, waith this
murderous gore on my hands!I Such stains
would defile the very gates of heaven, and
blacken the floor of hell itselt !"
HeI did, however, afterwards meet Emma
and her babme ; but weo shall not attempht to
paint the scene. A week subsequently, he
was shot to pieces in his own office, while
employed in wvriting after night. TJhe assas
sin was not known, but supposed to bo a
younger brother of the duellist, .Johnson.
Trhe stranger wvho acted iln the combat as
t e acomi of Thomas, wvas inideed, as he
saidi, from Texas, and then travelling hrugh
Mississippi, and was the bravest man, per.
hps, that ever drew' the breath of life.
James Bowvie, who fell only with the fadl ol
the Alamo, when his red knife was drunk
with the blood of Mexicans.
Readr.-But the morali You promised
us a moral.
Writer.-The same moral wvhich lies at
the bottom of all true stories, if they be read
rightly. I give you this, and can give nc
more- that the circumstances which maken
men make also their actionis, as the history
of many a Newv Englander besides pooi
Thommas, in the South, can attest. TIhere.
fore, never stronigly condemn the deeds o
your brethren of the common humanity
until you shall have realized their materia
and spirituaml situation in all its mathematica
and moral dimensions. T'his lesson, studiec
well, may render you wiser anad probablj
happier men.
Tfun FUI-rlns.-It has been beautifulla
said, that " the veil which covers the face o
futurity is wvoven by the hand of Mercy.
Seek not to raise that veil, therefore, for sad
ness might be seen to shade the brow tha
fancy had arrayed invsmiles and gladness."
IH that clothes the poor, clothes his owi
soul. He that sweetens the cup of afflic
tio, sweetens his ownm heart. He that feed
the hungry, spreads out a banquet for him
self, more Sweet and refreshing than luXur
n bestow.
A TLZO ALOSY.
THE BARON ' STORY.
The following *4- was related to me
by an old friend, 1 ri&'baronet, and :is far
as my memory servesj will give it to you
in his own words:
About four months.fter my marriage, it
was my wont, each mrrning after breakfast,
to stroll about my gatients-and fields, until,
perhaps, four o'clock at which hour I re
turned home to enjo- my wire's society;
and when the weatherpermitted we occa
sioaldly took a walk or ride.
One morning feeling myself not quite
well, I returned muchl' earlier than u31ua,
about eleven o'clockiJgand went into the
house by a back entrae; as neither knock
ing nor ringing annontced my arrival, my
wife was not aware ofmy return.
I sought her first i the drawing room
but not tinding her th" proceeded to her
bed-room, and whilet assing through my
dressing-room to it f-was surprised by at
sudden rush to the. bed-room door, which
was instantly boltedIhvithini. I distinctly
heard a low whispering and as I thought,
hurried receding steps: yet, altogether, I
was not kept waiting nore than a few se.
conds. My wife's mai opened the door,
when to my great perplexity I beheld my
wife's usually pale face! sufrused with crim.
son blushes. [ also detected her maneuv
ing a comb through Uier hair to hide, as I
stataly suspected, her blushes from me, or
her dirorderly curls.
"What is the mening or al tis t"
thought I. " it is strange! the maid too
looks confused and muih frightened !,'
My wife did not hasten to meet me with
her usually sunny welcome; there was not
even one smile to greet me. At length,
recovering herself a little, she with a hesi
tating manner said
" Well, love how gde on the farm I"
But I was grieved,.fr the first time in my
lire. I felt that I was iot welcome. I felt
something was going o's that I was not to
know. So merely say g I I will tell you
when we meet in the drawing-room, I ab.
ruptly quit her.
Not knowing wihi'her I was going or why
I suffered so sudden s4- frightful a revo
tion of feeling, I huried down stairs rushed
through the hall as the lawn, and
plunged into the firo-.' that leads to a se
questered part of thei und; nor- did I
slacken my pace -unti I. was fully a mile
from the house, wheir 't ew myself upon
the green tank by th de of the river, the
most misera I .- I, who- one half
aNMid, "at 1!
asking for an explanation; that I thought,
ught to have been given unsought, and I
determined not to ask my lady why my visit
was so unwelcome.
But henceforth I resolved to keep a watch
ful eye upon her. A thousand cruel thoughts
crowded upon me now I had discovered
there was something which my wife con
cealed from me; she whom I thought so
free from all duplicity.
At this period I had attained my thirtieth
year. Ladv- was only two years young
er than myself, but from sweet girlish style
of beauty and gay, happy manner, no one
could suppose her more than twenty. She
had been educated on the continent. I
knew that soon after leaving school she had
received proposals-if she had not actually
abeen engaged to a gentleman-before quit
ting Paris. Hitherto this circumstance had
never given the slightest uneasiness hut nowv
ay thoughts involuntaiy reverted to it
haunted me day and night.
Between my wvife and her maid there was
an unusual intimacy, owing, as I under
stood, to thme latter being what is called an
old follower of the family. This woman
was one of the tallest I ever saw, and large
in proportion her face was handsome, the
features strongly defined her eyes large in
tesely dark anud penetrating her long ring
lets looked false; in appearance you would
hav'e said that she wvas nearer fifty than
forty. This person-with her erect figure wvas
takent altogether, what many wvould pro.
nounace a very fine looking wvoman, but
somewhat masculinie.
[laving described my wife's maid how
shall I tell you of the 'orrible suspicion
whicha seized upoin my imaginationi
I thought perhaps, the maid--was-her
foreign lover in disguise !
Aind yet I did not could not, hohicve
though the frightful idea never absented it
self froam my brain. To hint such a thougi
to my beautiful Agnes my beloved wife I
could ntever bring myself. I strove rather
to banish the idea from my mind as a sug.
eFrom that day I became much changed
both in the outward and inward man.My
hapiness was gone, my -naturally light anc
cheerful manner gave place to irritabilit)
and gloom. Time flewv on, days and weeka
passed without any particular occurrence
until one morning having arranged to ac
companly a gentleman ini the neighiborhoot
on a fishing excursion, 1 informed Agniem
that I should not return until evening whei
I would bring my friend to dinner..
Immediately after breakfast, we started ii
a dog-cart. We had not proceeded mnor<
than four miles when in turning a corner 0
-the road a boy who wvas shooting sparrows
fired so near the hor-se's heel that it tool
fright and dashed of at a-furious gallop, no0
stopped until wve wvere upset ina a ditch
We wvere compelled to givo up our day'i
excursion, and leaving the groom to tuki
care of the bruised horse, my friend and
walked smartly home by a short cut ant
entered the house; after conadctinig m:
friend into the drawving-room I hastenedc uj
-.stairs to relate our disaster to Agnes. As
passed through my dressing-roomf I fount
the door was again bolted, and I distinctl:
heard nmy wvife say with (a faltering voict
"ie is returned ; we are giscovered l'' Th
scales fell fromi my eyes, I[had no longe
any doubt, my worst fears were realised I
Oh, the agony of the rmoment! I stag
gred back a few paces, ujay bead reeled m,
heart felt bursting and I had nigh fallen t
thegr.und wa a frenz 'nf despair an
rage seizing me, I made one rush at the
door, and roared "instant admittance" Agnes
opened the door and stood trembliug before
me, her attendant flew to the farthest end
of the apartment. I dashed my wife aside,
shouting, "this moment quit my house ;" and
darting across the room seized my rival by
the throat, thundering forth "confess all, this
instant you die."
There was a moment's pause-oh, the ag
ony of that moment!
Pale as a corpse, Agnes stood transfixed
with horror, gazing breathlessly upon the
tableau before her, while in suffocating ac.
cents, my victim sobbed out, " Oh! sir sir,
as sure as the lire is in my poor botly I have
nothing to confess but that I was plucking
out mistress' grey hairs."
DWBOVMENTS.
It must be gratiting to the citizens of
our district in passing over it, to witness the
improvements going on in every section.
New buildings are springing up, and old ones
being repaired and painted, and wherever
we go, the sound of the hammer and saw
may be heard. There is no better evidence
of general prosperity than these exhibitions,
and although our people are passing throu,0
a period unparalleled in the history of tie
district for scarcity of provisions and stock,
it shows we are upon rising ground. Could
our fathers of thirty and furty years past
who slumber in their graves, le permitted to
burst their cerements and revisit former
scenes, how amazed would they be at the
change that has come over their once famil
iar haunts ? Where the unbroken forest
afforded a safe retreat for the hear, the wolf
and the deer, smiling fields and flourishing
villages in all their silvan beauty may bo
seen. Where once stood the humble log
cabini school, the stately college rears its
classic front, inviting the student to enter
new fields of science and learning; or the
less ambitious Aecvy opens wide its doors
to the youth of the land.
What changes have also taken place in
the agricultural pursuits of the country !
Much attention was given in former years to
the cultivation of tobacco and indigo, and it
is within our recollection to have seen hogs.
heads of the former passing through our vil
lage to market. But these have given vay
to cotton as a more profitable crop, aind such
has been the mania, if we may so tern it,
for raising it, our once fertile lands have
been well nigh worn out in its production.
It is now for our farmers to give their atten.
tion to recltiming these lands and the culti.
vation of more grain and stock, and by so
In~ will be. idill t
it fill M rCr
Steam Mills have been erected in the district,
and the sixth will very soon be in operation.
The introduction of these r.ills, and *he
completion of the Railroad into our borders
will of themselves mark an era inl the histo
ry of our people; anid an impulse is even
now being given to business of all kinds by
them, we have never before dreamed of.
We have every reason then to be contented
and proud of old Abberille, for with our
educational advantages, a thrifty and intelli
gent population, aid a conveinient market
with facilities for getting to it, we must con
tinue to prosper, and occupy no mean post
tion in the State.-Abbeville Banner.
TnE. N. Y. Spirit of the Times says that
it is hashion dowln ill the " Ole Virginny'' for
the negroes to wear long trails of crape,
tied round their hats, and allowed to fall
down their backs. A planter oneC day met
a stranlge nig, on the road decked out wvith
a superabunldanlt amount of crape that
reached almost to his heels.
" Who do you belong to I" asked the
planter.
"Mars. --'s furnace ! I'ze been hired
out to wvork dar."
" You have lost some of your friends I
see.,
" Yes, massa."
" Was it a near or distant relative !"
"Wel, putty distant-'bout steentyfre~
miles ?"
"OF what is cider mladet1" "I don'I
knowv sir." " What a stupid boy. What
did you get whlen you robbed widow Up
tOl's Orchard."
" Got! Why I got a devil of a licking,
Sir."
AN old bachlelor having been laughed at
by a party of pretty girls, told themn:
" You are small potatoes!"
"We may be smalll potatoes," sai.l one
of thlem, " but we are sweect ones!
Ax Irishman beinlg ill chmurch whlere th<
collection appal~rattns resetmble'd electior'
boxes, On its being hanlde.d to him, whlisper
ed in the carrier's ear that he was not na
turalized and could not vote.
Mns. PREns married her second llusbanc
not because she admired the sex, but jus1
because he wvas the size of her first protec
tor, "Sand would conme so good to wear him
old clothes out."
THERE. is a man ill Boston who wvalks s(
sowv that he wears a pair of spurs to kcej
his shadowv from treading onl his heels.
A QUArI-r writer of sentenes in the Gal
axy, says-" I have seen womnen so delicati
that they were afraid to ride, for fear tI
horse Ilighit run away-afraid to sail fo
fear the boat mlight overset-afraid to wvall
for fear the dewv might fall; but I never sav'
one afraid to get Imarried."
Suocxzxo to serenade a second stor;
widow for two hour-s, an~d then be toll
that the young wvoman " what used to liv
here has removed around thle nlext cornler."
THIERE. is an old mlaid in Babylon, I. I<
who is so accustomed to datinlg hler ag
backward that when she speaks of thm
rlatter part of December she calls it " latei
the sprinlg."___________
.ABUNDANCE is a trouble, want a miaerj
honor a burden, advancement dangerou
and competency a hanpincss.
THE WHOLESL A UMUER.
The New York papers continue to b<
filled with the details of, and comments on
the late terrible disaster to the steamboal
Henry Clay. The Tribune characterizei
the calamity as a " wholesale murder.
After describing the race of the steamers
and the participation in it of the Captain an
other officers of the Henry Clay, in spite oi
the repeated remonstrance of passengers
the Tribune adds:
" We ask again, is not this mnrder, and
that in the most aggravated and horrid
form I We have no desire to add to ti
torture which, in common with other crimi.
nals, the officers of the Henry Clay musl
feel, now that the passion of the hour is
over, and the poignancy of remorse sue
ceeds. But we cannot allow any misplaced
and undeserved tenderness for them to out,
weigh solemn considerations of duty to the
community. The public safety must be
cared for. And we earnestly trust that in
a case so flagrant as this, justice may at last
rouse itself, and by exemplary and sufficient
severity, put an end to such a crime as
racing by steamboats sarrying passengers.
The Journal of Commerce says:
11 We have heard it said, on authority
that seems entitled to full belief, that some
time before the fire broke out, the chief en
gineer apprized either Capt. Tallman, or the
pilot, that his boilers were so heated that he
was in momentary apprehension of the
wood.work taking fire. The only response
he received was a coarse oath, with an ordor
to continue his furnace at the same beat,
and it would be time enough to put out the
fire when it had caught. Such inhumanity
puts him who gave utterance to it out of the
pale of civilization, and ought to stamp him
with Cain's brand as long as lie lives -if the
law permits such a murderer to live."
The Express decidedly thinks the calami
ty was the result of racing, and says:
" If it lie true that this calamity has oc
curred in consequence of racing between
twa boats, we are prepared to characterize
it as an act of murder."
The whole press joins in demanding a full
andi thorough investigation of all the facts,
and the meeting out of exemplary punish.
ment to the parties who may he shown to
be guilty of causing the terrible sacrifice
of human life.
ExPuLsIoN OF THIR FoREIGNERs FRO31
MARIPosA, CALIFoRNIA.-The Stockton
Journal gives the following account of diffi.
culties between the foreign and American
miners in Mariposa county:
Ap n nheMaripoi
had turned the stream and found good dig
gings, possession of which was claimed by
a body of Americans, who denied the right
of foreigners to work them. The latter, to
the numher of three or four hundred, headed
by a few Frenchmen, resolved upon de
fending their chtims.
The Americans immediately sent ont run
ners, and some two hundred armed men
collected, when the foreigners deemed it
prudent to retire, leaving their claims and
improvements in possession of the Ameri
cans. At one time it was thought there
would be much blood shed, but the report
is that only one shot was fired. Some
twenty-five or thirty foreigners were ar
rested, but what disposition had been male
of thema we have not heard, The Ameri.
cans, not satisfied with having driven the
Spaniards and Frenchmen from Mariposita,
organized a scouting party, and rode through
the county, ordering all foiecigners off with.
in twventy-four hours.
It is stated in the San Francisco paper!
that the Americans had allowved the Frencli
miners until the 4th of July to decide wheth,
er they would leave Mariposa county. The
inference is, that if they did not peaceabl2
depart by that time, force would be resortet
to.
THE TExAS Dsn . -There having beet
much controversy of late in the Washing,
toni papers, and in Congress, relative to th<
Texas debt, in order to render the mattei
more intelligible to those who have an in.
terest in it, the Washington Southern Pross
briefly states the facts of the case; fron
which we perceive that the State of T'exas
since its annexatiou, has adopted a scale o
reduction upon her debt, so as to makei
vrimotant to her treasury to diminisi
hriaiiyto that amount.
The creditors of the Republic of Texas
insist that iho Government should b<
held liable for the contract of annexation
or the subsequent arrangements betwveen
thesE high contrac ting powers.
The revenue of the Republic of Texas
was pledged specially for a latrge portion o
the public debt. The creditors, therefore
hold the United States liable from the in
stant of annexation, and urged that thi
United States took Tlexas, cumn onere.
Trho condition of the act of Congress o
the 9th of September, 1850, was the issui
of ten millions of dollars in stock to Texa
-provided that no more than five million:
should be issued until the creditors of th<
State should-file releases in the Treasur:
Department for all their claims. The resi
due of five millions is still in the Treasury
The State of Texas, by her legislative en
actments, has compelled her creditors to asi
relief of the Government, and they no'
ask of the United States, (who holds th
pledged security,) the payment of the mone;
advanced to Tlexas while struggling to ac
complish her independence.
MRs. WasTER.-The special WVasbingto:
correspondent of the New York llerald inti
mates that Secretary Webster will return t
his pest this week ; and asserts that he wa
probably induced to forego his determinatio
to remain away during the warm weathe
by an intimation from headquarters that
would be necessary for him to either con
back or resign. " This," says the New Yer
Herald, "looks somewhat ominous. M
W's, services must either be very much neec
ed in the Cabinet just at this time, or ei
,his recent course with regard to the fisir
business has created a coolness towvards hi
n the art+ te Pesient"
TE rImMM.
BosToN, July 26, 1852.-The Newbury.
port Herald of to-day contains the follow
t ing:
1 " United States steam frigate Saranac at
Philadelphia, and the sloop of war Albany,
at Boston, have been ordered to the bay of
I St. Lawrence, for the protection of Ameri
r can seamen, in compliance with the request
of Commodore J. C. Long, who is ap
pointed to the command. The owners of
I fishing vessels in this place have deputed
I two of their number to wait upon him im
mediately, and inform and advise him as to
the nature and position of the fishing
grounds, and all matters pertaining thereto.
" We learn from the eastward, that the
Lubec fishing schooner lately seized by the
English steamer Nettler, and carried into
St. John, N. B., was at the time of her
seizure, off Grand Menan. The captain of
the seized vessel states he ran in for bait,
while the English say that he was fishing
there. The case wilt be tried in the Admir
ality Court at St. John. There are large
numbers of fishing vessels ready to sail
from the sea coast towns near here as soon
as they are assured that they will be pro.
tected from seizure."
NEW CoTToN.-A telegraphic communi
cation yesterday informed us of the receipt
of the first bale of cotton at New Orleans
on Monday. The first bale last season was
received there on the 25th July. The Sa
vannah News says:
"Many persons have supposed that the
date of the first bloom and also the date of
the receipt of the first bale of new cotton
correctly indicate the probable yield of the
crop, that is, that early blooms and early
receipts indicate large crops, and later
blooms and receipts indicate short crops.
Correctly kept tables of these facts, however,
prove that they furnish no reliable data for
such estimates. In 1845, the first bloom
noticed was on the 30th May, and the first
bale received was on the 30th July. In that,
year the crop was 2,075,000 bales. Three
years after, or in 1843, the first bloom was
noticed on the 1st of June. The first bale
received that year was on the 9th of August,
and the crop wis 2,728,500 bales. In 1840,
the very next year, the first bale of cotton
was received on the '7th August, two days
earlier than in 1848, and yet the crop 6nly
reached 2,095,000 bales. It will thas be
seen that the arrival of the first bale is-no
index to the crop. Some years when the
receipts are early, the crop was short, and1
when later the cro was large, so that thesi
DRsTRTCTLvE FIRE AT SAvaN(u.3-SA
vAWNAu, August 3, 9.45 P. M.-4 most de
structive fire broke out in the Western part
of this city, known as South Oglethorpe,-atr
four o'clock Tuesday afternoon, which is
still burning, though its progress has been
fortunately checked.
In consequence of the wind being high
and water scarce, from 60 to 70 houses weie
consumed, and 100 persons deprived of their
homes. The houses were all, however,
built of wood, and principally old. The
loss is estimated at $75,000.
Great distress is experienced in conse
quence of so many being left homeless. A
great quantity of furniture has also been do.
stroyed. The burnt sc.tion extends front
[luby street, North, to Margaret street
South, and from Laurel street, East to Canal.
Among the sufferers are Capt. Nicholas
King, Thomas Naylor, Mrs. Morningstar,
Patrick Price, Charles Picket, Johni Mur
chison, Henry Thomason, Mrs. Roberts, &c.
-South Carolinian, 5th inst.
TE SEAsoXs IN ICEL.AND.-From the
16th or 18th of June, till the end of the
month, there is no night. The sun disap
Ipears for a short time behind the hills, but
twilight and dawvn are blended together, and
the last rays of evening have not faded from
the sky before the morning light breaks forth
wvithi renewed brilliancy. Iwas in Iceland
fromt the 16th of May till the 20th of July,
andl although I never wvent to bed before
eleven o'clock I did not once require the
lgtof a candle. In May, as wvell as to
wrsthe end of July, the twilight lasted
about two hours, but it was never dark.
Even at the time of my departure I could
see to read till hlf-ltpast eleven. At first it
senmed very strange to go to bed at broad
daylight; but I soon got used to it, and no
sunshine was bright enough to keep me
awake after eleven o'clock. It often struck
mne as very ridiculous, however, to go out
for an evening stroll, about ten, and find
myself ini the full light of day, instead of
the soft glimmering of the moon and stars.
DEAFNass.-One of our exchanges says
that a daughter of Judge Baldwin, of Ver
mont, afflicted with deafness for more than
fifteen years, has been cured by the com
bined juice of onion and tobacco. The'
Stobacco was placed wvithmin the onion, the
Swhole roasted together, and the juice drop
' ped into the ear.
SDBATIhs FROM HIEAT IN EUROPE.-ACa
-counts from England and France, by the
.steamer Europe, state that the heat there
.during the second and third weeks of July
c was very severe, and numerous deaths hadl
v occurred in consequence. In Paris a num
e her of omnibus horses dropped in the streets.
TnE contemplation of distresses softens
the mind of mnan and makes the heart better.
It extinguishes the seeds of envy and ill-will
itowards mankind, corrects the pride of
prosperity, and beats down all that fierce-.
0ness and insolence which are apt to get in
Sto the minds of the daring and fortunate.
r, Wnsn' a man calls to see another during
t the busiest portion of the day. it is vot
0 worth while for him to stay more than an
k hour after he hastold you all he knowa.
r. I_____________
-IT was Franklin who gave the bestO ilu
se tration of the difference between a I&
ig and a rich man.-" A poor man," saya
im " must work to find meat for his stomach
a rich cu t iud a Atadeldferhis'tat."