University of South Carolina Libraries
3?%^,,,fyti* ""* ^urrtnt ?*lht Sas||HfljMBB||M|B||B|^MB^pw^WB^pMW^^HM|^^^^^^WB^^^B^M|^BMB|Bj^BBB|BlWH^^B * ' . ~ ^ ??L~-l.^T^~ _ ? *- - ? -* ?-? ; M J,i,tmim< I a? '-'^- ?1-' 1 ..:'- /jj? ' "' &-*- , 9 t ^ 1_ ..,,,, THE ATHEISTIC TIDE | builders as the shores of a star that lights I thin* SWEEPING OYER THE CONTINENT. The threatened Destruction of the Simple Faith of the Father* by the Vain Deceits of Modern Philosophers?An Attack y Christians Must Meet. Tho dread sign of the tiuice, as I see it, is growing skepticism in (he leading circles of thought aud nctiou throughout the country ?a swelling tide of atheism and unbelief that has alreudy swept over mnuy of the outposts of religion. I am not alarmed By tho fact that Ilenry Ward Beecher shdok, habds with Ingersoll on a public stand, and has since swung be{ond the limit of orthodoxy, any more than am ressured by the fact that Stephen H. Tying has, by Indorsing the miracles at Lomdro. swung b?Qk into tho strong hold expressions that may meaar"maoh or^fu^fe Thoy may be classed with the oomplaint of Dr. Talmago that he found religion dead in a circuit of 3,000 rnlljs of travel last year, which couinlaint is hslnuced bv thn niwnr tion of Dr. H?U that- the growth of religious scrititreut *&9ti6V6r so decisive as at present. I have noted in th$ first place, that the latter-day writers?-novolists, scientists, aud essayists?are arraying themselves in great force either openly on the side of skepticism, or are treating religious sentiment with a readiness of touch and luck of rcvcrancc that is hardly less dangerous. I need not run over the lists of scientists, beginning with Tyudnll, Huxley aud Stephens, that have raised negation?nor recouut the number of novelists who follow tho lead of sweet George Eliot, the sad and gcntlo woman, who allied sentiment to positivism so subtly, and who died with the promise ou her lips that her life would "bo gathered like a scroll in the toiub, unread forever"? who said that'shc "wanted no future that broke the tic9 of the past," and has gone to meet the God whose oxistence she denied. We all know that withiu tho past twonty years thoro has been an alarming increase of atheism among the loading writers in all branohes. But it is the growth of skepticism among the people that hns astonished me. I am not misled by tho superb eloquence oi ingcr?oii nor the noisy blasphemy ol bis imitators. I was with five journalists, and I found that every oue of them were skeptics, two oi them iu the most emphatic souse. In a sleeping car with eight passengers, average people I take it, I found that three wore confirmed atheists, three were doubtful about it, and two were old fushionod Christians. A young fricud of mine, a Journalist and r lecturer, asked mo a few months ago what I thought of his preparing a lecture that would out do Ingereoll? Lis excuse being that he found Ingersoll so papular. I asked Henry Watterson onoe what eiiect Ingersoll's lectures had on the Louisville public' "No more than a theatrical representation," was the quick reply. Wottcrson was wrong. I have never seen a man who cauionway from an Iugorsoll lecture as stout ?f faith and ns strong in heart as he was when fas went thore. I do not know tkut this spirit of irrcligion and unbelief has made such inroad on the Churches. It is as yet simply eating away the material upon wfaicb the churches must recruit and perpetuate themselves. There is a large body of men and women?the bulk probably of our population?that is faotwecn the ehurch and its eoomics?not members of tho church or open professors or religion, they have yet had revercnco of religious beliefs, have respected the rule of ooDaoicoce, and believed in tho existence of one Supreme Being. There men and women have been useful to the cause of religiou iu that they held all tho outposts about the camp of the church militant, and protected it with enwrapping conservatism and sympathy. It is this class of people that nre now yielding to the assaults of the infidel. Having nouc of tho inspiration of religion, and possessing neither the enthusiasm of converts nor the faith of veterans, they are easily bewildered and overcome. It is a careless and unthinking multitude on which the atheists are working, and tho very inertia of a mob will carry thousands if the drift of tho mass once seta to the ocean. And the man or woman who rides on the ebbing tide goes never to roturn.? Religious beliefs onco shattered are hardly oionded. The ohurch may reclaim its sinners, bnt its skeptics, never. It is not surprising that this period of eritieal investigation into all creeds and beliefs has come. It is a logical epoch, como in its appointed time. It is one of tho pen* ultiea of progress. We have stripped all the earth of mystery, and brougnt all its phenomena under the square and compass?so that wo might have expeoted science to doubt tho mystery of lifo it**lf, and to plaot its theodalito for ^ a nteasureinement of the eternal, and pitoh m its oruoiblc for an analysis of the soul. It w was natural that the Greek should be led to the worship of his physical gods, for the earth itself wa? a mystery that he could not divioo?a vaatoaoa and vaguonesa that he could not comprehend. But we have fathowed its uttermost recret?felt its most secret pulse?girdled it with steel?harnessed U and trappod it to our liking. What was mystery is now demonstration?what was vague is now apparent. Seienee has diapolled illusion after illusion?struck down orror after error?mado plain all that was vague cn earth, and reduced every mystery to demonstration. It is little wonder that at last, having reduced all the illusions of matter to an equation, and anchored every theory to a fixed formula, it should assail the mystery of life itself, and warn the world that soicnce would yet furnish the key to (ho problem of the sonl. The obelisk, piqeked from the heart of Bgypt, reeti upon a shore that was as vaguely and infinitely pc^ond the knowledge or orpiratjon of ltd tho spaces beyond our vision are to us today?the Chinaman jostles us in the street, and the centuries that look through his dreamy eyes have lost all sense of wonder ?ships that were freighted from the heart of Afrioa lie in our harbor, and our market places rre vocal with tnoro tongues than bowildered the builders at tiubol?n letter slips around tho earth in ninety days, and the messages of men flash along tho bed of the ocean?wo tell the secrets of the universo as a woman tells her- beads, and the stars whirl serenely through orbits that scionco has defiued--we even read of tho inatant whoa the comet that plunged iu diui illimitable distance, wberucveu the separate stars are loet in mist and vapor, shall whirl again into the vision of. man ; a wanderer that could oot shake off the inexorable su lime is this, tor science to make its lust and supreme assault?to challenge the lust and supreme mystery, defy the' last aud supreme force. And the church may gird itself for the conflict. As the pope has said : "It is no longer a rebel that threatens the church. It is a belligerant 1" It is no longer a shading of creed. It is the upsettal of all creeds that is attempted. It is impossible to conceive tho misery t tw> blindness thai will coma iu tho wake of this sproading atheism. The ancients witnessed the full of a hundred creeds, but still had a hundrod loft. The vast mystery of life hung above thorn, but was lit with religions that were sprinkled as stars in its depths. From a host of censers was their air mude rich with fragrance aud warmed from a held of altars. No loss was irrcpnrublo. But with us it is different. - lie have reached tho eud. Destroy our one belief and wo are left hopeless, helpless, blind.? Our air will bo odorless, chill, colorless.? Iluxley the leader of tho positivists, himself confesses?I qurto from memory? "Never, in the history of inun, has a calamity so terriflic befallen the raco as this advancing deluge, bluck with destruction, uprooting our most ohorished hopes, engulfing our most precious creed, and burying our highest lifo in mindless desolation."? And yet Mr. Huxley urges on .this deluge with furious energy. The aggressiveness of the atheists is inexplicable to me. Why tlicy should insist on destroying a system | that is pure and ennobling when tbey have nothiug to replace it with?why they should shatter a faith thut colors life, only to leave it colorless?why they should take away the consolation that lifts men and women iVotn the despair of ber lavement and desolation, or the light that guides the feet of Strug giiug humanity, or Lho hope that robs even the grave of its terror ; why they should do nil this, and thou aland-amply banded and unresponsive before the yearuing and supplicating people they have stripped of all that is precious, is uiore than 1 cuii understand. The best atheist, to my mind, that I ever knew, was oue who sent his children to n convent for their education. "I cannot lift the blight of unbelief iroui my owu uiind," lie said, '-but it shall nover fall upon the minds of my children if I can help it. As for me, I would give all I have on earth for the old faith that J wore so lightly and throw off so carelessly." Tho practical effects of the growth of atheism are too terrible to contemplate. A vessel on mi unknown soo that has lost its rudder and is tossed in a storm?that's the piciuro. It will not do for Mr Ingcrsoll to say that a purely human code of right aud wrong can be established to which the passions of men can be anchored and from which they can swing with safety. It will not do for him to eite his own correct life, or the eorreet fives ot the skep^ tical scientists, or of leading skeptics, I ns proof that unbelief docs not bring license. These men are held to decency by a pride of position and by a sense of special responsibility. It is lho massos that atheism will demoralise and debauch. It is the thousands of simple men and woman, who, < loosed of the one restraint that is absolute and imperious will, that will drift udou the currents of their passions, ooliiding everywhere, and bringing confusion nod ruin.? The vastly greatest influenco that religion has exercised, as far us the world goes, bus been the conservative pressuro that it has put upon the bulk, of people who are outside of tho church. With the pressure bnrely felt and still lees acknowledged, it has preserved tho integrity of society, kept the daugcrous instincts within boutms,- repressed savagery and held tho balanco. Conscience has dominated over men who never confessed, eveo to themselves, its power, and the dim, religious memories of childhood, breathing imperceptibly over long wastes of sin and brutality, have dissolved clouds of passion in tho souls of vctornus. Atheism will uot work its full effect on this ohss of uieu even after thoy havo murdered conscience by with holding the broath upon whioh it lives; its ghost will gropo through tho ohambcrs of their brain, uieuaoinjjand torrible, and to (bo lint. "Creeping on a broken wing Through collr of oiadnoss, haunts of horror aud fear!" It is on (he young men and woman?the generation bred in the ohill atmosphere of unbelief?that atheism will do its worst.? With no traditions in whioh to guide their fnith, no alter before whieh they can do reference, no ideal to which (heir eyes can turn nos tandard lofty enough to satisfy or atcadr a l - iin cnuugn io assure?wun no upiimng that ia not limited, no aapiration that has wings, and no enthusiasm thatjis not abaard -" with life bat a fev<jr that kindles in tho cradle and dies in thegrare. Trely atheism meets youth with a dread pmpect? sftllcn, storm a#ept, hopelesg. In tha conflict that ia oooriag, the eborch ia impregnable? because the church is right, because it is founded on a rock. The set' enlists hoa4l that tltey evolved eterj -t * V>? T ' fP -??< *4* matter?that, from &e crystut'^o^^SW ticut man is a steady way, marked by Dntural gradations. They o^ren say thut, it' a uew bulk werj thrown off from the son tomorrow, it would spin into the space of the earth aud the sauio development that has crowded the earth with life woulcf take place in the now world. And yet' Tyiidall says, "Wo havo exhausted physics, aud reached its very riui, aud yH a mighty ftiystcry loohfs before us." And this uiystury is the kindiiug of the atouis of the brain with the vitul spark. There science is baffled, for thoro it the supreme force thut is veiled eternally from the vision of man. The church is uot bound to the technicalities of nrgutncufc in this contest, it has the perfect right to say, and say logically, that somethiug must rest on fuith?thifw there must be something jn the heart, oyqj Just as we cununt impress With tho (testacies and transports of earthly love a uian who has never loved, or paint a raiubow to the man who has never seen. Aud yet the tiuio has passed wheu roligiou can dismiss the skeptic with a shriek < r a sneer. I read a little book a year ago, gentlo, firm, decisive book, that demonstrated the necessity aud existence of the Supremo Being, as clearly and as closely us a mathematical proposition was worked out. But the strength of the church is, nft-r all, the high-minded consistency of its members? the wuruith and earnestness of its evangel isui?the purity und gentleness of its apos* ties, if the creeds are put at peace, and every man who wears the Christian armor will go forth to plead the cause of the uicek and lowly Nazariue, whose love steals into the hearts of uico, as the balui of flowers iuto tho pulses of a summer oveuing?then we shall see the hosts of doubt und skepticism put to rout. Of eourse I have no business to write nil this. It is the province of the preachers to talk of these thiugs, and many uo doubt will resent as impertinent eveu the suggestion of a worlding. And yet it seems so sure to mo that in the swift and silent marshaling of tho hosts of uubolief and irreligiou there is presaged the eupreincst test that the faith of Christians has ever undergone, that I felt impelled to write. There are men, outside of tho active workers of the church, l who have all reverence for its institutions and love for its leaders?whose hearts arc stirred now and then by a faith caught at a mother's kueo, or the memory of some rapt and happy moment?waut to livo, if not in the fold of the chosen, at least in tho shadow of & Christian sentiment, and among a people dominated by Christian faith?and who hope to die at last, in tho same trust and peace that moved the dying Shakespeare? wiwit, Bvrootcnt Oiind etor clothovl in mortal I flesh?.vhen he said : "I commend my bouI into the hands of God | I uiy creator, honinir and aesurcdlv believim?. through the only merits of Jesus Chris, my Savior, to be made pnrtaker of life everlasting."?II. W. (J., in Atlanta Constitution. ???? Euaudulenti.r Packed Cotton.?The Board of Mauagera of the New York Cotton Exchange are continuing their work of improving the methods of the business hero, as regards both spots and futures. This work has been largely in fho direction of rendering the rules uiore definite, and' the result is that the Exchang > now has a body of by-laws and rules that for completeness i are unexcelled by those of any organization of the kiud in tho world. The latest change in the rules, which was adopted by the Board on Mouday, relates to fraudulently packed cotton. No material change is made in the oil rule on this subject, but the new rule is much longer and more exueb than the old one, providing for contingencies for which no provision was made in tho former rule. The new rule reads that tho loss by reason of fraud shall bo "based on the differeuco in thu uiarkct value at tho dato of discovery between such bale oud a bale of cotton of similar grade, sound nnd in good condition. Such difference in value shall constitute tho claim, regardless of the original cost of the cotton or of any fluctuations in tho market of the price of cotton." As before, claims may he mado against ull sellers for nine uionths from the date of sale, but a new provision is mado that duo notice of the existence of fraudulent packing must be for.vnrded within eight days of its discovery, and the date of such discovery of fraud shall bo incorporated in tho sworn certificate. Tho old provision that these claims for fraudulent packing could bo sustained without limit of time against the original packer, is wisely dropped. The members of tho New York Cotton Exchange are determined to do their utmost towards stamping out this evil of fraudulently packing cotton, which has attained souro magnitude in certain sections of the South. All of which will strengthen the reputation of the New York market among spinners and exporters.? Cotton. ?. ? - ? A correspondent anye the entire 175 miles of territory between Dodge City end Las Animas, Col., ia a catjlo graveyard. Thousands upon thousands of eareasaes lie within aight of the railroad, and thousands of emaciated creatures so feeble that they oan scarcely stand, end are unable to rise if they fall down, totter about in a vain effort to find food. At Lakio, a Station midway between Dodge City and Las Animas, the people estimate that at leant 45,000 cattle were orowded in and aronnd the town during lb* prevatienoe or me NW? storm a row weeks I Pour Inoheo of now foil in Northern Virginia on Friday night, making the third snowfall ibii month. The apple. Iho prinoipal fruit crop ol ibo Motion, is not iiOured. All farm work h > delayed by tho protracted winter. A snow plow engine made a dash st a snow bank on a Minnesota Railroad on Thursday.? 1 Tho bank gars way unexpectedly, and tho en' gine plunged into a gang of laborers, Is illlni and wounding several. II Thkm T?Senator I teitples a position | n the eyes of his ids charged with 0 ing kind and has ( ition which it would lj ind especially one r great State, 'in the u lie country, could [ We hare before osition in which he > George, of Missis- B use or palliate the 0 aining Mahone, he F States Senate the ? l'1 citizen of Mas- 1 0 Mississippi with ind employed hun- J opinion's eako had is insults and perseburning of hia fnct nrrenvr Tire- smto J and return to Massachusetts. With the cliarac- 8 teristie, cowardly evasion of the authors of t similar stories of occurrences in the Southern ] Dimes, ne rciuscu to give the name of the alleged c victim. Then, when brought to the book by t Senator George, who informed him that there \ were but two or three factories in the whole State of Mississippi, nud that one of them could c not bo burned without its being a matter of r common notoriety, ho hesitatingly stammered E out that it was not a factory but a cotton-gin C bouse. The Mississippi Senator, thereupon de- e nied the whole story, and informed Dawes, that r having refused to givo the name of the gray- c haired victim, he must assume tho authorship, and thereby I lie imputation which had been cast :l upon the author. c Under this grave charge the Massachusetts 1 Senator rests to day. The army of active news- V paper men in Washington, and indeed, all over E country, have endeavored to come to his rescue by discovering this gray-haired Northerner, but j in vain. Finally one of them is compelled to ^ telegraph to his paper : "It is now known posi- ^ lively that Mr. Dawes has not one particle of { reliable evideuco upon which to base his atro- ( cious calumny jigninst the people of an enliro "] State." 9 A slander of this kind, iuvolving charges of ? brutality, uncivilized nnd inexcusable, coming t from a United States Sentor in his official capa- | city, and as such entered upon the records of u the government, cannot be classed with the ordi- a nary newspaper reports deiived from irresponsible sources. Its truth has been denied, but a this is not sufficient. The Senate of tho United States cannot afford to allow one of its members P to rest under the imputation of falsehood. If 1 he has not the manliness to clear himself of the 1 charge or to retract itk the Senators should illus- [ Irate their own mauhoon by expelling him from the body.?Charlotte Obterver. ^ MKRCUAOT.imnv TIT* MXTTJJ.?-raw ?|m-H.whether tags on samples of merchandise con- ; (aining figures indicatng the price and width < are mailable as fourth class matter was recently i brought to the attention of the I'o^toffice Depart- i ment by some leading dry goods firms. The ruling of the department upon this question are 1 embodied in the following general order, which ' has just been issued by Postmaster-General ( James : "Tags or labels attached to samples of ' merchandise may have the price and width of 1 the goods printed thereon, either by the origi- ' nil impression or by a hand stump, filling in blanks left by iho original print. This will not ' authorial such use of a hand-stamp for any other purpos3 than as a description of the thing | a'.(ached. It cannot be used to convey informa- ( tion personal in its nature or disconnected from ^ the thing to which the matter so stamped is at- , tached, except at rates for first-class matter.? , The width of the article of which a sample is given may be stated in writing, but when so ( written, the purpose of identification being held to have bee* accomplished as authorized by the statute, the price of the artiole cannot he added, i either in writing or hi print, without changing the classification of the matter to letter rates " Faill rk or tub Blackberry Crop.?The unnaralleled nature of the nast reason has canned * ? I ?fl the climax by an unheard of event. From various parts of tho county comes the announcement that tho blackberry briars are dead. The oldest inhabitant does not remember such a thing as a failure of the blackberry crop.? When everything else has failed the blackberry has offered its consolation. But it is now positively asserted by these who have examined closely into the matter that the briars have been killed to the ground. The consequence of this in this immediate section is to deprive the people generally of a cheap luxury at a time when it is most needed and the pooror class of people of no unimportant aouroo of revonue.? How it will be in those sections of the Slate where the blaekberry trade has been developed to a considerable extent and the fruit constitutes a principal staple, remains to be ascertained.? Charlotte Obterver. A Palpable Shot.?The Now York World, referring to the petitien of Oen. Mahone for an allowance of $26,000 per year as President of the Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad Company, for the four years and more during which the business of the road was administered working up his political readjust men t schemes for his own advancement, says: "Mr. Mahone haa put in a little claim for back pay as a railroad president at f'io.OOO a year, and does not offer the slightest encouragement to any proposition | to seale it down and readjust it on a footing | more CaverMble to the shareholders in the erabarraaaed concern. In his individual oapaoity k as a railroad president Oen. Mahone will not , his fees towards the morning'?no, not to r TOlige all the Hoars in Massachusetts." Postmaster Tylkr, of Baltimore, is being f inea tot outrageously insulting niu Murray, a iespectable employes of the office. The girl had no money with which to follow the removI ate and appeals, and eitiseM of Baltimore contributed what was needed. SOKE POUTS" ABOUT BffST. Orangeburg, S. C., April 4. To the Editor of Cotton: The subject f rust in cotton will only b? interesting to hoso in this State living below the clay iclt. Wo nil know that clay lauds do not ust cotton, but contiuuo to mature fruit intil frost. Why they do this will bo aplarent as we proceed. Wh it is rust in cottou ? Some will tell ou it is a want of vegetable matter in the oil; others that it is caused by nu excess if moisture ; others again that cool nights iroducc it aud 1 have heuidsouiu old faruirs say it always starts from pokewced growog near the cotton. Now, all these different opinions prove ionclusively that this scourge of our cottou ields has bceu having its own way, not because there is no remedy for it, but because he disease is so little understood. It can be for want of vegetable ugU^t in tho oil, tor we TTequomty sue miwnaiiap oils ubund^ntly supplied with vegetable natter. I will admit it does correct it to a iuiited extent. I have seen cotton almost mtirely destroyed by rust in bottoms, where here was nn abundance of vegetable humus Fashed in from surrounding hills. Neither.can moisture be the prevailing aviso, or the clay laudsjvould also suffer by ust in wet seasons; and the same reason nay bo assigned why cool nights do not uuso it. The pokeweed docs not grow very where, and particularly about these usty cotton patches; therefore the blame annot be laid at its doors. Then if none of these opinions advanced re the cause of rust, what is it that causes otton to rust on nearly all the lands below he cotton or clay belt ? My atiswer is, the rant of sufficient potash in the soil. And low for the proof : Why docs rust start and spread from a lokewecd growing ooar cot'.on ? Not solely iccauso it takes the disease from the poke, ?ut bccnuso*thc poke has exhausted all the oidablc potash in the soil near it, aud the :olton near,- being the first object to lccl he want of potash, shows symptoms of rust flic analysis of poke aud Irish potato vines ihowi that they contain more potash than iny other vegetable product. \Vc are also aught that clay soils abound in potash, icuec the absence of rust in cotton ou them, ind in consequence of their superior adaptibility to cottju. In 1873 I applied fifty bushels uuleaclied ishes to an acre of land that had been rustng cotton badly. The cotton rcuiuiucd ;recn until frost, and matured fruit to the op, when the ndioinintr cotton failed in nature any top crop, souic of it dying with ust the 6rst of September. That strip oi and has not rusted cotton since. The potish in the ashes was what the soil ueeded o keep tho cotton fruiu rustiug. J- ?J- ftul \ suck of kuinit or German potash salt oil sue acre, through the middle of a seven" icre patch of cottou. The land had been in cultivation four years?light, sandy, oal land, and rusted cotton badly. In the fal it was a pleasure to show this acre strip tr my friends, while the cotton ou both side: jf it was denuded of leaves and all the to] !)oils dead before half grown. This acn remained green until frost, and matured iti Iruit to the top. This last experiment itself was cvidcuct tonclusivu to my mind that potash was tin cmcdy for rust in cotton. 1 havo since loticed the same results in similar expert nents. I believe on lands thoroughly Iruincd (and no other kind should he plan ed in cotton), and not entirely destitute ol vegetable matter, potash in every instance will correct the teudcncy to rust in cotton By rest and rotation the teudcncy to rusi can be corrected in a great measure, bu when lands are planted every year, andela; is uot near the surface, potash must hi supplied either in unlimited amounts o trash and litter from the woods, stable ma nurc, ashes, or some of the comuicrcia preparations of potash. F. Meeting ok the Giants.?l'reston IIol loway and Andy Walker, both colored, uie at John Schcnck's bar room. They ha never met before but knew each other fron common reputation. Andy Walker is i train hand on tho Charlotte, Columbia anc Augusta Railroad and is the biggest ncgri in the two Carolinas, being in height ncarc eight feet than seven. Preston Elollowa; is not so big but still is distinguished will the title of "Rig Elephant." "Rig Klc phant" upon this occasion was smoking cigar. Andy had imbibed sufficiently t put him in a hugo contempt for such ain and walking up to "Rig Elephant'' ho in formed him that he had learned that he m pired to bo the ''boss," nud he (Andy) w: desirous to know what foundation ho nasc his pretoomns upon. Saying this, withot more ado he sunt "R'g Elephant's" cig: spinning across tho floor. Tho latter r sponded with a lightning blow which near! inverted Audy, but did not wholly cxtii guish his courage. lie returned to the coi test, but "Rig Elephant," having gotten tl ' Kill rrn" An K!?n r*i?net ? ?? ^-*.1 !? ?? * .?.!?* ' WUl^V IMUI| |M U.1VI U VUU IIIU1 IWIUU IIIUI in succession, when he took to bio heels an left. The ease was called in the Mayor Court yesterday but Andy did not appet and "Llcphant," who is under the spcci protection of the city, and is as docile i the animal after which ho is named, w: given his old placo on the street force.Charlotte Observer, April 12. Co', Win. Winston Fontaine, Principal of i academy in Louisville, Kentucky, road a lo paper before the Soulhcm Historical Society a recent meeting, in which he claimed that E bert E. Lee was seventeenth in direct de?c< from ltoherl Bruoe, ? f Scotland, and possess very many of bis notable characteristics. Mo over, that of the five heroes who nwilmitm distinguished themselves on the glorious fi< of Bennookburn, Leo, through the snme clit 1, wee the direct desooodnnt of four. ,> Tin? War on the South.?The rockless men who nro seeking to split the solid South by subtlc'y arc doing a work the wickedness acd danger of which all eyes, however blinded by irrccd, pas-ion and partisanship oau see. In Tennessee llepublieaus and straight Democrats have united to cleanse their common wealth of tho taint of repudiation by settling the State debt honestly, fairly and liberally Demagogues and agitators who desire t? overturn that settlement and repudiate outright a large amount of the indebtedness now cry fur a Mahono to lead them. The newspapers of that State that have been petted aud complimented by Northern llepublieaus for their itl!l ?? ? * *" munii una "unit ISouibou" sentiments, violently assail the decision of the debt question, and sock to maintain the feud that arose over it in the Democratic parly and elected a Republican governor. In Arkansas a wing of the Democratic party is at as "anti-Rourbou." In Virginia, Mahono is leading a pirty that will, if successful, tarnish the fair 11:11110 of the grand old mother of States with an evasion of paying holiest indebtedness. All throe of these States have parties with the same avowed object, bearing the same name?all seeking repudiation and all calling themselves "antiBourbons." These facts show the meaning of the new words in our political dictionary, aud explain dark and mysterious terms -? By practical definitions we find at last that "Bourbon" signifies a payer of debts, and "anti Bourbon" a repuuiator. The Republican party is using its utmost power and patronage to aid the repudiators iu their war against hono-ty. They do not ostensibly figbt tho Democratic party.? They call themselves Democrats. The issue they fight on is simply between payment and repudiation, honor and dishonor, right and wrong. By giving them aid the Rc' publicans arc encouraging the spirit of dishonesty, fostcriug douiagoguery and offering a premium for violation of all personal aud public faith. Thev nrn nhitllinn i-?? . cony and breach of trust on a ui; gnificcnt scale, and arousing a tendency thai will des| troy the credit of the States, disgrace the people and spread financial distrust, choas 1 and ruin from'scn to sea. If successful iu their aims, they will throw every Southern State under the heels of the lowest white and worst ucgro elements, destroying material prosperity and social order. The splitting of the Democratic party now will put the South in a worse and more hopeless condition than during reconstruction. Whatever success they may have in their evil wjrk will be visited upon them heavily. They can not use the tools of repudiation and demagogucry without being visibly defiled by their touch. But doubtless neither this nor any otlicr consideration will restrain them trom ttic course wmcn tney are pursuing, and they will continue in it until their designs are foiled, as we hope and believo t icy will be, by the good sense "j and good faith of the South. Their effort ( will be a desperate one. however, and Southy crn men must d> their full duty if it is to } be successfully resisted. Let the party , lines be drawn closely everywhere, let every man be on guard against deserters nud spies and let a quiet, nggrcssivo warfare on the , enemy be maintained. By tho sufferings [ of the past, the hardly won blessings of tho | present and the hopes of the future, let every true man range himself as a fully developed "Bourbon," crushing out independent ism and other treason wherever ? they appear, and standing fast for the glorious, solid South?solid for Democracy, home rule and honesty. * An Exciting Circus Accident.?Tho 1 Philadelphia Times says : Last night, 1' while Coup's circus was in full blast down 8 at Broad and Dickinson streets and while * the electric light flashed out with a constant ' brilliant effect upon an audience of fdlfy ten thousand people, one of the most exciting affairs known to circus life of late years in this city occurred in the great ring Of the - Hippodrome. It was in the flat races, and I Frank Morgan, tho celebrated jockey, and -i four others were flying like lightning around II the ring, each on the back of one of tho 1 wild horses. Every round the horsed Secui1 ed to go faster aud every round the riders I seemed to get more excited and to urge them r forward at greater speed. Morgan was V ahead aud his horse had attained n speed II that made tho head dizzy to look at it, when ' just as he was flying at this tremendous rate a around the upper or cast tnrn of the ring 0 his hi rso made a sudden, unexpected stop '? and Morgan was thrown headlotlg to the - ground. Instantly a most exciting scene B* occurred. Every man, womau and child 18 underneath tho groat tout sprang to their d feet ; women screamed and covered their tacce with their handkerchiefs ; uieu rushed >r forward ; musicians aud circus hands rush?* cd to the scene, and in one moment it seemly cd as if tho whole assemblage was panic? ?* stricken. Meantime the second horse, ridden by a colored jockey, whtoh was a few 10 yards behind Morgan at the timo of the acrc cident, cimo right against the prostrate man 'd striking his body with one of its hoofs, 8 while tho other three horsos ouuio right on ir its heels. For a moment it seemed as though al Iia urmilrl Kn otwwl I. ^ ?' ? - * - vw viuouvu IU ucuui. ji'ununiuc1 08 ly the last three horses, with wonderful in118 Rtict, jumped over him. Borno by tho arms ? of n doxen circus men ho was (tarried behind tho scenes inseusible, while two or three medical men in the oudicnco wcut *D back and examined him. It was found that he had been badly stunned, but alter tt few minutes' work by tho physicians ho rct<v pained consciousness and they pronouueed >ni his injuries not dangerous. *. re- Snow is tub Mou.vtais*.?Greenville, April rj_ 7.?A heavy fall of snow occurred alone; the . . Blue Ridge and Black Mountain last night and' 8 yesterday. A mountaineer who reached Greenin* villo tliia afternoon ?nya that tho anuw had fallen on Bla?k Mountain to a depth of two feet. r, \ -