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* ' \ '' " '. - ' - ''^TvfvV " *' ' - '.v; " Tr ' -v-? - - ' ~ r - ' ' 'V ' ' * m^ ffiVS&br l^P"610"' An Independent Journal: For the Promotion of the Political, Social, Agricultural and Commercial Interests of the South. J lewis m. grist, poiiuher. ' LL - - * ? ' ' Kr + VOL. 2. YORKVILLE, S. C., THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 1856. NO. 11. . t ! . ? - ' ? Cjjflicf IJfletrg. P WATCH I i Thy night is dark: behold, the shade was deeper la the old garden of Gethsemnne, When that calm voice awoke the weary sleeper? "Could'st thou not watch one hour alone with jJ me V 0, thou, so weary of thy self-denials. And so impatient of thy daily cross, Is it so hard to bear thy little trials, r To count all earthly things a gainful loss ? What if thou always suffer tribulation, And if tby Christian warfare never cease : The gaining of the quiet habitation Shall gather thee to everlasting peace. But here we all must suffer, walking lonely The path that Jesus once himself hath gone: Watch thou in patience through this dark bomonly? This one dark horn before the eternal dawn. fet The captive's oar may pause upon the galley; The soldier sleep beneath the plumed creBt; And rveace mav fold her wine o'er hill and valley; But thou, 0 Christian, must not take thy rest. Thou must walk on, however man upbraid thee, With him who trod the wine-press all alone: Thou wilt not find one human band to aid thee? ?One human soul to comprehend thine own. Heed not the images for ever thronging. From out the foregone life thou liv'st no more; Faint-hearted mariner ! still art thou longing For the dim line of the receding shore ? Wilt thou find rest of soul in thy returning To that old path thou hast so vainly trod ? Hast thou forgotten all thy weary yearning To walk among the children of thy God! Faithful and steadfast in their consecration, Living by that high faith to thee so dim, Declaring before God their dedication, So far from thee because so near to Him ? Can't thou forget thy Cristian superscription? " Behold, we count them happy who endure?" What treasure wouldst thou, in the land Egyptian, Repass the stormy water to secure ?' Poor wandering soul: I know that thou art seeking Some easier way, as all have sought before. To silence the reproachful inward speaking? P Some landward path unto on island shore. The cross is heavy in thy human measure? The way too narrow for thine inward pride ; Thou canst not lay thine intellectual treasure At the low footstool of the Crucified. 0. that thy faithless soul, one great hour only, Would comprehend the Christian's perfect life? Despised with Jesus, sorrowful and lonely. Yet calmly looking upward in its strife. For poverty and self-renunciation, The father yielded back a thousand fold: In the calm stillness of regeneration Coxneth a joy we never knew of old. In meek obedience to the heavenly Teacher, Thy weary soul can find its only peace; Seeking no aid from any human creature? Looking to God alone for his release. And He will come in His own time and power To set His earnest-hearted children free: Watch only through this dark and painful hour, And the bright morning yet will break for thee. foliltcaL f THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. Washington, Feb. 19. My Dear Sir: In reply to your letter, I have to say, that the opinions hitherto expressed by me, in relation to the sending of delegates from South Carolina to the Convention of Democrats at Cincinnati, are not only unchanged, but that they have been strengthened by repeated conferences by the two last and glorious Messages of the President. If the entire South fails to endorse, sustain, and to demand the re-election of Gen. Pierce, it will be guilty of suicidal ingratitude. The chief and only plausible objection which has been adduced in our State, to its representation at Cincinnati is, that such Conventions are unknown to the Constitution. The very objection admits that there is no implied constitutional prohibition of nominating Conventions. A Convention is I but an arrangement of convenience, where" by a suitable person is selected as the representative of certain political principles which principles are not confined to ar^ locality, bat permeate the entire confe jracy, and for the time obtain, or do not obtain in the administration of the government, in accordance with the success of the candidate, which the party representing these principles may nominate. In a country of the extent, of ours, some arrangement of the kind is unavoidable. If the people refuse to nominate through their delegates, the nominations are not thereby prevented, but fall into the hands of and are dictated hv a few rtrnm ? - r-~.? ineot and sometimes irresponsible individuals. Is this in conformity with the theory of republicanism, or is it oligarchy ? Formerly, nominations for the Presidency were - made by a Congressional Caucus, but the system was abandoned, because of its corruptions. Which plan, think you, is most 'dangerous" to the interest of the?outh? Should the Electoral College fail to elect, j the Constitution provides in that contingen-1 cy that the election shall be made by the i House of Representatives. This provision i was made for the benefit of the smaller States. | as in this election the representation from each State has but one vote, and by which arrangement Florida, with her single Representative, is invested with as much political power as New York, with thirty-three Representatives. The time has been when the South could have trusted the lower House of Congress with its dearest rights, but that time has passed away, and may God deliverer us from anv President, whn ia of the present House ! Talk to rue about the strength of the South, wheu the voting is by States! Why, by this rule, Delaware should be counted a Freesoil State, for her Representative (she has but one) deliberately voted for a Freesoil Speaker in the late election. There are sixteen hireling States and fifteen slave States. California now votes * kh us, but Delaware is against us; so that ?.f??Soilisra has the strength in the House ^>t?n now, without putting into play the mighty levers of mouey and promises of office. It is au ominous fact that Maryland cast one Know Nothing Freesoil vote in the election of Speaker, and that three other Know Nothing votes were withheld, until it became manifest that Banks would be elected without them, and then given to Mr. Aiken. With these facts in view, will our people hazard an election by the House of Representatives ? I trust not. And yet this mode of electing a President can be surely avoided only by concentrating the united strength of the South in the nominating Convention at Cincinnati. There are, in reality, but two great parties to the Presidential contest?the Democratic and Black Republican?which are respectively the types of the Constitution and of anarchy. Under one or the other of these banners, every man in the Union must rally. He may call himself by any uame which V>a trill kn o TlnniA. UiO 1AUV.J y UUb lig nil! WV O aswmv crat or a Black Republican as he votes. It is fashionable in certain quarters in our State to sneer at Northern Democracy, and some would have us believe that deliverance and liberty are to be found in the Know Nothing organization. Well, in the last vote for Speaker, the Know Nothing party dwindled down to six votes, and every one of them a Freesoil vote. Mr. Aiken, the Democratic pro-slavery candidate, did not receive the vote of a single Northern Know Nothing, and he did receive the votes of seventeen Northern Democrats, and the cordial support of Mr. Richardson, who could not at the time vote himself, as he had paired off with a Freesoiler. The circumstances and facts connected with the recent election of Speaker must silence the sweeping denunciations which sometimes are inconsiderately and ignorantly made against the entire Northern Democracy. The Northern Democrats of the House have shown that they care not where a man is from, if his principles be right, by giving to Mr. Orr the same vote exactly which they gave to Mr. Richardson, of Illinois. And by voting for Mr. Aiken, the largest slave owner in the House, they have virtually declared that slavery is not incompatible with their principles. How will these men, who have been true to us, stand before their own constituents, if they are deserted aud repudiated by us, whose battle they I have been fighting? With which party, the Democratic or the Black Republican, shall our State affiliate ? Which will it aid and abet ? If we cast away our vote in the Presidential election, as did certain Know Nothing from the South in the Speaker's election, will it not be to do precisely what they have done, and that is indirectly to contribute to the power of Freesoilism, and aid in the election of a Black Republican? The meeting of the Convention at Cincinnati is as certain as any human event can be; and the appearance, or non-appearance, of delegates from South Carolina, will in no wise affect the occurrence of that event. In truth, what matters it if arguments against, and objections to, the Convention are as plentiful "as blackberries," when we remember that it is the established mode of nominating a candidate, and trust "whatever candidate is named, will receive the vote of every Democrat in every State in the Union. Gen. Pierce, I btlieve, is more acceptable to our neoDle. than anv man now livinrr. t * / ? O I prefer him to anybody. But what would it profit us or him, if every man, woman and child in our State should nominate him, if he is not the nominee of the general Convention ? Sourh Carolina will vote for any man who is nominated by the Democratic party. I care not who he may be, Buchanan, Douglass, Dallas, Hunter, Pierce or any body else, she will vote for him, and just because anybody is better than a Black Republican.? Every opponent to the Cincinnati Convention that 1 have met admits that the State will vote for its regular nominee, and in the same breath insists, that it is degradation to | unite in the selection of the man, who is! most acceptable and just in his political sentiments to our people. If there be degradation in the matter, it seems to me that it is when we vote for a man who is not our choice, and accept the nominee of a Convention which we affect to despise. The line of argument adopted by the opponents of the Cincinnati Convention, if applied to criminal judgments, would consign the accessory to murder, to the gallows, and permit the principal to go scot free. In the name of everything that is sacred and honorable, let our beloved State be consistent; and if she rejects the Convention let her reject its nominee, be he who he may. To be consistent, she should also censure t her entire delegation in the lower House of Congress, for voting in common with Northern Democrats for Richardson, for Orr and for Aiken?in all one hundred and thirtythree tiiiics. To be consistent, she should do I more and recall her entire delegation in Congress, for I assure you solemuly that if our political relations with Democratic members here were to conform to the relations which some persons desire our State to bear towards the Democratic States, the moment we set # 7 I up for exclusiveuess and turn our backs up on such Democrats as Glancy J ones and Cadwallader of Pennsylvania, (who I would trust as soon as if they were slave-owners, and because they interpert the Constitution as we do and obey it,) that moment we become powerless and might as well be at home on our farms. But in the matter of consistency, we are told that our State has uniformly decBued ail connection with National Conventions. Is this historically true ?? In May, 1843, our people assembled iu Coni veution at Columbia, and appointed delegate? to attcud the Democratic Convention at Baltimore, and for the avowed purpose of promoting the nomination of Mr. Calhoun for the Presidency. The two distinguished gentlemen selected to represent the State at large, went to Baltimore. But before they reached that city it was clearly ascertained (so clearly that the District Delegates were not appointed) that Mr. Calhoun coald under no circumstances get the nomination for the Presidency, and therefore they declined to tahe their seats. Does any man in the State believe that il Mr. Calhoun's chances bad been as good when the Baltimore Convention met, as they had been at the time of the meeting of the State Convention which appointed the delegates, that they would have hesitated about uniting with National Democrats and of nominating Mr. Calhoun ? They would have been immolated over the fires of public indignation had they dared to do so. But was not South Carolina virtually represented in the Baltimore Convention ? Are the facts not that two delegates were chosen to go to Baltimore?that they appeared in that city while the Convention was in session?that the name of Mr. Polk was suggested bv our own delegates?that thev made P / "t w ? speeches in his behalf at different points of their route on their return home?that district meetings were called to hear their report?that the State of South Carolina endorsed the conduct of her delegates, and approved again the mission upon which they were sent by voting for the nominee of the said National Convention ? And if this be not "tampering" with Conventions, I would like to know what is. Why, sir, the mission to England was offered to each of the delegates in reward for "services rendered" in their mission to Baltimore, and was magnanimously declined by them both. Ours are a gallant but peculiar people.? Why cavil about "squatter sovereignty," while the Abolitionists are taking possession of a Territory which has been re-opened to slavery. They fiddle while Rome is burning. They profess an earnest desire for the re-election of Gen. Pierce, and are yet reluctant to make the only move, which can, by any possibility, benefit him. That they arc sincere, 1 do not doubt, but am sure they are influenced by motives of patriotism. I have deliberated upon this question with the deepest solicitude, and have reached the conclusion that we have every thing to gain and nothing to lose by going into Convention. We should be there to unite our Southern brethren in demanding a platform of principles, and a candidate we can trust We should be there to encourage our mends, and urge them up to the highest poiut of Southern sentiment. If no other good results from the association, it will relieve our State from the charge of desiring to dictate to her equals?from an alleged assumption of superiority which is always offensive. Waiving every other consideration, I would have our State represented, in order to promote Southern harmony. Since the opening of the session I have made it my duty to confer with every leading Democrat in Congress from the South, and all concur in regarding the representation of our State under the peculiar circumstances in which we are now situated, as a high moral obligation. The legislation of the last Congress was in our favor, and the present administration as true to the Constitution, as the needle to the pole. Besides we stand committed by the last Convention of our people to co-operate with the South. Many gentlemen who cherish the extremest South Carolina views?who earnestly desire that South Carolina principles shall pervade every Southern State, and shall be engrafted upon every Southern heart?tell me that it is all important to them, to their principles, and our principles, that the South should present an unbroken front at Cincinnati. They tell me that "South Carolina impracticability is a stumbling block in their path, and in the onward progress of South Carolina, doctries." Shall we strengthen or weaken the hands of our friends ? I have observed with painful regret the want of unanimity in our State in regard to this Democratic Convention. It will require the achievement of very much good to compensate us for distraction at home. In all internal State issues, however, the will of the majority must prevail and it is the duty of the minority to acquiesce. Government itself is a compromise between the strong and weak, and I trust that a compromise may be effected between our friends of opposing opinions. The contest, for the Presidential nomination will be between Pierce and Buchannan. The antecedents of Buchanan are good, but those of Gen. Pierce are better. Gen. Pierce is the choice of the South, and in our own State I do not think that one man in a hundred objects' to him. The strength of Buchanan lies in the fact that he is^ucked by the large State of Pennsylvania, with her twentyseven votes, llis friends urge his nomination upon the ground that he is .crtaiu to carry Pennsylvania, and that it is doubtful if that State will vote for Gen. Pierce. If the South is firmly united upon Pierce, Pensylvania must yield. Now, the compromise I propose to the people of our State is, to send delegates to Cincinnati, selected from our ablest and best men without regard to past party differences, and that they be instructed to vote for Franklin Pierce for President, and to use all houorable means to secure his nomination from first to last. The conditions upon which our delegates will enter the Covention, will give strength to Gen. Pierce \ and if other Southern States imitate our example, his nomination is secure, and that is equivalent to his election. If he is not nominated, some other sound Democrat will be; and as to the obligation which will devolve upon us to support another nominee than Gen. Pierce, I think I have shown that we will do that in any event, rather than embrace the other alternative uud vote for a Black Republican. By the pursuance of this course, the escutcheon of South Carolina will be preserved in its pristine brightness, no blot denoting the desertion of a friend will rest upon it, and the act will harmonize with her profession, that she sustains the man who supports and defends tbo , Constitution of his country. I have the honor to be, respectfully, yours, P.S.BROOKS. Titos. P. Sr.inF.R, Esq., Newberry C. H. s. c. HaT'The fire that "went out" has not returned. Interesting fpistellanj) THE LOST POUND AND BESTOBED. A SKETCH FROM LIFE. "You have just rctnrned, friend Manson, have you not," said Livingston, "from your Western journey?" ? Yes," he replied, "I have, and there was a circumstance attending it which will make it the most memorable event in my whole life." "Indeed, what is that, my friend?" " Ah, it would take more time than either you or I could now spare," said Mdoson, "for me to relate, and you to listen to the particulars ; but I will attempt a veiy briif sketch of the Bubstance: When I went to school in Connecticut, I had a very dear friend and schoolmate, named John McL?d. He was one of the brightest and most beloved pupils in the school.? He grew up, paid bis addresses to a beautiful and excellent young lady, a member of the ohiirob. At lenrth be was married to his Mary; and they prepared immediately after that event, in pursuance of a previous plan, to emigrate to a Western State. The evening before the day we were to separate, perhaps forever, I had a tender interview with my bosom friend and his lovely wife; it was deeply affecting to us all. The next morning they departed, with the afiectionate farewells of many old friends and neighbors in the town where they were born and reared, with a handsome provisiou made by the parents of both, who were in competent circumstances. Ten years elapsed, during which I was in the Methodist ministry in distant places, as my lot happened to be cast. Not a word concerning them reached my ears in all that time. The course of duty called rae then to the vicinity of the place where my friend had settled, and I resolved to go out of my way considerably to give JohD and Mary a call. Arriving at the town, and inquiring for their residence, I was told they lived some distance from the centre village. At length I found the place. At the first glance my mind misgave me. The sight of the miserable cabin made me sick ; and after bitching my horse I scarcely dared to enter. Knock I could not; there was no door?nothing but a blanket stretched across the passage. Removing this, alas 1 what did I behold ! There was Mary sitting on a stool with an Infant in her lap, and another child in the corner on the ground ; for the cabin bad no Moor. Oh, sight of woe ! How altered was the lovely Mary T n! "Doyou remember me, dear Mary?" I said. " 0, Mr. Manson, it is indeed you ? We are ruined; John is lost, and I and the children are starving here. We havo not had a morsel to eat since yesterday morning." ? Great heavens 1" said I, "and where is John?" ? He is at the store j be has not been here forsevcral days." "1 must see him," I replied. " Hotter not, sir, he is a savage now, and will illtreat you." "I mu3t and will see John," I replied, and started immediately for the store, according to her direction. There was no time to lose, for I was to be at the conference, whither I was bound, at a certain time appointed. I readily found the store and entered. The first sight disclosed four men playing cards at a table. The next glance discovered a man stretched out along a whiskey hogshead. The landlord was sitting by, but instantly hopped up and ran behind the counter to wait upon me, supposing I was a customer. Says I, "is John McL d here." They all looked at me on bearing the question, as if I had been the old one or a Sheriff. " What is that to you," he sullenly replied. "I want to see him," I answered. While I was speaking I took another sweep of the room with my eye, and saw something like a man a.slecp in the corner. " I3 that John," I asked. "None of your businesp," answered the surly bar-keeper. " If it is that unhappy man, you will find it some of my business," I replied. So I went to him, recognized him, though in this shocking, beastly plight, and began to wake him. This was no easy job, and while I was about it, the rumseller and his guests remonstrated, telling me to go away, threatening chastisement and showing violence. I had in my hand a loaded whip, am not inferior, you know, in point of wiry, muscular power; and though a man of peace, I confess that in the twenty-seven years I have been in the ministry, I never felt so strong a disposition as at that moment, to give four or five men a thrashing. They vere intimidated, and I succeeded at length in getting John uponhi9 legs, and trotting him off" homeward. My presence and the exercise sobered him, so that when he reached his hovel he was in his right mind. I forgot to mention that when I first went into the house, the child upon the ground started up affrighted, running to her mother, crying, ?Is he going to carry us to jail, mother, where father was?" And that poor mother sobbed upon my hand, as if her heart 1J 1 1. nr-11 t -? wouia ureas. iveu, x wutu^u mtu mcui an hour, talked of old times in Connecticut, the old village, and school days. He was softened ; his heart was touched. Then I urged the pledge; his wife put in her profoundly earnest, almost frantic plea. She felt this, indeed, to be the hour of destiny. "Do you think I can keep it?" said, at length, the miserable man, once so promising, now so fallen. " Is it possible for me to be saved?"' "It is," said I, with confidence and hope; "you can keep it. I know you can. In the name of humanity and religion, try it, dear John, and God will help you." At last he consented. We knelt down on the earth? there was no chair, no table in the house?I took out the pledge, which I always carry in my pocket, placed it on the stool where Mary hud been sitting, and handed him my pencil. He wrote his name, thank God ! Notwithstanding his condition, it was beautifully written, as I afterwards observed, for he was an excellent scholar. We did not rise till I had relieved my overburdened heart in prayer, and I prayed with all my straggling soul, and his despairing wife joined me in the solemn invocation, that the Father of mercies would receive the returning prodigal to his arms, and that he might never go astray again. It was now quite time for me to go and resume my journey ; but I could not leave the town before I called upon the class leader, left him some money for the family, and enjoined upon him to look after them, and throw around John the seed of all good influences, to prevent his suffering a relapse. Whatever further charges he should incur on their account, I promised to pay as soon as informed of them. Another decade rolled by, during which no tidings came to me at the ttast lrom this interesting couple. At lenght I was called again to visit those Western regions, and to pass near the residence of this unfortunate brother. On reaching the town, my disappointment was extreme to learn that he had removed to a distant country. I anticipated misfortune ; but as the place designated was not far from my intended route, I resolved to go and see him. When I entered the town of , where John was said to live, I made enquiry for his dwelling, and was told it was the second house on the left hand side of the road. Being now so near, I hastened onward eagerly, and presently a nice frame building painted white appeared. I could not help putting up a prayer, that my dear friend might be so happy as to occupy any house half as respectable as this. Expectation now became painfully intense.? What in mercy was I sent to see ? A scene like that or worse, which ten years before left such awful traces on the memory, never to be obliterated ? I could not tell. At a sudden turn in the road, I thought I discerned i . .i._ j* i uuuuiei wuue uuuac iu me uibiauce uiuuug , the trees; yes, it is so, with green blinds; and as I went nearer, gravelled walks were seen, a handsome paling, and ornamental trees and shrubbery. Surely there is some mistake in the direction; this can't be John's home! yet it is the second on the left. Fastening my beast to a hook, I went to the door and knocked. A girl, just on the verge of womanhood, opened it. "Does Mr. McL d live here?" I asked with trembling. ? He does, sir?" " Is he or his wife at home ?" "Mother is within, sir; but father is in the field. Please to walk in, sir." My eye glanced through the open parlor door. A fine carpet covered the floor. There were handsome chairs and other furniture ; but I saw no more, for Mrs. McL d by this time was informed of a gentleman's arrival and lost no time in making her appearance. " Good God !" was all I remember to have heard from her, as she rushed forward on seeing me, and clasped me by the neck. She almost fainted and shed a flood of tears, and my own condition was not much more composed. Recovering a little, she informed me that her husband was at home, but out upon the farm. Too impatient to wait, I hurried away to see him. He met me as he was coming home. As soon as he knew who it was, he ran forward and grasped me in his arms, saying as he strained me to his bosom? " Thank God ! thank God 1 you are my savior under heaven. This is all yourwork," looking around. "0, I am rejoiced to sec you are here to see it." When we had returned to the house, the ten year's history of struggle, repentance and reformation was recounted. Prosperity I nroo tlin nAnaf.riiinnnA woe nuo vuv vvuuv,i|U\;uv/^< a. unfiling naj his, the farm and all. His wife was happy. The beautiful young girl, almost a young lady now, was the dirty child that was crawling on the ground on my first visit. There were three more children now. To crown the.whole, he said: " After I had persevered a year in abstinence according to that blessed pledge, taken on that awful day, on the stool in the log hut, which riees to rae sometimes with spectral horror?after keeping it sacredly a year, I committed myself to the church, of which my wife, who hasbeen an angel helping me, was a member. Prosperity attended my worldly business; but this was not a complete satisfaction. I wanted to be more; and commenced study for the ministry. My dear friend and brother, I am now a minister of the everlasting gospel. How much, what an inexpressible debt do I owe to you l'\ We knslt down together on the rich carpet instead of the cold earth, and prayed as fervently as I prayed before in the log cabin; but in what a different strain ! Instead of the almost despairing supplication, and entreaty of forlorn hearts, crushed to the earth with sorrow?thanksgiving, praises and gratin Am wnfA nr?An*ftnn/iiirltT fvom fnn ml no kUUC liUYY 1UOC D^VUUlUt'UUOIJf HUUiUUi lUU^U^O and hearts?0, the heart of Caesar never swelled with such triumphant joy at any of his conquests, as mine does for my agency in the salvation of this one man, and the happiness of his family. THE PHILOSOPHY OP A FROG. Wc saw yesterday on Bolinbrook street a lump of solid transparent ice, about ten inches thick and wide, in the heart of which was a large frog nicely frozen up and looking quite pleasant with a beaming eye. The ice was found on tho marsh behind the gas works, and when melted down, the frog very good humoredly shook himself and jump, ed about quite lively. We heard a railroad operative describing the philosophy of the thing to a friend of his as follows: "Ye see," says, Mikey, the "poor craythur's instinction towld it the air was going to be cowld and that the frost was goin to power down red hot, so in it jumps into the wather to get out of the dampness and wraps itself up in a foot square of the liquid to keep the frost out, as whiskey wasn't couve. nient, which is the correct clothiDg for any intilligint baste?barrin a Know Nothing? to dress his intayrior with. And ye know that water is transporous, for it runs into ye at one end and out of ye at the other, and never gets into yer head, at all; and so, it began to snow with a fever hate, and the cowld penitrated the bones of the frog thro' a foot thick of dry water, so he shook his feathers to keep the circulation of his blood, which the haythens call lichor, till by dint of kickin, with his hands and toe3?for divil a leg has a frog .or any other natural bipid in Americay?he soon got a comfortaable warm congealment of ice round him, and there he squatted as happy and cosy as if be was on Miles' soft feather bed which was made out of porky-pine quills, and look, ing for all the world like a banie in a sinner's eye, or like a new ambrytypc picture, ?.1. _< [ ?UICLI iuc rcprcsemiiiiuu vi uu uiuuai conceivable thing any way you can take it. So you see the ice conglomerated round about the frng, for he hit on that plan like an Egipshun mummy to preserve himself in sccvla tccvlorum, as the praist says, till con. jaynial times should come, when pop goes the weazel, and he'd come out in a blazing perspiration 1" "And was it the frog did all them things by hisself ?" demanded Tady. " 'Twas the frog's own natural philosophy," answered Mikey. "The frog?" said the incredulous Tady. Petersburg Democrat. PROTESTANT ORGANIZATIONS. The first Presbyterian Church in this country was organized in Philadelphia, about the year 1698.* Its first pastor was the Rev. Jedediah Andrews, who continued to exercise his ministry in that charge until his death, in 1747. The first Presbytery was organized under the name of the Presbytery of Philadelphia, probably in the beginning of the rear 1705 : and the first nersnn licensed and ^i ?# r ? ordained by this body to preach the everlasting gospel, was a Mr. John Boyd, in the following year. The first Synod was formed in Philadelphia, under the title of the Synod of Philadelphia, on Friday, the 17th of September, 1717, when the Rev. George McNish preached the opening sermon from John xxi. 17. Rev. Jedediah Andrews was chosen the first Moderator, and the Rev. Robert Wotherspoon the first Clerk. Thirteen ministers and six ruling elders were present from the four Presbyteries which at that time composed the entire Presbyterian Church in this country. The first General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church was held in the Second Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, on Thursday, the 21st of May, 1789. It was opened with a sermon by Rev. John Wotherepoon, D. J)., President of the College of NewJersey; and the Rev. John Rodgers, D. D., pastor of the first Presbyterian Church, NewYork, was ehosen the first Moderator. The body was composed of four Synods and sixteen Presbyteries. The first Presbytery of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in this country was constituted in 1774, by Rev. Messrs. John Cuthbertson, Matthew Lind, and Alexander Dobbin, and ruling elders from the several Reformed Presbyterian congregations. This Presbytery becoming extinct by the formation of the Associate Reformed Church at Pequa, Pa., on the 13th of June, 1782, the Reformed Presbytery, was re-organized in the spring of 1798, in the city of Philadel phia, by the llev. .Messrs. James iMcKinney and Wm. Gibson, with the proper ruling elders. The first Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church was formed in Philadelphia on the 24th of May, 1809, by all the ministers of that Church in this country, and by elders from all the sessions. Rev. Wm. Gibson, the oldest minister present, being called to the Moderator's chair constituted the court by prayer, in the name and by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, the alone King and Head of the Church.? The name assumed by the body was that of the Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church iu America. The Rev. GilbertMcMa9ter was chosen first Moderator, and the Rev. John Black the first Stated Clerk.? The Synod formed at once three Presbyteries, viz : the Northern, the Middle, and the Southern. The first meeting of the Associate Synod was held on the third Wednesday of May, 1801, at 11 o'clock, a. m. in Philadelphia, and was opened with a sermon by the Rev. Wm. Marshall, by whom, also, the Synod was formally constituted with prayer. That first day was spent* in solemn fasting and prayer. There wore seventeen ministers on the roll, and these were divided into the four Presbyteries of Philadelphia, Cbartiers, Kentucky, and Cambridge. This body now numbers 1 Synod, 20 Presbyteries, 175 ministers, and 267 churches. The first organization of the Synod of the Associate Reformed Church took place in the house of Mr. William Richards, in the city of Philadelphia, on the 31st of Uctober, 1782, when it was constituted with prayer by the Rev. David Telfair, who had presided over the Convention of Associate and Reformed Presbyterian ministers and elders, which had agreed upon this plan of organization at Pequa in the previous June. The Rev. John Mason, of New York, was chosen the first Moderator, and Mr. Robert Patterson, an elder from Philadelphia, the first Clerk. There were present Messrs. John Mason and Robert Annan, ministers, and William McKinney, elder, from the Associate Presbytery of New York?Messrs. James Proudfit, John Rodgers, John Smith, and William Logan, ministers, and Joseph Miller and Thomas Douglass, elders, from the Associate Presbytery of Pennsylvania?and Messrs. * This Church was oomposed of a number of English and Welsh dissenters, and a few French Protestants, who were accustomed at first to worship in oonnection with a few Baptists, in a storebouse at the corner of Chesnut and Second streets. They continued there until 1704, when a small j Presbyterian house of worship was erected in Market street, between Second Md Third street*. ?Ohrufan Intiructor. I John Cuthbertson, Mattuew Lind, and Alex. * Dobbin, ministers, and James Bell, John Cochran, and Bobert Patterson, eldtrs, from . the Presbytery of the Reformed Presbyterian Church. The first General Synod of the Associate Reformed Church was held at Greencastle, Franklin county, Pa., on Wednesday the 30th May, 1804. Rev. John M. Mason, * D. D., of New York, preached a sermon % from Tit. i. 9?"Holding fast the faithful word," and constituted the Synod with pray-, er. The Rev. Alexander Dobbiirwas chosen the first Moderator, and the Rev. James Gray the first stated Clerk. Thirteen ministers and nine ruling elders were in attendance on ' ' * certified commissions from four Synods, and high Presbyteries. ' ^ The first Methodist class-meeting iu this . country was formed in the city of New York, -** by Philip Embury, in 1766. The first annual conference was held in Philadelphia, in 1773, when the body consisted of 10 preachers and about 1,100 members. The first for- v' r j mal organization of the Methodist Episcopal j Church as an ecclesiastical body took place # on the 25th of December, 1784, in Baltimore, when 61 of the 88 preachers belong- j ing to the Church were assembled together ? for conference ; and the Rev. Francis Asbu- s ry was ordained by Dr. Coke, who was pre1 sent from England, the first Bishop in the jr American Church. The first delegated General Conference was held in the city of New" York, in May, 1812, when the body had so . increased that there were connected with if 688 traveling preachers, and 106,357 mem- .. bers in the churches. The first Baptist Church organized in this v country was at Providence, Rhode Island, by Roger Williams, in 1639. One was attempted the same year in Massachusetts ; but was forcibly broken up, and its members were fined by the General Court. The first minis tcr ever settled in new mmsture was tne Rev. Hanserd Knollys, of the Baptist Church. . This body has so increased that it now pre-, sentsthe following statistics:?14,028 churches, 9,817 ministers, 1,251,059 members. - The first Protestant Episcopal Convention ^ , formed in this country met in Philadelphia, on the 27th of September, 1789and there being no bishops of that Church in the United States except the Rev. Samuel Seabury, D. D., (who had been consecrated by the v. non-juring Bishops of Scotland, and was not, ? on that account," cordially received by the Church at large,) Rev. Wm. White, D. D., of Philadelphia, and Rev. Samuel Provost, * D. D., of New York, were selected to pro- > ceed to England and obtain the proper consecration. Accordingly, proceeding thither, they were consecrated Bishops in the Archiepiscopal place of Lambeth, by the the Rev. John Moore, Archbishop of Canterbuiy; and returning to this country, commenced at once the exercise of the episcop&oy in their respective dioceses. The first Bishop consecrated in the United States was the Rev; Thomas John Claggett, D. D., from the dio- a * cese of Maryland, by Bishop Provost, at the triennal Convention in New York, in 1705 This body now has 37 bishops, 13 dioceses,' ? 1,712 ministers, and 120,000 members. The first Yearly Meeting of Friends, or Quakers, in this country, waa held August 28, 1881, at the house of Thomas Gardner, in Burlington, N. J. This meeting contin* ued to be held every year in that place until 1684, when it began to be held at Barling- ^ ton and Philadelphia alternately. The first open preacher of the principles of Unitarianism in this country waa Dr. Freman, at first a reader, and afterwards, on p being ordained by some members of his own congregation, minister of the Episcopal Church in King's Chapel, Boston. The first American Unitarian author was the Rev. Hosea Ballon, afterwards minister of the second Univerealist Society in Boston. In 1803, he published a treatise on the | Atonement, which was the first American work in which Unitarianism was avowed and defended. The first attempt to build in the United States a Unitarian house of worship was made in Philadelphia in 1812, when a > large part of the means for its erection was raised in England. > The first minister that preached a sermon in the English language in any Reformed Dutch Church in this country was the Rev. Archibald Laidlie. He was born on the 4th .f 1 TOT .i tr.i T> 1 ui a/cvcujuci, liui) aw iu juuauuijt county, on the north bank of the Tweed, opposite its junction with the Teviot, Scot* land. After studying in the University of Edinburgh, he was ordained to the holy ministry in 1759,and settled as one of the pastors of the English Ghorch, at Flashing, in Netherlands. 19* Dr. Thompson, proprietor of the "Atlanta House, (Atlanta, Geo.) is well known as a totary of eccentricities. We were highly amused the other day at the re* cital of the following exchange of civilities between the Doctor and a traveller, who call* ed at the o$ce to 'settle his bill,' when the Doctor happened to be behind the ooanter. "What do you charge?" asked the traveller. ' "Well," replied the Doctor, humorously, "if we charge your bill, it will be a dollar, but cash down, only fifty cents." "You may charge it then/' said the fellow, coolly turning on his heel, and passing out, took his seat in the cars. The Doctor, half amused, half angty, followed, and confronting the stranger, asked a i ? 1 . - v a a i. *11 ii ne aid not intend to pay ine dhj. "Certainly not?I told you to charge it,' was the bland reply. The Doctor was non-plussed; but placing his forefinger thoughtfully for a moment be* side his nose. "Stranger/ said he, "when you come this way again, bring your box and stay a tceek." ? JQT* A lady in Calcutta asked a Colonel for a mango, and, as he rolled it along, it fell into a plate of kiss-misses?a species of grape. <How natural/ observed the Colonel, <maa* gqps to kira*muaee8. <?