Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

lewis m. ohist. proprietor. 1 An JiOepentient Jantilg ftetospaper: - jFor tjje |rainotion of t(jc political, Social, Agricultural atrir (fotnmercial Interests of t|e jsoutj). {terms"j.3.y.0?AT?^,'?lS^I,VA1tCR YOLUME XI : YORKVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY MORNING, MARCH 1, 1866. NUMBER 45. JWfoks. ' ??* Adventure with a Bear. Among the earliest settlers in the wilds of SalmoD River, was a Yermonter named Dobson?a resolute and an athletic man.? Returning one evening from a hunt after! his vagrint cows?which, according to custom in new countries, bad been turned into the woods to prooure their own subsistence from the rank herbage of the early summer ; ?just before emerging from the forest upon ' the clearing of bis neighbor, the late worthy Mr. Sleeper, he saw a large bear descending from a sycamore, where he had probably been in quest of honey. A bear ascends a tree much more expertly than he descends it, being obliged to come down Btern foremost. My friend Dobson did not like to be joined in his evening walk by such a companion, and without reflecting mknt kft okaiim /ja mitk tvlq uoapininf" terwards, he ran up to the tree on the opposite side from the animal's body, and just on his reaohing the ground, seized him firmly by both fore paws. Bruin growled and gnashed bis tusks, but he soon ascertained that his paws were in the grasp of paws equally irou strong with his own.? 'Nor oould he use his binder claws to disembowel his antagonist, as the manner of the bear is, inasmuch as the tree was between them. But Dobson's predicament, as he bad rather the most reasoo, was worse yet. He could no more assail the bear than the bear oould assail him. Nor could he venture to let go of him, since the presumption was that Bruin would not make a very gracious return for thu9 unceremoniously taking him by the hand. The twilight was fast deeping into darkness, and his position was far less comfortable than it otherwise would have been at the same hour, surrounded by his wife and children at the supper table, to Bay nothing of the gloomy prospects of the night. Still, as Joe Sleeper's house was not far distant, he hoped to call him to his assistance. But his lungs, thongh none of the weakest were unequal to the task; although he halloed and bawled the livelong night, making the woods and welkin ring again, he succeeded no better than did Glendower of old, in calling spirits from the vasty deep. It was a wearisome oight for Dobson ; such a game of holdfast he had never been engaged in before. Bruin, too, was probably somewhat wearied ; although he could not describe bis sensations in Eng lish, he took the regular John Bull method of making known his dissatisfaction, that is to say, he growled incessantly. But there was no let go in the case, and Dobson was therefore under the necessity of holding fast until he felt as if his clenching and ach ing Sogers and the bear's paws had grown together. As daylight returned, and the smoke from Mr. Sleeper's chimney began to curl up gracefully, though rather dimly, in the distance, Dobson again repeated his cries for succor, and his heart was soon gladdened by the appearance of his worthy bat inactive neighbor, who had at last been attracted by the voice of the impatient sufferer, bearing an aze upon his shoulder. Dobson had never so much rejoiced at seeing Mr. Sleeper, albeit he was a very kind and estimable neighbor. "Why don't you make ba6te, Sleeper, and not be a lounging about at this rate, when you see a Christian in such a kettle of fish as this V* "I vum ! Is that you, Mr. Dobson, op agin a tree tbar ? And was it you I hearn hallooing so last night ? I guess you ought to have your lodgings for nothing, if you've dtood-up agin that tree tharall night." "It's no joke though, I can tell you, Joe Sleeper, and if you had hold of the black varmint, it strikes me that you'd think that you'd paid dear enough for it. But if you heard me calling tor help, and in the night, why didn't you come and see what was the | trouble ?" "Oh, I was just going tired to bed after laying up log fence all day, and I thought I'd wait till morning, and come out bright and airly. But if I'd known 'twas yon?" "Known it was me," replied Dobson bitterly; "you knew 'twas somebody who had flesh and blood, too good for those plaguy black varmints though; and yon knew there had been a smart sprinkle of bears about the settlement all the spring." "Well, don't be in a huff, Tommy. It's never too late to do good. So hold tight, now, and don't let the tarnal critter get looee, while I split bis head open." "No, no," said Dobson. "After holding the beast all night, I think I ought to have the satisfaction of killing him. So you just take hold of his paws here, and I will take ' the axe and let a streak of daylight into his ikull about the quickest." The proposition being a fair one, Mr. Sleeper was too reasonable a man to object. He was no coward either; and thereupon stepped up to the tree, and cautiously taking the bear with both his hands relieved honest Dobson from his predicament. The bands of the latter, though sadly stiffened by the tenacity with which they had been clenched for so many hours, were soon brandishing the axe, and he apparently made all preparations for giving the deadly blow ?and deadly would it have been had he struck?but to the surprise of Sleeper he did not strike; and to his further consternation Dobson swung the axe over his shoul der and marched away, whistling as he went with aa much apparent indifference as the other had shown when coming to his relief. It was now Sleeper's turn to make the forest vocal with bis cries. In vain he raved, called and threatened. Dobson walked on and disappeared, leaving as sad a prospect* for his breakfast as he himself had for his supper. Hour after hour passed away, and Sleeper still found himself at bopeep with Sir Bruin. In the course of the afternoon, however, Dobson supposed that the lesson he was teaohing had been thoroughly learned by his pupil; and when he thought the latter would willingly forget the resentment for the sake of Buccor, the sturdy . Yankee returned, and by a single blow relieved both man and.bear from their troubles in the same instant. Sleeper thought rather hard of Dobson for some time, but no real breach of friendship ensued, and, indeed, the two borderers became afterwards better friends and neighbors than before. Letter from an Exile. Gov. Harris, of Tennessee, has written u letter to a friend in Georgia, which is published in the Atlanta New Era. It describes how the Governor made his way to Mexico, and gives some interesting details concerning other prominent Confederates. The letter is dated "Cordova, Nov. 12 " We make the following extraots. Governor Harris says be called on Maximilian with Geo. Price and Gov Polk, of Missouri, and remarks : "Oar reoeptioo upon the part of the Government officials here was all that we could have expeotea or desired. -We were invited to an audieooe with the Emperor at the palace, the far famed halls of the Montezrnas At the time fixed we called, and were there most kindly received by the Emperor and Empress, and were assured of their sympathy in our misfortunes, and of their earnest hope that we might find homes for ourselves and friends in Mexico. The Empress was our interpreter in the inter view. She speaks fluently the French, Spanish, German and English languages and is in all respects a great woman We overtook at the City of Mexico Gen. Magruder, Commodore Maury, Gov Allen,, of Louisiana, Judge Perkins, of Louisiana, Governor Reynolds, of Missouri, and Gov. Murrah and Gov. Clark, of Texas, with many other and lesser Confederate ligh'ts. On the 5th of September the Emperor published a decree opening all of Mexico to immigration and colonization, and Commodore Maury and myself and other Confederates, were requested to prepare regulations to accompany the decree, which we did, and which were approved by the Emperor on the 27th. The decree and regulations offer very liberal inducements to immigration, amongstwhich area donation of public lands at the rate of six hundred and forty acres to each head of a family, end three hundred and twenty to each single man, a free passage to the country to suoh as are not uble to pay their expenses, freedom from taxation for one year and from military duty for five years, religious toleration, etc Commodore Maury has been appointed Imperial Commissioner of Colonization which makes his authority in the matter of colonization second only to that of the Emperor. G-jn. Price, Judge Perkins and myself were appointed agents of colonization, and requested to examine the lands lying upon and near the line of railroa I from the />ifo tn Vpra Hpii?. fnr the nnr V " " - ??1 I pose of determining whether they are suited to American colonization. We are engaged at this time in the discharge of that duty. I have selected 640 acres about ten miles from here, where I propose to surround myself with a coffee plantation, iD the midst of which I will nestle down, constantly inhaling the odors of the rich tropical fruits and graudy .colored and flagrant tropical flowers, in an atmostphere of perpetual spring , yet toroiDg the eye to the northwest you constantly behold the snow-capped peaks of Orizaba and Pocatapelt, from which I can draw my ice at all seasons of the year. There are about thirty Confederates now here, all of whom will locate their lands and commence the work of settlement within a week or ten days. The place where we begin the first colony 1 was highly improved and in a high state of : cnltivation a hundred years ago: The extensive ruins of what were onoe magnificent structures show that these haciendeas were highly productive and the homes of wealth, luxury and refinement; butabout fifty years since slavery was abolished in the State of Vera Cruz, and the proprietors of these > magnificent estates left the country with the i large fortunes they had amassed. The! Church seized the lands and allowed them to lie idle and go to ruin. The buildings upon each of these places must have cost from 8100,000 to 8500,000. The Church ! held the property until about five years1 since, when it was taken by the Govern- j ment, and the (Government now sells it to I as for colonization at one dollar per acre in ' quantities of six hundred and forty acres to j each head of a family and three hundred ! and twenty to each single man on a credit! of one, two, three, four and five years. This j is the beginning of the first Confederate : colony in Mexico. Amonst those who pro j I pose to settle immediately are General Price ! J and General Shelby trom Missouri, Judge Perkins of Louisiana, and myself. The re- j j sources of this country are such as to in-j sure fortune to the enorgy and industry that j have usually characterized our people. The : wonder is that they have been permitted to j j remain undeveloped so long, but this is the j most indolent, lazy and worthless population ; on earth. mn ? Hair Brushing by Machinery ?St. | J Marx, the Phalon of Charleston, has justj received a new arrangement by which he I can brush the hair of his customers by ma- j ohinery, which is, altogether, when skilful ly used, one of the most delightful of pro-1 j cesses. Those who have enjoyed the thing J in London or Paris, need not hope, of course to have it so nicely done by St. Marx, be-; cause he has not all the openings for such j enterprise. In thoso places the wheels are run by steam, and everything is the more perfectly systematized. But here, in old I Charleston, it is managed very well, and to | j those who really enjoy a good brush of the hair and scalp, we would recommend them j to step into St Marx's, Charleston Hotel. We insure them they will enjoy a fine lux' ury.?Charleston News. The Three Wishes. There was once a wise emporor who made a law, that, to every stranger who came to his court, a fried fish should be served.? The servants were directed to take notice if, when the stranger had eaten the fish to the bone on one side, he turned it over and began on the other side. If he did, be was to be immediately seized, and, ou the t&ird day thereafter, he was to be put to death. But, by a great stretoh of imperial olemency, the culprit was permitted to utter a wish each day, which the emperor pledged himself to grant, provided it was not to spare his life. Many had already perished in consequence of this edict, when, one day, a count and his young son presented themselves at court. The fish was served as usual, and when the count had removed all the fish from one side, he tamed it over, and was about to commence on the other, when he was suddenly seized, and thrown iuto prison, and was told of his approaching doom. Sorrowstricken, the count's young son besought the emperor to die in the place of his father ; a favor which the monaroh was pleased to accord him. The count was accordingly released from prison, aDd his son was thrown into bis cell in his stead As soon as this had been done, the young man said to his jailors:?"You know I bavp the right to make three demands before I die : go and tell the emperor to send me his daughter, and a priest to marry us."? The first demand was not so much to the emperor's taste; nevertheless, he felt bound to keep his word, and he, therefore, complied with his request, to which the princess bad no kind of objection. This occurred in the times when kings kept their treasures in a cave, or in a tower set apart for the purpose, like the Emperor of Morocoo in these days; and, on the second day of his imprisonment, the young man demanded the king's treasures. If his first demand whs a bold one, the second was not less so; still, an emperor's word is saored, and, having made the promise, he was forced to keep it; and the treasures of gold and silver were placed at his prisoner's dis posal On getting possession of them, he distributed them profusely among the courtiers, aDd soon he had made a host of friends by bis liberality. The emperor began now to feel exceedingly uncomfortable. Unable to sleep, he rose early on the third morniDg, and went, with fear in his heart, to the prison to hear what the third wish was to be. "Now," said he to his prisoner, "tell me what your third demand is, that it may be granted at once, thai you may be hung out of hand, for I am tired of your demands." "Sire," answered his prisoner, "I have but one more favor to request of your ma -??? TnV.inVi tnliwn enn h?vo rrrantnrt T...IVU, T...V-. jv*. ~ b , shall die content. It is merely that you will cause the eyes of those who saw coy father turn the fish over to be put out." "Very pood," replied the emperor, "your demand is but natural, and springs from a good heart Let the chamberlain be seized," he" continued, turning to his guards. "I, sire !" cried the chamberlain; "I did not see anything?it was the steward " "Let the steward be seized, then," said the king. But the steward protested, with tears in his eves, that be had not witnessed any thing of what bad been reported, and said it was the butler. The butler declared that he had seeo Dothiog of the matter, and that it must have been ooe of the valets. But they piotested that they were utterly igno- j rant of what had been charged against the ' count; in short, it turned out that nobody | could be found who had seen the connt commit the offence, upon which the princess said:? "I appeal to you, my father, as to another Solomon. If nobody saw the offence committed, the count cannot be guilty, and j my husband is innocent." The emperor frowned; forthwith the courtiers began to murmur; then he smiled, and immediately their visages became radiant. "Let it be so," said his majesty; "let him live, though I have put many a man to death for a lighter offence than his. But if he is not bung, he is married. Justice has been done." Affairs in Mississippi. ?We have just returned from a trip to the Northern portion of the State; and thinking that a fair and truthful account of the condition of affairs io that section will interest our readers, we propose in this issue to give it. In passing, a few remarks concerning the railroads of the State may cot be deemed inappro priate. The Southern road,-in spite of the difficulties and seeming impossibility of its reconstruction, is now in fine running order from this city to Meridian, with the exception of the bridge at Big Black. This, we understand is in process of construction, and will soon be completed. The efficient and courteous officers of the road, with commendable forethought for the comfort of passengers, have a line of fiue ambulances running between the gap, short as it is. For safety, comfort and regularity of schedule, this road is not to be ^surpassed. We had the pleasure of meeting, during our absence, Geu. West, the President, and Mr. Frost, the Superintendent of the Mississippi Central. Their road, which was a perfect wreck, is now in good order, save some fifty miles of the Northern terminus The bridges are all rebuilt, and the superintendent informed us that daily trains would commence running through to Jackson by the first of March. At present they are tri-weekly from Grand Junction to Canton. The Jackson and New Orleans railroad also runs three passenger trains a week, connecting with the Mississippi CentFal at Canton and the Southern road at Jackson. The Mobile and Ohio railroad is running daily passenger trains, and not having been so badly damaged daring the war, is in better condition than any road in this section of country. The towos and villages along the ! roads, as a general thing, have atl been des troyed. Jackson, Brandon, Grenada and Oxford,, particularly. The latter plaoe is a perfeot wreck, owing to the prompt and efficient manner in whioh General Smith (the prince of incendiaries) discharged the duties devolved upon a triumphant conqueror He evinced no partiality,, but destroyed . public and private buildings alike, the rich aad poor being involved in one common rain.? Vicksbiirg Journal, 3rd. From the Selma Dally Mewsengnr. The Monroe Doctrine. The historical "Monroe Doctrine" grew out of the administrative policy of Mr. Monroe when President, in reference to two subjects, each of wbioh was of great importance to the United States. The first declaration of principle in our diplomatic history knowo as the Monroe doctrine originated in 1823, in the controversy between the United States, Great Britain and Russia, concerning tbe boundary of our northwestern territory. The European powers asserted that the unoccupied portions of this continent were subject to colonization, and they might lawfully enter and olaiin the unoccupied territories, by actual settlement and continued occupancy. The position thus assumed by the Trans-Atlantic Governments was controverted by Mr. Monroe, who asserted, as is shown in the official correspondence between John Q Adams, his Secretary of State, and Mr. Middleton, our Minister at the Russian Court, and Mr. Rush, our Ambassador at tbe Court of St. James, that Mexico and the South American States were independent sovereignties, and had succeeded to the rights of Spain in their territories ; that the United States claimed jurisdiction over the western territory to the Pacific OeeaD; that the American continents were uoder the exclusive dominion of the powers between whom they had been partitioned, and that their territories were covered and shielded by the flag of some existing Government and were not open to colonization and settlement by any European power. The second branch of tbe Monroe doctrine originated iu tbe position assumed by President Monroe in bis message of 1823, concerning the declaration of the European powers combined in the Holy Alliance at the counsel of Verona in 1822. This assembly solemnly declared that tbe European Governments bad a right to assume a hostile attitude towurds those nations where sq overthrow of government might operate as an example. And that it was their determination to restore to their former alle giance the Spanish American States, which had recently declared their independence. President Monroe regarded the declaration ! made at Verona as too deeply involving the interest of the United States for him to remain silent on this subject In his Message of-1823, he stated that the United States would consider "any attempt of the allied powers to. extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to their peace and safety." These facts show that the Monroe Doctrine consisted of two distinct propositions, the first of which is, that the unoccupied territories of the western hemisphere were not subject to entry and occupancy under the right of colonization and settlement, so long asserted by Great Britain. The second proposition was that the avowed determination of the Holy Alliance in the subjugation of the Spanish-American States to their former allegiance to the mother country was dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States, and oould not be allowed by them. Seizure of Property of Blockade Runners.?The Government, taking the ground that blookade-running was a part of ibu rebellion, and that all property used, and all profits made in it are subject to the rules of war, have sent agents South, who have seized all cotton and other property intended for blockade running, and have called upon all engaged in the business to state under oath, their associates, the amount of their business, their profits, <ko. Most of the witnesses have told the full tale of their business, but one or two probably unwilling to disgorgowore sent to prison on aooount of their refusal to testify.? ' One of the largest stockholders in this en' terprise was the Hon. G. A, Trenholm, ; late Secretary of the Treasury of the soj called Confederate States. In the course j of his examination, whioh took place on the | 10th ultimo, Mr. Trenholm stated that just ! before the evacuation of Riobmond, the I total amount of specie in the Confederate | vaults was from three hundred and fifty I thousand dollars to four hundred thousand ' dollars, of which sum about three hundred j thousand dollars was in the Treasury at Richmond. This three hundred thousand dollars was carried off and distributed parti ly among the soldiers of Johnson's army, j and partly among the military esoort of ! Jeff. Davis at the time of their disband ; ment. Mr. Treoholra stated that in his ' opinion, Mr Davis and the civil officers re! fused to receive any part of it. The ex* ' amination of Mr. Treuholm was quite long, but showed much frankness on his part in revealing all he knew.?Northern Paper. Planting by the Moon.?The Hazlehurat (Miss.) Copiahan enlightens us thus upon this abstruse subject: "Thero are a great many who ridicule the idea of planting by the moon; but experience is wiser than science, and many of ! the most successful gardeners observe rig, idly the rule of planting according to the ; changes of the moon. An old friend, in whose judgement we have faith, assures us that all vegetables of the vine kind, as beans, i peas, potatoes, eto., bear more luxuriantly I if planted In the first three or four days " " 1 ?* 1 .1 _ _ after full moon; ana mat corn piantea ou the decline of tbe moon will make heavier ears than if planted at any other time. Let | our gardeners and planters remember this, and make tbe experiment. rlciimond and the surrolndinq Country.?A correspondent, writing from RiohmoDd to the Baltimore Gazette, gives the following interesting description of that famous locality. The picture will be recognized by thousands whose weary feet have trodden every foot of the country described: "Richmond itself is now fast being rebuilt, and there seems every prospect that in a few years the new town will equal or sqrpass the old. But while this is true of the city, the surrounding country presents a far different aspect. The seotion lying below the city must figure so largely in all future history, that a few worda about its present appearaDoe may not be unaccept able. Once oat of Richmond and the change is appa'rent. It is a change from the ham of basiness to the silence of a deserted country. The booses stand oat soli .tary and silent; no fences, no gardens, few or no oathoases, no cattle, no fowls, and many wanting even the thin streak of smoke from the chimneys that still proclaims them to be the habitations of men. Almost as soon as you pass the outside limits of the city you find a line of fortifications, and for many miles you will rarely be oat of sight of some kind of work, from the strong battery that frowns from the crest of the hill to the small pit of the skirmisher in the hollow beneath. There seems to be some effort to reoccupy the ooontry, but only by the poorer class of people, who come from the old battlefields of war t. begin a Dew straggle with want and famine. The lands lying along the banks of the James, so celebrated for their richness, are now bat waste fields. There are but few cases were the owners of the land are found on them; few of them have the capital ne cessary to work their farms, and of those who have, very many have had their houses destroyed, and will not consent to inhabit the small and ill-built cabbins they are able to put up. Thus the land is mostly occupied by men paying shares of the profits for the use of the land, and they are unable to .work any large part of the estate, but simply try to earn a support for themselves. These lands present, if possible, even a more melancholly appearance than the back oountry ; there, so much of the country is covered by pines, that but a small portion can be seon, but on tho river we see at once vast tracts of open laod, overgrown with the tall weeds and grass, showing the richness of the soil, which is left untouched by the plowshare. Of very maoy of the old houses, the chimneys are the only marks visible at any distance, and there are very few cattle to mark the presence of thriving farmyurds. This is not true of this section I alone, but of almost all of Eastern Virginia. | It is in substance the picture of a whole j country, and by no means an overdrawn one. It is to be hoped that it will not long i continue so. The people are trying, and if aided, or if not impeded by the Government will soon restore the country to a better stute. Politically, they feel their state to be . that of a defeated party; and, as they must live under the existing Government, they would do so in good faith, and in obedience to its -laws. But if they are to be again prosperous and contented,, they must have the countenance of the Government, and not be interfered with by Radicals and Demagogues. Go.vernor Bramlette on the "Bureau."?The Lexington correspondent of the Cincinnati Gazette, under date of the 5th, gives the following information : A few days ago, Judge S. S. Goodloe, of the City Court, uoder the statute of Kentucky, fined a negro for having a pistol in his possession. Mr. Pinkerton, agent of ! tho Freedmen's Bureau, took the case in ,! hand, and informed Judge Goodloe that all ! such statutes were no longer valid, aad re quested him to restore to the negro his pistol and remit the hue. Judge Goodloe declined to do this, not recognizing any rule of procedure in his court but the statutes of Kentucky. The matter at this stage was ! referred to Governor Bramlette, who, in an- j swer to Judge Goodloe, says : "You take J the correct view of your duty. You have j no power to make, unmake, or amend laws, ! but must administer them as they exist.? ' This you and all other officers should do, j regardless of the menaces of the agents of j a bureau whioh has no legal existence in ! Kentucky. The powers assumed by super-officials and ; agents of overriding the laws and civil au-' j thorities of the State, should be firmly met i and resisted in every legal form. The whole | negro population being now free, are by our | | laws, as they now exist, secured and pro i j teoted in their rights of life, liberty and j property The slave code has nothing to do ' j with the negro now, and never did have.? j j I have every reason to believe that the pres eDt General Assembly will adopt suitable j and wise provisions for the benefit of the 1 freedmen. Whether they do or not, Mr. j Pinkerton ought to know that it is not in your or his province to make, amend or dis-1 regard existing luws. Mr. Pinkerton would i better subserve the true interests of the ne- j gro, and of the society and State in which ho lives, by looking up his bureau and losing the key, than by the course he seems bent on pursuing." The Governor has turned the whole matter over to the Legislature. | ?? ? ? ? Cure for the Small Pox.?A friend I has kindly given us the following recipe for | the care of small pox :?Nevcbern Times.! The mode of treatment is as follows:! When the preceding fever is at its height, j and just before the eruption appears, the ! chest is robbed with oroton oil and tartatio | ointment. This oauses the whole of the I eruption to appear on that part of the body, j to the relief of the rest. It also secures a full and complete eruption, and thus prevents the disease from attacking internal organs. This is said to be the established mode of treatment in the English army in China, by goneral orders, and it is regarded as a perfeot cure. A Fable for Fine Ladies. Extravagance in dress has reached snob a scandalous extreme in this oonntry, that , no apology need be offered for rebuking or satirizing the prevailing taste for costly display. So thinking, the Ledger frill "tell a little story," with a point and moral which may possibly rasp the feelings of some of the 8amptuoas "leaders of fashion," but which has at least the merit of being apropos to one of the vices of the age. An old French writer is responsible for the tale, which runs (with its redundancies cut off) nearly as follows : A nobleman having lost his spouse, a "dasher" of the Seventeenth century, applied to a devout hermit for information ahoat the fad's status in the other world ? Thereupon the hermit dropped off into a clairvoyant doze, and proceeded to state, what he said be saw. The three .prominent figures in his vision were St. Mioheal, Lucifer and the lady. The Saint had a pair of scales in which he was weighing the lady and her good deeds against her sins and peooadilloes. The beam of the balance was at an equipoise, and the good angel thought that she might pass muster. But at this stage of the proceedings Luoifer bekoned to a subordinate fiend in the distance, who immediately shuffled to the front, stooping under an enormous back-load of magnificent robes and rare jewelry, "These," said the Archfiend, addressing the Saint, "belonged to Madame, while living, and you know as well as I do that they were wicked superfluities which diverted her mind from Heavenly musings, I'desire to have them pitohod into the scale with her other sins." St. Michael being a fair-minded hieraroh, could not flatly object; but he tried to argue the case. "Bah!" said Lucifer, "the value of one of those gowns would have olothedand kept forty poor men through a whole winter, and the mere waste cloth from them would have saved a family or two from perishing Throw 'em in." They were thrown in accordingly, and straightway the lady's scale kicked the beam. There was nothing more to be said, and the Gentleman in Black at once took the lady under his protection. "What do you propose to do with . n-SJ Ca?#i+ as\4ts\ i?tDn toifh uui i aaiu iiua ouiui, ounv cv/vw. */w nj her?" replied Beelzebub, in a whisper;? "Why give her new dresses continually and make her believe that she looks like a fright io all of them." "What worse than fiendish malice!" exclaimed Michael. And so they . parted?the Sainf going his way and the Fiend with his unwilling companion taking a different and more unpleasant route. Of'course, as Eugene Aram says io the poem, "'twas nothing but a dream." But the moral of the story is, that a taste for luxury in dress is not one of the Christian graces. Quite th? reverse. ? Good Advice. An Atlanta paper, the New Era, gives parents, in the subjoined two paragraphs, most excellent advice. Suoh advice is good at all times, but especially is it so now,when every arm and sinew in the Southern States should be exerted to retrieve her shattered fortunes. We see many boys, and even young men, about the streets, who should be learning a trade, or being indoctrinated in some'busioess callings. The sad realities of the past year have exploded many foolish notions, and among them that it was not respectable to learn a mechanics' trade. Labor is always respcotable, and Robert E. Lee and Joseph E Johnston and , General Elliott, are not less respectable today, than when they were gallantly defending the cause they-espoused with so much earnestness. I The advantages of a srood trade or art io , ? ? - a w an; department of industry, have become , prominently apparent since tbe close of the ( war. Maoy youDg men who previously | would have felt somewhat degraded to learn ( the carpenter's, house builder's, or any | other trade, would give one year of their | best services to be master of any of tbe | trades. Tbe man who has a good trade or , craft, and who is diligent and industrious, i cannot suffer, even in this day of soarcity , and gloom. The New Era's remarks are , as follows: , Teach your son to work?to work with j bis hands?to combine muscular power with , brain power, and he will seldom turn thief, | vagabond or vagrant Tbe great misfortune with a majority of our young men is, that tbey have been taught no regular trade 1 or employment. They now feel sadly the i want of this useful training. Impress a bov with the value of time, teach bim some honorable calling, however humble, i aDd if he has the man in him it will devel- I op itself in time. He will teaoh himself, from observation and association with the ] best class of persons, who always recognize 1 and appreciate trae merit?to be, and not ] i merely to appear to be a gentleman. j i The silly notion, so prevalent heretofore I< in this country, that physical labor is in- j i consistent with good breeding, must now ' i give way to a more practicable, and more i 1 sensible, and more healthy seotiment. We I will then have fewer forgeries, fewer gam- I I biers, fewer drunkards, and consequently a , i less demand for space in our State prisons, i We will have more work-shops, more fac- ? tories, more schools, more and better filled 1 churches, and a more thrifty, self-reliant, < intelligent, hardy and enterprising population. Large Number of Visitors.?We are < gratified to learn that, for the past two i weeks, the hotels of our city have been 1 crowded to overflowing, thus showing that I we are having a large number of visitors. i Many of the visitors are merohants from 1 the interior, coming to the oity to supply ] themselves with Spring stooks from the < choice collection of our jobbors and impor i ters, while others are here to see us while i in the transition state. Everything, we are 2 glad to say, looks as pleasant as one could i wish, and we hope, ere long, Charleston I will be the same, and more prosperous than 1 of yore.? Charleston News. t The Dead Letter Office. A correspondent of the Boston Saturday Evening Gazette says : "The dead letter office is one of the cariosities of Washington to the stranger, bat :o those engaged in it, it is a terrible drudgery. 1 he opening, examining and sorting 14,500 letters every six hoars, involves aach hard labor; bat it mast be done, for here are four and a half miTlioa of dead etters come to the office every year. All :hat are signed are returned to the writers; >ut so many are written by "Your affectionite Adie," or "Your loving Susy," that ;aot clerk has a huge two bushel basket by him, into which all letters not signed by the fail'namn "BTB~dTopped. From that raoeptaole tbey pass to the chopping mill, where they are oat into smairpieces, so that they may never be read, and from the cboppiog knife they go to the paper mill. The great majority of these letters are lost through the oarelessnesa of the writers, and it surpasses my power of imagination to know how people can be so careless, especially when they send large snms of money. Nearly fifty eight thousand letters came :o this office last year, enclosing bills and jhecks, or bonds. And how much do you suppose these letters contained? Over :hree million and a half dollars 1 One letter contained two one thousand dollar bills; it was returned to the writer. Another had two hundred and fifty dollars in it, but' nothing to show the name of the writer. Forinnately, the post-mark, though partially )bliterated, could still be read. The letter same from Chicago, was re-mailed there ind advertised, and the owner came forward, saying that when he sent the money ae was in so much of a hurry that he forgot to add the name. The most valuable letter, or package that turned up "dead" contained bonds worth over 820,000. All sorts of curious articles come here. I was standing by the other day, when the Srst letter contained twenty five dollars, soon after two packages of medicine came ilong. Sometimes duns, "daguerrotypes, postage stamps, bead bags, even snakes, bottles etc , come through this general repository. It is an omnium gatherum of amall things. Report of General Sherman. The President yesterday transmitted to the Senate the report of Major Gen. Sherman, in referenoe to the condition of affairs in those portions of the Southern States recently visited by him. He conoludes his report in the following language : "Indeed, so far as my -observation goes, there is perfect satisfaction felt by all classes of the people, except on the part of a vory few who are looking to future combinations, involving the local and unimportant State offices. I found everywhere in the South a large number of our offioers and soldiers looking out for land aDd employment, and I doubt not that during the next year all the land which is cleared will be under cultivation, a large part of it under the direction of energetic young men, and that all branches of business in Arkansas will be stimulated by the presence of a class of men which has not heretofore resided in that State. Single individuals now travel unarmed from one Dart of the State to soother, aod General Reynolds is rarely oalled upon to afford military protection to any one, black or white." A Bid Conspiracy.?The National In. telliyeneer says information from the State Department, famished by the United States Consul, Potter, reveals the existence of a wide-spread conspiracy in Canada and Europe, with the object of affecting the finance Df the United States Government. The object seems to be, if possible, to oreate a panio in the European ifcarkets in reference to Ameiioan securities, and, as a consequence, forcing home our bonds now held there. The hope seems to be cherished that they may in this manner bring about a financial crisis in the United States, and prostrate the commercial interests of the country. The principal Canadian agent is i man named Vernon, and the first movement towards the desired result exhibits itself in a work, the proof-sheers of which ire in the hands of the Department. Its tenor may be inferred from the following heading: "Repudiation of the National Debt Inevitable?Impossible to Pay the Interest and Support the Government? The Farmer, Artisan and Laborer Slaves to 'Shoddy' and Wall Street." An ASTONISHING Secret.?The German papers announoe the death, at Madeburg, of a learned physician, Dr. Julius Von dem Fischweiler, who in bis will has left the world the following scientific seoret, viz : That hi? own great age, one hundred and nine, is entirely to be ascribed to his constant habit of sleeping with his head toward the North, and the rest of his body in a direction coinciding as closely as possible with that of the meridian, that is, with his heels to the South. From persisting in this habit, the learned doctor considered that :heiron contained in our system, finding iticlf in the direction of the magnetio our-ents which are constantly flowing over the lurface of the globe toward the North Pole, cecomes magnetized and thus inoreases the jnergy of the vital principle. How to select Flour?First, look ;o the color; if it is white, with a yellowish >r straw colored tint, buy it. If it is very white, refuse it. Second, examine its adhesiveness ; wet and knead a little of it beBflsn untir finnoro if it WOrk8 Soft and """" J B I ? Jticky it is poor. Third, throw a little lump of dry flour against a dry, smooth, perpendicular surfaoe ; if it falls like pow ier it is bad. Fourth, squeeze some of the Sour in your band; if it retain the shape made by the pressure that, too, is a good *igu. Floor that will stand all these tests t is safe to bny. These modes are given ?y old floor dealers, and they pertain to a natter that concerns everybody?namely, ;he staff of life.