Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, April 25, 1867, Image 1

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.ik * J \ + * + . 4 lewis^ GRIST, 5"~~~ '~~ |n |i^toT^^g |!ctop;ipcr: rsr ihr foo;:n:i3;: :f lb? |glttical, Sochi Agricultural ani) Comntc^ f ittosts of % go#. ^ ^ TO^^ri?c^.^ Ai^^ VOL. 12. YORKYILLE, S. C., THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 1867. 3STO. 52. ? ? ??^|?1A???1 Original fflfttg. For the Yorkvllle Enquirer. A MEMORY AND A MORAL. BY REV, HENRY R. DICKSON. One April day when playful winds Beneath a cheerful sky were free, With bounding pulse I rambled forth And joined their freedom on the lea. So soft the air, so sweet the sky With calm clouds floating 'thwart the blue, That at this hour, tho' years are gone Their memory wakes fresh and new. No book, nor talking mate I miss'd, All nature utter'd fuller speech ; For her fond friends, the humblest bud Hath a kind voice to cheer or teach. So brightly pass'd some careless hours, With light and flow'rs and fancy blest, When with the season's frequent fate, Dark storm-clouds muster'd from the west. The mild winds check'd their idle glee, The birds gay music sank in gloom; The very flowers with timid care Bent down their bold and happy bloom. And I, in sympathetic pain, From the chang'd landscape turned away And with a weak and failing faith Look'd for no farther light that day. So 'tis with Life?an April day? So my fair friend, 'twill prove to thee; And the sure sequel of its light Some chilling storm and shade will be. But in a light, which nature's wealth Of generous blessing cannot give? The eternal sunshine God will shed Freely on them who Christ receive. Earth may the ante-chamber prove "With Heav'ns o'erflowing lustre bright, 'Till welcom'd to the inner room We know forever storms nor night. ? Jmu 355! MY LITTLE WHITE APRON. BY GABRT2LLE LEE. I am the youngest of five daughters. The rest were born, with tnat woman's heritage?beauty; their share of it, at all events. I was born comTiftTAtivelv. nlain. i was the youngest daughter. But do not think I was abused and persecuted My sisters told me of their admirers, and I listened with the most earnest attention. They consulted me, too ; said "No one's taste was better than mine;" and, in fact, as they could not afford a lady's-maid out of their "somewhat slender purses, why I converted myself into one?"crimped" hair, got them ready for parties, and held councils with them over the color of a ribbon. I was "to live" with them when they were married, each one would tell me in turn. It was a gay prospect, certainly?I knew what that meant: it would be nice to have somebody to look after the house, you see. I don't mean to be sarcastic; I hate a sarcastic woman, and my sisters were nice girls; I did love them: but then its not fair that loaves and fishes should be given to some, and bare crumbs to another.? However, I kept the thought down; wouldn't give it space in my heart a moment: listened to the praise of my sisters; was glad to have them courted and admired; and if fortune had given plumes to the rest, and none to me, it was no use to make sour faces over the matter?it wouldn't remedy it one bit "Well, Annie," said my mother, with a sigh, "I suppose we must begin to get your sisters ready for the winter campaign. I hope this year I shall be able to buy you a nice silk, and a new bonnet I'll see how much money is left when they are fitted out I am tired of seeing you in their cast-off things. My mother's oheek had been bright with roses once, they were pale now; this "fitting out" business worried her annually. It was so hard to get everything as it should be, and yet make "both ends meet" "Never mind, dearj" said I, kissing the cheek that had been very fair and fresh once, but which was somewhat worn now?a cheek dearer to me than all the world beside. She understood me better than anybody, and would call me "little violet^" sometimes, adding, "You are not always to be in the corner, Annie. Some one will find out your sweetness, and stoop to pluck you for it, when more showy flowers will be suffered to fade unnoticed." "Never mind, dear," said I, "don't think of me. As for a new silk, I don't lift my eyes to that; a nice merino will doiust as well, you know. I don't go into society. Wait, mother, mine, till my sisters make their choice, and you and I are left to keep house together, then I'll have a fine dress, and wear it to please you." Mother smiled, and, dressing her herself, took ol./-..\T\ir>nr WmiU thpv hrinc me tile ?1113 UUU OMVMpiigt .? v*M?* ? Q home that merino dress, and what color would it be ? This passed through my mind as I went about putting the house in order. It was sweeping day, and after that I had promised to do up Jeannette's Mechlin lace set, and flute Matilda's ruffles, besides odd jobs for the other two, Laura and Rose. Toward night the party drew up with a formida ble array of bundles. I waited until they had finished tea. How hungry they all were! ''How well my Annie makes everything," said mamma. "This tea tastes delicious." And the toast?isn't that good?" said Jeannette, helping herself to a fresh slice. "And what good luck Annie always has with her cake," added Laura, drawing the cake basket nearer, for she was a dear lover of confections. Matilda and Rose had someting pleasant to say, too; and I felt repaid for my diiv s labor, though my frame ached with fatigue. Never mind, those square, brown packages hung on the table there, held a merino for me, at all events?perhaps a silk! If it should be a silk! I'd be as happv as a queen ! Tea being done, I cleared the table, and then my sisters Began to untie their packages. Presently chair, table, and sofa were bright with ribbons, laces, and a shining new silk for each of the four. "So you didn't get the merino for me, after all?" I said, at length, in a voice I tried to make steady. My mother looked distressed. "Annie, dear, there was nothing left to buy it. with. The girls each thought they must have a new silk?and silks do cost so now-a-days. I did hope?" "Oh! you know, mamma, we could not do without new dresses!" chorused the four. T JU C..1 . V.,,? moHor T had battled JL UiU ACCl J hruv uv wwvwij ? ? ? down disappointment before, I could do it again. First, I ran up to my room, however, and had a quiet cry. After which I came down, and discussed with the rest, trimmings, new styles, etc., until bed-time. The next day, Rose, next older than myself, brought me a certain merino, she had bought new the winter before. ''There, Annie," said she, "you may have this. It is almost as good as new, and you know my dresses fit you exactly." It was "almost as good as newbut then the color?it was brown, and I just hate brown with all my heart! Besides, it was not becoming. Rose was fairer than I, and looked well in it; no matter, I would make it do. I thanked my sister, and took it. Would it be so always, I thought ? What if I should start off. like the youngest daughter in the fairy tale, ana seek my fortune. Never mind, I would be patient ?that was best and right; so I soothed myself, put on my bonnet and shawl, and went out. . I had some shopping to do on my own account It took me but a little while, and comprised one parcel, very small, and another so small that it went into my pocket The first held a remnant of white cambric to be made into an apron, designed to cover over that brown merino; the other a bit of rose-colored ribbon, meant to brighten the same. I made the apron with care, tucked it finely, ruffled the bib waist daintily. When I put on the brown merino, the little apron, and the bit of rosecolored ribbon that fastened a rim of white collai at the throat, I knew I looked as "neat as a pin and farther than that I expected not. My sisters looked pretty enough in their bright silk dresses of azuline-blue, crimson, and applegreen, which were finished just in time. There . was to be a matinee musicale, and as the girls sang " nicely, Italian music mostly, and were to take leading parts, they all enjoyed the prospect amazingly. I did, too, but only sympathetically; for I was to play "Cinderella," and stay at home. Four sisters were enough to go into society. As for five, it was not to be dreamed of. I could sing, to be sure, but only a little?simple songs I knew by ear. My mother liked to hear me, sometimes, when the rest were all gone. "That opera music is all very fine, Annie," she would say; "but when you sing it touches me, somehow. And 'Annie Lawrie just suits your voice. I am glad I called you Annie, it is such a sweet name. Yes, I was to play Cinderella. Would the prince really be there? I thought to myself. I was getting tired a little of it all. You know the old saying, 'All work and no play.' I felt badly, and therefore, when my sisters had gone, began to make light of everything. First, however, what pretty creatures they were, when they came to kiss "mamma" and "Annie' good-bv. Daisy white, and daisy pink of skin, apparelled perfectly, daintily perfumed, delicately kidded. "Good-by, sisters. You'll have a nice time, I know." What was that chooking feeling in my throat for? Did I envy them ? After they were gone, I began to laugh, because it would be so weak to cry. "Mother," I said, "why are you not my fairy godmother ? Give me a shining dress, and a chariot and four. Shall I run and get the pumpkin dear? Do you think the prince will really be there?" "Oh! I can't say," says mamma, laughing gently; then added more gravely{ "But I think, between you and me, Annie, it's nigh time he haa arrived.' "But then the prince married Cinderella, mother, mine; and you know I'm she?all but the beauty." "Never mind the beauty, child. Go and sing 'Annie Lawrie,' or something that's sweetandhome like." I sang my mother to sleep ; then, kissing her softly, withdrew. She was apt to sit up until the four came home. She liked to hear all that had passed, and who was there. I waited to hear at the breakfast table. But the girls fagged out. did not come down until nearly clinner-time. Tnen they were en neglige, decidedly?wrappers, slippers, etc., were the order of the day. "Nell, was the prince there 1" was my salutation. "Yes, indeed 1" chorused they all; and with one accord began to praise a certain Lawrence Heath. "Tie most agreeable man I ever met," said Matilda. "Nothandsome, but so intelligent!" declared Jeannette, who was the reader of the family. "So sensible, too." added Laura, who, in spite of her name, plumed herself upon her aversion to romance. "But he talked with me more than anybody," laughed Rose, "and came home with me as well. He said he would call very soon." Ting-a-ling 1 ting-a-ling! rang the bell. The four looked at one another aghast What if that should be Mr. Heath ? Maid of all work gone on an errand; nobody to go to the door but me. "Well, Annie, you're fit to be seen, at all events," spoke Rose. Yes, I was "fit to be seen." I had on that brown merino, to be sure. But my little white apron saved it?snowy-white, with dainty tucks and ruffles, and rose ribbon to brighten the hateful brown. So I went to the door: the rest scudded up the stair case, wrappers flying, tittering as they went, after the manner of girls at large. "Ladiesin?" said a pleasant voice. "Yes, sir," 6aid I; walk in." My instructions were, that it" it proved to he .nr. Heath, I was to entertain him until the rest were ready. The experience was a novel one, and I enjoyed it I was not self-conscious?nobody had ever admired me but mv mother?so I said the first thing I thought of. I suppose it was something naive; he smiled, at all events. Somehow, I took to Mr. Heath at once. He was frank aud natural: not handsome, but a kind, manly face. If he had been a dandipratj I couldn't have said a word; as it was, I talked easily, and I have been told since?"well." The piano was open?Mr. Heath asked me if I sang. Having never been in society, I did not know that it was en regie to say "nothing to speak of," and plead "sore throat." I, therefore, replied, simply; "A little." "Let me hear that little, insisted Mr. Heath. I complied, went to the piano, and sang what songs I knew, Mr. Heath standing beside me.?J He nad no need to turn over any music, for I sang only those songs that I loved?and these were written on my heart. There was a rustle in the entry, we both turned. My four sisters glided in, attired in their new silks, fresh and charming as young beauties may be.? They had been nearly an hour dressing?for to be a beauty is not without its disadvantages; it takes time to support the character. Then began a soft murmur of greeting and coinSliment, in which I was preparing to slip away.? tut a pair of eyes that held an expression in their depths that had never been turned on me before, held me, while a gentle voice said, decisively, "You must not go, Miss Annie. Your sweet singing has made me your debtor; you and I must be well acquainted yet." The girls were too well-bred to stare. Rose said in her own tones, "Annie, dear, stay;" then added to Mr. Heath, "she is so little used to company." Mr. Heath said, bowing, I should never have guessed it Nature mufet have done more for her than art can ever accomplish." The conversation went on, and I, sitting quietly S' , enjoyed everything. Once and awhile Mr. jath, turning to me, questioned of this and that. I answerd upon the strength of the good old adage, ' 'speak when you're spoken to." When our visitor had gone, the girls turned upon me, not angrily, but mirthfully. "Well, Annie," said Rose, "I do believe you've cut us all out with the prince." "That little white apron has done it all," said Laura. "No," said Jeannette, the eldest, who was always intensely practical, it was because Annie was already dressed. You know, gentlemen detest be, ing kept waiting. They'd rather see a woman in calico, than wait ten minutes for one to make a 1 toilet J' "Well," wound up Matilda, "let's see whether he asks for Annie the next time he comes to see? , us." ! The next time Mr. Heath came to "see us" he asked solely and only for "Miss Annie." I went down to see him in the very identical brown merino, little white apron, and rose colored ribbon? I in fact, that was the only attire he saw me in the whole winter through; for I had nothing else that was presentable. However, he found no fault with my attire, siin* *' T? li rtU I 1, Ele as it was. jorougui, uie, vu i ouuu cAuuuug ourpiets! and such pretty songs that he had chosen himself for me to sing. I told you I was plain; Mr. Heath did not think so. A red light began to steal up in my cheeks.? I brushed my hair, which chanced to be long and fine?we plain women are apt to have handsome hair?until it shone satin-smooth. My mother j looked upon me with approving eyes. 5ly sisters j were at first a trifle nettled, but at heart they were i too good for this to last long. A feeling of remorse seemed to come over them, one and all. They said nothing, but tacitly did everything they could to annul the past. Rose practised with me?she was a fine musician, and I improved. The others helped with the housework, that I might have time to be with Mr. Heath. They would have taken me out with them, now. but I refused to go; and they coaxed and pleaded so, however, that I consented. "People would t think it so strange," they said. "How was it that ; people had not thought it strange all along," re? curred to me, but I said nothing. [ A council of war was held over me. How should ; I be "dressed?" A rose-colored tarleton was decided upon. I had , nothing to say in the matter; in fact, I knew Mr. ! Heath was to be my escort, and that would bo hap piness enough. r My sisters dressed me this time, then regarded the result with surprise. Handsome it was impossible to make me. Daisy-white, and pink I never t would be; but they, belles and beauties, were not ashamed of me?so I was contented. As for Mr Heath, he regarded me dubiously. "Miss Annie, I missed that dear little whit< apron," whispered he, as he gave me his arm.'It seems so home like." ^ I was glad he liked me in the brown merino. I is very sweet to know that it is you, your very self that pleases; and not what you wear. 'Til wear it forever, then," said I, with suddei intensity. "Not forever," said he; I shall want to see yoi in a certain dress I picture in my mind's eye, on of these days.'' What kind of dress was it, I wondered ? an< would I ever be rich enough to buy it? So we reached our place of destination, and al five sisters of us trooped into the dressing-room.I watched the girls as they took off their wraps-^ they were to the "manor born;" smoothed outthei dresses deftly, arranged puffs, shook out laces be fore the mirror, and naving done, fell upon me.? Each one gave me a "finishing touch," then a kiss and concluded with saying, "Now,there!" Whicl meant, possibly, that they had done all they coul< for me. It did not confuse me, the brilliant company be low; for Mr. Heath was beside me, and I though f h-X ItAAwl maamIA An ^kio air]/ U1I1V U1 IUU1. X UCU1U pcupic UUCSUUU UU buio CU\A< and that: "Is that the plain. Miss Hartwell?"They were as curious to he introduced to me, as i I had been handsome. I wished to appear wel for his sake. So I talked the best I knew to al who sought me; and when they asked me to sing I complied without an excuse. The people hat laughed and talked, while the other music hat been going on; but when I began to sing, then was dead silence. I rose from the piano, feelinj rather than knowing, that I had received a ran compliment. Encouraged by appreciation, my spir its rose. When we were about to leave, there waj a group around us. Now yon have come out of your retirement w< shall expect to see you often," said one after ant another. I looked at Mr. Heath?he did not share in m] pleasure. His brow was clouded, he seemed strong ly and strangely displeased. My heart fell. Coming home, I took his arn in silence. By and by, I asked, in a voice tha faltered. "What has displeased you ? Have I seemed st awkward, to-night, that you are ashamed of me?' "Ashamed of you! Net, I, indeed. C a' yoi guess what the matter is ?" "Tell me?tell me! You were never displeasec with-me before." "Oh, Annie! can't you see that I am as jealous as jealous as man can be ?" Jealous of me, plain Annie Hartwell! Oh, deal delight! If he were jealous he cared for me inort than I had dared to hope; for, simple as I was, ] was not so simple that I did not know jealousy t< be the shadow cast by love. Women, more artful, would have inflamed hi; jealousy. But I?I had never had but this one ad mirer, i could not Dear tnat ne snouia even seen to suffer. 1 'If it displeases you,'' I cried. "I will go no mor( into society, but stay at home always." "Then promise one thing, Annie, that?tha home shall be my fireside." I did promise. I couldn't have him displeased you know. My mother and the girls were not at aU surnris ed. I had thought tney would be. "You're s< simple, Annie," laughed they. I told Mr. Heat! thev thought me "simple." Was I so? Quite deep enough for me," was the reply. For the first time in my life I went shopping tha spring. It was tiresome, but, on the whole, llikcc it I had no idea what a simple wardrobe had con tented me heretofore. How many, many things there were to buy. Ai length, however, everything had been purchasec but one ; and that was the dress my lover?hov sweet the word sounds?had said was the one h( wished to see me in. I had wondered if I would be rich enough t( buy it; in my simplicity never guessing it was th< one women hold in such choice esteem?a wedding dress. I had no need?he sent it to me. A silk o creamy snow, throwing off the light in silver] shafts, like moonbeams; with it came a veil, fin< as a cobweb. They were both "too beautiful foi me," I declared. "Too beautiful I Nothing is too beautiful for i bride," said my mother and sisters. I do not know whether I made a "plain" brid< or not?the question arises, at once, whether : bride is ever plain. Strange to say*, my husbanc declares he had never seen a prettier one. Oh the charming delusion of love, that can find beaut] where all the world is blind! I don't know how it is, but since I have beer married, it has been found out that I have a "swee expression," "a talent for conversation," "afacul ty for doing any number of things. I think hap piness has called into blossom, qualities that migfr always have been in the bud, or that would hav< withered away unnoticed otherwise. _ In one of my drawers, laid away in rose-leaves is the little white apron I made to set off my browi merino. I do not hate brown now; my nusbanc says it is a home-color; and I find it not unbecom ing, for my face is so bright with happiness, tha I think it casts a reflected light upon everything ] wear; so that I may don the dullest colors with im punity. TEXAS. From the accounts we have been receiving occa sionally from Texas, we have been led to believ* that of all the States now governed as "mmtar} districts," that State was one of the most thriving and prosperous under the common misfortune.? We fear that this flourishing condition of affair! has been somewhat exaggerated, judging from th< report of a gentleman who has just made an exten sive tour through the State, and has given th( Louisville Conner some information about affair there, which, it is presumed, is pretty correct. He says that the tide of immigration rolling ir upon the State is immense and unprecedented causing an" extraordinary demand for all kinds o: provisions, and prices consequently rule high.? The spring has been unusually backward, owing t< the long-continued rains and very cold weather and crops are but little, if any, further advancec than in Kentucky, when they should be six oi eight weeks ahead. The lateness of the seasor has kept back the grass, and thousands of cattl< are dying for want of food. The whole countn has been under water, which has compelled an al most entire suspension of transportation, and the mails have teen stopped and delayed in all direc tions. From the statement of this gentleman, we lean that the political condition is regarded with a remarkable degree of indifference. They say they will be satisfied if the Government will leave then their lands and the means to make a support-^-theii principal anxiety being in regard to the possibility of confiscation. What surprises us is, that he re norts the negroes much more demoralized than ir Kentucky. From previous accounts, we though! they were working well in that State; but he say! they have a very exalted opinion of the change ir their condition, imagining that they are a gooc deal better than the rest of God's creation, anc they prefer congregating in towns and cities tc working on the plantations. Very good feeling however, exists between them and their old mas ters, who are willing to hire them at fair wages. Altogether, the informant says the condition oi the State is not as gc od as generally represented though probably much better than any other o the Southern States. Such is, probably a fail statement of the situation of affairs in the "Lont Star" State, to which, we are aware, many of oui people are looking with hankering eyes, for a set tlemcnt and home, and it is for their informatioi we have made this synopsis of, no doubt, a correc statement on the subject.?Columbia Phoenix. Lyino in Bed.?It is often a question amongs people who are acquainted with the anatomy anc physiology of man. whether lying with the heac exalted or level witn the body is most wholesome Most, consulting their own ease on this point, ar gue in favor of that which they prefer. Now, al though many delight in bolstering up their heac at night; and sleep soundly without injury, yet w< declare it to be a dangerous habit The vessel; through which the blood passes from the heart t< the head are always lessened in their cavities whei the head is resting in bed higher than the body therefore, in all diseases attended with fever, thi head should be pretty nearly on a level with thi body; and people ought to accustom themselves t< sleep thus, and avoid danger.?Medical Journal ^ttscelliitrcous fading. THE HANGING OF HENRY WIRZ. t Intending to leave the Ijjnited States for some ', time, I felt it my doty, b&bre I start, to fulfil in 1>art a promise which a few hours before his death, gave to my unfortunate tiient, Captain Wirz, who was executed at Washington, on the 10th i day of November, 1865. Protesting up to-the last e moment his innocence of those monstrous crimes, \rith which he was charged, he received my word, 3 that, having failed to save him from a felon's doom, I would, as long as I lived, do every thing J in my power to clear his memory. I did that the - more readily, as I was then already perfectly con vinced that he suffered wrongfully. Since that r time his unfortunate children, botn here and in - Europe, have constantly implored me to wipe out - the terrible stains which now cover the name of , their father. Though tunes do not seem propii tious for obtaining full justice, yet, considering 1 that a man is mortal, Iwil, before entering upon a, perilous voyage, perform my duty to those inno cent orphans and also to nfjfeelf. t I will now give a brief statement cf the causes * i ? ' - ?j ? -x" n 3 wnicn leu w roe arrest ana uwuuuu ui uapuuu - Wire. In April, 1865, President Johnson issued f s. proclamation stating that, from evidence in pos1 session of the "Bureau of Military Justice," it ap1 peared that Jefferson Davis was implicated in tne assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and for that reason tho President offered a reward of $100,000 1 for the capture of the then fugitive ex-President of 5 the Southern Confederacy. That testimony has I since been found to be entirely false and a mere i fabrication, and the suborner Conover is now under - sentence in the jail of this city, the two peijurers, s whom he suborned, having turned State evidence against him, whilst the individual, by whom j Conover was suborned, has not yet been brought to [ justice. Certain high and influential enemies of Jefferson j Davis, either then already aware of the character - of the testimony of those witnesses, or not thinking their testimony quite sufficient to hang Jeff. i Davis, expected to find the wanting material in t the terrible mortality of Union prisoners at Andersonville. Orders were issued accordingly to arrest > a subaltern officer, Captain Wire, a poor, friend' less and wounded prisoner of war, (he being inclui ded in the surrender of General Johnson,) and, besides, a foreijpier bv birth. On the 7th of May he 1 was placed in the Old Capital prison at Washington, and from that time the greater part of the North, em press was busily engaged in forming the unfortunate man in the eyes of the Northern people inr to such a monster that it became almost impossible 3 for Mm to obtain counsel. Even his countrymen, [ the Swiss Consul General publicly refused to ac> cept money to defray the expenses of the trial!? He was doomed before he was heard ? and even 3 the permission to be heard according to law was de nied him. To increase the excitement and give i celat to the proceeding, and to inflame still more the public mind, the trial took place under the 3 very dome of the Capital of the nation. A military commission, presided dver by one of the most t arbitrary and despotic generals in the country, was formed, and the paroled prisoner of war, his , wounds still open, and so feeble that he had to recline during the trial on a sofa, carried before the - same. How that trial was conducted, the whole > world knows. The enemies of generosity and hui inanity believed it then to be a sure thing to get at Jefferson Davis. Therefore, the first charge was that of conspiracy t lietween Wire, Jefferson Davis, Seddon, Howell 1 Cobb, R. B. Winder, and a number of others, to kill the Union prisoners. The trial lasted for three months, but. unfortunately for bloodthirsty instit gators, not a particle of evidence was produced 1 showing the existence of such a conspiracy; yet - /? 1 _ ./? ik.x I f (japtain >Yirz was iouna gunw 01 iuul uuurge i? i Having thus failed, another effort was made. On the night before the execution of the prisoner, a ) telegram was sent to the Northern press from this i city, stating that Wirz had made important dis closures to General L. CT Baker, the well known detective, implicating Jefferson Davis, and that f the confession would probably be given to the ' public. On the same evening, some parties came * to the confessor of Wirz, Rev. Father Boyle, and r also tome, one of them informing me that a high Cabinet officer wished to assure Wirz that if he i would implicate Jefferson Davis with the attrocities committed at Andcrsonville, his sentence J would be commuted. He, the messenger, or whoi ever he was, requested me to inform Wire of this. I In presence of Father Boyle I told Wirz, next I morning, what had happened. The Captain sirar ply and quietly replied: "Mr. Schade, you know that I have always told von that I do not know i anything about Jefferson Davis. He had no cont ncction with me as to what was done at Anderson ville. If I knew anything of him I would not be come a traitor against him, or anybody else, even t to save my lifo." He likewise denied that he had i made any statement whatever to General Baker. Thus ended the attempt to suborn Captain Wirz i against Jefferson Davis. That alone 6hows what 1 a man he was. How many of his defamers would I have done the same? With his wounded arm in a sling, the poor paroled prisoner mouted, two hours t later, the scaffold. His last words were that he t died innocent?and so he did. The 10th day of November, 1865, will indeed be a black stain on the pages of American history. To weaken the effect of his declaration of innocence, and of the noble manner in which Wirz - died, a telegram was manufactured here and sent > North, stating that Mrs. Wirz. (who actually was 7 nine hundred miles on that aay from Washingf ton), had been prevented by that Stantonian deiis ex machina, General L. C. Baker, from poisoning s her husband. Thus, on the same day, when the . .mfwnnotn -Tomtltr lntrf- tViair tuiuKand and father. ; U IUV1 bUUUVC A%*IXAX*J ivn7V vuvil UUUI/MWW ... J a cowardly and atrocious attempt was made to ; blacken their character also. On the next day I j branded the whole as an infamous lie, and since then I have never heard it again, though it emai natcd from a Brigadier General of the United , States army. f All those who were charged with having con spired with Captain Wirz have since been releas) ed, except Jefferson Davis, the prisoner of the . American "Casle Chillon." Captain Winder was [ lot off without trial, and if any of the others have r been tried, which I do not know, certainly none of i them have been hung. As Captain Wire could ; not conspire alone, nobody will now, in view of ' that important fact, consider him guilty of that charge. So much, then, for charge No. 1. J As to charge No. 2, to wit: Murder in violation of the laws and customs of war, I do not hesitate to declare what about a hundred and forty-five i out of a hundred and sixty witnesses on both sides declared during the trial ? that Captain ' Wirz never murdered or killed any Union pnsoni ers with his own hands, or otherwise. All those r witnesses (about twelve to fifteen) who testified r that they saw Captain Wirz kill a prisoner, have sworn falsely, abundant proofs of that assertion ' being in existence. The hands of Captain Wirz 1 arc clear of the blood of prisonera of war. He ' would certainly have at least intimated to me a i knowledge of the alledged murders with which he I was charged. In most all cases no names of the I alleged murdered men could be given, and where > it was done, no such persons could be identified. i The terrible scene in Court, when he was con fronted with one of th^ witnesses, and the latter insisting that Wirz was the man who killed a cerf tain Union prisoner, which irritated the prisoner , so much that he almost fainted, will still be ref membcrecL That man (Grey) swore falsely, and r God alone knows what the poor innocent prisoner 5 suffered at that moment! That scene was dcpictr nnrt in the Northern newsnaoers as if Wirz had broken down on account of Ibis ?uilt. 1 Seldom has mortal suffered more than the fnendt leas and forsaken man. Fearing lest this communication will be too long, I will merely speak of the principal and most int telligent of those false witnesses, who testified to 1 individual murder on the part of Captain Wirz. 1 Upon his testimony the Judge Advocate in his fi. nal argument laid particular stress on account of - his intelligence. This witness prepared also pic tures of the aUedged cruelties of Wirz, which were 1 handed to the commission, and arc now on record, 2 copies of which appeared at the time in Northern s illustrated papers. He swore that his name was ) Felix dc la Baumc, and represented himself as a i Frenchman, and a grand nephew of Marquis de ; Lafayette. After having so well testified and e shown so much zeal, he received a rccommendae tion signed by the members of the commission.? d On the 11th day of October, before the taking of . the testimony was concluded, he was appointed to clerkship in the Department of the Interior.? This occurred whilst one of the witnesses for the defence (Duncan) was arrested in open Court, and placed in prison before he had testified. After the execution of Captian Wire some of the Germans of Washington recognized in de la Baume a deserter from the Seventh New York (Steuben) Regiment, whose name was not de la Baume, but Felix Oeser, a native of Saxony. They went to Secretary Harlan, and he dismissed the impostor and important witness in the Wire trial, on the 21st November, eleven days after the execution.? No one who is acquainted with the Conover testimony, in consequence of which the* President of the United States was falsely induced to place a reward of $100,000 upon the head of an innocent man, will be astonished at the above disclosures of the character of testimony before Militaiy Commissions. So much for charge No. 2. If from twelve to fifteen witnesses could be found who were willing to testify to so many acts of murder on the part of Wire, there must certainly have been no lack of such who were willing to swear to minor offences. Such was the unnatural state of the public mind against the prisoner at that time, that such men regarded themselves, and were regarded, as heroes, after haying testified in the manner above described: whilst on the other hand, the witnesses for the defence were intimidated, particularly after one of them had been arrested. But who is rcuonsible for the many Hves that were lost at'Ancfersonville, and in the Southern prisons ? That question has not been fully settled, out history will tell ou whose heads the guilt for those sacrificed hecatombs of human beings is to be placed. It was certainly not the fault of poor Captain Wire, when, in consequence of medicines having been declared contraband of war by the North, the Union prisoners died for the want of the same. How often nave we read during the war that ladies going South, were arrested and placed in the Old Capital prison by the Union authorities, because some quinine or other medicines had been found concealed in their petticoats. Our navy prevented the ingress of medical stores from the seaside, and our troops repeatedly destroyed drug stores, and even the supplies of private physicians in the South. Thus, the scarcity of medicine became general all over the South. Surgeon J. C. Pilot writes, September 6, 18C4, from Andereonville, (this letter was produced by the Judge Advocate in the Wirz trial): "We have but little more than the indigenous barks and roots with which to treat the numerous forms of disease to which our attention is daily called. For the treatment of wounds, ulcers, etc., we have literally nothing except gangrene, and we are impelled to fold our arms and Took quietly upon its ravages, not even having stimulants to support the system under its depressing influence; the articles being so limited in supply that it can only be used for cases under the knife J' That provisions in the South were scarce will astonish nobody, when it is remembered how the war An riflnnwil QVinvn/Jor* TiAnofn/1 in Viici TV CLO V/UII1CU UUi utuwiai k/UWi 1UUU uvnawu 1U inu official report, that, in the Shenandoah Valley alone, he burned two thousand barns filled with corn and wheat, and all the mills in the whole tract of country; that he destroyed all factAes of cloth, and killed or drove off every animyeven to the poultry, that could contribute to human sustenance. And those desolations were repeated in different parts of the South, and that so thoroughly that fast month, two years after the end of the war, Congress had to appropriate a million of dollars to save the people of those regions from actual starvation. The destruction of railroads and other means of transportation, by which food could be supplied by abundant districts to those without it, increased the difficulties in giving sufficient food to our prisoners. The Confederate authorities, aware of their inability to sustain their prisoners, informed the Northern agents of the great mortality, and urgently requested that the prisoners should be exchanged even without regard to the surplus which the Confederates had on the exchange rolls from former exchanges, that is, man for man. But our War Department did not consent to an exchange. They did not want to "exchange skeletons for healthy men." Finally, when all hopes of exchange were gone, Col. Ould, the Confederate Commissioner, offered, early in August, 1864, to deliverup all the Federal sick and wounded, without requiring an equivalent in return, and pledged that the number would amount to ten or fifteen thousand, and, if it did not, he would make up the number with well men. Although this offer was made in August, the transportation was not sent for them (to Savannah) until December, although he urged and implored (to use his own words) that haste should be made. During that very period the most of the deaths at Andersonville occurred. Congressman Covode, who lost two sons in Southern prisons, will do well if he inquires who those "skeletons" were which the Honorable Secretary of War did not want to exchange for healthy men. If he does, he will hereafter be perhaps less bitter a gainst the people of the South. But has the North treated her Southern prisoners so well that she should lift up her hands, and cry "anathema" over the South. Mr. Stanton reports to Congress, July 19th, 18G6, that of Southern prisoners there died in the North 20,436, and of Northern prisoners in the South 22,576. What a fearfiil record I Over 26,000 of prisoners dying in the midst of plenty! Mr. Stanton gives the total number of prisoners in the North at 220,000 and in the South at 126,840. Suppose this to be correct, though thisstatement comes certainly from no impartial source, there died of prisoners in the South, without medicines and provisions, the fifth part, and in the North, with medicines and provisions. the eighth part. But in the number of Southern prisoners in the North, are probably included the paroled prisoners of Lee's, Johnson's and Smith s armies, whomever eutered a Northern prison. If that be so, the mortality of Southern prisoners in the North will be even greater than that of the Federal prisoners in the South I We used justly to proclaim in former time that ours was "the land of the free and the home of the brave." But, when one half 'of the country is shrouded in a despotism, which now only finds a parallel in Russian-Roland: and when our generals and soldiers quietly permit that their former adversaries in arms shall be treated worse than the Helots of old, brave soldiers though they may be, who, when the forces and resources of both sections were more equal, have not seldom seen the backs of our best generals, not to speak of such as Butler and consorts, then we may well question whether the "star-snangled banner still waves over the land of the free or the home of the brave." A noble and brave soldier never permits his antagonist to be calumniated or trampled upon after an honorable surrender. Besides, notwithstanding the decision of the highest legal tribunal in the land, that military commissions are unconstitutional; the earnest anu able protestations of President Johnson, and the results of military commissions, yet such militaiy commissions are again established by recent legislation of Congress all over the suffering and starving South. History is just, and, as Mr. Lincoln used to say we cannot escape history. Puritanical hypocrisy, self-adulation, and self-glorification will not save those enemies of liberty from their just punishmont. Not even a Christian burial of the remains of Captain Wirz has been allowed by Secretary Stanton. They still lie, side by side, with those of another and acknowledged victim of Military Commissions, the unfortunate Mrs. Surratt, in the yard ioil in fKifl oi^TT Uk UIU JOII til WU1W V.VJ. If anybody should desire to reply to this, I politely beg that it may be done before the 1st of May next, as then I shall leave the country to return in the fall. After that day letters will reach me in care of the American Legation, or Mr. Benedetto Bolzani, Leipzig, street No. 38. Berlin, Prussia LOUIS SCHADE, Attorney-at-Law. Washington, April 4, 1867. Origin of tiie Epithet "Turncoat."?The 1 opprobrious term of "turncoat," took its rise from one of the first dukes of Savoy, whose dominions lying open to the incursions of the contending houses of Spain and France, he was obliged to tempo- i rize ana fall in with that power that was most likely to distress him, according to the success of their armies against one another. So being frequently obligea to change sides, he had a coat made that was blue on one side and white on the other, and might be indifferently worn either side. While in Spanish interest he wore the blue side out, and the white side was the badge for the French.? From whence he was called Emanuel, surnamed the "turncoat," by way of distinguishing him from other princes of the same name of that house. THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. The Scriptures have been translated into 148 languages and dialects, of which 121 had, prior to the formation of the British Foreign Bible Society, never appeared. And twenty-five of those languages existed without an alphabet, in an oral form. Upwards of 43.000.000 of these copies of God's word ore circulated among not less than 600,000,000 of people. The first division of the Divine orders into chapters and verses is attributed to Stephen Iangton, Arch-Bishop of Canterbury, in the reign of King John, in the latter part of the twelfth century or beginning of the thirteenth. Cardinal Hugo, in the middle of the thirteenth century, divided the old Testament into chapters as they stand in our translation. In 1661t Athias, a Jew of Amsterdam, divided the section of Hugo into verses?a French printer had previously (1561) divided the New Testament into verses as they now are. The Old Testament contains 39 books, 929 chapters, 23,214 verses, 592,439 words, 2,738,100 letters. The New Testament contains 27 books, 260 chapters, 7,950 verses, 182,253 words, 933,380 letters. The entire Bible contains 66 books, 1,189 chapters, 31,175 verses, 764,692 words, 3,565,489 letters. The name of Jehovah, or Lord, occurs 6,855 times in the Old Testament mi j it?3ii ii? rvlJ rr * ine word uuu ucuurs xu uiu vjiu xcsuuucun 35 543 times ihe middle book of the Old Testament is Proverbs. The middle chapter is the 29th of Job. The middle verse is 2d Chronicles, 39th chapter and 17th verse. The middle book of the New Testament is 2nd Thessalonians. The middle chapters are Bomans 13 and 14. The middle verse is Acts 11:7. The middle chapter, and the least in the Bible, is Psalms 1:17. The middle verse in the Bible is Psalms 318: 8. The middle line in the Bible is 2nd Chronicles 1:16. The least verse in the Old Testament is 1st Chronicles 1:1.. The least verse in the Bible is John 15:35. The 19th chapter of 2nd Kings and Isaiah 36 are the same. In the 21st verse of the 7th chapter of Ezra are all the letters of the Alphabet, I and J considered as one. The Apocrypha (not inspired, but sometimes bound between the Old Testament and the New,) contains 14 books, 183 chapters, 15,051 verses, 153,185 words. The preceding facts were ascertained by a gentleman in 1718. Also by an Englishman residing at Amsterdam, 1772, and is said to have taken each gentleman nearly three years in the investigation. There is a Bible in the library of the University of Gottingen written on 2,476 palm leaves. A day's journey was 34 and 1-5 miles. A Sabbath day s journey was about an English mile. Ezekiel's reed was eleven feet nearly. A cubic is twenty-two inches nearly. % A hand's breadth is equal to three and fiveeighth inches. A finger's breadth is equal to one inch. A shekel of silver was about fifty-cents. A shekel of gold was $8.09. A talent of silver was $516.32. A talent of gold was $13,809. A piece of silver or a penny was thirteen cents. A farthing was three cents. A gorah was one cent. A mite was one and a half cent A homer contains seventy-five gallons and five pints. A bin was one gallon and two pints. A firkin was seven pints. An omer was six pints. A cab was three pints. A dog was a half' pint The divisions of the Old Testament are four: 1 aw inilw iwvl'a ap maoaq 1 XUC i CUUttCUVU) VI luui UWIU> U1 2. The historical hooks, comprising Joshua to Esther inclusive. 3. Poetical or doctrinal books, from Job to Songs of Solomon, inclusive. 4. Prophetical bookSj from Isaiah to Malachi. The New Testament is usually divided into three parts: 1. Historical, containing the four gospels and acts. 2. Doctrinal, comprising all the epistles from Romans to Jude. 3. Prophetical, being the book of Revelations of St John. The commemorative ordinances of the Jews were: Circumcision, the seal of the covenant with Abraham. The Passover, to commemorate the protection of the Israelites, when all the first born of the Egyptians were destroyed. The feast of Tabernacles, instituted to perpetuate the sojourning of the Israelites for forty years in the wilderness. The feast of the Pentecost, which was appointed fifty years after the Passover, to commemorate the delivery of the law from Mount Sinai. Feast of Purim, kept in memory of the Jews from the wicked machinations of Haman. In 1272, it would have cost a laboring man thirteen years of labor to purchase a Bible : as his pay would only be H pence per day, while the price of a Bible was $122. HAVANA CIGARS. Mr. Prime, Editor of the New York Journal of Commerce, writes the following interesting letter from Havana about the cigars there made?a branch of industry which has made Havana world-famous Havana, March 6, 1867. * * * I drove out the other day to the manufacturing establishment of Partagas, the largest and probably the finest manufactory of cigars in the world. Their reputation is co-extensive with the use of Cuba cigars. It is of course unnecessarv to describe the method of making them. Every t>oy has seen this done in every town. But the great care shown in the selection of tobacco, the larger portion being raised on their plantations, and the exceeding skill of the manipulation and the rolling, which gives such beauty to the cigar, entitle them to their high rank among the, manufacturers of the world. The tobacco is placed in large rooms, where it remains until it has undergone a thorough process of fermentation. The wrappers are divided into three classes, according to fineness, and give the number to the several grades of cigars i known as firsts, seconds and thirds. The beauty of the leaf selected for wrappers of the firsts, especially for the highest priced cigars, is beyond praise. The price list of the Partagas cigars is a curiosity. The highest price marked is for Celestiales at $500 per thousand; next are the Salomones at $400; next the Napoleones at $300, $150to$140. The Imperiales, Embajadores, Caz- 1 adores and Rothschilds range from $110 to $130. j The lowest priced cigar on their list is a Londres. | third, at $33. The very high-priced cigars are all 1 large, weighing from twenty to twenty-two pounds per thousand. They are made with great care, and ii i ?i j 1_ rru? roueu siowiy anu wiuuuuoiy. xnc ucsuuuuui? ^ gar of the Partagas costs $53 per thousand, and | tneir best Brevas cost $50. The Regalia Britanni- < ca, first, second and third, cost $100, $90, and $80. i The Londres weighs nearly fourteen pounds, and j the Regalia Britannica nearly nineteen, and the < Breva eighteen pounds per thousand. I have given these points of information to enable the reader \ to study out for himself the reason why eo few first- y rate cigars are now to be found in the United < States. , The duty is almost prohibitory. Take the Breva ] for example, the cigar which I usually prefer to i smoke. I can buy them here for $50 per thousand. < Thev weigh eighteen pounds. According to my j recollection of tne tariff the duty will be fifty per ] cent, ad valorem, or $25. and three dollars per i nound, or $54, making tne cost in gold in New t York, with freight antl charges added, about $130. j which, reduced to currency, is about $180. Of j course the New York dealer must make his profit, { and cannot sell them so that they can be retailed at ? less than 25 oents each. Very few persona will j smoke much at that rate. I shall not stop to discuss the question whether the_ revenue would not be quadrupled by redu. vg this duty so that Parta- i gas's, Brevas and Londres could be sold in New ' York at $100 a thousand. I Cigars can, of course, be^bought at cheaper rates J in Havana than these which I have given. But i the certainty of a good agar enables the establish- 1 ed houses to demand high prices. If any merchant i 0 in New York, not having a Havana correspondent to select for him, desires to order from Cuba, he is much safer in ordering from an old house with established reputation. But the true method.ii to employ a commission merchant in Havana, wno will make a judicious selection. If the tariff would permit it Americans would smoke better cigars in general than they do now. The best tobacco of Cuba is grown in the Western part of the Island, and it is remarkable that the same fact is true of the plant ae of the vine in France, that the soil seems to vary without any visible indication of the reason. Pl&Dta -growing on one line of soil produce the most choice and valuable tobacco, while those on the ground ten feet distant are of common and inferior quality. Transfer of seed, I believe, makes no difference. Of course, soil producing the finest leaf is of very hith value. It is nature^ laboratory fitted for its wont, and no scientific agriculture can imitate it or produce the same results. I am unable to procure the statistics of the export of cigars from Cuba. The amount is enormous, but the amount consumed here is also enormous. Every one smokes, and smoking is allowed everywhere. They say that wbenafir&fareaksout in Havana the engine companies,rush to the spot, and begin work by form* ag in a line and fighting their cigars. True or not, I can affirm from a do* en examples, that in stores aild simps of all kinds, r , when yon ask for an article, the, cleric will deliberately take out his cigarette case and ask yon for a light, if yon happen to he smoking, before he answers your question. I have found very fine cigars selling here as low as $15 per thousand. In few instances, however, can these be obtained uniformly in any large quantities, or from year to year. The Eseukptoa manufactory turns out very fine tobacco, fully eaual to any other in quality if not in etega^oTwonanuship. The old Cabanas house maintains its anciebt reputation. There are hundreds of factories, large and small, and it is not at all uncommon to. nnd cigars at ten for a dime which are as good as those for which you pay a dime each. But it wiS not do to depend upon such purchases. All the cigars for sale here are fresh, and it is difficult for even an experienced smoker from the States to select here. It would be impossible to find cigars in Hayana which are old and dry. And here permit me to remark that smokers would do better always to use fresh cigars. They are better in flavor, and produce less effect on the nerves even when they are stronger cigars. A dry cigar has lost much of its distinctive character, ana k is only poor cigars which improve by age, by growing mild and flavorless. After a tolerably thorough search in Havana and a trial of all kinds of cigare lam convinced that the best advice which can be given to Americans desiring to purchase first-rate cigars for their own use, is to recommend them to send for Paratagas cigars. If they wish a small cigar, let them send for Operas, at $50, ?nd for a large and heavy after-dinner cigar, Brevas, at the same price. The Londres, at $53 for firsts, $43 for the seconds, and $33 for the thirds, are all good, and a mediumsized cigar. They are very sure to have good ?- m gars who make up their minds to pay the expenses and take these. ; I have thus far said nothing of the Cigarette, or Cigarillo, which is smoked universally hoe by male ana female natives, and which is beginning to be used in New York more than formerly. The Honradez manufactory is the largest. here, and in-the world. I visited it the other oay. and was amusql to find that they do everything there except make cigarettes. They make their own boxes and barrels, cut the paper, print the labels, lithograph the ornaments for packages, cut and prepare the tobacco, and then send it out to be rolled into cigarettes by any one and every one. Thousands of persons are thus employec^A^will scarcely see . a porter at the door of a lone inllav&na who is ^ not busy making a little mCkeyby wfcng cigarettes. The paper and tobacco are tiBmabed by the factory, and on returning the wodtftnemai^ woman or child is paid at the window, after the work is inrted and approved. But I am very confident there is better tobacco in the world for cigar- * ettes than is grown in Cuba. There is no tonooo here fit to smoke in a pipe, and the,beat tobacco for the pipe is generally the best for cigarettes. A mixture of Louisiana Perrique with the best James River or Lynchburg smoking tobacco makes a better cigarette than anything in Cuba. Intakia tobacco makes by far the finest The supply from here is enormous, in Bhrope and in the States. I have frequently heard it stated that Codbecticut wrappers are exported to Cuba fin* use hereMany believe it It is not true, and for tSfc very good reason that no such importation is allowed here. It is not at all probable that a cigar ever left Cuba which was rolled in anything but a Cuba wrapper or made of anything but Cuba tobacco. An Ingenious Rebuke.?A general officer, who in'early life was much addicted to profane oaths, dated his reformation from a memorable check he received from a Scotch clergyman. When he was a lieutenant and settled at Newcastle, he got involved in a brawl with some of the low classes in the public streets; the altercation was earned on hy both parties with abundance of impious language. The clergyman, passing by. shocked at their profanity, and stepping into the crowd with his cane uplifted, thus addressed one of the leaders of the rabble: 0, John I what is this I hear? yon, only a poor collier boy, swearing Hke any lord in the land f O, John, have you no fear of what will become of yon ? It may do very well for this gallant gentleman (pointing to the lieutenant) to bang ana swear as he pleases; but you?Johnt it is not for you or the likes of you, to take in vain the name of him in whom you five and have your being." Then turning to the lieutenant he said, "You'll excuse the poor man. sir, for he is an ignorant body and kens nae bettea' The officer shrunk away in confusion, unable to make any reply. Next day he waited on the minister, and thanked him sincerely for his well-timed reproof, and was ever after an example of correct ness of language. A Mixin' op the Babies.?Some time ago there was a (lancing party given up North; most of the ladies present had little babies,. whose noisy perversity required too much attention to permit the mothers to enjoy the dance. A number of gallant young men volunteered to watch the youn^ ones while the parents indulged in a "breakdown.' No sooner had the women left the babies in charge of the mischievous devils than they stripped the infants, changed their clothes, giving the apparel of one to another. The dance over, it was time to go home, and the mothers hurriedly took each a Baby, in the dress of her own, and started, some to their homes ten or fifteen miles off. and were far on their way before daylight But the day following there was a tremendous row in the settlement; mothers discovered that a single night had changed the sex of their babies?observation disclosed the nhvsical nhenomena, and then commenced some of the tallest females pedestrianism; living miles apart, it required two days to unmix the bar bies, and as many months to restore tb* women to their natural sweet dispositions. To this day it is unsafe for the baby mixers to venture into the territory. A "Wife's Power.?The power of fc wife for ?ood or evil is irresistible. Home must be the seat of happiness, or it must be unknown. A good wife is to a man wisdom and courage, and-strength ind endurance. A bad one is confusion, weakness, liscomfitureand despair. ^ No condition is hopelesswhen the wife possesses irmness, decision ana economy. There is no outward prosperity which can counteract indolence, * extravagance and folly at home. Nospirit cap enlure baa domestic influences. Man is strong, but his heart is not adamant He delights in enterprise and action; but to sustain him he needs a ranquil mind and a whole heart. He needs his morals in the conflicts ox the world. To recover lis equanimity and eoinposnre, home must be a place of repose, cheerfulness, peace and comfort; ind his soul renews its strength, .again, and goes brth with fresh vigor to encqnyter the troubles ind labor of lifo.^ Butif at home he finds no rest, ind is there met with bad temper, sullenness, or {loom, or complaint, hope vanishes, ind be tanks nto despair. ' 9GB* A postmaster and an Editor were involved in a difficulty that led to a duel on Thursday, at Kansas City, Missouri. The editor {ninted something the postmaster didn't like, ana a challenge Followed. Four shots were exchanged. The affair, which might have been tragical, was made farcical by the fact that nobody was hurt, all the lead going wide of its mark.