Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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_ _ "' hi ^ratet *'muin Hnuspsptr: /or \k |romoli(m of % political. Social ^.grinilttiral rob CtntroM kirnsto of rbc ^ VOL. 15. YOEKYILLE, S. C., THURSDAY, [NTOVEMBEB 4, 1869. 3STO. 44. ?he ftotjr Mfcr. AQUAKER DETECTIVE^ We were five passengers in all; two ladies on the back seat, a middle aged gentleman and a Quaker on the middle, and myself on the front. The two ladies might have been mother and daughter,aunt and niece, governess and charge, or might have sustained any other relationship, which made it proper for two ladies tc travel together unattended. The middle aged gentleman was sprightly and talkative. He soon struck up an acquaintance with the ladies; towards wnom, in his zeal to do, he rather overdone the agreeable? bowing and smiling and chattering over his shoulder in a way painfully suggestive at his time of life, of a "crick" in the trick. He was evidently a gay lothario. The Quaker wore the uniform of his sect, and confined his speech, as many a parliamentarian would save his credit by doing, to simple "yeas" and "nays." As for myself, I make it an invariable rule of the road to be merely a looker-on and listener. Towards evening I was aroused from one of those reveries into which a young man, with out being a poet or a lover, will sometimes fall, by an abrupt query from the talkative gentleman. "Are you armed, sir ?" "I am not," I answered astonished, no doubt visibly, at the question. "I am sorry to hear it," he replied; "for before reaching our next stopping place it will be several hours in the night, and we must pass over a portion of the road on which more than one robbery is reported to have been committed." The ladies turned pale, but the stranger did his best to re-assure tnem. "Not that I think there is the slightest danger at present," he resumed; "only when one is responsible for the safety of the ladies, you know, such a thing as a pistol in reach, would materially add to one's confidence." "Your principles, my friend," addressing the Quaker, "I presume, are as much opposed to nomrinrr oa tn liainrr f?nrnol wdnnnna?" tug MV W UWkM^ VM4MM* n V*?|/V??W "Yea," was the response. "Have the viilians murdered any of their victims?" the elder lady nervously inquired. "Or have they contented themselves with? with?plundering them ?" added the younger, in a timorous voice. "Decidedly the latter," the amiable gentleman hastened to give assurance; "and we are none of us prepared to offer resistance in case of attack, so nothing worse than robbery can possibly befall us." Then, after blaming his thoughtlessness in having unnecessarily introduced a disagreeable subject, the gentleman quite excelled himself in efforts to raise the spirits of the company, and had succeeded so well, by the time night set in, that all had quite forgotten, or only remembered their fears to laugh at them. Our genial companion fairly talked himself hoarse. Perceiving which, he took from his pocket a box of newly-invented "cough candy," and, after passing it first to the ladies, he helped himself to the balance, and tossed the paper out of the window. He was in the midst of a high encomium on the new nostrum, more than half the efficacy of which, he insisted, depended on its being taken by suction, when a shrill whistle was heard, and almost immediately the coach was stopped, while two faces, hideously blacked, presented themselves, one at each window. "Sorry to trouble you," said the man on the rio-ht. acknowledging with a bow, two lady The driver, who was frightened half out ol his wits, now set forward at a rapid rate. The lively gentleman soon recovered his vivacity. He was especially facetious on the Quaker's prowess. "You're a nun Quaker, you are. Why,you don't quake worth a cent." "I am not a 'Shaking Quaker," if that's what thee means." "Of the 'Hickory,' or rather the 'Old Hickory' stripe, I should say," retorted the lively man. But the Quaker relapsing into his usual monosyllables, the conversation flagged. .Sooner than we expected, the coach stopped where we were to have supper and a change of horses. We had deferred a distribution ol our effects until we should reach this place, as ilie dim light of the coach lamp would have rendered the process somewhat difficult. It was now necessary, however, that it should be attended to, at once, as our jovial companion had previously announced his intention ol leaving us at this point. He proposed a postponement till after supper, which he offered tc yo and order. like screams from the back sent; but 'business is business,' ami ours will soon be over if things go smoothly." "Of course, gentlemen, you will spare, as far as may be consistent with your disagreeable duty, the feelings of these ladies," appealed the polite passenger, in his blandest manner. "Oh ! certainly : they shall be first attended to, and shall not be required to leave their places, unless their conduct renders it necessary" , .. "And, now, ladies," continued the robber, the barrel of his pistol glistening in the light of the coach lamp; be so good as to pass your purses, watches, and such other trinkets as may be accessible without too much trouble." The ladies came down handsomeiy, and were 110 further molested. One by one, the rest got out?the middleaged gentleman's turn coming first. He submitted with a winning grace, and was robbed like a very Chesterfield. My own affairs, like the sum I lost, are scarcely worth mentioning. The "Quaker's turn came next. He quietly handed over his pocket-book and watch, and when asked if he had any other valuables, said, "Nay." A Quaker's word is good, even among thieves; so, after a hasty "good-night," the robber thrust his pistol in his pocket, and with his two companions, one of whom had held the reins of the leaders, was about departing. "Stop!" exclaimed the Quaker, in a tone more of command than request. "Stop! What for?" returned the other in evident surprise. "For at least two good reasons," was the reply, emphasized with a couple of Derringer's, cocked and presented. "Help !" shouted the robber. "Stop!" the Quaker again exclaimed. "And if any one of thy sinful companions advance a step to thy relief, the spirit will surely move me to blow thy brains out." The robber at the opposite window, and the one at the leaders' heads, thought it a good time to leave. "Now, get in, friend," said the Quaker, still covering his man, "and take the middle seat; but first deliver up the pistol." The other hesitated. "Thee had better not delay; I feel the spirit begin to move my right forefinger." The robber did as he was directed, and the Quaker took his place by his side, giving the new-comer the middle of the seat. "Nay," urged the Quaker, with an approach of abruptness, and laying his hand on the : other's arm, "business before pleasure, and for business, tbere is no time like the present." "Will thee be good enough to search the , prisoner?" he said to me, still keeping his l hand, in a friendly way, on the passenger's t arm. I did so, but not one of the stolen articles [ eould be found. "Hemusthave got rid of them in the coach," the gay gentleman suggested, and immediate, ly offered to go and search. "Stop!" thundered the Quaker, tighten ng , his grasp. The man turned pale, and struggled to re, lease his arm. In an instant one of the Der. ringer's was levelled at his heart. , '"Stir a hand or a foot, and you are a dead man." The Quaker must have been awfully excited, so completely to forget both the language and the principles of his persuasion. Placing the other pistol in my hand, with directions to fire on the first of the two men that made a suspicious movement, he went to work on the lothario, from whose pockets, in less time than it takes to tell it, he produced every item of the missing property, to the utter amazement of the two ladies, who had be! gun, in no measured terms, to remonstrate] , against the shameful treatment the gentleman was receiving. The Quaker, I need scarcely add, was no Quaker at all, but a shrewd detective, who had been set on the track of a band of desperadoes, of whom our middle-aged friend?who don't look near so middle-aged when his wig is off?was the chief. The robbery had been adroitly planned. The leader of the gang had taken passage in the coach, and after learning as he supposed, our defenceless condition, had given the signal to his companions by throwing out the scrap of paper already mentioned. After the unexpected capture of the first rob, ber, it was attempted to save the booty by secretly passing it to the accomplice, still believed to be unsuspected, who counted on being able to make off with it at the next stopping , place. , The result was that both, for a season, "did the State some service." THREE BRAVE MEN. Pretty Barbara Ferros would not marry. Her mother was in consternation. "Why are you so stubborn, Barbara ?" she asked. "You have plenty of lovers." "But they do not suit me," said Barbara, coolly tying her curls before the mirror. "Why not ?" "I want, when I marry, a man who is brave, equal to any emergency. If I give up my liberty, I want to be taken care of." "Silly child ! What is the matter with Big Barney, the blacksmith ?" "He is big, but I never learned that he was brave." "And you never heard that he was not What is the matter with Ernest, the gun1 smith ?" "He's as placid as goat's milk. "That is no sign he is a coward. There is little Fritz, the tanner; he is quarrelsome enough for you, surely." ^ "He is no bigger than a bantam cock. It is little he could do if the house was set upon by robbers." "It is not always strength that wins a fight, girl. It takes brains as well as brawn. Come now, Barbara, give those fellows a fair trial." Barbara turned her face before the mirror, letting down one raven tress, and looping up another. "I will, mother," she said, at last, i That evening, Ernest, the gunsmith, knock i ed at the door. "You sent for me, Barbara ?" he said, going i to the girl, who stood upon the hearth, coquet. tishly warming one pretty foot and then the other. "Yes, Ernest," she replied. "I've been . thinking of what you said the other night, when you were here." "Well, Barbara?" Ernest spoke quietly, but his dark blue eyes flashed, as he looked at her intently. ; "I want to test vou." "How?" ; "I want to see if vou dare do a disagreeable thing." "wnatisitr "There is an old coffin up-stairs. It smells . of mould. They say Redmond, the murderer, . was buried in it; but the devil came for his body and left the coffin empty, at the end of a week, and it was finally talceu from the tomb. ; It is up-stairs in the room my grand-father died in, and they say grand-sire does not rest easy in his grave for some reason, though that I know nothing about. Dare you make that your bed to-night ?" Ernest laughed. "Is that all? I will do that, and sleep ! soundly. Why, pretty one, did you think I had weak nerves ?'' "Your nerves will have good proof if you undertake it. Remember, no one sleeps in that wing of the house." "I shall sleep the sounder." "Good night then. I will send a lad to show you to the chamber. If you stay there till morning," said the imperious Miss Barbara, with a nod of her pretty head, "I will marry you." "You vow it?" 1 "I vow it." ! Ernest turned straightway, and followed a i lad in waiting, through dim rooms and passages, echoing stairs, along narrow damp ways, i where rats scuttled before them, to a low cham. bcr. The boy looked pale and scared, and evidently wanted to hurry away ; but Ernest made him wait until he took a survey of the ; room by the aid of his lamp. It was very large and full of recesses, with high windows in them, which were barred across. He re membered that old Grandsire Ferros had been insane several years before his death, so that t precaution had been necessary for the safety i of himself and others. In the centre of the room stood a coffin; beside it was placed a " chair. The room mils otherwise empty. ! Krnest stretched himself in the coffin. "Be kind enough to tell Miss Barbara that i it is a very good tit," said he. The boy went out and shut the door, leaving the gunsmith alone, in the dark. Meanwhile, Barbara was talking with the i blacksmith in the keeping room. "Barney," she said, pulling her hands away from his grasp, when he would have kissed her, "I have a test to put you to, before I give you any answer. There is a corpse lying in the chamber where my grand-sire died, in the untenanted wing of the house. If you dare sit with it there, all night, and let nothing drive vou from your post, you'll not ask me to i marry you in vain. "Vou give me a light, and a bottle of wine, and a book to read ?" "Nothing!" "Are these all the conditions you can offer me, Barbara ?" "All. And if you get frightened, you need i never look me in the face again." "I'll take them, then." So Barney was conducted to his post by the S lad, who had been instructed in the secret, and v whose voluntary stare at Ernest's placid face b as it lay in the coffin, was interpreted by Bar- a ney to be natural awe of a corpse. He took f( his seat, and the boy left him alone with the n darkness and the rats and the coffin. ti Soon after, young Fritz, the tanner, arrived, 1( flattered and hopeful from the fact that Bar- f< bara had sent for him. tl "Have you changed your mind, Barbara?" e1 he asked. u "No; and I shall not until I kuow that you g can do a really brave thing." p "What shall it be ? I swear to satisfy you, si Barbara." E "I have a proposal to make to you. My s< wArtiu'wnn olrill ou flQ /?A11 VO fTP " ] f IJlUll ICUUlitO saui MO IIVll MO wuittgvi "Tell me/' tl "Well, in this house is a man watching a tl corpse. He has sworn not to leave Ins post ir till morning. If vou can make him do it I & shall be satisfied that you are as smart and as 1< brave as I require a husband to be." c< t'Why nothing is so easy ?" exclaimed Fritz. w "I can scare him away. Furnish me with a tl sheet, show me the room and go to your rest, C1 Barbara. You will find me at the post in the 1? morning. & Barbara did as he required, and saw the c< tanner step blithely away to his task. It was then nearly twelve o'clock, and she sought her own chamber. Barney was sitting at his yigil. . . Is The face in the coffin gleamed whiter in the a] darkness. The rats squeaked as if a famine oj were upon them, and they smelled flesh. The fr thought made him shudder. He got up and Ql walked, but something made a. slight noise, as if somebody was behind him, and he put his e] chair with the back against the wall, and sat 0] down again. He had been hard at work all tc day, and, at last, in spite of everything, he ^ grow sleepy. Finally he nodded and snored. ft Suddenly it seemed as if somebody had touched him. He awoke with a start and saw ? nobody near, though in the centre of the room stood a white figure. f? "Curse you, get out of this!" he exclaimed, j. in a fright, using the very first words that came to his tongue. ^ The figure held up its right hand and slow- p ly approached him. He started to his feet. w The spectre came nearer, pressing him in the ^ corner. w "The d?1 take you !" cried Barney, in his ^ extremity. p, Involuntarily he stepped back, still the figure advanced, coming nearer and extending f( both arms, as if to take him in a ghostly embrace. The hair started upon Barney's head; p he grew desperate, and, as the gleaming arms p would have touched him, he fell upon the p ghost like a whirlwind, tearing off the sheet, p thumping, pounding, beating and kicking, >? more ana more outraged at the resistance he ft met, which told him the truth. s] As the reader knows he was big and Fritz a, was little; and while pummeling the little p tanner unmercifully, and Fritz was trying to _ lounge at Barney's stomach to take the wind 01 out of him, both plunging and kicking like horses, they were terrified by hearing a voice 01 cry: ^ $ "Take one of your own size, big Barney." p Looking around, they saw the corpse sitting n; up in his coffin. This was too much. They b released each other and sprang for the door, p They never knew how they got out; but they ran home in hot haste, panting like stags. So she married Ernest; and though she ti sent Fritz and Barney invitations to the wed- a: ding, they did not appear. If they discovered p the trick, they kept the knowledge to them- g| selves, and never faced Barbara's laughing h eyes again. b ; tl PJijifettattMM |Uadiug. 0b CRIME IN THE UNITED STATES." f The following is from Mr. CJoningsby's third ^ letter in the Spectator: I am not a teetotaler, and should be sorry to ? see anything like a Maine Liquor Law impo- t( sed upon the majority here by ever so well p meaning a minority; but if I were an Amer- p ican, for reasons which would take up too ^ much space to set forth here, I should be with p those who are laboring to make the sale of spirits a crime. In several States it is already forbidden by law, and, as far as my observation went, the law is in accordance with the j* wishes of the most respectable portion of the inhabitants. Of course, it is systematically t evaded, so is our law which closes public houses on Sunday mornings, and evaded by ^ the same class of people, i. e., the less respec- ~ table tradesmen and the less reputable among ^ their customers. Instead of keeping the bottles on a row in the shop, they are kept in a ^ cupboard at the back, and the constant re- ^ minder that an illegal thing is being done ^ when a glass of whiskey is sold has, I am persuaded, a more salutary effect in the long run u than the natural desire for "forbidden fruit," e] which is more spasmodic than lasting, has Q, power to neutralize. A man, too, does not u. like to be forever asking a favor, for it is one to be served with spirits where the sale is prohibited. There are more deaths in America from delirium tremens than in England ; but this can be accounted for in raanv ways. Climate especially alters the conditions under which hard drinking may be indulged in with impunity, and the temperament of a people gI makes a difference. In 1860 it was found that five hundred and eighteen men and fifty- m seven women had fallen victims to this drunk- j ard's disease; it is not stated, however, how j-Q many of these were people newly arrived from ft] other countries. ^ While upon the subject of intemperance, I w may remark that the Americans have one w novelty which, as far as I am aware of, has not yet been introduced on any great scale in- er to this country. I allude to the inebriate institutions to which persons who labor under the disease of drunkenness are sent for soientific treatment and exhortation. Some of the (patients are committed to these places by the 1 authorities, and others sent there by friends, le I was told that the results were very encour- in aging, cases of complete reformation being quite common. I went over one of the largest w of these buildings at Ward Island, which, with p< a sardonic appropriateness of site, looks out al upon "Hell Gate," in New York Bay. It is ct a fine building, of about five hundred feet in m length, with the interior admirably arranged tc i i.i jjii.. i i- _ xi ana completely mica ior me purpose n>?? ue- <w signed for. Strong padded cells for the more si violent of the inmates were the only uneora- ci fortable looking apartments to be seen, while p< some seventy rooms for private patients were lj quite luxuriously furnished. There is also a hi chapel with five or six hundred seats, where a fr service is held every day. When I was there, 01 there happened to be only some fifty or sixty c< inebriates, on whose woe-begone and sottish ap- li pcarauce it will be unnecessary to dwell. The ri rest of the space in the hospital was tempora- si rily devoted to a number of sick children. h The whole American system in dealing with tl fallen humanity seems based more upon Chris- ci tian charity than ours is. In the United u tates a criminal is regarded as a patient rhose moral nature is sick, a fever-stricken rother to be kept apart and restrained, but 1 lso to be cured. There is even an agitation >r the administration of chloroform to crimi- 1 als about to be executed. There are excep- j ons, however, to this wide-spread feeling of i >ng suffering with crime. In Pennsylvania, i )r instance, there are still remote places where ] le pillory is a recognized "institution," and < ven the public whipping post is regularly sed twice a year. In accordance with the ] eneral desire of Americans to make things j ay, some of their prisons are conducted on i xictly economic principles. Thus, one in toston, the 'Massachusetts State Prison,' clears i imething like ?5,000 a year out of the forced f ibor of its inmates. All the convicts are < lere engaged in some useful work. Some of i lem are employed in the foundry, others i lake iron bedsteads, brushes, lamps, whips, 1 ;c. The expenses of this prison for the year ] 966-1867 were about ?22,000, while the re- i jipts from the sale of articles manufactured < ere over ?27,000. This seems to my mind \ . .i t ; x x. le correct meory ox imprisonment, to iei so- i iety get something back out of what it has 1 ?st by its criminals, and not be fined as much i >r keeping them under lock and key as it < Dsts to leave them at large. ; FABULOUS FORTUNES. -1 Why is it that so many persons persuade 1 lemselves that there are large estates in Eng- ' ind coming to them by inheritance? Has 1 ay one owing allegiance to the Government f the United States, ever received property ' om England ? Strange as it may seem, this J otion of inheriting property prevails in more lan half of our New England families. Ev- , ry genealogist of much experience will not aly bear witness to this statement, but also > the fact that it is almost impossible to ob lin information for the simple purpose of imily history, by reason of the withholding ! f facts by some members of these property imilies, for fear they may lose their share of ' le mythical fortune in England. In some . imilies this notion prevails in one branch onr, and it is kept a profound secret from the t ther branches, lest the fortune should come > be divided. Whether it be honest for a , art of a family to take what belongs to all, i e leave to the consideration of our readers, itli this observation, that persons entrusted ith the distribution of the property of an in- , state seldom commit so great an error as to ay the whole to a part of the family. Now and then family meetings are called >r the purpose of "taking steps" to recover le millions (note particularly, always mil- i ons!) left in England without heirs, and bearlg "interest" for an unknown period' of time. ( hese families raise money and send agents to ( Ingland to recover the long talked of fortune. ] his is the last you hear of property in this imily. Some of the more credulous members ' lake their heads, doubting the honesty of the . s;ent; and certainly, if he should ever dislay a little money?a few thousand dollars ' -that would be regarded as the great fortune 1 lit of which this family had been defrauded! 1 We have sought far and wide, and so have I thers of our acquaintance, to find a single J imily that ever got a penny of their supposed : Inglish fortune, and without success. The J ame and residence of such a family cannot J e found; and yet we hear these deluded peo- ! le talk confidently of their fortune in Eng- 1 md. The truth and the fact is, that no such formes exist in England for any families here; ' nd even if they did, no person not owing alliance to England could inherit them. Black- | ;one, in his Commentaries of the laws of Engmd, states the law thus: "Aliens are incapale of taking by descent or inheritanc; for ley are not allowed to have any inheritable 1 lood in them. Wherefore, if a man leave no 1 ther relations but aliens, his land shall es- 1 beat to the Lord." Our own Chancellor j [ent says: "An alien cannot acquire a title ) real property by descent or created by mere 1 peration of law. This is a well settled rule ' f common law." In the face of this clearly J xpressed rule of law of England, well known > every lawyer, persons descended from the ' 'ilgrim Fathers, and owing allegiance to the ! Fnited States Government, still cherish the elusion that they can inherit property in ' Ingland. It is amusing to hear people, who could not rove their legitimate descent from their great randfathere, in a court of law, if it were to f tve them from hanging, talk of inheriting i roperty in England through their ancestors! low many know that their great ancestor , per came from England! and if they did, j ow are they to prove title back six or eight ] enerations in England, and down as many at j ome? j Why should estates in England without ] eirs be a more common occurrence there than j ere? Is property often found here without , eirs? We apprehend not. While in Eng- ] md it is notoriously true that property is tied , p ior tne uenent 01 iuture generations, uv ev- i :y means that the law will allow. Every } kvner provides for its future enjoyment to the ] tmost of his ability. An estate in England } ithout an heir is almost, if not entirely, an j nknown thing. j This whole fortune business is the veriest ( onsense now extant. Other follies have had j leir day and disappeared; but this still liners. Recently we have seen a printed list of ^ imilies entitled to property in England. It t nbraces nearly all the principal New Eug- ? ,nd families. We know precisely what this j leans. It will catch among all credulous peo- j le, not already affected with this malady of j irtune-hunting. It is a remarkable truth, 1 id without exception, that families whose , istory is known or written, are never affect- ( 1 with this malady. It prevails among those t ho have little or no knowledge of their an- s jstors, and but little more of themselves. This ^ lables them to exercise their imaginations in \ istle-building. Nothing is so ugly as hard .cts and established truths, in the eyes of ^ rtune-luinters.?Boston Traveler. At Last we Have It.?Some one, as we s arn from the Washington Republican, has > vented what is spoken of as follows: 1 "Mr. Whipple shows and maintains that i ith this apparatus he can get as much steam i ower with two gallons of petroleum as is usu- ly gotten from a ton of good coal; that is, he 1 in run a locomotive or steamship as far and t j fast with one barrel of oil as with fifteen 1 ins of coal, and with much more convenience J id safety ; and lie guarantees to iuruisn as 1 iperior gas for light at twenty cents per 1,000 t ibic feet as is now afforded at 82.50 to 8'1 i er 1,000 cubic feet in our cities ; and so easi- < r can it be utilized that almost any hotel or luse can be warmed and lighted with it at ] om one-fourth to one-tenth the cost of the 1 rdinary mode, while everything is safe and ( >m for table. It is admirably adapted to i ghting and warming printing offices and 1 inning power presses, with vastly more plea- i ire and economy than is now the case. The < eat and power arc entirely uniform, while i le light is most beautiful and brilliant. It 1 in be used in mills and factories with the ] tmost facility." i THINGS TO REMEMBER. Edward Everett became overheated in testifying in a court room, went to Fenuil Hall, which was cold, sat in a draught of air until bis turn came to speak; "but my hands and feet were ice, my lungs on fire. In this condition I had to go and spend three hours in the court room." He died in less than a week from thus checking the perspiration. It was enough to kill any man. Professor Mitchell, while in a state of perspiration in vellow fever, the certain sign of recovery, leu his bed, went into another room, md died that same night. If while perspiring, or while warmer than usual from exercise or heated room, there is a mdden exposure, from still cold air to raw, lamp atmosphere, or to a draught, whether at m open window or door, or street corner, the Inevitable result is the immediate closing of the pores of the skin, by which waste and impure matter, which were making their way aut of the system, are compelled to seek an jxit through some weaker part. The idea is presented by saying that the cold had settled LiL.i m. j.~ . A 1-.1 i in mat purt. j.u uiusirutc; 21 juuy v?ua uuuul to cross the Delaware, but wishing first to get m orange at a fruit stand, she ran up the bank }f the river, and on her return to the boat found herself much h?ated, for it was summer; but there was a little wind on the river, rod her clothes soon felt cold, which settled ro her lungs, and within a year she died of sonsumption. A strong man was working in his garden in May; feeling rather tired about noon, he sat iown in the shade of his house and fell asleep; be woke up chilly; inflamation of the lungs followed, ending, after two years of great suffering, in consumption. On opening his chest there was such an extensive decay, that the yellow matter was scooped out by the cupful. A Boston shin-owner, while on the deck of roe of his vessels, thought he would lend a band in some emergency, and pulling off his :oat, worked with a will, until he perspired freely, when he sat down to rest awhile, enjoying the delicious breeze from the sea. On attempting to rise, he found himself unable, and ivas so stiff in the joints that he had to be carried home and put to bed, which he did not leave until the end of two" months, when he svas barely able to hobble down to the wharf ro crutches. A lady, after being unusually busy all day found herself heated and tired towards sundown of a summer's day. She concluded to take a drive to town in an open vehicle. The ride made her uncomfortably cool, but she ivarraed herself up in an hour's shopping ; vhen she returned home, it being late in the evening, she found herself more decidedly jhilly than before. At mid-night she had the pneumonia (inflamation of the lungs,) and in Virpp mnnttis Viftd t.Vip rvrdinnrv svmntnms of confirmed consumption. A lady of great energy of character lost ber cook, and had to take her place for three lays. When the work. was done, she, warm and wearv, went to her chamber, and lay lown on ner bed to rest. This act was repeated several times. On the fifth day she bad an attack of lung fever; at the end of six months she was barely able to leave her chamber, only to find herself suffering with the prominent symptoms of confirmed consumption; such as quick pulse, night and morning cough, night sweats, debility, short breath, and Tailing away. A young lady rose from her bed on a November night, and leaned her arm on the cold window sill, to listen to a serenade. Next morning she had pneumonia, and suffered the horrors of asthma for the remainder of a long Life. Multitudes of women lose life and health every year, in one or more ways, by busying themselves in a warm kitchen until weary, and then throwing themselves on a bed or 3ofa, without covering, and perhaps in a room without fire; or by removing the outer clothing or perhaps changing the dress for a common one, as soon as they enter the house after a walk or shopping. The rules should be at once to go into a warm room, and keep cn all the clothing for at least five or ten minutes, until the forehead is perfectly dry. In all weathers, if you have to walk and ride en any occasion, do the riding first. 4 ? ? ADVICE FROM WEBSTER. In a notice of the funeral of Senator Fessenden, a writer in the Portland Argus, concludes as follows: Some thirtv-five years ago?and perhaps more?D uiiel Webster contemplated ajournev to our Western States and Territories which be had never visited. The great statesman felt inclined to have some talented young man to accompany him, and in looking over New England for such a companion, his attention was attracted to young Fessenden, and he extended to him an invitation to travel with bim. The young man gladly accepted the invitation, for he was amoitious and felt that it would be an honor as well as an advantage, to lccompany in his journeyings such a man as Daniel Webster, whose fame, ooth as a lawyer md as a statesman, was fast looming up before the American people, if it had not already eached its height. oung Fessenden did accompany him, and never had cause to regret t. Many a time and often has the young man -' -1 K/v f 1aa lAiiynmr anrf u'liof /Uiu UJ5 I1U >Y lie C11JWJTCC& Uiu JVUIUUJ, uuu mmv id vantages he derived from it; for Mr. Webiter treated him with great kindness, and gave lim much good advice which he treasured up n his memory. Webster told him how hard le had studied, and how careful he was in naking out papers when he commenced the iractice of law. He said he never let a writ or >ther legal document pass from his hands unil he had read them over three times at least, ind he further remarked that while many roung men were idling away their time he was rimming the midnight lamp. "Now," said Webster, "I have acquired ionic fame both as a lawyer and an orator, md have made speeches in which have occurred iome figures and illustrations often quoted, and vhich have already passed into mottoes. And low, do you suppose these terse sayings were nade from the spur of the moment? By no neans; they were the result of previous study ?and close study too. Some of my best ilustrations of thought have been studied and rimmed down when the fishing-rod was in my lands. The words which so fitly represent inland s power, so oiien quoieu uhu su umn iraised, were strung together while I stood on he American side of the St. Lawrence River, tear Niagara Falls, and heard the British Irums beating on the Canada side." Many other statements he made to young Fessenden which we recollect, but which we lave not space to make a record of now, all )f which prove very conclusively that there is 10 royal road to learning. Young Fessenden ins often told the writer that his journeving ,vith Daniel Webster was the best school he iver attended; and the lessons he received irom that great man were never forgotten; lence we come to the conclusion that William Pitt Fessenden was a harder student than nanv have supposed him to be. It is not too much to say, perhaps, that his keen logic, his terse language, his power of condensation, his clear statements and sharpness in debate may be traced to the lessons wnich "Webster gave him while journeying with him to the West. Young men who are ambitious to excel in their professions will do well to make a note of these things, and govern themselves accordingly. ^ THE BLUE RIDGE RAILROAD. The Augusta Chronicle & Sentinel gives the following facts in relation to the progress made on the vnrious sections of this important road. The facts were communicated by a party recently arrived in Augusta, from a trip to the line of the road : The corps of Surveyors, which left Walhalla in the latter part of last summer to re-survey and locate the route of the Railroad, had passed through Clayton, Rabun Gap, the Tennessee Valley, and had gotten some distance into North Carolina. A corps of Surveyors had also been recently organized and had started from Mayesville, Tennessee, to meet the partv of engineers just mentioned. It is expected that the two corps will meet each Other this winter in the region of the Smoky mountains. A a ii'n liarrn ototori tkn nn/rinnAN rwir. 1LO 1? v/ 11(4 T v UVslUlVs O Ut* UVU) tilV VUgUIWlO UV? manently locate the line of the road as tney proceed with the survey, and appoint or detach members of the corps to take charge of arid superintend the construction of the differerent sections of the railway, and everything seems to indicate that this most important work will be urged to completion as rapidly as possible. Our readers are, no doubt, aware that thirty-three miles of this railroad, from Anderson to Walhalla, South Carolina, on the Southern end of the line, and that portion of the line from Knoxville to Mareyville, Tennessee, on the "Western end, are already completed and in operation. The road from "Walhalla to Clayton, Georgia, about twenty-five miles, has been put under contract and let out to a subcontractor named Steers, a man who has done a great deal of work on Southern and Southwestern railroads since the termination of hostilities, and said to have been very successful in his operations. This part of the line is considered by railway engineers to comprise the heaviest work on the whole road, ana our informant does not think that it will be possible to complete it within the time?August, 1871?specified in the contract On this portion of the route, running through a very rough and mountainous country, three large tunnels will have to be excated under the mountains. One of these is the celebrated "Stump-House Mountain" tunnel, situated a few miles from Walhalia, and which is at this time more than two-thirds completed. The shafts are so full of water, however, that it will take much time and money to get it ready for work, and the remainder of tne tunnel will be so difficult to excavate that the con tractors at one time seriously thought of abandoning it, and running the road around instead of through the mountain, although so much money had been sunk with the shafts. "Dick's Creek" Tunnel is the next one to Stump House Mountain, and will aiso be a very heavy job on account of its length and the hardness of the rock which will be encountered. Both of the tunnels just mentioned will be bored with machinery raoddled after that which is now being used with such complete success on the tunnel under Mt. Cenis in Italy. The third, Saddle mountain Tunnel, will be worked after the old style. Shanties were being put up along this line when our informant left Rabun, workmen were on the way from North Carolina, and by this time work has, no doubt, been commenced. The construction of the entire line from Walhnlla to Knoxville, will be commenced as soon as the surveys are finished, and every effort made to ensure its completion within the time specified. ? ? The Port Royal Rail Road.?We had the pleasure yesterday of an interview with a fentleman, representing the interests of the 'ort Royal Rail Road Company. From him we learn that the stock ($3,000,000,) is taken by the National Railway and Trust Company who propose to build and equip the road. The road is estimated to about $2,250,000, and the rolling stock, etc., about $750,000. No stock has been subscribed in the South since the war. Before and during the war $300,000 were subscribed, which have been scaled to $150,000. The right-of-way has been generally given, but in some cas. i has to be purchased, and this, together with depot sites, &c., it is estimated, will take another $150,000 of stock. The road Was partially graded during the war, and the work done represents the $150,000 first named. Our informant says that the cross ties are being got out, and the work is actively progressing, beginning at Coosahatchie, the point of junction with the Savannah and Charleston Road. He says that iron and roling stock are all purchased, some of the iron on the way, and may be expected to arrive in this city about the 10th of November. They propose finishing and running fifty miles of the road, from Coosahatchie northward, some time in January, 1870, and hope to complete it to Augusta by May next, h or the present we are told, Coosahatchie is the objective point. We are further informed that the Company nrnnose to establish towns and villages alone: i?i' -- w w the line of the road, to give away alternate sections of land, and thus induce emigration. So far our information. How far the National Railway and Trust Company will have the means to carry out this project we are not informed. It is to be hoped, as the matter is in the hands of a wealthy company of working capitalists, that we will not hear of application for "State aid," and lobbying to that end in the Legislature next month.? Courier. A Fashionable Woman's Prayer.?Dear Lord, have mercy on my soul, and please let me have the French satin that I saw at Lederer's this morning, for with black lacc flounces and overskirt that dress would be very becoming to me, I know. If you grant my request please let me have a new black lace shawl also, dear Lord. I kneel before Thee to-night feeling perfectly happy, for Madame Emile has sent me home such a lovely bonnet! A most heavenly little bijou! composed of white satin, with coral ostrich tufts. For this favor I am feeling very grateful. Give me, I pray Thee, an humble heart and a new green silk, with point lace trimmings. Let me not grow too fond of this vain and deceitful world, like other women, but make me exceedingly gentle and aristocratic. When the winter fashions come let them suit my styles of beauty, and let there be plenty of puffings, pleatings, ruffles and flounces, for I dearly love them all. Oh, Lord, let business detain my husband at M?, for he is not wanted at home at pres ent. I wish to become acquainted with the tall, dark-eyed foreigner, who is staying at Colonel Longswallow's opposite. Bring aooufc an introduction, I beseech Thee, for~jVIrs. Longswallow will not. Bless my children, and please seud them a good nurse, for I have neither the time nor inclination to look after them myself. And now, Oh, Lord, take care of me while I sleep, and pray keep watch over my diamonds. Amen 1 Speak a Good Word.?There is no telling how important to business men is the good will of their acquaintances. A case in point occurred a few days since. A gentleman who contemplated the erection of a new building, waited upon an experienced builder, and obtained from him an estimate. The figures were too high, that is, the building according to the estimate, would cost more than our friend could conveniently spare. Having con Science in the builder's estimate, he abandoned the idea of building at all. A few days afterwards the circumstances were mentioned to a friend, who inquired "why do you not call on ; they are clever fellows, and good workmen; give them a trial for an estimate, it will do no harm." The advice was accepted, the estimate of the new firm was given and much to our friend's surprise, the figures were within his limits, a contract was entered into at once, and the building is now completed to the satisfaction of all parties. Now the point of this little transaction consists in the fact that the second builders had a friend, who, without supposing that he was doing them a particular favor, was the means of procuring for them a profitable job, simply by saying a good word for them. It goes to prove that the friendship and good will of our neighbors is a matter of great importance at times, and moreover, that a word m season in behalf of a friend, or even a close acquaintance, may be the means of doing them a large amount of service.?Eatton Expresz. Lucifer Matches.?It is estimated that in all Europe two thousand millions of matches are used daily, and the manufacture of matches in Europe consumes, at the lowest calculation, 400,000 cubic yards of wood per annum, employs 500,000 workmen, and produces $50,000,000 of goods. The manufacture commenced in 1832, and the increase in the business is on** of the wonders of the century. Germany, it is reported, makes the best and cheapest chemical matches in Europe. At Vienna, fifty packets, containing 8.500 matches, are Rnld for 35 krcutzers. which puts them at nearly 250 for one of our cents. Marseilles is the great centre of trade in France. In the United States, a match factory in Western New York is noticed for the curious machinery used in the manufacture. 720,000 feet of pine, of the best quality, are used annually for the matches, and 400,000 feet of basswood for cases. The sulphur used annually for the matches is 400 barrels, and the phosphorus is 9,600 pounds. The machines run night and day, and 300 hands are employed at the works. 500 pounds of paper per day are used to make the small boxes for holding the matches, and four tons of pasteboard per week for the larger boxes. Sixtysix pounds of flour per day are used for paste, and the one cent stamps required by government on the boxes amount to the sum $1,440 per day. Brigham Young on Polygamy.?Brigham Young claims that Polygamy is not peculiar to Mormanism. In a sermon recently he said that Father Abraham had many wives, and he quoted many others. He said God had never forbidden polygamy. The Saviour never rebuked it, thougn surrounded by it It was a new invention to rule out this practice of the olden time. But said he, we are not polygamists exactly. (He has children by nine wives.) But we are sealed for eternity, as it is revealed to us. He then spoke of the dreary life that must be passed through the untold and incomprehensible period of eternity bv those who have no congenial spirits sealed to them. These sealed companions, beautiful angels in eternity, will make us happy in the presence of God. But Brigham didn't explain the effect upon the women. While a man has twenty wives or angels to make him happy, the poor women have one twentieth part of a man each to "attract their attention. SOT To live comfortably in San Francisco requires the "needful." One of the Cincinnati excursionists savs that some of their party paid thirty-six dollars, gold, for a fine turnout with four horses, for an afternoon ride. Ten dollars are demanded for a common hack for similar service, and one dollar and fifty 1 It t I. A A. il. _ cents to two aonars eacn to transport tne bleeding traveler to the boat or train which is to convey him away, his sole relief from this exhaustive pressure. The hotels advertise their charges [at three dollars per day, but manage to get five or six in the bill, by including the room which they call parlor, through which you are obliged to pass in order to reach your sleeping closet. To enjoy the luxury of a shave, or a clean pair of boots, you are required to disburse twenty-five to fifty cents for each operation, and the washing of a kerchief or shirt involves an amount equal to the first cost of the article at home. ^ Sewing by Electricity.?Charles Gaume has invented, and H. C. Covert, of New York, is exhibiting a machine for sewing by electricity. The sewer is an elliptic lock-stitch invention, and is driven by a small electric engine that might be put into a common hat box. It is thus described: "A series of ei^ht magnets are set on the periphery of a circle, and around these revolves an armature of steel, which is continuously propelled by the magnetic action, and operates the machinery that moves the needle. Connection with this motor is had by means of a small slide within easy reach of the operator, at whose will the current may be cut off entirely, or the speed of the needle graduated, as may be desired." Trial of an Idol God.?A writer in the Calcutta Christian Repository tells a curious story of a Chinaman who had a sick son. He made costly- offerings to a certain God, with a rview|o his son's recovery. All was in vain; the child died. Hereupon the father filed a bill in court, charging the god with a breach of contract. The case was duly tried. This idol was brought into court. The father pleaded that he had done everything that the ritual required of him in order to propitiate the deity; but, through some strange perversity or inability, the god had failed to perform his part of the contract. The god had no way of rebutting the evidence. Judgment was ac/vmlinnrlv crirpn Rorflinst him. and he was forth with expelled from the province. [ Saturday Night.?The last brick has been laid for the week; the last stroke of the hammer has sounded; the last blast of the forge and last ring of the anvil have been heard ; the last shriek of the planer and last clatter of the loom have rung upon the air; the last type has rattled in the "stick"; the press has clanged off the last "morning edition," and rest begins. Man, tired and worn, never feels at any other time of the week like he does on Saturday. A sense of labor done, of duty discharged, hallows the feeling that comes over him, and he is ready to understand that Saturday night is a doxology following the lal>orsongs of the woarv week.