Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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- LEWIS 1L GMST, ' " ^it |nty?ntont /amilj ^(ospaptr: Jar t|e ^romcrtrtm of^e political, Sttci^^grinilturd rait Commercial Interests of % Scroti). ^ ^ ' VOL. 15. YORKYILLE, S. C., THURSDAY, IN"OVEMBEB 25, 1869. NO. 47. ?he Jftotjr M. LOVE IN A SAW-MILL. A CALIFORNIA STORY. About fourteen years ago I was employed as head sawyer in the steam saw-mill of L. D. Smith & Co., near the mining town of S , Mr. Smith and his family were living in a neat cottage close to the mill, and often I and the engineer, James Alton, by name, were invited by our employer to attend the evening worship held in his house. One evening just as we were taking leave of his family, we heard the sound of carriage wheels, immediately followed by a knock at the outer door. "Minnie is coming! Minnie is coming!" exclaimed Mrs. Smith, running past us into the entry. Her husband followed with a ... A minute after, the door opened ana iviinnie, her eldest daughter, was locked in her mother's arms. Minnie was a beautiful girl, about seventeen years of age. Three years she had passed in a young ladies seminary near Utica, New York, and now she had returned to her mountain home, amidst the pines and cedars of California. The engineer and I lingered awhile after her arrival, for both desired to be introduced to Minnie Smith. "Minnie, I make you acquainted with Louis, our head sawyer, and James, our engineer. I guess you'll be f lad to make their acquaintances, for both are good musicians and excellent singers. I suppose your musical education has not been neglected ?" "I have learned a little instrumental music, but I have no voice," replied she to her father, after bowing to us. James had held out his hand, but she did not touch it, and I saw that he blushed deeply, while his eyes glittered revengefully, at what he supposed her disdain. Soon after we left the cottage. On our way to the mill, I said: "James, old boy, you look mad. Why, don't you know that m good society they never shake hands, but only bow ?" "Well, I didn't know it But, nevertheless, she could have shaken hands with me when she saw that I held out my hand," replied he in a surly tone. 1 I then began to praise Minnie's beauty, and asked his opinion about her; but he gave me no answer. When we parted for the night, I i noticed that his voice sounded strange, as he j said: "Don't fall in love with that girl, she is too ^ aristocratic to be the wife of a head sawyer." , Four weeks had passed since I became ac- , quainted with Minnie. Almost every even- ; ing James and I could be seen in the parlor j of the cottage. Soon it became known that Minnie and I were engaged to be married within six months. I do not remember how I confessed my love ; all I know is that she j pressed my hand as I asked her to be my wife, ^ while her lips said "yes." Her father had no objection to our union. He had known me for many years, and knew ] that I was able to support a wife. He' pven asked me to become his partner, to which j proposition I gladly assented. I One evening, Minnie and I were sitting at , the foot of a huge sugar-pine, talking about < our approaching marriage, when we heard the , report of a rifle, the bullet of which whistled . nflat mv lipiid. get it out again when they clean the boiler next Sunday." I was about to leave the boiler-room when James entered. "Good evening, sir," began he, in a cheerful tone; "I guess the new engineer will arrive to-morrow night, and I am glad of it. Please step into my room and read this letter, which I've received this afternoon. From it you can sec why I am glad to get away from here." He gave me a letter. It was too dark to read outside,and I entered his room. Alighted lamp stood upon the table. I sat down and read the letter, which was from James' mother, urgiug him to come home instantly. "You thought I was mad at you because you made love to Minnie. But you were mistaken, old boy, for look at this letter," said he, handing me another. It was a letter apparently from a young girl, although the handwriting looked rather masculine. It was dated from the same New England village in which James' mother was living, and its contents breathed intense love for him. It was signed "Annie." "Yes," replied he, in answer to my question I sprang to my feet and shouted: ( "Halloo! you stupid fellow, what are you shooting at?" "I supposed it was a deer!" answered a wellknown voice, and James with a rifle in his j hand, emerged from some mansantia bushes, about fifty feet from where I stood. "You couldn't mistake me for a deer ?" * said I. "Yes," answered James, pointing to my , grey hat, in the band of which Minnie had playfully stuck some dry branches from a bush close by. "Ah! I see," said I, taking off my hat. "Well, next time you had better look a little closer." "I will," repeated he, moving away, and soon his form was lost amidst the increasing darkness. Again it seemed to me that his voice sounded strange. But I had no time to think about it, for Minnie had fainted, and it seemed a long time to me before she opened her eyes. It was night before we reached the cottags. Next day James Alton gave us notice that he would leave within ten days. /miii nlflir n*? i?rvii/l:4 4-V? r\ mionfl _ JL11I1C ruiicu VJUHiMjr ??U.J tWLLiuab l/HC rations for our coming marriage. I had been twice to S in order to hire another engineer, but I could hire no one to take James' place, and he was compelled to remain until the arrival of a machinist, an old friend of mine, who was coming from San Francisco. On Sunday evening, two days before the day set for my marriage with Minnie, I had occasion to go down to the saw-mill. After I had looked at the saws to see if they had been properly wedged and filed, I descended to the boiler-room. We had two large steam boilers set side by side. As usual, in both their ends were the man holes. These are semi-circular openings, through which, when necessary, the firemen creep, in order to clean the inside of the boilers. One of these man-holes was open and some boys, children of the firemen, were playing with a short iron bar near by. I do not know what made me stop ainl watch them pushing the bar through the aperture, while they listened to the sound of the water as its wavelets moved past the bar, and dashed against the side of the boiler. "Stop that play, boys," said I, "and tell James to close the boiler." They had not seen me before, and when they heard my voice they let the iron bar fall and scampered away. The bar dropped with a loud splash into the water. ""Mpvpr min/1 " tVinnrrVit T "flip firpmpll f'flll ings, "I'll marry Annie as soon as I set foot ir my native village." "Won't you wait until the bans are pub lished ?" asked I, with a laugh. "Not a minute. I'll go straight to hei house and take her to the next parson who for money and good words, will soon tie the knot. Now," continued he, after a pause, du ring which he took a bottle and two fin cups from a shelf above his bed; "now let us drink to the health of our intended brides"' And he filled the cups. "Hold on, James! First let me know what is m the cups," said I. "Your intended father-in-law gave me a bottle of Angelica wine. He said that it was the best he had in his cellar," answered James, I like sweet wine, and took the cup. "Here is to the health and prosperity of Annie," exclaimed I, emptying tne cup. "Here's to Miss Minnie, who, I am sure, will be the best and truest of wives!" was the toast of James, as he, too, emptied his cup. "Now, here Is a real "Havana!" said he, taking some cigars from his pocket, and handing one to me, which I lighted. Then settling back into the chair I listened to a detailed account of his previous life. The narrative seemed very uninteresting to me, and I was wishing inwardly that it would soon end, for I had to go to S- that very same night on business connected with the mill. Gradually the light became dim, and the voice of James sounded hollow. I tried to tell him to trim the lamp and speak a little louder, but my lips only moved, and not a sound came from my throat. The tobacco Bmoke is choking me, thought I, casting ray eyes toward my right hand, which was slowly slipping from the edge of the table upon which was lying the half-consumed cigar. Strange that I felt no pain as the hand struck the sharp corner of the chair. I tried to rise, but my endeavors were vain. Some heavy i i - 1 J weignt appeareu to press upon my snouiuers, a weight that I could not shake off. I lifted ray eyes towards Jaraes who was sitting opposite me. My God! Was it a hallucination of my whirling brain, was it reality ?" I saw, as if through a haze, the eyes of James, glaring at me like those of a wild cat about to spring upon its prey. Every line of his features proclaimed hate? undying hate. He arose and came close to where I sat. His voice sounded to me like the roar of thunder, as he said : "Aha! I've got you now, my fine fellow; this time I am sure that you never can marry Minnie. Ten minutes more and you are dead. Oh! it's no use," cried he, in a voice that pierced my ears as he saw how I tried to shake off :he coils that seemed to bind me to the chair. 'No ise whatever, old boy. If I would let pou go now, you'd hang me. True enough, a jipsy once said that I'd break my neck, but lot upon the gallows, no! no!! Borne weeks igo I tried to kill you, but it was already too lark to take good aim, and you escaped. "The letters you have perused are nothing iut forgeries, My mother has been dead ;hese four years, and the girl, Annie, is only i creation of my brain!" His voice seemed to lower to a whisper as he continued: "They will gnythi'* ymi Hv? lieena villian, .hat you fled a lew days before the day set for die wedding. Minnie will be very unhappy, md I will do my best to try to cheer her up. she would have loved me had you not crossed my path with your fine talk and soft nonsense which won her affections." "Two minutes more," said he, after a pause, during which he looked at his watch: "Yes, two minutes more, and your soul will leave its miserable body. Your eyes are closing now, your face has the hue of death, your limbs are getting cold, yes, cold as ice ?" I felt the touch of his hot hand upon my face. It seemed as if a thousand needles were entering every part of my body ; a red blur obscured my vision and it was becoming darker. I felt as if something was pressing upon my head which now 3eemcd to leave my body, my breath became shorter and shorter?all at once it stopped. I felt as if I counted the beatings of my heart?one, two, three, four, five, si?c! Then all was oblivion. * * * * * I opened my eyes, that is, I felt I opened them, as not a ray of light fell upon the pupils. Darkness, impenetrable darkness was around me. Was I in a grave? I made an effort to stretch out my hands. I succeeded. They moved through water, which I now felt was eddying around my neck. Where was I ? Surely it was not a dream, for I felt that I was thoroughly awake. I raised my right arm to my head, and my arm came in contact with a rod of iron upon which my head was lying. Again the question passed through my mind : "Where am I ?" "Soon, but too soon, the question was answered. Hark! I hear the sound of a distant voice. It came nearer and nearer?yes, my ears did not deceive me. It was the voice of George, our night-watchman. He Avas singing a song. The words of the refrain came distinctly to my ears: "And for my bonnie Annie Laurie, I'd lay me down and die!" It took my strength to raise myself to a sitting position. I stretched out my arms. My hand came in contact with cold iron. I was mad! No, no, not mad, but I felt that lunacy, in the shape of a terrible spectre, was approaching me?for the question' was answered : I was imprisoned within the steam boiler. I began to shout. "Help, George, for God's sake, help!" But my voice sounded like that of a muttled bell. Then I commenced to pound with my fist upon the iron. "Surely George must hear that, thought I. But no, he was whistling the tune of Yankee Doodle. Once he stopped, and a thrill of joy ran through me. Then he began again. I felt my way to the head of the boiler, foi now I heard the rustling of shavings which he was throwing into the furnace. This was shortly followed by a crackling sound. "He has lit the fire, I will be boiled alive!' thought I, again pounding and scratching against the sides of the boiler, in the vain hojx of making myself heard. I felt not the pain but I felt that the warm blood was dripping from my lacerated knuckles, and torn nails I listened. The sharp, crackling sound of the fire became lower and lower. Again I had hopes?the fire had gone out and I knew that the watchman had gone ti bed, for the lighting of the fire was his lasi duty at five o'clock in the morning. I alse knew that the firemen would not rise until hal past five. Twenty, perhaps twenty-five min utes and then lie would come and re-light tin fire. "Thirty minutes and then I must die!" I folded my hands, I prayed to God as ] never prayed before. I recalled to my mint a prayer my mother taught me when I was ?i child, and a holy calm came over me, fo; surely, thought I, He who sees the sparrov fall, will not desert we in ray present need. i Slowly my hands parted and fell to my side, C and slowly I crawled back toward the end of 1 - the boiler, where I knew was the man-hole p through which I had been shoved by the wick- p ed engineer while I was under the influence of the drug which he had administered. ti I passed my hands over the cast iron plate o: which shut up the only egress to the boiler. I pushed against it with all my strength; still n I knew that one hundred pounds of steam n pressure could not remove that plate. I felt w exhausted by my efforts, and I threw myself a: at full length upon the flues. The water covered mo to the neck, while I kept above its si i level. * w i A desperate thought came to my mind! , Why should I not drown myself by lowering t? V* an A 9 Crtmn ann onotna/i f a tirl^ianni* it-* m\r m j ncau uumc unc ocgiucu i/vs nino|A;i tu iuj vi ear, "Do it." Then another voice said, "It is n suicide, and God will punish vou." I laughed, yes I laughed. "It's only a a ; dream," said I, "and soon I will wake and once more see the light of day." Bui ft was not a areara, It was a terrible re- a: ality. The love of life came back to me. lj Again I pressed my hands over the cold sur- 1c face of the boiler. They came in contact with tl [ something that moved. v i God in his infinite mercy had given me the h means of escape from that living tomb. My t( hand was grasping the short iron bar which the boys had dropped in the boiler. It was tl i lying across some of the stray rods which trav- a; ersed the boiler in all directions. I used it as a hammer against the cast-iron a , plate which covered the man-hole. cl One sharp blow, a crack, and a stream of blinding liglit fell upon my eyes. It was the al rising sun, for the back part of the boiler look- m ed toward the east. Two more blows, and c) the broken plate fell with a splash into the water and left the aperture open and clear for (% escape. ? It is yet a wonder to me that the intense joy that I experienced did not kill \ne. With difficulty I crawled through the opening. I staggered towards the engineer's room and ^ open the door. The apartment was tenant- ,, less; James had gone to his breakfast. I ' looked at the clock: it still lacked fifteen min- % utes to six. C A strange thought flashed across my mind, ft "What if I should take the spare man-hole plate from the store-room close by, and fix in- A to the aperture. I have yet ten minutes time, tl ' Would not James think that I was stilj within k the boiler?" tl I ran to the store-room and took the plate ni from the shelf. It seemed very heavy to me k: as I carried it to the back part of the boiler; le there I laid it down and closely examined the ai lead gasket which was around its rim. Ev- is erything was complete with the exception of pi putting on some red lead. I went back to the tr store-room, got the little cask of lead and put w some of it upon the tow that James had wound ai round the lead gasket. Then I fastened the plate to the aperture by means of a clamp and ti nut. While I was at work I heard the voice ei of the fireman. He was swearing at the neg- so lect of the watchman in lightning the fire, tl There was no danger of my being detected, hi He, as he afterward told me, thought that it eT was Jahies making repairs, for he heard the w clanking of the iron while he was employed sc 4boutihe_furaa??.-- #- - ? ?-ti It was near six, and a minute moro James ai would return from the boarding-house, that si stood some distance apart from the saw-mill. a< I looked about me. Near the boiler, and close st to the steam gauge was a high shelf half con- ai cealed by a large beam. By jumping upon the n< boiler I could reach that shelf. I was not a minute to late. Scarcely was I concealed be- E hind the beam before I saw James enter the ai engine room. He looked very pale, and large, ai black circles were around his eyes as if he had S passed a sleepless night. ' # di There was no partition between the boiler Si and engine room. One glance at the steam r< gauge told him that the watchman had neg- N lected his duty. He rushed down the few if steps in front of the furnace and shouted to the m fireman. e< "Quick Jim, throw more pitch-pine slabs tl ; into the fire. Mr. Smith will give us fits, ei Look! he is coming now to find out why I a1 haven't blown the whistle!" ai "Watchman's fault 1" grumbled Jim, open- g' ing the doors and shoving into the furnace a hunw of shavings. Air. Smith entered the S o- x O? - ? fire room and James explained to him why tl steam was not up high enough to start the en- N gine. w "George ought to have fired up at five, but le I suppose he was sleeping at his post," eontiu- Ii ued he. # w "Well," said the father of Minnie, "I will tl tell Louis to pay him his wages and discharge ir him." tl When James heard my name mentioned I could see that lie trembled from head to S foot. ir "By the way, where is Louis ? He has not hi , been to breakfast, and he did not sleep in his B room last night!" said Mr. Smith. lc "I?I don't know, faltered the guilty ni wretch, turning away. m i "He said to the second sawyer that he was si going to S? upon some business!" said Jim, tl looking up. m "All right. -Now Mr. Alton, do your best se to get up steam as soon as possible, for ( very tc hour lost is money out of the company s pi treasury," said Mr. Smith, leaving the fire u: room. * h: i I felt faint and weary, yet I remained at my ir post. James was passing to and fro with rest- Y less steps. Once he stopped and lifted the w safety valve from which now came a sound 01 like a sigh.. Quickly he dropped the cord si connected with the lever, and something like a groan escaped from his half-opened mouth. ? He then lit his pipe, but after one or two tl puffs he threw it upon a bench. Then again ui ne resumed his rapid walk. I looked at the m steam guage. It indicated teu pounds pres- vi sure to the square inch and was rapidly rising, ir i James stopped in his walk and began to oil h the journals of the engine. The fireman had e1 gone out of the room. "Now is my time," ci I lllOUglll JL, riSUlg up llliu JUIUpilJg UIl lilt' UUii- gi i er next to the engine. b "James?James!" cried I, and my voice it ' sounded even strange to me. He quickly a: ; turned and sank upon his knees as lie saw my ir i form standing a few feet from where he had C i been at work. A ; "Mercy, mercy!" growled he with uplifted tl . hands. is ? "No mercy to a murderer!" shouted I, U jumping from the boiler with the intention of h , seizing him. a > But he was too quick for me. With a cry r< t of intense horror he sprang to his feet and ran o: ) up the broad steps leading to the upper part of f the mill. o: "Save me, save me!" shouted he to the ti 3 workmen, rushing past them upon the logway. ri "Stop him, ston him!" shouted I, spring- u ing after him. Ihe men gave a shout, but in[ stead of following him they ran away, some, ft 1 crying, "a ghost! aghost!" and others a crazy b i man!' w r Without heeding their cries I followed tl v James, still crying "stop him, stop him!" v He ran toward a place called "Turnback h Ireek." The creek was appropriately named 'hree hundred yards from tne mill was a steei recipice, over which the water of the creel lunged with a frightful roar. "Stop, James, stop! You are running t< he jaws of death!" shouted I, when I saw bin illy a few feet from the edge of the chasm. The sound of ray voice only seemed to adc lore speed to his steps. Presently, for a mo lent he stopped and turned his asnen face to ard me, then he gave a bound like a deer nd disappeared from my sight. "God have mercy on his soul," murmured ] nking exhausted to the ground. Then for i hile I remembered no more. * * * * A week passed before my mind was clea: tiough to recognize those who were dear t< le' . U Minnie told me that I had passed througl violent brain fever. "What has become of the engineer ?" "James is dead and buried," said she, ii nswer to my question. "They found hin ring at the foot of the waterfall. He livec >ng enough to confess that he had put you ii le boiler, and that he supposed that it wai our ghost that haunted him. I prayed witl im until he breathed his last. He died peni ;nt." I afterwards learhed from the workingmer lat they were terribly frightened at my ap pea ranee. "You looked just like a man coming out o: fight, with blood all over you and youi lothes in rags," said the second sawyer. Two more months passed away before I was ble to leave my bea. Then Minnie becam< ly wife, and we are yet living in the cottage lose by the mill. jpSttlhweflus fUadiug. SOUTH CAROLINA AS IT IS. During the month of October, Parker Pills ury, a noted Massachusetts Radical, visited harleston, and has furnished the New Yorli idependent with a pen and ink sketch of Soutt /iwAlmn T? r? rl J nt\ liom Tkn T\{nfni?G ia flA nlnl. AlUlUUUi JLMK&lVrMiUJUli JLUV j^/?vvuav *w wv ?* * illy drawn, that we copy the letter entire: To the Editor of the Independent .11 who travel in the Southern State3 sinci le war can learn lessons, if they will, un nown to them before. Many have reportec leir impressions to your already, but all is Dt yet told. I am afraid the worst is yet un aown. Indeed, I think the North knows ss of the actual South to-day than of almosl ly other portion of the globe. Republican m bears rule there, and deports itself tc lease itself. Counter authorities, especial!) om Democratic sources, are cast aside as un orthy of confidence, as no doubt they ofter -e. "Reconstruction is a Failure?But it is me one thing was told, and believed, too reryvrhere; and that is that reconstruction i far, is a failure. It is a bad failure. Froir ie sole of its foot to its head, if it have any sad, there is no soundness in it, none what ,rer. It began where it should have left off ith political organizations, with suffrage and ivereignty, when the first lessons in civilizaon-had-not-been learned, had not been taught id have not yet been taught. But ?art) ipremacy required the measure, and it i^af lopted, against all the dictates of genuine atesnmnship, as well as the demands of justice id humanity. And hence its failure as could Dt but have been expected. Parker was an Original Abolilionst.?If the 'emocratic party expects to be comforted by ay. word of mine on the present conditior ad" needs of the South it will be disappointed lavery was the one sole cause of the terrible svastation and desolatiou under which the outh reels to-day, and from which it cannoi :covcr in a* hundred years under any policy, or under the present policy in a thousand, ' ever. And it is not possible for the human lind to ever forget the unceasing and unhallow1 support the Democratic party rendered mt system, until the Infinite Patience could ldure it no longer, and in righteous wrath t one fell stroke, stove down the god, altai ad worshipers, and left them a shapeless, [lastly ruin. "The Republican Parly did not abolish lavery?Neither political party understood le situation during the war of rebellion [either party understands it to-day. Slavery as not abolished by the Abolitionists. Still ss was it abolished by the Republican party a spirit and power, it survives even the war ith all its woes. Like everything else al le South, it is a ruin; but it is there. Botli laster and slave are there. And more at wai mn ever before. "The Northern Republican does not love tlu lave."?And so far as the Northern elemenl ifused between them, instead of reconciling as only made matters worse. The Northern Republican hates the master, but does nol ive the slave. The North never loved the Qgro race bettor than did the South. It did ot abolish the slave system in form for the ike of the victims, nor at all until driven tc le measure by the stern exigency of military ecessity for self-preservation. So far as any mse of justice and humanity ever were ininded, it was manifest enough that the Reublican party would have continued slavery nto thi3 day, and unto the judgment day, ad not the preservation of the nationality nperiously ordered and compelled otherwise, ear after year the South fought for slavery, ithout Union; the North fought for the Unii, regardless of slavery; for a "Union with aveholders." The Republican Party needs the Black Man't allot.?And now the Republican party needs ic black man's ballot at the South, and is sing it for its own preservation, as his bayoet and bullet were used for the national saltation. And he is fast finding it out. Ever i his low estate he is learning who are nol Is friends. And his estate is lower than i'en the most extreme Abolitionists ever desribed it. There is no tongue, no pen, no lanuage to describe what slavery must have een, judged even by the gloomv shadows ol T 1,1 Vr_ n >\ iiiuii nuiYiVU. J- tiiat itix. \jrai iiswiJ ad "Wendell Phillips could spend one month 1 the cotton-fields and rice-swamps of the 'arolinas and Georgia. I have seen only the Ltlantic States; but these are the best, nol le worst. They would soon see that suffrage not the one thing needful for the emancipa ;d slaves, men nor women; however, it inighl ave been for the interests of a party; and bove all things, unless that suffrage were dh jcted by a far other thau the present ordei f politicians there. For it must be said that far the larger pari f the Northern men at the South have par iken of the general moral and political cor uption that ruled there so long. That ruled ntil the present ruin followed. Pilhbury says the Negro "Steals Frightfully.' lany have undertaken to cultivate the lands y hiring the former slaves and paying then rages. But in nine instances out of every ter bey have failed altogether, though paying rages on which it is hardly possible tin iborers can live without begging or stealing . both of which are practiced there to a fright 5 ful extent. Almost every man who employ z any considerable number of hands keeps i little store of cheap-groceries and provision* ) and pays them out of it. And usually thi 1 week's work is all taken up, so that scarcely one in a hundred can improve his conditioi 1 under this order of things. The Northern White Man Swindles the Ne - gro.?I saw gang aiter gang paid on at nignt , sometimes fifty or sixty at a time, and no five dollars in money was paid to the whoh [ of them. For corn they allowed fifty cents ? v peck ; for bacon, which you and I would noi eat at any price, they gave twenty-five cents ? pound; ana the prices of labor varied frorr r naif a dollar to a dollar a day. I have seer 3 sturdy, healthy young fellows, of twenty anc upward, working for two dollars a week anc 1 boarding themselves. I saw women doing days' work that not a white man in New Eng land or New York could do at any price, fm i seventy-five cents a day, all paid in goods (oi i bads,) groceries and provisions. Some of thes< 1 stores keep very decent articles, but not all i The Frecdmen drink much Bad Whiskey ? s Most of them that I have seen keep whiskej i in a barrel on tap?called whiskey by courtesy - but generally, I am assured, a compound oi abominations fit only to transform the dupe< i who swallow it into demons. And, strange a* . it may seem, not one colored person in i thousand will refuse it, old or young, male oi f female; though in slavery, I am tola?indeed r was always told?that drunkness was not. s prevailing vice. Probably the restraints oi i masterhood had much to do with it. The 3 whiskey is usually drank raw and reeking , from the barrel, without sugar and with verj little if any water, which some of the drinkers i said only drowned it. I have seen mothers pour it thus down the throats of six-months nabes, men, women, children, the storekeepei . looking on without remark. The principal diet of the plantation people is coarse horainv and bacon; the latter, fortunately, though deemed a luxury, in but small quantities. And out of the cities, I have often been told, the : same diet serves nearly all the white people i also. I have heard of "hog and hominy" as a Southern bill of fare complete lolig time ago; but had no idea how literal or how gen - eral was its application. 5 A Fine opening for Furniture Dealers.? - The old slave quarters, unrepaired, are still I the colored people's homes. Among all then 3 houses in the rural districts, I have not seer - one pane of glass; not one set of crockery 3 earthen or iron-ware, beyond a rude and ofter t broken pot, with iron or tin spoons, that cer - tainly were never made lighter by scouring > scarcely any chairs or tables but of hom< r manufacture; and not one decent bed in an) - cabin?not one! Some of the women wen i rather tidily dressed, as I have seen them and on Sundays, I am told, they appear quit* 3 well. But many of the men might defy all , the scare-crows of a thousand corn-fields , Some of the infants I have seen were entirel) i naked, and boys of at least a dozen years old - wore but a single garment; and that only n scanty apology in length, breadth or thickness. ; And at least four kinds of vermin, smaller I than rats and mice, infest many a human bed, its coarse covering, or its occupants, or alto, gether. Ask the Union soldiers who survived r the campaigns of the Southern States whether 3 this be exaggeration. i The most prosperous and promising freed> man I have seen lives on one of the sea islands, 1 He had ten acres of cotton, nine of corn, three of beans, with plenty of potatoes, had harvested ; fifty bushels of excellent rice, kept a horse, a ' mule, two cows, with pigs and poultry on all i sides of his house (inside not excepted, so far . as poultry was concerned ;) and yet, with the ; exception of one plain but cabinet-made rocki ing-chair, and one glass goblet, carefully kept ; wrapped in a clean sheet of straw paper, and , brought out to give me and my friends a drinfc , of water, the furnishing of the house did no1 i differ materially from those I have described, Pittsburg turns up his nose at Gen. Marion'i [ Dinner.?We were treated to roasted sweel i potatoes, which an old grandmother pawed , out of the hot ashes with her hands, and re placed with others, which she covered in the , same independent way, no shovel nor tongs ever being used, seen or known.. i Drunkenness is not confined to class 01 [ color, in any of the Spates I have seeu. Many say "the nigger and the Indian have natural tastes and tendencies for stimulants." Bui with the former it would be safe to attribute it to his imitative nature or disposition, coming, as he necessarily does, into too close contact with the whites. I certainly never saw such need of a temperance reform before, anywhere under heaven. I well remembei the drinking habits of New England long before the thundering eloquence of the old Dr. Beecher (sire of many sons) was denouncing every grog-shop and bar-room as "a breathing hole of hell!" But never have I seen such wasting ravages, by drunkenness, of all moral and "spiritual wealth, as here, now at full four o'clock in the afternoon of the ninteenth century. The calm appeal of a Father Mathew, and theglowing, fiery zeal of a John B. Gough, are needed in every elective district throughout the Southern States. Downright drunkenness cannot be said to be an omnipresence; but habitual and destructive drinking is. Those who do not drink themselves (of whom, alas! there are but few) furnish it for their friends, patrons, customers, and especially on election occasions to their supporters?too often in deluges and torrents. Northern Temperance men drink whukey i in the South.?No class of politicians, from the North or South, can plead exemption from ! this fearfal charge. Young men and old men, i who perhaps never tasted ardent spirits in i their lives before going to the South, now drink the horrible beverages here concocted habitu ally, and many of them to fearful excess, t And, worse still, will provide them for the ; poor, besotted colored people whenever votes, i better bargains, or better work or'more of it, can be had thereby. Private virtue among public men is not ; looked for, not expected, nor even desired. [ And this is as true here in Washington as far i tlier South or further North, i Parker sees Learned Aldermen.?I have s seen Aldermen, when sitting at the City Couu! cil Board, so drunk that they had to be ret moved by the police before business could pro: ceed. I have seen Aldermen and Councilmen who not only could neither write nor read, t but who exhibited little capacity for public , business, even when sober. And only yeater day I read in a newspaper an account, by an eye witness, of a judge in Abbeville, down in South Carolina, on the bench so drunk that ; lie had to be taken home by his friends and the court adjourned. The clerk, it was added, was about as drunk as the judge. Whoever I travels through the South with eyes and ears open, will have no difficulty in believing all ' this and more, were it needful to be told. And i it is absolutely needful that it should be told 1 ami published through the nation, if we would i save the nation from the doom of Sodom and Gomorrah. i The South Carolina Legislidure can neithei , llcad nor Write.?A majority of tho Legisla r ture of South Carolina are colored men, and b many of them can neither write nor read, a But several of their very best friends assured i, me that they should never support such again e for the sake of the colored raoe itself?not even j to save the State from the Democratic par1 ty. Such burlesque on the very name of government, they declared, was never before seen. - I have witnessed enough myself to easily un, derstand that it must be so. t Colored votes at Five Dollars a piece.?At i the opening of the session, colored votes were i easily bought at five dollars, though later they t rose on their price. i Yankees Covering the Wool?One shrewd l Yankee from Massachusetts, not a member, i but who had some schemes to lobby through 1 the Legislature, carried to the capital some I cases of new hats; and with them as legal tenr der. drove quite a spirited and successful busi - ness. Sad samples for white Northern Rer publicans to set before a people just emerging r from the darkest degradation and the cruelest, J bloodiest bondage and oppression that ever . scourged the human race! With all the - frightful realities of their past history still r crushing them down, with the withering pre, judice against their color still raging around f them on every hand, and with such examples 3 continually set before them by those whom 3 they not only regard as the superior race, but l have been told a thousand times are their best : and only friends?what wonder that they are , not to-day many of them one degree higher in i the scale of mortal being than when their freef dom was firu; proclaimed! To me it seems i absolutely complimentary to human nature \ that they have done no worse. It is often said at the North, and in the 5 South as well, that what is most needed here > is capital. That is not true. What the South ! needs most is men and women. Not adventu" rers, as so many are who have gone there since I the war, seeking whom and what they may " devour?ravenous beasts, who only go fortn 1 to seek their prey, intending to go back to t their native Northern, dens to riot on and en1 joy it afterwards. The South needs intelli' gent men and women, of industrious, virtuous J and thriving habits, who will go there and 5 identify themselves with the South, to share her fortunes for better, for worse?men who shall regard the colored man for more than " his vote, and the colored woman for more than I her virtue, and both as important to them onf ly as they can in some way subserve their own 1 interest, convenience ana pleasure, with no ? thought whatever as to what shall be the fete 1 of their victims. Formerly few labored at the South except slaves and free colored peo; pie. That the native Southerner should still J nold to his old idea and habit of idleness is not r strange. But almost every Northern man * who comes, at once contracts the same. Very 5 few white men intend to work here any more 5 than did the slaveholders fifty years ago. La1 bor is about as disreputable now as ever. Yankees Cheating the Poor Negro.?And ' Northern men aretOKlayall through the South 1 ern Atlantic States deluding or driving the 1 colored people into working For them at prices or on conditions that would be deemed aown' right insult ifproffered to any good workingman in New England. " . The old slaveholders have dreams and | schemes in plenty of Coolies, Chinamen, Japanese, and even Germans, who are to do their dirty drudgery and all their manual labor, as ' "house-servants" and "field-hands," (terms still 1 extant here,) at prices which must border on | actual and perpetual starvation. Almost tne whole solicitude and talk among the idle classes is of cheap labor, cheap labor; ; as if the curse of the Eternal God had not ^ been blasting such cheap labor from the days ! of Egypt's Pharaohs to the Pharaohs and the " would-be Pharaohs of America, forty centuj ries afterward. "Most almighty mean men get all the Offices.1' ; Carpet-bagger is not wholly an invidious des' ignation here. Most Northern men whom I ' have seen, are here but to fill their pockets as . speedily as possible, by such means as offer? I some as planters, but more as politicians, and ofa low order, many of them, too. The young j Western emigrant who wrote back to his fathj er, a disappointed office-seeker in Vermont, to come to the West, and urged as a reason that "most almighty mean men could get into of, fice," would find good ground for such arguI ment all through the Southern States. With . such resources as the North is now furnishing [ the South in a great measure, her last estate [ must inevitably be worse than the first. There are two elements in action at the r South, of which I have not yet spoken?her churches and her schools. Of the former I 1 have only to say that for almost a hundred years they defended and practiced slaveholding, with all its heathenism, cruelty and besti1 ality ; seeking their arguments in the Old . Testament, the New Testament, and the Apo| crypla to boot; separating, by sale, husbauds and wives, who were also memDere of the same . church, and justifying it oh the ground, as , they said and published, "that such separation is civilly a separation bv death, and we believe that in the sight of God it will be so ! viewed." All this, and more and worse, the . churches did, and sanctioned and sanctified. And so far as I can see, they are still the same churches in form, spirit and power, and just as disastrous in their influence as before; and 1 so nothing good can be expected of them. , The one ground of hope for the South is in . her primary schools; or would be if she had them in greater number. The North, through i or in conjunction with the Freedmen's Bureau, has furnished the means and the teachers for a considerable number of schools of various grades; and so far as I have seen them, generally of most excellent character. And that colored children and youth are sus, ceptiblc of the highest culture, under suitable influences, can be no longer doubted. I never saw a finer school than one of colored pupils in Charleston. But a thousand schools and teachers are needed where only one is found. In 1807, Governor Pinckney, in a message to the Legislature of South Carolina, : set forth in most forcible and eloquent language, the importance of a school system that should put a good common education within , reach of every citizen of the State. Of couree, . he meant only the white population. But that was more than sixty years ago; two generations of white and three of colored people have passed away^and no such system nas ever been enacted. And the other day I heard two members of the Legislature in earnest . conversation as to how the subjectjcan be approached with most hope of success in tne November session, i Surely, the presence of a large, number of . members, to whom even alphabets are myste, ries, to say nothing of higher stages of literary culture, must be stunning arguments in favor i of some system that shall redeem at least that I State from the foulest reproach that rests not 1 only upon our republicanism, 'but upon the I civilization of the nineteenth century. For, I if we caunot have educated suffrage, let us I at least have Mayors, Aldermen, Senators, Judges, and Governors, who in public and * political affairs can discern between their right hand and their left. When Should Children be Taught to Read??We often hear parents boasting of the acquirements of their young children, seeming in their devotion to the littlo creatures to believe that they are not injuring them, both bodily and mentally, by forcing their faculties into a premature development To us a learned child is a very melancholy object. We have seen many of them, and we have seldom seen their precocity result in anything but injury to botn body and mind. Nature nas made the mind of the child very quick at observing facts. For the first seven years of his existence he is thus learning all the time?indeed, in that period he acquires more information than he does ever afterwards duririg an equal time. The information he collects from the external world is sufficient occupation for his faculties, and he should not be "crowded" with learning anything more. We really think that the little ones sometimes strain their minds too much in merely observing and thinking about what happens around them. We do not believe that reading and writing * tv t 1 . 1'xil. J 8H0UK1 De caugni mue cniiaren uuuer eigm years of age?much leas arithmetic, geography, and even grammar, which are all sometimes crammed into their heads. We do not believe that their minds are ripe enough to grasp these studies, or if they are, that such premature development is evidence of a healthy mental state. We are convinced that if a little child's mind "takes to learning," as it is called, in preference to marbles and tops, for that very reason books should be kept away from it, and it should be encouraged m every way to exercise its body, and not wear out both that and its mind by application so unnatural to its age. We often hear parents say, "we can't keep Willie away from his books?he will learn. We don't teach him ; but he is so smart that he pesters us till we are obliged to let him read," and in this manner they excuse themselves for what they are satisfied is not right. This weakness should not be indulged. The foundation for both bodily and mental disease is often laid before th6 child is eight years of age. It would have ample employment for its mind in observing what happens around it, every phenomenon of which, is a wonder to its undeveloped faculties, and anything else that it learns is an undue strain upon them. After all, of what use is too early application? We have known many infant prodigies, and we have never yet found that they turned out to be more intellectual than other children. A child that is taught its letters at eight years of age, is as far advanced at twelve as one that began to learn at five, and the mental faculties of the former are much more robust than those of the latter; for they have not been enfeebled by overtasking. Norfolk Journal + ? A Romantic Love Story.?The Count de St Croix, belonging to one of the noblest families of France, became engaged after a long courtship, to a lady his equal in position ana fortune, and famous for her beauty. Shortly after the happy day was appointed which was to render two loving hearts one, the Count was ordered immediately to the siege of Sebastopol; so he girded on his sabre, and at the head of his regiment marched to the battle field. During tne Count's absence it happened that his beautiful affianced had the small-pox. After hovering between life and death she recovered but found her beauty hopelessly lost. The disease had assumed in her case the most virulent character, and left her not only disfigured but seamed and scarred to such an extent that she became hideous to herself, and resolved to pass the remainder of her days iu the strictest seclusion. A year passed away, when one day the Count, immediately upon his return to France, accompanied by his valet, presented himself at the residence of his betrothed, and solicited an interview. This was refused. But he, with the persistence of a lover, pressed his suit, and finally the lady made her appearance, closely muffled in a veil. At the sound of her voice, the Count rushed forward to embrace her, buty stepping aside, she tremblingly told him of her sorrows, and burst into tears. A heavenly smile broke over the Count's features, as, raising his handabove, he exclaimed: "It is God's work. I am blind!" It was even so. When gallantly leading his regiment to an attack, a cannon ball passed so closely to his eyes, that while it left their expression unchanged, and his countenance unmarked, it robbed him forever of his sight. It is almost unnecessary to add that their marriage was shortly after solemnized. It is said that at this day may often be seen, at the Emperor's receptions, an officer leaning upon the arm of a lady closely veiled, and tmy seem to be attracted to the spot by their love of music. -- - Teach Your Boy a Trade.?An article which we cut from one of our exchanges, re ferring to this subject, says: "Of 13,493 prisoners in the penitentiaries of thirty States in 1867, according to the report of the prison association just issued, 77 per cent., more than three quarters, had not learned a trade. Here is a text from which Dr. Franklin should have preached a forcible sermon to parents. The time was when it was not thought reputable for parents to leave their children without trades?unless they belong to the class of gentry! In France, before the revolution ?the one of 1789?this perverted sentiment or instinct was so strong that even the children of the nobles were in some cases taught a light handicraft, and when the storm of the Reign of Terror, came, and they were expelled from their homes and deprived of their fortunes, many of them subsisted by the trades they had amused themselves with in more prosperous days. A man who has a good trade has an independence. He has need only to be honest and diligent to secure a competence. Bread and butter-is sure for him wherever he is. He is sure always of higher wages than he who has no trade, and if his genius and enterprise lead him into some other calling, it is always a satisfaction to know that in case of misfor tune he con return to his trade. He has that at any rate; his speculations may break down, but he has an anchor to leeward, as the sailors say; his subsistence and that of his family is sure. In this country, where fortunes quickly gained are also quickly lost, it is still more necessary and prudent that every young man should learn it thoroughly. No man's fiiture is so secure here but that he would do wisely to have his boys?and girls too, for that matter?learn a trade," < ? I 16T* A promising young man from Vermont once presented himself to the trustees of a" school district, and was examined. He was asked, "How much would nine and thTflfe quarters of wheat-flour bring at fourpencehalfpenny a pound?" He considered the question, cultivating his head meanwhile with his finger-nails, and at last answered that they never raised wheat where he came from, and therefore he couldn't tell how much it would bring. The situation remained vacant.