Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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

lewis m. grist, proprietor. | |^n Inbcpcnbent Jfamilo Utetospaper: ^or tjje promotion of tjje political, Social, ^gritultural anb Commercial Interests' of tire Soiitji. TERMS?$3.00 A YEAR, IX ADVANCE. "VOL. 21. YOEKYILLE, 8. C., THTJBSDAY, AIJOXJST 1875. . NO. 34. Jin (Original Written "for the Yorkville Enquirer. , THE SEVEN SISTERS OF YORK, I CHAPTER XV. f It was a dismal November day. A colc drizzling mist was falling, and the wind swepi in melancholy gusts through the almost de nuded boughs, and caught up the scattered leaves that bad lately formed their covering but now lay in dry and withered heaps upor the ground, whirling them round and round in a fantastic dance as if in mockery of theii departed verdure and, beauty. Such a daj might well cloud the gayest spirits, and Vir gilia, standing in a depressed mood at one ol the windows of the little cottage which was now her home, was not insensible to its trying influence. She had taken up some needle work a little while before, but was in too rest less a mood to pursue this occupation. Then she had tried a book, but the experiment was nntinllt* i?MAi1AikAAnA?1 oV? A Tlrtf fi V V\ O T c^uanjr uuguwoDoiui ouo tuurn uuv ua >jv. attention on its contents. And now, abandoning her seat near the fire and her effort al employment simultaneously, she sought to d\ vert her mind by gazing at the prospect with ? out?an attempt as fruitless as the preceding ones. Wild, dark fancies chased each othei through her brain?shadowy phantoms thai rivalled the dance of the dead leaves in their swift evolutions. Calm and restfulnessseemed to have abandoned her mind forever, and a chaos of conflicting emotions agitated it with a continual tumult. She seemed to move ever in a tempest, amid surging billows and lowering clouds ; but its commotion was a silent and inward one. Outwardly she was pale, collected and subdued, and only the nervous movement of her thin, delicate hands, and the restless glances of her eyes, ever betrayed that composure was a stranger to her soul. In these days she felt like one walking in a dream. Her movements, her very thoughts, seemed subject to another's will ;an influence too powerful for her to resist its sway. I am not attempting to describe anything supernatural, or beyond the bounds of possibility, when I say that she was as powerless in the hands of her busband?literally her master?as plastic clay in the hands of the modeler. Cases have beeu known of this mysterious relation existing between two human minds; the one omnipotent in its behests, the other blindly obedient and submissive to its dictates. There were intervals, as it were, of self-assertion?fragmentary attempts to recover independence of action?but they were brief and futile, and each subsequent struggle for liberty seemed fainter and more quickly conquered than the last. No fabled magic spell was ever woveu more closely and fatally around its victim than that which bound in its toils her energies and purposes, absorbing her whole being and her inner life into that of another, and bearing her swiftly on to an in evitable end, as a rushing cataract hurls a frail bark toward a beetling rock, to dash it into the chasm below. And yet she had adventured herself, of her own choice, iuto the peril which encompassed her; had herself nourished a nest of adders, whieh were to pierce her with innumerable stings. Fortunate would it have been for her if the power exercised over her had been fraught with a kindly intent?if it had been employed in soothing hurtful passions and correcting mistaken impulses ; in uprooting the fostering weeds that tainted her moral atmosphere,aud planting in their stead a fragrant and healthful growth in the soil of her heart. But such was not its aim. It only added deadliness to the poison of the draught she had brewed for herself, extinguishiug the last beneficent sunrays that shed a struggling light about her path, and encompassing her with an Egyptian darkness, in which she groped bliudly, led by a treacherous hand. She was a mere tool in her husband's hands, picked up to be retained as long as useful, and then thrown, without compunction, aside. Perhaps he had not found the tool as useful a one as he had anticipated ; or, perhaps, he had been foiled in some part of his scheme; for when he entered the parlor on this gloomy November morning, and approached the window at which she stood, there was a forbidding frown on his brown, and a look of portentous sternness in his deep-set eyes. Virgilia turned toward him as he entered. It was a noticeable fact that, no matter what her occupation might be, or how deeply engrossed were her thoughts, he never came near her but that she instantly made this movement, bb if, like a magnet, he possessed a hidden attraction to draw her toward him. "Idling!" he said in a quiet tone ; a slight smile, as he spoke, usurping his lowering expression. "Did I not prescribe constant occupation for you ?" She submissively took up the work she had thrown aside, and went on with an unfinised seam. "Solitary brooding is not a profltable pastime," he continued. "You would do well il you were to allow no other thoughts to engross your mind than those which I desire you to dwell upon." "My thoughts will not always be controlled, Louis," she replied, but without any reflection of anger in her tone. "No?" he rejoined, with a keen glance "Well ; let me know whither they are wan derinc just now." "I was thinking of my sister, Claribel?and of the others at home." "Pardon me, my love, this is your home now." "At ray former home, then." "What were you thinking of Claribel ?" "That I should like to have some informa' tion in regard to her." "Information? Why, have I not informed you that she is safe and well, and out of harm't way ?" "I should like to kuow where she is, Louis Please tell me." "Not yet?you shall know in a little while Be content with my assurance that she it eared for." "And Edna?I fear she is very unhappy.' "Oh! that is a matter-of-course; but sh< will have compensation for that in reuewec happiness hereafter." "I should like to see Edna," said Virgilia meditatively. "You could do her no good." "But she will think that I do not care foi her." "She will soon have abundant proof o your affection." "Might I not go there to-day, for a litth while, Louis ?" "Impossible, my love. In the first place, j I the weather?" : "Oh! I do not at all mind the weather," j | interrupted Virgilia. "You know I often go out in the rain." i 1 "I was about to say that the weather, in j consideration of your recent indisposition, was ! [' a sufficient excuse for your remaining away.j t It is my will that you remain at home." "Very well," passively rejoined Virgilia. 1 |: "I will do as you say, of course." ( f "Of course," he echoed, with a lurking sneer i in his tone. She went on with her sewing, I! and he continued to regard her in silence for I j a little while. r "Put that down," he said presently. "I . want you to give me your undivided attenf tion." ) She laid aside the work, as unquestioningly 1 r as she had taken it up. He drew a chair in front of her, and sat 1 down. i "Give me your hands," he continued, exi tending his own. As she obeyed him, she grew a shade paler, and a slight shudder passA/1 AtTAH It At* CU V?W 1IVI ; "Not now, Louis," she said falteringly, as he fixed his eyes upon her. "I am weak to day." ; "Strength is born of weakness," he replied, fixing his searching gaze upon her face, and ; clasping her hands more closely in his own. "Look into my eyes!" [ A quarter of an hour passed in perfect si, lence, during which Virgilia sat as motionless as a bird charmed by a suake. Gradually a 1 rigid look stole over her face; the natural pallor of her skin faded into a livid hue, even , to her lips; her eyes closed, her breathing was imperceptible?she presented the outward asi pect of a corpse. Perceiving that the result which he had desired was achieved, Mr. Holdweg released his hold of her hands, and presently going to a secretary which stood near, brought from j thence paper, pens and ink, and set them on ' j a table before her. i I "Virgilia," he said in a commanding tone, . <?T nnoK unn frt TOrlfD " | ^ X TTlOli J VU Ii\J *V*?VV* "What must I write ?" she questioued in re- jfc turn. "A letter. Here, first write on this slip of paper what I shall dictate to you." He placed the pen in her passive fingers, having dipped it in the ink, and dictated some trilling sentences. At first her handwriting was uusteady and scarcely legible, but seeming to gather firmuess as she went on, itgiadually became clearer and more regular, until it had attained its ordinary distinctness. Theu he substituted a sheet of letter-paper for the narrow slip, and after musing for a few moments with a thoughtful brow, resumed his dictation. "My dear Edna." Virgilia started slightly, and hesitated. "Why do you not go on ?" he asked. "Must I write to Edna? Cannot I talk to her instead ?" * "No. vou cannot. Do not waste time ; 11s | am waiting." j She made no farther objection, but wrote ! * ' as he desired. ! "My Dkar Edna I have a communication 1 of some importance to make to you, which I have j revealed to no one, not even my husband, lni deed, I feel a delicacy in speaking to him on the ' J subject; for though lie, of course, possesses my en' tire confidence in every matter which concerns j myself alone, I am aware that the facts of his hav- ( ing so recently entered the family, and of your i comparatively slight knowledge of him, are bar- j riers", as yet, to the existence of complete unreserve between yourselves and him. ( "What I now have to tell you, relates to Claribel. It is m// belief thut she has voluritnrili/ left home, to 1 escape a marriage with Hugh Thornton. Of this I i j have no positive proof; but I will give you my j reasons for the statement, and you may, if you 1 i nloase deduce vour own conclusions from them. j "I do not roafly think, that from the very first, I Clarie loved Hugh as devotedly as you thought j she did. In this I may be mistaken; but, at all events, her love for him, if it did ever exist, has suffered a transformation into suspicion and dislike. She is, as you know, not very communicative with me?from some cause or other she regards me with coldness, and seldom makes any | advances to me; but on the evening of Dolly's ! marriage, when I was with her alone, for a short j time, in her room, she spoke with more frankness than usual, and I could perceive that she was laboring under a considerable degree of excitement. She hinted at some wrong-doing of Hugh's, which had altered her opinion of him, and said she was i very unhappy, and longed to get away some| where, where she might reflect at leisure, and | without interruption, on the course she ought to pursue. I asked her to come to us, but she reI fused; saying that if she made a change it must I be to a greater distance from home. When I , spoke of her intended marriage, she shuddered | | at the allusion, with an aversion she could not j I conceal. She turned aside, and 1 heard her mur mur "Infatuated that I have been !" in a tone of j bitter regret. She seemed for a time almost to ! forget my presence, but when she recovered her| self she resumed her usual tone, and evidently I ' j feared having betrayed more than she had intend- j I ed. Perhaps you may have noticed that she ap, peared, during the whole evening, very abstract- I ; ed and melancholy. Indeed, I have thought her | looking unhappy for some time past i I ???\r W/lnu T hnrp tlirmrrht. it nnlv ! j right to let you know these tacts. You will, I j I dare sa3r, be quite as much startled as I was when | the suspicion of her real feelings first dawned j I upon me. I cannot, by any means, guess at her j motive for concealment in the matter?I do not; ] j see why she should not at once openly declare her g I objection to marrying Hugh, if such objection j" I really exists; unless, indeed, she wishes to use j ' ! her present engagement as a veil to cover some 1 secret preference?she may love another, and fear | j I that you may not sanction hor love. This is the ! , j only clue that presents itself to my mind to an i I explanation oilier strange conduct. It affords me j t , much pain to attribute any but the most upright I ? i and truthful intentions to one who stands 111 so ' s near a relation to me?but what can 1 think ? | . There is certainly a mystery about her conduct 1 which it is hard to fathom. * j ' "I am quite aware that in writing this to you, , I am laying myself open to the imputation of . jealousy and dislike of my youngest sister?since ' 11 shelias'always occupied a much higher place in g i your afToction and esteem than I have ever had { | the happiness of enjoying. But I am, I trust, | | above the baseness of detracting one's merits for 1 ! the gratification of personal feelings. Moreover ( j I can truthfully assert that such feelings do not j exist in my heart. I am content, since it must be J t so, to take the lowest place in your regard ; and j 1 I uinno the lilrwuinir nf tnv linduinil'i: love is lllilie. I S I j can the more resignedly submit to coldness and ! ( I indifference from others. "I have felt very unwell lately, and have deem- j ' 5 ed it most prudent to remain quietly at home. ; I j My nervous system is greatly affected, and mv | } husband, who is .something of a physician, pre-j ' scribes entire freedom from excitement of any j 1 j kind. I have therefore snatched an opportunity i I ! during his absence to pen this hurried scrawl, ; j . which I cannot delay sending you any longer. 1 | Leaving you to make what use you please of its j ' ; contents, I remain as ever. i Ij . "Youraffectionate sister, n "vikoii.ia." i , >| ; I "Oh ! how tired I am," said Virgilia plain- i , tively, when she had got through. "Is that ] all? Can I rest now?" "Yes, you may rest. Corae with me to your 1 j own room and lie down." He extended his hand. She placed hers in ' it, and suffered hitn to lead her to the cham her, where, with a sigh of relief, she sank upon j I a sofa, and appeared to be quickly buried in j' a profound slumber. Mr. Holdweg returned i 1 to the sitting-room, and taking tip the just I completed letter, read it thiough with au air j: i of consideration. r i "I do not know if this will he of much ini- j ! portance," he said to himself when lie had ; f finished it; "but I think I'll let it go?it may j i plant a thorn or two in a sensitive place, and ? thus farther my views. It will depend upon j i the estimate they place on Virgilia's judg-1 ment whether it has much effect or not. At all events it is worth a trial." He folded and sealed the letter, but recollected that he had neglected to make Virgilia j direct it. "Pshaw! how foolish I am," he muttered. ! "Never mind, I'll see if I can't rival Mr. Hugh Thornton's cleverness in copying writing?I have a turn that way myself, as every one knows; though perhaps few of my acquaintances are aware of the extent to which my talent is developed." He wrote the address in a facsimile of Virgilia's hand, regarded it with great satisfaction, and then put the letter in a convenient place, to be forwarded as soon as an opportunity preseuted itself. "I might have done the whole thing," he soliloquized ; "but I never was as successful j with a lady's hand as with any other, and j 3uch a long composition is troublesome. I 1 must apply myself now to the consideration of my next step?though there is really no great hnrrv if is rnfhpr entfirtaininc to nroceed in "" J y - "w - ? ?- -?- o " t this leisurely way, having the luxury of the final consummation still to look forward to. I have done pretty well so far. I'll wait a little and see how matters work. It is fortunate that Virgilia's devoted relatives do not trouble themselves too much about her?it would be inconvenient to have them here very often." When Virgilia recovered from her mesmeric trance, an hour or two later, the letter bad been despatched, and she retained no recollection of what had transpired. She complained, indeed, of a burning sensation in her eyes, and a weak feeling in her right wrist, :hese being the usual consequences of her exerting herself to write for any length of time luring her somnambulistic state ; but was not even aware that she had written at all, supposing that she had merely been asleep. ; Hugh happened to be alone with Edna vhen the lettef reached her. He watched her is she read it, and noticed her changing expression and fluctuating color. She felt that ic was observiug her, and dared not raise her jyes to his face, until she could master herself sufficiently to speak with composure. "Is anything wrong, Edna ?" he asked, in a Ireary tone. It did not seem to hira that any- ( ;hing could matter much now, after what had lappeued, unless it related, in some way, to ;heir troubles. , Edna hesitated. She could not bear to , ihow the communication to him, for though the herself did not believe in the truth of it, she knew that it would add fresh keenness to , lis sufferings. On the other hand, if Claribel , lad really only gone away, it was necessary , hat he should at once be acquainted with the probabilities of this fact, in order to take , 'resh steps for her discovery. In any case she | elt nowerless to act without guidance ; and, ifter a brief debate with herself, she put the etter in his hand. "It is from Virgilia, Hugh ; I cannot but ,hink she is entirely mistaken?in fact I am > mre she is laboring under a strange delusion? jut I do not feel justified in withholding it | 'roin you." j "Is it about Claribel ?" asked Hugh, turn- , n? a shade paler. She made an affirmative ( sign, and withdrawing to a wiudow, stood ;here silently whilst he perused it. j "It is false?utterly false," he exclaimed , ixcitedly when he had finished, dashing the , mper from him as if it scorched his hands. ( 'I repudiate it from beginning to end. Edna, j ;ither your sister is grossly deceived, or she | sears malice toward me, and wishes to push < ne deeper into the slough than I have already sank." "I do not think she can be acting mali- ] jiously," slowly replied Edna. She could j lave no motive. Some one has poisoned her < jars with false reports; or Clarie has given f ier a wrong impression, by something she has | raid T am nerffifit.lv .mire it fiannot he true." i x / I But her very anxiety to reiterate this as- 1 lurance was significant of a lurking doubt on < ler'part, which Hugh was quick to perceive, j "Edna!" he cried appealiugly, "for heav- | ;n's sake answer me truly?did Clarie ever j jive you cause to suppose that her love for ] ne was not as deep as it had formerly been ?" | "No?no! Never. She never spoke to | ne much about it, because?I mean, it was | lot her way ; but it seemed to me that there j vere no evidences of her affection wanting." j j "Was there ever a man tortured as I j ira ?" he rejoined, in an accent which pierced . ier heart. "There is a horrible mystery here , vhich must be brought to light. Edna, I am ( joing to your sister's house. I must see her it once?at once !" [to be continued next week.] Washington's Personal Appearance. [t is a remarkable fact that Washington's per- ( ionnl a|)pearance, although well known to so . winy, has but rarely, if ever, been described ; i jy his historians. Even in Irving's "Life" j < .here is, nothing satisfactory on this point, i ] fhe Journal of Commerce having been writteu j o on the subject, has given the following de- j icription gathered from various sources : j1 "Washington was six feet two inches in j 1 leight, witn a very ereci, rouusi, siaiwurt i rame. He had a fine breadth of che3t; long, ft'ell-shaped, and very strong arms ; a broad, , urge hand, with a grasp like a vise, and very t straight, well-rounded lower limbs. He had r large head, set on a strong, full neck, with 1 icommanding carriage. His hair was brown,!( ir dark auburn ; his eyes a grayish blue, set 1 'ar apart, and his complexion ruddy or florid. ( Stuart, who painted him, declares that the ] .ockets of his eyes were larger than he had) ?ver met with before, and the upper part of i lis nose broader and fuller. All of his fea- i ,ures were indicative of the strongest passions, ' ilthongh his judgment and great self-com- j < nand made him seem different in the eyes of { .he world. He appeared with great dignity ! < n any position, either'sitting, standing, or 1 ( --->i-: i.- - .. o?^i i lYUlKlllg i UUIUU \>Ud a uuiu, CApcn nuc^aim icver looked better than on a fiery horse, ;. ivhoni lie always kept perfectly under his con-1 1 Lrol. lie was diffident on occasions, but nev2r abashed or ungraceful, and his personal I presence always inspired confidence and re- < jpect. We have gathered these particulars ;; from a dozen different authentic records, with- ( out finding any thing like a satisfactory do- i scription in one of them." 4 A new railroad (juestiou has arisen in- i volving the right of a company to abandon a ; station. A Connecticut railroad company which has seldom paid any dividends, in or- j der to reduce expenses, decided to abolish a certain station and did so, refusing to stop any trains at that point. The citizens peti- j tinned the railroad commissioners, and find-; ing their appeal unavailing, applied to the Legislature, and that body passed a law or-' del ing the company to stop their trains at the old station. The stockholders of the road, however, have unanimously rejected this or- j der of the Legislature, and the courts will bo i called upon to decide the matter. pstofg 0I $f. teolina. Written for tbeYorkville Enquirer. HISTOBIpi.Ii SKETCHES OP THE Early Settlement of South Carolina. BY REV. ROBERT LATHAN. (CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK.) The administration of Nathaniel Johnsoi extended from 1702 to 1709. It was a perioc of trouble and vexation. Governor Johnsor was, in some respects, a strong man ; and ir others he was a weak man. An old write] speaks of him as having "transmuted tho civil differences in the colony into a religious con troversy." Governor Johnson's strong poinl was his skill in military alfairs, and his weak point was his hatred to all dissenters. He wa? " ' -? 1 -* T ?i n :n? tu, evidently tne tool or jl/otu uiauvmc. j.m laws establishing the Church of England ir the colony, will stand*fis a blot on the name of Granville, Johnson and Trott. The thing itself was notso odious as the manner in which it was brought about and the intrigues bj which it proposed to perpetuate it. The proprietors, beyond all doubt, contem plated, from the beginning, the establishing of the Church of England in the colony; bu! at the same time, the greatest liberties were granted by the charter to all denominations of Christians. None except Papists were ex eluded. This is not the place to criticise this restriction ; but we may be permitted to re mark, in passing, that no colony in America enjoyed greater peace and prosperity than the Catholic colony of Lord Baltimore, in Maryland. It was only by taking advantage of the people, that the objectioual laws were passed So soon as the people became aware of whal the Governor and his Council were determined on doing, and the parliament assembled in A ll L _11 ev,>m 1 AQ7 run uumuero, an tuc uuuiui iano n^.u iwi were repealed. This was done before the action of the Queen was known. Another law was enacted which, to all intents and purposes, established the Church ol England as the Church of the colony. The objectionable features of the previous enactments were, however, left out, and religious liberty was granted to all sects. This law continued in force until after the Revolution of 1776. The disputes of the inhabitants amongsl themselves, and the invasion of the French and Spaniards, accompanied with the ravages of the yellow fever in 1706, had involved the colony in debt and materially impeded its progress. During the ad ministration of Johnson, but few immigrants were received intc the colony, whilst some few persons emigrated. The population of the State in the lattei part of 1708, was 9,580. Of this number, 1,360 were free white men, and 900 free white women. In the colony there were 120 white kolp r\f tnlinm tt7??rn m ft 1P3 flTlfl 3C1 vau 10, uuc uau ?/* h uuiu uvi v the other half females. The excess of the male population over the femtfle, is accounted for by the fact that many single men came over from various portions of Europe. In the colony there were 2,900 negro slaves, 1.800 of whom were mule. There were also 1,200 negro children in the colony. These also were slaves. Besides the whites and negroes above enumerated, there were, at the time mentioned, 1400 Indian slaves in the colony. Of the 9,580 inhabitants, 3,960 were free, and the remainder, 5,620, were einher slaves or in a state of servitude. Near one-third of the whole population was in Charles Town. The negro8laves were Africans, stolen from their native land by the nations of Europe and brought to America. For a number of fears, the trafic in negroes was carried on between the islands of Barbadoes and Jamaica and South Carolina. The first negro slaves that were ever brought into the State were brought from Barbadoes, by Joseph Yeamans, shortly after the colony was planted. The Brst negro slaves that were ever brought into trie lODgiisn colonies in America, were uruugm. in the month of August, 1620?two hundred ind fifty-five years ago. These were brought by the Dutch. The Indian slaves were captives reduced to bondage, or captives sold by their enemies. The colony was weakened by the yellow fever and other causes, during the five years preceding 1708, about two hundred adults; whilst the children had increased five hundred luring the same period. In those five years, five hundred negroes had been imported into the State. The military strength of the province was line hundred and fifty white men. These were organized into two regiments, consisting )f eight companies, in each regiment. The French, on Santee, had one company offortyive men, and a patrol of ten men. The Goviruor's body-guard consisted of forty men. By an act of the Assembly, each captain was equired to arm, with gun or lance, and drill in able-bodied negro slave for every white nan in his company. This would make the nilitary force of the State about two thousand. The commerce of the colony was curried on vith the English colonies in the North, with ;hc islands South, and with England. The jrinciple export.') were rice, pitch, tar, s%ins )f various kinds, barrel staves and white oak imber. Some silk was also exported. Infian slaves were sent to Boston, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New York, and Virginia, and iold. To Barbndoes, Jamaica, Autigua, and ;he Bahama Islands, staves, hoops, shingles, secf, pork, rice, tallow, butter, peas and leathir were sent arid exchanged for molasses, su*ar, cotton, salt, negro slaves and various >ther articles of use or ornament. Among die exports of the colony were candies, made )f myrtle berries, and a large amount of the imports consisted in wines, brandies and rum. The commerce of the colony would have been much greater, had it not been on account .<" tl.r. l.nniM. A it f !i*c ivlii/'h worA i m nnufift nn JI I.IIV' lica v j vi wiiivj ' ? ?v.. ?? w. w all goods, either exported or imported. These duties hud been greatly increased by the rerout wars. By the expedition against St. Augustine, and the more recent invasion of Charles Town, by the French and Spanish, the debt of the colony had beeu increased to near fifty thousand dollars. The income from imports and exports amounted to more than twenty thousand dollars. The annual expenses of the government were near the same amount. These annual expenses were distributed in the following way. For the ten Episcopal ministers settled in the province, five thousand dollars; for completing the fortifications already begun, and keeping others in repair, five thousand dollars; soldiers'pay, including military officers, three thousand dollars ; military stores, one thousand five ' hundred dollars ; Governor's salary and other :! incidental expenses, three thousand two hun| dred and fifty dollars. The current expenses i deducted from the income, left a sum araount; ing to something between four and five thousand dollars. This sum was set aside for the purpose of redeeming the bills of credit, that had been emitted for the purpose of meeting | the heavy debt which had been incurred by | the government, i At this time there was scarcely any English I coin in circulation in the colony. At various i times, bills of credit in large amounts had i been struck off and put in circulation. At first, these bills passed at their face value ; but I soon, on account of their great numbers, they depreciated very much. The gold and silver i in circulation was German, Mexican, Peru; vian, French and Spanish coin. No uniformi tyof value was attached to the bills of credit 3 when exchanged for the coin of these differi ent nations. To prevent this confusion, 3 Queen Anne, in 1707, issued a proclamation ; by which the value of the currency of the i colony was fixed. One pound English money r I was, by this royal proclamation, made to be I worth one and one-third pound of the colonial currency. This is the origin of what was \ called "proclamation money." t Belonging to the colony, there were, in 1708, 5 twelve ships, more than half of which had been built in Charles Town. Taking all things into consideration, we cannot but wonj der at the rapid growth of the colony. It was . not yet thirty years old, but it had assumed i the importance of a little nation. s The mention of silk as amongst the exports of the colony, leads us to inquire into the history of its introduction into the colony. In s 1697, Charles the Second sent out the frigate , Richmond with some French Protestants, to ; the colony at Charles Town. The main ob[ ject that was had in view, in transporting 1 these French Protestants, was to secure their aid in the production of silk in the country. The vessel was too late in settiug out on its voyage, and the result was, that the eggs of the silk worms, which were placed on board, all hatched ; and as no preparation had been > made for such an event, the young worms died for want of food. At a later period, Nathani iel Johnson, amongst other citizens, was more ' successful. The plantation of Johnson, situated iu St. Thomas parish, was named "Silk Hope," from the fact that on it considerable ; attention was devoted to raising silk. J3y i many of the planters, forty and fifty pounds i of silk were annually made, and the annual . income of Governor Johnson, from silk alone, i was two thousand dollars. It cost very little to produce the silk. The forest abounded i with mulberry trees, the leaves of which fur, nished the proper food for the worms; and little negroes, who were too small to work on , the farm, were employed to feed the worms. i The silk was mixed with wool, and manufac! tured into what the manufacturers called "druggets." The production of silk was coni tinued in the State for a long time. The mothers from whom sprung some of the most illus: trious families in the State, continued, for a i long time, to spin their wool and silk, and weave it into dresses for their daughters. In Abbeville county, silk was produced by the : descendants of the French, who first settled i in that county as late as 1808. In 1753, the mother of General Charles Cotesworth Pinck; ney took with her to England a quantity of silk yarn, which she had spun with her own hands in the neighborhood of Charles Town. From this yarn she made three dresses, one of which she gave to the Princess of Wales; another to Lord Chesterherd, and another to her own daughter, Mrs. Horry. As might have been expected, the educational advantages of the colony, for a long time, were very poor. Still, we are not to conclude that the education of the children of the colony was entirely neglected. Although there is, so far as we have been able to discovi er, no account of any classical schools in the I colony prior to the year 1700, still, we may, ! we think, safely infer that such was the case, i In favor of this inference, we would state that j many of the early colonists were men of learn| ing, and it is scarcely conceivable that they | would suffer their children to grow up in com-1 parative ignorance. We are not, however, J left to inferences. In 1671, Thomas Smith, j who was made langrave in 1691 and Gover j nor in 16y3, came into ttie province, in ! 1672, one year after his arrival, his second ! son, George, was born. In 1700, when near ! I thirty years old, he graduated in Edinburgh. I The probability is, that at least part of his | education was obtained in Charles Town, j j Through the influence of Rev. Thomas Bray, i i the Bishop of London's Commissary in Ma- j j ryland, a library was established in Charles-; : town, in 1696. By an act of the Assembly, I 1697, this library was placed under the care j of the Episcopal minister of the town. The i I books were mostly religious. The mission- j ; aries, sent out by the society for the propagaj tion of the gospel, were not only required to \ j preach, but also to teach. They were both I preachers and school-masters. Instructions ! were specially given them, both as to what j ? ? . t i Ti and how the children were to De laugni. it i was a long time before young men, in any j considerable numbers, received what is called a collegiate education. So soon as the pro; duction of rice and indigo became so great as ! to make the trade between England aud the i colony of South Carolina direct and to supply the planters the means, they sent their sons to England to be educated. This circumstance accounts for the fact that there was, previous to the Revolution of 1776, more of English manners and English customs in South Carolina than in any of the colonies. Prior to 1708, a French dancing-master, ! true to the instincts of bis nation, opeued a music school in Craveu county, on the Santee. | There he taught the Indians to play the Hute and the hautboy. The savages were delight- j ed, and supported their teacher with an ex- i travagance which enabled him soon to amass : a considerable fortune. [to jbk continued next week.] - In Both Places.?When it was not as | j popular as now to have colored people in | | churches, a colored woman presented herself! for admission to I)r. Baldwin's church, Bos-' ' ton. An influential member was greatly opposed to admitting her. "Is not thesisters, ex-, perieuce a good one ?" asked the pastor. "It , is well enough." "Do you think she is not a , j Christian ?" "Perhaps so." "If she is a Christian, will she not go to Heaven?" The , man intimated that ho would not care to go to j j Heaven if it was full of negroes, lip to this j 1 time the candidate had not spoken. She mod- j estly said, "Well, brudder, yon goto hell, you find dem dar, too." | UlisccUflttcous lading. | FISH CULTURE. Once, in an unguarded moment, I wrote a | description of Col. Bob Alston's fish pond.! ! This literary venture, besides despoiling rae ! ' of what little reputation for veracity a two ' years' career as an editor had left me, overwhelmed me with letters asking my views : about building and stocking fish ponds I | very much fear that the vein of preternatural wisdom that I injected into that wild idyl, seduced my correspondents into taking the ad' vice I forwarded them. If so, I am probably responsible for more incoherent gashes in the ; ground?for more misplaced dams?for more unavailable sheets of water?and for miserable fishes placed under remarkable circumstances, and expected to be impossible things?than any man in sacred or profane history. TACKLING THE SUBJECT. Under these circumstances I wonder at my i hardihood in again, to vary the phrase of the gifted Wegg, dropping into fish stories. Being brought to Montgomery, however, on business, a friend whose festive proclivities j might appear riotous, if I were to put them into print, persuaded me into "running over to Penn Yonge's." I went, and here I am with a9 wonderful a story at the end of my pencil as the best of us could wish for. I have a respect for a sensible fish. Your crafty scoundrel who hangs around your baited book, and beguiles you with false promises until your extremities are mildewed, until the grass has grown rank between your legs, and the gnats have frescoed every inch of your face, is a fish that deserves the contempt of all anglers. The sneaking thief that with dexterous lips steals your bait, and leaves you in the ridiculous position of appealing with a bare hook to the intelligence of the river, is a "scaly" fellow, who has my hatred while he counsels my admiration. But" your true, j blind hero, that darts at the bait the moment it touches the water, swallows it frankly, and leapsshuddery, but prompt, from his element to yours, is my delight. Col. Yonge's fish are positively the most gentlemanly fish that I ever saw. For ten minutes I stood like a wild man, flinging the splendid fellows to grass at the rate of five a minute, while a nimbleslave impaled for me the wriggling bait, and spat the luck-giving spittle upon ray hook. A SEVEN-ACRE FISH FOND. Col. Yonge has (near Opelika, Ala.,) the flnoot an*! mnaf- ftvnpnaive fish-nnnd in the South, or possibly in the United States. He has over seven acres of reliable water, averaging possibly seven feet in depth. It is fed by eight or ten large and bold springs, that yield a perfectly clear water. A large creek Hows around the pond, Col. Yonge having preferred to trust to his springs rather than the creek; which is hence rather unceremoniously sent to the left Hank by a deep ditch. The water of the pond is perfectly clear, and any one riding in one of the boats on the lake can see myriads of fish swimming lazily way down in the limpid depths. I got a world of information from Colonel Yonge on the subject of the breeding of the fish. The pond is stocked with trout, red horse, aud bream. The bream, when she goes to spawn, scoops out a hollow place in the sand, MAKING A NEST L^KE A GUINEA IIEN's. In this nest she deposits her eggs, numbering probably forty thousand. The trout makes a larger nest, something like a goose's, and lays about thirty thousand eggs. The | mother 'sets' over the eggs for twelve days. She does not touch them, as the warmth of her body is not necessary to hatch them, but she haugs stationary over them, keeping a perpetual motion of the waves about the nest by wagging her tail. This is done to keep the mud and sand from settling over the eggs and destroying them. The red horse do not have nests, but spawn in colonies. Each female lays about sixty thousand eggs, and they spawn close together in quite a neighborly way. The males (poor devils) of this I fecund colony, give their time to fanning the sand off the eggs, and wag their obedient tails with an admirable persistency. ' It is very interesting to watch the growth of the tiny fish items. The first thing that is seen is a thick coating of white spread over thenest. This is the lining of eggs, just as they come from the matter. They are not then impregnated, but are dead and dull. The male then passes over the nest and quickens the eggs. As he does this A TRANSFORMATION TAKES PLACE. In each one of the eggs hitherto perfectly white, a tiny black epot appears. This is the life-germ. The male then leaves the nest, and the mother guards the family. In about six days it will be noticed that those thousands of eires will becin to rise, like a filmy vapor, from the sand. They keep well together, the mother watching them day after day, as they float upward, and by circling around them, i hold them in a compact body. As they near the top of the water the little cloud under the water gets denser and thicker, as *the little atoms begin to tumble, and wiggle ?.nd play i about. At last its edges become ragged and < irregular, as the bolder and stronger ones take < wider sweeps in their gambols. At t his 9tage i the mother guards them very closely, and is extremely fierce. About the fourteenth or 1 fifteenth day this cloud contracts and expauds irregularly ; finally breaks; is scattered as if < by some submarine sunbeam, and then your ] pond has about forty thousand more fish in it ] than formerly. ] The red horse and the bream do not attend < their youug after they have become old enough 1 j to scatter; but the trout will swim around for : 1 weeks with her FAMILY OF THIRTY THOUSAND CHILDREN" following her like young partridges. j The most remarkable part of the day's ex- j hibition was a visit to a small house about , twenty feet square, situated upon the edge of the lake. In the centre of the bouse is a bold , and splendid spring. Around the edges of the ( house are a series of troughs through which , the water is fed from the spring with an easy j, flow. j, THIS IS THE HATCHING HOUSE, j ( and these are the breeding troughs. The j I troughs are about three feet broad and two j ] feet deep, and divided into compartments, for ' j the accommodation of the various species, at j i every five or six feet. In these troughs, Col. 1 Yonge informed us, he frequently has half a j million of eggs. j, Some of these eggs are taken from the nests j 1 in the ponds ; but most of them, however, are | pressed directly from the fish. Col. Yonge ; 1 watches the pond closely, and when he sees a 1 pair of fish swimming together, and preparing to make a nest, he takes it for granted < that they are ripe, as it is called, and by a 1 dexterous sweep of a little hand seine they are 1 lifted up into his boat. Ho then takes them 1 into the compartment in which their species ? are bred. By holding the femalo in his hand, 1 and gently rubbing her down the flanks, he 1 presses out thousands and thousands of eggs, lie then throws her back into the pond, and 1 taking the male in hand, handles him over 11 the troughs in the same way until all the eggs 11 are impregnated, when he is tossed back to find his mate ; if indeed he can recognize her 1 under her changed conditions. I These eggs are then sold to breeders, or are I allowed to hatch in the troughs, and then sold I as young fish. Trout spawn in both spring and fall; bream in May; and red horse in April. / A NETWORK OF FISH PONDS. Sitting down on the edge of the spring, Col. Yonge gave us a personal and instructive interview on the subject of fish raising in Georgia. "I find," said he, "a vastly increased interest in fish culture. You can hardly believe the tremendous influence the Herald article, describing Col. Alston's fish pond bad ; it came to me copied in a score of papers, and my name was only mentioned, althought it quadrupled my correspondence and has kept it lively ever since. I believe it has put twenty fish ponds in Georgia where there was one before. My orders are pouring in with a marvelous rapidity. To give you some idea what I am doing, I will you the names of the men for whom I have just stocked ponds in the small place called Jonesboro, just seven miles below Atlanta. In the village I stocked lakes for Mr. J. Davis, W. D. DeVaugn, Mark Johnson, Abner Camp, W. W. Camp, W. H. H. Worn, R. M. Munday, Mr. Simms, Mr. James Bailey, and perhaps one or two others. I put an average of35,000 fish in each pond; so that you will see I have put over 300,000 fish in Jonesboro on this one trip. I have just stocked eight or ten lakes around Atlanta, and I am kept going all the time. The interest taken in the matter is wonderful." THE REPORT OF FISH RAISING. Correspondent?"What does it pay you to stock a pond ?" Col. Yonge?"Well, sir, from $30 to $75. I charge for impregnated spawn $10 per thousand ; young fry $20 per thousand; breeding fish $4 per pair. I suppose I will stock at least estimate this year 75 ponds; possibly 150. I will get an income of $3,000 from stocking 75 ponds. Correspondent?"Do you not sell the grown fish, in the cities, for food ?" Col. Yonge?"I have not done so extensively yet, but will do so this season. I have just invented and had patented, a tank for shipping fresh fish to market alive. It is quite simple, and will keep the fish hearty and fresh for days. The tank has a spout on the side like a coffee pot, and the fresh water being put in at the top, presses the dead water out through the spout, and thus keeps the fish healthy and fresh. "I will arrange to make constant shipments of live fish into Atlanta, Columbus, Macon aud Montgomery. When I get this scheme at work, my profits will be immense. I can fnli-o from mv nnnd. without runninff down my stock, THREE BUSHELS OF FISH PER DAY. "These put alive, fresh and delicate into market, will net me at least 20 cents a pound. They will command fancy prices always. With 60 pounds to the bushel, at 20 cents per pound, aud three bushels (180 pounds) per day, I have as a net income over $20 dollars per day. I feel that I bave an independent fortune in ray pond. If every man in Georgia could become aware to-morrow of the incredible and yet inevitable profit in fish raising, to say nothing of the pleasure and entertainment derived from the pursuit, I would have more orders in six months than I could fill in six years. The revival has opened, however, and in three years the whole State will be dotted with thriving and abundant ponds." THE TROUT, THE BREAM AND THE RED HORSE. Correspondent?"What sort of fish do you consider the best for Southern farms?" Col. Yonge?"I prefer the trout, the bream and the red horse. I have experimented largely, and find these much the best. They are hardier, grow faster, breed more reliably, and are better for table use than any other fish I have ever seen. Of these three species the bream gets its growth the fastest, though the trout will take on pounds of flesh sooner than the bream. A pond stocked with these fish will yield you all you want with book or seine, in nine or twelve months. T a.Z 1 a 1? i. L??idama nr\r\n X nouceu lunt IICUVJ nttdi/Ao nsjkc uiuuv u^vu your article by Northern pisciculturists, because you said that trout might be eaten in six mouths, and that they frequently grotto weigh twelve pounds. Dr.Bachman declaTO that trout never got to weigh more than two and a half or three pounds, and would not average over one and a half pounds. This difference may be reconciled by the statement that it is only a difference of nomenclature. What Dr. Bachman calls the brook trout, never lives this side of the Blue Ridge. It is a small, delicate fish, and does not attain a great size. The Northerners give to our trout the name of bass. That's the difference. I have scores of trout in my lake, as I can show you in a moment, that will pull the beam down at eleven pounds, and some that I think will weigh fifteen pounds. I have put trout on the scales often that weighed over ten pounds. There is, besides these species, a PRETTY, ORNAMENTAL LITTLE FI8H, called the dace (a sort of perch), that adds to the beauty and liveliness of a pond, but for substantial purposes, I recommend the bream, the trout and the red horse." Correspondent?"Do you feed your fish ?" Col. Yonge?"Not at all, sir; they live on each other. I have them in such enormous quantities that I am enabled to allow them to do this. My son superintends the pond, and that is all the expense I have." Correspondent?"Have you ever made any very large catches of fish in any one day ?" Col. Yonge?No, sir. I might do so if I wished; but I never slaughter them unnecessaiy. I might put fifty men with barbs and poles around the pond, and they might pull fish out till they were exhausted; and they . x>uld not jtell the difference after weeks of fishing. J5ut 1 generally taae out enougn uj inswer my purposes, of table or courtesy." STOCKING THE RIVERS. "I wish very much we could have a law passed in Georgia, looking toward the stocking of the rivers with fist, By a few dollars expense, and stringent laws which would prevent the fish from beiug troubled in spawning time, you could have, in a few years time, 3very river in Georgia absolutely teeming with delicious fish. I am inclined to believe that Dur speckled trout is the best table fish, both is to flavor and convenience in eating, that I 3ver saw. It is just as certain as a thing can be, that in a very few years our rivers may be made to swarm with these fish, if the Legislature will only take hold of the subject, md determine that it shall be so." A BEAUTIFUL FARM. After the contention had ended, your corespondent took a stroll over Col. Yonge's arm. It is doubtful if there is a better apipiuted or more complete farm in the South ban his. Ho has a vineyard that is of itself a wonler. He has a dairy, and a herd of the very , Test blooded cattle, with eyes as lustrous as a woman's and coats as tine as silk; from which ie puts blooded stock on the market every icason. He has a kennel of fulhbred fox Tounds, and a kennel of as thorough pointers, 'rom which he raises numbers every year. But this letter has about crept beyond the limit of decorum ; and hence I conclude it by innouncing a conundrum, to which I invite the attention of every Georgian : "How much will it be worth to Georgia to nave one such farm as this in every county in the State, and such men as Penn Yonge to teach the people by practice what they refuse to accredit by theory ?" While pausing for a reply, I remain, - Yours, anxiously,