Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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lewis m. gbist, Proprietor. J g.n Jitbepetiiienf Jfamiln Jlctospapcr: Jrtr % promotion of f|t |)oItfical, Social, ^gricultnral anit Commercial Interests of f|e jJontjr. j TERMS?$3.00 A YEAR, IN ADVANCE. VOL. 24. YORKVILLE, S. C., THURSDAY, MAY 3Q, 1878. HO. 22. ^elected focttg. j A STERLING OLD POEM. Who shall judge man from his mannors ? Who shall know him by his dress ? Paupers may be flt for princes, Princes fit for for someting less. Crumpled shirt and dirty jacket May beclothe the golden ore, Or the deepest thought and feelingsSatin vest can do no more. There are streams of crystal nectar, Ever flowing out of stone ; There are purple beds and golden, Hidden, crushed and overthrown. God, who counts by souls, not dresses, liOves and prospers you and me, While he values thrones the highest But as pebbles in the sea. Man upraised above his fellows, Oft forgets his fellows then ; Masters, rulers, lords, remember That your meanest hinds are men ! Men of labor, men of feeling, Men of thoughts, and men of fame, Claiming equal rights to sunshine In man's ennobling name. There are foam-embroidered oceans, There are little wood-clad rills; There are feeble inch-high saplings, There are cedars on the hills. God, whooounts by souls, not station, Loves and prospers you and me ; For to Him all vain distinctions A ko oo nnhKlfla in thft bPft. ?' ? ? Toiling hands alone are builders Of a nation's wealth and fame ; Titled laziness is pensioned, Fed and fattened on the same; By the sweat of other's foreheads, Living only to rejoice, While the poor man's outraged freedom Vainly lifts its feeble voice. Truth and justice are eternal, Born with loveliness and light; Secret wrongs shall never prosper, While there is a sunny right. God, whose world-wide voice is singing Boundless love to you and me, Links oppresession with his titles But as" pebbles in the sea. $he liarg Seller. SHOTINTHEBACK. A STORY OF THE WAR. BY JOHN ESTEN COOKE. I knew a very remarkable man in the late war?a commander of partisans who bad inImmanon 1OOQOC An t Ko P^PTftl fflfOPfi Uit'lCU IUJIUCUOC IVOObO vu buv ? v^w.w. operating north of the Rappahannock, in Virginia. His name was Monteagle. He was, or seemed to be, about twenty-eight, his frame was slender, but powerful, aiid his expression extremely calm and mild. The face under the broad hat, with its golden cord, was a very handsome and attractive one. The lips habitually smiled. It was hard to believe that this quiet personage was one of the most reckless fighters of a period remarkable for the courage of its actors in its bloody scenes. In the fall of 1864, I went on a tour of inspection to the Valley of Virginia, pa.-sing the region east of the Blue Ridge, and north of the Rappahanuock, called "Mosby's Confederacy," and came, just at sunset, in a September evening, to a bivouac of partisans? Monteagle's, as I speedily ascertained. He came out in person, to kuow who I was, as every precaution was at that time necessary? exhibited great pleasure at seeing me, for chance had made us quite intimate from association iu tnauy cavalry operations?and we were soon seated by the bivouack fire, a little apart from the wild looking figures of the men who were busily getting ready for a raid or march, apparently. After exchanging those greetings, questions and answers habitual with friends, Monteagle i informed me that he was going through Ashley's Gap, that night, to attack a Federal convoy, on its way to General Sheridan. I informed him that I was going in the same di- ; rection, and not to detain the reader, I was riding beside Monteagle half an hour afterward in the direction of the mountains. But one incident took place before reaching the Gap. I smiled at the moment, but j afterward thought of it with an aching heart. The baud of partisans, about twenty in number, was halted in a little wood near a < fine old country bouse, and informing me that I was certain to secure an excellent supper, Monteagle invited me to ride with him to the house. I did so, and we were most hospitably received by an old gentleman, his wife and daughter. Between the latter and Monteagle there was evidently a perfect understanding. Their eyes were fixed cn each other with an expression that could not he misunderstood. She was a tall aud beautiful girl, with deep blue eyes, chestnut hair, and the sweetest smile I have ever seen. After j supper they retired to the porch, where they i remained for half an hour, aud when, hear- j ing my friend rise from his seat, I came out j to rejoin him, I saw that be was holding the 11 young girl closely to his heart, aud that his J lips were pressed to hei own. We resumed the march, rode nearly all ' night, and weut into bivouack at near dawn, I Monteagle having sent forward scouts to ob tain information. | The nook in which we had halted was wild ! and secluded, and Monteagle and myself, j wrapping our cloaks around us, for the September night was far from warm, lay down under a great oak whose boughs almost raur?had the ornnnd. Rv the moonlight I could see that his face was gloomy and sor- > rowful, and using the privilege of an old j friend, I asked him why be was so much out of spirits. "Ah ! you see that from mv face, do you,; friend?" he said, in his mild voice. "Well, you are right. I am a little downhearted. You will laugh, perhaps, but something tells me that I am near my death." "Nonsense, Monteagle!" I replied. "What! puts such folly in your head ?" "I have a presentiment, friend, I have not long to live?something whispers to me that j this is my last night on earth." I remonstrated with him at such folly, as I called it, but it had no effect upon him. "I shall die to-day," he said, quietly, "and j by the haud of a man who has a private veu- j geance to wreak on me." "A personal enemy ?" "Yes?would you like to hear who and what this enemy is? We have an hour to wait, and I am oppressed to-uight. I loug to unburden ray heart to a friend, and if you ^ wish, I will tell you my story." 9k "I will listen with deep interest." y "Well, I aru a native of Louisiana, and on f my return from college, at the age of twenty, found myself an orphan and the owner of one of the finest cotton plantations on the Mississippi?of thousands of acres, aud hundreds of servants, over all of which I was undisputed lord and master. An idle and useless period of my life then began. I left every- ; thing to ray manager, a man named Wilkes, j and spent my time chiefly in New Orleans, indulging in all the pleasures of its brilliant society. Well, this went on for a year or two, ; when I suddenly found myself without money, and returniug to my estate, discovered that the man, Wilkes, had been systematically de- 1 frauding me. Once convinced of this, I made short work of him. I charged him with his offense. He made me an insolent reply, aud striking him with my bamboo cane, I ended by kicking him out of the room, and ordering him to instantly leave the plantation. He did so, muttering vengeauce, aud so that matter ended. "Well, in due time, the war broke out. I joined a company in my neighborhood, and ] among the men found Wilkes. He avoided I me, but I could see that he hated me bitterly, and this hatred he had an opportunity soon i afterward of indulging. The time for the 'reorganization,' as it was called, came, when j the government most injudiciously permitted I the men to select their officers, and Wilkes, who had, by low arts, become popular with the rough fellows, was elected captain. From i that moment my miseries began. He took i every occasion to insult me. If there was i any menial work about the camp, I was on | the detail. I was habitually addressed by i him in the most insolent manner, and finally, : for some slight breach of discipline, I was | subjected to a humiliating punishment, handcuffed, and couBned in the guard-house for i three days, with the scum of the command, j "I raged under this, as you may fancy, but | could do nothing. But relief at last came. I obtained a transfer to another company. : It was ordered to Virginia. I was authorized, 1 through the influence of friends at Rich- 1 mond, to raise a company of partisan ran- J gers, and then Wilkes and myself once more met. He, too, had come to Virginia, had shown the white feather in the 6ret battle, had been cashiered for cowardice, and had deserted and joined another company of rangers, with a vii w of deserting, as I afterward knew, to the enemy. "Well, to come now to our meeting. I was going on an expedition, and as the commander of the rangers among whom Wilkes had enrolled himself, was a personal friend, I applied to him for a part of his command to take with me, to which he readily assented. They were sent to me, and the hrstface I saw was that of Wilkes. He turned somewhat pale when he saw ine, but I beckoned him, took him aside, aud said to him : "You see the tables are turned now, my good friend, and if I were disposed to do so, I might clear off old scores between us. But I shall not lower myself by doing so. Do your duty and you have nothing to fear. Fail to do it, and I will punish you without mercy." "He scowled at me, but made no reply, and in an hour we marched to make the attack I designed, upon a Federal picket toward Fairfax. Well, the picket was surprised and driven?a number having been cut down with the sabre?pnd I was about to give up the pursuit when I saw Wilke9 going at full speed in the direction taken by the enemy." " 'That man is deserting!' I exclaimed to my lieutenant. 'Take six men and follow him, and bring him back dead or alive !'" "My order was promptly obejed. Wilkes was hotlv Dursued for a mile, and would no doubt have gotten off, for he rode a very fine horse, but the animal stumbled, threw him, aud he was captured." ] "Two hours afterward I was back in the bivouac in the direction of the Blue Ridge ] and had assembled a court-martial to try the man. His crime was plain?for deserting is among the greatest of crimes?the greatest of all in a military point of view." "'What have you to say why the penalty of your offense should not be visited upon you ?to be shot to death ?' I asked." "His face resembled that of a corpse, and his lips muttered something, but no sound came distinctly. " 'Speak !' I said. "Iustead of speaking, he grovelled on the earth before me and began to cry like a baby, aud exclaimed : " 'Oh ! have mercy on me!' "I looked at him with a contempt and loathing beyond words. The abject cowardice of the man made me despise him beyond words, and mastered by a sudden impulse I said: " 'This creature is not worthy of being shot like a soldier. Strip him to his waist, tie him to that tree, and give him twenty lashes? after that I will consider what I will do with him.' "The order was promptly obeyed. As the lash?a calvary bridle rein?fell upon his writhing shoulders, he turned his head and looked at me with inexuressible malignity. His face was that of a demon incarnate?he t resembled rather, let me say, some reptile, J deprived of his poisonous fangs, but ready s to spit venom, powerless as he was, at the man he bated so bitterly. When the puuish- j ment had ended I went up to him aud said : v " 'When you were the captain of the com- s pany iu which I was a private, you subjected me to every iudignity, without offense on my ^ part, only to gratify your own vile heart. I c told you yesterday that I would not use ray g rank to take revenge on you for that ; but you have chosen to subject jourself to military punishment, and you have received it? your proper puishment would have beeu s death.' \ "I turned my back on him ; he was placed r under guard?and on the next night had sue- 1 ceeded in making his escape and deserting to i the enemy. 1 Monteagle was silent a moment, theu he t added: i "You now know the quarter from which I ! i look for danger. Something tells rac that 1 the creature is in this region, with the Feder- i al forces, aud that he has sworn my death, t Do you ask me why I fancy so? I caunot j . >i j ? i!i? ai 4 i . ien you. i am nae out: ui wiose uupiuai nm- ; mals who divine, by a sort of instinct, the j vicinity of the auaconda who is about to crawl up, under cover, and attack them, wrapping them in his slimy folds and strangling them." "Give up your fancy, Monteagle," I said, "it is the merest figment of a disordered brain! Your nerves are out of sorts?you j have lost too much sleep of late, and give j way to chimeras!" I He shook his head. "My nerves were never in more perfect order, and my mind is as clear and calm as it ever was in my life. I am going to die soon, friend; and?shall I speak frankly??I regret it." "I should suppose you did," I said, gloomy in spite of myself. "I mean that peculiar circumstances make me value life?I never cared much for it be- j fore this year." "I understand?" "I see you do. I am engaged to be mar- 1 ried to that beautiful girl you saw last night." 1 "I know that, or fancied it," I said. "To ! i be equally frank with you, as you have been j < with me?I witnessed your parting with her." j i "Ah? Then I need say no more, except 1 that I love her with all the strength of my i being. I worship the very ground she walks i upon. It is very little indeed to say that I i love her more than my life, which I value j < only from looking forward to the time when i she will be my own. She will never be?" I The speaker relapsed into a deep gloom, and j in spite of every effort which I made to relieve j1 it, only shook his head, repeating more than j once: "It is fated, friend!" I was still reasoning with him upon the irrational character of his melancholy fore- j bodings, when a trusted member of the com- i no and, sent out on a scout, a? I have said, silently appeared like a shadow at ten paces 1 from us. "Well, Smith !" exclaimed Monteagle, the soldier again in an instant, "what news ?" "Spleudid news, Captain." "Out with it." "A wagon train, with half a million greenbacks, nearly, for Sheridan's army, is on its way from Harper's Ferry. I captured one of the drivers. Splendid!" Mouteagle rose and buckled his belt. "Tell the men to get to saddle!" he ex claimed, ardently, and turning to me added, with a martial glow on his face, "would you like to go and see the sport, my dear friend ?" "Yes," I said. "I promise you something interesting, then 1" And in ten minutes the little band of partisans was moving silently along the Shenandoah, in the dusky light of approaching dawn. There was not a trace of gloom on Mon teagle's fine face?one feeling had banished another. The excitement of the coming conflict, for the Federal trains were always well guarded, bad evidently quite driven from his mind the melancholy forebodings which had oppressed him. We advanced rapidly, bui cautiously, over the winding river road, down the left bank of the Shenandoah. Keeping a sharp lookout for Federal pickets?none were encountered on the narrow and unused path?we were soon in the rear of the army of Sheridan, and an hour afterwards a scout sent on in front, returned, informing Monteagle that the train was in sight. At the same moment a lcud shout was heard upon our right flank, the thunder of hoofs burst upon our ears, and a body of Federal cavalry, at least one hundred in number, descended like an avalanche U[/V!J UO. A single glance showed me how they managed this surprise. The river's bank is here underrainded by the current, leaving, when the water is low, a narrow belt of beach below. Over this the Federal column led, it seemed, by some one perfectly familiar with the ground, had silently advanced. A bridle path enabled them to mount the steep bank, and they had fallen upon Monteagle, taking at unawares one of the most cautious partisans of the time. In a moment a deadly sabre fight began, and I have never seen more determined fighting. Wounded, most of all, it seemed, in Ibis soldiers' pride at being thus surprised, Monteagle fought like a tiger, and I saw him cut three men, one after another, out of the saddle. But the struggle was useless. Five to one is fearful odds to encounter, when the soldiership of the two commanders and their men is jqual, which was evidently the fact upon this jccasion. Monteagle fought recklessly and bis men did not flinch ; but the event could not be doubtful. I was fighting beside him, when pointing with his bloody sabre to a man sitting on his lorsein the edge of the woods fifty yards dis:ant, and taking no part in the combat, Montsagle exclaimed : "Look ! There he is !" "Wilkes ?" "Yes! I knew he was here as well as I tnew of my own existence 1" "But you are not dead and will not die!" [ exclaimed. "You will see 1" As be spoke he was attacked by the leader )f the Federal cavalry, a Capt. Blazer, I leard afterwards, and they crossed sabres in i violent struggle?both of them evidently ;xcelleut swordsmen. Of the two, Monteagle, lowever, was evideutly the most powerful; ?nrl Kq too o oKonf tr\ rlolinop a / lit. whl/lh ..v, ...?c ~ -b"? ~~ nust have been fatal, when glancing by accilent toward the figure of the man pitting on lis horse in the edge of the wood, I saw him aise his pistol, take aim at Monteagle, acd ire. Monteagle, shot in tbe back and mortally vounded, reeled, dropped his rein and fell Void the saddle. As he fell, the roan who lad inflicted his death wound put spur to his lorse, rushed forward, and with a grin of jhastly delight rode straight toward Mont:agle to trample him to death, exclaiming as le did so: "Look at me 1 look at me ! I am Wilkes 1" Monteagle, with half closed eyes and deady pallor on his face, looked up and saw bis tnetny. That enemy had better not have iroused him. With his last remains of itrength he drew his pistol, leveled it?it vavered to and fro, then became steady?a eport followed, and Wilkes, shot through he heart, fell literally" upon the body of Monteagle, both expiring at or nearly at the aroe moment. After that I only remember a retreat, a hot >ursuit, a narrow escape from capture, and vith what a heavy heart I thought on the ame night of my poor friend. His etrange presentiment must have been rerified in every particular?but at least his meruy had gone with him to the "laud of hadows." i Charity for the Fallen.?Never say inything damaging to the good name of a voman, it matters not how poor she may be >r what her place in society. They have a. mrd enough time at best, and God help the O ' * nan who would give them a kick down hill, We are all too free with their names?we ,alk too much about them on our street corler clubs and in public places, to be heard of nen. We do very wrong. The least little lint that there is something wrong, that "she lin't all right/' whether spoken in jest or in truest, is taken up, and like the rolling stone gathers moss as it goes from corner to corner, ind at last comes home to the persecuted jreature with crushing weight. She has done lothing hut kept quiet while her idle persecu,ors have pursued her, and now she is kicked "rora door to door, and is fallen so low that lone will do her reverence. Give a dog a iad name and you had as well kill him ; talk ibout a good woman in the street corner club ind across bar room counters, and you had is well set her down as a social wreck. No >ne wants to help her. We don't want so nuch theoretical, dogmatic religion ; we want i kind of blue jeans and homespun piety that >vil 1 do for the washtub and kitchen as well is the drawing-room and the parlor?a sort )f universal honesty that will not think a woman a thief because she should happen to wear a sunbonnet and walk across the street with a string of mackerel in her hand. There is nothing wrong in manual labor, and honest poverty is a sure passport to heaven. Determining the Earth's Size.?It has been determined within a very few miles, in what appears to us now a very simple manner. In the first place, every section of the earth is bounded, approximately, hy a circle and mathematicians divide all circles into 360 degrees. Hence, if we can measure accurately the l-360th part of this great circle, and if, when we have got the measure of it in?o miles, we multiply it by 360, we get the circumference of the earth, that is to say, the whole distnuce around it. Then by dividing tliis result by something a little over 3 (3 1,416, the ratio of the circumference of the circle to its diameter), we find out how far it is from one side of the earth to the other. This gives the diameter of the earth. As a result of a long series of observations, it has been found that a degree measures 69} miles; and if you take the trouble to multiply 69' miles, the average length of 1 degree, by 360 degrees, the number of degrees that there are all round the earth, you will find that the circumference is something like 25,000 miles, and, therefore, that the diameter of the earth is something like 8,000 miles. Mark well the words, "on the average." In truth, the earth is flattened at the poles, so that the length of the degree varies from the pole to the equator, and hence the diameter in the equatorial plane is in excess of the diameter from pole to pole. These two diameters, expressed in feet, are as follows : Equatorial, 41,848,380; solar, 41,708.710. fpswllaaMuis pending. For the Yorkvllle Enquirer. A FEW THOUGHTS FOR THE HOUR. Rock Hill, May 25,1878. To the people of York county I respectfully desire to present the following ideas for their consideration, viz.: First.?To whom are we indebted for the i privilege of enjoying the right to exercise our j own free wills in the selection of our officers i to superintend our affairs of State ? "Fort Mill," in a recent communication in the Enquirer, thinks he and a few others have thft indubitable right, and insists upon the present regime as being entirely acceptable. In this I desire to inform him of his great mistake, as I have heard hundreds say it won't do to send men to stay at 85.00 per day for months, to do what ought to be done at $3.00, and in one-fourth or one-third of the time spent (in quibbling) that the tax-payers?the laborera?may be burthened to the extent of their capacities, without proper cause, only to feather the pockets of the few at the expense of the many. Second.?We admit that all of our representatives are clever, social, good men, and worthy of any place they are qualified to fill; and that our regret is that they stayed so long and made no show of tact, but seemed to leave it all to a few dictatorial spirits to manage the whole affairs of State! Third.?Have we not some plain, unsophisticated, practical farmers and mechanics, with the finest cultivated minds to be found in this country, who have been educated in theory and practice, who know all about our peculiar system and form of government, and the actual rights and necessities under its forms for the people ? I know that we have; and now is the time for the people all to cast about and see if they cannot find Buch as will do their bidding under their constitution, regardless of all the notions of clique combinations for fat offices and chartered monopolies,, gotten up in violation of all constitutional rights, as sacred to the people, against them ! Fourth.?Under the old system, when the officers were lean and poor and not greased with the entire cream of the people's labor, they had a freedom of speech, of candidates of choice and of will commensurate with the mandates of their wills, as expressed ici their constitution. Now, we have noue but the beggar's choice, and that in minced pieces; otherwise a foot from behind, or a bruise on the front, and then we are used, by tnuendves, for the gratification of ail who think they know all things and a little more besides ! Fifth.?As we are afraid of shadows, it may uot be amiss to hold premature elections for the purpose of bringing out suitable men to fill the offices that are to be supplied ; and as such I feel in duty bound to aid in setting aside all plotting*, schemings and menacings, that we may, by the free volitions of our own minds, be led to make our own selections by an election at our regularly organized clubs? where the people, by their votes, may express their preferences all over the county, as well as over the State, if they choose; when and where candidates may, if they choose, present themselves or not, as may seem best suited to their ideas. Otherwise, the people may vote for whom they please, and when the clubs report at the general meeting of all the club delegates, those who get the highest number at the club meetings must be the choice of the people, and will be the choice determined on. Sixth.?We all know that our people have been dispirited and made to feel the bitter pangs of disappointment. And now, after an exhaustive suspense in waiting for better ?? Mines, wurue IB Sliiiiug uu hi lug mtr, uuu nc have nothing to buoy us up and free the mind. It is true that our taxes are lessened ; but not in proportion to our prospects?in price. And if I am not mistaken, it will take, this year, (1878,) more cotton to pay the present tax levy, than in the days of extreme Radicalism !?when we compute prices, qualities and levies of taxes, with a redundant currency, and compare with the present, when there is, in a manner, no currency I Seventh.?I want all good, well-educated men to present themselves s.s a living sacrifice to public right aud private opinions ; and if they do not, then I propose that we, the people, vote for just whom we please, and whomsoever we nominate, force them in. If they resist, then duck them in some puddlehole until he or they become willing. This is the only way to secure a good representation without greasing the coffers of office with silver and gold linings, for the following reasons : First?because good men are not apt to vote for demagogues ; and second?because the minds of the people will not be set to work to think about whom they ought to nomiuate. As many minds are of many kinds, so we may have a great number of nominees, and finally, those getting the highest number for the House, as well as for other officers, must be the men centered on by the natural impetus of the humau mind, that has and ever will be moved by a power unknown to the subject of the mind; and so will be the result in all of the offices sought for. This will be, in effect, the ipse dixit of the election for the side moving in the matter, and will be a perfect bluff to all other associations, combinations or trick schemings, and free from any censure from any quarter?either from friend or foe, all of which we should strive to reconcile as far as possible, for the good of Bociety generally. A Voter. Invention by a Colored Mississippj:an.?Ben Taylor, a colored man living in this place, has lately returned from Washington, whither he has been to secure a patent for a new steam engine which he had invented, and which, if the judgment of many experienced aud scientific men to whom he has shown his model i3 correct, is cilculated to revolutionize the present application of steam. ! The engine is rotary, having the steam applij ed at the circumference of a wheel, giving i this treble the force of ordinary engines, with i no distinguishing of power at the various I stages of the revolution of the wheel. This j inventor dispenses with all the raachinery ; except the one wheel, which answers at once j the purpose of cylinder and driving wheel, and the two steam-boxes through which the i steam is applied. It is estimated that enpines on this Dlan can be manufatured atone j D" t ^ . | fourth or less the cost of those now in use, and J their simplicity, and the possibility of making I them of extremely light weight, will extend j the use of steam engines beyond the present : limit. Ben. Taylor, the inventor, is a sort ; of mechanical genius, having before manifes[ ted an insight into mechanics of no ordinary I degree. His invention, if nothing fails?and i the probabilities are in his favor?will rank j him among the first inventors of the day.? I Rosedale (Miss.) Journal. AMERICAN TEA CULTURE. A SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENT IN THE AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT. The success that attended the experiment in curing tea, made at the Department of Agriculture a few days ago, goes far to prove that the profitable cultivation of the tea plant in this country may become an accomplished fact at no very distant day. At the iivi ation of General Le Due, Messrs. 0. A. and M. G. Gill, of the firm of Martin Gillet & Co., of Baltimpre, came to this city to experiment with the leaves of the young tea plants raised in the gardens of the department from seeds of old plants grown in South Carolina, from seed sent there by the department some twelve or fourteen years ago. The Messrs. Gill, who are grandsous of Mr. Martin Gil let, the founder of the firm they represent, and who went into business as an importer of tea in 1811, have had a wide experience with the article in which they deal. One of them passed a number of years in China and Japan, and while there made himself thoroughly acquainted with the methods practiced by the people of those countries in preparing tea for the market. Their investigations and experience proved to them that there was but one species of tea plant, from which all varieties of teas are made. This is the 'plant known in betany as the Theaviridis, of which the ordinary cultivated shrub is from three to six feet high, though the wild plant attains a far greater size, sometimes fifteen or twenty feet. Becoming convinced that the coloring matter employed by the Chinese and Japanese in the preparation of their teas was not only hurtful to the health, but was destructive to the flavor and quality of tea, they determined, in 1875, to introduce UDeolored teas, such as the Chinamen drink themselves, into the United States. They were laughed at by the trade throughout the country at first, and in defense of their course were led to scientifically investigate the preparation of tea, and to make experiments with the green leaves raised in this country. They found, after devotiDg much time and labor to the subject, that, by a very simple process, they could prepare as good an article of uncolored tea as any brought from China and Japan. They also became convinced that the Orientals had for many years purposely gone through with the elaborate processes employed by them, solely with the riam nf miolaarlinn Aflior natinno anrl mnlrincr * IV H V< UJIBlVHUlUg VHUVI UWVIVUU} MUva uaMtatug them believe that eo much labor and manipulation were necessary. In the experiment referred to, at the Agricultural Department, the leaves were gathered by a number of the lady clerks from the young plants in the hot house?mere seedlings planted in Febuary last and not more than five or six inches high. This was a disadvantage to begin with, as the Chinese never make tea from plants under three years old. The leaves gathered were the young tips, two or three bemg taken from the top of each plant. They were then carried to the laboratory and turned over to the Messrs Gill to be cured. They began operations by placing a portion of them in a sieve and holding it over a pan of boiling water until the leaves were thoroughly wilted. They were then put in a thick cloth and subjected to a heavy pressure to express the juice or sap, which contains a large portion of tannic acid. When taken from the cloth, they formed a solid mass, very glutinous, and somewhat difficult to separate. In this stage the leaves can be made to assume any shape desired, and it is when they are in this condition that the Chinese make them up into the different brands, like gunpowder, imperials, &c. After having been thoroughly separated, the leaves were next "fired." This was done by placing them in a tin pan over a gas fire, taking care not to permit the bottom to get hot enough to burn, and gently stirring them with the band until perfectly cured. When the process was complete, the tea was a deep a color, and resembled very much a Chinese Oolong, or a Japan tea, such as is used by the natives of those countries. In appearance, it compared very favorably with a sample shown by the Messrs. Gill, which cost $3 per pound in Japan. The whole process did not take an hour from the time the leaves were first plucked, and so soon as boiling water could be procured, tea was made and presented to the ladies and gentlemen who had witnessed the experiment. It was pronounced excellent, the experts present saying that the flavor was between that of a high grade of Japan and the finest Moyune China green teas. The loss of weight during the process was as follows: Steaming 11.33; matter expressed, 6 88; firing, 61.37; total, 79.58; amount left, 20.42. The latitudes in which tea is successfully cultivated in China, Assam and Japan, correspond geographically with the latitudes embraced in the States of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri, and a portion ot the Pacific coast, and the condition of temperature, soil, etc., are about the same. WilmingtoD in Delaware, is parallel with Peking, one of the finest tea-growing districts in China. And the upper portions of South Carolina are parallel with three of the most abundant of its tea growing provinces. So with the other States mentioned. In the gardens of the department its culture had been attended with complete success. There are now thousands of flourishing young plants ready for distribution throughout the country, and there are several growing in the grounds that have been exposed to the weather for two years. Mr. Saunders, the superintendent of the grounds and gardens, who is perhaps the most accomplished gardener in the country, thinks there will be no difficulty in cultivating the tea in any of the States mentioned. He thinks it might be grown in the form of hedges and the young leaves clipped off by a machine. The Messrs. Gill are of the opiniou that, if a sufficient impetus should be given to tea culture in this country, that machinery of a very simple character coufd be constructed to do almost everything necessary in the process of curing. They themselves would be willing to put up a curing establishment in a suitable locality, provided plantations large enough to warrant a sufficient supply of leaves were started. In conclusion, it may be proper to explain that the tea known as English breakfast tea is made from the same plant as the other. The leaves acquire their dark color from the process of fermentation to which they are subjected.? Washington Post. A Singular Affair.?A poor fellow in Saginaw, Michigan, after living with his wife in the happiest manner for thirteen years, discovered, accidentally, the other day, that she had two other husbands living, from whom she had never been divorced. The singular part of the case is that the woman had been to him a devoted and loving wife, and the discovery of the state of affairs was doubly distressing on that account. Naturally, sepa ration was the only course open to him. The j local paper says: "The lady consented to the separation, and , then Mr. Etheridge presented her with a check for Sl,500, a gold watch and chain, a handsome diamond ring, all the household furniture, paid the freight on the same to San Francisco, and purchased a ticket for her to the same city, and wished her God-speed on her journey. The gentleman then disposed of j all his property in this city, and after investing a part of it safely, put ^ie balance in his pocket and went out into the world a wanderer, without a home or resting place. RE-UNITFD. A TRUE ROMANCE OF CA8TLE GARDEN. Castle Garden is the point where emigrants ! usually disembark on reaching New York, i "Please, sir, will ye tell ine how I am to [ fiud me girls?" i It might have been the mellifluous brogue I with which the words were spoken that in! duced Colonel Coonan, the Superintendent of i Castle Garden, to turn around so quickly i and face the speaker. She was a little old woman, whose pinched | and shriveled face bore the care marks of | full three score and ten. j 1 he Colonel added an extra touch or the brogue to his already rollicking Kerry accent as he answered her : "Now, ma'am, if you'll tell me where your girls are and who they are, with the help of God, I'll find them for ye." "So ye're Irish, God bless ye," and a tear trembled in her eye; "it does me good to meet wan from the old land. I am from Carrigalough, just back ov Cork, sir, and I've got two of the swatest girls that ye ever laid eyes on. Me name is Griffin, and me girls' is Nellie and Annie. Ye might know them, sir ?" "No, ma'am, I am sorry to say I don't; but I'll do my best to find them and get acquainted." "Ye see how it was. Times was mighty hard in Ireland. God help us, and our bit of land was none the best, and it was hard work for me boy, Mickey, to do the farm work all alone by hisself after the father? may God rest his soul?was took from us. An' all the boys got to goin' to Amerikay, and some o' them wrote home that they wor' doin' well, and Mickey tuk the notion in hie head, and wan day he went down to the Cove and tuck the steamer. Then the girls wint to service in Cork, an' I sold out the cow an' the pig, an' the chickens, an' what wid the little I had an' the little they gave, I got along wid de help of God. But the girls they got thinkin' of Amerikay, and the lots o' money that the boys used to write about, and they tould me that they would come out here, and when they could afford it they'd send for me. I wouldn't stand in the way of the young creatures betterin' themeelves, though it was a sorra day tor me when they kissed me and left me. It's little book-Iarnin' they had, the dears, but they writ to me regular, all but Mickey, an' him I didn't hear from him these four years and more. But the girls wasn't makin' much money, and the little they could send had to go for my keep and I did be thinkin' that maybe I would never see them again, and so wan Sunday after Mass I made bould to speak to the holy Father, and I tould him my heart was breakin' to see my childer, and so atwane himself and the neighbors they got me a ticket for New York, and I came out on a big steamer wid an unchristian name?the Hellvicious, I believe?the Lord betune us and barm." "Oh I the Helvetia," laughed the Colonel. "But what is the address of your girls?" "Ages ?" "I mean, where do they live ?" "New York." "But New York is a big place. There is half as many people in it as there is in all Ireland." The old lady was thunderstruck. Her idea of the size of New York was based on the size, manners and customs of Carrigalough, and she thought that everybody should know her girls The Star reporter suggested that an advertisement in one of the Irish papers would be seen either by the girls, or some one who knew them. Last Sunday the advertisement appeared,- stating where the old lady was to be found. Two or three times a day she made anxious inquiries at the desk in Castle Garden, and her disappointment, at the invariable reply that there was no news, was painful to witness. On Friday, as the reporter paid his usual morning visit to Colonel Coonan, one of the employees entered with the information that two girls were outside asking for Mrs. Griffin. "Send them in, at once!" cried the Colonel, his eyes glistening with excitement. In a few seconds two comely girls, accompanied by a strapping young fellow, were ushered in. They were very much agitated, and could scarcely restrain themselves until the Colonel went to break the good news to the mother. "Thank God ! thank God 1" she ejaculated, fervently, and in another instant she was being vigorously hugged by the girls. "But who's this ?" said she, looking curiously at the aforesaid young man, who stood a smiling but embarrassed spectator of the scene. "Oh 1 that's Dan," said Annie, a rosy blush mantling her face. There was no need of further explanation. "Now, if I could hear from my boy, Mike, my cup of happiness would be full," said the rejoicing mother, as the reunited family walked toward the door. "Never fear for him, ma'am ; he'll turn up all right," said the Colonel. NARROW GAUGE RAILWAYS. The practicability and usefulness of narrow gauge railways continue to secure the investigation of those who are mostly concerned in perfecting the railway syBtem in this country. As a feeder to important through lines, and an imperative necessity to communities now isolated from the busy marts of commerce, the narrow gauge system commands the utmost respect. Not every community can expect to be penetrated by great and important lines of railroad, but a network of less C03tly highways, sufficient to transport the productions of the country with celerity and economy, is within the reach of almost every State. The millions of dollars already expended in the construction of railroads in South Carolina, if it were possible to begin anew, would be amply sufficient to furnish greatly superior facilities to the people generally, by combining the narrow and broad gauge system as a whole, and building only such lines as would create harmony of interests and furnish the most complete facilities for transportation at the most reasonable co3t. But it is manifestly impracticable to remodel our present disjointed system of railways; and we must suffer for all time to come in the loss of capital invested, the heavy expenditure of labor and energy employed in its maintenance, and the necessarily increased cost of freight and passenger transportation, which comes directly out of the pockets of the people. The errors of the past need not be repeated, however. If projected railroads in this State can as well supply the wants of the public by the construction of the narrow gauge, it does seem to us that the plainest demands of the situation would procure its adoption hereafter. In order that the subject may receive attention, we propose to state a few facts connected with the progress of the narrow gauge system in the United States, which merits careful inspection. The Chicago Railway Age has just prepared a list of railroads operated with the narrow gauge, which shows the mileage of track already laid, and will convince the most skeptical that there has been wonderful progress in a short time in this direction. The list shows that narrow gauge railroads are already constructed or being built in thirty-two States and Territories, aggregating the number of 132, and with a completed mileage of 3,082 miles. AH of the roads named in the list, except sixteen, have the 3 feet gauge. This measure may be accepted as the established arrow gauge of the country, although it is not improbable that a still narrower gauge , may come into use to some extent. Colorado leads off in mileage with 370 miles of track | now completed on three roads. Ohio comes next, and is second only to Pennsylvania in , the number of roads, having 16, while Pennsylvania has 17. A larger number of three > feet roads are cow building in Ohio than in any other State, and a few years will make a remarkable showing for the system there. South Carolina has 45 miles?Cheraw and Chester, 10; Chester and Lenoir, 35. The latter has 17 miles additional in North Carolina. When we remember that it is less than six years since the first road of this class was opened in the country, and that by far the greater part have been built within two or three years, the growth of this experimental svstem. desDite a stron? disbelief in its nrac J ' * O I ticability, has been certainly remarkable. When it it added that the narrow gauge mileage now in process of construction or actually projected greatly exceeds that already opened, it is evident that the principle has passed beyond the domain of experiment, and must be accepted as an important part of the railway system in the United States. By their existence and accomplishments, narrow gauge railroads now command and will henceforth receive respectful recognition. We have consistently believed that the system offered great advantages in appropriate localities, and maintained that there was an imperative necessity for cheaply worked railroads, especially in the Southern States, where sparse population and limited demand for transportation suggest the utmost econoi my in the construction and operation of raili roadu. The broad gauge roads now supplying the wants of our people are breaking down for lack of business?many of them going to utter ruin and inevitable bankruptcy. The enormous amount of capital already engulphed admonishes us to seek a proper remedy in the future. In our judgment, the narrow gauge system offers the greatest inducements for cheapness, reliability and a sure return upon the investment, and where new 1 lines are projected, it well deserves most careful investigation.? Columbia Register. THE ELECTION LAW. An Act to alter and amend the law in relation to elections. Section 1. Be it enacted, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of South Carolina, now met and sitting in General Assembly, and by the authority of the same, That each election hereafter held in this State at which there shall be voted for members of Congress and Presidential Electors, it shall be the duty of the proper Board of Commissioners of Elections for each county, to provide boxes for each election precinot, and two sets of Managers shall be appointed for each election precinct?one for each box. On one of said boxes shall be labeled "For Members of Congress and Presidential Electors," and the other "State, Circuit and County Officers," and they shall be kept, while the voting is progressing, separate and apart and not in the same apartment. Sec. 2. There shall be two tickets, written or printed, or partly written and partly printed. One ticket shall contain the name of the person voted for as Representative in Congress and the number of the Congressional District, and also the names of persons voted for as Presidential Electors, with a proper designation attached to each name, as to whether he is voted for to represent the State at large, or a particular Congressional District, and shall be deposited in the box labeled "For Members of Congress and Presidential Electors the other ticket shall contain the names of the persons intended to be voted for as State, Circuit and County officers, and the offices to which such persons are intended to be chosen, and shall be deposited in the box labelled "State, Circuit and County Officers." sec. 6. it snail ne tne auty or cne governor, and he is hereby authorized and empowered, at least sixty days prior to any such election, to appoint two Boards of Commissioners of Election, consisting of three members each, for each County; both political parties shall be represented. One shall be appointed and designated as Commissioners of Election for "Members of Congress and Presidential Electors," and the other as Commissioners of Election for "State, Circuit and County Officers." Sec. 4. At the close of the election the Managers shall count the votes and make an original return and copy of the result, and within three days after the day thereof the Chairman of the Board of Managers, or one of them who may be designated by the Board, shall deliver to the Commissioners of Elections for "Members of Congress and Presidential Electors" the poll lists and boxes labeled for "Members of Congress and Presidential Electors," with the original containing the ballots, and within the same time, and in like manner, shall be delivered to the Commissioners of Elections for "State, Circuit and County Officers," the poll lists and boxes labelled "State, Circuit and County Officers, containing the ballots, with a similar original of the result of the vote. Sec. 5. That in addition to the Board of State Canvassers now provided by law, it shall be the duty of the Governor, and he is hereby authorized and empowered, at least sixty days before any such election as is above mentioned, to appoint a Board of State Canvassers, consisting of five members, one from each Congressional District, to be known and designated as the Board of State Canvassers for "Members of Congress and Presidential Electors." Sec. 6. It shall be the duty of such Board of State Canvassers, upon the certified copies of the Board of County Canvassers for "Members of Congress and Presidential Electors," to make a statement of the votes cast and declare the election of members of Congress and Presidential Electors, as is now or hereafter may be required by law. Sec. 7. That the polls shall be open at eight o'clock in the forenoon and close at five o'clock in the afternoon. Q All A aIo aw novfo aP A a!o I n nnnoia UCUl Ui All IXVy W Ml ?/(*! DO VI AJL^LO iuwugiotent with the provisions of this Act be, and the same are hereby, repealed. Approved March 22,1878. Interesting Facts About Cotton.? The American Exporter recently published an article on the increase of the cotton trade, from which we gather some interesting facts. In the decade of 1840-1850, the United States supplied almost 81 per cent, of the whole importation into Great Britain, and in the decade immediately preceding the war furnished nearly 78 per cent., while the four years from 1862 to 1866, inclusive, the average yearly supply was less than 5 per cent., and in the year 1863 it was less than 1 per cent., of the whole British consumption of cotton. The first year subsequent to the war showed a sudden increase of 37.75 per cent., from 13.88 per cent, in 1865, and this proportion has continually advanced, until in 1877 the per centage reached 67.23, just equaling in proportion the year 1860, in which latter year the largest crop was produced. The amount furnished the parent country by the British possessions in the East Indies, during our "unpleasantness," which averaged for several years over 500,000,000 pounds, has fallen off so largely that the quantity in 1877 was less than 194,000,000 pounds.