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An Independent Family Journal?Devoted to Politics, Literature and General Intelligence* HOTT & CO., Proprietors. ANDERSON 0. H? S. C, THURSDAY MORNING, MAY 12, 1870. VOLUME 5?NO. 46. From the Old Guard. MY STARTLING SITUATION. . ft is said that everybody has a startling situ? ation at least once in a life-time. I don't know whether this be true or not, but I do know that I. had mine once, the recollection of which makes me shudder even yet, and comes back to me with singular distinctness, since it was on this night?Christmas Eve?ten years ago that it occurred. It chanced to be cold that night?rather a singular occurrence for Christmas in our lati? tude?and we were sitting round a bright fire, telling stories, drinking egg-nog,* and dressing dolls for the childrens' stockings. I was one of a large family, with two grown sisters, one grown brother, (now in the Empire of Brazil,) several small brothers and sisters, and any num? ber of large cousins. On this night we were a group of five, for mamma and the children had gone to bed, papa chanced to be away from home, and Jack was at college, so Lucy, Anna a ad I were entertaining, or being entertained by, two of the aforesaid cousins, respectively named Harry Ellis and Dick Carr. The room was all ablaze with light, and radiant with coxnfbrt; so, as foolish young people will do, we began to tell frightful stories of ghosts and murderers, and midnight burglaries, wherewith to frighten ourselves to death, when we were forced to dare the dim passages and solitary chambers. . "Honestly, I wonder you girte are not afraid to be here all alone," said Dick, who was anx? ious to avoid a cold walk home and wanted to be bidden to stay all night. . "You are at least a mile from town, and it would be a jolly op? portunity for ghosts to come to see you." . fl never heard that ghosts minded one's be? ing in town or ont, if they had a mind to come to see one," said Lucy, with her mouth full of | pins. "Besides, they pay their visits all the stuns, whether you are alone or not." "It is a good thing you are so philosophical about it Hurglars, then, I wonder you are not afraid of them." "0, Minnie is a host in herself," said Anna, laughing. "She patrols the house with a pis U<\y every night l>efore we go to bed, and then, we feel quite sec are." [ "Minnie P repeated both the boys in a breath:, aiid they gazed incredulously at the present ? writer, who was just then arraying a small goddess in pink tarletan, and certainly looking by no means warlike. "Minnie! Minnie with a pistol ?" 1fYes, Minnie with a pistol," said I, nodding triumphantly. "And why not, Messeiurs f That is better than being unhappy all night, don't you think? It is a pistol Jack lent me when he was at home last vacation, and I have karned aU about it.' I assure you, if any body Clime in my way. I would not hesitate a minute to shoot him?" " "I am glad you have given warning," s;?d fiarry. "I shall be very careful how I visit the house after night, hereafter. Your scrcna ders had better look out, too?eh, Lucy ? But k? here, Minnie, where do you look for your burglars of nighis ?" "Everywhere," answered I. "In all the rooms, and under all the beds, and in all the dosets." "Not to speak of the wine-cooler," said Har? ry, with a laugh. "And the large clock," said Anna; "I saw hijr looking at that the other night" *lt is best to be on the safe side," said I, with dignity. "N ow that papa is away, I have a responsibility on mc, you know. I carry the plstoi readv cocked, and" if I saw anybody?" "You might shoot yourself, or the door, or the old cat, but nojjjhc object of your fright," aiid Dick. "You never saw mc shoot, sir"?there was always open feud between Dick and myself? "you don't know, perhaps, that I can hit the ace of hearts at fifteen paces." " "You might do that, poverina, and yet not hrtt a man. Besides, he might be in the house Without your finding him." "That is impossible." "Impossible! Not a bit of it! See here? FD show you how in a minute. There are four rooms on this floor, and they all communicate with each other, and with the: hall. Now. what would be easier than for a man to follow, or rather precede you on your Tound ? Say, for instance, that some one was concealed in the dining-room, while you began your search in here; when it was time for you to go in there, he would slip across the passage, into the back parlor; when you went in there, he would be in the front parlor; when you went there, he he would be nere, and when you came here, he would be back in the dining-room, where he had been at first." ' "0, Dick, how can you say such horrid things?hush!" cried Lucy and Anna, in a breath; but I wjs stoutly incredulous and un? moved. "I^on't believe it," I said. "Itsoundsplau rible enough, but it is totally impossible. He amid not know beforehand where I was com? ing ; he could net time his movements exactly by mine; there would be some noise, some?" "He'd be a precious bungler of a burglar, then," interposed Dick. "Anyway, I don't believe it; and if you are trying to make me nervous and uncomforta? ble??' "Make a young lady with a pistol nervous and uncomfortable! Surely that would be im? possible I" "Laugh at me and my pistol as much as you please, but if your burglar be here, I give you my word he will fare badly." "Let ns hope lie is not here, then," said he, with a shrug. "Come, petite, don't look so cross. Name my apple for me, and while I "eat it, we can tali on more cheerful subjects. Where do you keep your pistol ?" "Up stairs in my bureau drawer." "Why, the burglar might walk off with it beforehand. Then what would you do ?" "He would hardly be likely to find it," said "Lucy. "She keeps it in the bottom of her rib? bon-box." "Her ribbon-box!" said Dick, and then he leaned his head back and laughed, as only a hearty, genial fellow of his stamp can laugh. Harry joined in the merriment, too; and the Idea of a pistol in a ribbon-box seemed so very amusing to both of them, that after a while I began to feel rather piqued, as it is only natu? ral to feel, when the point of a joke is against oneself, and one is quite unable to see it. "I don't know that there is anything to laugh at" said I, stiffly. "I keep it there in daytime, but I take it out at night, and it lies on a stand just at the head of my bed; if anybody came?" "Don't talk of it, please," said Dick, with a grimace. "Poor fellow! What a surprise it would be to him. to expect a young lady with a scream, and be met by an Amazon, with a pis? tol I By the by, this fire is very low; don't you think it needs some wood ?" "Certainly it does. There's no good in ring? ing the bell, though. It is Christmas Eve, and the negroes are all on their heads. You will have to go to the back door, and call until some? body hears you, and comes." "You'll have to call pretty loudly, too," said Harry ; "for they were dancing away like a set of possessed creatures when I arrived." "A pleasant prospect," said Dick. But he went off, and shortly afterwards we heard a se ties of stentorian shouts on the back piazza, gradually receding as he found himself quite unheard, and was obliged to go to the cabins in person. It was some time before he came in again, followed by a servant with the wood, but I knew at once by the peculiar expression of his mouth?the lurking laugh, as it were, in either corner?that some mischief was afloat. "Dick has seen the Kriss-Kringles," said Lu? cy, who knew the expression as well as I did. "Tell us about them, Dick, but don't bring them in here, I beg." "Kriss-Kringles I" said Dick, bursting into what seemed an irrepressible laugh, from no cause whatever. "I haven't seen them, I assure you; and as for bringing them here?what put such an idea into your head ? Give me a glass of egg-nog, Scip. I believe I will try that." Scip?the diminutive for Scipio?obeyed ; and cnancing to look up, I saw that he, too, was indulging in a broad grin. "Something has been concocted," I said, de cidedlv. "Scip, what mischief is your Mass Dick after now ?" "He told me to han' him some egg-nog," re? plied Scip, grinning more than ever. "He has no business with any more egg-nog," said Lucy, who always took it upon herself to lecture Dick in elder sisterly fashion, princi? pally because he had been in love with her ever since they were both in pinafores. "How? ever, he may nave a little, and then he must go. "VVe have finished the dolls, and it is time for respectable people to be at home." "Must I go, too ?" queried Harry, looking at Anna. He was an admirer of hers, while I had always been considered rather a heterodox young person, because I stoutly declared my intention of inaugurating a novelty, by marry? ing out of the family. "Must I go, too V "Of course you must," said I, before Anna, who was wonderfully lazy, summoned courage enough to open her lips. "I wonder you ask such foolish questions, when twelve o'clock is striking, ana Christmas is here. Christmas gift, and good night." I pushed them toward the door, but, of course they must needs stop for numberless "Christ? mas gifts" and congratulations, and laughter, and good nights, so that it was at least half East twelve before they were finally out of the ouse, and the front door barred on their exit. Then Lucy started for the back piazza, to call Scip, who usually slept in the hou^e, when papa and Jack were away, but I stopped her. "Mamma told Scip he might stay out to? night," I said. "It would seem hard to bring him in, you know, when they are all dancing, and it is Christmas Eve. There is nothing to be afraid of, I am sure; but I will go after my pistol, and look over the house, nevertheless." I ran up stairs in the dark, for I knew exact? ly where the pistol was, but as I went, I could not help wishing that Dick had held his tongue about the burglar who was to be concealed in the dining-room, and follow me all round the house. One does not mind such suggestions in daylight, or in a well-lighted room, with plen? ty of people to keep one company; but at night, even if one is protected by a pistol, and the proud consciousness of beiug able to bit the ace of hearts at fifteen paces, one will think of them with sensations the reverse of comfor? table. Wheu I came down again, Anna and Lucy were in the sitting-room, where the Christmas tree for the little ones stood ready decked out; and when, having finished my search there, I started for the dining-room, they both went with me, though I stopped and ex? postulated. "Dick was right," I said. "It is possible, though not probable, that some one might elude us; as he described. Now, if we went separate? ly into the different rooms?" Here I was interrupted by an indignant cry from both. It was very well for me to talk that way, I had a pistol. But to think that they, who were quite defenceless, would go rambling about by themselves in search of burglars, it was absurd. "Very well," said I, with a sigh of resigna? tion, "come on." They came on accordingly. Every place was investigated, and nothing larger than a mouse was started. Then I examined the win? dows. It was Scip's business to fasten them down after supper, and he always did it very exactly; still, I generally loeked, for caution's sake, and to-night my caution was rewarded. I found one of them unfastened, the shutter loose, and the sash a little raised, ju?t as if somebody had jumped in from the piazza, and pulled it hastily down. While I was making this fast, we were startled by a sound that seem? ed to proceed from the back parlor, and was apparently the fall of some chair or table. I turned round quickly, and we looked at each other with very wide open eyes. "Good heavens 1 What can that be ?" cried Lucy. "It sounded like some?somebody," said An? na. "It must be Tiger or Gray," I said. (Tiger being a dog, and Gray a cat.) "I don't see how either of them would be in there," said Lucy; "but come, let us see." With a candle apiece, and the pistol in the van, we went to see. When we entered the room, all was complete silence and solitude. Every chair was in its place; every table rest? ed on its natural legs; and nothing was dis? turbed, except one end of the hearth-rug, which had apparently been turned up by a hasty foot. "Some of the children, of course," said Lu? cy, in her philosophical way, when I pointed to that. '\Look behind the curtains, and make haste, Minnie?do. It is so cold." I looked behind all the curtains, and under all the tables, and even into a certain bay win? dow, that I was generally rather prone to shirk? ing, simply because it was the best hiding place in the house, but I found nothing?not even a mouse this time. Then wc went into the front parlor, and thence back into the sitting-room, where the fire was dying down, and the Christ? mas tree looked quite spectral in its dim corner. "Now let us go to bed," said Anna, with a yawn ; and although I could not conquer a sort of vague, unsatisfied feeling, I was ashamed to propose another search. So the lamps were put out, and we went up stairs. All the cham? bers were occupied except one (Jack's), so I had only to examine this and the garret steps, before taking myself to my rest. Having ac? complished this, we said good night and sepa? rated, for, although Lucy and Anna adhered to the time-honored custom of sharing a room in common, I had made "a strike" for indepen? dence quite early, and shocked all the family by refusing to share my sovereignty?that is, my chamber?with any one whatever. After I went in, I shut the door?papa had strictly forbid my locking it?and put the pis? tol and the candle down together. Then I un? dressed leisurely, said my prayers, full of the remembrance that it was* the hour of the nativ? ity, and with the sweet Christmas anthem, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth Eeace and good will to men," ringing in my eart, put out the candle at last, ana sprang into the middle of my downy bed. I sprang out the next minute, as if it had been tilled with thorns, however, for I remembered that I had left the pistol on the mantelpiece, and not in its usual place. The fire was burning very brichtly, and as I took it down, mere chance made me glance at the barrel. Something at? tracted my attention at once, and I knelt down on the hearth-rug to examine it more closely. It was a small six-shooter; and in a moment I saw that every charge had been drawn. You may be sure this discovery quite took away my breath. I looked at the empty pis? tol?the pistol which was harmless as a child's toy?in blank dismay. It was with this that I had patrolled all the lower floor in search of burglars! It was with this that I had meant to defend the household from any assault or danger whatever. It was in the possession of this that I had felt so secure as not to be alarm? ed by the open window, or the falling chair. Here I stopped short, and something like a sudden, cold terror seemed to clutch my very heart. What if the window and the chair meant that somebody was secreted in the house??somebody who had drawn the charges of my pistol, and counted on my ignorance not to discover the fact until too late ? Everything seems possible in the awful loneliness of mid? night; and the more I thought of this, the more probable the supposition appeared. No? body ever touched the pistol; nobody could have drawn the charges unless-. Another sudden pause, and listening with bated breath. Was that a noise below stairs ? I laugh now. bu$ it is with a hysterical and half frightened: sort of laughter, as I remember how my teeth chattered, and my heart rose up in my throat, as I knelt there on the hearth-rug, with the empty pistol in my hand, asking myself that question. There certainly was a noise, just be? low me in the dining-room: but then rats abounded in the old house, and I heard much worse uproar every night, without giving it a moment's consideration. To-night I could not be philosophical and remember the rats. I could only think of the window, the chair, Dick's disagreeable suggestion, and my unload? ed pistol. Then suddenly it occurred to me that the whole family might be murdered in their beds, while I sat there trembling and de? liberating. So I sprang to my feet with a bound. "Give me nve minutes, and I'm ready for you," I said, addressing the unknown bur? glar, and I rushed eagerly to my bureau. Opening a side drawer, I ran my hand in, and clutched at once the object I desired?a box of cartridges. Like most of my countrywomen I had been reared in an atmosphere of fire? arms, and was very expert in handling them. In five minutes, therefore, the pistol was once more loaded, and I felt to the core that "Rich? ard was himself again." I don't wonder that men?strong men, whom nature and art have both abundantly supplied with means of de? fence?should be quite insensible to the sensa? tion of physical lear. There is so much? indeed there is almost everything?in feeling that one can at least make a good fight of it. The unarmed and the weak are necessarily cowardly; but that anybody could be afraid of anything when armed with a well loaded six sh?oter, ten years ago, I would have laughed at the idea. So, having arranged all my charges, I felt quite comfortable, and began to think that I had been very foolish, and that it might be as well to go to bed. "You see, Mary Lindsay," said I,?whenever I wish to be severe, I call myself by my proper baptismal?"if you go on in this way, you will become as ridiculously nervous and fanciful as old Mrs. Moore, who calls up her sons and makes them search the house two or three times every night. Don't you know that if you encourage yourself, there is really no tell? ing where you will end ? Haven't you lived here all your life, and don't you remember that ever since you were born, the rats have been making just such noises ?" A sudden pause. Had I really grown so ner? vous that, like old Mrs. Moore, I could fancy anything, or was it the dining-room door which opened and shut very softly ? I felt confident that it was?confident, that as I stood listening, I heard a stealthy step cross the passage below ; vet it was not terror which came over me then, but resolution. If there had been any man in the house upon whom to call for assistance, I might have screamed or fainted, or given the alarm in any of the charming ways peculiar to my sex. But as it was, I felt that all the re? sponsibility rested on my shoulders, and with this knowledge there came to me "strength which equalled my desire." My mother, the girls, the little children?I was their defender for the time being, and I am sure that no knight of old, no Sir Tristram, or Calidore ever felt more chivalry for the weak whom he de? fended, and the oppressed whom he succored, than I did for them at that moment. "My poor darlings," I thought; "they have only me." And then I opened my door very softly, and stepped out into the passage. There was | no gooa in rousing anybody, I knew. If the alarm was false, I should only be laughed at; and if it was well grounded, there would be such a commotion that I would be more apt to shoot one of the family than the midnight dis? turber of our peace. So with the supreme daring?the daring which would be grandly heroic, if it were not so foolishly rash?of eighteen, I took my stand at the head of the stairs, and listened. For a while I thought I must have been mis? taken, everything was so still. I could hear the clock ticking away in the lower hall, and the rats running races and playing football up in the garret, but nothing more. "I shall certainly take pneumonia if I stay here," I thought, and as I thought it, a sudden idea occurred to me. Perhaps the Somebody below had heard my door open, and was wait? ing for it to close again, before making any farther movement. As there was only firelight in my room, I had lelt the door ajar, with a vague, irrational sense of security in at least having a port of refuge near at nand. But I now turned back and closed it. "God will take care of nie," I thought, as I shut myself out all alone in the dark passage, and yet this was, perhaps, the hardest thing of all to do. It was so cold, so silent, so full of the strange awe of the night, with only a few pale gleams of ghost? ly moonlight. The moon was on the wane, falling in a patch through a high window, on the head of the stairs. I drew back from this into the darkness, and stood quite still, clasp? ing my pistol tightly. I did not think to feel my pulse, but I am sure that if I had done so, I would have found it beating as steadily as it ordinarily did. We came of good stock?we Lindsays?and there was never a man or wo? man among us who had been a coward. So I had the support which a well authenticated | tradition of family courage can give. I may have stood shivering in my ambuscade for three minutes or for thirtv, but whatever length of time had elapsed, I heard at last the sound again which had attracted my attention. This time there was no mistaking it. A slow, I stealthy step advanced to the staircase, and be? gan to mount. I despair of being able to give any idea of my sensations; indeed I need hard? ly desire to do so, as I stood there listening to ' this, not knowing what would appear, and yet | knowing also that in a few minutes more, I j would be face to face with it. I am a good deal I j older, and I hope a little wiser than I was then,; j but I am sure I could not undergo such an or-1 i deal now?I am sure that body and mind would i j alike refuse to bear the burden of such an aw- j ful tension. All sorts of horrible thoughts came to me; all the stories we had been telling round the fire, an hour or two before, thronged on my memory, and I think my courage would have given way?I think I would have scream? ed aloud in sheer excess of nervous terror, if I had not been, as it were, completely paralyzed. But my tongue was tied, and I stood like a statue, with the cocked pistol in my hand, lis? tening to that ascending tread, waiting until the Thing should come into the moonlight, and et me see what shape it wore. At last it did-so. At last, after many pauses and much caution, the footsteps neared the head of the stairs. Another second, and the moonlight would give me my only chance for self-defence, and for the defence of those dear? er than self. It was only the recollection of them that nerved me. Left to myself, I could hardly have raised my hand even against a midnight robber; but I was strong with the strength of twenty men, when I remembered that I was their only guardian. "I must be ready," I thought, raising the pistol, and as I did so, a shadow fell across the patch of moon? light. The next instant, a man's figure loomed large aud da|k, before me. I had not a mo? ment for deliberation. It was then or never, and I pulled the trigger. There was a flash? a report?a sudden ringing in my ears, and through it a series of screams, and a familiar voice, saying: "My God I You have killed me I" That voice told me all. I threw the pistol down, and rushed forward, just as my sister's door was thrown wide open, and Dick,"stagger? ing in that direction, fell heavily down upon the threshold. What a scene it was that followed ! Anna screaming, Lucy fainting, the children in an uproar, I standing frozen with horror, and mamma imploring somebody to "go for the doctor." "There's no good in going for the doctor," said Dick, when she bent down and raised his head. "I'm done for, I think. It was all my own fault, Aunty. Don't blame Minnie. I meant to frighten her, and it serve 1 :ne right Tell Lucy-? But here the poor fellow broke down with a gasp, and turning away, I flew as if the Aven? ger of Blood were after me, down stairs, out of the house, across the yard, and in upon the fes? tive assembly of the cabins?a figure, the like of which few of the merry-makers had ever seen before. I seemed destined to cause con? sternation wherever I went, for such a panic ensued on my appearance?not wonderful, con? sidering my expression of face and style of costume?that I had great difficulty in gaining sensible attention. At last, however, I suc? ceeded in making them understand that I was not a ghost, and that I wanted a messenger, "Where's Scip ?" I said. "Where's anybody ? Tell somebody to saddle a horse, and go for the doctor!" "Lor-a-massy, Miss Minnie I What's the matter ?" cried half a dozen voices at once. "I've shot Dick !" I exclaimed in an agony "He is dead, or dying. Go?go?any of you, go for Dr. Burrill." Half a dozen men rushed away at once, pell mell over each other toward the stables, and every servant who had the faintest excuse for doing so ran to the house. I followed slowly, in a sort of despair. I did not want to go in; I knew there was no need of me, and I dreaded unspeakably another sight of Dick's pale face and. bloody form, so I wandered round to the front piazza, and crouched down on the steps to wait for the doctor. I am sure I don't know why I did not take my death of cold? for I would have been thinly clad for a July night except that on occasions of great excite? ment we all do such things, and rarely suffer from them. I was, however, as nearly frozen as possible, when, after an age (that is about half an hour,) a horse came at a hard gallop up the avenue, and shied in the most unexpected manner at sight of the ghostly white object perched on the steps. "Soh, Charley!" said a voice, I had known all my life. "Gently, my good fellow I There's no use in this behavior. It is only?what the deuce is it?" "It's me, doctor l" cried a weak, half frozen voice. "Please don't stop. Come on?do. He may be dead by this time. Oh, please don't stop." "All right," said the doctor, "I'm not stop ping," and he sprang down, and threw his rein to a servant who came up. "Show the way, Minnie. Is it Dick Carr who is shot ? How did he do it ?" "He didn't do it. /did it!" "You!" The doctor absolutely stopped to stare at me, but to my great relief, mamma came hurrying down stairs at the moment. "Oh, doctor, I am so glad you have come !" she said, breathlessly. "We arc all frightened to death, for we don't know what to do; and the poor boy scents so weak, I thought he would bleed to death before you got here." "Where is he'?" asked the doctor, hastily. And then they vanished up the staircase to? gether, leaving poor forlorn mo alone in dark? ness and misery. "There's plenty more charges in the pistol," I thought leaning mv head down on one of the steps. "The best thing I can do is to go and shoot myself. The matter will only get worse instead of better, and it is bad enough now. I wonder if he will die to-night ? Oh I what made me shoot him ? I'm sure I wish I had never been born-" I was quite desperate under my weight of un? accustomed remorse, so there is no telling what wish trembled on the end of my tongue, when just at this point a warm shawl was suddenly wrapped round me, and a kind voice sounded in my ear. "Come in, honey, to the fire. Don't you be a-takin' on like this. You'll ketch your death a cold out here?Lord knows you will. Don't you grieve so. Mass Dick ain't a goin' to die ?not he!" "Oh, mammy, don't you think so?" cried I, clutching eagerly at the first gleam of consola? tion offered me, and looking up?oh !, so wist? fully?into the kind black face above. "I knows it, honey," said mammy, who was thinking much more of condoling mc than of Dick's probable chances for Jife or death. "Mass now, you come mio me 1 takinrplewri3y out here." I submitted very meekly?I was so bitterly cold?and she led me to my own room, where the fire was burning as brightly as when I bad loaded my pistol before it, such a short time back. There I spent an hour that seemed to be many hours long, before mamma came into tell me that the doctor said that Dick's wound was not fatal," and might not even prove dangerous, the ball having missed the upper part of the lung, and lodged in his right shoulder. How grateful I was, it would be hard to say, or how firmly I resolved never again to shoot in the dark, let circumstances bo what they might. Nobody but the children had a merry Christmas that year, and Dick had a long at? tack of fever; but we all thought he got off very well with this, and were thankful accord? ingly. Owing to his condition, it was some time before I was gratified by bearing the de? tails of the plan I had so unexpectedly marred. At last, however, it all came out, partly through Scip, and partly through Dick himself. ? The latter, it seemed, had sent one of the maids for my pistol, and drawn the charges, "to guard against unpleasant accidents," he said. Then he made Sein unfasten one of the dining-room windows and after I put him out of the front door, he coolly walked round the house (Harry being in his confidence) and made good an en? trance there. He had followed, or rather pre? ceded me, in my pilgrimage over the house, and when I surprised him, he was making his way up stairs, to spend the night in Jack's room, and spring a mine, in the shape of "a good joke," on me the next morning. If ever a practical joker was caught in his own snare, this young gentleman was; and although it did not by any means cure him of the weakness, at least it redounded greatly to my" credit, ana the credit of my six-shooter, which, after the first fright was over, I carefully put away in the ribbon-box, where I keep it yet?a memento of my only exploit. Good comes out of everything, some moralists say, and although I don't pretend to be a mora? list, I could very plainly see the good that came out of my startling situatibn. It gave me an advantage over Dick for the rest of our lives, which I have not been slow to use. (and if you have ever lived with an incorrigible teaser and joker, you will appreciate the importance of that); it filled the whole county with such respectful admiration of my Amazonian prow? ess, that I am sure a burglar could not have been bribed to come within pistol-shot of our house; and, lastly, (which was a great relief to everybody,) it finished up Dick and Lucy's life? long courtship. "I can't keep on saying 'No' to the poor fel? low, when Minnie has nearly killed him," said my philosophic sister; so she said "Yes," and ordered her orange wreath. "We had a gay wedding. And when my newly made brother kissed me after the ceremony, he told all the guests that it was no fault of mine that he was not a ghost, instead of a bridegroom. Fernando Wood. "Mack," the sprightly correspondent of the Cincinnati Commercial, thus sketches the most prominent of the Democratic representatives in Congress: I cannot help thinking that if Charles Dick? ens were to write another novel, and were to introduce American politicians into its chap? ters, he would select Fernando Wood for one of them. And simply because he is such a pe? culiar sort of person?a perfect riddle to the ordinary newspaper correspondent, in whose tread-mill life there is little time for the study of such a character, even if the ability for its portrayal were there; but an "inexhaustible bottle" for illustration and development in the hands of the great novelist. There -is some? thing about him which I certainly cannot de? scribe, but can only write about in a jerky and unsatisfactory sort of way. First, there is the man himsef, as he sits in his seat or stands on the floor. Straight as as a fishing pole, and I was about to say, nearly as tall; but the reader will at once perceive that that depends very much upon the fishing pole; always dressed in the neatest of black trowsers, ana the neatest black coat with the shiningest of velvet collars ; never by any possibility letting us know wheth? er he wears a waistcoat or not, but giving us a slight assurance of a shirt in the exhibition of so much of it as can struggle into notice above the third or fourth button of his outer broad? cloth. . Whether he looks so straight because he is so thin, or looks so thin because he is so straight, I shall not attempt to say, but when to his straightness and his thinness you add his button-up-ness, and then, on top of all these, put a small head, thickly covered with white? ning hair, and an emotionless face with a pair of small twinkling eyes, and the largest and whitest moustache on the American continent, you have altogether a very remarkable tout en? semble ; so much so that when the proprietor of this strangeness of contour and person rises to address the House, and stands on the floor as the representative of so much of the American nation as is included in his district, there is al? ways a sensation in the galleries. If you never saw him before in your life, and didn't know who he was, you would still join in the feeling of "sensation," and listen in expectation of something quite out of the usual routine. And he will not disappoint you, for the tone and manner of his speech are quite as unique as his personal appearance. His words are always direct and well chosen, and his arguments for? cible and strong. I shall never forget the scene of a few days ago, when he and lien. Butler had the slight fence Of words about General Howard. Butler rose, evidently intent upon crushing Wood with one of his efforts at vitu? peration; he said something which he considered perfectly conclusive and finishing, and looking, as his custom is, to the galleries with an air of "Didn't I polish him off?" sat down. There stood Fernando, on the other side of the chamber?a cross between an iceberg and a marble statue, but for the purposes of that de? bate an iceberg, against which the brig Ben. Butler had voluntarily steered, with the usual sad result of such collisions?the damage of the brig. Wood's manner in reply stood him in infinitely better stead than his words. There was not so much in what he said?which was simply that when the investigation of Howard was completed he should favor the investiga? tion of the gentleman from Massachusetts?but the cold frosty way in which he said it, follow? ing upon the cold, frosty way in which he had listened to Butler?never deviating a hair's breadth from his fish-pole straightness all the time?gave him a triumph over old Diabolus, which both sides of the House were quick to recognize, and which neither sid?j could well keep from applauding. It was, by all odds, the greatest triumph over Butler yet achieved in the cut and thrust of quick repartee, and But? ler felt it too, as was manifest from his halting between two opinions, as to whether he should reply or not, and finally deciding to keep his seat. This incident gives quite as good an idea of Fernando Wood as I could give in a whole col? umn of my own mere opinions. If the reader can't recognize from this the sort of man he is, he shall "bust in ignorance" on that important subject, for aught I can do. But you must add to all this that Wood is quite as polished in his manner as in his dress. If there is Peck? sniff some time in his speech, as well Turvcy drop in his deportment, there is always Ches? terfield in his social intercourse. Notwith? standing all of which he is well liked by those who know him, and is thought quite a good hearted, a jolly fellow, when you get under the uppercrust of his icy exterior. His public ca? reer is as well known to the readers of the En? quirer as to me?how he has been accused of all sorts of things, but how he has, notwith? standing all these accusations, been a very suc? cessful man, and a very great and successful politician. ? "Guilty or not guilty ?" said a judge to a native of the Emerald Isle. "Just asyer honor plazes. It's not the like o'me to dictate to yer honor's worship," was the | reply. Railway Competition. The Chicago Tribune has the following article in reference to a plan for converting railroads in? to common highways, suggested by a letter from Gov. Palmer to the Illinois Farmers' Conven? tion, recently in session. In this section of the country, the question discussed is yet a novelty: I Governor Palmer's letter to.the convention of farmers at?Bloomington proposes a remedy for dear freights and heavy cost of*transport?ti?fy i which, though not new as a proposal, nas never j before, perhaps, been so clearly stated or so I highly indorsed, as by our excellent Governor". He says: . ~. "I trust that this convention will itself con aider and call attention to the old-fashioned and just theory of competition. The canals and river improvements will, I trust, receive a share of the attention of the convention, and, fully understanding your views and knowing your zeal in this direction, I do not feel at liberty to say more upon that subject, but insist that we must create competition on the railroads, and, to do this, break up the monopolies of the car* rying. business by the owners of railways. There is no necessary connection between the ownership and management of a railway, and the business of a common carrier, and there is no reason why railways, like rivers and canals, may not be free to all carriers of freight and passengers, upon such terms as to compensate the owners of railroad property for the use of tracks, engines, &c, as may be agreed between the parties, or fixed in the manner prescribed by law under the power of eminent domain. The General Assembly can authorize individuals or associations to place machinery and cars upon the railroads of the State upon the payment of such compensation as may be fixed by the proper tribunal, and, in that way, healthy, vigorous compensation may defeat all the arbitrary reg? ulations of conventions of ticket and freight agents, and leave the growers of beef and pork and wheat and corn a pittance, at least, of their own hard earnings. The amendments to the constitution proposed by Mr. Church in the convention contemplate the exercise of the power adverted to, and will, no doubt become part of the constitution." The Governor proposes that the present Con' stitutional Convention authorize the Legisla? ture to convert the railroad tracks of the State into common highways, upon which all compe? ting parties who choose may put and run their rolling stock at such prices as they choose, thus giving rise to competition on each road between all the common carriers carrying over that road, in addition to the competition Detween differ? ent roads. Illustrations of this common use of the same track by competing cars may be seen on many of the city railroads of our larger' cities, where for several miles two, three, or a dozen railroad companies are compelled to use the same track, in order to run their cars for a portion of the way through some leading thor-" oughfare. This accidental working of our pres-' ent system produces competition over the same track as to that particular street, furnishing more cais and better service than either of the single companies would render. Upon a steam railroad the Governor's proposition would work a revolution indeed, yet it is one towards which, the railroad business seems to be inevitably tending. Already the railroad companies per? mit express companies, fast freight lines, own? ers of sleeping coaches, &c., to furnish care for their tracks, and run them at private cost and profit, the railroad companies furnishing only the track and the power. It is only needed to apply to the railroads the principle of the com? mon law applicable to turnpikes, ferries, and all other appropriated highways; that whatever privileges are granted to one. must be granted, to alL Under the application of this principle of the law of highways, all who choose can put on any railroad track cars or coaches, lor any pur? pose, and oblige the company to haul them on terms as favorable as are granted to others. At all events, while it might involve too many j complications and delays to convert the rail? roads of the country into common highways I for all vehicles capable of running'on their tracks, by the entangled and expensive means; j of suits at law, any Legislature which would: I pave the way for such a reform would be clearly in the direction of the theory of all our laws, that the railroads are highways and should at all times be kept as open to all forms of com petition as possible. In the infancy of the rail? way business, none owned the cars except the company which also owned the track. But when that business became so extended as to " .have suspended all other highways of travel over whole continents, and when the prosperity of cities and states might be made to rise or fall, according as these iron tracks were kept open to competition as highways, or closed against it as monopolies; there can be no doubt, that the monopoly on the part of the owners of the track, which was tolerable under other con? ditions, becomes intolerable when those condi? tions, have changed. If our own leading rail? way shippers were permitted to put their own cars on the track, on paying a fair toll to the' company for hauling them to their destination;, and if whosoever desired to compete for the profits of carrying passengers or freight #ere' at liberty to compete with each other over each and every road, it seems certain that full com? petition would reduce the charge in all cases to the very lowest sum at which freight and pas? sengers could be carried consistently with the' fair value of the labor and capital employed. Governor Palmer's proposition is wholly dis? tinct from all proposals that the State or gov? ernment shall take possession of or run tile roads. To that there may be many objections. He proposes that the railroads snail emerge from their infantile state of private-ways, and shall become, in the full sense, highways,, to the end that mutual competition between di? vers carriers over the same road shall insure a fair reduction and equalization of prices. While we have no information to induce us to believe that any proposition to this end was1 likely to be adopted oy the convention, it is well worthy their thorough consideration, as well as that of the people of the whole State. ? A graceful story is told of Lamartine. One day a penniless man of letters called upon him, and informing him of his needy situation, requested the loan of a considerable sum of money. Lamartine, who was much moved by the recital, opened a drawer and gave him the amount He then conducted his unfortunate visitor to the vestibule. The season was au? tumn, and as Lamartine opened the street door, the unfortunate author shivered in his shabby coat. A sudden idea struck Lamartine, and calling out, "Monsieur, you are forgetting your overcoat,", he quickly took down an overcoat that was hanging in the passage, and assisted his needy visitor to put it on with so much dex? terity and grace that the poor man, quite over? come, did not know how to refuse a gift which was so delicately offered to him. -:-*-; ? It is said that the ivy will not cling to a poisonous substance. What a pity that the tendrils of a woman's heart have not the same wholesome and salutary instinct ? "My son," said an old lady, "how must Jonah have felt when the whale swallowed him ?" ."A little down in themouth I suppose/* was the young hopeful's reply.