Proprietors. ANDERSON 0. H., S. 0., THURSDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 8, 1872. VOLUME VLL?NCX 31.
For the Anderson Intelligencer.
THE PAST.
r.fj How like a dream the past doth seem!
How vague the picture ever!
We look aback Time's beaten track,
And cease to wonder never.
The friends of yore are such no more,
How stiff and cold their greeting!
We sadly trace, upon eaeh face,
The print of time so fleeting.
'?The past is dead," is often said,
' But, sure, 'tis but a slumber;
For back we look, as on a book
Whoso leaves we cannot number.
While timo doth fly, so swiftly die
Old pleasures, hopes and feelings;
That changes wrought seem swift as thought,
With lightning-like revealings.
Oh, by-gone days! what beaming rays
Shine from thy buried splendor!
>?; While life shaU last, to thee, oh, Past,
Will memory homage render.
__LTJLA.
Intrigues of the last Century?The Great
Sensation in New York.
Ihe correspondent of the Boston Post fur?
nishes the annexed particulars of the great
trial progressing in New York city, in which
the possession of an immense estate belonging
to the celebrated Madame Jumel is involved.?
At one time in life the belle of Gotham, the
curious history of this:noted woman is an at?
tractive theme, and contains much that is in?
teresting:.
New York, January 26.
-' It is now almost one hundred years since one
of the most remarkable women who have figured
in American society was born, and to so great
an age did she attain that the lawyers may be
said to be only at the commencement of their
quarrels over her estate. Eliza Bowen was
born in Providence,*R. I., in 1775, and died, as
Madame Jumel, in New York city, in 1865.?
Hers was a most singular live, and her history,
career and circumstances, giving rise as they
did to nearly a century's gossip and scandal,
are now for the first time being recalled to
memory in a connected form by the efforts of
the opposing lawyers in the trial before the
United States Circuit Court for the possession
of the estate. The greatest interest is mani?
fested in the case, particularly by those of mid?
dle and advanced age, who have had the op?
portunity of watching the movements of and
taking part in the general conversation con?
cerning Madame Jumel during the past twenty,
thirty, forty, fifty years. When the old lady
died, seven years ago, many were the remin?
iscences of the former "belle of New York" in?
dulged in by wealthy dowagers and garrulous
old gentlemen, but as one cannot be forever
thinking of the dead, the theme soon became
as lifeless as its subject, and was only touched
upon at rare intervals and in casual discussions.
Now, however, the veteran affair has become a
casus belli, and therefore not only the bench
and bar but also the "old society of Gotham
are all "up in arms" about it
the parties in the suit.
The court-room is daily filled to absolute re?
pletion, many ladies being included in the au?
dience. Judge Shipman presides, and the law?
yers in attendance are goodly in number and
reputation. For the plaintiff appear Mr. Wil?
liam A. Beach, ex-Surrogate Gideon J. Tucker,
Messrs. Chauncey Shaffer, Levi S. Chatfield, F.
6. McDonald and others. The defendant is
represented by Messrs. Charles O'Conor and
James C. Carter. The contending parties are,
respectively, Mr. George Washington Bowen?
an old, venerable, white-haired gentleman of
Bhode Island, who claims to be the only child
of Eliza Bowen?and Mr. Nelson Chase, the
present holder of the Jumel estate, who dis?
putes Bowen's pretensions, and claims to in?
herit the property legally, being the nearest
living relative of the deceased. "Where there's
? will there's a way," the proverb truly ob?
serves, but the trouble in this case is that there
is no satisfactory will. The only instrument of
the kind that was left behind her has been set
aside by the court and the surrogate, so that
the madame, although she made many attempts
at constructing a will, was finally baffled in her
intentions; and though she went down to her
grave in the firm conviction that she had or?
dered her mundane affairs according to her de?
sire, she must have found disappointment
awaiting her in the "spirit-laud," if "such
things be."
the youth of madame jumel.
It is sufficient for the present purpose to say
that the life of Madame Jumel, without being
positively and continuously immoral, was, to
say the feast, peculiar, involved the happiness
and misery of a number of historical Ameri?
cans, and was of the most varied description.
Aa related by Mr. Shaffer, Eliza, or as she was
generally called, "Betsey" Bowen, was the
daughter of John aud Phoebe Bowen, of Provi?
dence, B. I. Her parents were of the lowest
class. John being a seafaring man and Phoe?
be a waif from childhood, whose history cannot
be traced. Betsey had two sisters, one older
than herself, named Polly, and one younger,
named Lavina. The youth of the girls was
passed under the most unfavorable conditions.
Their father was away at sea most of the time,
and their mother did not pass the intervals of
absence in mournful seclusion. The residence
of the Bowens was continually the scene of
violent disorders, participated in by the most
4egraded specimens of white and black hu?
manity. Twice was the house torn down by
a mob, and at last Phoebe was arrested and
incarcerated, and Polly and Betsey were sent
to the workhouse. They were then only ten
or twelve years old, and the effect of these
early associations upon their youthful minds
may be imagined. Polly and Betsey left their
mother in 1789, Lavina had been confided
in infancy to the care of a relative of Phoebe,
living in Providence, namely, the wife of Ma?
jor Reuben Ballou, a Revolutionary soldier;
and now Betsey Bowen sought and obtained a
home in the same family. Her circumstances
do not appear to have been improved, how?
ever, by this change, for the mausion of the
Ballous was of the same turbulent character
as that of Bowen and his wife. Here Polly
died, but Betsey grew to be a young woman,
and in 1794, at the age of nineteen, became
the mother of George Washington Bowen.?
The identity of the father is somewhat ob?
scure, but it is supposed that he was none
other than the redoubtable Revolutionary he?
ro, Major Reuben Ballou, himself. Inasmuch,
however, as Betsey had before that time made
a pilgrimage to New York, and in later life
hinted very strongly of an intimate acquaint?
ance with a distinguished American, there are
those who suppose that the youngster's ap
?ellation was not giveu without good reason,
his is immaterial, though, as the present ac?
tion is brought under the New "iork State
statute, allowing children to inherit from their
mother's property, both real and personal.
betsey's eise and progress.
Soon after this, Betsey shook the dust of
Providence from her feet, aud went to New
York city, bidding a final farewell to her
hopeful son, whom she left in the tender
charge of Mrs. Ballou, a woman afflicted with
no absurd jealousies. In 1801 Betsey appears
to have become domesticated in New York,
and then and there began that extraordinary
career which has only just now come to an
end, and which led her to the highest pinna?
cle of worldly prosperity. At this time she
was about twenty-five years of age, of great
beauty, and?what is marvellous in view of
her education?possessed of a mental ability
and tact which charmed and enthralled all
beholders. She soon became#very celebrated,
and assumed the "belleship" which she only
abdicated at death. Among her undoubted or
suspected admirers, at different periods in her
life, were General Washington, Louis XVIII,
Joseph Bonaparte, Mr. Jumel and Aaron Burr.
In 1804 she became acquainted with Jumel,
and persuaded him to marry her. This was
the commencement of her financial and social
good fortune. Jumel as is well known, was a
French gentleman of ability and wealth, who,
after various vicissitudes in his native country
and elsewhere, embarked early in the century
for New York, with about a dozen ships, ar?
rived safely, became one of the earliest of our
"merchant princes," and retired from business
in 1812 with a large fortune. At the time
when he married Betsey Bowen she was living
with one Maria Bowne, who had a child Mary,
afterward the wife of Nelson Chase, the defen?
dant. On this circumstance the whole trial
turns. Mr. Ghase claims that Maria Bowne
was really Polly Bowen, Betsey's elder sister;
that therefore, Mary, Maria's daughter, is the
next of kin of the late Madame Jumel; and
that the plaintiff, Betsey's alleged son, is an
imposter. Mr. Bowen claims, on the other
hand, that Maria was no relative whatever of
Betsey, and that Polly had died some years
previously without issue.
madame jumel's later life.
M. and Mme. Jumel went to Paris after Na?
poleon's downfall, and resided there in great
splendor for many years, she being one of the
"bright particular stars" in the 1? rench court
society. In 1822 she returned to New York,
bringing with her a gorgeous lot of furniture
and art treasures, with which she fitted up a
magnificent seat in the upper part of Manhat?
tan Island, which she possessed in her own
right Six years later M. Jumel also returned
to the city, and in 1832 was killed by being
thrown from a wagon. It was some months
after this sad event that the widow, desiring to
take legal advice upon some real estate matters,
consulted Colonel Aaron Burr, with whom she
had formerly been well acquainted. He seems
to have instantly resolved to marry her, and so
skilfully did he exert his celebrated and wou
derful powers of fascination that, although the
madame made a gallant defence and twice or
thrice refused his hand, she was soon obliged
to capitulate, and became Mrs. Burr in short
order. At this time, wonderful as it may seem,
Burr was seventy-eight years of age, and yet
agile, active, handsome and captivating in his
manners. He disowned the advance of age,
and his proud spirit could hardly bear to yield
to the death which soon afterward called him
from the world. Having once obtained con?
trol of the widow Jumcl's affairs, he conducted
them in that dominant, independent way which
was peculiarly his own. (Quarrels and jeal-J
ousies soon arose, which led to alternate es?
trangements and reconciliations, and finally a
dissolution of the union was accomplished.?
After the death of Burr, which occurred in
1836, Madame Jumel retired to her mansion,
and never afterward contracted a matrimonial
alliance. Mr. Chase and his wife then estab- I
lished themselves with her as her protectors
and companions, and, according to the counsel
for the defence, she tolerated them without ad?
mitting their alleged relationship, and in reali?
ty hated and vainly endeavored to get rid of
them. And thus, vibrating between her New
York mansion and Sarratoga cottage, counting
her millions and brooding over her former tri?
umphs, endeavoring to arrange her affairs to
her mind, being helpless, friendless, troubled
and weary, the old woman who had been the
pretty Betsey Bowen and the magni?cent Mad?
ame Jumel breathed her last, at the extreme
advanced age of ninety.
the controversy.
The present contest is for the possession of
two tracts of land, one of ninety-four and the
other of thirty-two acres, with the Harlem
Heights residence; also certain property on
Broadway and Liberty Btreet. The value of
the estate must be enormous. The plaintiff
has already produced several aged witnesses,
including two or three colored women who
were employed by Madame Jumel, and who,
of course, preserve a lively and pleasant re?
membrance of the Father of his Country.?
They have all testified to having had frequent
conversations with Madame Jumel as to her
domestic afiairs, and to having heard her re?
peatedly assert that she had never had but one
child, who was still alive and in good health
and condition. Mr. O'Couor has treated these
unique witnesses to a rigid cross-examina?
tion, but so far has been unable to shake their
testimony. It was a most interesting spectacle
which the court-room exhibited yesterday and
the day before. The long rows of lady wit?
nesses, friends of the plaintiff, occupied the
seats usually reserved for prisoners. Two col?
ored centenarians, sitting in line, formed a pe?
culiar picture, and when one of them, Elizabeth
Freeman, was called to testify, and was con?
fronted by the venerable counsel for the de?
fence, the effect was dramatic in the extreme.
The lady is almost six feet in height, and must
weigh over one hundred and fifty pounds,
which is doing pretty well for one in her time
of life. She wore a tremendous pair of silver
spectacles and a portentous black bonnet, and
looked like one of Macbeth's witches. The
trial is expected to last two weeks at least.
SOME REFLECTIVE CONSIDERATIONS.
Those who did not already know the story of
Madame Jumel can deduce from the foregoing
some idea of its strangeness. The life of Bet?
sey Bowen has indeed been seldom if ever par?
alleled, and must remain a perpetual wonder
through succeeding ages. Born amid the very
dregs of poverty, ignorance and vice, the
daughter of a rough sailor and an illiterate and
brawling woman, nursed in infamy aud educa?
ted in tcrpitude, accustomed to no comfort,
never even dreaming of luxury, without home,
hope, honor or friends, Betsey, advanced step
by step, by dint of sheer tact and ambition,
until she became the belle of the American
metropolis, the favorite of America's greatest
sons, the wife of one of America's richest mer?
chants, the cynosure of a Parisian court, the
possessor of vast wealth, endowed with beauty,
rich in accomplishments, the brightest star in
her constellation, the idol of the opposite sex, I
the envy of her own ; and finally the poor fish?
erman's child, who first saw light in a dingy
hovel, died at a good old age in a palace.?
Surely this is a talc which would seem incredi?
ble even were its truth vouched for by Plato
himself: it would be scoffed at as unnatural
and preposterous, though iL proceeded from the
pen of a Shakespeare ; nor could it well be re?
produced even by the imagination of a Poe. I
An Act to Regulate the Granting of Divorces.
Section 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and
House of Representatives of the State of South
Carolina, now met and sitting in General As?
sembly, and by the authority of the same:
When the validity of a marriage has been
denied or doubted by either of the parties, the
other may institute a suit for affirming the
marriage; and upon due proof of the validity
thereof, it shall be decreed to be valid; and
such decree shall be conclusive upon all per?
sons concerned.
Sec. 2. That a divorce from the bond of
matrimony may be decreed for the following
causes:
1st. Adultery.
2d. Where either party wilfully abandons or
deserts the other for the period of two years ;
provided that when the suit is instituted by the
party deserting, it appears that the desertion
was caused by the extreme cruelty of the other
party, or that the desertion by the wife was
caused by the gross or wanton and cruel neg?
lect of the husband to provide suitable main?
tenance for her, he being of sufficient ability
to do so.
Sec. 3. That the Circuit Courts of Common
Pleas shall have original jurisdiction of suits
for annulling or affirming marriages, or di?
vorces. No such suit shall be maintained, un?
less the parties, or one of them, is a citizen of
this State, or shall have resided therein at least
one whole year previous to instituting the
same. The suit shall be brought in the coun?
ty in which the parties lost cohabited, or (at
the option of the plaintiff) in the county in
which the defendant resides, if a resident of
this State; but if not, then in the county in
which the plaintiff resides.
Sec. 4. That suits for divorce shall be com?
menced by summons and complaint, in the same
manner as other actions; arid, whether the de?
fendant answer or not, the cause shall be heard,
independently of the admissions of either par?
ty in the pleading, or otherwise. Costs may be
awarded to either. party, as justice and equity
may require.
Sec. 5. That the court, in term, or the judge,
in vacation, may, at any time pending the suit,
make any order that may be proper to compel
the man to pay any sums necessary for the
maintenance of the woman, and to enable her
to carry out the suit, or to prevent him from
imposing any restraint on her personal liberty,
or to provide for the custody and maintenance
of the minor children of the parties during the
pendency of the suit, or to preserve the estate
of the minor, so that it be forthcoming to meet
any decree which may be made in the suit, or
compel him to give necessary security to abide
such decree.
Sec. 6. When the suit is for divorce for adul?
tery, the divorce shall not be grauted if it ap?
pear that the parties voluntarily cohabited af?
ter the knowledge of the fact of adultery, or
that it occurred more than five years before the
institution of the suit, or that it was commit?
ted by the procurement or connivance of the
plaintiff
Sec. .7. Upon decreeing the dissolution of a
marriage, and also upon decreeing a divorce,
the court may make such further decree as it
shall deem expedient concerning the estates
and maintenance of the parties, or either of
them, and the care, custody and maintenance
of the children, and make a new decree con?
cerning the same, as the circumstances of the
children may require.
Sec. 8. When a divorce is granted for the
cause of adultery or willful desertion, commit?
ted by the husband, the wife shall bo entitled
to her dower in his lands in the same manner
as if he were dead; but she shall not be entitled
to dower in any other case of divorce from the
bond of matrimony.
sec. 9. Upon the dissolution of a marriage
by a decree of nullity or divorce, for any cause,
except that of adultery committed by the wife,
the wife shall be entitled to the immediate pos?
session of her real estate, in like manner if her
husband were dead ; and the court may make
a decree, restoring to the wife the whole, or any
part, of the personal estate that may have come
to the husband by reason of the marriage, or
awarding to her the value thereof in money, to
be paid by the husband.
Sec. 10. When the court deems it proper to
award the wife any personal estate, or money
in lieu thereof, it may require the husband to
disclose, on oath, what personal estate has come
to him by reason of the marriage, and how it
has been disposed of, and what portion thereof
remains in his hands.
Sec. 11. When a divorce is decreed for any
of the causes mentioned in section 2 of this
act, the court granting it may decree alimony
to the wife, or any share of her estate in the
nature of alimony to the husband.
Sec. 12. When alimony or other annual al?
lowance is decreed for the wife or children, the
court may require sufiicicnt security to be given
for its payment, according to the terms of the
decree.
Sec. 13. Uponactionofdivorceforthecau.se
mentioned in section 2 of this act, in order to
secure a suitable support and maintenance to
the wife and such children as ? iay be commit?
ted to her care and custody, a attachment of
the husband's real and persona estate may be
made by the officer serving the summons. The
amount for which the attachment may be made
shall bo expressed in the warrant or attach?
ment, which must be obtained from a judge or
clerk of the court in which, or before whom,
the action is brought.
Sec. 14. That all laws relating to attachment
of real or personal estate shall apply to attach?
ment herein provided for, so far as the same
arc not inconsistent with this act.
Sec. 15. When an inhabitant of this State,
whose marriage has been consummated therein,
shall go into another State or country solely to
obtain a divorce, for any cause occurring here,
and whilst the parties resided here, or for any
cause which would not authorize a divorce by
the laws of this State, a divorce so obtained
shall be of no force or effect in this State.
Approved January 31, A. D., 1872.
The Chinese Walls.--Mr. Scward, who
visited the great wall of China during his visit
to that country, recently gave the following de?
scription of that wonderful structure:
The Chinese have been for the last two or
three thousand years a wall building people.
It would bankrupt New York or Paris to build
the walls of the city of Pekin. The great wall
of China is the great wall of the world. It is
forty feet high. The lower thirty feet is of
hewn limestone or granite. Two modern car?
riages may pass each other on the summit. It
has a parapet throughout its whole length,
with convenient staircases, buttresses and gar?
rison houses at every quarter of a mile, and it
runs, not by cutting flown hills and raising
valleys, but over the uneven crests of the moun?
tains and down through their gorges for a dis?
tance of a thousand miles. Admiral Rogers
and I calculated that it would cost more now
to build the great wall of China through its
extent of one thousand miles than it has cost
to build the forty-five thousand miles of rail?
road in the United States.
? Etiquette?If you pay a visit, it is not
necessary to get a receipt.
The Blue Ridge Scheme Defeated. .
The correspondent of the Charleston Xavs
gives a full account of the Senate proceedings,
in which the Blue Bidge scheme was disas?
trously defeated:
Columbia, S. C, Jan. 30.
The members of the Senate to-day put an
effectual quietus upon the Blue Eidge Railroad
swindle, and at the same time, and by the
same action, indicated very clearly their disap?
probation of the credit system in legislation.
Mr. Leslie intimated, on Friday last, that the
Senate was not disposed to tolerate the C. O. D.
principle, and that, as the New York adver?
tisements say, "the money must accompany
each order to secure the shipment of the
goods;" and the friends of the Blue Ridge
scheme have doubtless found by this time, to
their entire satisfaction, that promises to pay,
contingent upon the passage of a bill, hardly
sufficient motive power to turn the senatorial
grindstone for an axe of such proportions.
The measure came up to-day, immediately
after the morning business, as the special order
of the day, and a motion was made by Swails
to again postpone the consideration of the bill
till Thursday next. Nash hoped not, and
could not see any reason why a vote could not
be taken then as well as any other time.
Whittemore accused the Senators of acting in
had faith toward him. He had been called
out of town for a day or two, and they had
agreed not to take up this bill of abominations
until his return; but he noticed by the journal
that they had made a determined effort to take
up the bill on Friday. Now that it had come
up he was prepared to say something about it,
and hoped the motion to postpone would not
prevail. Hayne called for the ayes and noes
on the motion to postpone, and afterward
withdrew the call, which was renewed, howev?
er, by Swails. Leslie thought he would like
to have Swails get up and tell, in a clear, dis?
tinct voice, so that the Senate could hear him,
why he was so anxious all of a sudden to have
the thing postponed, when he had been all
along trying to hnrry it up. Swails replied
that it had been talked about so much that he
began to think there was something in it him?
self, and he wanted time to study on it. Leslie
thought that the bill as drawn was a delibe?
rate insult to the Senate. It was as bad as
though it asked them to set fire to the State
House, and then sit there until the building
was consumed; and he submitted that the men
who drew the bill were cither downright luna?
tics or else they thought the Senators were
idiots. The bill proposed to pay the debts of |
several railroad companies while the State was
unable to pay its own debts, and it proposed
to do a great many other things just as absurd.
He did not propose to vote for any postpone?
ment. He wanted the bill killed there and
then, and afterward the friends of the measure
might bring in a new bill having the same gen?
eral object m view, but being decent in its pro?
visions. The vote on postponement was then
taken and lost by eleven to fourteen.
Smalls then moved to strike out the enacting
clause of the bill, but being reminded that this
could not be done while the bill was under
discussion, he moved to amend by striking out
all after the enacting clause. Whittemore said
this was cutting off the body from the head,
and he did not know as it made much differ?
ence whether they did that or cut the head off |
from the body. He didn't want to do either.
He wanted to meet the bill at once, and if the
Senate liked the bill let them pass it, if they
didn't like it let them kill it by a straight vote,
without any dissection, decapitation or vivisec?
tion about it. Smalls insisted that his motion
was the best one. He understood that the bill
had a good heading, and if it had a good head
and a corrupt body it would be a good idea to
cut off the body and throw it away.
Swails moved to recommit the bill, and tin.
motion taking precedence of the other, it had
some show of passing, until Hayne roue with a
motion to indefinitely postpone the whole mat?
ter. This started another lot of filibustering
motions, and provoked a speech from Smalls,
who said they were all protesting that they
wished to.kill the bill, but if they did, why
didn't they vote for his motion Mislead of beat?
ing around the bush? He thought it was all
very thin, and that it looked as though, after j
all, they were in favor of passing the bill, and
were only trying to compound with their con?
sciences or to gammon their constituents by a
show of opposition. After a little further de?
bate, a vote was reached on the motion to in?
definitely postpone, and it was carried by a
vote of seven to eighteen. This action effectu?
ally disposes of tlie bill of abominations, as
the rules of the Senate provide that no matter
which has been indefinitely postponed can be
again brought up, nor can a similar bill be in?
troduced again during the present session,
A Country Without Womkn.?There is
only one territory of any size, and never has
been but one, occupied by any considerable
population, from which woman is absolutely
excluded. Yet, such a place exists to-day, and
has existed for centuries. As far back as his?
tory reaches, to all females it has been forbid?
den ground. This bachelor's Arcadia is situa?
ted on a bold plateau between the old peninsu?
la of Acte, in the Grecian Archipelago, and
the main land. Here, in the midst of cultiva?
ted fields and extensive woodlands, dwells a
monastic confederation of Greek Christians,
with twenty-three convents, and numbering
more than seven thousand souls, and not one
of the monasteries dates from a later time than
the twelfth century. A few soldiers guard the
borders of this anti-female land, and no woman
is allowed to cross the frontier. Nor is this all;
the rule is extended to every female creature,
and from time immemorial no cow, marc, hen,
duck or goose has been permitted to make ac?
quaintance with hill or valley of Mount Athos
Territory. A traveler was startled by the ab?
rupt question, "What sort of human creatures
arc women ?" The very idea of woman, wheth?
er as mother, wife or sister, is almost lost. To
all woman haters, to bachelors of forty years'
standing, to all men who seek refuge from the
wiles and ways of the opposite sex, this region
can be safely recommended as a heaven of re?
fuge.
NrnvsrAnnns in the Mails.?By a recent
decision of the Postoilice Department, the law
regarding sending newspapers by mail has been
more clearly defined than it has heretofore
stood. No name or memorandum can be made
on a newspaper inside of the wrapper on which
the address is written. It is barely permissablc
to mark an article with pen or pencil. More
than this subjects the paper to letter postage,
and the violator to a fine. No printed card,
hand-bill or advertisement, no written notice,
letter or slip of any kind whatsoever must be
folded in the paper. To do any of these things
is to violate the law. Printed slips pasted on
the outside or folded in papers or periodicals,
soliciting notices, arc also violations of the law.
.Senders of transient papers can send bundles
of printed matter by weight, or transient pos?
tage charges, but must not send any written
matter in such bundles. It will save expense
and inconvenience to parties concerned to bear
this ruling of the department in mind.
Death of General R. S. Ewell.
One by one tbey pass over the river to rest
under the shade of the trees. The great lead
j ers of the Confederacy are fast passing away.
[ First it was Jackson, then Lee, and now anoth
i er prominent actor of the late eventful war is
added to the list. Scarce a week has passed
since we announced the death of his beloved
spouse, aud now we are called upon to perform
the painful task of writing the obituary of that
great soldier of the "Lost Cause," Richard S.
Ewell, the successor of Stonewall Jackson in
command, aud after him one of the most cher?
ished and trusted lieutenants and friends of
Lee. We were not unprepared for this intelli?
gence, for his extreme ifiness had been fre?
quently referred to in our telegraphic columns
during the past few days. His death took place
at his residence in Maury county, Tennessee,
near Nashville, on Thursday morning.
We have but slight material at hand?but
from the little we have, aided by our memory,
we collect the following brief facts of his his?
tory: He was born in Virginia, and entered
West Point as a cadet in 1836, and was in
same class with Lee. In the Mexican war
held the rank of first lieutenant of dragoon..,
and was promoted to a captaincy for gallant
services at Chapultepec. He afterwards served
in New Mexico, but when the secession of Vi
ginia occurred he resigned, returned home, and
offered his sword to the Confederate cause
His first service in the cause was in a little
skirmish with the enemy on the 31st of May
1861, at Fairfax Court House, in which he was
wounded while reforming a small detachmeut
of volunteers, who had been suddenly attacked
by the cavalry of the enemy and thrown into
momentary confusion. He was wounded here
in the shoulder, and Governor Smith relieved
him from command, and put the enemy to flight
He was next in the battle of Manassas, but
not actively engaged.
His great services to the Confederacy begun
when he went to the relief of Stonewall Jack
son in the Valley, and participated in that
brilliant series of victories which immortalized
his chief and the little array of heroes he
nobly commanded and skillfully handled.?
Jackson gave Ewell full credit for his valuable
services in this campaign, and his own men
recognized the true worth of their commander.
At the battle of Cedar Run he again co-opera
ted with Jackson, and aided in securing the
victory. Thence he marched towards Manassas
and engaged with the enemy in a battle
Groveton, which preceded the brilliant series
engagements in which Pope was annihilated.
In this fight he was wounded and disabled
Amputation of one of his legs became neces?a
ry, and he suffered for a long time. It was
feared he would not recover, and daily the an
nouncement of his death was looked* for. I
fact, the enemy reported him dead several times
But he was soon in the saddle again, but not
before his great chief had fought his last figh
Ewell was selected as his successor.
From this time to the close of the war?
through Gettysburg to the Wilderness?he was
actively engaged in the field, ably seconding
General Lee. In the retrograde movement of
that General after the terrible battles of the
Wilderness and Spottsylvania Court House
when Grant undertook his flank movement for
the South side, General Ewell, much enfeebled
and suffering from his wound, was compelled
to retire, and he was placed in command of the
Department of Henrico, with his headquarters
in Richmond; and here he remained until he
mounted his horse and rode across the bridge
on the morning of the evacuation, while the
bright sky was darkened with the smoke of
conflagration, which, in obedience to superior
orders, aud the imperative necessities of war
he had sorrowfully lighted. He was taken
prisoner, and long confined in Fort Warren
without any assigned cause. The hardships he
had previously endured added to the burdens
of a long imprisonment, had made rapid in
roads upon his constitution, and when he was
finally released, and made his way to the home
of his wife in Tennessee, he was but a wreck
and seemed ready even then for the grave
How he has managed to lengthen out his life
thus long is a mistcry difficult for those to solve
who remember his skeleton form and decrepit
appearance as he was wont to drive or nde
through the streets of Richmond in the last
days of the war.
He is at rest at last, and his battles are all
over. With Jackson and Lee, and the mighty
host of nameless heroes, who crowd the valhal
las of the dead, he sleeps in peace.?Richmond
Enquirer.
Sheep and Clover.?These we believe to
be the greatest agencies that arc to revolution?
ize Southern agriculture, and the one is the
component of the other. Sheep will enable us
to grow clover, clover will help us to keep our
sheep in fine condition, and both together will
work something almost like a miracle on our
worn-out plantations. But what about the dogs
and the frcedmen ? we are asked by those who
have no faith in cither clover or sheep. We
have lately put this question to several exten
sive wool-growers in Abbeville County, and the
reply is, that with proper management there is
little or no danger of loss from either mutton
loving negroes or vicious dogs. The sheep are
penned at night and during the day they run
in their pastures, without being disturbed by
anything. Depend upon it, for in a large por?
tion of our middle and upper country," sheep
and clover are the magic words of the new era
of Southern agriculture.?Rural Carolinian.
? The Atlanta Sun says that "John Bonner,
an old citizen of Hancock county, well known
throughout the State, died in Sparta a fewdavs
ago, after a protracted illness. He was nearly
seventy years of age at the time of his death,
lie was an oddity in his way. It is said he had
his coffin made years ago, and has kept it on
hand ever since, and that at the time it was
made, he put a number of bottles of brandy of
his own make in it, to be kept till his death,
and drank by his friends at the funeral. We
have not heard whether the brandy was appro?
priated as designed or not. It was old enough
to be good."
? An Elmira, N. Y., minister was having a
donation party the other evening, when Mr.
-, ambitions to appear liberal, marked a
four dollar castor up to twelve dollars, and took
it in as Ins donation, getting much credit for
his liberality. The next day the ministercallcd
at his store with the twelve-dollar castor, stat?
ing that as he could not afford such an expen?
sive article he would he pleased to exchange it
for its marked value in other needed goods, and
he was soon wending his way homeward, load?
ed down with a dozen dollars' worth of select
groceries.
? A Scottish minister, being one day en?
gaged in visiting some members of his flock,
came to the door of a house where his gentle tap?
ping could not be heard, for the noise of con?
tention within. After waiting a little while,
he opened the door and walked in, saying, with
an authoritative voice, "I should like to know,
sir, who is the head of this house?"' "Weel,
sir." said the husband and father, "if ye'll just
sit doon a wee bit, we may be able to tell ve :
for we're just about to settle that point." ' '
The Election Law.
The law in this State prescribing the manner
of conducting elections is a disgrace to the
statute book of any free and civilized people.
It is so admitted even by the leaders and influ?
ential members of the Radical party; and yet,
although a bill to amend it and expunge its
most objectionable features was introduced and
favorably reported upon by the Committee on
Elections, and its necessity and propriety clear?
ly demonstrated in debate at the session of
1870- 71, it still cumbers the calendar of the
Senate, or is stuck in some pigeon-hole of a
committee, and is likely to remain there. The
prominent objections to the law, as it nogr
stands, are, first, the unlimited and dangerous
power given the Governor, in the appointment
of the commissioners of election, and conse?
quent control of the managers; and, second,
the unusual length of time in which the man?
agers are allowed to count the votes and make
their return to the commissioners.
The Governor, by confining his appointments
to his own particular satelites, can secure his
own election and whatever of the other candi?
dates may be acceptable to him, without any
regard to' the ballots of the people. But even
should the Governor be above tue emplojfhent
of such fraudulent measures to accomplish hit
ends, the people are left to the tender mercies
of the managers themselves, who, if they are
so disposed, can stuff the boxes to their hearts'
content, to aid the election of their special fa?
vorites.
The bill referred to above, as amendatory of
of the Act now in force, provides for the im?
mediate counting of the votes after the closing
of the polls, as was the old custom in our State,
and further requires that each political party
in the field be represented upon the board of
managers and the board of commissioners of
election, if there are not more than three par?
ties. The opposition to the new bill, urged
last winter, was the flimsy pretext that the ap^
poimment of Democrats to take a share of the
management and supervision of the elections,
was an act of justice that would not be accord?
ed the Republicans were the Democrats in the
ascendancy. In other words, the great "God
and morality" party should, according to these
solons, adopt as the rule of their conduct the
very iniquities which they charge against their
political enemies. But even this ground of ex?
cuse, untenable and .self-contradictory as it is
under any circumstances, cannot be maintained
now. The indications are, nay, we feel justi?
fied in saying with certainty, that the Democ?
racy of South Carolina will not make nomina?
tions or support party candidates at the ap?
proaching elections. The field will be left to
the Republicans entirely, and the contest will
be between rival factions of that party. The
Democrats will look quietly on ; try to run in
such good men as they can for County offices;
and as for the others, seek for the least dishon?
est Radicals, and vote for them. In view of
this condition of things, it may be well f?r the
opponents of Scott and the present corrupt ad?
ministration in the Legislature, (we mean the
Republicans,) to see to it that the election law
be so amended, before adjournment, as to secure
a fair election, and preclude those opportunities
for frauds which characterized the elections in
1868 in every County where there was the
smallest apprehension of a closely contested
race. If It. K. Scott becomes again a candidate
for rc-clection to the gubernatorial chair, all
efforts to defeat him, even by a majority of
his own political party, will prove utterly futile,"
if the election laws remain as they now are.
If he does not have himself electedj-.it will be
because he is too honorable, pure arid chival-r
rpus to practice a fraud when the way is clear
and every temptation before him, of unholy
ambition and avaricious greed, to entice him
on. We leave every one to judge for himself*
basing his conclusions upon the conduct of his
Excellency for the past four years, how that
magnate would act under such circumstances,
with the simple suggestion from us that it is
not prudent to subject any man, however high
his character and integritv, to such extraordi?
nary temptation.?Columbia Phoznix.
Ex-Senator Boolittle on the Political Situa?
tion.
The annexed extracts are from a letter writ*
ten by Ex-Senator Doolittle, of Wisconsin, on
the condition of public affairs, and the best
method of defeating Grant in the coming elec?
tion :
In my opinion the present party holds power
simply because those who are opposed to it do
not act together. Three million Democratic
voters are opposed to it, and, as I believe, near?
ly one million Republicans are opposed to it.
Can the four million unite and vote together?
If they can, they will have a majority of five
hundred thousand. If they cannot, they must
fail.
How can this union in political action be ef?
fected? It cannot be a coalition of leaders to
obtain office and power. There must be a
union of the masses upon common principles,
and to efieet a common and great patriotic pur?
pose.
The whole country waits now to see what
shall be the action of the Liberal Republican
Convention, to be held in Missouri, on the 24th
instant.
If that convention shall plant itself squarely
upon ideas, and pledge itself to principles,
which all true Republicans, and all true Dem?
ocrats of Jefferson's and Jackson's school, cher?
ish as vital to the maintenance of Republican
government, and to constitutional civil liberty,
they mav command the confidence not only of
the* 1,000,000 Liberal Republicans, but of the
3,000,000 Democratic voters. But in order to
do so, they must declare against centralization;
against keeping military power above civil au?
thority; against using the Federal army to
control conventions and destroy the freedom of
elections; against stupendous frauds, pecula?
tions, and robberies of the carpet-bag govern?
ments of the South, as well as Tammany, the
Custom House and elsewhere; and in favor of
universal enfranchisement; of giving to all the
States their just and equal rights under the
Constitution; in favor of the principle of one
term for the President; of applying that prin?
ciple to the present Executive, and of a practi?
cal civil service reform by placing a statesman
of capacity and integrity at the head of affairs.
Should that convention take some such
course, and the Liberal Republicans of other
States follow their example, and show that the
Liberal Republicans of the whole country have
the courage to work, and, if necesjMiry, make
sacrifices to sustain true Republican liberty,
the great mass of the Democratic voters would
not only sympathize with them, but, in some
proper and efficient mode, fraternize with them
in political action in order to save our Repub?
lican system of government. If they seek to
lead, however, they must show themselves wor?
thy of leadership. They must speak to the
people in no uncertain tones, and march before
them with no faltering tread.
? A girl of the perio;! comments thus on
Mormonism : "How absurd ! four or five wives
to one man, when the fact is each woman in
these times ought to have four or five husbands.
It would take about that number to support me
decently."