University of South Carolina Libraries
BY E B. MLTRKAY & CO. ~~ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^m. ~ ~~~ \ \ ^^^jv^^^ LITTLE MOUNTAIN. The Desolate Grave of the Man Who Wrote the Declaration of American In? dependence?-Where Two Presidents Sleep. Petersburg (Va.) Index-Appeal. Owing to tbe inability of the Govern? ment to acquire a perfect title to tbe ground under the act of Congress, specially, passed in tbe Forty-fifth Con? gress, the erection of the monumentj which was authorized over the grave of Thomas Jefferson, at Monticello, has been delayed, awaiting additional legis? lation. The State Department has this week addressed a letter to the proper committee, submitting tbe defects which the Attorney-General has found in the title, and asking for such legislation as will remedy them and permit tbe United States to proceed with the erection of tbe monument Monticello, by which the estate of Jefferson is known, has been in litigation for a great many years, and has only been settled within the past few months by a legal sale,to the princi? pal heirs. For a lohg time it was aban? doned, and the mansion remained wholly uninhabited, but it will be at last a mat? ter of pride to the people of the entire country that tbe private estate has been reclaimed through private efforts, and - that the grave, so long desecrated, of the author of the Declaration .of Indepen? dence is fco pass under the control of the Government be was pre-eminent in form? ing and perpetuating."' The proposition to erect a new monu? ment over the grave of Jefferson prompt- J ed a. visit to Monticello. The route is4 one of some six hours over the Virginia Midland Railroad from Washington, through Manassas, Culpeper, across the Rapidan, by Orange Court House and Gordouavilie?mile-stones that mark the shocks of batde?to Charlottesville.' At this season of theyear. it is a most charming journey. May in Virginia is a lovely month. The rich .green foliage of the- receding spring-time is softened by the balmy air of tbe coming summer. The meadows are luxuriant, and the wild flowers bloom in the valleys. and the maple and the elm wave on the hill-tops. As tbe train rolls around the edge of tbe valley of tbe Rivanna, just before you reach Charlottesville, Monticello may.be seen on the "little mountain' - on the left through; the opening' in the old trees which nearly surround it Monti? cello (pronounced as if spelled Monti chctto) is an Italian name, meaning Lit? tle Mountain. . The \ ascent, which is about six hundred feet above Charlottes? ville, is over an excellent road, over? shadowed with wooden folds, through wbicti now and then you catch glimpses of th9 beautiful country beneath that stretches for miles till it meets the pic? turesque summit! of the "Blue moun? tains." ' After crossingthe notch between Little Mountain on the left and Carter's Mountain that rises above, it on the right, tbe road leading to Monticello is steeper. Two-thirds of the way up and a few yards,to the right of the road in a thick growth of woods is- located the grave of Thomas Jefferson. The condition of the grave and the monument that marks it [ are a disgrace to tbe American name. The location is desolate; the graveyard dilapidated, and the decay all out com? plete. The grave mound has been these many years leveled with the ground, while the monument has been defaced beyond recognition. For half a century the vandal?who would defy "the pesti? lence thatf walketh at noonday" to carry on bis work of destruction?has chipped and hewn the edges of the shaft from base to apex, which now locates the heap of the grave, till it looks as if it had been placed there rough from the quarry. It was originally a coarse granite obelisk, about nine feet high, on a base three feet square, designed with its inscriptions by Jefferson himself, and erected soon after his death. "The legendary tablets of the paat" were utterly obliterated by the defacement with the single exception of the words in block letters at the base: i 1Born April 2, ?; S., 1743.'f : Died July 4,1825. \ * *.-.?.* Tbe full epitaph which Mr. Jefferson wrote, and a rough pen and ink sketch of a monument for himself, were found in a frivate drawer shortly after his death, t was to be an obelisk of granite, eight feet high (it appeared to be a little over nine feet, and to bear the following in? scription p. \t : *.. ......... W.# : HBBB WAS BUBIEP : j THOMAS JEFFERSON, \ ? Author ? : OF THE DECLARATION OF : AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE, \ 1. WfiMl of ( : ? : : ,. THE STATUTE OF : : VIRGINIA FOR RELI- : : GIOUS FREEDOM, AND : : FATHER OF THE UNIVER- j : SITY OF VIRGINIA. : *.* i The inscription for the base was to be: : Died ****** *: i.* His wishes were fully carried out, the blank in tbe last line having been filled with "July 4,1826.? In an old pocket account-book of 1741, among other, memoranda in Jefferson's hand-writing, was tbe following selection of a burial place: "Choose some unfrequented vale in the park, where is 'no sound to break tbe stillness but a brook, that bubbling winds among the weeds; . no mark of human shape that has been.'. ihere unless the skeleton of somepoor, .wretch, who sought that place out (o despair and die in.' Let it be among the ancient and venerable oaks; intersperse some gloomy evergreens. Appropriate one-half to tbe use of my own family, the other to strangers, servants, etc * * * Let the exit look on a small and distant part of the Blue mountains." " t] Tbe grave-yard is located on an unfre? quented slope of the mountain, "among ancient -and venerable; oaks," "inter? spersed" with a solitary evergreen, but no sound of running brook "that bub? bling winds among the weeds," breaks the stillnea?. A tall pine waving in tbe breeze, "Singing old songs with hew gladness," waa the only sound. The graves, of which there are thirty besides that of Jefferson, are partly surrounded by an old brick wall about one hundred feet square and eight or ten feet high, with high, rust-caten iron gates, wide enough to admit a carriage, on 'the north and went sides. On the south the entire wall is level with the ground, and on tbe west a portion has fallen. Within the inclos ure, as stated, everything is the picture of desolation and decay. With the ex? ception of two or three marble slabs, which mark the graves of some of Jef? ferson's.descendants, buried as late as ten years ago, there is not one that is not cracked or defaced, overgrown with the weeds or out of its place. It is half covered with rank weeds and loise stones and bricks. On tbe west wall the "Vir? ginia creepers" are struggling to grow out of.the plsce before they put on the scarlet tints of the autumn, and within the bloom of a single bush of agiantine only relieves the decay which meet one at every step. There is no trace whatever of the grave of Mrs. Jefferson, which was about the first interment, and which was lo? cated by the side of the obelisk of Jef? ferson. He survived her forty-four years. In 1841 this grave and its slab of white marble were visible with the sim? ple inscription: "Martha Jefferson, born in 1747 0. S. Intermarried with Thomas Jefferson January 1, 1772; torn from him by death September 6, 1782: this monument of love is inscribed." On the other side of the obelisk the slab cover? ing the grave of Jefferson's oldest daugh? ter is partially legible. What is missing is in brackets: "M. A. R.?[Martha Jefferson Ran? dolph, eldest daughter of Thomas Jeffer? son, born September 27?(1772). Inter? married with Thomas Mann Randolph February 23, 1790. Died October 10, 11886. She possessed a strong and culti? vated * * * mild and gentle tem? per; warm, affectionaate * * and self-sacrificing in all her duties. This is a slight mark of the love borne by her son, Thos. Jefferson Randolph." The latter, the first grandson of Thomas Jef? ferson, died but a few years ago. (He was President in 1872 of the .National Democratic Convention, which met at Baltimore.) He was present when Jef? ferson died, and furnished Mr. Ran? dolph, his biographer, an interesting ac? count of Jefferson's last moments. From him it is learned that Mr. Jef? ferson had no funeral. It was his wish that his interment should be private and 'without parade of any kind, and no notice of the hour of interment nor invi? tations wero issued. His body was borne down the mountain side from his resi? dence by a little procession of his family and servants, but at the grave his friends and neighbors had gathered in a drench? ing rain to pay their last tribute of affec? tion. The burial service of the Episcopal Church was read over the remains at the grave. Mr. Jefferson was invited to the city of Washington on the 4th of July? the day on which he died?to join in the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of American independence, but he declined, on account of ill health, though anxious, as he said, to Bee his "ancient neighbors" in that city. In his last day? Jefferson wrote to Madison: "Take care of me when dead, and be assured I shall leave with you my last affections." Although Mr. Randall tells us that this probably referred to a defense of his political life it is an appeal, now partially heeded, to the American people to save from further desecration this "temple of silence and reconcilia? tion." Monticello itself, at the time of our visit, was in possession of a tramp. When we reached the hill top from the graveyard and walked to the front of the mansion, an old man in rags sat half asleep in the sun on the portico. He aroused himself at the barking of a half fed dog, and greeted us gruffly with: "Do you want to see old man Jefferson's house, gentlemen!" We answered.? "Then it will cost you twenty-five cents apiece." The money was paid, .a chain across the main door was unlocked, it swung open, and we entered a spacious ante-hall. The appearance of decay in his "earthly habitation" was hot so great as we had been led to believe, but was not the desecration in keeping with that down the mountain slope? The home of Thomas Jefferson in possession of a tramp 1 Who could believe this unless he had seen it. Yet inquiry proved this to be the literal fact. This old man had sat himself down there without authority from any one and levied admittance to Monticello, where Washington and Mad? ison and Lafayette had been welcomed 1 The description of the house is possibly too well known to require one here. It stands on the very apex of the mountain, and was formerly surrounded by orna? mental grounds and is now half embow? ered in trees. It is a long brick structure of a lofty balnstraded single story, sur? mounted by a dome with porticos front and rear. One of Mr. Jefferson's idio syncracies was a fondness for architec? ture. While the hall was large and the rooms spacious, the stairway was so nar? row as to be uncomfortable to a stout person, and quite in contrast to the stair* ways of that date at Mount Yernou and Montpelier. The hall opened into an octagonal dining room with sliding glass folding doors with a finish that looked modern. The second floor was cut up into all kinds of inconceivable bed rooms owing to the form of the house. In the dome there was one room used for danc? ing parties, and at other times as a draw? ing-room. In all of the bed-rooms there were dark, narrow alcoves for the beds, which were partly a fixture in the walls. There were here and there odd places of furniture, and an old carriage, which be? longed to Jefferson; but "the marble and brescia tables, French mirrors and handsome sofas" which adorned the house with the statuary and paintings have gone long ago. The view from Monticello is magnifi? cent. For fifty miles on the left, till the scene is melted into the haze of the Blue Ridge to Willis mountain on the right, forty miles distant., there is one vast sea of verdue "stretched out like a map under the feet." There may be more beautiful views, but they must be rare? very rare from an eminence suitable for a dwelling place. Montpelier?Tins Grave of Madison. The condition of the grave and monu? ment of James Madison is quite in con? trast with that of Jefferson. The county seal of Madison is Montpelier, in Orange County, Va., about four miles from Orange Station, on the Virginia Midland Railroad, and about sixty miles from Monticello. Some minutes before the grand old mansion is reached, the granite obelisk over Madison's grave is visible through the fields half a mile to the right of the house. It is located in a large field, and inclosed with a substantial brick wall, quite one hundred feet square and five feet in height On the east side there is a small plain iron gate, with the words in iron letters : *MADISON,* 1820." "* j *.* On the shaft, which is a graceful one, twenty feet high, resting on a pedestal of four pieces, there is no other inscrip? tion than this, in large, plain, sunken letters on the .width of the shaft at its base: *.? i MADISON, BOEN MARCH 16, 1751. ? #.? The date of his death, though he died at eighty-five, is not cut in the granite. The grave is in excellent condition and well taken care of by the present owner of Montpelier. By the side of the mon? ument there is a smaller obelisk of mar? ble over the grave of Mrs. Madison, whose accomplishments and virtues have come down to us from the republican court which she adorned at Washington in the days of the administrations of President Madison. Montpelier is in pleasant contrast with Monticello. Madison succeeded to it as a child; and it looks to-day more like one of those country seats in England which j have been handed down from generation to generation, than the former residence of the "expounder of the Constitution." Though the scenery is not so grand nor so extensive as at Monticello, Montpelier is nevertheless a most attractive place. The house is large and plain, though flanked with handsome columned por? ticos. "The region," says an old writer, "is one where nature has shed, in great beauty, the softest picturesque of hill and dale, forest and glade. At hand in the rear rises, as if to adorn the prospect with bolder contrasts, the gracefully wavering chain of the southwest moun? tains, to fence on one side the vale of Orange and Albemarle, on whose south? eastern edge of nodding woods and green fields Montpelier lies embosomed and embowered; while on the other side, in the airy distance, beyond that vale, tower iu fantastic lines the blue peaks of the long Apalachain range, breaking the horizon as if to form another and more fanciful one." Decoration Day at Beaufort, S. C. The graves of the soldiers buried in the National Cemetery at Beaufort were decorated with flowers, on May 31, with imposing ceremonies. Several visiting military companies took part in the cele? bration. Major D. T. Corbin was the orator of the day, and made a speech re? viewing the causes of the war, which he concluded as follows: "To you I would address a few words of admonition and advice. You have at great cost of blood and treasure been made free, and clothed with all the rights of citizens. As such you participate, on equal terms, with your white fellow-citi? zens in all the functions of government. When viewed, as they should be, these in a Republic like ours are high and im? portant trusts. They involve in their exercise matters of the greatest possible concern and consequence. I have shown you to-day with what terrible conse? quences a mistake or wrong, incorpo? rated into the Constitution of 1787, was attended. Let that illustrate to you how important are your privileges and duties in connection with the functions of gov? ernment. Had not Blavery been recog? nized and protected in the National Con? stitution of 1787, at the instance of the fioliticians of Georgia and South Caro ina, you would probably never have been born slaves and the war of 1861 would never have been fought. "The lesson I would have you learn, first and above all others, is to be right in all your political faith and doctrine; and, second, in your selection of men to. represent you in office you choose none but men of the highest intelligence and the purest and best character. You owe this to the Nation that has, at such fear? ful cost, freed and enfranchised you and made you citizens. You owe it to your? selves'and to each other. You owe it to your white fellow-citizens, among whom you have your home and dwelling place. You owe it as a debt of gratitude to those choice spirits, who for forty years, through evil and good report, bearing all things, hoping all things, in peril by sea and land, pioneered your cause and struggled on in your behalf while you knew them not, till your cause was won and you were free. But I have done. I have had no desire to mingle politics with the solemnities of this occasion, but simply to seize the moment to enforce a truth and draw a lesson, profitable to all. The little mounds and head-stones before us admonish us that life, at most, is short? is but the ante-chamber of death." Ex-Congressman Smalls read a letter from ex-Governor Chamberlain acknowl? edging an invitation to be present on Decoration Day, and saying "it is impos? sible for me to accept, but I am much oblige 1 for the invitation. The day you propose to celebrate suggests the most patriotic memories. Its lesson and voice is political freedom under the Constitu? tion and Union for all men. Till the day shall arrive when every man in our country shall enjoy the ballot without molestation or fear, the heroes of our great wars should be our monitors and guides in the battles of our day." Another Congressional Scandal. ?The Washington Post charges Senator Ferry, of Michigan, with undue intimacy with a lady of high social rank, a guest, for the time, at the Senator's hotel. The account reads that the distinguished of? fender was discovered iu the lady's cham? ber by her daughter, a spirited girl of fifteen, and submitted to a cowhiding at her hands, supplemented and backed by a revolver held by a male friend. Cer? tain it is that the Michigander appears in public with a phenomenally black eye which he attributes to a fall, but which the gossips trace to his rencontre with the indignant girl. Mr. Ferry went upon the floor of the House the morning the report appeared in the Post with a copy of that paper in his hand, and an earnest conver? sation with members of the Michigan delegation ensued. At the same hour the editor of the Post was observed hov? ering in a neighboring lobby. The issue is a serious one, as it involves not alone Mr. Ferry's morals, but the good name of a family of reputed wealth and social position. A Peculiar Will.?Dr. Wilson J. H. Burch, who recently died-at Phillips burg, N. Y., left a peculiar will. Among other things it provides for a monument of granite to be erected at his grave at a cost not to exceed $50,000 or less than $40,000. It also provides that $10,000 be invested for the establishment and maintenance of a brass band, to be called the "Burch Cornet Band of the Town of Phillipsburg." The sole duty of this band will be, on the anniversary of his death and on legal holidays, to march to the monument and there perform a fu? neral march and such other appropriate music as the leader of the band may designate. Confederate Brigadiers.?We hear less about the "rebel brigadiers" in Con? gress than formerly. Ben Butler once wanted to be elected to the House to meet and overthrow them but in this war he has won no victories. On the whole the "rebel brigadiers" behave very well, and are more peaceble and patriotic than others who never fought against the Union. The highest of ex-rebel officers who have entered public life since the war are Gen. Gordon of Georgia, Gen. Johnston of Virginia, and Gen. Hamp? ton of South Carolina, all of whom went in that august body, the National Senate. We can only say we wish there were more of the same kind in the Senate.? Boston Herald. Prejudice Kills.?"Eleven years our daughter suffered on a bed of misery under tho care of several of the best (and some of the worst) physicians, who gave her disease various names but no relief, and now she is restored to us in good health by a simple a remedy as Hop Bitter?, that we had poohed at for two years, be? fore using it. We earnestly hope and pray that no one else will let their Rick sufler as we did, on accouut of prejudice against so good a medicine as Hop Bit? ters."?The Parents.? Telegram. A SLAVE PRINCESS. The Strange Story of a Remarkable Adven? turesH?Sarah Wilson's Wandorlnjrs?How a Convict Slave Impersonated a March? ioness. New York Evening rost. It was a common practice in some of tbe American Colonies to sell white per? sons into slavery for a limited number of years, but it was not common to term this sort of servitude slavery, although it was such to all intents and purposes. The person sold was called a servant, and the indenture that bound him or her during tbe period of servitude gave the master complete control over his servant, with the right to punish him severely for any offence, or to hunt him down if he attemp? ted to escape from bondage. Some of the old laws of Virginia under this head were harsh in the extreme, and if they were rigidly enforced, as we may presume was the case, hard, indeed, must have been the lot of any bond-servant who in? curred the displeasure of his master. The source from which many servants of this kind were obtained was the courts of England, where it was customary to transport to America prisoners who bad been convicted of offences not punishable by death, but who were too great offenders to be kept at borne in overcrowded jails. They were accordingly shipped to the colonies and were sold for a limited num? ber of years, usually seven. An an? nouncement like that which follows, which appeared in the Pennsylvania Gazette as late as July 28, 1784, was at one time very cemmon: "Just arrived from Londonderry, in the brig Peggy, Capt. Stewart, a number of fine, healthy men and women servants, and some small boys, whose times are to be dis? posed of to the best bidders by tbe cap? tain, on board, or by Campbell & Kings? ton, on the wharf." A convict sent to this country in 1771 created a sensation, and so extraordinary was her career that her name has found a place in history. It is true that where it appears in the records of the times it is but a bare mention ; but the dozen or twenty lines given to her in Dorau's "Lives of the Queens of England of the House of Hanover," shows that her ad? ventures in America were the subject of discussion, perhaps of mirth, in tbe draw? ing rooms of Queen Charlotte. In that brief outline there are a lew errors. The story, as I have been able to gather it from different sources, is as follows: In August, 1770, a woman who had no bus? iness there found her way, by means of the prirate stairs, into the apartments of Queen Charlotte. Entering the room in which the Queen and the Duchess of Ancester were sitting she took a survey of everything there with the greatest composure. The Queen and the Duch \ ess were too much alarmed to expel her; ' but at length the Duchess had the pres? ence of mind to ring tbe bell, which brought a page, who with difficulty forced tbe intruder to retire. But little more was thought of this piece of presumption; but a snort time after the affair the Queen's apartments were again entered and tbia time a cabinet was broken open and robbed of valuable jewels and a min? iature of the Queen. Tbe thief proved to be a woman named Sarah Wilson, tbe maid of the Hon. Miss Vernon, sis? ter of Lady Grosvenors and .who was probably the same woman who had pre? viously entered the apartments. She was apprehended and tried and condemned to death; tfut through tbe influence of her mistress the sentence was commuted to transportation to America, there to be sold for a period of seven years?a step that created some stir in London, for there were persons who complained that in this way the gallows had been cheat? ed. In 1771 Sarah Wilson, sent out in a convict ship, landed in Maryland, where she was exposed for sale and was bought by William Duvall, of Bush Creek, Fred? eric County, to whom she was legally bound for tbe stipulated term of years. Duvall took her to his residence, where she remained in his service apparently contented, till an opportunity offered to make good her escape. From Bush Creek she found her way into Virginia, and passed through North Carolina to South Carolina, where she felt that she had put too wide a strip of country be? tween herself and her master to render a return to slavery probable. With no fear of arrest to haunt her, she assumed tbe title of tbe Princess Susanna Caro? lina Matilda, and asserted that she was a sister of the Queen. The richness of some of her apparel, her jewels and the minature of the Queen gave color to her statement, which was generally believed. Having gained a footing, she travelled from plantation to plantation, assuming the air of royalty, and with so much dig? nity that many persons thought they were honored when they were permitted to kiss her hand. To all persons who found their way into her presence she was gra? cious, and liberal in the promise of favors from her own hand and from that of her royal sister. One woman was to have a place near her person; a man was to be at the head of a regiment; some persons were to be honored with preferments in the treasury, while others were to be as? signed to prominent positions in the army and navy. There was no end to her lib? erality, and her newly-found friends were equally obliging; for they placed consid? erable sum3 at her disposal. For a sea? son she lacked nothing?nothing till her fame reached the more northern colonies, where Duvall, who had heard these re? markable stories, recognized in the de? scription of the Princess Matilda his run? away bond woman, and forthwith sought to recover her. The first step was to ad? vertise her, which be did in the follow? ing manner: "Bush Creek, Federick County, Mary? land, October 11,1771. Ran away from the subscriber, a convict servant, named Sarah Wilson, but has changed her name to Lady Susanna Caroline Matilda, which made the public believe that she was her Majesty'ssister. She has a blem? ish in her right eye, black rolled hair, stoops in the shoulder?, and makes a com? mon practice of writing and marking her clothes with a crown and B. Whoever secures tbe said servant woman, or will take her home, shall receive five pistoles, besides all cost of charges. William Duvall. "I entitle Michrel Dalton to search the city of Philadelphia, and from there to Charleston, for the said woman." With a document like that in circula? tion, backed by tl ^ efforts of her master to run her down, Sarah Wilson could make no longer continuing in any one place. She went "from pillar to post;" here to-day and there to-morrow, still finding some one credulous enough not only to believo her story, but also to lend her money and help her on. But the field was becoming more and more circumscribed. Realizing this, and with the certainty that if she remained where she was ?he would soon be arrested, she made a bo'id push for New York, where she hoped that she would be lost in a crowd. But New York proved to be equally dan? gerous ground, and she took passage for Newport iu one of the packets then ply? ing on the Sound. Here, too, she found that her fame preceded her, for her arri ' vul was thus announced iu the newspaper of the day, under date of November 29, 1773: "Last Tuesday arrived here from New York the lady who has passed through several of the Southern Colonies under the name and character of Caroline Matilda, Marchioness of Waldegrave, &c." This was almost the last move of Sarah Wilson, for before the year was out she was again in the hands of Duvall, who took her back to Maryland to serve out not only the remainder of her time, but also an additional number of years, which was always a part of the penalty for at? tempting to run away. Before her days of bondage were over the storm of the Revolution broke over the country, and in the whirlwind that followed we lost trace of the woman and her history. Remarkable as were her adventures, they appear more so when we are told that she was wanting in personal attraction, that she had a blemish in her right eve and stooped in the shoulders; but the curious part of it all is that a convict was able, after her conviction, not only tore tain in her possession the jewels and the miniature she had stolen, but also to bring away dresses that were in keeping with her assumed position; and yet the story that she did so can scarcely be questioned. The jewels, when they pass? ed from her hands, were soon lost sight of, but what became of the miniature ? That is a conundrum that the most in? defatigable of bric-a-brac collectors would find it difficult to solve. More Abont the Census. In a few days more the the census man will take his book under his arm and start out to make his mark on this de? cade. Under the new law they have a legal right to ask about 500 questions, but there is such a thing as a census man going too far. It is well enough for de? fenseless families to know where the line is drawn. No census man has a right to dispute a woman when shogives her age. Under the law he can elevate bis eyebrows and exclaim: "Did you ever ?" when a fe? male supposed tobe 45 returns her ago at 32, but he must stop right there. He may wonder to himself where on earth the grandmothers of this country have suddenly slipped to, but he musn't won? der to you. No census man has a legal right to ask a woman if she is living with her first, second or third husband, or whether she quarrels more with the third than the first. The law supposes every family to be living in peace and harmony, and the United States government never takes any notice of a family row brought on by the hired girl being kissed in the dark. Under the law, uo census-taker ha? aDy right to ask a wife how many eve? nings in a week her husband is out after 11 o'clock, or what is the subject of her remarks when he slips in atthesidedoor. This great and glorious government has always been conducted on the. prin? ciple that clubs, lodges and societies were a part of its foundation. The law does not specify that the cen? sus man shall ask a wife if she couldn't have done better by waiting for a second offer. This information is supposed to be cheerfully volunteered, and is marked with a big red "X" to signify the offi? cial's belief that if she hadn't accepted. the offer she did she would have died an old maid. A baby with the measles counts just as much in law as one galloping around barefooted in the front door-yard. The law requires the census taker to remark that your baby is the handsomest one in the ward. If he neglects to do so he shonld be called back. For the benefit of wives who do their own housework and are ashamed to have it known, blanks are furnished with a heading which reads: "Is generally in the habt of keeping four servants, but has just given her help a vacation." The new law is also very generous in another matter. The census-taker may legally inquire who lives next door, but is supposed that most women will fill out and sign the following: "Family named Blank; no style about 'em; he wears a shabby hat, and she never combs her hair until 3 o'clock p. m.; they have a carriage, but I don't believe it's paid for; they allow their children to throw stones at our dog and permit them to Elay on mouth organs; 'they say' she as diamonds, but I don't believe it; lots of callers, but I presumo they were there to collect bills. To all of which 1 sub? scribe myself," etc?Detroit Free Press. Woman's Softening Influence.? "It's astonishin'," remarked the old forty niner this morning as he nodded over his glass to our reporter, "it's aston? ishin' what a coward a man is at home?a reg'lar crawlin' sneak." I've traveled a good bit, and held up my end in all the camps on the road sence '49. I've got three bullets inside o' me. I've shot an' been shot at, an' uever heard nobody say I hadn't as good grit as most fellers that's goin'. But at home I'm a kyote. Afore I'd let the old woman know that her hot biscuit wasn't A 1 when it's like stiff amalgam, I'd fill myself as full as a retort. I've done it lots o' times. Most o' my teeth is gone from tug gin' on beef-steak that the old woman has fried. D'ye think I roar out and cuss when I go over a chair in the dark? No, sir. While I'm rubbiu' my shins and keepin* back the tears, I'm likewise sweatin' fur fear the old woman has been woke by the upset. "I didn't use to be I so," sighed the poor old fellow, thought? fully rubbing his shining scalp. "When we was first nitched I thought I was the superintendent, but after a year or two of argyin' the pint I settled down to shov in' the car at low wages. I kin lick any man o' my ape an' size," cried the old gentleman, banging on the saloon table with his wrinkled fist. "I'll shoot, knife, stand up or rough-and-tumblo for coin, but when I hang my hat on the peg in the hall and take off my muddy boots, an' hear the old woman ask if that's me, I tell you the starch comes right out o' me. ? Virginia (Nev.) Chronicle. ? "If Mrs. Hicks-Lord," says the Lon? don World, "does now revisit these shores, it will not be for want of invita? tions. One of these, from an English lady of titlo, had a simple naivete that seems to entitle it to commemoration. The English lady wrote, encouraging the American lady to pay England another visit; begged of her to come and stay with her both in town and in the coun? try ; and tendered her services generally, putting the American once again an eoruani with that place of modern civili? zation which we call society. There was a postscript to the letter. It ran thus: "You have heard, I daresay, that my daughter is going to ho married. If you are thinking of sending her a little wed? ding present, I think she would like dia? mond stars for the hair best." ? The town of Savoy, on the Texas Facific Railroad, in Texas, was destroyed by a cyclone on Friday night, May 28. Nineteen stores, a depot and twenty dwellings were demolished, only five houses escaping damage. Nine persons were killed and sixty injured, some of them fatally. LE DTJC'S DISCOVERY. Cotton Flantlng to bo Revolutionized and the Growth of the Plant Stimulated? Sulphuric Acid the Potential Agent. A discovery deatinod, in the opinion of Gen. Le Due, to be of more value to the South than anything that has been previously done by the Agricultural De? partment, has been made in relation to the planting of cotton. A question hav? ing arisen as to the situation of the oil cells in cotton seed, the matter was re? ferred to the microscopist, Prof. Thomas Taylor. He found a series of oil cells near the outer surface, and another row immediately surrounding the chit of ger? minating point, evidencing the complete ?rotection which the latter received, his fact led Prof. Taylor to experiment, with a view to ascertaining the amount of resistance offered to the attacks of agents generally supposed to be of a de? structive nature to all organic life. In trying sulphuric acid, which had been previously used in a diluted form to ag? glutinate the cotton adhering to the seeds, so as to facilitate the expression of the oil, be found that acid of the com? mercial strength completely removed this without visibly effecting the outer brown shell. To test the actual effect on the germinating property, he handed some of the seed thus treated and after? wards washed to Mr. Saunders, who planted it. To the surprise of every one except Mr. Taylor, who had foreseen this result if the germ had not been de? stroyed, the seed came up at least five days earlier than that in its natural stale. To ascertain whether this might not be owing to the soaking the seed received, some was kept for several months and then planted at the same time with seed results followed, showing the action of the acid in removing the adherent cotton to have been the same as performed by nature, viz: the conversion of the amyla? ceous or starchy cellulose into glucose. Prof. Taylor's theory as to the action of the corrosive acid being arrested tempo? rarily on contact with the ligneous cellu? lose of the shell, proved to have been correct. The advantage to planters in having five or six days start can scarcely be overestimated, whether availed of in avoiding early frosts or raising early cot? ton, for which premiums are offered by several cotton boards in the South. Bnt this is not said to be the principal bene? fit conferred by the discovery. Hitherto cotton planting has had to be done by hand and the seed sown broadcast, owing to the adherent cotton preventing the seed being used in the planters for corn and other clean seed. After preparation the seed can be used in any planter, and by the regularity of growth resulting, the subsequent cultivation greatly facili? tated. The mode of preparing the seed, which it is understood will be patented, is as follows: The seed is placed in an earthen or glass vessel, and ordinnry sul? phuric acid poured over so as> . -i pletely cover it. It is then stirred untiV the brown shell is left free from cotton. The acid is poured off to be used again, and the seed washed until all acidity dis? appears from the water and dried. A large quantity is to be thus prepared and distributed among cotton planters for next season. The acid, after it has be? come saturated or exhausted, is to be ex? perimented with to ascertain whether the glucose cannot be recovered. Ex? periments are also to be instituted with a view to ascertain the practicality of the process as applied to seeds slow of germination, such as that of the palm, which take three years to sprout. The alarming mortality which has for years prevailed among swine?in this country, will not have been withoul; good results to the great pork producing and pork consuming portions of man? kind, if feeders and breeders are thereby led to give more attention to the sanitary welfare of their stock. I Signs of improvement in this respect may already be seen here and there, and we venture to predict that the present year will be one of marked attention to the best methods of rearing and fat? tening bogs. This, the beginning of the season, is a very proper time for the adoption of new plans whereby greater profits may be realized and a better quality of pork products placed ou the market next fall. Let every one who has the care of stock at this time look about him and see wherein improvement in management can be made. It may be in providing suitable shelter or safe pens for sows soon to farrow, and in seeing that they are | fed as they should be at this season ; or it may be in the care of pigs already on hand. The loss of pigs at this season will be the loss of the whole summer and fall. As a rule, spring pigs are more profitable than fall pigs; the former, if of good stock and well cared for from the start, will average 250 pounds or a little more at 9 months old. To insure their health and thrift they should be fed frequently and regularly, and on a variety of food, and care should be taken that they are never overfed. It is better, also, to keep each litter to itself until some time after weaning, and even then not more than eight or ten should be al? lowed to bed together at night. In their sleeping quarters they should be well protected from rain and dampness.? They should have a good range for exer? cise during the day, be allowed plenty of good drinking water, and so fed as to keep them growing through the summer. They will then be in prime condition for fattening in the fall, when they will prove themselves the most perfect ma? chines the American farmer has ever found for the conversion of corn into meat. The national government, through the department of agriculture, has rendered the country a good service by its investi? gation into the causes of swine disease. The reports of the commission show that swino art subject to many different and distinctly marked diseases. The most of these might be prevented or readily controlled, and their rapid spread over large districts avoided, if every farmer and breeder could be induced to adopt the best known methods of management. We can not change the laws of nature, neither can we violate them with impu? nity. The best we can do is to study them carefully aud profit by what they teach.?Berkshire Bulletin. ? It is reported that a clock company is driving a heavy business on the river plantations in Stewart County by selling a three dollar clock for twelve dollars to nearly every negro they tackle. The temptation to buy it is caused by the agents taking a note in payment, paya? ble in the fall. Whenever practicable this note is discounted to the employer at fifty cents on the dollar. ? The Asheville Citizen, of tho 27th ult., says: "It is stated that there is a positive prospect of the completion of the Spartanburg and Asheville Railroad this summer?that a compromise of the difficulties between the creditors, stock? holders and bondholders will bo ar? ranged." of the (pared. The same Bettsr Management. A Very Strange Story. In 1863 General Pemberton command? ed at this point. Colonel Hemingway owned a faithful slave?Peyton by name ?a noted negro fiddler, known for miles around, and highly respected by both black and white. When his young mas? ter, W. Lynn Hemingway, at present State Treasurer of Mississippi, joined the old "Carroll Rifles," he took Peyton along as a trusted servant. He went with him into Virginia and returned home in 18G3. In February or March of that year a faithful spy was needed to visit the Fed? eral gunboats then coming down the riv? er on Fort Pemberton. Peyton at on<;e undertook the mission, and representing himself as a fugitive slave to the com? manders of the boats was well received. Being bright far beyond ordinary, he managed to secrete their official papers, maps, &c, and escaped with these docu? ments to Fort Pemberton. After the fall of Vicksburg, in July following, Peyton went with his young master again to Virginia, where he re? mained until the surrender of General Lee. The former being compelled tore main a number of days thereafter, in or? der to comply with the formalities of the surrender, sent Peyton ahead of him to his home, near Carrollton, Miss. On his way, however, he was betrayed to the enemy by some Confederate as the spy who had deceived them abov9 Fort Pem? berton, was captured and carried in irons to New York, thence to Cuba, and sold as a slave, together with many others. The vessel on which he was taken was a Federal gunboat. In Cuba he worked as a slave in factories for nearly fifteen years, being entirely cut off from all com? munication with home and friends. He made seven attempts to escape from bon? dage, all but the last, of course, being unsuccessful. Finally be found an Amer? ican vessel, commanded by a Southerner, to whom he related the history of his cap? ture, enslavement and forced exile, and begged to be returned to his home and family. The Captain secreted him in the hold of his vessel, carried him to Costa Rica, thence to New York. Pey? ton then worked his way to Virginia, where a number of ladies raised the means to return him to his home after an absence of seventeen years. He reach? ed Winona, Miss., on the 15th of April, 1880. Peyton says that numbers of mu? latto women are being constantly sold in Cuba as slaves. Nothern men marry them, take them to Cuba "on a bridal tour" and there sell them as cooks and fancy house servants. He saw one sold last Fall by the man who married her for $500; and further, that a3 he came through Cincinnati on his way home he saw the man, and recognized him, who sold her in Cuba. The facts above given are from one of the most re? liable and responsible gentlemen in Mis ? sissippi, written to a distinguished mem? ber of Congress from that State. Closing his letter he says of Peyton: "He was delighted to again meet his wife, who had married iu his long ab? sence, though her second husband was drowned soveral months ago. Hence, he found her a widow. With both husband and wife it was like a return to life from death. Peyton is an exceedingly intel? ligent negro, and says be can hardly re j alize the changes that have taken place. He left his children babes, and finds them married and with children of their own." If anyone doubts the truth of this sto? ry he or she can write to Captain B. F. Jones, Winona, Miss., or to C. Y. F. Merriwether, Oakland, Yalobusha Coun? ty, same State.? Washington (Miss.) Ga? zette. ? .' Tfte Cipher Dispatches.?We con? demn nobody and we commend nobody in the cipher business. We only ask the South to apply a little common sense to the probable situation. Does the South know or even suspect what the Tribune and the Republican leaders hold in re? serve about South Carolina and Louisiana which has not yet been revealed? Does the South think it wise or prudent to risk its future peace and prosperity on the cipher issue? What may betide the South under a "stalwart" House elected next November I Does the South banker for another possible dose of "red eyed ruin ?" There are two inquiries which we wish the Southern Democracy would im? mediately and frankly meet and answer. One is, could the Republican party es? cape a crushing defeat, amounting well nigh to annihilation under "the fraud issue," if such a man as Mr. Bayard were the Democratic nominee at Cincinnati ? Could not the Democracy, led by Mr. Bayard, prevent the Republican leaders from striking one single aggressive blow from the beginning to the ending of tho canvass? The other question is: How, upon the facts as set forth in the report of the Potter Committee and in the Tribune could the Democracy assume the aggres? sive if Mr. Tilden should be nominated, or any other candidate be nominated who is dictated by those who acknowledge Mr. Pelton a leader in 1876??New York World. A Bird Execution.?About one hun? dred persons witnessed a curious specta? cle at Lancingburg, N. Y., recently. It was nothing more or less than a bird ex? ecution. An English sparrow had bj some means incurred the displeasure of a pair of red breasted robins, nested in a tree near Rawson Hall. A fight took place between the sparrow and robins on the rear of the roof of the Rawson Hall building. The sparrow fought pluckily until all at once one of the robins flew off while the other kept up the fighting. The robin messenger soon returned with a piece of cord that was soon wound around the sparrowV neck and the end held in the bill of one of the execution? ers. This done the sparrow was forced off the edge of the roof and briskly at? tacked by the other robin. Thus situa? ted the sparrow was comparatively help? less and in a short time hung suspended by the neck dead. After holding their victim and picking him until assured he was beyond resurrection the victorious robins flew to their nest in the tree sing? ing merrily as though glorying over their vanquished foe.?Troy Press. ? "Has your husband shown encourag? ing signs of growth in the fear of the Lord V asked a glergyman of a New En? gland woman, as they shared a social cup of tea. "Well," said the woman, "I kinder think he has, for I have lately noticed that he never goes out on the Lord's day without a shot gun." ? The Hon. D. W. Voorhee% United States Senator from Indiana, has accept? ed the invitation of the Agricultural and Mechanical Association of South Caro? lina to deliver the annual oration before the Association on the occasion of the State Fair, to be holden in Columbia, commencing on the 9th of November next. ? Gen. Grant is reported as saying when he heard of the nomination of Gar field, that "It is all right; lam satisfied." Then he went home. Gen. Graut is not the first man who has been obliged to be satisfied with that which he could not help. A Boy, a Woman and a Cotf. It is now over one hundred years since an American philosopher propounded the query: "Why is a woman afraid of a cow?" and yet no one has eversucceeded in giv? ing a satisfactory answer. There is once in a while a woman who does not seem to have the sHghest fear, even when pass? ing a cow with one horn all twisted out of ahape ; but follow that woman home and you will find that she kicks the dog, cuffs the children, jaws her husband and knows bow to sharpen a butcher-knife and use an axe. The real woman has a mortal terror of cows, and the real cow seems to have an antipathy for ber. Friday forenoon a lady was walking down Cass avenue when she suddenly came upon a cow. The animal was feed? ing on the other side of the street and the boy sent out to watch her sat under a shade tree and plr.yed on a mouth or? gan. The lady halted. The cow looked up. "Lost anything, ma'am?" asked the boy as he removed the music from his mouth. "I?I'm afraid of that cow!" she re? plied. "What fur? Cows don't bite nor kick same as a horse. AH they kin do is to run their horns through you and pin you to the ground." "Oh, my I she's coming!" "Ho, she hain't. She's just making believe that she wants to git at ye and hook ye over th>3 fence." "Oh, butldatrenot pass I" "Yes you dare. Cows know when a woman is afraid just as quick as any? body. The minit you give cows to un? derstand that you are able to catch 'em by the heels and mop the ground with 'em they go to hunting fur clover." "Dear me, but I guess I'll go back!" "I wouldn't. If ye'll only spit on yer hands and shake yer fist at her she'll wilt right down. Cowh know who's boss just as well as men do. Now, then, I'll hold yer parasol while you spit on yer .bands." Oh! I can't?I'm going right home!" "Well, my little brother he swears at 'em instead of spitting on his hand. See if you can do thac." "No?no?no! I'm going now!" "If I was a woman and I couldn't swear or spit on my hands, I should car? ry a sword-cane t o stab cows with," ob? served the boy as he looked across the way. "My bouI 1 but there's another cow up there 1" exclaimed the lady as she look? ed up the street. "Yes, lots of cows around these days, but I never heard of two cows attacking a woman at once. I guess one general? ly hooks 'em all to pieces first, and then the other comes up and paws at the man? gled emains. If you?" The lady uttered a first class scream and made a jump for the nearest gate. It opened bard, and after one pull she went over the fence and up the front steps of a strange house, there to remain until her busband could be summoned by telephone to come and act as a body guard. "I'd just like to be a woman,'' mused the boy as bo sat down to punish his mouth organ some more, "I'd carry a bowie knife dowu the back of my neck, and the first cow that tried to hook me would feel that ere knife playing mum blety peg around her vicious heart? strings." _^_ Coercing the Revenue Officials. ?The Statesville Landmark says: "Within the past two or three years, as is well known, a number of Pemocrats have received appointments in the reve? nue service in the district. Very lately there has come 'from headquarters' a lot of blanks which are to be filled by answers to certain questions which are propounded to those in the revenue ser? vice. Prominent among the questions is one as to politics of the parties interrog? ated. Those, or several of those, who filled this blank with "Democrat" have been made to walk the plank, in other cases the odor of the leeks and garlic has presented temptation strong enough to overcome political convictions." Among the officers to whom these questions were put, was Mr. John G. Young. He was told that the honorable commissioner of internal revenue wished to know the political status of every offi? cer in the service, and consequently he was asked what party he belonged to and how be expected to vote in the approach? ing election. Having answered both with the word Democratic, he shortly af? terwards received a notification of his discharge, notwithstanding he was con? fessedly one of the most efficient and re? liable officers in the service. In no sin? gle instance, so far as we have been able to learn, were any of those who said they were or would be Republicans, dismissed. ? Charlotte Observer. Professor Carpenter and His Flat Earih.?Professor William Car? penter, late of London, lectured Thurs? day night in the Christian Tabernacle, George street, on "Zetetic Astronomy," as contrasted with the generally-accepted Newtonian system. Professor Carpen? ter's argument appeared to be based mostly upon the fact that as water could only occupy a level surface, according to his theory, therefore, the earth must be a plane. He undertook to disprove Pro? fessor Proctor's astronomical ideas, say? ing that he believed Proctor knew his theory was wrong, but would not ac? knowledge it. Ho attempted to prove the fallacy of the simple and well-known argument of the appearance of ships at sea as illustrating the rotundity of the earth by stating thai; an aeronaut at the height of six miles could not distinguish a ship go down at all, but that at all times the horizon appeared on a level with the car, the earth resembling at the time a vast concavity. He designated Proctor's diagram of the ship3 as a picto? rial lie. While antagonizing the theory that Australia was under the London bridge aud China under America, he at? tempted no explanation of the fact that daylight at one point beheld darkness at another at the same hour. He depre? cated the fact that such nonsensical ideas as Newton's theory should be taught in the public schools, and hopes for com? plete reformation in this regard. There were about forty people present at the lecture.?Baltimore American. ? By way of the London Times we learn that an American newspaper has been trying to hire Bismarck for a special correspondent with letters once a week. The story is that the proprietors offered the Prince $2,509 an article, or $130,000 a year, aud to deposit beforehand two years' pay as earnest. It is added that Bismarck, though extremely amused, de? clined wiib the most serious courtesy, stating that he had already too many things to do._ ? It takes 2,000 acres of land to raise the bops annually used by Bass, the great English brewer, who turns out enough beer of his own brewing every year to furnish half of the whole human race with a glass. He owns five miles of Srivate railway at Burton and pays out ,10,000 in weekly wages.