Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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

7 . - ^ ?wgrv, ul, ... Af . , ./ ' " '; I A-'ryV f / 0 dM/ * / rl ' / * ' V ' YOIAJME 28. CAMDEN, SOTJTEt-CAROLlKA, JANUARY 23, 18G9. * ISTUMBER 19. \ MISCELLANY; OUR DANGER. The cotton crop of 1SC3 has been a (tod-uend to the South. r\Vc lmve 1110heiy in abundance, our credit is rapidly improving, the chains ore broken which a .? |lrtrin rtoound us, our iuiure is ui n .i.? ..v/t,v. , And yet all this will b^an evil, ratlicr j than a good, if we do not persevere in that wise agricultural policy whose first fruits we now enjoy. Our danger is that the planters may be tempted by high prices?the result of a moderate crop, growitig trade.and reckless speculation, to pitch huge crops of cotton. Kach man man who sold upland cotton at 2fr or 27 or 29 cents a pound, doubtless wished he had twenty bales instead of ten, or a hundred in place of fifty. This feeling, however tutnral, we must conqueror be.undone. Wc have made money by the cotton cropofl8t>8, because cotton was not our first and principal care. There had ; been two seasons of anxiety, disappoint- ment and loss, which forced the planter ( to ackn wiedgc that his only safe'y lav ( in securing, at any cost, what bread and ( meat he required. The dullest and most ( wrong-Ifeadcd could see this necessity, ( and, as a consequence, the South pro- . duced all the brearlstuflfs sire needed, , the corn crop of South Carolina alone being 2,000,000 bushels more than it " nc in Cotton was a secondary | , consideration with the planter; but the j ( two and half million of bales which form ( the crop of the year have still brought . us more money than four million bales ( would huve done at the prices of before the war. Had the whole strength of y the South been directed to the culture j of cotton the crop would have been three , ? million bales or more, and then our for > tunes woul3 have been staked upon one , cast of the die, prices would have fall- , en and the purchase of Western grain j would have swullovrcd up the greater , part of the net proceeds of our cotton. { As it is, we Jrave been independent of ( outside help. We l?ave not eaten into , the morrow, we have not been obliged j to. throw our cotton upon the uftukct, ( ^ und weapprqach another season vr'th dis- j tended purses and the fairest prospects , of success. : JJut tnc Icssohrof'TSrTs' year and of . the years which have preceded it will ( be worse than thrown away it high prices j , induce our planters to make cotton their ^ king and not tlair slave. The first la-1 " t 111* bor. tir>t thought, the nist pains,suouiu j be given to wheat, corn and provisions; j s and then, and not before, might t!ie reign of cotton begin. We should have the best seed, so as to improve the sta- , pie; fertilizers should he used freely, so j as to increase the yield per aerc; no more j land should be planted than can be cul- ( tivatcd regularly and well. And n cot- t ton crop made in this manner will re- ( peat the lesson of 1808, and realize for | us far more money than a larger yield , at lower prices with millions of dollars [ to pay away in buying our daily bread ! , There is, we repeat, but one safe ( plan : plenty of provisions first , and .next a moderate crop of cot- j ton. If our planters will stick to this ] policy, they will grow rich; if they do ( not, they essuredly rue the day when , the desire to become suddenly wealthiy , caused them to forsake the plain paths ] of prudence and common sense. I Charleston Daily Net?*. , T? a nm i r. PnniMiprrov?The Wash- 1 ington correspondent ot' the New York J ( Herald, under date of the l?lh instant,! 1 says: . ( The first fissure in thedisentegration , of the Radical paity was displayed to- , day, in the wild wiithings of the l'a- ( citic Railroad rings over the exposures I , of a Ctncinuati Radical paper of the , conceded corruption in and out of Congress, in regard to .the granting of subsidies to Western roads, and in regard to the attempted sale of lauds enough to form whole States by the Interior Department. to certain speculators for a mere song, These swindles have been the object of General Grant's denunciation within and for the whole of a month past. J hey received attention in iMr. Washburnc's speech in t the House, when he admitted that his party exceeded in corruption and scoundrels any other party ever born, j These statements, fortified by proofs, j a Western correspondent reproduced \ in the paper question. That correspondent and paper, and the New York Tri Vmno u-!ii<?h ennied his letter, were ? -~r-? , made the victims to-day over whose shoulders General Grant and 31 r. Woshburne were lashed in the most. | abusive aud violent manner by the re- | taiued senators of the railroad rings before mentioned. It was an exhibition which shocked and startled the maoy Republican leaders who have sought to give a pause to the rank corruption characterizing their party on railroad legislation. For more than two hours did Harlau, Pomeroy aud Conncss uDblushingly defend these railroad grants and land sales which the President elect has declared will, if! continued, ruin the Republican party. Under the pretext of assailing newspapers which have but sympathized with ! Grant's desire to stop this torrent of' corruption, these senators foully as sailed thut representation of the frets for which Grant has made himself responsible to the country. The assault on tlie oatiers uas only a cbver behind .H ~ r r which were gathered all the force of the consolidated rings against the purposes of the President elect. In vain did Truuibu!!, Conklingand many oth- | cr senators try to silence the feud by i Interruptions of other measures. The ; railroad senators had their soy out; defended the swindles of the past and I quoted them as the r.tts of the party, and as the acts which would murk its , future. I'omcroy says there arc twelve ] more railroad bills, filled to the brim . with subsidies, which are to be report- J cd and passed this session. These sub- j sidics the best men of the party arc , bent on defeating for tlio party's sul- | ?fiL-r> Tirtliiv the irauritlet was litawia vm?v. -v?V U , , throwu down by the railroad Congress- j | men, that no railroad grants should be j defeated, but all should be added on to . the divisions which impeachment, civil tenure, negro suffrage, financial affair's rod whiskey thieving are participation j within the party. t UNlVF.tt.CAr,, SUFFKACB ANP UNTVER- J 5Ar. Amnesty?The following resnln- | ;inri has been adopted by a meeting ( :om posed of some of the principal eiti tens of Virginia, representing all parts } tf the State : "While the conviction of the under- ' tigued, and, as they believe, of the acople of Virginia generally, remains J uichanged that the freed inert of the < Southern States, in their present nncd rented conation, arc nut prepared for he intelligent exercise of the elective i "ranchise and the performance of other j u-ifti rmhlir* nffjiirs. iijuira vuiiuvbivu ?? ?.? j iiid arc) therefore, nt this time unsafe lepositorics of political power, yet, in ,'iew of the. verdict of public opinion ii favor of tlmir bein<; allowed to oxer;ise the rijrhV of suffrage as cxi>rc.-scd n the recent elections, the undersigned ire prepared, and they believe the uiaoriij of the people of Virginia arc nvparcd to surrender thcii opposition o its incorporation into their fundanental law as an offering on the altar if peace, and in the hope that union | md harmony may he restored on the mis of universal suiFragc and universal amnesty." Tt is a little curious to observe with j vhat intense delight we hear of a re- : jellion against any (jovcrnincnt, no mat- j j er what it is or where it is, so it be not I j lurown. We don't s'op to iurjuirc in v tlm nlil/inl c rvf ?!><> MI'llll lie II11 if i V* f>0 I >r chiincos of succors, or whether it is ikelj" to benefit or ruin those who enraped in it. If it is only a rebellion j j igainst a Government, that, is all we ; , jsk. It has all our sympathies?all mr pood wishes?all the help we can pve it without getting into trouble our elves. The Fenians in Ireland; the handful of Cretans starving in hopes >f overthrowing the Turkish Government; the Spanish liberalsqvcrthrowing he ruonarchy; and now the Cubans rejelling against the Spanish Liberals; ,hey all have the sympathy and encourigenient of our people. The pravelcnt j <lea with us ou ' this subject seems to I jc that itH government is bad and ought ! :o be overthrown, and that we arc bound >y our principles, our traditions and jur interests, to help those noble spirits who rebel against authority anywhere jr of whatever sort. One would think tur own experience should teach us the -r .1- ,u;? llCCCSSliy 01 SUIJIL" UiSCrillllllUUUIl 111 nils matter. We insisted that no foreign J nation should sympathize with our rebhs ( no matter what they might think about the causes of their rebellion. The whole thing was none of their business. Have we any more concern with Crete, |. or Spain, or Cuba, or Ireland, than England had with us during our war? 1 JN'cto York Times. 1 Hamburg Deprived of a Municipal Gc vutN.MF.nt.?While our own city, Augusta, has just been so fortu-j1 nute in her municipal affairs, our neigh- 1 bors on the other bank of the Savannah . ( have experienced a harder fortune ? 1 Olhcial notification has been given to the j Clerk of Council in this city that the i Town Council of Hamburg has "ceased i h, tin -i Liwlr nnlific " its charter liav- I IV WW .. , --- ill}; expired a few days since. According to Hie provisions of an act passed by the "loil" Legislature of South Carolina, defining the athority of County Coram issoners, the town is placed under the control of the Commissioners of! Edgefield County, and has no longer | any municipal government. A uf/uvta C/noin'cIe. An exchange says Jubal Early will take advantage of l'rcsidcnt .Johnson's amnesty proclamation and return home . singing, ' Theyear of Jubal E. is coiue; icturu ye wandering sinner, home." 1 MYSTERIOUS EXISTENCE. Among the most extraordinary cast in medical practico is that of a youn woman in lirooklyn who has existe for a number of years in a conditio that has been called semi-cataleptic Yet catalepsy is not the word, howevc qualified, to describe the condition ( this person, because" in her case th functions of the body are not cntircl suspended, and the mental faculties r< main wonderfully active. It is naserte that she lives on from year to year wit! out acquiring a morsel of any kind c solid food. She has now reached the ageoftwer fy-threc years, and is almost totall blind. A correspondent writes thus "Font wo and a half years she ha9 catc no food of more subsistence than th juice of a few grapes at Jong interval: As umv be imagined, long coiifiaemcn has wrought for her the reverse or pci jonftl improvement, but her portraii taken just before the first attack of dif jase, or whatever it may be- called, i that of a pretty, delicate girl. Sh lies on a bed with her arms drawn uj ind io such a position that her hand ire .above her head, If her vision wa perfect she would not be able to se her hands conveniently in such a pc iilion; but nevertheless, she execute ivith perfeot facility tho most dePcutt ntricatc and beautiful patterns of em broidery, selecting the materials an :he culors, and arranging them withou issistance. Though deprived of natui ji'omn sKo eertiiinlv Tioesessed soni ;>ower to prod cc noodle work, tha my lady skilled in the art, might b iroud to claim as her own. She excel n h?r arrangement of flower boqueti S'onc but the most intimate friends nr iduiitted to the house, except on rar jeeasions; but it should bo remarks hat the ease is constantly and narrow y watched by several gentlemen of un mpeachable professional integrity, wb nrefully note every new development 11 the hojtf of being able at some time :o detect something that shall affor hctu a clew to the mystery of theyoun; woman's existence. Tlierc is no singl nature of the case that can be particu arixed as extraordinary; it is one c uctraordinary combinations*. vcre attempted to be practiced in on nstancc, it wou.d not succeed in all.? I jut there is no motive for deception he family takes every ^precaution t ihun publicity?nothing would temp hem to make an exhibition of the cast itid it is unly because lliey intelligent! ippreciatc the great importance of th Qvcsiigation to medical science, tlia hey aie willing to admit strangers to knowledge of that which they right ully consider sacred to the privacy_c he family circle."?N. Y Post. Evangelization of the Worlil:Vt the annual concert of prayer fo brcign missions, was held in Park itrcct church on Sunday evening last :hc prominent talk was the possibilit jf evangelizing the whole world in th present century. A contrast was in itituted between the ftate of things a he commencement of this century am what now exists in relation to Chistian ty; and the conclusion was ?reachei ;hat, with the present facilities fo loing the great work of evangclizinj he world, a four-fold increase of mei ind means would be sufficient to secur lie triumph of Christianity over tli mtire world. That is, it was consid ? -ii . - t._: D 2rctl pOSSlUK! 10 urillji uxury J. aiiiiii uin inti-Ohristian nation in the world unde lie pervading influence of Christianit n thirty years, provided the incrcas )f men and means was four-fold wha ire now employed, and the rate of iin provment which has marked the firs two-thirds of the century should eontin jc during the last third-of the century Huston Traveller Arkansas continues to be in a tcrri aly unsettled condition. Governor Clay ton has matters all his own way, am has inaugurated a complete'reign ? terror throughout the State. Eacl recurring day brings a fresh tale o eutrages committed by the rufhanl militia. The people arc flying in al directions from the terrible infliction and the universal terror which prevail is said to be truly heart rending. Th cotton fields in many districts ar totally deserted by the field band-i, wh have been seduced or intimidated iut the ranks of Emperor Clayton's "gram army." Miles upon miles of cotton re main unpicked in the fields?literal! going to ruin?which, in New Yor! today, would bring tweoty-seven and half cents per pound. A Memphi paper says that city is crowded wit refugee.*; and every man that arrive can tell his particular talc of outrage and murder, and rap'ne, and plundei This man Clayton and his brutal mo must i e checked, or the Arkansas pre blcin will be more difficult of solutio as the official career of the amiabl Clayton is prolonged. , Tint Foreign-grown Cotton.There fa no question at present ofgieai 18 er importance to the people of th ? South than the attompta which arc bein mado in various parts of the globe t " increase the growth of cotton. Shoul * peaco '"be preserved, with an nverag amount of prosperity secure, and tb } present growth of cotton not be sue e denly increased, a higher rcntunerativ v - in, ?u.ui.. fn? ?ltni * priCO, Will pruuauijr JJIt.iill IV> nvm j time, iwhich will speedily make fh Southern Spates wcaltliy and prosperous '* Notwithstanding the grent efforts whic have been and are being put forth i variofflfljoarters of the globe, ossiste '* by British capital, the upland crop c y theSoiith is immeasurably in advanc " of tho growth elsewhere. In the Ion; n staple';.qualities, the Egyptians ruis c largely of a kind equal to our commoi 5" spa isfcrn-js, but the short stapleof Iudi bfcars'ntFcompariaoo to our upland de scriptions. Cotton-growers and met ' chants in the trade watch with raitcl !* interest from year to year the facts a 8 they arise in reference to this question 0 and an examination of the article prowi ' elsewhere has for them an attractioi 8 which outsiders will not appreciate.? 3 James II. Taylor, Esq., of the firm o e Geo. W. Wiliiatns & Co., of this city ^ has obtaioed the largest number of apt 3 ciiucnsol foreign cottou tnac nas Dee 'our opportunity tounspcct, and amon 'j them are Pcrnaras, Ilaraiba, Maceic Ceara, Santos, Bihia, and others, fror BruzilfPeruvinn, Carthagenia, Laguara Smyrna, Egyptian, African, Dhollcrali e Oiurawuttcc, Madras, and others frou India. Tlicre ?ffas also a fine spcciine 0 oflong.staple grown on the Island o s Autigaa. The samples from Soutl ' America were generally clean but o c inferior staple, but the specimens o ? East India growth were very poor hot J in strength of fibre and preparation and could ooly be compared to the low '* est grades of American cotton. Th 0 specimen that was marked "African h came noarcst to the product of the Soutli . and might easily have been taken lb American uplands. These samples ar 5 worthy a close inspection by all wh 0 haVo at* iutorest in the staple. ' ' . t/iarlcvh.i Courier y* ^ "^B^lW^zrvrousr-^AiJiiorrSwrs I)LE.?Sonic months ago two youn men opened a store in one of the prii ' cipal business thoroughfares of this city 11 \vith a large stock of goods, and a gran ' j display generally. The business wa '' that of tea, ami down the spnciou ^ store there ranged long rows of te ^ chests, and windows were replete wit ! samples of fine Oolong. Souchong a Young and Old Hyson, Japan, &c. Th j. flrm seemed prosperous. They mad ' their purchases of the proniuent wholi sale houses in this city, who gave thei credit, and the amount of goods pui chased was large. r They had u trade in the country, am boxes of tea were seen leaving the stor ' every day by express and freight fc ^ the rural dealers. fStill the long lino c c tea chests smiled complacently upo ' the looker-in upon the scene of scemin, , thrift and commendable industry. Th debts of the firm were d aily growin; larger and larger, and stilf the whole sale houses, having the strongest fuit r in their integrity and ability to pay 3 trusted them more and more J3u 1 there must sooner or later come a da e of reekoniug to all. G A day or two since a hill of one c j the wholesale houses fell due, and i was presented at the dtsk of the te r firm, when the collector was^ cooll, y informed that the firm to whom th ? bill was made out had no legal existence having sold out to the present propric * tors some two weeks pjnee. Here wa an eye-opener indeed, and the clerl hastened back to inform his employer. that the great tea house of J , with their rows of chests am caddies, their flaming doorpost and tin tels, their monstrous T's and scarlc * trimmings generally, were non est? J were gone up?in fact "buUed." f Hack hastened the business man o I the wholesale firm, to find that hi double ofanother house was on the spo * astounded to learn that things were a y they were. A consultation was held II and they again being assured by tin i, "gentlemanly and urbane" proprieto s of the establishment that the previou; c firm had sold out to him and left fo c where he knew not, it was determined t< o sieze the goods in the store. And hen o comes the best pirt of the story. J The boxes of tea?those long row? ! with tho startling appearance of iiu y ! mcnso business,?when opened wen I: J found to contain, not tine Japan anc n Young Hyson, not the leaf from whicl 3 is distilled intoxicating Gunpowder am h English Ureakfast, nor the amber-col s orcd juiccsof finperial or Oolong?nom s, of these?but the most common of corn \ mou sawdust. The present owner o b ; Hie sawdust, tea chests, and the goot ? j will of the former firm, says he came inti n | power upon notes held by him and thi el payments of large sums of money. \'itiviriiu> Jnumrtl. I > Eloquent Extract.?Writing of t- the closing scenes in the history of (Ten. c Lee'a army, J. Quitman Mcore, Esq., g thus thrills a chord that will vibrate o forever?thus bequeaths a gem to the J literature of the South : o ' There stood the mournful remnants e of that once glorious army that had dipI ped its conquering banners in the crime son tide of eight and Cwcnty sanguinary c battles, and strewn its heroic slain from e the feet of the Pennsylvania mountains i. to the gate of our owri capital city; that h had given Manassas to Beauregard, and n twined the fame of the Seven Pines' d battle in the laurel wreath of Johnston;>1' that had caused the waters of Shcnane doah etcrriallv to tnurmcr the name of _ ^ g Stonewall Jackson, and stretching its c right arm out to the distant West, had n planted victory upon the dfooping bana ners of Brngg; that had witnessed four i- gigantic campaigns, and through all ' their shifting and tragic scenes and li under all difficulties and dangers, had s remained steadfast to the last. Ai.d , after having witnessed the rising of a the Southern constellation as it loomi cd up brightly on the horizon of - war, pursuing to its splendid zenith the >f fiery oath of Mars, now beheld, not unmoved, its declining spendors going i- down in the gloom of eternal night.? u And he, its illustrious chief, whose g i lofty plume was ever its*allying point i, | in battle, and round whom its affections n | warmly clustered, now commending it l. i for its nast devotion, bade adieu forev ' K - / i, er. Slowly and sadly he rode from that n mournful field, and the cause that he n fought for was beneath the foot of powf cr. Few were the eyes that grew not i : moist at witnessing that departure. It I" j was the agony of a great cause finding f | expression in the sublime soul of its h I great defender. And though that cause i,, be dead, yet will its memory continue r- i to live, and ever honored will those e names that sacrificed at its alters. And " j on the scroll of no fame no name among t,. the list of worthies shall shine in a r purer or more resplendent light than c ! that of Robert Edmund Lee. His nan.o o will be placed by the side of those of | the great captuius of history?of MarlI borough and Saxe, of Tilly and Euger.c; and as long as the fame of the Southern i. 'struggle shall linger, will be cherished g by the deseendents of the Southern i- race; while his character will stand up r, I in the twilight of history like some (1 ; grand old eathcdral, lilting itself in is imperishable beauty above the objects j of earth, majestic in its vast propora ; tions, awful in its solemn statclincss, h I sublime iu its severe simplicity. r c Tnisn Tknants and Landlords.? c i Ejectment notices arc required to be >- | served in Ireland under the protection 11 1 of a large force of the police. At a rer-1 cent trial an account was given of the j extraordinary proceedings adopted to d remove the tenants on the property of c . Archdeacon Jlutson, near liallinasloc. ir j An attempt to serve the notices having if ou a previous occasion been resisted, a n body of eighty constables, under tbedirr rcction of a magistrate, repaired to the e lands. After an ineffectual attempt to g induce the people to permit the notices i- ! to be served, the bailiff and under-agent h ' went forward to affix them to.thc doors , | of the tenants' houses, under the proit -lection of a number of the police, and y ; were instantly assailed by a mob of j several hundred persons, the men if throwing stones and the women "tubs t of filth and lime in a liquid state."? a There wero cries that they would make y it another Scully affair. Scully, it will e , be recollected was killed by a mob >- ! while endeavoring to serve notices.? >. The undcr-agent and head nonstable s were severely beaten. Ultimately the h notices wcro nailed on the houses, the s whole body of the police being neccssat. ry to drive the people back. The tcnJ j ants assert that their landlord wished . | to change the arrangement about the t j letting, and to charge them thirty shil i lings an acre for a bog they reclaimed, ! and had before held rent ficc. fj ?I The civil war which has been ra1 ging in Japan since the beginning of i the year 1SG8 is at an end. Prince c! Aidscn, the most powerful among the r 1 Northern Daimois, who, after the res. signation of the Tycoon, continued the r i war on his own account, concluded a j, capitulation with the Mikado on the 2 j (Jtii of November. The authority of I the young Mikado, who has recently , j become of age, is now recognized j throughout the country. Henceforth 3 the Mikado will be tho actual as well I as the nominal ruler. Yoddo, which i j heretofore has been the residence of II tho Tycoon, will now be the residence - of the Mikado and capital of the Emj pirc. Strong assurances have already - been given to the foreign treaties will f be strictly observed. Several forcign1 ers, will fill high positions under the >' new Government. The abolition of the 2 j Tjeoonate and the establishment of a I regular form of government, rnay.becon1 sidercd as necessary reforms. VARIETY. ! Anecdote of Thos. F. Marshall. The Hon. Thomas F. Marshall, of Ken* tucky, once a prince of good fellows* was defending a man charged with trrar- . der in Jessamine county, Judge Lusk presiding. The testimony against the , prisoner was strong, and Tom struggled hard on the cross-examination, but to little or no purpose, for the old Judge was inflexible in his determination to rule out all improper testimony'offered i on the part of the difense. At last Tost { worked himself into a high state of ex citcment, and remarked that . "Jesus Christ was convicted dpon just suchlings of the court that tried him.", "Plcrk," said the Judge, "enter into a fine of ten dollars against Mr. Mar* shall." "Well, this is the .first time I ever heard of anybody being fined &r?abu- , sing Pontius Pipte," was the quick response of Tom. " :;1 Hero the Judge became very iudig* > nant, and ordeied the clerk to enter another fine of twenty dollar*. Ut Tom arose with that peculiar mirthprovoking expression that no one can imitate, and addressed the court with as much gravity as circumstances would permit, as follows: "If your Honor pleases, as a good . citizen, I feel bound to obey the order of this court, and intend to do so in this instance; but as I don't happen to have thirty dollars abont me, I shall be compelled to borrow it from some friend, and, as I see no one present whose confidence and friendship I have so long eojoye 1 as your Honor's, I make no hea* itation in asking the small favor of a r . i 1 " aLw. A lew (lays ioaa 10 square up me amount: of the fines that you hare caused the the clerk to entct against me." This was a stumper. The Judge looked at Tom, and then at the clerk, and finally said: ''Clerk, remit Mr. Marshall's fines : the State is better able to lose thirty dollars than I am." :?at FlyinoFeet and Fantastic Tom. ?The New York Ilerald says the fair beauty of that city is in the oir.theso nights, whirling on fantastic toes that keep thp delirious measure of dance mu* sic. TfrerirarepStfflo Mils in wwrf hall' of crery society and private balw ia every other house. So many exquis-' itcly beautiful feet as are making the * mazes on ball-room floors' in Gotham any of these nights, cannot be seen elsewhere in the world. * . Words for Boys to Kkmenbsr. ?Liberty is the right to do whatevet you wish without interfering With tbn rights of others. ' o Save your money, nnd yoa will find: it one of the most useful friends* Never give trouble to your mother or father. Take care of your pennies sad they will grow to be dollars. Intemperance is the cause of nearly: all the trouble in this world; beware of strong drinlc. V" . The poorest boy, if he be industrious, honest and saving, may reach the highest honor in the land. Never be cruel to a dumb aoimal; remember that it has no power to tell how much it suffers. A Pistol-plant.?A few evenings ago, the librarian of the Long Island Historical Society was startled by the, report of a pistol in the book alcoves. He made search, but discovered nothing, and at the time no other person was in the rooms. Tbe next day the assistant librarian heard a similar report, and a closo investigation revealed the cause. An exhibitor had placed id the room a case of tropical plants, * l:_I .1. 4 among which was wie piaioi-piam, wuicu is a sort of nut. At a certain stage of its growth, the shell of this bursts-with viMoncc, and with a sharp sound exactly resembling the report of a pistol. The shivered shells of these were found' in the bottom of the case. One peculiarity of the Chinamen in in California is, that they never walk if they can by any means procure a ride. Another peculiarity, is, that as soon as they get rich they go home and gamble away what they have made, and then return to get more. Body-snatching is going on in Washington, and queerly enough, one Burke is the lender. The negroes arc afraid to be out after dark, Jest the doctors catch them and make them up into medicines, as they believe. A Boston journal, the Commonwealth, makes a rather exaggerated [ statement that every afternoon after 3 nVlnnk onnvA twelve or fifteen United States Senators ore so drunk that they arc unable to attend to their business. .1; liny and straw are so high in Montreal that owners of horses are tsing sawdust for beddiog. and oarrots for lood.