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V.LU.. , S U, .TE R V I L t S. -. - -IJ S -22- 1- *4 MI - -_ _ _ _ _ _ _**NT n~T * .U Dumter ,Ummner: PBLISiED MVERY WEDNESDAY MORNING, BY WILLIAM J, FRANCIS. T E RIllS: w7' Dollars in advance, Two Dollars and ifty-cents at the ex .iration of six mionths, or Three Dollars at ite end of the year. No paper discuiniunci until all arrearages are 4 ,unless at the option of the Proprietor }'Advertisements inserted -it 75 ets. per i quare, (14 lines or less,) for the first and half that sum for each subsequent insertion IOT Tho number of insertions to be marked % all Advertisements or they will be publish l until ordered to be discontinued, and tharged accordingly. 'QOne Dollar per square for a singln in %oution. Quarterly and Monthly Advertise 'merts will be charged the snme as a single 'nsertion, and semi-monthly the same as new <zmes. All Obituary Notices exceeding six lines, rnd Communications recunmendi ng Cand tnat~ for public offices or trust--or pufling Exhibitions, will be charged as Advertise uents. i-rAll letters by mail must be paid to in sure punctual attendance. , futtE mceus. Robert Stimson, Esq., SHOWING 110W Dol CAUGllT A MERMAID. DY JULi.Us. Bob was a Gothamite, the tlird son and the ninth child,-joint production of a staunch old 'Knickerbocker' and a West Indian Creole,-rather a sin gular union, but decidedly a prolific one. Stimson, senior, !"eing in what pa ragraphists term 'easy circumstances,' remarkable fecundity of Mrs. S. was tie not bemoaned as a misfortune. Bob had six sisters, short and fat, good natured and loquacious. 'Lan guage' was large throughout the fauni ly ; fully up to a phrenological '7,' tak ing that figure as the maximum of the ratio of comparisun. 'Mirth' and 'Tune,' especially, the latter, were also very general'y and powerfully devel' p ed on the dark haired craniums of the junior Stimsons. They were all sing ers,- any of the neighbors would have given you that piece of inforinationi vithout the slightest hesitation,-a reg ular family choir ; any little imperfec tions in whose performance were cer tainly not attributable to inusitation. They were emphatically a musical inn ily,-lineal descendants from the son 'Calliope.' practically familiar with 1e use of every known 1nusical ilistru ment from a 'jews-harp' to a 'bassoon' or orchestral 'serpent,'-hginniu. (as Bob said,) carly, and 'taking to it' na turally. This was not very surprising, although the pertinacity and utter dii regard of time and place evinced in the indulgence of the family propen sity, certainly was remarkable, -so much so that there was ordinarily an im mense amount of 'moving' going on in Stitm son's vicinity every May-day. It was a chief misfortune of theirs md a stand ing subject for remark with them, that they were forever surrounded by un musical people, creatures who had 'no taste for music,' who had even goe so far as to remonstrate againot what one brute' had denominated as their'infern al hullaballoo.' They were familiarly known in the neighborhood as the 'n'oisy nine!1' a sim iltude doubtless intended to be applied to the unfortunate daughters of' 'Pier os,' (who failed in the'ir contest with thme Muses and were cruelly tr-ansform ed into Magpies therefor,) rather thn the legitimate 'Nine' of classical noto riety. This, however, they bore with exemplary equanimity. rul, as Bob said, 't was of no use getting angry at a man who wvas so musically obtuse as to call a scientific e'xecultn of the 'Battle of Prague' on six differenit ini struments, 'a thundcring inis:miee,' as did one neighbor, upon a certain occa sion, who had balloocd himself hoarse from an opposite window in demanding an immediate cessation of whamt lie was pleased to term the 'cuirsed uproar,' ,upon pain of a complaint to the 'mayor' ,on the following morning. But our business is with Rob, not with his sisters or their accomplish. mnents. In addition to the musical fa culty of the inherent p~ower of which ho would state,--in illustration,-that, when but three years old Ito could, up1 on a common comb, covered with thin paper, produce sounds so closely resem ,bling those of aL violin and perform cer tain tunes with such powet and accura cy as to induce an old blind genutlemiani in an opposite dwelling incontinetlyh to throw out pennies from his chambe r window in the belief that it was the performance of some strmeet minrstrecl, ~with a view to alms, This, Bob wouild tell 'upon honor,'--whether true or not, -there could be no doubt but that he believed it to he so then, having told it often enough to give to it the most im plicit credence by the time he arrived at man's estate. In addition, as I be fore stated, to this harmonious weak ness, 'ub's distinguishing characterism, lis principal 'wanity,' was 'fishing,' To limi all other active aumsements were as naught, or at any rate, subor dimate to this. Ilob was a fisherman ! he had a genius for the thing, which de veloped itself in all his actions in that regard. Ile considered the somewhat precarious dominion we exercise over the 'monsters of the briny deep,' as the gi catest and most important of the gifts of the Creator to his creature. lie loved fishing ! was of a piscivoro'us hab it, and loved to eat 'em when caught: preferrig 'fish' to either 'flesh or fowl.' lie was predestined to an ex eeedling close affinity with the scaly tribe, being clerk in a fi/sh store ; was nar-ked naturally with the figure of a fish uinder the left arm-either a whale or a mackerel, Bob didn't know which --had a'lishy' look with him, a white looking eve, a sharply defined, attenu ated, nail exceedingly straight and poited n<ose, closely resenblitig that of a pike,--m strange contrast w1 ith the usual organs of the Misses Stimson, all of which were decidedly and ambi ti )msly 'stnubbislh .'--a pouting, oval shapel imcutl, with little or no chin thereunto attached,--in fact, presented quite a 'shad-y' appearance. From very broad shoulders hung down two armts-reaching but a trifle lower than the place where the hi s oilght to be which in walking were not sviuna to andl fro after the manner of ordinar mnortals, but dashed out laterally; in a sp asmiodical sort of fashion, very much like a man swimming. This, in addi tion to a slightly wriggling style of pedest innisn, form-ning a 'tout ensem ble' decidedly piscaturial. As before stated. Bob was a fisherman. The twelfth Zodiacal sign was his natal con stellation. le was born under 'Piseis Major' andl hal entirely aliandoacd him self to its influences. Bob religiously devoted all holidays to his fivorite pur suit. Hle was deeply learned in the tunes, nature, habits and haunts of the entire finny trib~e,----hlad al: the marks and gronttids known to old sportsmen for- thirty mies roiil, and c'onsidered it glorious sport to start at davlight w ith two dollars worth of 'soft crab' and 'sli-inp' for bait, r(;w eight or nine miles against i strong tide, sit all day in the hot smit and1 row back at niglit wih a bunch of fish which iiglit justly le ctonsidered lear at a quarter of a dollar! This was what Bob consider ed teal, substanitial etjovtttetit.-none of youir 'wishy-washlv, immiitbv-pambi. ist' tir hi. lie ecschewel all lane ing:, tleatrica!s, pieniis, kissing parit-ties onmtl the like, as weak, mawkish, and beneath the dignity of man! consider i:g his favorite pastin.e the only real source of unalloyed amnuisenent of an utit doo- life, wi'th music for dotimestic rectreation ; the two combined ,.-wlien 1!ssi)le--tie very acme of human etn J' imitit. Bob had stor-ed his minid with a col lectiont of -legetnds' ini riationi to the 'L!enitle art,' commenmcint: with 'J onahi's Whatle,' which lie conisidet-ed as being decidledly the in'st authentic of the nmi racles, though, as lie himself iremar-kcd, it cer-tamily u as cuious01 ho' w the whale, lhaviti siucceed ini gettitng upon 'dry) land' f or the hutrose of Voimiiting up) Jo nahlt, mntagedl to get back to his nat ive eletmetnt, beinig legless and unwicly; bitt Rob's ortgans of 'mtatrvellousniess' was small, by nto meanis corrmesponidenit with his musical developmnetit, nt-twitht standitng the active exercise of his Ide ality', caused hhtn to nat-rate conttiniual ly 'Fish Stor-ies,' which str-etchied to its uitmtost ten sion thle lartgest ct-gn of 'Wonderci' in po05-sjson of his hear-ers. Otte of Rob's favorite stories was iin ie lationi to 'the t akitng, in a seinue, of a' huge sea buass of e xa ctly the samne length as him tself, to at itteh, upon th at portion of the shotres of Statent Island weenwstainds the whIilom 'Water inig P'lace,' New~ Br I~ighiton. - in this adventuret- his life was periled irepeated ly, being drtagged by the scaly 'lev'ia thtan' sevetral timaes beyond his depth, atnd thuaogh ver-y fond of 'going in ai s winnnun ag.' Rob contal not swim Tihis affirit I ob iregar-ded as the 'chief d'ouvre' of htis life; its result, as (deci dledly imore- important thtan that (of the I at tle ofI TIreton, in w hich his pater Ial grandfather was said to have been a piarticip~ant; the otnly piece of historical recoi-d with which he was to any deree familiar. With this and divers other similar narratives of the capture of suh dry 'drums' or 'sheephead' of unttsjal dimensions, would bob beguile the cas ual companion of hIs sporting hours, as seated in his skiff ho would arrange his tackel, of which article he had a large mahogany box full, which he had doubt less cost him from time to time-, the price of at least a grand piano. And notwithstanding the doubtful looks of an occasional sceptic, Bob was blessed in the belief that his fish tales were generally regarded as being, in the main, strictly true. Having thus presented your readers with a short preliminary account of Bob's peculiarities, I shall proceed to give them the details of that particular occasion, (as Bob was wont to term it,) on which he captured the 'Mermaid' alluded to in our heading. ' was in the latter portion of the summer of '37, in the very height of the 'real Estate' bubble, when every rod of land, whether dry and arable, or, as in many instances, entirely cov ered with water, within fifty miles of New York, was made the subject of blind speculation; and single farms, or dmaily va'ued at $5,000 or there abouts, were sold to the speculative gentry at prices varying from 30 to $40,000, and immediately converted into magnificent lithographic cities! (on the map,) with churches, theatres, squares and parks, with an occasional fountain or two, located almost invari bly in spots innocent of water from time inimnemorial,--the whole expensively and elaborately surveyed and laid out in streets and avenues pompously desit stated in imitation of the parent city, as B roadway, Pearl street, Water street, Bond street, Wall street, &c. &c., and walled in by a lcng line of heavy solid stone wharves, sufficiently extensive for the ample accommodation of the whole United States' navy, giving (on paper,) to the whole a singularly imposing ap pearance, and frequendy inducing the rdmiring beholder to forget the trifling drawback, that within these magnilicent marine havens no vessel of more than a hundred tons could ever, by any possi bility, find entrance, from the simple, overlooked fact, that the river channel was too shallow to admit a larger. WVhen at every other steamboat landing of the adjacent rivers and Kills 1s they are termed, a gaudy, shinny looking gilt sign, proclaimed to the pas ler that the little ten foot square building to which it was attached was a Land.l Office,' of the tenant of which, Splendid and eligible lots might be pur bas-Ied at prices varying, in accordance with their proximity to the apocryphal squares, parks, and public buildings aforesaid, from one hundred to a thou sand dollars; and assurances wer' ,iven the puzzled inquirer, to whom was clearly and certainly demonstrated that by such an investment of his surpl fund handsome profit must almost im mediately accrue. A constant appeal to the 'map,' and eloquent descriptions of the intensity of the public anxiety to obtain severally for themselves a chance in this 'the most promising op~portumnity for investment occurring hm modern tines,' too often success fully excited the cupidity of the unar~ay and caused them to affix to certain documents their signat ures, eventually depriving thiemselves of the use anid benefit of hundreds and thou sands of' hard-earned dollars. "'T was during this exciting period that Bob, availing himself of his custo mary sunmmer holiday, wvearied with the dust and dlin of city life and somewhat tired of the daily routine of salt fish transactions, freighiting his skifT with the necessary eqippag'e and implements for- the exercise of his dlestructiveness, wendled his way to that peaceful por tioni of thme shores of New Jersey which is washed by the waters of the 'Kill Van~ Kull,' inuinediately opposite to the northern shore of Staten (or as lie fat cet i unsly termed it, Satan's) Island. This was a favorite spot with Bob, as in addition to its beinig in the vicinity of certain celebrated 'drum' grounds, it po01ssssd the additional charm of being the homne of several rosy-checked Duteh girls ini whose good graces Bob had, dur-ing the previous season, mnado con sidomale advance. Here, then, Bob pitchedl his tent, hmavinig issued, to one, whom we shall cognominiate 'Ned,' an in v'itation to) spend in his amphibious socie ty, a whole fortnight, and to whiom lie had presuimpitulouslyV promised any amosunlt ofl funi durinig that happy interval. Pas simg over the sayingcs and doings which then and there generally transpired, proceed we to narrate how Bob, a few evenings pdlor to his return to city duty, caught that 'Mermaid.' The two sportsmen having conclu ded a rather poor day's fishing, deter mined, on returning, to diverge from their direct course for the purpose of rounding a point in Newark Bay, some what famous for an excellent bathing beach, there to luxuriate, by the light o' the moon'-which was in its last quarter, and nearly down to the horizon -in a glorious swim, as Bob proposed, 'malgre' his ignorance of that useful accomplishment. Accordingly, the bath was indulged in, until the waning Queen of Night was upon the point of leaving her throne, when the coining darkness admonished the couple of the necessity of return. They according ly regained the skiff, and having dres sed, lifted the 'kedge' and pulled for hcine, Ned being oarenan and Bob in charge of the tiller. They pulled away in silence for some time, with a care'ul stroke, giving the reef a wide berth, it being now quite dark, and huegging the shore as close as possible to keep out of the swiftly running tide which was ahead. The night dark very dark-it was impossible to distin guish objects two yards distant, and the voyagers, though satisfied that they had rowed long enough to be close home, were in doubt as to their precise locali ty. At Bob's suggestion, Ned ceased pulhng, and rested on his 'skulls,' with a view to an 'observation.' After looking vainly some time, he was about to resume his labor when 'Wh-i-s-h-t-sh-sh!' says Bob, 'hold on Ned, what the deuce is that?' ' What!' 'Sh-sli, hark,-here, on your left.' 'Where? I don't see anything.' 'iHush-sh-sh,-keep dark,-back water!' 'Back it is,' says Ned. 'IIark, again'--and now Ned's ear was regaled with sound like that of some one suppressing or suffocating an incli nation to laugh, and peering into the darkness he discovered what lie at first supposed to be a large stake. Closer scrutiny invested it with something of a human appearance. 'Wh-a-t t-h-e-d-e-v-i-l i s it?' gasped out Ned, now as much excited as bia mercurial companion Again they fan cied they heard the tittering sound. 'By thunder!' exclaimed Bob whose very thoughts were of a pisciv- t crous character,--it 's a Mermaid!' Still, whatever it was, it remained d inotioiless. The boat had drifted from the object of wonder some five or six yards, when 3ob,-whose hand seized I upon the body of a clam, intended for bait, which lay on the skiff's bottom, standing up iin the skiff, vowed he'd 1 know, and before his partner could pre vent, hurled with all force the said clam ' at the said 'Mermaid.' The precision of his aim was evinced by a 'spl-i-shy' sort of sound, as of two fleshy substan ces in collision; whereupon a faint shriek went up from the 'critter,' and at the same moment Ned was made sensible of some invisible misfortune to Bob, who was by some unseen agency, vio lently pulled over backwards into the w ater. 'Ned! Ned! pull-pull-for--sl-a-s-h -God's--'u r-g-gle----ge-urg-le imur-d-e-r, d-mn- t-n' shrieked Bob, - who had niever used such an exclamna tion in his life, before.--'Who---arc ye? what-ohi--oh----.spis-hm souse-gurg *tle-g...ug-g.le--the Devih! Ned,oh! Ned shouted he with all his strength, as a momentary respite was afforded him, as lie came up at intervals from under the water, beneath the surface of which s'o three or four of the most Amazo iiani of the Mermaids were laughingly engagedI in thrusting h im. Where wa Ned, in the skiff? not b~y a jug fu'l, the skiff was b~ottom~ upwards. Ned was in deep water whieire the water nymphds didln't like to ventuire. At the first alarm! Ned had tried his oars, hut the skill was fast. he'd pull with might and' main hut somo invisi b'le powver held hiim, anid at every pull the skiff would reb'ound towvards shore. And now Ned couldl distinguish some four or five human looking creatures of gigantic size (as they appeared to him) holdiing on to the sternm of the boat, lie wa in thme hands of the P'hiilisincs! is position was (defined! and lie knew it; he'd seen the 'elephant'--had Ned! he'd been there brfore. I"'T was but a moment's work to spri-in over~ thle b ows as far as p~ossible and strike out for (deel) water, ie knew the nature of the brute, they did n't like mischeif in den wat.er,1 n he gained it, then turned to listen. By this time Bob's shrieks were terrific; something must be done, they'd drown him. And now again he shouts.' 'He-l-p Ncd-N-e-d--for God's sake!' The thing was getting serious, and with a resolve to 'do or die,' Ned swam back till he discovered one of the ene my close to him. Noiselessly he dips and reaching bottom, seizes a foot, fin, tail, or---something, and down comes a Mermaid, with a piercing shriek, which was immediately echoed from a dozen throats, and then such a splashing and scrampering, such a 'digging' for shore you never saw. One after another. Bob's persecutors amongst the rest whilst he, poor wretch, sat upon the beach, exhausted, up to his neck in the water. The unfortunate animal that Ned had seized was left behind, Bob :ould n't imagine,--unless it had been wonnded in the encounter. Neil had gone for the skilf. when the ost e'ie passed Bob without noticing irm. A feeling of vengeance sprung 2p in Bob's breast, and being suficient y restored,-.--having vomited about six luarts,---as he stated, of salt water, he -ose suddenly, and gave chase. The r-itter 'locomoted' rapidly. Bob was ;oo swift for her, he overhauled her, mid we presume had a battle, or an ex 'lanation, if they talk,----or something >f the kind, for he did not return. Mean ine Ned having righted the skiff and mtichored her, walked up the beach to ind Bob, or home, or both, or either. n so doing, stumbled over a frock and ien---hem! no not exactly that; didn't uow what! It looked semething like 6 shirt, only that it was sleeveless and onger. At any rate, Ned took it home mnd made a very minute exafnination hereof. but to no purpose, for though ue enquired diligently, there was no one n that neighborhood who owned it He vas therefore forced into the conclu ion that hereafter in the natural Iisto -y of the Mermaid it should always be nentioned that the creature evinces a !ertain degree of womanly delicacy, mnd unless in very hot nights, clothes tself after the manner of females 'ter ene.' That this is tru' of the genus, uni -ersally,he perhaps would heEitate to bver, but of the species to be found in he waters of New Jcrsy he is qualified o speak positively,-as lie yet retains he evidence thereof in the garments foresaid,-..-which differ in no apprecia ild degree fi om those worn by nymphs rho aie not terrafucous. Some two years after this occurence ie was placed in a position to speak aith more certainty as to the close re emblance borne by this animal to the mnman race, by the receipt of an invi ation to attend the wedding of his fishy riend, Robert Stimson, Esq., who, at er the ceremony, took Ned aside and rhispered him,in strict confidence, so lon't you mention it, dear reader o a 'living soul,'---that that the la ly was the identical Mermaid that lie ;Bob) had chased and captured on that nemorable occasion. Ned assured inc on his 'honor,' that he was in no wise distinguishable from very pretty, healthly looking woman! - Times. ~)RIGIN AND ANTIQUITY OF IIORSE-RACING. Having shown in our paper of last veek upon this subject that horse-racing, 'riginally derived from the East, was a >ortion of the ceremonies used in cele >rating the festivities of Mithras, or the un, and that this worship finding its vay into Greece and Rome. it was sub equentig ;:''.planted by the Ronians nto England- that the English have dopted many of the manners and cus oms of the Romanis is very evident to umy observ'ing render of thio social his ory of that people-let us now inquire iow closely we have followed them in espect of horse-racing. We have already said that the races >f Rome were riun'in the open country ill T1arquinius Priscus built the grand ~ircus in which the races were after vards performed. How far the horses -an before they got to the last meta -rem the starting place is not expressed >y historians, but we are informed that lhe above circus is said to be about two housand one hundred and sixty-seven [oman feet in length, and nine hundred md sixty broad, of a semi-circular form ut onie end, the other extending in a -ight line, but rather circular; and that he races commonly ended at the sev mnth turun iround the metaxc, though now ind thou we meet with, upon extraor hinary occasions, fewer heats. The mumber and loneth of the heatrallo va' ry here. The usual number of inisus, or matches, were generally about .tWew ty-four, though sonetnes a fhr geater number were exhibited, for Suetoiius tells us that the Emperer Domitian pre sented a hundred matches in one day, The time when the races were to be gin was anciently given by sound of trumpet. Both the custom of matches and that of summoning the horses to a starting place by a signal are still prac, tised in England. The horses being up at the time, ready for starting, the signal was given by a mappa, or napkin, hung out at the Proctor's tent, or the chief magistrate's seat; hence Juvenal calls them Megalensian games-Mega liacto Spectacula Mappm. The origin of this custom was that when Nero was once at dinner, and the people making a great noise desiring that the sport might begim, the Emperor threw the napkin he had in his hand out of the, window as a token that he had granted their request. At these races, also, the Romans, rode in dillerent colers, par ticularly the companies of charioteers,to distinguish: themselves. These were geierally four, viz; Prasinaa (green.) russata (red,) alba or albato [white) and the vineta (sky or sea color;) but the green was generally the favorite, especially under Caligula, Nero; and the follow ing Emperor A. D. 81, and died A.. D. 06, added two more colors, viz: the golden Cr yellow, and the purple (aurea et purperea) but these were soon laid aside again by the following Emperors. The victors in the sports were honored. with garlands, coronets, and other orna ments after the Greek manner, and very often with considerable rewards. Hence Juvenal says: 'Iline centum, patrimslonaiu causidiconium Parte all.a solut ruanti pone lacerto." The people of Ronie were so partial to the races at the festivities of Mithras, and also afterwards in compliment to the Emperors who encouraged these sports, that there was an Ippodruna on purpose for these races in most cities in the empire, to which the people thI ong ed i vast numbers. To show how much the populace were interested in these games. Juvenal sums up their wants in two words, Panem et ircenses (bread and the games)-that is to say the bread distributed by the Emperors and the games in the circus. The same poet also describes, in hisseventh satire, the extraordinary fondness of the Ro mans for these races. Congreve has thus translated the passage: 'This day till Rlume (if l'miy be allowed, Witlout siThnre to such a ntumer..us crowd. To say all Rome) will in the circus sweat, Echoes already to their shouts repeat. I1etlhinks I hear the cry, away, away! The green hias won the honor of the day O ! e.hould these sports be but oue day flrlorbo Rome would. in tears, her loed diversion' mourn. Such was the fondness too, for favo rite horses, that Montfaucon tells us, and gives an engraving of a drawing from an ura which has two inscriptions upon it, the uppermost regards the hor ses, the lower the person interred there in. Over the first horse was an iu scription, the neaning of which is-',that this was in memory of the horse Aquilo,. begat by Aq~uihb, who had conquered 127 times, won the second prizes 88 times and the third prizes 37 times.' Tihe inscription over the second horw is thus rendered into English. 'SL ..4t IHirpitnus, the grandson of Aquilo, con que1redl 140 times, wvon the second prizea 67 times, and the third 35 times.' Hence we see thtey kept a regular pedi gree of their horses as at the present time. It is also observable, that the in scriptions for the horses are placed above that of his owner or rider, it be inig usual to pay more honour to their race hotres thtan to the meni who rode or drove them; for they erected menu muents to perpetuate their memory, as may be seen in Elhian, Pliny, and oth ers; and in Fpartian we find that Ha drian was so fond of his horses and dogs that he built sepulchres for them, and there is yet remaining an epitaph which Salmanasius has given, which begins thus---'Berysthienes, called Alanus, from the country he was of, the Emper or's race *horse,' &c. Tfhe e pit aph under the horse wvas made by order of Claudia HeIlice for her husband Lucius Avitus Dionisius. Thilere are abund ance of proofs of theso races from Re man coins; upon many of Aurelian's couins we find, Soil Miret' and 'Ortens Avg,' inscriptions often adopted by al ter Emperors and generally for the same reasons as Aurelian on celebra ting the races to Mithras. Although it does not appear when horse-racQ gar, it is evident they weaud 6 wars here thetrk as