Newspaper Page Text
26
(Original.
For the Christian Index.
TIIF, EVANGELISTS HARMONIZED IN THt'.lU \( •
COI’NT.OF CIIHIST-S RESI-RRECTION.
§ 2. Time, Localities,
The events which occurred on the morning of
the resurrection of Christ, and of which the-
Evangelists have given brief accounts, occnp.i and ,
more time than is generally imagined. The two
disciples who went to Emmaus on that day, U ft
Jerusalem before the report had arrived from the
sepulchre that Jesus had been seen : See Lake
xxiv. 22,23, 21. As Emmaus was but7i miles
distant from Jerusalem, and as they arrived tlioro
when the day was far spent; it is evident thov
could not have loft Jerusalem early m the morn
ing. To account for so much time being taken
up, we must suppose that there were moro
events than the Evangelists have recorded, or
that there were intervals of suspense andjlcdibo
tlves. This mode of accounting tor Iltc'stTfcnce
of the two disciples respecting Christ’s having
been seen by the women, is more natural than
the supposition which some have made, that they
had heard the report of his nppcarncc to the
women, but purposely omitted to mention it.
Since there were many persons concerned in
the visits to the sepulchre, and considerable time
occupied in the various transactions on the occa
sion; and in the brief narratives of the Evange
lists, each of them has made bis own selection,
both with respect to tho events and the persons
concerned, it is not surprising that some differ
ence appears in comparing their accounts. —
They have described different parts of the same
whole; and if we could have that whole set fully
before us, wc should see tho accuracy of their
several descriptions, and their apparent discre
pancies would disappear. It is the part of a hnr
monizer to supply* from the most prohahlc con
jecture, such parts of the general picture us have
been drawn by none of the evangelists ; and by
connecting ami incorporating tho several out
lines they have given, to show the possibility of
their having been taken from the same original.
One cause of perplexity on this subject, has
been the supposition that all the disciples, male
and female, bad but one place in touchy to
wbioWilrty rt-wrrfed :—a supposition fiy no means
probable. The house at which Jesus eat the
pnssover with his disciples was in tiio eastern
part of Jerusalem; for it was at the entrance of
the city from Bethany. Luke xxii. 10. It is
said to have been tho custom of those who at
tended the great feasts, to pay the skins of their
sacrifice lor the rent of the rooms they occupied
during their stay at Jerusalem. This house,
therefore, the disciples lodged at during this feast;
and, it is probable, they were here also, at the
feast of l’enlecost, oc'upying \\io ;
beoh eaten. Luke xxii. IT7 Acts t. 13. i'hc
I scpulchre*was on the west of the city, Cleopas
with Mary his wife, Mary Magdalene, and many
others, had come to this feast, not in company
with Jesus, but from Galilee: and since these
two women were at the sepulchre, on Friday
evening, later than any others, and returned
again very cnrly on Sunday morning; it is pro
bable they lodged in tho western part of I lie city.
Salome the mother of John, appears to have been
a companion of these two women, Mark xvi. 1:
und since Mary tho mother of Jesus, was ajfear,
relative of Mary, tho wife of Cleopas; there can
bo little doubt, that she constituted one of this fam
ily, and was brought, on Friday afternoon, to the
liousa which they occupied, from the cross of her
son. It is likely that after the crucifixion, John
spent much time at this house, where both his
real and adopted mother were; the latter of
whom, especially, needed in her distress, what
consolation he could administer.
It is manifest that Peter and John were not
■with the other Apostles, when Mary Magdalene
brought the information that the stone had been
rolled from the door of the sepulchre. There is
no way of accounting for the fact, that tho infor
mation was given to these two Apostles only,
which is so natural and satisfactory, as tho sup
position that they were apart from tho rest, and
in some place nearer to the sepulchre. Among
the other women who were present from Galilee,
was Joanna, the wife ofChuza, Herod’s steward.
As Herod attended this feast, Luke xxiii. 7:
it is probable that Joanna with her husband con
stituted a part of his train, and were quartered in I
a more central part of the oitv.
’i’lic garden of Joseph, being near to the cross,
John xxiv. 41, lay on the west side of the city. ■
Joseph was a rich man and a counsellor; Matt,
xxvii. 57, Lithe xxvii.” 50, and the garden of
such a man must be supposed to have been large
and well furnished; and to have had an arbor I
or resting place with prepared scats. In one
part of the enclosure was a place of ground less
fitted for cultivation because abounding with
rocks. One of these rocks had been recently
excavated, so as to form a tomb, which the pro
prietor had designed for himself. The entrance
of this was probably shaded by trees and shrubs,
the native growth of the place; and around it
were scattered, fragments of rocks of different
sizes, one of which was used for closing the
mouth of the sepulchre. Near the entrance
there may have remained a mound of sand and
small pieces of rock, which had been produced
by tho recent excavation. Since there is some
’ reason to think that all the persons who passed
to and from the sepulchre, did not cuter and leave
the garden at the same place, wc may suppose
that it had two gates : and that, although the dis.
tance to any part of the city might littlo
varied by passing through citlien of the gates;
yet the way to the eastern house, where the male
disciples were, may have been more direct
through one gate, and the way to the western
house, through the other, L.
0
• ‘ -* For the Christian Index.
OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH.
In a recent paper,! met with a paragraph sta
ting that a company of German emigrants after
sojourning for a short period in New York, were
about to re-einbark for their native country dis
gusted with their residence here. The cause
of their dissatisfaction is, that the laws of New
York would not allow them to desecrate the Sab
bath, by indulging the propensity to drinking and
dancing on that day, to which they had been ac
customed in their own country, Long, may
such grounds for disgust exist in our country, say
I. A population that would take ofTence at the
observance of tho Sabbath, can very well be
spared. A proper reverence for God’s Holy
dav, is tho glory and ornament of our land. In
no other country probably, is its sacredncss so
continually acknowledged by tho civil govern
ment. Let any one take up a French paper,
and a noticeof Ibis kind will he very apt to meet
his eye, “On Sunday last, the National Guards
were reviewed by the President. It is compu
ted,. that there were fifty persons ag.
France and many other countries of Europe, the
Subbath is the day most usually appropriated to
amusements. The steamboats, railways and
private vehicles are crowded with individuals in
tent upon some species of amusement, all tend
ing directly to the desecration of God’s holy day.
The regard exhibited for the Sabbath, is a pret
ty fair index of a nation’s standard of morals.—
Wc verily believe that France will never suc
ceed ns a Republic, until her people, and espe
eially her Rulers learn to reverence the Almigh
ty by duly observing his Sabbath. “Them that
honor me,” says God, “I will honor.” They
who desecrate tho Sabbath, cannot expect that
God will prosper them. Whilst as a people, wc
arc more distinguished by reverence for tho Sab
bath than other nations, yet there is ono particu
lar in which the sanctity of tho Sabbatli is fre
quently violated. I allude to tho running of rail
road trains, not only for tho transmission of the
mail, but for the conveyance of freight and pas
sengers. These, by their disturbance of public
worship, by tho detention of tho hands and ngents
of the road from tho house of God, and by tho
temptation which they offer to travel, do serious
ly detract from that sanctity which should ever
attach to the Sabbath, and in so (ar, do injure the
tone of morals in society. lam aware that I
shall ho told that reasons of groat •public utility rc
quiro the running of these trains on the Sabbath.
That llie (juantity of merchandise and produce
generally is so great, that it would be impossi
ble to convey it to market, without it. The
whole force of this argument amounts to just
this, that so great has been the blessing of the
Almighty upon the labors of our people, in tho
various departments of business, that it is abso
lutely the sanctity
oTtusWUbbaths, lut P r °d llco
which his blessing has Such an ar
gument will, nut I‘uoa ti.v. jW’eat da^agjj
But is it necessary that cvenjt mail shoujoJ|
convoyed on the Sabbath ? ago,
when the subject of stopping tho mpil pn tho Sab.
bath was agitated, tho famous “Sunday Mail
Report” was published, which/if it did not satis
fy the minds of all of the correctness of its views,
at least for a tlmo stopped tho agitation of the
subject. If in former days whop the mail was
slowly conveyed in coaches, tho argument was
admissible for the continual progress of the mail
on the Sabbath, in this day of multiplied rail
roads, it has certainly lost its validity.—And as
‘lftfle Almighty designed that all temptation to
violate his holy Subbaths might bo removed,
Ho allowed tho Magnetic Telegraph to bo de
vised, which by its almost instantaneous trans
mission of intelligence, leaves men without ex
cuse in wishing to desecrate the Sabbath. In
fact wo look upon the telegraph as obviating the
necessity that might be otherwise supposed to
exist for transmitting the mail on the Sabbath,
inasmuch ns all the pressing exigences of gov
ernment can bo now met without resorting to the
cumbrous machinery of the mail. ZETA.
For tho Christian Index.
Mr- Editor, —1 send you the following extract
of a letter to me from a lady who is now no more.
Although designed only for the eye of a friend,
its literary merit will commend it to the general
reader, and its gentle pathos, and plaintive re
signation to tho will of God, will touch every
heart. It was written immediately after the
death ol her youthful husband, and is a part of
the letter which conveyed tho melancholy intel
ligence of that event: C.
“Ho lived only three weeks after our return
home from Savannah, when it became mine, thus
early in life, to learn the bitterness of the wid
ow’s tears —the loneliness of tho widow’s heart!
The heart that once heat warmly for me, is cold
in the grave ! The eye that beamed fondly into
mine, is forever closed ! Tho hand that clasped
my own in tender atl'ection, is still in death !
My family is broken up, and my house is shut
up in lone and solemn silence ! I low different is
time's reality, from the bright vision which Hope
held up to Fancy’s eye, when my little cottage
first reared its head among the trees, beside that
gladsome rill ! Oh!
1 had a home—a pleasant home—
’Twa* in a little rural spot
Where wo. ’twonld seem, might never come,
Ami where life’s ills should cuter not.
For Nature, all within its palo
Her sweetest witchery hnd spread;
Siir'd scattered here a fairy dale,
And there a little flowery mead.
Slic’d planted too a bright green hill,
Sweet hillocks clustering by its side,
And then she sent a gurgling rill
Mo t gaily through the scene to glide.
Each waving leaf, each trembling flower
Seemed breathing peace till o’er the spot,
And happiness, from hoar to hour, ,
Humntrd buddy round my beauteous cot.
The sun, all through tiie livelong day;
Was smiling on my own sweet home,
Shedding for me its gladdest ray,
And wo, ’twould seem, might never come.
But ah!
Page after page oT time's book liath boon tearfully
read—
Days lmve been clouded, and nights have come laden
with wo!
I-caving the mark of the spoiler, tho year hath just
fled!
THE CHRISTIAN INDEX.
’ Yet I lmve very many blessings for which to
be grateful to a merciful God. 1 have ai father’s
house, in which to take shelter in time of adver*
sity’s drear storms. I have a dear littlic son to
gladden my desolate heart. 1 have, too, the
blessed hope that the departed is an inh ibitant !
of Heaven. And over and above all, for me,
blessed be God, •
Religion sheds her cheering ray,
To heal whnte’er is torn within,
And tell me of :tn endless day
I ton may reach, when freed from sin.”
THE INDE^.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14,1850.
DO RIGHT.
Mr. Adams, the Sunday School Agent, who
visited our State a few years ago, told o! a Sab.
bath School that was governed by the following
plan: Over the door were written the words,
“Do Right.” When a pupil was seen engaged
in improper conversation, during school hours,
the teacher without saying a word, guided him
- <i.. ,!„„r might
he the misdemeanor of a pupil, he foJwrmmseTt
reproved by (lie command “Do RtuftT.'’
This short, but comprehonsivq/ule, might bo
of service, in other places thanftlic school room,
and among older persons l\\/n Sabbath School
scholars. It might be useful were it written over
the doors of our counting houses, our legislative
halls, our colleges, and even our parlors and
studios. The simplicity and iodefinitenesa of
such a rule may, perhaps, cause it to appear con
ternptible in the eyes of many; hut a moment’s
reflection must convince any one that, if proper
ly applied, it may serve to regulate ail the prac
tical concerns of life. Its simplicity is its great
recommendation. It requires no skill in the
principles of interpretation, to find out its mean
ing, but it addresses itself immediately to the
heart and conscience, and speaks with a force
which the most hardened cannot resist, with a
simplicity which the most soplisticil cannot
evade. Its indefiniteness docs Bot destroy its
value, for though indefinite, it fct not obscure.
I lie child that has knowledge emugh to read it,
has knowledge enough to understand it. 110
sees a meaning in it that dotors him front follow,
ing many objects of his heart’s desire, and that
brings a blush to his check, aUtle remembrance
of many of his past actions. If then, it is sim
ple, perspicuous, and adapted to all the circum
stances of life, well would it focjuankind were
it more highly prized and more gcnerallv re
gaided. \\ ell would it be our tempta
tion to sin, we, like the Sunday*sthool scholars,
should see some kind hand point ng ns to the rule
‘do right.’ Reader, this blessng has already
been conferred upon you. Even tho heathen
‘show tho work of the law written in their hearts.’
litis luw, tin's feeling of obligation to do right,
has been written on your mind by tho finger of
God your Creator, and whenever you turn your
feet to any talse way, conscience silently points
you to this law and reminds you of your duty.
Disregard not this kind and gentle reproof, if you
would not sin against your own soul hnd bring
upon you the wrath of God.
U r e do not mean to say that the law|of nature
is sufficient to teach man his duty, without tho
instructions of tho scriptures and the ill iminating
influence of the Holy Spirit. When ho ques
tion arises, what is right, what is out) duty, wc
must go to the Bible to find nn answer; wc must
seek the aid of the Holy Spirit in undemanding
God’s word. In tho remarks which we have
b?en making, our aim is, to impress thothought
that m?n commit sin, not so much frotn ignor
once of duty, as from an unwillingness to per
form it. When they know what is riglt, they,
in disobedience to *ho authority of comcicnce
and of God, refuse so c'o what is right And
even their ignorance is chargeable to tlcir dis
regard of this admonition. In t.bis land c( biblcs
and gospel privileges, every man may find out
what God would have him do. “If ary man
will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine.”
On the other hand, when a person cares not to
know his duty, lie is left in willful ignorance,
and that ignorance itself becomes a part of his
sin.
MADISON COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE.
The Executive Committee of the Geo. Baptist
Convention, view with pleasure, the efforts ma
king by tho Buptists’in Madison, to build in their
town, an Institution for the education of young
ladies. Tlie Rev. C. M. Irwin has been em
ployed, ns their agent, to secure an amount suffi
cient to erect the necessary buildings, and en
dow said Institution. Tho Committee cheerful
ly commend the brother and his agency, and
would hereby give the measure their most hear
ty approval, and bog for it the liberal support of
Baptists and the friends of such an enterprise.
B. M. SANDERS, Chairman.
03“Rcv. Buckley S. Fuller requests his cor
respondents to address him at Monticello, Jeffer
son county, Florida.
NOTICES OF PUBLICATIONS.
The Church members’ Hand-Book : a Guide to the
Doctrines and Practices of Baptist Churches.
By William Crowell.
This little book has been lying on our table
for several weeks, waiting for a convenient sea
son to be examined. Presuming that age would
not impair its excellence, we laid it aside in or
der to view the articles of a more perishable na
ture, with which our table abounds. Even now
we are able to give it only a taste ; but from
that, we feel safe in recommending it to our rea
ders. Wc cannot give a better idea of the plan
of the work than that conveyed in the titles of
the chapters.
1. The Groundwork of Religion; Christian
Truth.
2. The Framework of Religion; Christian
Churches.
3. Tho Memorials of Religion; Christian Or.
di nances,
4. The Symbols of Religion ; Christian Sacra
menls.
3. The Privileges of Religion ; Christian Exer
cises.
0. The Duties of Religion ; Church Discipline.
7. The Life of Religion ; Christian Lore.
In the consideration of these subjects, an in
structivSOand comprehensive view of the doc
trines and duties of Christianity is given, inclu
ding those whictrcharacterized the Baptist De
nomination. This book is published by Messrs.
Gould, Kendall & Lincoln, of Boston.
Minutes of the Alachua Baptist Association.
—This body hold its 3rd annual session with the
New Providence church, Marion county, Flori
da, on the 10th of Nov., 1549. Brother James
McDonald was elected Moderator, and brother
Thomas J. Prevatt, Clerk. There are 16
churches in this body, and 614 members, of
whom 127 were baptized during the last Asso
ciational year.
Minutes of the Yal/abusha Baptist Associa
j lion. —The 13th annual meeting was held with
. church, Yallabusha county,
Miss., September 22nd, 1819. Elder Jas. G.
Flail was elected Moderator, and Hillary Talbert,
Clerk. Thirty-three churches report a metn
i bership ot 1,246, of whom 333 were baptized
last year.
Southern Baptist Missionary Journal. —The
I February number of this valuable monthly ar.
j rived about tho time our last number went to
j press. It contains letters from brethren Shuck,
; To bey and Whiltlen of the China Mission and
| brethren Day, Chceseman, Davis and Drayton
j of the Africa Mission, besides other interesting
matters. Thh following editorial concerning the
i “New Route to China” furnishes on item of im
j portance to those who arc watching the progress
of the ago.
As an earnest of what is soon to bo realized in
the improvements of this wonderful age, we in
! sort from brother Shuck’s pen the following let
ter received by way of Culnfornia. It is sup
posed that when the railroad or canal across the
Central American isthmus, shall have been
completed, the mail will pass from this to Sltang
hai in six weeks. It now requires about three
and a half months. Our operations, both in for.
warding communications and missionaries, will
be greatly facilitated by this improvement. It
illustrates tho predictions of the Divine word,
that every valley shall be exalted, and every
hill brought low. All obstructions, physical, us
Well as national and moral, will be removed,
and a highway for our God shall be prepared.—
! He \vjJ! hasten it in his own tune.
The fact alluded to by brother Shuck is inter,
esting. Our letters by overland pass from this
to London, thence by way oftbe Mediterranean
to Alexandria, across from the Nile to the Red
sea; thence to Bombay, on by another overland
route to Calcutta; thence to Signapore, and from
that point to China. The signature referred
to, continued on from Shanghai, direct to Cali
fornia; and thence over the isthmus to this place
aguiu. ‘'J
!\ rligious ’
Revivals.—Our exchange papers of the past
week furnish us the following items:
Maine. —Twenty-five have recently united by
baptism to the church in Monson.
New Hampshire. —The Chaplain of the State
Prison in Concord, writes to the Congregational
Journal, that there has been an unusual decree
of seriousness ou the subject of religion among
the convicts in that prison. Ten or twelve**#
tho prisoners irfs supposed have passed from
death to life.
A etc Doric. —Several Baptist churches, in this
efty, says the New York Recorder, are enjoying
revivals of religion. Tho Register mentions a
revival at West Portland and the baptism of five
persons.
Pennsylvania. —ln Georgetown, 30 have been
baptized recently; in Meadville 10 or 12, at
West Kensington 11, West Chester 5, New Bri
tain 10. A number of accessions have recently
been made to the Baptist churches in Philadel
phia.
Tennessee. —The Tennessee Baptist mentions
tho baptism of 29 at Red River, 15 at Whippoor
will, 15 at New IJope, 32 at Knob Spring, G at
Bethel.
Illinois. —We learn L'om the Western Watch
man that 18 have recently bfe.t?n baptized at Troy.
Imdian* Missions. —The last InJiarf Advocate
j mentions the constitution of a church a" 1 Lig
Spring town, in the Creek nation, on the S4t.*}
November last.
In the Advocate isa letter front a native preach
er, to the Choctaws, from which we make the
following extract:
I have met with many discouragements to
work among them, since my undertaking here;
for they appoint ball play in opposition to my in
tended preaching place; and some times while I
am speaking, sotne of the low people come near,
making ball play whoop, merely to interrupt me.
My traveling herein the Indian country is noth
ing like traveling preachers in the States among
white people; for many times we have nothing
to cat for us or our horse, or to lie oil. Though
I rejoice much when any number of persons
meet me, to talk to them. 1 did more rejoice to
see, since my last letter to you, one young man
baptized, who is living with me.
On the 28th October we had a Campmeeting
near Armstrong Academy, and eight persons
were buried with Christ by baptism, and this
young many wasamong the number.
Baptist Missionary churches are increasing
! every year in this part of the country among tho
Choctaws. I hope and trust the Saviour that,
through his almighty hand, wc shall be able to
become strong and walk.
I wish to remind you, as a poor beggar, that
we stand in need of more preachers of the ever
i lasting Gospel of Jesus Christ frtnn your country;
a man of qualifications, able to contend with
any erroneous doctrine that may be preached in
this country. , ■ ipfp ,gy
At tho last meeting of the Boardj Rev. Andrew
Moffat, of Vicksburg, Miss., was appointed as a
Missionary to tho Indians. lie is expected to
labor cither among the Choctaws or Osages.
On the 30 of December, public services were
held in the Walnut Street Baptist Church, Lou
isville, preparatory to the departure of Rev. S.
Wallace and family, for the Creek nations, as [
Missionaries of the Board.
Legacies. —Miss Rhoda Cook, of this city,
who departed this life about two weeks since, left j
bv her will about fifteen hundred dollars for For- |
eign Missions, and the same amount for Domes- .
tic Missions. She also left a legacy of about
eighteen hundred dollars to the First Baptist
church in this city, the interest of which is to be
appropriated to the benefit of the poor of the
church.
Miss Cook was a plain, unassuming woman—
one of that class who always minded her own
business. She had accumulated a property of
about six thousand dollars, which was invested in
stocks, &c., besides a very comfortable dwelling
house, together with the ground on which it
stands. She was a worthy and consistent mem
! ber of the First Baptist church.— Christian Sec
| rctary.
j Irish Baptist Colony. —Rev. G. C. Moore, of
( Tubbermorc, Ireland, spent the last Lord's day
1 with the churches in this city, on behalf of this
interest. In the evening the two churches
united in a service at the South church, which
was crowded to overflowing. Mr. Moore ad
dressed the congregation in a most effective
manner, and excited a deep feeling of sympathy
for those on whose behalt he so eloquently plead
ed.
Mr. Moore proposes to visit some of the prom
inent churches in this State, and tor the benefit
| of those who may not be familiar with his ob
■ jeet, and, as far ns cur poor influence will go, to
i promote that object itself, it may be proper for
j us to stale very briefly what it is, and why this
appeal is made to American Baptists. The de
sign of the movement is to colonize the mem
bers of the church at Tubbermore, formerly un
der the pastoral care of the lamented Dr. Carson,
to this country, and to establish them in the West,
where they may be not only prosperous, but use
ful. It is unnecessary for us to say anything
about the resent sufferings of the poor Irish;
our readers have heard all about them, and yet
how little any of us can realize them! These
poor Baptist brethren felt the pressure of the
famine ns keenly ns any other portion of the
population. The circumstances coming to the
knowledge of some bcnevo'lent brethren in New
York, an appeal was made to the denomination
to contribute for the purpose of sending them
food. This appeal met with a commendable re
sponse, but it was soon apparent that no perma
nent relief could thus be afforded them, and an
effort was made to colonize them to this country.
This effort has been so far successful that 01
| have already reached tliis country. Among
: these is the Rev. D. Mulbergan k ud,l3 of bis
j people. Mr. M. we understand, expects to go
I out under commission from the Home Mission
I Society’, and from the account we have of
him, wo are led to hope that he will make him
self useful among the Irish population of the
West. Mr. Moore is constantly receiving let
ters from Ireland beseeching him to use bis Lost
exertions to secure aid for the writers to come to
this land of freedom and plenty.— Hurt. Christian
Secretary.
Imilnr.
, ..
Till; COTTON CIU)B~
The Savannah Republican says:—Professor
McCay, one of the correspondents of Hunt’s
Merchant’s Magazine, some time since predict
ed that the Cotton crop for the current year,
would not exceed 2,250,000 hales. The follow
ing is an extract from a letter just received from
the Professor by a friend in Savannah. It is
i dated at Montgomery, Ala.:
“The factors and planters ere talking very
| strongly of a short crop. Some good judges
bring the crop down to two millions.
The Atlnntic ports,... ...■■ rnVoo,oW r
*■ ‘ “Floridp and Texas, 200,000
Mobile, 350,000
New Orleans, 750,000*
2,000,000
“I cannot put forward a very confident opin
ion, on the receipts in the Gulf, but the Crop
will almost certainly fall below mv estimate in
Hunt’s Magazine. Prices are up and they will
go still higher.”
THE GREAT GAINES CASE.
The long protracted suit of Mrs. Gaines, for
the immense property of the late Daniel Clark,
valued at several millions, which has been the
subject of much vexatious litigation for many
years, came tip yesterday for the first time for
trial on its merits, before the United States Cir
cuit Coart. This case is one of great interest.
No case probably ever came before the court
of justice involving so much of mystery and ro
mance, and in which the evidence was so vari
ous and contradictory. The testimony is deep
ly interesting, us developing many interesting
l incidents in the history of this State, Daniel
I Clark having played a very prominent part in
the early struggles of Louisiana. To enable
! our readers to comprehend the principal facts of
■ the case, we have made a condensed report of it.
_;V. U. Delta, ‘lath.
The k 'Story of this interesting case, involving
the rmi.t of the accomplished Myra Gaines,
wife of the )ate Mnj. Gen, Gaines, of the U.
S. Army, to a vast estate, is too long for our col
umns, though of much interest. The ground
principally upon .whb 0 * 1 objection to her claim
rests, is illegitimacy, the respondents in the case,
it seems, denying not only he. - legitimacy, but
even that she is the daughter ot J'aniel Clark,
her reputed father, and owner of the pstatc in
i question at his decease, though it is shown she
was acknowledged by him and educated as such.
The Delta of the 25th inst., commences the
publication of the evidence, which is copious
with the following remarks:
We commence to-day the publication of the
testimony in the great case. It will be found
deeply interesting, and as absorbing as the most
skilfull fictions ot the novelist. The strange
j mystery which surrounds the birth of Myra, her
i long ignorance of her alleged parentage, the sin
j gular and varied life of Zulime De Carriere, the
mother of Myra, who at the age of sixteen, mar
ried u man who had another wife, abandoned
him when she discovered liis infamy, married
Daniel Clark secretly, separuted from him, and
hearing that he was about to marry Miss Canton
the grand daughter of Charles Carroll, of Carrol,
ton, (who subsequently married the Marquis
Wellesley, the elder brother of the Duke of
Wellington,) the unfortuate Zulime determined
to treat her marriage with Clark as a nullity,
and accordingly married M. Gnrdettc, with
whotu she retired to France, and there lived un
til Gazette's death. These main facts in the
case are Sufficiently interesting, without the va
rious episodes it the adventurous life of panic!
Clarke, one of the most prominent men in the ear
ly history ofLousiana.
REMA lIKABLE RIVER.
The Florida Sentinel contains an account of
the examination, by a committee of scientific
gentlemen, of the river Wacissa, in Florida,
with a view of testing its capacity for a water
power for manufacturing purposes, and the prac
ticability of Connecting it with St. Mark’s by a
canal. They found water at the bead of the
river thirty two feet above high water in the St.
Mark’s at Newport. The Sentinel describes the
Wacissa river as one of the natural curiosities
almost peculiar to Florida. *lt takes it rise like
the Wakulla, in springs of tremendous volume,—
forming an immense basin with bold shores, from
which it runs in a S. S. E. direction, in a deep 4
and broad stream, about fourteen miies, to a
swamp where most of it disappears through a
subterranean channel, by which it is discharged
into the Gulf. This river is said to contain a
; greater volume of water than the Potomac or
, James river, and, like all riverl having a simi
lar rise in Florida, it is affected by neither drought
nor freshet, affording one steady, uniform and
unvarying current all the year. Any
ble amount of water-power can be obtained by
means of the canal proposed, and it will not only
.he unfailing, but unvarying. The committee
are of opinion that more than ten times the wa
! ter-power of Lowel can be found there at a small
I expense.
STATE RAIL ROAD.
Here I am at the terminus of the Rail Roads
of our glorious State. Here in sight of the bold
; Tennessee, bounding over rocks and shoals—hero
i in sight oftiic lofty Lookout mountain, minglino
with the clouds. I arrived here through one of
those stupendous gorges which the finger of God
seems to have pointed out as the only" thorough
fare that could have achieved that most impor
tant connection, whose commerse will not only
scatter wealth and subsistence along about 440
i miles of Rail-Road, but it will bind us together
in the frightful struggle with the Abolitionists of
1 the North, who seem bent on our destruction or
; their ruin!
The mind would fail toconccive a more gigan
j tic undertaking than the construction of tho Rail
Itoadfrom Atlanta to Chattanooga, on a massy em
’ bankment of rocks anu clay, along the sides of
mountains, over ravines, 190 feet deep, spanning
streams, creeks and rivers, by bridges over 2,-
000 feet long, resting on massy piers of limo
| stone or filling them up with spacious culverts,
through which the angry stream seems to dash
■ witn indignant fury at being obstructed. Only
imagine seventeen beautiful bridges over.one ri
-1 ver, the Chickamagua. This /iver We never
heard of on tiie sca-shore—and yet seventeen
times has Georgia’s dominant Enterprise crossed
This is but a small item in TTecfedif dccouut offier
enterprise, for as you approach John’s moun-
I tain or tunnel hill as it is now denominated be
tween Walker and Murray, they have penetra
j ted a solid Limestone mountain, 1,475 feet
through, 175 feet below the top level of the
j mountain, with a passage 20 feet wide and stone
l sonic 25 or 30 feet high, supported by a massy
, stone archway. This work I regard as one of
tho wonders of the South. We need not now ask
what will be the result, for it is in the womb of
I futurity, but it will unite the great West with the
: noble the generous South furoverf Kven now,
l on the banks of the Tenessee, are piles of ftour~
and other merchandize, from Alabama-and Ten
nessee, and this is only the beginning; the end
will never come, until time shall be no more,
and the things of eternity break upon our view,
We know little of Georgia, her magnificent
scenery, her resources, her traveling masses, un
til wc travel with her enterprising and generous
sons, and lovely daughters, on this stupendous
Road.— Cor. Sac. Hep,
ALABAMA AND TENNESSEE RIVER
RAIL ROAD t
JJfojire W the private sub
'll rip t ion to this enterprise, south and west of tho
Coosa River, amounts to nearly 8500,000. It
now becomes the duty of the citizens of Talla
dega and Benton counties to prepare to redeem
: the pledges given by their representatives in the
conventions, that they would subscribe an amount
sufficient to construct the road through their
counties.
j Active measures have already been taken lo
have the entire route, from Selma to Gunter’s
Lauding thoroughly surveyed. The Chief En
gineer of the road, Mr. Troost, passed through
our town on Saturday last, on a reconnoisancs
of the route. Wc understand that the surveys
will be commenced early in February, and that
two parties will be placed in the field—ono to
start from Selma, and tho other from a point a
few miles south of this place. It is confidently
expected that tho surveys will be completed
through the entire route the ensuing summer.
It is the intention of the Direcctory, to com.
mcncc the construction of the road as soon as tho
j survey can be made; and it is believed that
with the present prospects the road to. the Coosa
river can be placed in a working condition in
less than three years-— Talladega Hop .
an oti ier Crevasse,
We are informed that the river broke through
; the levee at Gen. Lacoste’s plantation, about
seven miles below Algiers, on last Sunday night.
The levees at this point are very high; tho
outer or old one opened by the rush of Water tv
‘ breadth of neatly fifty” feet; the toner Ifcvee, not
long erected, has lost about sixty feet and is still
wearing away. If die old levee can resist tho
force of the current, their are some hopes, by its,
aid, of stopping the crevassee.
The Morgan and Paydras plantations, farther
I down ana on this side Qf the river, are also me
naced. Being on a point and exposed to tha ac.
tion of the swollen and rapid current, they neces,
: sarily stand in much danger. At the Morgan
plantations new levee has for some time been in
course of erection about a square iu the rearaf
the old one. The continual and soaking rains,
together with the great rise iu the river, place tha
levees in a very precarious- position. — IV, Q.
Picayune. 29 1 h tilt.
STEAM BOAT*ACCIDENT.
The steamer St. Joseph, from New Orleans,
1 blew up and burnt to the water’s edge on the 23d
i inst., near Napolean, at the mouth of the Arkan
i sas river. The St. Joseph had on board a largo
cargo and a number of emigrants. -Fifteen per
sons were killed outright, and thirty-eight horri.
bly scalded—many of whom have since died.—
At the time of the explosion tho steamer South
America was near at hand. Gapt. Baker of
the St. Joseph, immediately hailed the South
America, to board the wreck and take off the
survivors, as his yawl was engaged in picking
up those who were blown into the river.
The South America towed the wreck tq the
shore. Capt. Baker, with the assistance of part
of the c(oy, iqysucceeded
in recovering tiie iron chest from the wrec^j
[February