Newspaper Page Text
THE C&NVICT.
Prom the -V. O. Commercial Bulletin.
Thomas Tibbetts. This extraordi
nary individual, who was hung recently,
was born, we believe, in this State. How
ever, be that as it may, he has spent the
best (or rather the worst) part of his life
in it. At the age of ten years he was a
drummer boy in the army, and was sta
tioned with his step-father (a corporal)
in Louisiana. Having been beaten, as
he says, very severely by his step-father,
in a fit of revenge he seized a musket i
and laid him dead at his feet. For this,
he was tried and sentenced to be impris- 1
oned twenty-one years; the sentence ol i
death being thus commuted on account of:
his extreme youth. After remaining in i
prison for the space of eleven years, lie
was, in January, IKW, being then but
twenty-one years of age, pardoned out by
Gov. White! lie arrived in this city just
at the time that the Louisiana volunteers
were about to embark for Florida; and
having enlisted under Col. Persifer Smith
he went with him to Florida. After serv
ing there four or five months, lie return
ed to this city, and almost immediately
went up'the river; he returned here,
however, in»a fortnight after, and had not
been in the city three days ere he* com
mitted the crime*for which lie yesterday
forfeited his life.
Three days since, lie was visited in
prison by the Mayor, Denis Prieur, who
asked him how he felt.
“As well as a man in my situation can
feel,” was his answer, “ but I should like
to have something to drink.”
Some brandy was brought him, which
ho drarik eagerly; after which .Mr. Pri
cur told him lie did not come for the pur
pose of giving him any hopes of a par
don.
“ And if you should do so, I’d not be
lieve you,” said Tibhets.
“ Would you not prefer imprisonment
to death, and that on a scaffold ?”
m Ah, no!” said he, with a hitter smile
"if tny sentence could he remitted for
only* a year’s imprisonment, (ami 1
know that they would not let mo <>lf for
so snort a period) I would prefer to die in
stantly.”
* “ Life is said to he sweet,” observed
the Mayor.
“ Ay, it may ho so to you, and such as
you, surrounded as you are by the com
forts and luxuries of life. But look at
inc, (holding up his chains.) Eleven
long years of my life have 1 passed in a
miserable cell, chained thus like a galley
slave, disgraced and deserted by all and
every thing that could render life dear to
me. What sweetness, then, think you, lias
such a life fer such a as I am ? No
sir, (seeing Mr., Prieur was about to
speak,) as a boy, it i* true, I was head
strong and wayward, hut not naturally vi
cious. It is true that I hated those who
hated me; but I also loved those who
were kind to me. But this 1 take no
credit for; 1 hut obeyed therein the in
stinct of nature. But upon one occasion,
for indulging in a damnable propensity,
that corporal, (hisstep-father) boat me so
unmercifully, that 1 seized a musket and
shot him. I was imprisoned, and led to
believe that if 1 behaved well T should he
Released in a year or two ; hut year after
year rolled on, and still I was a wretched
prisoner; the bright morning of my life
was wasting away, unsolaced, uncheered !
no release came, my heart sunk within
me, my hopes were blighted, and with
my hopes died my youth. I themsgave
loose to the worst passions of my ptiture,
and joined my miserable companions in
their worst pursuits. Finally, mv prison
doors were unbarred—l was pardoned ; I
entered that prison not a depraved hoy ; 1
left it a desperate man. I came to this
city and joined the volunteers for Florida;
before sailing I was arrested as a suspi
cions character, but being released, went
with Colonel Smith— returned to this citv
and—the rest you know.”
Mr Prieur then hinted that the vice
which led him astray was drinking.
“ No, sir,” said he fufiouslv, “ gam
bling! damnable gambling! lor that was
I beaten by the man whom, in revenge I
killed. I deserve to die, but not for the
offence for which 1 stand committed. 1
deserve to die, however, for deeds which
I have lately done.”
He was questioned on this head, hut
obstinately refused to reveal a syllable.
Mr. Prieur, who is, bye-the-bye, a practi
cal phrenologist, then proceeded to exam
ine his head, to ascertain if the organs of
firmness and destructiveness were not
strongly developed, and finding such to
be the case, he spoke of it. The prison
er said nothing in reply to him on that
head then, but the day before yesterday
he asked for pen, ink, and paper, and
wrote the following :
"My last It'/// and "Vest amt nt:
Give Denis Prieur my head.
Tom Tibbets.
Port of St. Loris.—The Harbor
Master of this city has furnished us with
an abstract from his Register for the
month of April, just ended. It appears
that, during that month, MG different
Steamboats entered our port, the average
•tonnage of which amounted to 13,551
tons. The whole number of entries was
18H, and the amount of wharfage collect-,
ed from the boats 1070 dollar-. Sixteen'
. were new boats. Some idea may he
I formed of the extent of the trade of
" this city from the facts just stated. V. c
question whether any city of the West
can show u like number of arrivals within
the same period. [St. Louis Republican
. THE REMEDY.
A DOMESTIC SCENE.
After all said on the subject of the times,
of reform, and the necessity of pconoiny
in all our outlays, the.truc way is to set
to work forthwith, and carry reform into]
practical execution, anti see how it works.
Example is a great guide, and what'one.
will do, the other w ill imitate. Fashiona
ble extravagrance would he at once sur
rendered, w hen it is fashionable to be |
economical. Avery large importing
house was prostrated by the pending stottn,
and first tried the experiment of extension,
hut finally gave up, and suspended pay
ment. * About a fortnight or three weeks
after that event had taken pltfce, I called
at their magnificent mansion in
Place, and found the house closed, and a
hill on it for sale or to let. I stood mus
ing for a few minutes, calling to mind the
splendor of the last party 1 had been at,
in that very house, in January last: the
parlors with their magnificent ottomans,
damask chairs, rich Persia cafpets r can
delabra.-, and costly mirrors—the gay and
I fluttering crowd of fashionables, the su-
I perh supper, and massive plate, and flash-
I ing lights, and jocund faces, and above
j all, the graceful and delighted mistress of
| the mansion. Now all was dreary and des
jolate; the dust had dready collected on
j th<! Venetian blinds, and the plated hell
handle looked dark and dingy. An air
iof desertion and decay lowered on the
j mansion, the airy dreams of the occupants
bad vanished. I determined, Hbwever,
to see my friends,, for he who forgets a
j friend in the hour of adversity is not fit
| to live iu this world, and, on pursuing my
enquiry, 1 traced them to a small street
east of the Bowery, arid living in a neat
two story house. I rang the bell, aijd whs
uslxrml into the parlor by a little girl with
a clean check apron. 1 looked aroilnd
tin; rooms. What a contrast! A plain
hut new ingrain carpet, neat rush bottom
chairs, a'sofa, two small looking glasses
in the piers, under which w as a plain ma
hogany table, and plated candlesticks on
the mantel piece. Every thing was neat,
and directly in the opposite extreme of the
splendor of their former habitation. The
lady of the house met me with a cheerful
smile and a cordial shake of the hand.—
The last time 1 had seen her she was
alighting from her carriage, splendidly
dressed, at Stewart’s, in Broadway; she
now had on a neat calico dress, a silk
apron, and a plain cap, and she looked
exceedingly interesting. “W hy how you
stare,” said she; “am I not an-altered
woman f” “Yes, lml altered for the bet
ter. How well you do look !” “j)o 1!”
Why yes, I think I do. 1 take great oxer
ofoe-—hustle- about..Jjjjo, house—rub furni
ture, ns'Voti once advlsi it me to Oo —toon'
after the kitchen—am constantly employ
ed ; indeed it must he so, for wo caqnot
keep an army of sen ants, as we formerly
did.” “It will all work well, he sure of
it; the storm will soon blow over, at least
with you, because you show yourself to
he a skilful pilot; you take iu sail in time,
and will soon have your ship moored in
smooth water.” “Well, you do comfort [
me .exceedingly, for. I have sven hut few
of my gala friends of late. Here comes
mv hie band ;—now ton must sit down and
take a cheerful family dinner with us.”—
Avery w hite but not very fine table cloth
was’spread; uncut tumblers—blue plates
—buck-handle knives and forks —japan-
ned bread baskets, &c. &c. and a little
girl with a check apron w aited on us. A
heaf steak and a hot. pot at oe—a couple of
slices of fried halibut—an apple dumpling
—good white bread, and a tumbler of beer
constitut'd our dinner. “Don’t look at
me,” said the hostess, “for really 1 eat
like a ploughman—of late 1 have had a
most unfashionable appetite; hut then 1
rise with the sun, and the day passes so
quickly that night sits in before I have
done one half of my work—now don’t
smile when l say work, for although von
know I have not been used to it, vet real
ly Ido work, and very hard.” “Do von
not miss your horses and carriage—your
rides up and down Broadway—your vis
its to Stewart, Boyle, and Venables !”
'.‘No, not in the len.- t; Ido miss mv parse
occasionally, to be frank with volt, but
when 1 accommodate mv means to my
wants, all is smooth. We cannot cat
gold, von know—it can only perforin cer
tain offices, which Ido not want. 1 have
enough of a rich wardrobe to last me for
years —rather too many pocket handker
chiefs, that cost me •'S>O a piece: and as
to the carriage and horses, if they brought
their gratifications, they were also a source
ol trouble, vexation, and expense, and 1
am better without them, it is thus 1 de
rive consolation from misfortune, and am
content and most li;i|>pv.’’
All this is the result of practical good
sense- I —of a determined mind, which soars
above mi-fortune—of a happy contented
nature. What a treasure such a wife is
to a man in these times, and who, instead
of increasing fits gloom and despondency
by frowns, upbraidings, and forgetfulness
—points out tilt* road to reform, and leads
him towards it by her own good and suc
cessful example—keeps iij> his energy,
and inspires him with new life—animates
him to future exertions —smooths the pil
low ot disappointment and cheers him
with the assurance of better times. [Star.
Tur liEvrxvE. —The receipts of the
Revenue of the United States in the
month of April, as stated by the Secreta
ry of the Treasury, were from Customs.
s9{*3,6Uo ; from handsel ,011,700 : total,
$1,905,300. The, expenditure during
the same period amounted to >3,P'<7,403
BmjjftfiVlCK ADVOCATE.
. Sailing by kite power.— Some young
gentlemen, (they with iu tfrdescribe them
as “enterprising and patriotic yibinjjjcn
tlemen,”) a few days jlhlce cohstructed
the most enormous kite “that we recollect
to have heard or read of, and went on to
Governors island for the Dgrposc ot flying
it, and its “capahilitiea’* very soon be
came apparent; fox it took six of them to
keep it from flying into “infinite space.
Their kite was constructed of can-]
vas upon a strong ash frame, and was
fourteen by ten feet in dimesions. After
ascertaining its powers tfjjion land, they
.tried them on the waters, and taking it
into a boat they let it Ay before the wind ; j
and- the way it carried lietjjteough the
bay, our “enterprising 1 ” phifosdphers con
sidered equal to any thing ill,,,the “go a-
I head” line, ever achieved byjpe late Col.
Crockett. are little afraid to men
tion the log hook account offthe matter,
hut the velocity was little short of thirty
knot. We have heard of propelling boats j
| and carriages by kites iu Europe, but we
I believe this is the first practical demon-,
stratum in this country ; and we are not ’
J sure but our young friends arc in serious
j ness as much entitled to ctlah and have
as good rigjbt to talk about “benefit of
I science” and all that, as other niodern
j philosophers. [X. Y. Star.
Melancholy Results ok Ga.mbj.ixu.
A few days since a young lawyer, whose
name*\ve will not mention, came to this
city ftom’fJSt. Mary’s Cos. having in his
I possession a sum of money belonging to
| his father, and which had come into his
! hands in the settlement ofteoine property
entrusted to his care. The whole sum he
! lost at the gambling table, lie then ap-
I plied to -various legal gentlemen of his ac
| qiiaiutancc, and having succeeded in bor
rowing a considerable amount from them,
once more madly sought the place of his
; ruin, and q'nce more came forth wild,
| haggard, desperate, w ithout a dollar of
the thousands he had so rashly and wick
edly staked. lie then succeeded in ob
taining sir dollars, anil with this paltry
sum fled to Washington. Sonic of those
whom lie so basely deceived and wronged,
j pursued him; and strange as it may seem,
j the infatuated youngMtian was found witli
jin the walls of a 'gambling house. The
[above facts ought to he pondered well by
young men. 'lMiey. speak louder than
words; and they oiler a solemn warning
to all, to a\oid that dizzy and dangerous
vortex, from which, when once engulph
ed, a man can‘scarcely hope to escape
with properly, recitation or peace of
mind.—[Baltimore Transcript.
fro.*!. <* letter in the London
Morning l’ost, dated Madrid, Dec. sth.
“A line clashing carriage was stopped
vesterilay nt the gate of Atcoho by the
custom-house officers, and notwithstand
ing t-lio entreaties of the fashionable titled
lady within to he allowed to proceed with
out any detention, which would otherwise
affect her nerves and delicate frame, was
searched, when behold, it \yns -found on
tirelv full of rich French and English con
traband articles of dress, &.c. Os course*
the w hole were taken to the custom-house,
together with the carriage and horses;
but the lovely delinquent, as well as the
coachman and footman, with their black
cockades, were suffered to escape; oth
ers, besides our Ministers here have ser
vants with these cockades; upon inquiry,!
1 am assured it was neither his Excellen- i
cy’s equipage, horses, nor servants;
1 am thus explicit because it lips been at
tempted to spread thu report that it was ;
otherwise. ]
To show the estimation in which the
Geological and other surveys of Massa
chusetts are held, it is only necessary to
state that the appropriations for tho pur
pose are within a few hundreds of $lO,-
030, in addition to w hich nearly six thou
sand dollars have been appropriated lor
the printing and publishing of the survey
atone. Massachusetts is second to no
state in the Union iu point of enlighten
ment and a full understanding of her own
interests. Bhe devotes $45,000 to sur
veys without any mineral region to be ex
plored, whilst Maryland, with more min
eral wealth than any other State, higgles
about appropriating half the smu to simi
lar purposes, [Bnl. American.
Sai t.
dence of tHe extreme caution observed by
the Bank of France in respect to dis
counts, that the only loss incurred in the
course of last year (during which hills to
the amount of 700,000,000 francs had
been discounted) \va£ one of 290 francs
In 1790, the valuation of property in
Massachusetts, according to a table fur
nished by .Mr. Carter to the .Legislature
of that State, was -but 5i&,(b29,97-1. In
I>3o, it was $t205,3(»0,-107, and during
the interval its population was nearly
doubled, whilst the number of its voters
was increased about SO per cent.
Massachusetts Schools. The amount
of money raised in Massachusetts annual
ly, for public schools, average s•> :{! p Pr
head, from 4to 14 years of age. In bos
ton, the average is >ti >:>; in Charles
town, •?! (9 : Salem. >2 ?*2; Lowell,
$3 So: Worcester, So ti’; Dedham, $4;
Koxbury, $3: Springfield, $2: North
ampton. So 91: Dorchester, SI 82.
Charlestown stands the fourth highest in
t!ie State, in its appropriation for schools,
after Boston.—[l> H Aurora.
From Europe. The packet ship Pennsyl
vania has arrived at New York, bringing Lon-<
don papers to the 24th, and Liverpool to the
•intii. The intelligence is better than was ex
pected, although the extent of our commercial
embarrassments was not fully known, the latest
advices from New York being to the 3d. It
was kiiown that the failure of the Josephs was
complete, and had been followed by that of
heavy houses in New Orleans; but the crisis
in New York and the country generally, had
not then been reached.
Cotton had risen a shade, and a sale of 4000
baps was made on the 24th.
The TJ. S. Bank Bonds, issued for remittan
ces, were in high credit at Liverpool, but their
reception in London had not been ascertained.
In the British House of Commons on the j
19th, a motion for an address to the King, pray
ing him not to renew the order in council au
thorising British subjects to engage in the ser
vice of the Queen of Spain, was negatived by
a majority of -so, the vote being 242 and 27c*.
The application of the French ministry to
the Chambers, for an appanage for the Duke
de Nemours has been withdrawn at the request
of the Duke and his royal father.
The preparations for the marriage of the
Duke of Orleans were going on very actively.
The Chamber of Deputies had passed, by a
majority of 25b, the act, establishing his allow
ance, 2,000,000 francs per annum, 1,000,000 for
w edding presehts, a ndIffOOJXJO per annum for
the princess, jn case of widowhood.
The distress of the operatives was still very
great in France.
The trial of Meuneir was in progress.
The new French ministry is officially an
nounced as follows:
Ministers Retained. Count Mole, President
and foreign minister. Gen. Bernard, minister
of war. Admiral Rosamel,minister of marine.
M. Martin du Nord, minister of commerce.
Ahv Ministers. ML Montalivet, of the inte
rior, vice Gasparin. M. Salvandy, ’of public
instruction, vice Guizot. M. Bathe, of justice,
vice Persfl. M. Lacave Laplagne, of finance,
vice Duchatel,
A dreadful fire broke out in one of the prin
cipal warehouses in Trieste, on the night of
the 11th and 12th April, -which caused the loss
lof some lives, and property to the amount of
several millions.
* Larue Fire ! We learn from the New
York Courier and Enquirer, the particulars of
the burning of the United States Public Store,
No 107 Washington street, between one anil
two o’clock, on Saturday morning. As soon
as the discovery of the tire was made, efforts
were immediately made by the watchmen and
’firemen, who soon reached the spot, in consid
erable numbers, to effect an entrance into the
building, by bursting open the doors and win
dows ; but these being very strong, and sheath
ed with stout'ironj'considerate time, elapsed
before their object was attained: At this peri
od, the tire, which appeared to have originated
in the second story, had extended to the upper
lolls, and the flames were begining to make
their appearance down the hatch-way, to the
first floor, of which, in a few moments, they
had complete possession.
The store was filled, from the cellar to the’
roof, with goods of almost every description,
the w hole of which are totally destroyed, with
the bare exception of some, tive or six packa
ges ot l)rv Goods, w inch stood near the door.
All the public papers in the counting room ate
supposed to have shared the same fate;
it not having yet been ascertained that any
thing was taken out of the office but a couple
of old ledgers, of no value. The loss of prop
erty, we are informed by one of the keepers,
cannot fall much short of one million of
mu.!.a us, but a small portion of which, it is
probable, is insured, it not being very general
ly th" custom, among our merchants, to get out
policies on their goods in Public Stores, the
time they remain in them being so uncertain.
Between two and three o'clock, several hea- I
vv explosions took place, inside the building,
w hich shook the walls to their foundation, anil
finally blew them down. A fireman, of the
name of Horton, attached to Hose Company
No. 13, lost his life, in endeavoring so save
that of a lad who was in danger from the fal
ling of the north gable end.
lie intrepidly sprang forward, and had gras
ped the lad, to hurry him from his situation,
when both were buried beneath the ruins.
The hoy was taken out still alive, altho’ dread
fully wounded, but before Horton Could be
extricated, he was dead.
Si .nullah Preservation from Drown-.
! INC. A gentleman, taking a trip., of pleasure J
' across the sound, day- before yesterday, while ;
.snoring most melodiously among trunks and I
band-boxes, was requested, by one of the hands j
on hoard the steamboat,‘to move,’ as he was i
lying on some baggage that was to be sent a- i
1 siiore in a few moments. Showing no inten-!
i tion of resigning his comfortable resting-place
j the fellow gave him a push, which sent him o- ]
verboard. Fortunately for his life, it was a
very hot day, and some tar, melted by the heat
\ of the sun, had trickled down upon the band
■ boxes under him, and when he went overboard,
j a band-box adhered to each arm, and thus he
was buoyed up till a rope was thrown him, not,
however, till the band-boxes (whose fair ow
j ners, no doubt, wished him at the bottom of
the sound) were completely saturated with the
I briny billows. So writes a correspondent, who
! professes to have been an ‘eye-witness.’ [N.
i Y. Sun. *
From Norfolk. By the arrival yesterday
I afternoon of the steamer Cuba , Capt. Swu.f.r,
j we have received (says the Charleston Mtrcury
lof Saturday) Norfolk papers up to Monday
j morning, with other Northern Journals.
I The beautiful village of Suffolk, (Ya.) has
I suffered from a most destructive conflagration,
f It. bro(;e out Saturday morning at the lower part
lof the village, and gained in spite of every ef
j fort, consutning the Court House, Jail, and a
i bout 45 stores and dwellings. The loss is i
very heavy and but slightly insured.
1 The fire originated in a cabinet shop occu- i
pied by .Mr. E. Arnold. [Savannah Republi
can.
Glorious Fncertaintv of the Law. In 1
‘ the Dundee shaving case, the magistrates de
clared the apprentice was bound to shave his
master’s customers on Sundays. The Lord Or
dinary reversed this judgment, finding that the i
apprentice was not bound to shave on the Lord’s
day. In January last.the inner House of the I
Court of Sessions reversed the Lord Ordinary’s j
interlocutor, and ordained the unfortunate aj>- j
prentic" to shave again on Sundays. And, to
end the buffeting about, of poor Jeininv Grant,
the applthuice, l ist week the House of Lords
iiave nis services cannot be called
upon to ghave the people of Scotland on a Sun
day.
I’ The old South Sea Scheme. The follow
ing particulars of the good or bad fortune of the
[ stockholders, we find preserved in an old En
glish Magazine:
A married man of the age of sixty, after
portioning off his sons and daughters, secured,
as he thought, for himself and wife, £looo'
per annum South Sea stock; and with this:
provident idea went to Bath, bought a house |
there, and proposed settling in life in a con- I
tented way. Upon the first great fall of stock !
he began to be alarmed—it was at £IOOO
when he left London, and it fell to £9OO. He
accordingly left Bath with an intent to sell out;
but before he arrived in London, then four days
journey, it fell to £250. It was too low, he
thought, to sell then—and he lost all.
Two maiden sisters, being original proprie
tors, when the stock got up to £960 were ad
vised to sell out. The eldest sister agreed ;
the other was for continuing ; at last the l’or
,mer prevailed and they sold out their stock,
which amounted to above £90,000. "They
then consulted their broker how to invest the
money: he advised them, to buy navy bills,
i which were at £2s’ per cent discount. They
accordingly bought in, and in two years after
received the whole of their money from gov
ernment. Thus they had not only the luck to
sell out within £3O per cent, of the highest
price of South Sea stock, but gain an addi
tional increase of £25 per cent on their capi
tal. ,
The duke of Chandos’ stock was worth, at
one time, £300,000. He went to the old duke
of Newcastle to consult what to do.' He ad
vised him to sell. No; he wanted half a
million. “ Y/tty then,” said the duke, “sell
£IOO,OOO, and take your chance for the rest”
No—he kept all —and lost all.
Sir Gregory Page was a minor at that time ;
his stock was worth £200,000. He had two
guardians; the one was for selling, the other
for keeping ; the former was positive, and in
sisted on an umpire, an umpire was according
ly called in, who gave his opinion for selling.
It was accordingly sold; and Sir Gregory, on
coming of age, with the legal interest of so
large a fortune, afterwards built that fine
house on Blnckheath, and purchased a park of
three hundred acres around it, which house he
lived in, in great magnificence, for fifty years
and then left it, with an estate of £IO,OOO a
year to his nephew, the late Sir Gregory'Page
Turner.
Gay, the poet had £IO,OOO stock given him
by the eldef Creggs; this, with Borne other
stoyk he purchased before, ainouuted, at one
time, to £20;000. He consulted with his
friends what to do. Dr. Arbuthnot advised
him to sell out No; that would he throwing
atvay his good luck. “ Well,” said the doctor,
“sell out as much as will produce £IOO a year,
and that will give you a clean shirt and a
shoulder of mutton for life.” He neglected
this advice, aud lost all; which had such an
effect upon his spirits, that notwithstanding his
subsequent success with the Beggar’s Opera,
it produced a billious disorder, which in the
end killed liim.
An old quaker, when the stock was at its
height, employed one Lopez, a broker, to sell
out; which he accordingly did; but when the
money came to be paid, tlie stock fell, and the
purchaser was off. “ Sell theuT again, friend
Lopez,” said the quaker. Ile did so; and the
stock falling a second time, the .purchaser
walked on. “ Sell them again, friend Lopez,
for any thing—but be sure of thy man.” The
third time lie succeeded : and the fall between
the two day’s interval was about £SO per cent;
so that out of £IOO,OOO stock he secured half.
Lopez, who lived many years after this’trans
action, was well known by the name of “ Sell
them again, friend Lopez.”
Mi cut ga.\. —The Legislature of this State
| has passed an act authorizing the sale of state
j serif) lor 85,000,000, to be expended on public
works, and another appropriation $30,000, for
the purpose of making Geological Surveys and
developing the mineral wealth of the State.
Appropriations for purposes of Internal im
provements in Indiana, Illinois, Alabama and
other of the States, have been made upon a
scale which astonishes the older members of
the family. It is but too evident that those
young sisters of ours, though scarce out of
their teens, have strong notions of taking the
lead in our family matters. It used to be that
the school-master went from the old to the new
country, but it would be a little ludicrous now
to see a Dominie from this part of the world
teaching the young idea how to shoot in the
far West, where ideas, like corn—not to speak
of rifles and steamboats—shoot ahead of every
thing we can conceive of. It would he amu
j sing, truly, to hear our beloved sister Virginia
[ teaching Ohio how to make roads , or our es
i teemed self, Maryland, lecturing Mississippi
■on the subject of the Laws and the Constitu
\ lion. The truth is the Old States are the Old
j Maids of the Federal family, and are stiff and
[ stingy and are hard to move from their accns
] tomed staid and solemn gait—ls they do take
j a hand in-the family dance it must always be
jto a slow tune in some old-fashioned, formal,
cotillion. Such a bouncing, romping, stirrinc
country dance as their young sisters enjoy,
would make their old bones ache for the bal
ance of their lives.—[Baltimore Republican.
The Mississippi Comb. This singular
name we have taken the liberty of giving to a
1 newly invented machine for the purpose of
! displacing bars at the mouths of our own riv
i crs. It consists of a wheel 30 feet in diame
| ter, and 30 in breadth. On the perimeter is
i fastened a great number of curved shovels,
constructed of iron, and of a triangular shape.
They are arranged in alternate rows. A hea-
Ivv frame is provided in which the wheel re
i volves on two gudgeons well secured by fric
j tion rollers. The wheel is placed at the inter
section of the third part of the frame. Two
heavy weights move in the frame perpendicu
lar to the axis, so as to keep the wheel well
embedded in the mud. With the long end up
wards at an angle of about 50 degrees, attach
ed to a steamboat ot' great powciy the machine j
is drawn across the bar. In this way the mud [
is ripped up and a channel at once formed.!
The long end being lowered, the weights side
I to that extremity, and thus the wheel is disen
gaged from the mud, so ns to be earned oasilv
across the bar again. The feasibility of this i
machine cannot be doubted. That it can be I
improved when put into action, we have no hes
itation in saying. All we wish is to see it in \
operation. [N. Orleans True American.
Dropout. —Accounts from various parts of
tlie \\ esf Indies state that there was much suf
fering for want of rain. In Antigua there had
been no rain for six months, and the crops were
in consequence entirely cut off—The inhabi
tants were obliged tti send to M onserat for wa
ter, and it lOd per pail.
Lord Tenterden’s last moments afford a strik
ing instance of “the ruling passion strong in
death.”
The last trial at which he presided, was tho
memorable one of the Bristol magistrates, for
the riots in that city. This was in )832. He
was observed, for some months before, to have
been gradually getting weaker and weaker.
His altered looks clearly showed that his health
had been seriously affected; and his friends
did every tiling they could to dissuade him
from ‘ undertaking to preside at a trial which
must, of necessity, involve so much mental
anxiety, and subject him to so much physical
fatigue. Still he would preside. In the course
of the proceedings every one saw how unfit he
physically was for the task. He stinted sever
al times on the bench; and at last, nature
gave way to such an extent, that he was no
longer able to maintain a sitting posture. He
was taken home; but he insisted every day,
until the case was finished, on seeing the notes
of the other judges. These he examined care
fully, and made remarks on the various circum
stances which transpired in the court, as they
appeared in those notes. He grew’gradually
worse, and but a short tinle before his death,
which took place in ten days after ho had been
taken out of the court, he was partially insen
sible. A few minutes before he expired, his
reasoning powers returned to him. He un
versed a short time with his friends, and slitter
a momentary pause, said, “Gentlemen off tsie
J ury, you may retire.” These were his last
words—he died in a few seconds after he had
uttered them. The circumstance shows how
completeljfiithe trial in question had engrossed
his thoughts, until "seized by temporary un
consciousness. And the case returned with
his returning consciousness. At the moment
he gave utterance to the words quqted, he, no
doubt, fancied himself sitting in the court, and
addressing the jury.
Tub Emperor at the Plough. —On the
15th day of the first moon, in every year, which
generally corresponds to the first of March,
the Emperor (of China) in person performs the
cermony of opening the Grounds. This
P|ince, in great promp, proceeds to the field
appointed for the ceremony, the princess of
the imperial family, the presidents of the five
great tribunals, and an infinite number of man
darins accompany him.—Two sides of the field
are occupied by the Emperor’s officers and
i guards t the third is allotted for all the'
laborers of the province, who repair thither to
behold their art honored and practiced by the
head of their empire ; the fourth is reserved
for the mandarins.
The Emperor enters the field alone,prostrates
himself, and pine times strikes his head against
the ground, in adoration of Tien, the God of
heaven ; lie then pronounces with a loud voice,
a prayer appointed by the tribunal of the rites,
invoking the blessings of the Almighty Sov
ereign on his labor, and on the labor of his peo
ple, who form his family; he then, in quality
of sovereign pontiff of the empire, sacrifices
a bullock, which he offers up to heaven, as the
source of every blessing:—whilst they cut the
victim in pieces, and place them on the alter,
they lying the Emperor a plough, in which
are yoked a pair of bullocks magnificently
adorned. The Emperor then, laying aside his
royal robes, takes hold of the handle of. the
plough, mnl turns several furrows the whole
length of the field: then with a complaisant
air, having delivered the plough to the man
darins, they successively follow his example,
emulating one another and performing this
labor with the greatest dexterity. The 'cere
mony concludes with the distribution of mon
ey, and pieces of stuff among the laborers there
present; the most active of whom finish the
remaining labor in presence of tiro Emperor
with great agility and address.
\ jdome time after when they have sufficiently
labored and manured these grounds, the Em
peror repairs again in procession, and begins
the sowing of the field, always accompanied
with ceremony, and attended by the laborers
of the province.
The same ceremonies are performed on tho
same days, in all the provinces of the Empire,
by the viceroys, assisted by all the magistrates
of their departments, in presence of a great
numbers of the laborers of their respetive
provinces. I have seen this opening of tho
grounds at Canton, (says the writer of this ar
ticle) and never remember to have beheld any
of the ceremonies invented by men, with half
the pleasure and satisfaction with which I ob
served this. [Pictou (N. S.) Bee.
A Left Handed Compliment. Tho
New York Sun says that Edwin Forrest was
recently introduced to Lord John Russell, at a
literary club room. Lord R. remarked that
he was present at the performance of Lear, by
Forrest, a few evenings previous. Mr. Bulwcr
also present, tusked his Lordship if he agreed
with him in certain critical objections made to
Forrest’s reading certain passages. His Lord
ship dissented in toto, and concluded by re
marking, at the same time taking him by the
'hand, that his masterly performance of the
character induced him to wish, for the first
time in his life, to make the acquaintance of a
professed actor. The compliment was receiv
ed with strong expressions of gratification by
the company, and by Forrest with a deep bow
and a deeper blush.
\\ ould not Lord John Russell have shown
a little more genuine good breeding, by omit
ting this allusion to the profession of Mr. For
rest ? To us it seeyns not very civil to apolo
gise to a man for tolerating his aquaintance, by
telling him that lie is above tho generality of
his trade. This is a direct censure upon the
trade, which a real gentleman would be slow
to utter, at least to a member of it A French
man would never have done such a thing.
[Philadelphia Ledger.
Comparative sailing of an American and
a British ship. Tiie ship Champlain,of New
\ ork, Capt Ritchie, sailed from Liverpool Oc
tober 25, for Canton, and arrived there early
in February. The British ship Falcon, des
patched by Messrs. Barings, to Batavia and
Canton, to countermand certain credits, sailed
from England about October 1, and only reach
ed Batavia about the time the Champlain
reached Canton.
There riVe forty small vessels, chiefly schoon
ers, engaged in the commerce of New Or
leans with Texas. Such is the number of pas
sengers, visitors, emigrants, adventurers, &c.
that a line of four or five steam-packets would
find full employ.
‘I never yet could sec one virtue you pos
sessed’ said a very good natured gentleman
to his better half’. ‘That I verily believe, my
dear, for love is proverbially blind,’ retorted
the admirable creature addressed.