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THE ADVOCATE.
BRUNSWICK, (Ga.) JAN. 4, 1838.
The Legislature adjourned sine die on Mon
day night. The Internal Improvement bill
has been lost! The Senate refused to take it
up by a vote of 94 to 30. On that Branch,
must devolve the praise or censure arising from
the defeat of this measure—one, which had
enlisted in its behalf, men of all parties, and in
support of which, the presses of the State had
with a singular unanimity joined. It the |
newspaper press is ail index of public opinion,
this bill was a favorite of the country. Still,,
we hold to the independence of the Represen-
tative —he has the right to think as lie pleases, j
and vote accordingly. But the People will
pass on bis acts ; and the Senators who have I
rejected this Bill, must prepare themselves to
give a strict account to the people. While for
one year longer, the State must lag behind, we
believe there is a spirit -abroad in the land,
which w ill ere long place the- State in that
commanding jiositiou, for which nature intend
ed her. Brunswick can succeed without the
aid of the State; but she would have jwo
gressed more rapidly with the assistance of
the public credit
While we are not disposed to detract from
the merit due to other friends of this great
measure, we cannot but avow the high gratifica
tion we have .felt at the course pursued by our
Senator. The Report made by him as Chair
man of the Committee on Internal Improve
ments, has received the highest encomiums
from the presses politically opposed to him.—
Such has been the untiring zeal manifested by
him in urging the adoption of a policy by the
State, worthy of her natural advantages, that
he has become identified as one of the warm
est and strongest friends of Internal Improve
ments.
Southern Congressional Convention.
At the commencement of the present session,
j. a Adams of Mass., and Slade of Vermont,
renewed the agitation of the Abolition ques
tion. Slade is a inan known only by his fanat
icism in this unholy cause. 11c is like the fool
who burnt the Temple of Diana, that lie might
thus establish a name. In fact he is a mere
puppet in the hands of Adams. A weak fanat
ic and a disappointed leader, have been able to
irritate and madden the whole South. But an
end, we hope, has been at length put to their
course, by the determined stand assumed by
Southern members. Finding that no other
course was left, they withdrew from the House,
held a meeting at which they determined to
report to the House the conditions with which
they would be satisfied. They are, that peti
tions on Slavery shall be laid on the table
without reading, printing, or discussion. The
House adopted the Resolution, and for this
session at least, this spirit is quieted. We
think this conduct of the Southern mem
bers will tend much to convince the people of
the North, that an end must he put either to
this question or to the Union. The entire re
sponsibility of the measure will rest oil them,
and they should ponder w ell before they at
tempt to trifle with a subject involving such
tremendous consequences.
The Canal. This work has progressed
uuder the management of Lieut. Locke, with as
much rapidity as circumstances permitted.—
Since the first of June, ground has been broken
fiir nearly five miles, and had the labor been
directed to completing the Canal, at least three
miles would have been navigable. This, to
say the least, lias been respectable, ior about
three hundred laborers. The amount of osten
sible work would have been much greater, had
it not been for an unfortunate mistake made in
the location of the Canal ut this end of the
route. The labor of nearly two bund red hands
tor tw o months was spent in building the Can
al through u piece of soft mu Ah , less than half
a mile in length. Time after time, the em
bankments would fall in, again be renewed,
and again be sunk. This error in judgment,
however, is not attributable to Lieut. Loeke, as
this part of the route was located before lie
came. The same error ou a much more ex
tensive scale was corrected by his assuming
the responsibility of changing the route
designated by Col. Baldwin. This gentleman
had located the Canal through a marsh two
miles in length, so soft, tliat a sounding i>olc
would sink by its own w eight thirty feet in the
mud ; and to add to the difficulties, a deep and
w ide creek, crossing and reetossing, with many
‘winding nooks,’ this delectable land, would
necessarily tend to increase the expense. Hud
Lieut Locke been satisfied with ‘following the
copy,’ and contented him«*H' with perfcr..;:r.™
merely the lettei of his duties, no blame could
have attached to him—and his laborers w ould
nawr be, where they were in September. He
bad the independence, how ever, to depart from
the route proposed by his distinguished pre
decessor, and the Company have been saved
an incalculable loss. \Ve undertake to say
that the location of the Canid through this
*slough of despond’ was impracticable.
The Company have been fortunate in secur
ing the services of one so peculiarly adapted
for the management of men, and the perform- j
ance of the many duties w Inch devolve on an
Engineer. The work is now in a fair way, and
the Canal will be ready for the next Cotton
crop.
" e *kall publish a list of the Acts passed
k} the last Legislature, in our next w eek’s pa
per.
THE PROSPECT.
We arc happy to observe by our intelligence
from New York, that the two last packets have j
; sailed for Europe, carrying exchange purchas- ‘
ed at 111 -2 per cent for U. S. Bank and other
first rate bills and at 10 and 10 1-2 per cent for
J g-oud bills. We hail this as in some degree
| the harbinger of a return to specie payments—
a measure most gratifying to men of all par-'
ties.
By those most familiar with our financial re
lations with Europe it is considered that the
foreign debt of our merchants is now reduced
to about six millions .of dollars. Should the
present rate of exchange be continued, it could
hardly be worth the while of any merchant to
pay his foreign debt in specie. The par of j
exchange being very nearly 9 3-4 ]>er cent, a j
remittance in specie w ith the freight and in- j
| surance, which are necessarily incurred in
such remittance, would of necessity equal in !
cost the purchase of very good bills. This drain
upon the sjiecie of our country and iqion our i
Banks should they resume specie payments, 1
seems therefore in a fair way to be avoided.—
It is not however to bo pretended that the high j
i price of exchange was the only, or even the
great obstacle to the resumption of specie pay
ments. Had it been so, the late Bank Con
vention of New' York could not have hesitated
Ito recommend the resumption, even at the
then high price of exchange, as the loss to the ]
country of six millions of specie is nothing in ]
comparison with the recovery of u healthy cir-:
dilation, and the extinction of this detestable, I
i oetty currency, issued in defianceoflaw,by cor
|M»rations and associations and individuals, that
| no one knows of, and without responsibility.—
The great and formidable obstacle to the re
turn to specie payments, is the. stale of our
domestic exchanges. These must be amended
to enable our Banks to resume. In the pres
ent state of domestic exchanges, all the specie
in our country, and, if we had it, tw ice as much
i more, would be every moment in transitu, —in
a stale of transportation. We should find it in
iron bound casks and boxes, oil board each
j steamboat for Florida & on the western waters,
j Every ship from New York to New Orleans
j would curry it out, and very likely others re-
I turning would bring it back. That which did
5 not happen to be cngulplied by the sea, in the
wrecks of ships upon our dangerous coast —that
which was not sunk in the explosions, snagging
and burning of steamboats, would arrive safely
—and if after a long experience, the risk ot
transportation was found to be very slight, it is
very probable that Insurance Comjwnies would
remit a part of the premium they now demand
for assuming it. In this state of our domestic
exchanges, how is it possible for our banks to
resume specie payments ? The very able wri
ter of the papers published last Spring, in the
National Gazette, (supposed to be Hon. Condy
Raguet of l’liihulclphia) estimated and gave
good reasons for the estimate, the capital re
quired for circulation in the ordinary business
of the country, at not less than one thousand
millions of dollars. Os course the greater part
of this is furnished, not from banks, but from
individual resources. Now Ictus consider for
a moment, how much more convenient uml
j conducive to the wealth and prosperity of the
| people, would he the currency avowedly re
! quired by our government to be adopted by the
I people—than that currency , if it may be so cull
! ed, of iron, w hich is said to have been used of
| yore at Sparta. The Spartans were a brave
| and wealthy community. Isolated, in the
j midst of Greece, they hud no foreign relations,
| except those of War. From their superiority
in battle to their neighbors, they were laden
w ith spoils, and provided with slaves, by whom
all mechanic and servile offices were perform
ed. What occasion, then had they for a eur
j rency of any sort ? A currency of lead, or
timber, or dirt, or no currency at all, would
have answered their purpose quite as well.—
! Their constitution, w hich w as that of an army,
j and their circumstances did not require a cur
[ rency. How is it w ith us. We cultivate the
j arts of peace. Upon these depend our pros
perity—almost our subsistence. Our com
merce, our crops, our manufactures and indeed
every occupation in which our industrious
j country is embarked, sutler instantly and in
tensely iijKiii the suspension of peace. In
i short, the comparison, which, though interest
ing, we do not extend for want of room—con
! vinces ns conclusively that the dcvelopement
i of Spartan, prosperity with its circulation of an
iron currency, was much better secured than is
ours, should we be so fortunate as to be forced
1 farther into the fatal experiment of a hard money
! currency.
j But to return to our subject. Again we
! say the domestic exchanges of our country
*iust i)c .sci in uiikr. TLccc who are ac
quainted with the history of exchange and
finance in the interval between the expiration
<>t the old U. S. Bank charter, and the organi
. zation of the second Bank in lSlti, —those who
knew the course and rate of exchanges during
the operation ot that charter, when exchange
j in any direction from Maine to Louisiana, from
Georgia to Missouri, could be bought for the
- half of one per cent, or less—those acquainted
i with these matters,need not be told the remedy
j for the w ant of •which we suffer. Perhaps it
I is not the only remedy—perhaps it is not the
i best remedy. But it undoubtedly would be,
as it lias proved before, an immediate and a
certain remedy—and more than all, it is the
only remedy which is not an experiment or
an expedient.
\\ e are happy to admit the late improvement
; *n domestic exchanges, and that this improve
ment. together, with that first mentioned, in
BRUNSWICK ADVOCATE.
foreign exchanges, lead ira to consider the re
sumption of specie payments, late in the next
Spring, or early in the Summer as very proba
ble.
The morning dawns too in other regions.—
Accounts reach us from Pittsburg, Cincinnati, i
Louisville. St Ixiuis, and New Orleans, of great
activity in business. It is true, that ow ing to ]
I tlicj over production of some ot our staples,'
prices are low. Still, the crops are sold and
go forward, and the producer is furnished with !
payment for his labors of the past year, and !
with capital for that which is just begun.— j
In short the affairs of our country now wear an j
aspect which encourages and cheers Us. We 1
cannot indeed see that inflamed prosperity and
violent spirit of speculation, which so excited j
tlje hopes of the ardent, and the fears of the 1
considerate two years since. But the strong-!
est symptoms of restorqjl health are obvious,
j Heaven grant tliat we may long remain in
that moderate and temperate enjoyment of it, j
' w bieli promises best for its continuance, and
' which will best confirm and strengthen our
i robust Constitution.
Advertising Wives. The following no- |
tice we cut from one of the Augusta papers,!
all the Editors in that city agreeing to it- !
We think the plan an excellent one, and hopej
it will be generally adopted by the publishers J
of papers throughout the country. The price j
charged for such advertisements now in this !
State, we believe, is five dollars:
“Hereafter we will publish no advertisement
for any mail, advertising his wife, unless it is
accompanied with ffty dollars in cash. The
object is to exclude such advertisemenrs alto-1
gether, for they are often the mere ebulitions |
of intoxication or unfounded suspicion against
innocent, unoffending, and helpless females.!
In two thirds of such instances, the husband]
receives his wife back again, and he presents
the spectacle of living with a woman as his j
wife, whom he has attempted to disgrace in]
the (>yes of the world, in the most public man- ]
tier- The above rule lias been agreed to by !
all the Editors of this city.
1 I
The following gentlemen were nominated
by the State Rights Party, at the Convention
held ut Milledgeville, on the 18th ult as can
didates for Representatives to Congress, viz:— j
Thomas Butler King, William C. Dawson, Ju
lius C. Alford, Walter T. Colquitt, Richard W.
Habersham, Edward J. Black, Mark A. Coop
er, Eugcnius A. Nesbit and Lot Warren.
“Ether Churchill” is the title of anew nov
el by “Li. E. L.” The extract on our first page
is taken from the New York Mirror. It at
tenips to assign the cause of Pope’s bitter ha
tred to Lady Mary Wortley Montague; the
more remarkable, as at one period of his life
lie was passionately attached to her. The
Mirror, says it is an interesting work, though
rather overcharged with love stories. Miss
Landon has not, by her previous efforts, as a
novelist, sustained the reputation she w on as a
poetess. Whether she has succeeded in this, ]
we do not learn.
The following gentlemen were elected !
County officers utthc election on Monday last,
viz:
For Clerk of the Courts, John Burnett —Sher-
iff John Franklin, Sen.—Surveyor, John M.!
Tison —Receiver of Tux Returns, Michael
Ponsell—Collector of Taxes, Charles F. Miller
—Coroner, 1'- bert Pavne—-Justice Inferior
Court, Hugh F. Grant
The Post Office at Sterling, Glynn county,
has recently been discontinued. We under
stand the packages of papers which are sent
from this office for Bethel and Waynesville
have not been received since the Sterling of
fice was broken up. If such is the fact, the
fault must be with the post office at Darien.
By the last Columbus Enquirer, we learn
that nearly all the saw mills in that vicinity
were seriously injured by the recent heavy
rains. And also that the bridge in Girrard,
and another on Bull Creek, St. Mary’s road,
and all the bridges except Hobby’s, on the
i Mulberry, were carried away.
The correspondent of the Augusta Consti
tutionalist, in a letter dated Milledgeville, Dec.
22d, says, “the rain w as incessant from Friday
to this morning. The water courses have ris
en. 1 have been informed that by the break
ing of a bridge, on the creek between this
place and Eatonton, a wagon w ith four horses
and two wagoners, were precipitated in the
creek—the men and horses drowned.
From the New York Commercial Adv. Dec. 22.
Later vrom England. The packet ship
Sheffield, Capt. Allen, arrived at New York
early this morning from Liverpool, whence she
sailed on the Bth of November. The editors ]
of the Commercial Advertiser, have received
- London papers to the ?'.!.* ::r.J Liver; — J pa
pers to the Bth both inclusive.
Outrage upon the Queen. The most
exciting incident of which we find any mention
is the follow ing—“Gross outrage upon her ma
jesty, by anew claimant to the throne.”
On Saturday afternoon, the 4th of Nov., a- j
bout 3 o’clock, us her majesty was passing in j
her open carriage through the Birdcage-walk, j
St. James’, on her way to Buckingham Palace,]
whither she was proceeding from Brighton, a j
person in the garb of a gentleman suddenly I
sprang to the side of her carriage, and holding j
up his fist in a threatening manner, made use]
of obscene language, and with an oath desig-j
nated her majesty by the most opprobrious epi- j
tlict that can be applied to a female, adding,
‘•and I’ll have you off your throne, and your!
mother too.” He immediately ran off and es- 1
fee ted his escape.—Her majesty did not appear
to feel an)' alarm, and the carnage proceeded !
rapidly to Buckingham Palace. Information of:
the outrage was iin mediately forwarded to the ]
commissioners of police, who instructed two
police constables: who had been on duty in!
the Birdcage-walk to trace the offender.
It appears that they had Sterne clue to him, j
for they soon discovered his name and .address.
Under the w arrant of the secretary of state,
they proceeded to his lodging, at the corner of j
the Regent Circus ; and lingered about the
w hole night in the expectation tliat he would
return home. It appeared, however, that lie,
had arrived before them, and on Sunday morn
ing one of the constables knocked at the
door. On its being opened, they proceeded
up stairs and arrested the delinquent His
name is John Good, late a Captain in the 10th
Hussars. He is described as a man of gen
tlemanly apitearance, and about forty years of
age. He w ore a star upon his breast, and dar
ed the officers to lay hold of him, exclaiming
that he was their liege lord and king of
England, and tliat he would tear the queen to
pieces. He made a vigorous resistance to the
officers, and was with difficulty forced into a
hackney-coacli, and was driven to the secretary
of state’s office at Whitehall.
On the way broke the windows of the
coach, and conducted himself in the most out
rageous manner. This was at one o’clock on
Sunday. Sir Frederick Roe was in waiting at
the Secretary of State’s office, before whom
the prisoner underwent an examination. The
witnesses examined were two footmen of her
majesty, the two police constables already
mentioned, and a German gentleman, w hose
name we have not been able to ascertain,
who heard the prisoner apply the insulting
and opprobrious epithets to her majesty. Dur
ing the examination the prisoner continually
interrupted the witnesses, saying “he did not
care a d—n what they said about him; he
was King of England, King John the Second,
and that the present was the eighth year of
his reign.” Mr. Philips, the under-secretary
ot state, was present during the examination,
which lasted for about an hour and a half, and
one or two of the ministers were in an adjoin
ing apartment waiting to hear the result The
evidence given was merely a recapitulation of
the facts above stated, and at the close Sir
j Frederick Roe determined to remand the pris
; oner for further examination on Sat urday next
He was then removed in custody to the new
' prison, Westminster. There appears to be no
doubt of the mail’s insanity.
[ Captain Good imagines himself to be the
son of George IV. and Ins Queen Caroline,
lie had played off some of his cantrips before
this affair, and had been brought up two or
three times at various police offices —always
asserting his royal birth and pretensions to the
throne.
From a Liverpool paper of Nov. 8.
The Cotton Trade. Manchester, Fri
day evening.—Though things are not general
ly lower than last week, they cannot possibly
be duller. It is probable that the advance on
cotton has tended in a great measure to ena
ble the manufacturers to keep up the rates of
this day sc’nnight, thus, though prices are not
lower, the advance on the raw material farther
reduces the profit if any there be. We think
that in any branch of the trade, these observa
tions will strictly apply. Twist is firmer, ow
ing to the advance of cotton, that is, for low
numbers. Fine yarns cannot be duller, and
there are some re]K>rts afloat of one or two
mills going to stop altogether for the present.
The Macon Messenger, of Thursday
last, says—
On Sunday afternoon and night last,
a severe rain fell in this vicinity ; since
which our water courses have been very
high. Our river was at a greater height
on Monday, than it has been for the last
ten years. Tharaiti appears to have been
general, as the mails both from the north
and south, have failed to come in. The
rise on our river was very sudden—and
one or two boats and some cotton boxes
were set adrift, two of which were partly
loaded, and went down the river till stop
ped by some obstruction. One boat
struck the centre pier of the bridge, par
tially displacing some ofthe massive rocks
of which it is constructed, without doing
it any permanent injury. Several roads
in this vicinity are now nearly impassable,
but we have heard of no extensive dama
ges that have been suffered. The river
is in the finest boating order,and will prob
ably continue so for the rest of the season
—the benefits of which will shortly be
felt by the planters and merchants.
No mails arrived up to last night from
the north further than Milledgeville—at
that time one was received from Augusta,
but nothing from beyond. No western
mail till last night, and then itcamc in a
very wet and bad condition. IVe under
stand that four stage horses were drowned
near Columbus.
'Flic Southern Post of Saturday says —
“The failures in the mails, in conse
quence of the quantity of rain that has
fallen within the past week, have been
greater than at any previous time recollec
ted, during the present year. For two
days no mail north of Milledgeville, and
for three successive days no mail north of
Augusta. The western mails have been
equally behindhand.”
From tin* N. Y. Courier and Enquirer. 21st Dee.
\v c annex trom the Montreal Herald
Extra of tiie I4tii, aim Gazette Extra,
of the 15th inst.. the latest intelligence of
the movements of the regular troops and
the insurgents in Lower Canada.
Important fkom St. Ei sT.fum:. Hav
ing just received authentic information,
which may be relied on, with respect to
the operations of the troops which have
been sent against the rebels concentrated
in the country of Lake of two Moun
tains, at St. Eustaclie and Grand Brule,
we hasten to lay it before our readers.
The troops took up their quarters at
St. Martin, during the night of Wcdncs
day, the day on which they left this city,
from whence they departed at about 7 o’-
clock yesterday morning towards St. Eu
stache, but not in a direct line, for it was
understood that the ice on the river in
that way, was not sufficiently strong to
bear the weight of so heavy a body as
the artillery and cavalry. A detour was
in consequence, taken towards St. Rose,
where the ice was crossed from Isle Je
sus to the main land. The lino of inarch
then proceeded upwards on the right
bank of the river, until the troops ap
proached the village of St. Eustaclie,
making a inarch from St. .Martin of 12 |
miles, whereas in a direct line it would 1
only consist of Gor 7.
The troops were first fired upon by the i
rebels from the church of St. Uustache, j
a considerable time before any position
had been taken. Upon coining within
the proper range, two field pieces were
planted on the northeast side of the
church, and began to play upon it in ex
cellent style, while another field piece was j
sent round in the rear of the village, and,
stationed where it commanded a street'
leading directly to the front door of the
same edifice. The three regiments and <
cavalry, in the meantime, made a circuit!
round the village in rear ; and took up
positions to intercept the rebels, when ]
they should be compelled to abandon their |
position. The church having at length j
been set on fire, the rebels were seen fly- I
ing in every direction, but not without'
many having been killed and taken pris
oners. The nunnery and presbytery, sit
uated on either side of the church, i
which were occupied by the rebels, were j
also destroyed, as well as several other ]
houses in the village, particularly those]
of Scott and Chenier.
The loss sustained on either side lias ;
not been accurately ascertained ; but it
is reported that SO had been killed, and ]
more than one hundred taken prisoners.
Dr. J. O. Chenier was killed in the yard
of the church. The commander in chief i
Girod, and Feroel Peltier are said to j
have taken to flight towards St. Benoit,
immediately after the first fire. On the
part of the troops, we have no accounts
of any having been killed except one
man. Mr. Gugy, while storming the Sac
ristie, was severely, but not dangerously
wounded in the left shoulder, the ball
coming out at the right arm. The blaze
arising from the burning houses of St.
Eustaclie, was distinctly seen last night
from the rising ground in the rear of this
city, toward the old Race Course.
Having taken possession of St. Eusta
clie the troops proceeded early this mor
ning to St. Benoit or Grand Brule, where,
it was said, the rebels were strongly forti
fied.
A report has gained general currency
in town, tliat a deputation from the rebels
at St. Benoit had been sent in demanding
terms; to which the commander of the
forces is said to have given for answer
that they must surrender at discretion,
lay down their arms, and give up their
leaders. Whether these terms have been
complied with, we have not yet learned. ]
From New Brunswick. The New |
York Daily Express of the 22d inst. says,
“Sir John Harvey has summoned the
legislative assembly of the Province to
meet at Frederickton, Dec. 28th, for ‘di
vers weighty considerations,’which means,
the troubles in Lower Canada. The St.
John’s Gazette, loyal as it is, lias discov
ered what is unknown to many people in
this country. ‘lt is true,’ says the Ga
zette, ‘that the Canadians had cause'to
remonstrate against some objectionable
measures in the administration of their
government. This has been admitted in
the mother country.”
Shin Plasters. A case of impor
tance was decided in the last Court of
Quarter Sessions of Delaware County,
l’a. by Judges Darlington and Myers, re
lative to shin plasters. A man was ar
raigned for stealing a pocket book con
taining two .70 cent shin plasters. He
was convicted for stealing the book, and
a verdict of not guilty was rendered as
to the notes, it being decided that as they
were issued in violation of law, it was
not an offence against the law to take and
carry them away.
An Awkward Frolic. Four smart
ly dressed young men entered a wine shop
in Paris a short time since, where a soli
tary waiter was officiating at the counter.
They called for four glasses of cognac,
and while swallowing it one of the young
men said to the others, “Well, has the
evening been a good one ?” “So, so,”
answered another, pulling four handker
chiefs from his pocket, “this is all I have
been able to do.” “I have had better
luck,” exclaimed the second, displaying’
to his comrades two well-lined purses.
“I can’t exactly complain,” said the third,
“and these three snuff boxes may answer
for my fortune and address.” “Come,”
cried he who had first put the question,
“I see I’m again the luckiest of you all,”
and so saying he displayed to the astonish
ed eyes of his companions four gold
wa’ches and an equal number of gold
chains.
The >i.titer who hc-uiu iKe whole of this
conversation, trembled from head to foot.
He took care to draw the key away from
the till, and began to think how he should
arrest the four scamps, who began, as lie
fancied, to cast very sinister looks upon
him. Suddenly he heard a noise in the
street. It was the patrol. He stopped as
if he would pick up something from the
ground, and rushed out of the house,bel
lowing out as it his life had been threa
tened. His loud vociferations soon brought
the patrol to the door. The four fine
gentlemen vainly attempted an explana
tion : no one would listen to them, and
they were conducted to the commissary of
police. On their arrival they were exam
ined, and readily admitted the truth of
the waiter’s deposition : but they declar
ed the whole to have been merely a frol
ic, having wished to amuse themselves soy
a few moments at the waiter's expense.
One of the witty youths had taken hand
kerchiefs of his three friends, to another
had been consigned their several watches,
and the other two had charged themselves
with as many purses and snuff-boxes as
they were able to raise. Thus prepared,
they had played off their piece de brig
ands so very naturally, that they not only
imposed upon the simplicity of the wai
ter, but would certainly have been reman
ded till the following day, if, fortunately
for them, the conmiissionary of police
hud not been personally acquainted with
one of the party, and therefore disposed
to believe in the truth of his explanation.
Literary Profits of Scott. Sir
Walter concluded before he went to town
in November another negotiation of im
portance with this house (Constables.)
They agreed to give for the remaining
copy-right of the four novels published
between December 1819 and January
1821, to wit: Ivanhoe, the Monastery,
the Abbot, and Kenilworth—the sum of
five thousand guineas. The stipulation
about not revealing the author’s name,un
der a penalty of .£2OOO, was repeated.
By these four novels, the fruits ofscarccly
more than twelve month’s labor, he had
already cleared at least £IO,OOO before
this bargain was completed. They, like
their predecessors, were now issued in a
collective shape, under the title of“llis
torical Romances, by the author of Wa
verly.” I cannot pretend to guess what
the actual state of Scott’s pecuniary af
! fairs was at the time when John~ Ballan
tyne’s death relieved them from one great
; source of complication and difficulty.
But 1 have said enough to satisfy every
reader, tliat when he began the second,
and far the larger division of his building
at Abbostford, he must have contemplated
the utmost sum it could cost him as a mere
trifle in relation to the sources at his
command. He must have reckoned on
clearing .£‘30,000 at least in the course of
a couple of years by the novels written
within such a period.
The publisher of his Tales, who best
knew how they were produced, and what
they brought of gross profit, and who
. must have had the strongest interest in
keeping the author’s name untarnished by
any risk or reputation of failure, would
willingly, as we have seen, have given him
A‘o,ooo more within a space of two years
for works of a less serious sort, likely to
be despatched at leisure hours, without at
; all interfering with the main manufacture.
But alas ! even this was not all. Messrs,
Constable had such faith in the prospec
tive fertility of his imagination, that they
| were by this time quite ready to sign
! bargains and grant hills for novels and ro
] inances to be produced hereafter, but of
j which the subjects and the names were u
] like unknown to them and to the mau
from whose pen they were to proceed.
[Lockhart’s Life, vol 3.
Ball Room Legislation. A cause
]is pending before one of the provincial
! tribunals of France, in which the plain
] tiff sues the defendant for damages, bc
] cause the defendant’s wife refused to
] dance with the plaintiff at a public ball,
i The gentleman, it seems,who lias arrived
iat the mature age of .58, solicited the
honor of the lady’s hand for a quadrille,
but the lady excused herself on the plea
:of indisposition. A few minutes after
wards a similar invitation from a some
what less venerable beau was most gra
ciously accepted. The offended prnu
chevalier does not appear to have challen
ged his more successful rival, but to have
contented himself with defying the lady
and her husband to the lists of the Court
of a Judge de Paix, where he claims an
indemnification of sixty francs for the in
jury inflicted on him, and calls upon the
tribunal to command the fair offender to
abstain from a repetition of the offence,
i. e., to submit to dance with him on ev
j cry festive occasion when it may be his
august pleasure to favor hor with his coin
! mauds.
Sagacity of Dogs. Many curious
but well authenticated anecdotes, illustra
ting the wonderful sagacity of the canine
race, arc related—among which the fol
lowing, which we find in an old English
paper, is not the least remarkable. A
large Newfoundland dog belonged to the
captain of a ship engaged in the trade
between Nova Scotia and Greenock. On
one occasion, the Captain brought from
Halifax a beautiful cat, which formed a
particular acquaintance with Rover ; and
these two animals of such different na
tures were almost inseparable during the
passage. On arriving at Greenock, the
] cat was presented by the Captain to a lady
of his acquaintance, who resided nearly
half a mile from the quay, in whose fami
ly she remained for several weeks, and
was occasionally visiteq tj/Tier Inend uerl/
icnow-passenger, Rover, who seemed not
a little displeased at the seperation which
had taken place between them.
On the day, however, when the ship
' was to leave the port for another voyage,
the unusual bustle on board, gave Rover a
hint of what was going on—and he deci
ded on his course of conduct without de
lay. He jumped on shore, made his last
visit to puss, seized her in his teeth,much
I to her astonishment, and carried her
through the streets to the quay, just as
the ship was hauling off: He made a
spring, cleared the gunwale, and fairly
shipped his feline friend in good order
and well conditioned, in and upon the
good ship called the Nancy of Greenock;
and then ran to his master, wagging Ins
tail, as if entreating that she might he al
lowed to remain on board.—[Boston Jour.