Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

Savannah fjUUy Jerald BY S. W. MASON AND CO. SIfIKNAH, TTTS3OAY, JAN. 31, i*Br,. THE PSESEST HOUR. ' The only way in which peace and can ba permanently secured So o.hfs city is, first, by unconditional al q<giancc to the United States Govern rant, which will secure the co-operation •4‘ tiie military power while it is here, sad which will the more quickly dispense with that- aid; second, by efficient ener getic action on the part of all, to recon struct social relations and municipal af feirs on anew basis. There are times in the life of iudivid •tit when decisions must be made, which wsV. affect them forever, for; good or and it is with body polities as *ith individuals. Not to decide, some :s-is a decision; for the stream of %uae runs ever, bearing os on and fixing our destiny. Such a time has come to the people of Savannah. They have parsed through a period of insecurity ; the mad fit is over. They have aid and sympathy tendered them by those who were recently their enemies. The poor <*f the city are now eating the bread given freely hi the spirit of that song nice sung by the angels, “Peace on earth and good will to men.” Now is he time for this city to rise from its fethasgy, and to show the world that capital shall be made secure by the firm < maintenance of law. Savannah has suffered, she is weaker than she was four years, ago, but she is not dead. She has ;»* rise from her ashes—from her k-th irgy and prostration, Let each citi zen, therefore, feel that he is part of the ♦diy, that he has a responsibility upon him to do all that can be done to re establish order, to punish offenders, to make the place again one of the most I*suifctful in the land. Jtl ARRIVAL FROM FORT FISHER We. received yesterday afternoon a thorn Rev. W. H. Tiffany, of the U. H. Christian Commission, who came up sfr*nm Hilton Head in the steamer Nau d\on, Captain Charles Foster. The Naushon left. Fort Fisher on Saturday morning last . No reliable information had been re ceived of the capture of Wilmington, hut, the progress of our navy and army had been such that its capture was con sidered certain. Fort Anderson is the .♦iffy imcaptured fort beiow Wilming «Ron, and our navy have full possession of me: Cape Fear river to within about a 4ozen miles of the city. Now that bloekade-running is entirely stopped it has seemed unnecessary to waste life in an attack where less expen sive means would soon be effectual The army and navy were both in splendid spirits, and confident of suc <B«SSS. NUW ILLO3TE ATE D EmflOX OF Wsß ***u.'r Dictionary. —We have received somG. and C. Mcrriam, Springfield, JBbisa., specimen pages of anew Illus trated Edition of Webster's Dictionary, jublfehed by them. It is La 1810 pages, aoyal quarto, ha3 3,000 illustrations, w&r 114,000 words in the vocabulary, a abac steel portrait of Naah Webster for a an elegantly illustrated title fttgp, and many valuable features pecu liar to it. Tub Latest Northern Pa.m.rs are an file at our counting room, il i Bay street, where they can be examined by May who desire. FIGHTING THE TIGER. “ Now You See at, and Now You Don’t.” Col. York ~ Don’t It.” Devotees of the Sport Come to Grief. We have not time now to consult Cye lopedias as to the origin of the noble games of faro, three card monte, and the California .sweat-board. We are not sure whether they are ancient or modem. They may have originated with Cain, the first murderer, Satan the first de ceiver, or Judas Iscariot, the great trai tor, for aught we know. We can only speak of their existence in modern times, of the green ones that have been pluck ed at county fairs and benevolent pic nics, in the recesses of gambling hells, in the withdrawing rooms of drinking shops, in gilded palaces at the national capital, in hovels at the Five Points ; of the swindlers who have enriched them selves by the turning of a card, or the dropping of the dice.; of the murders that have resulted, the suicides that have been committed, the disgrace that has come to those who preferred death. Gambling in the abstract is bad enough. It seems to substitute Fate for Providence, and ehance for. skill. It may make a man rich without merit, aud the more deserving man poorest- But as carried on by the harpies who hover around ar mies and horse-shows, it is an abomina tion beyond most crimes. Put horns and hoofs on a first class* black-leg, and he could sit successful ly for a portrait of the devil. Professional gamblers arc usually ar rant cowards. They sometimes slay un armed men with self-cocking revolvers, but they seldom dare even run the risk of ball and chain for the gains of their infamous calling. A day or two since Lt.-Coi. York, the efficient provost marshal of this city,got a clue to the exist ence of a gam sling hell iu our midst, where soldiers who had risked their lives for sl3 a month were decoyed into believing that taking one chance in sixty was a good investment; where civilians with starving families were told fabulous stories of fortunes re cuperated by a single throw ; where all who entered took a step lower towards perdition. The den was on a prominent street, but its doors were kept closed except to the initiated, and its exterior could scarcely be detected from that of a law- office, a bachelor’s lodgings, or an up-stairs counting room. CoL York first made bis reconnois sance, spotted his game, and took the necessary observations. The sport was in progress. A few green ones were looking very green, a few anxious ones were growing more anxious, and a couple of knowing ones were exhibiting their knowledge. Greenbacks were ac cumulating on one side, by “a great stroke of luck, you know, gentlemen,” and the purses on the other side were being depleted at a rate which excited the manifest sorrow of the sympathetic proprietors. “I am sure, sir, I never saw a man have so bad a run of luck in all my life ; but it reminds me of last night, when I had just such a run,” said the faro dealer, with the professional addi tion that “I got it all back, though, a little later, at a single deal.” So the dealing went on,and wished for red cards never came, and unwished-for red ones always came, and the expected deuce was always a queen, and an- tioipated ten spots proved only aces. Soon the tide of wealth ceased Sowing in, for the players had all ebbed out. The proprietors, throwing off their reserve, with satisfaction gleaming from their countenances, began counting their ill gotten spoils. • Then was Col. York’s opportunity. With a single man in side arms he pounced upon she gay gamboliers, before they had time to hide a card, a chip, a green cloth or a sweat-board. He gath ered up their implements and their green backs, and the gamblers he placed in durance vile. TJiey will ne’er gamble in Savannah any more, while martial law lasts, unless they get, up a mutual game within stone walls. The game of fiiro is under military ban ; po more shall the dice rattle upon the sweat-board; no more shall rouge, et noir, of roulette, so nice theoretically, so disastrous for those who do buck, beguile the leisure hours of the : unwary. It has not. been decided what shall be the fate of the captive show-men. Their case is being considered. Wheth er they are hung or imprisoned, they will no more fleece unsuspecting victims. A Word to the Clerk of the Wkatheu. —What in the name of St. Nicholas possesses the Clerk of the Weather to prolong this “cold snap” we have shivered through the past fort night ? Has the fellow been North and tasted the pleasures of a sleigh-ride, or the sport of skating in the Central Park, and does he now desire to enjoy the same sports in this milder clime, or what ? Certainly the weather is not only un seasonable but disagreeable. It tries our patience, disturbes our nerves, and shakes the little philosophy we had left us a few years since. The heavens are clear and brilliant, and the sun shines, but its rays have little of that genial fervor that stirs the blood and makes life enjoyable. It has not? that rich, gener ous warmth that, suggests bursting buds, green leaves, tender sprouting grass, the songs of birds, and all the delightful evidences of the approach of Spring.— People go about the streets cold, shiver ing and disgusted, feeling quite as blue as the cerulean tinge the sharp air has given their nozes They gaze at the weather-cocks aud sigh for southerly and baimy winds. All thi3 cold, north ern rigor of climate chills ua to the very marrow, and we pray for a change of policy on the part of the Clerk of the Weather. Wc want no ice, unless it musingly jingles in our goblets, when the mercury is asceuding the tube, and we wish for no cold blasts, until Sirius reigns, and panting nature craves relief! We ask for a change. Death of a Printer.— Mr. Valentine Stanton, formerly 6f New York city, and who has been for about fivo years foreman of Mr. E. J. Purse’s printing office, in this city, died at his residence on Charlton street, on Sunday evening, of consumption. He was au oxccllent printer, much respected by the craft.— He leaves a wife and two children. An infant son died yesterday morning. The funeral will occur this afterijeon at 3 o'clock, add will be under the auspices of Solomon’s Lodge, A. F. M. s os which deceased was a member. Maj. Gen. John G. Foster, com manding this Department, arrived here Sunday night, and took the house of Mr. Green, lately occupied by Maj. Gen. Sherman, as his quarters. The Headquarters of the Department will remain at Hilton Head. Gen. Fos ter returns to-day, in the W. W. Colt, The Conflagration. —Many of those burned out by the recent fire are suffer ing for food and clothing. The Mayoi has exhausted his means for relie ring tnem, and suggests the appointment oi a committee by the citizens to receive contributions. Those who have food clothing or money to spare for such an object cannot bestow then* more op portunely than now. City Subscribers are requested to re port any failure to receive their papers. Our carrier is a faithful one, but his route is new to him, and our considerate sub scribers will, we think, have no reason to complain, if they will tolerate slight irregularities at first. Advertisers should hand in their favors before neon of each day; and even earlier, if possible. Tiiaxks — We are indebted to Adams Fxpress, Capt. Spicer, Harbor Master, and many other friends, for favors. The Premise and the Station Mas tbr.— At one of the chief stations on the Great Western railway (says the Wes tern Morning News) is a station master noted for self-conceit and ffunkeyism. His reverence for a person with a handle to his name, is equalled only by the es teem in which he holds himself. One day. he descried a gentleman pacing the platform with a cigar in his month. Mr at once accosted the audacious of fender and requested him forthwith to stop smoking. The gentleman to«k no notice of this command, but continued his walk, emitting a silvery cloud. Irritated by this disobedience, Mr. repeated his behests more peremp torily than before ; but stil 1 the owner of the Havana maintained a provoking dis regard. A third time the order was re peated, accompanied with the threat that if the obstinate sinner did not obey he would bo handed over to the tender mercies of the porters. The stranger took no more heed than before, and so at last, enraged, Mr.— pulled the cigar out of the smoker’s mouth and filing it away. This violent act produced no more effect than commands and threats, and the peripatetic philosopher continu ed his walk quite serenely. Presently a carriage and four drove up—an equipage well known to Mr. as that of the Doke of Beaufort. To his inconceivable horror the re fractory smoker entered the said chariot and drove off in style to Badminton. Mr., asked in tremulous tones who the stranger was, and he felt ready to sink into the earth when he heard that it was Viscount Palmerston, K. G., First Lord of the Treasury. He did not hesitate long, however; he at once or dered a chaise and pair ana drove to Badminton. Arrived there, he sent in his card, and urgently requested a pri vate interview with Lord Palmerston. His lordship soon appeared, when Mr. began a most abject apology for having “so grossly insulted his lore ship. Had he known who his lordship was he would not have so treated his lordship for the world.” The Premier heard the station master out, then look ing down upon him sternly, and with his hands in his pockets, said: “Sir, I respected you because I thought you were doing" your duty like a Briton ; bat now I see you are nothing but a snob.” And thus ended the station master’s in terview with the Premier. Thb “spirit-striking drum” is Os quite ancient origin ; representations of it oc cur iu Egyptian sculptures of the six teenth century, B. G. It was introduc ed into Europe by the- Saracens, and played probably for the first time in Trance in 1317, on the cntiy of Edward Third in into Calais. “Mother, where’s Bill?” “My son, do not let me hear you say Bill again; you should say William. In the yard feeding the ducks.” “O-yes, I see him now; but, mother, what makes the ducks have such broad Williams?” “Go to vour brother directly, you little scamp, or I'll box your oars.'’