Newspaper Page Text
From the N. O. Bulletin, Jan. 25.
LATEST FROM MEXICO.
Particulars of the late bat.
tle.
By the schooner Doric, IVoirt Matamoras,
We have received dates to the 14th inst.
News Was received in Mutumoius, bv an
extra Courier, from Generals Wall and Oa
r.ialus, on the 15;!) u It, to Genera! Ampudia.
that t!te Tcxiaus, from eight huairryj to one
thousand strong, and cati'nred Loredo, and
that the Mexican forces were not strong e
iiough to attack them, in consequence of
which they had to fall back, during which
time the Texians had advanced ahead of
them by the southern route towards Mata
moras.
On the receipt of this, Gpo Ampudia
made preparation for an immediate march
up the south side of the Rio Grande, and
on the following day (although the weather
was very bad) he marched with two hattal
lions, known as the Sappers and Miners,
and continued a forced march until the eve
ning of the 22d ult., when they arrived at
the city of Mier, distant about fifty leagues
from Matamoras. News having already
that the Texians had crossed the Rio Grande
and were only two leagues distant from the
town, they stationed their aitillery and pre
pared to receive them, and at an early hour
of the morning of the 23d, the town was at
tacked by a partj’ of Texians, under the
command of Colonels Fisher and Green,
numbering about 25;) or 2dO men in all. j
The attack commenced in the suburbs of
the city, and by daylight the Texians had
cut their way through the Mexican troops,
to where the heavy pieces of artillery were
stationed, and then took to houses, and from j
the windows, doors, &c., they cut down the
Mexicans from the cannon as fast as they
could be replaced. In this manner they
continued the fight from street to street,
from house to house, laying the Mexicans
in heaps wherever they would attempt to
form, and frequently killed every man from
their pieces of artillery ; but inconsequence
of their superior force they could not charge
from the walls that protected them without
losing a great portion of their men, but con
tinued the fight from the houses, narrow
streets and alleys with great success until
late in the afternoon, when one of the Tex
ian captains (without consulting) hoisted a
flag from one of the houses, which General
Ampudia observed from the opposite side of
the square, and sent in one of bis prisoners
which he bad taken during the day, to as
certain whether they bad surrendered or
not, which produced considerable excite
ment and dissatisfaction among the Texians.
At length the firing ceased on both sides,
when they sent the messenger back wiih an
answer to General Ampudia, that they
would discontinue the battle if they were al
lowed to return unmolested, to which terms
GeneraT Ampudia informed them he could
not agree, as be had then in town from fif
teen to eighteen hundred infantry and cav
alry, and that he could not consider he was
doing justice to his government and his
fellow countrymen to grant their request, |
but at the same time he was willing to al- j
low fair and honorable terms. Colonel Fish
er then asked the space of two hours to call ]
his officers together to. consult upon the j
subject, and if not granted he would com
mence the fight again. Gen Ampudia then
finding his loss so great, and already satis
fied with his day’s work, readily consented j
to grant the request; at the expiration of i
which, the capitulation was drawn, acted
upon and signed by Gen ual Ampudia and
his second in command, and Colonels Fish
and Green, and several other officers, but
the terms of which it is generally believed
will not be respected when they arrive at
the city of Mexico.
During the battle of Mier, which lasted I
17 hours, with an odds of nearly 8 to 1, with
a loss on the side of the Mexicans of nearly
700 killed and 200 wounded, and a great
many of which have since died, and on the
part of the Texians only 11” killed and 19
wounded, one of which has since died.
Among the Texians were six boys; the!
oldest of which was 17 years, and the youn- t
gc-st 14 only, the latter of which from a ;
window of one of the houses, killed 12 Mex
icans from one piece of artillery, as fast
as they were stationed there ; and when
they perceived where the dead by fire came
from, they immediately turned twoof'their
heaviest pieces upon the house where the
boys were stationed, and blew the end en
tirely-out; the boys making their retreat
to the adjoining house, and in the act ofget
ting through the window, two of the boys
were killed, which was very much regret
ted by the Texians, both officers and men.
The others soon found an opening, and re
commenced their destructive fire on the ar
tillery, until ordered to cease by their own
commanders.
On the 7th inst., General Ampudia re
lumed to Matamoras (wiih the remaining
portion of his favorite regiment) amidst the
applause of the citizens, bringing with him
two hundred and twelve Texiati prisoners ;
and was to leave for the city of Mexico on
the 13th or 14th. Colonels Fisher and
Green, as also the other officers and men of
the Texians, acknowledge the officer like
conduct and gentlemanly deportment of
General Ampudia and his officers, towards
them, during the battle and since the time
of their capitulation. All the foreign con
suls and merchants at Matamoras speak in
the highest terms of Gen. Ampudia’s con
duct towards the prisoners. The officers
have the privilege of the town, accompani
ed by a Mexican officer of the same grade,
they dine and spend their evening at Am
pudia’s, and appear as well satisfied as
could be expected in their present situation.
There does not appear to exist the least bad
feeling between them. The General has
adopted the small boy, anil the little fellow
js running about town as gay as a lark.
Shortly after the arrival of the prisoners
in Matamoras, one of the Mexican Colonels
placing his hand upon the youth’s
observed to him, “ you are too small, they
would run over you in battle.” To which
the youth replied, “as small as I am, I
made twelve of your countrymen bow low
\*v me the pilfer hv jo Tess jjnyi otfe, hour.”
USE AND ABUSE OF WINE.
Hoffman termed wine a panacea, a uni
versal medicine ; he recommended it for
j weakness of the stomach, indurated and ol>-
j structed spleen and liver, flatulence, stone
i and gravel fluxes, scorbutic complaints,
| failure of senses and mental powers, de-
I pression, barrenness, ami all the infirmities
jof ago. Pringle ascribes it partly to the
I prohibition of wine that the plaguo, small
l pox and inflammatory fevers annually com
; mil such ravages; and it is said to have
j been observed in Guienne that such disor
ders prevail only in those years when the
vintage has proved the least favorable. In
! an old French journal, the Germans are
j described ns a melancholy people, and this
! disposition is ascribed to the want of wine.
■ The writer says that in a very small tow n
| he has known twenty persons put an end to
their lives within the space of a year ; and
hu attributes most of these catastrophes to
that dullness aud depression which seems
to he innate in all the inhabitants of the
nortii. Thus it would appear that wine is
a specific for the plague, small pox, and e
ven melancholy and suicide ! Some of
these praises it must be acknowledged, are
well founded. Wine is a real and most
excellent medicine, but no person has char
actcrisod it more justly than Fermellus.
I “ Wine,” says he, “ is to the human body,
i what manure is to trees ; it forces the fruit
J but it injures the trees.” An intelligent
! gardener is not constantly applying ma
-1 nitre, but only w hen he sees occasion for it.
Ilis trees are not to be entirely nourished,
but only occasionally strengthened by ma
nure. lie must, therefore, apply it only
j when they want it, in such quantity as they
j may require, and of such a kind as is best
adapted to their respective natures. Such,
too, is the whole dietetic system to be ob
served in regard to wine.
WASPS IN A BALL ROOM.
On Tuesday evening, the 28th ult., as
two young men, who bad been taking a
wasps’ nest, were returning to Chesterfield,,
on approaching the town they wer? attrac
ted to a house by the sounds of music and
rejoicing. It proved to be a dwelling
wiiere festivities in celebration of a mar
riage were taking place; and. claiming
some acquaintance with the inmates, the
young men joined the festive throng. Thr
wasps’ nest, which was folded in a handker
chief, was placed in a corner of the room
unknown to the company, and the dance
proceeded. After a time, the two young
men above alluded to, took their departure,
leaving (whether intentionally or not, does
not appear,) the nest in the room. The
dance continued, when lo! one of the fe
males made anequivocal sort of move
ment, and a precipitate retreat from the
house, her husband following closely a! her
heels, anxious to learn the cause of his
wife’s extraordinary conduct. Scarcely
had the party left the house, when a second
and a third, and a fourth of the female
guests, exhibited similar equivocal symp
toms. follow ed by suppressed -shrieks and
tew kk red looks. The male members of
the company looked anxiously and enqui
ringly at the ladies, who in return, skip
ped about the room with wonderful agility, j
git ing sundry indications that their myste- j
rious movements could not be satisfactorily
explained. Suddenly the men became af
flicted, though perhaps not exactly after the
same fashion as the ladies, and a very ex
cising, but at the same time very comical j
scene ensured, to attempt to depict w hich
would be, a hopeless task: it may be ima
gined, but certainly cannot be described.—
The cause of this derangement of the fes
tive circle was, however, soon- apparent.—
! The fiddler, who was sightless, feeling
j something very sharp enter his cheek, drop
ped his instrument, and applied bis hands
w ith great force to his face, bringing to the
earth one of the monsters that had been a
source of annoyance. Suffice it to say,
some of the wasps had escaped from con
finement, and, in revenge for the punisb
| merit they had endured, crept up the legs of
i the dancers, and inflicted their sting. As
’ many as three and four wasps were found
j upon some ofthe females.
Derbyshire Chronicle.
HASTY BURIALS.
The yellow fever raged fearfully in Bos
j tori ‘be last part of the 18th century. The
! panic was so universal that wives forsook
their dying husbands, in some cases, and
mothers their children, to escape the eonta
gious atmosphere of the city. Funeral
rites were generally omitted. The death
carts, sent into every part of the town,were
so arranged as to pass through each street
every half hour ! At each house known to
contain a victim of the fever, they rang a
bell, and called “Bring out your dead.”
When the lifeless forms were brought out,
they were wrapped in tarred sheets, put in
to the cart, and carried to the burial-place,
unaccompanied by relatives. In most in
stances, in fact, relatives had fled before
the first approach of this fatal disease.
One of my father’s brothers, residing in
Boston at that time, became a victim to the
pestilence. When the first symptoms ap
peared his wife sent the children into the
country, and herself remained to attend to
him. Her friends warned her against such
rashness. They told her it would be death
to her, and no benefit to him ; for he would
soon be too ill to know who attended upon
him. These arguments made no impres
sion on her affectionate heart. She felt
that it would be a life-long satisfaction to
her to know who attended upon him, if she
did not. She accordingly staid and watch
ed him with unremitting care. This, how
ever, did not avail to save him. He grew
worse, and finally died.
Those who went round with the death
carts had visited the chamber, and seen
that the end was near. They now came to
take the body. His wife refused to let it
go. She told me. that she never knew how
to account for it, but though he was perfect
ly cold and rigid, and lo every appearance
quite dead, there was a powerful impres
sion on her mind <that life was not extinct.
The men were overborne by thq^strerrgth
of her conviction, though their own reason
was opposed lo it. The half hour again
came round, and again was heard the so
lemn words, “Bring out your dead.”
The wife again resisted their importuni-
I ties; but this time the men were more res-
I olule. They said the duly assigned was a
painful one ; but the health of the city re
quired punctual obedience to the order they
received ; if they ever expected the pesti
lence lo abate, it must be by a prompt re.
moval of the dead, and immediate fumiga
tion of the infected apartments. She pleud
od aud pleaded, and even knelt to them in
an agony of tears; continually saying,
“I am sure he is not di ad.” The men rep
resented the utter absurdity of such an i
dra ; but finally overcome by her tears, a
gain departed. With trembling baste she
renewed her efforts to restore life. She
raised bis bead, rolled his limbs in hot flan
ne',an.! placed hot onions on his feet. The
dreaded half hour came round and found
him as cold and rigid as ever.
She renewed her entreaties so desperate
ly, that the messengers began to think a lit
tle gentle, force would be necessary. They
accordingly attempted to remove the body
against her will; but she threw herself up
on it, and clung to it with such frantic
strength, that they could not easily loosen
her grasp. Impressed by the remarkable
strength of her will, they relaxed their ef
forts. To all their remonstrances, she an
swered, “ if you bury him, you shall bury
me w ith him.” At last, by dint of reason
ing on the necessity of the case, they ob
tained from her a promise that if he show
ed no signs of life before they again came
round, she would make no further opposi
tion to the removal.
Having gained this respite, she bung the
watch up on the bedpost, anil renewed her
efforts with redoubled zeal. She placed
kegs of hot water about him, forced brandy
between 1 iis teeth, breathed into his nostrils,
held hartshorn to bis nose ; but still the
body lay motionless and cold. She looked
anxiously at, the watch ; in five, more min
utes the promised half hour would expire,
and those dreadful voices would be beard
passing through the street. Hopelessness
came over her ; she dropped the head she
had been sustaining ; her hand trembled
violently : and the hartshorn she. had been
holding \va‘- spilled on the pallid face. Ac
cidentally, the position of the head became
slightly tipped backward, and the powerful
liquid flowed into the nostrils. Instantly
there was a quick short gasp—a struggle—
bis eyes opened ; and when the death men
again came, they found him sitting up in
lied. He is still alive, and lias enjoyed un
usual good health.
I should be sorry to awaken any fears,
or excite unpleasant impressions, by the re
cital of this story ; but I have ever thought
funerals were too much hurried in this
country ; particularly in the newly settled
parts of it. It seems to me that there ought
to be as much delay as possible ; especial
ly in cases of sudden death. 1 believe no
nation buries with such haste as the Ameri
cans. The ancients took many precau
tions. They washed ar.d anointed the body
many successive times before it was carri
ed to tli,- burial.. The Romans cut off a
; it of the finger to make sure that life was
extinct, before they lighted the funeral
p:’e. Doubtless it is very unusual for the
to remain lifeless for several hours,
unless it be really dead ; but the mere pos-
I stbiiity of sucii cases should make friends
1 careful to observe undoubted symptoms of
i dissolution before interment.
Mrs Child.
i THE MARKETS IN ST. PETERS
BURG.
Not only is everything brought in sled-
I gesto market, but the sledges serve at the
! same time for shops and counters. The
; m y,s which cover the goods are thrown
j back a little, and the pieces of geese, fowls
and calves, are ranged on the edge, and
hung up at the corners and on the tops of
. the posts. The geese are cut up into a
hundred pieces ; the neck are sold separate
ly, the legs separately, the heads and rumps
separately, each in dozens and half-dozens
strung together. Whoever is too poor to.
think of the rump, buys a string of frozen
heads; and be who finds the heads too dear,
gives six copecks for a lot of necks ; while
he who cannot afford these makes shift with
a couple of dozen feet, which he stews
down on Sunday into a soup for Lis family.
The sledges with oxen, calves, end goats
have the most extraordinary appearance.
These animals are brought to market per
fectly frozen. Os course they are suffered
to freeze in an extended postvre, because in
this state they are most manageable. There
stand the tall figures oftheoxen, like blood
stained ghosts, lilting up their long horns,
around the sides of the sledge ; while the
goats, looking exactly as ifthey were alive
only with faint, glazed, and frozen eyes,
stand threateningly opposite to one anoth
er. Every part is hard as stone. The
carcasses are cut up, like trunks of trees,
with axe and saw. The Russians arc par
ticularly fond ofthesucking pig, and whole
trains of sledges laden with infant swine
come to the market. The little starvelings
strung together like thrushes, are sold by
the dozen, and the long-legged mothers
keep watch over them around the sledges.
The anatomy ofthe Russian butcher is a
very simple science. For, as every part,
flesh oi bone, is alike hard, they have no
occasion to pay regard to the natural divi
sions of the joints. With the saw they cut
up hogs into a number of steaks, an inch or
two inches thick, as we do a rump of beef.
The flesh splits and shivers during the ope
ration like wood, and the little beggar wen
ches are very busy picking up the animal
sawdust out of the snow. 1 You do not ask
for a steak, a chop, a joint, but for a slice,
a block, a lump, a splinter of meat. The
same is the case with fish ; they too are as
ifeut out of marble and wood. Those of
the diminutive species, like the snitki, are
brought in sacks, and they are put into the
scales with shovels. The large pike, sal
mon, and sturgeon, every inch of which
was once so lithe and stipple, are now stif
fened as if by magic. To- protect them
from the warmth, in case of sudden thaw—
forthawing would essentially deteriorate
their flavor—they are covered with snow
and lumps of ice, in which they liecoOi e
nough. It is not uncommon for the whole
cargo to be frozen in one mass, so that crow
bar and pincers are required to get at indi
vidual fish. So,long as the cold in winter
keeps every fluid congealed, and the snow
covers every impurity with a white carpet
this Haymarket is tolerably clean, and you
cannot pick up much dirt that may not ea
sily be removed. All offal that is thrown
away is instantly frozen to the ground.—
Hence there is formed in the course of the
winter such an accumulation of sheeps’
eyes, fish-tails, crabs, shells, goats’ hair,
hay, dung, fat, blood, (fee., that when spring
strips off the covering kindly lent by win
ter, the place is like a real Augean stable.
— [Kohl' sßussia and the Russians.
WONDERFUL SIGHTS IN THE AIR.
The venerable American lexicographer
has thought it worth while to notice, in the
New Haven Herald, the use which appears
to have been made in recent publications
of certain atmospheric phenomena, in re
ferencetothe great change which, it is
said, is to come over the world this year.—
He says :
“To persons not accustomed to see any
unusual phenomenon in the heavens, such
a fiery appearance of the clouds mut be ve
ry terrific. Ignorance in such cases is a
calamity. I had seen more wonderful ap
pearances in the clouds or heavens, and
was not the least disturbed.
“In the dark day. May 19, 1780, the hea
vens were covered with a dense cloud for
three or four hours ; the legislature was in
session at Hartford, and such was the dark
ness that business could not be transacted
without candles. During this time the
clouds were tinged with a yellow or faint
red for hours, for which no cause has been
assigned. I stood and viewed this phe
nomenon with astonishment, but I had no
fear that the world was coming loan end.
“In the evening of March 20th, 1782, an
extraordinary light spread over the whole
hemisphere from horizon to horizon, north
and south, east and west. The light was
of a yellowish cast, and wavy. The wa
ving of the light was visible, and some per
sons beard, or immagined they heard, a
slight rustling sound. I then resided in Go
slicn, Orange county, New York, and stood
half an houron a bridge over the Wall Kill
to witness this extraordinary phenomenon,
hut I saw no person that was frightened at
the sight.
“In the year 1785, a great part of Eu
rope was for weeks overspread with a hazi
ness of atmosphere which caused great con
sternation. The churches were crowded
with supplicants. The astronomer Lalande
endeavored to allay the fright by endeavor
ing to account for the appearance, which
he ascribed to an uncommon exhalation of
watery particles from the great rain of the
preceding year. But at last the cause was
ascertained to be smoke from the great e
ruplion of the volcano Hecla, in Iceland,
which covered more than three thousand
square miles with burning lava, in some
places to the depth of forty feet. I hail this
from Dr. Franklin, who was in Europe at
the time.
“In a late paper published by the Mil
lerites, I saw an article stating that the
northern lights foretell something terrible.
The writer seems not to know that in the
high northern latitudes, in the sixteenth de
gree and northward, northern lights are of
daily occurrence, and so have been from
time immemorial. So illuminated are the
heavens that persons may often see to read
in the night.”
“The lights occasionally come so far
South as to illuminate the sky in our lati
tude. Sometimes they do not appear for
many years. Al the close of the seven
teenth and beginning of the 18th century,
those lights were not seen for a long period,
and when they re-appeared, about the year
1817, our ancestors, who bad not seen or
heard of them, were all alarmed, and actu
ally supposed the day of judgement had
come.
“During my life I have been so much ac
customed to see northern lights, falling
stars, so called, and fire balls, that they
have long since ceased to excite my curios,
ity.
“Nearly thirty years ago 1 read an arti
cle in a Vermont paper, stating that the
northern lights, on a certain evening, were
so low as to be visible between the specta
tor and a distant mountain.
N. Webster.
Chance for a Lawsuit. —The following
singular advertisement appears in a Lynn,
Mass, paper : “ Whereas, Mr. Joseph John
son, Jr., of Nahant, contracted with the
subscriber to convey him to Lynn and back
again to Nahant for the sum of 25 cents;
hut having driven into too close proximity
with a post, whereby the wagon shafts were
severed from the body, thus obliging me to
incur the expenses of supper and lodging
at Lynn Hotel : this is therefore to notify
Mr. Johnson that I shall continue to board
at the said hotel at his expense until he
shall provide me a conveyance to Nahant
in some convenient vehicle agreeable to his
contract. Signed, Abner Hood.” This
will form the ground-work for a capital
law-suit; in the meantime, says the Sa
lem Gazette, “ Mr. Hood is feeding fat for
his grudge,” and “ nursing his wrath to
keep it warm.”
The following question is propounded in
one of our exchange papers:
A prisoner in jail being visited one day
by a gentleman who seemed deeply con
cerned at his situation, the jailor asked him
the following question : “ Do you know the
prisoner ?” To which the gentleman made
this reply : “ Yes ; that man’s father is my
father's son.”
Can any of your readers inform me what
relation the gentleman was to the prisoner?
It is a very simple thing, and yet there is
a good cte&l of a puzzle about it.
MESMERISM.
Quite an excitement has been produced
in our usually quiet town, for the last five
days, by a visit from a disciple ofthe ccle
rated Mesmer ; and the wonders he has per
formed aro the theme of almost every
tongue.—There are, to be sure, somoskep
ties among us who refuse to be convinced
by the testimony of their senses, but tho
large majority of our physicians apd scien
tific men have yielded their prejudices and
expressed themselves perfectly satisfied,
from the experiments they have witnessed,
that a mysterious influence can be exer
cised by one individual over another. The
operator is a Mr. Shelton, or Fairfield Dis
trict, a plain, rough farmer, who makes no
pretension to any knowledge of science, but
has performed wonders that science itself
cannot comprehend.
On Thursday morning Inst Mr. Shelton
called at our Book store with a subject, a
negro boy, and after placing him in a rnes
meric sleep, commenced experimenting u
pon him by touching several of the organs
laid down by Phrenologists, and succeeded
in making him whistle, fight, dance, and
perform a number of antics to the astonish
ment of ourselves and several of our neigh
bors whom we had called in. In the course
of the forenoon we had an opportunity of
seeing another subject, the son of Mrs
Slight; but he was sluggish under the
phrenological touch, und no satisfactory re
sults were produced further than putting
him into a profound sleep. Still skeptical
we determined to test tho power thoroughly,
and in a case where there could be no de
ception. We accordingly invited Mr. Shel
ton to operate on a while member of our
family. He did so, in our presence and
succeeded in producing a mesmeric sleep
in twenty-seven minutes. We then cal
led in Drs. Wells and Gibbs to witness the
experiments. In their presence the mes
merizer, commanded bor to perform a vari
ety of movements all of which she obeyed
immediately; while site remained perfect
ly insensible to the commands of any one
else, even those of myself, her father. He
then led her to an open piano, seaied her
upon the stool and requested her to play, at
the same time touching with bis fingers the
organ oftune- She immediately commen
ced the air suggested to her, and played it
in excellent time. Other airs were sug
gested with which she was familiar, all of
which she performed, but never without the
mesmerizer touching the organs of tune ;
and on his taking his fingers off them, even
in the middle of a tune, she always ceased.
We then placed our fingers upon the or
gans and asked her to play, without any
apparent effect, although wo boseeched and
commanded her with parental authoritv.—
The physicians above named, after having
tested her insensibility to pain, professed
themselves perfectly satisfied, and the mes
merizor woke her up. When awake she
positively denied any knowledge of any
thing that had transpired while under the
influence of ilie mesmerizer, and express and
astonishment at tho number of persons in
the room, (several neighbors having conn -
in while she was asleep.) No head-ache
or drowsy effects resulted from the opera
tion. Os course, after this experiment, all
our skepticism was gone ; although we do
not yet pretend to believe in Mesmerism to
the extent which we have seen it asserted it
has been carried ; but we are prepared to
believe any further demonstration which
carries equal authority with it as the one
we relate above.
At the suggestion of the several physi
cians Mr. Shelton gave an exhibition on
Friday evening nttheCarolina Hall, whore
a numerous and highly respectable audi
ence assembled. Ho introduced three sub
jects : one a mulatto boy, belonging to Dr.
Gibbs, another belonging to Mr. Kefder,
and a voting man we mentioned at the com
mencement of this article. The young
man he mesmerized in the presence of the
company, without over touching him. No
experiments, however, were performed
with him, except puncturing him with pins
and needles, and testing the rigidity of his
muscles. Dr. Gibbs’ boy, when mesmer
ized, exhibited combat!veness strong, when
touched on the phrenological organs said to
denote this passion ; be also whistled when
the organs of tune were excited; rubbed
his hand when the mesmerizer was pricked
with a needle, and went through the motion
of swallowing when the mesmerizer drank
water. On Mr. Reeder’s boy the expert
ments were full as satisfactory. A great
part of the audience we believe were satis
fied that the effects produced were done
without collusion ; but we have heard se
veral express doubts. This is but natural,
and we can tolerate it the better as nothing
short of experiment on a member our fami
ly could have convinced us.
We have since seen several successful
attempts at producing sleep, with similar
results on the passion and feelings. In two
instances they were performed by a young
man of our family, who succeeded, after
two or three attempts, in producing the
mesmeric sleep, and making the subject go
through a variety of exercises, and on Mon
day evening last, we witnessed experiments
by Dr. Gibbs, who put two negro boys to
sleep, and also made them answer phreno
logical touches.
We have heard several persons who wit
nessed these cases express disappointment
that more wonders had not been developed;
but we believe it was because they had im
bibed a belief, from exaggerated reports,
that mesmerized subjects could make
known all things in heaven above, in the
earth beneath, and in the waters under the
earth ; yet we have not spoken to one can
did man but what acknowledged that they
had witnessed a groat deal in these exhibi
tions that a few days ago they would have
considered beyond the bound of possibility.
As several scientific gentlemen have ta
ken hold of it, we may expect still further
results from their investigations* of which
we will keep the public advised.— Cofum .
bia Chronicle.
An Irishman thus describes a wheelbar- |
row: “It is a little carriage with one wheel, f
apd the horse Ls a matt.
POLITIC A 1..
From the Savannah Republican.
THE ONSET— THE RIVAL CANDI
-
It is probable that every passing motfth
will add new developements to the differed
ces between Messrs. Van Buren and Cal
lioun. How far a National Convention will
adjust these differences, remains-to be seen;
but to us it isobvious that they will go on
widening indefinitely. The oligarchy, at
the head of which stands Mr. Calhoun, has
no sympathy with the managers and wire
pullers of Tammany Hall, while these last
accustomed to the sinuosities, the prevari
cation, the dextrous shifting and double
dealing of the Albany Regency school,
grasp forever at power, its privileges and ‘
emoluments, and cannot comprehend, much
less respect the bold, denunciatory,
straight forward dealing of the Nullifies
Mr. Butler, and a host of Van Buren’s of
fieeholders, who expect a restoration to that
Elysium of fatness, froth which they are
now excluded, are hard at work for their
master, and ifa letter writer at New York,
who occasionally furnishes a half column
to the Mercury, may be credited, it is only
necessary for a man to declare himself a
Calhoun man, to be denounced by this cli
que.
The Mercury is descanting upon the
beauties of the one term principle, recom
mended so highly, not introduced by the
Magnus Ccesar, General Jackson. It is a
musing by the way, tho religious respect
which is paid by Locofocoism loan opinion
ofthe General, which he did not choose to
enforce by his own example. Most sturdi
ly too, does the Mercury inveigh against a
packed Convention appointed by the Gen
eral Ticket System—as calculated to su
persede the letter and spirit of the Constitu
tion, and substitute the trammels of party
management for the unbiassed suffrage of
the people. To impress upon the “Democ.
racy” the importance of tiiis fact appears
to be the object of a pamphlet published at
Washington on the principles ofa National
Convention, entitled “An appeal to the De
mocracy.”
The pamphlet is obviously of Calhoun
origin. “The Convention (saysthis paper)
will make a President and Vice President
ofthe United States. Hence the free, equal,
and popular spirit ofthe Constitution must ‘
be maintained, though its letter be suspen
ded.” Secondly, says “ the Appeal” —by
which we suppose is meant that the Vau
Buren method ofa Convention of partisans
und politicians, who grasp at the offices
must he avo’ded. The idea of a Oonven
tioti is often deprecated, and the following
language is quoted as instructive : “The
power of a national convention, in uniting
she Democratic party on the election of a
Pr sident, has never yet been tried. There
never, in past, conventions, has been any
difference as to the President ; and so fur
therefore, as this office is concerned, t.hero
has never been any necessity for.calling a
convention. This method of nomination
originated preparatory to Gen. Jackson’s
second term, when Mr. Van Buren and Mr.
Wilkins, of Pennsylvania, were the most
prominent candidates lor the Vice Presi
denoy,” <fec. And further on—“ For the
first time now, since the systeni has been re.
sorted to, has there been any difference in
the Democratic party, as to the President
ofthe United States. The Democratic par
ty, is clearly in the ascendant in the Uni
ted States ; and if they act in harmony with
each other, and fairly and faithfully carry
out their principles, .the day is far distant,
when they will feel the disaster of another
overthrow like that of 1840. But there can
be no cordial co-operation without confi
dence ; and there can be no confidence,
without a spirit of candor, forbearance, and J
equity in all their dealings. Suspicions,
jealousies, rivalries, and even personal an
imosities among loaders, will probably al* -
ways exist in every party. These baleful
principles, will be ever too wakeful to seize
on even ‘the appearance of evil,’ to make
it evil—to sow dissensions,, exasperate
prejudices, and in every way, to make in
dividualsthe party, or the party subordinate
to individuals.”
We make another extract to show the
justice of a party who came into power in
1828, with loud professions of reform and
retrenchment, who nearly tripled the expen
ses of Government, and who now abuse the
Whigs who are not in power, for not carry
ing out their promises of reform. In order
to show the justice of the censure, we must
first extract the following, which we place
in juxtaposition to the remarks about the
reform of the Federal party. In the first
paragraph the position of the Whigs and of
a “reforming Congress” and the Executive
are defined-—and the second will explain
itself to the entire satiefaction of any one
who knows the shifts and fetches, and
shameful verbiage and rant, with which lo
eofocoism comqjends itself to the people.
“Let it not be supposed, that the selec
tion of the individual fit to be the CWCf
Magistrate of this great Republic is an ea
sy matter. It is vain to hope for any refor
mation in the General Government, but by
the conjunction of two circumstances—a
reforming Congress, and a reforming Exe
cutive. If the Executive be not exact, en
ergetic, and honest in the administration of
the Government, Congress will in vain le
gislate. By mere administration, probe
lily one-fifth of all our expenditures can be
saved, To make accountability rigidly
account, and responsibility stand up with
clean hands before the people, in the vast
disbursements of such a Government as
ours, requires not only a spirit to rebuke
and suppress abuses, but the bold tact and
industry to find them in their foul hiding
places, and with a whip of ten-fold cords, to
scourge them from the dark recesses of the
Government. An easy which
hates to offend; an indolence, which shrinks
from a task which might appal a Hercules:
a corruption, which looks to office as a re
ward for partisan services, and ljmreforeff
winks at the accumulation of GoraßKWjtf
retainers, and the misconduct or l’l)'ffe* |
party con djut <*s. —w ill not do. T ‘gl
