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About News & planters' gazette. (Washington, Wilkes County [sic], Ga.) 1840-1844 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 1843)
going to cut Mr. Corntassel’s profile; but Mr. Corntassel began to feel a little less easy than he had felt on some previous oc casions. Isa sudden feeling of pious regard for certain tilings lie had learned at the Sun day school, when a boy, came over him ; or if the sight of the surgeons’ instruments had produced overpowering associations of an unpleasant nature, lie could not say for hislife. The truth was, he had not reflec ted seriously on the matter previously, and the awful consequences now rusiied upon his mind, with painful reality. He would have given his horse, buggy, watch, dogs, every thing in the world, ho was about to die ‘seized of,’ if he was only safely and honorably out of the scrape. But Mr. Corn tassel, trusting that he possessed” sufficient of‘needful pride,’ to hear him up, resolved to ‘do or die’ in the most approved manner, however disagreeable either might be. This he had determined on, irrevocably; but as the second handed the pistol to him, for some motive, unknown even to himself, he could not refrain from suggesting a diffi cult point, which had just occurred to him. ‘The statutes of the State are very severe against all concerned in a duel,’ said Mr. Corntassel, ‘as much against tiie seconds us the principals.’ And he looked like he ex pected, or at least hoped, the colonel would say, ‘That’s a fact Mr. Corntassel ; let’s stop the matter.’ But the colonel’s reply was not precisely to that purport. ‘Make yourself easy—l can arrange all that—make yourself easy, Mr. Corntassel,’ said he. But Mr. Corntassel was not ex actly as easy as he could have wished. ‘Are you ready ?’ Here monsieur Par lezvous made a bow to the company and kissed his hand at them, with the charac teristic politeness of his people, whether in a saloon-or under the guillotine. And Mr. Corntassel cried out, ‘Stop, stop, I’m not quite ready. Colo nel I’ll speak to you a moment, if you p| case , In looking round, just now, J discovered that I am exactly in a line with that straight, tall, dead pine, yonder. In a line, colonel! in a straight line! The Frenchman will have a line shot on me, and kill me certainly. Can t something be done colonel ?’ said Mr. Corntassel, in a whisper, but with some agitation. ‘Yes, you can light or back out, just as you like: either will be something. But you are not in a line with the tree, I assure you. Stand aside and let me have the pis tol, as the laws of honor demand in such cases, if you will not fight, go home and be laughed at all your life.’ ‘O no, I’ll fight, I’ll fight; I only men tioned the circumstance, merely mentioned it. I’m ready, major.’ ‘Are you ready ?—Fire! One, two,’ and bang, bang, went the pistols. Mr. Corn tassel, after a moment’s reflection discov ered that he was not dead, and rejoiced ex ceedingly at the thought. But as the smoke passed off’ he saw Monsieur Parlezvous standing alive also ; and as he did not re joice at that circumstance*, the presumption is the qualms he had felt before the fire, did not originate from conscientious scruples on the subject of killing a man. Monsieur’s being in life boded another shot, and Mr. Corntassel did not like that. After the Colonel had loaded for the se cond fire, Mr. Corntussel, in a very round about way intimated the propriety'of the matter’s stopping where it was. ‘lt cannot be,’ said colonel Nicepoint, un less the proposition comes from the party challenging.’ ‘But’ ‘But what?’ ‘lt is against the laws of Georgia to fight within the limits of the State, Colonel, and. if I should kill him I would be hanged, and you would go to the penitentiary at least. Now I don’t care so much on my own ac count as on yours.’ ‘1 respect your forethought and disinter ested regard for me, Mr. Corntassel; but you see I have provided a horse, for your escape, if you kill Parlezvous. And be assured I have a means of getting off safely myself Do not disturb yourself on my account, my friend. I know that is all which weighs on your mind.’ ‘I should dislike so much for you to get into trouble, and have to leave the country on my account! You have an interesting family, and—ah! a—Colonel are you sure the old pine don’t line with me?’ ‘ Perfectly sure, sir.’ ‘ Colonel, suppose that a-a” ‘ Prepare to take your places, gentlemen!’ said Maj. Broadblade. ‘ Hold on Major, I’ll be with you present ly,’ said Mr. Corntassel. ‘Colonel, you have a very respectable family, and a—a’ ‘I flatter my selfl have; but how does it bear on the present business V ‘ If I should kill Parlezvous, you would be tried and’ ‘And you are scared, and don’t want to fight, Mr. Corntassel,’ said Col. Nieepoint, looking his worthy principal full in the face. ‘ O no, my dear Colonel, you mistake me altogether. I am only apprehensive on your account.’ 1 Let me relieve your fears by disclosing an agreeable fact,’ said the Colonel. 1 Pre pare yourself for happy intelligence. There are no halls in the pistols, Mr. Corntassel.’ f What?’ ‘ There were no balls in the pistols, at the first fire, and there is no loading but powder and wad, now.’ Mr. Corntassel was a happy man. He felt like he had a new lease on life, and was a brave as a lion. ‘ Take a small vial of red ink—you will find it in the comer of the pistol case there,’ continued the Colonel, ‘ and stain the bosom of your shirt just above the waistband.’ ‘ What for V asked Mr. Corntassel. ‘ Hold here I’ll do it,’ the Colonel remar ked, and poured the red ink on the linen of the astonished belligerent. ‘ There, that’s it.’ ‘ What does all this mean Col. Nieepoint? r don’t understand.’ ‘ There leave the vest unbuttoned, and just fasten the coat wit!) one button, so as to conceal the ink. There, that’s the idea.’ ■ What for, though ?’’ asked Corntassel. ‘ Take your places, gentlemen !’ cried out Maj. Broadblade. ‘ Now,’ said the colonel to Mr. Corntas sel, ‘ take your place, with your left band on the button which fastens your coat, rea dy to throw your coat and vest open as soon as Parlezvous fire.s, and then fall like a man mortally wounded. He will see the red place on the linen, and not doubt but he has slain you. Mum ! You understand ?’ The parlies took their positions for a re newal of the combat. Monsieur looked round at the trees, the river and clouds, to take a farewell of the world, after the man ner of a knight of the middle ages, when he was about to do battle on some adversary. He bowed, and threw another kiss at the crowd. Mr. Corntassel’s spirits seemed to have grown lighter, with the intelligence lie had received from his second. That gentleman, in a mariner peculiar to himself looked round at the crowd and cried out, ‘ Farewell world !’ •Parlezvous,’ said ho, 111 make you dance do wing of de pigeon, this heat, old fellow. I’m sorry for it, but so it is. ‘May be so—May be I make for you dance some wing of de pigeon too, Mon sieur,’ replied Parlezvous, with a shrug of the shoulders, and a peculiar look about the eye- brows. Are you ready ?—Fire!—One!—Two bang ! bang ! answered the pistols, arid Cornelius Corntassel fell to the ground, displaying the blood-red spot on his linen. The crowd all gathered near, to see the ca tastrophe. CHAPTER FOUR. An honorable murder, if you will; For nought I did in hate, but all in honor. Othello. Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves Shaii never tremble. Hence, horrid shadow ! Never shake thy gory’ locks at me ! — Macbeth. Monsieur Parlezvous’ first enotions, after perceiving the result of the matter, were those of savage satisfaction, in considera tion of’ the indignity so recently cast on him by his antagonist. But after witnessing the apparent agonies of the fallen man a moment, and hearing his piteous lamenta tions, the feelings of humanity began to re sume ificir oiact? his heart. ‘o, Lordy ! O, Lordy !* dried Mr. Corn tassel, rolling over on the ground and ictck-1 ing up his heels, in a very’ farcical man ner. ‘ O, Lordy, I’m a dying ! Doctor can’t you help me ?’ ‘ Mon Dieu, I vern much sorry for kill Monsieur Fleur de Maize,’ exclaimed Par lezvous, with his hand on his forehead, in a manner indicating deep sincerity. ‘ You will find, Monsieur, that your cause of regret will increase. Your crime is punishable with death, by the laws of the State. You will be hung as a murderer.” These remarks were made by one, known to Parlezvous as a law yer. ‘ Hang me by de neck ?’ asked Monsieur, with unaffected astonishment. ‘ What-for somebody no been tell me so, before 1 fight, eh ? I in strange country hang me by de neck ah !’ ‘ Monsieur Fleur De Maize, I beg seven tousand pardon for shoot you !’ cried out Monsieur, as he ran up to the wounded man. ‘ Don’t talk to me, you bloody murderer ! O, Lordy, my belly,’ screamed Corntassel, like a boy with the cholic, from having loaded that receptacle with too many chin kapins. ‘ Monsieur Doctare, I will give you tree, four, several hundred dollar, if you keep Monsieur What-you-call from die. I give you ebrvting. I make profile for you wife, your Icetle dau’tare, your neighbor, every body.’ The man on the ground, by this time be gan to give indications of approaching death There was a horrid contortion of countenance —a convulsive twitching in the extremeties—a gasp, and all was over. ‘Ah, Monsieur, What-you-call ! I beg, I pray vera much, you will not die!’ ‘lt is too late now—he’s dead, poor fel low!’ said two or three persons. I give tousand dollar, for somebody make me dead too,’ exclaimed Parlezvous, in his agony, caused by blended feelings of real sorrow, and the fear of an ignominious death on the gallows. ‘Run! run, Mr. Parlezvous! and hide in the cane-brake; here comes the sheriff to carry you to jail!’ was the suggestion of se veral persons, and Monsieur took their ad vice. As the coat tail of Monsieur Parlezvous, fluttering in the breeze, raised by his quick movements, began to grow a little dim in the distance which his speed had placed be tween himself and the late scene of action, Cornelius Corntassel, supposed by the crowd around to be a dead mao, in good faith, suddenly raised himself and cried out—‘Good morning!’ The negroes and lit tle boys stood aghast, as if a ghost had ap peared before them, and even the grown persons were astonished. But Mr. Corntas sel had only to throw himselfinto a posture, and give them ‘the double trouble,’ to con vince them lie was no ghost. This he did, and the multitude set up a shout of laugh ter, which the retreating Frenchman sup posed to be the halloo of the sheriff and pos se in persuit of him, and redoubled his pace, already not a slow one. About three days after the duel, Mon sieur Parlezvous, who during that time had sojourned in the wilderness, and on persimmons, black-haws and such other winter fruit as the climate produces sponta neously, was one day reclining on the ground, and leaning against the trunk of a large beech, reflecting on his hard fate.— His boots were grimed with the swamp mud his clothes torn by running through the un der-brush and cane, and his hat had been lost in the hurry of the escape. For want of shaving apparatus, his black beard had grown out, and nearly covered his whole face, giving him a ferocious, bandit appear ance. ‘Ah inon Dieu,’he thought, ‘dat Ameri can national dance, de wing of de pigeon, have make me suffer too much.’ Hearing a rustling of the leaves and a foostep, he looked up and saw what ? CorneliusCorntassel stood before him, as he lost appeared when in life. Being firmly impressed with the belief that he was in presence of one of those denizens of the oth er world, Monsieur Parlezvous would have exclaimed— “Be thou a spirit of health, or goblin dmnned!” if lie had been sufficiently familiar with Hamlet. But that apostrophe escaping his memory ho merely observed, as, trembling in every joint ho fell upon his knees before the specter— ‘Ah, mon Dieu, I am a lost man! Mon sieur ghost, I am ready for go vid you, to de dinble, vare your home is; but ’fore 1 go, tell me if you did put you foot, and trow me down fore de lady, on purpose, ven I was dance de ving of de pigeon? If you did not mean to trow me down, ’fore de la dy, I shall be one vera miserable glwsl, ven I come home, to your house /’ Mr. Corntassel repressed his natural love of mischief, through commiseration for the distressed state of his late adversary’s mind, and assured him he was no ghost. ‘You no ghost?’ asked Parlezvous, scarcely believing his own eyes Mr. Corntassel’s words. ‘Ah, Monsieur, I suf fer too much—you must no’ make me game.’ ‘I assure you, my dear sir, that I am not a ghost, but am Cornelius Corntassel, in as good health and spirits as you ever saw him ’ ‘Eii! vat ? It is no ghost, sure ’nugh!’ said Monsieur Parlezvous, rising from his knees, convinced, and clasping Mr. Corntassel in his arms, affectionately. ‘Ah Monsieur what-you-call, I so glad you ain’t gost —1 so glad I ain’t murder you—l so glad I ain’t hang by de neck!’ Monsieur Parlezvous’ remorse, while in the river swamp, ever after deterred him from taking the life of a man in a duel. — And Cornelius Corntassel’s first affair of honor, having so thoroughly convinced him that he was not ‘built for a man of war,’ it is presumed he has taken no risks of that nature since. AYVFUL RETRIBUTION. A few days since, considerable excite ment was produced by the disappearance of a young girl, aged about 16, the daughter of a Mr. Mercer, one of the most weallhy and respectable inhabitants of Southwark. A young man of this city, named Hutchin son Herbertoil, was arrested on suspicion of being concerned In her abduction, but was discharged in consequence of the girl’s return to her parents. It was ascertained, however, that Heborton had seduced the young girl, and that she had gone to a house of ill-fame, in the neighborhood of Pine and Twelfill streets, where he had been in the habit of meeting her. Her absence as well as iier return, we believe, was voluntary. The anguish of the family at the knowledge of the dishonor that had fallen upon the daughter of their house, no tongue can tell no pen can describe. To wipe out the stain as far it was possible so to do, a marriage was proposed to the seducer. This was declined on his part, and the brother of the seduced then challenged him. This was also declined. The infuriate brother, stung almost to madness, determined not to be baulked in his revenge. He watched the movements of Heberton, and having ascer tained that he was to leave the city last evening in a carriage, by way of Camden, he concealed himself on board the ferry boat armed with one of Colt’s six-barrel led pistols. Shortly after the carriage was dri ven on board with the blinds drawn up, and when within a few yards of the Jersey shore Mercer approached the carriage and fired four balls into it in quick succession. One of them proved fatal, taking effect under the left shoulder blade, and another enter ing the body of Heberton. He was con veyed to a tavern in Camden, where he ex pired in a few minutes. Mercer immedi ately gave himself up to the authorities. Thus has the atrocious crime of seduc tion been visited with awful and summary retribution at the hands of the outraged brother. VVe have been acquainted with Heberton for some years, and have always known him as a mild, amiable and gentle manly man—but the crime which he com initted was of too black and damning a character for us to express regret or sympa thy for his untimely end. For his widow ed mother we feel deeply, as well as for his afflicted relatives, who are among the most respectable of our citizens. His fate is a striking example of the evil effects of idle ness Having no occupation, and abund ant to supply his wants, his whole time ap peared devoted to intrigue and the gratifi cation of sensual passions. Had ho been engaged witli the occupation of business, his mind would have been filled with other thoughts and higher aims. Let Ills fate be a warning to all idlers.— Ph. Eve. Goz. From the N. Y. Journal of Commerce. NEW-YORK PHILOSOPHICAL SOCI ETY. Interesting Relic. —At a meeting of this body a few evenings since, General Tal!- madge exhibited a silver ball, consisting of two hollow hemispheres joined together by a slight screw at the edges, which had once contained an interesting and important doc ument addressed by Sir Henry Clinton to Gen. Burgoyne, which, if it had not been providentially intercepted, might have sav ed Burgoyne’s army, & produced a change in the fortunes of the war most disastrous to our countrymen. After Gen. Burgoyne had reached Lake George at the head of the forces that had been concentrated at Quebec and Montreal, with a view tothe capture of Albany and the occupation of the surrounding country, his progress was extremely dilatory—to an extent, indeed, that seems to those who are not fully acquainted with the exact state of the country at that time, and the whole cir cumstances of the case, entirely irreconci lable with the exacted military reputation of that officer, and his fidelity to the Royal cause. Between Montreal and a point near ly twenty miles this side of Saratoga, the country was in an almost pathless wilder m ss. The settlements along the Mohawk and Hudson cherished a deadly hostility to the invading army. The support of the British fleot, by advancing up the Hudson, was absolutely essential for the furnishing of Burgoyne’s army with tho necessary supplies, as well as desirable for military co-operation. And it was in expectation es its advance, that tho General resolved on a delay which admitted the assembling of such reinforcements in support of the A merican General Gates, as wore fatal to the enemy’s plans. This delay on the part ofßurgoync was however unnecessarily protracted. For Sir Henry Clinton, by the capture of Fort Montgomery, through the instrumentality of a thousand men who had been detached from his force at Haverstraw bay, and the successful demolition of the several obstacles interposed by the Ameri cans to the ascent of the river, (a heavy ship, armed with huge timbers at the bow, advancing with all her canvass spread be fore a strong soutli wind, severed on a sec ond trial, the chain extended across the Hudson at West Point,) had effected the passage of the fleet up the river, and had transmitted by a sure and sale conveyance, as he believed, information of this fact to Gen. Burgovne. This was contained in the document described above as inclosed in a silver bullet. The messenger entrus ted with it, somewhere in the Northern part of Duchess county, fell in with some coun trymen who were good patriots, and who insisted on searching him lor secret corres yondence. They discovered on his person three musket balls, in all respects alike save that one seemed to weigh much light er than the rest. On his captor’s observing this, the spy instantly seized the ball and swallowed it. The circumstance was com municated to George Clinton, by whose command emetics at first, & afterwards ca thartics were administered, the operation of which was supervised by a file of soldiers, and resulted in the recovery of the ball and the interception and disclosure of its con tents. The spy was hung at Hurley, and for want of the information which he carri ed, Burgoyne and his army were captured at Saratoga. The following is a copy of the letter in closed in the bullet: “Fort Montgomery, Oct. 8,1777. “Nous void, and nothing between us but Gates. I sincerely hope this little success of his may facilitate your operations. In answer to your letter of 28th September, by C. C., I shall only say that I cannot pre sume to order, or even advise, for reasons obvious. I heartily wish you success. “ Faithfully yours, “H. CLINTON. “To General Burgoyne.” Rome was once saved by the cackling of a goose, and why should not Pennsylvania be rescued from dishonor by the suggestion of the noblest of creatures —a woman ? The men of this degenerate State seem lost to all sense of propriety, and their efforts to throw off this incubus, the Stale Debt, are freebie and unavailing. The gentler sex have often came to the rescue of their lords and masters, when dispirited and wearied they were about to abandon exertion and lie down supinely on their hacks, the slaves of circumstances’ A lady of Lancaster, willing to prove that these days can also furnish feminine patriots, proposes to the sex throughout the State, that they turn their whole stock of jewelry into coin, buy up the State stock, and make a present of it to the State. She estimates the value of’all the trinkets in the possession of the ladies of Pennsylvania, at eighteen and a half millionsofdollars—just enough, by buying the stock at fifty per cent discount, to pay off the wthole State debt. “Our Lords,” she wisely observes, “ will never pay the debt in the world—and it will certainly be no very great hardship for us to dispense with our jewelr)’ for a short time. And when we pay off this great debt for them, our chivalrous beaux will be both able and willing to buy us anew supply.” Truly, this lady might be a worthy de scendant of the noble mother of the Grac chi, whose only jewels were her children, whom she had imbued with great and good sentiments. PJ\il. N. American. A Jolly Red Nose. —A capital story is told in the Salem Register, of a man with a most resplendent and fiery proboscis, who went to Albany for the purpose of asking an office of Gov. Bouck. Being cautioned not to appear before the Governor (who is a strong temperance man) in that nose, he, by the advice of a waggish physician, ap plied a flax seed poultice to it before going to bed, the night previous to his intended call on the Governor. The next morning he appeared at the breakfast table of the hotel, with his nose bleached and parboiled, looking for all the world like a washer wo man’s thumb. The doctor was himself an applicant for office, living in the same hotel, and had advised the poultice only in joke ; but when he found the man had” actually applied it, he let the cat out of the bag.— The boarders were accordingly on the look out for the patient in the morning, and when the nose appeared, there was a roar of laughter at the table, that the poor fellow had to change his lodgings, before calling upon the temperate Go/ernor. —New Ha ven Register. George Cruikshank, caricaturing the London Post-Office, says: “ A gentleman in London having received a newspaper, enveloped, with the inscription ‘time flies,’ on the seal, was charged full letter postage, on account of information contained on the wrapper /” Apocryphal. —The St. Louis Gazette says : “ It is said that since the late Earth quake, the bottom of the river has fallen out in some places ; for instance, where the Gen. Pratte’s hull was sunk, she lay very near the top of the water ; and since the earthquake, the bottom cannot be found with a line of 150 feet in length.” From the V. S. Gazette, 16th inst. DEATH OF fcOMMODORE HULL. The fears which we expressed last week that Commodore Isaac Hull wms in a dan gerous situation, have been fully reaiiz.ed. That veteran officer died yesterday mor ning, at his residence, in Portico Row, mee ting death as the nutural and expected close of a long and useful life. The name is imientified wjtli- the honor and gldry of his nation. Ilis skill saved the Constitution early in the last war, when chased by a British fleet; and shortly nf terwards he commenced that series of Na val victories which gave character -to the nation abroad. Those who recollect tho gloom that hung upon the public mind, from defeats and disasters on the frontiers, will bear in mind the reviving influence of the victory of the Constitution over the Guerriere, achieved by Commodore Hull, and comprehend how much ofgratitude is due to him for his brilliant success. Commodore Hull was the third on the list of Post Captain—Commodore Barron and Commodore Stewart were before him. His commission bears date 23rd April, 1806, one day after Com. Stewart’s. Commodore Hull was, we believe, a na tive of Connecticut, where he married, and where ho spent much of his time when not on public duty. He must have been about 68 years of age, though his personal ap pearance would have led to the belief that lie was much younger. After the above was written, a friend handed us the following: Commodore Hull expired this morning at his residence, Portico Square, within a few days of completing the 68th year of his age. Before entering the Navy, he made two voyages to England, one to Ireland, one to Rotterdam, two to Lisbon, two to Cadiz, and ten voyages to the West Indies. He Com menced his nautical career when 12 years of age, (fifty-six years ago) and when on board a prize taken by his father from the British during the Revolution, when the en emy had possession of Now York. On the 9th of March, 1798, he entered the Navy as a Lieutenant. While First Lieutenant of the Frigate Constitution, under Commodore Talbot, in May 1799, in the quasi French War, he cut out a French letter of marque from Porte Platte, (St. Domingo) with a small sloop. This gallant act was achieved at noon day, and without the loss of a man. In 1804 he commanded the brig Argus, and rendered service in the Tripolitan War, in the storming of Tripoli, and the reduc tion ofDerne. In 1812, he commanded the Constitution, and by his energy and skill as a seaman, he escaped from a British squadron under Commodore Broke. Not long after this affair, he met the British frigate Guerriere, and to the sur prise of the whole world conquered her. ThatJight was of more importance to the people of this country, than all the subse quent. naval victories, because it demon strated that the notion ofßritain being invin cible on the sea was incorrect. And as the Coniniodore once said to the writer ; “The people did not know I went to sea without orders.” The gove/nment was afraid to trust our ships of war out of our own ports, until Hull in spite of the panic, showed that an American frigate was equal to a frigate of any other nation. Since that time he has commanded in the Pacific and Mediterranean, and at shore stations in the United States. He lias been eaplain in the Navy of the United States 37 years, but had he served England in the same circumstances as In has served hisown country, he would have been a peer of tfie realm or at least an ad miral. His mind was clear to the last. He was cheerful and resigned, because, as lie de clared, not very many hours since, “1 have never knowingly wronged a human being— and to the best of my ability, I have always obeyed my God, and served my country.” Few servants of the Republic have ren dered more faithful or better service ; let his course serve as an example to those who followed his track. Revolutionary Relics. —One of the Drums used yesterday, by the musicians of the Guards, sounded the thrilling call to arms at the battles of Eutaw, Saratoga and the Cowpens, and was presented to the Histori cal Society in 1841, by Gen. Charles R. Floyd. The Chair, which was yesterday occu pied on the stage by Judge King, the orator, was the seat of one of the Signers in the Hall of Independence, and presented to a member of the Society.— Savannah Geor gian. •SUB-MARINE TELESCOPE. This valuable invention of Mrs. Sarah P. Mather, of Brooklyn, we have already noticed. The apparatus was then arran ged for examining only the bottom of rivers, bays, lakes, and other deep waters. A person at the surface could, by means of this instrument, obtain a clear view of the water at almost any depth, and at a dis tance of twenty feet in every direction from the lamp, which communicates with the surface by means of a tube. Since that time Mrs. Mather has added an important improvement, which enables one standing on the deck of a vessel to view the under part of the hull as distinctly as one sees his own face in a mirror. This im provement is effected by the application of mirrors or reflectors within the telescope, by means of which a side light is reflected, and the bottom of the vessel thus brought plainly into view. This invention must be of vast importance to our navy and to navi gators throughout the world. It might at once be applied to the removal of the ob structions in the Mississippi and other riv ers, and to the discovery of those unfortu nate boats, and the recovery of the imper ishable part of the cargoes, which have been almost daily lost there, amounting to many millions of dollars per annum. No ftiatter hotv turbid the water may be. the illuminating power of tho instrument over comes its utmost capacity. A pin has been distinctly soen in the muddy bottom of our bay on a windy day, at the depth of twenty two feet. Surely Congress could in no wav beneficially expend a few thousand'of del lars than in putting this instrument into operation, and thus rewarding the inven tor.—N. Y. Com. Adv. Intrusion on the Pulpit. —Dr. S. Brown, of this village, was arrested on Tuesday, by a sheriff Irom Gloucester, on thechargo of disturbing public worship in Rockport, Sunday, the 22d ult. We understand two other warrants for similar offences at Es sex are in the hands of the proper officers. As far as we can learn, tiie affair at Rockport was somewhat as follows: The Doctor, accompanied by his Wife, enterod the Congregational Church just before ser vioes commenced. The latter stopped at the foot of the foot of the pulpit stairs, while the Doctor in the exercise of “the largest liberty,” took his seat in the pulpit. Tho regularoccupant thereof took his seat also, and not recognising his companion as a brother in orders, asked some of his congre gation to put him out. Accordingly the Doctor was lifted outofthe pulpit, and car ried down midway of the broad aisle, where proving too heavy for his bearers, be was laid out at length. Mrs. B. kindly placed her muff under her husband’s head, and he laid there until the close of the service, a notable and visible “testimony.” Wc have not learned the result of the trial in this case.— Amesbury [Mass. ] Transcript. Gross Outrage on the Savannah River. — On Tuesday evening a shore boat, belong ing to one of the Sailor Boarding Houses in this city, and manned by some half dozen desperadoes, boarded the British barque Covenanter, and look therefrom twelve sailors—nine on a first visit, and three on a second. The master of the barque had unfortunately no fire-arms, and was there fore in no condWon to make resistance.— The the Captain, and fired several pistols ai the ship. This boat, or one in company, then proceedeed to the British barque Springfield, Capt. Yoy, which vessel was ready for sea, and made an attempt to board her. They were, how ever, fired into, and three of the party wounded, one ofthetn known as ‘the Mo bile Slasher,’receiving a ball in his fore head, and another in his mouth, which knocked out three of his teeth. Another by the name of Brady, received three-buck shot in his body, and the other, whose name we did not learn, was so badly wounded that it is expected he will not recover. VVe arc informed that he has been taken to the Hospital. The names of two gentlemen were given us, who saw one of these piratical boats leave the wharf—the scoundrels on hoard of her being armed with cutlasses, guns, &e. It is satd to be their custom logo out every night, seeking to'entrap as many sailors us they may. We have before cal led public attention to their piratical enter prises, but we do not hear that the city au thorities have taken any measure to sup press these daring outrages and punish the freebooters. Our port will get a name e qua! to Havana, in its worst days, if these thiugseontinue, VVe unhesitatingly affirm thai it is highly discreditable to this city, lhat foreign vessels should come here, and be compelled to defend their rights by force of arms. This is what they are determined to do, however, and we hope they will make good use of them. The master of the Co venanter, was in town yesterday, and sup plied himself witli arms. Two or three of the Captains also came up on the same er rand. If our laws cannot protect them, why then, we say, in God’s name, let them defend themselves.— Savannah Republican..^ Discovery of Runaway Slaves and their Return. —The schr. Empire, Capt. Powell, which, left here on the Bth inst. hound to New-York, returned to this place on Satur day last, to land two slaves which were found on board this vessel. The Empire had proceeded to the Northward ofCliingo teague, when Capt. Powell discovered, lor the first time, that he had more passengers on board than had placed their names on the way-bill, and on enquiry ascertained that the unknown passengers were slaves, (mother and child,) belonging to a gentle man in this Borough. Capt. ?. immediate ly determined to return to Norfolk, and up on his arrival proceeded to the Mayor’s of fice, and informed the Mayor of the circum stance of his return. The Mayor prompt ly despatched an officer on board to receive the runaways, and a warrant for the arrest of the Steward, who it appears, was cogni zant to their secrecy on board. We learn that Capt. Powell produced the Mayor a certificate from the passengers on board his vessel, averring that so soon as Capt. P. made the discovery, he determin ed to return, in which determination they concurred. Since the above notice was made we learn that the Steward states that he was induced to aid them by the solicitation of the husband of the woman. They were disoovered in the galley, where, he states they had been stowed two days previous to the sailing of the vessel. Norfolk Beacon. At a meeting of the Academy of Scien ces at Paris, on the 26th of December last, an interesting paper from Baron De Hum boldt was read in reference to the contem plated Canal between the Atlantic and Pa cific Oceans. He informs the Academy that the prepa ratory labors for cutting a canal across the isthmus of Panama are advancing rapidly. The commission appointed by the govern ment of New Grenada, for the construcfon of a canal to unite the two oceans has la minated his examination of the localities,# and has arrived at a result as fortunate as iqr was unexpected. The chain of the Cordi!-® leras does not extend, as was supped, a cross the isthmus; but on the contrary, afc-
