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70 A POSTILION IN LUCK. Madam Cinti Damoreau, the famous French vocalist, who traveled in this country some years ago tells a very good story of one of her traveling experiences in France. She was traveling in a post chaise, and the postilion who rode one of the horses took so many glasses of eau-de-vie, to fortify his stomach against the cold, that he became non seipse , or in other words, extremely tipsy. His great coat lay on the back of one of his horses, and after sliding out of place from the jolting of the amimal, fell into the road. The posti lion noticed it, dismounted, picked it up, and laid it on his horse. “ I’m in luck.” said he with a hiccup; “ I've found a great coat.” A little while afterwards'the same accident occurred to the coat. The postilion picked it up again. “ I’ve found another coat,” said he. The circumstance was repeated a third time. “By Jupiter!” said the postilion, “this road is full of overcoats. However, I've got three besides my own, and I'll not get of! again.” With these words he rode onto Marseilles, without finding any other surtout, but unluck ily lost his own. PUNNING IS CATCHING. It has been well said that punning, like mocking, is catching. One Cooke, an incor rigible English punster, being asked where Ole Bull came from, said “from Cowes.' 1 ' 1 — “Yes,” said a hardened punning sinner, “and when he was dining lately at Ox-ford, a cock ney present observed : “Did you heifer see a better culver /” — Yankee Blade- THE IRISH TRI-COLOR. In a speech at -Limerick, the other day, Smith O'Brien announced that orange and green will henceforth he the Irish Di-color! Thus the Hag of the young Irelanders will be a bull. Xntispapei* Analects. EVILS OF RAILROADS, The New York Gazette has the following humorous argument, which it says was used by a canal stockholder in opposition to rail ways. “He saw what would be the effect of it; that it would set the whole world a gad ding. Twenty miles an hour, Sir! Why, you will not be able to keep an apprentice boy at his work; every Saturday evening he must take a trip to Ohio, to spend the Sabbath with his sweet heart. Grave, plodding citizens will be Hying like comets. All local attach ments must be at an end. It will encourage slightness of intellect. Veracious people will turn into immeasurable liars, all their concep tions will be exaggerated by their magnificent notions of distance. “Only one hundred miles off! —Tut, nonsense. I'll step across, Madam, and bring you your fan ! ” Pray sir, will you dine with me at my little box in Al leghany? Why, indeed l dont know, 1 shall be in town until twelve, well I shall be there, but you must let me off in time for the thea tre.” And then, Sir, there will be barrels of pork, and cargoes of flour and chaldrons of coal, and even lead and whiskey, and such like sober things that have been used to sob er traveling.whisking away like a set of sky rockets. It will upset all the gravity of the nation. If two gentleman have an affair of honor they have only to steal off to the Rocky Mountains, and there no jurisdiction can touch them. And then, Sir, think of flying for debt, A set of bailiffs mounted on bomb shells could not overtake an absconding debt or, only give him a fair start. Upon the whole, Sir, it is a pestelential topsy-turvy, harum-scharum whirl-gig. Give me the old fashioned, solemn, straight forward, regular dutch canal —3 miles an hour for express, and two for a jog and trot journey—with a yoke of oxen for a load. Igo for beasts of bur then ; it is more primitive and scriptural and suits a moral and religious people better.— None of your hop, skip and jump whimsies now for me.” 1 mm > END OF A RICH POPE. Clement V. during his feeble and profligate reign, emassed enormous riches by the sale of eclesiastical benefices and by other scan dalous means. He had enriched his relations and his dependants, but he had not secured their gratitude. The moment that his death was announced in the papal palace all his in mates rushed upon his treasures as if they had been their lawful booty. Among his nume rous household not a single servant remained § © SHF a&Si S3 Bail'Q'SlßAi&'ff ©&BHIF If B * to watch the dead body of his master. The wax candles that lighted his bed of state fell upon his bed clothes, and set them on lire. — The flames spread over the whole apartment, hut the palace and wardrobe were so plunder ed, that only a miserable cloth could he found to cover the half burnt remains of one or the richest popes who had ever governed the Church.— Campbell 1 s life of Petrarch. A BOOT SUB-TREASURER. Some time before the Schoolmaster had gone abroad through the glens and braes of Scotland, and before Preston and others had published their systems of double-entry book keeping, and old Treasurer of the town of Sterling, in Sterlingshire, Scotland, knowing but little of either writing or arithmetic, con trived a simple method of keeping his finan cial accounts. On each side of the chimney he hung up an old boot ; in the one on the right he put in all the money he received, and in the one on the left, all receipts for money paid out. Whenever he wished to balance his accounts, he counted up the contents of each boot, and by setting the one off against the other, was enabled to square his ac counts. SELF-MADE MEN. Akenside, the author of the Pleasures of Imagination, was a butcher until twenty-one, and tirst took to study from being confined to his room by a wound produced by the fall of a cleaver; Marshal Ney was the son of a coop er: Roger Sherman, Allan Cunningham and Gifford, were shoemakers in early life; Sir William Herschell was a lifer boy ; Franklin a printer’s devil: Ferguson, the astronomer, a shepherd, until twelve years age; Ben John son was a brick-layer, and James Monroe the son a brick-layer; Gen. Knox was a book binder, Gen. Green a blacksmith, and Gen. Morgan a wagoner; Burns was a ploughman, Hogg a shepherd. Bloomfield a farmer’s boy, Frazee a stone-cutter, an 1 Crabbe and Keats apothecaries; Sir William Blackstone was the son of a silk mercer, and a posthumous child. Ben Burke was a printer's devil, and the son of a tailor. Medical Advice. —“ Doctor,” exclaimed a love-sick girl, to a quaint “ saw-bones, - ’ “ I have a terrible heart-burn—what must I take for it!” “Why,” answered the fastidious M. D., “if I am not mistaken as to the cause of the complaint, I should recommend you to procure Swain s panacea.” — Rambler. Quaint old Thomas Fuller, speaking of recreation, wittily and wisely says: —“ Spill not the morning (the quintessence of the day) in them. For sleep itself is a recreation; add not therefore sauce to sauce. He cannot properly have a title to be refreshed, who was not first faint. Pastime, like wine, is poison in the morning.” Again, he adds; “Chiefly entrench not on the Lord’s day, to use unlaw ful sports; this were to spear thine own flock, and to shear God's lamb.” So ret git €or reap o nil cit cc. For the Southern Literary Gazette. LONDON LETTERS,—NO. VI. London, June 10, 1848. My Dear R. —l have but a short time in which to prepare a despalch for you, to go by the Britannia. The interval which has elaps ed since my last, has not been prolific in great events, (speaking of course comparatively, for otherwise they would be feariully significant) and the condition of affairs, both here and on continent is much the same as when I wrote. The greatest event of the week just passed is the arrest of several of the Chartist leaders, who have shown themselves particularly se ditious in their language and movements.— Fussell is one of their number, and l am in clined to think that he will find that he has made quite too much fuss. He and the others await their trial, under the recent act of Par liament, at the approaching Criminal Sessions, and the prevailing impression in the city is that they will follow poor Mitchel to Bermu da, if they don’t fair worse. Be assured that I write understandingly when I say that these continued agitations and disturbances are conducted by the most ignor ant and least virtuous part of the community, and have ceased to create any general excite ment in the city. In the part of London “where I reside —the west end—such outbreaks are utterly un known, and one must cross over that mighty Babylon into the eastern precincts to come in to contact with the Chartists. The movement of government in the arrest of Jones, Vernon, and their confederates, was probably induced by the intention of the Chartists to make a “demonstration” on the 12th instant—which will be Whit-Monday—and on which occa sion they were to gather on the Middlesex side of the river—their former meeting ground being on the Surry side, and placing London Bridge between them and London proper. — This decisive step may however nip the mis chief in the bud, and prevent these enthusiastic devotees of the 4 largest liberty,’ from making fools of themselves by another bootless array of their weakness. The Chartests have sense enough after all, to keep out of the way of the authorities ; and the apparition of a constable’s staff is sufficient to put them to flight. If, however, they should assemble in any large numbers, some collisions between them and the police, or possibly the military, may take place, which Heaven forefend! Ido net sympathize with these misguided people in their rash movements, but I cannot contem plate without horror, the shedding of their blood by the soldiery. The recent action in Parliament on the con duct of the late minister to Spain is ominous of evil to that country —or rather to the pres ent government. Sir Henry Bulwer is tri umphantly sustained, and the Spanish agents who was sent over to put the best face on the matter will go back with a flea in their ear, satisfied of the poltroonery of their masters in their recent rash provocation of the British Government. Speculation is now active, as to what ministers will do to heal the affront put upon them. Mercantile affairs have im proved not a whit—nor can I see much pros pect of a change for a better, while affairs in the continent remains so unsettled. In Man chester, I am told, there are more than 6000 operative out of employ and of those at work thousands are not doing full labor. This may be taken probahly as a fair specimen of the condition of the manufacturing districts. There was a very brilliant fete--an official ball given at the superb mansion of Lord John Russell in Downing street a few evenings since, and among the lions of the occasion were our accomplished minister and his lady. Mr. and Mrs. Bancroft are very highly es teemed, and command universal respect at court One of the most prominent events in Paris’ of the present week, is the passage of an anti mob law, to prevent tumultuous assemblages of the people—which is looked upon here as a measure of great prudence, and as a step forward in the organization of a good govern ment. It is of course not at all relished by the lower classes—the Communists and the rabble. A monster breakfast had been pro posed by the Ouvriers —tickets to which were to he only a quarter franc each—but it is now doubtful if they will carry out the plan. The popular elections for several new assem bleymen have resulted in the return of six moderate members, and five of the ultra re publican party. The leading candidate, how ever, is a prominent ultra, which is a some what significant fact. There is of course great complexity in the reports we have of affairs in Paris—and it is difficult to determine what the real truth is.— Undoubtedly there exists much agitation in that capital, and the elements of harmony are not altogether apparent in the National Assembley. The assembley has refused the demand that Louis Blanc should be subjected to trial before the civil tribunals for his par ticipation in the affairs of the 15th of May. Asa member of that body, his personal liber ty is inviolable. . The committee appointed to consider the demand of the law officers reported favorably to it, five to one, but after much exciting descussion the assemblv re fused to grant the request by a vote of 370 to -340. We may expect to hear speedily of the working of the new law I have spoken of.— It was passed by an immense majority; j n fact only 80 voter were recorded against it.— It is a high handed measure on the part of the government beyond all question!— but the exigency of the times demanded it, and if it be faithfully carried out it will create in tense excitement and possible collisions be tweet the populace and the guard—hut it must eventually promote order and peace. I have not alluded to Irish affairs—but must afford you a hasty glance thereat. Smith O'Brien is apparently desirous to share the exile of Mitchel, for his language, in an address to the members of the New Associa tion, is daring to the verge of sedetion, accord ing to the construction of the recent treason act. The first number of the “Irish Felon” has not yet appeared, and for my part I do not expect to see it—for I cannot help think ing that the leaders are getting tired of a game in which there are “more kicks than cop pers.” It seems that funds—the sinews of agitation—have run wonderfully low of late. While I am upon Irish affairs, I will men tion that a very pretty piece of enthusiasm was gotten up by the bidders at the sale of John Mitchel’s furniture and other effects, on Monday last. There were a few books with autographs on the fly-leaves and these sold for quite extravagant prices, while a pair of le gitimate Irish pikes worth perhaps fifty cents, were sold for Ten Dollars. Vive la baga telle ! Jenny Lind’s career continues with unaba ted brilliancy. She appeared on Thursday night as Adina, in that favorite opera of Don izette's L'Elisir d 1 Am are ; and I need not say that she was received with tremendous applanse. She is the star of fashion and taste at this time. The Queen and the Count have again gone to the Isle of Wight—a measure which some suppose ro have been adopted to remove the former from any possible excitement on the approaching Whit Monday. You ask me my serious and decided opin ions on the state and probable results of the Chartist movement. Although to some ex tent an eye-witness of the demonstrations, I feel at a loss to express my convictions in very decided language. There is doubtless an unquiet spirit abroad. The working classes, and more particularly the lower orders of society, are infected with the Revolutionary spirit so rife on the Conti nent. They have a vague idea of increased liberty, of “ better times,” if the enormous expenses of Government should be abridged; the most sensible feature, by the way, of the Chartist petitions; but they have not well defined and liberal views of constitutional liberty. They are for striking in the dark, and taking the result as it may turn up. — Government is on the alert, watching and prepared for emergencies, while its public tone is that of dignity and scornful indifference to the clamors of the excited malcontents. I think it not unlikely that the spirit of discon tent may yet spread and deepen, until physi cal force shall be resorted to by the faction ists, and then the Lion will he aroused, and the sword and the musket will be the argu ments which will overawe and suppress the rebellion. It is a somewhat significant fact that petitions are now being circulated with great success, praying the queen to adopt vig orous measures to suppress by force, all Char tist gatherings, unions, &c. Chartism has grown feeble and disreputa ble since the farce of Kensington Common. The name will scarcely do to rally again the actual claimants of Reform—of whom be it remembered, are many thousands of conside rate and sensible men. But 1 have exceeded my limits, and must hastily close, remaining, Yours as ever. E. F. G.