~ . 11 '« i m ■ i
- tUcchln Constitutionalist.
BY STOCKTON & CO.
OUR TERMS.
following fin'f 1 the rates of Subscription ami A<!-
v> .flung in the CojsshtCtionalist :
WwKKLY -3 Month* 4 70
C Morttli* 1 00
i From the Gloucester Tvk-graph.*'
, TJnfulfillftd.
by iiikam wen.
i.
Our little table is spread for * wo:
"With quaint old china, gold .and.blue.
Weird things are wrought on the homely wall?,
Ah the conjuring fire-light climbs and falls.
hi the corner my ready sea-chest stands,
.Filled to the brim by the busiest hands.
Wife mirror* her face in the silver tongs: •
2 think of the morrow’s rude sea-songs.
“I have pictures,love,” she says, “that gleam,
From a troubled easel—last night’s dream.
A ship ashore on a eniM reef,
And a woman wringing Iter, hands in grief.
Bbe kneels in prayer: a whirling Wheel
Grows-out of the dead ship’s plank and keel.
Bbe stands in tliq.spinuer’s toiling place,
Till the rose in lnr cheek hath lost its grace.
Tier lessening forpi is changed to wool,
Yet the hungering spindle ne’er is full.
A weed-grown raft kuops company
With a-vueant boat on a eafllcss sea.”
How apt is woman’* thought to build, *
Where a varying dYeam may darken or gild !
V-
Life dies ; my last sea voyage is done;
Or wind, or calm, to me ’tis one.
«
Tea things are set for a golden few ;
Again our china, quaint and blue.
The conjuring homo light climbs and crawls
O’er dainty laces and India shawls.
Wife minors her face in the silver tongs ;
1 think of yesterday’s glad sea-songs.
“Tell, love, I pray, of the ship on the reef,
And the woman wringing her hands ill grief.
Os the spinner-whose white arms changed to wool,
4.nd the hungering spindle that ne’er grew full.”
•
Them are tears imprisoned within her eyes,
Which are loosened soon, as her voice replies—
'* Womm will dream and man will build,
And each will have prophecies unfulfilled.”
One by One.
They rap gathering homeward from every land,
One by one,
Ah tlieir Weary feet touch the shining strand,
One by one,
Their brows are Dound with a golden crown ;
Their travel-stained garments are all laid down,
And clothed in white raiment they rest on the mead,
Where the lamb loveth his children-to lead,
One by one.
Before they rest they pass through strife,
< Jna by one.
I Th roufeh the waters of death they enter life,
One by one.
To some are the floods of the river still
Ah they ford their way to the Heaven’y hill;
To others the Waves run tiercely wild,
Tot all reach the home of the undettled,
One by one.
We, too, slftdl come to that river side, ’
One by one,
'We are nearer its waters each eventide,
One by one,
We can hear the noise and the dash of the stream,
Now and again, through our life's deep dream ;
Sometimes the floods all its hanks o’er flow,
Sometimes in ripples the small waves go,
One by one.
•Testis, Redeemer, we look to Thee,
One by one;
Wo lift up our voices tremblingly,
One by out*.
'J he waves of the rivers are dark and cold,
Wt know not the spot where our feet may hold :
Thou who did’st trass through in dark midnight,
Stregthon us, send us Thy start' aud thy light,
One by one.
Plant Thou Thy feet beside us as we tread,
One by one;
<hi Thee let'tis lean each drooping head,
One by one.
Let but Thy strong arms around us be twined,
We shall east all our cares and fears to the wind;
Saviour, Redeemer, he Thou In full view',
Smilingly, gladsomely shall we pass through,
One by one'.
Annie’s Dead.
Annie’s dead, Annie’s dead f
In that sentence all is said,
Lily form and rosy head, *
Still a*> and cold, yet half divine:
Through the light no longer shine
Whence her gentle soul looked through
It* clear essence, calmly true;
Ah! the solemn inward view
Those.inverted eyeballs cast.
Ere her spirit heavenward passed 1
Annie’s dead 1
Annie’s dead, Annie’s dead ! .
Bister angels, overhead,
Have your greeting hands outspread,
Let a welcome cry he given,
As she treads the skirts of heaven;
For a soul from earth more free, ,
Wore of your own parity,
Never joined your company.
Match her, ye of heavenly mold,
Even thus, thus monal cold!
Annie’s dead.
Annie’s dead, Anr ie’s dead 1
Why should t his bo oversaid ?
Why should I abase my bead i
1 who loved her from afar
As the dreamer may the star.;
I w!i‘ bowed ray humble eve,
£ca*elv bold enough to sign,
Ween she chanced to pass me by;
Trembling lest a wool might stir
The high calm that reigaed in her,
’ Annie’s dead 1
•Annie’s dead, Annie’s dead f
But a gleam of light’bath sped
Through death’s shadows close and dread.
For wherever such as tlwkt
Wandrest, must be sunshine now,
leveller of some aery islo,
Floating up to God the white;
If I read aright that smile ;
Hear aright my heart that saith.
*. Shall I fall in love with death A’
Annie’s dead!
fFrom the Norfolk Journal.
Sonnet.
BY SAMVEL SELDEX.
Martyrs there nr?, who ne’er have brave it the stake,
Like Crammer hailed with smiles the kindling lire.
Like Ridley suna sweet hymns from blazing pyre,
Or their blood dyed mountain, valaand lake.
Offspring of no ® ne a S e or favored dime,
Still throbs the dauntless spirit as of yore,
That nerved Apostles to their deeds sublime,
Or woke to song and prayer bleak hill and moor.
There are no Calvin ys how. or dungeon’s drear,
Yet in our own sweet homes are martyrs seen,
TVho hold the truth and lead still lives of prayer;
Palm crowned they walk unqnailing and serene,
The world’s rude scoffs and taunts in silence boar,
The shafts of ridicule though barbed and keen!
It would seem cruel for Maggie Mitchell to
appear in her "Littlo during the
cold weather.
It takes more money to run the Freedmeu’s
Bureau than it did the Whole Government under
Jefferson.
THE DEAD ALIVE.
# ' - ' * ’•>£s'’ *• •
A ROMANCE OF REAL LIFE. ’
| The subjoined narrative, from Chambers'
Journal , is stated to be translated from » foreign
: newspaper. It is necessary to-.remind the.
1 reader that the island of Mauritius, appertain
ing at this day to the English, was originally
colonized,by the French, and that the popula
tion yet consists in a great measure of persons
of that patijon, to whom, by a formal treaty
f between the powers concerned, their ancient
i jsnvs rind usages were preserved without any
material alterations.
•Some time ago, the Sieur Olodomir Frenois,
a rich merchant of the island, was found dead
and frightfully disfigured in his own habitation.
His body was'discovered lying-on the floor,
with his head and face mutilated by means of a
| pistol,.and all doubt as to the cause of the
catastrophe was dispelled by the discovery of
the fatal weapon by the side of the corpse, and
also of a paper in the handwriting of the de
ceased. This paper contained the following
words : ,
lam ruined! A villain has robbed me of.
' twenty-live thousand livres sterling; dishonor
must be my portion, and I cannot await or sur
; vive it. I leave to my wife the task of distri
buting among my creditors the means which
remain to us ; and I prat' that God, my friends,
and my enemies, may pardon my self-destruc
tion ! Yet in another minute, I shall by in
eternity!
Clodomir Frenois.
Great was the consternation caused by this
tragic event, which was the more unexpected,
ras the loss alluded to in the note had never
I been made public. The deceased had been held
1 in greyt esteem over the colony as a man of
I strict honor and probity, and was universally
lamynted. His attached widow, after endeavor
ing faithfully to fulfil his last wishes, found
her grief too overpowering to permit her to
mingle longer with the world, and took the rc
: solution of consecrating her remaining days to
! the services of religion. Two months after the
i sad end of her husband she entered a convent, \
; leaving to a nephew of her late merchant, a ;
physician,- the charge of completing the dis
tribution of the: effects of Frenois among his.l
creditors.
A minute examination of the papers of the
defunct led to the discovery of the period at
which the unfortunate merchant had been •
robbed; and this period was to correspond j
with the date of the disappearance of a man !
named John Moon, long in the employment of
Frenois. Os this man, on whom suspicionnat- |
Urally fell, nothing could be learned on inquiry ;
but shortly after the division of the merchant’s i
property, Moon reappeared iu the eolony.
When taken up and examined respecting the
cause of his flight, he stated that he had been
I'sent by his master to France to recover certain
sums due to the merchant there, in which mis
j sion he had been unsuccessful ; and he further
averred that if Ciodomir Frenois, in his e.xist
i ing correspondence, had thrown any injurious
I suspicions upon him (Moon) the whole was bn!
a pretext to account for deficiencies of which
the merchant hims'elf was the sole cause and
author. This declaration, made by a man who
seemed to fear no inquiry, and whose worldly
circumstances remained to appearance the same
as they had ever been, had the effect of silencing,
if they did not satisfy, the exaramators ; and the
affair soon fell, in a great measure, out of the
public recollection.
Things remained for a short time in this condi
tion,when, one morning, Mr. Wm. Burnett, prin
cipal creditor of the late Ciodomir Frenois, heard
a knocking at his gate at a very early hour. He
called up one of his servants, who went down
and opened the door, and immediately returned
with the intelligence that a stranger, who seem
ed desirous of keeping his person concealed,
wished to speak with Mr, Burnett in private.
| Mr. Burnett rose, threw on bis dressing gown,
i and descended to the parlor. He saw there a
, stranger, a tall person, seated in an easy and
‘ familiar attitude upon a sofa, with a copy of the
I Morning Post iu his hand. The back of the
visitor was turned to Mr. Burnett as he enter
led Rather surprised to see a stranger conduct
himself so like an old friend of the house, Mr.
i Burnett said aloud, “Sir, may 1 beg to know
| your business with me ?”
The stranger turned round and advanced to
j .salute his host warmly and courteously. Mr.
j Burnett suited back and uttered a loud excla
mation of surprise and alarm. Well he might,
for before him stood his old friend and debtor,
Ciodomir, whom he himself had followed to the
; grave!
What passed at that interview between Mr.
Burnett and liis strange visitor remained for the
time a secret. Mr. Burnett was observed to is
sue several ti pale and agitated, from his
dwelling, and to visit the magistrate charged
with the criminal processes of the colony.
In the course of that day, while John Moon
was regaling himself with tea under the palm
trees of his garden, in company with a Cireas
sian female whom be had bought some time
previously, he was arrested and taken to prison
by the officers of justice. On the following
day he was brought before the criminal court,
accused of robbing the late Ciodomir Frenois,
the crime being conjoined with breach of trust
and violence. Moou smiled at the charge with
all the confidence of a man who had nothing to
fear. The judge having demanded of hi n if
he confessed the crime, the accused replied that
the charge was altogether absurd, that clear
testimony was necessary to fix such a crime
upon him ; and that, far from there being any
such evidence producible, neither the widow of
the deceased noratVy one person in his service,
had ever heard the pretended robbery even
once mentioned by Frenois during liis life.
“Do you then affirm vonr innocence?” re
peated the judge, gravely, after hearing all that
the other had to say.
“ I will avouch my innocence,” replied Moon,
“ even before the body of my late master, if
that be necessary.” [Such a thing often took
{dace under the old colonial law.] "
“John Moon,” said the judge, in a voice
broken by some peculiar emotion, “ it is before
your late master that you will have now to as
sert your innocence; and may God make the
truth appear!’’ ,
. A signal irorh the judge accompanied these j
. words, and immediately a door opened and
Clodomir Frenois, the stipposert suicide, enter
ed the court. Tie advanced to the bar with a I
slow and deliberate step, having liis eyes calmly
hut sternly fixed on the prisoner, his servant.
A great sensation was caused in the court bv
liis appearance. Titering shrieks of alarm and
horror, the females present fled from the spot.
The accused fell on his knees in abject terror,
and shtulderingly confessed his guilt. For a
time no voice was heard bnt his. However, ns
it became apparent that a living man stood be
fore the conrt, the advocate for the prisoner
gained courage to speak. lie demanded that
the identity of the merchant be established,
and the mystery of' his existence be explained.
: He said that the court should not be biased by
what might prove to be a mere accidental like
ness between a man Bring aud one deceased ;
and that such an avowal as that of the prisoner
extracted in a moment of extraordinary terror,
was not to be held of much weight. “ Before
■being admitted here as accuser of witness,”
continued the advocate, addressing the resusci
tated merchant, “ prove who and what you are,
and disclose by what chance the tomb whieh so
lately received jour body, mangled by bullets,
has given up its tenant, and restored you to the
world In life and health.”
This firm appeal of the advocate, who eon
tinned steadfast to his duty under circum
stances that would have closed the lips 6f most
men, called forfh the following narrative from
Clodomir Fcnois: "My story may be soon
AUGUSTA, (tA,, Wednesday, moening, febkuaey 20, iso?.
tokl, and will suftico to establish my identity.
When I discovered. the robbery committed by
the accused, he had them lied from the island,
aud I speedily saw that all attempts to retake
him would prove fruitless. 1 saw ruin und
disgrace before me, and came to the resolution
of terminating my life "before the evil, day
came. On the night on which this determiqa
fipn Was formed', I was seated alone in my
private chamber. 1 had written a letter which
waa found on my table, and had loaded my
pistol. This done, I prayed for forgiveness
from my Maker for the act of despair I was
about so commit. The end of the pistol was
at my bead, and my finger on the lock, when a
knock at the outer door of the house startled
me. 1 concealed the weapon and went to Hie
door. A man entered Whom I recognized to
be the sexton of the parish in which I lived.—
ITe bore a sack on his shoulders, and in it the
body of a man newly buried, which was des
tined for my neplmw, the physician, then living
with me. The scarcity of bodies lor dissection,
as the court is aware, compels those who are
anxious to acquire skill in the mbtlical proles
sion to procure them by any possible secret
means. The sexton was at first alarmed at
seeing me. ‘Did my nephew request you to
bring this body ?’ said I. ‘No,’ replied the
man ; ‘but I know his anxiety to obtain one for
dissection, and took it upon me to come and
otter him this body. For mercy’s salt con
tinued the sexton, ‘do not betray me, sir, or 1
shall lose my situation, and my family’s bread.’
“ While the man was speaking, a strange idea
entered my mind, and brought to my despair
ing bosom hopes of continued life and recover
ed honor. I stood for a few moments absorbed
in thought, and then recollecting myself, 1 gave
two pieces ot gold so the resurrectionist,, the
sum which he had expected. Telling him to
.keep his own away, and that ail would he well, 1
I sent him away -and carried the body to my
cabinet. The whole of the household had pre
viously been sent out of the way on purpose, !
and I had time to carry into execution the plan
which had struck me. The body was luckily
of the same, stature as myself, and like me in
complexion. I Knew ihe man ; he had been a j
poor offender abandoned by his family. 4 Poor
relic of mortality’!’ said I, with tears in my •
eyes, 1 nothing winch man can do .can -now in
jure thee; yet pardon me if I rudely disfigure
thy lifeless substance. It is to prevent the ruin
of not one but twenty families. And should
success attend my attempt, I swear that -thy
children shall be my children; and when my
own hour comes, we shall rest together in the j
tomb to which thou shall be borne before me.”
At this portion of the merchant’s narrative; !
the most lively interest was excited in the court, I
and testified even by tears from many of the r
audience. Frenois thus' proceeded : “ I then
stripped oft my clothes and dressed ‘the body ;
hi them. This accomplished, I took up the
pistol, and with a hand more reluctant than
when I had applied it to my own person, I fired
it close to the head of the deceased, and at once
caused such a disfigurement as rendered it im
possible for the keenest eye to detect the sub- \
stitution which had been made.
Choosing Use plainest habit I could get, I
then dressed mysell anew, shaved off theVhiV
kers which I was accustomed to wear, and took
other means to alter and disguise my’ appear
; ance, in ease of being subjected by any acei- !
dent to the risk of being betrayed. Next morn
ing saw me on board a French vessel on my |
way to a distant land—the native country of;
my ancestors. The expectations which led me j
to the execution of this scheme were not dis- !
appointed. 1 -knew that John Moon, the man
who robbed me, and who uow stands at the bar j
of tins court, had formed connections in this i
isl.rnd, which would in all probability bring
him back to it as soon as the intelligence of my i
death gave him the promise of security. In this
! * have not been disappointed. I have been !
equally fortunate in other respects. While my ;
| unworthy servant remained here in imaginary i
; safety, I have been successful in discovering the
| quarter in which, not daring at first 'to- betray j
| here the appearance of wealth, lie had lodged i
i the whole of the stolen money. I have brought !
i it with me, and also sufficient proofs, supposing •
i his confessions of this day to be set aside alto"- !
j gether, to convict linn of the crime with which j
I he Stands charged.
“By the same means,” continued Ciodomir j
i * I'euois, with a degree of honorable pride in i
which all who heard him, sympathized, “ will I I
! he enabled to restore my family to their place j
j. in society, and to redeem the credit, of a uarae j
lon which ro blot was left by those who bore i
;it before me, and which, please God, I shall
| transmit unstained to my children, and my !
! children’s children.”
John Moon, whose guilt was thus suddenly
and spangly laid bare to. the world, did not
retract the confession whiph lie had made in
the extremity of his terror ; and, without sepa
rating, the court sentenced him to confinement
for life in the prison of the colony.
The news of Ciodomir Frenois’ reappearance
spread rapidly, and' the high esteem in which
his character was held led to an universal re- i
I juicing on the occasion. He was accompanied
• from the court to his home by a dense multi
j tude,who welcomed him with prolonged shouts.
1 Tt would be vain to attempt any description of
i the feelings of the wife, who thus saw restored
| to her the beloved being for whose sake she
j had quitted the world. She was released from
her ecclesiastical vows, and rejoined her lilts- i
bandp no more to part till the grave really i
, claimed the other of them as its due.
A Horrible Tale.—A newspaper published
at Colima, Mexico, tells the following frightful
story, aud calls upon the public to punish the
criminals’:
When General Pueblita entered the town of
Ayo, in September last, he exacted a forced
loan from the people, and a portion of it fell
upon the curate of the place. The curate acted
as though he would’pay, but he did not make
his appearance at the point designated for pay
ment, aud General Pueblita ordered him to be
arrested. A party of men went to his dwelling
and knocked at the door; there Was no answer
and they broke in. They found no one in the
house, and were about to leave it, when they
heard a frightful voice, proceeding from the
ground, saying, "I’m hungry.’
The officer in command went Lack to Gen.
Pueblita and to’u him about the voice. The
General appointed a commission to examine
the house. This commission went to the cu
rate’s dwelling, and after a careful examination
they found a movable stone in the floor, and
under this was a stairway leading down to a
vault, which was entirely dark, and had-no
connection with the air save by the stairoese
and a small hole that served as a ventilator. In
this vault they discovered a few articles of fnr
uitnre aud a woman who had - been shift up
there tor eighteen years. She Was talrcu to
General Paeblita’s quarters.
When brought into the light, where die saw
a number ol persons, she tainted. After she
had returned to her .senses, a thousand ques
tions were asked her, to whicJTshe replied that
t s be a d been buried in that vault for eighteen
'years, without going ont for a moment, that
she had been married and had children by her
husband, but she know nothing of their late ;
that wade imprisoned in the vault she had had
ehi.dren by the curate, bnt she knew nothing
o . hatl ! J< ' oome ° r these,children; and
wow I ?? eh ,>ccame obstinate and silent.
t>,, V!.Jr} 3 y aß t passing, a sergeant of the
f )rcscnt » discovered that
thts w oman was Ins mother,*and sfte recognized
him as her son and embraced him. The son
i then ran for the father, who came and recog
- mzed Ims wife. The husband* fifteen years ago,
was imprisoned three years under charge of
murdering his wife, this woman.
The followers of Stevens are ed Thadicals.
A Model Country Souse—How a Frisch
Magician Lives.
1 • A writer in the Journal des Debats gives an
. . « • i . . " '
j entertaining account -of a recent visit to the
country house pi Robert Iloudin, the famous
; “ prestidigitateur.’.’ Iloudin seems to have
i shoiyii excellent taste in the selection of a site.
His residence is on the left bank of the Loire,
opposite the town of Blois. Novel applications
of electricity 'aqd various ingenious devices
have .been introduced by M. Iloudin. We
: translate some interesting passages :
AN AUTOMATIC DOOR.
1 An iion gate-way for Carriages gives access to
j a long, winding avenue bordered with trees
which make an arbor of it; a little door at the
left is devoted to the use of pedestrians. This
do’or-is ornamented with a little gilded knocker,
above which is inscribed the nanie of the pro
! prietor, and below that of the property, which
jis the old priory of the cathedral at Blois. You
I see also the word “ knock.” The knocker,
j when lifted, establishes an electric communica
j tion, which, by means of a wire like that of the
i telegraph, sounds a great clock-bell in the house
j several hundred yards distant. The servant,
j thus notified of an arrival, is not obliged to
; trudge this distance; he only twitches a-cord
I which opens the door. This same string, still,
i by menus of electricity, turns the plate on the
, door, and substitutes the word “ enter” for the.
j word “ knock.” The visitor pushes the door
! half open; if opened further it sounds a small
bell which rings louder the further the door is
pushed back, so that the inmates not only know
: that the visitor has entered, but also can tell
j pretty accurately whether he is alonetor accom
! panicckby others ; for a single caller does' not
; commonly trouble, himself to push the door
, wide open.
• M. Robert Iloudin and his wife have plenty
. of time to prepare for the reception ot their
visitors while they are coming up the "long,
| shaded avenue'Of which we have spoken. Be
sides, the master of the house, by means of a,
glass mounted in his study, can see those who
enter, distinguish them, count them, recon
noiireAhem.. 1 should add, to end the descrip
tion of this first domestic mechanism, that when i
the little door shuts, the word “ knock ” again ;
appears on the plate, and, as the servant accom- !
pliskes nothing by pulling the string except j
when someone has knocked, the family are I
always Sure that the door has not bcenieft open |
by any carelessness ; moreover,, a little placard
placed in the vestibule of the house, and con
trolled by the same electric agent, bears the
words “gates open,” or “gales.shut,” as they :
are in the one or the other condition, a conlri- |
wince which remedies any negligence on the !
part of the servants.
-HOW CARRIAGES ARE RECEIVED.
If it is a carriage which presents itself at the .
gate, the coachman opens the little door in the
manner just described, enters, opens the great !
gate which communicates with the* house by j
several electric wires which set the great bell j
ringing, and the rest past off in the same way !
as in the case of callers on foot. If the coach
man has not closed the gate behind him, the
little tablet in the vestibule indicates it, and
they know in the house that the gate has been
left open.
rOSTAL ARRANGEMENTS.
Near the outside,door is placed,- Juris the cus
tom at present, a box for the papers and let- j
ters ; the external opening of the box is closed
by a little cover, which can be lifted at pleas- j
ure ; when lifted, it establishes in the electric
apparatus the contact necessary to produce the j
current. The postman has orders to first de
posit trie papers, and then the letters, one by!
one. As each one is dropped into the box, the :
lifting of the cover puts the current in play, i
and sounds a particular bell. “ Good,” says
M. Robert Houdin, “ there are my papers and
my letters,” and you know that iirthe- country j
this moment i3 looked for with some impa- 1
tience. “ Jean, go and bring me the papers, i
and three letters which are in the box.” No
chance for roguery or negligence here, for the
bell has tinkled three times, since the ring pro
duced by the package of papers.
TRICKS.
But does it not happen tint ihe passers-by
amuse themselves by lifting this little gilded j
knocker which they see glittering below the I
name of Robert Houdin, so universally known i
by his reputation as quasi sorcerer? And do
they not make the inmates pull the cord use
lessly ? That has indeed happened sometimes,
but rarely, so well accustomed have the people
of the neighborhood no become to this little
mystery, and so little disposed are they to an?
noy an amiable neighbor, who shows them
nothing but kindness and courtesy. Only oh
Sunday the soldiers, in their strolls among the
suburbs of Blois, attracted by this knocker,
ind by this magic name, amuse themselves by
knocking at the door, aud bringing out the
word “enter.” They take themselves off at
once without entering, and the people of the
house know what that means. It is a little in
convenience of this ingenious mechanism,
which in other respects renders so many ser
vices. Let us now penetrate into the domain
oi M. Robert Houdin.
AN AIRY ROAD.
The avenve which lead3 to his house is out
between two little hills crowned with trees. —
When you are walking in this little park you
cannot pass from one hill to the otlif r without
descending into this avenue and climbing up
the other side. Tiiis would be a fatiguing ex
ercise. To remedy this two wire cables have
been stretched from hill 'to hill. To these' ca
bles are suspended two chariots, rolling on pal
lies—one to go, the other to return. You sit
down in the first; the weight of your body
moves it, and you cross the -cooped-ont avenue
by this airy road. When the chariot has landed
you on the earth it returns to its place by a
very simple mechanism, put in motion by
counterpoises. After having visited this part
of the park, you can return to the first l>y the
same process, and these little voyages, which
recall the Russian mountains, are very amu
sing.
ELECTRIC CLOCK.
We came to the housg of the gardener. M.
Roberjt Ilonrdiu wishes that his people should
be at work bright and early; to "secure this be
lias put up in Antoine’s bed-room an alarm
clock, which sounds at a fixed hour by means
of an electric curretn proceeding from the
bouse clock. He lias taken care to place this
alarm, not near the bed of his gardener, but at
the other side of the room; now the electric
hubbub does not stop until yen unhook the
conducting wire; so Antoine is obliged to get
up iu order to deliver hinaseifXroin tine deafen
ing noise, and, once up, he will not he likely
to go hack to bed. The buttle is won.
Beyond the lodge of the gardener is the hot
. house, iu which are kept duriug the wiuter the
orange and other trees which are sensitive to
cold ; but. If it is necessary to keep these.from
the frost, it is quite us hurtful to expose them
,to an excessive heat; it is therefore necessary
to have the means of verifying the temperature
of the greeu-Uou6e, aud above all, of assuring
I one’s self during the night that the graudener
I hits not been negligent. Nothing easier to M.
j Robert Boudin. A metal tv thermometer, com*
| posed ot two different plates, which dilate mi
i equally when heated to a certain degree ol heat
; or com, pushes a little valve which puts it in
i communication with an eleetrie apparatus, the
j current, once established, sounds a bell which
i notifies the master of the house,
i You will conjecture that the subject of clocks
\ baa not been neglected by a man who com
j menced life as a clock-maker, uud who has ac
complished wonders iu UiU kind ol mechnn-
;' !n ; R°b*rl Iloudin has given to his native
toun Blow—au electric clock, not kern in
I motion by electricity transmitted andn* m
i P ™ atl ™ eiork of the common kind, in,t per
forming its functions under the direct influence
1 of a put, winch is only renewed once a year •
al the clocks and watches in the townareVei
lated by this clock. 0
Ir ffls house M. Robert Iloudin lias a clock*
•: 01 stroat- precision, a veritable chronometer ot
common make; it goes by means of a web-in
which it is necessary to wind up every week or
every month; to obviate this necessity M
i Robert Iloudin lias u ilized a wasted force
, which no one before had thought of employ’
ling; it is the kitchen door which, constantly
opened and shut, winds up by this constant go
! ing and coming the weight of the clock. By
j means ot an electric communication, the pen
| dulum gives motion to the hands of several dies
placed in different corners of the mansion ; so
that in getting up of a morning, and putting his
nose, as they say, out of the window, M. Robt.
Iloudin sees on the right, on the gable end of
his green-house, the hour of the day; on the
left, an the gable end of another building, a
dial-band which tells him the state of the baro
meter; while directly in front is a vane which
shows the direction of the wind. And now, do
not these ingenious and discreet mechanical
I servants, so obedient, of such even temper,
whose wages arc almost • nothing, who are
: neither blustering or awkward, who do not
! break anything,Who, in a word,Mo not. make
jokes or bulls, and who nre consequently the
i ideal of a model servant, need a great deal of
; care ?, Two hours a year to renew the electric
piles. It is but Simple truth to say that all this
is arranged in a perfection in which you per
ceive the inventive mind and ’hand o?Si very
skillful artist.
THI7 SALOON.
The saloon of M. Robert Iloudin is orna
mented with some articles.of a special nature,
which deserve mention. They are, firstly, some
of those charming automatic figures which we
have seen -performing in his theater-jugglers,
rope-dancers, singing birds, &<?.: and secondly,
the singularly curious and original autograph’
which was pompously sent to him by the’Arab
chiefs, with their signatures, in token of their
admiration, aud of their gratitude for-the feats
which he performed before them in 1850.
The Eight Hour Question in Massachusetts.
The committee of the Massachusetts Legisla
ture, appointed to inquire into the expediency
of legalizing eight hours as a day’s labor, have
reported-theresult of their investigations :
_ The majority report states that the Commis
sioners found it next to impossible to ascer
tain how many children under lourteen are
employed in factory and otho-r works in Massa
chusetts, an/1 they are satisfied that there is a
general disregard of the law forbidding the
employment of children under ten years of age
in factories; that indeed there are in the State
thousands Os these “ victims of cupidity and
avarice and they suggest, as the-best means
for securing the -enforcement of the law, the
appointment by the Governor of a special State
Inspector of Labor, whose duty it shall be to
secure the enforcement of this and other pro
visions of law for the pr at action of laborers.
The committee ascertained that in twenty-live
of the largest manufactories one-fifth of the
laborers* are under eighteen, and they believe
that throughout the State the proportion is
larger, probably as large as one-fourth. The
committee think that the law requiring minors
who work in factories to attend school, six
months in the year is largely evaded, and sug
gest, that measures should bo taken for its en
forcement. .
FEMALE EMPLOYMENT AN]> WAGES.
Eleven hours is the average, day’s work in the
factories of the State. Five establishments fall
a quarter of an hour below this average, and
four go up as high as twelve hours per da}'.
Mechanics generally work butte» hours. Thus
tiie womeu and children work an hour longer
each, day than the men. They should work an
hour or two less, and the committee find proof
that the vitality of these laborers is reduced
and life shortened by such excessive hours. In
the English factories nine and a halt hours is
the average day’s work, and'few establishments
exceed it. The average advance in factory
wages since 1860 has been about 50 per cent.,
while th£ cost.of living has more than doubled.
These facts have an ugly look alongside of the
extraordinary dividends made by the manufac
turing companies in the last five years. The
Commissioners also suggest the need of reform
in the time allowed for dinner, which in some
establishments is only forty-five minutes, in
some less. .One hour is allowed in English fac
tories, and it is the least time consistent with
digestion and good health. The distinct recom
mendations of the commission, in which they
all agreed, are: - J
First, That the act of the last session, chap
tei gi*>, oe so amended as to insure the execu
tion-of those provisions which forbid the em
ployment of children between the ages of ten
and fourteen, and provide for their attendance
at school. ,
Second That the employment of oil persons
under the age of eighteen years in factories, for
more than ton hours each or sixty hours
per week, be prohibited, and that one hour
each day be allowed for dinner.
Third—-That a special inspector of labor be
appointed, t o.see that all laws relating to the
interests of the laboring classes are faithfully
executed.
Fourth—That a bureau of statistics be estab
lished for the purpose of collecting and making
available all facts relating to the industrial and
j social Interests of the Commonwealth.
In regard to the demand for the eight hour
j law, the majority sum np their argument.thus :
In regard to all Government interference in
i the hours of labor, our conclusion is, that since
no one is compelled by law to work, there is no
good reason why any one should be forbidden
to work—that Government has no rightful con- j
trol over the labor ot free men, who must dis
pose of their services at all times, in such quan
tities, and at "such rates as they can get, in the
; great competition of industrial pursuits, that
Government can no more in justieeor propriety
ordain that eight hours shall constitute a day’s
work, than that eighty cents shall be a dollar—
that all attempts to interlere w ith the laws of
value must be ineffectual for any good object—
that the laborer can never be oppressed by be
ing left at perfect liberty to work as he pleases
—that he is never injured by competition, nu
lessAhe laws or customs of the country deprive
him ot liis just rights. The laborer in our own
country, to some exteftt, aud in foreign coun
tries to a greater extent, is wronged by social
institutions. Especially is the American la
borer robbed, at the pfesent time, by a false
currency, which takes from him nearly or quite
one-fourth Os what he earns from day to day.
Sneli evils most be endured until tire lutein-!
gence ot the community is sufficient to dis
cover and put an end to them. _ Let- labor be
measured by an exact and invariable standard
of firae, and a sound standard of errrrency,
and the laborer has no oecaf ion to tear that j
a ju&t compensation will not be scouted to
' lmU * TlfE •MINORITY REPORT,
'-rio-ned bv Edward K. Rogers, takes ground in
, favor of the enactment of an eight hour law.—
He maintains at length theae principles: - First.
The doctriue-of Channing, that "manual labor
is the divine traiuing to energize character.”
Second. That of Ellesmere, “the more hours
men work in any staple branch of manufactures
the less they receive in the form of wagesand
Third. The view that labor is capital. He ar-
I g U( »s that the hours of farm labor imperatively
call for retrenchment, as they drive the young
men from their homes and destroy the eqnilib-
VOL. 25. NO. 8
rium of society, and concludes by saying, “1
recommend, as the result of my investigations,
and in view of the expressed wish of the inter
est ol labor in the factories, and, so far as as
certained, oh the farms, the enactment of ten
hours as a legal standard for a day’s labor—in
the absence ol contacts—for factory and farm
work ; and a similar enactment of eight hours
as a legal standard—ln the absence of contracts
—for mechanical labor.”
Tnn: Children’s Appeal to the Legisla
ture op Maryland.—The following appeal
lias been addressed to the Legislature of Mary
land, and a bill has been reported to graut the
: relief so pathetically asked for :
T° you, gentlemen of the House and Senate,
who have been, to some extent, commsssioned
1 in honor by onr fathers, to the charge of their
interests, the interests of their children, and
1 h . osc h, ~: her interests of the State, we, childreu
laborers m the cotton factories of Maryland,
make our appeal for relief, and pray an earnest,
| u , manly and kind consideration of our
I claims to your protection.
in n,o tl™a ly l -n k ° f your )‘°norable bodies that,
lift* , „ int ° which the necessities of
life have driven us to obtain subsistence, we
may be so protected in our labor as that we will
be permitted to set apart some small portion of
each day for mental culture, so that, when
grown to the stat ure of man and woman, we
I may have at least a fair chance in the race of
! IlfC.
As matters now stand, time and again we
have been compelled to work from the time in
vv.iich wu leave our beds, until it is time ao-ain
-to retire to rest. No single hour In the day is
j hlioi tied ttb ioi 1 Gcrcfttioo, none ior jininscnicnt
—not one is granted us, even to learn to read
or write,. If vyc fail to comply with the man
- dates of our employers, wo are discharged—aud
1 want for the necessaries of life compels us to a
j comple submission. The Holy Sabbath is all
; that is granted us, am] when we reach that day
! rcs o we ard so jaded by the incessant toil of
! the week tltat,'whilst.we love God and would
i be found as worshippers, in His Holy Temple,
wc are in no condition to do so. In addition to
■ this, if you, honorable.geutlcmeu, up to whom
i wc mole, wjll come to the factories where we
j work, and will look at us ns'we are : the lus
treless eye, the lean and shrunken faces and
limbs, the spiritless -demeanor of many of our
little band, will furnish an argument for the
grant-of our prayer -over so much more elo
quent than all the fine phrases in which we
might embody owr petition.
• Our.masters', Our necessities are strong, we
are weak, we arc children, and you arc, by law,
our guardians. We have, through friends, pre
sented you a bill for our protection, and we
ask you to see toil that we get the benefits
which it provides. What higher interest can
there be to the State than the protection of
those who are soon to be made active citizens ?
What more cruel can there be in legislation, if,
by a refusal to grant proper relief and protec
| (ion to this portion of the youth, many of them
fall away from life, like beautiful blooms of
; -spring, deadened by untimely frost V Our lit
| tie band cannot march into your council chain -
1 bers and plead, with you, but we send you one
I voice of entreaty and invocation in this, our
: little appeal, and feel earnestly assured that, as
| our Savior was merciful !o the little ones, you
i will at least remember that we are feeble, hu
! man, and have a natural right to protection,
i We, therefore, appcftl to every true man in
both branches, to become the personal cham
pion of our little band of boys and girls; to
; urge and procure an early passage of our bill
to protect -the operatives in the cotton facto
ries of Maryland, and then, when the news
shall reach us that you have been moved bv our
i appeal and have granted us relief, wc children
| will rise up and call each of you blessed. Wo
feel that you will hear our appeal, and, when
it is heard, we too shall bo merry-hearted and
i bright-faced—even like your little ones at home.
Many Children.
! National Cemeteries. —A Washington cor
; respondent of the Rochester Democrat fur
nishes the following information, from official
!sources: *
j There arc in the command of Gen. Thomas
the following national cemeteries :
At Natchez, one of six acres, containing 3,500
, dead. *
Vicksburg, one of twenty-five acres, contain
i ing about 15,000.
Memphis, twenty-five aeros, about 13,000
' graves, The dead from Columbus, Ky., to Ile
• lenn, Ark., along the Mississippi, arc gathered
j here. From Helena to Grand Gulf they are in
i tor red at Vicksburg. •
Corinth has one of twenty acres, containing
j aliont 6,000 graves.
Pittsburg Landing, twelve acres and 4,000
; craves. This contains the dead from up and
down the Tennessee river. Fort Donelson,
i t wenty acres and 0,500 graves, containing the
dead of that field and all aloDg the Cumberland
below Nashville. Nashville, sixty-two acres,
18,000 graves. Tnis contains the bodies from
many hospitals and a wide region of country.
Stone River, sixteen acres and 5,000 graves.
Chattanooga, seventy-five acres and nearly
13,000 graves. Knoxville, four acres and 3,000
graves.
Marietta, Ga., twenty-five acres and 10,000
gravels. Andersonville, about 15,000 graves.
Milieu, 1,000 graves ; small enclosure. Savan
nah, 3,000 graves. ~ Cumberland Gap, Ky., 350
graves ; Loudon, 300 ; Mill Springs, over 500;
Ferryville, 1,300 ; Camp Nelson, 1,500 ; Leba
non, 750.
In city cemeteries there are collected at Cov
ington, Ky., 600 dead ; Lexington, 1,000 ; Rich
mond, 500; Danville, 40Q. At Columbia, Ten
nessee, there are 1,300 graves.
At Montgomery, Ala,, 'about 500 graves ; in
Mobile, 4,000.
News Items.
Patrick O’Rourke, formerly treasurer of the
Roberts’ Fenirutfc, in New York, has Instituted
legal proceedings against the directors of the
Stephens branch for the reco ery of cash
cheeks made payable to his order, which, it is
alleged, were sent by parties who thought
O’Ronrke was treasurer of the O’Mahonv
launch, a position he resigned at the time of
Roberts’ defection.
A man named Carleton wao arrested in New
York on Friday on the charge, of embezzling
: money and other property to the amount of
nearly a million of dollars from the Treasury
Department in Memphis, Tcnn.
Some desperadoes in Memphis boarded the
steamer Clinton, while at her dock, and admin
istered chloroform to several of the passengers
and robbed them of their valuables.
Mrs. E. Oakes Smith, the authoress, has been
in Washington some time seeking a pardon for
her son, convicted several years since in Boston
of participating in the slave trade.
'Rev. Mr. Veftch, presiding elder of the Win
chester district of the E. M. Church, is lying
dangerously ill at his residence at Winchester,
Virginia.
The Legislature of Delaware has elected Wm.*
J. Clarke Stale Treasurer, aud Robert C. Lara
din State Auditor.
Two hundred dozen cedar buckets, manufac
tured at Murfreesboro’, Tenn., were on Satur
day shipped to St. Lonis.
A Baltimore paper speaks of Mr. Raymond
as “ that political flibbertigibbet.”
“ The Constitutional Eagle" is the 'name of
a paper out in Arkansas. It must be a healthy
old bird.
