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About Weekly constitutionalist. (Augusta, Ga.) 185?-1877 | View Entire Issue (March 31, 1869)
TEE WEEKLY CONSTITUTIONALIST WEDNEBDAT MORNING, MARCH 81, 1869 Club Kates far the Weekly Conti Itul Ion •> nllat. Thafrevety one may be enabled to sub scribe, and receive the beueflts of a live jour nal, we offer the following liberal terms to Utah* I 1 Copy per year - - - ' 3 Copies per year - - - - 750 6 Copies per year - • - - 12 00 10 Copies per year - * - - 20 00 Wc trust that every subscriber to the paper will aid us to adding to our list. OBOPB AND OTEBESTT NEWS. Oar subscribers sad friends in the coun try will confer a favor on ns and our nu merous readers by sending ns items as to crop prospects and general news In their different sections. We trust that each subscriber will consider himself a special correspondent for the Constitu tionalist, and thereby add to the interest of the paper. IN MEMORIAM. We announce the decease of Colonel L. 1). Lallkrstedt. lie was a stockholder In the Constitutionalist office and prop erty. Independently of Colonel I.a llkk&tkdt'h connection with ns In business, we enter tain sincere and deep respect for his memo ry; and pay this tribute to him as one which he richly deserves as a man and .a citizen. Colonel Lallerstrto was In every rela tion of life a man of mark. lie was dis tinguished for evtraordinary energy. He was always In earnest. His convictions were clear and ..strong. What lie believed he acted on. He pot his foot down firmly on the ground as he advanced In life; not hesitatingly, as If to try the way, but with confidence and strength. The support that he gave to a friend, or a measure, or a par ty, was not stinted. All his resources were at the service of a cause that he espoused. Ills opinions were frankly avowed and res olutely maintained. Ills opposition was frank and decided. It Is singular that a man who was so frank, and whose opinions were so pronounced, should have so few enemies. Ills friends are numerous ami warm. He was a member of the liar, and a suc cessful one. He prepared Ills eases well, and snpported his views by copious au thorities. Asa speaker, he was forcible and animated ; and he was a formidable an tagonist, both before the court and the jury. Asa citizen, Colonel Lau.ehhtf.dt filled a high place. Public spirited, generous and active, he was widely useful. His loss will be deeply felt In Augusta. It Is proper to state to this brief notice of our dccascd friend, that at the outbreak of the war he promptly entered the army, lie was severely wounded at the battle of Sharpsburg, and was not able to return to the field. For many years he has been a Christian, having when quite a young man made a public profession of religlou. Within the last two years of his life his Interest In this greatest 6f all subjects had evidently deep ened; He was an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and had re cently been authorized to euter the pulpit, and Instruct publicly those who came with in the range of his Influence, according to the usage of that Church, which both in England and In this country devolves the task of preaching upon such of its lay mem bers ns seem fitted for uscfulcss In that great service. Confined fbr many weeks to Ids chamber. Ms closing days exhibited a serene steady faith, which never wavered for a moment. Conscious of the approach ing termination of tils earthly life, he look ed clearly, cheerfully, hopefully to the open ing soenery of a happier country. His last hours presente&ma extraordinary spectacle; no stoicism sustained him ; no enthusiasm elevated him; the steady, strong faith of the Ohrlstiau looking to his ascended Lord, enabled him to trtnmph over death. Col. LaLLteusTKDT was In the 50ih year of his age. GRANT AND CONGRESS. The designers of evil are always, sooner or later, snared In tIS» tolls they set for oth era. When the Civil Tenure Law was enacted to cripple Andrew Johnson, It appeared to all the Radicals, in and out of Congress, a masterpiece of human ingenui ty. General Grant thought It a famous joins; Senators and Representatives were never weary of admiring and chuckling over thefr superior craft. In the course of time, however, the wheel of fortuue takes a tuna, and anew admln'atratlon of affhlrs begins. Gcueral Grant assumes the place or Johnson, but doea not see the joke of having hit prerogative* paralyzed. His ad herent* la Congress and out of Congress think their Johnsonian strategy a trifle leas fanny than they thought. Grant clam ora tor repeal, and his devoted subjects In the How straightway repeal. But the Senate is divided, sud although willing to com promise on a partial suspension of the law la reluctant to Ist it slip away a.together Now the President-General refuses to make any more nominations unless the Senate repeal; and the Senate, though hungry fbr distributing patronage through the Presl d mm la still more greedy of ruling the coun try with absolute madness. Here then Is the dead lock. Both parties are stubborn and the event of the struggle depends upon the superior capacity of either to stick U out Meanwhile, would U not be tare sport to see a lUdical Senate insult a Radical President by sending him a bill of suspen sion instead of repeal, intimating that he is to be trusted as far as he can be seen but no farther. But the sport would become pro digious If the President-General should sign such a bill. His veto, however, would make the game serious and test his grit as tonishingly. Every opportunity is afforded the President-General to proclaim himself dictator, overthrow Congress, and give us at least the decency of military empire; but he seems to hesitate, awl to hesitate in a great crisis Is Inevitably to be lost. GEORGIA AND CONGRESS. The Radical Senate of this State may have defeated the XVth Amendment passed by a Democratic, so-called, House of Rep resentatives, in order to furnish Congress with a pretext for farther interference in our home affairs. Congress, it would seem, was fairly at sea for want of something of this kind, and, If afforded, would not scru tinize too closely the method of bringing It about. Hence it is that the Senate Judi ciary Committee propose to turn the State into a military barrack; to create a pro visional government propped by the bayo net ; to restore the expelled negro legisla tors, and to prohibit any person disquali fied by the XI Vth Amendment from holding a seat In the General Assembly. Congress, of course, Is sufficiently evil minded to car ry out this scheme of vengeance, and Grant is sufficiently the tool of Congress to en force it. Likewise, the abject people of the North arc cowardly enough to stand by and see the Infamy perpetrated according to the programme. We seem to be between the devil and the deep sea. On one side, we have Congress and Its satraps. On the other side, we have a Legislature which is at once an incubus and a spendthift. The possibility of Us meeting again Is al most as bad, If not worse, than the possibility of a shoulder-strap regime. Meanwhile, we are of the same opinion as we held of yore. Let Congress do Its wont; wc should conciliate no more. All the conciliation In the world Is just much provocation to the base to develop their baseness. If Congress thinks It poli tic to pass this new bill, it will do it. If Impolitic, It will be kept merely as a rod lu pickle. Out of all these elements of dis turbance there will eventually proceed some stupendous change. It may not be as we plan it; neither will It lie as our per secutors intend. The Master of the Uni verse has the entire machinery in charge, and if we be patient, faithful, enduring, well-principled, Industrious and brave, the final settlement of present disorders will yield us happiness and prosperity accord ing to our merit, and, perhaps, of a more abundant measure than our actual desert. “ THE MAN ON HORSEBACK.” The New York Express furnishes this sombre picture: The present military complexion of things is not a pleasant contemplation of a Re public. It is: Ist. A Military Prcsidcut. 2d. A Mllltury family with the Presi dent. Bd. A Military Executive Mansion. 4th. A Military Guard around the White House. sth. Then comes Gen. Bherman In com mand of the United States Armies, and an nounces to the country the members of his staff And who arc they V Who but meu controlling the head of every bureau at tached to the War Department, completely swallowing up the whole Department. The Adjutant General, Inspocter General, Quar termaster General; Commissary Geueral, Surgeon General, Paymaster General, Judge Advocate General, Chief of Engineers, and the Chief of Ordnance, all heretofore the subordinates of the Secretary Os War, are now declared to bo but the Staff Officers of the General commanding the Army. Oth. A Military Secretary of War, with military sympathies all round. 7th. Ten States under Military rule. Bth. Georgia out In the cold. Ditto Lou isiana, Virginia, Texas and Mississippi. Oth. Arkausas under scalawag Militia, and North Carolina under Negro Militia. If this is Reconstruction, It Is a failure. If It is Republicanism, it is a greater failure —but If it Is Military Despotism, then we can uoderstaud It. We but discharge a simple duty to our countrymen when we eutreat them so watch, and, as far as they cau arrest these innovations upon the Con stitution of the country and the examples of the fkthers. Very Extreme.—Now aud then. Get). Forrhbt gets iuto the clutches of Northern correspondents, and contrives to be pub lished as an absurdity. Ills latest hobby Is the Introduction of negroes from the Guinea coast In order to build up the South: “1 bad an Interest,” said be, "In the Wander er, and we brought over 400; only six per cent, died. They were very .to nd gs grasshoppers and bugs, but 1 taught them to eat cooked meat , and they were as good niggers as any I ever bad. When prejudice gets over, our Government will foster this scheme." This doctrine is very well characterised as an advance upon Wendell Phillies. Gen. Forrkst may like “ piling on the nig ger,” but the majority of the Southern white meu are against him. Memorable Words.— The late M. db Lamartine was fhmous for inspired sen tences. These glorious words of his are to be Inscribed upou the pedestal of hts statue: “ Tbe tri-colored flag hu made the tour of the world with the Republic and the Empire, with your liberties and your glories ; the red flag baa only made the tour of the Champ de Mara, dragged through torrents of tbe people's blood." Volumes have been written which poorly expressed what la here vividly revealed. An iaumamt Bauoafn.—For betraytfl of the people of Richmond as a spy aud a traitress, Mrs. Van Lew has bees appointed Post .Mistress of that cWv. The Baltimore GauUe thinks very justly that public in terests demand that the Government agents should be selected for some other reason than their complicity with treachery and falsehood. The Tarpela who would betray a city Is not above tampering with the mails. Nepotism. —The New York Democrat, complaining of Grant's nepotism, says; “ His remarkable affection for family ties Is only surpassed by the astonishing facility wilh which be produces relative after relative.” In this connection, it Is declared that Longstreet's appointment was occasion ed not so much because of his being a lat ter-day loyalist, but because of his relation ship to Grant’b wife. Sherman. —The new General is kicking manyMf his subordinates out of Washing ton. Rather tbau make an exception in favor of one, he sacrificed $200,000 of Gov ernment property, observing that it might burn, but the officer should go. Thereupon the admirers of Sherman begin to doubt of his greatness, and some are inclined to think him another humbug. Tart. —The New York World says: «The Radical papers praise General Long street as a rebel who * cheerfully accepted the situation,’ meaning, probably, the situation of Surveyor of the Port ot New Orleans. There is no doubt that plenty of ‘ ex-rebels ’ would cheerfully accept similar situations.” Henceforth, it is thought that cheerful old rebels will be in excess of the demand. A Clerical Dabbler— The Saviour said: “My kingdom is not of this world.” But Bishop Simpson, the great Radical ec clesiastic, is accused of improving on the divine model to the extent of dabbling in the Pennsylvania appointments. His suc cessful appointees will erect unto him a statue of brass. i— I No Chance for Democrats— Colonel Ciiristt, member elect to the last Congress, has come home. He says Democrats stand no chance for admission to the Federal Councils. The Radicals think them very good looking, but they can’t come in. Paraguay.—Wo—read as follows in Northern exchanges; “ Paris, March 19.—Later advices have been Received from Rio Janeiro. The war news is unimportant. President Lopez had collected an army of 4,000 Paraguayans, and was fortify ing Grasse, a towa in the interior.” Wc fear there is little hopes for him since he has “gone to grass.” Beyond the Grave.— A committee pro posed to bury- the Federal and Confederate dead side by side on the field of Sharps burg, or Antietam. Whereupon, Governor Geary, of Pennsylvania, flew into a rage aud refused to countenauce it, so far as his State was concerned. A beautiful illus tration of “ let us have peace.” Bad for Bachelors.— A correspondent of the Journal & Messenger, dilating upon the wickedness and extravagance of the late Georgia Legislature, shys “ unmarried men ought not to be sent there.” We con clude fro n this that the State has been dis graced, so far as such things can disgrace It, by a plurality of bachelors. The Georgia Muddle. —lt seems that of the Judiciary Committee, Senators Trumbull and Thurman are against in terference with Georgia. The other com mittee men favor intervention, but “dis agree as to the exact form it should take.’’ If intervention must come, let it take any form but stealing. Shaky.— Parson Brownlow shakes in the Senate because of palsy and wicked ness ; Dick Yates shakes back at him be cause of bad whisky. Much sympathy is expressed tor the latter. Only one man is known to have commiserated the former, and he died of black vomit the next day. How About Boutwell ?—A corresponds ent or the Ilerald, still fulminating against the removal of Stewart, writes: “ The ring managers knew too well that they could neither cheat, control nor corrupt him.” We should like to ascertain -their feelings on the Boutwell question. Rewarded. —A certalu Butterfield was a prime mover iu a late moneyed testl-j rnonlal to the President General. He was swiftly nominated for a foreign mission by the managers of the “ Great American Gift Enterprise.” “Mant Voters.”— “ Who Is this ‘ Many Voters,’ that’s always writing for the pa pers about election time ?” inquired an un sophisticated old man, glancing over his spectacles. “Don’t know,” replied his grandsou, carelessly, “ ’spect he’s a candi date.’’ Nicrel Morality.— The loyal Kelley wants the nickel for the currency purchas ed In the natural state. Butler, equally loyal, contends for the pure metal. The se cret of the dispute is this: If purchased Impurely, a constituent of Kelley gets the job; if purchased purely, a constituent of, Butler secures a monopoly. Idolatry.— The pagans of the North are crazy on the subject of statues. Beecher Is to have one; so Is Bishop Bimpson ; so are various other preachers. Not for their piety, but tor “services during the rebel lion." There will victims anon for dragons of brass. Fishy.— Ex-Secretary McCulloch Is ac cused of speculating In public lands, du ring his term of office, contrary to the act 1 Os 170#. the strong point about woman. 1 We select from the Richmond Enquirer an article entitled as above, which should command an attentive perusal, because of its exceeding candor, strength of thought, beauty of expression and moral troth. The Enquirer says: “ Whether ambition is, upon the highest ethical grounds, a justifiable sentiment, ■ has been affirmed and denied- Milton de nominates it ‘the last infirmity of noble mind.’ The ancients never questioned its legitimacy as a principle of action. Spen ser speaks of the 1 sacred hunger of ambi tions minds,’ Shakspeare makes Wolsey sav, ‘By that sm fell the angels’—and makes Brntns charge it against Caesar as a crime that he was ‘ ambitious.’ Sir W.| Davenant finely says, ‘Ambition is the mind’s immodesty.’ Otways says, ‘ Ambi tion is a Inst that is never quenched.’ Mil ton’s Satan avows that “•‘To reign ie worth ambition —though in bell.’ «Sancho Panza’s ambition was hum bler ‘ Let them say of me what they will —so my name but be in print, and go about the world from hand to hand, I care not a fig, let people say of me whatever they list.’ St. Paul has it—‘in honor preferring one another.’ I “ Before marriage women are more ambi tious than men. Men marry for beauty: women for strength, either the physical prowess and strength of the soldier, or the | mental strength of the man of talent, or the power which wealth gives. But with gien, ambition rarely utterly expires; to the last they pursue power in one form or an other. Self-aggrandizement is their inex tinguishable passion. But women is soon chastened, and her life is concentrated to j others; and herein lies the argument for ! the superiority of the female sex. Women often commit the mistake of claiming for their sex what does not belong to them. — They claim to have as much sense as men; but this is not true. They claim to have as much integrity of character; but this is not so. Women have far less principle than men. They are much' less reliable. Their moral nature is less solid. It is indeed a very delicate organism, and will not bear rude handling. So women claim to be more beautiful than men; but we feel quite sure that Mr. Valentine or Mr. Elder will tell them that this too is not so,— Will tell them, moreover, that the male 6T every animal is more beautiful than the female; the rooster is more beautiful than the hen; the cock pheasant is more beauti ful than the female; the peacock is more beautiful than the peahen; the stallion is more beautiful than the mare; the lion is more beautiful than the lioness; the male red bird is more beautiful than the female; the hart is more beautiful than the Kind ; the gobler is more beautiful than the tur key-hen ; and the Apollo Belvidere is more beautiful than the Yenus de Medici; in other words a perfectly formed man is more beautiful than a perfectly formed woman— or to state it differently, the male form in the human species is handsomer than the female form. Wc by no means depreciate the beauty of our fair friends; occasionally they are very beautiful. “ But the strength of woman lies in her practice of that highest of all moral achievements—that one to which men rare ly ever attain—in Self-Renunciation.— As wife, as mother, as sister, as a mej’e member of society, the Christian woman lives for the benefit of others, and has ceas ed to have selfish aims of her own. And this it is which gives them their power in society—this It is which lays upon the rudest men the spell which consecrates in their hearts the name of woman. It is this which saves human society from disinte gration—for the selfishness of men—that for which ambition is only-another name— would lead them, if unrestrained, to mutual destruction. Walter Scott has written the truest, aud finest uninspired thing that was ever said about- women iu the well known lines'; “P Woman, in our heura of*nse, tXncertaiq, coy, and hard to please, And variable bs the shade Bv the iiabt quivering aspen made— When pain and anguish wring the brow, A ministering angel thou /” “ Christianity was the first system that took notice Os women. That incompar able character drawn by the divine pencil rested his philosophy on Love, and found its promptest echoes in the female heart. Here for the first time In the history of the world do we find a great teacher gathering around him a band of women—associated with him by the most delicate and tender relations— so far as we know with no pretensions to intellect, but bound to him by a love which followed him to the Cross, aud found them hovering about the Tomb. Wo find him going through every city and village * * ‘ aud the twelve were with him, and certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and Infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, aud many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.' Then there is that exquisite account of the faith of the Syro-Pbceuieian woman with her ‘Truth, Lord; yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from the master's table’—and that vivid sketch of the Woman of Samaria at Jacob's Well—and the widow of Nain with her dead child—and that woman whom he pro tected with that Infinite sympathy, * He that Is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone at her’—and Jhose sisters of Lazarus with their ‘ Lord, if thou had’st beeu here, our brother had not died’—and that woman * which was a sinner,’ who brought ‘ au alabaster-box of ointment,’ aud ‘did wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head’—and then (to which we have referred) ‘Mary Magdalene, and that other Mary, weeping at the sepulchre.' " And the Inspired penman In the Acts of the Apostles carries on the narrative of tbe early chwcU—' 1 Those all continued iu l waver aud supplication, t the vvmen. and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his ! brethren.’ [ “It was Rhoda, 1 a damsel,’ who met Peter ! delivered out of prison ; it was Lydia of i Th.vatira that entertained Paul— if ye have [judged me faithful ’—in her house; it was ! at Berea that • many honorable women ’ believed ; and there are the ‘ four daughters of Philip ’at Cesarea—and Dorcas—and Priscilla—and Urbane—and Tryphena and Tryphosa—Euodias and Syntiche—aud Juiia—and ‘ the sister ’ of Nereus—and. Claudia—and the ‘elect lady’—and the household of Chloe. « And it is upon woman—we say it with reverence—tliat the Christian Church rests now. They are, as every minister will testify, the life of every living congregation. From them goes forth the spirit of love, and of consecration, which vitalizes the strug gling principle of Christianity. It is by them chiefly that, is illustrated all that is ‘ true,’ all that is ‘ pure,’ all that is ‘ lovely,’ all that is of ‘ good report,’ every ‘ virtue,’ and every ‘ praise ’ that makes human life endurable. And all this comes from the simple circumstance that women are more docile and tractable than men. Men strive to the last; women soon bend before the stern discipline of life, and open their hearts to the lessons of wisdom—and once initiated into the philosophy of Self-Renunciation, the unfathomed depths of Woman’s Love never cease to flow until the springs are sealed by the icy wand and touch of death.” [From the Richmond Whig. Lamartine. Late French papers bring particulars of the last illness and death of Lamartine. On the 21st February he was stricken by a slight attack of paralysis In the lower in testines, which slowly ascended and in creased until the 28th,‘when he gently ex pired. He was fully conscious of his con dition-had all his kindred, consisting of a nephew and several nieces, summoned to his bedside, and as the last hour apprpached, laid his head upon the bosom of a favorite niece, who had been his nurse and constant attendant—aud realized the desire many times expressed, that lie might die on the heart of her who had loved him so well. His last and urgent entreaty was that no funeral honors be paid to his remains. “ Let no one at the moment when Eternity us unfolded to my gaze come to trouble my .ecstacy with the Boise of vain words and the paltry things of this world.” The Em i peror, when he heard of his death, gave di rections for pompous funeral ceremonies at the public expense; But he revoked the order when he heard of the earnest dying request of the poet. His remains were quietly deposited at Saint Point, by the side of his daughter, his mother, and his wife. His death took place near Passy, a suburb of Paris, at a cottage which the city of Paris had kindly extended to him in his old age. He left no children. His only child, a beautiful, bright girl of ten, died at Bev root, iu Syria," when lie made his famous voyage to the East. His wife., an accom plished English lady, (Miss Birch,) who brought him the double dowry of enthu siasm and riches, died in 1862. His family name was de Prat ; the name of Lamartine was derived from a maternal uncle, along with a princely inheritance. All the early portion of his life, even to the-approach of old age, was the most bril liant and prosperous and happy of the cen tury. Blessed with a happy temperament, endowed with great genius, having early acquired fame—when it was worth enjoy ing—having a keen relish for nature, books aud society, and with ample fortune to gratify all his tastes, nothing seemed want ing to his felicity. Aimer, prier, chanter, voila toute ma vie ! was his ow r n exclamation iu 1820; and such it continued to be until he became absorbed in state affairs; and even then the happy sweetness of his dis position remained unchanged. A French biographer of 1840, speaking of him at that time, says: “In his general appearance there is something about him that reminds you of Byron. The same be luty of face and expression^—the same habits of elegance and dandyism—the same figure, a little stiff, a little English perhaps, but perfectly noble and distinguished. If to that you join, to complete the resemblance, the retinue of a grand seigneur, thoroughbred horses, a magnificent chateau, you would conclude that since Tasso and Camoens the times have a little changed, and that it is.permit ted in our days to be a great Poet without dying at the hospital.” The glowing picture contracted some sombre hues before the closa The poet de veloped into the statesman, in which capa city he bore the memorable and leading part in the Revolution of 1848, and became the chief of the new republic. His coura geous resistance to the Red Republicans, when, from the balcony of the Hotel de Ville, he shamed them into flight with their bloody flag, was the most brilliant feat in his political existence. It was on the 28th of February, 1848, just twenty-one years before he died, aud an Impassioned admirer says it would have been lucky for his fame if that had been the day of his death. After the coup cTelal and the accession of the empire, he retired from public life; and being overwhelmed with debts—the result of his boundless generosity and sumptu ous living—he devoted his whole time to writing, with a view to discharge his obli gations. His efforts were vain; his debts became a fixed idea with him—preyed up ou his mind and cast a gloom over his la ter years. There was a striking similarity in his fate and that of Scott. But Lamar tine could have paid his debts If he could have brought his proud soul to accept the necessary conditions. He was offered the Presidency of the Senate, with emoluments adequate to all his needs. This implied ap probation and support of the Empire, and that his honor forbade. The Government then proposed to pay his debts without sub jecting him to any obligations; this honor able offer hts delicacy also induced him to decline. A Paris editor observes: “We should be afraid of offending theanemory of the poet by praising him for preferring his poverty, since he conceived it necessarv to the maintenance of his purity. But in a time so fruitful of selfish tergiversations, a fact little known deserves jo be recorded.” His creditors pursued him without mer cy and without regard to his genius, his glory and his public services. Thev at tacked him in the papers with the most en venomed insults. But he bore them with great composure, and never made an angry reply. On one occasion, to an uncommon ly bitter Invective, he said, smilingly, to the friend who brought it to his attention “ Flea bites on the legs of Hercules!” During the past year, he had thrown aside his pen and discontinued writing al together. For several months before his death he qnit talking altogether—sitting silent and sombre like the statue of Harpo crates—to the great distress of his friends. It was only at the approach of the supreme moment that he opened those lips once touched by hallowed fire, to matter a few agatost°the empty honors of the tomb. Lamartine wrote a great deal. The works of his later days, written for his daily bread, are said to be unw’orthy of his name. His literary reputation among his country men appears to rest on his poetical produc tions. We never could appreciate French ppotry, aud are no judges of it; and we sus pect his countrymen extolled him as a poet rather than as a statesman or historian, be cause in that land of distracted political opinion, all could not concur in praising him in the latter character. But, in our judgment, it is the historian of the Oiron diiis, that his name will survive the wreck of matter. It is the most vivid book ever written. Livy’s pictured page almost pales before it. It is said not to be history, but the same has been said of Llvv. Still both were grandly conceived and nobly exe cuted. Hon. Pierre Soule. The melancholy fact, says the New Orleans Times, of the 19th, can no longer be concealed. One of the brightest of intel lects and bravest of spirits has sunk Into hopeless imbecility. A rare genius has suf fered a total eclipse. Passions once so strong, noble and generous, faculties that were wont to engage*the admiration of all, to illumine all subjects and diffuse a radi ance in all circles, have succumbed to some mysterious power, and now thick darkness and debility possess the mind and soul of one of the most gifted of our citizens. Yesterday a petition was presented to Judge Duvigneaud, by Messrs. Charvet and Duplantier, praying that Pierre Soule be interdicted, and that a curator be appointed to take charge of his affairs. The petition alleges his permanent and complete pros tration and incapacity. This distressing misfortune has long been known in the com munity. From delicacy to his esteemed family, it has not been regarded as proper to be referred to iu the publia prints. This reason can no longer suppress the expres sion of our profound sorrow and sympathy for the distinguished gentleman and his af flicted family. The unhappy condition of Mr. Soule has been produced by family sorrows of the most distressing character. His onlyson some time ago manifeted symptoms of men tal abberation. These have become perma nent, and now both father and son demand ed the incessant care of devoted relatives and friends. To those -who have known Mr. Soule in his prime as one of the most vigorous minded of men, with faculties of extraordinary brilliancy, and so well pre served, with temperate, prudent,systematic habits, will be surprised, as well as pained, to hear of his infirmity. Only the most poignant, deep ancl radical sorrow, the most wearing, agonizing, and crushing of calamities, could" unseat an intellect so well balanced by nature and long training, so healthily developed and disciplined. Re calling the brilliant career of the afflicted gentleman, when the halls of legislation and the courts of justice rang with the echoes of his melodious tones, and audiences who were enchanted by his magical elo quence, when his poble presence in every assemblage and on all occasions drew upon him the admiring gaze of all beholders, the beautiful and melancholy lines of Shaks peare occur to us with peculiar force and impressiveness: “ Now see that noble and most sov reign reaaon, Like sweet bells, jangled, out of tune, anffharsli [From the Richmond Dispatch. Kailroads and Prost. The following recent telegram portrays some of the troubles of railroads located in high northern latitudes: “ St. Louis, March 4.—The Evening. Dis patch publishes an account of the trials and sufferings of a party of gentlemen who re recently came over the Union Pacific Rail road. The account is given by one of a party which included many prominent gentlemen of California, New York, and other eastern States. He says thev were detained ten days at a railway station, and could not induce the railway officials to send a train out until they held an indig nation meeting and telegraphed to the rail road committee at Washington aboHt the treatment they were receiving. When they did start, they were compelled to shovel suow at different points, and were very badly fed. At one point they shoveled through a snow-drift one thousand feet long. When they had the track clear the engineer had only steam enough to carry them into the depth of a drift. After remaining two days iu this condition about fifty persons started on foot for Laramie, ninety miles distant, reaching there in four days, after much suffering. From La ramie they came through to Omaha with out detention. Over two hundred persons were on the train when it was left in the •uow.” This railroad was pushed through Con gress under the excitement of sectional passion. The Government has been made to build the road, and the pockets of the clique of corporators have been filled to re pletion with the gains of the adroit scheme. Each one of them becomes a millionaire. And what have we ?—a line of road so far North as. to be subject to unimaginable dangers and obstructions on account of frost. For miles upon miles of the route across the Sierra Nevada the track is sheltered by what are called snow sheds; aud these have fallen in on several occa sions from the vast weight of snow. The detention aud hardships of the passengers noticed iu the above telegram occurred far this side of the perilous pass of the Sierra, where, in June last, there fell a snow heav ier than is usual in Massachusetts in mid winter. Compare this line, beset with discomfort and dauger, with the Southern route, where snow seldom falls! Os the two, which most deserves the assistance of Congress ? The Southern would never be impeded by the weather, and its grades would be far easier than the Northern. But Congress having been so grossly swindled by the Northern, it will probably vote no aid to the more practicable and useful one of the South. That will, however, be built—carried through by its own superior merits—and when finished it will command the travel between the Pacific and the Atlantic. This matter of frost on railroads is grow ing to be better understood. The roads that are below the line of severe frosts are far the safest. Frost makes the iron rails brittle, and the colder It is the greater dan ger of their breaking. Some of the saddest accidents on the Northern railways have been caused by the breaking of the rails from frost. Tbrrithj! Shooting Affray— Three Mrs Killed — Cairo, March 18.—As the steamer Belle of Memphis landed at Darrell’s Landing three men, all named Darrell; got on board’ armed with rifles, bnt not looking in any wav suspicious. They told the captain to land at Island No. 10, as another party wished to come on board there. As the boat landed at Island No. 10, three men, by tbe name of Lane appear ed on tbe bank, and one came on board with bis wife. As he started np stair* he was shot dead by the Darrells; who then ran back to the cabin deck and shot tbe two Lanes dead, who were standing on sbors. Tbe Darrells then went ashore and called to tbe csDtsln to take good care of Mr*. Lane, as tbe tod been re spectably raised. The oause ol the difficulty la unknown.
