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BE 1 ff g g sfe E A HJ[ -
A BEAR STOR V r
by j. a. k. e*
Traveling, although attended with many risk?
and inconveniences, is not altogether void of cer
tain pleasing incidents and adventures which lend
excitement to a journey, and afford an agreeable
novelty and variety to the traveller, who, other
wise, would be overpowered with ennui , and com
pelled to fall back upon such resources as he
could command, which, at best, could not be
otherwise than barren and meagre where so
many requisitions are constantly made upon it
during a long, tedious and monotonous journey.
Having occasion some time since to visit a re
mote frontier town, one of those western cities
par excellence the founders ol which are some of
the 4 oldest inhabitants,’ it was my fortune to take
up my quarters in a hotel, the presiding genius
of which was a very staid, demure and respect
able middle aged spinster, who was netted for
her kindness and urbanity, and was reputed one
of the most polite and attentive landladies in the
whole country. It was somewhat late in the
evening when I arrived, and, being weary and
travelworn, 1 soon sought inv couch to court the
sweet and balmy slumbers which old Morpheus
sometimes vouchsafes to bestow upon those whose
tired limbs and weary frames fully entitle them
to the welcome boon ol the 4 sleepy god.’ I had
been in bed about twenty minutes, as near as 1
can estimate it, and had fallen into a sort of hall
awake, dreamy doze, when 1 was suddenly star
tled from my pillow by hearing a tremendous
outcry, accompanied by a succession ol long,
sharp, piercing shrieks, which rang in my ears
like the shrill cry of a thousand iackals. I itn
mediately hurried on a portion of my clothing,
and rushed precipitately down stairs, expecting
each moment to behold a sight that would freeze
the marrow in my hones. At the foot ol the
stairs a bedroom door stood open, and from
thence the horrid noise seemed to proceed. 1 in
stantly entered with some other of the inmates ol
the house, who, like myself, were eager and anx
ious to ascertain the cause of such unusual and
unwonted uproar. The first spectacle that greet
ed mv astonished vision, on entering the room,
was our respectable and matronly landlady,
standing in the centre of the apartment, and
pointing with a wild and distracted air toward
the bed.
“There, don’t you see it!” she said, breath
lessly'; “it is some uglv beast, either a catamount
or a black bear. For heaven’s sake ! il you pos
sess any fire-arms, gentlemen, obtain them im
mediately, for our lives are placed in imminent
jeopardy bv the presence of this terrible crea
ture, who has nearly been the deatli of me al
ready. There, there !” she exclaimed, in the
shrill accents of mortal fear, “ it’s moving; don’t
you see its sharp ugly claws sticking out ? We’ll
surely be devoured if something ain’t done.”
At this terrible annunciation, there was a si
multaneous rush for the door, and in less than a
trice the room was evacuated and lett under the
sole dominion* of the beast. By this time nearly
all the hoarders in the house,had been aroused,
and were assembled in utter bewilderment around
the doorway of the room which was supposed to
contain the fierce object which had inspired so
much terror and dismay. The spectacle was in
deed a* singular mixture of the sublime and ridi
culous, and well calculated from its extreme lu
dicrousness to excite the utmost degree of tnerri
mejit, if any one had felt in the proper mood to
enjoy it. As it was, aIL appeared to he laboring
under the dominion ot fear, to the utter exclusion
of any feeling of mirth or levity, which might
naturally under the circumstances have suggested
itself. Some of the ladies, in their haste and con
fusion, had wrapped themselves only in quilts
and blankets, ala JSLxicana , while many of the
gentlemen present, equally precipitate in their
hurry, were attired merely in their drawers and
stockings, presenting such a scene as would have
been worthy t he pencil of a Hogarth or a Rubens.
“ What’s the matter, exclaimed a very fleshy
old gentleman, with a protuberant stomach and
red Harm el drawers and nightcap, is there any
one hurt?”
44 No,” answered a thin, cadaverous gent, with
his unmentionables ’hind side foremost; “ hut
there will be a tragedy soon if something ain’t
done.”
“ Oh, dear me !” whimpered a very interesting
young lady, who looked “the noble Roman of
them all,” in her blanket toga ; “ what’s to be
come of us? can’t someone call the military?”
“ What’s the muss here?” said a young man
in a gruff voice, whose peculiarly striking physi
ognomy, and smooth glossy hair plastered upon
his cheeks, unmistakably pointed him out as
44 one of the b’hoys 44 why is a feller waked up
out of a good snooze in this ere kind of way ?
It’s bad enough to run wid der machine to the
fire, but when a feller goes into de country, he
’spects to have a little comfort, and not git into a
row at this time o’ night; howsomdever, if der
is a muss, I’m in lemmons.”
44 Hold on!” exclaimed the fleshy gentleman,
in red flannel, “ I’ll just take a squint and see
what sort of a critter it is, and if yo’ll follow me
in slowly, I guess we can cage him, or may be
take the varmint alive.”
“ Gas, gammon 1” exclaimed the disciple ot
Moae ; “ here, gib me der club, and if I don’t lam
him. you may call me a foofoo, that’s all.”
“ No, no. let the old gentleman go on,” was the j
general response, and Mosc was accordingly ob
liged to fall hack and yield the precedence to the
man in red flannel. This redoubtable individu<>
having secured a long pole, prepared himself oi
the onslaught by assuming an air ot great valor,
while virtually he was trembling in his shoes, and
inwardly cursing himself for having ventured to
assume the risk and responsibility of an attack.
Cautiously opening the door.be slowly and grad
ually entered the room —his right flank being cov
ered by the maiden landlady whose apartment
had been so ruthlessly invaded, and his lelt flank
and rear being protected by sundry and divers
ladies and gentlemen whose style of drapery was
eminently classic, and disposed in folds so unique
and graceful, that a painter might have envied
them. Having crossed the Rubicon, the man in
red flannel secured a position in the centre of the
apartment, and having marshalled his forces on
either side, signified his readiness for the contest.
Seizing his pole with a nervous and resolute grasp,
he commenced the battle by pushing the coverlid
one side, when all at once a tremendous grunt
was heard, not unlike the growl of a hear, and
suddenly a huge pile of fur lifted itself up, and
seemed to move from the bed. This was too
much for the prowess of the old gentleman in
flannel; he quickly dropped his pole and beat a
precipitate and shameful retreat, accompanied hv
his panic-stricken followers.
44 it’s a big black bear,” said the discomfited
in red “ it’s no use a foughten him without
powder and ball. We’d better leave these dig
gins, as the beast seems disposed to make fight.”
“ O, Lord ! what is a going to become of us,”
cried the unfortunate landlady in a lugubrious
voice ; 44 we sh/ill all he devoured alive, without
even the benefit of clergy.”
44 Madame, you had better retire,” said the
fleshy gentleman, with an air of politeness which
ill became his short dumpling figure; “if the
critter is determined to lodge here to-night, we
had better not molest him at present, hut leave
him to his reflections, and in the morning we can
easily despatch him, if it is found necessary.”
“ Look ’ee here,” mister., said Mosc, coming up
at this juncture, “ I say der beast shant he in tier
house ; he is an outsider anyhow, and if I can’t
lam him within an inch of his life, I’ll knock under,
dat’s all. Gib me der club.”
Thus apostrophized, the old man readily sur
rendered his stick, and Mose grasping it firmly in
his hands, walked resolutely and fearlessly up to
the bed, seized the covering in his muscular hand,
and dragging it off by a jerk, revealed to the aston
ished view of all present, not a beast, but a bona
fide man, with a bushy heard, enveloped snugly
in an ample buffalo hide, and equally astonished
at the extraordinary scene, with the now crest
fallen gazers who surrounded, and lately thirst
ed, for his life.
The fleshy gentleman in the red flannels quick
ly vamosed, and sundry faint giglings of laughter
were heard as the red flannel drawers suddenly
disappeared at the head ot the stairs. There was
also heard the rustling of muslin and divers ex
clamations, of “O, dear, how supremely ridicu
lous,” as several young ladies with wonderful
speed and agility vanished from sight. An ex
planation was soon obtained. The gentleman
who was so singularly mistaken for a bear, and so
rudely and ungraciously disturbed in his slum
bers, had missed the number of his room, and
bv this error, had very innocently and unsus
pectingly occupied the landlady’s apartment,
and #hus proved the unintentional cause of so
much confusion, uproar and dismay.
NAPOLEON AND
Washington does not, like Bonaparte, belong
to that race who outstrip the standard of human
measurement. Nothing amazing is attached to
his person ; he is not placed on a vast theatre of
action, is not engaged in terrible combat with the
most skilful Generals and the most powerful Mon
archs of his time —docs not haste full speed from
Memphis to Vienna, from Cadiz to Moscow ; he
stands his ground with a handful of citizens ; in
a country adorned with no peculiar celebrity,
within the narrow circle oftheir domestic hearths..
He fights no battles which revive the triumphs of
Arbela and Pharsalia ; he overturns no thrones to
build up others with their ruins. An air of si
lence envelopes Washington’s actions ; he acts
siowlv, as if feeling that the liberty of the future
is in his hands, and fearful of compromising it.—
This hero of anew race manages and directs, no!
his own destinies, but those of his country—he
does not allow himself to toy with what is not br
own ; but from this profound humility what bril
liancy now bursts forth! Traverse the woods
where Washington’s sword flashed to the light;
what will you find! Graves? No! a world;
Washington has left the United States as a trophy
on his battle field. Bonaparte has no trait in
common with this grave, calm American ; he com
bats noisily on an old theatre of action, in an old
country; he thinks only of building up his own
fame, takes charge only cf his own destiny. He
seems to know that his mission will be short, that
the torrent which falls from such a height will
quickly be exhausted ; he hastens to enjoy and
abuse his power, like a quickly fleeting youth. —
Like Homer’s gods, he longs to reach the extrem
ity of the world in four steps. He appears on
every shore ; hastily inscribes his names on the
records of every nation, and throws crowns to his
family and his soldiers ; he is in haste in every
thing, in his monuments, his laws, and his victo
ries. Leaning over the world with one hand he
overturns Kings with the other crushes the grant
Revolution ; but, in overcoming anarchy, he stifles
liberty, and finally loses his own on his last field
of battle. Each is rewarded according to his
deeds; Washington raises a nation to indepen
dence ; a Magistrate, in the repose of domestic
life, he falls asleep beneath his own roof, amid the
regrets of his fellow-countrymen, and the vener
ation of nations. Bonaparte robs a nation of its
independence; a fallen Emperor, he is cast
forth into exile, where the terror of nations still
looks upon him as insufficiently imprisoned, even
under the guard of ocean. He expires ; the news,
published at the gate of the palace before which
the conquerer caused so many deaths to be pro
claimed neither arrests nor astonishes the passer
by ; what had the citizens to regret? Washing
ton’s Republic still exists ; Bonaparte’s Empire
has fallen to the ground. Washington and Bo
naparte were both nursed in the lap of Democ
racy —both born of liberty ; the one wus faithful
to her, the other betrayed her.
WHOLESALE AND RETAIL.
The daughter of a much admired dowager
Duchess recentlv completed her education at a
very superior establishment, not a mile from Port
land Place, where she became intimately acquain
ted with the daughter of Sir G , an eminent
brewer, and Magistrate at a borough town not 100
miles from the metropolis, though his occupation
in trade was unknown to her ladyship; and who
therefore allowed her daughter to accept a very
pressing invitation from her cidcvant school-fellow.
After about a week’s absence mamma received a
letter from her lively sprig of title, giving a nar
rative of her proceedings, and especially of a
dance given by Sir G the night before, ad
ding, “and what do you think mamma, 1 danced
with a woolen draper.” The Duchess exclaim
ing: “ Good heavens, ruined, and myself eter
nally disgraced,” went, off into hysterics, and,
when recovering, ordered four horses immediately
to , to rescue her daughter from impending
ruin. When arrived, the astonished Sir G
rushed to the door, and conducted the scornful
Duchess to a sofa, where, half choked with indig
nation and excitement, she exclaimed, “I must in
sist on my daughter’s immediately leaving ; I nev
er thought your assumed friendship would come
to this,” pointing to the last words of her daugh
ter’s letter. Upon which Sir G began ex
plaining, that in the country, especially in a bor
ough town, we should be without society if we
confined our visiting to titled acquaintance ; and
that besides, the gentleman alluded to was highly
respected, very oppulent, and likely even to be
the borough member. Duchess—“Oh, Sir
G , but a woolen draper —a woolen draper!”
Sir G , resuming, assured her ladyship that
he was not a petty retail dealer, but a manufac
turer —a wholesale dealer, and contractor with
government. “ Oh, Sir G ,” exclaimed the
Duchess, “if you will pledge your honor that he
does not cut, I will be a friend again.” “ Sir
G pledged his faith—hands were shaken—
and the Duchess herself actually danced the next
night with this self-same wholesale woolen draper.
English paper.
Conversation as an Art . —Conversation is, in
truth, an exercise very dangerous to the under
standing when practiced in any large measure as
an art or an amusement. To be ready to speak
before he has time to think, to sav something apt
and specious—something which he really does
think, to say what is consistent with what he has
said before, touch topics lightly and let diem go—
these are the arts of the conversationalist; of
which, perhaps, the last is the worst, because it
panders to all the others. Nothing is searched
out by conversation of this kind, nothing is heartily
believed, whether by those who sav it or by those
who hear it. It may be easy, graceful, clever and
sparkling, and bits of knowledge may be plenti
fully tossed to and fro in it ; but it will be vain
and unprofitable ; it may cultivate a certain mi
nacious, sandy surface of the mind, but all that
lies below will be unmoved and unsunned. To
say that it is vain and unprofitable is, indeed, to
say too little ; for the habit of thinking with a view
ro conversational effects will inevitably corrupt
the understanding, which will never again be
sound or sincere.
Industry . —The following fact shows the indus
trious, laborious character of the Irish peasant,
and what exertion even females among them can
undergo, on the frugal, scanty sustenance the
wages of this country enable them to procure. —
A respectable builder of this city, now engaged
in superintending the repairs of a country house
a few miles from town, requiring a supply of
water for the works, agreed with a young woman
ro draw a sufficiency each day from a neighbor
ing well, at the small renumeration of Bd., but
which, small as it may appear, is more than
woman usually receive for such labor. His atten
tion being arrested by her dilligence and zeal,
and by the quantity of water delivered, he had
the curiosity to number the cans, calculate the
weight of water, and the distance traveled to and
from the well, the result of which was : number
of cans, 100; miles walked, 16J Irish ; weight
of water carried on head, 17 cwt. 3 qrs. 12 lbs.—
Ballimasloe Star .
Being up to Him. —The Vienna papers say tli
the Emperer of Russia sent, about a month
three sacks of wheat as a present to Kossuth*
with the message that if the Hungarian w 0
count the grains he would know the number of
soldiers at the disposal of the Czar. Kossuii
answered that he had three game cocks and thr ‘
ravens which would eat up every grain of
he could send. The cocks were Georgey, B ( rr ’
binski and Bern, and the ravens the hot month*
of July, August and September.
We had a boy m our office—not so green as i le
was taken to be—who lacked a quarter to gain
admittance to the circus whose canvass was spread
on Railroad Square. After scratching his cap,*
until it looked red,he returned with a long pl
which the door-keeper supposing necessary ori
account of the crowd within, cried out to those
thronging the entrance, “Open the way here—
give the gents room,” showing much solicitude
until they were safe in. Having passed the rubi
con . their mammoth ticket was carefully thrust be
neath the seats, and the boys were soon absorbed
in exhibitions of “ground and lofty tumbling.
Nausha Oasis.
Reader did you ever enjoy the extatic bliss of
courting ?
You didn’t! Then you had better get a little
Gal-an-try.
A FRIEND OF THE FAMILY.
SAVANNAH, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1849.
AGENTS.
Mr. J. M. Boar OMAN is our Agent for Macon.
Mr. S. S. Box for Rome.
Mr. Rout. E. Seyle for the State of South Carolina.
James OConner, Travelling Agent.
o o
Dr. M. Woodruff, Columbus, Ga.
TO THE PUBLIC.
We offer the following, premiums to individuals, clubs, dj.
visions and lodges, the distribution of which to take place on
the Ist October, and all persons competing will please state
the fact when they send in their list of subscribers, we make
no exceptions in favor of town or county.
To the individual, club, division or lodge, who returns us the
greatest number of subscribers on or before Ist October,
Harper’s Pictorial Bible, Turkey, gilt edges, worth ’s2s.
To the second largest list—The American Agriculturist,
from vol 1 to vol 6 inclusive, bound in cloth, worth $7,50.
To the third, Branded Encyclopaedia of Science, Literature,
and Art, worth $5,00.
To the fourth, American Farmer’s Encyclopaedia, worth
$3,50.
To the fifth, Downing’s Fruit and Fruit Trees of America
worth $1,87.
The sixth, American Poulterer’s Companion, worth $1,25.
To the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth, Allen’s History
and Description of Domestic Animals.
OC?* Any Postmaster sending us the names of three sub
scribers, and enclosing $5, shall receive a copy of the paper
free for one year.
The Central Georgian of the 18th inst says: “ The Ex
press Train of the Central Road, which left Savannah at eight
o'clock on Saturday night, with the passengers who came out
on the Tennessee, arrived at Tennille at 2 o'clock, making the
distance, 135 miles, in six hours. This is hard to beat for
night running; and in one of those new passenger cars on
that Road, the traveller is relieved of much of the weariness
incident to night travelling. They are decidedly the easiest
and most delightful cars that there is in the State.”
We notice also in the Macon Telegraph of the same dates
card of the passengers, to the officers of the Cen
tral Macon & Western Rail Road Companies for their ener
getic and effectual efforts to place them through in time for
the stages to the Montgomery and West Point Rail Road.
MR. CHAPMAN’S ADDRESS.
The Rome Southerner wants to know if we coincide in
opinion with Mr. C. in his lecture before the Mechanics Soci
ety of Macon. As the subject has been drawn into the p°*
litical arena we shall forbear giving our views for the present.
(£/** R affords us pleasure to state that Mr. Guilmettc will
sojourn with us a month or two this fall for the purpose of
giving instruction in vocal and instrumental music. His nudi
ties as a teacher have been fully tested in Charleston, where,
we uuderstand he has met with complete success. A class is
forming and any person desirous of joining it, will please lea\e
their name with ns.
Mose is green—just caught in fact, a real live cracker Dig’
ger. He is amazingly puzzled to know how I can comb
head every morning—he says his old massa only combed h:i
once a week—on Sunday—and then he cussed and swore lit*
blazes because it tore the hair nearly out of his head.
rsT The flags of the shipping in port were displayed
half-mast yesterday, as a testimony of respect to an old m? f ’
chant of our city, Mr. Andrew Low, of the firm of Andr’
Low & Cos.. Mr. Low was a native of Scotland, and cam* 3
America in 1801 ; for a long time he was the senior partner 5 ‘
the only importing house in Georgia, he died at Liverpool ®
the 31st ultimo, at the ripe age of 73, leaving a spotless rep“‘
tation for mercantile integrity.
The steamship Tennessee left at 11 o’clock yesterday
having on board 27 cabin passengefs, 579 Bales Cotton,
sundry packages merchandise.
For A Friend of the Family.
An observer at London discharged a great gun at the J
slant that an eclipse of one of Jupiters satellites happf n
now, another at Dublin hears the report of the gun 32 ma u
and 45 seconds after the time that the eclipse happened
him. It is required to find the bearing distance and dW er
of longitude between these two cities, the latitude of
don being in 51 31 and Dublin in latitude 53 20.