The Tri-weekly times and sentinel. (Columbus, Ga.) 1853-1854, March 05, 1853, Image 2

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

Couchs! Did nny of our readers ever bear of a race of men called Concbs ? No : yet there is such a race of beings on this continent, numbering several thousand, and what ib more surprising they are American citizens. Oar authority is Oswego, a very learned and tie- I gant writer for the New York Tribune —a paper which we always quote from with reluctance, though we are often compelled to do so, as it is conducted with signal ability. Oswego writes from Key West, and says: This “city** contains about 3,000 inhabitants, of which about 300 are slaves : 1,700 are Con chs, ancl the remaining thousand are descended from the ‘‘rest of mankind.” These Conchs are peculiar specimens of human kind, and immi grated to Key from the Bahama Islands, some 260 miles east of this, upon the other side of the Gulf-Stream. When fust, or wherefore they were called Conchs , authentic history has not informed us. We know, however, that they are the descendants of Knglish emigrants and the Royalists of Georgia and Carolina, who settled upon and fled to the sandy and barren Bahama Islands. Living there in comparative indolence and disregarding the laws of Nature and of Na ture’s God, by marrying and intermarrying with in the prohibited degrees of consanguinity, they have become a distinct class or race, whom the Almighty has, apparently, marked with degen eracy. Among their children—they are legion —you can only occasionally recognize an ex pression or a feature of the ‘‘human face divine.” Many, and indeed most of the Bahama Islands, are quite barren and unproductive, and the resi dents live mainly upon fish. Ihe shell fish call ed couch or abounding, it became and is their principal or favorite food, and hence. I suppose, they acquired the name <>f Conchs. However this may be, or whether the name was originally adopted by themselves or applied by others as a nick-name, it is now and for a long period has been, the distinctive cognomination of a large portion of the Bahamians; and upon their native Islands, the conch-shell ’ is the allu sive picture or emblem upon all their flags and j banners. Even at the time of the Governorship of the notorious Lord Dunmore, the name was familiarly recognized by the Bahamians, for, at their party meetings and jollifications to petition I the King for his continuance in office, the fol lowing sentiment, in doggerel, was a favorite: ! Here’s a health lo Lord Dunmore, The conch is out, the shell at his door ; He who votes ior Lord Dunmore, He is a Conch , I am sure. Tradition, slightly aided by a fertile imagination however, can assign to this peculiar people a far more ancient and classical name and habitation. ! Neptune, the God of the Sen, we are told, had a numerous progeny by goddesses and mortals.— Triton was his only son by Amphitrite, and he j became a sea deity and the trumpeter to his fath er. Now we know that the instrument or “trump-marine” used by Triton to call and mar- ! slial his father’s clan, was a conch-shelly for Ovid I says: Triton vocat ; concha- que sonorae Inspirare jubet. And may we not reasonably infer that the clan who obeyed the call of the loud sonuding conch shell, when blown by the deified Triton, were called Conchs, and that they are the real pro geirtors of the present diving, amphibious race, who rally around and follow the conch-shell as their armorial ensign, and who are now dis tinctly known among men as Conchs ? The Conch-men of this day and generation, at least upon this island, are a cadaverous, sor ry, and fishy-iooking genus hominum. They are proverbially peaceful, honest, temperate and religious, but have none of the pugnacious ener gy, scheming proclivity, and perpetual mobility of the Yankees. Their chief business is fishing, j sponging, turtling and wrecking, and generally on their own account, and not as the “hirelings” . ® of others. The labor which a Northern or Wes- i tern mna performs at a dollar a day and one hundred and fifty a year, the Conch regards as servile , and three dollars per day would not hire him to perform the same labor. Their wants are few, and in this latitude and locality, easily supplied. Their principal food being fish, the waters around the Key furnish a continuous and inexhaustible supply, and occasional wrecking procures for themselves and families the neces sary clothing, bread, gioceries, &c. Sponging is the gathering of sponges along the reefs, and when steadily and industriously followed, fifty dollars a month is easily earned. Turtling is a favorite employment with the Conchs and so abundant are they that every fami ly upon the Key, for a bit, (twelve and a half cents,) can dine daily upon fine turtle-soup and turtle-steaks. These large sea-tortises are sometimes taken in nets, sometimes by “turn ing,” and sometimes bv “pegging.” At certain seasons they come out upon the beach, in large numbers, to deposit their eggs in the sand. At such times, particularly moonlight nights, they are suddenly approached and turned upon the back, before reaching the wate>. It is very exciting sport, requiring great skill as well as practice to he successful. This is called “turn ing turtle ” And “pegging turtle” is equally exciling, and requring more skill and experience. Take a stick twelve or fourteen feet in length, insert into one end a pointed steel, like that of the shoemaker’s awl, and fasten to it a line or cord ; armed with this instrument, you sail along the reels, and throw it, harpoon fashion, at the turtle’s back, and the steel-point strikes so firm ly in the shell, that turtles weighing 400 pounds are securely “hauled in’’—and this is called “pegging turtle.” Large pens or cribs are built in the Bay, in which are kept a large supply, constantly on hand, for home consumption and exportation. There is a portion, and a very important and interesting portion of the wrecking business, performed exclusively by the Conch-men— it is the diving and working under water. When a vessel bilges and fills with water or sinks, they are employed to dive into the hold of the vessel, and there make fast to and save the cargo.— Forty and fifty feet is regarded as a good work ing depth of water, and a Conch has been known to “dive down’’ ninety feet, carrying along a cable, and make fast to an anchor.— I hey are trained to diving from early childhood, and hoys often years old will, at any moment, plunge in and go down twenty feet to pick up a sixpence. Indeed, it is said” (this l call a fish st ory) that expert covers will dive down forty feet, sledge-hammer in hand, for their favorite shell fish, the concha, and there break the shells and eat their breakfast, before coming up “to blow off.”* Their endurance of protracted sub | marine existence, is certainly most astonishing, j and their amphibious labors are not only im j portant, but indispensable in saving wrecked I cargoes. These Conch-men are almost wholly unedu- I cated, and with few exceptions make no effort | and manifest no desire to educate their children. Their dwellings are mostly one-story wooden buildings, elevated upon blocks some three or four feet from the ground; roughly boarded ; outside, and unfinished inside; windows desti ! tute of sash or glass, but having blinds made ot unplaned boards, which are kept open during I the day and closed at night. In their social in tercourse, they confine themselves almost ex clusively to their own class or race, and their dwellings are contiguous in a distinct portion ot the “city”—known as “Conch-Town.” Such are some of the noticeable points in the historical, physical, industrial and social pedi | gree, character and condition ol the Conchs, who comprise two thirds of the entire popula tion of the “Citv of Key-West.” j t TimrjcgwßEngp ,tww. i aßaai'ni ■wrwi'WM—a—g—aMS> Ml) crimes mis) Bcrtlin tl columbus7georgia. SATURDAY EVENING, MARCH 5, 1853. Telegraphic News. —Owing to the fact that the wires have been down between this point, Mobile and New Orleans, we have received no dispatches by our cniietpondent by the Western route for three days.— Wile rn that steamer’s news has been received by tin E &<tei n Route, representing the market at Liver pool fa r. Congress—Tlie Character of our Public Men. The demoralization of our public men has become a favorite theme with the Editors, and is not a distasteful morsel with members of Congress, The hardest hits in this direction which we have lately noticed, are contained in the Richmond Examiner of a late date. It states that there is one district in the South, which ever has been represented by a succession of drunkards, from a time whereof the memory of man runneth not to the contrary 5 and that there are several districts in the North which have never returned any others than notorious rogues and defaulters ; that fifty or a hundred dollars apiece to get men to stay in their places and vote, when a small bill comes up, is not a thing unheard of ; that debauchery and sensualism have set an unmistakea ble mark upon the cheek of more than a majority of the members; and that the proportion of clear-eyed, earnest and honest faces among that distinguished crowd are like the scattered stars which shone dim and dis tant through the murks and shadows of Milton’s Hades— they only serve to make the darkness visible. The pithy ediior well says, that the members of Congress have forgotten who made them. Congress has become careless of public opinion. Both parties there feel a per fect apathy in relation to the sayings and doings of all out siders. The Democratic party feel seeure. It has just crushed its adversary beyond the fear of another fight. The majority in every Democratic District has been doubled. Hence the Democratic party feels like that rich man in the Scriptures, who said, Soul , thou'hast meat and drink laid up for many years : eat , drink and take thine ease ; while the remnants of the Federal herd sing the same song with another burden : “Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die.” Like the beggar in Horace, ihe Whig party can sing before the robbers. It is safe, because it has nothing to lose. The cure for this great and alarming evil is in the hands of the people. Every two years they have the oppor j tunity of correcting-it, by selecting not only able but sober and honest men to represent them in Congress, and they should make a ennsoienitous use of such op portunities. Drunkards, gamblers, debauchees, specu lating adventurers, are unworthy of the confidence of the people and will abuse their trust if sufficient temp tation is offi-red to them. Private virtue is the highest j qualification of an American statesman. We are too : much undt r the sway of oily tongues—the meanest ! and poorest of intellectual gifts. Hence lawyers crowd the halls of Congress to the exclusion of all other classes of community. It was not so with our ancestors, nei- Washingtou or Macon were orators ; and in our age would doubtless have been considered very unfit per sons to send to Congress. They had neither brass nor “words, words, words,” but sound sense and incor ; ruptible integrity. It is nonsensical to separate political and private vir tue. A man who will cheat his neighbor, will cheat his country. A man who will indulge his lusts at the ex pense of his family, will be equally untrue to the State. — - Arrest of a Georgian at Bremen. | We learn from the Republican, that Mr. Conrad l Schmidt, a citizen of Savannah, who went to Bremen I some months ago on a visit to his relatives in Germany, with a regular passport from the United States de i partment, was arrested by trie Bremen police on a re i quisition of Hanover, for military service due that state, I thrown into prison, from which he was released | after five day’s confinement only on the energetic re monstrance of our Consul at Bremen, Mr. King, and of our Minister at Berlin, Mr. Barnard. Mr. Schmidt, it j seems, left Hanover in 1839, had never been in the j Hanoverian army and owed no military service to that State; while he was in prisou an other citizen of the j United States was pursued by the Bremen police, but ; luckily escaped. The Republican well remarks that it is high time that ! our government looked into this matter. The Bremen I Senate ought to be made to feel that they cannot with I impunity thus disregard commercial usage and the I spirit of commercial treaties. They owe most of their ! prosperity to their trade with the United States, and ; the time has come when they ought to choose between j their commercial interests on one hand and their blind obedience to the Germau Diet on the other, Au Explanation. It is proper to state that the information given of I Mrs. W bite's escape from the Asylum was based upon a j private letter, net intended for the public, and without the knowledge of Dr. Green, or of the person to whom the letter was written. It was thought proper however to put the public upon their guard against one known j to indulge in insane hatred against several of our best citizens. M ill the papers who have noticed the former ■ article please copy this. Taxes and Labor. Our article upon this subject has been objected to by our neighbor of the Corner Stone , though the ground of objection is not patent. Our position is, Ist that a man who votes ought to pay taxes, 2d that every tax-payer ought to be taxed in proportion to his ability to pay. The principle asserted by the mechanics of New Orleans is that capital ought to bear the whole burthen 01 tax ation. By this rule professional men, merchants, me chanics, sportsmen, actors and many other classes of the community who have large incomes,but no capital , would be entirely’ exempt from taxation, while the industrious farmer, mechanic, &c., who live economically, and lay up and invest a portion of their “hard earnings, ’ would be taxed. Such a policy would be neither just nor expe dient. Grocers’ Meeting. “Great is Diana of the Ephesians.” See Acts, 19 Chap. 24—28 verses. We learn from the Savannah papers, that an ad journed meeting f the Grocers of that city, convened at the Exchange Long Room, March Ist, for the pur pose of receiving the report of a committee appointed at a former meeting to draft resolutions expressive ot ! the sense of that meeting on the attempt to procure further legislation on the traffic in liquors, and to pre pare rules for their government as an association. The meeting was organized by Mr. Wm. M. David son presiding, and Mr. Waring Russell, acting as Sec ! rotary. The following resolution was read, introductory to their constitution, and unanimously adopted: Resolved, That the undersigned, believing that the legislation which is recommended by those who are in i favor of the law known as the “Anti-Liquor Law,” will he in violation of rights which are inalienable, and not ! the subject of restriction by legisilation : and feeling that it is a duty that we owe to ourselves and our fellow-citi zen t, to prevent, if possible, any further prosecution of a subject injurious in its tendencies and restrictive of our i rights as citizens of the United States; are desirous of forming an association having for its object the opposition I by all proper and lawful means, of any further legislation J upon the subject of the traffic in liquors ; and also for our mutual protection in the pursuit of a just and honorable calling : And we do hereby form ourselves into an as , sociation to be’ called the “Groceis’ Association of the City of Savannah.” j Among the articles of the Constitution, we noticed the following declaration : “That this (the association) is to have no reference ! to any party (political) organization now existing.” In reference to a proper observance of the Sabbath , I the 9th article thus expresses the sentiment of tho asso ciation : “It being the desire of every member of this associa tion to discontinue the practice of trading on Sundays , and believing that it will advance the interests of the j association, we do pledge ourselves to discontinue the | practice, and hereafter close our doors on the Sahbath. v The constitution being adopted, and the signatures of those present desirous of becoming members having been obtained, the meeting adjourned, subject to a call of the chairman. Raymond & Co.’s Circus and Menagerie. This celebrated company has arrived in Town and will exhibit on Monday, (day and night.) Their en trance into the city was imposing, and attracted much notice. Their performances and exhibition are said to bo capital. New Boot Leather. ! Mr. J, W. Galveston,jt is said, has manu i factured beautiful boots out of aligator’s skins. They ; resemble the finest calf-skin and are mottled like tortoise 1 shell. ! . Murder. • Mr. W. S. Irby, of Alabama, whipped a negro ni3n to death, not long since, and was immediately ar rested and bound over to court, in a bond of SSOOO. Such outrageous inhumanity should meet the condign punishment the law annexes to the crime. 46 The Union.” The statement that Harney ofthe Louisville Demo crat was going to Washington to edit the Union is said to be a fabrication, by a correspondent of the N. Y. Herald; who further states that the paper will con tinue under the sole editorial control of General Arm- I strong. The Colville Family. We are indebted to J. W. Pease of this city for a copy of this entertaining work, by the author of “Frank Fairleigh,” &e. The London Quarterly Review pro nounces it “a gem of a household book, worthy to be put in the hands of every youth, and be introduced into every social circle.” South Western Circuit. It is reported that Wm. H. Perkins, Esq., of Ran dolph, has been elected Judge of this circuit. Telegraph. A Telegraphic office has been established in Madison, i Georgia. ! . Rates of Postage! It is not easy, always, to keep in mind the required amount o! postage stamps on letters, &,e., under the laws now in force. The following convenient table of rates gives the information required at a glance, and we prerent it to our readers with the suggestion to cut it out and p_ t] in some convenient place, to save the trouble of asking red having to answer questions about it: Letters— Each 4 ounce under 3000 miles, prepaid, 3c. ; unpaid, sc. Each 1 ounce over 3000 miles, prepaid, 7c.; unpaid, 10c. All Printed Matter in General—anywhere in the Uni ted States: First three ounces, ic. Each subsequent ounce, lc. It not prepaid, double these rates. But— Newspapers and Periodicals—paid quarterly or yearly in advance— First three ounces, Each subsequent ounce, lie] not weighing over 11 oz., in the State where pub- j lished, *c. each, and weekly papers in the county where published, free. Newspapers and Periodicals published monthly or oftener, and Pamphlets of 16 Octavo pages or less, when sent I in packages weighing at least 8 oz., piepaid, ie. an oz. Books— bound or unbound ; weighing not more than j iour pounds, may be sent by mail, for each oz., under 3000 miles, prepaid, lc. I Unpaid, lie I Over “ “ “ ii c . j 3 C ; fractions oyer a single rate are charged as one rate ‘ Periodicals,’ in the sense used above, are publications issued once iu three months or oftener. Soil of the South.—No farmer ought to be without an agricultural paper. Some do get along so, but they would do a great deal better with one. The Soil of the South would enable them to save its cost tweniy times over. The editorial articles ou work for he mouth are invaluable. Published by Lomax & Ellis, at Columbus, Ga. Terms $1 a year in advance. —Marietta Advocate. Three Days Later from Europe. ARRIVAL OF THE HUMBOLDT. Private dispatches received yesterday afternoon, announce the arrival at New York, of the Ameri can steamship Humboldt, from Havre, with li\er pool dates to the 15th ult., three days later than previous accounts. The dispatches state that the Liverpool market was dull, with a decline of one sixteenth of a penny, and that the market closed film. Further by the Humboldt. Political. — England . —In the British Parlia j meat Lord John Russell stated that the Govern i ment was perfectly satisfied that Napoleon had no I hostile intentions against England. France. —On the 4th ult., the Emperor, in per ! son, in an address to the French Chambers, said that he had determined upon a reduction of the Army, that it was his intention to cultivate a good understanding with foreign powers, and to convince the incredulous that when France expressed her intentions to remain at peace, the must be believed. The speech produced a good effect on the Bourse, 1 causing a rise in the funds. Italy is ail quiet. Accounts from Milan report that the recent outbreak was a small affair. The ringleaders were hanged, and martial law was rig orously enforced. Loss of the Steamer Queen Victoria.—The steamer Queen Victoria was wrecked on the coast of Ireland, and fify persons drowned. | - The Europa arrived at Liverpool on the 13^i, and her news touching the extent of the crop had a I depressing effect on cotton. On the 14th the mar* | ket was dull, with sales of 5,000 bales, at a decline i of l-16d. On the 15th the market was firmer, with sales of 500 bales. Wright, and Gundy quote cotton 1-8 lower, but admit that it rallied to 1-160. Other circulars give a decline of l-Bd. in middling and lower qualities, without any change in other descriptions. Soil of the South. —The February number of j this valuable book has been received. It contains | a variety of interesting articles ; among them we i notice the premium essay read at the last annual j Fair of the Southern Central Agricultural Associa tion, on the subject of the Cotton plant, and writ ten by the Editor, Col. James M. Chambers.— Col. Chambers is a practical farmer ; he has bee n engaged in the cultivation of the soil for a number of yeats, and is among the most successful plan | ters of his section. The book should be in the hand j of every planter, and after one year’s reading it, ino one engaged in that business would feel wil j ling to do without it. It is published very handsomely by Messrs. Lo- I max & Ellis, iti Columbus, Ga., at $1 per year in j advance. j Besides its agricultural merits, Mr. Charles A ; Peabody, the most skillful and scientific horticul turist in the South, is connected with it, and in j that department makes it the most valuable book ! published in Georgia.— Central Georgian. I— | The Galveston Neics understands that Col. Kin ney has recently sold one half of his interest in the town of Corpus Cnristi, for the sum <;f one hundred thousand dollars. Washington Items-Gen. Pierce and his Cabinet, Arc. Washington, Feb, 27th,—Gen. Pierce yester day, during the morning, received calls of cere, mony at his apartments, only admitting one 1 person at a time. The rush was not very great | the reception not being generally known. Be tween 2 and 3 o’clock he visited for a short time the two Houses of Congress, and was re ceived with great attention. The following is said to be the true complex ion of the Cabinet, as definitely fixed upon : Hon. William L. Marcy of New York. Secretary of State ; Hon. James Guthrie of Kentucky, Secretary of the Treasury : Hon. Robt.McClel land of Michigan, Secretary of the Interior; Hon. Jefferson Davis of Mississippi, Secretary of War. Hon. J C. Dobbin of North Carolina, : Secretary of the Navy ; Hon. James Campbell of Pennsylvania, Postmaster General ; Hon. Caleb Cushing of Massachusetts, Attorney ! General. The following persons are named as candi- ! ; dates for the o lice of Commissioner of Public I j Buildings and Grounds ; Peter M. Pierson, j i Chas. L Colton and Mr. Pepper of the District; j Major Lewis and Messrs. Hennicutand.Throck morton of Va. Hen. Riehard H. Stanton of Ten nessee. Numerous strangers are arriving and the ho tels are already filled. The boarding-houses and private dwellings are also filling up. Hon. George Briggs was last night arrested for the late assault on Postmaster Hubbard, on complaint of a private citizen, and held to bail in the sum 0f52,000. Gen. Pierce attended Rev. J. C. Smith’s Presbyterian church/this morning. Attorney General Crittenden was married to ! the widow of the late Gen. Ashley this morn ing, at Dr. Payne’s Episcopal church. Presi dent Fillmore, Gen. Pierce, Gen. Scott, mem bers of Congress, of the Cabinet and many | others were in attendance. The bride was given away by Secretary Everett. Interested Friendship.— The Grandfather of the late Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland was a great humorist, and used frequently to divert himself with a village fool or “natural,” called Will Spears. One day Will met his lordship in j the avenue leading to Eglinton Castie, bat the peer being in a brown study, passed his brain less acquaintance without recognition. Pro ceeding on his way, the “natural’; found a bone, and, sitting down on the sward, commenced lunching on the same. Eglinton, shortly after wards retracing his steps, came up to Will Spears, and being now aware of his presence, saluted him with his wonted cordiality, exclaim ing: “This is a fine day, Will, my man ! ” Will had not forgotten the supposed cut which he had so recently experienced ; he glanced suspicious ly at his lordship, and holding the half polished bone behind his back, observed, in a sneering and half-reproachful tone, “Ay, ay ! folk lute aye plenty o’freens when they hae ony thing to gie!” A Poem for Mothers Only. [it is called the “New Comer,” and beautiful and true.] — The hour arrives, the moment wished and feared The'child is born, by many a pang endeared *’ And now the mother’s ear has caught his cry Oh ! grant the cherub to her asking eve ! He comes, she clasps him ; to her bosom pressed He drinks the balm of life, and drops to rest. ‘ ‘ ’ She, by her smile, how soon the stranger know- • How soon by his the glad discovery shows; * ‘ As to her lips she lifts the lovely boy, What answering looks of sympathy and joy : He walks—bespeaks—in many a broken word His wants, his wishes and his griefs are heard- And ever, ever, to her lap he flies, Where rosy sleep comes on with sweet surprise Locked in her arms, Ins arms across her flung, That name most dear forever on his tongue. ~ As with soft accents round her neck he clings. And cheek to cheek her lulling songs he sings^ How blest to feel the beating of his heart, Breathe his sweet breath and kiss for kiss impart I Watch o’er his slumbers, like the brooding dove, And, if she can, exhaust a mothers love! New Use for Bedbugs.— The New York Sunday Allas announces that a discovery of the utmost importance to wine drinkers has been made by Mr. Struggles, a maker port and of champagne wine in New Jersey. The Lancas rat Express,from which we derive our facts, states that the rapid consumption of cockroaches used to give the nuttv and peculiarly piquant flavor to wine, had made it difficult to find a sufficient supply. In this dilemma the wine maker con ceived the happy idea that bedbugs might be used as a substitute. He tried the experiment, and the result was far more satisfactory than he had anticipated. It was found that a quart of bedbugs contained as much of the flavoring principle as three pints or more of the roaches —and that the former have but little of that nar cotic or sleep producing effect which is attribu ted to the latter. Contracts have been made with some of the fashionable boarding house keepers in Philadelphia and New York for an ample supply of this new article of traffic. It is thought the boarders will be somewhat pleas ed with this intelligence. Combing a Puppy.—A good anecdote is told of Mrs. Patterson, of Baltimore, the American lady connected with the Bonaparte family by marriage. Being in Italy, at an evening party, it fell to her lot to be handed in to the supper table by a young English noblemen, who, un like most of the patricians of England, had a good share of the puppy in his composition. Thinking to quiz the old lad v, he said : “You are acquainted with the Americans, 1 believe V’ “Very well.” “A monstrously vulgar people, aren’t they?” “Yes; but what could you expect when you consider that they are descended from the En glish? Had their progenitors, now, been Ital j ians or Spaniards, we might look for some good ’ breeding among them.” The nobleman did not venture to tread on Mrs. Patterson’s toes again that evening. Wanted. —A tiler and drummer to beat time to the march of intellect. A pair of snuffers for the light of other days. A stone-cutter who can drill deep enough to blast the rock of-ages. 1 he thing which a man fell v when he was thrown out of a window. To know how many feet in the vard of a house. The exact size of a hum-bug ; also if there are any in London- A link ot slumber’s chain the man was bound with. , -4 i fit's % ‘bn f Couple of Them.— A physician going down Regent street, w ith a friend ’.of his, said to | him— “ Let us avoid that pretty woman you see | there on the left. She knows me, and casts on me looks of indignation. I attended her hus band.” “Ah ! I understand; you had the misfortune to dispatch him.” “On the contrary,” replied the doctor, ‘T saved him.” Professor Porson, having once exasperated a disputant by the dryness of his sarcasm, the petulant opponent thus addressed him. “Mr. Porson, I beg leave to tell you, sir, that my opinion of you is peifectly contempti ble.” Porson replied—“l never knew an opinio*’ of yours, sir, which was not contemptible.’ ’ *” A Mormon paper, published at Liverpool, pro fesses to circulate twenty-three thousand copies. A man who is seventy years old, has spent twenty-three years of his life in bed, and five years at table ! OCT A planter informs the editor of the Miliedgeville Union, that the buzzards are at tacking his stock, lie says that, within a few weeks, so great had been the destruction among his lambs and young pigs, by the buzzards, he could no longer trust them out of the super vision of some person on his premises. He had witnessed an attack made by them upon a full i grown ewe, which would have proved success ful but for timely interference. lO* An old lady onceyaid that her idea of a great man was : “A man who was keerfulof his clothes, didn’t drink sperits, kin read the Bible without spellin’ the words, and kin eat a cold dinner on wash day, to save the wimmen folks the trouble of cooking.” © Impromptu hv M. Leghos.— On the text of a sermon by Pelham, Bishop of Exeter, upon his translation to Lincoln, “Be ye steadfast and immovable.” Not what the preacher says, but does, Ought chiefly to be noted ; Be ye immovable, he says— But oft he goes, promoied. The preacher’s comment from the text, Appears a variation ; The original is not perplexf, The fault’s in his translation. 00“ In the streets of Leicester one day, Dean Swiit was accosted by a druken weaver, who, staggering against his reverence, said : “I have been spinning it out.” “\es,” said Dean, “l see you have, and now you are reeling it home.”