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Rev. VVM. J. HARD, J
“ C. S. DOD. > Vice Presidents
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L. D. LALLERSTEDT, Treasurer.
Froin the Cresentand the Cross.
The Jews of Palestine.
The Jews are very fond of news, and
very partial to foreigners, particularly
the English. I introduced myself to a
venerable and noble looking Hebrew in
the streets one day, bv asking my way
to the Poor of Hezekiah, whither he ac
companied me, and afterwards invited
me to his house. We entered by a very
humble doorway from the silent street,
and passing through a dark gallery of
some length, entered a large apartment
which equalled in oriental luxury any
thing that I had yet seen. The ceiling
was slightly arched, and crusted with
stalactites of purple and gold, that ap
peared to have oozed out from some
rich treasury above. The walls were of
pannellcd cedar, or some such dark and
fragrant wood,'exquisitely carved ; the
curtains of Damascus silk were gathered
into thick folds between pilasters of
•dar, polished, yet rugged with the rich
carving.
The windows were without glass, but
the foliage of some orange trees soften
ed the sunshine into a delicious gloom,
lending all the effects of painted glass,
with the addition of quiver which added
coolness to its shade. The furniture was
simple, as is customary in the East, and
consisted only of divans, or wide silken
cushions, ranged round the walls, hut
little elevated above the floor. This
was of marble mosaic, wrought into flor
al emblems, such as hells, pomegranites,
Ac., with a white marble basin of clear
water in the midst. A rich tufted car
pet, in which the foot sank as in a mead
ow, was spread in each corner of the
upper end, and leaving our slippers on
the marble floor, wc took our scats on
the divan.
When seated, my host laid his hand
upon his breast and repeated his wel
come. He then clapped his hand, and
pipes—an unusual luxury among the
Jews—were brought by two little black
slaves, with white tunics and scarlet
caps. They retired, and we smoked the
pipe of repose in such luxury and cairn
as my troubled pilgrimage had seldom
known till then. I should have sup
posed myself in some Pasha’s seraglio,
but for the garbadine and dark turban of
my host, and that firm look of lofty de
termination that is to be seen on every
Hebrew brow, undimmed by the disas
ters and degradations of two thousand
years.
My entertainer spoke with respect of
Bishop Alexander, and of the other
missionaries; he said he gave them
credit for the best motives, hut it was all
in vain to hope to proselyte his people.
“The Romans,” he added with enthusi
asm, ‘‘could not condemn Manlius in
sight of the Capitol, and the hill of Zion,
is not a likely spot for a Jew to forsake
the faith of his forefathers.” “ The
Christians do not honor Zion less,” I ob
served, “because they also point to Cal
vary. They go with you hand in hand
as tar as regards this world’s sacred his
tory, and far beyond them then, into a
heaven w hich you had hoped for from the
days of Abraham, and which you will
not receive, because different from that
which you expected.” The dark eye of
the Hebrew literally glowed beneath his
gray and shaggy eyebrows, as he raised
his arm in vehement gesticulation and
contrasted strangely with the repose of
the rest of his drapered figure. “Eng
lishman,” he exclaimed in a voice that
seemed to gurgle from his heart, “you
know not what you say.”
Suddenly the door opened, the tapes
try that hung over it was moved aside
by a beautifully rounded arm on which
jewels gleamed, and there stepped forth
a female form which fascinated my at
tention as if it had been a vision. Im
agine a Rebecca, in all the chastened
pomp of dress and beauty that Sir Wal
ter Scott has painted with such vivid
words —even such as she stood before
me, a glorious embodiment of all the
best attributes of her pure and noble
race. Such might have Eve herself
have been, so might her daughters have
looked when angels sought their mortal
love. Miriam, Jae!, Judith and the gen-
AUGUSTA WASHINGTONIAN.
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Vol. III.]
tie Ruth, all the heroic spirits under that
form (but not the maid mother) I know j
not how she was dressed, I scarce know
how she looked ; but I have a memory
before my eyes that seems still to con
fuse, as it dazzled then.
I onlv remember a light gauzy turban,
with a glittering fringe, falling graceful
ly over the shoulder; masses of black
and shining hair that made the forehead
and delicately brown cheek look as fair
as a Circassian’s; if a thought of luxury
hovered upon the richly rosy mouth, it
was awed Into admiration, by the large
dark eyes, so fearless, yet so modest,
glancing around as if they read a mean
ing in every thing and every where,
yet calm and self possessed in their con
sciousness of power. She carried a lit
tle tray, on which I believe were sweat
meats and sherbets, and bent gracefully
! forward to offer her refreshments.
I started to my feet, and addressed her
| some words in Italian, to which she only
i replied with a shake of her head, and a
j faint smile ; she then drew back, while
her sister, whom I had not noticed until
now, came forward with another tray,
containing I know not what. I was rath
er bewildered by the whole scene, and
felt that l was embarrassing by not ac
cepting the hospitalities of my fair host
ess, while a quiet smile played over the
features of my venerable host.
I need not say 1 was very anxious to
| make the most of this rare opportunity of
| seeing the daughters of Israel in their
own home; yet I confess I experienced a
sensation of relief when the Jewish
maidens retired, and 1 was left again
alone with my entertainer. Controver
sy was now out of the question. We
avoided the subject by mutual consent,
and feeling the Eastern restraint which
prevented me from alluding to the sub
ject then uppermost in my mind, I only
asked whether he considered that there
was a perceptible increase in the number
of his people at present in Jerusalem.
He replied, “that the time was not vet
arrived.” “ Many now have their eyes
fixed on Zion,” lie continued, “and a
slight matter that we know not of might
direct multitudes to this spot; at pres
ent we are not more than 4000 in Jeru
salem; but if our Rabbis were to speak,
ten times that number would arrive here
before the next passover.
“ 'There is barely means of subsistence
at present for the numbers within the
city, and our poverty and Turkish op
pression prevent the country round from
being brought into cultivation.” As he
spoke of poverty, I glanced round the
splendid apartment, and he added, “It is
the mass of our brethren who are poor,
even to extremity, are supported entirely
by alms from us, and the Jews of Eu
rope; any of us who are possessed of
wealth, take some pride, perhaps, of the
exhibition of it in our houses; which
ought to be. But I must ask you to ex
cuse my taking my leave of you unless
vou would wish to accompany me to the
synagogue, whither I ain now obliged to
go.” We passed out through the dark
passage and mean gate, into the dirty
street, and afterward, when I sought
that house again, I could not even iden
tify it among the squallid dwellings with
which it was surrounded. Nor did I ev
er see my host after I parted from him at
the door of the synagogue.
Singular Tradition.
Among the Seminole Indians there is
a singular tradition, regarding the white
man’s origin and superiority. They say
that when the Great Spirit made the
earth, healso made three men, all of whom
were fair cornplexioned; and that, after
making them, he led them to the margin
of a small lake and bade them leap there
in and wash. One immediately obeyed,
and came from the water purer and fair
er than before; the second hesitated a
moment, during which time, the water,
agitated by the first, had become slightly
muded, and when he had bathed he came
up copper-colored ; the third did not leap
in till the water became black with mud,
and he came out with its own color. —
Then the Great Spirit laid before them
three packages of bark and bade them
choose and out of pity for his misfortune in
color, gave the black man the first choice,
He took hold of each of the packages
and having felt the. weight, chose the
heaviest; the copper-colored one then
chose the second heaviest, leaving the
white man the lightest. When the
packages were opened, the first was found
to contain spades, hoes and all the im
plements of labor; the second enwrap-
AUGUSTA, GA. JUNE 28, 1845.
ped hunting, fishing and warlike appa
ratus; the third gave to the white man,
pens, ink, and paper—the engine of the
mind—the means of mutual mental im
provement—the social link of humani
ty—the foundation of the white man’s
superiority.
From the Advocate of Peace.
Explosion of a Bomb Shell.
BY JOHN S. ABBOTT.
A few weeks ago there was an accidental !
explosion of a bumb shell in Charlton
Street, New York. And as I chanced
to be at the spot but a few moments after
the explosion, I will give you a descrip
tion of the terrific scene, as it met my
eye. I was sitting in my house, about a
quarter of mile from the place of explo
sion, at 4 o’clock P. M., when the whole
house was shaken by the report of appa
rently the heaviest piece of artillery. I
was just preparing to go down in town,
and taking an omnibus, soon saw a mul
titude of men and boys running towards
Charlton Street, in a moment more a
crowd came around the corner of Charl
ton Street into Hudson Street, bearing
the body of a well dressed man, upon a
window shutter. They crossed the street
directly by the omnibus, and I observed
that the whole back side of the head was
blown off, and the blood and brains were
dripping down the shutter. Perceiving
indications of great excitement in the
rapidly gathering crowd, and hearing
exclamations of “ explosion,” “ terrible
explosion,” &c., I left the omnibus to
learn the cause of the disaster. Enter
ing Charlton Street, guided by hundreds
who were rushing to that point from nil
quarters, I observed on both sides of the
street, for a little distance, that the win
dows were entirely demolished, the
frames in many places blown in, doors,
shutters, and holes blown actually thro’
the sides of houses. In one place, forty
rods, I should judge, from the spot where
the explosion took place, a hole was
blown through the front of a frame
house, large enough for a man to enter.
Upon the side walk, in front of a shop of
old iron, lay in disorder, some thirty or
forty rusty bomb shells, about eight inch
es in diameter. It was said by the crowd
that a man had one of these between his
knees, endeavoring to loosen the charge
with a stick, when it exploded, producing
this scene of destruction and carnage.
The body of this man was torn to pieces,
and scattered in fragments through the
streets. Observing a crowd gathered a
round an object in the street at a little
distance, I approached it, and saw, appa
rently, a large piece of butcher’s meat,
which a boy was pushing about with his
foot. On examining it, it proved to he
the lower portion of a man’s leg, with
the crushed bones, and mangled flesh.—
“ The other leg,” said a by-stander, “ was
blown over into Hudson Street.” A
crowd was collected round a window all
gazing at some object. It was a man’s
hand, the fingers burnt, and crushed,
and having been torn from
the body, and thrown with violence a
gainst the brick wall. The mangled
trunk of the unfortunate man, headless
and limbless, had been carried into the
house, and the shrieks of his wife were
heard over the bloody remains. Upon
an iron window frame lay the torn and
bloody body of another man. A frag
ment of the shell had torn away one
half of his head. He was dead. His
blood and brains were dripping .’own
upon the pavement, and a day laborer
had thumb and finger upon his eyes, to
close them forever. Two young men
who happened to be passing by in the
middle of the streets, were literally
blown up into the air, and fell with bro
ken and mangled limbs upon the pave
ment. They both died, I believe, the
next day. In the street lay a horse dead,
and it was singular that he also had the
whole of the back of his head torn off by
a fragment of the shell. A beautiful
wagon to which he was attached, was
also demolished, the spokes of the wheel
broken, and the vehicle almost torn to
pieces.
Such was the devastation produced by
the explosion of one single shell. And
yet this shell did but perform its func
tion. It was made for this very pur
pose—to distroy property and life. It
was made to be thrown into the crowded
streets of a city, there to explode, and
blow up houses, and tear limb from limb.
This was the function of the instrument.
And this is war. To throw such mis
siles as these into the crowded streets of
a city, is the business of war. As I
looked upon this scene, and witnessed its
carnage and woe, and reflected that it
was the work of one single shell, and
then reflected upon the consternation
and horror which must be produced by
raining down a shower of these shells
upon a city, crushing their way through
the roofs of the houses, exploding in the
chambers of the dying, or in parlors
where mothers, and daughters, and in
fant children are gathered in terror, nev
er did I so deeply feel before the hor
rors, —the unmitigated iniquity of war;
never before did I so deeply feel that it
was the duty of every one who has a
voice to speak, or a pen with which to
write, to devote all his influence to pro
mote the abolition of this fiend-like
work.
When Napoleon, with his blood-stain
ed army, arrived before the walls of Vi
enna, he planted his batteries, and in
less than ten hours threw three thousand
of these horrible projectiles into the city.
Three hundred of these bomb shells ex
ploded every hour, five every minute in
the streets and dwellings of this crowd
ed metropolis. Who can imagine the
terrors of that dreadful night when, a
ntid the thunders of artillery, the cry and
the uproar of contending armies, and
conflagrations breaking out on every
side, these terrible shells, like fiery mete
ors with portentious glare, were streaking
the air, and descending like hail stones
upon the doomed city. Crashing through
the roofs of the dwelling, they exploded at
the fire side, in the very cradle of the in
fant, blowing their mangled limbs, with
fragments of their demolished homes, far
and wide into the air. In this way Na
poleon conquered Vienna. In this way
England conquered Canton. And in
this demoniac work thousands of our
countrymen arc now ready to engage
for the acquisition of Texas and Oregon.
The whole city of New York was thrown
into excitement by the tale of the explo
sion of this one shell, and there is scarce
ly a newspaper in the land which did not
record the dreadful story. And yet it is
the business of war to cast these shells
by thousands among the men and boys
who crowd the ships of the navy and
the merchant fleet, and among the aged
men, the mothers, the maidens and the
children who throng the dwelling and the
pavements of the city. 0 merciful God,
save the nations from the horrors of war!
Puuctuatiou.
To show the necessity of not merely
using points, but of punctuating proper
ly, examine the following passage:
“ The persons inside the coach were
Mr. Miller a clergyman his son a law
yer Mr. Angelo a foreigner his lady and
a little child.”
This passage, thus written without
points, is unintelligible: by different
modes of punctuating it, several altera
tions may be made in its sense: not on
ly as to the number of persons in the
coach, but, also, as to their country, pro
fessions and relationship to each other.
By a change of points, the lady may be
described as the wife of either one of
two persons: Mr. Miller’s son may be
made a clergyman, or a lawyer, at will;
or, his son may be taken from him and
given to a clergyman, whose name is not
mentioned.
The following variations, by use of
points, will equally amuse and instruct:
(1.) “The persons inside the coach
were Mr. Miller, a clergyman, his son, a
lawyer, Mr. Angelo, a lbreigner, his la
dy, and a little child.”
By this mode of pointing, it would ap
pear that there were eight individuals in
the coach, namely, a clergyman, a law
yer, a foreigner and his lady, a little
child, Mr. Miller, Mr. Angelo, and the
clergyman’s son.
(2.) “The persons inside the coach
were Mr. Miller, a clergyman; his son,
a lawyer; Mr. Angelo, a foreigner; his
lady; and a little child.”
This change in the punctuation would
reduce the parties in the coach, exclu
sive of the lady and child, to three per
sons; and make Mr. Miller himself a
clergyman, Mr. Miller’s son a lawyer,
and Mr. Angelo a foreigner.
(3.) “The persons inside the coach
were Mr. Miller; a clergyman, his son;
a lawyer, Mr. Angelo; a foreigner, his
lady, and a little child.”
Here Mr. Miller’s son becomes a cler
gyman, Mr. Angelo, a lawyer, and the
lady and child, those of a foreigner, who
is nameless.
(4 ) “The persons inside the coach
WASHINGTOWIAIf
TOTAL ABSTINENCE PLEDGE.
We, whose names are hereunto a*r
nexed, desirous of forming a Society for
our mutual benefit, and to guard against
a pernicious practice, which is injurious
to our health, standing and families, do
pledge ourselves as Gentlemen, not to
drink any Spirituous or Malt Liquors,
j Wine or Cider.
[No. 50
were Mr. Miller; a clergyman, his son;
a lawyer; Mr. Angelo; a foreigner, his
lady; and a little child.”
Mr. Angelo here ceasps to be a law
yer ; there is no longer a foreigner who
is the husband of the lady and father of
the child ; but the lady is described as be
ing a foreigner, and Mr. Angelo’s wife;
and the child is not understood as being
a-kin to any person in the coach.
Other alterations might be made in
the sense of this passage by altering the
punctuation; but sufficient has been
done to show the necessity of pointing a
passage so as to accord with the fact it
is intended to relate.
The Death of a Child.
And no one feels the death of a child
as a mother feels it. Even the father
cannot realize it thus. There is a va
cancy in his bosom, and a heaviness in his
heart. There is a chain of association
that at set times comes round with its
broken link; there are memories of en
deaVment, a keen sense of loss, a weep
ing over crushed hopes, and a pain of
wounded affection. But the mother
feels that one has been taken away who
was still closer to her heart. Her’s has
been the office of constant ministration.
Every gradation of feature has devel
oped before her eyes. She has detected
every new gleam of intelligence. She
heard the first utterance of every new
word. She has been the refuge of his
fears; the supply of his wants. And
every task of affection has woven a
new link, and made dear to her its ob
ject. And when he dies a portion of
her own life, as it were, dies. How can
she give him up with all these memo
ries, these associations? The timid
hands that have so often taken hers in
trust and love, how can she fold them on
his breast, and give them up to the cold
clasp of death ? The feet whose wan
derings she had watched so narrowly,
how can she see them straightened to go
down into the dark valley ? The head
that she has pressed to her lips and her
bosom, that she has watched in burning
sickness and in peaceful slumber, a hair
of which he could not endure to see
harmed, O! how can she consign it to the
chamber of the grave ? The form that
not for one night has been beyond her
vision or knowledge, how can she put it
away for the long night of the sepulchre,
to see it here no more? Man has cares
and toils that draw away his thoughts
and employ them; she sits in loneliness
and all those memories, all those sugges
tions, crowd upon her. How can she
bear all this? She could not, were it
not that her faith is as her affection and
if the one is more deep and tender than
in man, the other is more simple and
spontaneous, and takes confidently hold
of the hand of God.— Rev. E. H.
Chapin.
The British Naval Forces on the Bra
zil and African Stations. —Great Bri
tain is well prepared in case of war to
attack the commerce of this country,
and cut off half of it at almost a single
blow. A large portion of her naval ar
mament is placed in a position favora
ble to this object. On the coast of Af
rica Great Britain has some forty ves
sels of war, carrying about five hundred
guns; and on the coast of Brazil twelve
war vessels, carrying about two hundred
and fifty guns; and all ready for action
either on the Atlantic, on the track of
American commerce to Asia and the
Pacific, or on our coast. The value of
commerce which would be at the mercy
of this naval force is immense. East
of the Cape of Good Hope it is very
near twenty-six million of dollars; and
the value of the commerce of the Pa
cific is already immense, and annually
growing in value and importance. The
whaling business alone has become one
of the most important of our maratime
interests, as well from the capital and
enterprise engaged in it as from the vast
amount of wealth which it annually
draws from the great deep. Our wha
ling fleet now counts six hundred and
seventy-five vessels, the greater part of
which are ships of four hundred tons
burden, amounting in all to two hundred
thousand tons. The value of the whale
fleet is estimated at not less than twen
ty-five millions of dollars. Our Gov.
ernment, remarks.the Ledger, will no
doubt keep these facts before it, and be
amply prepared to afford the necessary
protection to these important interests if
affairs should assume such a character as
to require it. —Bolt. Sun.