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foetri).
“ Borroboola dlwu rt
A stranger preached test Sunday,
And crowds of people came,
To henr a two hours gormou
With a barbarous sounding name ;
’Twas all about some heathens,
Thousands of miles afar,
Who lived in aland of darkness,
Called “ Borroboola Glia. ”
So well their wants he pictured,
That when the plates wore passed,
Each listuer felt his pockets,
And goodly sums were cast;
For all must lend a shoulder
To push the rolling car,
That carried light and comfort,
To H Borroboola Gha. "
Tliat night their wants and sorrows
Lay heavy on my soul
And deep in meditation
I took my morning stroll,
Till something caught my mautle
With eager grasp and wdd,
And looking down with wonder
I saw a little child.
A pale ttnd puny creature.
In rags Riid djrt forlorn ;
What could she want I questioned,
Impatient to be gone;
With trembling voice she answered,
“ We live just down the street,
And mammy she’s a dyin’,
And we’ve nothing left to eat. ”
Down in a wretched basement.
With mould upon the walls
Thro’ whose half buried windows
God’s sunshine never falls,
Where cold, and want, and hunger,
Crouched near her as she lay,
I found a fellow creaturo
Gasping her lite^awuy.
A chair, a broken table,
A bed of dirty straw,
A hearth all dark and cheerless —
But these I scarcely saw,
For the mournful sight before me,
The sad sickening show—
Oh ! had I ever pictured
A scene so full of woe t
Tfie famished and the naked,
The babes that pine for bread,
Tbe squalid group that huddled
Around che dying bed,
All this distress and sorrow
Should be in lands afar;
Was I suddenly transplanted
To “Borroboola Gha?”
Ah, no! tbe poor and wretched,
Were close behind the door,
And I had passed them heedless
A thousand times before.
Alas 1 for tbe cold and hungry
That meet ine every day,
While all my tears were given
To the suffering far away.
There's work enough for Christains
In distant lands, we know;
Our Lord commands his servants
Through all the world to go,
Not only for the licathen;
This wan his charge to them—
** Go preach the word, beginning
First at Jerusalem. ”
Oh! Christian, God has promised
Whoe'er to thee has given
A cup of pure cold water,
Shall find reward in Heaven.
Would you secure the blessing,
You need not seek it far;
Go find in yonder hovel
A Borroboola Gha.
Mistellancous.
The Choir.
We went to the Methodist Church
last Sunday—it has been many a day
since we were there before. We had
heard along last year that they had a
choir there to do the singing—but we
had heard that Brother Spear, the new
preacher, was opposed to it, and so we
supf>osed they had got back to the
good old primitive plan, of not only
permitting every body to sing, but of
inviting every body to help.
Well, it was rather late when we
sot there—the preacher was at prayer.
’rayer being over, the preacher read
a hymn—there was brother Jepson
close by us—for upwards of twenty
years we have been accustomed to hear
him lift up his voice like a trumpet,
and wc expected to hear him again—
the preacher read over his hymn—he
then repeated the two first lines for the
singing to commence. We looked for*.
Frank to rise and raise the tune—but
he moved not, he did’nt even seem to
know that the words had been read out
—while we were wondering that he did
not begin, we heard a noise behind us
—as nearly as we can express it—
boo-00-00-00, and then a good many
voices broke out up in the gallery into
what we suppose was, according to
science, first rate singing. We sup
posed it was according to science, be
cause, besides hymn books, most of
them seemed to fiave fa, sol, la books,
like those old Bigelow used when in
our younger days he tried to beat mu
sic into or out of uS—it was no doubt
excellent music, but it did not Sound
to us like the full rich notes of sister
Shorter, nor the trumpet tones of bro
ther Jepson —and we think it would
be a long time before under its influ
ence the old sisters of the church would
get happy enough to shout.
In the mean time the balance of the
congregation was silent, except now
and then a low subdued hum, as of
some one anxious to join in but afraid
to intrude. We looked around upon
the congregation and saw many of the
old standards who looked, and seemed
to feel as if indeed their “ harps were
hung upon the willows.”
We have been accustomed to hear,
and to believe it too, that singing, par
ticularly when it is done with the spirit
and with the understanding also, is
one of the most profitable portions of
public worship, but we never felt it
more fully than on last Sunday. "
To the refined taste and the cultiva
ted ear, the rude note of the untaught
and unscientific are doubtless some
times harsh and discordant, but they
often gush forth from the heart filled
with a spirit of gladness and of praise
and of fullness of joy, which produces
a melody which mere science can nev
er reach—which comes fVom the heart
and goes to the heart, and brings every
sound and every feeling and every soul
into glorious union.
Music, like religion, may be so sub
limated into science as to put it out of
the reach of the multitude, and so in
cumbered with the forms and trap
pings of show as to render it at once
too delicate and too cumbrous, for dai
ly use, and fit, like fine dress, only for
Sunday and holiday exhibitions.
We should like to hear the choir
upon “The Old Ship of Zion,” and
“We’ll shout and go round,” and
“ Old Father Noah
And ten thousand more,"
and divers others of those old and
popular songs which stir up the mul
titude, like the sound of a„ trumpet.
The time has been, when people
went to the Methodist Church for the
purpose of worship and praise. Sing
ing is the great part of both in which
all can engage. It is not meet that
they should oe cut oft' from that priv
ilege, and be made to feel that they are
there to hear how well others can
sing.
There is an old song which says
“ When we all get to Heaven we will
shout as loud again,” and it is our
opinion, that there will be there no
choirs to do the singing for them, but
that every one will be allowed to join
in the shouting and singing too. — Cor
ner Stone.
Publishers and Authors.
It is fast becoming disreputable to
be a publisher. There is a family here
somewhat known in a small way in
literature, two of whose members—a
brother and sister—write books which
are vastly puffed by the insect press.
The world is given to understand that
this charming pair have quarrelled, and
in imitation of Lady Bulwer and Sir
Edward, have written books to abuse
each other in good round terms. —
Whereupon, their respective publish
ers get small editors to espouse each
side of the question, and belabor each
other on the subject of the rights and
wrongs of the injuired sister or the
slighted brother, and so—this being
the secret of the whole business —both
books get wind and sell. Dodges of
this order used to be the monopoly of
quack doctors aud petty shoemakers.
Then again, a showman, whose whole
life has been a series of disreputable
tricks, and a libel on the American
name, gives out that he intends to
write a book, and actually induce the
publishers to tender for it. Only fan
cy publishers—men to whom the world
gives credit for education, worth and
self-respect—cringing and bowing to
an exhibitor of wax-work and hum
bugs, and begging the favor of being
allowed to pay him thousands for as
dull a biography as was ever written.
All of them deserve as severe a lesson
as the succesful competitor will learn.
If this sort of thing continues, Ameri
can publishers will soon be classed
with vegetable pill makers, and other
charlatans. — N. Y. Herald.
Will you take a Sheep ?
A valuable triend, and an able farm
er, about the time that the temperance
reform was beginning to exert a health
ful influence in the country, said to his
newly hired man, “Johnathan, I did
not mention to you when I hired you,
that I think of doing my work this
year without rum. How much more
must I give you to do without ?”
“ Oh,” said Johnathan, “ I don’t
care much about it; you may give me
what you please.”
“Well,’ said the farmer, “I will
give you a sheep iu the Fall, if you
will do without.”
“ Agreed,” said Johnathan.
The oldest son then said, “Father,
will you give me a sheep, if I will do
without rum ?”
“Yes, Marshal, you shall have a
sheep, if you will do without.”
The youngest son, a stripling, then
said, “Father, will you give me a
sheep, if I will do without it too?”
“ Yes, Chandler, you shall have a
sheep, if you will do without rum.”
Presently Chandler speaks again:
“ Father, hadn’t you better take a
sheen, too?”
This was a poser; he hardly thought
that he could give up the “good crea
ture ” yet; but the appeal was from a
source not to be disregarded. The re
sult was, the demon was henceforth
banished from the premises, to the
great joy and final happiness of all
concerned.
A Haunted Vessel from Savannah
The Baltimore Sun of Monday last
says:—A rumor has prevailed for
some days past that a haunted schoon
er, the “Exchange,” of this city, had
arrived herefrom Savannah,and was
Tying at Smith’s dock. Since her ar
rival, some of the most ludicrous re
ports concerning her have been cur
rentiy circulated, and, as a matter of
course, as currently received and re
tailed by the gullibles of the town, of
the mo3t unearthly sights imaginable
having been witnessed by her com
mander and crew on her late home
ward trip, some of which are said to
have been put afloat by these same
parties, (who have entirely deserted
her,) though for what object all is mere
conjecture. Prompted by curiosity, a
number of gentlemen spent Friday
night last on Doard of her for the pur
pose of solving the mystery, but of
what transpired they will reveal noth
ing calculated to allay the curiosity of
anxious enquirers beyond assuring
them that strange sight* were seen
and horrid noises heard, but those
who desire to know wbat they are
must themselves find out by a night’s
lodging aboard. This plainly proves
tfic matter n, hoax- -if anything bc
yond common reason wei*e needed for
that purpose—as it is evident these en
quirers after the wondrous have been
“sold,” and are naturally desirous
that others should be done likewise.—
Crowds of our citizens visited her ves
terdny, but no one was wise enough to
divine the causes for this silly hoax,
though it is evidently designed for
some object yet hidden from the pub
lic gaze.
A Cat Story—And a True One.
A few weeks since a lady in this
village, who was the fortunate posses
sor of a cat and two kittens, finding
the latter more serviceable, said one
dav, while the old cat was in the room
“these kittens must be drowned, I
can't have them about me any longer.”
The same night the kittens disappear
ed and were forthwith domiciled in a
neighbor’s stable, and for some days
the old cat only made her appearance
for food. Bv\vay of experiment the
lady said, “Puss where are your kit
tens ? you may bring them back if
you’ve a mind to, ” and within a few
hours one of the kittens (the other
having been disposed of by a gentle
man to whose premises they were
conveyed) was deposited in the sitting
room and remained about the house
as at first. Three or four days after
wards another threat was promulgated
against the kitten in the mother’s pres
ence, and straightway the precious
charge was removed to the old city of
refuge, and nothing was seen of it for
some ten days, when one afternoon,
at the request of a visitor to whom the
circumstances were related, the lad}'
again said, “ Puss, you may bring the
kitten back,” and the same evening it
re-appeared. Now, we can’t swear
that the cat understands English, but
as at present advised, we should cer
tainly hesitate about telling any family
secrets in her presence, lest she should
some day take it in her head to blab.
[Brunswick Telegraph.
The Minie Ball.
A few days since we published an
article descriptive of the Minie rifle
ball, which j ust now is sending so many
poor fellows to their long home, and
the name of the inventor down to
poster it} r .
We are informed by an intelligent
officer of our army, that the Minie ri
fle ball is being adopted into our ser
vice, and upon an improved plan. As
now used in the Crimea, the powder
drives the sheet iron cup into the cav
ity of th,e ball, and this spreads the
ball so as to perfectly slug or fill the
rifle bore of the gun. The present im
provement is to dispense with this
sheet iron cup and make the powder
do all the work of spreading the ball.
It is a little remarkable that the
French gunsmith, Delvigne, who in
vented the hollow oblong ball, enter
tained this same idea, but as his ball
merely rested upon the powder, the
experiment did not succeed, and Col.
Minie introduced the sheet iron cup,
which was effectual in spreading the
ball.
Our army will use the Minie ball
without the cup. A portion, or the
whole of the charge of powder is in
serted into the cavity of the ball, and
powder in this cavity does the whole
work of spreading the ball and driv
ing it on its mission of death.
We understand the manufacture of
muskets in our armories is abandoned,
and our men will be armed with the
improved Minie rifles, with bayonets.
Another improvement in the man
ufacture of balls in our service is that
of cutting them out of sheet lead in
stead of running them. These are
termed pressed balls, and possess a
much more uniform density, lienee
more true in their flight towards the
object aimed at. — Cleveland Herald.
The Mormons.
Speaking of the possibility of a col
lision between the Mormons in Utah
and the United States authorities,
growing out of the appointment of
Col, Steptoe to the governorship of
that Territory, the Louisville Journal
says:
“ Terrible as a collision at this time
between the general government and
the Mormons might be, we say, un
hesitatingly, let it come if it must.
Let the legitmate authority of the Uni
ted States be maintained in the Terri
tory of Utah, even if, in order to that
end, the whole Mormou population
have to be driven out or annihilated.
All appearances indicate unerringly
that, sooner or later, a conflict between
the Mormons and the lawful authori
ties of the nation must take place, and
if so, surely the sooner it takes place
the better. And it is especially de
sirable and vastly important that, when
ever the conflict occurs, our govern
ment shall be clearly and indisputa
bly in the right, as it certainly will be
in asserting by force its right to ap
point the governor of Utah. The
Mormons are a most pestilent people,
and a great many persons insist that
the general government shall put down
polygamy among them. We have no
idea that the government has a right
to attempt this, but it has a right to
govern Utah as it governs other Ter
ritories ; and, as a conflict at no dis
tant day must, from the very charac
ter of Mormonum and the whole con
duct of its devotees, occur from one
cause or another, we are not unwil
ling that those horrible fanatics should
take ground for the maintenance of
then profligate prophet for governor,
and bring on the issue now.”
What Next —We notice by the
New Orleans papers of Thursday, that
the notorious rascal and pickpocket,
Dr. Hines, who has just served out a
year’s term in the Louisiana penitentia
ry, is delivering public lectures in New
Orleans on the subject of “ Penitentia
ry Discipline, &c.;” tickets only fifty
cents. This certainly beats Barn urn’s
boldest strokes of impudent humbug.
Speaking of Barnurn, the Picayune
says that Hines has written a biogra
phy of himself, which he is desirous of
publishing, and which, if a truthful re
cord, must equal in interest the recent
work of great showman.
A Drop Os Oil.
Every man who lives in a house, es
pecially if the house be his own, should
oil all the various parts of it once in
two or three months. The house will
last much longer, and will be much
more quiet to live in. Oil the locks,
bolts and hinges of the street door, and
it will shut gently, with luxurious
ease, and with the use of asmall amount
of force. A neglected lock requires
great violence to cause it to shut, and
with so much violence that the whole
house, its doors, its windows, its very
floors and joists, are much shaken, and
in time they get out of repair in all
sorts of ways, to say nothing of the
dust that is displaced every time the
place is so shaken. The incessant bang
ing of doors, scrooping of locks, creak
ing and screaming of hinges is a great
discomfort. Even the bell-wire cranks
should sometimes be oiled, and they
will act more certainly and with such
Sentle force that there will be little
anger of breaking any part of them.
The castors of tables and chairs should
sometimes be oiled, and they will move
with such gentle impulse and so quiet
ly that a sleeping child or an old man
is not awakened. A well oiled door
lock opens and shuts with hardly a
whisper. Three pennysworth of oil
used in a house once a year will save
many shillings in locks and other ma
terial, and, in the end, will save many
pounds in even the substantial repairs
of a house; and old wife, living and
sleeping in quiet repose, will enjoy
many more years of even temper and
active usefulness. Housekeepers, pray
do not forget the oil. A stitch in time
saves nine, and a drop in time saves
pounds. —The Builder.
A Moslem Sermon to Dogs.
It is well known that at Constanti
nople and at most eastern cities, wild
dogs prowl about fearlessly in gaunt
and ravenous troops. Especially do
they seem thorougly at home in the
Petit Champ des Mortes, qs the inhab
itants of Pera call a hug*4 assemblage
of tombs and barren mounds of gravel,
among which they delight to prom
enade. Here grim, tawny monsters,
that glare ferociously at the passer-by,
lie basking in the sun, or range about
in search of carrion. They are con
tinually quarrel ling among themselves,
and when a stray cur belonging to one
pack is caught trespassing on the hunt
ing grounds of another horde, the
growls of the prowlers thus intruded
upon become terriffic. Their numbers
equal their fierceness; for it is not un
usual to see fifty in a single troop.
Yet, with all the howling and snarling
of these dogs, it is very rare for a hu
man being to be assailed by them.—
Hydrophobia being unknown, or at
least very unfrequent in the East, the
danger of leaving so many savage
brutes at large is less than it would ap
pear at first sight; and whenever they
become too formidable by their num
bers, some thousands of them are car
ried to a desolate island in the sea of
Marmora and cruelly left there to
starve, three days’ provision being
placed witnin their reach, and a sermon
on the duties of resignation and endu
rance preached to them by a devout
Mollah.
FROM THE WILKES REPUBLICAN.
The late Judge Sayre.
While on a visit to Charleston, about
a vear ago, a friend in that city related
to" us an anecdote of Judge Sayre,
which is too good and characteristic
of that most excellent man, to be re
fused a record.
It seems that our friend, while trav
elling at the North, chanced to stop
for a time with an old lady residing in
a small town of New Jersy. Hearing
he was from the South, among other
questions she asked if he knew a Mr.
Nathan C. Sayre, and where he lived.
Upon an affirmative reply, the good
lady remarked, that when a boy, (in
1810, if we recollect aright,) Mr. Sayre
was at school in that village, that he
boarded at her house, and further
spoke of him as a most excellent youth
and a general favorite in the school
and town. She remarked, however—
as the more special object of her in
quiry—that there was yet thirty‘eight
dollars due on his board, which she
would like extremely to get. Know
ing Judge Sayre well, and being with
al, a plain-spoken man, our friend as
sured her that, though many years had
elapsed, it should all be made right.
Upon his return to Charleston, in
the Fall, he wrote to Judge Sayre stat
ing the facts as detailed to him by the
New Jersey landlady, and, by return
mail , received the following answer,
which we give from recollection, but
with no material inaccuracy, we feel
sure, for the language made a strong
impression upon us at the time.
My Dear Sir : —Your favor of the
inst. has just been received, and I
have to thank you for the kindness in
the matter to which it relates. I have
a distinct recollection of boarding with
Mrs. , when a small boy, in the
town of . I was then under the
charge of a guardian, who had means
in his hands for defraying all my ex
penses, and I have never had reason
to believe that he failed to pay oft and
discharge any liability created by me
when under his care. It is, however,
enough for me know, that she thinks it
unpaid, and I enclose you a check for
the amount said to be due, with inter
est to date , and would ask the favor
of you to see that she gets it.
Very trulv, your friend,
Nathan C. Sayre.
Oysters or Brass ?—A few days
ago, Mr. Wolf, of the Shelbyville
(Mo.) Spectator, died from eating
largely of oysters cooked iu anew
It is supposed that the “ brass” pro
ved fatal, editors being a proverbially
modest class of men. It would not
have affected a lawyer.— Atla. Repub.
• * * *
“Each loves itself, but not itself alone,
Eaoh sex desire*alike, till two a^eone.”
Violetta and Allendorf,
A ONE HORSE NOVEL.
Violetta started convulsively, and
turned her tear-drenched eyes wildly
upon the speaker, for to her there
seemed something stangely familiar in
those low rich tones. Their eyes met;
his beaming with joy and tenderness;
her eyes gleaming with uncertainty.
“ Violetta!”
“ Allendorf 1”
And the beautiful girl sunk from
excess of joy, upon his noble heart,
throbbing with pure, holy, delicious
love of other days. Allendorf bent
tenderly over her, and bathed her pure
white temples with the gushing tears
of deep though subdued joy.
While doing this, Violettas father,
Rip Van Short, was seen approaching
the lovers with a flail. Allendorf saw
the aged patriarch, and with one mighty
leap cleared the bannisters and rushed
down stairs. But Van Short was not
to be thus done. He put after the
flying Allendorf, and just as lie was
turning the corner of the red barn,
gave him a lift with the flail that plac
ed him on the other side of Jordan.
Violetta driven to distraction, threw
herself upon the grass, and for a long
hour, was deaf to every consolation.
(To be continued.) — N. Y Dutchman.
Sell Your Cotton.
What makes the times so tight ?
Scarcity of money. And what has
produced the pressure in the money
market! The failure to self your cot
ton at the usual time, owing to the
yellow fever in Savannah and Augus
ta. This scarcity is kept up by the
farmers refusing to sell at the present
reduced rates, rnd this is the principal
cause of tight times with the people of
Middle Georgia. Hancock county
produced in the year 1849, 11,874
bales of ginned cotton averaging 400
lbs. each. Washington the same year
produced 7,445 bales being an aggre
gate of 18,819 bales. Allowing for
the short crop the present year, we
might reasonably put down the pro
duce at 15.000 bales for the two coun
ties, or 6,000,000 lbs. of ginned cotton,
which at 7 1 2 cents would bring into
circulation the immense sum of $420,-
000, allowing half*a cent for expenses.
If this would not relieve the times,
what would? A sound practical phi
losophy teaches us the remedy, let it
be applied and the cure is effected.—
Sell your cotton, and you’ll fare better
than to wait till spring, and then sell at
lower rates, after paying storage, inter
est, drayage , and it may be in many in
stances cost of suit. The present war in
the East will continue to embarrass
commerce and keep cotton down. Sell
while you can get a fair remuneration.
[,Sandersville Georgian.
A Man Devoured by Hogs.
A correspondent of the Havana
Journal gives the particulars of a
shocking accident, which cccurrcd in
Orange township, iu Schuyler county,
and which resulted in the death of
Charles Sprowl. He went out of his
house for the purpose of cutting fuel
in the yard, in apparently his usual
health, which was generally good. In
less than half an hour, his daughter,
on going to the door, espied him lying
on his back in the yard, dead 1 and
three hogs devouring him around the
head and face: they mutilated him
horribly, having devoured his nose
and ears, all the muscles of his face,
and almost all the scalp off the top of
bis head. The jawbones were entire
ly denuded, as also the windpipe, all
the large and deep-seated blood vessels
on both sides of the neck being torn
and devoured by the ferocious ani
mals. He could not have been in this
situation but a few moments, as the
blood was still flowing warm from the
torn arteries and veins when found.
The cause of his death is unknow. He
leaves an interesting family and a large
cicle of relatives to mourn his untime
ly loss.— Binghamton Republican.
David Wright Convicted.
The trial of Wright, which occupied
the Court during Wednesday and a
portion of Thursday, was brought to a
close about 1 o’clock on that day. r i he
jury, after a dehbaration of two hours,
returned a verdict of “ Guilty. '
The entire progress of this cause was
marked by a thoroughness of investi
gation which does credit to all who
participated in the trial; while the em
inent ability and zeal of the prisoner’s
counsel, in securing to him every avail
able advantage and benefit sanctioned
by the law, leave him no room to doubt
that what could have been done in his
behalf, was done, and must go very far
to satisfy the community as to the legal
propriety of the result.
We have heard it intimated that the
case will be carried to the Supreme
Court. .
Young Deaton, charged with rob
bing a man from Marion county some
time since, was convicted of the theft;
and Payne, charged with forg
ing the nante of Stewart, Gray & Cos.,
was also found guilty. They have uot
yet been sentenced. —Columbus Enqui
rer.
A Great Man's Preference.—
I envy no quality of mind or intellect
in others—not genius, power, wit, or
fancy ; but if I could choose what
would be most delightful, and I be
lieve most useful to me, I should pre
fer a firm religious belief to every
other blessing, for it makes life a dis
cipline of goodness, creates new hope
when all earthly hopes vanish, and
throws over the decay, the destruction
of existence, the most gorgeous of all
lights; awakens life, even in death,
and from decay calls up beauty and
divinity; makes an instrument of tor
ture and shame the ladder x>f ascent
to Paradise; and, far above all combi
nation of earthly hopes, calls up the
most delightful visions, pulms and am
aranths, the gardens of the blessed,
the security of everlasting joys, Avhere
the sensualist and the skeptic view
only gloom, decay, and annihilation.
■ , !, W.m
Death of Martin Van Buren.
It is with no small degree of regret
that we announce the death of the cel
ebrated lion Martin Van Buren. He
died a few nights since in the Menage
rie Rooms of Raymond & Cos., who
are wintering their stock of animals
in this city. The lion was presented
to Martin Van Buren during the time
he was President, by the Emperor of
Morocco, who also sent the Pre ident,
at the same time, a pair of full blood
ed Arabian horses. As the President
of the United Slates is not allowed to
accept any gift from a foreign govern
ment, these animals were sold at auc
tion in the City of Washington, soon
after their arrival. Raymond <k Cos.
became the purchasers of the lion, and
ever since that time he has been known
only by the name of Martin Van Bu
ren. This lion at the time of bis
death was about thirty years old. lie
was doubtless the best trained animal
that was ever exhibited in the United
States. — Auburn (N. Y.) Advertiser.
A wag in one of our public journals
proposes to change the name of Sebas
topol to that of “Bombastopfrl,” and
truly we think the alteration would
not be altogether inexpressible or in
applicable. Without the slightest in
tention to detract from the valor of the
allied armies, composed of two nations
at all times distinguished in arms, for
centuries rivals, and now, after a long
series of bloody struggles, fighting side
by side in one common cause, we must
be permitted to express the opinion,
that the accounts we almost every day
see in the British journals of the en
gagements before Sebastopol partake
largely of the grandiloquent and bom
bastical. In this respect they furnish a
striking contrast to the Russian des
patches, which, nevertheless, are uni
formly denounced by the allies as un
mitigated falsehoods
The Immaculate Conception.
Rome, Dec. U, 1854.
The immaculate conception of the
Virgin is now a fixed fact—a settled
dogma of faith in the Roman Catholic
Church. It was magisterially proclaim
ed in the midst of the celebration of
the fete of the Conception, in St. Pe
ter’s, on the Bth instant, by the authen
tic voice of the Supreme Pontiff".—
The circumstances were imposing.—
Over tw o hundred full-robed ecclesi
astical dignataries, including sixty car
dinals and one hundred and forty
archbishops and bishops representing
every part of the world, besides innu
merable lesser office bearers of the
church, assisted in the ceremonies of
the eminent occasion. Perhaps so re
markable an assembly lias never been
convoked in the metropolitan cathedral
before, since the commencement of
the century.
The grand procession was formed
at the Vatican at 8 12 o’clock in the
morning. It included the Pope’s choir,
the civil authorities of the city, and
the whole papal household, en costume ,
with the candles and various other j
insignia of festal-occasions, and moved 1
in solemn state to the cathedral, chant- 1
ing the prescribed litany. A lons
line of officials preceded the rich bald
achin of the Pontiff". A more sump
tuous cortege could scarcely be con
ceived.
The spectacle in the church after
the Pope mounted the throne, sur
rounded by the gorgeous suite, was
perhaps too oriental to suit western
notions of religious rites. But the
services were nevertheless performed
with becoming dignity. After the
chanting of the Evangelists in Latin
and Greek, Cardinal Macchi, as doyen
of the Sacred College, conjointly with
the prelates present, including the
Bishops of the Greek and Armenian
rites, presented at the foot of the
throne a petition in the Latin tongue,
of which I subjoin a free translation,
viz:
“That which for a long time, O
Most Holy Father, has been ardently
desired, and with full voice demand
ed, by the Catholic Church, viz: the
definite decision, by your supreme
and infallible judgment, of the Im
maculate Conception of the Most
Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of God,
for augmenting her praise, her glory
and her veneration, we, in the name
of the Sacred College of Cardinals, of
the bishops of the Catholic world and
of all the faithful, humbly and urgent
ly pray that in this solemnity of the
Most Holy Virgin may be accomplish
ed the common desire. For which
end, in the midst of this august sac
rifice —in this temple sacred to the
Prince of the Apostles, and in this
solemn assembly of the most ample
Senate of bishops and people, deign,
O Most Holy Father, to raise your
apostolic voice and pronounce the dog
matic decree of the Immaculate Con
ception of Mary, by which there will
be joy in heaven and great rejoicing
on earth.”
The Pope responded that he willing
ly received the petition, but added that
it was necessary to invoke the aid of
the Holy Spirit, in order to answer
it. The “Veni Creator'’ was then
chanted by the choir and the whole
assembly, after which, the sovereign
Pontiff read aloud, but with a tremu
lous voice, in Latin, the following
DECREE*
It is a dogma of faith, that the Most
Blessed Virgin in the first instant of
her conception, by the singular priv
ilege and grace of God, in virtue of
the merits of Jesus Christ, Saviour of
the human race, wa< preserved exempt
from all touch of original sin.
The pronunciation of the decree was
instantly, announced to the world with
out by the cannon of the castle of St.
Angelo, when, all the bells of Rome
forthwith commenced a joyful chime,
and the inhabitants displayed their
various colored satin ana damask en
signs from the windows and balconies
of the city. The gloomy streets sud
denly became as the flower-bordered
walks of a pleasure garden.
On the conclusion of the church
ceremohies, with a hymn of thanksgiv
nig, in which the whole vast co no >,.
gallon joined, the procession waa%!,
formed and returned to the Vatican
the Pope being borne in a pontifical
chair to the Chapel of Sixtus Iy
where, in due form, he crowned
image of the Virgin with a crown of
gold, sparkling with precious g erns
Among the distinguished spectators of
the ceremonies were the Queen of Sax
ony, the diplomatic corps and the chid:
officers of the French garrison.
The entire city was illuminated i n
the evening, including the cupola of
the Vatican, and the French and Ital
ian bands made the air vocal with the
choicest music for hours. Cardinal
Wiseman also made a discourse on the
occasion, in the conservatory, to an il
lustrious audience.
The next morning the Pope held a
Consistory in the Apostolic Palace
and made an address to the assembled
prelates, thanking them for their as
sistance in the sacred functions of the
occasion, and exhorting them to the
faithful observance of duty in. the
case.
Cardinal Bonald, of France, re
sponded in behalf of the assembly.
A gold medal was then distributed,
bearing the image of the Virgin on
one side, and the following Latin
epigraph on the other: “ Deipacn FVr
gine sine labe concepts Pius IX. Pont
max. ex auri Australia primitiis
sibi oblatis cadi jussit IV. id--dec..
MDCCCLIV ’.»
A form of prayer has been adopted
in behalf of the schismatic of the
Greek church.
The weather has been extremely
damp and disagreeable for some weeks,
though the sun came out cheerfully on
the day of the great celebration, much
to the gratification of all parties.—
General Dix and family have just ar
rived from Florence, having hurried
here on account of the illness of his
eldest son, who, I am happy to hear, is
likely to recover. Mr. Van Bureu has
been passing some time at Nice. He
was received with appropriate honors,
a few days ago, on board the flag ship
of the Mediterranean squadron.
[Correspondence Newark Advertiser.
Domestic Troubles of the Czar.
The following private letter, dated
the Bth ult., has been received from St..
Petersburg:
In consequence of the receipt of the
affairs of the sth of November, the
empress has had a serious and even
alarming relapse. The courier found
the emperor in the apartment of the
empress, awaiting the news with fe
verish impatience, and when the truthi
was declared to him he could not re
strain his feelings, but broke out into
the strongest expressions of dissatis
faction and anger against his generals
and his armv. One exclamation
which escaped him respecting his sons
greatly alarmed the empress, who was
aware that they were with the army at
Sebastopal; she feared that some ter
rible calamity had befallen them, see
ing the agitation of her husband,, and
she fainted away. She remained for’
some time insensible : and it was with
much difficulty that the emperor and
the attendants succeeded in restoring
her to animation. She became more
calm Avhen informed that nothing had;
occurred to her sons; but her health
has seriously suffered from the shock,
caused by the defeat of the army at
Inkermann, and she has now to strug
gle against an increase of debility and
a low fever. The greatest alarm is
felt for her, and her recovery is consid
ered very doubtful indeed. The so
lemnities of the anniversary of the ac
cession to the crown were very limit
ed this year; they were confined to a
mere religious service in the churches.
And the fears which the presence of
the allied fleets has occasioned us, and
the danger they yet menace, you can
scarcely nave an idea of the desperate
efforts making here to complete the
armaments of every kind for next
Spring.
I see that foreign journals say a
good deal about the “pacific disposi
tions” of our court. This I believe to
be completely a mistake. The contra
ry is the truth. Persons placed in a
very good position at court declare, in
the strongest manner, that neither the
imperial family nor the high function
aries of the empire manifest the faint
est desire to accept unreservedly the
conditions proposed by the Western
Powers. As to Austria, every one
here is furious against her, particularly
since the communication which was
made by Prince Gortschakoff. “ Rus
sia will never forget or forgive her
perfidy,” cried a lady, the other even
ing, in the saloon of M . “ For*-
my part, I am ready to give at this,
moment, as a contribution, 100 of my
serfs for the regiment of chesseures.”'
Three days after, the niece of the lady
in question was appointed one of the
ladies in waiting to the Empress, but
the emperor, at the same time, had an
admonition conveyed to her to be more
cautious how she spoke of politics in*
society, and particularly in saloons'
which the attaches of the Austrain em
bassy frequented.
St. Petersburg, Dec. 17.—The
proposal made by the Minister of Fi
nance, to raise the price of salt from
28 to 44 copecks, has been accepted by
the Czar as a profitable financial meas
ure.
Col. Benton and Peter the Her
mit. —Colonel Benton has reached
Washington, from his recent visit to
New England, in fine spirits. He
talks in thiswise : “ I have the Pa
cific Railroad in my trunk, sir ! my
trunk, The solid men of Boston have
taken it in hand sir ! Abbott Law
rence, sir 1 Abbott Lawrence—a man
of great wealth, sir—a man of great
wealth—has authorized me to use his
name, sir ! Lawrence may have more
money than knowledge, sir ; but he
has the cash, the cash, sir ! lam like
Peter the hermit, sir I Peter the her
mit 1 He preached the crusades, sir
—I the Pacific Railroad in motion,
sir Wwh, Cor. Boston Post ,