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Illiscdlaiitoni
fliou CAPTIOX nr.iD'ii Forest fcxii.M,
The Monkey MoMkt.
Now, you will perhaps imagine
that Guapo, having sat so quiet da
ting all this scene, had no desire sos a
bit of rost monkey to supper. In that
fancy, then, yod would be quite astray
‘from’ the truth. Guapo had a strong
desire to eat roast marimonda that
Very night; and, had he trot been held
back by X)On Pablo, he would never
have allowed the monkeys togetquietly
•out. ol the zamangr; for*, it being an
isolated tree, it would have afforded
him a capital opportunity of “ treeing”
them. His blow gun had been caus
ing his fingers to itch all the time; and,
jus soon as Don Pablo aucVthe rest were
satisfied with observing the monkeys,
Guapo set out, blow gun in hand, fol
lowed by Leon.
There was no cover by which he
might approach the group; and there
fore no course was left for him but to
run up as quickly forward ns possible
and take his-chance of getting a shot
as they made off.
This course he pursued} but, before
he was within anything like fair range,
the monkeys, uttering their shrill
screams, scampered over the open
ground much taster than before, and
took to the grove from which they had
approached the spot.
Guapo followed at a slashing pace,
and was soon under the trees, Leon at
his heels. Here they were met by a
shower of sticks, pieces of bark, half
eaten ‘‘peaches,” and something that
was far less pleasant to their olfactory
nerves. All these came from the tops
of the trees, —the very tallest ones, —
to which the monkeys had retreated,
and where they were now hidden
among the llianas and leaves.
You may fancy that it is easy to pur
sue a troop of monkeys in a forest.
But it is not easy—in most cases it is
not possible. The tangled underwood
-below puts a stop to the chase at once,
jus the monkeys can make their way
through the branches above much
‘quicker than the hunter can through
the creeping plants below.
The pursuit would have been all up
with Guapo, for the marimondas had
soon got some way beyond the edge
of the grove; but, just as he was turn
ing to sulk back, his keen Indian eye
caught sight of one that was far behind
the rest —so far, indeed, that it seemed
determined to seek its safety rather by
hiding than by flight. It had got un
der cover of a bunch of leaves; and
there it lay quiet, uttering neither
sound nor syllable. Guapo could just
sec a little bit of its side, and at this
in an instant the gravatana was point
ed. Guapo’s chest and cheeks were
seen to swell out to their fullest extent,
and off went the arrow. A shriek fol
lowed; the monkey was hit, beyond a
doubt. Guapo coolly waited the re
sult.
A movement was visible among the
leaves; the marimonda was seen to
turn and double about, and pluck
something from its side; and then the
broken arrow came glancing among
the twigs and fell to the ground. The
monkey was now perceived to be
twisting and withing upon the branch
es ; and ti its Pwild death-scream was
answered by the voices of the others
farther off.
At loneth its body was seen more
distinctly; it no longer thought of
concealment, but lay out along the
limb; and the next moment it drop
ped off. It did not fall to the ground
though; it had no design of gratify
ing its cruel destroyer to that extent.
No; it merely dropped to the end of
its tail, which, lapped over the branch,
held it suspended. A few convulsive
vibrations followed, and it hung down
dead
Guapo was thinking in whafc way he
might grrtt down ; for he knew that,
unless he could reach it by .some
means, it would hang there until the
weather rotted it or until some
preying bird or <he tree ants had eaten
it. He thought of his axe. The tree
was not a very thick one, and it was a
softwood tree. It would be worth the
labor of cutting it down.
lie was about turning away to get
the axe, when his eye was attracted
by the motion of some object near the
monkey.
“Another!” he muttered ; and sure
enough, another—a little tiny creature
—ran out from among the leaves, and,
climbing down the tail and body of
the-one already shot, threw its arms
around her neck and whined piteous
ly. It was the young one. Guapo
nad shot the mother.
The Bight filled Leon with pity and
grief; but Guapo knew nothing of
these sentiments. He had already in
serted another arrow into his gravatana,
and was raising the tube to bend it,
when all at once there was a loud
rustling among the leaves above. A
large marimonda, that had returned
from the band, was seen springing out
upon the branch. lie wns the husband
and father.
lie did not pause a moment. In
stinct or quick perception taught him
that the female was dead. His object
was to save the young one.
lie throw his long tail clown, and
grasping the little creature in its firm
hold, jerked it upward, and then,
mounting it on his back, bore it off
jtmong the branches.
All this passed so quickly that Gua
pdhad not time to deliver’his second
arrow'. Guapo saw them no more. -
The Indian, however, was not to be
cheated out of hii supper of roast
monkey. He walked quietly back for
hisaxej and, bringing it up, sqou fell*
ed the tree, and took the marimonaa
mother with him to the camp.
His next affair was to skin it, which
he said lie did by stripping the pelt
from the head, arms, legs, and oil;
so that, after being skinned, the crea
ture bore a most hideous resemblance
to achild.
The process of cooking come next; ,
and this Guapo made more tedious
than it might have been, as he was re
solved to dress the marimonda after
the manner practised by the Indians,
and .which by them is esteemed ttic
best. He first built a little stage out
of split laths of the pupunha palm.
For this a hard, wood that will resist
fire a long time is necessary ; and a
pupunha waft just the thing. Under
this stage Guapo kindled a lire of dry
wood ; and upon the laths he placed
Iris monkey in a sitting posture, with
its arms crossed in iV'ojft and its head
resting upon them. The fire.was then
blown upon until it became a bright
blaze, which completely enveloped
the half-upright form of the monkey.
There was plenty of smoke ; but this
•is nothing iu the eyes of a South Amer
ican Indian, many of whom prefer the
‘•smoky flavor” in a roast monkey.
Guapo had now no more to do but
wait patiently until the body should
be reduced to a black and charred
mass; for this is'the condition in which
it is eaten by these strange people.
When th s cooked, the flesh becomes
so dry that it will keep for months with
out spoiling.
The white people who live in the
monkey countries eat roast monkey as
well as the Indians. Many of them,
in fact, grow very fond of it. They
usually dress it, however, in a differ
ent manner. They take off the head
and the hands before bringing it to the
table; so thatthe “child-like” appear
ance is less perceptible.
Some species of monkeys are more
delicate food than others ; and there
are some kinds that white monkey
eaters will not touch.
As for the Indians, it seems with
them to be “all fish,” &c.; and they de
vour all kinds indifferently, whether
they be “howlers,” or “ateles,” or “ca
puchins,” or “ouistitis,” or “sajous,” or
“sakis,” or whatever sort. In fact,
among many Indian tribes monkey
stands in the same place that mutton
does in England, and they consider it
their staple article of flesh meat. In
deed, in these parts no other animal is
so common as the monkey; and, with
the exception of birds and fish, they
have little chance of getting any other
species o f animal food. The best
“Southdown” would perhaps be as dis
tateful to them as monkey meat
would be to you ; so here again we
are met by that same eternal proverb
—“Chacun a son gout."
The “Conservatism” of the Day.
The National Intelligencer is so re
joiced at the nominations of the pro
scriptionists in Virginia that it calls
them “conservative.” A few evidences
of the march of this conservatism may
not be out of place at present:
The monster sympathy and Sunday
procession in New York on account of
death of a prize-fighter.
The election of a band of infidels to
the legislature of Massachusetts.
The defeat of an accomplished, vir
tuous, and intellectual statesman like
Joseph R. Chandler, for his religious
belief.
The declaration of war upon fifteen
sovereign States because of their local
institutions.
The formal trial and torture of Judge
Loring, of Massachusetts, for daring to
vindicate the Constitution of the Uni
ted States : n a judicial decision.
The removal of female school-teach
ers on account of their religion.
The proposed exclusion By statute,
in the legislature of Massachusetts, of
all persons of the Catholic persuasion
from holding office.
The prostitution of the pulpit to in
flammatory political harangues, as in
the case of the demagogue priest who
imitated Mark Antony in his last Sun
day’s sermon over the dead body of
Poole, the pugilist.
This is certainly a most delicate ar
ray of “conservatisms.” The French
revolution never boasted a more re
fined assortment of pious pastimes.
We can almost see the Intelligencer ap
plauding these conservative combina
tions in completing the circle of their
reformations, whether by ignoring the
constitution, by dissolving the social
compact, or by placing government in
the hands of such patriots as Torn Hy
er and Bill Poole.
Never Ask Questions in a Hurry,
"Tom, a word with you.”
“Be quick, then, I’m in a hurry.”
“What did you give your sick horse
t’other day ?”
“A pint of turpentine.”
John hurries home and administers
the same dose to his favorite charger
who, strange to say, drops off defunct
in half an hour. Ilis opinion of his
friend Tom’s veterinary ability is some
what staggered. He meets him the
next day.
“Well, Tom.”
“Well, John, what is it?”
“I gave my horse a pint of turpen
tine, and it killed him dead as Julius
Caesar,”
“So it did mine.”
True and Beautiful.
I cannot believe that the earth is
man’s abiding place.
It cannot be that our lives arc cast
up by the ocean of eternity to float up
on its waves and sink into nothing
ness.
Else, why is itthattbe glorious aspira
tions which leap like angels from the
temples of our hearts, are forever wan
dering about unsatisfied? Why is it
that the rainbow and the clouds come
over us with a beauty that is not of
earth and pass off and leave us to muse
their loveliness? Why is it that the
stars who hold festivals around the
midnight throne are set above the :
2of our limited faculties, forever
ing us with their unapproacha
ble glory ? And finally, why is it that
the bright forms of human beauty are
presented to’our view and then taken
from us leaving the thousand stream's
of affection to. flow back in Alpine tor
rents ? We are born for a higher des
tiny than that of earth—there -is a
realm where rainbows never fade,'
where the stars will be out. before us as
; i lets that sl’Arnber'On the oCeafi, where
the beings that puss before us like sha
dows, will stay in our possession for
ever,
Spiritualism Entrapped.
A San Francisco editor, F. C. Ew
er, recently prepared a fictitious
sketch, describing the sensations, of a
dying man. He, as thy best i ode of
oyercofiiingjjdl difficulties involved in
such relations, made his hero describe
his ueatli from the spiritual world,—
'l’lie author was recently surprised to
find that Judge Edmonds, of N. Y.,
had used his fictitious narrative as the
production of a veritable spirit, and
the Judge wrote to the author to
acquaint him with the fact that he had
had several spiritual interviews with
this defunct “ hero, ” who never had
any existence except in Mr. Ewer’s
brain. Mr. Ewer’s letter is rather an
ntfusing proof of the exceeding credu
lity of the Judge, and of the ludicrous
absurdities in which the professed
spiritualists involve themselves, by ta
king leave of common sense and
ignoring the well established morals
aud physical laws of the universe.
Properties of (lie Electric Spark.
The following is the condensed ab
stract of a recent lecture by Faraday,
before the Royal Society in London-.
It will be found interesting in facts,
not generally ltbMY/n, while at the
j same time it is clear on a very impor
tant subject., lightning conductors :
The heat of the electric spark is in
tense, though the momentary duration
of its effects prevents its heat-giving
power from being felt to its full ex
tent. The inflammation of ether and
the explosion of gunpowder were
shown as illustrative of the heat con
tained in the electric spark, and the ef
fect of momentary action in diminish
ing the heating power was exempli
fied by sending an uninterrupted
charge through some loose gunpow
der, aud then repeating the experi
ment with a wet string introduced as
part of the conducting circuit. In the
first arrangement, when tne spark pass
ed instantaneously, the gunpowder
was scattered and not explo led, but
when the resistance of the wet string
prolonged the discharge, the gunpow
der was ignited. The electric spark is
sometimes applied in blasting rocks as
well as voltaic electricity, and voltaic
agency is, for general blasting purpo
ses, very convenient. The effects of
the electric discharge are orily perceiv
ed when resistance is offered to the
passage of electricity, and several ex
periments were exhibited in which it
was shown that a charge which pass
ed without producing any apparent ef
fect, when a thick wire formed the cir
cuit, was sufficient to deflagrate inter
posed pieces of thin wire and gold leaf,
that were not adequate to conduct the
same quantity free. The ingenious
contrivance of Prof. Wheatstone for
measuring the duration of an electric
spark was exemplified by lighting a
disk, colored in stripes, aud revolving
rapidly in the dork, with a succession
of electric sparks. Though the colors
were mingled together, and visible
when seen by etxraordinary lig.it, the
momentary light of the electric spark
exhibited each color distinctly, and
the disk for the instant appeared sta
tionary. By increasing the velocity
till the colors became confused, even
when seen bv the spark, and approxi*
I mation is attained to the duration of
the light; and in this manner Mr.
[Swainq, of Edinburgh, proved that
! the electric spark lasts only the hum
! dred thousandth part of a second. .A
flash of lightning is of equally short
duration, and every object in motion,
when seen at night by the glare of light
ning. appears to be stationary. The ap
parent duration of an electric spark is
about one-tenth of a second, because an
impression once made on the retina is re
tained for that time, though the ob
ject that produced it, as in the case of
lightning, is no longer present.
Another remarkable p roperty in the
electric spark is the action it exerts on
the light-storing power of phosphate of
lime. That substance, together with
some others, posseses the power of
absorbing light in a latent state, which
is given out on the application of heat
in the dark. This light, when once
taken from the phosphate of lime, can
be restored to it by the electric sp irk,
and by that means alone. Prof. Fara
day concluded by explaining and il
lustrating the influence of the non-con
ducting property of the air on the
length of the spark. By partially ex
hausting a glass tube a spark passed
through a much greater space, and
when the exhaustion of the air was
more complete, and the resistance thus
removed, the electricity from the
prime conductor of the machine passed
in continuous flashes, imitating the ef
fects of the aurora borealis.
Terrible Explosion of a Pyrotech
nic Establishment.
The New York Times of yesterday
morning says:
“ The pyrotechnic establishment of
G. A. Ltlliendahl, which is situated
about four miles south of Jersey City,
near the Morris canal was blown up
at 2 o’clock yesterday afternoon. One
person was killed, and seven men
so severely burned that some of them
will probably die.
“ The building was about 15 feet by
30 in size, and two stories high. It
blew up with a loud report, and created
a column of smoke and dust, in which
the fragments of the building mingled.
The ruins instantly took fire; and it was
with great difficulty that those who
came to the rescue could extricate the
injured from., the ruin’s alive. Water
was brought from canal in pails,
kegs, &c., and the flapnes were, extin
guished. Eight persons were .taken
out terribly burned, and some of them,
it iß'feared, cannot survive their inju
ries.” % '
“My son, what would you do if;
your dear father should be taken
.awav from you ?”
“<\ ursu and effuvv tobackarl ”
'
'fkrt>w Away Your trtttehcs.
“Throw away you crutches V’ said
the doctor to his gouty patient
“I can’t doctor, i shall fail if I do,”
was the reply.
“Try and see,” reiterated the doCtoh
“I cannot, I dare not,” said the pa
tient, trembling and looking irresolute.
Just then he met the doctor’s eye, and
it pleaded for the experiment more ful
ly than the tongue. He hesitated but
a moment longer, and though the ef
fort made him turn pale, away went
the crutches, full length on the carpet !
There he was bolt upright against the
wall, without his old friends, the
crutches—a thing he had not doDe for
years.
“Now walk,” said the doctor.
“I can’t,” arose to the patient’s lips,
but went no farther, for he resolved to
try, if he failed in trying. He took
one trembling step, but did not fall.
Joyful moment! Another step, and
then another! Was he really walk
ing, or was it a dream? It was be
cause he had thrown away his crutches
and made trial of his own strength,
that he had succeeded so far beyond
his hopes.
The gouty patient is not the only
one to whom it may be said—“throw
away your crutches.” He who is for
ever afraid of trying his own strength
will never become strong. It requires
a brave heart and firm step to think
and act for ourselves—to speak as we
think, freed from the bondage of those
often asked questions—What will be
thought by others? What will be
said ?
Os all classes in the community, au
thors are in the greatest danger of
leaning upon crutches —other men’s
opinions, and other men’s suffrages.
But, man ! remember that you can go
alone. Throw away your crutches!
Think and reason, and then speak out.
Yes, speak boldly, too, if truth is on
your side ; and it would not b« strange
if you should find that instead of need
ing crutches yourself, you should be
able to lend wings to others.
PROM THE SPIRIT OF THE TIMES.
Duck Shooting in Gcoi^ia.
Mr. Editor. —l must try to give you
an account of some duck shooting
which was done near Augusta, Ga.,
and which I think beats “Good Shoot
ing ” of snipe, in your paper of the 6th
ult. A friend of mine, of Augusta,
who is a good fellow, a good shot, and
a good story teller , (as the sequel will
prove,) went out one afternoon shoot
ing. He saw swimming on a pond,
one hundred or two hundred yards
from the road, a couple ot ducks ; he
left his friend in charge of the buggy,
and went after them. As he approach
ed they rose, and he knocked one
down with each barrel—a distance, his
friend says, of eiglitv yards. On their
return to the city, Tom (the shot,) be
gan to tell what sport he had had, and
what good shooting he had done, and
referred particularly to the last shot
he had made at the two ducks. The
next day he was telling ot the ducks
again, and had three of them swim
ming on the pond. Knocked one
down with one barrel, the other two
flew off in opposite directions, and by
some cause turned and flew towards
each other, and, as they lapped, he
pulled trigger and knocked both over.
Some doubted the tale, and he appeal
ed to his friend Col. S., who vouched
for him, (as he afterwards said, be
cause he did not want to make him
out a liar for one duck). A few days
after that, T. was telling again of the
occurrence, and had four ducks.—
Knocked two down with one barrel —
the other two flew off in opposite di
rections, turned and came together ; as
they lapped, knocked them both over.
He appealed again to Col. S., who en
dorsed it, and all passed off well. Some
time after that he was telling of it again,
and had Jive ducks. Knocked over
three with one barrel, and killed the
other two, as before described. He
again appealed to Col. S., who again
endorsed him, but who said to him—
“ Look here, Tom, if you add another
duck, I’ll be d—d if you must not get
anew witness ! ” Torn was a little
put out, and wanted to quarrel, insist
ing there were Jive. “ Yes Tom, I
testified to five—we agree upon that;
then way so vexed ? ”
Yours truly,
Forty-two Snipe.
Alexandre Dumas.
This celebrity is thus described by a
correspondent of the New Orleans
Picayune, writing from Paris, Februa
ry Ist:
“ I had not seen Dumas before for
four years, and. I was surprised to ob
serve the ravages time had made since
then. Age begins to show itself, and
he looks more mulatto-like than I ev
er saw him. He is a tall man, being
not less than six feet in height, rather
disposed to be fat, especially about the
face, whose hanging cheeks and double
chin attest sound slumbers and good
dinners. He is the very reverse of
the picture of an intellectual man. It
you were to see him in Camp on Ca
nal street, yd i would set him down as
a mulatto barber. His hair, now
sprinkled here and there with gray,
has that abundance, and length, and
slightly wooly curl, so common among
bright mulatto barbers. His forehead
—oh, phrenologists I—is less high than
your little finger is thick ; he may be
said to have no forehead. His lips aie
sensual, and now deep lines are plough
ed on both sides of his nose. In the
street he does not look so dark as he
seems to be in the house, and his hat
concealing the want of a forehead
gives his face more mind than it ap
pears to have when it is not so screen
ed. He was dressed in pepper-and
salt pantaloons and paletot; the paletot
was trimmed with green silk, stitch
ed 1”
Mexican Boundary
The initial point of the boundary
lpie between the United States and
Mexico, has been fixed by the coin mis
ers at lattitude 37 deg. 47 min. north
latitude. The event was appropriate
ly orlob rated.
■
Rifle Shooting.
Memrs Editor* :—in reading over
your answers to correspondents in No.
25, present. Volume of vpur paper, I
notice an answer to a Texas corrcspon
denti in which you state that “theMinie
bullet would be an advantage in the
common rifle.” From tins statement I
beg leave to differ; that is so iar as the
common acceptation "ot the term “ad
vantage” is concerned, when uspd in
connection with rifle- shooting among
us. The principal advantage which
our rilie makers strive to obtain for
the rifles of’ their respective manufac
ture, is as to accuracy , and not so
much as to distance. Now, it is a fact
well known to rifle makers, but one
which it is not always for their inter
est to acknowledge, that a rifle which
is loaded at the breech cannot be
made to throw its balls with tha pre
cision which is attained by the muzzle
loading rifle, when constructed upon
the right principle. The reason is
this : it is impossible to get exactly the
same explosive force at every charge,
hence the bullets are “ slugged ” more
at one time than another, and conse
quently fall short of, or over-reach the
mark. Again, the ball docs not always
receive the force of the powder in an
equal proportion on all sides, which
causes it to be driven deeper into the
groove of the rifle on one side than
the other ; this of course would cause
it to go Wide of the mark, The Mi
nie bullet acts the same in principle as
the common bullet, in a breech-load
ing rifle the Minie rifle has no joint
through which a part of the gas can es
cape, as is the case with the breech
loading rifle, hence its longer range.
I venture the assertion that no rifle
has ever been made that will shoot
with such accuracy as the muzzle-loa
ding rifle, especially when a patent
muzzle is used.
G. L. Bailey.
Portland, Me., March 15, 1855.
[The advantage of a Minie over a
common bullet in a common rifle, is
simply in rapid loading—not for accu
racy, respecting which, we believe
our correspondent is right. —Scientific
American.
Novel lucident in Church
In one of the letters printed in the
autobiography of the late Rev. \V. Jay,
just published, he tells a story of a
bull entering the church where the
reverend gentleman was preaching:
“ The congregation was large ; and
just as I was concluding the sermon
there was a general consternation and
outcry. All was confusion, the peo
ple treading on one another, «fce. It
was rather dark and the pulpit can
dles were only lighted. I saw some
thing moving up the aisle towards
the vestry. It was a bull, we presume
driven in by pick-pockets, or persons
who wished to disturb us.
“We were talking upon the affairs of
the nation, John Bull very sensibly
came in. But imagine what followed:—
the bull could not bo made to go
backwards, nor could he be turned
round ; five or six persons, therefore,
held him by the horns ; while the
clerk, as if bewitched, gave out in or
der to appease the noise—
“ Praise God, from whom all blessings flow,
Praise him all creature* hero below," &e.
0, that the bull could have roared here
in compliance with the exhortation !
I looked down from the pulpit, and
seeing the gentlemen who held him
singing with their faces lifted up, as if re
turning thanks for this unexpected
blessing I was obliged to put my hand
before my face while I dismissed the
congregation.
Self-Loadiug Cart.
The claim, on another page, of the pa
tent for a self-loading cart, granted this
week to Dr. Ze Butt, of Lincolnton,
N. C., embraces some very peculiar
features. The wheels are hung on short
axles, the box has no head board, and
the body of the cart is hung on a vi
brating crank shaft turning in boxes in
the frame, and is placed near the back
of the frame, so as to allow of dump
ing the load easily. It is by thus ar
ranging the body of the cart that the
adjustment of the front end, or the
whole of the cart body can be effected,
arid the load dumped backward, with
dispatch and ease. A scraper is also
secured to the front end of the bottom
of the cart body, which scoops up
loose soil, and deposits it in the cart
box, as the cart is moving forward,
thus rendering it a most excellent im
provement for street wagons in grading,
and also for grading railways.
A New Acquisition—Russian
America.
A singular piece of diplomatic news
appears in the London papers, receiv
ed by the Pacific, under the head of
telegraphic advice from Vienna, res
pecting the Russian Possessions in
North America. It is to this effect:
Vienna, Saturday, 9, A M. —Accor-
ding to the local papers, the Russian
General Mansuroff, who has recently
arrived at Brussels, is the bearer of the
cession of the Russians Possessions in
North America to the United States,
for $30,000,000.
A Correction.
A Frenchman, we forget his name,
said ‘Let me make the songs of a people;
I care not who make their laws.”-iftc.
It was not a Frenchman, but a wo
wan who made that declaration, and
that woman is an American poetess.
Unfortunately, the first time the senti
ment was printed, the compositor
omitted the g in the word songs, and
made the authoress write, to “make
the sons of a people. ” She felt morti
fied at the-authorship of the saw.
A dandy lawyer remarked on one
summer day, that the Weather was so
extensively hot, that when he put his
head into a basin it fairly boiled.
“Then, sir,” replied a dirty looking
Iloosier, “you have calf’s head soup at
a very little expense.”
FROM TflE ABBEVILLE (s. C.) BANKER.
The Cblhoun Homestead.
“The old homestead in wtiiefe Mr.
Calhoun first saw the light, stands ou
the eastern edge of the beautiful tract
of country We have just described, and
which is known as the Calhoun s ttle
ment. The plantation passed a few
years since from the hands of a young
er member of the family (why was
that?) to Mr. John White, ah intelli
gent merchant of this village, and is
now occupied by his overseer as a ne
gro quarter. Other changes, too, and
more impressive, have come over this
venerable relic of the past.
“The house, the object of interest
for its antiquated architecture alone,
was evidently once, for its day, an
elegant mansion, built in the irregular,
no style order of the age; having a
spacious central hall, heated by one of
those huge chimneys, now obsolete,
whose ample firesides were symbolical
of the patriarchal hospitality of the
olden time. It is situated on the brow
o! a hill, that declines gently to the
eastern bank of a beautiful stream
that still bears the family name; for
like most of the residences of the pi
oneers, the site was chosen more for its
convenience to water than forany other
advantage; and we are not sure that
this utilitarian impulse has lessened se
riously the intrinsic beauty of the sit
uation. A winding creek, dashing
with an audible murmur over its peb
bled bed, and hills that stud its bank
with sufficient boldness to relieve the
monotony of a wide expanse of flat
woods, stretching for miles away from
the very verge of the western bank,
more than compensate for the absence
of qualities that a too fastidious taste
have preferred.
“To our eye, apart from all historic
interest, there is a charm in the bold,
rugged landscape, uncouth style, and
moss grown timbers of these venerable
homesteads of the pioneers. We love
to muse in the humid shades of their
monumental oaks, listening to the
winds as they whistle through shatter
ed gables strange requiems to the dead
and departed customs of other days.
The old Red House, however, on the
border of the Flat Woods, is more
indebted for the interest it exacts to its
history, than its natural features. Ex
cept a small grove of oaks, and decay
ed Prides of China, immediately Around
it, and which seem struggling to im
part a scanty shade to the fading relics
beneath them, the surrounding country
is a continuous plantation, destitute of
forests, and in many places the worse
for having long since yielded to the
cotton mills of Manchester and Low' 11
the best portion of its primitive fertil
ity. There is nothing of the wild or
sublime in scenery to be found here,
that could have imparted, according to
the poets, heroic grandeur to a lofty
genius; nevertheless, in the silent dells
of the meandering creek, and the rich
j verdure of their evergreen foliage, con
{ternplation found a genial retreat, and
I doubtless there the inquisitive mind of
the future statesman imbibed such of
that deep, earnest thoughtfulness that
characterized him through life.
“Some hundred yards east of the
house, in the open field, but nearly
concealed by the spreading branches
of a large cedar and tall shrubbery, is
the old family cemetery. It contains
but a single monument of any archi
tectural interest, and that stands upon
the graves of Mr. Calhoun’s father,
mother, and sister Catharine, Mrs. Dr.
Waddel. He had it carved in AVash
ington, and placed in its present site
a few years before his death. Each of
its four sides has an inscription—they
read as follows:
“Patrick Calhoun, the father of John
Caldwell Calhoun. Born in the coun
ty of Donegal, Ireland, June 11,1727,
and died Januarj-15, 1796, in his 69th
year.
“Martha Caldwell, the wife of Pa
trick Calhoun, and mother of Catha
rine, William, James, John Caldwell,
and Patrick Calhoun. Born on Cub
Creek, Charlotte county Virginia, 1750
—died May, 1802, aged 52 years.
“Catharine, daughter of Patrick and
Martha Calhoun, and the first wife of
the Rev. Dr. Waddel, died in March,
1796, in the2lst year of her age, with
out issue.
“Erected by John C. Calhoun, the
surviving member of the family.
“The graves of William and James
whose names were mentioned above,
are also here with becoming memorials.
The former was the father of the lion.
Mrs. Arinisted Burt, and Mrs. Dr. De
graffenreid, of Abbeville; the latter,
of our energetic fellow-citizen, Mr.
J. A. Caalhoun, and the Hon. James
Calhoun, of Alabama.”
Close Farming.
“Talk about getting a good deal out
of a little piece of land,” exclaimed
Simpson—“why I bought an acre of
old Mr. Ross, up at Goose Fair, planted
one acre of it with potatoes and ’tother
with corn.”
“I thought you said you bought only
one acre, Simpson!” remarked a lis
tener, “how could you plant two ?”
“Very easily, sir, I stood it up on
the end and planted both sides of it.”
“ Husband , what remarkable chil
dren we have!”
“Oh, yes, wife, it seems like a judg
ment of Providence. They will run
me all out in buying books, such is
their appetite for learning.”
“Yes, husband, and their appetite
for pork is prodigious. Did you ever
see Ephraim eat?”
“No, but I’ve heard the junks of
pork fall in his bread basket, when I
nave been out in the field at work.”
u How do you get on with your arith
metic and catechism ?” asked a father
of his little boy the other night.
“ How far have you got ?”
“I’ve ciphered through addition,
subtraction, justification, adoption, arid
sactifieation 1” answered the little fel
low.
It used to puzzle us a good deal,
we remember, when a boy, tp “cipher
out” the meaning of several of these
last named suras.
A Week Later from Europe.
ARRIVAL op the steamship
MS :■_, JK r- ;ar ,
The Czar’s Death Confirmei
Alexander Ascended the Throne, & Cti
Nkw-Youk, March 27.
The Atlautic has arrived with one week’s l» ter
intelligence;
The cotton market opened active but closed dull
with barley an eighth advance.
The death of the Emperor Nicholas is confirm
ed.
The Grand Duke Alexander, the eldest son, I, M
ascended the throne of Russia. He issued a pro
damnation on the occasion, in which ho endorses
and announces his adhesion to the policy of hi*
father.
SECOND DESPATCH.
Ln erpool Cotton Market. —Sales of the week
87,000 bales, of which speculators took 17,000
and exporters 12,000. Milligan makes the follow
ing quotations:
Fair Orleans, 6 5-Bd.
Middling do., - . . 5 l-Bd^
Fair Uplands, - - - 5 l-2ti',
Middling do., 4 7-Bd.
The market closed tamely, holders pressing sales-
Brown <fc .Shipley say the market began active’
but fell off towards the end of the week, and closed
tamely, with barely an advance of 1-8.
Advices from Manchester are more favorable.
Flour and corn had declined one shilling. Canaj
Flour, 39; Ohio, 41; Corn 41 1-2 to 42.
Consols 93. Money was easy, and stock market
quiet and unchanged.
GENERAL INTELLIGENCE.
Alexander peaceably ascended the' Russian
throne, and issued a manifesto, stating that he wilj
adhere to the policy of his futher. ILs brother*
and the officers of the Empire have taken the usual
oath of allegiance. The new Czar has also con
firmed his father’s instructions to Gortschakofi, in
rellfcion to the four points.
The diplomatists at Vienna had met in prelimin
ary conference.
j Nicholas, previous to his death, had recalled
| Menscliikoff from the Crimea, and had appointed
General Osten Saeken the chief of command; and
General Luders to be second in rank.
General Rudiger had been appointed Minister of
War by Alexander.
The Allies have ordered their Generals to press
forward their operations.
There has been more fighting in the Crier,*'a
The French stormed a redoubt which had been
skillfully erected by tho Russians during the night.
Several hundred were killed.
It is rumored tiiat tho Grand Duke Michael died
at Sevastopol of wounds received during the siege.
A large Russian force had threatened Balaklava.
The blockade of the Danube has been raised.
It is said that a disagreement had arisen between
Napoleon and the English Government. He said
the two armies should not act together, if Roebuck's
committee of inquiry into the management of tha
war proceeded. Lord Clarendon, however, went
to Bologne and arranged the difficulty. The com
mittee ol inquiry proceeds, but it was thought Par
liament would be dissolved.
A serious difficulty had occurred in tho Tyrol*
Switzerland.
The King of Denmark is sick.
Brescia, a city of Austria, [ltaly ?J has been de
stroyed by an earthquake, with most of its inbabi.
tants.
A Republic iu England.
A Scotch journal, the John O'Groat Journal.
has hold of a curious piece of Court gossip, which
he says he has not received at second hand, but
direct from the highest quarters. It is as follows :
Her Majesty is much offended at the Tima. She
has reason to believe its statements regarding her
troops in the Crimea are exaggerated, aud. ev-n if
not, the tone iu which tho discretion is given, par
taking in about equal parts of Momus-like face
tiousness and a ranting demagogueistn, is offensive
to her. Au rente, Prince Albert silys that the
whole newspaper press has forgotten its due bounds,
and fallen into a licentiousness of discussion, of
which disaster can be the only result. So convinc
ed iu his Royal Highness of this, that he is repre
sented to have said to some of those having the
honor of his friendship, that he believes the Mon
archy will come to an eud with tho reign of his
wife. We are rapidly drifting, he thinks, to Re
publicanism.
To (he Girls.
Mrs. Swisshglin says:—“Thesecret you dare not
tell your mother is a dangerous secret, one that
will be likely to bring you to sorrow. ”
'
Martin Van Burcn Closeted With
Louis Napoleon.
A letter from Paris says:
The arrival of Martin Van Burcn,
eX-President of the United. States,
has occasioned a fresh manifestation
of the conciliatory policy towards
which the Emperor of the French
seems inclined in his relations with the
Great Power of the West. On Sat
urday, before the arrival of the ex-
Presldent had become known at the
American Legation, a missive was re*,
eeived from the Tuilleries, inviting
the successor of General Jackson to an,
interview at 6 o’clock, on the follow
ing morning. Messengers were at
once dispatched to various hotels, and
to the hotel of Mr. Mason, but only |ua
accident at length revealed the where
abouts of Mr. Van Burcn at 10o’clock
on Sunday. Mr. Piatt having found
him at the Hotel Wagram, hurried to,
the Tuilleries to state the fact, and also
that of the impossibility of dressing
the ex-President up in Court costume
at such short notice. “Let him come,
if he wishes, in his traveling dress,”
said the Emperor, who, as I have fre
quently taken more pains than it is
perhaps worth to mention, cures less
for buttons and gold lace, where an
American is concerned, than certain
“sticklers for Court costume” imagine.
The two ex-Presidents (is not Napo
leon 111. also an ex-President of a re
public ?) held a long interview \ but
what they said about the Eastern ques
tion, the rumored visit of an envoy
of the Czar to Washington with an of
fer for the cession of the Russian ter
ritory in America to the United States,
the return of Mr. Soule, the resigna
tion of Mr. Mason, the simoon of
Know-Nothingism, the revelations of
Mr. Wykoif, and the American ball of
22d—it so be they talked of any or
al! of these topics—your deponent, net
knowing, can t say,"