James United country will have abundant reason for a long time to remember. " r ' It.so happened that at yprk i; ;Penpa., I: stepped upon the same train 'that was bearing the to the Capital: He had a large escort, composed of demo cratie politiciinaptoda military company froni Lancaster, the city of his (residence, i A special-' car ‘ had been fitted up fdr him ntfhidb liras accessible only to his’friends ;• and asildid not consider myself among.' that number, Lmade no attempt to disturb thePresidentiahsanctity. Afcthe stopping ■ places- on the road a -little knot ;of his 1 po litical followers iwere!gathered;whOifaint-' ly.: cheered the arrival and departure of the ; train. ! At Baltimore am immense multitude hadassembled to greet the official/head of the nation. His recep tionby .the’, authoritiescity was formaland dignified, there:was no enthu siasm.’ -But Hie '.‘PluglTglies” were not so studiously polite; they had a reputa- : tion to;maintain : ; and: so -they welcomed the. President with the discharge of an oc casional brick-bat. . 1 ! The chill which shook me on leaving , the cars at the depot at Washington, was not unlike the chill that struck my spirits’ when I hadan opportunity to look about me and'stndy the bearing of events. It was one of the coldest, rawest days in' Jlarch that l remember ever to have ex perienced. The clouds of sand that filled the air almost hid the city from sight, em blematic: of the* .moral ’ obscuration that was settling down : upon s the Capital of the nation. It ,was in the palmy days of the power of the slave-holding oligarchy. liarge’ numbers of the lords of the lash bad come up’ to the city to help inaugu rate their man as. ■ President. • At Wil lard’s andiall the principal-hotels were to be seen companies of long-bearded, well ■dressed men, who, ',generally wore cloaks and caps,. just. aS wedidatOld Yale, as you, Mr.. Editor; will remember, fifteen years ago.- They were undemonstrative : and-.taciturn), unless :excited by some 1 Stini- J olant; : when they discharged from ! their lips in equal: meaaureSj floods of oaths and tobaccorjuicev.K; Howl grandly did they hear 'themselves;! t,; Were they not - dhe masters at Washington? Hbd they mcit 5 jugt triumphed oyer.the : imbecile North? 1 And nnwj . what whs left for them to do, •lmtj like? some VhnAmburg, tofeedthe hungry, .pack. of office-seekers that -crime swstrmmgifrom every nook and . corner of the jiatiqna? ;They;'eyidently felt at home ...InWashington. Tkeir power was'abso .. lute and unchallenged., It was as much as his life was . werth for a man to stand up, in any pf the thoroughfares or in the saloons tof the hotels and avow; himself an , opponent..of slavery. Washington was a great :prison,-house, :: ■ where freedom of thought or; expression was completely stifled, The ;mob that filled the streets, ; and the whole herd of officials from Pierce to the pettiest politician in the city, were only too'glad to prove their fidelity to their masters,by crushing any hated, abo litionist on. whom .they could lay their’ hands, Men who wisit Washington‘in; this year .of grace, 1864, can hardly be lieve what a terrible despotism prevailed there only a few years ago. Early in the evening on the day of my arrival, I made, my way to the. Capitol. The sands of the-34th Congress were fast running out, a Congress rendered memor able by the protracted contest for speaker. I did not linger more than a moment in the rotunda but hastened at once to the Senate chamber' The present Secretary pf State was addressing that august body 3n a calm, genial) uniinpassioned speech, that put Ms hearers at once at ease and in sympathy with himself. In that Hall, among the men who are seen there to-day, jjat Robert Toombs, who was especially nbtxceable With bis shaggy locks and savage look, whose voice will never again be heard in the Senate of the United Stateß defending the dogmas of secession. The arch-traitor JefferSon Havis was a member of Pierce’S cabinet. Mason was the majestic. Poor Mason! He has found playing Plenipotentiary at the Courts of Europe for the bastard confederacy a different business from read ing lectures to Charles Sumner, the gen tleman, on courtesy and manners! And Sumner; my eye wandered in vain to find him The terrible bruises which Brooks had .given him a year before, did not suffer him to take more than a small part in the business of the nation. On the next day, however; I had the pleasure of a sight at him as he passed from the lobby, where I had taken my position to see him, to bis seat in the Senate chamber. And what a strange spectacle did he present I His step ; .was that of an infirm old man,'his form was bent with the weight of his suf ferings, and his face bore the expression of the excruciating torture from which for long months he was never tree. It was worth a visit to Washington to see that ; champion of liberty stagger up the aisle among the scowling minions of slavery to the seat, which, like Pompeys statue .where Cesar fell, will be memorable- in future history. And there was Douglas too, who had not yet broken with his Southern confreres, whose bows and smiles ’ were.yet resejwed, for the magnates,of se-;, cession, and who had no.word.of saluta tion for thcr sufferer, in whose attempted murder he had been little better a particeps'criminis. . i . Through a dark, winding passage J sought ray way to tne gallery of the House. Speaker'Banks was,in the chair, of whom an offiemi in .the 13 th Army ’Corps wrote me from New .Iberia, the' other day, “I am at last compelled to. ac knowledge that,. next,to„Gen., Crtant,he ? (Gen. Banks) is fie smartest. General we. have.” I think that I never, entertained, a of the v ,he prqfounder admiration for .any ,man, than I did for-Speaker Banks, as joy, two konrs I, sat . and watched- him preside, gtfer assemblage of noisy, turbulent rulers. He seemedjborn for the place, as Horace .says poets, are for their vocation, lie had a' surprising grace and dignity that no . outburst could disturb. He was perfectly self-possessed. Though the whole House were on their legs at the same time, shout-, ing “Mr. Speaker,” he knew just what to. do and how to do it.' He had a rich, deep-toned voice, that swelled''out, with no apparent exertion, to the entire capaci ty of the Representative Hall. Conspicu ous among the members was Mr. Humph rey Marshall, of Kentucky, who displayed hisdarge, burly form to a very poor advan tage'. ■ During the proceedings'he., staggering up the passage so drunk, that he could with difficulty maintain his per pendicular. Truth compels ihe to add that many of the members Were in the same plight. The habitues of the Capitol said'it was customary at the close of the session. ' ; The following day was memorable be yond all others of my stay in Washington. I had learned that the Supreme Co.urt was in session and I determined to take a look at the venerable men who composed it. The Court at that tiine occupied a small, cramped room underneath the, ' Sen'ate Chamber. It seemed a dark and; gloomy place to’ me, appropriate to -the: work tha| was then going in that conclave of pfo-slavery ze'alOts;^^- * ■>. - •'' ls i&sckaraiß the' Court opeiiefl, Jhstice McLean commenced to read his Opinion in' the Dred'Scbtt case. A few days before,' the l Chief-Justice had reaxfthe dOcision of the Court. 1 -What that decision was-if to neodless to repeat here. It was iiowjhe, time for the dissehiang Judges to show: the groUnd for their diS'sOntt Whem 'Jos tice McLeah, in a riianner calm amide- 1 liberate, opened Ms assault 'upon that most extraordinary. partizan, pro-slavery deliverance hf his feIIOWS, they all listened withfixe'd attention. As he proceeded to show that: it was 'Contrary, both- to. law and precedent, I could notice by the ner-i vous twitching of -bis face and hand s' arid the teemor. of his, voice that under that calm- exterior, Hhere was no little! exoitO ; xnentiHi, Hen evidently was somewhat-djs« .-concerted. while -he planted , the blows of ihis-trem'eridOii? .logic an- the>very faces of his fellow-judges. For ai time, they it with apparent equanimityi . But when, ho proceeded to show: that, in any event; the-opiniomwas extra-judicial, that it bad : no binding force whatever, two of :tBe l majority indulged in a little cjiatj and-W sundry shrugs and'smiles, and,Wally left their .seats 1 and"withdrew from the room. It was the last time I saw Justice Mc Lean, and I shall never forget, ,how ; my; heart swelled with gratitude to God as I sat and listened to his noble words so‘ Worthy a Christian Judge. 1 * Justice Curtis followed with an opinion: that helped to show teethe world that all the members of the Court had not g6nfe crazy on the question of slave .domination.’ It was my first, and may prove’ my -last; visit to Washington.’ When I left it be hind me and turned my face hoinewafd, it was with feelings’of extreme sadness and apprehension. It seemed that a dark night was settling upon oUr country;. Slavery had placed in the Presidential chair one of the most pliantof its servants. It had converted the- Supreme Court into a band of pro-slavery advocates. : Hence forth there was. no;, claim however mon strous and unfounded; which it seemed would not readily be conceded. ■ . Seven years have passed and you, Mr. Editor, saw Washington redeemed-!; What hath God wrought? ‘Sours;;; They that sow plentifully shall reap plentifully. I see there is no such way to have a large harvest, as to have' a large heart. The free giving of the branches of onr present estkte to God, is the readiest ineans to have I tlie fifuit'‘increaged‘,.fb? the %ture.— Fillin' L> ■ PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 18 64. 1 Cor. vii: 31,— The fashion of this -world passeth away. The word rendered ‘ fashion ” was ap plied by the Greeks to the scenic repre sentations of the stage. The apostle would say, that the system of things with which we are surrounded and in which* we bear a part, may be compared .to some grand dramatic f epresfehtation, •which dpjzicg bad :delig*its for a time-and then passes/away. 11l the exhibitions upon /the stage,; events, of the greatest importance are set forth in such rapid succession before ; the pyes of the spectator,‘that he has not. time to be •Wsary while sitting to gaze. The rise and fall of. kingdoms; the; life-long, daborsfand achievements of patriots and; herbes ;' the. .changprof the field of factionfrtftn one cbum try to. another;;.the development iof ithe most deeprlaid schemes, and. the cohsmma-; tion,'of,'designs/that-have cost-,years/Of iS.tudynndit.oil, are?all made;the itransae tionS of an hour. However gorgeous'thej scenery; however, brilliant or. maiesticithe/ action; it- never restsifdr; ambment. Omit /hurtles to catastrophe ;l /swifter /than- the •‘wheels of rtiaii!^--dTbs■ this often, and I,say it gratefully and heartily. But , that one' vice—to you, soldier, I need not name it, 3Tou know only too well how frightfully extensive it is, and how awful are the terms employed in ithe practice. of it. I bring it to your notice: chiefly for the sake of giving the outline of a conversation which I had with one of yourfeljow-soldiers respectingit. • , ; .1 first saw him sitting with a small company of comrades, on a bench outside of one; of those shelters for soldiers near the depot in Washington. The numbers ,on their caps showed; them tp : be fellow members; of an; and the ‘pup of whom I ithe uniform of a sergeant. They Wjere highly excited: about: .spniethiug, anti their conversation* was awfully profane. The. sergeant'inbtiheces sarytoospeak to i any' * onewhdriduidngthe past year" has, visited eh aO New Gaslle, Co., Del, Jan. 18th, 1364. THE PHILADELPHIA “SEAMEN’S That worthy organization, the Penn sylvania Seamen’s Friend Society, is de sirous of maintaining its efficiency and use fulness among the important, ejass to whom its Christian efforts are directed, by re pairs and improvements on the Seamen's Home. Desirous of aiding; them in the work, we lay before our readers some ex tracts from an article sent us by tbe ma nagers of the society. It describes the “Home” as' ' we curse A place where the sailor in port, after the labors and perils of the voy age, may receive the kind instruction of faithful missionaries, be ,*surrounded with home comforts, and, kept-from the snare of rum-sellerS, who ply 'their satamc trade almost in front ofi everf wharf and i&t. the comer of every street,' alluring their unfortunate victims into dens of-th© «>™ degradation, where.. their E hard-earned wages aretetehanghd for the'mttocatmg mm theaefftibtfre women. Thesfe are the brdmaryboarding houses forj'ggamen— things .which should not bo permitted .to exist in any Christian city without a determined effort to counteract the eNrif. ‘ The remedy is in the“Sail6r’s;®ome." -Thfereis al ready a substantial and commodious house, 422 South Fourth, street, capablepf accom modating one hundred boaMers,, and up wards of 14:000 mariners have'shared its privileges 1 since ' its establishment; but notwithstanding they early average shows nearly one thousand, yet, from- their tran sient character,, the number, might be four or five thousand; if the. resources _of the society wede such as to fix the price of board below the usualfates, and also to keep the “ Home ” in good und attractive order. Anything short of this is but a half measure. From want of adequate funds the building has got out of repair; many of the rooms? ought to .and the whole interior and exterior needs repairing, which the house qommittee are anxious to accomplish if a thousand dol lars can be raised for that purpose; and surely no object is more worthy the atten tiou of the church. In proportion as we improve the sailor, wa are materially help ing the work Of "foreign missions, besides saving many a poor soul frdrm' riiin, among those to whose toil on the great ’deep we owe, in a large measure, our commercial prosperity. In York and Boston, Sailor’s Homes have been very sucoessful; let not Philadelphia, rich as she is in works of benevolence and labors of love, be unmindful of her duty in this work. The Treasurer of the Pennsylvania Sea men’s Friend’s Society is A. ; fik CJoffin, Esq., President of North Amerjciui Insu rance Company, Walnut street, below Third, to whom donations may he for warded. THE MAEYLAND LEGISLATVEE . By a vote of 5?1 to lfi, the Legislature : of Maryland have recognized* the over whelming sentiment of the people! of that State, and have declared their purpose to call a convention to amend the State Con stitution so as to offect, as soon as practi cable, the abolition of Slavery. We clip the abovefrom one of our daily contemporaries, 'it deserves to be marked as another indication of there volution in popular sentiment on slavery n*6W going forward with rapid' Strides in our land. The majority is more titah thTSb to one in favor of the convention; doubtless it re- presents very nearly the popular majority in favor of the abolition df siaverythrongh :out the State of itfarylaiid.* Ih’deed, it "seems inexplicable'-‘to ns ! how, upon the narrowest and plainest consideration, any part of the population could persist in ad hering to an institution which has become so suddenly and so utterly obsoletk The fall of slavery in America has bben like the predicted doom of Babylon: And a mighty angel took up a atone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying: Thus, with violence, shall the great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall he found no more at all. All concerned had better get out of the way of the falling millstone. DB. BOHBNS AT 'POBTVILLE. Our readers found, in the addresses and proceedings at the meeting 1 to re ceive Dr. Bourns at Portville, copied in the last number of this paper, full justifica tion of all the interest which we or others have taken in the pathetic case of Humiston and his family. It is no mere flush o! seutimentalism which gives that portrait : and the happily discovered family'such a place in bur hearts. And if the feeling were such as to exhaust itself in reaehim a single fallen soldier’s family, and ii placing around them the strong arms of f grateful and patriotic public, that em alone would be fully worth all that ha been done in this instance. But a grea deal more is meant, and a great dehl mort may jesult from the interest awakened In the discovery, identification and return o the picture to the family..of this fallei soldier. Itisalj eminently calculated t< awaken and stimulate our sense of obliga tion to all the families'* which have beei orphaned for our country’s sake in thi war. And this nation , might almost a well become’ a prey to* dismemberment, a to be guilty of ingratitude and disrespec ft) the memory of those who have perishei in delivering it from this fate. We do no deserve pur restored unity , and; power, an< and it will be of no lasting benefit to us if we are indifferent to the necessities c these bereaved families. Gov, Curtin, i his annual message, has suggested to ou State Legislature to appropriate a sum t this object. It is just what we should cj pect from one who has -so nobly earndi the title of Friend of’tiio Soldier. earnestly hope it will receive early attenl tion both from Legislators and people. I $*11.94 $91,11 HOME.”