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<!
1 A i j
mighty passion which seems sufficient "to
inflame the /world;'- and. whichimakes • all
beholders shudder and shrink : from 1 its-con
suming ferv.or, burns itself , out with a r 'few :
meteoric and momentary flashes of its
stormy wrath, and soon- the astonished -br
.delighted spectator is left to retunrto-the'
homely scenes of real life, and to sSgb that
the vision of splendor and of bedutyWhich
had stirred his mind with great thoughts
and : - mighty purposes, * and thrilled ! -his
heart with tumultuous emotion,hsid melted
away before he had half appreciated' its
charm. He thinks the world to which he
1 rfetires-from the gaudy lights and the tinsel*
robes and the mock passion of the stage,
-is cold and barren of interest, and, limited
to one • unchanging sameness'of Character
and of actibh.-'-' He little thinks'that his
own daily life, is itself a drama of far
deeper and more awful significance than
any transient show of the stage. The part
which he acts is ohe of infinite concern to
himself; -and the catastrophe of eternal
destiny is as'inevitable as death. He'has
no time to pauße and study his part anew'
and improve his acting in a second repre
sentation. He appears upon the stage
but once, and the awful tragedy which is'
'to fix his destiny forever, is moving onward
! to its appointed cpnclusioii' every moment.
The hceriery with 'he is'stirrcfeided
ifi’his first and' only representation of' life,
is designed and set up .by the, Builder of
worlds to’ teach him every moment the
solemn’ lesson— passing away.*” The'
busy fingers of time are ever chiselling'
deeperfihto its.most substantial structures
j the inscription of the divine,word, "pass
|-ing’aWay.” Even those works of naiturb;
seem impregnable in strength and
immortal in beauty, take up the refrain' and
repeat the same song, "passing awapJ-
The glory with which the whole creation
is clothed to welcome the returning spring,
the voices Of neWlife that sing'with glad
ness'through all' the advancing jiuminer,
,'are adopted in all languages as the fitting
symbols of transient beauty and fleeting
joy. The frailest flower in all the fields
with no more certainty blossoms to die,
than the strong oak waves its foliage'in
the breath of a hundred summers, only to
hkve the garments of its glorious beauty
as often changed to the pall of death sand
.strewn, on .the grave of the dying year;
,sfigfrt follows the day and itself breaks
into the dawn. Here the land encroaches
upo'n the deep, and there the sea devours
its ancient shore., The clouds scatter' the
vapors of the ocean upon the mountains;
and the mountains send them back, bur
dened with; the. tribute, of the worn and
f wasted .rocks, to the .sea. The lofty peaks,
! the battlements of the skies, are shattered
by the’ artillery of the " clouds; the ever
lasting hills-are bowed, the rivers change
their channels; and the foundations of an
cient cities 1 ate swept 'by the waves. • The ’
.sun, 'the Symbol and- the reality of all con
stancy .in. . the- .material;. world, displays 1 a
changing; and: disfigured disc; and here
and there a, star, disappearing from the
jewelled crown of night, starts the shudder
ing 1 conjecture’ whether darkness may not
eventually usurp the thrones of the eons
of the . morning.
So changes and passes away all that is
most beautiful, all that is most magnificent
in the material world; and man, the living,
• actor in the midst of the mighty scene, 1 ’ ‘
Man for whose sake all nature stands’
And. stars their courses move;. ,
iriku himself changes and passes away..
The surges of the great sea,of life, which
roar and swell around us to-day, will soqn
sleep upon the silent shore of eternity.
.The busy schemes of earthly ambition,
which fire the hearts and exhaust the en
ergies of thousands to-day, will soon conic
to naught or sink forever iir “the breeze
less .sea, of infinite .obliyion. ” , The geto
'tljat fparkles upon the brow
wili soon lend, its light to othereyeß when
the present wearer haß put on the dark
Presbyterian.
SACRED SYMBOLS.
BY REV. DANIEL MARCH.
NO. V. THE DRAMA OF LIFE.
drapery of the tomb, just as the gaudy, under your wrongs, or easier to
robes and the mock jewels of the stage bear them if they r ( . e not righted? Will
pass from one actor to another in the re- it do any good?”*
presentation of successive scenes. The "OX just say ichat good it does,
hearse, with the coffined dead, hurries but th' dn jf. comes so natural to us soldiers.
along the crowded street as fast as the ou mus tn ! t think hard of us
swelling current of life flows in the sa^g
channel. In the months and y? th e
future, there will be rich and o pj an( j
young, happy and inigerahlo, but not the
same told such Conditions to-day.
The possessions add palaces of the rich
will pass to other handsythewTetched
hiding places of tlie. poor will have want
and woe for others.tosuffer, when all that
are now acting a part in, .the various scenes
of, life: have, , passed . to return no
more. As the, shadows of, .clouds,-in; a
summer’s, day chase s each .other ..along;
the slopes, ofthe mountains; as wavefol
io ws-waye breaking pn the .same shore;
ias.the busy .multitude. ■ moving along the
.crowded street,.causes.mpetings! and; part
,mgs.,eyery,iu°ment t.O; be repeated never
. mere jj-rr-so passes away,;the;swift and aw-:;
; ful yisipn of!this;earthly..life. ' Ev-erytbiug:
,we learn from the history of the past, -
, everything, we obserretn the.moyirig pan©--
radmpf Jhe. .present, .the whole course of
things in, this changing wprld, reminds us
that the part we are acting must be brief;
and the,word of revelation.adds infinite’
■meaning and solemnity,, to the .voices of;
nature and of; .providence, by declaring,
that as we live .in time, shalbbe our desti
ny in eternity. r.-'-:.. K- '.l
NINTH . SOEAP-SKIP; THE HARD
WOEDS.
. . With tlie exception of one vice, I would
set up the general morality of the soldiers
of our. army against that of any like num
ber of men promiscuously counted up in
, the abodes of peace, I .have •: said >■ 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'<iva9 f .
behind .none of the . ; others in, pjiQfanijyy
but there wa? something: about him' which*
impressed me with the belief that: in ’a
cooler, hour he would ,be accessible to;
Christian admonition.
Later in the. morning, I saw him walk
up. the track alone, and seat himself'ona
stick' of timber near tij, _ I approached
him'with a pleasant “Gsod morhingf” to;
which he responded with a soldierly po-l
liteness. Tasked the liberty of sitting by
his side. He assented, still politely, but;
cyidently cautious of being over cordial.
Lis I; Wore - the badge Of' the " Christian;
he doubtless expected some
religious conversation, and he seemed not
exactly disposed to repulse me, but to hold
himself in reserve, hntil he should? ee how
he Was likelv to be 'approached. ; -
T : I spoke to' him of the soldier, life, and/;
as i n allhonesty I. could, of the noble esti
..mation in : which; ,our .soldiers areheld-at
home. I • inquired ifod his ! ad ventures, 1 Of:
thehome he had left, and of the friends of
that homo. I inquired ,alsp respecting the:
religious; privileges which hiscamp-life
afforded, and what kind of reading he hadu
Just then he hadnothing of the.kind. ; He;
had been furnished: with' pamphlets and
tracts,, bad and good, but they had ail.
.been lent, given away or lost. His Tes
tamentwas slost at Antietam, and he had
owned, ; none since. I proposed his : ac
: oeptance of one which Ihad hi my pocket.
He took it .thankfully, and promised to.
read it ; daily., By this lime he: had become
free and I offered him three or
four tracts which he cheerfully accepted.:
I also handed him. a card, gotten up by
the late Isaac Collins, of Philadelphia,
on whieh were printed the well-known
lines, beginning:
“ It chills my blood to hear the Blest Supreme,
Kudely appealed to on each trifling, theme.”
He said it was all very, good, but added :
“We, soldiers will forget it once in a white,
do our best ”
•. •“ As for example, when you and your
comrades were talking this morning about
I replied,, smiling at the same time,
but perhaps sadly. : r .
.“Aijjyou heard that, eh ? Well there,
was somp tall swearing there, I must; con
fess, But it was a ease that, called for,
swearing., .Nothing else would hare an
swered,” ,• . . ■ • .. ■:
good; felloe, tell me now, did
Willikhhlji ypn
toward, making. ... -- ■,dojasvhe
ought; or will it giro you any patience
without thinking what we are about. We
don’t mean anything, bad. ”
" Consider, sergeant: is not that worse
than all the rest ? You speak the high an
holy name of God with the most contemp
tuous irreverence which language can ex
press. You extend this contempt to the
sacred name., of Christ, the only Saviour
for lost souls. . You invoke damnation
upon men and things, even upon yoiir own
.head, on the most trivial occasions. You
make foul mockery of the, most avriul sub
jects in, :the universe. Now.all'ihisis
wrong—impious, awful and eternal wrong,
is it not ?” v=
He was sileijj;. - !
‘‘Think, my dear* fellow,” !•<proceeded,
, whatmustbe; the condition of that heart
■Which hap, ceased to feel the shock of 1 sfich
? wrong? have become of the-moral
.sensibilities ofthe man to whose lips hlas-
.phemy has become so, natural that, in ut- D
tering it* he does not think whti£“ he ’is
about, andmieans nothingibdd .” j ' s ‘
'He still made .no reply. He was evi
dently disturbed, but not angry. I spoke
of the recklessness of the feelings of others
involved In the use of profanity.- People 1
who were his real friend, were distressed
by his abuse of the best friends of us all-
God.' He had previously told me that of
bis parents duly his mother was living; that
neither she norhis sisters were public pro
fessors of religion, but that they were
church-goers, and moved in Christian so
ciety. -1 ventured to ask him if he had
been accustomed to swear in their pre-
. ■ “No,” he replied, “I was always care
ful about my speech at home. No, sir;
not for all this city of. Washington would;
I have them bear what you heard from my
lips this morning. But there is ho .help
for St here. ’ Nine-tenths of ns first teamed
to swear in the army. We mußt do it,
for everybody hhre swears. Our generals
swear; so do our colonels; and our cap
tains : are always cursing us. What; then
can we *do ? There is swearing m the
tent, swearing on parade, and swearing on
picket. Wefaif have to come to it.”
My companion Was vehement; so it
was not strange if he was extravagant.
■I thought then' *as I stillihink, that he
over-estimated the . proportion 'Ofj those
who first tookup the habit of'swearipg m
the army ; antLl know'that we'hhve high
who are not profane. As for hiß
'assertion that &ver%bods here sweats,”
'and'” we dll have tocome to it,” IwjJtl
tell you in another scrap hoW that came
hmt. ’'*■: : ' 1 -v B. B. H. •
BOULTSY ’KAISINH 1 I IN'•' DELAWARE,
; 1 Mr. Ebrroß :—Having lately seen many
statements of a “big'fhing ” in the way-of
p6ultry:raising, more especially chickens, *
in the N. Y.Observer'y by : gentlemen
living in bigger States than my own, I
■would like to call attention to what has
been done in this locality.' ' Allow me to
give the statistics ds “taken ’from the ac
counts. ' ' -
' ■ January Ist, 1863, stock consisted ol
52 hens and 4 rdosters. ,
During Jan. got 92 eggs.
; “ "Feb. - 352 “ ; ' ; ii: -
, “ March “ 558 ‘l' killed b hen. -
“ April “ 5T5 “ . 8; " "
“ May “ 415 “ lost one; large
roosteri
: “ June “ 408 “ killed twd hens.
“ July 361 “ “ one “
; andlostone; rooster.
“ Aug. “ .253 “ killed 8 hens.
Sept. “146 “ “ 2 “
* ■“ Oct. “ 40 “ 1 “
11 J'Tov. v - ’** .
. Dec. “ 79
Total, 3279 or 273£ dozen;
In addition to the above,-300 chickens
and 32 ducks, (also, by hens,)
were part of the production of ; stock on
hand.
They were fed, daring the entire year,
76 bushels corn, do. com meal, 1040
lbs. beef cracklings at one cent per lb.; all
amounting to $62.02.
The statement of income and expenses
stands thus:
273 J dozen eggs @ 20c. ■ $54.65
150 pair chickens @. 62c. 93.00
16 pair ducks ; @ $l, 16.00
$163.65
Feed during entire year, $62.02
Eggs used for setting, 9.92
Total gain,
The buildings, &c., are just such as can
be found on any ordinarily good fatm, and
the only care was that they were-regular
ly fed, and locked up, to prevent their
mal-appropriation. ; . v ,
:v<As: regards-,theKqnalilyi it ;is>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.”