Hiomspnime. PROM OTJR ROCHESTER CORRESPON DENT. A CANDIDATE FOR PUBLIC FAVOR, When Rev. Dr. Tying, of New York, ■was presiding, only three years since, at one of the great ftiinivcraies in that city, ho gracefully perpetrated the fol lowing hit of pleasantry. Rising to introduce one of the speakers, he re marked that One of the pleasures of presidingjon such an occasion was the opportunity it gave to say a good word for a worthy man to whom the audi ence were about to listen, or to encour age modest talent, or bring forward rising genius, and itgave him peculiar pleasure, he said, at that time, to intro duce to the audience a young friend of modest but genuine worth, one who would yet make his mark in the world if his life was spared—whereupon he gravely announced '" JOHN B. GOUGH, ESQ. Of course, after that, the well-known and eloquent orator was received with uproarious applause, a considerable part of which was: intended f6r the accom plished presiding officer. We do not ourselves expect the applause, and yet we beg leave- in like manner, strange as it may seem, to introduce to our readers John B. trough, Esq. Wonder ful man! He has lectured in this city twice this winter; The first time our great Corinthian Hall, which will seat 1500 persons, was so crowded, that af ter that number were seated, aisles and areas being all filled, hundreds more Btill jwessed inside the doors, forming -such ft W\Q99 of human beings as greatly to incommode all preselll; while other hundreds unable eyon to find standing places returned to their homes without hearing the lecture 1 . Complaihts wasatonce nia.de. Some body, it was said, was at fault, in sell ing tickets for a larger number of per sons than the hall would accommodate. This week Hr. Gough appeared again, and it whs published beforehand that the number of tickets to he sold should be limited to the capacity of .the house. Many would have declined to buy if this had not been announced. But still many seemed to think they must g* early, if they would got good seats. The doors were to be open at 6$ o’clock; lecture to commence at 74. A wild winter storm was raging. Old Boreas howled around the corners, and the driving snow filled the air. We thought—How many people would go. to a prayer-meeting on such a night as this? And yet we must hear Gough, and nrp most be in good season;;wo will be the very first on hand when the door ©pens; and get a seat where we can hear every word, and see every look. So we are at the door before half-past six. No, not at the door; for we could not get within a hundred feet of it. Five hundred or a thousand had thought just as We had, only a little more so, and were there before us. We stood clear out in the street, on the outer verge o'f a dense mass of human beings, all eager to be first inside the Hall of enchantihent, as it was to be that eve ning. And when the doors flew open, such a 1 rash! such crowding, pushing, squeezing; such a crushing of crinoline, and the like, as the whole mass tried-to press at once into ’the narrow entrance. All were good-natured indeed; but all wanted to get in. But after »mo fifteen or twenty mi nutes of merciless squeezing we are in side the hall. which is soon filled to its utmost capacity, 1500 persons present, all seated, and the doors are shut. Af ter patiently waiting for nean- an hour, the lecture begins, of which we need say nothing, only that it was over two hours long, and one of Gough’s best ef forts, on Jm own peculiar theme, tem perance. . . /" And so lie passes through the land. A similar scene was enacted on the pre vious evening in Loekport. The suc ceeding evening he was to be in.Canan daigua, then Elmira; then Penn Tan, Geneva, Auburn, Oswego, Oneida, Utica; and so he is engaged on every evening until the middle of Slay, when he stops to rest for the summer. In like manner he has already been em ployed ever since- the middle of Octo ber; and so he has boon at work, we may add, for twenty years! having spoken upon the subject of temperance alone more than 4,800 times.. 'Wonderful man! How ho endures so much toil; why the physical and mental machinery does not give way under such prodigious efforts as he is making night after night, is more than we can tell.: But his health never Beemed firmer, his voice never better, hiß mingling pathos, word painting, in vective wit, and drollery never more enchanting. , Almost breathless we all hung upon his lips, for the entire two hours, and only wished we could hear him two more. Truly, he has made his mark; he is a power in the earth; mil lions have felt the touch of his magic wand, and have been made better by it. But we wonder if the millions know how unselfish, how noble his life is. We have heard him denounced freely, by some niggardly spirits, who never gave much of anything in charity them selves, for “taking a hundred dollars a night for a temperance lecture.” But suppose he leaves $2O0 —on the same night, of his own hard earnings, to some charitable object —is there any thing very mean in that? And those who thus censurb his course seem to forget that he has heavy travelling ex penses to pay, for himself and for some one. whom he always takes with him as a companion or helper. His agent must also be paid, who makes all his arrangements. And then it is well known that he is always sustaining a troop of friends and dependents. Two years ago he had no less than six young men in colleges, more or less dependent on his aid in prosecuting their studies. There is also, it is well-kitown, the en tire family of his former benefactor, in- Woreester, for whose ’support he be came responsible a few years since. And it may not be known to all that he first consecrates one-tenth of allhis income to the Lord; that-so much is regarded from the first as sacred to re ligious uses; so that he is accustomed to give his hundred dollars at a time to some at least of the great benevolent institutions of the land. -He makes his • thousands—near a score of them, per haps—every year; and yet he hoards ■nothing'; lie gives almost all away; he is not rich. Surely, if these facts were known, no One could find fault with him for taking due hundred dollars for a ieihpefaiidd lecture; and all would hid him God speed, in his arduous, useful, glorious work. A MATCH FOR HUMISTON. What tales many of our soldiers can tell; what sights they have seen. Riding a few days since in the cars with one of Uncle Sam’s men, we fell into conversation. He was in the seven day’s fight before Richmond, and .went out with others after one of their most sanguinary gather up the wounded, and do whrfk they could for the dying- They found their com rades in all imaginable conditions of, mutilation and suffering; and among others, was a man stone dead, leaning in a sitting posture against a fence, where ho had evidently crawled whilst strength remained to do so. With one cold hand he was still clasping his- gun, and in the other, extended.'at arm’s length, there rested a fair daguerreotype of what was supposed to be a daughter; aud bib leaden eyeballs were still’turnod in that direction, as though he were gazing upon the precious face and form. Our informant was himself a father, and a noble specimen of a soldier. He said the sight was, for a few moments, too much for him. His own loved ones came So vividly before him, and the idea that he had just escaped mercifully from a like separation forever from them, overpowered him, and unbidden tears fell like rain. But there was not much time for tears. He gently removed the cherished picture from the dead hand, and put it in the way of reaching the surviving relatives; and a precious relic in some home circle that must he; prized indeed it should ever be, by the one whose face and form were evidently such a comfort to a husband and a father, whilst dying for his country. . ‘ G-ENESEE. Rochester, Feb. \Qth, 1864. OUR WASHINGTON LETTER. RELIGIOUS INTEREST IN THE ARMY. Since Hast wrote to you, I have spent some days in the army; and am happy to say that the religious interest ©f which you have often heard, is a blessed reality. I. preached last Sabbath morning at the Head Quarters of the 3d Division of the 2d Corps. The morning was fair, but windy, a large congregation assem bled—l suppose three thousand men. It was arranged that the men should be inarched to the place of public wor ship in regiments, with their officers at their head, and from the hills, there streamed down, the veteranS of an hun dred battles; and there gathered under my ej T e men from every country of Europe. In the eight or more regiments present, there were representatives of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Indi ana and West Virginia. In all these, the impression is in the army that the religious interest is uncommon and marked. The chaplains of the 4th and Bth Ohio, the Bev. Messrs. Stone and Millar, were mpre than ever encouraged in their work. In the afternoon of the Sabbath, I preached in the Hew Jersey Brigade of the 3d corps, arid found here a Brigade; Chapel, neatly finished and furnished PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, FEB HD AS Y 25 , 1864. and most attractive to soldier. I was glad to learn that there was a manifest increase of religions feelings. Meetings have been held in this chapel every night for weeks, and several cases of hopeful conversion are reported. At night I preached in a Brigade: Tent erected in the Excelsior Brigade of the 3d corps. Here I found working with the most fervent zeal for the salva tion of men, that remarkable mdn, “Uncle John Yassar,” who has been for a long time in the employ of the American Tract Society of Ne.w Yolk. He possesses, in the highest degree, the love and confidence of the soldiers, and with an earnestness almost apostolic, he never tires of the work of winning souls. I have met few men- in the army or elsewhere, more awake to the interests , of another life than this man In charge of this chapel and its services is the. Rev. Mr. Eastman, a son of Mr. Eastman of the Tract Society, New York.- This young brother has coE lected a email library: for the. soldiers;* and-fitted up tables and chairs in the chapel for the soldiers to write, read and study. The chapel-, could not con tain one-half that crowded to its doors. Some Officers remained for. prayer .after the services had ended. ■ On Monday I went to the Ist Division of the 3d Corps, and preached in.., the evening in the Tent of the Christian Commission: I found here the Rey, MrT Whitney and Rev. Mr. HolmeS,-srom Maine; both of these .brethren-p*ere among, the voluntary laborers, sent or rather aided by the Christian Commis sion to reach the army. Their labors here are most gratefully appreciated and blessed with the, richest .fruit.. They hold a meeting every night, and a prayer meeting each morning. The Jentj the night- Ispentiiere, w&S&fiC of the inost hallowed and sacred spots. ■ But few of the regiments in this division have chaplains, and hence there is the greater necessity for just such efforts as those put forth by the agents, of the Christian Commission.: Whenever the Comraipsion has erected a large tent for public worship, the good dotfe thereby cannot be told. It-has made divine services a certainty,ffor, whatever the storminess of the heavens, men could assemble to sing; and pray. It soon has been invested with 'all the solemnity and awe of the most-sacred spot o*n earfh? Hundreds*; of now find their greatest' joy in ithose places of worship, and spend houmhere in reading, singing and devotion. Whus they gird themselves for the toil 5 and sacrifice of the future. DESERTERS FROM THE REBELS. On the morning of my return, I saw standing on the platform at Brandy Station, waiting for the train, more than forty rebel deserters. They clothed in the heterogeneous and un couth garments which invest the southern soldiers. I was surprised tty see these men bo comfortable. They had indeed the look of men to whom water was a strange luxury, and of whom their officers were carelesß, and they indifferent to their fate; but at the same time they had hot the wretched, haggard look of men fed on half rations. They had fled to us simply because tired of the war, and hopeless* of the future. Thby had read dent’s Amnesty Proclamation. ’ - The number of these escaping rebda is about thirty a day. THE OFFICERS ESCAPED FROM LIBBY Quite a sensation has been produced here by the presence of several of the officers of our army who have escaped from .Richmond during the last few? days. '■ - .v. Their first plan of escape,-a®: they represent, was to dig and-undermine walls to the sewer leading from the prison to the canal; but when they reached the sewer the air was so foul that they conld not breath it five min utes and live. This plan was* then abandoned, and they turned to tunnel under Carey street, opposite the prison. After burrowing under the wall several feet, they came'to a firmly set row of piles-made of the wood of the largest trees. These they chipped away with pen knives, and a small ' chisel. At length this obstruction yielded, and after four weeks of incessant toil, they found themselves near the .p.oint of: promised egress. The earth, as it was dug out, was dragged back in a spit-, toon to which a rope was attached, and the excavated earth was concealed under a pile of refuse straw, in a Cellar. The point of egress waß in a wagon or lumber yard opposite- the prison. Here, sheltered from the eye of the guard by a high board fence,- the entire number in the plot one' hundred and twenty-nine, made their way to the open air; many, no doubt, to be retaken, but the majority to escape. Two of these officers are now lying in Douglass Hospital, with froßt-bitten feet. Their Story is that scon after escaping out of PRISON. Richmond, they separated into small bands of three and four. Another, with the two mentioned, found their way to the banks of the Chickahominy, to the right of the York River Railroad, and when skirting along the bank to find a place of crossing, they heard behind them the bayiiig of blood bounds. They concealed themselves in a clump of bushes ; the hounds came nearer, and it was evident the dogß were on their scent. One* of the officers arose and hastened away. The howl Of the ani mals came nearer; the other two arose and followed in their companions track, and advancing a few rods, suddenly sprang to the right, and lay down again. In a moment, the dogs rushed past them, and their companion was seized. The two escaped, wandered still further ■down the river, and at length entirely exhausted with hunger, and despairing of finding a. way, they called to a negro man who: came near -to .them. He? advised them to remain concealed until night, and he would then come to their; aid; As soon -as it was dark, the good ’negro brought to them a bucket of corn bread ana- bacon. Strengthened and wanned by this, their black -friend led them several miles down the river to the hut of a friendly colored man. He took them into a small boat, and rowed them down the stream many miles until daylight, and brought them far on their way to Willi amsburgb. Their dangers were now nearly ended. The next day • they were found by bur cavalry, sent out by Gen. Butler to pick up and help in such a&.might be near. All these escaped officers spbak in the warmest terms of gratitude of the kind ness of negroes, who guided and fed them. , , May all escape! Out of this adven ture will come one of the most interest ing chapters of the future history of sacrifices and adventures undergone in the rebellion. J- J. M. Washington, Feb. 20, 1864. A OHUROH NEEDED FOR THE COLORED POPULATION OF THE WESTERN DART OF TIIE CITY. * ■ *■ .In this time of pressing appeals, when the claims of the needy abroad are call ing to the Christian and the philan thropist and are receiving a commen dable degree of attention, is there not some danger lest; the needy who are .immediately among us' niay be over looked "aud their wants neglected ? ; On several occasions the wants of the -eoiored# people of Philadelphia, have been noticed in these columns. The Winter would now call the attention of and Of the benevolent to some facts in regard to the religious' condition and wants of this class of our . people, which are calculated to arouse our sympathies and to summon us to a ction. There are in the city of Philadelphia about 23,000 colored people. A large majority of them are sober, industrious, and intelligent, sustaining themselves byTabor in various ways; many of them in the capacity of servants, scattered promiscuously over the city. These people have eighteen churches of their own, with an average capacity of 300. Sixteen of those churches are located between Ninth St. and the Delaware; two of them (which are Baptist) are lo cated between Ninth and Eleventh Sts. It will be seen from this that there is not a place of worship -for the colored people from Eleventh ‘St. west to the' Schuylkill. When we reflect that our city is spreading out rapidly westward,it isnot hard to perceive the growing and press ing want of a place of worship for those people in that quarter. Other facts may be mentioned to. Show the need of greater accommodations of a religious character for the colored population. Of these 23,000- people, there are 4,000 in communion with these eighteen churches. Those .worshipping in Ro man Catholic churches do hot amount to more than two hundred, which is the extreme number. The sum total of those who are in church communion, and of- those not members who attend worship on Sabbath does not exceed 7000. - ■Where then are the 16.000 people who do' not attend any place of worship ? To reach a portion of . these people and to.provide for the old and children, and many who .are at service in the western part of the city, should not something be done by Christians at this time? ■ _" .. ■ -. C. Calls. —The First Church of Brook lyn, E. !>., have called Rev. J. U. Rob inson, of Troy, H. Y., a brother of Rev. C. S. Robinson, of the .First Church, Brooklyn. Dr. MeLane, says the JEvatir gelist, is laid .aside by sickness. -The Forth Church, FI. Y., formerly under the care of the Eev. Dr, Hatfield, has extended a unanimous call to the Eev. Dr. Sunderland, of Washington, Dis trict of Columbia, at a salary of four thousand dollars, HELP POE THE CHEROKEES. It is a sad that the feeble Chris tian nation for whom, thirty years ago, Jeremiah Evarts in the press, and Theodore Frelingliuysen in the Senate so eloquently appealed, is again suffer ing from wrongs of white men. The only loyal Indian nation, and perse cuted and starving as a result of traitor malice, they look to their Christian brethren for aid. The ease is urgent. A communication from John Ross, Esq., then* loyal chipf to Eev. Dr. Brai nerd, of this city, has appeared, which explains the matter. We give the substance of it below. Dr. Brainerd will receive and forward any contribu tions -from individuals or churches. Articles will; also be received by Mrs. Grier, at the Booms of the Sanitary Commission, Chestnut, above 12th sts. Bead and actl The communications of Ohief\Ross show, that; after a brief and enforced subjection to rebel rule, at the outbreak Of the rebellion, the Cherokees hailed the first advance of the national forces into their territory, as the signal of deliverance, and rushed by scores and by hundreds to the standard of the Union, showing ah alacrity in volun teering surpassed by none-of the loyal States. To this standard : they, have since been . faithful and have rendered efficient service to our cause. A retrograde movement of our forces however, in July, 1861; again threw open the territory to the forces of the rebels, and the. consequence was "that great' numbers of the people were com pelled to leave tlieii' homes and fly northward. The Condition of these fugitives, composed, mainly of women, children, the aged and infirm, was one of great destitution and suffering, resulting in much sickness and death.' In December 1862, an improvement was made in their condition,by removing them,to Neosho, Mo.- Here they were were well.cared for by the Government authorities, and they enjoyed religious privileges Under the instructions of the chaplain of the 2d Indian Regiment. Last April they were taken back to the Nation and commenced work, but it was soon found that the rebels bn the south of the Arkansas had been largely reinforced, and that the small force, under the command of Col. W. A. Phillips, was insufficient to protect the country from murderous raids, while putting, in and cultivating their crops. The three regiments composing the Indian Brigade were employed for the most part in fortifying Fort Gibson and guarding trains, and the laborers' on the farms were virtually abandoned to theii' fate. The enemy made fre quent raids for murder and plunder; and though they have heen repulsed and defeated, and whipped in, eyery battle, the force under Col. Phillips was quite inadequate to afford protec tion to the pe'ople at their homes, and the result is that scarcely anything was raised the past season, and the supplies are so scanty that intense : suffering prevails among the people, and still greater is anticipated. A letter written to the Chief from Fort Gibson, January 11th, 1864, de scribes the suffering among the women, children and soldiers from the extreme cold then prevailing, the mercury having gone several- degrees below zero, on New Year's Day. The writer continues: , Short rations, scant clothing, no houses, or shelter amid these furious winds and pelting storms have been fearfully distressing, and at a meeting of some of. the leading men the-other day, I could not restrain giving ex pression to feelings ofpity and indigna tion. The-'eontrast between the past and present was too overwhelming to be longer borne in silence. Then we were - more than ; twenty thousand strong, with a government and laws of our own; the sun Shone upon our happy homes, upon our productive fields, upon our grazing, herds—-now •all was changed, our children no longer wended their way to school, the fire had ceased to burn on the' domestic hearths, the voices of prattling children were not.heard around them; hundreds. of stout men, bender women and feeble children now rest beneath these icy clods; not one head throughout the’ length and breadth of the land was pillowed in peace; respectable females, who had not known want, were how. seen shivering around the agent’s office' mendicants for a pair of Shoes and a yard of-domestic, without a morsel of bread to eat, , while our cattle that grazed upon a thousand hills have dis appeared, our council fires were extin tin guislied, and. we had the forms but ■not the substanee of freemen, every thing being in the hands of rulers not of their own choice.; they had submitted long enough to empty promises from , eon tractors for supplying them with, bread, and should know of the contractor when supplies would be delivered. : The commander here I. believe has done, and will do, all he can to relieve the wants of the people. I attach up blame to him, but there, is culpability somewhere, and, in my opinion, if rests with contractors. There have been no issues of flour here for Some time to many persons, and there is not only-, actual destitution but positive suffering. While Wattie was abouj Park Hill his party killed nine or ten men on that raid, including two pickets near him— William C. Boss, at Park. Hill, old Charles Manning and others. In the fight at Shelton's place he was whipped by our men, and had sortie of his party killed. ■ Among the victims of violence I regret to add the name of David Vann. He was at home; a party of six men rode up to his house, just at dark, called him out on the porch, and shot him through the head, just above the left eye. He died instantly. His wife and daughter were present. The latter walked alone that night to Mrs. William's, from ten to fifteen miles, to obtain help to bury him. The deed is charged upon six white men supposed to be Texans or Missourians. firms. HONORABLE DEALING. Subscribers who have allowed several weeks of a new year to pass before announcing their intention to discon tinue the paper, and who then think it merely necessary to return the papei) or to inform the Post-master of the fact, must not think it strange if we pay no attention to such notices, and. hold them responsible, as we may fairly and legally do, for the entire year’s sub scription. There may be good reasons on the part of subscribers for thus with drawing from a contract; if so, let thein be communicated to us by writing and they will receive due attention. THE CHRISTIAN COMMISSION. Our readers will find a large amount of concurrent testimony in behalf of this great enterprise in our columns of this week. Our correspondent writing from Knoxville and Chattanooga, our Washington Correspondent, a friend writing from Camp Convalescent, and our valued contributor to the Children’s Departnient,« M. E. M.,” severally have an emphatic word for the cause. It.is a fact worth noticing, however, that this testimony is all unsought on our part,, and its concurrence in this week’s,pa per altogether unpremeditated. It is a voluntary, and so much the more signi ficant tribute to the extraordinary pow er, extent, and excellence of the work ings of the Commission. Good men in and out of the army, in public and in private stations, chaplains and laborers in every sphere for the welfare of our soldiers, are recognizing, as they have never before done, the fitness of this great instrumentality for the blessed and patriotic object it has in view, and the wisdom, purity, and efficiency of its ■ administration. We have no hesitation in commending it as deserving of the first place, in the sympathies of all Chris tian people, desiring to contribute to the -bodily and spiritual welfare of our brave soldiers. Let us daily remember its officers and agents in our prayers and liberal offerings. ' REVIVALS. Central Church, Wilmington.—We are glad to learn that a very extensive, though quiet, work of grace has been going on in this church for the past few weeks, under the regular ministrations of the word. As many as sixty or se venty persons have - been in attendance at an inquiry meeting, and it is hoped that from thirty-five to fifty have expe rienced a saving change. Revival. —The pastor of Hanover St. Church, Wilmington, writes: “God has given us a special and very blessed visitation of his Spirit- in pur church. The church has been revived, and sinners have been, led to Christ. Some forty are hoping that they have found Him, and the work goes on.” SABBATH SCHOOL BOOM OPENED. The beautiful and commodious Sab bath School Boom of the Forth Broad St. Church, has just been completed, and was, on last Sabbath afternoon, opened with interesting exercises. The chil dren of both the larger and the infant schools, sang a number of delightful hymns, including one written for the oc casion, and addresses were delivered by the. pas tor, Eev. Mr. Adams—whom all were happy to see thus, hy the good hand of God, able to he present and take a part,—by Eev. Dr. Eddy, of Taberna cle Baptist church, and by Mr. Wells, of Hew York. The benediction was pro nounced by Eev. F. Graves. The congregation of Forth Broad St. Church celebrated,the opening of the rooms by a thronged and delightful so cial gathering, on Monday evening. 00N0EBT OF PBAYEB FOB COLLEGES. The Annual Concert of Prayer for Colleges, and other Institutions of Learn ing, will be held on this Thursday, (25th inst.,) as follows: ■' Third Presbyterian Church, Pine and 4th Streets, at 11 o’clock, A. ii. Western Presbyterian Church, 17th and Gilbert Streets, at 4 o’clock, p. if. Central N. L. Presbyterian Church, Coates below 4th Street, at 71 o’clock, P.M. Addresses' may be expected by Dr.' Goertner, Rev. Messrs. Bawies, March, Robbins, and others. - Installation— The 1 "Presbytery of Ontario installed Rev. Levi G. March pastor of the church 'of Hunda, F- Y., Feb. 9th. Messrs- A. H. Parmelee, L. Parsons Jr., J. B. Page and others, took part in the which were of un usual interest. ;i
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers