i mm 'i-'Wumwwranati mini . .. . -1 . .' t ....... - 5 i hi 1 L5 -'II I I WU4V II TWO DOLLARS PER ANNUM, f r AND FARH1S0S1 AHD PtlEOHAniGS' nEGlSTSO. JtlF NOT PAID WITHIN THE YEAR, $2 50 WILL BE CHARGED. HALF-YEARLY LN ADVANCE PRINTED AND PUBLISHED WeMlY-BY SAMU COUNTtv 1A. Itfv Series. TUESDAIT, AUGUST 10, 18S7, Vol. 5.-N0. 39 4 THE SAILOR'S PRAYER. BV CHARLES SAYRE. ' 1 I have lived on the ocean wave, I would die on the deep blue sea; Where the mermaids revels keep, Be a resting place for me. Oh ! bury me not in the Earth, ' A prey to the grov'ling worm; While there's a grave in the ocean's depths, From its dark embrace I turn. I have worn no bonds in life, In death let me be free, ! The grave is too narrow a bed Oh! give me the fathomless sea. ' Far down in its quiet depths , There are beautiful coral caves, ' And many a cost'y shell ' ' That the sunlit waters lave. T is there I would be laid When the voyage of life is past; On its bosom I've led a happy life, . Be it my home at last. "A home on the ocean wave," For the sailor brave and free: - ; His hammock for a winding sheet, His grave the depth's of the sea. Letter from Benj. P. Kooser. ,W e have been permitted to make the fol lowing extracts from a letter of Benja min P. Kooser, formerly of this place, to his brother, Curtis Kooser.' Mr. Kooser entered the U. S. service in the early part of last summer and is a member of the regiment under the com . rnand of Colonel Stevenson. " "Monterey, Upper California, - March 1st, 1817. ; "I have not heard from Somerset since you wrote to me to the ship Lexington, nine months ago, though we have dates up to .November J27, 1846. The mail is brought via Panama and the Isthmus of Darien, and takes three months - to reach us from New York. Since our arrival in Monterey we have been kept very bu sy doing soldier duty, wl ich is very light, and nothing more than one day 6tand guard, next day at liberty, third day do duty, such as carrying wood and wa ter, about an hour's work; then a day on pass, and the following day on guard a gain, and so on. In this manner we live. Our camp is located about half a mile from the city of Monterey, in the open prairie, on a small hill, with a beautiful view commanding the harbor of Monte rey. Wc lodge in tents, and I must say that the sweetest nap I have had for years have le:n in the 'tented field,' af er a hard say's march on a scoute- 1 have been through the country a good deal, and it only confirms my opinion that California is the most delightful country in the world. The fertility of the soil is such that it will undoubtedly be the first agricultural Slate in the Union; 40 bushels of wheat to the acre is the average cropland 50 has been raised Ironi an acre of ground 'ploughed with an ox team and a forked stick as a plough; and every thing else is produced in proportionate abun dance. Grapes grow wild through the forests, raspberries, blackberries and gooseberries are now in blossom, and in quantity and quality must excel those in the States. The only timber that grows in this place is red pine, and live oak, (an ever green;) one of the chief peculiari ties of the country is the abundance of its herbs, puch as sage, rue, old-man and thyme, all of which grow green summer and winter. "The game is most numerous in this country of any of the States. Elk, deer, stags, hare, geese, ducks, tc, are in a hundance. Company F has killed 7 or 8 deer just around the camp. The climate is very mild, cows, horses, sheep and o ther stock, subsist summer and winter up on the grass of the prairies, and arc kil- led in that condition and make fat and de licious meat. The only fault I find is the extreme heat by day nnd cold of ihe right; the difference is about 20 degrees. Wolves arc very numerous, and David Hartzel was nearly taken by them while on post the other nights We have fine times, and everything goes "merry as a marriage bell," though at a distance of over 3,000 miles from home and in the enemy's country. r "I dou't think the war will be over these five years. If so, I may see hard t"ij:rR. anil hard fightinj, too. Younkin, P e t Henry, Hartzel and Vanhorn are all doing, well. California is all peace. Gen. Kearney is here with his company of dragoons. We probably will remain here one or two years, and then go to the mouth of the Columbia river, in Oregon." First Piano In Northern Illinois. During the summer following, the ter mination of the Balck Hawk war- being among the first of the down east , emi grants to the country then barely evacua ted by the red men of the forest Dr. A., of Baltimore, removed to, what has since become a small town near, the' Illinois ri ver, by the name of P . The doc tor's family, was composed of three young ladies and his wife, all of whom were performers oh the piano, and one of them the possessor of the instrument in ques tion. . , ; . , .,-. ". , As is usually the case in all newly set tled places when a 'new comer makes his appearance, the neighbors (that were to be) had collected together for the pur pose of seeing the doctor's "plunder" un packed, and making the acquaintance of its possessor. - Dr. A's "household" was stowed away in seven large wagons being first packed into pine boxes, on which were painted, in large black letters, the contents, ad dress, &c - - " - One wagon after another was unloaded without much sensation on the part of the little crowd of lookers-bn, except an occa sional exclamation similar to the I ol low ing, from those who never had "seen the like before:" . . "Glass! This side up with care! Why I thought this ere feller was a doc tor. .;What on yearth is. he going to do with that box of winders ?" "This side up with care!" exclaimed one. "He's got his paragoric and ile-of-spike fixins in that. Won't he fizic them agur fellows down on the river ?" , In. the last wagon there was but one larffe box, and on it were printed to words "Piano Forte -Keep dry and handle care fully. It required . the assistance of all the bystanders to unload this box, and the curiosity, excited in the crowd upon read ing the foregoing wordsand hearing the musical sounds emitted as it struck- the ground, can only.be gathered by, giving a few of the expressions that dropped from the spectators. . 1 . ;. ;'" ' " "Pine fort!" said a tall, yellow-haired, fever-and-ague looking youth; "wonder if lie's afeerd of .the Injuns ? . He cant scare them with a pine forU" "K-e'e-p d-r-y" was spelled by a large, raw-boned man, who was evidently a lib eral patron of "old bald face," and who broke ofp at the letter "y" with "D m your temperance k'aracturs -you needn't come rouird here witlTtracls J" He was interrupted 'at this point by a stout built personage, who cried out: "He's got his skeletons in thar, and he's afeerd to gin them licker, for they'll break out ef he does! Poor jellers ! they. must sufl'er powerfully.",, , . "Handle carhhi.lt,'j said a man in a red hunting shirt, and the size of whose "fist" as he doubled it up was .twice that of an ordinary man. "Thar's some five crittar in thar. Don't you hear him roan 1" This was said as the box struck the ground and the concussion caused a vibration of the strings.' - - No sooner had all hands let go of the box, than Br A. was besciged by his neigh bors, all whom were determined to" know what were its contents, and what were the meaning of the' words "Piano forte." On his telling them that it was a musical instrument, some "reckoned that it would take a tarnal sight of wind to blow it;" others that "it would take a lot of, men to make it go !"' &c. The doctor explained its operations as well as Jie could, but still his description was anything bat sat isfactory," and he could only get rid of his quisitivc neighbors by promising a sight at an early day. , Three " days day that' seemed like weeks to the persons above mentioned elapsed before the premises of Dr'. A. were arranged for , the reception of visi tors; and various and curious were the surmises among' the settlers during this time. Dr. A. and his"plunder" were the only topics ol conversation for miles round. . ' The doctor's house had but one lower room, but this was one of double the ordi nary size, and the carpets were . all loo .small to cover the entire floor;. hence a strip of floor appeared at each side of the room. Opposite to and facing he door was placed the "Pine fort." All was rea lly lor the admission of visitors, and Miss E. was to act as the first performer. The doctor had but to open the door, and half a score of men were ready to enter. Miss E. took her seat, and at the first sounding of the instrument, ' the whole party present rushed in. Some went di rctly up to the "crittur," as it had been called on accouut of its having four legs some, more shy, remained close to the door, where, if necessary, they could more easily make their escape; while o thers, who had never seen a carpet, were observed walking round on the strip of oare noor, test Dy treaumg on the "hand- i some kalikcr, they might spoil it! i The first tune seemed to put the whole company in extacics. The. raw-boned man, who was so much opposed to tem : perance tracts, pulled out a flask of whis key and insisted that Ihe "gal," as he cal led Miss E., should drink : Another of , the company laid down a dime, and. want ed "that s worth-- more of the "Forty t n e s, as the name of the instrument had come to him after travelling through some five or six pronunciations. Another, with a broad grin on his face, declaring that he "would give his claim and all the" truck on if, if his darter could have such a cup- board !" The "pine fort" man sugges ted that if that sort of music had been in the Black Hawk War, "that would have skepred the Injuns, like all holler !" . It is needless to say that it was late at night before Miss E. and the other ladies of the house could satisfy their delighted hearers that they were all "tired out." -I The - whole country for twenty miles a round rung ..with, the praise of Dr. A's "consarn" and the "musikal kubbard !" The doctor immediately had any quanti ty of patients all of whom, However, would come in person for advice, or for a few ."agur pills," but none of whom . would leave without hearing the "forty ' pains." . , : ? ... 1 With an easy way and a good natured disposition, Dr. A. soon formed an exten sive acquaintance, obtained a good prac j tice, and became a popular man. He was elevated to some of the most respon sible oflices in the gift of the people one of which he held at the time of his j death. So much for the charms of a Pi ano Forte. Route round the Lakes. -Thr St. Louis steamer left Buffalo on the 29th ultimo for a tour around the Lakes, taking the Chicago Convention on the way.- Mr. Weed, of the Albany evening Journal was of the party that took passage in her He has written a series of most interest- ing Ict'ers, descriptive of tire plaees visited and narrative of the. events that ' look- place- during the cruise. He-thus de scribes the route "taken "and distance ac complished : '' . . i - v . "We are now approaching Buffalo, af ter an absence of sixteen days,- having traversed Lakes ErieSj.lCJairIIujo, xMiclngan, and St. Mary s ; run through the Detroit, St. Clair, and St. Mary's riv ers, and looked into lake Superior. J he distance from Buffalo to Chicago is 1,05-1 miles. From Chicago to the Saut, via Green Bay. the distance is about 800 miles. From the Saut to Buffalo the dis tance is over 700 miles.' We have jour neyed, therefore, more than 2,500 miles upon lakes and rivers whose waters arc whitened with the canvassand blackened with the smoke of vessels and steamers greater in number and exceeding in value the vessels and commerce of any of the nations of Northern Europe. And yet our Government refuses .to. recognise this great interest as a part of the commerce of the. Republic !" ; , (Jood advice.;,.. : The Editor of the New York Tribune who has rambled extensively through the far Western States, closesone of his in teresting letters with advice which every farmer, who has ouly his ' handsj to rely on, should lose no time in taking : "O ye i who dwell in the gorges and on the slopes of granite hill ! who ar often inclined to murmur at the hardship of your lot in being compelled to do a fortnight's hard labor in wrestling twenty bushels of corn from the acre, of niggard and stony soil, .while in-fertile Illinois less labor produces' a hundred bushels I You have notyei to thank Heaven as you ought for that hard granite soil for the glorious woods .which so readily cover it, and the blessed ; crystal water which gush from its . flinty bosom ! If you own a farm there, keep it, and, by cheerful labor, guided by productive sci ences render it each year more fruitful than the last ; but if you have xo ' land,' and a young family forbids the hope of earning any at the East, strike boldly for the West at once, get hold by pre-emption right of eighty or one hundred and sixty acres, as well located for health or limber as you can find, aud resolve, in spite of all obstacles, to make it the foun dation of a competence for yourself and an outfit for your children." - IGNORANCE OF THE LAW. The Delaware Republican states - that the Court and Lawyers at Carlisle were entirely ignorant of the law against kid napping, passed by the last Legislature, at the time the riot between the slavehold ers and the colored people took place in that town. Professor M'Clintock, of Dickinson College, informed those en gaged in the riot of the existence of the law, and this caused the whiles to stay their hands. For this information an ef fort is now making to have- him indicted, and wc shall soon see whether slavery is paramount to law in this Commonwealth. The law alluded to, effectually piotccts the slave it gives him liberty the mo ment he sets - foot upon - the free soil of Pennsylvania, if he resists the action of his oppressor, the slave-catcher, Lane. Trio. " -V- -WHAT ARE THEY ? "': ''"- " BY "VIDDEICH." What is time ? A restless sea, Whose surges cover all they fear Whose kindly mood and winsome glee : Arc but the prelude of despair ! And what is life l That ocean's storm,' The lightning's flash amid the gloom. Where horror in its wildest torni Points pale and ghastly to the tomb! What, then, is Death ? The placid calm 1 hat follows when the storm is o er, Where gentle breezes seem like balm' And sorrows vex the soul no more. FROM MEXICO. Impoi rtant News. " The Telegraph transmitted intelligence to this city yesterday morning, in advance of the mail, which authorized us to issue in an extra, the following paragraph : "The News from the Skat of War. Most heariily do we congratulate our readers that the Mexican authorities have as we learn by the Telegraph, appointed Commissioners to treat with the United States Commissioner conccrninjr the terms of a pacification between the two countries. We will not allow ourselves to anticipate a failure of a negotiation ihus acceded , to, the success of which is so greatly desired by the body of well-disposed citizens of this country', and cannot be less desired, we should think, by that portion of the people of Mexico who have any thing at stake in the contest. The acceptance of the overture from the Uni ted States, to such an extent a to appoint Commissioners to treat under it. seems indeed to us to be such . an - indication of the disposition of the Government as can hardly fail to end in a Peace, or at least in a suspension of arms for the pnrpose of discussing the terms of a permanent trcaty of Peace." The arrival of . the mail, however, in the evening, deprived the intelligence of the morning in a great measure of its posi tive character, and reduced it to the re-pornj-wfitcfi we compile octow from the New Orleans papers. Though weakened by these extracts, we still cling to the hope that the rumors are founded on truth and that they will be soon followed by autlientic confirmation of the prospect of au early peace. Correspondence of ihe K. O, Times. Vera Cruz, (Mexico,). July 12. 1817. j -i , Wc had an arrival from Puebla during i the night, with dates from that city to the 4 t!i instant, and bringing very important intelligence. A letter of the 2d instant, from one of the first merchants of the place, assures his partner here that three Commissioners have been appointed by the Mexican- authorities to proceed to Sah Martin Tesmelucan and treat with Mr,. Trist. . These commissioners are Tornfl, Gorostiza, and Baraxda, three men who would sell, as I heard a gentle man remark to-day, not only their country but their fathers and mothers for a con sideration in cash. . We have, therefore strong, hopes that regular negotiations will immediately follow the preliminary arrnngemonts wliiclj; tliejvaro to make, and that peace vilt again da wit upon this unhappyr country Jbefore the new year does. , v. . : Per coiffo (pPttfa, aUdwouk wishes J to mislead ?au our jinigraent .too lars-auow i ay that this 'very-juteUi'encet e?-' j me to s ccltrni a 'UiTrcrihoogh it.be, wants thtitA lhe ternVofied by the P confirmation which I - always requiie la out a rumor, m whic news to have be ford" it receives , my en- confidence. dorsemeut. l woomer merchants ol tins i city have letters up to. the 4th two days! later, in which nothing is said of this mat- , tcr. The report, however, has universal j crcuu ncrc, ana i ipj oncu oy . every . jeretl near Ja, -Je guerrillas repyrt consideration ol probability. God grant Ulat he fought de-5perate!y, ad before he its truth ! - . - fell killed two of their number. Our own Jclv 13. Nothing further has trans- .express-rider arrived in Vera.Cruzon the pi red with regard to the peace rumors : morning of the lGth instant, without his afloat yesterday, but I find the list of letters and severely woundeJ. ' i He came doubters increased somewhat during the by the route of Orizaba, and when six past twenty-four hours. It seems strange leagues from that place he was attacked lhat one man only should have received by five guerrilleros, and captured. They the news, if it had been correct, and that took from him his letters, and inflicted several letters of latct date, from well-in-' seven severe wounds upon him with a formed persons, arc silent on the subject. 1 poniard, and left him for dead. After . Gen. Pierce's train commenced mo- they had left him he found a business let ving his morning, but does not fairly tcr to our agents in Vera Cruz, torn into start until to-morrow. The escort counts fragments, near him. lie gathered up three thousand two hundred men, but the most of the pieces, and took them safe to traiii is less valuable than several others Vera Cruz. Our correspondent writes that have gone up. ' that, after putting the pieces together as I am sorry to hear that there is a good WeSI as he could, he could only make out deal of fever in Commodore Perry's ijic following items : , squadron; and that one of its victims is j Gcn. Pillow's division arrived at Pu the gallant Lieutenant James L. Parker, cbla on the 8th, all well. The American one of the heroes of the Creole exploit j army would inarch on to the city of Mexi undcr the walls of San Juan de Uloa. ' co to a certainty tf peace were not soon July 10. I. have been much' disap-'made. Wc never supposed there was pointed by the return of the steamer Niw any doubt about this. The postscript, Orleuns with a sorry tale from Colonel dated the 11th instant, says that peace sorry Gates at Tampico. . J Captain Apld informs us that three days ago a detachment of two hundred men were sent out some miles in the in terior by Col. Gates to bring in a party of released prisoners. The .detachment proceeded without molestation : until it i reached "the neighborhood of Panuco, J where it was attacked by a large number of Mexicans, and suffered a heavy loss, t The few men (some fifteen or twenty ) who came in reported twcnly:five killed ami the remainder completely surrounded when they left the field. The jYno UrfcH'is was at once dis- I I C A I I . . piucneu ior uns piacc, wan a requisition on Gov. Wilson for reinforcements. Our garrison is too small to permit the Govern J incut to send any part of it away, but he has written to uen. f itRCE, who has not t jjje 0()iej yet left the camp, to learn if he will fill s requisition. A reply has not yet (5 p. m) been received. Captain Farragut, of ihe sloop of war Jtcafur, which ship now lies off the town, oflVrs to .send his marines, twenty -one in all, and I presume his offer will be accepted. Wc learn from other sources that Col. Wilson could not furnish any reinforce ment, but that the marines vcre scnt.J The Yera Cruz Sun of the 13lhinst., though not quite so late as two of the a bovc letters, presents some of the rumors to which they refer in a more favorable aspect, as follows : "A private express arrived here night before last from Puebla, bringing vcrv in teresting intelligence from that place, from Mexico, and from Generals Cadwalader and Pillow's trains. The express left Puebla on the 3d instant, and brought private letters dated the same day. "News had been received the day pre vious from Mexico that Commissioners had been appointed by the Mexican Gov ernment to confer with Mr. Trist at San Martin Tesmelucan, eight leagues from Puebla, and it was supposed they would meet him on the 4th of July. "The express-rider met with Generals Cadwalader and Pillow and their respec tive commands at Perotc. They had been attacked at Ta Hoya and had com pletely routed the enemy, having sustained but little loss. No properly was lost, and both trains had arrived in Perote ; which place, a correspondent says, they were to leave on the 0th instant. , "Wc have seen a letter dated Mexico, July 2d. The writer says that he does not doubt that a treaty of peace would be concluded at once by the Commissioners. He also says that the peace party has be come so considerable in the capital that he thinks that Santa Anna (who is al ways on the side of the strongest) will soon pronounce himself in favor of peace. "A letter from Puebla, which was writ ten several days before the express left that place, states that there had been some sickness among our troop?. We do not ve our readers the whole contents of this letter, because it is full of rumors which had not been realized at the latest dates. "The Mexicans were still fortifying the city of Mexico, but the means of the Gov ernment were so limited that we do not doubt that it will be more than a day's work for General Scott to demolish all the Mexicans have done in three months, in case they should show resistance." The Picayune contains, some addition al information, besides an expression of its opinion on the above news, as fol- lows : "lVm Vera Cruz our news is less satisfactory than we could wish. On the lolh our" correspondent writes that two expresses haiUjrrivcd from Puebla. The news had. not fully transpired, but the report had ot inio! emulation that the iyiextcnoGovcruHient hatfscTitrrhrce com- miiiiiner? fo.S.ui Martin TVsmefUcan to4 meet .vir, itiisr, tmiu nejt ttro'ufTiwntm 'resident. h we place little ..n,., e.i, ict. from Vera rjriIZ lhat an e s froin (;e., s,.nf, ;1 fpY:f,.1 n mi t way from liebla lo Vera Cruz, was mur-J was the order of the day. 1 he writer placed no faith in the prospect : he con sidered that Santa Anna's sole object was to gain lime, a principle of general policy with the Mexicans, especially with the great man. "Our correspondent writes that a larg part of the command of Gen. Pierce left on the 15th. The General was expected to get off on the evening of the 1 6th. Our letters say nothing about the force collected at the National Bridge to oppose our advance. Gen. .Pierce had been ill, but had recovered from his attack. "The Governor of Vera Cruz had re ceived such information as led him to suppose an attack would be made upon the city as soon as Gen. . Pierce left, and precautions had been taken to defend the place. General orders were issued lor every citizen to enrol himself under Cap tain ribbitts, and hold himself in readi ness for any emergency." In conclusion, we give the subjoined account of a skirmish between a small body of our troops and the Mexicans, on or near the Panuco river, as furnished by Ciipt. Acld, of the steamer New Orleans which brought over the toreom intclli gencc. He left Vera Cruz on the 17th instant, and Tampico on the 19th: "Capt. Auld reports lhat Gen. Tierce left Vera Cruz on the morning of the 1 4 th instant with 2,500 men, and a train of 150 baggage wagons. The New Orleans arrived at Tampico on the morning of the 15th instant, and the Captain was inform ed by Col. Gates that Col. DeRussy, with a detachment of Louisiana volun teers, a part of Capt. Wise's company of artillery, and Capt. Boyd, with one com pany of infantry, amounting in all to 1 1 or 120 men and officers, left by the way of the river on the 8lh instant for the pur pose of relieving the American prisoners, and landed CO miles up the river, from the steamer Undine and Mary Summers, without seeing an enemy, and the boat returned to Tampico at 2 o'clock P. M. on the I5ih instant. An express arrived at Tampico from Col. Deliussy, stating that they had been permitted to move on uninterruptedly un til they got into a narrow pass near Hue jutla, when they were surrounded by 1,200 or 1,400 men, under Gen. Garay. Col. DeJJussy's command had suffered! considerable loss, but, with the assistance of Capt. Wise's artillery, they had cut their way to the river, and there waited for reinforcement. "Col. Gates dispatched the New Or leans back to Vera Cruz with a requisi tion on Col. Wilson for four companies of infantry. He had also sent the steam boats Undine and Mary Summers up the river with 150 men to Col. DcRussy's assistance. "The New Orleans arrived at Vera' Cruz on the 16th, at 2 o'clock P. M., and found the city in a state of excite ment. Gen. Pierce had marched out, as above stated, and encamped about ten miles from the city, when the advance guard came in and reported a heavy force of Mexicans at the National Bridge, who were marching towards the city. Every thing was got ready for action. The shipping was removed from between the castle and the city. Gen. Pierce rein forced his command with 700 men, ma king in all 3,200. In consequence of this difficulty the requisition from Col. Gates on Col. Wilson could not be complied with. The New Orleans took on board twenty-five marines from the United Stales fdoop Saratoga, on the morning of the 17th instant, and sailed for Tamoico, previous to which Gen. Pierce had inarched out to meet the enemy. The New Orleans arrived at Tampico on the morning of the 18th. A detachment which had gone up the river had returned, andtep.orted as follows, as near as we can ascertain : . "The iroops'uuder Col. DeRussv had mached within seven miles oflluejuda on the morning ol the 12th, when the Mexicans commenced a heavy fire on them from all directions. Capt. Wise got his piece of artillery to bear on them, when, after receiving six or eight rounds of grape, which cut a lane through thcic linethey gave way and fled to tlve chapaf' rcl. Tie Americans continued fightin the fr way back 'along the road towards the riyer at intervals until the morning of the lGth, when they were' relieved bv a reinrorcemenl of 150 men. They "re turned to 'Tampico: at a late hour on the l'Oth, with a loss of twenty menkilled, ten wounded and twomissing. Amon the number was Capt. Boyd, who fell in the first charge, with three balls through his body f also his First Lieutenant, who fell mort illy wounded, and was left dyinj on the field. . . ' , "Col.. DcRussy had several balls through his coat ; Capt. Wise had his horse shot from under him. The men and officers fought bravely. The Mexi can loss is reported by a lieutenant to be 150 killed and 120 wounded. The Ameri cans atso lost 12 or 15 horses and CO pack mules', ' r- Lieut. Whipple, acting adjutant of tha 9th infantry, was lassoed by a small party of guerrilleios on the 10th instant, when retiring from the cemetery, within four hundred yards of the walls of the city of Vera Cruz. .TThey weie pursued by the Americans, who could not overtake them. The -chaparreT has been searched for miles around, but his -body could not bo found. "Capt. William Duff, oftho 3d dra goons, died of vomito at Vera Cruz, oi the aftaruoon of the 16th instant." r