tlulfiml BNmiuitev.
BY DAVID OVER.
ORIGINAL POETRY.
For the Inquirer.
THE CALL.
BV BOLUS PILLBAGS, M. I).
I,ugt night, as I lay dreaming,
Drt-ams Willi joyous features teeiuing,
Came a rap upon my door ;
First a rap anil then a roar
Up I rose, all full of wondering,
yuick 1 heard a sort of blundering;
Then tin re came an awful thnndeiing—
Cracking, smashing in my door,
As if old Beelzebub had risen,
And bis wrath on me would pour—
Ah! that nisjht I'll think of evermore 1 i
'
Then my heart began its K'ating,
And 1 l.oaeht of last retreating,
But no exit could be found :
S 1 firmly stood my ground—
Stood my ground, and stared around.
And now. to ferret out the hash,
1 at ihe window made a dash,
And (jnickly upward threw the sash— [implore,"
"Who's there? What's wanting? I
'•Want the Doctor! nothingniore."
Tbec, my breast with sttdaeas filling,
And my blood with horror chilling,
Again I asked, what is the matter ?
That you make such awful clutter
At this dismal time "f inght.
When not a star appears in sight ?
i'o you think that this is light ?
i'ray excuse tr.c. I implore,
Qj all; the or.: T —• Xf verinoi e
But r.u sW-k my self, ♦ sick for riding,
-And fain at home would b ■ abiding :
~ TH-- v*:: •••- b* We
Jfh . was. I'd surely go-
Co to .v e him, friend or foe.
But my head is thumping—aching,
And my n'-rves, unstrung, are shaking—
\!l v'r me to w, I feel a quaking;
So go thy way, I do implore,
Tilled the comer—'Keveitnoirt"
But the road is lon. and dreary,
And I feel so very weaiv,
i will go, ali weather scorning—
Scorning, it ;• ou'il w*lt till morning
With choicest •<> rb.," my bags I'll fill,
And erani them well with "bole and pill,"
Bole and pill for every ill;
Se leave me now, I do implore.
Bawled the comer—"Nevermore "
Theu I said, the Devil get you,
And the imps of blades bestt you—
e So mercy may they show to you,
Since you did mv thus pursue—
All! this r. ght you'll snte'y rue!
Where's my "bags O, curse all physic !
Hope the inventor choked with phthisic
Died for want of breath, the "skeesick !"
A "squally time" for me in sto*c,
Go, I must, — Fortcermore.
' AGRICULTURAL
Theory and Praelice.
A late address by Horaco Gteely had some
valuable suggestions ou this point. He said.
"One of the greatest present needs of Ag
riculture is a habit of recording and journali
zing their experience for public use and benefit
on the part of thoroughly practical men. Hay
after day, we who are termed thcorizers, city
farmers, dabblers in agriculture, are reminded
of the superiority of practice to theory, fact to
.peculation—" as if we have evrr di.-putod that
averment. Day after day, we ineffectually res
pond, 'Yes, we know it; we want facts, we wish
to profit by your experience; do not confine if
to the narrow limits of your farm aud your life,
but let us uave it so recorded and displayed
that ail may acquire, comprehend and profit by
it.' But those who say most of (he superiority
of-practice to theory, are the last to give the
world the bcuefit of tl*ir practice. How many
corn-growers car. toll what has been the precise
cost per bushel of the corn they Lave grown in
each of the last five or ten years. How many
flan toll, even for their own guidance, what
crops '.hey have grown to the groa lest profit,
and which havo involved thciu less, during any
term of years How many know what ihe live
tock whioh they have raised and now own Las
coat them. Who knows what the intrinsic value
a hundred acres of good corn laud at a giv
en point is, and how qi&ny dollars, more or less
it hould command per acre than just such land
m anothei givep locality, therefore umreor less
A Weekly Paper, Devoted to Literature, Politics, the Arts, Sciences, Agriculture, &c., &c---Terms: One Dollar and Fifty Cents in Advance.
couvcnieut to market. These, and a thousaud
like questions, require practical grapple with
them. The thriving artisan, mechanic and
manufacturer, all count the cost of their seve
ral undertakings and products; if they find they
are making an article that does not pay, they
speedily relinquish it for another more proinis- '
in S- I
j
CLOVER. —Where clover can be mown more !
than once in a season, each time that it is out,
the roots penetrate to a greater depth in the j
sod aud subsoil, in search of food; it is there- j
fore evideut that this plant does not receive all i
its support from the active surface soil, but a !
portion of it from a greater depth in the sub
soil than most ordiuary faun crops. Besides
this, I have been led to believe from experience i
and observation, that the roots of clover not
only obtaiu a portion of their food from a great
| or depth in the earth than is penetrated by the
• plow, but that those roots in thus pcuetrating
| the subsoil in search of food, actually bring up
| something which iu their decay strengthens and i
• enriches the soil for future erops.—Correspou- j
' dent in Country (lent It men.
Mice often prove very destructive to young I
fruit trees during winter, especially the very
severe winters. Impelled by the force of bun- j
ger, they [ass uuder the snow, and devour the
' bark, often completely girdling thetu for seve
| ral inches above the surface of the ground.— :
( Stamp down the snow around the roots, and
j
; keep it firmly compressed until spring, anil this j
: scourcc of injury and annoyance may be com- i
plcte'.y preveuted. Ail stuff, or mulching,
which may have been placed or gathered about
the roots of young trers, should bo removed ia ;
' the fall and before the fill of snow.
__ „
EARLY PofATOKS.— A square of potatoes
| for early use, may very properly be planted, be
; fore the ground freezes. Plant as <vsual, and
cover tic entire surface with coarse litter of
straw, twelve iuches iu depth. They will pro
bably start in Spring a week in advance of the
Spring rl inting.
SFASO.VINO SAUSAGE .MEAT. —For 50 pounds
of meat, take 11 (junees of salt, 5 tablcspoon
fuls of ground black pepper, 4 tabie.-poun
fuls of ground allspice, 5 tabiespooofuls of
-ac< Mix th'm well together, and theu incor
porate well with the meat.— American
culturist.
In Escaped Locomotive—A Desfruc
lion Turned Jside.
Between five and six yesterday morning, two
passenger locomotives, going in opposite direc
tions, on the Little .Miami Road, came in col
lision near the new turntable, a mile or so above
! the Front street depot. The engineers saw
! each other in time to "reverse," and one. or
I both, sprang to the ground in anticipation of
the shock, which, however, was not groat, as
1 neither was encumbered by the momentum of a
! train But the force of the collision jerked
the throttle valve of tiie upward engine wide
open, aud before the engineer could regaiu his
' footiDg, it leaped backward with a frightful
i bound, and disappeared; cityward, iu clie thick
i fog.
Horror seized the men gathered at the spot:
for the escaped monster was fired up for the ex
press run to Chillicothe, and roaring under a
lull head of steam. Right in its path, a mile
below, were a hundred passengers settlod on
their cushioned seats on the Columbus Express,
soon to leave the depot, and beyond these an
utialarmed city of two hundred thousand souls.
It was with God. No power could follow af
ter and the good people were hardly warned by
the trembling ground aud the clauk of insane
machinery, before the visitation was upon
them'
Fortunately, should we not say providentially
a switch under the arch of the depot, that should
have been open to the outgoing train, had becu
left shut by a negligent watchman, and the iron
comet, going at seventy miles an Lour, swept
through the buildiog, almost singing the faces
of the .horror stricken subjects of a Passover
in the crowded passeuger cars on the parrellel
track—on, right on through the eastern wall
of the depot, and now, leaving the track, out
upon the cityv
Fortunately, again the direction of the cu
giue was aside from the crowded street, and led
straight into one of those huge piles of stone
coal that at this season filled the yards of our
fuel merchants. Into this—nearly seventy-five
feet from the depot—the engine sailed, abso
lutely without touching tho intermediate ground
Here it buried itself and wallowed iu its own
wreck until its fires had goDC down an 1 its
steam quite spent.
People in Newport heard the unusual noise
made by the clang of the dying engine, and
came over on the ferry boat to learn the cause.
The ticket agent of the Little Miami, in
attempting to describe the appearance of tho
locomotive as it camo through the depot, used
the most expressive paradox—"i saw a mlden
noise go by, and all was still again!"— Cinci
nnati Commercial, lUth inst.
'ls that clock right, over there ?'—
'llight over there ? Certainly ; 'taint no
i where else ?
BEDFORD, PA., FRIDAY. DECEMBER 10, 1858.
Al\ AFPi;\I\E ADVENTURE, j
While ptoppiog in Florence, at tho Oassa
del liello, my companion was James L. Grovcr,
an American painter of some note *, whom I
had known well in the land of bis nativity. It
was buuday evening, aud on the following day
I was to start for Bologua. Grovcr and myself
sat upon one of the balconies of oar chamber
engaged in conversation over our cigars, and
after we talked awhile of the various things
we had seen during the day, he asked me if he
had ever told me of his adventure among the
Appeuines. 1 told him 1 had never heard it.
"Then I must tell it to you," he said,
thtowibg away his cigar and taking a sip of
wine.
1 lighted a fresh cigar, and he related to uie
as follows.
"Four years ago this summer my brother
and two sisters visited me here ia Florence.—
They spent two weeks with tue, and then start
ed for Venioe, by the way of Bologna, where
they had frieuds whom they were auxious to
see. 1 should have gone with them bad I not
been CDgaged upon a work which 1 had pro
mised to have done witbiu a given time ; hut
as it was, we mado the thing work very well,
for my brother expected two thousand dollars •
by the hands of a frieud who was shortly cx- j
peoted from Rome and it was arranged that 1 j
should take the money when it came, and bring j
it with me to Venice when I got ready to meet j
them there. My brother left the necessary j
documents for the obtaining of the money, and
in due time set cut.
"On the next day 1 was taken ill, nud was !
confined to my bed a week, but 1 got out aud
finished my work just as uiy frieud arrived from j
Rome with the money. He delivered it iuto |
my hands upon production of my brother's j
written instruction, I set next Monday as the 1
day on which I would start. 1 was really uot
fit to undertake such a journey, but I could j
uot miss seeing ;ny sisters ouco more before j
they returued home. 1 could have sent the 1
money easily enough, but I promised myself j
too much pleasure with uiy dear relatives ia t
X enice to miss it ucw.
"Monday morning came, aud I could not
arise from bed without assistance. A sort of :
neuralgic uff-ction had seized ail my Derves, ;
and I was forced to stay in doors, ana to resort j
c hot' Laths aud uiediciue. But on the fol- \
lowing morning 1 Pelt able to start, aud 1 did j
so. (Jpotl reaching Pistoga, i learned that
there was DO diligence to LEAVE before the next -
day. I could not stand this. I was already
behind uiy tiuie, and if the thing could be ac
complished I uiu.si go on. There was a dili
gence .aider the shed, but no one to ditve it.
"But can't we have some one ? I asked, "If
Signer will pay,' was the laconic reply. Of
course 1 would pay; and though the sum char
ged was A pretty round one, yet I did not
hesitate. The lumbering vebiflc was dragged
out; four miserable looking noises were attach
ed, und then a yoke of stout oxeu hitched on
ahead of theui. Two rough loukiDg fellows
were provided one as a vetturino (postillion.)
and the other two to drive the oxeu. Thus
j provided, 1 took my seat aud the diligence
started.
We were to cross tue Appeniues by the pass
of Lit Colhna and just began to ascend the
rugged mountain paih when 1 heard a loud hoi
looing behind, and in a moment the diligence
stopped.
"What's the matter ?" I asked, poking
uiy head out through the openiug by my side.
"Two men waut to ride," returned the
veturiuo.
"But I hired tLo diligence, aud am in a bur"
ry ; so drive on. If they wi.-h to ride they
must wait uutil to-morrow."
But the drivers were not to be governed
thus.
'lt won't make a bit of difference,' they said.
'We'll go just as fast; and besides, they'll
pay us somethiug.'
By this timo the cause of all the trouble
made its appearance in the shape of two dark
visaged, biaek-bearded powerful uien, who
looked ugly enough for the incarnation of mur
der. I recoguized one of them as a fellow
whom I had seen hanging about the hotel at
Florence, and the other 1 was confident 1 had
caught a glimpse of just as the diligence left
the yard at Pistoja.
I was upon the poiut of speaking when the
thought occurred to uio that I had better keep
my kuowlcdge of the ltalbn language to my
self. I might find out the character of the
fellows thus. 1 knew very well that fuither
remonstrance would be useless, for the drivers
were stupidly hoggish, and the new applicants
were clearly riot men to bo argued with. The
door was open and the fellows entered. I oc
cupied the back scat, and they took the seat at
the other eud, fixing themselves so as to face
me. They looked at me out of wicked eyes,
and as they threw back their short cloaks I saw
they were well armed.
'Hope we don't trouble you V said one of
them in coarse Italian, as the diligence started
on.
I gazed inquiringly into his face, but made
no reply.
He repeated the remark.
'No comprehend, Signor,' 1 said shaking my
head.
'Ah—Euglese V he suggested with a shrug
of his shoulders.
'No—lrish,' I told hiui.
'Ugh !' he grunted, with auother shrug of
the shoulders, with an awful scowl of the
face.
, Wc had now began to asoend the mountain
in gocd earnest, and our pace was slow ard
lumbering. The feliow who drove the oxeu
made noise enough for an army, while the
blows upon both oxeu and horses fell hard aod
' thick, but without accomplishing anything.
Had I been alone 1 might have enjoyed the
magnificent scenery which unfolded itself be
low as we crept up the Collina ; but as I was 1
could not thiok of anything save the two men
who forced themselves upon me. Pretty soon
one of them spoke, and though I appeared not
to notice them, yet I could see that they were
watohing me closely.
'Death and destruction ." he uttered in his
own tongue, 'we shall be over the precipice if
that drunken driver is not careful.'
I r&id the fellow's purpose in a moment,
and not a movement betrayed my understand
ing of what he said. My eyes were half clo
sed, and to all appearance I was unconscious
even of their presence.
"He's right. He don't understand us,"said
one of them.
"AH safe," returned the other.
After this they conversed together quite
freely, and I was not long in having my worst
fears realized. But not a change could they
detect-'"a my oountenauce. I kept my knowl
edge as secret as the grave, and all my feeling
was within me. After a while they became
satisfied that 1 knew nothing of their language
and they became more bold in their speech,
and talked their plan all over; and from them
I learned the following highly interesting par
ticular
Tht one whom I Lad seen in Florence had,
by some meaus, learned that I was to carry a
largo -sum of money with me across the moun
tains, and had couie on to Pistoja, where his
confederates were to await bis arrival, intend
ing tu rob me there, if possible. But when
tbey found tiiat I was to go alone iu the dili
gence, they had a better plan. They would
rob me ou Ihe mountain. Tho two drivers
were friends of theirs, aud were to be paid lib
erally for allowing themselves to be overcome.
The Villains tdlked about cutting uiy throat,
shooting me through the head, or plungißg a
knife to my heart, aud theu throwing mo over
the precipice, as eotlly as though they had
be- " plauuiug the death of a fowl tor dinner.
Tul [ffaee they to murder me was about a mile
distant, where the road wound around a high
crag with an almost perpendicular wall of rock
upon one hand, a deep chasm on ihe other.
This was an interesting position, surely. 1
was 7>eak- weak at best, doubly weak now with
uiy iiiness—and tbe only weapou 1 had was a
siugle pistol Either of the briguid- could
have thrown me over Lts head with ease, and
as for figifting with tbeiu this was out of ihe
questiou. What could I do? Both the dri
vers were iu league with thetu. If I looped
froui tue diligence, 1 should die on the spot
where I landed. If I shot oire of the bandits,
the other wo'uld annihilate me iu a moment. I
had ihe gold in a small traveling bag at my
at my feet, aud as the heavy carriage jolted
over tiie stones the yellow pieces jingled sharp
ly, aud 1 could see the eyes of the villains
sparkle like stars.
At length the high craggy peak wis in -ight,
and I could see where the road vvouud abrupt
ly arouud it. Thus tar 1 had beeu tortunug
uiy brains to invent some W3j of escape, but
without effect, I was as thoroughly liedged iu
as though hound by iron chains. Aud in a few
minutes all would be over! thill I felt for my
pistol aud had it ready.
Presently the diligeuee stopped at the foot
of an abrupt rise, and the fellow who drove the
oxen cauie and told the bandits they must get
out and walk up. They stepped out at ouce,
and in a moment I heard a slight scuffle. I
looked out just iu time to see both the drivers
lashed together by the arms, back to back.—
They must have been placed ready tor the op
eration, for the thing bad beeu done with in
credible quickness. I drew my pistol and
awaited the result. My heart was iu my mouth
but the intense excitement rendered me strong
for the while.
In a few seconds one of the villains came
and poked tbe muzzle of a huge pistol iu my
i face.
"Gold! Gold!" he saiJ, "Give uia gold or
| die !"
It was hut the work of a secoud to knock
his weapon dowo with my left hand, while with
my right I brought up my own pistol and fired.
The ball entered between his eyes, and hercel
jed back and fell. Then 1 leaped after him;
i for I saw bis companion coming up ou the oth
er side. I hoped to gain the dead mau's pistol,
but ere I could do so, the heavy hand of the
| living bandit was upou my shoulder, and his
i pistol aimed at. uiy head. \Y ith an energy
which the presence of death can alone beget, I
knocked his weapon down and grappled with
| him. Ha hurled uie to the ground as though I
; bad been a child; before he could follow up his
j advantage, tbe postilliou cried out:
"Hold, Marco ! a vettura is coming!"
Tho robber turned, aud in a moment more a
j heavy vettura, with four horses attached, camo
round the corner full upon us. 1 started to
|my feet, and saw my brother looking from the
J window.
"Ilelp! robbers!" I shouted.
The bandit bad taken aim at the vetluriQO
:of the new team, but he was too late. My
brother had compreheuded the whole truth iu
a moment, aud with a sure aiui, and a quick
one, too, he shot the villain through the
heart.
We secured uiy two drivers, snd then mat
ters were quickly explained. I told my broth
er what had happened, aud lie then told nie he
had heard of my illaess, and was coming Lack
! to see me. One of my sisters had been ill at
Bologua, so that they had not yet gone to Ve
nice, out were waiting until I should bo able
to joiu them. You can imagine how deep our
gratitude was, and how fervently we blessed
God for his fortunate interposition. My joy
seemed to lift uie from tiie ptu 1 hid suffered,
and 1 felt better thuD I bnd felt before for
weeks.
Aud what should we do next ? Should wc
let tho two rascally drivers go, aßd turn about
for Bologna ?
"No," said my brother. "Our sisters won't
expect us for three days; so we'll carry these
villains back, aud give theui up, and to-mor
row we'll go back in my vettura."
We tumbled the two dead bodies into the
diligence, and then hound the two drivers hand
and foot, and tumbled them in after. The ox- ;
eu were cast adrift, and my brother's vetturino I
mounted and started the heavy team back, '
while we resumed control of the vettura our- !
selves.
The drive down the mountain was soon per- |
formed, aud the city of Pistoja was reached
without oiisbrp. The two dead men were rec
ognized as offenders at oooe, and my testimony
very quickly settled the business for the dri
vers. On the uext night we were in Bologua, j
where my sisters received me with open arms, I
and two days afterward we were all in Ve- 1
nice.
% The Abduction of Mortara's Child.
By the City of Baltimore we have further :
accounts cf feeling expressed by European
journals concerning the abduction of the Jewish
boy Mortara. The following extracts give an j
idea of the excitement which has been created
by this unfeeling transactiou.
The manner in which the inhuman act is ex
cused, or rather smothered in a pile of learn- '
cd arguments, is worthy of the palmiest days
of Jesuitism.
"The case of the Jewish boy Mortara, who !
was abducted by the Roman Catholics, still
occupied considerable attention ; aud a letter 1
ftoui Turin says that Count Oavour had directed j
the Sardinian Charge d'Affairs at Rome to re - i
tuoustiate with the Roman Government in the
matter.
"The Gioruale Offieiale di Roma at length i
contains a note in reply to the outcry., of the :
; press of Europe against the abduction of the
i boy Mortara. This manifesto of the Papal
| Court is nothing hut a restatement of the doc- |
] trir.es of the Univers. The following is the |
I whole of it:
"The Universe of October 21 publishes a
j long aud learned article by Father Go granger,
j iu which, apropos of an event which has led to
much noise ou the part of the irreligious press,
it is demonstrated that Naturalism has taken
possession of most minds. It shows that many
i Christians, having lost tbe true spirit of ihe
, church to which tLey belong, manifest, on the
j coutiary, great anxiety, not for the soveregu
' domination of Christ, of whoui they .ire n.orn
, hers by baptism, but for the authority of the
I natural family; cot for the rights of tho
church, but lor the Pagan prejudices of modern
society, and those ideas ot personal liberty
which -cern to t' ia !u a conquest to which every
, thing e'se is to be sact'ficed. They consent to
| l'jok upon taiih and tjnrtstian practices only
| through the perverted medium of Naturalist
I prejudices."
"The Gazette del Pcpolo publishes a private
j letter giviug an acount of the journey of young
Mortara from Bologna to Rome, from winch it
appears that his conversion to Christianity, is
I not by any means so far advanced as was sup
| posed. It is stated tha* t e child did nothing
j but cry ail ihe way, aud alt for his father and
mother. The sergeaut, under whose charge he
was, having endeavored to force a chaplet into
; his hand, with a little cross at the end of it,
| the boy did all he could to reject it, crying
that he wanted the name of God, such as is
j worn by other Jewish children. The father, in
j one of tbe visits whioh he was allowed to pay
; bis son, told him of tbe hopes he bad that the
, Pope would releut, aud renore the boy to his
| parents, at which the boy expressed the great
i est joy. The letter concludes with an account]
| ot the journey of father and mother to Rome,
, of indignities they were exposed to in eudea- |
I voring to obtaiu audiences, and of the stories ;
j which had been studiously spread amoog the
: populace regarding them, viz., that it was their
intention to go und murder their owu child !
| in consequence of which their veiy lives were
in danger in passing through the streets of
| Alatri, whither the boy had been conveyed."
The New York Tablet makes a most lame
and impotent attempt to ridicule ''an Israelite
publication," which calls its attention to certain
official documents ; and, as is usual with the
organs of the Roman Church, endeavors to
throw doubt upou the evidences produced in
this case. This is perfectly in keeping with
the practices of that hierarchy ; and it would
i not be surprising if we should sliortly find thetu
denying that such a thing ever occurred. We
doubt if they will gain much by such a course
at this time. The days when bare faced de
: nials of well-established facts would serve to
create doubts coucerniug them, have passed. —
, On this side of the water, at least, it would be
better policy to acknowledge and condemn the
act; for we believe that, in or out of the
Catholio Church, iu this country, but few will
; be found so stupid that they will be satisfied
: with more evasions or denials ; or so lost to the
! humane spirit of Christianity as to sanction the
forcible abduction of a child from its parents,
upon any pretence which ingenious priests may
invent.
Here is one of Prentice's last:
"Our foreign missions have been converted
into 'hmues for the friendless,' by tho charity
of the Presideut. Credentials are not requi
red, except so far as that applicants must have
j been kicked out of Congress by their ituiuedi
' a'o constituents."
VOL. 31, NO. 50.
Chinese Ladies' Feet.
lu the (iftb girl I saw tbc commencement of
the second operation—A torture uuder which
sickly children frequently die. The sole of the
foot was DOW curved into the shape of a bow;
the great toe and heel being brought together
as near as possible. Take a jujube and double
it till two points of the lozenge nearly meet,
and you will see what 1 uieau. This is done
very gradually. Tho baudage is never slack
ened, mouth by moDtb it is drawn tighter, the
foot ioflautes and swells, but the tender mamma
perseveres—as the bones and tendons accom
modate themselves to the position constrained
by the bandage; so it is drawu tighter. At
last the bail of the natural foots fits into the
hollow of the sole, the root of the great toe is
brought into contact with the heel. The foot
is a shapeless luuip. The instep is where the
ankle was, and all that is left to go into the
slipper aud to tread the ground is the ball of
the great toe and heel. This is the small foot
of the Chinese woman—a bit of toe and a bit
of heel, with a murk, like a cicatrice left after
a huge cut, ruuning up between them. Two
of the girls were yet suffering great pain, and
their feet were hot and inflamed, but in the
eldest the operation was complete. She had
attained to the position of a 6inall-footed wo
man, and her ftet quite cool, had no coins and
were not tender to the touch. One of the
mammas, ioflucuced perhaps by a little liberal
ity in the article of rice money, intrusted me
with Chinese mystiere de toilette. Sometimes,
it seems, when a woman is expected to have to
do hard woik, her toe and heel are not drawn
so tightly togetheras to produce the true "small
foot." To disguise this imperfection on her
marriage day she has recourse to art. A piece
of cork, shaped like an inverted sugar-loaf is
strapped on to her foot, and the small part goes
into her slipper aud passes for her foot.
FIRST FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA.—The origi
nation of the term the "First Family of Vir
ginia," is thus explained by an exchange.
In the early settlement of that State it was
found impossible to colonize it unless women
went there. Accordingly a ship load was sent
out, but no planter was allowed to marry on©
of them until he had first paid one hundred
pounds of tobacco for her passage. When the
second ship load came no one would pay more
than seveuty-fivc pounds for the matrimonial
privilege except it were a very superior article.
Consequently the descendants of all those who
were sold for one hundred pounds of tobacco
were ranked as first families; and the reason
why no one can ever find any of the second fam
ilies because you cau't get a Virgiuian to ad
mit that bis mother only brought seventy-five
pounds of tobacco.
Six GENERATIONS.—On Wednesday week,
at West Roxbury, Mass., a bey was born, who
can count probably more living ancestors than
any other person in Massachusetts. He has a
mother, of coarse, but he also possesses the
care of the following: A grandmother aged 40,
a great-graudmother, aged 58, a great-great
grandmother, aged 79, and a great-great-great
grandfatber, aged 97. But the most singular
of all is, that all but the old geutlemau were
boru in the same house aud same room, and he
says he himself would have been, had it not
been for a visit bis parents were making near
Boston. Mr. Prescott, the old gentleman re
ferred to, is now looking finely, and says if he
lives long enough to sec his last little hero
married, and a father, he will beitthe world
and besatisficd.
A VERY YOUNG MOTHER.—In the return of
indigent children supported by the town of
Tauntou, recently made to the Secretary of the
Commonwealth, the overseers certify that' Eli
zabeth Drayton was eleven years old the twen
ty-fourth day of May, 1858. and became the
mother of Horace White Drayton, on the first
day of Febuary, 1858— t/uee months and twen
ty-four days before s.'ie was eleven years old
and on the 30th of September of the present
year, the mother aod child were living at the
public charge, in the town of Taunton, Massa
chusetts.
TAKING IT HARD.—The Franklin Review
tells tho following hard story of Gov. Harris:
"The Governors of several Sta'cs have lately
set apart a day of Thanksgiving and Prayer.
A good citizen, who desired that Teunesseeans
should do like othet folks, ventured to accost
Gov. Harris on the subject. His Excelleucy,
though usually a mild and decorous gentleman,
is reported to have received the suggestion
with very bad temper. 'I should like to know,'
said he, 'what the d—l the Demoeraoy haye
got to thank God for this faii'"
'CAN'T BE BEAT.'—'You appear to have a
fine assortment of musical instruments for
sale,' said Quiz, addressing a music dealer.
'Yes— first-rate—all Dew— can't be beat,'
was the aDswer.
'lf that's so.'said Quiz,'l roust look else
where.'
'Why!' asked the amazed dealer.
"Because,' replied Quiz, 'I waut a drum !'
Mother you musn't wbtp me for tunning
away from school any more!
'Why V
'Because my school book says that ants arc
the roost industrious beings in the world : and
ain't I a tru-nnt V
The children are so dirty iu a place on Capo
! CoJ, that a mother frequently goes into the
I street and washes the faces of half • tfozeh
i cbildrcu before she find* her own.
Great minds have wills— others baa# only
I wishes