VOL. 52. | _YOLUNTJSEiI. f ' pEBLISfiKD EVCTVT TIIUnST»A.T WORKING fit | JOHW El* BRATTON* | T E 11 M S : 1 RirjjarntPTrON.—Two Dollars if paid within th I . J^onr ; and Two dollars and Fifty Cents, if n#.'P o,i ‘\ [ Vithin tho year. These terms will bo rigidly ad ; lictcd to in every instance. No subscription dis ! continued until all arrearages are paid unless at ! the option of the Editor. i A.P VEUTISI3UISNTS —Accompanied by thccitsn* and ( not exceeding one square, will bo inserted throe \ times for $2.00, and twenty-five cents for each [ additional insertion. Thoso of a greater length in ? proportion. Job-Printing—Such ns Hand-bills, Posting-bills J Pamphlets, Blanks, Labels, *tc. Ac., executed with $ accuracy and at the shortest notice, n ' ... 5 r»i .» w 111 ii ————^ — I ■ ' |Wml. 1 L * ~ tiie comonlEWer^ Nobody cared when ho went to war, Bub the woman who cried on his shoulder ; Nobody decked himwUh immortelles— lie was only a common soldier. If Nobody packed in a dainty trunk I Folded raiment and officer’s fare— A knapsack hold all tho now rccru it Might own, or lovo, or oat, or wear. Ncbody gave him a good-byo/ete— With sparkling jest and flower-crowned wine. Two or three friends on tho sidewalk stood Watching for Jones, tho fourth in line. Nobody cared how tho battle went With tho man who fought till the bullet sped. Through the coat undecked with leaf or star. On a common soldier left for dead. The cool rain bathed tho fevered wound, r And the khie clouds wept the livelong night, | A pitying lotion Nature gave, # I Till help might come with morning light. i $ Such help as the knife of the surgeon giro* Cleaving the gallant arm from shoulder; And another name swells tho pension list For the meager pay of a common soldier I Sco, over yonder all day ho stands —■ | P An empty sleoro.in tho sott wind sways, fi As ho holds his lonely loft hand out H For charity at tho crossing ways. :j| And this is how, with hitter shame, He bega his broad and hardly lives j ! t0 ,So wearily ekes ho out tho sum A proud and grateful (?) country givarf, ‘What matter how ho served the' guns 'fig 'When plume and sash were over yonder? What matter though ho bore the flag. Through blinding smoko and battle thunder? •p What matter that a wife and child Cry softly for that good arm rent ? And v/ondor why that random shot yfM To him, thoxr own beloved was sent? j;||| Oh, patriot hearts, wipe out this stain ; Give Jeweled cup and sword no moro ; :£'*| But let no common soldier blush To own the loyal blue ho wore. Shout long and loud for victory won .>r»s By chief and loader stauuch and trnoj jf But don’t iorget tho boys that fought— | Shout for the common soldier too., ' ■ ■= . s ffiWlanwrw. now WILD HORSES FIGHT. i I had often heard from peon authority, and , from white men, whom I*nocqun • *;4ted somewhat better authority, of the usee to 4-'., which the horses of the llanos and pampas hpometimes apply their heels ; and upon nu ■'•ifneruus occasions since wo came down into ii'f.tho Great Basin, wo have been furnished i&with ocular demonstrations of these fleet, animals, for using as weapons, ofi'ensivo and defensive, not only their but fore foot and teeth. Sfc. It was not, however, until after we had Impressed the headquarters of the Taooary, en !-S||torod upon the country of the Oapopas, and -'Jplwero skirting along the north-western base fot the.Tueubayo llange, that wo had an op ;:;Mportu"ity of witnessing a battle royal be i*||tween the slender, clean limbed South Araor yS|ican horse and the most ferocious and pow- Serful of all the brute rangers of the Brizil ■sjjSlian forests. ■>m The sis months that we had been in the m.jl Great Basin had occupied us chiefly along the . ’>■9 corses of the Panama, Parnahyba, and their and, consequently, very few of jiSthe larger and more formidable animals with -i®?which all the forest regions of the interior abound. ’3 But wo had got fairly in to the wild-beasf ■ '3regions at last, and for a week or so, had ‘,7 hccn favored with a good deal more of. their yet companionship than was agreeable. Pumas, tigers arid congers were quite as , '--'numerous as we had found the smaller ani ',’Anals out in the plains, and ten times more e.st^mnoying—particularly the puma, the only of all uurnowneighbors who had no fear of and very little of our rifles, compelling 'wus by his audacious bravado, generally to sot fle our differences with the lasso and lance. The north-western the Tuoubayo yJ®ango is, perhaps, one of the most singular .. iyWierra formations in the world. Prom its SevfKoneral base, which is densely wooded, jut .jyout into the grassy plain long, narrow spurs =i®°f sierra, of moderate elevation, of irregular ’.??i|lengtli and distance from each other, and all { ; ®^ a vily timbered to their very extremities.— /;,4®?rom a bird’s eye point of view the moun >,i||taia would probably appear something like vast oumb, with the ttfoth irregularly sat or ajj'tsomo of them broken out. _ Ag a rule wo kept to the level ground pas sing around these spurs ; but occasionally, when wo came to a barrier of trifling eleva tiqu and had a fancy to replenish our stock of game, wo crossed onaof the sierras eith er diroet or diagonally, as suited our pur pose. One afternoon wo were crossing one of these ridges, well in towards it#base, and had just reached the summit, when Mendo za, our wild Paraguayan outrider, came dri ving back, all excitement, shouting in his lingua franca of the border : “ Ola ! Senors—vamosa a ver 1 Ten hamos dos lea grande Imbor casta muerto con el Carvalhos !” “What’s that, Hondo—two lions havinga death-fight with the horses ?’’ “Si, Sonor. Bon combatol Vamos a yov.” So we wont down to see j but Mendoza’s eagerness had slightly ontriwi the facts. The battle was not set yet, but it was inevitable, and near at hand. There would bo right royal sport worth witnessing. So having gone down the slope of the sierra at a rattling dash, wo drew rein just within the fringe of the timber, where wo had an admirable lookout; and laying clear the fastenings of lances and unslinging our rifles, we were prepared for whatever emergency might arise. The level, grassy plain, between the two spurs, was less than half a mile in width; and about one-third of the distance across it, counting from our side,.and directly in front of our position was grazing quietly a beauti ful mouse-colored mare, having a pair of twin colts, three months old, perhaps,' frisk ing about her. Off to her right, and down towards the bottom of the grassy oovo, were two immense • pumas—-male and female— stealing cautiously out towards the unsuspi cious mare ; and awa • to the left, out in the centre of the meadow, was a small herd of the finest looking horses I had ever seen on liano or pampa. The animals had discovered the pumas, and were preparing for battle; while the lone mare, her attention diverted probably by the gambols of her foals, remained ,uu oonsoious'of danger. The mare Was about midway between her friends and enemies, and the pair of ferocious brutes appeared to bo calculating their chan ces of pouncing upon and bearing of the’two foals before the horse brigade could sweep down upon them. There was something very much like rea son in the sagacity manifested by the hor ses. The herd numbered perhaps a hun dred animals, among them . some twenty mares, with foals by their sido._ After a brisk trotting to and fro for two minutes by half a dozen of the finest looking wild stal lions I over saw, as many staid, matronly mares drew out from the troop, followed by every colt among them. Then, ns if practis ing a strategy to conceal their real inten tions from the pumas, ovory animal put his or her -head down to the grass, and began chopping along towards the mnro at a rate just about about equal in speed to the ad vance of the pumas. It looked very much as if the horses wished to draw thoir enemies so far from their base that when the charges were, made they would be able to out off their retreat. Both parties continued to,advance until the distance to tho mare on either hand was lessened tor twenty-five yards. Tho situation was growing, to us, excitingly interesting. Mrs. Louisa Elmer, by far tho best rifle shot among us, poised her Lansingburg, drew back the hammer, and in three sec onds more it is likely there would have been a royal puma floundering there in the grass, with a bullet through his brain. But Har ry promptly put down tho weapon, scolding his wife a little in his good humored way ; “ Fie,.Louise, would you deprive us of the amusement wo have boon so long in search of 1" “ I say it’o a shame ! a downright barba rity, to permit those ferocious brutes to man gle and murder tho innocent foals 1” ex claimed Diana indignantly, fingering tho look of her rillo impatiently. ‘‘Nao, Senora Diana—El leo nao mureto nada.” And Mendoza was right. The lion would kill nothing. That wo saw very clearly in less than thirty seconds. There came suddenly a shrill neigh from the general of horse, a magnificent brown stallion—a yell more like the scream of a sharp sot steam whistle than the neigh of a horse, and in a moment, the whole troop was charging down like a'wbirlwind. first they came, four or live abreast, in se’etions, passing between us and the mare and beyond the pumas, the head of the col umn, when the leader suddenly swept round in a curve tor the left, the animals dropping into single file as regularly as the best drill ed troopers on earth could have done, and round they went like lightening by the left until lb" head of the column came round and tapped the rear on the inside by about ten animals, leaving a space of about sis feet clear botvyoen the laps of tilo circle, which inclosed tile two pumas and the mare with her foals. The moment that-the mare found herself encircled by her friends, she fell adroitly in to the ranks, as did her foals. But the lat ter fell out again directly, and on the out side too, when they shot off at a tangent and joined their young friends in charge of the matron mares. The pumas, finding themselves completely enveloped, sot up a terrific roar, and, on the instant, dashed upon their enemies with headlong, brute fury. The male made a tremendous leap, aimed at the stallion, who wheeling on the instant, his head towityds the outer line, let fly his heels with such force that their contact with the puma’s jaifs sounded like the crack of a pistol. The vast brute was hurried end over and across the revolving circle, and, like lightening, a fiery gray dropped into the line, wheeled and drove his hoofs into the puma's ribs with a thud that sent the monster rolling over and over, howling with rage and agony. The female puma sprung her leap upon a beautiful mottled mare, some ton animals in advance of the brownstallion, and was more hardly dealt with than her mate. As quick as thought the mare and two of her nearest companions fell within'the line, turned tail to, arid simultaneously there fell the crush ing blows from six spiteful hoofs upon the puma’s head, breast and shoulders, knocking every atom of fight out of her in’ a second and laying her out there on the grasses limp as a rag. “Bravo, litljlo beauty!’’ cheered Louise for the mottled mare. “ Hurrah for General Brown 1” shouted Diana, enthusiastically. * ‘ Viva os todos oarvalhos I’’ put in Mendo za, in extaoies. “ Hurrah 1 bravo 1 viva I go it, wild hor ses, wo all yelled in concert.’’ And go it they did —those gallant defend-' ers of female and infant horses. Round and round they went in that whirling, dizzy waltz, dealing battering blows with their vengeful heels until the last spark of life was beaten from the mighty pumas, and then, with many a proud neigh of triumph,' they went prancing away from the field of battle. [£7“ A small/hoy heard a parson preach a sermon from those words, ‘Ye must ho born again,’ which was frequently repeated dur ing the discourse. The little hearer paid strict attention to all that was said, and par ticularly to the text. After he returned he became melanoholly. Ilia father ohservedit and inquired the cause. The boy told him that the preacher said he must he horn again, ‘ Well, my son,’ replied his father, ‘ why do you cry about it V ' ‘ Oh,’ said the boy, ‘ I’m so afraid that next time I’ll bo a gal,’ "OUR COUNTRY—MAY IT ALWAYS BE rIgHT-BUT RIGHT OR WRONG OUR COUNTRY." THE SME-BITTES DUTCHMAN. .' Recently, nc/ir the city of Rending, Berks county. Pa., there lived a cosy old farmer named Sweighoffer—of German descent and accent too as his speech will indicate. Old Sweighoffer had once served as a member of tho Legislature and was no fool; as lio com mandod a voJjSitcer corps of rustic militia, ho could hardly bo- supposed to incline to cowardice. His buy Peter was his only son, a strapping lad of hcv teen ; and upon young Peter and old Peter devolved the prin ciple cares and toils of the old gentleman’s farm, now and then assisted by the old lady and her two daughtoi -orit is very com mon in the State to seo tho women and girls in tbo field—..ad upon extra oeoasums by s*ands. Well, one warm day, in hay- Umopold Pe'o.nrrd young Potowero bard at it in tho meadow, when tho old man drops his scythe and brawled out: ‘ Oh, mine Gott, Peter P ‘What’s de matter, fader?’ answered the son, straightening up, and looking towards his sire. . . “ Oh, mine Gott P again cries tho old man. ‘ Dander,’ echoes young Peter, hurrying up to the old man. ‘ Fader, what’s do mat ter?’ ‘ Oh, mine Gott 1 Peter, do sohnake kite mine leg.' If anything in particular was capable of frightening young Peter, it was snakes, for ho onco crippled himself for life by tramping on a crooked stick, which broke his ankle, and so horrified the youngster, that ho liked to have fallen through himself. At the word snake, young Peter fell .back again ns nimbly as a wire-dancer, and bawl ed in turn.’ ‘ Where is do sohnako ?' ‘ Aup my trowels, Peter—Oh 1 mine Gotti’ ‘Oh! mine Gott,’ echoed Peter junior, 1 kill him, iador.’ ‘ No-a, no a, he kill me Peter; come quick.’ But Peter the younger’s cowardice over came his filial love, while his fears gave strength tq,his legs, and he started-Jiko a scared locomotive, to call the old burlyxluteh mauj who was in a distant part of the field, to give his father a lift with the snake. Old Jake, the farmer’s assistant,, came bungling along ns soon ns he heard the nows, and pas sing by the fence whereupon Peter and his boy had hung up their" linsey-wolsey” vests, hurried to the old man, who still managed to keep on his pins, although he was .quaking and fluttering like an aspen loaf in a June gale of wind. * Oh, mine Gott. Come quiok, Yacob 1! * Vat you got, oh 1 schnake.’ ‘ Yaw, yaw. Como, come Yacob !he bitea me all to piects—here, aup mino'leg.' Old Jake was not particularly sensitive to fear, but few people, old or young, are dead to alarm when a ** pizon” reptile ie making a levy. 'Gathering up a stiff, dry stalk of stalwart weed, old Jake told the boss to stand ready, and he would at least stun the snake by a rap or two, if ho did not kill him stone dead ; and'the old man Peter loss loth to haye his i ’iog broken, than to bo bitten to death, by the viper, designated the spot strike, and Jake let him have it. The first* blow broke the weed, and also knocked old, Peter off his pegs on a haycock. ‘ Ob 1’ roared Peter, ‘ you have broken my log, and the tam senako’s got away." ■ •Vcre? vere ?’ cried old Jake moving briskly and scanning very narrowly the earth ho stood upon. “ But on your vhostdon, here it is,’ said the old orout-ealer, gathering up his boss and trying to get the garment upon his humpy back. The moment old Peter made the ef fort, he grew livid in the face—his hair stood on end “ like quills upon a frightened porcu pine,” as Mrs. PartingtonJ.pbserves ; bo shi vered, ho shook, liia teeth chattered, and his knees knocked a slaccallo accompaniment; ‘ 0, Yuoob, carry, mo homo 1 I’m so dead as nits 1’ ‘Vat? ish nodor sohriako in your trow sis ?’ ‘ No, n—look 1 I’m all swelt aup I—Mine vhost won’t go on mine hack. Oh, Gott!’ ‘ Tundor and blixon!’ cried old Jake, as he took the same conclusion, and with might and main he lugged and carried the boss some quarter of a mile to the house. Young Peter had shinned it for home at the earliest stage of the dire proceedings, and so alarmed the girls that they wore in high strikes when they saw the approach of poor, old dad’and bis assistant. Old Peter was carried in, and began to die ns natural as life, when in came the old lady, in a great bustle, and wanted to know what was going on. Old Pete, in the last gasp of agony and weakness, pointed to his leg. The old lady rapped up his pantaloons, and out fell a thistle-top, and at-thaysametiifte con siderable of a sorath was visible. ‘ Gall dis a sohnako ? Boh !’ says the old woman. .“Oh, hut I’m pizened to death, Molly.— See I’m all pizen, mine vhest wont come over niino hodv at all.’ ‘Haw! haw! haw! roared the old wo man. ‘ Vat a fool. You have got Peter’s vhest on.’ ‘ Koeh !’ roars old Pete, shaking off death s icy fetters at one surge, and jumping up.— ‘ Yacob, what an old fool you must be, to say I was sebnake bit. Go ’bout your business, galls, Pete bring me some beer. What He Meant. —ll , probably the most celebrated poet whom Western New York ever produced, used often in-his young er days to ‘go on a bust;’ in other words, ‘have a spree.’ It was after one of these oc casions that a friend one day came across his him, sitting in a waysido-inn, and apparent ly plunged in a state of the deepest despon dency. The friend thinking the opportuni ty too good to bo lost, undertook to convince him of the necessity of reformation, and pain ted in glowing colors the ornament to socie ty, which ho might become, if he would only return to tho path of rectitude. ‘No,’said Willy, sadly; ‘it’s too late; ‘I shan’t live long ; I feel it.’ ‘But,’ said his friend, thinking to clinch his arguments by a quotation from a brother poet, ‘don’t you know what Watts soys, that “ While tho lamp holds out to burn, , Tho vilest siuaor may return 1” ‘Ah I’ quoth Willy, ‘I suppose you mean to say that . “While tho lamp no oil doth laok Tho darndcst sinnor may come back,’’ It is needless to add that tho discussion was thereupon adjourned sine die, and tho poet still lives, and imbibes without restraint. (CT'We see,’says the editor of an ex change paper in Tennessee, ‘ that tho sheriff has advertised tho Argus office for sale, dur ing our absence. If tho sheriff can soli it, he will surely do more than wo could. Like a damp percussion cap, we think it will fail b) go off. CARLISLE, PA., THURSDAY, JULY 20, 1865. THE OLD PIMAN AND THE CROW, At a certain crossed-roacl, in tiro State of Alabama, stood a small grocery, or ‘ whiskey shop,’ previous to the rebellion, where ‘ bust head' and ‘chain lightning’ were dealt out to thirsty unwashed, at the small sum of five dents a quart. The presiding genius of this delectable institution was one Bill Sikes, who among various other pots, had n domes ticated crow, black as the ace of spades.— This crow had learned, among other filings, to repeat quite plainly the words 'damn you,’ which he, of course, heard frequently used in the grocery. During’ the prevalence of a knoek-down-and-drag-out fight ono day,how ever, the crow was frightened from hiu homo and flew off into tho woods never to return. About thr,niiics from tho grocery was a sett! ment meeting-house—on old tumble’ down, dilapidated v.iir, only used on certain occasions, when a ‘ circuit rider’ happened to pass that way. -Into this building went tho crow, taking peatenble possession ; and two days thor fter tTie church was thrown open for preaching, -and a largo crowd as sembled, among whom was a very old lady, who was compelled to use crutches in walk ing, and took her seat in tho ‘ front pew,’ and was soot, deeply absorbed ni tho eloquence of tho preacher. The reverend gentleman had scarcely got under full headway, and commenced thundering his anathemas at all grades of sinners, when a hoarse, croaking yoioo from 'above uttered the ominous words; * Damn you!’ Tho preacher and congregation looked aghast at suoh profanity, and each peered in his neighbors face in vain to defect some sign of guilt. Quiet was at length restored however, and the sermon proceeded, but ere ton minutes had elapsed the ominous ‘ damn you’ again electrified-the audience, and just as the preacher oast his eye upward to search for tho delinquency, tho crow flow down from his porch, and, lightning on the Bible, calm ly surveyed tho terrified crowd, as ho gave another doloful oroolc t * Damn you 1 f Tho effect was electrical, Giving one star tled and terrified glance at tho intruder the preacher sprang through a window, carry ing sash, glass and all with, him and set off at a break-noek through the woods, closely followed by bis horror stricken congregation , who had piled out of the balding pellmell after him. In the general scramble, the old lady with crutches had been knocked down in the church, where she lay unable to rise, and observing her, tho crow (who was after something to) flow down beside her, and cocking up his cyo at her very knowingly again croaked: ‘Damn you !’ Tho old lady eyed him savagely for a few moments, and then burst forth, in a tone of rookies defiance; ‘ Yes and damn you too 1 I had nothing to do with getting up this Methodist meeting— and you know it, too !’ Tho poor old soul had mistaken tho croiv for tho Devil, and concluded to propitiate, if possible, the wvatb of bta BafcttTUo mnjcsly by denying all complicity in tho affair. The world is full of just suoh people. Yekv Bad Liquor. —Tho business of the Court in ono of tho frontier territories was drawing to a close, when ono morning a rough sort of a customer was arraigned on a charge of stealing. After the clerk hud road the indictment to hini, lie put tho question,— 1 Guilty or not guilty?’ ‘ Guilty hut drunk, your honor,’ answered the prisoner. ■ s ‘ What’s tho plea V tjsked tho Judgo, half dozing on the bench. ‘ Ho pleads guilty, but says ho replied the clerk. ‘ What’s the case ?’ ' May it please your honor,’ said the prose cuting attorney, the man is regularly indict ed for stealing a large Bum of money from the Columbia Hotel.’ * lie is. hey ? and pleads— ’ 1 He pleads guilty, but drunk.’ The judge was now fully aroused, ‘Guilty’ but drunk-—this ia tho moot extraordinary plea. Young man, you are certain you were drunk ?’ ‘ Yes, sir.’ ‘ Whore did you get your liquor ?’ ‘ At Sterrot’s.’f’ ‘Didyou get none anywhere else ?' ‘Hot a drop, sir.’ * You got_,drunk on his lipuor, and after wards stole tho money V ‘ Yes, sir.’ ‘Mr. Prosecutor,’ said tho Judge, ‘ do mo tho favor to enter in that man’s ease a nolle presegui. That liquor at Sterrot’s is enough to make a man do anything dirty; I got drunk it on myself, tho other day, and stole all Sterrat’s spoons 1 Keloaso tho prisoner, Mr. Sheriff. Adjourn the court.’ “llajiebican Weoetables.” — Onoo two newly imported Englishmen, just off the stea mer, strolled into the restaurant attached to tho Tremont House, Boston, last fall, and after a wondering stare at tho ’ long row of individuals, each busily and silent engaged in bolting thoir allowance of food ia tho shor test possible time, climbed up on stools and hesitatingly ordered ; , ‘ A chop and some halo.’ While the agile William was ordering their meal, the attention of oao of the Bulls was attracted to u dish unknown to him, but of which his neighbors were partaking with great gusto. Carefully waiting until tho nent man" to him grunted, ‘Mother, ear of corn,’ ho nuged his brother Bull with ‘ Enry, there’s nn Hamerican wogehtblo that wo don’t ’avo at 'ome. Let’s ’avo some,’ and accordingly ordered: " * Haw 1 waiter, hoar o’oorn.’ Tho corn (adiah unknown in England) was brought in smoking hot. Bull passed it to bis countryman, who, observing tho manner of bis neighbors, sliced it down with his knife and tasted it with an approving wink. ‘ Good? 1 asked Bull No. 1. ‘ Worry/ said No. 2, adding with true Bri tish economy : 1 There ia no use in bordering another; 'ore’s enough for both of : us,’ pass ing the cob to his companion, who gravely sliced it after tho manner of cucumber, and seasoning it, commenced eating the sliced cob. He got through two or. three slices with some difficulty, to the huge delight of a small boy with a cropped head behind the bar, and then, turning to his companion, ejaculated: * My byes, 'Enry, hif this is a sample .hof Ilamerican wegetables, their stomachs must be iron plated, like their ’orrid ships 1’ An unctions grin slid over tho faces of tho witnesses, and William turned fiorooly on the small boy and ordered him to ‘ make change at'the other end of.tho counter/ Jsgy- “ What is dat, Sambo, what goes from Besting to New York without movin?” . “ Mo- gives dat up, Pom pay." “ Why, niggu, it’s a railroad.” • ” ~ ifc- THE OCEAN BOTTOM. Mr. Green, the famous diver, tells singular stories of his adventures when making search in tho deep waters of tho ocean. He gives us some sketches of what he saw at tho " Silver Banks v ” near Ilayti; Tho hanks of tho coral on which my div ings wore made are about forty mile in length, and from ten to twenty in breadth. On this hank of coral is presented to tho divor one of the most beautiful and suhiimo scenes the eye ever beheld. The water varies from ton to ono hundred feet in depth, and is so clear that the diver can see from two to three hun dred feet when submerged, with but little obstruction to the sight. - % Tho bottom of tho ocean, in many.places, is as smooth as a marble floor, in others it is studded with coral columns from ton to ono hundred feet in height, and from ono to eighty feet in diameter. The tops of those move io.ly support a myriad of pyramidal pendents, c.Mh forming a myriad more, glvr ing tho reality to tho imaginary abode of some water nymph. In other places tho pendents fin-march after arch; and tvs tho diver stands at o bottom of the ocean a # :id gazes through the deep winding avenue, ho fl ds that they will till him with as sacred an awe ns if ho were in some old cathedral which had lon boon bn;”.,. I beneath old ocean’s wave. Hero aud there tho ooral ex tends even to tho surface of tho water, ns if the loftier column 1 were towers belonging to these stately temples that are now in ruins. There wore countless varieties of diminu tive trees, shrubs and plants in every crevice of the corals where water had deposit. the oartii. They were all of a faint huo, owing to t.. 0 pale light they received, although of every shade, and entirely different Irom plants that I am familiar with that vogo'.,to on dry land 1 One in particular attracted ray attention ; it resemble!!, a sea fan of immense size, of variegated colors and tho most brilliant hue. The fish that Inhabit these “ Silver Banks” I found as different in kind ns tho scenery was varied. They were of all forms, Colors atvl sizes, from those of the symmetrical goby to tho gluboliko sunlish; from those of tho dullest huo to tho changeable dulnhiu ; from the spots of the leopard to tho hues of the sunbeam ; from tho harmless minnow to tho voracious shark. Some had heads like squirrels ; other like oats and dogs ; one cf small size resembled tho hall-terrier. Some darted through the water like meteors, while others could scarce ly bo seen to move. To enumerate and ex plain all the various hinds of fish I beheld while diving on tin hanke wore I enough of a naturalist to do so, require more than my limits would allow, for i am con vinced that most of the kinds of fish which inhabit the tropical seas can bo found there. Tho euntish, sawfish, blue or shovel nose sharks, were .often noon. There were also fish which resembled plants, and remained as fixed in their posi tions as a shrub; tho only power they pos sessed was to opSi and shut when in danger. Seine of them resembled the rose in full bloom, and wore of ail hues. These wore the ribbon fish, from four or five inches to throe feet in length ; their eyes are very largo and protrude like those of a frog. Another fish was spotted like a leopard, from three to ten feet in length. They build their houses like heavers, in which they spawn, and tho male or female watches tho egg until it hatches. I saw many specimens of the green turtle, some feet long, which I should think would weigh I'rura 400 to 500 pounds. President Lincoln Willing that Jeff. Davis Should Escape.—A correspondent of tho Cincinnati Gazelle, who is writing up some of the reminiscences of Sherman’s cam* paigu in North Carolina, is responsible for the following : General Sherman complained, and doubt lesss with some truth, if not justice, that the government had never distinctly explained to him what policy it desired to have pur sued. “ I asked Mr. Lincoln explicitly, when I went to City Point, whether ho wan ted mo to capture Jeff. Davis, or let him es cape, and in reply he told me a story.” * That “ story” may now have a historical value, and 1 give it therefore as General Sherman said Mr. Lincoln told it—only pre mising that it was a favorite story with Mr. Lincoln, which ho told many times, and in illustration of many points of public policy : “ Dl tell you, General,” Mr. Lincoln was said to have begun, “ PH tell you what I think about taking Jeff. Davis. Oat in San gamon county there was an old temperance lecturer who was very strict in tho doctrine and practice of total abstinence. One day, after along ride in tho hot sun, lie stopped at tho house of a friend, who proposed mak ing him a lemonade. As the mild beverage was being mixed, the friend insinuatingly asked if ho wouldn't like the least drop of something stronger to brace up his, nerves af ter the exhausting beat and exercise. * No/ replied tho lecturer, 1 1 couldn’t think of it; Pm opposed to Aciplo. But, ho ad ded, with a ion; *o at tho black but tle that stood ly at hand, / if you could manage drop unhclcixownst to rao, I guess j hurt me much 1’ “ Now, Genov . Lincoln is said to havo concluded, “I’m bound to oppose tho escape of Jeff. Davis ; but if you could man age to lot him slip out * unboknownsc’*liko, I guess it wouldn’t hurt mo much 1” “ And that,’’ exclaimed General Sherman, “ is all I could get out of the government as to wbat its policy was concerning the rebel leaders, till Stanton assailed me for Davis’ escape 1” The Devil Alarmed. —Tho editor on en tering his office and seeing his apprentice boy cutting seme queer capers, called out to him: “ Jim, what nro you doing on tho floor?” “ Why, sir, I’ve bad a shook?” “ A shook 1” “ ■tfes. sir.” “What kind of a shook?" ‘f “ Why, sir,” said the devil gasping " one of your subscribers came in during yoot ab sence ; snid ho owed for two year’s subscrip tion ; paid it; and also paid another year in advance.” “ In advance 1” gasped the editor- nearly as much overcome as his lone apprentice. " Yes, sir ; and it has produced an effect upon mo that I have been perfectly helpless over since." “ And well you may, Jim. But, up \ if you survive this you’re safe, as there is little prospect of another such a catastrophe.” BIT* The Georgia Central railroad, from Maoan to Savannah, will be rebuilt within a month. Cleanings from Ifislorf* Roman Villas or Coun+hv-Seats Origi nally tho Roman eountiy-aoats or villas were nothing more than very humble farm-houses; but, with tho progress of wealth and luxury, they wore made by degrees more extensive and costly. Sumo of thorn were surrounded with largo parks, in which deer aud various foroigu wild animals were kept. Largo fish-ponds were also not nnfroquontly attached to them, and were stocked at great expense. Gener ally, however, tho villas wero merely sur rounded by gardens, and in sizo and appear ance resembled those of modern Italy. The philosopher Pliny tho .Younger was a nobleman and a man of fortune, and tho own er of four .magnificent villas,._ Of two of those ho has left minute descriptions. One of them was seated on a rising ground, facing tho south, with the Apcnnino mountains rais ing their tall cliffs in the distant back ground. • A portico fronted the house, with a terrace before it, adorned with various figures, and bounded by a hedge of box. lienee you passed by an easy descent into a lawn sur rounded by walks, and adorned with box out into tho shape of various animals. Beyond this lawn you entered n ground for exercise; laid out in tho form of a circus, ornamented with well trimmed box and oth er shrubs ; and fenced with a wall covered by box. On the outside of tho wall was a meadow, and beyond wero other meadows, fields and thickets. Opposite tho portico stood a square edifice which encompassed a small area of space, shaded ’by four piano'-treea, with a fountain in the midst refreshing the surrounding ver dure. This apartment consisted of a bed chamber and dining-room. A second porti co looked out upon this small area. Another room situated by tho nearest plane-tree, enjoyed constant'greenness and shade. In the same building were dressing . earns, porticoes, baths, and rooms for play ing different games. Tho sides of one room wero encrusted half way with carved mar ble ; thonec to tho ceiling, branches of trees were painted, with birds intermixed with the foliage. In front of these buildings anil porticos was a spacious circus, surrounded by plane trees covered with ivy. Between those wore planted box and hay trees, mingling their shade. Tho inward circular walks wero per fumed with roses. A thousand different fantastic shapes wero given to the box that" bordered the straight and winding alleys that crossed the grounds. At the end of ono of these walks was an al cove of white marble, shaded with vines and supported by four pillars. A fountain hero emptied itself into a mar ble basin contrived with so much art as to ho always full without overflowing. Some times Pliny supped hero with his friends, and then the basin served for a table, tho larger vessels being placed about tho margin, and the smaller ones swimming about in the form of little boats and water-lowl. In front of tho alcove stood a summer house of exquisite marble, with projecting doors which opened into a green inclosuro. Nest to this was a private recess, furnished with a couch, aud shaded by a spreading vine which reached to the top. Here, also, a fountain alternately rose and disappeared. In different parts of tho walks were several marble seats, and throughout tho whole cir cus were small rills refreshing tho grass aud other plants. Such is tho description which Phny tho Younger has given us cf one of his villas.— Wo see that it was very, magnificent; and there wore many others throughout Italy ol equal splendor. Wo will perceive by this that tho wealthy Romans lived in a style of great luxury in the time of tho emperors. American Wonders —Tho greatest cata rnot in tho world is tho Falla of Niagara, where tho water fiom the great upper lakes forms a river of three-quarters of a mile in width, and then, being suddenly contracted, plunges over tho rocks, in two columiie, - to the depth of one hundred and seventy feet each. Tho greatest cave in tho world is the Mam moth Cave in Kentucky, whore any one can make a voyage on tho waters of a subterra nean river, and citeh fish without eyes. Tho greatest river in tho world is tho Mis sissippi, four thousand one hundred miles in, length. Tho largest valley in tho world is the Val ley of the Mississippi. It contains five hun dred thousand square miles, and is one of tho most fertile and profitable regions of tho globe. Tho largest lake in tho world is Xako Su perior, which is truly an inland sea, being lour hundred anil thirty miles long, and one thousand feet deep. Tho greatest natural bridge in tho world is the Natural Bridge over Cedar Creek, in Virginia. It extends across a chasm eighty feet in width and two hnndred and fifty feet in denth, at tho bottom of which the crook flows. Tho great mass of solid iron in tho world is tho Iron Mountain, of Missouri. It is th'ree hundred and fifty foot high and two miles in circuit. Tho largest number of whale-ships in tho world is- sent out by Nantucket and Now Bedford. Tho greatest grain port in tho world is Chicago. Thu largest aqueduct in tho world is the Croton Aqueduct, in New York. Its length is forty and a half miles, and it cost twelve and a half millions of dollars. I'he largest deposits of nntlirnoito coal in the world arodn Pennsylvania, the mines of which supply the market with millions of tons annually, and appear to bo inexhausti ble. All these, it may be observed, are Ameri can “ institutions - " In contemplation of them, who will not aoknmvledge that ours is a “great country?" —Phrenological Journal, ggy Two gardeners, who were neighbors, had their crops of early peas - killed by the frost. One of them came to condole with the other. ■ ‘Ahi’ cried ho,‘how unfortunate 1 Do you know, neighbor. I’ve done nothing but fret ever since. But, bless nie 1 you seem to have a fine crop coming up; what sort are they V . ‘ Why, those are what I sowed immediate ly after my loss.’ ‘ What, coming up already V ‘ Yes,’ replied the other, ‘ while you wore (rotting, I was working.’ The Tooth of Time. —‘ When Nineveh has departed and Palmyra is in ruins ; when Imperial Rome has fallen, and the Pyramids themselves are sinking into decay, it is no wonder,* sighed a French humorist, ‘ that my old black coat should be getting seedy at Uo elbows. AFRICAN FRUITS. Of African edible fruits and seeds, one could almost go on to infinity, for there are few indigenous that are not oaten by the na tives, in some form or another. Too blood plum of Sierra Leone (hoematostaphis Barto r;) has n pleasing siib-aoid flavor when ripe; in size and form it is similar to a grape, bnt somewhat larger. Another Iruit of the same shape and form, but smaller and with less pulp, is considered a favorite fruit on the .Niger ; it is a species of vitox. The fruit of sareocophalus esculentus, called in Sierra Leone native peach, is, when full grown about the size of a large apple ; it is of a pul py nature ; the outside is rough and uneven, and bears sumo resemblance to a custard ap ple, (anona.) —The pulp of the baohab(Ad- " amsunia digitata) has a very pleasant and agreeable sub-acid flavor, and is much es teemed by the native in making a kind of sherbet or cooling drink. Lctariumsonaga lensc, called duttock on the Gambia, whore it grows to an immense tree, produce a fruit, tlie pulp of which is eaten, as well as the kernel or seed. In size ahd shape it is like a large chestnut; the outer skin is of a dark dull brown. The small pod of the godarium aeutifolium is remarkable for'its velvet ap pearance; hence it js sometimes called vel vet tamarind, and is also known as black tamarinds. The pulp enveloping the seed has quite the flavor of Last India tamarinds, and is valued by the natives of Sierra Leone on tbai account. The ochro (abehuosohus es culontus) is common on the Niger, and ia used on account of its mucilaginous propor t'Os in various ways in the preparation of na tive dishes. The seeds of a species of triou lia are also oaten iu this part of Africa; the fruit is very similar to tbo'breadfruit, to which it is closely allied. Its size ia about that of a child's bead ; the seeds are small and hard'; the native namcis akna. The soeda of hahzelia mthiopica are used as • popper, and are sold in the markets at Nupo as well as at Bahia. The seeds of inonodoro graudi llora, tonufolia, and btovipos, are all more or 1c aromatic, and would seem to bo well adapted, if shipped in any quantity, for a useful condiment in this co'untry. Many of the anonaceoe have .the the same decided fra grance, but none so powerful as in this ge nus. The fruits are very largo and round; those of SI. grandiflora quite the size ofa large cannon-ball, tbo other species somewhat smaller. The seeds are about the size of a common scarlet runner bean, and are very thickly imbedded ip the pulp, which fills up the interior of the fruit. The fruits of the wild mango, probably a species of spondias, aro eaten on the Niger, and on the Zambesi tbo kernels of a species of solerooarya. The stones of this fruit, however, are very hard and difficult to crack ; these kernels appear to contain a quantity of oil, and perhaps might ho turned to account in that way.— The fruit of malpighia saeoharina, called ia Sierra Loouo the sugar plum, in shape and size resembles the dnmson. It has a sweet and agreeable flavor, and is in perfeotion in the months of Feburary and March, when it is to bo soon iu largo quantities in the mark et of Freetown. The tree producing it is lofty and majestic in appearance, attaining a height of eighty ieet. The largo seeds of peotacletlira maorophylla, known in the Lboo country ns opaohalo, and iu Gaboon as owala, aro collected at the seasoos. of their falling and eaten as food; they also yield a clear limpid oil. Tho youog germinating shoots of borassus mthiopum are eaten by tbo natives both of East and West Africa ; for this purpose they aro taken up soon after the seed has vegetated, and aro thou boiled in a similar manner as wo cook cabbages or somoisuch vegetable. Tbo largo seeds of oy oas oircmalss, from which tho natives of Coy loo and West India prepare a kind of sago, aro valued as an article of food in some parqj of tho Zambsi. The existence of a species of eyens was discovered in Western Africa by tho botanist of tho soetiond Niger expedi tion, as well as by Gustav Mann, both of whom found that tho natives used the seeds as an article of food. Of tho dika or udika broad, a specimen of which arrived in this country some three or four years since, and was then supposed to bo procured from the toads of tbo mangifera gubonicusis, it will bo sufficient to say that upon further researches it is proved to bo derived from no mango, but from tbo seeds of Irv'mgia Barter!. Tbo fruit is similar in form and size to tbatof tho mango, but the seeds, which contain.ft.large amount of-oil,-aro separated from the fruits' and beaten in a trough till they attain a par tially fluid state. Tills is then put into bas kets of musa loaves and exp.used to tho sun, when a white tallow- collects on tho surface, which is poured off, and tho dika allowed to ocol in tho shade. Tho natives esteem it very highly iu tho various preparations of their food, but more especially in cooking fish. It has, however, a strung, rank, ana highly disagreeable taste. Tho fruit of a speeioa of parinariuin, known on tho Zambe si as mobola, is valued on account of tho very sweet pulp which surrounds the seeds. The goro corn (penicillnna spioata) is in common uso fur household purposes on tho Niger and Gambia. Tho seeds of sorghum vulgaro are also extensively used for preparing as.malt.- — Tcchm. ligisi. OUT” A tall keen eyed countryman oteppod in to tho court room at Detroit, tho other day,- during tho progress of tho railroad trial* Steppin'g to a spectator, ho requested that .the prisoner might bo pointed out to him.—' Tho man accosted being somewhat of a wag, pointed to tho jury. The follow scanned the' twelve with a distrusting eye, and when sat isfied with tho scrutiny, turned to his infor mant and whispered ; “ well they ate a hard looking sot. ain’t they. I know by their looks they ought to go to tho State’s prison, every ono of them.” Samcee Launshekrv, of Clearfield county, Pennsylvania, one of the victims of Aboli tion vengeance, was released unconditionally from Fort Mifliin on Saturday last, by Pres idential order—both imprisonment, and fine being remitted. Thus evo the implacable satraps and demagogues rebuked for thoir false swearing and improper uoo of their brief authority. ■ .The mystejions letter intended for Booth but directed to initials J. W; 8., found at the National Hotel last week, whidh pretended to bo written by one of Booth’s conspirators, at South Branch,.Ya., turns ont to be a for gery. The man who. wrote it is under "ar rest. His object, it seems, was to implicate parties agkinst whom he had personal spite. Some of your boarding-honsc keepers are said to hav'o adopted the plan of laying an extra fork across the plates of-delinquent boarders, on the pri'noiple that, in such cases, they like to have one “fork over," Fall not ont with a friend for a trifle. V NO. 5,
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers