p<>ke. It requsr ed the tic* ni women t rectify this: it was rectified instantly and the Conversation flowed smoothly. Our chess was dropped ; but our sherry wa-> discussed, as well a. but that of the war Tabooed subject, and not one word wa- uttered upon either side that would have led the mo-t earelul listener u> believe that we were sol diers wairJng against each other. It would he useless to deny that during this time my tuitid was running on all things besides those upon which I was talking. I know that 1 was Col. Ashby's prisoner, though there was just the shad ow of a doubt whether he meant to en force the forfeit. I could not help steal ing anxious glances occasionally into Mrs. Kate's face, to see if 1 could read there any indication of her belief, and as offen. t saw an uncomfortable recognizance of her position and the fear of my suspicion. At last the time came when 1 must bring the matter to an issue, and I rose to de part. Whatever the end might he, 1 did not intend that Ashby and bus friends should see it in my face or in my manner of taking leave that I for an instrnt suspecief such a termination to our inter view In fact 1 made up my mind not to he taken without a struggle ; as it was hut a few nights before that two of our officers had been captured while upon a visit to some fair ones outside our lines, and the incident had served for some hard jokes on the now imprisoned amorato. It yvas well worth a bit of a flight, therefore, to avoid not only being taken prisoner, but being taken in so ignoble away. I bade my fair entertainers good night, regretting that it would he so long ere I should see them again, and advanced to do the same by Colonel Ashby and his friends but found them on their feet and also preparing to depart. I shall never forget the minute it took us to reach the piazza, it semed an age. 1 had picked up my sword by the way, having unbuckled and stood it in a corner of the room when I sat down to chess, and grasped it tightly by scabbard in my left hand, prepared to use it on the slightest demonstration. My horse stood fastened within a lew feet, and I felt that it I once got on his back I had no fear of the whole party. It was just dark, and we all stood an in stant looking out upon the landscape. Ev ery moment I expected the words, 'Cap tain you are my prisoner !' when I noticed a look ot intelligence pass between the Colonel and his adjutant. I grasped niy swore tighter and looked in the direction of their eyes, and with a great bound of the heart saw my own men coming slowly up toward the house. Whether they were deceived and be lieved them a squad of their own in the dim light, or really knew what they were and trusted to my generosity, I could not tell, but after they had fairly emerged in to the road I turned towards my com pan ions and, with one glance int, their in scrutable faces, I extended my hand to Ashby. ' I must bid you good night, Colonel ; I ee a file of my men coming after me, and it might be unpleasant for you to meet them.' 'Goodnight,' Captain—l thank you 1' j was all the response ; and in a moment I was on nty horse-and had joined my men, who had returned that they might warn me ol several wandering parties of ' r.. bs" i they knevjt to bo out, aisd prevent me from I being picked up I never knew whether I Was a prisoner that evening or not. BSMogr The Trouble in Southern Illinois—The Facts in the Case. We find in the detailed report, furnished by the special correspondent of the L'hiea go Times, some statements which throw a good deal of light on the late outrages in Southern Illinois. This account is present ed under the boldly displayed headline, '•The Bloody Responsibility rests upon the Abolitionists." The correspondent, it must be remem ! ber, *is giving a story as favorable as possi ble for the copperheads, and we may take as unquestionably true all that he admits that tells against his own party. He com mences by saying, the disturbance was'but the natural and inevitable result of the outrages which the citizens of Coles and adjoining counties have received at the hands of the Federal soldiers.' The Times' correspondent, having re ferred to the whipping of copperheads, goes on : i 'Among the men so beaten were some from "OTiair's Settlement, ' who were quite as fond of liquor as the soldiers, ; and had betrayed themselves into several affrays with them while over their cups. Th rse men determined to revenge them selves upon the soldiers.' 'Last Monday was the conimemcement of the Spring term of Court, an event which usually brings many citizens to the county seat. In addition to the commence n ent of Court, it was understood that Hon ; Johq R Eden, the Democratic member of Congress from this district, would address ! his constituents, and this would bring to Charleston a large proportion of the Dem norafs of the county The people at O'Hait's Settlement, deemed that the sol ' diors would make some effort to interrupt Eden while speaking, and conceived the tt/eu of embroiling all the Democrats in ; attendance iu the a frag with t ! >e soldiers, ! lay resisting, by force any attempt made to interfere with them. 'To this end some thirty or forty of I th ent came armed, sum" with revolvers and the remainder with shot guns and rifles j concealed in the straw in their wagons. They appear to have had a concerted plan thus far, that when any shot was fired, it | should be the signal for a general assault upon the sobli'l's. Supposing the distur bance would occur at a public meeting, and that the Democrats would join them, the ! people from "OTiair's Settlement" hoped i to overpower the soldiers without much j difficulty ' The plan of the men from 'O'flair's j .Settlement' was deranged hy the refusal of the Hon. John R. Eden to speak. But i they yet contrived to have the signal for i the massacre given. A soldier named Oliver Salee, who had been drinking, and ! was expressing the opinion that he could j whip any copperhead, addressed one Nel i sou Wells, saying 'I understand you are a copperhead.' Here the stories vary. One account says the soldier was good humored in his manner, and that the reply of Wells was a volley of oaths and the presentation of his pistol. The Chicago Times' story is this : j 'Wells answered in the affirmative. Sa lee then put his hand on Wells' shoulder, ; whether iu anger or not I have not been able to satisfy myself. Wells drew back, remarking, 'Don't you put your bauds on me; if yuu do, I'll shoot you.' To which I Salee replied that he could shoot too, or shoot back. What transpired soon alter ; seems to have obliterated from the minds ol witnesses what immediately followed. What he next remembered is that, after a lapse of time, Wells drew his pistol and fired, at Salee is not known. In a second or two the men from "()'Hair's i Settlement" responded to the signal, aod the firing became general.' Soin this Copperhead account, we have not j only the admission that the Copperheads came to town for a fight, prepared for it, with arms, and a plan, but that the frst shot isos fred by a copperhead, and that that was the agreed signal for a general and murderous assault upon the soldiers, which was made accordingly. The Times' correspondent says: 'The soldier, Salee, fell almost at the first volley. After he was down he drew his revolver and shot Wells, who ran some distance and tell dead. Major York, Sur geon of the 54tb, in passing into the court j riom was shot iu the shoulder, and died a few minutes after at the side of the Judges stand. Colonel Mitchel, who came into the yard from the County Clerk's office, had several hots fired at him, and i engage J in a de-perate- h-nd t > band struggle with a man named V .nkler Co. > Mitchell's life wax saved by bio w&uU, which received one bull nnd turned it aside He was wounded slight! in the abdomen and oil each hand, and had sev eral holes through his clothes.' It was not pretended that Major York was doing anything wrong. The Times' correspondent expressly states that he was 'courteous to his opponents anu opposed ail outrages by soldiers ' Vet, in the af fray commenced by copperheads, be-was shot by one of them in the back—the pis tol that gave his death wound burning his coat. The copperheads, aside from being with deadly weapons and a plan of opera tions, had one terrible advantage over the sol icits. Ihe cops feed ./ the Line uni forms, while the soldiers could only tell when they saw a man shoot at them that he was their enemy. In this way the blue jackets fell into a perfect ambuscade. The wonder is that more of them were not mur dered. and that they contrived to kill so many ot their assailants The Times' cor respondent. in giving a summary of the affair, hy way of concluding his letter says: 'Democrats here and at Charleston are much incensed at the conduct of the men from ''OTiair's Settlement," whocomtnen ced and wTo alone participated iti the af ftay They evidently came in anticipation of a disturbance and with a preconcerted plan as to how it should be commenced and conducted The refusal of Mr. Eden to speak disarranged the-'r plans somewhat, when the trifling cause I have given above was seized upon and made the pretext for commencing the affray.' Two Boys, and What Became of Them Eugene Fydney was a fine looking, well dressed boy, very good-natured and agree able; he had as many friends as his fath er's purse eould buy (atid I hey were not a few) and he fancied he had not an enemy in the world. lie had had great "advant ages. He had been to an academy ever since he could remember. His fat her paid the teachers handsomely and made them presents; he wanted them to make his son a pre ent of a good education ; but you know they eould not do that. No boy can have learning unless he digs it out for himself, and Eugene was like a certain steward we read of in the Bible, 'he could uot dig.' When he was sixteen his fath er died, and to the surprise of every one it turni d out that he had spent all his mon ey; there was not a dollar left for his son. The teachers said he was nearly fitted lor college, but-nu a strict examination he was found to 1 c neither fitted for that place or any other. He did not know enough of accounts for a hook keeper, and he could not learn ;it made hi* head ache. Heap plied for a country school, but the com mittee sem him back to review t.be spell ing book. He found a chance to carry packages for a dry goods store, but the ex ercise wore out his patent leather boots, and lie had no other pair and had no mon ey to buy them with. He found what he called his advantages were all his enemies ; he had had everything done for him, and now he could not do anything for himself. John Smith was a poor boy whose era die was m ide at the same time his father's coffin His mo'her brought him up as vveil as she could but women do not under stand such work as men ought to do When John was sixteen he removed with his mother to a city where work was plenty, and very soon afterwards the mother was taken ill and suddenly died. There was just enough money to pay her funeral ex penses, leaving John without a dollar, and most people would sry without a triend But he had excellent friends. He had two hands, and knew how to use them, he had a clear head, with some useful knowledge in it, ami an honest heart, full of hope and resolutions. He had the hah it of living cheaply without grumbling, of working faithfully without whining He learned useful things every day. He did not ask people to belp him, he helped himself as his mother taught him. These habits were the very best of friends. They took care of him when his mother was gone, they introduced him to good people who were pleased with him, they kept close to him all through his boyhood, and gave him health and education and money. When John became a uian of business he tried to help Eugene but Eugene's hab its were his enemies, and they grew strong er and more unkind to him every yeaf.— They took him away to a larger city where there was a better chance to be nrs erahle, and one morning he was found dead in the gutter; one of his enemies had knocked him down and killed him. Which do you think it was ? Earth Eating Indians. On the hanks of the Orinoco is a small village, picturesquely situated at the foot of a rock named La Concepeion de Grans. The tribe inhabiting it is called Otoaiac. These singular people use for lood a soft, unctuous earth, resembling the potter's clay, and containing a stnali proportion ot oxide iron. The good people are very dainty in their taste, not being satisfied with every sort of clay, hut distinguish the taste of one from that of another. The batiks of the Orinoco are carefully search ed, and the selection of their favorite lux ury is tnuile with great caution. The clay is kneaded into bails from five tosix inches iu diameter, and thcae are roasted by a ffiwi'SJS'i's, IKSSJSTo New Series—Vol. XVIII. No. 25. slow fire, until they have become of a red ish tint. \Y hen they are required lor eat ing they are remni-tcned Pyramidal heaps of these clay halls are stored up in th>* hut# ot the Otouiacs for tood during the rainy season At oilier times thev vary their repast with river tortoises and tish, which they kill very dexterously with arrows when near the surlaee ot the water. 'I his propensity tor earth eating appears to exist in many other parts of the torriJ zone, even where the ground is fertile, and cultivation is easy, hut lor the iudo i lence ot the inhabitants. Sam WeJlerism. You don't mean nothing friendly, you don't as the rat said to the cat von she bit him in the hack. I'm risin' iu the world, as the halloon said to the bag of sand; and I must take care I'm not burst in tbe process, us the bag < f sand said to the balloon. 1 11 penetrate his heart if lie has one. as tbe mouse said ven he nibbled bis vav through the cheese. It's pretty, but not pleasant, as the mon key said ven thev painted his tail sky blue •A e don't often see the likes o' yru in ; our part of the world, as the devil said ven one of his imps handed an ice cream. en I wants you I know vere to find you. as the spider said to the fly, ven he vove his veb ail around hiui to piewent his catching cold. • I've seen you vonce, and I dcn'fc vontto see you again, as the sick gentleman said to the devil von he called on him one vet i afternoon. Ye don't vont too many in this concert i at vonce, as the boys said ven they got in to the empty sugar tubs. That's etiough to give one ?. in in his back, as the cockroach said ven the uiggcr put his foot on him. A HINT TO FARMERS.— There are three things eaily raised and harvested, for which the farmers may depend upon it there will be an enormous demand and I high prices paid during the war We re fer to potatoes, beans, and unions. The farmers could not do a better thing for themselves and their couutrymcn than to plant these vegetables very extensively. ; If it appears as the spring advances, that the wheat crop is likely to be short, and that fruit will be scarce, onions, potatoes, and beans must be had to fill the vacuum. y JSensiUe. —A soldier recently returned to a neighboiing village, after an absence of two years, and found his wife living with another man, to whom she had been married some months, representing to him that she had never been married before, and to those who knew that her husband j was dead. The first and second husbands calmly talked the matter over, and then left the false one to inveigle another hus band if she could. That was decidedly more sensible than shooting at each other with pistols Profane swearing never did any man any good No "unn is the richer or hap pier for it. It helps no one to any socie ty It is disgusting to the refined; ahom | iriable to the good; insulting to those with whom we associate; degrading to the mind; unprofitable, needless, and injurious toaoci i ety. —There is a wonderful Hindoo chess playerat present in London. He plays three games blindfolded and wins. Atthesame time he plays a game of cards, and wins. During the game a bell is touched every one or two seconds, and he gives the num ber of times it has hear touched. A man stands behind and throws little pebbles one by one against his hack; these, too, he counts; and alter the games are told he re j cites a poem in perfect rhyme which he has composed during the sitting The latest Paris fashion in ladies' dress is for out of doors, a garment cut ve ry like a man's great coat, fitting close, and covered with brass buttons—buttons not only for use hut for ornament, some of them even being stick on the should ers. NEW DRUG STORE Two Doors West of the Odd Fellows' Hall. PURE and fresh drugs always on band. The mot reliable preparation of CIT&ATS OF AKAG-ZHBSXA* in the drv and liquid form, TRUSSES, BUOULDER BRACES, SPINAL AND ABDOMINAL SUPPORTERS. Goodyear's celebrated patent BREAST PUMPS. A general assortment of Notions, Perfumery, Soaps, &c., and in fact everything connected with Medi cine or Medical treatment. Physicians' and all other prescriptions carefully compounded and put up. All consultations strictly confidential, and free of charge. Any preparation or medi cine not on hand will be immediately order* ed. I hope that the experience of sixteen years almost constantly engaged in the active duties of the medical profession will be a sufficient guarantee that no deception or humbugs will be practiced upon those who consult me professionally, or who desire to purchase medicines. 1 taar23 'W-lj R. MARIIS, M. D.)(