Volume 27,
®jjc Centre gemocrat.
IS PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY BY
J. J. BRISBIN-
Offi.ce in Reynolds' Iron Front, Second Floor* .
TERMS.—SI,SO if paid in advance or within six
months after subscribing,otherwise $2 will invari
ibly be charged. No subscriptions received for
a shorter period than six months and none dis
continued, unless at the option of the editor, until
all arrearages are paid.
AFTER MANAS3AS.
BT cnas. J. PETER SOX.
What though tho rebel armies rage,
What though the nations sneer,
What though the ocean roar, and hearts
Are failing men for fear!
The masts may go, the ship may drift,
The waters overwhelm —
Out of the depths we'll triumph yet,
Our God is at the helm.
Our Fathers' God at Plymoth Rock,
The God of Bunker Hill,
Oh! not in vain the beacon fire
They lit—it blazes still 1
And tempest-tossed, and faint to death,
Out on the stormy realm,
We catch its gleam, and lift the psalm,
*' Our God is at the helm."'
The fountains of the deep are loosed.
Wo drive through night and rain .
Shall neither sun, nor star, nor sky,
Nor land be seen again ?
Take heart! This world of all our hopes,
The deeps may overwhelm;
But still our ark shall ride the flood,
For Ge>d is at the helm.
Oh ! nation born of travail.tong,
Of twice three thousand years :
Man-child of freedom! 'tis not thine
To dio in blood and tears.
Through the Red Sea the chosen race
Won to the promised realm;
We bear the future of the world,
And God is at tho helm.
ON GUARD.
At midnight, on my lonely beat,
When shadows wrap the wood and lea ,
A vision seems my view to greet
Of one at home that prays for me.
No roses blow upon her cheek—
Her form is not a lover's dream —
But on her face, so fair and meek,
A host of holier beauties gleam
Fer softly shines her silver hair,
A patient sm : lo is on her faco,
And the mild lustrous light of prayer
Around her sheds a moonlight grace.
She prays for ono that's far away—
The soldier iu his holy fight—
And begs that Heaven iu mercy may
Protect her boy and fclcss the right.
Ti l, though the leagues lie far between,
This silent inconso of her heart
Steals o'er my heart with breath serene,
And wo no longer are apart.
So guarding thus my lonely boat,
By shadowy wood and hruuted lea,
That vision seems my eye to meet
Of her at home who prays for me.
SETH STARK,
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN SHARP-SHOOTEE.
BY HARRY HAZEL.
" Its no use toiking 'beout it, ded, I'm
goin' to fitc the enemy. The Union's in
danger—Varmount's in danger, and Hard
scrabble in pcrtickler's in danger, and I'm
bound for to go. That's wot I told the old
man, Mister Officer, and that's wot I tell
you. If you won't 'list me, I'll find tout
another 'cruitin' station, darned quick."
This_speech of a hard fisted, young Green
Mountain Boy, with a rifle in his hand.- was
not long since made to the officer of a re
cruiting station in Montpelier, Vt., who had
interposed Several objections to the stout
lad's enlistihg, to wit: that his visual or
gans presented a decided case of strabismus,
that his body was slightly angular, that his
style of speech and manner rather shocked
the cars and eyes of the gentlemanly, col
lege cultivated lieutenant, who had thrown
down Blackstone, Kent, Coke, and other
law commentators for a sword and apaul
ettes ; and also because the applicant was
incurably left handed.
" llow old aie you ?" asked the lieuten
ant.
Twenty, last grass."
" What's your business ?"
" Cuttin' logs and shewtin' bars in winter,
and drivin' cattle and mowin, grass in sum
mer."
" Shooting bears, eh ?"
" Yeas, shewtin' Lars."
" Then I suppose you would take aim at a
tree in one direction, and hit the bear in an
other," said the officer, derisively. "I am
afraid, in battle, yoq would be much less
dangerous in the enemy's ranks than in
ours."
" I know I'm a little bit cock-eyed, Mis
ter Officer, but I've fotched many a bar at
more'n a hundred rods, and at turkey
shewts they allurs try to count me out."
'• Coun't you out ; what do mean by
that ?"
" Wall, I ain't so profertable'to the' tur
key match makers as some o' the rest on
em, for when I git this ere rifle o' dad's on
one o' the birds, you can reckon that he's
mine."
" Are you also a good shot with the mus
ket ?"
"Don't know notnin' beout that kind o'
shewtin' iron."
% Jfamilj Itfiuspptr—scbotcb to politics, ®tmjjcrante, literature, Science, ®jie glctjiaitits, Agriculture, ®jje JJlarluts, Vacation, General Juttlligtncc_ tfc..
''But ours is an infantry company, and
we use smooth bores," suggested the offi
cer.
" Wall, captin, if yeou dont calkiMe to
go in tew kill, I'm not your man. If yeou
dew, you'd better take me and my bar kill
er."
" Oh, its impossible that you should ap
pear in our ranks with a dark barreled
weapon—our muskets are all bright bar
reled. You must leave that weapon be
hind."
" Can't dew it. captin. Where the bar
killer goes, there I go. Never go nowhere
without it. Yeou see its a sure thing."
•' I have no evidence of it beyond your
word," said the lieutenant, beginning to be
interested in the somewhat uncouth indi
vidual. "But I'll put your shooting skill
to ihe test, and if you can make three as
good shots as three sharp shooters in my
corps, I'll engage to enlist you, bear killer
and all "
,l Give us yer list on that, Mister Officer,"
returned the raw recruit, extending his
rough, tan browned, and freckled hand.—
"If you've got three men in 3'our corps that
hin outshewt Seth Stark, I'll goe hum agin,
and help dad kerry on the farm."
The maich was forthwith got up, and
three of the privates of the Ethan Allen
Rangers were selected for the trial. Each
of them were famed as sharp shooters, and
particularly well skilled in the use of the
rifle.
A target, representing an Indian chief,
was placed at one hundred rods distant ; at
the appointed time, the three already re
cruited rangers and Seth Stark took their
positions in front of the company of rangers
to witness the apparently unequal contest.
Two men were detailed to stand within six
rods on either side of the painted Indian, to
make a record of each successive shot, and
before they left the ranks, their comrades
made maii3 T good natured, but slightly sa
tirical remarks at the expense of the cross
eyel volunteer.
" Bib Barton, be keerful where vous'and
when that chap blazts away," s:-i 1 a ranger
to one of the taiget markers; the safest
p'ace will be behind it."
" Better get under the bank, Bill, there's
no calculating where the bullets may strike,"
sai 1 another.
" I think the only sure place is in the*
rear of the breech," added a third.
Almost every one of the corps volunteered
a jocose opinion in reference to the crooked
eyed, crooked formed, and otherwise uncouh
looking backwoodsman, some of which
icached the ear of Seth, who-, suddenly fac
ing the company, which were standing at
ease, and pricking up his ears, said,
Perhaps as haow some on ye wud like
to bet a small sum on the in 'ere three sharp
shewters," said Seth, pulling out of his ca
pacious looking pocket a greasy looking
wollet, which seemed rather plethoric of
bank bills, considering the coarse, seedy
gear of the confident rifleman. "I'll lay ye'
anything from a sheet J' gingerbread to a
tew dollar bill that I'll take the consait out
o' you or your sharp shooters at rifle shewt
in,' wrastling, hugging, or in a reg'lar knock
deown and drag tight."
" I'll bet veu a dollar you don't hit the
board once out of three times." said one of
the Rangers.
" Done- I'll take that 'ere bet. and doub
le the stakes," replied Seth, drawing forth a
one dollat note, and placing it in the hands
of the orderly sergeant, while the Ranger did
likewise.
" I'll go you a five that all you will be
beaten at every round," said another Ran
ger.
"Plank your suet skin, said Seth.
*' Ml lay you a five that you don't put a
single shot within the outer circle of the
bull's eye," offered a third.
11 Wal, I don't mind taking that ere bet
tew," replied Seth, producing the money.
" I'll go you fifty cents you don't hit the
bull's eye once," said a more cautious mem
ber of the Ethan Allen corps.
" P'ank your money, gentlemen—l'm
good for a dozen or two more jest sich wa
gers— hev 'em all writ down,' Mister Sar
geant, so there can't be no mistake."
Seth's invitation was responded to by
nearly half the members of the whole com
pany, and on figuring up the aggregate of
all the stakes, it amounted to nearly two
hundred dollars, but at each -successive wa
ger the chances fir his winning were made
much smaller, as the last one that he had
offered him required him to hit the bull's
eye twice out of the three rounds, and to
beat his three antagonists.
"Naow, gentlemen," said Seth, "I jest
wanter make one more bet. I'll lay ten
dorlers that I'll bit the bull's eye three
times, pervidin' that the winner shall go
over to the tavern and spend the hull stakes
in treatin' the company."
" I'll take that wager," said the com
mander of the Rangers, stepping forward
and depositing the stakes, "and if you win,
I shall not only cheerfully disburse it in the
manner you suggest, but receive you into
the corps, and furnish you with a uniform
free of expense.
" Good on your head, captin ;" answered
Seth, "and ef I don't win I'll be raound
here to morrer and stand treat agin."
The three sharp shooters suggested the
" WE STAND UPON THE IMMUTABLE PRINCIPLES OP JUSTCE-NO EARTHLY POWER SHALL DRIVE US FROM OUR POSITION."
Bellefonte, Centre County, Penna., Thursday Morning, Sept. 26, 1861.
idea of having a rest for their rifles, as the
range was long, and the slightest variation
of the aim would carryjthe shot wide of the
mark, but Seth argued against it, and ap
pealed to the commander.
" You see, captin," said he, ''its all very
well at a turkey shewt, but it don't do in
the woods, when the bars and the wolves
are abeout ; and I kinder guess twouldn't
dew on the battlefield, 'lessevery sojer cud
kerry a nigger as they dew at the South to
use as rests for their shewtin' irons."
This argument prevailed, and he decided
that the shots should be made off hand, and
tbat ten seconds should be allowed in tak
ing aim, after the piece was at the shoulder.
The Indian chief was painted in gaudy
iiolors, size of life, and the bull's eye was
placed on the left side, in the region of the
heart, with three circles drawn around it,
and it was understood that from the centre
of the bull's eye each shot "should be meas
ured. The sharp shooters and the back
woodsman drew lots for the first fire, which
fell to the lot of one of the former, who took
his position, and in a ready and adroit man
ner opened the contest, and his shot together
with the others were as follows, according to
the report of the target markers :
Ranger No. I.—Two inches from the out
er circle, grazing the left arm.
Ranger No. 2.—8a1l struck within one
inch of the inner circle to the right—a fatal
shot.
Ranger No. 3.—But a half moon in the
bull's eye—fatal.
Seth Stark.—Shot perforated the centre of
the bull's eye !
There was considerable huzzaing at the
result of the first round, especially among
the spectators, and those of the Rangers
who had not risked any of their funds on the
result.
On the second round the three Rangers
were scored as having made better shots
than before, but no score for the young
backwoodsman.
It was now the turn of the betters to huz
zi, alihough several of them had lost by
Se h's first shot.
The third round resulted even better for
the Rangers than either of the others, and
the score was brought in acco dingly ; but
there appearing no score for the would be
recruit, the shouting was terrific, and many
rude jests were again made at Selh's ex
pense.
" Mought yeou not as well wait till the
umpires hev decided, before yeou begin to
larf at a feller ?" ejaculated Seth. •' I've
seed many a turkey trial decided agin the
scorers."
" Why, you don't suppose you've hit the
target but once ?'' Ranger who had
staked a V on the resuß.
" Mebbe I don't 'spose so, and mebbe I
dew," replied Seth.
" I'll go ten to one," said the confident
soldier.
" Take my advice, and don't yeou dew
it," answered Seth.
" Oh, ho ! don't dare, eh ? Can't go one
against ten ?" ejaculated the fellow.
" Wall, yeou kin put up as man}' tens as
yeou please, and ef I don't kiver um, why
yeou kin pick up your change agin."
" Try him ! try him ! he's only bluffing !
only coming the brag game !" said several
0 f the Rangers.
" I'll go my pile on that," said the confi
dent one, and he forthwith produced sixty
dollars, which Seth covered with only six ;
but then it must be remembered that thfe
odds were tenibly against him. inasmuch
as the scorers' report, if confirmed, would
of course, give the stakes to his antagonist.
Tne umpires, consisting of one officer of
the company, who had no especial interest
in the result, and two civilians, who were
' experts in the sport of rifle shooting, forth
with visited the target, and examined the
several hits, and on comparing them with
the record of the scorers it appeared there
were no mistakes.
" That hit in the bull's eye," remarked
one of the civil umpires, "is a magnificent
shot, but how so small a slug as that
greeny's rifle carries, could make so large
an orifice as that, is quite a mystery to
me."
" 1 agree with you," said the other civil
ian.
"It is a remarkable perforation, certain
ly," added the officer of the Rangers, exam
ining the hole with scrutiny, and then turn
ing the target around they all were struck
with the fact that the shot of the smaPest
bored rifle had really pierced much the
largest hole through the board. "See here,
too," he continued, finding the correspond
ing hole in the trunk of the tree against
which the "counterfeit semblance" of the
savage chieftain had rested, "c#n it be-pos
sible that two bullets have passed through
ttis orifice ?"
The suggestion was improbable, but
somewhat startling. It was again exam
ined with keener scrutiny than before ; and
i for the purpose of solving the least doubt m
the matter, it was agreed to cut around the
corresponding perforation in the tree, and to
the depth of the spot where the bullet had
lodged. A carpenter was forthwith sent
for, with instructions to bring the proper
tools for the job. In a few minutes one was
procured, and he went to work with a mor
ticing chisel and mallet, under direction of
the umpires, and after toiling some ten or
fifteen minutes lie removed a cube of wood
from the tree of about five inches in depth,
which, on being split open carefully, three
slugs, pressed firmly against each other,
with but little variation from a true lino,
wereiaken therefrom to the wonder and
surprise of the umpires. Seth Stark's bul
lets had travsrsed the same line, and had
lodged together !
The huzzas and the laugh were now upon
the other side, but the contest was remarka
ble and decisive—the victory so complete —
that even those who had lost money on the
result, joined with the others in rendering all
homage to the eccentric backwoodsman.—
Seth was forthwith enrolled in the ranks of
the company, and though he appeared very
awkward at first in the ranks, he is fast ac
quiring the positions and bearing of a well
Grilled soldier. The greatest difficulty lie
has to encounter is his left handedness, while
his crooked eye only troubles his drill officer.
front" appear always "eyes left,"
and "eyes right" alwa3"S setm to be "eyes
front."
The Ethan Allen Guards have been re
cently mustered into the service of Uncle
Sam ; and if they ever get into an engage
ment, woe be to the rebels who become tar
gets of Seth Stark, tho Green Mountain
Sharp Shooter !
NAPOLEON AND THE VETERAN.
While in this city, there occuired one of
those rare incidents in the progress of Prince
Napoleon's tour through the United States
which will not soon be forgotten by our
illustrious visitor, albeit the tender recollec
tions thereof may not be of long duration
with ono of the parties interested, whose
gray hairs will soon be moistened by the
clammy dews of death.
Lorenze Harte, a relic of the Grand Arm 3'
of the First Napoleon, now an inmate of the
Cook County Poor House, and had an inter
view with Prince Napoleon. County Agent
Hansen, learning the wish of the old sold er
kindly conveyed him to the Tremont. His
card was sent to the Piince's apartments,
and the old man, bowed down with the
weight of eighty years, was ushered into
the august presence.
The Prince arose to receive his remarka
ble guest. There they stood for a moment
looking each other in the face—the second
heir to the French crown and the scarred
and bronzed veteran of a score of battles.—
Advancing, the Prince grasped the old man's
hand, and conducting him to a seat, spoke
to him so kindly that the veteran's heart
overflowed and he burst into tears.
To those at all acquainted with the histo
ry of the Napoleonic dynasty, neither the
kindness of the Piince nor the emotion of
the old veteran will be wondered at. All
such well know the remarkable power that
the First Napoleon held upon the affections
of his soldiers, as well as the wild and un
controllable idolatry manifested by the lat
ter toward the former on all occasions, weth
er in victory or defeat.
In that interview the veteran " fought his.
battles o'er again." The Prince questioned
him aud listened with glistening eye to tho
recital of those thrilling incidents which
ever had as their hero a Napoleon.
The quick eye of the Prince noticed the
absence of three fingers from one of the sol
dier's hands. " Where did you loss your
fingers ?"
•' In the retreat from Moscow. I was at
tached to the cavalr3 r , and in one of the
charges of those villanous Cossacks a stroke
from a lance deprived me of three of my fin
gers. But," and the old veteran's eye shone
with the old battle light, " my sabre finish
ec him, sire. Ah, those Cossacks were the
most splendid horsemen I ever saw, but
they were ofraid of Marat's cavalry afte
all." And the old soldier's mind wandered
back to that terrible retreat from the burn
ing capila! of the Russians, surrounded by
the inflexible rigors of a Russian winter, and
harrassed day and night by those furious
onsets of Cossack cavalry—those wild and
daring children of the plains.
"This, sire, was done at Lodi," exhibit
ing a terrible scar upon his left shoulder,
made by a grape shot " And this," baring
the calf of his left leg, showing the track of
a bullet through-and through it, " was done
at Areola." " This sabre cut on my head
was received at Austerlitz, and so was this
sire," tendeily holding up the tho Cross of
the Legion of Honor bestowed upon him by
"Napoleon for special servioes on that bloody
field.
And thus the old battle-scared veteran
whiled away two pleasant hours—hours
fraught with proud and tender recollections
to both Prince and soldier ; and when the
veteran arose to go, he blessed the munifi
cence of the Prince which had pressed a
well filled purse into his hand and gave him
assurrance that la belle France had not for
gotten her veterans, and that a liberal pen
sion should be provided for him.— Chicago
Journal.
A terrible fire occurred on the stage of the
Continental Theatre, Philadelphia, on Sat
uiday night, by which some fourteen per
sons, mostly females, were dreadfully burn
ed. Six of the ladies have since died. The
fire took place during a thunder and lifiht
mng storm in the play of The Tempest.
GENERAL NATHANIEL LYON.
HIS BIRTH-PLACh AND HIS BURIAL.
The funeral of Lieutenant E. L. Lyon,
who was killed at Cockeysvtlle, Maryland,
by a railroad disaster of last Sunday two
weeks, took place at Eastford, Connecticut,
on the 13th inst. He was a nephew of Gen.
Lyon, and was buried by his side.
A Connecticut friend of the late General
Lyon has published in one of the Hartford
papers a column of interesting reminiscen
ces of the General. Of the several accounts
given of his death, the most'authentie, un
doubtedly, is that of his relative and brigade
surgeon, Dr. C. G. Lyon, who was with
him when he was shot. He says :
General Lyon had been wounded by a
shot in the heel, a shot through the fleshy
part of his thigh, and a shot which cut open
the back of his head to the skull bone, and
and was covered with blood, when he saw
him riding between the Kansas and lowa
regiments to lead them to the charge. lie
begged him to retire to the rear and have
his wounds dressed. General Lyon replied,
"No—these are nothing," went forward,
and was killed by a Minnie ball, which went
through the breast and passed out at the
back, severing the aorta, or principle blood
vessel of the heart. He fell into the arms
of Lehman, his body servant, and said,
" Lehman, I am killed—take care of my
body,'' and instantly expired. These were
his last and only words."
The following sketch of the General's
character is given by the same writer :
" In private life, in the camp, by the fire
side, or anywhere with his friends ofl duty,
General Lyon was one of the most .mild,
genial and pleasant of men. Said one of
bis intimate friends. •' You wouldn't sup
pose he ever would get angry, or be roused
to excitement." His favorite attitude was
standing stroking or picking his long sandy
beard. But on his splendid horse, at the
head of his little army, he was literally " a
tower of strength." His form straightened
up two inches taller, his eye dilated and
blazed with excitement, and his commands
were given in trumpet tones that were heard
and obeyed through all the deafening din of
battle, and he was incapable of fear."
His birth place and his grave are describ
ed as follows:
" The old brown house in which General
Lyon was born, stands about a mile and a
half from his grave in Eastford, in a lonely
desolate place, at the bottom of a valley,
between two steep, rocky hills. The night
before his last battle he slept on the grass
between two high rocks, so wedged in with
his companion, Major Seofield. that it was
difficult to stir. He made light of the incon
venience, remarking to his friend that " he
was born between two rocks."
As has already been stated, Gen. Lyon
willed his property—some S3O 000 —to the
country. His sword, chapeau and commis
sion have been giver, to his native State, and
Connecticut will undoubtedly honor his
memory b} a monument, though Judge
Colt of St. Louis, who was present at his
fuueral, says that Missouri will claim the
privilege of erecting the monument over his
remains.
The following address was made at the
grave, by Juuge Colt:
<l It was not my good fortune to know
General Lyon intimately. It was not my
lot to enjoy for a number of years tho rich
fruits of his martial and manly spirit: but,
like many of you in this vast assembly, I
could learn him from history. I could watch
him in a slave State, while in the service of
the Government, with the more interest and
care since he was a son of good old Con
necticut, winning golden opinions from all
martial men in the State of my adoption.
" He was one of the active spirits of his
ag°, a tried soldier, an honost and uncom
promisingly determined man, with a milita
ry genius and courage quite equal to the
leading of the advance guard for universal
t mancipation. And we have come here to
do him honor. Missourians of native birth
who never before trod the soil of New Eng.
land, his aids from other States, and his re
lation by blood who served him in the field,
and captain carrying the leaden messenger
of death in his body, and brave soldiers all,
are all here to do honor to his memory.
" I do not presume to speak for and in
behalf of Missouri; Ido not speak in behalf
of that western star, now surrounded by
storm, but I do say that she will claim Lyhn
as a part of her histcy. Take this cold
body, all covered with wounds, all that re
mains of the true hero, and hurry him in
the ground. It is a fit birth and burial place
for a great spirit. Bury him tenderly as
one who lies down to sleep. He is not the
first son of New England whose blood fat
tens southern soil in the glorious cause of
the nation. In the war of the Revolution,
when the whole country possessed but a
sparse population, Connecticut gave her
bounty in men, money and forage. Anoth
er revolution is upon us.
" We may change, and counter-revolution
may be necessary, but the Government and
the Constitution are quite equal to the cri
sis. The political cholera of secession will
soon exhaust itself and yield to governmen
tal medicine. You must be equal to the
task in energy and military organization.—
You may be obliged to confiscate armorie
j and powder magazines : do it, there is no
i danger. Ideas that direct the age are more
! important than physical things. These rug
ged hills and green fields were made to give
energy to souls born for immortality.
"Take these mortal remains and bury
: them tenderly. We yield them with reluc
j tancc to a brighter and better claim. Rut
while we do this, let me say that Missouri
i now in her day of tribulation still hopes for
a redemption beyond this fratricidal warfare,
| that she still looks forward to peace and
jjilenty from the abundancejuf the rich harvest
; which nature has bestowed upon her. Then
| she will begin to write her own history, then
l she will not forget the brave Lyon, then,
i remembering this day's burial and where
J sleep his remains, she will claim the privi-
I lege of erecting his monument and writing
j his epitaph."
AMERICAN WOMEN.
Mrs. 11. B. Stowe, in her book of travels in
! Europe, makes the tollowing sensible re
-1 marks about the comparative beauty of the
women of England and America ;
A lady asked me the other evenii\g what
I thought of the beauty of the English aris
tocracy ; she was a Scotch lady, by.the-by,
so that the question was a fair one. I re
plied that certainly report had not exagger
ated their charms. Then came a home
question—how the ladies of England com
pared with those of America? "Now for
it, patriotism," said I to myself, and invo
king to my aid certain fair saints of my own
country, whose faces I distinctly remember
ed, I assured her that 1 l ad never seen more
beautiful women than I had in America, —
Grieved was I to add, "but your ladies
keep their beauty much longer." This fact
stares one in the face in every company ;
one meets ladies past fifty, glowing, radient
and blooming, with a freshness of complex
ion and fullness of outline refreshing to con
template. What can be the reason ? Tell
us Muses and Graces, what oan it be ? Is it
the conservative power of sea-fog and coal
smoke, the same which keeps the turf green,
and makes the ivy and holly flourish ? llow
comes it that our married ladiec dwindle,
fade and grow thin, that their noses incline
to sharpness, and their elbows to angularity
just at the time of life w hen their island sis
ters round out into a comfortable and be
coming amptitude and fullness ? If it is the
coal and sea fog, why then I am afraid we
shall never come up with them.
But perhaps their may be other causes
why a country which starts some of the most
beautifull gills, in the world produce so
few beautiful women, Have not our close
stove-heated rooms something to do with it ?
Above all, has not our climate, with its al
ternate extremes of heat and cold, a tendency
to induce habits of indolence ? Climate cer
tainly. has a great deal to do with it; ours
is evidently more trying and more exhaust
ing, and because it is so, we should not pile
upon its back errors of dress and diet which
are avoided by our neighbois. They keep
their beauty because they keep their health.
It has been as remarkable to me as anything
since I have been here, that I do not con
stantly, hear one aud another spoken of as
in miserable health, very delicate, &o.—
Health seems to be the rule, and not the ex
ception. For my part I must say the most I
favorable omen I know of for female beauty
in Ameraca is the mnltiplioatiou of water
cure establishments, where our ladies, if
they get nothing else, do gain some ideas as
to the necessity of fresh air, regular exer
cise, simple diet, and the laws of hygiene in
general.
CUKIOUS FACTS DISCOVERED BTTHE FRENCH
! CENSUS. —The French census recently taken
i discloses some curious facts. Among these
j is an excess of marriages in tho large towns
; and cities of France over those in the country,
| proportionately to population. It also ap
pears that but about seven widows in every
hundred marry again, while twice that ratio
of widowers re-enter the connubial state.—
A majority of male children are shown to be
born of parents of nearly the same age.—
The average duration of wedded life, in 18-
SG, was twenty-five years, against twenty
three yeais and two months in 1836. One
! third of the men and about one half of the
| women yearly married are unable to sign
! their names. This proposition, however,
does not hold in the department of the Seine,
I where only one man in nineteen and one
I woman in six are unable to write. In the
same department, also the proportion of
children bora out of wedlock and legitima
ted by the subsequent marriage of their
parents, is much greater than in the provin
cial towns, and is smallest of all in tho ru -
ral districts.
Reconnoisance of Hardee's Posi
tion—A Skirmish.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 20.—Gen Fremont tel
egraphs to the Lead-quarters of the army,
dated yesterday, giving the following infor
mation i—
" Major. Gavitt, of the First Indiana Regi
ment of Cavalry, who was sent on a reeon
noibance towards Hardee's position at Green
ville, met the the enemy's pickets, drovo
them in, killing two aod taking two of the
enemy prisoners. He also captured sixty
muskets and twenty-five horses."
Number 35.
Important From Missouri.
LATER FROM LEXINGTON.
The fight Continued on Tuesday and
Wednesday.
Brave Defence by Col. Mulligan.
ST. LOUIS, Sept. 20.—A gentleman named
King, who left a point on the Missouri river
opposite Lexington, on Wednesday night,
who arrived here on this morning, reports
that a severe figbt occurred on .Tuesday for
the possession of three ferry boats whiofa iay
at the levee. The Rebels, under Price, ad
vanced on the boats in two bodies, one from
above and the other from below
and after a very sbarpe engagement they
were repuLed. The boats were not in a fair
range of Col. Mulligan's guns, his forsifica
tions beiDg so situated as to prevent him
from cammanding them completely, and his
force was too small to admit of bis making a
sortie against Price's overwhelmng numbers.
Mr. King says he saw twelye wagons loaded
with killed and wounded Rebels taken off af
ter the fight.
lie also says that Price assaulted Mufli
gau's forts four or five times on Wednesday,
but was repulsed each time with a loss of
from three to four hundred.
The reinforoements frum the North, prob
ably under Gen. Sturgis, were expected to
arrive late on Wednesday, but as Price bad
obtained possession of the ferry boats they
would Dot be able to oross the river, and of
oourse, could be of little or no service in re
lieving Col. Mulligan.
Further Particulars.
ST. Louis, Sept. 20.
The following additional particulars in ref
erence to affairs in Lexington baye been as
certaiced:
The first attack upon the fortifications is
said to have been made on Thursday of last
w ek, but this is certainly a mistake, as
Price did not leave Warrensburg, forty miles
south of Lexington, until Wednesday night.
The attack was probably made on Monday,
as previous stated, with about 8000 men. —
The engagement lasted two hours, when the
Rebels were repulsed with the loss of 100
killed and between 200 and 400 wounded.—
Our loss stated at five killed and several
woucded.
The fortifications are situated at the edge
of the town, ou a bluff overlooking the river.
I be works are of earth, seven feet high and
twelve feet thick, with a ditch sis feet deep
and twelve feet broad, surrounding them.-
Another aDd smaller work is erected inside,
defended by a ditch—the whole works beiDg
capable of holding ten thousand troops.
The attack on Wednesday was a determin
ed one, and lasted nearly all day.
The reinforcements from the North, under
Gen. Sturgis, probably number 30QQ, but
should they b6 unable to cross the river
which is quite likely, the only aid they can
render wili be to sweep tho Rebels with their
artillery. It is confidently hoped, however,
that the GOOQ troops that left Jefferson City en
Wednesday, by steamers, will be able to
Li]d at or near Lexington, and cut their way
' through the Rebel forces and join Colonel
Mulligan. It is said that Colonel Mulligan
expressed confidence in being able to bold
his position against any force not more than
ten times greater than his own.
It was believed at Boonville that Lane had
reached Lexington with reinforcements.
Excitement at Kansas City,
BRILLIANT SKIRMISH AND ROUT OP THE
REBELS—ATTEM PT TO CROSS THE RIV
ER—THEIR BOAT SUNK.
KANSAT CITY, MO., Sept. 17.—Considerable ex
citemect was occasioned here on Saturday last, by
| the appearance of the Rebel scouts on the oppo
site banks of the river. A company of twenty -
I five mounted men was sent ovr from this plaoe,
\ who discovered a Rebel camp of from 200 to 30(L
six miles distant from the river. An additiQna(
force was detailed in the afternoon, who made
a succcessfnl attack, killing seven of the Rebeli,
capturing six prisoners and their horses, and de
stroying their barracks. Qnly one of the Federal
i troops was wounded.
Yesterday a large force of Rebels supposed to
be a part of the band recently encamped at St.
Joseph, made their appearance four miles below,
on the opposite shore, and attempted to cross the
river on an old flat-boat, sending a part af their
force to attrack the attention uf the Federal troops
by firing into tfiia city and Wyandotte. Thay
were, however, repulsed, and the boat sunk. It
is believed that they succeeded in crossing at ZL
bley Ferry, sixteen miles helow, which they had
possession of last evening. The city was alive
with reports of skirmishes of both parties. Sev.
eral shots were hoard, hut it is believed no dam
age was done.
Horrible Accident in Berks Co.
TWO MEN INJURED RY THE EXPLOSION
OF A BOMB SHELL.
READING, Sept. 20.— A horrible accident occur,
red to-day, in Doulags township, this county, as
Mr. Charles B. Weaver, Colebrookdale Foundry,
was experimenting with a bomb-shell, which had
jnst been cast, it explqded, a piece of the missile
striking him in the forehead, between the eye,
brows and the root of the nose, penetrating to the
brain. He is not expected to live.
At the tame time, Mr. Samuel Weidner was ter,
ribly flumed in the face, and will probaby lose
his eye-sight. The Weavers have a contract for
making a lage number of shells for the Govern,
wnet.