Oil OJLLAFt PER ANNUM, INVARIABLY IN ADVANCE.
TOWANDA:
Satttrhan fUorninn, .febniarn 23, ISSG.
jsflnttb
BLINDNESS.
Strike I Ljrd, but grant me thin.
Thy trembling'siippliant's plea ;
The hand that holds the rod to kiss—
In tilial love to thee.
Thank". Father, for thy care.
Thy child would be resigned ;
I murmur thus my feeble prayer,
Hut oh. I'm blind, I'm blind !
Ilit-li! hush, my srml, be still!
Let not my thoughts rebel.
It i> thy Heavenly Father'* will—
He doeth all things well.
There i- no darkness where
The at tr of Jacob reigns ;
Though midnight rests in silence there,
A glory gilds the plains.
When earthly visions bright
Are cl >sod to mortal eye,
The soul rests in the peaceful light
of Heaveu's unclouded sky.
And yet I feel the spell
Tint binds to earthly things ;
Sweet iat are's jovs ! I know them well
V t'n their te thousand springs.
Ikn • eartLV '• *of green,
Aw rank til genial raiu ;
1 k o. n' ;!it' s g>Jdeu sheen
K-it, ■ n its isce again.
I Imar the * eof birds,
I. it rI in their bowers ;
1 i. A the - urn! of fountains stirred,
And scent the opening llowers.
i ferl the balmy air,
L- from an ang-l's pltunc,
pi ty 'r mad tny cheek and forehead bare,
Steeped in its rich perfume.
And my own pr .tiling boy ;
1 hc.r his footsteps fall ;
V • . m rv 'orup and shout of joy
He trips along the hall.
lis :.rsis are 'round me thrown—
ll,s ki>s is on my cheek ;
• I. father, see your darling own—
Aii sue! I feel I'tn weak."
Then for a in uiieat I
My sightless orbs I strain—
Git'. uiy Father! give, 1 cry—
Uiv:; HICK VY StllllT AO AIX 1
|tt isr 11 Ui nlO as.
Ten Years Among the Mail Bags.
Ti.i- W .k. i-y J. 1! ibiwk, Esq., Sjtcrial Agent of the
i' Ot'i.'c ( artmoiit. ;ll soon bo announced as ready
. lit--.tV. We make a Sew extracts from advance
sheets.
CHEATING THE CLERGY.
Our collection of "outside" delinquencies
would >c incomplete, were we to omit the fol
lowing ease, which was investigated by the uu
'iior not long ago, and in which not a little iu
cimity, of the baser sort was displayed. It will
•rve as a specimen of a numerous class of eases,
.ir.ictenzed by attempts to defraud some eor
r<spondcut, and to fasten the blame of the fraud
i ; e;i .-uine one connected with the Post Of-
Hoc.
A person of good 'anding in community,
it d claim 111• r enly to a moral but a reli
. w .-iiaracter, uas visiting in a large town
•i tl.> llail.-.on river, about midway between
■Vsv \ ,>rk a-d Albany. This person owed a
.v. . living in New Haven, Onn., the
•nm of Mob undone day he called at tle
ifof another clergyman of his acquaintance
•i the town first mentioned, and requested to
U allowed the privilege of writing a letter
Acre to his clerical creditor, in which the sum
ue that gentleman was to be enclosed. Wri
-* ma'crials were furnished, and ho prepared
h'tti-r in the study of his obliging friend,
wi in jus presence.
Alter in- had finished writing it he said to
'■i-vgyir aa. " Now, as the mails are not al
'• m! 1 wish to be able to prove that I
•"Oe actually- scut the money. I shall there
consider it a great favor if you will ac
,v y m • to the hank, w here 1 wish to ob
i a iiundr d dollar note for some small trash
1 ' • i bear witness that I enclose
•ay t;,d deposit the letter in the post
-1 r \ rnd gentleman readily acceded to
• r-ou—t. and went with hi in to the bank,
r " a bill of the required denomination was
• • id placed in the letter, which was
■'d with a wafer, the clergyman all the
'"\f looking on.
1 y tin aw cut to the post office, (whicli was
y < j.jio-itc the bank,) ami after calling
! '' aitttiitiiiu of his companion to the letter and
:: ;i'lr-ss, the writer thereof dropped it into
'* l ox, and the two persons went their
K 'raUar-
T;
i r arrived at New Haven by due
ai and it so happened that the
- 1 - to witoin it was addressed was at the
.other for the assorting of the mails,
a iciter thrown into his box, and call
' ' a- -(.on as the delivery window was
•ptOftl.
' : ■ I breaking the seal and reading the let
''iiiid himself requested to " Please find
bed dollars, with which request
■ 'oi.ai ••!.< crfuJjy have complied, but for one
1 ' 1 "instance, namely, the absence of the
note.
*"| v ••; wa S apparently accounted for by
, 1 ' ' Hp! written in a heavy, rude hand, eq
'h r' tit from that of the body of the
band reading as follows :
(| _ ,s I have taken the liberty to borrow
a..," 101 !?'' ' ,l,t ' sen d the letter, so that you
Aone the man that wrote it."
filmed / " post Boy."
• . t: dociiineut was immediately shown
and in his opinion, as well
"i ""■ bie clergyman a daring robbery had
, ! ""i. I'lic latter gentleman was
THE BRADFORD REPORTER.
advised by the post-master to proceed at oiled
to New York, and confer with the Special
Agent, and at the same time lay all the facts
before the Post Master General. He did so,
and it was not long before the A gent had com
menced the investigation of the supposed rob
bery.
In addition to the posteript appended, the
letter bore indications of having been tampered
with, which at first sight would seem almost
conclusive on this point. Upon the envelope
were two wafers, differing in color, one partly
overlapping the other, as if they had been put
on at different times.
Notwithstanding these appearances, there
wefe circumstances strongly conflicting with the
supposition that the letter had been robbed. ; —
The posteript was not a natural affair, for no
one guilty of owning a letter for the purpose
of ajAfiropriuting its eouteuts, would stop to
write an explanatory note, especially as such a
course would increase the chances of his own
detection. And in the present instance, there
had been no delay of the letter to allow of such
an additson. ■
By a visit to the office where the letter was
mailed, the Agent ascertained that'it must have
left immediately after having been deposited,
and the advanced age aud excellent character
of the post-master who made up the mail on
the occasion, entirely cut off suspicion in that
quarter.
An interview was then held with the clergy
man who witnessed the mailing of the letter
and from him were obtained the facts already
stated. Concerning the writing of the docu
ment, and its deposit in the letter box in a per
fect state, after the money bad been enclosed,
lie was ready and willing to make oath, and had
lie been called upon he would have done so in
all sincerity and honesty.
In reply to an iuquiry whether he used more
than one sort of letter paper, he informed me
he had but one kind in his study for several
months, and at my request brought in a few
sheets of it. A comparison of this with the
sheet upon which the rifted, epistle had been
written, showed that the latter was a totally
different article from the first ; the shape and
design of the stamp, the size of the sheet, and
the shade of the paper, were all unlike. More
over, the wafers used at the bank, where the
hundred-dollar note was obtained and the let
ter containing it, scaled, were very dissimilar
to either of those which appeared upon the
"post boy" letter.
From the consideration of all these facts, I
was satisfied that a gross and contemptible fraud
had been perpetrated by the writer of the let
ter. I called upon the post-master and made
. some inquiries relative to the character and pe
cuniary circumstances of the person in question.
From the replies made, it appeared, as I have
already stated, that his reputation iu communi
ty was good.
I thought it might be possible that in so
small a place, I could ascertain whether he bad
lately passed a hundred dollar note, as he would
have been likely to have done, if it was true
lie had not enclosed it in the New Haven let
ter.
Calling at the store which received most of
his custom, I introduced myself to the proprie
tor, made a confident of him to some extent,
and learned that the very next day after that
on which the aforesaid letter was mailed, its
author offered him in payment for a barrel oj
flour, a hundred dollar note on the bank from
which a bill of the like denomination had been
obtained, as before mentioned, iu exchange for
" small trash." The merchant could not then
change it, but sent the flour and changed a bill
which lie supposed to be the same, a few days
afterward.
Armed with these irresistible facts, I pro
ceeded to call on the adventurous deceiver of
the clergy, who had attempted to make one
member of that body second his intention to
cheat another. " Insatiate archer ! could not
one suffice V'
" Mr. T ," said I, after some prelimina
ry conversation, " it's of no use to mince mat
ters. The fact is, you did not send the money
in that New Haven letter. You offered it the
day after you pretended to mail it, at Mr. (J.'s
store. You see T've fonnd out all about it, so
I hope you will not deny the truth in the mat
ter."
I then gave him his choice, to send the §IOO
promptly to his New Haven correspondent, or
allow me to prove in a public manner the facts
in my possession.
Being thus hard pressed and fin-ling himself
cornered, lie confessed that he had prepared
the letter which was received in New Haven,
—-postrript, double wafers and all—before he
left his home, and that white crossing the
street from the bank to the post-office, he sub
stituted this for the one he wrote iu the cler
gyman's study ! He promised to send the 1110-
money, and pretended to have suffered severe
ly in his feelings, on account of this dishonest
act.
There is no T T nited States law providing for
the punishment of such an offence, but public
opinion and private conscience make nicer dis
tinctions than the law can do, and often mete
out a deserved penalty to those who elude the
less subtle ministers of justice.
111 the present instance, the foregoing story
was made public by direction of the Post Mas
ter General ; and the author of the trick una
ble to sustain the indignation and contempt of
the community in which he lived, was compell
ed to make a hasty retreat from that part of
the countrv.
CHICAGO DKSCKIBED - A correspondent of
the Wisconsin Democrat pays Chicago the fol
lowing compliment :
" Men are getting rich Caster, and living
higher, and doing more business, and drinking
more, and going to the devil generally by a
shorter road, in Chicago, than any place I
have seen out West."
" The fire is going out, Miss Fiikins."
" I know it Mr. Green, and if yon would
act wisely, you wonld follow its example."
It is unnecessary to odd that Green never
asked to sit up with that girl again.
PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY AT TOWANDA, BRADFORD COUNTY, PA., BY E. O'MEARA GOODRICH.
" REGARDLESS OF DENUNCIATION FROM ANY QUARTER."
The Battle of Trenton.
The following interesting account of the bat
tle of Trention is believed to be the most par
ticular and authentic yet given to the world.
It is from No. 13 of the series of historical ar
ticles published iu tho State Gazette at Treutou
March IT, 1843.
On Wednesday, the 25th of December, ITT6,
General Washington, with his army, was on
the west bank of the Delaware/encamped near
Taylorsville, theu M'Koukey's ferry, 8 miles
above Trenton. The troops under Gen. Dick
inson Were at Ynrdleville ; and detachments
were encamped still farther up the river. The
boats on the river had all been secured when
Gen. Washington had crossed with his army
on the first of this month. The Pennsylvania
troops were in two bodies ; one at Bristol un
der General CadwaUnder, and the other at
Morrisville, opposite Trenton, under General
Ewiug.
At this time the British under Gen. Howe
were stationed in detachments at Mount Hol
ly, Black Horse, Burlington, and Bordentown;
and at Trenton there were three regiments of
Hessians, amounting to about 1500 men, and
a troop of British light-horse. Divisious of the
army were also at Princeton aud New Bruns
wick.
One part of the plan of Washington was to
rccrogs the Delaware with his army at M'Kon
key's fcrrv, in the night of the 25th of Decem
ber, and for Gen. Kwing, with the part of the
army under his command, to cross at or below
Trenton—thus both might fall upon the ene
my at the same time ; Kwing at the south,and
General Washington at the north end of the
town.
At dusk, the Continental troops, command
by General Washington in person amounting
to 2400 men, with 20piecesof artillerv, began
to cross at M'Koukey's ferry. The tioops at
Ynrdleville and the stations above, had that
day assembled at this ferry. Among the pro
minent and active men who were employed iu
ferrying over the troops Uriah Slack, William
Green and David Lauding. It was between
3 and 4 o'clock iu the morning before all the
artillery and troops were over and ready to
march. Many of the men were very destitute
as regarded clothing. The present Mr. Geo.
Muirheid, of Hopewell, informed the writer
that he noticed one mau whose pantaloons were
ragged, and who had on neither stockings nor
shoes. The ground was covered withsleetand
snow, which was falling ; although before that
day there was no snow, or only a little sprink
ling on the ground. Gen. Washington, (who
had sat iu silence on a beehive, wrapped in his
cloak, while his troops were crossing,) as they
were about to march, enjoined upon all pro
found silence during their march to Trenton,
and said to them, " / hope t/uit you ici/latl fight
like men."
Gen Washington wished to get 12 men who
should be mouuted on horseback, without arms
or uniform, in plain farmers' habit, to ride be
fore the army, to reconnoitre and get what in
formation they could with respect to the Bri
tish army, their outguards, Ac. There were
but three who would volunteer for this service;
these were David Laning, of Trenton, and John
Muirheid aud John Guild, of Hopewell. The
following persons were abo guides, and march
ed with the army, viz : Col. Joseph Phillips,
Captain Philip Phillips, aud Adjutant Elias
Phillips, of Maidenhead ; Joseph Inslee, Edon
Burrroughs, Epliraim Woolsey and Henry
Simmonds, of Hopewell ; and Captain John
Mott, Amos Scuder and William Green, of
Trenton.
The army marched with a quick step in a
body from the river up the cross-road to the
Bear Tavern, about a mile from the river. The
whole army marched down this road to the
village of Birmingham, distant about 3 1-2
miles. There they halted, examined their pri
ming and found it all wet. ('apt. Mott, who
had taken the precaution to wrap his handker
chief around the lock of his gnu, found not
withstanding, the priming was wet. " Well,"
says General Sullivan, " we must then fight
them with the bayonet." From Birmingham
to Trenton, the distance by the River road the
Scotch road is nearly equal, being about 4 1-2
miles.
The troops were formed in two divisions. —
One of theiu, commanded by General Sullivan,
marched down by the river road. The other,
commanded by General Washington, accompa
nied by Generals Lord Stirling, Green, Mercer
and Stevens, (with David Laning and others
for their guides,) tiled otf to the left, crossed
over to the Scotch road, and went down this
road till it enters the Pennington road, about
a mile above Trenton. Scarcely a word was
spoken from the time the troops left the ferry
(except what passed between the officers and
the guides) till they reached Treuton ; and
with such stillness did the army move, that they
were not discovered until they came upon the
out-guard of the enemy, which was posted in
the outskirts of the town, at or near the house
of the Rev. Mr. Frazier, when one of the sen
tries called to Laning, who was a little iu ad
vance of the troops, and asked, " Who is there?"
Laning replied, "A friend." "A friend to
whom?" "A friend of Washington's." At
this tiie gnard fired and retreated. The Ameri
can troops immediately returned their fire, and
rushed upon them, and drove them into town.
At the head of King street, Capt. T. Forrest
opened a six gun buttery, the immediate or
ders of General Washington and Lieut. James
Monroe, (afterwards President of the I. nited
States,) perceiving that the enemy were en
endeavoring to form a battery in King street,
near where the feeder crosses the street, rush
ed forward with the advance guard drove the
artillerists from their guns, and took from them
two pieces, which they were in the act of fir
ing. These officers were both wounded in this
successful enterprise. A part of this division
marched down Queen street, ami extended to
the left, so as to cut off the retreat of the ene
my towards Princetou.
The division of the army which came down
the river road under General Sullivan fell up
on the advanced guard of the British at Ruth
erford's place, adjoining Col. Dickinson's, near
the southwest part of the town, about the
same time that Washington entered it at the
uorth.
Both divisions pushed forward, keeping up
a running fire with light arms, meeting with
but little opposition, until the enemy were
driven eastward in Second street, near the
Presbyterian Chnrch, where there was some
fighting, the enemy having made a momentary
stand ; but finding themselves hemmed in and
overpowered, they laid down their arms on the
field, between the Presbyterian Clinrch and
Park place, then called the old Iron Works.
Gen. Raid, who commanded the Hessians,
and had his head-quarters at the house of Sta
cy Potts, opposite Perry street, on the west
side of Warren, (occupied for many years as a
tavern,) was mortally wounded early in the
engagement, being shot from his horse, while
exerting himself to fonu his dismayed aud dis
ordered troops, but where or by whom is not
at present known by the writer. He has heard
several statements on these subjects, but 110
two of them agree. When, supported by a
file of sergeants, he presented his sword to
Geu. Washington, (whose countenance beam
ed with complacency at the success of the day,)
he was pale, bleeding, and covered with blood,
and, in broken accents, he seemed to implore
those attentions which the victor was well dis
posed to bestow upon him. He was taken to
his head-quarters, (Stacy Potts's,) where he
died of his wouud.
"The number of prisoners was 23 officers
and 886 privates ; 4 stand of colors, 12 drums,
6 brass field pieces, and 1000 stand of arms
and accoutrements, were the troplies of victo
ry. The British lighthorse, aud 400 or SUO
Hessians escaped at the beginning of the but
tle, over the bridge across the Assunpiuk, at
Trent's Mills, aud fled to Bordentown. If
Gen. Kwing, whose divisions of the army wore
opposite Trenton, had been able to cross the
Delaware, as contemplated, aud take posses
sion of the britlge on the Assunpink, all the
enemy that were in Trenton would have been
captured; but there was so much icc on the
shores of the river, that it was impossible to
get the artillery over." The ilessiaus lost 1
officers, and 2U or 30 men killed ; 24 of these
were buried in one pit, in the Presbyterian
burying-ground, by the American troops.
Immediately after the victory, which great
ly revived the drooping spirits of the army,
Gen. Washington commenced marching his
prisoners up to the eight mile (or M'Koukey's)
ferry. and before night all were safely landed
on the western shore of the Delaware. But
Mr. Mnirhead (before mentioned) said that
General W. would not suffer a man to cross,
more than was necessary, until all the prison
ers were over. The Americans lost two pri
vates killed, and two were frozen to death.—
The late Mr. Richard Scudder iuformed the
writer, that the night after the taking of the
Hessians, several of the American soldiers,
worn down and poorly clad, and having suffer
ed much front the cold, stayed at his father's
house, which is about two miles below the fer
ry ; that several of them were very sick in the
night, aud that two or three died. Might not
these have been Wlie persons referred to in his
tory as having frozen to deatli ?
The next dav, the British that were at
Princeton, marched on to Trenton in pursuit of
the American army, and went up the Scotch
road as far as Mr. Benjamin Clark's, now Ed
ward S. M'llvan's, and inquired which
route General Washington had taken ; and be
ing informed that he had gone with Ids prison
ers up the river road, they compelled their son,
John Clark, a lad of 12 years, to guide them
across to Birmingham : (some of the Ameri
can soldiers were at this time in Clark's house.)
His mother, with 'rue Spartan courage, unwil
ling to trust her son with the enemy, pursued
the British and got him released. Soon after,
the British, finding Washington had crossed
the Delaware, returned to Princeton.
LONDON' THE GKKATKST CITV. —London is
now the greatest city in the world, and farsur
passes all the great cities of antiquity. Ac
cording to Gibbon, the population of aucicnt
Route in the height of its magnificence, was
1,200,000 ; Nineveh is estimated to have had
GOO,OOO ; and I>r. Medhurst supposes that the
population of Pckiu is about 2,000,000. The
population of London, according to recent sta
tistics, amounts to ,",500,000 —444 722 having
been added to it during the last ten years.—
The census shows that it contains 007,722 in
habited, and 10,389 uninhabited houses.
TIIF. WRONO SERMON. —Parson Green is in
the habit sometimes of drawing upon a barrel
of sermons bequeathed him by his father, who
was also a minister. Upon one occasion he
got hold of a sermon, by mistake, which the
old gentleman preached to the State prison
convicts, it opened well, and the congregation
were becoming deeply interested, when all at
once the pifrson surprised them with the infor
mation that had it not been for the clemency
of the Governor, many of them would have
been linng long ago.
A rvr< rrrF.Ti says she emptied her hopeful
son's pockets the other day, aud the following
articles were brought to light ; Sixteen mar
bels, one toj), an oyster shell, two pieces of
bricks, one dough-nut, a piece of a curry-comb,
one paint-brush, two broken knives, a skate
strap, three buckles, one ball, two primers, five
hen's eggs aud a bird's nest.
It is often difficult to determine whe
ther an apparently open, sincere and virtuous
action is the result os probity or artfulness.—
The actor is probably to day what lie was yes
terday, or a year since ; the quality of a pre
sent act is to be very much determined by the
quality of its antecedent acts.
-** " Honest industry lias brought that
man to the scaffold," said a wag, as he saw a
carpenter upon the staging.
A VKKV BAT> —A now counterfeit bank
note is described as liaviog for a vignette .1
•' female with a rake by her side."
An Original Horse Trade.
Mr. Samuel Havens resides iu Brooklyn, and
is a great admirer of horse-flesh. On Monday
last, he went up the river to Albany, for the
purpose of buying a grey mare belonging to
his friend M'Call. The grey marc is a very
fine looking animal, and also very fast. She
can go a mile in 2.25, with two in a wagon.—
Havens heard of her merits last week, and re
solved on a purchase. On his arrival at Alba
ny he took.breakfast at Stauwix Hall. Short
ly after which he buttoned up his coat and
started to find M'Call. He met him iu Broad
way near the City Hotel. With "Mac/' he
had the following conversation :
" I understand, Mr. M'Call, that you wish
to sell that grey mare of yours."
" I did want to sell her, but I imagine she is
now disposed of."
" Disposed of I—to whom ?"
" To your friend Skerrett, of Brooklyn."
" What did he agree to give you ?"
" Five hundred aud thirty dollars."
" If you will let me have her, I will give you
five hundred and fifty dollars cash down."
" But I've promised her to Skerrett."
" When ?"
" Last week."
" Never niiud that. If he should call, say
she's dead—that I broke her leg on the Troy
Road, in consequence of which we had to blow
her brains out."
" Will you back me up in the story ?"
" Of course I will."
" It's a bargain, then. Give me the five hun
dred and fifty, aud I'll send the mare down to
morrow night. But hadn't we better crop the
inaine and bob her tail, so that Skerrett cau
not sue me for lying to him
"Just as you please—there's your monev.
Be sure to send her dowu on Tuesday night,
on the Knickerbocker."
" Mr. M'Call promised to do so. Soou af
ter which he folded up his five hundred and
fifty dollars and walked round to Captaiu
Knight's for the purpose of putting the party
through."
This was Monday morning. On Monday af
ternoon Mr. Serrett made his appearance in
town, ne met M'Call in State-st.
" Well Mac, I've called to pay you for that
mare."
" What marc ?"
" The grey mare, the oue you wrote to me
about last week.*'
" Haven't you heard about that ?"
" About what
14 About that grey mare—she # is dead and
buried."
41 Dead—nonsense. Yon are fooling me."
" Not at all. If you doubt it ask your neigh
bor Havens, who broke her leg on the Trov '
Itoad."
44 Is Havens here ?"
41 Yes—you will find him at Stanwix Ilall." j
It is not necessary for ns to say that Mr.
Skerrett went to Stanwix Hall and saw Ha
vens. Neither is it necessary for us to say
that Mr. Havens swore that the grey mare was
dead, and that ho killed her. He could nut do
otherwise, without losing ' one of the best bar
gains he ever made.'
Mr. Skerrett regretted the catastrophe, but
concluded there was no use in crying over spilt
milk. He shook hands with Havens and left,
saying that he would try and find a piece of
speed in some other part of the city. Ha
vens having quitted Skerrett, took the 4.45
train for New-York, aud arrived at Brook
lyn a little after ten o'clock on Monday even
ing.
M'Call promised to send the mare down on
Tuesday evening.
He did not do anything- of the kind. In
consequence of this, Havens went up again on
Wednesday to see " what the d—l it all meant."
He found M'Call at the uew {steamboat landing.
44 Why didn't you send that mare down hist
night
44 What mare ?"
44 Why, that grey mare I bought of you on
Monday."
44 On Monday V
" Yes, on Monday."
44 You're mistaken. I sold you no marc on
Monday, and for the best reason in the world
she was dead a week before."
44 Dead ! What do you mean ?"
44 What do I mean ? and have you forgot
that you broke her leg on the Troy Road, and
that so badly that wc had to blow her brains
out ?"
• 44 You don't meau to swindle me by any such
game do you ?"
44 Swindle ! d—l a bit of it. You killed the
mare, and I can prove it."
44 Who by ?"
44 Y our own neighbor.Skerrett, of Brooklyn."
" And what does he know about it
" Jnst what you told him, aud that is, that
you killed the mare while trying her sjiced on
the Troy Road."
Havens could hear no more, but rushed for
the Police Office, where he swore out a war
rant against M'Call for swindling. It was is
sued by Justice Parsons. But as 4 Mac'proved
by Skerret that the complainant admitted that
he killed the mare on the sth of December, of
course he could not have purchased her on
Monday the 10th. Verdict for the defendant.
Mr. Havens left for New-Y'ork, on Wednesday
niglit in the Manhattan. He was accompa
nied by Skerrett. On going forward after tea,
he saw a grey mare, that led to the following
dialogue :
44 Who's bob-tailed mare is that Skerrett ?"
44 Mine."
44 Possible—where did you get her ?"
41 Bought her from M'Call. She is not quite
as good looking as the one I wanted, but 1
think she is full as speedy."
44 What did you give ?"
44 Four hundred dollars."
44 Say no more—let's drink."
Skerrett obeyed orders and went in arid took
a little something warm. Havens paid for it.
As he did so a bystander thought he uttered
an imprecation abont a certain d—d scoundrel
in Albany.
MON AT Never hire a man to tell a lie, un
lc.-> yon w i>h to get cheated yourself.
VOIU. XVI. —XO. 37.
Boy Love.
One of the qneevest, and funniest things to
think of in after life, is, " Boy love.' No
sooner does a lx>y acquire a tolerable statue,
than he begins to imagine himself a man ; and
to ape manish ways He casts sideling glan-
I ces at tall girls he may meet, becomes a regu
ar attendant at church, or meeting ; sports
I a cane, carries his heat! erect, ?tnd struts a
| little in his walk. Presently, and how very
| soon, he falls in love : yos, falls in the proper
word ; because it best indicates his happv,
delirious! self-abasement. He lives now in H
fairy region, somewhere collateral to the world,
and yet, somehow, blanded inextricably with
it. He perfumes his hair with fragrant oils
scatters essences over his handkerchief, and
desperately shaves, and anoints for a beard.-r-
He quotes poetry, in which " lore," and " dove''
and " heart," and "dart," peculiarly predomi
nate ; and as he plunges deeper into the deli
cious labyrinth, fancies himself iiiled with the
divine ofilatns, and suddenly breaks into a
scarlet rash—of rhyme. He feeds upon the
looks of his beloved ; is raised to the seventh
heaven if she speaks a pleasant word ; is be
trayed into the most astonishing ecstacies by
a smile ; is plunged iu the gloomiest regions
of misanthropy by a frown.
He believes himself to lie the most devoted
lover in the world. There never was such an
other. There never will be. He is the great
idolater ! He is the great favorite ! He is
the very typo of magnanimity, and self-abne
gation. Wealth ! he despises the groveling
thought. Poverty, with the lorablc beloved,
he rapturously apostrophizes as the first of all
earthly blessings : and, *Love in a Cottage"
with water and a crust, is the beau ideal pura
dise of dainty delights.
He declares to himself, with the most so
lemn emphasis, that he would go through fire
and water, undertake a pilgrimage to China or
Kamscatka ; swim the storm—tossed ocean ;
.scale impassable mountains ; and face legions
of bayonets ; but for one sweet smile from her
dear lips. He doats upon a llower she has
east away. He cherishes her glove—a little
worm in the fingers— next his heart. He sighs
like n locomotive letting off steam. He scrawls
her clear name over foolscap—fitting medium
for his insanity. He scornfully depreciates
the attention of other bova of his age ; cuts
Peter Tibbcts dead, because lie said the ador
able Angelina hail carettv hair ; and passes
Harry lleli con tern piously, for daring to com
pare that gawky Mury Jane, with his iiicotn
paralde Angelina.
Happy ! happy ! foolish lloy-love : with
its hopes and its fears ; its joys ami its sor
rows, its jealousies, its delights ; static fervors,
and its terrible heart burning ; its solemn lu
clierousuess, and its intensely prosaic termina
tion.
Swiss Courting.
When a girl is arrived at a marriageable
age, the young men of the village assemble by
consent on a given night at the gallery of the
chalet in which the fair one resides. This cre
ates no manner of surprise in the miud of her
parents, who not only wink at the practice, but
arc never better pleased than wheu the charms
of their daughter attract the greatest number
of admirers. Their arrival is soon announced
by sundry taps at the different windows. Af
ter the family in the house has been roused and
dressed (for the scene usually takes place at
midnight, when they have all retired to rest,)
the window of the room prepared for the occa
sion, in which the girl is at first alone, is open
ed. Then a parley commences, of a rather
boisterous description ; each young man in turn
urges his suit with all the eloquence and art of
which lie is possessed. The hesitates,
doubts, a.-k.s questions, but comes to no decis
ion. She then invites the party to partake of
a repast of cakes and kirschwasser which, is
prepared for them yn the balcony. Indeed this
entertainment with the strong water of the
cherry forms a prominent feature in the pro
ceedings of the night.
After having regaled themselves for some
time, during wliich and through tlie window
she has made use of all the witchery of woman's
art she feigns a desire to get rid of them all.
and will sometimes call her parents to accom
plish this object. ' The youths, however, are
not to be put off ; f'r according the custom of
the country, they have come there for the ex
press purpose of compelling her, on that night,
there and then to make up her mind and to de
clare the object of her choice.
At length after a further parley, her heart
is touched, or at least she pretends it is, by
the favored swain. After certain prelimina
ries between the girl and her parents, her lover
is admitted through the window, where the
alliance is signed and sealed, but jiot delivered,
in the presence of both father and mother. By
the consent of all parties, the ceremony is not
to extend beyond a couple of hours, when, af
ter a second jollification with the kirschwasser,
they all retire —the happy man to bless the
stars, but the rejected to console themselves
with hope that at the next tournament of love
making they may succeed better. In general,
the girl's decision is taken in good part by all,
and is regarded a decisive.
A young American lady being asked
hy a boring politician which party she was
most in favor of, replied that she preferred a
wedding party.
£*#*• A celebrated portrait painter says tho
reason that tom-cats are ><> musical, is because
they are all fiddle strings ius.de.
ftcg- A won! of kindness ! Tt is h '•eed
which even when dropped by chance, springs
up a flower.
tsr Wh v does the cook make more noise
Ihau the ball 9 Because the one maka .1 din.
but the other a dinner.