Bradford reporter. (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, November 07, 1861, Image 1
,f OJLIAR PER ANNUM INVARIABLY IN ADVANCE. TOWANDA: Thursday Morning. November 7,1861. Jhkctcb $ octal. [From Hii|ier' Weekly.] ON GUARD. At nWnigbt. on my lonely beat, \vsn shadows wrap the wood and lea, A vision seem* =•>' view to greet Of one at home that prays for me. Xo rose* blow upon her cheek— Her form is not a lover's dream- Bat on her lace so fair and meek. A host of holier beauties gleam. For softly shines her silver hair, A patient sinil*' is 011 her Im.e, And the mild lustrous light of prayer Around her sheds a moon-like grace. She pray* for one that * far away— The soldier in his h ily fight— And begs that Heaven in mercy may Protect ber boy and bless the Higlit. Till, though the leagues lie far between, This silent incense ot her heart Steals o'er my soul with breath serene, And we no longer are apart. So guarding thus my lonely beat. By shadowy wood and haunted lea, Th.it vision scetnn my *\ve to meet Ot her at home who prays lor me. I VAMP CIMEKOK. §tl f 11 c b (Dale. Bachelor's Love Making. Yt u would hnvtt know n it for a bachelor's in, iht moment yon put your bead into the r 1 uo, spicy wn-atbs of cigar smoke .•rung tip to tlie blackens d ceiiiny newsp ar-n tb r the table—Castile soup m the li v roizecatd receive! lipptls on the mantle tee. ami general confusion everywhere. And I -t, M Tliombrouk—poor deluded mortal Linoniv believed that his room was in the [ a.ost perfect order. For hadn't he poked the oiip'y champagne bottle* under the hed, and soil die wood-la X to b> ar them company, and : n:<r up his morning gown over the damp tow els, and i iis.lt ri the ueh-bespriikh d heart h with Ins l-est si.k Icanckefckit I ? He'd like to see a room 111 In tier trim than thai—guessed In- would .' And now In- wa mending himself ; JI. prparatoiy in gninjr to call upon tin- very jret!test rI in N> w York Not that he was , .rtnib Hiy fond of the needle, but when a lei i'"s whole foot goes tliruugh the nor'heuat ■ • of Ins stocking, and there isn't a button on . shirt, n's time to repair damages. IN i.v, as Mi- I'lio! nl.rook's whole stock of | r clients consisted of a lump of x, an en ' oils pair ol scis.-ors, and one needle, the i-uicig did nut progress rapidly llis way of I nun ging the button question, too, necessarily M'uved some delay ; lie had t) cut all these u-t-fil little appendages Iroin another shirt, .id sew Ilieui on ; acd tlie iiext "V< •k, when ;.e.second siort was wanted, why it woswisy • nigli to make the trans er again ! See what it is to bea iiai-hidor ul genius ! It never tor a moment occurred to him to buy a lew but tons exit a. " Buttons are not much trouble," said Mr. To i n nil k to huiiself, as he wiped tin- pei'spi ui.oii Iroiu Ids brow, '■ hut when it comes Jo rout sleeves, what the mischief is a b liow to U.I? I liavn't any black thread, either," and lie Linked (iilorously at a small tear in his cl one, Li-re some vie ousnaii iiad caught in the toad. .otli. "A black pin may do for to ' if.!, Mini to motiow I'll send it t.) the tailor. . - i.irt is, | ought to be married ; and so I 1 id, tl I only dared to ask Lilliun. Oh, •fear! J know she wouldn't have me—and vet, i ui uot so cer.aiu, citlu-r—if 1 could muster coinage boldly to put the question ! But •n sine lis I approach the dangerous qucs my heart tails me And then, that pup lf.Junes, with his curled mustache, and his i* purled in tne middle—always hanging ' ami Lillian, and quoting uoetry to ber—if : 'HI lia.e the privilege of kicking hiui across - street I'd die happy ! lie isn't bashful, " li' 1! 11 somebody would only invent a new *• of |H)|i|iiug the question someway lli.it 'mil qiile so euiUui assiug !" Oir in ro gave his black, glossy curls an fl'r tiru-h, surveyed himself critically in the D'tv, a: if Hit ii, Willi a deep Mgll, Set for ill 10 11 on the ah ntical Lillian 11 tymoud, resolv is lit had done a thousand times before, tbat if—(leiltap—may be—" Oh, the tiashfuiiieSS of bachelors ! NVtien Mark Tiiorubrook arrived within the "anij a jneiincts of old Mrs. Raymond's Dondsoiiie parlor., velvet carpeted, chandelteieii U| 't gold ami or nolo, and crowded up to the ' *• doors with tho.-e churming knicknaeks Only a woman's taste provides, Miss Lily oj > at Louie" in a bewildering pink merino ) *>\ rdgtd around the pearly shoulders, and * ".vie roe twisted io among the rip waves of her soft brown hair. She nev took.-xi half so (Hetty ; and, thank Pfovi ■Joiies wasn't on baud, for once in his but, what wus almost as bad, Lily's j *as the e—a tall, slender, black eyed * w.di arch hps, and cheeks as red as a L.'A-itrge" apple. (J, how Tnombrook wish- J 1,11 M'ss l-Ntlier Allen was at the bottom L-il *v-a, or anywhere else except ill particular parlor. And then her eyes *" sharp— be hadn't been doing the ngt ee u, ort- than tour in I miles and a ball, when b arine, .Mr. Tltornbrook—pray excuse "''"l what upon eui tu u tlie mailer ot with elbow >' turned scarlet. The traitorous black N M (i ehtl te( j ltl4 u ;|ly u cootpou id Iracture in my coat, Miss I ~'' sait ' >ie ' feeling as though his face ( du Uie Jmy 0 ( a |j u ||j y[ r Raymond's L*' together. " You kuow wc r " uol b exempt from " Hold tip your arm, sir, and I'll set it all right in a moment," said Esther, instautune ou-ly producing from a secret recess in the fold.* of her dress, a thimble and needle, thread ; ed with black silk, aud setting expertly to work. " There, now, consider yourself whole'" " How skillful yon are," said Mark, admir ingly, after he had thanked her sincerely " But then you have so many nice little con cerns to work with. I have only a needle and some wax, besides my scissors." " You onght to have a house-wife, Mr. Thornbrook," said Miss Lilly, timidly lifting up her long lashes in his direction. Lillian could never speak to Mr Thornbrook without a soft, little rosy shadow on her check. " A what ? demanded Mark turning very red. " A house-wife " " Yes," raid Mark, after a moment's awk ward hesitation, " inv trtends have told me so verv often, and—and I really think so myself, you know But w hat sort of a oue would you recommend, Mit-s Raymond?' " Oh, any pretty little concern. I'll send yon one tomorrow morning, if you'll accept of it," she added, with the rosy light in ber cbe. k* again. " If—l'll accept —of it ! gasped Mark,feel ing as if be were in an atim sphere of pearl and gold, with two wings spionting out of his broadcloth, on either side. And just as he was opening his lips to assure Miss Lily that he was ready to t ke the good gift to liis arms then and there, without any unnecessary de lay, the door opened, and in walked Jones. Mark was not at all cannibalistic in bis pro pensities, but just then he could have eaten Jones up with uncommon pleasure And there the tellow su, pulling bis long mustaclies, and talking the must insipid twaddle —sat and sat, until Mark ro>e in despair to go. Even then, lie had no opportunity to exchange a private word with Lily. " You'd —you'll not forget—" "Oil, I'll te sure to remember," said she, smilingly, and half wondering at the ui.usual pressure be gave her hand. Ladies often do provide their bachelor friends so." Mark went home, the happiest individual that ever trod a New York pavement. Indeed so great was his leiieity that he indulged in vaitoil* gymnastic capers, indicative ol bliss, uiid only paused at the gruff caution of a po liceman, who torgol his own courting days— "Come, young man, what are you about?" " \V as there ever a more delicate way of assuring me of her favorable consideration !■— Was there there ever a more feminine admis sion of Iter sentiments / Ot course she will come bersell—au angel, breathing air from l'urndise — and 1 .slutl tell tier of tliy love ! A hdnse-wife —oh ! the delicious words! Wonder what neighborhood st.c would like me to engage a residence in—how soon it would be best to lumu the day ? Oh, if 1 should awake, and hud It alia blissful dream!' Early the next morning, Mr. Thornbrook set briskly to work, "righting up tilings."— How lie swept and (lusted and scoured—how Ihe dust tlew fioin pillow to po*t —how the room was aired to get the tobacco smoke and sprinkled with cologne, and beautified gen trallv. And at length, when the dust was swept into the corner, and covered by a eare les-ly (?) thrown newspaper, he lound the win dow glas.-. murky, and polished it with such a Vengeance luat his fiat, handkerchief and all • went through, sorely damaging the liaud, and necessitating the uiigracetul accessary of an ( old nut to keep out the wintry blast for the lime being. However, even tills mishap didn't long damp his spirits for was not Llv com ing ? Long and wearily he wated, yet no tinkle of the bed gave warning of iier approach.— " It's all la-r sweet feuiiniue modesty," tho't he, and he was content. At length there was a peal below, and Mark's heart jumped into his mouth, beating like a reveille drum. lie rushed to the door, but—there was no oue but a little grinning black boy, with a box. "Mis* Riyuioud's compliments, and here's the house-wite, sir." " Tne house-wife, you little imp of Erebus." " Yes, sir, in de box, all right !" Mark slunk back in to his room, and open ed the box, half expecting to see a full dressed voting lady issue from it, a la Arabian Nights i, ul |,o —a was only a little blue velvet book, aud lied up with gold cord, and full of odd compartments in azure silk, containing tapes, needles, scissors, silk, thimble, and all the nice little work table accessories ! " And she calls this a kuu.tr. idfr." groaned Mark, in int ffatde bitterness ol spirit, at the downfall of ins bright visions. " But I won't be put off so !" Desperation gave him courage, and off he hied so the Raymond mansion, determined to settle the matter il there were forty Joneses and Esthers there But Lilhau was alone, singing at her ern bro.dery in the sunshiny window cuseinuut. " Dear me, Mr. Thornbrook, is there any thing the matter ?" Perhaps it was the shadow from the splen did crimson cactus plumes tu the window that gave her cheeks such a delicate glow—per (j U p S —hut we have no right to speculate. •• Yts." And maik sat down by her side, and took the trembling, flutieiing baud. ' You sent me a house wile, this morning !" " Wasn't it rigbt V faltered Lillian. " it wasn't the kind 1 wanted, at all. " Not the kind yon wanted " "No ; 1 preler a live one, and I cnie to see it pin wouldn't cliuh e it. I want one v\ 1111 brow II hair and eyes—soiuelhiu.i, in short. Miss Lillian, just your pattern. Can't I have II { " Ltlv turned white, and then red—smiled, and then burst into tears —and tried to draw away her hand, but Mark held it fast. " No, no, dear Ldy ; first tell me if I can have the treasure I ak for?" •' Yes, ' said she, with the prettiest confu sion in tlie world ; and then, instead of releas ing the cative hand, the unreasonable tellow took possession of the other ooe, too. Bat, as PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY AT TOWANDA, BRADFORD COUNTY, PA., BY E. 0. GOODRICH. Lily did uot object, we suppose that it was all right. And this was the odd pa'h by which Mark Thornbrook diverged froin the walk of old bachelorhood, and stepped into the respectable ranks of matrimony. WHAT IS IN THE BEDROOM. —If two persons are to occupy a bedroom during a night let them step opou weighing scales as they retire, and then again in the morning, and they will lind their actual weight is at least a pound less in the morning. Frequently there will be a loss of two or more pounds, and the average loss thoughout tne year will be more than one pound. That is, during the night there is a loss of a pound of matter gone from their bod ies, partly from the lungs ami partly through the pores of the skin. The escaped material is carbonic acid, and decayed animal matter, or poisonous exhalalious. This is diffused through the air in part,and in pat t absorbed by the bed clot hes. If a single ounce of wood or cottou be burned in a room, it will so completely sat urate the air with smoke that one can hardly breathe, though there can only be one ounce of foreign mutter in the air. If an ounce of cotton be burned every hour during the night, the air will be continually saturated with smoke unless there be an open door or window tor it to escape. Now the sixteen ounces of smoke, thus formed, is far less poisonous than the six teen ounces of exhalations from the lungs and bodies of t he two persons who have lost a pound in weight during the eight hours of sleeping, for while the dry smoke is mainly tak -n into the lungs, the damp oders from the laxly are absorbed both into the lungs and into the pores of the whole body. Need more be said to show the importance of hav.ng bedrooms well ventilated and of tho roughly airing the sheets, coverlids and mat trasses, in the morning before putting up in the form of a neatly made bed ? Perhaps the worst of all bedroom evils is the feather bed—butuc cording to the notion of SOIUP, if it is old and dirty it is so much the better—if it was slept on by a great grandmother, and has absorbed the exhalations of the body, the disease and de composition of three generations, it is a capita) bed. A grand mistake. Being an insulation against the free circulation of the electric forces of the system, and being a body of constantly decaying animal matter, a feather bed is the worst of all couches to sleep upon. A person of good health and vigorous constitution will never rise from one without feeling aw eakness which takes hoars to recover from. The mois ture and vitality of the system has been ab sorbed without being replaced by an equal amount of life capital ; and particularly when the room is poorly ventilated will tlie destruc tive and noufe....it. s influences of the feather bed be felt. Our advice is, to discontinue their use entirely. TnE FUR TRADE. —The trade in furs genera! iy commences about the first of October, and at picse.it the business is quite brisk among the numerous dealers throughout the city. Mink sable and Siberian squirrel furs are those most in demand, and arc considered most fashion able. Although the demand for this class of furs is vi-rv great, vet, ow inir to the great sup ply and the facility with which they arc obtain ed, the prices arc moderate. The best quali'v of mink sable is found in Maine; it is also pro cured in the Hudson Bay regions, the North west, aud found iti small quantities in this State The most expensive of all furs is the Russian sable, which st il from sooo to $2,500 per set. This quality ol far is very scarce, and, besides, their exportation from Russia has been pro hibited by the Emperor. Those that reach this country are smuggled away The Hudson Bay sable is also quite scarce aud expensive, bt-inir sold as high as SIOO to SOOO per set. The opossum and inu-krat furs abound in | great quantities and are easilv obtained.— Fitch is but little in demand, although a few j years since it w-as much songht after. Buff tlo | skins are obtained in Minnesota, Dakota, Ne i br. ska, Kansas, and northern Texas. Each ! year this animal becomes scarcer, and before j many years they will doubtless be extinct.— j The animals at shot by the Indians and ot h | ers, who sell the skins to traders. The bides 1 are worth from three to twelve dollars a piece. Tlie finest skin* are greatly in demand bv mil itary officers, who use tliem instead of blankets for which they ate found far superior. Most of the heaver skins bought by the deal ers in Philadelphia are shipped by them to England, where they are used extensively for i cloak linings. This animal is found among the rocky mountains, and in the British Domin ions, and does not, as many suppose, decrease ! each year, altnough, it is said, they push far ther West. The quantity of beaver skins ob tained tli is year is equally us great as has been procured for several years back. Very few , ate now found about Lake Superior, where a • lew years since they were found in great uuui ' hers. The retailers of the largest cities resort to numerous tricks by which they can dye fursof u common quality, and give them the appear ance of those more rare. The (trice of all furs varies according to their shades of color, aud their scarcity. QUERY —If four dogs with sixteen legs can catch forty n;ue rabbits with eighty seven legs, in forty four minutes, how many legs must the same rabbits have to get away from eight dogs i with thirty-two legs, in seventeen minutes and a half ? Solution—Add together the legs of the rab -1 bits and the tails of the dogs' and divide the amount by three big dogs, 'his saves four bushels of barks and thirteen pound* of hair, i Take the fractions of the rabbits,and six inches of snow, aud multiply by a dog tight. r l lien divide by u man with a doubled barreled shot gun, and a piece of fresh beef. Multiply by I half as many legs as three times a less number of rabbits would have had, and divide by one third of the time it would take for the rabbits to get away from the dogs, less seventeen and a halt minutes. The result depends upon the size of tbe dogs. " R.EBARDLESB O* DENUNCIATION FROM ANY QUARTER." WAR SKETCHES BY A NORTHERN RANGER. A SCOCT S ADVENTURE. We had reached the eutrance of a narrow pass which led through some rugged hills. Our party was small, but its members were deter mined men, none of whom were novices in scenes of danger. We marched in silence, that was broken only by the murmured whispers of the men, the crTos and fluttering of birds, or the quick plunge of some small animal thro' the thick foliage, wbieh, from the very edge of the path we were pursuing, spread amid lofty trees thinly scattered on the hill. Day was near its closet We were distant some miles from the camp. The enemy might be in posaission of the defile in overwhelming numbers. It was determined that we should keep in compact order until we had got well beyond the eutrance of the pass, when, as it becomes more obstructed or tortuous, we should taking advantage of every bush, rock or ine quality, advance singly, ready for the foes and reckless of his numbers. The foliage became thicker as we advanced, and evening fell. On our right was a dense thicket, which we reached after having lost sight of the entrance to the defile in our rear This thicket reached from the foot of the gorge to its summit. Each step became firmer, but more cautious. There was no whispering now, and every breath was guarded. We were far in the glen—on one side gray rocks, lofty trees, flowering plants aud creepers in wild profusion spreading over the abrupt sides of dark fantas tic hills, brnken at intervals by huge chasms that gleamed wildly in the rays of the declin ing sun—ou the otherside the impenetrable thicket was buried in gloom. Still steadily and stealthily advancing, each man, with his rifle grasped easily in his hand, glancing quickly to the right and It ft, with un wearied energy crept along the glen. Aw his tle, quick and clear, sent its wild sound thrill ing through every heart and ear. All was breathless suspense That was uo bird's cry. No throat but a human one ever gave out a note so threatening. " What was it passed in a still, rapid whisper among us. "Goeril les !" " ilusli !" We listened long and breath li-ssly, and wanly peered on every side. Not a mail of us visible but to his fellows. Crouch ed, with our very beaits beating, on the earth, covered by the friendly bush, we lay for many minutes in the hope ol hearing the whistle re lieatbd All was as still as though the spot had never known its wild solitude brok"n by the foot of man or disturbed by bis passions, liis schemes or his ambition. Still nu lintcciiiJ, tmfc m n n | n fnrtKor sound was heard. Why was there no other signal ? Was it som-i solitary wanderer, who scut that shrill cry forth through the stillness (in mere wantoness) and with uo other motive than that of breaking its monotony. Not so. There was a significance in that sound that breathed war and defiance as plainly as if it had come from the blast of a trumpet. "Up and nioviug, men came, in low tones, from the lips o! the sergeant iu command. " Let 'u;u try it again." Our march was resumed as before ; but we stepped more stealthily, listened with painful attention and glared on every side with the intensity of blood-hounds. The defile took an aceute turn to the right, and on the left was a naked space, extending tor some yards, de void of all verdure, but the gray moss clinging round the gray rocks. We bega-, hastily, to cross this uncovered space, w hen there was a report of many pieces, whilst red flushes from rocks and bushes in the front gleamed savagely and suddenly upon us. For a moment we were staggered. Then with a shout we rushed forward to unearth the am bushed foe. Again the fire was repealed, with the muzzles of their rifles within a few feet of our faces. I gazed round for an instant, alter discharging my piece at oue fellow, and with my bayonet trausfixing another to the soft sandy rock, against winch he fell, and perceiv ed none of my party by my side. But the thick smoke and rapidly falling darkness that now ruled, iu conjunction with yells, shots and groans, the surrounding glen, made ail iuvisi ble beyond the length of the arm. At that instant I felt asuddeti pang ; a diz ziness, a blackness, like death, come over me ; I clutched wildly at the sulphurous air, reeled and fell. When I recovered my senses, I discovered that I was lyiug on my side, bleeding slightly from a flesh wound in the thigh. I had bled profusely, before recovering, lor I was satur ated iu half-congealed gore. Raising myself on my elbow, 1 looked round for my compan ions. The moon was shiuuig with all the soft ness of her beauty ou the soot. 1 counted five bodies lying within a compass of almost as many yards. 1 endeavored to discover their uuiforuis, but could not at that distance. 1 rose slowly, and, with much difficulty, reached the nearest. lie was dead, with a blue hole in the centre of his forehead, through which the bullet had passed, and tne blood still slow ly oozed. 1 crawled to the next oue ; he, too, was past all earthly aid. So ou to the third, fourth and filth. The bullet bad done its full wotk on all. These had been, a few hours be fore, my comrades, eager to deal destruction upou foes, and careless of the fate that met them. I was the sixth and last of the party. But where was tiie enemy, or what had been the enemy 1 I heard uo sound, aud the moon light falling directly upou the dead men, and gray, weird like rocks, produced au affect that was sickeuing and horrible. I remembered the man I had slain. I searched for his body but it was gone. I searched for others of the enemy, but all had disappeared. There was no dead lett on tlie battle-ground but the five fallen scouts. Yet, that others had perished there, was obvious from the blood lying in iittle pools among the rocks, behind which the ambushed foe had lurked aud pour ed upou his deadly fire. My wound began to bleed afreash, which brought a tamtoess upon me and I sank to the I earth. A burning thirst was consuming me, and I groaned in agony. ! After a little while I made another eff irf to ' rise, but failed ; and then falling back, as calmly us possible, I yielded to my fate. I tho't of past days, when, iu early youth, no cry for blood had yet awakened that inherent feroci'y that larks unseen in the heart of man.nnti! the fearful scent rouses as it does the blood hounds and it springs forth with a swiftness that ap pals and u strength that desolates. A CACTURE. My reverie was broken by the sound of voi ces. Then came that of approaching footsteps, As it drew nearer a new life seemed to quiver through iny veins, like a Iresh gush of virgin spring. The most snvago foe, to whom the torture of a captive were, with an unapproach able delight, advancing upon me with the me naces of a demoniac, would at that moment been welcome a an angel of light in compar ison to the loneliness—the woe ot thnt dismal glen, and its bloody and nnburied dead. In a few moments a dozen armed men were on the spot, leaning upon their rifles and gnz ing round upon the dead. Some stooped and examined the body with careless scrutiny; oth ers merely stirred theru with the foot,or tnrned them over tlie muzzles ol their guns, with the brutal indifference bloodshed engenders in the heart. "They're dead. Let them rot?" said one who appeared to tie the lender of the party. '* Not ail dead," I replied. Had a voice actually issued from tlie tomb, as mine undoubtedly seemed to do, its effect would not have been much more startling Each man, for an instant, seemed changed in to a statue. Tbeu the whole group made a simultaneous movement toward me. " That's the fellow that bayonettcd Ike," exclaimed one of them, cocking his revolver and thrusting the muzzle between my teeth. In another instant I should have been in eternity, but for the sudden jerking back of my would be destroyer's arm by one o f his comrades, who calmly remarked : " If he's got through the rougli work he had awhile ago, we'll not kill the poor devil now." With a muttered curse the ruffiin replaced liis weapon in liis belt and withdrew. "Where are you hurt ?" inquired he whose interference had jqst saved me ; " can't yer get up?" I told him I had been shot in the hip, and was dying of thirst. Here he called a member of the party to him, and taking from his hand a canteen, j poured some of its contents—brandy and water 1 my throat. My wound had entirely stopped bleeding, but my whole ride was stiff anil painful. With much difficulty I rose to my feet,and by the aid of two of my cap tors, for such they were, managed to move along with the rest of the band, through what appeared aiu iu * i.v iovu>..:. r r~ **■ •• ~Vl" l' utu to that I had hitherto traversed iu the com pany of those who had fallen, and whom I was now leaving behind rne forever. For *oinc time we followed this road,running at the base of two declivities almost perpeti- j dicular, w hose dizzy summits 1 could not scan, and whose rugged sides of gray, at intervals j were shining coldly beneath some stray gleam j of moonlight, that, even in that cavernous pass, | found its way and smiled atuid the gloom, iike the good glance of a visiting angel. Suddenly we emerged from this gloomy de- j file, and found ourselves iu what appeared a! most a level country. Here—where some tents were pitched—we halted, aud I was a prisoner in a guerrilla camp. A week elapsed, aud I had recovered from my wound. The chief of the party who had i captured me offered tue my liberty, on condi- ! tiou that I gave my parole not to bear arms against the rebels again daring twelve mouths j This I hud sworn never to do iu the event of my becoming a prisoner to the Confederate army. I was equally resolved now to adhere to iny oath. From that moment I was closely guarded, with the vigilance kuown but to 1111 angrj, foe. No sleepy sentinel ever lounged with heavy j limb unci weary eye, in mock watchfulness,near the rugged couch whereon I lay. Bat sleep ing or walking, some hawk-eyed watcher kept guard by my side, marking ail my outgoings aud incomings. In that camp was another prisoner beside ; myself, a miserable creature, apparently, only i waiting the certain death that the caprice of a merciless band would, in some unexpected mo- : ruent, hurl upon his head, and whom nothiug ' but the same caprice permitted still to move | upon the earth a living thing. This wretch had been captured some days after I had, in the act of roobing the dead ufter a skirmish. llis crime, in the eye of a soldier, is a deadly 1 sin. lie is the pariah of his class. A vulture too foul for an honest shot, from whose blood the bright steel would receive a disgrace deeper than its staiu. A thing too worthless to hang; one whose loathsome life should be crushed out suddenly, with stone or club,as a reptile should, and the contaminated weapon then flung from : the hand forever. He cringed to his captors, and they drove him from thctn with curses and kicks, and when he fuvvued they spat upon liirn. AN ESCAPE. One night, after unwearied watchfulness and ceaseless planning, I broke from the bondage that held me. The night was cloudy and threatened rain. I had heard enough from my captors to know that a detachment of northern troops was encamped to tiie eastward, within , five miles of us. This detach stent I resolved to reach or die. From what 1 had learned among the guerillas,l felt assured I could with little difficulty find the encampment. After crouching my way through and along the out skirt of a thicket (that grew by the side of a road, old and grass grown, running nearly east and west) tor at least two miles, I merged from it into the road, sweating and bleeding ; j hatless, my clothes torn into - fragments, pant iug and wearied. I had taken my bearings from the few stars that glimmered through the clouds, iu the unobseurred spot of the heavens, and was about to start along the ro.id in an easterly direction when a man leaped from the thicket—and the thief of the battle field, the plunderer of the dead, stood by niyside. "On, on !" he exclaimed iu hoar-e and excited tones, VOL. XXII. — jsr O. 23. ' pointing along (be road in the direction I was 1 a boot to take, " they're following." He shook with fear, nd I pitied him. Disgust at his presence too, was lessened by a sense of the common danger. Before 1 could speak he dash ed past ire along the road. I followed, and ! thus we fled for more than twenty minutes : lie a little ahead cf tne during the whole time.' We reached n narrow unfinished bridge,stretch ing from high banks across a stream. Wobe ! gun to ores the bridge, but our progress was much impeded and even endangered, as our 1 only stepping points were from beam to beam and plank to plank, most of them loose and , rotten and at uneven distances. The bridge was supported by huge piles set in the river, whose sullen waters we were able to distinguish lur beneath us. Yet the river seemed shallow, there, for white breakers curling nronnd the incks we cor,ld detect u!-*o. Onward wewent. I was now in advance some dozen yards. All before us, beyond twenty feet, was lost in gl >oai j belaud, the : time darkness impenetra ble at the same distance. Yet on we pressed from one rotten, shaking timber to another Suddenly loud shouts in the rear proclaimed the pursuing r oo. These were followed by the -harp ring of rifles, and a fearful shriek from my companion I stopped and turned. He called on me, for the " love of Heaven to help him." 1 returned some little distance nnd found him clinging, about a couple of feet above the cross pieces, to a narrow iron bar that ran from one of the piles to another, lie, was struggling wildly. " How is it ?" I akerl as I stooped to aid him. But I discovered my assi-tance to be valueless, unless I could placo my feet on the bar,and leaning with my breast upon one of the timbers, and reach over both hands and grasp him 1 y the collar. As I was making this essay, the moon broke fully upon us, and J met bis upturned pallid face. His teeth were set. His bioodie-s lipsdrawn from them with a rigidity that left them completely bare. His eyes were starting from their sock ets, and his form trembled so as to shake the last hold to which he clung. " One of their bullets," lie hissed between his teeth, " has smashed my ankle. lam go ing !" His hold relaxed, another terrible shriek rang through the night air, and be fell crushing among the jutting rocks below ; his blood mingled with the pure element that ed died around them. I again pursued my way along the bridge alone. Many a bullet whistled past me from my inveterate but bewildered foes, and many a narrow escape I ran of being hurled into the dark river, or of impalement upon its half concealed rocks. But one sneh death sufficed for that night. A' length I reached the oth fl BiUr, liiatiaiui vug vatiMMovvu. M*n t . unabated speed, 1 pursued my way, until the challenge of a sentinel stopped further pro gress. I had reached one of the pickets of the detachment for which I was bound—our gallant northerners. 1 was safe, and a free man again. M 'KIUSAN'IA, September, 1861. THE UTILITY OF REFUSE THINGS.— 'The pros slate of potash is made in large quantities it Cincinnati, from the hoofs, horns, and other re ;use of slaughtered grnnters. Cow-hair, taken from the hides of tanneries, is employed for making plastering mortar, to give it a fibrous quality, Sawdust is sold for sprinkling the floors of markets. It is a!-o used for packing ice for shipping. The rags of old, wornout shirt ing, calico dresses, and the waste cfcotton fac tories, are employed to make the paper upon which these lines ure priuted. Old ropes are converted into fine note paper, and the waste paper itself, which is picked up in the gutters is again reconverted into broad, white sheets, and thus do duty in revolving stages. The par ings of skins and hides, and the ears of cows, calves and sheep, are carefully collected and converted into glue. The liner qualities of gelatine are made from ivory raspings—tho bones and tendons of animals. Bones convert ed into charcoal by roasting in retorts are after wards employed for purifying the white sugar with which we sweaten our coffee, etc. The ammonia obtained from tho distillation of coal in making gas, is employed for saturating orchil and cudbear, ir. making the beautiful lilac colors that are dved on silk and fioe wool en goods. C irbonic acid, obtained iu the dis tillation of coal tar, is empioyed with other acids to produce beautiful yellow on silk aud wool. TirrE TO THE LIFE—A school teacher in Alabama had among her scholars one incor* rigible little Miss, upon whom "moral sua sion" seemed to have no effect. One day, out of patience with some misdemeanor on tho part of the child, she called ber up to the desk mid expostulated with her on the impro priety or her conduct, setting forth the enor mity of her offences, oet. The little girl paid little attention at first, but at length seemed to realize her gui't more fully, and watching her teacher closely, seemed to drink in every word she said. The lady began to have hope ; her instructions were evidently raak iug an impression. At length she made a slight pause—for breath, I suppose —when up spoke the child, with the uttermost gravity— " Why, Miss Susan, your upper jaw don't move a bit !" That was the end of the discourse. PRECAUTION*. —As a clergyman was burying a corpse, un Irish woman came and pulled hiui by the sleeve in the middle of the service. " Sir, sir, I wish to spake wid ve." " Prithee, wait, woman, till 1 have done.' 1 " No, sir, I must spake to vou immediata ly." " Well, then, what is tho matter?'' " Why, sir, yon are burying a mao whodied of tho small pox next to my poor husbaml, who never had it." A man's want of conversation general ly arises from his supposing that his mind is like Fortnnatns's purse, and will always furn ish him withont his patting anything into it.