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tcliTU.fl gtofto?.
THERE'S NOTHING LOST.
nothing lost. The tiniest flower
p ; ,_ r ows within the darkest vale,
■ ngk hid from view has still the power
Tbi rarest perfume to exale ;
t | rfume, borne on zephyr's wings,
visit some lone sick one's bed,
iik,- the calm affections brings,
frill s.sitter gladness round her head.
. nothing lost. The drop of dew
I trends Is in the rose-bud's breast,
- i its home of ether blue
\n l fall again as pure and blest ;
ana to level in the spray,
1 1 the dry and parching sod,
! . mingle in the fountain spray
(i; -i arklt in the bow of God.
nothing lost. The seed that's east
J . ire less hands upon the ground
I \v. t..k ■ root and may at last
i green, a glorious tree be found ;
. ah its shade some pilgrim may
- k shelter from the heat of noon,
v.'l.a in its boughs the breezes play,
Ami is. my birds sing their sweetest tune.
:■ s nothing lost. The slightest tone
i n whisper from a loved one's voice
. i nlt a In nit of hardest stone,
'mil make u saddened breast rejoice ;
ai.l tln n, perchance, the careless word
Our thoughtless lips too often speak,
M \ touch a heart already stirred
And cause that troubled heart to break.
.'s nothing lost. The faintest strain
i if breathing from some dear one's lute,
iii memory's dream may come again
I f igk every mournful string be mute ;
I i nmsi. of some happier hour,
flu harp that swells with love's own word
! M thrill the soul with deepest power,
U'lu-H still the hand that swept its chords.
! . lot ns make the plan our own
i i Heaven's teachings are the best!
j l!u blessing that is wisely used,
Im i .si - mid we're doubly bless'd!
I At 11 e "Hi lot with rich or poor,
by sunshine wann'd or tempest tossed,
I - .ii.- our hands that we may say,
I ! ..ei > nothing Wasted, nothing Lost.
RED JIM.
AN AUSTRALIAN STORY.
l ive ami twenty years ago it was such a
.er, here in Victoria, as it now is in
i ..'1 of February, 13G5 ; that is to say,
busli grass lay long and dead amid
■vi.less trees, or upon level tiresome
ei:.-; the heated air quivered along the
horizon, and danced above the withered
. one like the surroundings of a furnace,
ere had been a long season of drought.
(( A uing but dry water beds, distressed
.is, and wandering cattle, were to be
anywhere ; sometimes the black heavy
i-sos of smoke would roll along the dis
sky, and cloud the glaring sun to
n. Sometimes in the close night, a !
far and faint, told that the conflagra- ;
.- which had not yet reached us were |
■ cping many an acre of brush or pasture '
I'l'liat was a summer 1 never shall j
_•; ! Day after day the dazzling bright!
y. the scorched bills and plains, the wea- \
irritating sense of prostration. I
■ached the poor half-maddened sheep, j
- .j n weeks, with a painful sense of ;
I :uty wi:. ii is present to me even now.—
I > • •• vas little feed they could eat, and
-t.ii i-- i filthy stagnant water in the sole
y pool on which they depended as
i :-t n source. Listlessly they coiled i
shade, and listlessly I watched them, 1
i i 'gan to experience a fierce irrita- i
.-ii-g for rain that haunted me day
-it like a coming mania. Some 1
'- 1 threw myself down outside the
tried to sleep, but could find no
a -till hot atmosphere kept up the
' at was coming upon me, and my
; w.t- over broken. I used to envy
A station horse they had left for my
1 1" I heard him nibbling among the
the darkness of the night, and
iiu satisfaction that the sun had
d the ha/.y bills. After a time I began
•ai y the walk home, and, taking with
■ i • xira supply cf tea and damper,
a practice of camping where the
p tamped ; visiting my hut only as the
•••' s ' ' the Hock led me to its vicinity;
; replenished my stock and left with
again. lain sure I had fever,
; would soon be delerious, for 1 had noth
- ■ relieve the frightful monotony—al
" the same brazen sky, the dead swel
- heat, the motionless forest, the
•;-- c '"iniuurings of the wilderness, like
; hut whisperings of a sea shell.
v night I was lying tossing about in
'' o grass of a box swamp, not a mile
lu y hut. I chose the place because
rb Yor (id was cooler there than on the
flu-red plain ; and as I looked up to
starlight, I thought of many of my
Mi rwiiembrauces, and soon felt that I
'-weeping what time they surged up
and tenderly. How I longed for
T'wk sky, the cold bracing wind, and
; e <-'ty rain of home ! llow I longed
pattering fall of ruin on the win
-• and the winter comforts of the bright
"stone. Somehow these longings
■u my thoughts, and in a partial
1 " hoard winter songs again, and loud
and laughter.
: W(^ ( ' w ith a sudden start to see, not
Uh } - V:a, ' s fr' om m e, three men holding
1 • -sea and speaking to each other a
hire. I could hardly per
ine- !l 'A s(1 ll that I was not still dream
e-
J-. O. GOODRICH, Publisher.
VOLUME XXVI.
One ol the men was soon engaged in
lighting afire on the bare patch of ground,
and I was about rising to join them and
taste of companionship once more, when a
column of flame started up suddenly, and
displayed a face that caused me to shrink
back again with a muttered thanksgiving
that I was not discovered. The face that
the fire revealed was known to me at once,
though I had never seen it before. The one
eye and hare lip of " Red Jim" had been
freely spoken about in every shepherd's hut
on the surrounding stations. There was
no mistaking him. The bull-dog forehead,
the heavy jaw, and the thick neck, were
features that in themselves would have suf
ficiently pointed out the identilv of this es
caped convict. Recalling the man now, as
I saw him then, 1 think I never beheld so
perfect au impersonation of a bad criminal.
It was well known that Red Jim had es
caped from penal servitude, accompanied
by three others, but had arrived in this col
ony alone. It was equally well known
that he could only have survived the in
credible journey by canibalism. Red Jim
had ruthlessly murdered one or two settlers
against whom lie entertained a grudge,and
every effort was being made at that time
to capture him. There was nothing re
markable in the faces of his companions.
They simply showed by word and feature
all the evidences of ruffianism usual in men
of their class. They had course long limbs
and heavy reckless faces, seared into re
volting harshness by a long series of
crimes. Two of them were armed with
guns.
These thoughts and observations passed
through my mind in much less time than it
takes to write them. I was speedily re
called from speculation by hearing the
word " Hallelujah " used. Hallelujah was
the only sobriquet given to my master be
cause of his strictly adhering to the habit
of reading prayers in the family, morning
and evening. Air. Christmas was a kind,
benevolent man, respected by every hand
on the station ; and by none more than my
self. He had been very considerate to me
in a late illness, and often thought by many
subsequent attentions to cheer the lone
lines of my employment. One of Red Jim's
companions, in answer to something Red
Jim said, replied with an oath :
" Yes, we'll see if his psalm singing will
save him now."
Then the other said: " There are a couple
of women there, and we shall have to
give them a taste of bush life, before morn
ing."
" Look ye'ere," growled the ruffian,
" we'll roast Hallelujah first. That's our
look out. We'll see if the old prayer-pat
ter has nothing else to do but to help to
run us down. Give him a taste of fire be
fore the devil gets him."
I had no fever, no lassitude, now ; the
prostration of the last few weeks left me
as by magic, and in its stead I felt a fierce,
delightful energy tingling through every
nerve. Down close amongst the dry tin
dering grass, away with suppressed breath,
and a wild feeling closing round my heart,
1 crept from the vicinity of the fire. 1 pur
sued my way on my hands and knees, with
a slow determined care that has since sur
prised me, avoiding every branch or twig
that might crackle in my path. I hurried
on past the fiock without so much as dis
turbing a sheep.
Not till a long safe distance intervened
did 1 stand erect, and fresh for the events
of the night. Whatever they might be,
God in his mercy alone knew.
I turned and saw the black forms of the
bush-rangers moving about the blaze, and
with a run I started for the hut. Before a
quarter of an hour I saw it dimly against
the sky, and almost at the same instant a
frightened snort told me that the horse was
within a few yards of my course. Utter
ing a hurried thanksgiving that 1 had found
him so providentially near, 1 unfastened
the hobbles with quick steady hands, and
led liim to the threshold.
I put on the patched saddle and bridle,
and in another five minutes the fine old cob
was stretching himself to a swift free gal
lop. My mind was too full for thought ;
but I can remember uttering repeatedly
the words, " thank God 1"
What a contrast to the still hot monoto
nous days, and the enervated frame! What
a testimony to the power of mental excite
ment over bodily lassitude. The horse felt
my determination too, and sped along with
out pause or stumbling. It was seven
miles to the station, and the black belts of
timber rose, and passed, and came again,
as 1 hurried on for dear lite, over crabbed
ground and abrupt hillocks. The brave
old cob had as little thought of rest as I
had. Once, indeed, he paused at a rocky
crossing place, but immediately resumed
the swift pace at which he had started. —
Have horses intuition or presentment? I
don't know ; but I have often wondered at
the long unurged gallop of that brave gel
ding.
There away beyond in the black dark
ness, I see something that is not a star. It
is moving, or is it the pace of a hoase. No,
there it is again. Hurrah, it is a candle.
It is the homestead, calm and peaceful.
Again, thank God.
Strange to say, I never felt such a sense
of pleasure as I did when I learned that I
had found the house so quickly—the most
familiar point is not easily gained in the
trackless bush at night. A minute more,
and I had dismounted to take down the
slip panels of the station fence ; another
minute, and I had galloped up to the front
entrance at a pace that lashed the gravel
from the trim-kept paths.
The door opened, and a gush of light
streamed upon the darkness, gleaming on
the sides of the reeking horse. Mr. Christ
mas himself—old, but hale and vigorous as
many a young man—peered out into the
night with an expression of surprise. In
beyond were the evidences of calm and re
finement. A quiet comfort dwelt in the
glimpse I had of the room, and settled up
on me even then, rough bushman as I was,
with a pleasing sense. I can recall my
self, bending below the withers of the pant
ing horse, to peer under the rather low ve
randah, my dress wet with perspiration
from his heavy sides, and my hand press
ing the moisture from his shoulders till I
heard it fall pattering on the gravel.
Mr. Christmas thought that it was the
working overseer, for he said, " Is that you,
Curran ?" and without waiting for a reply,
he turned to place the light upon the table,
aud then stepped out to where I was.
TOW AND A, BRADFORD COUNTY, PA., AUGUST 17, 18(55.
" Well, Curran, what .is it? 1 thought
you were at the fire."
"It is not Curran, sir," I replied, " bu
N ed, the shepherd. 1 have come to tell
yon—"
" Better have some supper first, Ned.—
Y'ou've had a hard ride, 1 see. Are the sheep
all right ?"
" There is no time for supper. Red
Jim."
1 hurriedly told him all I knew, lie heard
me to the end without once interrupting,
and then said quickly, " Come in. There is
indeed no time to lose."
I stepped after him across the pleasant
room, where there were seated two ladies,
reading.
" Ladies," said Air. Christmas, as grace
fully as though 1 held the position of a
gentleman rather than that of a servant,
" this is Ned Graham, the shephard, to
whom you remember sending medicine; and
comfort during his illness." The ladies
bowed pleasantly as Air. Christmas contin
ued, " lie has now come to return your
kindness with interest."
They looked at me with some surprise ;
principally, I think, because of the emphat
ic, distinct way in which the last few words
were spoken. After a pause, the master
said, " Amelia, Emily, I wish to speak to
you both for a moment."
They all three left the room, while I, cu
rious in such matters, looked at the open
books that were lying on the table. One
was Ivanhoe ; a second some French work;
and that opposite the old gentleman's chair
a large family bible.
In a few minutes 1 heard Mr. Cbristmas's
step as lie returned with two double bar
reled guns. There was a rigid expression
on his face, very different to wffit I had
ever seen there before, not the slightest ev
idence of faltering or fear."
Are you cool, and a good shot ?" were
the first words lie uttered.
" I am, sir," 1 replied, confidently. "Are
the guns loaded and the ladies safe ?"
" Take a glass of briwidy and 1 will tell
you."
He signed to a sideboard, where a de
canter stood. I was about to follow bis
suggestion, when lie said, " Stay ! Don't
pass between the light and the window.
Go round the table. Everything must
wear the appearance of peace. We can
not tell where they are now, and it would
not do to arouse their suspicions."
In a few minutes the light was extin
guished, the door was bolted, and we step
ped quickly out on the little parterre in
front.
" Now," said my master, slowly, " tliere
are only ourselves to defend my home and
my children. My servants arc all absent
at a bush fire that was reported this after
noon, and everything will depend upon our
coolness and determination. We cannot
do otherwise than to shoot to kill The
gang will, of course enter by the slip pan
els, for they will not run the risk of leav
ing their horses behind. Then, as the
faintest noise could be beard on such a
night as this, they will not hazard the pull
ing down of a fence. We will each take
up a position behind the large posts, take
sure aim, and lire low. I'll fire first."
As silently as spectres, we walked across
to the paddock entrance, and stopped oppo
site each other at the place indicated.—
With straining eyes and beating heart, I
peered into obscurity. Afar, I thought I
could sec a faint tint on the sky, like the
reflection of the ruffian's camp fire. The
night was terribly silent and oppressive.
Tliere was nothing apparently on which to
exercise the senses but a kind of overpow
ering hush. There was a dim, hazy cur
tain across the sky, and the night was of a
black darkness. I should have thought
oftentimes that 1 was dreaming, were it
not for the patient motionless figure oppo
site, and the faint stars. Inaction under
such circumstances is hardly to be borne,
and my thoughts often wandered from their
very intensity. I began to speculate how
long it would take a star to pass some
black ragged patch of cloud, and then 1
would look before ine and see it dancing
on the darkness. Then the face of Red
Jim would grow upon me, till 1 saw the
hideous features close to where 1 stood.
Still, no sound broke on the dark shroud
ing night. Sometimes 1 thought, with a
chilly start, that the bushrangers might
have approached the house by some other
way, but up behind me all was quiet.
At last there came a thin, faint murmur
that barely caught the ear, and as I listen
ed to know if it were real, I caught an
other but better defined noise that over
powered the first. At last 1 detected some
thing that might be foot-falls of a horse ;
sometimes it would die away and come
again, but each time more clearly that be
fore. And yet I could not feel certain that
I was not deceiving myself. Eventually 1
heard a muffled sound, distinct and defined
enough to proclaim the approach of a horse,
or horses.
Mr. Christmas heard it also, for I dimly
saw him move.
My hand felt along the cool barrels, and
toyed with the hammers and triggers anx
iously enough, and I put the gun to my
shoulder against the sky, but failed to see
the "view." Just as I had taken the wea
pon down again, Mr. Christmas said, in a
clear, low whisper, "Be sure you aim low,
and don't be in a hurry."
As the sounds of the horses' hoofs and of
voices mingled, I detected the double click
from the opposite gun. I followed the ex
ample, and, with both guns cocked, we
waited the enemy's nearest approach.—
Gradually, I recognized the outlines of the
men against the sky, cloudy as it was;
they were approaching in single file, and
as they became blacker and better defined
I heard a stifled laugh and an oath. In a
short time they were within twenty yards
of where we stood, and they pulled up to
consult. Although they spoke in whis
pers, I heard much that passed, for my
sense of hearing had become extremely
acute, as that of all shepherds does. It
was impossible to distinguish by the tones
who the speakers were, but I heard one of
them inquire :
" Are you shurc the hands ain't above ?"
" Sartiu—when Leary spun his yarn
about the fire, the cove sent em all away
to it."
"Hallelujah fust. If we fire the box, it'l
bring 'em back."
" And no grabbing the molls," whispered
one of them, authoritatively, and whom I
fancied was Red Jim, " till I make the
cursed old psalm-singer a back log for the
REGARDLESS OF DENUNCIATION FROM ANY QUARTER.
I bonfire. Then we'll make love if you
I choose."
" Come on !" said an impatient voice,
"don't hold a prayer meeting over it."
They then tied their horses to a fence
that ran at l ight angles to the post against
which I stood, and approached the entrance
still in single file. I determined to adhere
strictly to the orders I had received, and
waited for the.opposite lire. I knew that
my companion would allow the men to ad
vance a little, so that he might not endan
ger me ; and it was with a throbbing heart
that I saw the black form of the first bush
ranger pass between us.
1 heard him stumble with an oath over a
cart rut. Then a line of flame cut its ab
rupt short track on the darkness, and the
sound had not passed to echoes before a
KIU ill cry followed it, as the villain stag
gered on it few paces and fell, plowing up
the dust. The light of the discharge had
just died out, when 1 heard another snap,
as a sportsman shoots when firing right
and left. I knew that the master's gun
was now useless.
" Com on, Nix ! It's the cove himself.
1 saw him by the light of the shot ; his
sting's gone now." And one of the men
rushed to where my master stood, followed
by his comrade.
I had one of them covered, but if I fired
(I heard the noise of struggling,) 1 might
kill my master. Thus I stood with the gun
at aim, undecided and half mad. The voice
of the men saying, " Dawn, you knife him!"
resolved me, I fired amongst them. I saw
some one sink down, but 1 could not tell
who it was, and, as he appeared to let go
his hold, and rush to the horses, I took a
second hurried aim and fired ; then I houn
ded across the entrance, just in time to see
the wounded wretch bending over Mr.
Christmas and trying to strangle him. In
a moment the gun was poised and smashed
to fragments on his skull. But we had ex
posed our strength, and the remaining
bushranger, who believed that be had
stabbed my companion, seized one of the
guns left standing at the fence, and fired.
The ball was unpleasantly close, and I had
scarce time to know that I was uninjured,
when Red Jim himself was upon me with
the weapon clubbed. I made a rapid
spring at him before the blow could full,
and grappled with him. We rolled on the
ground together. With all the force of my
strength 1 resisted his efforts to grasp me
by the throat, and at last his hideous face
sunk close to mine, and his teeth met be
neath my chin. I experienced a suffocat
ing, giddy feeling, and then I heard hurried
voices and running feet just as 1 felt my
grip relax powerless. But the frightful
grasp relaxed too, and Red Jim rose to his
feet and jumped on my chest with all his
force.
When I came to consciousness I found
myself in the cheerful parlor, and the la
dies' hands were tenderly washing away
the traces of the fight. Mr. Christmas had
fainted from loss of blood, but was not
dangerously wounded.
Red Jim escaped, but bis two compan
ions, neither of whom were killed, were
given into the safe keeping of the author
ities, and afterwards hanged.
Three years after the affray, Mr. Christ
mas made me his overseer, and finally his
manager. A long time has passed since
then, but yet a closer relationship exists
between us. lam writing the tale of my
early experience at the same table where
upon 1 saw the Bible on that memorable
night. There is a lady who sits opposite
to me. She was the reader of Ivanhoe, the
daughter of Mr. Christmas, and she is now
my wife.
BE YOUR OWN RIGHT HAND MAN. —People
who have been bolstered up and levered all
their lives are seldom good for anything in
a crisis. When misfortune comes, they
look around for something to lean upon. If
the pryp is nut there, down they go. Once
down, they are as Helpless as capsized tur
tles, or unhorsed men in aVmor, and cannot
find their feet again without assistance.
Fucii silken fellows no more resemble self
made men, who have fought their way to
position, making difficulties their stepping
stones, and deriving determination from de
feat, than vines resemble oaks, or sputter
ing rushlights the stars of heaven. Efforts
persisted in to achievements train a man to
self-reliance, and when he has proved to
the world that he can trust himself, the
world will trust him.
We say, therefore, that it is unwise to
deprive young men of the advantages whicli
result from their energetic action, by
boosting them over obstacles which they
ought to surmount alone.
Is llis PURSE CONVERTED ?—A Methodist
laborer in Wesley's time, Captain Webb,
when any one informed him of the conver
sion of a rich man, was in the habit of ask
ing, "is his pnrse converted?" Without
the conversion of his purse, the good Cap
tain could give no credit to the conversion
of the man. In this he agreed with Dr.
Adam Clark, who used to say lie did not
believe in the religion that cost a man
nothing. The religion that costs a man
nothing is no religion at all, .and the being
converted, all but the purse, is no conver
sion at all.
Two SHARPS. —An old man picked up a
half dollar in the street. " Old man, that's
mine," said a keen looking rascal, "so hand
it over." " Did thine have a hole in it ?"
asked the old man. " Yes," replied the
other, smartly. " Then it is not thine,"
mildly replied the old man ; " thou must
learn to be a little sharper next time, my
boy."
A DANISH writer speaks of a hut so mis
erable that it did not know which way to
fall, and so kept standing. This is like the
man that had such a complication of dis
eases that he did not know what to die of,
aifd so lived on.
A FERRYMAN, whilst plying over a river
which was only slightly agitated, was
asked by a timid lady in his boat, whether
any persons were ever lost in that river.
"Oh no," said he, "we always find 'em
agin the next day."
Two things to be kept—your word and
your temper. The former when dealing
with a printer, and the latter when disput
ing with a woman. .
ANDERSON VILLE.
How OITR SOLDIERS WERE MURDERED THERE —THE
SYSTEMATIC ACTS OF CRUELTY PRACTISED BY THE
CoMEANDEBS OF THE POST—A RECORD OF THE
MOST HORRIBLE DEEDS EVER COMMITTED BY
MEN —ANOTHER ILLUSTRATION OF "SOUTHERN
CHIVALRY."
In the Editors of Hit Neio York Eveiiitu) I'ost:
There appears to be a disposition on the
part of some of the public press to miti
gate the offences and crimes of Major Hen
ry Wertz, late the responsible keeper of the
stockade at Audersonville, Ga., and to throw
upon others the responsibilities that justly
attach to those alone who were in immedi
ate command of that prison.. Being person
ally acquainted with most of the officers who
were stationed at Audersonville, and know
ing much of the treatment of those who
were so unfortunate as to have been cuu
lined in that pen of horror, 1 have thought
that a condensed statement of bow things
were managed and prisoners of war were
treated there might not be entirely unae
ceptable to your readers.
I wish to be understood as not desirous
to forestall the action or opinion of the com
mission which is about to investigate this
matter, or to add anything to the feeling
entertained toward Major Wertz. It is
enough foT him to rest, now and forever,
under an obloquy that no time and no re
pentance can obliterate ; to feel within him
self the unenviable pangs which the recol
lection of his powerless murdered victims
will ever arouse, and to kuow th.it what
ever may be the award of a human tribu
nal his punishment is already decreed.
The prison of Audersonville is a stockade
of about eighteen feet high, the posts com
prising it being sunk in tho ground live
feet. It originally comprised an area of
eighteen acres,but was subsequently .enlar
ged to twenty-seven acres. The enclosure
is upon the side of a hill, looking toward
the south, at the foot of which is a small
brook, about five feet wide and as many
inches deep, which furnished wat ;r for the
use of the prisoners. Within this enclose
ure were turned the prisoners as they arri
ved, and left to provide for themselves,
there being no shelters, or arbors, or any
kind of protection afforded, by trees or oth
erwise, against the burning rays of the
Southern sun, the furious storms, or the
freezing winters.
The position was selected by C'apt. Win
der, a son of Gen. John H. Winder, who
was sent from Richmond for that purpose
in the latter part ol 1803. When it was
suggested to him by a disinterested but
human spectator of his operations that it
would perhaps be better to leave the trees
standing within the proposed stockade, as
they would afford shade to the prisoners,
lie replied : " That was just what lie was
not going to do ; he was going to make a
pen for the Yankees, where they M ould
rot faster than tiiey could be sent there."
And admirably did he accomplish his mis
sion.
The first commandant of the post was
Col. Persons, who was soon succeeded by
John 11. Winder, with his son as Adjutant
bis nephew as commissary and sutler, and
Henry Wertz in immediate command of
the prisoners. There were generally sta
tioned there for guard duty from three to
six regiments of infantry, with one compa
ny of artillery, having a battery of six pie
ces, according to the exigencies of the case,
the numberof prisoners then confined, or
the fears entertained of an attempt to set
them at liberty by raiding parties of United
States troops.
When prisoners were first received it
was usual to subject them to a search for
money, valuables, Ac., which, ostensibly,
were to be restored when they were releas
ed from captivity, but whicli, in reality,
went into the pockets of those who control
led the prison. Notwithstanding a law of
the confederacy, expressly prohibiting the
dealing in ' green-backs," yet the initiated
a few whose "loyalty" was unquestion
ed—could always obtain for a considera
tion the greenbacks they required.
The writer of this was the foreman of the
last grand jury which was eiiipauueled for
Sumner Co., Ga., and in the performance of
his duties he had to investigate a large
number of presentiments for dealing in the
forbidden currency, which was brought
against poor Union men in every instant- .
Struck by this fact, he resolved to exam
ine, as his position gave him a right to do,
into all the circumstances—where the mon
ey (originally came from, who did the sell
ing .of it, indeed, the whole nuxlus oju raiu/i,
and he elicited the fact above stated, how
the money was obtained, that the Windsors
and Wertz were the principals, acting
through subordinates, in gathering bushels
of plums, in the way of premiums, Ac.
Meanwhile, the prisoners were' left to the
tender mercies of their jailor and commis
sary for their food, which might have been
imprfrved in quantity, at least, if their mon
ey had been left in their own possession.
At first it was customary to send a wag
on into the stockade every morning at ten
o'clock, loaded with the rations for the day
—bacon and corn-bread, nothing else ; but
as the number of prisoners increased and
the greed of gain grew upon the trio above
mentioned, the corn-bread was reduced iu
quality, being then manufactured of equal
proportions of ground field peas and corn,
unbolted, unsifted, uneleansed, indeed, from
the dirt and trash which peas naturally ac
cumulate ; and at last, when the number of
prisoners increased to over thirty-seven
thousand, the meat rations per week were
reduced to a piece of bacon, for each man,
about three inches long and two wide, with
one pone of the bread above described per
day. Then, also, the custom of carrying
the prisoners' food into the stockade in
wagons was abolished. They drove up to
the gates, which were slightly opened, and
the scanty food, foul and unhealthy as it
was, was thrown inside by the guard, to be
scrabbled for by the wretched prisoners,
the strongest and those nearest the gate
getting the largest share, the weak and
sickly getting none.
I have mentioned the small brook which
runs through the lower part of the stockade
and which supplied the water for drinking
and washing. This brook had its rise in a
swamp not far from the prison, and at no
time, certainly not for a lengthened period,
was the water suitable or healthy; but when
the faeces and filth,the drainage of the whole
camp of prisoners, came to be superadded
to the natural unfitness of the water for
drinking or cleansing purposes, my readers
can judge what thirst was assuaged, or fc-
per Annum, n Advance
ver cooled, or throbing temples washed, by
this lloating stream of filth and disease ! At
any time, under the most rigid hygienic re
strictions, it is difficult to maintain health
and cleanliness among a large body ol men
—what do you think was the condition of
thirty-seven thousand half-naked,half-starv
ed men, without any police regulations, un
der no moral or restraining influences ? If
the remnant who were fiually allowed to
pass out of this military Golgotha were not
wild beasts, unwashed, befouled devils, 110
thanks are to be given to Henry Wcrtz for
lack of effort to produce such a consumma
tion.
When it rained, as it does in that climate
almost continually during the spring and
fall months, the soil within the enclosure
was one mass of loblolly, soft mud, at least
fifteen inches in depth,through which stalk
ed and staggered the gaunt, half-clad
wretches thus confined. The stench from
the prison could be perceived for taxj miles,
and farmers living in the neighltorhood beyan
to fear for the health of their families.
As a consequence of this, the hospitals
—facetious was Wertz in his horrible hu
manity—wore crowded to repletion with
the emaciated, starved, and diseased men
who were trundled into them.
The hospitals were constructed of logs,
uuhewed, the insterstices unfilled and open,
admitting the rain, without Boors, cots,
bunks, or blankets, filthy and fetid with the
festering, putrid bodies of the sick, the dy
ing, and the dead. Words fail, language
is impotent to describe one of these dens of
disease and death. 1 once mustered the
courage, impelled by the earnest entreaties
of a Northern friend, to enter one of them,
to visit one who was tenderly reared, and
walked in the best ranks of Connecticut so
ciety. 1 believed 1 had seen before this
what I deemed to he human wretchedness
in its worst forms. I thought that I cauld
nerve myself to witness mortal agony and
wretchedness and destitution, as I had
heard it described, without blanching or
trembling ; but if the condensed horrors of
a hundred " black holes " had been brought
before my mind to prepare me for the or
deal, they would have failed to realize the
facts as I saw them, face to face.
I cannot, in a daily paper read by inno
cence and virtue, detail what met my sight
on the occasion 1 refer to. I will not pol
lute any page, save the records of the courts
that must try the culprit for the crime of
torture dy disease and tilth, with the de
tails of that caravansary of horrible, inten
tional slaughter. For fear that some may
think 1 have exaggerated, and episode here
will, perhaps, dispel such illusion. Con
victed by the horrible fact that was a
stench in his nostrils, General Winder,then
Commissary General of Prisons, but having
iiis headquarters at Andersonville, was
forced by decency, not humanity, for this
he himself asserted, to ask the aid of the
Presiding Elder of the Methodist Church of
that circuit to adopt some means to allevi
ate the miseries and sooth the wretched
ness of the poor inmates of that Anderson
ville hospital. This gentleman invoked the
eo-operatii >n of the women of Sumter coun
ty, who responded with clothing and neces
saries only, lor these alone are allowed, to
the amount of four wagon loads. Upon
the day appointed, four ladies, accompan
ied by their husbands, went to the prison
and sought from the Provost Marshal a
pass, tu take their benefactions to the sick
prisoners. It was refused with a curse.
The party proceeded to Winder's headquar
ters, where Henry Wert/, was in company
with the General. The demand for a pass
was repeated. Understand, the ladies
were present, and the reasons given why
the party were there, in accordance with
Winder's special request. To their aston
ishment, they were met with this reply :
" G—d d—u you, have you all turned Yan
kees here ?"
" No, General," responded the spokesman
of tlie party, "I am nut, as you know, nor
are any here present ; wc have come, as
you requested us, through Rev. Mr. I), to
bring necessary articles for the Federal
hospital, and ask a pass for the purpose of
delivering them."
" It's a d d lie ! I never gave per
mission for anything of the kind ! Be off'
with you all of you !"
As it his fearless display of martial val
or and gentlemanly bearing was not suffi
cient, Henry Wert/, essayed to and did
eclipse bis General in profanity and indec
ency—and 1 here assert that if the lowest
sinks ol the most abandoned parts of your
city were gleaned, they could not surpass
tin: ribald vulgarity and finished profanity
ot (his jailor, exhibited in the presence of
refined and "loyal" ladies.
Shocked, terrified,beaten to the very dust
with mortification, the party retired, and,
foiled in their efforts to succor the sick or
alleviate the tortures of the dying Union
soldier, they gave their loads of clothing
and food to a passing column of Federal
prisoners on their way to another place—
Milieu. They at least had the satisfaction
of knowing that some were benefited, even
if they had failed in their efforts for those
who most needed their assistance.
During the last winter, which was unu
sually cold for Georgia, when the ice made
an inch thick, no shelter, no blankets or
clothes, no wood was provided for the
wretched iumates of that prison. Squads
were permitted, to the number of thirty, to
go out under guard daily, for one hour,
without axes or any cutting tool, to gather
the refuse and rotten wood in the forests ;
and if they outstaid their time, they were
tried by drum-head court-martial, charged
with violating their parole, and if found
guilty, were hung ! I myself saw three
bodies hanging who were thus executed.
Poor fellows, 1 thought, God has taken pity
upon you and given you deliverance from
your cruel'jailor. When you and ho meet,
at another judgment seat, woe to him if his
authority be found insufficient for this tak
ing of your lives,wretched though they be.
My house was the resort, or,l should say,
refuge, of most of the prisoners who made
their escape trom the stockade ; and the
tales of starvation and distress which they
told would have melted an iron heart. I
must close my hurried account of what I
had seen. It is far from full ; not one half
has been told ; by far the most has been
kept back from very shame, and in respect
to your readers. I have not embellished.
The pictures were too rough,the characters
too forlorn for the flowers of rhetoric to
bloom in their presence. Broken hearts,
crushed spirits, and manhood trampled on,
may answer as fitting subjects for the ro-
maimer's pen, but the horrible reality, HO
seldom seen, burns its images upon the be
holder's soul, that no other impression can
efface, and they remain life pictures, in
deed. S.
ME. SEWAED DUEING HIS ILLNESS.
Mr. George Vocke, who attended Mr.
Seward, gives the following account, which
is translated from tin; Illinois Stools Zeituny:
On the morning after the assassination
he said to his nurses his sensations immedi
ately after the assault had by no means
been of an unpleasant nature. He had ex
perienced no extraordinary pains, but while
the blood had beeu gushing from his arter
ies he had supposed that his last end was
nigh, and thought at the same time what a
pleasant thing it was to die thus, without
pain.
Toward his nurses and toward all who
came near him during his sickness, Mr.
Seward was uniformly friendly, even affect
ionate : and never, when awake, did his
philosophical firmness desert him. Only
when asleep he would, at times, during the
lirst two weeks after the attack, suddenly
start up and beat around with his hands
when dreams brought the assassin to his
imagination, but in two or three minutes
he was always quieted.
During the first three weeks Mrs. Sew
ard was constantly, day and night, at the
bedside either of her husband or that of
Frederick, and these exertions have since
hastened the death of a lady equally dis
tinguished for the excellent qualities of her
head and of her heart. No less noble was
the conduct of Mr. Seward's daughter, Miss.
Fanny. Indeed, it is perhaps to her cour
age that her father and the nation owe the
salvation of his life. Like her mother,
Miss Fanny was an untiring attendant up
, on her Buffering relatives.
The greatest trouble to the physicians
was Seward's mental activity, which did
not abate even during his greatest physical
weakness and severest pains. In order to
prevent all excitement during this critical
period, and on account ol the shattered
jaw-bone, the physicians enjoined 011 him
not to speak, but it was diflicult to get him
to comply.
It was not mere idle loquacity that ren
dered silence so irksome to the statesman,
but chiefly bis patriotic anxiety about the
Republic. He desired to express bis mind
about the condition of the country, to fulfil
his official duties as Sectetary of .Stat*'.
The attending physicians had prohibited
speaking before the attempted assassina
tion, but to express his thoughts by writing
was also impracticable, as his right arm
was broken. But as soon as the condition
of his fractured bones would allow, the
medical gentlemen had to bandage and
I fasten the upper third of the arm (where
| the fracture existed,) so as to enable hnu
i to use the lower part and the hand lor writ
i mg. In this manner he conversed with
the President during the last days of that
lamented functionary's life. The President
would sit at his bedside and express him
self on the exciting questions of the day,
when Seward would write his views on a
: slate. In the same manner he conducted
his interview before and after the assassin
ation, with Mr. Hunter, the Assistant Sec
retary of State, and thus actually conducted
the affairs of the Department of State, the
papers, despatches, documets, Ac., ol
which had to be carried to his bedside,
even during the critical periods of his ill
i uess.
NUMBER 12
It was the same patriotic restlessness
and activity of .Mr. Seward which prevail
ed on the physicians to send for a skillful
physician of New York, who arranged an
artificial wire apparatus in his mouth
which enabled him to speak without risk,
even before his jawbone was healed. Tujs
apparatus caused the illustrious patriot at
lirst excruciating pains,and at one time be
came displaced, so that the New \ork phy
sician had to he telegraphed in order to re
place it. But all these great and little an
noyances did not for a moment desturb
Seward's philosophic intellect nor slacken
his patriotic activity.
Few men in history have evinced such
sublimity of character aud strength of mind
as William Henry Seward on his bed of
sickness, surrounded by the terrors of as
sassination and conspiracy, lie maintain
ed these qualities even when, after his par
tial recovery, he received the additional
blowot the intelligence of the death of his
faithful spouse.
A USEFUL CONTRABAND. —A lady in Wash
ington, desiring to secure " help," made
Application at the headquarters of the"con
trabands," on Capitol Hill, when the billow
ing colloquy ensued between herself and a
female contraband, who escaped from the
"service" in Virginia :
Lady—" Well Dinah, you say you want
a place. What can you do? Can you
cook ?"
Contraband—" .No, m'am; mammy she
cooked."
Lady—" Are you a good chamber-maid."
Contraband—" Sister Sally, she always
did the chambers."
Lady—"Can you wait in tin- dining loom
and attend the door ?"
Contraband—"La, no, in'in ; Jim, that
was his work."
Lady—" Can you wash and iron ?"
Contraband—" Well you see m'm, Aunt
Becky, she always wasned."
Lady—" Can you sew V
Contraband —"Charity, she always did
the sewing.
Ladv—" Then what in the world did you
do ?"
Contraband —" Why 1 always kept lite
flies uj/' Missus
WHO'S HIT ?—Rev. J. Hyatt Smith, of
Philadelphia, in an address to his people,
said : " 1 have heard censure pronounced
upon President Lincoln because he visited a
theatre. My friends, 1 look upon a patriot
in a theatre as better than a copperhead at
a prayer-meeting."
" BOYS," said Uncle Peter, as lie exam
ined the points of the beast, " 1 don't see
but one reason why that mare can't trot
her mile in three minutes." They gathered
around to hear his oracular opinion ; and
one inquired, "what is it?" " Why," be
replied, " the distance is too great for so
short a time."
Ax old gentleman accused his servant of
having stolen his stick. The man protes
ted his perfect innocence. " Why," rejoin
ed his master, " the stick could never have
walked oil' with itself." " Certainly not,
sir ; unless it was a walking stick."
" IKE," said Mrs. Partington, " how do
they find out the difference between the
earth and the sun ?" " Oh," said the young
hopeful, they calculate a quarter of the dis
tance, and then multiply by lour."
JOHN, did Mrs. Green get the medicine I
ordered ?"
" I guess so," replied John, " I saw crape
on the door tee next morning."
CHARACTER does not depend on diet. The
ass eats thistles and nettles, the sharpest
of food, and is the dullest of animals.