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TERMS INVARIABLY CASH.
f ck.cM
THOUGHTS OK HEAVEN.
No sickness there,
I , weary wasting of the frame away ;
\ fearful shrinking from the midnight air—
,d of summer's bright and fervid ray !
No hidden grief,
..ild and cheerless vision of despair ;
\ vain petition for a swift relief- -
| : ailul eyes, no broken hearts are there.
Care has no home
thin the realm of ceaseless prayer and song,
j billows break away and meet in foam,
| r irom the mansions of the spirit throng !
The storm's black wing
I never spread athwart celestial skies !
| Mailings blend not with tiie voice of spring,
)(. some too tender flow 'ret fades and dies !
No night distils
Liiling dews upon the tender frame ;
v moon is needed there! The light which fills
[La land of glory, from its maker came!
No parted friends
,r mournful recollections have to weep!
Led of death enduring love attends
i watch the coming of a pulseless sleep!
No blasted flower
N: withered bud celestial gardens know!
N -c rolling blast or fierce descending shower
Scatters destruction like a ruthless foe!
No battle word
M.aths tb. sacred host with fear and dread!
i:. s,.ng of peace Creation's morning heard,
-niig wherever augel minstrels tread!
Let ns depart,
like this awaits the weary soul!
3 kup thou stricken one! Thy wounded heart
- ij i.i Ino more at sorrow's stern control.
With faith our guide,
j : robed and inuocent to lead the way,
: to plunge in Jordan's rolling tide,
j ,fn 1 the ocean of eternal day?
pisicdlmwoiis,
BURGOYNE'S SURRENDER
;u the advance sheets of the Ninth volume
j . ft's History of the United States, publish
!.llll •■. Brown it Co., Boston.)
j r the battle of the nineteenth of
I • '•.ml .1- the condition of Burgoyne rap
jrew more perplexing. The Anieri
r ike down the bridges which be had
in his rear, and so swarmed in the
' IS that he could gain no just idea of
situation, llis foraging parties and
j -meed posts were harrassod ; horses
] . wT: iu and weak ; the hospital was
ui • IVL with at least eight hundred sick
1 W 'UIIDED men. One third part of the
- ration was retrenched. While the
army declined in number, Gates was
-Bll.tly re-enforced. ON the twenty
! Lincoln arrived, and took command
■ right wing ; he was followed by
I: nsaud militia. The Indians melted
<y from Burgoyne, and by the zeal of
' nyler, contrary to the policy of Gates, a
j •.1 l and, chiefly of Oneidas joined the
j -rica-II camp. In the evening of the
:ii of October. Burgoyne called Philips,
I lesel, and Fraser to council, and propos
them by a roundabout march to turn
lit of the Americans. To do this, it
- answered, the British "Vnust leave their
'•> and provisions for three days at the
yof the Americans. Keidesel advised
■-wift retreat to Fort Edward; but Bur
•'lE still continued to wait for a eo oper
army front below. On the seventh
t greed to make a great reconnoisance,
ii tiie Americans could uot be attack
would think of a retreat. At eleven
k on the morning of that day, seven
<I men OL Eraser's command, three
I-••IL of Breymann's, and five hundred
iib-sel'S were picked out for the ser-
The late hour was chosen, that in
•t disaster night might intervene for
relief. They were led by Burgoyne,
, took with him Phillips, Iteidesel and
r. The fate of the army hung on the
I t, and not many more than fifteen hun
-1 men could be spared without expos
„R the camp ; but never was a body of
I' number so commanded, or composed
more thoroughly trained soldiers. They
• red a field about half a mile from the
anwieans, where they formed a line, and
down in double ranks, offering battle,
ir artillery, consisting ol eight brass
OS and two howitzers, was well posted;
r front was open ; the grenadiers un
r Ackland, stationed in the forest, pro
-1 TED the left ; Eraser, with the light iu-
EJRY and an English regiment, formed the
- : it, which was skirted by a wooded hill;
ifrunswickers held the centre. While
I'TU-cr sent foragers into a wheat field,
vidians, provincials, and Indians were
get upon the American rear..
FROM his camp, which contained ten or
•IN thousand well-armed soldiers eager
• buttle, (fates resolved to send out a
sufficient to overwhelm his adversar-
By the advice of Morgan a siuiultan
attack was ordered to be made on
• Hanks. Just before three o'clock the
"MI of the American right, composed of
1 > brigade, followed by the New York
'I T under Ten Broeek, unmoved by the
" li-dirocted and well-served grape-shot
; A two twelve-pounders and four sixes
•relied on to engage Acklaud's grena
"!S; while the men of Morgan were seen
■■•• "g a circuit, to roach the Hank and
' the British right, upon which the
'•can light infantry under Derborn de
' ECED impetuously from superior grouud.
E. (>. GOODRICH, Publisher.
VOLUME XXVII.
In danger of being surrounded, Burgoyne
ordered Eraser with the light infantry 'and
part of the twenty-fourth regiment to form
a second line in the rear, so as to secure
the retreat of the army. While executing
this order, Eraser received a ball from a
sharp-shooter, and, fatally wounded, was
led back to the camp. Just then, withiu
twenty minutes from the beginning of the
action, the British grenadiers, suffering
from the sharp fire of musketry in front and
flank, wavered and lied, leaving Major
Ackland, their commander severely wound
ed. These movements exposed the Bruns
wickers on both flanks, and one regiment
broke, turned and fled. It rallied, but only
to retreat in less disorder driven by the
Americans. Sir Francis Clark, Burgoyne's
first aid, sent to the rescue of the artillery,
was mortally wounded before he could de
liver his message ; and the Americans
took all the eight pieces. In the face of
the hot pursuit, no second line could be
formed, Burgoyne exposed himself fearless
ly ; a shot passed through his hat, and an
other tore his waistcoat ; but he was com
pelled to give the word of command for li
to retreat to the camp of Eraser, which lay
to the right of head-quarters, Burgoyne as
he entered showed alarm by crying out :
"You must defend the post till the very
last man !" The Americans pursued with
fury, and,unwisely directed by Arnold, who
had ridden upon the field as an unattended
volunteer, without orders, without any
command, with ut a staff, and beside him
self yet carrying some authority as the
highest officer present in the action, they
made an onset on the strongest part of the
British line, and despite an abattis and
other obstructions, despite musketry- I
fire and grape-shot, continued it for more !
than an hour, though in vain. Meantime
the brigade of Learned made a circuit and
assaulted the quarters of the regiment of
Breymann which flanked the extreme right
of the British camp, and was connected
with Eraser's quarters by two stockade re
doubts, defended by Canadian companies.
These intermediate redoybts were stormed
by a Massachusetts regiment headed by I
John Brooks, afterwards Governor of that
State, and were carried with little loss.—
Arnold, who had joined a group in this last
assault, lost his horse and was himself bad
ly wounded within the works. The regi
ment of Breymann was now exposed in j
front and rear. Its colonel, fighting gal- 1
lantly, was mortally wounded ; some of !
his troops lied ; and the rest, about two I
hundred in number, surrendered. Colonel j
Speth, who led up a small body of Ger- j
mans to his support, was taken prisoner, j
The position of Breymann was the key to j
Burgoyne's camp; but the directions for ;
its recovery could not beexeeuted. Night i
set in, and darkness ended the battle.
During all the tight, neither Gates nor j
Lincoln appeared on the field. In his re- |
port of the action, Gates named Arnold j
with Morgan and Dearborn ; and Congress |
paid a tribute to Arnold's courage by giv-!
ing him the rank which he had claimed.— j
The actioa was the battle of the husband- ■
men ; and on this decisive day, men of the j
valley of Virginia, of New York and of j
New England, fought together with one
spirit for a common cause. At ten o'clock
in the night, Burgoyne gave orders to re
treat ; but as he took with him his woun
ded, artillery, and baggage, at day-break
he had only transferred his camp to the
heights above the hospital. Light dawned,
to show to his army the hopelessness of
their position. They were greatly outnum
bered, their cattle starving, their hospitals i
cumbered with sick, wounded, and dying ; j
and their general, whose courage in battle j
could not be excelled, wanted strength of
judgement.
All persons sorrowed over Eraser, so i
much love had he inspired. He questioned ;
the surgeon eagerly as to his wound, and j
when he found that he must go from wife J
and children, that fame and promotion and j
life were gliding from before iiis eyes, he |
cried out iu his agony : "Damned ambi- j
tioii 1" At sunset of the eighth, as hi- body,
attended by the officers of his family, was
borne by soldiers of his corps to the great
redoubt above the Hudson, where he had
asked to be buried, the three major gene
rals, Burgoyne, Phillips and Riedesel, and
none beside, joined the train ; and amidst
the ceaseless booming of the American ar
tillery, the order for the burial ol the dead
was strictly observed in the twilight over
his grave. Never more shall he chase the
red deer through the heather of Slralh Er
rick, or guide the skiil* across the fathom
less lake of central Scotland, or muse over
the ruin of the Stuarts on the moor of
Drum-mossie, or dream of glory beside tin
crystal waters ol the Ness. Death in itself
is not terrible ; but he came to America
for selfish advancement, and though brave
ly true as a soldier, he died unconsoled.
In the following night, Burgoyne, aban
doning the wounded and sick in his hospi
tal, continued his retreat ; but as he was
still clogged with his artillery and bag
( gage, tiie night beiug dark, the narrow
road worsened by rain, they made halt two
; miles short of Saratoga. In tiie night be-
I fore the tenth, the British Army, finding the
passage ol the Hudson too strongly guard
ed by the Americans, forded the Eishkill,
and in a very bad position at Saratoga
made their last encampment. On the tenth
Burgoyne sent out a party to reconnoitre
the road on the west of the Hudson ; but
Stark, who after the battle of Bennington
had been received at home as a conqueror,
had returned with more than two thousand
men of New Hampshire, and held the river
at Fort Edward.
At daybreak of the eleventh, an Ameri
ca! brigade, favored by a tiiick fog, broke
up the British posts at the mouth of the
Eishkill, and captured all their boats and
all their provisions, except a short allow
ance for five days. On the twelfth the
British Army was completely invested, mn
was there a spot in their camp which was
not exposed to cannon or rifle shot. On
the thirteen, Burgoyne, for the first time,
called the commanders of corps to council;
and they were unanimous for treating on
i honorable terms. Had Gates been firm,
they would have surrendered as prisoners
of war. Burgoyne's counter proposals
stipulated for a passage for the army from
the port of Boston to Great Britain, upon
condition of not serving again iu North
America during the war. Frightened by
the expedition of A'aughau, Gates consent
ed to the modification, and on the seven
teenth the convention was signed. A body
of Americans marched to the tune of Yan-
TOWANDA, BRADFORD COUNTY, PA., OCTOBER 25,18(56.
kee Doodle into the lines of the British,
while they marched out and laid down their
arms with none of the American soldiery
to witness the spectacle. Bread was then
served to them, for they had none left, nor
flour.
Their number, including officers, was five
thousand seven hundred and ninety-one ;
there were besides eighteen hundred and
fifty-six prisoners of war, including the
sick and wounded, abandoned to the Amer
icans. Ol deserters there were three hun
dred ; so that including the killed, prison
ers, and disabled at Hubbardton, Fort Ann,
Bennington, Orisca, the outposts of Ticon
dcroga, and round Saratoga, the total loss
of the British in this northern campaign
was not far from ten thousand, counting
officers as well as rank and file. The
Americans acquired forty-two pieces of the
best brass ordnance then known, beside
large munitions of war,and more than forty
six hundred muskets.
The cause of the great result was the
courage and the determined love of free
dom of the American people. So many of
the rank and file were freeholders' sons,
that they gave a character to the whole
army. The negroes, of whom there were
many in every regiment, served in the
same companies with them, shared their
mess, and partook of their spirit. In the
want of a commander of superior ability,
next to the generous care of Washington
in detaching for the support of that quar
ter troops destined against Howe, victory
was due to the enthusiasm of the soldiers.
When the generals who should have direct
ed them remained in camp, their common
zeal created a harmonious correspondence
of movement, and baffied the high officers
and veterans opposed to them.
The public interests imperatively de
manded that Gates should send the best
part ol his continental troops as swiftly as
possible to support the contest against
Howe. That he understood this to be his
duty appears from the letter to Washing
ton in which he had excused his refusal to
return the corps of Morgan by holding out
the fairest prospects of being able to send
large re-enforcements. His conduct now
will test his character as a general and a
patriot.
THE ARCHANGEL'S TRUMP.—A good story
in Paris is told at the expense of a very
handsome and rich widow of most exempla
ry character, who has a small and elegant
retreat at Versailles, in addition to her
town residence. At this pretty rurality she
was passing a week at the close of the Au
tumn, having for her guest a lad in his
teens, who was a distant relative, and who
was thus passing his vacation from school.
Madam's housekeeper and cook was a re
spectable female, who, however, had an ad
mirer, a trumpeter, stationed in the bar
racks near by, and the stolen pleasure of
whom was to come in and dine stealthily
on the remaining dishes of the mistress's
luxuriant table.
Madam and her boy relative having
started after dinner for a walk, the trump
eter took advantage of the absence, hut
unluckily prolonged his meal a few min
utes too long. In his hurry to conceal him
self when taken by surprise, he became en
sconced under the bed of the lady of the
house, thinking to escape while she passed
the evening in her drawing-room as usual.
Madam was tired with her walk, however,
and proceeded to retire fur the night imme
diately on her return.
The trumpeter, in full uniform, with his
brazen instrument beside him,was of course
in a position of considerable dismay. As he
lay racking his brain, the door suddenly
opened, and in walked the schoolboy, who,
to the astonishment of the lady, fell upon
his knees, and made a tumultuous declara
tion of love!
"In the name of heaven," cried the as
tonished object of his passion, " rise and
leave the room immediately ! What would
be thought of me if you were to be seen in
this indiscreet situation and posture ! Rise
this moment and retire !"
" No !" firmly persisted the academical,
"I live but to love you! No power on
earth shall tear me from this spot—no—no
—not even if the trump of the last day—"
At this moment the trumpeter, whose
lips were at the edge of his instrument,
blew a blast, into which he poured the
overwhelming torrent of his previous impa
tience. " Trrrrr—la la ta la ta " —a thunder
blast, at which the walls of the little cot
tage trembled to their foundation.
The room was vacated by dame and lov
er in a trice, and the trumpeter made his
escape ; but the story got wind, and, with
out name • r place, was told all over I'aris.
It was being narrated one evening by a
gay man, in a small circle, when the narra
tor remarked :
" 1 would have given anything in the
world to have seen the face of the lady at
the moment of the trumpet's sounding."
"The face of the boy on his knees was
much better worth seeing, I assure you !"
exclaimed in a tone of pique, a lady among
the listeners—ungviardingly revealing, by
this hasty comment, that she was, herself,
the heroine of the story !
A NEW EPIDEMIC. —The Hartford (Conn.)
Times gives the following particulars of a
new and terrible epidemic which has brok
en out ir. that locality, and threatens to
spread to other cities. Attention is called
to it that young people may be prepared,
as its most numerous victims are taken
from their ranks. The Times says : The
( cholera fever has about subsided, with the
i advent of cooler weather ; and as the ther
| mometer indicates a nearer approach of
: winter a new epidemic starts up, which
' promises to reach all classes of the commu
; uity before Christmas and New Year. It
: commenced in good earnest this week.—
J There is nothing fatal about it, if good care
j is taken by the parties affiicted ; yet a dis
| ease will sometimes assume a troublsome
I phase when it is least expected. This epi
demic is styled by the Doctors (of Divinity)
i a rage for matrimony ; fee $5, or $lO, more,
j according to the patient, with a prospect
of further outlay in case of an emergency.
| The first symptoms are palpitation ; then
I contortion of the facial muscles into a
| sweet smiie and rush of blood to the head ;
i then congestion of the brain and an itch
ing for scribbling epistles delightfully con
fused with adjectives ; then unseasonable
; hours and sleepless niglts ; and then vari
| ous things too numerous to mention, and
I finally visions of embroidery and the cra
dle season.
REGARDLESS OF DENUNCIATION FROM ANY QUARTER.
ELEPHANT LIFE IN SOUTH AFRICA.
j Commencing with the hugest specimen
| of natures handiwork, the elephant, we
| have generally found two curious points
i overlooked or ignored by writers. One is
: the rapid and noiseless movements of this
animal in the thichest cover ; the other, his
| capabilities of passing over ground for him
apparently unfeasible. The mastic noise
! less footfall of the elephant has been fre
; quently referred to by writers on Indian
| subjects, and has been rightly asserted to
! be the most agreeable feature in journey
| ing on elephant back. This peculiarity
may be easily explained by an examination
of the structure of the auimai's foot; but
the silent, stealthy way in which lje will
pass through the densest thicket, literally
"slipping a wag,'' when his acute souses of
smell or hearing warn him of danger, has
been generally overlooked, and appears to
us somewhat difficult of explanation Let
any one unskilled in the mysteries of "bush
ra iging," attempt to move even for a few
paces in an ordinary fox-covert without
noise, and he will form some idea of the
difficulties presented to the passage of so
huge an animal as the elephant through
the dense tangled undergrowth of a South
African "bush." Yet that that animal,des
pite his enormous bulk, will "draw off,"
when within a few yards of his pursuer,
without the slightest noise, and with the
greatest rapidity, even in the thickest
cover, is undeniable. We may, however,
remark that this faculty, or by whatever
other term it may be described, is not pe
culiar to the elephant alone, for it has been
observed to a marked extent in the moose
or cariboo of North America. Again, his
powers of passing over difficult ground arc
often underrated even by hunters. When
experiments were first made in India in
training elephants to draw the guns, it was
observed with surprise that the animal's
powers (>f ascending steep and rugged
ground were far greater than had been an
ticipated The gun, a light six-pounder,
with which the trial was first made, was
drawn up a slope so steep as to require the
animal to crawl upon its four knees, with
out hesitation. On the other hand, ham
pered by the gun and harness, the elephant
(a small female) showed unusual dread of
soft and swampy ground. In Africa,
marshes do not seem to possess the same
terror for these animals in their wild state;
lor if they effer tempting pools, however
uncertain the footing may be, the elephants
appear to find a track across them. In the
river-courses, too, deepened as they are by
the torrents of the rainy season many
yards below the surface of the surround
ing country, and having banks nearly per
pendicular, small shady pools close shelter
ed from the sun's rays often remain in the
hot season when the rest of the stream has
disappeared, and to these, should uo other
way be open, may be found tracks of the
animals, leaving no doubt they had reached
the coveted water by slipping down on
their posteriors. In what position the hin
der legs are placed during this operation
we cannot tell, but the "spoor" leaves no
• oubt of its having been repeatedly adopt
ed in places apparently inaccessible. The
elephants generally remain in the thickest
part of tin.- forest during day, making for
the water, to which they often go long dis
tances, shortly before midnight,and return
ing to cover some hours before dawn. We
may here remark that, although these ani
mals, owing no doubt to their acute sense
of hearing and of scent, have never been
surprised in a recumbent positioou ; there
is ample proof that the bulls, at any rate,
usually rest lying on their sides. The late
Mr. Gordon Cumming was, we believe, the
first to note this fact, which we can our
selves confirm. He remarked that the
sides of the enormous ant-heaps, so com
mon in this region, were apparently pre
ferred, and that the ground was often dis
tinctly marked with the impression of the
uuder-tusk as well as of the animal's body.
The influence of the paticular tract of coun
try in which they are found upon these ani
mals, and the inlluence which they, in their
turn, like all other living creatures, exer
cise on their habitat, should not escape
a short notice. On the borders of the (Jape
Colony and Natal,wo find the few elephants
that remain large in size, but with compar
atively small tusks of inferior ivory. As
we approach the equator, although food is
more plentiful, we find the animals smaller
in size,having far larger tusks, the latter,
too, being of an ivory far superior in hard
ness and closeness of grain. Indeed, al
though naturalists have not recognized
more than one species of the African ele
phant, the varieties of ivory exported from
the north, west, south-east coast, and the
Cape, have each marked differences of
quality by which they are easily recogniz
able. The animals in turn, however, like
wise affect the economy of the country
they inhabit. The damage done even by a
single elephant in a very short time to a
patch of cultivated ground is truly fright
ful, and, having been once seen, would lead
one to imagine.that when these animals are
herded together in vast troops such as the
one seen by Dr. Livingstone on the banks
of the Zambesi, consisting of over eight
hundred, covering an extent of two miles
of country, their course would be marked
by utter desolation. The havoc thus caused
is net, however, perceptible, a fact which
that observant traveller has attributed, no
doubt rightly, to the care shown by the el
ephants in the selection of their food—a
point, as he justly remarks, often overlook
ed in estimating the quantity of food re
quiied by the larger animals. Again, all
these animals, rhinoceri and hippopotami,
included, are, as M. Krapf observed, the
true pioneers, "the real pathmakers of the
tropical forest, which, without their tracks,
would be often utterly impenetrable to
man." Fuither, these paths, leading, as
they most frequently do, to water, are of
ten the only open channels for the surface
flow of the heavy rainfalls, and thus ma
terially contribute to the continuance of
the water supply of the district, to the
very existence of which they owe their for
mation. While the elephant does not thus
destroy vegetation which would ruiu the
shelter which appears indispensable to him,
on the other hand he directly assists the
production of new growth by his habit of
searching for the many succulent bulbs to
be found below the surface of the soil in
every open space.— Mr. H. Chichester in
the Intelectual Observer for August.
NEVER chase a bullet that has gone by
you.
MONEY MAKES_THE MARE GO.
The Rev. J. P. Hunt, the temperance lec
turer, tells the following story :
A small temperance society had been
started in a commnnity very much under
tbe control of a rich distiller, commonly
called " Bill Meyers." This man had seve
ral sons who had become drunkards on the
facilities afforded by their education at
home. The whole family was arrayed
against the movement, and threatened to
break up any meeting called to promote
the object. Learning this, Mr. Hunt went
to a neighboring district for temperance
volunteers for that particular occasion. He
then gave out word for a meeting, and at
the same time found his friends and ene
mies about equal in numbers. This fact
prevented any outbreak, but could not pre
vent noise.
Mr. Hunt mounted his platform, and by
a few sharp anecdotes and witty sayings
soon silenced all noise except the sturdy
" Billy Meyers,"—the old Dutchman crying
out, " Mishter Hunt, money makes the
mgre go." To every shot which seemed
ready to demolish him, the old fellow pre
sented the one shield, " Mishter Hunt, mon
ey makes the mare go."
At last Mr. Hunt stopped and addressed
the imperturbable German : "Look here,
Bill Meyers, you say that money makes the
mare go, do you ?"
" Yes, dat ish just what I say, Mishter
Hunt."
" Well, Bill Meyers, you own and work a
distillery, uou't you ?" inquired Mr. Hunt.
" Dot ish none of your business, Mishter
Hunt. But, den, Ish not ashamed of it. I
has got a still, and work it too."
" And you say, ' Money makes the mare
go ;' do you mean that I have come here
to get the money of these people ?"
"Yes, Mishter Hunt, dat ish just what I
mean."
" Very well ; you work a distillery to
make money, and I lecture on temperance
to make money, and as you say, 'Money
makes the mare go,' Bill Meyers, bring out
your mare, and I'll bring out mine, and
we'll show them together."
By this time the whole assembly was in
a titter of delight ; and even Meyer's fol
lowers could not repress their merriment
at the evident embarrassment of their ora
cle. In the meantime, we must premise
that Mr. Hunt kuew a large number of the
drunkards present, and among them the sou
of Meyers himself.
" Bill Meyers, who is that holding him
self up by that tree?" inquired Mr. Hunt,
pointing to a young man so drunk that he
could not stand alone.
The old man started, as if stung by an
adder, but was obliged to reply : —" Dat
ish my son ; but what of dat, Mishter
Hunt ?"
" Good deal of that, Bill Meyers ; for 1
guess that son has been riding your mare
and got thrown too!"
Here there was a perfect roar from all
parts of the assembly, and as soon as order
was restoied, Mr. Hunt proceeded as be
pointed to another son :
" Bill Meyers, who is that staggering
about as if his legs were as weak as pota
to vines after frost ?"
" Well, I suppose dat ish my sou, too,"
replied the old mau, with a crest-fallen
look.
" II" has been riding your mare, too, and
got a tumble."
At this point the old man put up both
hands in a most imploring manner and ex
claimed
" Now, Mishter Hunt, if you won't say
any more, I will be still."
This announcement was received with a
roar of laughter, and from that moment Mr.
Hunt had all the ground to himself.
A WONDEIJCL DREAM, AND A N ARROW ES
CAI'E FROM DESTRUCTION.— The Dayton Journ
al is responsible for the following : " Mr.
Robertson, Mail Agent on the A. AG. W.
road, between this city and Cleveland, re
lated to us, yesterday, the strange item
about a farmer who prevented a terrible
disasb 1 n the road near Mansfield, 0., at
the time of tiie recent great freghet. We
had before seen a paragraph relating to the
singular affair. Air. li. conversed with the
farmer, anil here is the story, in short :
•The farmer (a Pennsylvanian) went to
bed during the heavy and protracted storm
Monday night, and dreaming that the fill
across a chasm, some hundred feet deep
had given away under a passenger train,
and let it down into tiro abyss, he sprang
up from his bed as it to render assistance
to the passengers, ran to the door, and was
hastening from the house, when his wife
awakened him. He related his dream, and
went to bed again but slept little more du
ring the night. The dream made such a
deep impression on his mind that he hast
ened to the chasm next morning early to
see what condition it was in ; hut. the road
was apparently all right, although the wa
ter was pouring and surging through the
large culvert beneath as though it would
wash the earth away. Tuesday night the
farmer could not rest for thinking about
his dream of tiie preceding night, and get
ting up he procured his lantern and hurried
off to the chasm. When he arrived there
he found to his terror that the huge fill had
bet n washed out, leaving nothing but the
unsupported ties aud track over (lie chasm.
Hearing the train thundering towards des
truction, the farmer clambered across the
dreadful break and running down the road
some distance, he signalled the approach
ing train t<> stop. And so short was the
1 time that by tbe time the engineer was able
to hold up, the engine was but a few feet
from the chasm.
" The train was large, and was filled
with persons who had been to the great
Union meeting at Mansfield. What a nar
row escape they all made from a horrible
death. For the train would have plunged '
down the frightful precipice, car upon car,
crushing all to death in the ruins. The
i passengers at once evinced their gratitude
to their preserver, the Pennsyivanian, by
making him up a handsome sum of money."
Stir Speaking of " filters " reminds us of
a story of a certain famous Massachusetts
judge. Once upon a time, as he rode up to
the door of a country inn, he saw the land
lady's daughter jump over the fence.
"Do that again Sally, and I'll marry
you," he said.
The girl again leaped the fence. The judge
was as good as his word, and a year from
that day married the light-heeled Sally.—
He was doubtless a good judge of aukles.
pei* Annum, in Advance
GEOLOGICAL SPECULATIONS.
Prof. Agassis, ia the Atlantic Jlontiily,
comes to tiie conclusion that the continent
of North America was at oue time covered
with ice a mile in thickness. The proof is
that the source of the Allegheny range of
moutains is glacier worn 011 tiie very top,
except a few points which are above the
level of the icy mass. Mount Washington,
for instance, is over six thousand feet high,
and the rough, unpolished surface of its
summits, just below the level at which gla
cier marks come to an end, teils us that it
lifted its head alone above the desolate
waste of ice and snow. In that region, then,
the thickness of the sheet cannot have been
much less than six thousand feet, and this
is in keeping with the same kind of evi
dence in other pails of the country ; for,
wherever the mountains are be low six
thousand feet, the ice seems to have passed
directly over them, while tiie few peaks
! rising above that height are left untouch-
C L. .
The glacier, he argues, was God's great
plow, and when the ice vanished from the
face of the laud, it left it prepared for the
hand of the husbandman. The hard sur
face of the rocks was ground to powder,
! the elements of the soil were mingled in
fair proportions, granite was carried into
the lime regions, lime was mingled with
the more arid and unproductive regions,
and a soil was prepared fit for the agricul
tural uses of man. There are evidences all
over the polar regions to show that at one
period the heat of the tropics extended all
over the globe. The ice period is supposed
to be long subsequent to this, and next to
the last before the advent of this earth.
ACCIDENTAL INSURANCE.- -Between lveno
sha and Milwaukie, an agent of the Trav
eler's Insurance Company, of Hartford,
entered the car, and having issued tickets
several passengers, approached an eld
erly lady, who, it afterwards appeared, was
deaf.
" Madam,would you like to insure against
accidents ?" inquired the agent, at the same
time exhibiting his tickets.
" 1 got my ticket down at lvenoaha."
" Not a railroad ticket, madam ; I want
to know if vou would like to insure your
life against accident."
" I'm going to Oshkosh, to visit my darl
ing darter, who's married up there and has
just got a baby."
The agent raised his voice a little.
"Would you like to insure your life
against accident ?"
" She's been married two years arid a
half, and that's the first child. It's a gal."
" Agent, still louder :
"I am au insurance agent, madam. Don't
you want to insure your life against acci
dents ?"
" Siie got along first rate, and is doing as
well as could be expected."
Agent, at the top of liis voice :
" I am au insurance agent, madam ; can't
1 insure you against accident ?"
"O, 1 didn't understand you," said the
old lady. " No, IT name is Johnson ;my
name is Evans, and I live five miles from
Kenosha."
BAD BOOKS —Beware of bad books. They
are traitors in the household. They are
"the euemy" who snatches away the wheat,
and sows tares in its stead. They are pois
oned sweets, destroying the healthy appe
tite. They have the semblance of knowl
edge, but not the reality. They are blind
guides that lead to the ditch.
Are we known by the company we keep ?
Our books are our company. In reading
the works of an author, our minds come in
direct contact with his mind. For good or
for evil, we are under his most direct influ
euce. It has been well said that we reilect
the color of the rock upon which we lean ;
and it is so. When Moses came down from
the mount, after talking with (J d, how his
face shone.
Be jealous, then, of the books you read.
Weigh them in the balances of the sanct
uary, and if found wanting, discard them
from a in your libraries, homes and
hearts.
A clergyman of New York once visited a
State prison, where a young man, who had
thrown away many advantages, was con
fined for the crime of murder,and was there
awaiting his trial. His shelves were lined
with books. What kind of books were they
—bibles, tracts, historiee,worms of science
and true taste ? No ; corrupt novels, licen
tious poetry, revealed the rock which had
imparted its color to the criminal's life and
character. Let the young avoid bad books
as they would bad men and bad women.
THE DOCTOR KNOW'D WHAT HE GIVE HIM. —
During the war, ouo of those lovely ladies
who devoted themselves to relieving the
sufferings of the soldiers,was going through
a ward of a crowded hospital. There she
found two convalescent soldiers—sawing
and hammering, making such a noise that
she felt it necessary to interfere in her gen
tle way.
"Why," she said,"what is this? what arc
you doing ?"
"What we doiu' ? Makin' a coffin—that's
what ?"
"A coffin ? indeed, an 1 whom is it for ?"
"Who for? that fellow over there !
pointing behind him.
The lady 1 • ked and saw a man lying 011
his white bed, yet alive, who seemed to be
watching what was being done.
"Why," she said, "that man isn't d md.
He is alive, and perhaps he won't die. You
had better not go on."
4 Goon ! yes, yes, we shall. The doctor 1
he told us. He said, make the coffin ; aud
1 guess he know'd what lie giv' him. - '
How TO GET KNOWLEDGE. — This is the ques
i tion. Get it the same way the chickens get
| their food—pick it up a little at a time. The
j gardner in digging takes up one spadeful at
j a time. Tiic man sawing wood saws one
; stick at a time, and so the garden is dug,
I the field ploughed, and the load of wood
j sawed. They are done little by little, and
I only a little at a time.
And so must your lessons be mastered,
j long lessons or hard lessons, a little at a
| time. Do not pout or cry, or think it is of
i no use to try, and play away your time ;
but take heart when your book is before
j you and by diligently learning a little at a
time, the hardest lesson will soon become
easy, and the longest lesson be finally cou-
I quered.
; A capital plan this, young friends. —
I Try it 1
' NUMBER 22.
SIGNING THE PLEDGE-
Hev. John Abl'>ff, the sailor preacher re
lates the followir. g story <4' one of his con
verts to temri-ranc" :
Afr. John* m, .1 'he (•'■<:<> !>t , cold water
lec'nre, intimated that he must sign the
pledge in his .wn way, which he did ill
these words :
"1, William Johnson, pledge rnys"lf to
drink no more intoxicating drinks for one
year."
Some thought lie wouldn't stick three
days, others allowed him a week, and a
few others gave liim two weeks ; but the
landlord knew him best and said he was
good stuff, but at the end of a year BUI
would be a good soaker.
Before the year was quite gone, Mr.
Johnson was asked by Mr. Abbott—
"Bill, ain't you going to resume the
pledge ?"
" Well, I don't know, Jack, lint what I
will ; I have done well so far. Will yon
let me sign it again my own way ?"
" Oh, yes, any way that you will not
drink rum."
lie writes :
"I, William Johnson, sign this pledge
for nine hundred and ninety-nine years, and
if living at the end of that time, I intend
to make out a lease for life."
A day or two after, Johnson went to see
his old landlord, who eyed him as a hawk
does a chicken.
" 0 landlord !" whined Bill, accompanied
sundry contortions of the body, as if en
during the most excruciating torment, " I
have such a lump on my side."
" That's because you have stopped drink
ing ; you won't live two years longer at
this rate."
"If I commence drinking will the lump
go away ?"
" Yes. If you'll don't, youihave just such
another lump on the other side."
" Do you think so, landlord ?"
" I know it; you'll have them on your
arms, back, breast, and head ; you will be
covered all over with lumps."
" Well, may be I will," said Bill.
" Come, Bill," said the landlord, " let's
drink together," at the same time pouring
the red stufl from the decanter into the
glass, gug, gug, gug.
" No," said Johnson, " I can't, for I've
signed the pledge again."
" You ain't though ! you are a fool 1"
" Yes that old sailor coaxed so hard I
could uot get off."
" I wish the o'd rascal was* in Guinea.
Well, how long do you go this time ?"
" For nine hundred and ninety-nine years.'
" You won't live a year."
" Well, if I drink, are you sure the lump
ou.mv side will go away ?"
" Yes."
" Well, I guess 1 won't drink ; here's the
lump," continued Bill, holding up some
thing- with .1 hundred dollars in it ; " and
you say I'll have more 6uch lumps, and
that is what I want."
ITALIAN MARRIAGE BROKERS. —In Genoa
there are regular marriage brokers, who
have their pocket books filled with the
names of the marriageble girls of the diff
erent classes, with notes of their figures,
personal attractions, fortunes and other
circumstances. These brokers go about en
deavoring to arrange connections in the
same off-hand, mercantile manner which
they would bring to bear upon a merchan
dise transaction ; and when they succeed,
they get a commission of two or three per
cent, upon the portion, with such extras or
bonuses as may be voluntarily bestowed,
by tiie party. Marriage at Genoa is thus
oftentimes simply a matter of business and
calculation, generally settled by the pa
rents or relations, who often draw up the
contract before the parties have seen one
another ; and if is only when • very thing
else is arranged, and a few days previous
to the nirrriage ceremony, that the future
husband is introduced to bis partner for
life. Should lie find fault with her manners
or appearance, lie may annul the contract,
011 condition of defraying the brokerage,
and any other expenses incurred.
FUN, FACTS AND FACET IE.
A RECRUIT, who was going through the
sword exorcises, after having learned tie cuts,
asked Low he had to parry the cuts of the enemy.
The sergeant answered, " Never mind the parry
ing ; only you cut, and let the other parry."
THE New Ilaven Historical Society has
15 lie diet Arnold's account boot, and the sign of
the store in which he did business, before the Rev
olution. The inscription, on it reals, -'U. Arnold,
druggist, bookseller, Ac., from Loudon : Sibi, tot
iqua."
A MAN exclaimed in a tavern, " I'll bet a
sovereign I have got the hardest name in the com
pany." "Done." said one of the company;
•' what's your name?" "Stone," cried the first.—
"Hand me the money," said the other, "my name
is Harder."
JONES, while lately engaged in splitting
wood, struck a false blow, causing the stick to fly
up. It strack him on the jaw and knocked out
a front tooth. "Ah," said bill, meeting him
soon after, •' you have had a dental operation per
formed. 1 see"Yes," replied the sufferer, ".r
--idental
ONE evening the late Bishop of London
was to have dined where Sydney Smith was a
guest. Just before dinner a note arrived, saying
that he was unable to keep his engagement, a dog
having rushed out of the crowd and bitten him
in the leg. When this note was read aloud to the
company, Sydney Smith's comment vns, " 1
should like to hear the dog's account of die story.''
" OF what use are forms ?" exclaimed a
petulant legislator to Dr. Franklin, "you can not
deny that they are mere empty things," "Well,
my friend, and so are barrels, but nevertheless,
they have their uses," quietly replied the doctor.
AN attorney named Else, rather diminu
tive in his stature and not particularly respectable
in his character, once met Jekyll. " Sir," said he,
" I hear yon have called me a pettifogging scoun
drel. Have you done so, sir:" "Sir," replied
Jekyll, with a look of contempt, " I never saiu you
were a pettifogger or a scoundrel, but I said you
were liltle L'Lc."
A WORTHY man was told that ho was
about to die,said he was glad of it ; he was tired of
putting his shoes and stockings ou and oil'. And
this is about what life gets reduced to at about
seventy.
SMITH. " Brown's a regular wag, isn't he ?
lie's fond of cracking his jokes?"
ROBINSON. '• Yes, he cracks his jokes—that's the
reason they're so bad."
A GENTLEMAN was complaining that if
cost him ten dollars every time he went to church,
as ho only attended five times ay. ar and has pew
tax was fifty dollars per annum. '-Why don't you
go ofteuer," asked a religious broker, "and re
duce the average ?" That was a poser.
AN auti-liymenial punster says that the
recriminations of married people resemble the
sounds of the waves on the seashore—being the
murmurs of the tied.
A HUNGRY friend said at Brummel's table,
after the beau had fallen in fortune, that nothing
was better than cold beef. " I beg your pardon,"
returned Brunimel, "cold beef is better than
nothing."
MRS. JENKINS complained in the evening
that the turkey she had eaten at Thanksgiving did
not set well. "Probably," said Jenkins, "it was
not a lien-turkey."
M Y first is'what lies at the dour ; my sec
ond is a kind of corn : my third is what nobody
can do without, and my whole is one of the United
States. Mat-ri-mony.
A VERMONT teacher asked his primary
class, what makes tho sea salt. A bright little ur
chin replied : "Becauso it is full of codfish, sir."
MOVEABLE FEASTS. —"Baked Tatura all
Hot I"