,7 irftfe. ; . I
Eftl CAN
. H. B. MASSER, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
OFFICE, MARKET STREET, OPPOSITE THE POST OFFICE.
51 iTnmlta ilctospaprr-DtbotcH to JJolWcs, aucrature, Woralftg, iTortfflrt mt& Bomrstfc iletos, Stftmce an the arts, Surtculturr, iWarftrts, glmusrmtnts, fcf.
NEW SER1KS VOL. 1, NO. 01.
8UXBURY, NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY, PA., SATURDAY, MARCH 1 7, 1840.
0L13 SERIES VOL. O, NO. 3$.
&S;S
TERMS OF THE AMERICA JB.
. THR AMERICAN is publihw1 wm Snfnnlny at TWO
DOL.I.AKB per imuin lo be paid hnlf yearly in advauce.
No tinner rliamiitinned until all arrrfVriffc are paid.
All communication or letter, on liusinem relating to the
office, to imuro attention, mint ba 1HJST FA1D.
. TO CLUBS.
Three eopiea to one address, 50ft
fceven Do io 10 00
Fiitcen 1' lo 80 00
F ive dollars in advance will pay for three yaar'i subscrip
tion to the American.
One Square of 16 line, 3 time,
livery sutswqneiil insertion,
One Square, 3 month,
Six month, 4
One year,
Busbies Card of Five line., pet annum,
Merchant and other, advertising by the
year, with the privilege of iiiierting dif
ferent advertiaetneuta weekly.
Uf Larger Advcrtiemem, a per agreement.
ffl on
9.00
378
(KIO
300
10 00
H. B. 2A3SEF.S
ATTORNEY AT LAW,
cttnbtjiiY". rA.
R,ilne.B .Mended to in thctJmmtios of Not
littir-1 erlanJ, Union. Incoming nnd Uoiumbia,
Huer to i
P. & A. KoTotMiT,
Low Kit AJJasuus,
Pomkhs & Nnonaaiss,
KeISOLRS, Mct'ittusii it (
SriHun, 'Jooii &. On.,
yi'ltilml.
THE CI1EVP BOOK STOKK.
32 A1TXELS & SMITH'S
Ckkat New fc StcoND iianii Book Siouk,
tfurlh Weti cornet of Fourth and Arch Street
i'lillnritltihin.
I aw Books. Theological and Classiest Book,
MitnlCAL BOOKS.
MOCRAPHICAL HISrOMCAL BOOKS,
SCHOOL hUUKS.
SctKSTIFIC AND MATIrMtAllCAL fkKKS.
Juvenile Books, in great variety.
Hymn Book and Prayei Book, Bible, all site
anil prices. w i
Blank Bookf, Writing Paper, and Stationary,
Vio1h ' and Kilnll.
re- Ora price are rmx-h lower than the kemm-ar price,
r- Libraries and animll pnrccl of b-mk piirctnuwU.
If Hook, imported to orner iroin uniumi.
rnilaneipuiH, n i
lM y
?OPTE?. & E1TGLISH,
GIlOl LKS roMVlKSION MERCHANTS
and Dealer in Seeds,
3. Arch St PHILADELPHIA.
Constantly on hand a general assortment of
GROCERIES T E A S, WINES. SEEDS,
LIUUOHS, &c.
To which they respectfully invite the attent.on
of the public.
All kinds of country produce taken in exchange
for Groceries or sold on Commission.
Philad. April 1. 18-18
BASKET "
BIANUFACTOIUT,
No 15 SouA Second street Enut tide, down stairs,
PHILADELPHIA.
HENRY COULTER,
tt f.sp;
I F.SPEOTFCLLY informs bin friends and
pub'ic, that he constantly nee.- u..
t i . i.rdtt ftc.nrtment ol fill nrt'li. i"""
Coaches, Chairs, Crad es, market and ttave!
ling baskets, and every vaiiety ol basket worK
manufactured.
Country Merchants and others who wish to
purchase such articles, good and cheap, would
tlo well to call on him. as tbey are all manufac
tured by him inthe best manner.
Philadelphia. June 3, 1848. ly
G4H1 & SE4I. K SO It AT IXC.
VM. G. MASON'.
46 Chcsnut .3 inort ; ahoifind it-, Philadelphia
Engraver ol BUSINESS 4r V ISIT1NC CARDS,
Watch papers, Labels, Poor plates, Seals and
fftampl (or Odd Fellows, Sons of Temperance,
&c &c Always on hand a general assortment
of Fine) Fancy Goods, Gold pens of every quality.
Do Collars in great variety. Engravers tools
and materials. .
Aeency for tha Manufacturer of Glaziers Dia-
Orders per mail (post paid) will be punctually
attended to.
Philadelphia, April 1, 1R4S y
TJatTESTsTmBLCLfSS
FIIIST PREMIUM PIANO FOR TBS.
MHE SUBSCRIUF.R has been appointeri agent
I for the ealof COXKAI) MEVKR'S CELE
BRATED PREMIUM ROSE WOOD PIANOS,
at this place. These Pianos have a plain, mas
sive and beautiful exterior finish, and, lor depth
of tone, and elegance of workmanship, are not
surpassed by any in the United Slates
These instruments are highly approved of by
the mot eminent Professors and Composers of
Music in this and other cities.
For qualities of tone, touch and keeping in
tone upon Concert pitch, they cannot be surpas
sed by either American or Emopean Pianos.
SulHce it toay that Madame Castellan, W.
Wallace. Yieux Temps, and his sister, the rele
brated Pianist, and many others ol the most dis
tinquished performers, have given these instru
ments preference over all others.
They have also received the first notice of the
threa last Exhibitions, and the last Silver Medal
by tb Franklin Institute in 1843, was awarded
to them, which, with other premiums from the
same source, may be seen at the Ware-room No.
59 south Fourth st.
(Another Silver Medal was awarded to C.
Meyer, by the Frahklin Institute, Oct. 1843 for
the best Piano in the exhibition.
Again at the exhibition of the Franklin Insti
tute. Oct 1846, the first premium and medal was
awarded to 3. Meyer for his Pianos, although it
had been awarded at the exhibition of the year
before, 00 the ground that be had madestill great
er improvements in bis Instruments within the
past 13 months.
Again at Ihe last exhibition of !he Franklin
Institute, 1847, another Premium was awarded
to C- Meyer, lor the best Piano in the exhibition
At Boston, at their last exhibition. Sept. 1847.
C Meyer received the fli t silver Medal and
nloma for the best square Piano in the exhibition
These Pianos will be sold at ihe manufactu
rer's lowest Philadelphia prices, if not something
lower Persons are requested to call and exam
ine for themselves, at the ut
.criber. B' MASSER.
6unbury, April 8, 1848
THE CHEAP
Brush, Comb nnd Variety
STOKE.
BOCKIUS AND BROTHER,
BHLaH MAMFACTIRERS.
AND DEALERS IN COMBS & VARIETIES
Ac- 98 North Third, beluw Knee W. and North
Eatt canuer of Third and Market ttrett,
raZX.ADBZ.PHZA.
TTTHERE they offer for sa'e a general assort
VV ment of all kinds of Biushrs, Combs and
varieties which they are determined to sell
Lower than ran be purchased e sewbere.
CooDtry Merchants and others Purchasing in
lb above line will find it to their advantage to
rail before purchasing elsewhere aa tha quality
end prices will be fully guaranteed against all
.ynin petition.
rDlMelpkia, lune 3, I? l-y.
SELECT POETRY.
THE BATTLK OF BCEXA VISTA.
Niglit-sliadows fell cold at the closing day
Where the morrow could ace valor'a Contest
with numbers;
The liivounkcd armies in hostile array, '
Sank to rest, while tlia sentries kept watch o'er
their shim hers.
'Jfeath the stars few to fight the proud foe in his
might,
While, loved hearts nfur, quailed with fear at the
aight
But the soldicT reposed, with the dreams of the
. hrave
That the Stars and the Stripes should trium
phnntly wave.
The drum and the bugle aroused them at morn
And they sprang to their arms for the contest of
glory i
Their chieftain that fing, long defeatlcss, had borne,
With a fame that shall ne'er bo forgotten in
story.
Like the waves of the main swept their horses o'er
the plain,
While red grew each hill and ravine with the
slain ;
But they saw through the battle cloud's dark
ness, the bravo,
That star-flag, though torn, still triumphantly
wave.
O'er wearied they sank on their weapons to rest
When tho night-cloud again on their valor de
scended, 'Mid comrades the noUcst, the bravest and best
Who slept their Inst sleep where their courage con
tended. But when broke the day, O! where were they
The proud legions of night ? in their fear fled
away !
Then gladly they saw that star-flag o'er the
brave
In the sheen of the morning triumphantly wave.
All hail to the Hero who valiantly led
First and foremost the rank of his country' do
fonder !
For now we have rallied, and made him our head.
First in icace to proclaim him who never sur
renders. The laurel wreath fair from his brow none can
tear,
But still greener shall bloom in the President's
chair,
And the nation, rewarding the honest and brave, J
Shall behold its stnr-haiiner triumphantly wave.
historical.
THE LAST Sl .M)AV OF f ii.UILES THE II.
Macaulay, in his work just published,
gives this vivid sketch of thescene at White
hall, on Hie last Sunday on earth of the
Merry Monarch :
"His palace had seldom presented a gay
er or a more scandalous appearance than
on the evening of Sunday, the 1st of Feb
ruary, KiSi). Souk; rave persons who
had gone thither, after the fashion of that
ap-e, to pav their dutv to their sovereign,
and who had expected that on such a day,
his court would wear a decent aspect, were
struck with astonishment and horror. The
great gallery at Whitehall, an admirable
relic of the Tudors, was crowded with re
vellers and gamblers. The King sat there
chatting and toying with three women,
whose charms were the boast and whose
vices were the disgrace, of three nations.
Barbara Palmer, Duchess of Cleveland, was
there, no longer voting, but still retaining
some traces of that superb and voluptuous
loveliness which twenty years belore over
came the hearts of all men. There too
was the Duchess of Portsmouth, whose soft !
and infantine features were lighted up with
the vivacity of France. Hortensia Mancini,
Duchess of Mazarin, and niece to the great
Cardinal, completed the group. She had
been early removed from iier native Italy
to the court where her uncle was supreme.
His power and her own attractions had
drawn a crowd of illustrious suitors around
her. Charles himself, during his exile had
sought her hand in vain. Ao pi; ot na
ture or of fortune seemed to be wanting to
her. Her face was beautiful with the rich
beauty of the south, her understanding
quick, her manners graceful, her rank ex
alted, her possessions immense ; but her un
governable passions had turned all these
blessing into curses.
She had found the misery of an ill-assorted
marriage intolerable, -had fled from her
husband, had abandoned -her vast wealth,
and after having astonished Rome and Pied
mont by her adventures, had fixpd her abode
in England. Her house was the favorite
resort of men of wit and pleasure, who, for
the sake of her smiles and her table, endu
red her very frequent fits of insolence and
ill-humor. Rochester and Godolphin some
times forgot the cares of stale in her com
pany. Barillou and Saint Evermond found
in her drawing rojin consolation for their
long banishment from Paris. The learning
ofVossius, the wit of Waller, were daily
employed to flatter and amuse her. But
her diseased mind required stronger stimu
lants, and sought them in gallantry, in
basset and in usquebaugh. While Charles
flirted with his three Sultanas, Hortensia'g
French page, a handsome boy, whose vo
cal performances were the delight of White,
hall, and were rewarded by numerous pre
sents of rich clothes, ponies, and guineas,
warbled some amorous verses. A party of
twenty courtiers were seated at cardsaround
a large table, on which fold was heaped in
mountains. Even then the King had com-
Flained that he did not feel quite well.
le had no appetite lor his supper; his rest
that night was broken j but on the follow
ing morn he rose, as usual, early."
The introduction of the Roman Catholic
priest by the Duke of York, and the last
moments of the king, are thus described :
"The Duke's orders were obeyed ; and
even the physicians withdrew. The back
door was then opened, and Father Huddle
ston entered. A cloak had been thrown
over his sacred vestments, and his shaven
crown was concealed by a flowing wig.
'sir,' said the Duke, "this good man once
saved your life; he is now come to save
your soul." Charles faintly answered, He
is welcome.' Huddleston went through
his part better than had been expected.
ile knelt by the bed, listened to the conver
sation, pronounced the absolution, and ad-
rv.r.isierea extreme unction. He asked if
the King wished to receive the Lord's Sup
per. 'Surely ,'satd Charles, 'if I am not un
worthy.' The host was brought in.
Charles feebly strove to rise and kneel be
fore it. The priest bade him lie still, and
assured him that Ood would not require the
humiliation of the body. The King found
so much difficulty in swallowing the bread
that it was necessary to open the door and
to procure a glass of water. The rile end
ed, the monk held up a crucifix before the
penitent, charged him to fix his last
thoughts upon the sufferings of the Redeem
er, and withdrew. The -whole ceremony
had occupied about three quarters of an
hour; and during the time, the courtiers
who filled the outer room had communica
ted their suspicions to each other by whis
pers and significant glances. The door was
it length thrown open, and the crowd again
filled the chamber of death.
It was now late in the evening. The
King seemed much relieved by what had
passed. His natural children were brought
to his bedside, the dukes of Grafton, South
ampton and Northumberland, sons of the
Duchess of Cleveland, the Duke of St. Al
bans, son of Eleanor Gwynn, and the Duke
of Richmond, son of the Duchess of Ports
mouth. Charles blessed th'-m all, but spoke
with peculiar tenderness to Richmond.
One face which should have been there
was wanting. The oldest and best beloved
child was an exile and a wanderer. His
name was not once mentioned by his father.
During the night Charles earnestly re
commended the Duchess of Portsmouth and
her boy to the care of James : 'and do not,'
he good-naturedly added, 'let poor Nelly
starve.' The Queen sent excuses for her
absence by Halifax. She said that she was
too much disordered to resume her post by
the coach, and implored pardon for any of-
lence which she might unwittingly have
given, 'she ask lor pardon, poor woman !'
cried Charles; 'I ask hers with all my
heart.'
The morning light began to peer through
the windows of Whitehall ; and Charles
desired the attendants to pull aside the cur
tains, that he might have one more look at
the day. He remarked that it was time to
wind up the clock which stood at his bed.
These little circumstances were long re
membered, because they proved beyond dis
pute that, when he declared himself a Ro
man Catholic, he was in full possession of
his faculties.
' He apologised to those who had stood
around him all night, for the trouble which
he had caused. He had been, he said, a
most unconscionable time dying; but he
hoped that they would excuse it. This
was the last glimpse of that exquisite ur
banity, so often found potent to charm
away the resentment of a justly incensed
nation. Soon after dawn the speech of the
dying man failed. Before fen his senses
were gone. Great numbers had repaired
to the churches at the hour of morning ser
vice. When the prayer for the king was
read, loud groans and sobs showed how
deeply the people felt for him. At noon
on Friday, the fith of February, he passed
away without a struggle."
Pollock, in bis description of tho good
man, says :
"Ho, by tho way bide laid him down to rest,
His head upon a stone, and sweetly sleeps."
But another poet bays :
'I would walk
A weury journey to the farthest verge
Of the big world, to ki-w the good man's hand,
Who in Ihe Matte of wisdom and of art,
Preserves a lowly mind, and to his God,
Feeling the sense of his own littleness,
Is a child in meek simplicity."
Shelley best apostrophises tho good ninn,
in his. lines in Queen Mub, as
'-Great in his humility,
As kings arc 111 t It) in their grandeur."
Small Credits vs. Cash. One of our ex
change lwpers gives its readers the following
sound advice pratis. If people generally
would profit by it, many vexatious and annoy
ances might be avoided. "There is no econ
omy in small credits, and large ones are fre.
queiitly disadvantageous. Pay as you go,
wud a good rule in ihe days of the sage and
philosopher, Franklin, and time and experi
ence have made it more apparent in our own
day. Credit.", when ihey are used in tho
shape of capital, are sometimes useful, but,
as a general thing, in small, every day opera
tions, it is wiser to wait the means to pay
what you may feel a desire to buy, than to
buy and wait for tho money afterwards to
pay with. Ten to oee the inconvenience of
waiting for the desired article will not be
found half so great as the trouble you cause
your creditor in afterwards waiting for the
mouey. "Pay down" is our motto, aud may
be that of every man in health, if he but be
gin right."
Aunt Betty tells a story of one of her
near neighbors, when she lived in the coun
try, who was "meaner than parsley."
"Why," she says, "whenever he happen
ed to get hold of hall dollar, he would
give it such a squeeze, that the poor eagle
would raally squeal."
1
The pay of an Austrian soldier is four
cents a day.
GEN. SHIELDS AND IlOft. 9. HREESE.
Tho following singular letter from Gen.
Shields to the Hon. Sidney Breese, w hom the
former succeeds as U.S. Senator, is published
m the newspapers. It is a curious produce
tion, and shows the amiable state . of feeling
that subsists between those two gentlemen
Washington, Feb. 22, 1849.
Hon. Sidnkt Breese Sir: On my return
to this country from Mexico broken in con
stitution feeble in health, and still suffering
under the effect of wounds, you were the
Oliiy man in tho city of Washington who re
ceived mo with coldness and uukiudness.
When the City honored me with a public
dinner, which was generously intended not
only as a compliment to me but to my State,
you wore Ihe only man who declined to at
tend that dinner. You went further; you
propigated a report here in Washington, and
circulated it afterwards in Illinois, that I was
ineligible to the offico of Senator, and this
too after I had poured out my blood like wa
ter on the battle-fields of my country. You
published an article in the St. Louis Republi
can, charging me wilh incligihUity doing
that which I thought no man in these U. States
would have been mean euorgh to do in my
cuse even if it had been true; You, however
did this knowing it to bo untrue.
On Ihissnbject I have simply to sav, that
had I been defeated by you on that ground?
J had ttcorn in my licart that toit never thonld
have profiled your eitccest, and depend upon
it, 1 would have kept that vow rigardlffs of
consequences. Jt hat, however, is now passed
and the vow is cancelled by your defeat. Why
1 address you now is simply this: In 1840
you crave me something in the shape of a
final Certificate of Naturalization in Eliinghatn
Court. You knew at the time that I was na
turalized by law, and by naturalization of
my father while I was a minor. I told you
the circumstances, and, ns 1 then talked of
going to Canada in caso of wtr, you offered
to give me a certificate which would simpli
fy tho proof in case of difficulty. Now I
wish you lo give me a letter acknowledging
these facts. I write you a private letter for
tho purpose. I should have sent a friend at
oneo an 1 imperatively demanded such a let
ter, but I felt that in disgracing you I should
disgrace the Suite that had made you and my
self Senators, and I al wished to give you
an oppoi tmiity to make this acknowledgment
quietly. If, however, you persist in your
courso of iiijrstice toward me ,id mfuso this
request, I here give you fair warning. Let
the consequences fall on your own head. I
shall hold inyselfacqnitted, both before God
and man, for the course I fdiull feel bound to
pursue toward you.
Your obedient servant.
(Copy) Jas. Shields.
Mr. Breese, in his letter to tho National
Intelligencer, says :
Not tho least so of the many remarkable 1
passage of this letter of General Shields is the
following : ''On this subject I have simply
to say that, had 1 been defeated by you on
that ground, (the ground of ineligibility,) I
had sworn in my hear! that ynu never should
have profitted by your success ; and) depend
upon it, I would have kept my row regardless
of consequences," Certainly it is fortunate for
the honor of the country that this rash "vow"
has been "cancelled" by my defeat ! Gen
eral Shields submits his pretensions to a seat
in the Senate to a Democratic caucus of tho
Illinois Legislature, nnd agrees expressly, or
by the clearest implication, that ho will abide
their decision ; and yet it appears that at this
very moment '-ho had sworn in his heart" to
defeat tho will of the party if it had pro
nounced in favor of his most prominent com
petitor; and, in order to accomplish his pur
pose, he determines to perpetrate an assas
sination ; for such is the .obvious import of
this language. Such a design and such a
deed are revolting to tho American mind, and
foreign to tho American character. They
are worthy only of the most infamous ages of
Italian crime. If our political contests, are
to bo mingled with, or followed by, personal
violence, how long will our elective system
endure? Without . furthur comment, I sub
mit this extraordinary passago to the consid
eration of candid men. Christians and pa
triots, who love aud lespect the laws and in
stitutions of our country, and desire to guaid
and defend them against all violation.
Gen. Shields, says : "In 1840 1 gave him
something in the shape of a final certificate of
naturalization." The naturalization laws do
not recognise "something" or anything "in
tho shape of a final certificate" to "simplify
proofs in caso of difficulty," or fur any oiher
purpose. How, then, could I, a circuit judge
have given him any such paper 1 Tho state
ment has no fact, legal provision, or proba
bility to support it.
If it be true that his father was in the
country and naturalized, is it possible that
Gen. Shields, should know the fact, and not
know the State and county where it occur
red ? When authentio copies of those natu
ralization papers, if they exist, could be so
easily procured, is it not strange he should
attempt to extort from me by menace, a state
ment which, if obtained, could have no legal
bearing upon the subject?"
What the "consequences" are against
which Gon. Shields givee me "fair warning"
if I persist in what no sane man will call "in
justice," I am equally ignorant of and indif
ferent to. One thing is certain, be they what
they may, I have not given, nor shall I give
hire, any "statement" of the rharaoter re
quired, either "quietly," or upon "imperative
demand." "
In conclusion, 1 will state that I hare nei
ther provoked nor desired the necessity that
has impelled mo to make this communica
tion. I respectfully submit it under the full
conviction that it is called for by the circum
stances. SIDNEY BREESE.
In reply to tho letter of Mr. Brteese, Gon.
Shields published the following on the 28th :
Mr. Breese has been for may months en
framed industriously in disseminating the most
injurious reports concerning mo, tho only os
tensible motive being that my friends had
brought me forward as his competitor, for
election to the Senate of the United States.
I had been ever since my visit to this city
li'st summer, cognizant of his efforts, unceas
ing, unremitting, aud reckless, to blast my
character Htid rob me of the only wealth to
to which I can lay claim a reputation thank
God,- without a blot. Immediately on my
arrival here I wrote him the letter he has
published, accusing him of his baseness. That
letter written under tho influence of no ordi
nary emotions, was couched in language
which under other circumstances I would
not have used ; nnd, upon reflection, and by
tho advice of my friends, I authorized two
honorable Senators formally to withdraw it.
Mr. Breeso declined to yield it up, and tho
use he has made of it shows by what motive
he was actuated.
.That portion of my letter which he has dis
torted into a threat of assassination, I shall
briefly notice. The means ho used to pre
vent my election were of such a nature that
tho competition between us became a per
sonal struggle, and, as his triumph would have
been aji endorsement of his calumnies, my
character and position were involved in the
issue. Tho interpretation he has put upon
this threat that is, that I had avowed to as
sassinate him -is so absurd that it would be
equally preposterous on my part seriously to
repudiate such a meaning. That any sane
man can believo I wouid havo assassinated
Mr. Breese, I have no apprehension.
JAMES SHIELDS.
AN ARTFUL DODGER FOR CALIFORNIA.
It has been rumored that, among tho gen
tlemen who have gone to California aro two
or three, who woro owing small sums to their
tailors aud others. Some color is given lo
the report by an incident, which took place
on tho sailing of the Duxbury last week. One
of the passengers on hurrying to the wharf
to get on board saw the familiar face of a
sheriff's officer, who was evidently on the
look out for him. Here was a check mate
indeed. What was to bo done? In twenty
minutes tho ship would be under way. How
should the unhappy passenger eseapotho lynx
eyed vigilance of the agent of the law ? Per
plexed in the extreme he rushed into a friends
store and frankly told him his dilemma.
'What shall I do?" ho asked; "the passen
gers are all on board, and if I miss the chance
of going to California, 1 am ruined. Can't
you do something for me ? Hark ! they will
bo off in ten minutes !"
The friend thus appealed to looked around
his store, then pulled down a large sugar-box
from a neighboring pile, pointed to it, and
said laconically, 'Get in ! Quick ! No mat
ter if it is stickey. Get in, I say ; or go and
bo arrested !" Thus imperatively urged, the
passenger made himself small as possible,
and ensconced himself in the box. The co
ver was nailed on with business-like rapidity
by his friend who pushed down the head and
arms of the struggling inmate with very lit
tle ceremony for time was somewhat pre
cious. Having nailed him snugly down, he
seized his marking pot, wrote the words
"Medicine this side up with care," upon
the box, called a hand cartman, tipped him a
wink, and gave him half a dollar, to hurry
iho precious consignment on board tho Dux-
bury.
Tho handcart arrived just as the last rope
that bound the ship to terra flippa was to be
cast off. The Sheriff's officer who was pacing
tho wharf in Iho futile attempt to keep warm
glanced carelessly at tho box and continued
his strides. An unexpected obstacle now oc
curred. The man refused to receive tho
box, not believing that it belonged on board.
But after a variety of wink and blinks from
the haudcavtman he began to understand tho
"dodge," aud tha "medicine box" was care
fully carried on board, "this side up." Of
the scene that transpired on its being opened
wo as yet have no account ; but the Sheriff's
officer continued to shiver and kick his heels
on the wharf till Ihe Duxbury was out of
sight, and then he retired disconsolate home
little suspecting what a trick had been play
ed upon him. Boston Transcript.
A poetical "lovyer" not long since, sent
tho following to his lady love :
TO SALLY ANN.
Soft is the down on the butterfly's wing,
Hotl is the whispers that lovers apeak t
Soft is the light that moonbeams fling
But softer by ikr is my lady-love's cheek.
SALLY S REPLY.
Soft am tatere all smashed up,
And mush am toft as soft can be
ll tit softer am that dirty pup
Vot writ thut verse to me !
Go it, Sarah ! never mind join bonnet!
Amcdotb. One day a loving husband
took his wife's, best pitcher to draw aomo ci
der. As he was going down the steps he
lipped, aud in order to save the crockery, in
jured himself considerably. While he was
rubbing his shin very vigorously, the wife
very thoughtless of hi hurt, cried out, "Oh,
mercy J haveyou broke thepitchoil" "No,"
ays he, in great wrath, "but darned if I don't"
and ging-a-ling went the pitcher against the
wall !
SKETCH OF JOHN DC NY AN.
BY T. BABISGTOM MACAUtAT.
Tothe names of Baxter and Howe roust be
added the name of a man far below them in
station and in acquired knowledge, but in
virtue their equal and in genius their superior,
John Bunyan. Bunyan had been bred a tin
ker, and had seived a a private soldier in the
Parliamentary army. Early in his life he
had been fearfully tortured by remorse for his
youthfsl sins, the worst of which, however,
seem to. have been such as the world thinks
venial. His keen sensibility and his power
ful imagination made his internal conflicts
singularly teriible. He fancied that he wa
under sentence of reprobation, that he had
committed blasphemy against the Holy Ghost
that ho had sold Christ, that ho was actually
possessed by a demon. Sometimo fiends
whispered impioos suggestion in his ear. Ho
saw visions of distant mountain top, on which
ho was separated by a wasto of sncw. Ho
felt tho duvil behind him palling hi3 clothes.
He thought that the brand of Cain had beu
set upon him. Ho feared tlxil ho was about
te burst asunder like Judus. His mental a-
gony disordered his health- One day he
shook like a man in the palsy. On another
day he felt a fire within his breast. It is dif
ficult to understand how he survived suffer
ings so long continued. At length the clouds
broke. From tho depths of despair, the peni
tent passed to a state of screno felicity. An
irresistible impulse now urged him to impart
to others iho blessings of which ho was him
self possessed. He joined the Baptists, and
becama a preacher and writer. His educa
tion had been that of n mechanic Ho knew
no language but the English, as it was spaken
by tho common people. He had studied no
great model of composition, with tho excep
tion, an important exception undoubtedly, of
our noblo translation of tho Biblo. His spel
ling was bad. He frequently transgressed
the rules of grammar. Yet the native force
of genius, and his experimental knowledge
of all the religious passions, from despair to
eestaey, amply supplied in him the want of
earning. His rude oratory roused and mel
ted hearers who listened without interest to
labored discourses of great logicians and He
braists. ia works were widely circulated
among the humbler classes. Ono of them,
the Pilgrim's Progress, was in his own life
time, translated into several foreign language
It was however, scarcely known to the learn
ed and and polite, and had been during near
a century, the delight of pious cottagers and
artisans, before it was publicly commended
by any man of high literary eminence. At
length critics condescended to enquire where
the secret of so wide and so durable a popu
larity lay. They were compelled to own
that tho ignorant multitude had judged more
correctly than the learned, aud that the de
spised little book was really a master piece-
Bunyan is indeed as decidedly the first of al
legorists, as Demosthenes is the first of ora
tors, or Shakspcaro the first of dramatists.
Other allegorists havo shown equal ingenuity
but no other allegorists has ever been able
to touch the heart, and to make abstractions
objects of terror, of pity and of love.
It may be doubted whether any English
Dissenter had suffered more severely under
the penal laws than John Bunyan. Of the
twenty-seven years which had elapsed since
the Restoration, ho had passed twelve in con
finement. He still persisted in preaching ;
but, that he might preach, he was under tho
necessity of disguising himself like a carter.
tie was otten introduced into tho meetings
through back doors, with a smock frock on
bit. back and a whip in his hand. If he thought
only of his own ease and safety, he would
have hailed the indulgence with delight. Ho
was now, at length, free to pray and e.xhort
in open day. His congregation rapidly in
creased ; thousands hung upon his word, aud
at Bedford where he orginally resided, money
was plentifully contributed to build a meet
ing house for him His influence among the
common people was such that the govern
ment would willingly have bestowed on him
some municipal office ; but his vigorous un
derstanding and his stout English heart were
proof against all delusion aud all temptation.
He felt assured that the proffered toleration
was merely a bait intended to lure the Puri
tan party to destruction J nor would ho, by
accepting a place for w hich ho was not le
gally qualified, recognize the validity of the
dispensing power. One of the last acts of
his virtuous life was to decline an interview
to which he wa invited by an agent of the
government.
A remarkable decrease has occurred in
the number of births in Ireland. In one comi
ty the falling off in 1848 was ninety per cent.
An article in the London Daily Neve attri
butes it to the utter physical proatiation of
the people.
A Bell as is a Bell. A bell weighing
eight thousand pounds, was cast at the foun
dry of H. N. Hooper & Co., in Boston on
Tuesday last.
A Quakeress, preaching at Nantuckpt
said : "Every tub stands upon its own bot
tom." A sailor jumped up and said: "But,
madam suppose it has no bottom ?" "Then
it i no tub, returned she. quietly, and went
on with the sermon.
Four thousand orange trees on one plan
tation, near Apalachicola. were killed by
tha recent frosts.
Dr. Geonre Esnv. fbrmerlv of Pennsvl.
vania, died at Fort 'Madison, lows, on the
Z"th nit.
GEN. SAM HOISTON.
The New York Sunday Atlas give the fol
lowing interesting particulars of the history
of this distinguished individual ; ''About tho
year 1820-1, he was elected Governor of
Tennessee. He held the offtoe a brief period
only, when he resigned his responsibilities
and honors ; and abjuring civilized life; mi
grated to the region west of tho Mississippi, .
and was adopted as a son by one of the Indian
chieftains. Ho assumed the habits, and clad
himself in tho attire of a roving son of the
wildfrness. He remained in the forest a year
or two, when he returned to the scene of ci
vilized life, and commenced the practice) of
tho law, in Natchez It was while he was
in Natchez that he got up the famous scheme
for the conquest of Texas.
There was something of the romantic, of
tho wild and wonderful in Geo'l Houston'
abdication of tho Executive office of Tenne
sco. It was an act that few men could or
would have survived. It was the result of
pasuioj and that passion wa love Ho had
been married but a few months when hi
abdication took place. His wife was a lady
of great respectability, a native of the County
of Rutherford! or Maury we forget which
and was residing temporarily with her pa.
rents, whilst Gov. Houston wa at Murfree'
borough, the then seal of the government, at
tending to his official duties. One day the
lady ordored her carriage and proceeded to
the seat of the local government. Arriv
at the State House, she sent a message to
executive department, informing her huebai
that sho had arrived aud was waiting his at
tention. Ho returned for answer that he was
very much engaged in offiicial duties, that
if sho would return to her hotel, he would ba
w ith her as speedily as possible.
The lady received the message, and direc
ted her coachman to take her back again to
the residence of her parents. 'If I be not of
sufficient consequence,' she said, 'to induce
Gov. Houston to neglect all other business to'
attend to me, 1 am not worthy of being hi
w ife. As husband and wife we never meet
again.'
All attempts to conciliate and win her back
again, proved fruitless, and divorce was the
consequence. Stung to the quick, and morti
fied beyond all conception. Governor Hous
ton left Tennessee and adopted the life of an
Indian.
(From tha Knickerbnckor
BOYS Ba John G. Sane.
"The noblest study of mankind is man"
The most perplexing one, no doubt, is woman. I
Tho subtlest study tlwt the mind can scan,
Of all deep problems, heavenly or human !
But of all studies in the round of learning,
From nature's marvels down to human toys,
To minds well fitted for acute discerning,
The very queerest one is that of boys !
If to ask questions that would puzzle Pluto,
And all the schoolmen of the middle age,
If to make precepts worthy of old Cato,
Be deemed philosophy your boy's a sage I
If the possession of a teeming fancy,
(Although, forsooth, the youngster docWt
know it,)
Which iio can use in rarest necromancy,
Be thought poetical your boy's a poet!
If a strong will, aud most courageous bearing.
If lo be cruel as the Roman Nero ;
If all tliut's cliivalrous, and all that's daring,
Can make a hero, then the boy's a hero!
But changing soon with his increasing stature,
The boy is lost in in manhood's riper age,
And with him goes his former triple nature
No longer poet, hero, now nor sage !
Highgatc, Vt., December 19, 184$.
FACTS IN REGIRD TO SHOEMAKINU.
We copied a few days since, a paragraph
from a western paper, slating that in Ogna
coke, HI., one man had made tight pain of
boots in one day, and calling It a great day'j
work. Since then wo have been called on
by and intelligent journeyman shoemaker of
this city, who states that so far from this be
ing an uncommon nccurience, he can and
docs make eight pairs of boots every day the
year round, and is willing to forfeit $200 that
ho will make 60 pairs in a working weeki
Nor is this a single caso. There are very
many equally expeditious, and the fact speaks
well for our Philadelphia mechanics tho
finest in the world. But what is more, thia
gentleman "stole the trade," as it is termed, .
never having served an apprenticeship ; and
he has now woiked at the business but five .
years. Ho served a regular apprenticeship at
blacksmithiug, and being thrown out of em- -pioyment
at a dull season, .thought he would
try the shoe trado. How he succeeded, let
this simple fact answer the first pair of (hoes
he ever made, was for the same man he now
works fur. Among expeditious workmen, a
certain number of minutes are allowed for
each part of the boot, via : 5 roluntes for
rounding up the insole and drawing the upper
over j 10 minutes for laying the welt, putting
on the heel and nailing it j 10 minnles for
trimming and coloring, and S minutes for
heelballing making 47 minutes to each boot '
and iu this time it is finished in the most
workmanlike manner. Each boot reqnirea
about four feet of pegging, say six pegs to
the inch, and six inches of nailing ; so that
every eight pairs of boot require 64 feet of
pegging, and 3 feet of nailing. There being-
313 working days in a year, every workman
making eight pairs per day, would use 20,.
032 feet of pegs per year, or about 12 bushels "
of pegs, and 2,504 feet of nails, say, about
160 lbs. 1 here is a fixed number of pecs to
be used in each part of tha work 2S0 cn the
outsols Fhtlwl. Deify yews.