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,'l i A ,t , ,'. .. I t
u; J V '
5?
l5 iW .. flTC . ! : 1
. . . i
H. b. masser; editor and proprietor.
OFFICE, MARKET STREET, OPPOSITE THE POST OFFICE.
. IR 1
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NEW SERIES VOL. 3, NO. 20.,
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THE AMERICAN i pnlillnhcd every Saturdny ot TW O
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. 3.B.1CASSSR, r
ATTORNEY AT LAW,
BUWBXTRV, PA.
Bu.incw ttcmlI to in the Counties of Nor
Cumberland, Union, ft.vromins nd C olumbia.
Kel'er to I
P. & A. Hotouiit,
l.OWKll & UaIIIKI!!, ,
Mom K lie & SKoiiOHite,
RtTKOLnn, McKah-i.iii Ai Co.
Mfrmns, 'Soon i Co.,
yPSUad.
HOOT, ! i!
DAGVERBEAN ARTIST, ,
JVo. 140, enrner of Fifth If Chnnut sfs., Pkila
' delphia. and 363 Broadway corner of
Franklin Street, New York.
CITIZENS AND STRANGERS can hnv
a .itxiiifr for Portrait, or Miniature., an"
receive tliciu hcautifully cased, in morocco, Silk
velvet. Papier Maclie, or other fancy style, or ct
in Medallion, Lockets, &c, in a lew minutes.
Daguerreotypes, Paintings, Drawings,
&o. Copied.
Out door View., and Miniatures of deceased
per.ons. taken at short notice.
For Portrait, of Adult, by our process, and Im
proved Instruments, a eloit 'dy day i. quite as fa
vorable a. clear weather.
For Children, a clear day (between 11 and 2)
i. preferable. $ZTln Drew avoid white, blue
or light pink.
Our Gallery with it. Six Prize Medals and
Works of Art, is open at all hour., and Free.
"Whether visitors wih pictures taken or not, we
hall at all times be happy V sec them.
June 22, 1850.
NEW YORK. & PHIXAIEI,PIHA
JOURNEYMEN
Halters ANNociatlon,
Cor. of 6th and Chestnut S net, PIUUMphia.
CONTIM'E to make and sell a finer and more
- durable Hat. for the money than any other
itli)ilimnit in the United tnles ststidurd
price of Hat $3 00. Gents and Boy's ClutU and
Glazed Caps. Umbrella, Curpet Ua?, Calafy
Panama, and Strew Hats at equally low prices.
May 25, 1830. ly
JOIIIY C. PARK & Co.
IMl'OKTUKS OK
Watches, Jewelry, Plated Ware,
X O FA 'Clf .OOIS,
1 It Chesnut St., between 3d If Ath Streets. .
PHILADHUPHIA,
ALWAYS keep on hand an excellent assort
meut of the above article., which they will
ell on terms as low as any in the city.
June 15, 1850 Oiu
W. F. PEDDRICK'S
(I.ATK PAItTXF.il OK C. SCIIRACK)
YamlNli MaiiiU'actory and Paint
More,
No 78 North Fourth Street,
A FF.W DOOll iBOVE CHEURV, WEST BIDB,
PHILADELPHIA.
Constantly on hand and for sale, at reduced
prices, and of superior quality, the ful
hiring articles, viz:
Cmch. Cabinet,' Jnpomieri' end Oil Cloth Varnishes ;
rirvinr Jnini: B' uml lluruoji Varitish : Brown, W lute
indited Spirit do; Transfer dn ; Artirt llnnse niid
Cooeh Painters' and Voriiwlier' MntenaU; 11 1 I J I
OUANTITIM. I'AlNTi. i)HV. IV OIU AND Pllt
pAKtOKOrtlMMKUIATK I'fKi Milliners' Varnish,
rilu and Aeide: Kl k Jain for Iron j Adhesive do. lor
Fancy Work: IVlure wtd Wind .w (iln; Artiats Co.
Inure. Dry end in Tute" ; Neut's Foot Oil : liold, Mlver,
nndiierniau Lealj Oold. Silver, and Copper Bronze ; Ob
Kier's Diammula. Als vel y eilpenor Sluie Uluckluf and
IVritinf Ink.
Jane aa, W.7I.
LINN, SMITH 8c CO.,
No. 2l3i Market Street, above 5th St.
Philaiielvuia,
Wholesale Druggists,
AND DEALKItS IN
TniKUGS, Mkihcixk, Paixts, Oils, Wunow
H W Glass, Vaiimishk, Dts Stiff, Patent
Medicines, Meuiciki Chests, Surgical Is
ticments, &c, &c; and manufacturers of the
celebrated
Congress Ink,
Black, Hlue and Red. The quality of this Ink is
unsurpassed, and we are now prepared to furnish
it of all sizes, neatly packed in boxes from one to
three dozen each.
L. 8. & Co., endeavor to have always on hand
a full assortment of good and genuine Drugs, at
the lowest possible rate. Particular attention is
also paid to the manner of putting up and packing
their goods, so that they feci prepared to warrant
their carrying any distance with perfect safety.
All orders by letter or otherwise will receive
prompt attention. ,
Philadelphia, June 15, 1850. 6m
FHIALADELPHIA WINE k LIQUOR. STORE
' BITTING & WATERMAN,
lano-tw nl Ds lers in Liquors,
. No. 220 Market street, Philadelpha,
"VFFER for sale, the cheapest and beet assort-
v mentofLiquors in Philadelphia, such as
Champagne, Sherries, Port, Steck, Claret, Bur
gundies, Sauturn, Barsac, Maderia, Lisbon,
Teneritfe and Sicily Wines.
Brandies of the choicest brands, viz t
Maclina, Otard, Ponet, Hcnnesy, &c, &c.
Fine Holland Gin, Monongaheia, Scotch and
Irish Whiskey, etc., Ac
Hotels and the country trade supplied at Phila
delphia prices on the moat liberal terms,
July 13, 1850
I MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.
CIIAS. DUIVI1VIIG,
jVo, 207 Chesnut Street, front Arcade,
Philadelphia.
TMPOBTER and Manufacturer of all kinds of
A Musical Instruments, Fancy Articles and Toys.
His prices are lower than those of any other store
in Philadelphia. AU kind, of Musical IrutUu
menu repaired in the best workmanship, and also
taken in trade ...
Phjladflphi. May 25, 150 ly
jramfla jittospaper-Dfbotrt to ttoutfcs, afterature, .fWoralfts, jForiCjjtt ahft'&omrstfc ileitis,
SELECT POETRY
THE STOLEN KIS.
. BY ALFRED EVELYN.
On restless pillow tossed the bride
Her spouse in sleep profound reposed $
"Past one o'clock," the watchman erred,
. And yawned, and rubbed hit eyes and
... dozed. . ,
One of the moons gay minions, neat, 1
Paused till again he soundly slept ;
Then, seeing that the coast was clear.
- Wiihin the chamber lightly siepped.
With stealthy tread he nenrecl the bed ;
His eyes their thirst could scarcely slake;
"With such a wealth of chnrms!" he said,
"My friend you'll want not what I take ;
This wealth these jewels, and this purse
Are trash you'll scarce a moment miss,
Nor do I think you'll be the worse
Should I those pouting rose-lips kiss."
And as he said, he bowed his head,
And pressed his hungry lips to hers ;
And rather long, it seems, they fed,
For in her sleep the fair bride stirs. ,
She thinks it is her darling lord,
And clasps him closer in her arms,
Anil smiles to feel she's so adored
That e'en in sleep he seeks her charms.
"Mv deaf," next morn, observes the bride.
"You kissed me in your sleep last night;"
"Oh !, no, my love." the spouse replied ;
She still persisted she was right.
We'll not detail the loving strife,
That 'twixt them on the subject rose ;
A spouse with such a charming wife
Would be a brute to come to blows.
The Sun is tip, 'lis time to rise;
But where' his watch her jewels, where?
They hunt they search he damns his eyes;
(How much it eases one to swear,)
No watch nppears, no jewels come ;
More treasures, as they search, they miss;
The wife, with grief and horror dumb,
round words at last "he stole that kiss."
I HAVE SOMETHING SWEET TO TELL, YOU.
Br THE LATE MRS. FRANCIS S. OSGOOD.
I have something sweet to tell you,
But the secret you must keep ;
Ami remember, if it isn't right
I am "Talking in my sleep.' :
For 1 know I am but dreaming,
When I think your love is mine ;
And I know they are but weeming,
All the hopes that round me shine.
So remember when 1 tell you
What 1 cannot longer keep,
We are none of ns responsible
For what we say in sleep.
My pretty secret's coming !
O, listen with your heart,
And you shall hear it humming
So close't will make you start.
O, shut yonr eyes so earnest,
Or mine will wildly weep;
I love you! 1 adoie you ! but
'I am talking in my sleep!'
31 Select Call.
Translated for the American.
FttOM THE GERMAN OF BlCHTKIt.
A BEAL'TIFL'L SKETCH.
An old man stood at the window in the
New Year's midnight, and gazed for a long
time in deep despair upon the fixed, eter
nal, glorious Heaven, and down upon the
sttll, white, pure earth, upon which there
was now no one, so sleepless and joyless as
ior his grave stood close by him. it
was only concealed by the snow of age,
not by the green of youth, and he brought
with him out of a full, rich lite, nothing
but error, sin and disease ; a wasted body,
a desolate soul, the heart full of poison, and
an old age of repentance.
J he beautiful days of his youth returned
to him at that moment, as spectres, and car
ried him back again to that fair morning,
when his father first placed him upon the
threshold of life, which, to the right, leads
upon the sun-path of virtue, into a wide
and quiet land, full of light, harvests, and
angels; but which to the left, draws down
into the mole-track of crime, into a black
abyss filled with dripping poison, full of
serpents ready to dart upon their prey, and
of dismal close exhalations.
Ah ! the serpents hung around his breast
and the dripping poison upon his tongue,
and he knew now, when lie wasdistracted,
and with unspeakable sorrow, he exclaimed
aloud to Heaven, ;
"Give me again my youth !" Oh ! Fa
ther place me again upon the threshold, in
order that I may choose differently. But
his father and his youth were gone long
ago. lie saw Will o' me wisp aance
among the marshes, and become extinct in
the church yard, and said "They are my
mis-spent days. He saw a star fall from
heaven, glimmer in its descent, and dis
solve as it reached the earth, "Thut am ,"
said his bleeding heart ; and the serpent's
tooth ot remorse dur deeper info its
wounds.
His glowing imagination pictured upon
the roofs, crawling night wanderers, and
windmill raised its arms threatening to
crush him. and a skull which had been left
in the charnel-house, gradually assumed his
own features. In the midst of the strife,
music suddenly flowed in upon the New
Year from the tower below, as of distant
chanting. His mind became more calm,
he looked around the horizon and upon the
white earth, and he thought of the friend of
his youth, who now better and happier
than he, was a teacher upon the earth, tbe
father of happy children and blessed among
men, and said,
"Ob ! I too could have slept this night
with dry eyes, had I but wisely chosen !
Ah ! beloved parents, I could be happy if
I had but fulfilled your New Years wishes."
Amid these levensh reminiscences of
his youth ; the skull with his features ap
peared to rise before him, and by means of
that superstition, which oo New Year's eve,
sees ghosts and future events, was at last
chan jed iDto a living youth.
SUNBUItY. NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY. PA.. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 31, 1850.
He could see no more he covered his
eyes a thousand hot tears streamed upotv
the snow he sighed deeply and distracted
ly inconsolable, murmured
"Come again youth come again."
And it came again: for in the New
Year's night he had only so horribly
dreamed; he was still a youth, but his er
rors had been no dream.
He thanked God, that he, yet in his
youth, could turn away from the impure
courses of vice, and return to the sunny
path which leads to the pure land of har
vest. Turn with him, youthful reader, If thou
standest in the path of error. This fearful
dream shall in future become thy judge;
but if thou shalt then call "Return to me,
beautiful youth," know that it cannot come.
C.
THE VOLUNTEER COUNSEL.
A TALE OF JOHN TAYLOR.
We copy the following from the New
York Sunday Times. The subject of it,
John Taylor, was licensed, when a youth
of twenty-one, to practice at the bar of this
city. He was poor but well educated, and
possessed extraordinary genius. The gra
ces of his person, combined, with the su
periority of his intellect, enabled him to
win the hand of a fashionable beauty.
Twelve months afterwards the husband was
employed by a wealthy firm of the city to
go on a mission as land-agent (o the west.
As a heavy salary was offered, Taylor bade
farewell to his wife and infant son. He
wrote back every week, but received not a
line in answer-. Six months elapsed, when
the husband received a letter from his em
ployers that explained all. Shortly after
his disparture for the west, the wife and
her father removed to Mississippi. There
she immediately obtained a divorce by an
act of the Legislature, married again forth
with, and, to complete the climax of cru
elty and wrong, had the name of Taylor's
son changed to Marks that of her second
matrimonial partner! This perfidy nearly
drove Taylor insane. His career, from
that period, became eccentric in the last
degree ; sometimes he preached, some
times he plead at the bar; until, at last, a
fever carried him oft" at a comparatively
early age. Eds. Bulletin.
At an early hour the 9th of April, 1S40,
the court house in Clarksville, Texas, was
crowded to overflowing. Save in the war
times past, there had never been witnessed
such a gathering in Red River county,
while the strong leeling, apparent on every
flushed face throughout the assembly, be
tokened some great occasion. A concise
nairative ot facts will sufficiently explain
the matter.
About the close of 1839, George Hop
kins, one of the wealthiest planters and
most influential men of Northern Texas,
offered a gross insult to Mary Elliston, the
young and beautiful wife of his chief over
seer. The husband threatened to chastise
him for the outrage, whereupon Hopkins
loaded his gun, went to Elliston's house,
and shot him in his own door. The mur
derer was arrested, and, bailed to answer
the charge. This occurrence produced in.
tense excitement : and Hopkins, in order
to turn the tide of popular opinion, or at
least to mitigate the genera! wrath, which
at first was violent against him, circulated
reports inlamously prejudicial to the char
acter of the woman who had already suf
fered such cruel wrong at his hands. She
brought her suit for slander. And thus two
causes, one criminal, and the other civil,
and both out of the same tragedy, were
pending in the April Circuit Court for 1840.
The interest naturally felt by the com
munity as to the issues became far deeper
when it was known that Ashley and Pike
of Arkansas, and the celebrated S. S. Pren
tiss of New Orleans, each with enormous
fees, had been retained by Hopkins for his
defence.
The trial, on the indictment for murder,
ended on the 8th of April, with the acqui
tal of Hopkins. Such a result might well
have been foreseen, by comparing the tal
ents of the counsel engaged on either side.
The Texan lawyers were utterly over
whelmed by the argument and eloquence
of their opponents. It was a fight of dwarfs
against giants.
The slander suit was set for the 9th, and
the throng of spectators grew in numbers
as well as excitement ; and what may seem
strange, the current of public sentiment
now ran decidedly for Hopkins. His mon
ey had procured pointed witnesses, who
served most efficiently his powerful advo
cates. Indeed, so triumphant had been the
success of the previous day, that when the
slander case was called, Mary Elliston was
r, '.I . ....
jeu wunoui an attorney ttiey had all
withdrawn. The pigmy-pettifoggprs dared
not brave again the sharp wit of Pike and
the scathing thunder of Prentiss.
"Have you no counsel." inquired Judge
Mills, looking kindly at the plaintiff.
"No, sir; they have all deserted me, and
I am too poor to employ any more," re
plied the beautiful Mary, bursting into tears.
"In such a case, will not some chivalrous
member of tbe profession volunteer?' ask
ed the judge, glancing around the bar.
The thirty lawyers were silent as death.
Judge Mills repeated the question.
I will, your honor," said voice from
the thickest part of the crowd situated be
hind the bar. At the tones of that voice
many started halfway from their seats;
and perhaps there was not a heart in the
immense throng which did not beat tome,
thing quicker it was to unearthly sweet,
clear, ringing, and mournful.
The first sensation, however, was chang
ed into general laughter, when a tall, gaunt,
spectral figure, that nobody present remem.
bered ever to have seen before, elbowed his
way through the crowds and placed him
self within the bar. His appearance was a
problem to puzale the sphinx herself. His
high, pale brow, and small, nervously
twitching face seemed alive with the con
centrated essence and cream of genius ; but
then his infantine blue eyes, hardly vsible
beneath their massive arches, looked dim,
dreamy, almost unconscious', and his cloth
ing was so exceedingly shabby that the
court hesitated to let the cause proceed un
der his management.
"Has your name been entered on the
rolls of the State ?" demanded the judge,
suspiciously.
"It is immaterial about my name's being
on your rolls," answered the stranger, his
thin, bloodless lips curling up into fiendish
sneer. "I may be allowed to appear once,
by the courtesy of the court and bar.
Here is my license from the highest tribu
nal in America! and he handed Judge
Mills a broad parchment. . The trial im
mediately went on.
In the examination of witnesses the
stranger evinced but little ingenuity, as
was commonly thought. He suffered each
one to tell his own story without interrup
tion, though he contrived to make each
one tell it over two or three times. He
put few cross-questions, which, with keen
witnesses, only serve to correct mistakes ;
and he made no notes, which, in mighty
memories, always tend fo embarrass. The
examination being ended, as counsel for the
plaintiff he had a right to the opening
speech, as well as the close ; but to the as
tonishment of every one he declined the
former, and allowed the defence to lead off.
Then a shadow might have been observed
to flit across the fine features of Pike, and
to darken even in the bright eyes of Pren
tiss. Thev saw that thev had causht a
Tartar ; but who it was, or how it happen
ed, was impossible to guess.
Col. Ashley spoke first. He dealt the
jury a dish of that close, dry logic, which,
years afterwards, rendered him famous in
the Senate of the Union.
The poet, Albert Pike, followed, with a
rich rain of wit, and a hail-torrent of caus
tic ridicule, in which you may be sure nei
ther the plaintiff nor the plaintiff's ragged
attorney was either forgotten or spared.
1 he great Prentiss concluded for the de
fendant, with a glow of gorgeous words
brilliant as showers of falling stars, and with
a final burst of oratory that brought the
house down in cheers, in which the sworn
jury themselves joined, notwithstanding the
stern "order!" "order!" of the bench.
Thus wonderfully susceptible are the south
western people to the charms of impassion
ed eloquence !
It was then the stranger's turn. He had
remained apparently abstracted during all
the previous speeches. Still, and strait,
and motionless in his seat, his pale smooth
forehead shooting up high like a mountain
cone of snow ; but for that eternal twitch
that came and Went perpetually in his sal
low cheeks, you would have taken him for
a mere man of marble, or a human form
carved in ice. Even his dim, dreamy eyes
were invisible beneath those gray, shaggy
eyebrows.
But now at last he rises before the bar
railing, not behind it and so near to the
wondering jury that he might touch the
foreman with his long bony finger. With
eyes still half shut, and standing rigid as a
pillar of iron, his thin lips curl as if in
measureless scorn, slightly part, and the
voice comes forth. At first, it is low and
sweet, insinuating itself through the brain
as an artless tune, winding its way into the
deeepest heart like the melody of a magic
incantation; while the speaker proceeds
without a gesture or the least sign of ex
citement to tear in pieces the argument of
Ashley, which melts away at his touch as
frost before the sunbeam. Every one look
ed surprised. His logic was at once so brief
and so luminously clear, that the rudest
peasant could comprehend it without effort.
Anon, he came to the dazzling wit of
the poet-lawyer, Pike. Then the curl of
his lip grew sharper; his sallow face kind
led up; and his eyes began to open, dim
and dreamy no longer, but vivid as light
ning, red as fires globes, and glaring like
twin meteors. The whole soul was in the
eye the full heart streamed out on the
face. In five minutes Pike's wit seemed
the foam of folly, and his finest satire hor
rible profanity, when contrasted with the
inimitable sallies and exterminating sar
casms of the stranger, interspersed with jest
and anecdote that filled the forum with
roars of laughter.
Then, without so much as bestowing an
allusion on Prentiss, he turned short on the
perjured witnesses of Hopkins, tore their
testimony into atoms, and hurled in their
faces such terrible invective that all tremb
led as with an ague, and two of them actu
ally fled dismayed from the court-house.
The excitement of the crowd was be
coming tremendous. Their united life and
soul appeared to hang on the burning tongue
ot the stranger. He inspired them with
the powers of bis own passions. He satu
rated them with the poison of his own ma
licious feelings. He seemed to have stolen
nature's long-hidden secret of attraction.
He was the sun to the sea of all thought
and emotion, which rose and fell and boil
ed in billows, as be chose. But his great
est triumph was to come.
His eye began to glare furtively at the
assassin, Hopkins, as bis lean, taper finger
slowly assumed the same direction. He
hemmed the wretch around with a circum
vallation of strong evidence and impregna
ble argument, cutting off all hope of es
cape. He piled up huge bastions of insur
mountable facts. He dug beneath the mur
derer and slanderer's feet ditches of dilem
mas, such as no sophistry could overleap
and no stretch of ingenuity evade ; and
Stfence an the arts; floriculture,
having thus, as one might "say, impounded
the victim, and girt him about like a scor
pion in a circle ot fire, he stripped himself
to tne work ot massacre;
Oh ! then, but it was a vision both glo
rious and dreadful to behold the orator.
His action, before graceful as the wave of
a golden willow in the breeze, grew im
petuous as the motion of an oak in the hur
ricane. His voice became a trumpet filled
with wild whirlwinds, deafening the ear
with crashes of power, and yet interming
led all the while with a sweet under-song
of the softest cadence. His face was red
as a drunkard's his forehead glowed like
a heated furnace his countenance looked
haggard like that of a maniac; and ever
and anon he flung his long, bony arms on
high, as if grasping after thunder-bolts!
He drew a picture ot murder in such ap
palling colors, that in comparison hell itself
might be considered beautiful. He painted
the slanderer sd black, that the sun seemed
dark at noonday when shining on such
an accursed monster; and then he fixed
both portraits on the shrinking brow of
Hopkins, and he nailed them there forever.
The agitation of the audience nearly
amounted to madness. ; ,
. All at once the speaker descended from
his perilous height. His voice wailed out
for the murdered dead, and described the
sorrows of the widowed living the beau
tiful Mary, more beautiful every moment,
as her tears flowed faster till men wept,
and lovely women sobbed like children.
He closed by a strange exhortation to the
jury, and through them to the by-standers.
He entreated the panel, after they should
bring in their verdict for the plaintiff, not
to offer violence to the defendant, however
richly he might deserve it ; in other words,
"not to lynch the villian, Hopkins, but
leave his punishment to God." This was
the most artful trick of all, and the best cal
culated to insure vengeance.
The jury rendered a verdict for fifty
thousand dollars; and the night afterwards
Hopkins was taken out of his bed by lynch,
ers, and beaten almost to death !
As the court adjourned, the stranger
made known his name, and called the at
tention of the people, with the announce
ment "John Taylor will preach here this
evening at early candle light !"
The crowd, of course, all turned out, and
Taylor's sermon equalled, if it did not sur
pass, the splendor of his forensic effort.
This is no exaggeration. I have listened
to Clay, Webster, and Calhoun to Dewey,
Tyng, and Bascom ; but have never heard
anything in the form of sublime words even
remotely approximating the eloquence of
John Taylor massive as a mountain, and
wildly rushing as a cataract of fire. And
this is the opinion of all who ever heard
the marvellous man.
THREE POETS IN A FIZZLE.
1 led the horse to a stable, when a fresh per
plexity arose. 1 removed the harness with
out difficulty, but, after many strenuous at
tempts I could not remove the collar. In de
spair I called for assistance, when aid soon
drew near. Mr. Wordsworth brought his in
genuity into exercise, but, after several ef
forts, be relinquished the achievement as a
thing altogether impracticable. Mr. Cole
ridge now tried his hand,, but showed no
more grooming skill than his predecessors;
for after twisting the poor horse's neck almost
to strangulation, and the great danger of his
eyes, he gave tip the useless task, pronoun
cing that the horse's head must have grown
(gout or dropsy) since the collar was put on;
"for," he said, "it was a downright imposi
tion for such a large os frontis to pass through
so narrow a collar!" Just at this instant a
servant girl came near, and understanding
the cause of our consternation, "La master,"
said she, "you don't gn about the work in ihe
right way. You should do like this," when
turning the collar completely upside down,
she slipped it off in a moment, to our great
humiliation and wonderment, each satisfied
afresh that there were heights of knowledge
in the world to w liich we had not yet attain
ed. Coif e's Life of Coleridge.
Natural Barometer. A state of the at
mosphere which indicates a change of wea
ther produces a more or less visible effect on
all animals, as cats, dogs, frogs, hogs, he.
but the spider is said to possess this quality
in a more eminent degree than all the other
animals, and is peculiarly fitted to serve
as an unerring barometer.
These insects have two different ways of
weaving their webs,, by which we may
know what weather we are to have. When
the weather inclines to turn rainy or win
dy, they make the principal or foundaiion
threads of their whole web very short, and
rather thick whereas, when pleasant wea
ther is expected, they spin them much lon
ger and finer.
Barometers, at best, only foretell the state
or the weather, with certainty, for about
twenty-four hours, and they are frequently
very fallible guides, particularly when they
point to settled fair. But we may be sure
that the weather will be fine twelve or
fourteen days, when the spider makes the
principal threads of its web very long.
This insect, which is one of the most eco
nomical animals, does not commence a
work requiring such a great length of
threads, which it draws out of its body, un
less the states of the atmosphere indicates
with certainly that this great expenditure
will not be made in vain.
Instinct or thb Cat. It is stated that
during tbe severity of the cholera at Har
per's Ferry, the cats migrated in large
numbers. , The night watch on the railroad
bridge saw as many, as five or six cross the
bridge of a night. .. Tby became very
scarce, and if one was observed at the place,
it would be found on a hill with an air of
great alarm.
Martlets, amusements, fcc.
: THE WHALE'S STRENGTH. ;
. .The most dreadful display of the Whale's
strength and prowoss yet authentically re
corded, was that made on the American Whale
ship Essex, Captain Pollard, which sailed
from Nantucket fofthe Pacific Ocean, in Au
gust 1849. Late in the fall 6f the same year,
when in the latitude forty of Ihe South Paci"
fie, a school of sperm Whales were discover
ed, and three boats were manned and sent in
pursuit. The mate's boat was struck by one
of them, and he was obliged to return to the
ship in order to repair the damage.
While he was engaged in that work, a
sperm Whale, judged to be eightythree feet
long broke water twenty rods from the ship
on her weather bow. He was going at the
rate of about three knots an hour, and the
ship at nearly the same rate, when he struck
the bow of the vessel just forward of her
chains.
At the shock produced by the collision of
two such mighty masses of matter in motion,
the ship shook like a leaf. The seemingly
malicious Whale dived and passed under the
ship, grazing her keel, and then appeared at
about the distance of a ship's length, lashing
the sea with fins and (ail, as if suffering the
most horrible agony. He was evidently hurt
by the collision, and blindly frantio with in
stinctive ragei ' ' '
In a few minutes he seemed to reeover
himselfj'and started with"great speed across
the vessel's course to the windward. Mean
while .the hands on deck discovered the ship
to be gradually settling down at the bows,
and the pumps were to be tigged. While
the Crew were working at them, one of the
men cried out "God have mercy ! he comes
again."
The Whale had turned at about forty rods
from the ship, and was making for her with
double its former speed, his pathway white
with foam. Rushing ahead, he struck he.
again at the bow, and the tremendous blow
stove her in. The Whale dived under again
and disappeared, and the ship foundred in
five minntes from the first collision. But
five souls out of twenty were saved.
MISIC OF THE PACIFIC.
No one can be in Monterey a single night,
without being startled and awed by the deep,
solemn crashes of the surf as it breaks along
the shore. There is no continuous roar of
the plunging wave, is we hear on the Atlan
tic sea-board ; the slow, regular swells quick
pulsations of the great Pacific's heart roll In
ward in unbroken lines, and fall with single
grand crashes with intervals of dead silence
between. They may be heard through the
day, if one listens, like a solemn undertone
to all the shallow noise of the town ; but at
midnight, when all else are still, those succes
sive shocks fall upon the ear with a sensation
of inexpressible solemnity. All Ihe air from
the pine forest of the sea, is filled with a
light tremor, and Ihe intermitting beats ol
sound are strong enough to jar a delicate ear.
Their constant repetition at last produces a
feeling something like terror. A spirit worn
and weakened by some scathing sorrow, could
scarcely bear the reverberation. Taylors
California.
IRISH ANECDOTE.
Willis, writing upon "Scenery in Ireland,"
gives a couple of anecdotes, that were brought
out by the driver of an Irish jaunting cur, in
which Willis was Ihe only passenger. A
young fellow was seen leading an ass. The
driver addressed him :
"Good morrow, neighbor ! is -that your
own T"
"No," replied the boy, "he's my father's.''
"In troth 1 knew he was one of the family,
for he's the very picther of the ould roan,"
retorled Barney, with a loud guffaw i at the
same time applying the whip' vigorously to
his horse to escape the vengeance of Ihe irri
tated lad, who was searching on tbe road for
a "lump of a two year old," i. ., a stone not
larger than a bullock's kidney, with which
he meant to return Barney's witticism. His
next essay was upon a good-looking country
girl, who, with her bare feet and well gather-ed-up
petticoats, was daintily picking her
way along a plashy part of the road.
' "Mind your steps, ma cailleen dhas, or
you'll dirty your birth-day stockings," cried
he.'
; " Never fear, aboUchal. Itut if I do,
wbeie's lhe harm! Sure they're warranted
to wash, and hould the color always," replied
the girl smartly,
"I wonder, then, how they'd look turned'1
inquired Barney, with n grin. ; , . ;
"About as purty as your ewn eyes," an
swered she, glancing knowingly at the ques
tioner. 1 " ' ' ' ' !
The girl's allusion to the obliquity of Bar
ney's optics, disconcerted him a little ; he
flourished his whip, began lo whistle vehe
mently, and looked oot for a filler object to
crack his joke upon. 1
A writer in California says he knows a
person whose wife made a very handsome
sum by washing linen whilst her husband
was away at the mines. Think of twelve
dollars a dozen, eh I Her husband remained
absent somewhere about four weeks, and
though ha cams back with a pretty good
"find," she good woman, laughed outright at
tbe gold-washing, for her shirt washing had
realized, during the same period, nearly dou
ble the value in dollars of the ore he had
found. ,
A Report in favor of gutta percha soles
bas been issued by the authorities of Green
which Hospital School, after a six months
trial by 800 boys.
OLD SERIES VOL. 10, NO. H9,
, THE LINO PRIZE ftONO. ; ,
, Th following, written by Epes 8argaant,
was selected by four of the committee ap
pointed lo decide upon the prize song, but
they yielded their opinions in deference te
Mr. Benedict, who preferred Bayard Tay
lor's, so says the New York Mirror! i
SALUTATION TO AMERICA,' :
Land of the beautiful, land of the free,
Often my heart had turned, longing to thee ;
Often had mountain, lake, torrent and stream
Gleamed on my waking thought, crowded
my dream;
Now thou receivest me from the broad sea,
Laud of Ihe beautiful, land of the free t
Fair to the eye, in thy grandeur thou art ;
O doubly fair, doubly dear to Ihe heart !
For to the exiled, the trodden, the poor,
Through the wide world, thou has opene4
thy door ;
Millions crowd in, and are welcomed by
thee
Land of the beautiful, land of the free !
Land of the Future! Here Art shall repair
Kinder thy gale than her own Grecian air!
Since her true votaries ever have found '
Lofty desert by America crowned !
Where, in her pride, should she dwell but
with thoel
Land of the beautiful, land uf the free I ,
Sculpture for thee shall immortalize Form ;
Painting illumine, and Poetry warm;
Musio devote nil her fervors divine
To a heart service at Liberty's shrine
Till all thy nifis doubly precious shall be,
Land of the beautiful, laud of the free 1
Hail ! then, Republic of Washington, hail !
Never may star of thy Union wax pale !
Hope of the world ! may each omen of ill
Fade in the light of thy destiny still ;
Time bring but increase and honor to thee,
Land of the beautiful, land of the free!
A correspondent of the New York Sun,
writing from Madrid, Spain, under date of
the 1st ult., says: "The fees which have
hitherto belonged to the Captain-Generalcy
of Cuba, are to be abolished when La Con
cha enters into office, and in lieu thereof
the salary is to be raised. The horrible fact
is beginning to leak out among the people,
that Roncali, and O'Donnell, and in fact all
the Captain-Generals, have made immense
sums of money by being concerned in the
African Slave Trade. Although Spain
with England, France and the United
States, is bound by solemn treaty to prevent
this traffic in human blood, she has now for
years secretly permitted and encouraged
her Captain-General in Cuba, to land hun
dreds of cargoes of slaves, direct from the
Coast of Africa. Roncali is said to have
made $400,000 on African slaves the past
18 months, and the Spanish treasury has re
ceived $1,000,000.
In a late discussion in the English Parlia
ment, Mr. Mowatt complained of the stench
which prevailed in the House during the
evening, which he declared to be intolera
ble. Mr. Hume thought the stsnsh very
natural, considering the general corruptiea
of the House. This Don mot, the first eves
perpetrated by Mr. Hume, caused itraordi
nary astonishment and admiration ; the)
Hon. member himself seemed quite amaaed
at his own brilliancy.
The City Council or Rcadihs have con
tributed S5000 toward relieving the sufferer
by the flood. More than one hundred fam
ilies have been literally stripped of everything
they possessed in tho world, and left withou
a roof lo shelter them, with not a vestige of
their household goods, and in many casee
with neither a particle of clothing or a morsel
of food.
Gkttino off F.asy. One of the State
passed an act that no dog should go at large
without a muKftle, and a man was brought
up for iniringing Ihe statue. In defence be
alleged that his dog had a muzzle. "How is
that V quoth the justice. "Oh !" said the
defendant, "the act says nothing about where
the muzzle shall be placed, and I thought the
animal would like the fresh air, I put it on
his tail."
lr all our hopes, and all our fears,
We prisoners in life's narrow bound,
If travellers through this Vale of tears,
We saw ho better world beyond ;
Oh ! what could check Ihe rising sight -
What earthly thing could pleasures give t
Oh! who would venture then to die,
Or t who would venture then, to live 1
Peach r.i. Sixty-three thousand baskets of
peaches arrived in New York on Friday, and
fifty-one thousand on Saturday. Not less)
than eight hundred thousand baskets have
been sold in New York this season. They
are now cheap as dirt, and we would sdvise
some of our speculators to send them to Bos
ton, where they are worth ft 50 per basket
At llightstown, N. J., there is a kiln in oper.
ation, which dries 60 bushels of peaches per
day. N. Y. Express.
Will Salpbtre Explore.! An answer to
'his long-mooted question may perhaps be
found in the following paragraph, which we
cut from an English paper :
"The ship Elizabeth Anislie has been des
troyed by fire at Cumsingmoon, in India.
She was laden with cotton, salpetre and opi
um. A cask of spirits first caught fire, and
almost immediately afterwards 1300 bags of
saltpetre went oft like a shell, blowing the
side of the vessel, eolton bales, opium chests,
and other articles, high in the air."
New Reason por tub Perpetuity or
Tin! UnionA Western orator, harangu
ing his audience on the vast extent and
overwhelming population of the American
Republic, exclaims by way of chmax, "Fan
euit Hall was ita cradle, but whar, wbar
shall we find timber enough for its coffin."