The star of the north. (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1849-1866, December 08, 1858, Image 1

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    THE STAR OF THE NORTH.
H'i U. JACOBYi Proprietor.]
VOLUME 10.
©IF S?®2B
rttILISBEO EVERY WEDNESDAY Y
WH. 11. JACOBY,
Office on Main 81., Srd Square below Market,
TERMS:—Two Dollars per annum if paid
Within six months from the lime of subscrib
ing: two dollars and filly cts. if not paid with
in the year. No subscription taken lor a less
period than six mouths; no discontinuance
permitted until all arrearages are paid, un
less at the option of the editor.
The terms of advertising unit he as follows:
One square, twelve lines, three times, Si 00
Every subsequent insertion, 25
One square, tnree months, 3 00
One year, 8 no
TIT
Cljoftt pottrn.
lII'MULE WORTH.
Toll mo not that he's a poor man,
That his dress is course and barn ;
Tell me not that his daily i-itiance
Is a workman's scanty tare.
Tell me not his birth is humble,
That his parentage i- low ;
Is Iw honest in his actions ?
That is all 1 want to know.
Is this world to be relied on ?
Has bis character no blame ?
Then 1 care not if he's low-born—
Then I ask not whence his name.
Would he from an unjust action
Turn away with scornful eye ?
Would he then defraud another,
Sooner on the scaffold die ?
Would he spend his hard-gained earnings
On a brother in distress?
Would he succor the affl cted
And the weak one's wrongs redress?
Then he is a man deserving
Of my love and of my esteem;
And 1 care not what his birth-place
In tbe eyes of man may seem.
Let it be a low. thatch'd hovel;
Let it be a clay-built cot ;
Let it be a parish work-house—
In my eyes it matte s not.
And, if others will disown him
As inferior to their caste,
Let them do it—l'll befriend him
As a brother to the last.
A CAPITAL S I OR Y.
Shortly after the first republican constitu
tion of the State of New York was framed, j
and the judiciary system was established for j
the civil department, the supreme court, or j
the branch of it called the "circuit court," ]
was appointed for one of the circuits, in the
county of Dutchess and the eccentric Judge !
was to preside. Judge Crane was
sws)' wpal liv, and highly respected for his
puttie espdciall>*Whis j
charitableness to the poor; but he always!
dressed in a plain garb, and would hardly ev
er wear an overcoat, whatever the weather
might be, and it was seldom he rode when
he went abroad, although lie owned many
valuable horses. On the morning of the day
in which the court was to begin, the Judge
set out before day and walked genlly on,
through hail, rain and snow, to the appoint
ed place. On arriving at Poughkeepsie, cold
and wet he walked to a tavern, where he
found the landlady and her servants were
making large preparations for the entertain
ment of the judges, lawyers and othef gen
tlemen whom they expected would attend
the circut court.
The Judge was determined to have some
•port, and in a pleasant tone addressed the
landlady—l have no money and was obliged
to come to court, and have walked through
this dreadful storm more than twenty miles.
lam wet and cold and dry and hungry. I
want something to eat before court begins ;
when the landlady put herse'f in a mag
isterial posture, and putting on a counten
ance ot contempt, said to the Judge, you
•ay you are wet and cold, dry and hot, how
can all that be? No, my dear madam, says
the Judge, 1 said that I was wet and cold ;
and if you had been out as long as I have
been in this storm, 1 think' you would be
likewise dry and cold. 1 said that I wanted
aomething to drink and eat. But you have
no money you say, retorted the landlady. I
told you the truth, says the Judge, and the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth, hut
were 1 as rich as Crmsus, I would be willing
to work for something to eat and to drina
Crasus, who is t'rasus says the iady. I
never knew him said the Judge, but I have
understood that he was very rich I want
aomething to eat and something to drink,
and were I as poor a- Job in his utmost ca
lamity, and had my health and strengh as
well as I now have, I would willingly goto
work a little while, if I could only get some
thing to drink and a bite of good vicuala
Well, old daddy, says she, how much do
you want to drink? Half a gill of good
brandy, madam, says he. Very well, says
•he, I will give yon a half a gill and some
cold victual* if you wi'l go into the bnck
yard and cut and split three armfulls of wood,
and bring it into the kitchen, where the ser
vants want to make a good fire to dry the
gentlemen's great coats when they come,
and after you get your victual, I shall want
you to go away. Welt, says he, give me
the brandy, mid I'll soon bring the wood.—
He drank the liquor and walked quietly into
the wood yard, where he foptul a good axe,
and he soon laid by the kitclien fire the prop
•r quantity of wood, viz: hta'wrms three
'times full. When the landlady had got bis
cold luncheun oa the table, in hopes that he
would eat and be ofl—now for the goad bile
of victuals, says the judge. There it itjeaid
ehe, coldly. And it is almost ascold as my
self, but not hall so wet, for I seo neither tea,
nor coffee, nor chocolate to wet it. Beggars
must not be choosers, said she. I am not
begging ot you madam, said, he, but have
paid the full price demanded. I told you,
•aid she, I would give you cold victuals, and
there is cold boiled ham, cold pork and beef,
cold potatoes and turnips, and cold vinegar,
piqklss and soup, and if you want anything
bot, there is mustard and pepper, and here
BLOOMSBURG, COLUMBIA COUNTY, PA., WEDNESDAY. DECEMBER 8, 1858.
is good bread, good butler and good cheese,
and all good enough for such an old raga
muffin as yon are. It is all very good, said
he, pleasantly, but madam be so good as to
let me have some new milk, warm, right
from the cow, to wet this stood victuals. The
cows are not milked, says she. Then let
nie have a bowl of cold milk, said he. I
will not send the servants in this storm to
the spring house to skim it for yon, said she.
Said he with a pleasant smi'e, dear madam,
I have a good wife at home, older than you
are, who would go out in a worse storm than
this, to milk the cows, and bring m lk to the
poorest man on earth, at his request; or to
bring the milk Irom the spring house, wtih
out skimming, to feed the most abject of the
human race. You have a very good wife
at home, says she. Indeed 1 have, said he,
and she keeps my clothes clean and whole,
and notwithstanding you called me "an old
ragamuffin,'' I atn not ashamed to appear
abroad in the clothes t wear in any good
company. Well, I must confess, says she,
that when you have your broad brimmed
hat off, you look middling well, but I want
you to eat and be off, fur we want the fire
to dry the gentlemen's great coats and um-1
brellas by ; and among the rest we expect
Judge Crane. Judge Crane, says he, who
is Judge Crane? The circuit Judge, says
she, one of the supreme Judges, you old
fool.
Well, says the Judge, I will bet a goose
that Judge Crane lias not had, will not have
a great coat on his back, or an umbrella ov
er his head this day. You old goose, said
she, I care nothing for your bets. Kat and
te off, I tell you Judge Crane is to be here
and we've no room for you. I don't care,
said he one rye strw more for Judge Crane
than 1 do for myself, and it has got to be so
late, that, if he has to come at this time of
the day, he would more likely go directly to
the court house and stay till dinner time,
than go to any tavern ; and if business was
very urgent he wou d be very likely to stay
away even from dinner. I know something
about the old codger, and some people say
he is a rusty, fus y, crusty old luilge. Pretty
talk indeed, says the landlady, about the su'
preme judge. Now eai your cold check and
be ofT, or be off without eating, just as yon [
please. I tell >ou, said he, Judge Crane is \
not the Supreme Judge, and if he were he is |
no more fit to be a judge than I am. Well be
uir wiib yourself, cays she. .pon't be inao
great' a hurry, said he mildly. I wish to
know who is the landlord here? He is the
high sherifT of the county, and won't be
home till night; but if ho were here you
would not stay long. Well, madam, said he,
give us a cup of cider to wet my victuals,
if you won't give me milk. Not a drop
says her ladyship. The Judge who had not
pretty well warmed and dried, and wished
for his breakfast, put on astern countenance,
and positively declared he would not leave
the room and fire until he pleased. But,
added lie, if you will grant my requst, I will
eat and be off. Tho cider was Immediately
brought, ami ihe judge partook heartily of
the collation set before him, tock his
broad brimmed bat, and gently walked to
the court house, where he found good fires
and clean floors, and during the court hours,
he presided with dignity and propriety. !
When the Judge withdrew, the landlady
anxiously looked after him ' for some time,
as he walked steadily on towards the court
house, supposing him to be some poor man
summoned up to court as a witness, or some
culprit, or some vagabond who might give
her luther trouble in the time of courts, and
expressed to her servants a dvsire that they
would see that he did not disturb the gentle
men and the Judges who might put up there.
While some of the girls declared if he did
come, they would use some of his own ex
pressions, which he used respecting Judge
Crane. Let me see, says one, "rusty, fusty,
crusty old fudge," says another.
When dinner was announced, the court
not being thronged, was immediately ad
journed, and the day being stormy and cold,
the Judges and lawyers poured into ihe sher
iff's tavern ; where they were sure of good
fare, all except Judge Crane, who walked lo
a store and purchased a valuable shawl; put
it into hi pocket on the inside of his coat;
then walked quietly to the tavern. While he
was thus detained, the landlady entered the
dining room arid earnestly inquired if Judge
Crane had come in ? The answer was, "not [
yet, madam, and perhaps he may not comei
The landlady who was anxious to pay the '
highest re!\iect to the supreme judge, retired
to the kitchen, not a little chagrined, or dis- |
appointed. In the meantime the Judge ar- '
rived, and being at proper limes very socia- j
ble, and at all times fond ol cheering the |
minds ot those present, ho began to make j
some pertinent remarks, and to tell some
lively anecdotes Intended to convey good j
morals; which set the whole company into
a roar of laughter. And at this instant, one
of the watting maids entered the room to in
form the gentlemen that they might set
down to dinner. She did' Iter errand and
hastened back to her mistress with the tid
ings, that the old fusty lellow with his'broad
brimmed hat on, was right in among the bare
headed gentlemen, talking as loud as he
could, and all the Judgr-s and lawyers were
laughing at him. Then go, suys slio r and
whisper to tue old matt that 1 wt>h him to
come into the kitchen. The errand was done
accordingly, and the judge in a low tone of
voice said to the girl, tell your mii-tress I
have a little business to do with some of
these lawyers, and when done, I'll be off in
the cour-e of two or three days. The girl
returned and faithfully rehearsed the mes
sage, and added that she believed the old
fellow was drunk, orho would not have said,
"as soon as my business is done, I'll be off
in two or three days."
Well, Betty, says the mistress, go back,
and when the gentlemen begin to sit down,
do you stand by the head of the table, and
whisper to some gentleman that 1 wish a
vacant place lelt at the head of the table for
JuJge Crano, and then do you hasten bHck
; and see that John has the cider and other
1 'iquors in good order. And, Mary do you
fill two more tureens with gravy, and put
| one at each end of the long table. And,
| Martha, do you see that all the clean plates
| for change are ready, and that the tart pies,
j &c , are in good order. Betty again repaired
"(to her pool ot lliy hood of the tattle, ami
softly informed a gentleman of the' request
ot her mistress. "Certainly" said the gen
tleman ; and Betty hastened back to assist
John. The gentlemen nutr sat down to an
excellent repast, and after a short ejuculatory
address to the throne of grace, delivered by
Judge Crane, in which he adorned the Fath
er ot all mercies for feeding all his creatures
throughout the immensity of space—invo
ked a blessing on that portion of earthly
bounty then before them and supplicated
divine mercy through the merits of our Re
deemer. the gent'emen began to carve ahd
serve round in usual form.
But alaa the Judge \va9 of a singular turn
in almost everything, anil had taken a fancy
that if a person eats light food at the same
ineal with that which is more solid and
harder of digestion, that the light food should
be eaten first; he therefore filled his plate
with some pudding made of milk, rice and
eggs, and placing bruise f in rather an awk
ward situation with his left elbow on the
table his head near the plate, began to eat
according to his common custom, which
was very fasi, although he was not a great
duter. And some of the gentlemen near
ihe Judge, followed his example as to par
taking of the pudding before the meat, of
conr-e a large deep vessel which hud con
tained the article, was nearly emptied when
Mary approached with her additional
tureens of gravy, according to the com
mand of her mistress^and us she set down '
the last near the Judge, he says to her in an J
austere manner, Girl, bring me a clean plate !
jto eat some salad on. The abrupt manner j
! in which he addressed her, ai<d her disgust '
at seeing him there in that position, so dis- i
concerted the poor girl that she did not see 1
that aty ©ne ©xcent the jfudge 1
of the pudding nor did the know what lie
meant by salad, but she observed that the
large pudding pan was nearly empty, and
then hastened back with her utmost speed
to her mistress, and addressing her with '
Lord madam, that o : d fellow's there yet, j
and he is certainly crazy or drunk, lor he is
down at the table, and has eaten more than 1
askippleof the nee pudding already, and i
has his nose right down on a plateful now.
shoveling it in like a hog; and told me as if
ho were lord of the manor, to bring him a
clean plate to eat salad on. Bless me,
where can we get *alad at this time of the
year? And the gentlemen have not done
carving, and not oue has begun to eat meat, |
much less to eat a tub full of pudding. j
Aye, he'll get a clean plate, savs Martha, !
before gentlemen want clean plates,
i 111 clear him out, says the mistress, and
starts for the dining room, burning with in- j
dignation.
T he Judge was remarkable for not giving '
unnecessary trouble to anybody where he
put up, and generally ate whatever was soi
before him without making any remarks;
and seldom made use of more than one
plate at a meal, but at this time lie observed
nea* him, a dish of beautiful raw white
cabbage, cut up and put into vinegar, |
vwhich the Dutch at Poughkeepsie call cold
slaw, which he called taLld,) and he wished ;
for a separate plate to prepare some of it
for his own fancy. The carving and serving 1
were not yet finished, when he expected a
clean p'ate, and the landlady at the door of j
the di.nina room, determined to drive him j
out. She advanced with a firm step to the |
door, and fixed her keen eye sternly on the I
Judge, when he turned his eye that way, j
and observing her, mildly said, Landlady, '
can 1 have a clean plate to eat some salad
on A clean plate and salad , retorted the j
landlady indignantly, I wish you would j
come into the kitchen in,til gentlemen have !
dined ; 1 had reserved that seat for Judge J
Crane. The company were struck with
astonishment, and fixed their eyes ailerua-1
lively on the landlady and on Judge ; and
■at or stood in mute suspense—when the!
Judge gracetully raised himself up in his
chair, carelessly folding his arms across his j
breast then putting his head awkwardly on J
one side. You reserved this seat for Judae •
Crane, did you, landlady? Indeed I did,
says she. It was very kind, says he in an
ironical tone, but it you will step to the
door and see if he is coming, or send one
of 'the servants to call for liirn, with your I
permission and the approbation of these
gentlemen, with whom 1 have some busi
liess to do, I will occupy this place until
you shall find the Judge Find the Judge,
said she with emp' asis, go look for him
yourself, nut send me nor my servants. I
gave you your breakfast this morning for
chopping a little woud, because you said
you had no money; and I expected you
would go away quietly and keep away, and
now you must come here to disiurb gentle
men at dinner. Here the whole joke burst
on the minds of the gentlemen present, who
fell into a loud fit of laughter. After the
tumult had a little, subsided, says the Judge
mildly, did I not chop wood to pay for my
breakfast?. Indeed you did, says she, and
said you had no money. I told yon tho
wholo truth, says the Judge, but 1 have,a
Truth and Right God and our Country.
beautiful shawl worth more than ten dollars
I wlticft I just now bought, and will leave it
i with you in pawn, if you will only let me
I eat dinner with these gentlemen Here the
gentlemen were biting their lips to keep
from laughter. How did you buyashnw!
i worth more than ten dollars without money?
i I bought it on credit, says he. And where
j did you find credit to that amount? says
| she. I brought it from home, said he. That
j is a likely story, something like your abuse
i ef Judge Crane this morning, said she
I How could I abuse the Judge if he was not
present? -aid he. Why, fays she, you cal
led him a rusty, fusty Judge, an old codger,
ami ssiif-jron did noil care
I for him than you ilia for
the whole company were in an uproar of
laughter again. But as soon as it a little
subsided one of the gentlemen asked the
landlady how she knew that the gentlemen
she was addressing was not Judge Crane.
He Judge Crane ! said she; he luoks more
like a snipe than a crane I
Here the loud laughter burst forth a third
lime. And. altera little pause, the Judge
said : "I must confess that 1 am not a bird
| of very fine feathers, but I assure you that
| 1 am a Crane , and a crane is often a very
useful instrument: I s..w a very good one
in your kitchen i!:is morning; and some
limes an instrument called a "crane," is of
incalculable use. madam." Before she had
lime to reply some f the gentlemen with
whom she was acquainted assured her that
she was talking with the presiding Judge.
Astonished and confounded. -Thl Tnrnp'nl
some excuse, and hastily asked Lis pardon
lor her rudeness
J he Judge had, by this time, unobserved,
taken front his pocket the beautiful shawl,
anil folded it at full length one way, and in
a narrow form the other, and it being ol a
very fine texture, appeared more like an
elegant sash than like a valuable shawl.—
V\ hen he arose with graceful dignity, and
with a half smile, advanced a few steps to
wards the landlady, saying, "it is not my
province to pardon, but it is my bu-tness to
judge; and I judge that you and 1 shall
hereafter be belter friends—and I judge also,
that you will, without hesitation, receive
this as a present, if not as a paten." So
saying, he gently laid it over her shoulders
and across her arms, saying: 'Take it,
ntadam, and do not attempt to return it, for
it wa c s purchased, gn pascal
for hastily retired inconfusion,
hardly knowing what she did, and took wi h
her the shawl worth twelve dollars instead
of ten.
And here were three parties who had
each two good things. The landlady had a
good lesson to meditate upon—the gentle
men had a pood dinner and a good joke to
talk over—and the judge had good inten
tions in the joke, and good will and abi.ity
to follow up the lesson given.
Making n Needle.
I wonder if any little girl who may
read this, ever thought how many peo
ple are all the tune ct work making the
things she every day uses. What can be
more common, and, you may think, more
simple than a needle? Yet, if you do not
know it, I can tell you that it takgs a great
many persons to make a and a
great deal of lime, too.
Let us take a peep into the needle manu
factory. In going over the premises, wo
must pass hither and thither and walk into
the next street and back again, and take a |
drive to a mill, in order to see the whole
process. We findi one chamber of the shop
is hung around with coils of bright wire of
thicknesses, from the stout kind used for
codfish hooks, to that of the finest cambric
needles, lit a room below,' bits of wire,
the longth of two needles; are qui by a vast
pair of shears fixed in the wall. A bundle
has been cut of; the bits need straightening,
lor they just came'off Irom the coils.
The bundle is thrown into a red-hot fur
nace, and then taken out and rolled back
ward and forward on a table till the wires
are straight. This process is cal eil "rub
bing straight." We now see a.igill for
grinding needles. We go down niio the
basement and find a needle pointer seated
on his bench He takes up two do/.en or
so of the wires and rolls them between his
thumb anil fingers with their ends on the
grindstone, - first one end and then the other
We have ttovv the wires sruight, and poi,,t.
Ed at both ends. Next is a machine wh'ch
flattens anil gutters the head of ten thousand
needier an hour. Observe tho little gutters
at the head of your needle. Next comes
tho punching ol the eye, and the boy who
does it punches eight thousand an hour,
and he does it so last your eyes can hardly
keep pace with him. The splitting follows,
which is running a fine wire through a doz
en, perhaps ol these twin needles.
A woman, with a little anvil before her,
files between the heads and separates them.
Tltey are now complete needles, but rough
and rusty, and what is worse, thef*ea*iU
bend. A poor needle, you will
the hardening comes next 1 hev are heat
ed in a furnace, and when red-hot are
thrown into a pan ol cold water. Next they
must be tempered, and this done by rolling
them backward and forward on a hot me
talic plate The polishing still remains to
be done. On a very coarse cloih, needles
are spread to'the number of forty or fifty
thousand. Emery dust is strewed over them,
oil is sprinkled, and soft soap is dashed in
spoon tuls over the cloth ; the cloth is then
rol ed up with several others of the same
kind thrown into a wash-pot, to roll to and
. fro for twelve boors or more. They come
oot dirty enough but after a rinsing in clean
hot water, and tossing in sawdust, tliey look
as bright as can be, and are ready to be sort
ed and put up for sale. But the sorting and
doing up in papers, you can imagine, is
quite a work by itself.
The great Hibernian anniversary passed
off more quietly than usual, and we were
commenting upon the few cases of intoxica
tion incident to the day, when "Barney"
handed us some dirty scraps of paper which
he assured us, he had found in West street,
near one of the piers. Upon closely scru
tinizing the aforesaid scraps, we perceived
that they were inscribed with the experience
of
-MR. O'fTNNUaN. *
Me name it is 0 Finnigan, '
From County I'otk in Erin,
And if ine coat is not the best,
I'd like to catch ye sneerin';
For ev'ry mother's son of us
As comes across the water,
Has to support a character,
A pig, a wife and daughter.
We confe>sed our admiration of the dis
tinguished foreigner's independent spirit
He then speaks of certain real estate and
Chateaux en E*pagne :
Me father was a noblemen,
And owned a rich domain, sir,
Hard by the lakes of Killaruey,
And bounded by a plain, sir;
They said he owned some castles, too,
With barns and fields behind them ;
But they were so mighty small,
His son could never find them.
Mr. O Finnigan takes a trip o'er the sea
with his family. He claims his tittle and
explains a technicality:
At iwiidy-one I crossed tho sea
With Biddy, in the steerage,
Anil wrote our names upon the books
As mimbers of the peerage.
We had an extra bed supplied,
By paying nail a crown, sir,
And though it wasn't very soft,
'Twas always tailing uoum, sir.
He arrives in New York, and resents the
imputation of being a Mormnn :
At early dawn on Patrick's day,
We rayehed this model city,
And then a chap came up to us
And tried to he quite witty ;
"You are theTorkisn Admiral—"
He (luestioned—"l suppose, sir?"
"Faix ! I'm a musclemnn," says I
And broke his ugly nose, sir.
He perigrinules toivard the Park,escorted
a la Mahutnmed Pacha Tails, Esq., by a
Councilman :
~me wife and childlicr safe
Abroad the sailing st -atner.
And then was taken up Broadway
By Councilman Van Screamer;
I axed him gi itly what he meant
By this uptuwrt progression?
"And sure," says i e, "I'm taking you
To see the great procession."
He beholdeth the Irish Elephant, and ad
mires the hinnocent happearauce of the
hanimal :
j His Honor led me to a placo
Enclosed within a railing,
I That looked as though a heavy chap
Might break it in the scal.ng;
And there before a Hall I saw
The biggest lump of Padtly
That ever-etood betwixt the pole
And town of Limavaudy.
His next stanzas are expressive of a high
ly cultivated taste for poetry and belles let-
Ires :
And every man looked spruce and nale,
With lace toward the street, sir,—
Except one who was troubled with
A swimming in his feet, sir
The banner flapped like loosened sails,
The music was exciting
As thousands of Kilkenny cats
For the mouse-trap victims fighting.
He meets a friend of his youth, whom ha
had seen before, and imbibes:
A friend, whom i had seen before,
With actions kind and frisky,
Invited me to take a drink
Of Mr French's whiskey, •
The whiskey l isted very well,
I'll tell the raysen why, sir—
You see I'd been so long at sea,
That I wMvery dry, sir.
The mentionor his paternal and maternal
relatives proves to much for him. He takes
another:
And when me friend and I had drank,
He spoke about me brother,
Which roused the manhood ol my sowl,
And made rne—drink another ;
Says lie, "tell nie. 0 l-innigan;
How is your root old mother?"
"Bad luck to it ! she dead," says I,
And then—l took another.
He is induced to take a drink:
Says he, "your ' ealth will not agree
With this here kind of weather "
Bedad ! I think ye're right." says I,
Anil then we dra k together.
Says he "yon navn't changed a bit
In any single latere "
And I r-iitmed the compliment
By trating to "the crature."
Circumstances compel him to swallow
spirituous beverage:
We talked on every subject, then,
Of which a man could think, sir,
And joqjjAel'ore we lef the place,
We tlWfc another drink, sir;
With talking such a length of time—
I never shall Target it—
My tongue bpcame so very dry,
I rayly hail to wet it.
The effect of whiskey upon the Celtic
brain is here made vividly manifest, and
the poetry becomes rather irregular and ob
scure—which peculiarities many critics ad
mire—as witness the admiration excited by
Tennyson's incomprehensible 'Lady of Sha
lott."
"O'Finnigan,'• exclaimed me friend,
"I'll make ye a confession ;
We'd better (hic)dino the Park."
"I honor your (hie) spression,"
Says I, "(hie) away," says he ;
Pays I, "(hie) saotly so."
"We"'ll —" "(Hie)'' says ne ; says I,
"Thisis-" "(Hio) spensive," says he.
Mr. O'Finnigan is entertained with re
markable phantaamagorical spootacl ; very
often witnessed at Donuybrook fair, and oc
casionally noticed by double-sighted alder
men. The poetry is not unexceptionable :
When we got out in Catham street,
I looked up in the air, sir.
Anil there I saw a funny sight,
That rayly made me stare, sir; ,
A score ot houses danced a jig,
Wnd five hundred and eleven
Irishmen, with banners and music,
Went marchin' into heaven.
"Hark ! from the Tombs a doleful sound."
The close of which shows that Mr. O'Fittni
gan knows how prose goes :
1 can't remimber what occurred.
But 1 (hie) spect, or presumes, sir,
That all the blessed afternoon
I (hie) spatiated in the Tombs, sir;
And there I caught an (hie) 'streme'y
bad cold,
And was(hic)spatriated in the mornit.',
And w'int back to the vessel, and here
I'm
Stayin' at prisint, waitin' for a good
boordin' house.
The Hotel De Finnigan, which was prob
ably named in honor of the unfortunate
"furriner "will afford am pie accommodations
for himself and Biddy. Should Mr. O'Fin
nigan, at any time during his sojourn here,
feel inc'ined to favor us with some of his
exqsisite gems of poesy, we shall bo very
happy to publish them—at ten cents a line.
Carrier Pigeons.
The first mention we find made of the
employment ot pigeons, as letter carriers,
is by Ovid, in his "Metamoryhoses," who
tells us that Tanrothenes, by a pigeon stain
ed with purple, gave notice of his having
been victor at the Olympic games, on the
very same day. to his father at jEgina.
When the city of Ptolemais, in' Syria,
was invested by the French and Venitians,
and it was ready to fall into their hands,
they observed a pigeon flying over them,
and immediately conjectured that it was
charged with letters to the garrison. On
this, the whole army raising a loud shott',
so confounded the poor atcrial post that it
fell to the ground*-and on being seized a
letter was found under its wings from the
Sultan, itt which he assured the garrison
that "he would be wjth them in three days
with an army sufficient to raise the scige."
Fortius letter the besiegers substituted ano
ther, to this purpose, "mat the garrison must
see to their owu safety, tor the Sultan had
sNch other affairs pressing him, that it was
impossible lor him tocotneto their succor;"
and with this talse intelligence fjtey let the
pigeon fly on his course. The garrison,
deprived, by this decree, of all hopes of re
lief, immediately surrendered. The Sultan
app-ared on the third day a3 promised,
with a powerful army, and was not a little
mortified to find the city already in the
hands of the Christians.
In the East, the employment of pigeons
in the conveyance of letters is still very
common, particularly in Syria, Arabia and
Egypt. Every bashaw has generally a bas
ket full of them sent him from the grand
seraglio, where they are bred, and in case
anyinsurrection or other emergency, he
is enabled, by letting loose two or more of
thesSTxtraordinary messengers, to convey
intelligence to the government long before
it could be possibly obtained by any other
means.
The diligence and speed with which the-e
feathered messengers wing their course, is
extraordinary. From the instant of their
liberation, their flight is directed through
the clouds at an immense height, to the
place of their destination. They are be
lieved to dart onward in a straight line, and
never descend except when at a loss for
breath, and then they are to be Men com
moniy, at dawn of day, lying on theirbacks
on the ground widyfceir bills open, sucking
with hasty avidity the dew ol the morning'
Of their speed, the iu|iances related are al
most incredible, x*#*
The Consul of AWtkaudria send- despatch
es by these Ale, po, in five hoars,
through carrier* the whole Hay, and
proceed with thflutmost expedition from
one town to arintner
Some years ago, a gentleman sent a car
rier pigeon from London, by the stage
coach, to his friend in St. Edmnndsbnry,
together with a note, desiring that the pigeon
two days after its arrival there, might he
thrown up precisely when the town-clock
6truck nine in the morning. This was done
accordingly, a> d the pigeon arrived in Lon
dnn, and flew to the Hull Inn, Bishop's Gate
street, into the loft, and was there shown at
half past eleven o'clock, having flown sev
enty two miles in two hours and a half.
At Antwerp! in 1819, one of the thirty-two
pigeons belonging to that city, who hud
been conveyed to London, and there let
loose, made the transit back, being a dis
tance in a direct line ol one hundred and
eighty miles, in six hours.
It is through the attachment of these
birds to the place of their birth, and partic
ularly to the spot where they had brought
up their young that they are thus rendered
useful to mankind. When a young one
flies very hard at home and is come to its
full strength, it is carried in a basket or
otherwise about half a mile from its loft, and
there turned out. Alter • his it is*carried a
mile, two, four, eight, ten, twenty. &c., till
at length it will return from the farthermost
parts of the country.
How TO GAIN SITUATIONS. —There is one
desirable feature of the Iron City College,
and one we believe peculiar toil, which we
must not pass unnoticed—it makes itself an
express and a very efficient agent in pro
curing situations and ocoupationa for such
as it qualifies to bold them—WUK'A Mtr
rkmVi J/fl^oiuvi
[Two Dollars per Annua.
NUMBER 48.
A Hundred Years Ago.
The Pittsburg I'osl. alluding to the near
approach ol the one hundredth anniversary
of Old Fort Dnqu 'sne Bays:
"One hunndred years ago there was not *
single white man in Ohio. Kentucky, Indi
ana and Illinois Territories. Then what is
now the most flourishing part of America
was as little known as the country around
| the mountains of the moon, it was not un
til 1769 that the "Hunter of Kentucky," the
gallant and a Iveututous Boone, left his home
in North Carolina to hecoino the first "onler
cf Kentucky The first pioneers of Ohio did
not settle until tfventy years after this timo. A
hundred years ago Canada belonged to Franca
f ; ar.d the whole population of tho United
| Slates did not exceed a million and a half
| ; of people. A hundred years ago the great
| Frederick of Prussia, was performing those
1 great exploits which have made himimmor
j tal in military annals, and with his little
i monarchy was sus'.ai tir.g a sing'e handed
' | con'est with fuss a, Austria, and Fr nee
s —the three great Powers of Eurrpe com
bined. A hundred years ago Napoleon
> was not born, and Washington was a young
1 and modest Virginia colonel, and ti.e great
' events in the history of two worlds, in which
these great but dissimilar men took leading
parts, were then scarcely foreshadowed.—
A hundred years ago the United States were
i the most loyal part of the British Empire,
and on the political horizon no speck iudical
i ed the s ruggle which, within a score of years
. thereafter, established the greatest Republio
, of the world. A hundred years ago there
, wore but four newspapers in America, 6teara
engines had not been imagined, and railroads
| and telegraphs had not entered into the re
, molest conceptions of man. When we come
to look hack at it through the vista of histo
( ry we find that to tho century which has
i j passed has teen allotted more important
i I event- in their bearing upon the happiness
j of tho world than almost any other which
i ! has elapsed since the creation.
. "A hundred years hence what will be the
i ! developments? It is past finding out ox
, [ cept in one thing—a thought which aston
: | ished Xerxes when he stood upon Mount
Athos—all, with lew exceptions, now living
. will be dead."
The AuvcNTt'ttKH of Dennis O'Toole ok
t St. Patkick's Day— Mr. Dennis O Toole
, was as far from a fool, as any man under
the sun and
magrant ol a wile, who jawed him from one
; umit °e- Now, on St. Patrick's Day, bad-
I ffored Dennis did say, "My dear, lam going
to walk, ' with an air quite jocose]; though
; he said, tollo voce, ''l'm bound to get rid of
| jour talk." All primed for a lark, he re
paired to the Park, and stood on the step#
of the Hall, resolved that while light, he
| would view the great sight, and at evening
1 attend the Green's ball. Soon music of
drums through the atmosphere comes, and
1 bands with their banners appear, on which
1 there is writ, amid fringe, gilt and silt,
1 "We drop for old Ireland a tear." Now Den-
I "' s stood long, gazing down on the throng,
forgetful of his female rocket; when lo! as
he stood in this reflective mood, he felt &
' man's hand in his pocket. "Bad luck to
yersoul!" Dennis said with a howl, and
giving a muscalar jump, ho struck at tho
man who was nearest at hand, and hit hint
| a mttrtheriu'thump. Then quick as a flash,
the police made a dash, and Dennis, ' for
nothin' at all," was shockingly bound with
old rope by the pound, and dragged to a
room in the Hall. When safely lodged
there, the old justice did stare, to see such
a good looking chap, hauled up for the
crime, of selecting such time, for givin<*a
fellow a slap. Then Dennis exe'aimed—
with a blush ha I ashamed—"Your honor
me only defence is that some old thief,
thinking I might be deaf, attempted to
pocket my pence. But be jabers I felt, and
I hit him a welt, right close to his bad look
-1 < n ß eye; and here now I stand in a boasted
| free land, unable lo laugh or to cry," Said
j the justices, "Keep cool ; are you sure now,
| 0 Toole that this man did take all of your
i gold?" Then Dennis cried "knock it; 1 ' put
I his hand in his pecket and shouted: "Oeh
jmurther! I'm sold!" He drew forth his
hand and astounded did stand, for in it, all
! harmless and fair, his pocket-book lay,
whde its form did betray, more metal than
leather was here. "Yer pardon I ax, by
jraf grandmother's axe!" poor Dennis ex
cWSrned with a groan ; ' know for your satis
faction that midst my abstraction, the hand
that I fell wnmyuW't. He said nothing more
but made straight for ihe door, and hurried
right home to iiis wife, fierce sweaiing by
jahers! and all of his neighbors, to stay
there the rest of his life.
An Oi.d Stage Diiiver —John Bender, of
this place—who does not know Bender, the
veteran stage driver?—has driven the mail
coach on the Cambersburg and Bedford
Turnpike for upwards of thirty-five years,
without intermission or interruption. It is
calculated that during that time he has ave-
I raged fourteen tnilcsja day for every day is
the week, excepting >uuduy, and has conse
quently travelled 163,370 miles. He is al
ways at his post, faithful and honest, and
looks hearty and active enough to drive
twenty years yet. He has one horse in hi*
| team that has been driven about II year*
! uninterruptedly, 48.202 miles. If any man
1 in the country deserves a pension for
continued public service he certainly doee*
for carrying the U S M. faithfully fot 38
years. Besides a'l this, he is an old soldier
. and served his country faithfully in the late
war with great Britain. We believe that be
■ j baa obtained bis land warrant —MtCmnM.
Surg Dtmawl