i 4
6 - ' !
T7. B. JACOB!, Proprietor.
Truth and Right -God and our Country.
Two Dollars per Annccs
VOLUME 13.
BLOOMS BURG. COLUMBIA COUNTY, PA., WEDNESDAY JUNE 19, 1861.
NUMBER'24.
( i
i
S
s
STAR OF THE; NORTH
rtULMRrD ZVBBT WM JXIIDAT, iT,
; ' w. n. jicoar, . '.;
QfilceonMalnStjtrdSqQtro below Market,
. TERMS : Two Dollars per annum if paid
within fix months from the time of subscri
bing : two dollar and fifty cents if not paid
vtithin. the year. No subscription taken fur
& less period than six months; no discon
tinuances permitted, until all arrearages are
paid, unless at the option ot the editor. .
The terms of advertising veil! be as follows: :
tne square, twelve lines; three times, SI 00
Every subsequent, insertion,. . . . . . 25
One square, three months, . . v ; '. . 3 00
Due year,. .:, v . ; . . -.T : 8 Oo
i n
ii - . - - j- . i .ii -i.r - - J i - i-i
From the Luzerne Union. "
"QUI UNION FOREVER."
Tp k u -"S r , - .
All bail the strength "VatonW name !
, Jloa answeclo her cau., . . ... -Baise
high the glorious. VStaVa nd Stripes,"
And let them wave o'er all. .
This sentiment alone comes forth,'
. And bursts from every month ;
Our country, it shall know go North,
tiax f hall it know a South. - .
"The Union" whole ''mnsibe preserved,'?
What else oar foes may say ;
And for the conflictwe are nerved,.-,
Ana we shall, wiu tne day.-
Traitors ! your doom is sure and just:
And it you well may fear ; '
Go hide your face in- the dust,
s Your "day of fate" is near ! ''
Ye "patriot sons" of "freedom's sires'
With bold and burning hearts, : ,
Go! save your country Irom disgrace,
. Though you from friends must part.
In freedom's cause ve'll alt uni'e.
With souls and body's powers P
Although the battle long should wage, , .,
Tit conquest shall be ours t -
- May 27, 186!.- - Tare Blcb.
THE flflSSE BBiLER'S STOST.
: Many years ago, before the era of rail
roads, and when highwaymen abounded
. along the southern route from Kentucky to
New Orleans, a noted Kentucky drover,who
had been to the ."lower country"' with a
large drove of horses, which he had sold
for cash was overtaken by night, on his re
turn near Springfield, in the county of Rob
ertson, Tennessee. He remembered that a
little distance ahead was a quiet inn he had
never stopped at," and be. determined to
pend the night there. "
As be rode up to (he house, the landlord,
respectable looking person, received his
horse and led him away to the stable, while
be invited the drover to enter the public
sitting room. '
Here ha found two young men, one of
whom, from his resemblance to the laud
lord, he recognized as his son ; the other,
omewhat older, from bis mannersappear
ed also to belong to the family. Immedi
ately after supper, (during which time the
drover stated where he had been and what
lock he had met with,") the son mounted a
horse,' and staling that be was going to
Springfield to stay all night, rode off. The
' Kentuckian. having looked after the com
fort of his horse, soon after requested the
landlord to show him his room, which was
done. - - i, , - -.-!.;
As the traveller slipped off his garments,
he felt tor the leather belt about his waist,
to see thai il was secure. This, contained
hie gold, while his paper money was con
tained in a large wallet, carried in a pocket
made for the purpose in the inside of his
vest. Depositing these articles beneath his
pillow, he extinguished the light, and threw
himself upon the bed, when, overcome bj
the weariness, be soon fell asleep.
How long he had been in ihisstate of for
geifulness he could not tell, when he was
aroused by 'some' person endeavoring to
open the window near the head of his bed.
At the same time he beard suppressed voi
ces without, as of several persons in whis
penng coTnurialiori- ' '
' Startled by this suspicious appearance of
things,' the drover reached joward the chair,
on which he had thrown bis clothes, for bis
weapons, when to his dismay, he remem
bered that on his arrival, when preparing
to wash off the dust of his journey, he had
lain them aside within the bar,-and had
neglected to resume them. 1 - ' -- .
Scarcely conscious of what he' was doing,
tie. defenceless r drover .slipped from , the
foot of tbe bed and hid himself irr the dark
ness behind' a lot of woman's dresses sus
pended from the walls of the' house, and
watchedTtbe motions of.t nan who now
lowly and cautiously entered the room.
He even fancied be could detect the reflec
tions of the dim. light upon , an upraired
knife, as the man approached the bed, with
staggering and uncertain Steps. But' great
was bis relief wher, instead of an. attempt
at murder,' the intruded carelessly shuffled
oil his clothes, and throwing himself into
the bad he bad just vaaated, was soon bur
ied in deep slumber The man " was . evi
dently drunk, as his loud, socorbus breath
ing plainly indicated. , .1 , '.
- Not knowinj-what tomake of ihis strange
affair the drover determined to dress him
self, call up the landlord and have this sin-g-aUr
i illusion explained. He had reached
hisclclbes and slipped on his trowsers and
vet nssvinj toward this door, when steps
were hiard castioasly crossing the outer
roora.' Once more ha sought shelter cf the
dresses, which completely screened his
psrsors, and avrai.el the entrance ef the
peser.s, whesver they night be. Present
ly $h Coci cf lb 3 room wes silently opened
ir.j 'tsacT- thiir sppsaraEC. . It
readily distinguish them to be the innkeep
er and the man that he had seen at the
supper table. .
"Step lightly, I tell you," whispered the
landlord,' "or you'll wake him up, and then
we will have a pretty mess on our hands !''
"Wake!" replied the other with an
oath. A man that snores like that, I reckon
ain't easily awakened. Yer scared! Here
give me the knife ! I'll show you who is
scared ! Yon secure the money it's un
der the pillow I saw him put it there and
i'U do the rest!" : V
The old man was in advance, and as he
stood between the window and the drover,
the latter could see his form bent over the
bed, while bis hand seemed to be reaching
beneath the pillow. ' ' ' '.'
"Here, Bill, take it. Here is the wallet,
and here is the belt. My God, how heavy
it is !'; and he passed the money to his com
panion before tbe other bad yet reached the
bedside. - . ' : '' ' ' ' " - ' -
The old man then pot his hand to his bo
som, and the trembling' drover saw him
draw forth the long blade the other had giv
en him. For an instant the murderous
weapon was poised over his head, and
(ben descended with hissing sound upon
the persC?."! of the poor wrelch in bed.
Another and another stroke followed in rap
id succession.', A .half stiffed' groan, a few
gasping sobs escaped .fhe dying man, a cbn
voNive tremor of the bedclothes, and all
was quiet. . . " - .
The murderer paused in bis blcody work
for an instant, as if to satisfy himse.'f that
life was extinct, and then with fiendish de
liberation, drew down the coverlet and to
make all sure, passed the knife from ear to
ear, across the throat of his . victim. Then
wiping the instrument upon the sheets, tho
villains moved quickly from the room.
As soon as the sound of the footsteps had
died in the distance,' the horror stricken
drover escaped through the window, and
run with all speed to the neighboring vil
lage, where, arousing the people of the ho
tel, he told his fearful story. A small crowd
was soon collected about him, and when
enough of the facts had been gathered, they
accompanied him to the scene of the foul
murder.
All about the house was still, but on ap
proaching the stable a light was discovered
within ; and moving noiselessly to the door,
and peering through the cracks, the two
murderers were found in the act of digging
a grave beneath the flooring. A rush was
made upon them and they were arrested
At the sight of the drover, who was i fhe ,
first to consult the gjilty wretches.the land- i
lord uttered a shriek of terror, and fell to j
the ground, while his accomplice, pale as a ;
corpse, gazed upon him with affright, not
doubting it was the ghost of the murdered
man who stood before him. '
' The party now proceeded to the house.
dragging the two murders along with them, j
i ne larany was oy ui.s time a.armea, ana ,
mewim .nuu-us.Hcro, .ue w.nu.oru, i-Mifol gir whom he had long loved. All
gelher with the servants of the house, igno- j went Bmoolhly and he waf on the point of
rant of the terrible crime that had.just been pr0p0Bingt.ny bad he on a few pre
enacted so near them, inquired into the ; ,iminitrv word. when . bntton wav
t. :r ' i j l. r .1 t 11 1 . i
cause of the disturbance.
- r j j .- 1 i
eo strangly murdered instead of the horse
dealer. The wife and daughter followed.
When the bloody covering was removed
xignis wCr procure, anu, sun Keeping iahed abrapUy away, and the lady, hurt
the prisoners with them, the people enter- at his unlooked-for departure, made an en
ed the room where lay the body of the man, ga?emer)tfor a 8ieising party next daV
, , . , - - , , , ,. ' , 1 I uciciuiicu ia?caiut ill 111c lave, auu 11 a
frorn the face o th. corps, and the full l.ght j opon a thread. Always secure your retreat ' man has any of its composition he is sure
of the candle glared upon ,t a loud cry in ,ove as m war Tni9 u a precaution to exhibit it when his newspaper subscrip
burst from the ho? of the landlord s wife. f xi. a -k-u . r .
uT'iy son 1 ' my murdered son J Who has
done this I
And with a hysterical scream, she fell
insensible to the floor.
"No! no! it can't be so mother," ex-
cla.med the daughter a. she struggled o
reach the bed But the terr.b.e truth burst
upon her, a. her eyes fell upon the mangled
iuiiu net i-iuiun, u
Bpon the body.
The cries of the broken-heartea females
seemed to arouse the old man for a moment
and gazing wildly at the sight before him,
he also realized tbe terrible truth he mur
dered his own son.
On investigation of the facts before the
magistrate ol Springfield on the following
day, it was ascertained that the son of the
innkeeper, who was a disipated young man,
bid visited the town on the previous eve
ning, where with some of his associates, he
had been engaged in drinking till a late
hour; and being too much intoxicated to
remount bis horse and ' ashamed to meet
his family, some of his fellow gamblers had
accompanied hirn borne; -and supposing
the room in which the drover bad been put,
to be vacant, they assisted the drunken man
into the window. It was their, voices .the
lodger bad beard; and thus it was that tbe
hapeless youth met his death and- our
friend providentially escaped.
The accomplice of the landlord proved to
be his son-io law. :
From that awful hour the wretched moth
er of that murdered boy murdered by bis
father's band, remained a raving maniac.
It is only necessary to add, in concluding
this tale of horror, that the drover recovered
his money ; and Justice, claiming her due,
the two murderers paid the penalty of their
crime npon the gallows. , Shortly after this
last event, the people of Springfield, to
whom the scene of the unnatural murder
had become an eyesore, soon assembled
and levelled the buildings to the ground.
Tbe spot is now covered with brambles and
thistles, and pointing out to tbe stranger s
a place to bs avoided ; for the ignorant as.
ctrtthat it ia haunted by ' ths ghost cf tha
Cariosities of Courtship. .
- A proposal was written and sent by the
post,in the days when letters travled quietly
at the rate of ten miles an hour on the mail
coach. The : anxious lover for the first
week breathlessly expected the reply, but
it did not come. The week he pined, and
was sleepless; still no: answer. The third
week he became indignant. 'A civil ac
knowledgement, was his due. She was
heartless and a flirt." The next week he
cespised her, and congratulated himself on
his escape and, when at the end of it, he
received his own letter back from the dead
letter office, because he had, in his agita
tion, forgotten to direct it, he had so com
plete!) outlived hio love that he never pro
posed to that lady at all.
I once saw a middle aged invalid making
love to a young g'ul. After making great
efforts to secure an opportunity of meeting
her, he drew his chair close to hers look
ing into her face, sighed heavily, drew his
chair still closer, and, while she looked at
him in astonishment, and I in the distance : h)g to run every risk for your cause. You
strained my ears to hear what tender re- j have proven yoursell a good fireman; now,
mark followed all this preparation, I heard ' my dear son, prove yourself a true Chris
him whisper with great emphasis : '-Who ; tian soldier. Never look at the quality of
is your doctor 1" I need hardly say that your victuals, nor complain of hard beds
the proposal failed which followed this The life of a soldier is made up of priva-well-judged
commencement. A more par- lions. - Remember the hard bed of your
donable case of a man's absorption in bis j blessed Saviour on the Cross, suffering for
own pursuits was that of a very 6hy lover,
whose one-idea was horses. He never
found courage to propose till he had per-
suade'd the lady to go into the stable and j an swer they gave him vinegar and gill.
look at his favorite horses. There he spoke, You, my dear son, must season your food
and there she answered ye?. But this was j with these thoughts. Your country requires
natural and pardonable; a shy man may your aid ; and as my blessed Mother gave
feel this vantage ground, and feeling his up he Son for us, so I give you to sustain
own inferiority in the drawing-room, may the good cause. You have sworn to defend
yet be aware of his superior knowledge and the flag of our Union, and I trust you will
superior porer in the 6lable, where his do so with honor, to the shedding of the
horst? is his throne and lie himself a king, j last drop of your blood. Do nothing that
A marriage fook place, not many years ; will bring a blush to mj check or to your
ago, in the great world, whsre the two lov- ! own, if it phould be the will of God to spare
ers (long attached, but separated by the j you to return. Obey your superiors wiih a
desire of their parents,) met under an arcn-j willingness that may show a good effect
way while each was taking refuge in Lon- j upon your comrades. Good or bad exam
don from a sudden shower of rain. Neither ' pies have each their own effect on a large
of them had the least idea of the neighbor- body of men, and I know you would like to
hood of the other when the sudden meet- j hear your companions praised for their
ing occured, which decided the course of good conduct. Let every thing you do be
their future lives. In another case, the 6n- to the honor and glory of God, to the aid of
gagement was broken off on account of; your country in her need, and for the sal
limited means, and the gentleman went vation of jour own soul. My I'ear sor,, if
abroad. Returning after some year ab-
sence, he arrived late on the railway plat-
form and rushed into the first carria2e he
i reached, iust as thn train was in mntinn
In be fooml (whh ,ief molher) the tacy '
ht, ha. h.. rt :ni .niuavnr: ,n
(orgctf anJ ,he mee'ing enJed in one of"the
i,.DO;M. mAea. Han Anderson i.
1 a c ,
in or.e of his books, an amusing account of
a young rrfan, newly appointed to some
official position in the court of Conenha-
cen. orderimr his court in a sreat haste, that
he - ht present at a ball where he
meam tQ dcc,are hu aUachment t0 a beaa.
j - - t o j
on the hastily made court dress. The lover
-
where she received and accepted the offer j eery of mankind r.as been considerably low
of another lover. ! ered. There is a great deal of latent, on
Thus. love, as well as life, often hansi .1 1 1 . 1:... : 1 .r
.1 liuici vf iicicigu. ifilt TL . UIVJV.I1-
er of the late Lord Z , whose proud and
bau2bty temper was proverbial, proposed
to a lacy in l ortman Square hardens. At-
ter being refused, the rejected lover turned
away Irom her in great indignation, but
findmg ,he gate of the garden locked, was
obIjged t0 relorn t0 the ,ady t0 petition for
. lhe key. Another case BtiI1 more tryir,gf
was tnat ot a gentleman traveling in tNortn
America, who, after being hospitably re-
I Cejred in the house of an officer high in
Command there, proposed, to his host's
j daughter, and was refused. A deep tali of
snow came on in the night; the roads be-
came impassable; and the poor man, to
his unspeakable mortification, was detained
for a week in the house with the lady who
had rejected him. -
; Challenges A gentlemen from the
troops at the Relay House says that the sen
tinels have, in some instances, a pleasant
way of making challenges. A fellow who
bad been fishing on the Patapsco, and se
cured a fine string of fish, was stopped by
the usual question,' "who goes there 1"
"Fisherman," was the answer. "Advance
fiherman , and drop two shad," said '.he
alert sentinel, looking out for his own com
missiriaL The Montgomery Confederation gives the
following from a correspondent:
"On the first night after my arrival, in
passing from one quarter to another, I was
stopped by a sentinel whom I recognized
as private P- (though be did no! recog
nize me.) I was asked for the countersign,
and replied "a lriend with a bottle of whis
key ;" the reply was "advance bottle and
draw stopper," which I did, and was suf
fered to pass on my way rejoicing."
9 g m ,
( Somithinq ron the La dies. The gallant
Got. Sprague of Rhode Island, who is not
yet SO years of age, and worth about Ten
millions is. affianced to .Miss Kate Chase,
the eldest daughter of the preset Secretary
of the Treasury.
VVhcs is a man out of date 1 When he's
A Soldiers Mother to her Son.
The following motherly letter was writ
ten by the wile of a mechanic in New York
to her son, who is a worthy member of Col.
Ellsworth's Fire Brigade. The many mis
representations to which that regiment has
been subjected touched the mother's heart
and called forth the advice which the letter
contains:
Mv Dear Son : I am in receipt of your
welcome letter. To be in the enjoyment
of good health, along with hard beds and
still harder fare, is much better than to be
laid upon a 6ick bed. Dear son, I will give
you a little advice; will you hear, as it
were my voice whispering to you, as it did
when you were a little child, at my knee,
lisping y our childish wants, or rubbing your
little cheek to mine, as if to steal the roses
that 1 could abundantly spare then? Now
listen. You have engaged in a struggle
that may be desperate on both sides. I
know you are right in the path you are
treading: you are young, healthy, and wil-
your sins, and redeeming you with His pre-
cious blood. He that could command the
universe, craving a drink of water, when in
you could se the tears I shed at this mo
ment, as I write this letter, hich may be
the last I shall ever write or you receive,
vnn wnnhi h vpr vlhinrr a fond mother
cold w'ish to welcome home, should it be
,u :m ri( in vnn wtr vhn th
War js OTer For wan, of ,ime j wi con.
rlnd hv airin vnn ih nnniiion to know
- i e s J
that I pray for you day and night ;. your
friends and neisbbors also pray for you and
the cause von are defending Mav voti and :
vour comrades succeed, is the constant
of fond MOTHER.
Newspaper Toblishin
A .i : ... . (. . ... r 1
icirimi cuiiui. aiiKi an c iicncni. e vi a
quarter of a century, gives his opinion
q( j
the common honetty of mankind. Hear
him :
"We have tried the business for more
than a quarter of a century, and regret to
say that our estimate of the agaresale hon-
linn hAnmi. sfnA llitriin lha tan rw
; fifteen year9 we haTe been encased in the
j business, we have loM enough money,
through the rascality of our customers to
! make a man of moderate desires rich !
f , r. . iha.. ,n
; amount9frora Rve to fi!ly dollars-are
rolli in wealth and cou!d pay any day
, wghed o Jo
others belong to the migratory tribe, who
are here to-day and in Texas or California
to-morrow Oihers belong to a class quite
numerous, who write to the editors to eend
them papers, and they will pay when they
gather their crops or do srmethiiig else
but pay.diiy never comes; and finally,
af,er f ending the paper for four or five rears,
it is ascertained that they never were worth
a snap! Another class of losse grows out
of negligence of postmasters. A subscri
ber, after taken tbe paper for six months or
a year, leaves the country without giving
the editor notice, and, after four or five
years have elapsed, he happens to meet
with the postmaster, who most magnani
mously informs him that his subscriber has
gone to 'parts uukown,' and that, if he
wishes to get any pay for his paper, he had
better stop it! or, after suffering the paper
to come for two or three years, he writes
to the editor that, 'for the tecond or third
time, he will inform him that the paper is
not taken out,' &c.
"These losses, and various others we
miht refer to absorb the profits of the busi
ness to such an extent as greatly to discour
age those engaged in it.
"Although we have had our full share of
non-paying subscribers, and have been
worse swindled than any publisher we
know, we take much pleasure in saying
that we have on our books the names of
many gentlemen, whose punctuality.through
a long series of years, always paying in ad
vance, entitles them to be rated as the 'salt
of the earth.' Oh, for an increase of tbe
number.
" Occasional! v some one long in arrears.
moved by a tary sense of justice, pays his
longtwjdj
Chesapeake Bay Its RiTers and Important
Cities.
After making the entrance to the Chesa
peake. Hampton Roads opens to the right,
abroad estuary, with a deep channel a
mile and a halt in width in its narrowest
point. Eight miles from the buoy which
marks the entrance to the Roads, on the
north side of the channel, is Old Point Com
fort, on which is Fortress Monroe, whose
guns command the channel.
FORTRESS MONROE.
This fortress is the largest and one of the
best cor.struced in the United States. It
wan built like all the coast forts, for defense
against a foe approaching from the sea. and j
is caemated only on the side facing the !
channel, having simple wall masonry only
to the landward. Against any attacking
force from that quarter it will need protect
ing out-works. Jts walls enclose a parade
ground of about seventy acres, making it an
admirable school for recently recruited regi
ments. Opposite the fort, in the channel,
distant about a mile and a third, are the
walls ol a small fortification commenced by
the government, not finished, called the
Rip Raps, Farther up tho Roads, and four
miles in a right line across westerly from
Fortress Monroe, is Caswell's Point, where
the Virginians have attempted to erect bat
terietf, at this point to the south, opens
Elizabeth channel, the entrance to Norfolk
harbor. Fortifications at Caswell's Point,
although too far distant to threaten Fortress
Monroe, would effectually guard this en
trance, dizabeth channel, from its open
ing into Hampton Roads to the city of Nor
folk, is eight miles long, direct in its course
very deep, and scarcely a quarter of a mile
in width. Craney Island lies close to the
channel, on the west side, about three mils
from Norfolk, on which are the remains of
an old fort, which the secessionists are re
building. Nearer to the city, on . the other
bank of the channel is Fort Norfolk, also
being improved and mounted wi'.h ordi
nance by the Virginians.
I.OBFOM AND ITS PtB CRB.
The city of Norfolk, located tipou an al
most level site, presents but fw natural
defences aaaiust an attacking force. The
city and Portsmouth lyii'g opposite, can be
approached from several points. Troops
could be Unded from Hampton or Lynn
Haven roads within Feveri miles of the city ;
the approaches being eay and indefensible.
. An approach could be made Irom London
bridge on the south, with an easy march of
ten miles.
Norfolk is important for its railroad con-
nections : 'as the location of a navy yard,
j whose dry dock and machine shops are
proving useful to the Virginians, and as the
i - - . . rv ic
j Chesapeake terminus of the Dismal Swamp
canal through whicn passes me commerce
of Albemarle and Pamlico sounds.
Into
Hampton Road empties the James river, a
large 6tream affected by the tide one hun
dred miles from i's mouth, at which point
the tails and rapids, with a descent of one
hundred feel i'i two miles, effectually block
: . . -
lUllliri fr m,
an unlimited water power. At this point
is situated the city oi Richmond, beautifully
built on several elevations, the most noted
of which are Shockhoe creek The city is
handsomely built, the streets intersecting
at right angles. On Shockhoe hill are the
capitol and other prominent public build
ings, and about them are clustered the aris
tocratic mansions of the city. Vessels
drawing ten feet of water fasten to the
wharf at Richmond, and those drawing fif
teen approach within three miles of the
city. Lines of steamers, before the seces
sion difficulties connected Richmond com
mercially New York, Philadelphia, Norfolk
and Bal imore. Richmond has been the
great depot of Virginia wheat, wh:ch it
mills have converted into flour.
RAILROADS FROM RICHMOK.
Five lines of railroad diverge trom Rich
mond. One line running due north pases
Fredericksburg on the Rappahannock, and
terminates at Aquia creek, rear the Poto
mac. A line running east terminates at
Whitehouce. on the York river. A third
line runs due south to Wilmington, North
Carolina, having intermediate stations at
Petersburg, Va , and Weldon, N. C. The
Hichrnond and Danville railroad extends
in a southward direction to the latter town,
near the North Carolina boundary line, be
yond which it is unfinished- The Virginia
Central runs nearly west, being finished as
far as Covington, beyond the Blue Ride
At Gordonsville it forms a junction with lhe
Orange and Alexandria road running north
east, and the Lynchburg road running
southwest. This city is thus the military
as well as the commercial centre of the
State, and a point of great strategic impor
tance. TORE RIVCR.
From the buoy at the entrance of Hamp
ton Koads to the lightship at the mouth of
York river, the distance is about fifteen
miles. From its source at the junction of
the Pamunky and Ma'.tapony, its debouch
ment into the Chesapeake, the York river
flows forty miles, being an es'uary with a
heavy tide, varying Irom two to tour miles
in width. It is navigable by the largest
vessels toYorktown, and by vessels of sec
ondary draft to its source. A land spit sep
arates the mouth of the York river Irom
Mob Jack bay, which sets inland about
fifteen miles, with eighteen leet ot water.
Into this bay empties the Seven, North and
v. ,;,a ;nr.nn;,Urabl Mreams. navi.
gable a snort oistance ior ui .Kui
I t ?. -1 1 -v .
" ' w -..--, - '
does. V3lfiUmMMA "
the Rappahannock, is twenty miles - A
space of four miles to the south of the light
comprises the entrances to the Rappahan
nock and a small bi y and river called the
Piankeetank.
THE RAPPAHANNOCK.
The Rappahannnck. like the James river
rises in the mountainous portion of tha
Slate. At one hundred miles from its
mouth, navigation is stopped by falls and
rapids. The river below the falls the char
acter of an estuary, being broad and affect
ed by the tides. At the head of tide-water
is the city of Fredericksburg, a great lobac
co depot, lying on the line of the R'chtnond
and Potomac Railroad,
Twenty-two miles from the. light ship,
moored at the mouih ol the Rappahannock,
is the lighthouse at Smith's Point, guiding
the entrance to the Potomac.
Seven miles below Washington lies the
city of Alexandria, the moot important town
on the Virginia side of the river. The
shores of the Potomac below Washington
have but a few slight elevations, and would
be difficult to impede navigation by hastily
constructed batteries. The width for the
same distance varies from one and a half
to five milec. New York Commercial.
Worrt. Don't you know that multitude
of human beings turn away from the many
blessings of their lot, and dwell and brood
upon its worries? Don't you know that
multitudes persistently look away from the
numerous pleasant things they might con
template, and look fixedly, and almost con
stantly, at painful and disagreeable things ?
You sit down, my friend, in your snug li
brary beside the evening fire. The bla-t
without is hardly heard through the drawn
curtains. Your wife is there and your two
grown up daughters. You feel thankful
that, after the bustle of the day, you have
this quiet retreat, where you may rest, and
refit yourself for another day, with its
bustle. But the conversation goes on
Nothing is talked of but the failings of the
servants, nd the idleness and impudence
of your boys ; unless, indeed, it be the su
percilious bow with which Mrs. Snooks
that afternoon passed y our wife, and the
fact that the pleasant dinner party at which
jou assisted the evening before at Mrs.
Smith's has been ascertained to have been
one of a second rate character, his more
honored guests ha?ing dined on the pre
vious day. Every petty disagreeable in
your lot, in short, is brought out, turned in
geniously in every possible light and aggra
vated and exaggerated to the highest de
gree. The natural and necessary result fot-
lows.
An hour, or less, of this dicipline
brings all parties to a skulky and snappish
frame of mind. And instead of the cheer
ful and thankful mood in which you were
disposed to be when yon sat down, you find
that your whole moral nature is jarred and
out of gear. And your wife, your daugh
ters, and yourself pass into moody, sullen
silence over your books books which y ou
are not likely for this evening to much ap
preciate or enjoy. Now, I put it to every
sensible reader, whether there be not a
great deal to much of this kind of thing.
Are there not families that never spend a
quiet evening together without embittering
it by rakir.g up every unpleasant subject in
their lot and history ? There are folks who,
both in their own case and that of others,
seem to find a strange satisfaction in stick
ing the thorn in the hand further in; even
in twisting the dacner in the heart. Their
lot has its innumerable blessings, but they
will not look at these. Let the view ground
in a hundred directions be ever so charm
intz, they cannot be got to turn their mental
view in one of thee. They persist in
keeping noe and eyes at the moral pigsty.
Cuuntiy tartm.
Live Oak. It has hitherto been supposed
that '.he urowib ot lhi timber, so valuaole in
ship building, was confined to the Uni'ed
Slates, but the San Francisco Herald, ot the
19th ot March, states thut live oak has been
discovered in great abundance in Califor
nia. It says :
It is only now and then, when any great
necessity exil,that discoveries are made 111
the vegetable kingdom ; but the progress
made within the past month bids fair to re
veal another most profitable source of in
dustry and enterprise. The "Saginaw"
was built of laurel wood, which at that lime
was considered the bet in California, but
that idea is now wholly disipated by the
discovery of oth&r woods ot far superior
character. When we consider the extent of
our State, and the spareness of population,
the fact that those who do prospect confine
their operations almost entirely to mineral
products, and the comparatively small de
mand for hip building woods, we are not
surprised that greater progress has been
made in discoverirg the existence and lo
cality of the best ship building timber.
Now, however, we now that a very superi
or article of white oak, said to be equal to
that of Virginia, is found in abundance in
Mendocino county, while Captain Pease,
commander of the United States revenue
cutter "Marcy," assures us that a very fine
live oak is plentiful near Marlines. This
wood is exceedingly tough, dose grained,
heavy, and large enough for any purpose.
There is now no reason why we should not
construct first class sea going steamers and
clipper ships, for although the price of la
bor is higher here than at the East, yet the
Dossession of these woods and extensive
coal fields will enable us to construct the
6ujp3 and iheir machinery at a less cost
; than they can be bought for in New York
i and brought around the Horn. Under any
I ... iki nitHHtmni nnHtr fa .
I CirCUIUMalllo lUCOD UUOJCDf.W.- &UJ
; jfornU far xrJjtmXi
what Is the Price ?
"You are going to enter into matrimonial
state, are you Mr. Brown f And'you think
you're coming into possession of an anei?
Yes but angels cost money. Did"it ever
occur to. you what an expensive article
your fashionable young wife was likely to
prove? Bless your unsophisticated soul !
you've no more idea of'it ihan yoa have of
the price of onions or the market value 'f
a wash-tub. You'll find out one day, how;
ever, to your grief, . : ; .... ,:
Two or three stout Irish girls to wait on her
a French maid to arrange her hair fifty
dollar silks and camel's hair shawls to make
her female friends envious, and a half doz-
en bonnets per annum white kid gloves'
and silver card cases otto of roses and
bouquet holder why, you deluded young"'
man, she ll throw money out with her ring":
ed and lily-white fingers faster by the bush-:
el, than you can shovel it in with a spade I
You're doing a remarkably foolish thing
when you marry one of these cameli-japo-'
nica divinities, white handed, helpless, and
knowing just about as much of real every
day life as a canary bird We should just
as soon think of marrying a frail hot-house
plant, as one of these delicate sprigs o! the'
ornamental. . . - ,
Give us the apple blossom type of worn-'
en, eunny, cheerful and useful something',
equal to every emergency, from washing
day to Fifth avenue soiree something that
understand s the handling of a' broom, and
knows what the kitchen poker is made for,
and can calculate to a-nicety the exact
amount of mince meat requisite in a model -pie,
besides liking a bit of fun as well as
the next woman, and possessing a "pretty
weakness for lively books and spicy news-'
papers. That's the article for our money !
A wife who would select gingham in
stead of silk, when she went shopping, and
freshen up her old bonnet with a bunch of
satin violets and a new ribbon instead of
paying an extravagant price for the latest
Paris fooleries, not because she hadn't a
woman's natural penchant lot such things,
but because she wanted to save money
because her little head was full of schemes
some day to contribute something toward
releasing her husband from the bondage
and drudgery of the desk or counter! Do
you suppose the value of such a wife can
be counted in gold pieces ! Let your satin
robed doll sweep contemptuously past her
on Broadway, Mr. Brown time will prove
which is the the best instrument.
Only before yoa purchase the useless
jewelled toy, think twice about it. Ask
your-e'f soberly and reasonably, "What is
the price?" and "Can I afford it V or it
may be the dearest bargain you ever made
in your life. Life Illustrated.
Artemcs Ward says: "Under no sirkum
stanses whatsumever will I 6ecede, and lei
the palmetter flags flote thicker nor the .
shirts on a cke line, and still thar I'll stand
& stick onto the good old flag of :he stares
and stripes- My countey may go to the .'
devil, but I won't. And next summer
when I start out on my campane with my
show, wherever I pitch my little tent you
shall see a flotin proudly from the senter
pole thar the Amerikan flag with nary a '
star wiped out, nary a stripe lesser, but the
same old Hag that has aliers fiotid thar, and
the price of admission will be the same it
aliers was 15 cents; one-eyed men and
wimmin and children half price."
If Artemus only does that, it will be all
light, "whether school keeps or not."
Practical Amalgamation. We have of
ten heard of such a thing as an unholy alli
ance matrimonial between blacks and .
whites, but to the everlasting discredit of
the sex, it always happened that some frail
fair one had thrown herself into the arms
of a darkey, for belter or worse. Yesterday
morning, however, we saw the case illus
trated on the other 6ide. William Bright
and wife lodged in the lock-up, claiming 10
be man and wife. William, albeit he has
lhe loafer stamped upon every lineament
of his countenance, is nevertheless a white
man, while Emma, whom he acknowledged
in open court to be his wife, is a squat re
gress, "black as the Duke ot Hell's boots,"
aB a factious friend of ours used to say
when indulging in strong figures. Bright,
in reply to a quesiioo from the Mayor, said
that he was married in West Chester.
When asked to show bis marriage certii
cate, he said he had lost it. As there was
no charge to hold this beautiful pair, they
were permitted to depart.-Unrisburg Vnivn.
The Pczzlkd Irishman During our last
conflict with Great Britain, a number of our
troops were engaged in repairing the forti
fications of Niagara, and whilst so engaged,
the enemy commenced a sharp fire, se
that it occupied nearly the whole of the
time of our forces to keep on the look cut
for the shots of the enemy.
Finding that they did not make much
headway, they stationed a son of the Eme
rald Isle to give warning when a shot or
shell was coming.
This the sentinel faithfully performed al
ternately, "shot,-' "shell," "shot," "shell,"
nntill finally tbe enemy started a Congreva
rocket which Pat had never seen before.
He hesitated, and seeing it, he shouted
"Shot, and be jabers the gun with it !,
A Mak by the name of Runn "s raising
a regiment in Iowa. Let no soldier fro-
ill drc-v
f red