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W, n. JACOB!, Proprietor.
Truth and ffjght God and our Country.
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VOLUME 13:
BLOOMS BURG. COLUMBIA COUNTY, PA., WEDNESDAY JULY 17, 1861.
NUMBER 28.
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Choice flcetrn.
' ; ALL TirSEY BIT EE., .
Out of the tavern I've just stepped to night
Street I you ar caught in a very bad plight ;
Right hand and left hand are both out of place
Street, you are drunk ; 'tis a very cle .rca&e.
Moon, 'tis a very queer figure yon cut ;
One eye is staring while t'other id shnt ;
Tipsey, I see and you are greatly to blame,
Old as jou are, a horrible shame.
Then the siree'.lamp!-what scandalous fight
None of them soberly standing upright ;
"Rocking and staggering why on my word,
Each ot the lamps is as drunk as a lord.
All is confusion ; now isn't it odd ? .
Nothing is sober that I see abroad ;
Sure it were rash with this crew to remain,
Better go ia'o the tavern again.
Capture of Washington la 131 i-
At thia junction in onr history, a brief ref
erence to the invasion and the circumstan
ces attending the capture of Washington,
by the British forces under Admirals Cock
burn and Cochrane, will not be inappropri
ate ; and as many of those strangers now
at the Capitol may fee! interested to mark
the localities where the first general en
counter occurred and subsequent event took
place those will be noted briefly in the or
der in which they transp;red.
During the early portion of the summer
t)f 1814, Cockbiun's fleet lay along the cost
of Virginia. Maryland, and the Chesapeake
when they were joined on the thirJ of Au
gust by Cochrane' fleet, direct from Ber
muda, both nnmbering together twenty sail.
Our Government was apprised ol hostile in
tentions upon the capital, but General Arm
strong, the Secretary of War, professed a
disbelief in the rumors, and (be National
Intelligencer, proverbially cautious then, as
how, in its conclusions, doubled the proba
bility, of hostile intentious upon the Capital--'
: President Madison, however, had taken
some precautionary steps, by ordering a
militia organization, which he deemed suf
ficient for lh occasion, in addition to a
flotilla of barges, bearing guns, placed un
der the command ol Capt. Joshua Barney,
and Intended to check the fleet in advan
cing toward the Capital. But after sailing
up the Bay the troop disembarked at Ben
dict, on the banks of the Pa:nxen river, on
the 20th of August. On the following day
the aimy, of four , thousand men, took up
jbeir march toward the infant city. They
rere without artillery or cavalry, and
marched under the heat of a midsummer
eon to Bladensburg, which they reached on
the 2-llh. By adopting this route, the flo
tilla offered io protection to the city, and
to prevent the guns of boats from being
oshI against the capital, they weie blown
up on the morning of the 224. by order of
Wm. Jones, the Secretary of the N;ivy
-The approach of the troops under Major-
Generel Robert Ross and Admiral Cock burn
was watched by President Madison in per
son, who directed eight thousand inexpe
rienced and undisciplined militia to Blad
ensburg, under the command of Gen. Win
der, to oppose the" four thousand British sol
diers. Capt. Barney having destroyed the
flotilla, joined the military Jorce of General
Winder, with one hundred seamen and his
field pieces. Oa the afternoon ot the 25th,
the British opened fire, which was success
fully returned by Bar.ey'i sailors.who main
tained their postion nobly, while the raw
recruits under Winder kept a respectful dis
tance, who, rendering liule or no service
with their muskets, soon broke ranks and
taraed their backs upon the enemy. Bar
ney's seamen fought bravely, and their
ucs proved terribly destructive to the ene
my. Ha was overcome, however after
three hours' hard fighting, flanked by supe
rior numbers, and fina'ly fell wounded by the
side of eleven of his men who were killed at
their gans. He ordered a retreat, and gave
fcimself np. His bravery conti&sted nobry
with the disgraceful cowardice, of the mili
tia, without waiting for their commander
to so and a retreat, look sodden leave of the
battle-field, and made a direct line . for the
woods. . - "
The British experienced a severe loss
(a their ranks, stated by the historian Glei&,
of the 85th Royal Regiment, aa high as 500
men killed, ' wonnded and missing. Col.
Thorcieacommander"cf the Light Brigade;
Lieutenant Colonel Wood-commander of
the 85th Regiment, and Major Brown, who
led on the advance troops were severely
wccnded while General Ross, had : a horse
killed under himv The loss waa small on
the part of Carney's men ; and the English
author referred to above, admits that if the
militia had done their duty the victory would
undosttculy have been on the American
tide, Of Barney's hundred sailors, he
speaks in the highest terms, remarking that
"set ctj'y did th?y serve their gnns with a
quickness precision that astonished
tLdlt assailants tat they Mod till some of
then wers actss!'y ' bayoneted with fuses
was wounded and taken, and they saw
themselves deserted on all sides by 'ha sol
diers, that they quitted the field."
Gen. Ross led the Third British Brigade
into the city, and up to the Capitol, on ap
proaching which his horse was bbot from
under him by one of Barney's men, who
had concealed himself in a house for that
object. The house was immediately en
tered, (he inmates put to the sword, and the
building and contents burned. A volley
was fired into the windows of the Capitol
when the. troops entered. Cockbarn took
the speaker's chair, and asked the question:
i ''Shall this harbor of Yankee Democracy be
burned? All for it, say aye !" I!e reversed
the ques:ion, pronounced the motion car
ried, anJ ordered the torch to be put to the
building. It was 60on iu flames.
As a prudential step, the Secretary of the
Navy ordered Commodore Tingey to fire
the Navy Yard, which, with the sloop of
war Argus (ten '.guns',) five armed barges,
two gun boats, and all the very stores, was
consigneJ to the flames.
The Briti-h troops then proceeded to ihe
Treasury and President's mansion, both of
which they fired the rresident having re
treated, with his cabinet, on horseback,
across the Potomac. That night the army
encamped on Capitol Hill, and were ex
posed to a severe storm with heavy thun
der, which added intensity of awe to the
dismal scene which had just been enacted.
During the night a grand nephew of Gen
Washington rashly attacked the sentries,
and was shot down. The long bridge was
simultaneously fired at each end by the op
pressing parlies each apprehensive of an
attack by the other. .-
Next morning the , British burned the
buildings connected with the Navy and War
Departments ; destroyed the material in the
National Intelligencer office, and threw the
type out of the window ; destroyed the re
maining buildings about the Navy Yard
and Greenleafs Point; threw a torch into a
well where a large quantity of powder was
concealed, which exploded, destroying
nearly one hundred of the British trqops,
scattering their mutilated remains in every
direction. A frightful tornado immediately
swept over the city, destroying buildings
and propeMy as if in completion of the gen
eral work of destruction. Very many of
the enemy and of the inhabitants were buri
ed in the ruins of buildings blown down.
The enemy, alarmed for their own safety,
withdrew from the city in the evening, and
hurried toward the place of embarkation.
A Sister In a Tight Place At L '
one Saturday evening, fatigued by his long
journey, a wagoner, with his son John, drove
his team into a range and, determined to
pass the Sabbath enjoy ing a season of wor
ship with good the folk of the village.
When the time of worship arrived John
was set to watch the team, while wagoner
went in jvith the crowd. The preacher had
hardly announced bis subject, before the
old man was asleep. lie sat against the
partition in the centre of the body slips;
just against him, separated only by the very
low partition, sat a fleshy lady, who seem
ed all absorbed in the sermon. She strug
gled hard to suppress her feelings, until,
unable to control them longer she burst out
with a loud scream, and shouted at the top
of her voice, rousing the old man, who, but
half awake thrust his arms around her waist
and cried sooihingly.
'Whoa, Nance! Whoa, Nance! Here
John cut the belly band and loose the
breeching, quick, or shtrll tear everything
to pieces !" - '
It was all the work of a moment; but the
sister, forgot to hout, the preacher lost the
thread of his discourse, ard the meeting
came prematurely to an end; while deeply
mortified, the old man skulked away, de
erm'ined not to go to meetings again until
he could manage to keep his senses by re
maining awake.
Gkkerii. Lvon. A correspondent of the
Missouri Democrat, writing from camp at
Boonville, says :
General Lyon looks well and hardy; he
is the hardest working man in the camp.
It seemed to me that he it bothered a good
deal by business which might be properly
attended to by other officers ; but he it de
pended on for everything. He - is general,
quartermaster, commissary, commander ol
the fleet, and I came very nearly saying
cook,, for the whole army." You have no
idea how busy be is. , Here comes a tele-
'graph dispatch which has to be attended to;
en officer who wants ammunition for his
men ; a quarter-master sergeant complain
ing about the quality of the meat furnished
his company (they all prefer hindquarters;)
a volunteer not long in service who com
plains that he didn't get milk in his coffee ;
a farmer who has a mule for sale ; another
who lost a horse and wants, the general to
find the a&imal for him. Besides this and
a hundred other trifling matters, the gener
al ha? to study with his officers and staff
about the plans of the campaign. .
Notwithstanding 'all this, the general's,
mind is easy and collected, al ways polite
and obliging. One' fact J nearly forgot to
mention : . The general uses neither hair
oil or pomatum, and his uniform and veil
known black hat is pretty well worn, and
he cuts but a poor figure among some' of
the dashy volunteer officer.
A hasdand advertises thus . My "wife,
Annie Marie, has strayed or been stolen.
Whoever returns her will get his head broke.
As to trusting her, anybody caa do eo if
they see fit; for as I never pay rny one deb!'
What Mr. Eassell saw at Pensacola.
The London Times has a letter from Mr.
Russell, who was taken over all the works
at Pensacola From his description, it
would seem that Bragg has been doing jus
tice to his name. Instead of , two or three
hundred guns, hear what he says :
I do not think that any number of words
can give a good idea of a long line of de
tached batteries. I went through them all,
and I certainly found stronger reasons than
ever for distrusting the extraordinary state
ments which appear in the American jour
nals in reference to military matters, par
ticularly on their own 6ide of the question.
Instead of three hundred guns, there are
only ten. They are mostly ol 6mall calibre;
and the gun-carriages are all old and un
sound; or new and rudely made. There
are only five "heavy" guns in all the works,
but the mortar batteries, three in number,
of which one is unfinished, will prove very
damaging, although they will only contain
nine or ten mortars. The batteries are all
sandbajz or ear hworks, with the exception
of Fort Barancas. They are made after all
sorts ot ways, and are of very different de
grees of efficiency. In some of the rnaga
zines will come to speedy destruction ; in
others they are well made. Some are of
the finest white sand, and will blind the
gunners, or be blown away with shells ;
others are cramped, and hardly travellers;
others, again, are very spacious, and well
constructed. The embrasures are usually
made of sandbags, covered with raw hides
to save the cotton bags from the effect of
the fire from their own gun. I was amus
ed to observe that most of these works had
galleries in the rear, generally in connec
tion with the magazine passages, which the
constructors called "rat holes," and which
are intended as shelter to the men at the
guns, in case of shells falling inside the
battel y. They may prove to have a very
different result, and are certainly not so
derirable in a military point of view as
good traverses. A rush for the. "rat hole"
will not be very dignified or improving to
the morale every time a bomb hurles over
them; and a'suredly the damage of the mag
azines will be enormous if the fire from
Pickens is accurate, and well sustained.
Several of the batteries were not finished,
and the men who ought to have been work
ing were lying under the shade of trees,
sleeping or smoking long limbed, long
bearded fellows in flannel shirts and slouch
ed hats, uniformless in all save bright well
kept arms and resolute purpose. We went
along slowly from one battery to another.
I visited nine altogether, not including Ft.
Barrancas and there are three others,among
which is Fort McRay. Perhaps there may
be fifty guns of different sorts in position
for about three miles along a line extending
135 degrees around Fort Pickens, the ave
rage distance being about 1 mile. The
mortar batteries are well placed among
brushwood, quite out of view of the Fort,
at distances trying from 2 500 to 2,800
yards, and the mortars are generally of cal
ibres corresponding nearly with onr 10 inch
pieces. Several of the gun batteries are pat
on the level of the beach ; others have more
cominand,and one is particularly well plac
ed, close to the White Lignthouse on a rais
ed plateau which dominates the sandy strip
that runs out to Fort McRae.
The amount of ammunition which I saw
did not appear to me to be at all sufficient
for one day's moderate firing, and many of
the shots were .roughly cast and had deep
flanges from the moulds in their sides, very
destructive to the guns as well as accuracy.
In the rear of these batteries, among the
pine woods and in deep brush, are three
irregular camps, which to the best of my
belief, could not contain more than 2700
men. There are, probably, 3000 in and
about the batteries, the Navy Yard, and the
suberbs; and there are also, I am informed,
1500 at Pensacola, but I doubt exceedingly
that there as many as 8000 men, all told, of
effective strength, under command of Gen.
Bragg. It would be a mistake to despise
these irregulars. One of the Mississippi
regiments out in camp was evidently com
posed of men who liked campaigning, and
who looked as though they would like fight
ing. They had no particular uniforms
the remark will often be made but they
had pugnacious physiognomies, and the
physical means of carrying their inclina
tions into effect, and every man of them
was, I am informed, familiar with the use
ot arms.
; A story is told that in the early times of
the Towanda Railroad, a verdant looking
geaius from one of the back towns made
his appearance before the superintendent
as an applicant for a conductor's berth.
The superintendent asked him : "Have
you a gold watch ?" "No, sir," returned
the applicant; "but I've a good bulPs eye,"
pulling but an old heir loom of that des
cription. ,'Let me see your fingers,'1 con
tinued the superintendent; "Have you a
gold ring I" "Never wore one," was the
modest reply, "Haven't you any better
breastpin than that?" said the superinten
dent, as his eye caught sight of a brassy
looking thing that the applicant had en
deavored to hide under his vest. "No, sir."
was the reply, "and that's only a borrowed
one.7' The superintendent cooly took off
his spectacles, turned to the applicaut, and
said : "Damnation, roan alive' you'll never
do for a conductor 1 All of onrs wear dia
mond pins, gold watches, and big rings ;
and wheal hire men, they most have them
when they ccn? on fJ'!.'"
The Great Scheme of Consolidation
"When this war terminates, we shall
hear no more of Virginians as such, or of
North Carolinians or of South Carolinians,
but we shall all be Americans, one and in-
divisible." This eentiment of patriotism j
the Atlas and Argus greets with an outburst !
of treason. If thiB contest means anything ,'
at all, it means that we shall come out of it i
as "Americans, one and indivisible,'' and !
we mistake the sentiment of the patriotic
Nor.h, and the spirit of the soldiery, if they
do not echo the eloquent words of the Sec"
retary of War. Philadelphia Press.
The Philadelphia press has its motives
for zeal in the cause of the Administration ;
and it will be better rewarded for the epi
thets which it casts at us, than the most de
voted of our soldiers for their gallant as
saults upon the enemy.
The assumption of Mr. Cameron that the
Stales are to be crushed out by armed force
is not the first intimation from that quarter
ot the designs to establish a consolidated
government upon the ruins of State liberty.
The New York Courier and Enquirer, whose
editor has just been appointed to a diplo
matic office to represent the Government
and the Administration abroad, demand :
"Why all these State lines? Why all
this needless, cumbersome, intricate entan
glement of different powers to make law
and to decree judgment? We can afford
now to efface the old Colonial Geography.
It is the admitted powers of States within
the Nation that has been the source of all
our trouble. Nor will the removal of State
power, and the creation of a nationality be
a force so formidable. It has beer, done
even in the instance of England and Scot
land, educated as toes by centuries of war
fare." And this is the system which General
Banks prophecies is to be elevated upon
the ruins of the present Government. For
over three-fourths of a century this theme
of a consolidated Empire has occupied the
minds of men who have no faith in our
system. During all that time the Democra
cy have successfully resisted this change.
We believe they will defeat it now. The
Camerons, the Banks, the Webbs represent
but a minority of the people; and they will
be owepl from power the moment they at
tempt to execute their nefarious scheme.
There is as much folly as wickedness in
their scheme of consolidation. The Union
would not have broken, if the attempt had
not been to consolidate it ; if the Federal
Government had not assumed a jurisdiction
never intended for it, and affected to discuss
and decide moral and social questions be
longing exclusively to the States. When
this scheme of consolidation is commuted,
revolution will follow, and anarchy bo the
end. The story is already written for us in
the history of Mexican Republics.
If it were not for the States and State
power, Mr. Cameron would at this moment
be a prisoner at Washington. The Cabi
net would have been caught like rats in a
trap. It was the States that armed and sent
on hundreds of thousands of troops to res
cue the Federal Government: it is State
credit that now sustains this army.. The
Secretary of War ha had only to accept an
army, organized and made to his hands by
the States.
. We have seen great men come upon the '
tase, and pass away. We have seen Sec
retaries and Generals and Diplomats ap- ,
pear and disappear. We therefore have
no modest in setting up our prophecy .
against that of Mr. Cameron ; and we tell j
him that when this war ends, the names of
Virginia, and Carolina, and Pennsylvania, i
and New York, will still survive ; and that
the name of "Republican," as applied to '
the party which now abuses 'he appella- ,
tion, will cease to exit. It will have be- j
come ill omened and infamous, as the most '
wicked and fatal faction that ever cursed
and dishonored a free people. Albany Ar
gus. Horrible Tragedy in Missouri.
A correspondent of the St. Louis Democrat
writing from Carnp Blair, on the pouthwest
branch of the Pacific Railroad, in Missouri, uuder Napoleon III, on the fields of Magen
June 23rd, 6ays : I ta and Solferino, came back to the spear
I send you the particulars of a horrible
murder, perpetrated about ten miles from
this place, on Wednesday last. It seems
that there was some dispute between two
neighboring families about a tract of land.
On the day mentioned, at McNull the mur
dered man was ploughing in his field, he
was met by a Mr. Wilson, his wife, (Wil
son's) with their sons and daughters. Wil
son began abusing McNull, the whole fam
ily threatening him with annihilation, and
finally told McNull that if he did not leave
the country he would be mobbed and forc
ed to leave. The latter replied that he
would die first ; upon which Mrs. Wilson
snapped her fingers, and said to the rest,
"Come on, boys; damn him, let's kill him!''
A gun was levelled at McNull, but it failing
to go off, he was struck on the back of the
head and felled to the earth. Mrs. Wilson
and her sons and daughters, and the old
man, then fell upon him and beat him un
til life was extinct. The tragedy, however,
did not end here. Mrs. McNull, from her
house, seeing her husband thus brutally as
saulted, ran. out to assist nim. fcne was
met by old Wilson, who caught her by the
hair, pulling her down, and stabbing her in
the back. .The Wilson girls then fell upon
her, and beat her until they, were actually
tired. They then left their victim and fled.
Soon after the occurrence a messenger
came into Camp Blair for assistance from
the troops to arrest the murderers. Captain
McFall at once started for the scene of the
tragedy with twenty men, bnt on arriving
at the spot found that the civil authorities
Service in 179S.
That our readers may see how the re
cruiting service was conducted some sixty
years ago, and the spirit which animated
the soldiet at that time, we cop) herewith
an article from the "New Jersey Gazette,"
of July 30, 1789. This old volume con
tains many curious articles and advertise
ments, but probably none more curious or
appropos to the times than the following:
GENERAL WASHINGTON COMMANDS '.
MARS ! THE DKUM BEATS, TO ARMS !
The undersigned, recruiting setgeant lo
the honorable ensign Boote, of the brave
and glorious lhirJ United States regiment of
the infantry, begs leave to have the honor
to inform the youth of New Jersey in gen
eral, and the lads of thn counties of Middle
sex and Somerset in particular, that the ren
dezvous is still continued at New Bruns
wick, for the reception of such young fel
lows of spirit as may wish to acquire the
erect attitude, manly deportment, genteel
address, and warlike, whiskered phiz of a
regular Continental soldier. Nothing need
be advanced to induce the young men who
disdaining an inactive life, and nobly pre
ferring a musket to inglorious implements,
have served a campaign with credit to
themselves and commander, to re enter the
service, when they learn that they will be
commanded by the brave General Wash
ington. To those heroes who have never
seen the world.or heard the inspiring.heart
cheering sound of the drum and trumpet,
he begs leave to address a few words.
Your country, my boysjs threatened with
invasion ! your homes and farms with fire,
plunder and pillage ! and your wives and
sweethearts with ravishment and assassin
ation by horrid, outlandish, sans culotte
Frenchmen ! The time is now arrived
when every man must convert his plough
shares into swords and his prnning hooks
into spears, or be torn from limb to gut and
devoured alive by blood-thirsty, ferocious
canibals.
But you will say, why mention these
things to hearts of oak, to whom the knowl
edge of the critical skuation of their coun
try, with the honor of being permitted to
fight her battles, and the glory ol receiving
scars in her service, would be sufficient in
ducement to rally around her standard ! To
arms, then, my dear, brave boys! leave
yonr lonesome cottages, and repair to the
drum-head at New Brunswick, where you
will find me and my comrades (alt tr je sons
of thunder) drinking bowls of cool grog to
the honor of Congress and our noble Presi
dent. You shall there receive a handsome
bounty, with five dollars a month, until pro
moted, an elegant suit of clothes draw daily
rations that might tempt an epicure, and be
treated with kindness and attention by
Y'our loving friend, and well wisher,
Jas. Hamilton,
Recruiting Sergeant.
The Weapons of this War.
The editor of Wilkes' (New York) Spirit
of the Times, is a soldier, now in Washing
ton. In a letter to that paper he thus re
marks on the weapons with which the
battles are likely to be won :
"Some importance has been attributed to
the fact that the Southern men, as a general
thing, are better marksmen than the sol
diers of the North, and that they will con
stantly possess a great advantage through
such superiority in the hour of battle. But
while I do not believe this is the case to any
ereal extent, I would not even if it were so,
give much consideration to the fact; for in
banle but few special shots are made, an1
the coming struggle is not destined to be a
contest of mere marksmanship or evolution.
War began with a spear for its weapons ;
after a variety' of changes, through several
centuries, it yielded in refinements, and
again. Un those bloody ana bitterly con
tested fields the alert Zouaves and the ath-
letic Chasseurs d'Afrique refused to accept
the rations of powder and ball when served
out to the troops, jnst prerious to battle;
nay, when the charge was given, refused
even to discharge the loads which were
already in their weapons, but rushing for
ware through the fire, they engaged the
Austrians hand to hand, and bayoneted
them in the ranks. This is unquestionably
the true resource of seperior physical con
dition. On this plan the coming war between
the North and South will surely be contes
ted, and in part evidence thereof I will
merely point to the fact that the Govern
ment has already taken away the little
costly breech-loading toys which the mu
nificence of New York put in the hands of
Col. Ellsworth's regiment, and served out
to them the spear, in the shape of a sabre
on the end of a Minnie musket and may
Heaven help those under the edge of whose
bayonets these 'pet lambs' shall succeed in
getting, inere will oe some strange ngtn
ing, in which, possible, even 'butting' and
wrestling and throttling may form a part;
but after a short turmoil the results will be
a heap of slain and flying remnant each of
whom will probably render his verdict of.
the struggle in the explanation that 'those
fellows are not gentlemen !' The sabre
bayonet is also to be distributed throughout
the entire army, and 1 feel certain from
what I have gathered through military men
that h nrtnttl Prnpn?lcl ha-UJja ,
The Beerniting
Major General Bntlen
The promotion Df the commander Of the
military department of Annapolis to the
rank of Major General will give great satis
faction to the public, with whom General
Butler has been winning golden opinions
ever since he went to Maryland An im
portant war, in which the troops Consist
mainly of volunteers, commanded by offi
cers not taken from the regular army) brings
to light a great deal of latent military capa
city. In a country which does not maintain
a larize standing army there are always in
civil life many men formed by nature to be
soldiers, who are fitted !o acquire immedi
ate distinction as soon as a field is open
for their abilities. General Butler is a man
of this class; the boldness of his character;
his energy of will, presence of mind, readi- j
riess to assume responsibility, combined !
with admirable prudence and respect for
private rights, has led the country to antici
pate for him a distinguished career, and it
is gratifying to see, from his promotion, that
the Governmsnt share in the popular re
spect fot his military talent. In the eenior
offices of the regular army, who have the
planning of the campaign and the general
direction of operation, we have the coolness
and forsight which are expected from long
experience and a great reputation for strat
egy, but energy in executing plans wisely
deviled, and the ready intrepidity by which
the enemy are to be overwhelmed and rout
ed in the field, will perhaps be as largely
supplied by the commanders of the volun
teer forces as by the officers of the regular
army. It is yet too early to know who will
win distinguished laurels and become the
particular pets of the army and country.
Anderson, of the regular army, thus far
shines pre-eminent and Butler perhaps
stands next. But who shall win some en
dearing sobriquet, like "Old Put" in the
Revolution, or ' Old Hickory" in the last
war with Great Britain, or "Old Rough and
Ready" in the Mexican war, is to be here
after determined by a happy concurrence
of ability with opportunity. W henever be
stowed, it will be awarded by the quick in
stincts of the soldiers, outrunning the slow
er judgment of the public.
Wonderful Calculation.
A writer thus undertakes to convey some
idea of the greatness of the population of
China; "The mind cannot grasp the import
of so vast a number. Four hundred mil
lions? What does it mean? Count it.
Night and day, without rest, or food, or
sleep, you continue the weary work; yet
eleven days have passed before you count
the first million, and more than as many
years before the end of tedious task can be
reached." He also supposes this mighty
multitude to take up its line of march, in a
grand procession, placed in single file at
six feet apart, and marching at the rate of
thirty miles per day, except on the Sabbath,
which is given to rest. "Day after day the
moving column advances ; the bead push-
in:
on
far toward the rising sun, now
bridges the Pacific, now bridges the Atlan
tic. Ar.d now the Pacific is re-crosed, but
still the long procession marches on, stretch
ing across high mountains, and sunny
plains, and broad rivers, through China and
India, and the European kingdoms, and on
the stormy bosom of the Atlantic. But the
circuit of the world iiself affords no standing
room. The endlpss column will double
upon itself, and double again and again,
and shall girdle the earth eighteen times be
fore the irreat reservoir which furnishes i
these numberless multitudes is exhausted.
Weeks, months, and years roll away, and
still they come, men, women and children.
Since the march began the little child has
become a man, and yet they come, in un
failing numbers. Not till the end of forty
one years will the last of the long proces
sion have passed." Such is China in its
population ; and if Homer could preach
eloquently on the vanity of man as a mor
tal, with equal eloquence, had he seen or
contemplated the millions of China, could
he have preached on the vanity of man as
an individual.
In the class tha. recently graduated at West
Point, the first on the list was a poor Irish
boy, belonging at Pottsville Pa., named Pe
ter O. Rourke, who, at the age of sixteen,
did not know his letters. This lad had
saved the lives of several persons on Lake
Erie, who, out of gratitude, offered him
a considerable sum of money, which he
declinedoncondition that they wouldsecnre
him an education. They complied with
his request, seat him to school, and after
wards secured him a situation at West
Point, where he has graduated with the
highest honors. It is out of such 6tuff that
the great men of this country are made.
The Tbibun e for Peace. The New York
Tribune is ont for peace. It says that "no
where on earth would a speedy and honora
ble peace a real peace be hailed with
more heartfelt gladness than by us." And
it adds that "if the traitors prove too strong
to be subjugated, we are for peace on their
terms, rather than a useless continuance of
the war." This is treason, according to
the Republican doctrine, and had it been
uttered by a Democratic editor, be would
here been denounced as a traitor by every
Republican journal in the country.
To vex another is to teach him to vex ns
again; injuries awaken reveoge,and even an
ant can sting, and a fly trouble our patience.
Searching for Contraband of War.
A correspondent of the ' Boston Journal
relares incidents attending the search for
contrabands at the Relay House We quote';
You heat the Whistle ol the train bound
for Harper's Ferry. As it comes rounding
the curve, the guard is drawn up on each
j side of the track. Soon as the train stops a
soldier steps on each platform of every car,
and sees that ao one gets in or on. The
one Whose business it is to "develope" any
contraband articles or persons enters for
ward passenger car. He hJoks dh and un
der the first seat and finds nothing bnt a,
very suspicious female. Her hoops are
very large, and she looks about the waste
as though she indulged in a free use of cot
ton, or else is a Walking freight train In the
service of the rebels The searcher looks
but doesn't know what to do. He cannot
ol course treat her as would a male, tor ev-
erybody would call him a brute, and be
sides, he has no taste for such things. At
last he timidly requests that she will rise,
in the hope that some treasonable article
may tall and discover her character.
Here is a man who looks a little confas
ed, or else puts on a solid expression, as
though ne were utterly Indifferent. After
carefully investigating .hi seat, the search
er very politely asks the individual to emp
ty his pockets. Mind you this is really
done politely, and while asking a thousand
pardons for the demand. All letters direc
ted to individuals south of the Potomac are
confiscated. Oftentimes they have been
found to contain valuable information. . If
the man is very suspicious the search is
correspondingly rigid. The hand are pass
ed over his coat, his vest, and woe be to
him if anything is discovered that stamps
him as a spy. So the cars are looked
through one by one. Some of the passen
gers laugh, some grow mad and swear,
some at once see the reason of the thing
and yield at once, others bljstef and threat
en, and have lo be shut up by the fear of
immediate arrest if they open their mouths
again.
Ths searcher then says, all who havo
baggage will please step into the forward
car. He then asks each man to open bis
trunk, and passes his hand as carefully as
may be through the bundles of varieties
with which human beings fill their travel
ling apparatus. One's luggage does not un
dergo one half the danger which it is sub
ject to in a Liverpool Custom House. I
have seen both classes of operators, and I
would much prefer to go by the Relay than
to land in Liverpool.
Suddenly the searcher comes across a
common-looking, red, wooden trunk. It is
marked Mary Birkitt,Wheeling,Va. There
is nothing suspicious about it. It looks in
keeping with some village aunt who bad
forsaken the company of the coarser set
and had just returned from a visit to some
relations who had lately thrown themselves
away by swearing m the presence of a par
son to keep house, neatly and economically,
for some one of those worthless creatures
called men. The searcher calls out for
Mary to come and display her dry goods,
but no Mary is to be found. He calls again
but with the same result The conductor
is questioned, but he knows nothing about
the matter. The thing looks all right, but
it won't do to let even Mary Birkitt's trunk
go on without knowing what's in it. So af
ter sounding another call for the spinster to
make her appearance, the searcher calls for
a hammer and chisel, and opens the thing.
Nothing alarming is presented. On the top
is a very white and nicely done np pair of
sleeves. Ther. comes a chemisette,' and
then a dress, and then two millions of pef
oussion caps. Ah! Mary, that was a sorry
dodge. No wonder you didn't answer when
your name was called. Why, my dear
Mary, you have here more caps than you
could wear in a dozen life times. The
trunk is confiscated.
Colonel Jones was once going through a
train on the scent of suspicious articles
He aw between two seats a small bake.
The top was partly raised and discovered
some sandwiches, gingerbread, &c. It waa
of course nothing surprising to a see lunch
eon baske's in the cars. The conductor
came up and said:
"Colonel, an old woman owns that bas
ket ; I believe she has stepped into the
forward car." . s
Well, that was very reasonable. How
ever, just as he was going to leave it, the
Colonel put his little finger under the han
dle to see how much a basket of luncheon
weighs, you know. But the thing didn't
come up. Somehow it stuck to the floor.
He then applied hit hole hand, and after
removing the gingerbread, he discovered
about half a peck of bright brass buttons,
which were on their way to adore the uni
forms of the Virginia rebels.
Arrest or a Female Spy. A young dam
sel of eighteen years has been arrested by
the Michigan regiment. She gave her
name as Alice Kingsbury, and she said she
was a native of Washington city. Upon her
person was found an accurate diagram of the
fortifications on Shortens Hill, the positions
of the guns being marked, as well as the
weak points. She had been permited to be
in the vicinity for some days, but suspicion
being aroused, she was arrested. She is in
close custody.
Fanny Fern av that it i jnt sgnsibli.
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