-r .ri it!-. ijf.; ( i - '
BY S. B. ROW;
CLEARFIELD, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26,185(1.
VOL 2. If 0.' 33.
.v.:-.- ' .'"LIGHTS , ' V
.The following exquisite poem, by "William. Pitt
Pammer, was - some years ago pronounced, by one
of tho most eminent European critics to be the fi
nest production) of the same length, in our lan
guage : : "' ; - ;
Prom the quickened womb of tho primal gloomy ,
The sun rolled black and bare, !,,",,.
Till I wove him a Test for his Ethiop breast ' ,i
Of the thread of my golden hair; - -' 1
And. when the broad tent of the firmament '
Arose in its airy spars, e . . ' ".-i i '
I penciled the hue of its matchless blue,; ..-
And spangled it round with eUrs, -., . . - .
, .
I painted the flowers of the Eden bowers,
And their leaves of living green ;
And mine were the dyes in the sinless eyes :
- Of Eden's virgin queen ; - "
And when the fiend's art on her trustful heart,
- Bad fastened its mortal spell, .' ;
In the silvery sphere of the first-born tear.
To the trembling earth. I fell.
TThori the waves that burst o'er tho world accursed,
Their werk of wrath had sped,
And tho Ark's lone few, the tried and true, '
. Came forth among the dead ; i -
With tho wond'rons gleams of my bridal beams, -
I bade their terrors cease,
As I wrote on the roll of the storm's dark scroll,
God's covenant of peaee."
Like a pall at rest on a senseless breast,
Night's funeral shadow slept; -Where
shepherd swains on the Bethlehem plain3
. Their lonely vigils kept :
When I flashed on their sight the heralds bright
'Of Heaven's redeeming plan,
As they chanted the morn of a Savior born :
Joy. joy to the outcast man.
Equal favor I show to the lofty and low,
On the just and unjust I descend ;
E'en the blind, whose vain spheres roll in dark-
- ' ; ness and tears. ;
See my smile, the blest smile of a friend ;
Jiay, thetlower of the wast by my love is embraced,
- As the rose in the garden of Kings;
At the chrysalis bier of the worm I appear,
And, lo, the gay butterfly wings.
The desolate Morn, like a mourner forlorn,
Conceals all the pride of her charms,
Till I bid the bright hours chase Night from her
flowers,
And lead the young Day to her arms ;
And when the gay rover seeks Eve for his lover, '
And sinks to her balmy repose,
I wrap the soft rest by the xophyr fanned west,
In curtains of amber and rose.
From my sentinel steep, by the night-brooded deep,
I gaze with unslumbering eye,
When the cynosure star of the mariner
.. Is blotted from out the sky ;
And guided by me through the merciless sea,
' Though sped by the hurricane's wings.f
His coropasiloss. dark, lone,' weltering bark
To the haven-home safely he brings.
I waken the flower in their dew-spangled bowers,
The birds in their chambers of green.
And mountains and plain grow with beauty again,
As they bask in their matinal sheen.
0, if such the glad worth of my presence to earth,
Though fitful and fleeting the while.
What glories must rest on the home of the blest,
i Ever bright tith the Deity's smile
" Prom the Indiana (Pa.) Register.
LEWIS, THE II OB BE It.
-- ' A EEMHUSCENCE.
Lewis wag the master-spirit of a gang of
highway men, who lived fey robbing travellers
and committing depredations upon residents,
chiefly between Chambersburgh and Bedford,'
where they harbored in the forests'of the moun
tains. They were a terror to the community,
and western merchauts who travelled on horse
back generally armed themselves when going
to the east, so as to bo prepared to repel an at
tack, and for greater security sometimes went
in companies. It was understood, or at least
believed, that some of Lewis' baud were sta
tioned in Pittsburgh, where, by mixing in gen
teol society, and being unsuspected, they would
inform themselves of the time when merchants
of that city and from parts farther west inten
ded making their semi-annual trips to Phila
delphia, and would then find means to convey
tbe, intelligence to their accomplices along
the road. . ; . : -
Lewis was a young man of handsome appear
anco and agreeable address, and it was said he
supported his mother and sisters upon the fruits
of his unlawful pursuit. Ilis more immediate
associates were Conner and Connelly, who, at
the time of which we are speaking, kept among
tho gorges of Sideling Hill, where, at a dis
tance of several miles, from the public road,
they had erected a shanty, which was well sup
plied with provisions and other comforts,whith
cr Lewis, after remaining about Bedford and
Bloody Hun as long as he could do so without
exciting suspicion, or until he had received
letters' which he expected, would resort and
remain for days and weeks, concerting mea
sures for robbing some unsuspecting traveller
or for obtaining booty in some other way. ' ,
-Persons who have travelled the turnpike be
tween McConnelsburgh aud tho Crossings of
the Juniata will remember Reamer's tavern on
the eastern slope of the mountain andNycuni's
.on the western, tho intervening distance being
about eight miles, which formerly presented
little else to the eye than scrub-oak thickets,
Interspersed with rocks and fallen timber, with
here and there a slight opening, through which
the cattle feeding during thesunmier had trod
den paths which served the hunter as a guide
and passage when following the game along
the mountain range in winter. It was, indeed,
a gloomy road, with Dothing to break the mo
notony, save, perhaps, occasionally the cawing
of a. crow as Bhe hovered overhead, or the sud
den bound of a deer aroused from his lair by
the .noise of approaching footsteps and the
lonely traveller,- as he wended his way slowly
up the steep ascent, now urging his jaded steed
to greater effort, and now relieving it by leap
lag from the saddle and walking by its side,
would long to gain the summit, where he might
proceed more speedily and with mere comfort
to Wmwlf and his animal..
; On ascending the mountain from tho. west,
one sees now on the south side of the turnpike
a patch of cultivated ground, embracing sev
eral acres, which has. been cleared for a num
ber of years, but was a dense forest at the time
1 6 which our story has reference.. It was here,
immediately opposite the' cleared field, that
Lewis performed ; one of his most '. daring ex
ploits, and, which led to his arrest and subse
quently cost him his life. ' ' -
It appeared from what transpired afterwards,
that Lewis had received intelligence from some
of his gang, of an individual carrying a large
sum of money going eastward on horseback,
and that Lewis and two of his associates were
on the look-out fcr him, ready to make an at
tempt at securing the rich prize whenever it
should come within reach. From some caftse
or other, however,' that individual's departure
was delayed ; but about the time designated by
Lewis' spy, a Mr. McClelland, a merchant in
Pittsburg, started for Philadelphia to purchase
goods," travelling on horseback and having in
his saddlebags some two thousand dollars in
silver. lie had got to Nycum's on Saturday
evening, where he remained until Sunday mor
ning, and then early prosecuted his journey
thinking to breakfast at Reamer's. As he was
walking his horso up the mountain and wheu
he had proceeded several miles, he espied,
some distance ahead, a man, who wore a sloch
ed hat and an ill-fitting, somewhat tattered
coat, walking rather awkwardly, his body in
clined forward, now shooting diagonally across
tbe road, and then, taking up and balancing
himself, moving on again .in a straight line.-
As McClelland Beared him, the man onco or
twice looked around, exhibiting a pair of black
ened eyes, as if he had been recently engaged
in a fight; and McClelland inferred from his
whole conduct and appearance that he had
been in company drinking and got himself
handsomely pummeled, without having been
sobered by the operation. As they approach
ed the summit, McClelland gained upon the
fellow, until at the point which we have been
endeavoring to describe be was about passing
him ; but at that moment, and beforo be sus
pected any danger, he found himself dragged
lrom his horse, tho drunken man, as he had ta
ken hwa to be, having sprang upon him at a
single bound, while in the same instant a man
with a cocked pistol jumped up from cither
side of the' road, the ono seizing the horse's
bridle and the other coming to tho assistance
of their leader, who was no other than Lewis
himself and who had assumed this disguise to
prevent suspicion. The two men who had been
lying in wait were Conner and Connelly and
there can bo no doubt but some one of the
gang had seen McClelland the day or evening
before, and that they bad prepared themselves
during the night to attack him in tho morning,
Ilad he tarried at Xycum's until later in the
day and perchance got some company,he would
most likely have been permitted to pass unmo
lested, and the counterfeit drunkard, who,
with painted eyes and tattered garments, had
. been seen staggering along the road would
scarcely have been thought of again.
The spot was well chosen by the robbers for
the accomplishment of their purpose. On tho
north side of tho road, for a distance of at least
a quarter of a mile, tho woods were more open
here than at any other point on the mountain ;
and whilst McClelland was hurried off by two
of the mcnamong the thickets his horse was
gailopee at full speed through the open space,
so as to be out of sight, should any person
chance to come along the road. " Having com
manded M'Clelland to observe silence If he did
not wish to have his brains blown out, they
led him onward for several miles, tho other
man with the horse bringing up the rearnntil
they reached the robber's hut, which had been
constructed of light " logs and covered with
bark, where they halted and forthwith entered
upon an examination of their booty. After
ascertaining the amount, Lewis turned to Mc
Clelland and smilingly said bovas 1 'not the
bird they bad been watching for, nevertheless
these were pretty rich pickings" and be and
his associates were amply compensated there
by for their trouble "; Conner and Connelly
then proposed they should put McClelland to
death alleging as a reason that if he were set
at liberty he would inform on them and might
cause their arrest ; against which Lewis stoutly
protested and at the same time handed to Mc
Clelland bis watch and ten dollars, saying that
would carry him back to his family and friends.
" This done preparations were. made by the
robbers to start with the money . taken from
McClelland to some placo where they would
deposit it for greater security, and ho was told
that if he offered to move from the spot before,
their rsturn, his life should pay tho forfeit of
his temerity That they intended to return
has always been doubted, and it has been judg
eit, andwith very good reason, that their ob
ject was to induce him to remain there during
part of the day, whereby they would have gain
ed ample time to get out of barm's way before
he could give the alarm and start anybody in
pursuit. In order to make dure work, howev
er, they produced a pint flask filled with whis
key and ordered him to drink freely, thinking
no doubt that by so doing be, a man , unaccus
tomed to Btrong drink, would soon .fall asleep
and might not awake for many hoursv McClel
land thought the liquor contained somo deadly
Pi?on &d ihc robbers were taking this meth
od to get rid oi him ; and knowg; be wa ia
their power and that if his death had been re
solved on all his pleading for life would be un
availing, he concluded to die with as little pain
as possible, and therefore, to their great surr
prise, drank the entire contents of the flask.
Fortunately, however, the liquor was trot poi
soned; but the robbers thinking their prison
er had taken enough to answer all their pur
poses, now left, after ordering him to lie down
in a Corner of the cabin: , ' ' - .
. M'Clelland was now alone. The incidents
of the morning clustered around his mind, and
his distress was indescribable. "Within the
spa ce of a few hours all his earthly hopes had
been blasted. Jle was not only beggared, but
in all likehood doomed to die, perhaps in a few
moments, away from his friends and kindred,
where his body might become food for vultures
and wild beasts and bis requiem should ba
the winds as they passed howling over his
blecching bones I ; He pictured to himself the
distress of his family consequent upon his sud
den and mysterious disappearance, and their
fruitless conjectures in regard to his fate, and
then ran with his mind's eye over the pages of
their future history, lamenting their desolate
and forlorn condition is they should bo drift
ing without an earthly protecter on life's wide
gJeean, tossed by the waves and exposed to the
tempest: " But he felt admonished to dismiss
these reflections and turn unto others. : Every
moment he expected to feel a deadly stupor
coming over him, and ever and anon he cast
his eyes" upon surrounding objects to assure
himself that all was not a dream and that he
was still in possession of his reason; Such
was the intensity of his feelings that it coun
teracted the effects of the spirits which he had
swallowed, and impelled by that love of life
which clings unto man to his last moments,' he
ventured to ascend to the roof of the shanty
and then cast inquiring looks far into the for
est, anxious to ascertain whether the robbers
had actually taken their departure or whether
they were still loitering about, awaiting his
death. In a slight opening in the woods at
the distance of half a mile he at length espied
them, pressing on with all possible speed, ani
in a moment his resolution was taken to at-'
tempt his escape. Mounting his horso he en-;
tt-ivu a ravmu near uy, wmcu ne juagea muse
lead him in the direction of Reamer's and then
urging the animal forward as fast as the nature
of the country permitted, he kept in the ra
vine, leaping over rocks and fallen trees, and
in an incredibly short time reached the point
he was aiming for, where he gave the alarm
and urged immediate pursuit.
"V7e may here remark that among those back
woods men who employ most of their time in
hunting and fishing, Sunday is not generally
reverenced as' it should be, and it will there
fore cause no surprise to learn that when M'
Clelland arrived at the tavern just m&ntioncd
he found there some half a dozen or more of
rugged mountaineers, who had called in for
their "bitters" preparatory to starting into the
woods iii quest of game. No sooner were
they made acquainted with the robbery that
had been committed than they volunteered to
go in search of the robbers, and in a few mo
ments bad all things in readiness and set out;
resolved to do their best. ' . -
The banters had a general knowledge of the
topography of the mountains, directed their
steps toward a point some distance beyond
that designated by M'Clelland as the one
where he had last seen the robbers; having
reached which, they divided into two parties
and moved some distance apart, and in this
order had not .proceeded very far, when they
espied the objects of their search, by -whom
they were seen likewise at the same instant.
The robbers tried to escape by running but
before they could get beyond the reach of the
hunters rifles Lewis was wounded by a ball,'
and ono' of tho others killed, whilst the third
escaped unharmed. Lewis was ' secured and
carried to Bedford jail, there to await his trial,
but afterwards made his escape and was pur
sued, and 'whilst rowing himself across the
West-branch of the Susquehanna in a canoe,
was shot dead by one of his pursuers. . .
" .While ia prison, Lewi3 stated that ho had
concealed a large sum of money under a rock
-Mhe specie in a vessel and the bauk bills in a
bottle near a small stream on the west of the
Allegheny mountain ; and after bis death dili
gent search was made for. the treasure, by dif
ferent persons and at different places but it is
not known that it has ever been found, and the
probability is that it had been removed by
some of Lewis associates. ' : '"
Had Lewis' mind been directed into the right
channel and subjected to a proper .course of
training, he- might have lived an honor to him
self and his family and been useful in his day
and generation ; but having a penchant for the
romantic and lawless, where be could indulge
his passions without restraint, he became a
lienatcd from society, an outcast and a by
word, and in' his, death wo have but another
proof of tho truthfulness of the proverb that
"tho way of the transgressor is bard." . -;-
Asf orriciAi.; return of the' Spanish debt has
just been published in Madrid.' Tfcejjjtala-'
mount of indebtedness is 13,350,406,110 reals.
Among the items is one of "inscriptions in
favor of the United States, 12,000,000 reals."
Society without children would be like the
earth' without flowers, the sky without stars,
tne neaven wwow Mgf. , n:.
TIIE LIFE OF A SHOWMAN,
7 From the N.-Y. Sunday Leader, March, 16.
P. T. Barnum, whoa few months ago was
reputed to be worth, half a million of dollars,
now comes before the Supreme Court, brought
there by some of bis creditors, to , explain all
about ... his property. He . btatcs that he now
lives in lfiris city, that tho Museum, once his,
and all its curiosities, have been sold for $2i,
000 j that he paid 12,000 for it fourteen years
ago, and that now bo has not the least interest
in it. He says that last June be 3ras worth
$300,000. His property ho valued at $800,000,
and he owed $300,000. About this period the
Jeromes came along and wished him to en
dorse their notes for $ 100,000. Barnum' did
it, and repeated his endorsement on similar
paper, as he supposed, to take up the former. .
- Finally he ascertained that he had endorsed
to tho amount of $161,000, and so . far as ho
knows, there - may be a million of dollars of
this paper out," as he often signed in blank for
tho Jeromes to put in what amount they chose.
Still Barnum don't consider that be has failed,
as'ho says bis ' refusal to pay these "clock
debts" of the Jerome's don't exactly consti
tute a failure. . Ha' alleges that the holders of
these obligations of his were the very persons
who. induced him to become responsible for
the Jeromes. . ; '
The splendid, paintings at Barnum's house
at Iranistan, he 6ays he- sold for $2,000, tho'
they co-it him $10,000. His present assets are
Crystal Palace stock, which is not worth half
as much as the skin of the. celebrated woolly
horse once in his possession. .
- Now, whoever has read Barnnm's biography
written by himself, will consider it vsry strange
that he did' not follow his own advice. Who
that knows Barnum could believe that he
would endorse the notes of a clock company
to the extent of nearly every dollar he was
worth in the world, according to his own esti
mate of tho value of his property in June last.
Ho says he owned property which he valued
at $800,000, and it was mortgaged for about
$300,000, which left him about $500,000. At
this very time he endorsed notes for near half
a million of dollars, without even carefully
scrutinizing the responsibility of those whose
paper he put bis nama to. He even mort
gaged his property to raise $80,000 for the Je
romes in December last. There may be a
woolly horse in all this reputed failure of Bar
num after all. The Jeromes did not get this
$80,000. Barnum says he raised it in bonds
on several States, counties and towns, but a
friend of his just at this time had looked into
tho affairs of the Jeromes, and told Barnum
that they were bankrupt, and he was ruined.
Barnum then sold these bonds, at a loss of
$30,000, and took the money, he says, to pay
his own debts. ' "
There cannot be much sympathy for Bar
num. Whoever has read his biography, from
his own pen, must be satisfied that his moral
principles were never strongly developed.
His book, which he managed to sell in various
countries of the globe, has disgraced the A-
merican name. It is nothing but a history of
the art of getting money under false preten
ces ; and tho author, in a moral point of view,
is no better than thousands who have suffered
the penalties of the laws for such practices.
The world is always better off withont such ge
niuses as Barnum. No one pretends that he
ever possessed talent in any honorable and dig
nified employment, lie is a mere cunning
showman, who would seize upon other men's
ideas and apply them to the art of money ma
king without proper remuneration even in a
business point of view, j
"Show me how you live, and where you live,
and whero you get your means to live?" This
was ene of the questions put to Barnum during
his examination ; and he replied to it by say
ing that he lived in this city, in Eighth street,
and kept boarders, and bad no other means of
support,' except some meat given to him by
his son-in-law, in Connecticut, and some vege
tables which grew on his farm last year. He
said be Bad a gold watch and a bi east pin,
worth some four or five hundred dollars, which
be would produce, if required to do so. ne
also casually remarked that he had twosuits of
clothes and about twenty-five dollars in money.
A Max of Bosks. Hero; is a curious fact
for you. ' The flesh of a living man once grew
into bone. It seems hard to believe, but I
suppose it was so ; for in the musenm at Dub
lin, Ireland, there is, or was, the skeleton of
one Clavk, a native of the city of Cork, whom
they call the Ossified Man, one of the greatest
curiosities of nature. ' It is the carcass of "a
man entirely ossified in his lifetime, living in
that condition for several years. Those who
knew him befoie this surprising alteration, af
firm that he had been a man of great strength
and agility ! lie felt the first symptoms of this
surprising change some time' after a debauch ;
by slow degrees, every part grew into a bony
substance, except his skin, eyes and intestines;
his joints settled in such a manner that no lig
ament bad its proper operation ; be could not
lie "down or rise up without assistance. -He
had at last no bend in his body, yet when he
was placed upright, like a. statue of stone, he
could stand, but could not move iuthe least.
His teeth were joined, and formed into one en
tire bone $ therefore a hole was broken through
them to convey liquid substance for his nour
ishment. -The. toogu lost its use, and bis
6ight left him, some time before he tfxjiirtd-
Closixo; Scesb or x LizaisLxrvur.. The
Legislature of Nebraska Territory adjourned
on tho- 25th, Fubruary, after repealing a law
giving women tho right to vote, which they
had passed the day beforo. - A letter from O
maha City gives the following account pi their
adjournment,: , , . , i .
. "One member called for music, another for
'drinks all round j some shouted ego it boots,'
go it,',such is death,'. 'let me go to tho (Gov
ernor, and tell him he must not fool with us
any longer ;' I move a committee be appoint
ed to inquire after the dignity of the House ;'
'I move the gentleman from Otoe bo declared
a brick ;' 'Mr. Speaker, will a game of poker
bo in order ?' 'I move we tako a recess for fif
teen minutes to drink I move the medical
members be requested to take the pains (panes)
from tho windows, and extract the Tooth of
Time,' &c. " One member set .the clock going
at railroad speed to bring tho hour of adjourn
ment around. Members wcro.mixed up with
outsiders inside the bar, some talking, some
smoking, some walking, somo perched, on the
tops of the desks and chairs, and everybody
enjoying himself about as nature dictated.
The'House had more the appearance of a pub
lic bar room than a hall of legislation. -Members
were called on for speeches.
About midnight the Council sent in word
they were ready to adjourn. .Resolutions com
mending the clerks and officers of tho Uoase,
down to fireman, wcro passed ;. but not a word
was passed for the Speaker, whom a few mem
bers took occasion to abuse in bitter and un
becoming language. In tho midst of .confu
sion, worse confounded, the. House adjourned.
Wnt Satd. Tho Indian in bis native con
dition, is no fool, as the following anecdote re
lated by a Washington correspondent of the
Baltimoro "Republican" attests : ' '
We met 'Col. Stambourg to-day 'in the ro
tunda of the Capitol, aud while we were look
ing at the carved representations over the
door-ways of the rotunda, the veteran Indian
agent told us that in 1830, with a delegation
of tho Menominee Indians, he visited the Cap
itol, and explained the nature and design of
the stone groups in the rotunda, when the
chief, "Grizzly Bear," turned to the eastern
doorway, over which there is a representation
of tho landing of the Pilgrims, and said,
"there, Ingen give white man corn ;" and to
tho north representing Pcnn's treaty, "there
Ingen give um land ;""and to tbe West, where
Pocahontas is seen saving tbe life of Captain
Smith, "there Ingen save cm life" and, last
ly, to the south, where the hardy pioneer, Dan
iel Boone, is seen plunging his knife Into the
breast of one red man, while his toot is placed
on the dead body of another, '-and there,
white man kill Ingen."
ACokspiract Agaixst Me. Buchanan. A
Washington correspondent of the New York
Courier says; "It is understood that Gener
al Pierce and Judge Douglas, or their mana
ging friends, willopposo the nomination of Mr..
Euchanan, on the ground that he is not unmis
takeably committed to the repeal of tho Mis
souri Compromise, and that under the circum
stances bis election would be a popularrebuke
to them. This circumstance w ill diminish the
chances of his nomination, and it is believed
here, among the politicians of the classes I
have named, that these two prominent aspi
rants will combine .upon a Southern candi
date, if neither of them shall be able to secure
the nomination. In that event, the question
w ill be found . reduced to a choice between
Hunter and Rusk. Mr. Wise is a capital, al
most irresistable stumper, and were tho strug
gle confined to Virginia, would distance all
competition. But bo cannot stump for the
Presidency, and I predict that bis energy will
be found no match for the luck of Mr.Hunter."
SoMETnixo of a. Family. A correspondent
of the Urbana Citizen writes from Bourbon
county, Ky., about a family as follows :
"The' old gentleman is a native of Maryland,
and J? now in his 70th year; was brought to the
State ofKy., when quite young, and has . raised
his family in tho above county, consisting of
six sons and three daughters."
He then proceeded to describe tho family
all of whom are six feet in height, the tallest
being six feet 11 1 inches, and the lowest (a
daughter), six feet 2 inches the aggregate
height of tho whole of them, eleven in num
ber, being .seventy feet. The father weighs
200 pounds, the mother 255, and the children
from 150 to 296 pounds. Their aggregate
weight is 2500 pounds. The writer adds :. . ;
"The family are all living except the young
est daughter, are all wealthy, and of the first
families of Kentucky, I must add, that aere
ral of the grand-children are over six and a
half feet, and still growing.". . ,
A Sleighisg Partt. -Washington's birth
day 22d February was celebrated by the in
habitants of Madison'and Clinton counties,
Connecticut, by the getting up of an old-fashioned
sleighing party. Three hundred and
fifty-three sleighs were ia the procession, con
taining fiftoen hundred-passengers. -Trades
and professions of different kind were repre
sented, and flags were displayed at different
points along the route. , Preceeding the. pro
cession was a full-rigged steamer in. complete
working order, blowing off steam as she went
along. At sundown, a National salute of 13
guns announced the close of the festivities..
. HOW MINERAL COAL WAS MADE.
Geology has proved that at one period thereT
existed an enormously abundant land vegeta-r-tion,
ihe'ritins or rubbish, of which, carried In
to seas, and there sunk to tha bottom, and af
terwards covered ocrr by eandand mud-beds,
became the substance we recognize as coal.
It may naturally excite surprise that the vege
table remains should have so completely chang
ed their apparent character, and become black.
But this can -bo explained by chemistry; and
part of the marvel becomes clear to the sim
plest understanding, when we recall tho fami
liar fact, that damp hay, thrown dost-ly into
heap, gives out beat, and -becomes of a dark:
color. When a vegetable mass is- excluded
from the air, and- subjected fo great pressure'
a bituminous fermentat ion is prodnced,and the
result is the mineral coal, which is of various
characters, according as the'aiass has been ori-a
ginally Intermingled with saud, clay, and oth
er earthy impurities. On account of the change
effected by niineralization,.lt is difficult to de:
tect in coal the traces of a vegetable' struc
ture ; but these can be made clear in all except
tho highly bituminous coking coal, by Cutting
or polishiug it dow n into thin transparent sli
ces, when, the microscope shows the fibre and
cells very plainly. From distinct, isolated
specimens, found in the sand stones amidst tho
coal beds, we discover the plants of this eral
They are almost all of simple, cellular struc
ture, and such as exist with us in small forms,
(horse tails, club mosses, and Jerns,) bat ad
vanced to an enormous magnitude. Tho spe
cies are long since extinct. ' .The vegetation is
such as grows in clusters of tropical islands,'
but it must have been the result of a high tem
perature obtained otherwise than '.that "of tha
tropical regions now is, for the coal strata are
found in the temperate, and; even 'the polar
regions. The conclusion, therefore, to which
most geologists have arrived, is, that the earth
originally an" incandescent,' or' highly heated"
mass, gradually cooled down until Jo the car
boniferous period it fostered a growth of ter
restrial Vegetation all over its surface, to which
the existing jungles of the tropics are mero
barrenness in comparison.' Tbe high and'eni
form temperature, combined" with a greater,
proportion of carbonic acid gasa In the manu
facture, could not only sustain a gigantic and
prolific vegetation, but would also creat6 dtrsa
vapor?, showers and ralas ; tiej cga:r. gi
gantic rivers, piorHcr.l iuunditicn?, end del
tas. Thus a'.l the conditions for oster.sire de
posits cf wood ia estuaries, would arise frcsa
this high temperature; and every circumstance
connected with the coal measures points to
such conditions.' ;' ' ' -
- Potatoes Brrr Es vs. Seto Ejrrs. John
Brown, of Long Island communicates the fol
lowing to the Granito Farmer. , - .' . .
"Several years ago I made some experi
ments to satisfy myself concerning the dispu
ted point as to which Is the best portion of a
potato to plant in order to obtain the largest
and best yield. The exact, result;, has been
lost, and as I have often since heard and read
assertions directly contrary to the conclusion
which I then deduced, I resolved to repeat
the experiments. Last spring I planted four
rows of equal length, tide by sida, with two
varieties of potatoes. . In one . row I planted,
none, but the seed ends, so called, including
about one-third of the potatoes, and in the
next row I plauted the butt end of. the same
potatoes. I had one row of seed ends and cae
row of butt ends fa variety called' Peach.
Blows. The yield of these four rows was as
follows: Pint eyes, butt ends, 217 pounds;
seed ends, 179 pounds ; Peach .blows, butt
ends, 229 pounds; seed ends, 170 pounda.-r
The potatoes raised from the butt ends were
much larger than those from the seed ends,
and appeared to be from a week to ten' day
earlier.; This result corresponds with that' of
my former experiment. , nad the whole field
been planted with butt ends the yield would
have been more than 500. bnshels to the 'acre.
I also planted two rows next to tho above, la
one of which I put only large, potatoes, bjf.
a tuber in each bill, cut length-wise so as to
divide tho eyes equally, and in. the other row I
dropped only small potatoes, one in each hill.
From the former. 1 dug 18i pounds, and front
the bitter 131 pounds. , I should add' that the
average yield of the field was about 180 pounds
to tbe row; and that large.(not the very lar-
gest) potatoes were used for seed cut length
wise with a half fa tnrber in each hill."
A Sailor'' was called upon the stand as a
witness.- ' - --" 7V 'i
-; "TTell, sir,' said the lawyer," "do yon- kno?r
the plaintiff" and defendant t" ' 1-.
- "I don't knoi tte drift ' of them words,
answered the sailor. . I : - : - - x . ! -.
"What; not know the meaniag of plaintiff
and defendant V continued the lawyei'i a pret
ty fellow you are to come here a witness;
Can yon tell me where on board the ship it waa
that this man struck the other one V
"Abaft the bianicle," aaid the sailor.. J i 't
- "Abaft the binnicle ? what do you mean by
that V asked the lawyer. " ' ' ' ' -"
'"A pretty fellow you," responded the sailor,"
"to come here as lawyer, and don't know what:
abaft the binnacle means." r - -'' - -'" '
A wag says he knows only one thing better,
than love, and that ia to be thrown into a pond
of mush and milk, with, tbe privilege of estfee
your way. ashore- ,s t -, .