BY S. B. ROW.
CLEARFIELD, PA., WEDNESDAY, JUNE 0, 1860.
VOL. 6.-JV0. 41.
LIVE FOB SOMETHING.
Lire for something, be not idle
Look about thee for employ !
Sit not down to useless dreaming
Labor is the sweetest joy.
Folded bands are ever weary,
Selfish hearts are never gay,
Life for these has many duties
Active be, then, while you may.
Ecatter blessings in thy pathway!
Gentle words and cheering smiles,
tetter are than gold and silver,
. With their grief dispelling wiles.
As the pleasant sunshine falleth,
ver on the grateful earth,
So let sympathy and kindness,
Gladden well the darkened earth.
Hearts there are oppressed and weary ;
. Drop the tear of sympathy,
Whisper words of hope and comfort,
Give, and thy reward shall be,
Joy unto thy soul returning,
From this perfect fountain head.
Freely as thou freely givest, .
Shall the grateful light be shed.
THE DEAD ARM.
'Do you see that nrm 1" -"The
convict, wasted by a fierce disease,
raised himself to a sitting posture in the bed,
with much labor, and lilting hi 3 Withered right
arm with the other, clutched it as if he would
wring it from its socket, as a traitorous mem
ber of his body.
. "That arm did it," and ho glared vengelul
ly upon it, and shook it fiercely.
"Did what ?"
Did murder! Put mo here to live a bu
rled life for ten Jong years. Oh ! how long
they have been. I have counted them, hour
after hour in niy ceil. How long can I live,
at the most V
'Three hours perhaps four." -
"Too long to live, but sufficient time in
which to tell you my story. It you believe it,
it will be more than judge or jury have done.
"Would you deceive when on your death bed 1"
VMy marriage, to the girl 1 had long loved,
aiul who loved me with a love far exceeding
my most sanguine hopes, is the point, so far as
regards the nice applicability of the past events
tt present certainties, at which mv narrative
commences. Dating from the day of that mar
riage, there begins a succession of misfortunes,
that, insignificant at their birth, were gradual
ly molded together by extraneous contingen
cies, until they culminated in an act foul and
terrible, if premeditated or intended, that has
made me a branded felon.
My wife and I never quarrelled. We loved
and revered each other too much for either
to trespass or trample upon what the other
considered sacred. To be sure, in mere levi
ty and exultation of spirit, we performed acts
that, to persons unacquainted with us and our
circumstances, might seem seasoned with ear
nestness. To snch misunderstandings, by a third per
son, may be attributed the origin of reports
that wc, my wife and I, lived an unhappy life
a life of turmoil of blows.
Many aioir;d us held to such an opinion,
but from mere ignorauce of the exact nature
of our lives.
But I, descending speedily to the grave, do
declare that we never, by word or deed, trans
cended the bounds of our great love for each
other; or transgressed those laws that should
preservo the person of the wife from blow or
contumely. If it were possible to exist with
out jarring discord, to turn the sweetest sym
pathies into bitter hatred, ours was that exis
tence. Yet it availed me not in the dark day
that came upon my household ; but rather of
fered opportunities by which to strengthen an
apparent guiltiness.
"Jessie," I said to my wife, one evening,
do you stand on one side of the room, while
1 take a position on the other. Get me a ball
f yarn from the basket, and then whoever is
hit with the ball the greatest number of times,
shall make a present to the other. A nice
present, of course."
"If I lose, my present will be a dressing
gown," said Jessie, "but you know you'll have
to pay for it."
'It will be just as acceptable," I answered.
"But if I lose, you shall have that ring with
the emerald and pearls."
Then the soft ball of yarn flew quickly from
hand to hand, we all the time laughing and
talking with great glee. A knock at the door,
and an acquaintance entered, finding our faces
flushed with the excitement of the contesr.and
each uncertain who was the vanquished. I de
clared that she had won the ring, and promis
ed to put it upon her finger the next day ;
which day, to her, alive never came.
About two o'clock that night, I was awaken
ed to consciousness by one of those inexplica
ble preternatural premonitions of near danger,
which are often encountered, but generally in
a skeptical spirit.
My mind was clear to reason not having its
delicate powers blunted by sleep. Scarcely
were my eyes unclosed, before 1 became cog"
nizant of the presence of a cold, clammy na
ture, b its loathsome contact with my face,
and by its pressure upon my bosom, whereby
it nearly stilted the beating of my heart. Nat
urally, I am no coward ; but the knowledge of
the presence of this burden, combined with
utter darkness, creator of fierce fear, com
pletely unnerved me, and niy body shook like
an aspen leaf.
The quiet condition of this body, which ap
pertained not to myself nor my wife its mys
terious situation and above all, the moist,
chilly contact with my face, deprived me for
an instant of self-possctsion. The clattering
of a blind, or the nibbling of a mouse, seemed
ike a peal of thunder to my ears ; the over
Wraine.i eye saw, or seemed to see ghostly
shapes pendant from the chandeiier and bed
post. 1 dared not shout aloud or change my
position in bed, for fear that my throat would
be clutched by the incubus that sat like a hid
cons nightmare fully developed into a reality
upon my chest.
I experienced such sensations as does the
strong swimmer, or the venturous diver, when
coming into bodily contact, unforewarned,
with a corpse beneath the surface of the water
-when nature acts like an electric battery,
and discharges volumes of fear at the slight
est movement ; or like one in the dark who
encounters a skeleton.
,1 was peculiarly situated ; surrounded by an
Immensity of terror; expansive, inasmuch as
It draped thoughts and motions in habiliments
that gave them a gigantic appearance ; im
mersed ia a sea of dread and doubt, and final
ly completely cowed by fear.
Sow reason made Itj appeals fo the fright
f oett on' The mete consciousness of bodl
v contact with this invisibility, suggested its
substantiality, but I hesitated to make the first'
movement, hostile or otherwise. There was a
bait formed supposition in my mind that if
stirred, there would come upon mean onse
by the incubus that I could not withhold ; this
hesitancy to action I partly overcame by the
circumspect rising of my left arm it was free
l moved my right instantly, and contempo
raneously with that movement the weight upon
my face was removed to my" neck. A little
more stealthy investigation, still fearful of an
attack by an insiduous enemy, and I found
that my right hand and arm as tar as the elbow
was temporarily paralyzed, or in that condi
tion usually called 'asleep that the band was
cold and without sensibility and that it was
the object that had rested upon my face.
Of course, I was much elated at the discov
ery, and ashamed that I had been so easily a
larmed at an accident that was susceptible of
so easy an explanation, in order to give to
my wife an account of the absurd occurrence,
I turned over, my piesent position being a re
clination upon my back. In my relief, conse
quent upon what L considered a correct expla
nation of my fright, the weight upon my chest
naa been lorgotteu ; no, toe change of ray po
sition recalled it very unpleasantly and mop
portunely, even before I had touched my wile
Imagine, If you can, the result of this sud
den knowledge that my oppressor had cot been
explained away.. Think how quickly all he
reasons wliiculiaa been carelully revolved from
the mental perplexities in which I had been
entangled, were effectually controverted, and
how absolutely mystery and, frantic horror a
gain swayed the scepter. There was, then, a
being or things in the room that did not belong
there, never had been there previous to that
night, and my deductions were faulty. The
result was, that I lost all control over ruy pas
sions that I was lashed into a fury of des
pair, by the fear of the presence of a super
natural being.
Clasping the object upon my breast with my
lelt hand, with my right nerved with terror
knowing no restraint, and numbed to all sen
sation of pain by reason of its paralysis,
struck heavy, treacherous blows. It had soft
hair, and at this 1 pulled and tugged, in this
paroxysm of horror. In my great agony of
mind, l shrieked loraid notwithstanding my
efforts encountered no resistance and called
to Jessie to awaken. There was no response
The passive submission to blows of the object
grasped by my left hand, was extraordinary
tne snence or my wife unaccountable.
Then, for the first time during the struggle
did 1 tinnK of Jessie s remarkably sound slum
ber, and connect therewith the burden. I could
not seperate the identity of my wife from that
of the object of my vengeance.
Pushing the weight aside, I leaped from the
bed and lighted the gns. My wife was dead.
It was her head that I had so often fondled,
playing with its silken tresses kissing those
dear lips looking into those lustrous eyes
that had so confidently reposed upon my breast.
Yet not more than five minutes had elapsed
since my awakening.
I can't believe that I am her murderer, even
though the law so seals me with the crime.
But that arm now shrivelled and withered
into its present form, came not so by a punish
ment from heaven. Alter my condemnation,
doubting as I did my agency in her death, yet
hating the instrument that had known no pity
or gentleness in its blows, I held it, that arm,
as a sacrifice to my dead wife, in the fire, un
til the flames sapped its life, blackened its
beauty, and burned out of it all semblance of
human form.
These are the reasons why I hate it, and
hae hated it since that night. I am thankful
that mv stay on earth is so diminished. When
you have lived a lite of solitude such as mine,
with a doubt such as mine, for an invisible
companion, you too would gladly seek its con
clusion in heaven."
The convict died that night. The prison
warden confirmed the truth of the convict's
narrative, adding that the marks of blows up
on the body of his wife the absence of all
cause to create a sudden death and the unfa
vorable testimony of the witness who had in
terrupted their amusement the evening previ
ous to his wife's decease, were formidable ar
guments against the innocence of the convict.
That being convicted, he was sentenced to
death, which sentence was afterwards commu
ted to imprisonment for ten years.
If the convict's story was true, and I had no
reason to believe that it was false, it was cer
tainly an instance of remarkable complicity of
circumstances, sufficient to much embarrass
both judge and jury. It was no doubt a case
of uniutentional murder, committed by the
convict in a state of frenzy originated and
finished under the influence of a superstitious
mind, too easily excited by such a situation as
that in which he had been placed.
There resided at Conway, N.H. a well known
character the famous BillyAbbott, both small
of stature, and old of his age, and who, by his
humorous wit and wonderful knowledge of ev
ery liUlel incident that made this or that place
particularly charming and interesting to the
historian and the antiquarian, so ingrafted
himself into the good favors of the great ex
pounder of the constitution, that he always
ive him a seat m his carriage when ho rode
out to visit the beauties of nature. Billy's as
sociates feeling envions on account of the hon
or conferred upon him by this distinguished
man, one day, after Webster's departure, sar
castically asked Billy, in the crowded bar
room, what he and his friend Webster found
to converse ajbout as they rode around the
country. Billy replied, "we usually talk a
bout horticulture and agriculture, the differ
ent breeds of cattle and horses,and upon these
subjects I derive from him a great deal of use
fuljnformation ; and upon such topics I find
him a little more than my match but the mo
ment" said he enthusiastically, with a ges
ture and a tono of voice becoming the orator
himself "but the moment he alludes to the
constitution, I can floor him in a minute 1"
which was received with great applause, and
the Banquo of Envy never again affronted
Daniel's rustic favorite.
A "Bridget" who, as usual, entertains an
exalted opinion of the good things of the old
country, was asked by her mistress if they
had any piea where.she she formerly lived in
Ireland?" "Yes, and sure they do." "What
kind of pies?" "Magpies, mum."
A soldier who was once wounded in battle,
set up a terrible bellowing. An Irishman who
laid near, with both legs shot off, immediately
sung out "Bad luck to the likes of ye do ye
think that nobody is kilt but yourself."
SKETCHES OF LINCOLN AND HAMLIN.
. FROM THE NEW YORK TRIBUNE.
"Honest Old ABE."With this homely
but most expressive phrase the people ot the
.North-West are wont to designate the man
whom the Convention at Chicago, selected as
our standard bearer in the great contest now
opening- for the redemption of the Federal
Government fiom the corruption, weakness,
and degradation into which loner Democratic
predominance has brought it. This rude des
ignation, invented by unerring popular . in
stinct, expresses" thfe entire and confident af
fection which the heart of the masses feel for
air. .Lincoln wherever he is known ; it declares
me popular certainty that his" is a nature of
sterling tuflf, which may always' be lied upon
for perfect integrity, and constant fidelity to
uuiy. m one respect, however, it is not to
be taken as a literal description ; Mr. Lincoln
is not an old man either in years or in charac
ter. On the contrary, he is still in the full
Vieorand bloom of manlv matnritv. '
Abraham Lincoln was born in Hardin Coun-
, iveniucKy, r eornary iz, ibuv, and is new
51 years old. He is very probably of the face
oi tne Massachusetts Lmcolns, though his pa
rents were of Quaker stock, that migrated from
.Pennsylvania to Virginia, whence his grand-
iatner removed mlisi-'zto Kentucky, and
was there surprised and killed by Indians
while at work on his clearing. Like most
pioneers, he left his family poor; and his
son also died prematurely, leaving a widow
and several children, including Abraham.then
six years old. The family removed soon after
to Southern Indiana, where Abraham grew to
the statnre of six feet and some inches, but
enjoyed scarcely better opportunities for in
struction than in Kentucky. Probably six
months in all of the rudest sort of schooling
comprehends the whole ot his technical edu
cation. He was in turn a farm laborer, a com
mon workman in a saw-mill, and a boatman
on the Wabash and Mississippi rivers. Thus
hard work and plenty of it, the rugged expe
riences of aspiring poverty, the wild sports
and rude games of a newly and thinly peopled
forest region the education born of the log-
cabin, the rifle, the ax, and the plow.combined
with the reflections of an original and vigorous
mind, eager in the pursuit of knowledge by
every available means, and developing a char
acter of equal resource and firmness made
him the man he has since proved himself.
At 21, he pushed further West into Illinois,
which has for the lastthirty years been his
home, living always near and for some years
past in bpnngheld, the state Capital. lie
worked on a farm as hired man his first year in
Illinois ; the next year he was a clerk in astore;
then volunteered for the Black nawk war, and
was chosen a captain by bis company; the
next year he was an unsuccessful candidate for
the Legislature ; be was chosen the next, and
served four sessions with eminent usefulness
and steadily increasing rcnutation ; studied
law, meantime, and took his place at the bar;
was early recognized as a most effective and
convincing advocate before me reopie ot
Whig principles and the Protective policy,
and of their illustrious embodiment, Henry
Clay; was a Whig candidate for Elector in
nearly or quite every Presidential contest from
1836 to 18o2 inclusive ; was chosen to the
XXXth Congres from the Central District of
Illinois in 1846, and served to its close,, but
was not a candidate for re-election ; and in
1849 measurably withdrew from politics and
devoted himself to the practice of his profes
sion until the Nebraska Iniquity of 1854 call
ed him again into the political arena. He
was the candidate of the Whigs for U. S.
Senator before the Legislature chosen that
year; but they were noi a majority oi tne
body ; so he declined and urged his friends to
support Judge Trumbull, the candidate of the
anti-Nebraska Democrats, who was thus elec
ted. In the gallant and memorable Presidential
contest of 1856, Mr. Lincoln's name headed
the Fremont Electoral Ticket ot Illinois. In
1858, he was unanimously designated by the
Republican State Convention to succeed Mr.
Douglas in the Senate, and thereupon canvass
ed the State against Mr. D. with , an ability iu
which logic, art, eloquence, and thorough
good nature were alike conspicuous, and which
gave him a national reputation. Mr. Douglas
secured a predominance in the legislature and
was elected though Mr. Lincoln had the larger
popular vote, so that if the question had been
decided by the majority of the people, the
champion of Squatter Sovereignty and of in
difference as regards the Slavery extension
would not now be a Senator from Illinois.
As a Presidential candfdate,Mr. Lincoln en
joys peculiar advantages. While his position
as a Kenul'lican renders mm satisfactory to
the most zealous member of the party, the
moderation of his character, and the conser
vative tendencies of his mind, long approved
and well known of all men in public life, com
mend him to every section ot the Opposition.
There is no good reason why Americans and
Whigs.and in short all who are inspired rather
by patriotism than by party feeling, should
not rally to his support. Republicans and
Conservatives, those who dread the extension
of Slavery, and those who dread the progress
of Administrative and Legislative Corruption,
may be assured that in him both these
evils will find a stern and immovable antag
onist and an impassable barrier. At the
same time, as a Man of the People, raised by
his own genius and integrity from the hum
blest to the highest position, having made for
himself an honored name as a lawyer, an ad
vocate, a popular orafor, a statesman, and a
Man, the industrious and intelligent masses of
the country may well hail his nomination with
swelling tide of enthusiasm, of which the
wild and prolonged .outbursts at Chicago were
the fitting prelude and beginning. "1
Wc need hardly say that the election of Mr.
Lincoln, though it cannot be accomplished
without arduous and persistent efforts, is emi
nently a thing that can be done. The disruption
of the Democratic party, now perhaps less
likely to bo repaired than before his nomina
tion, the fact that' he was put forward by one
of the doubtful States, Illinois,and nominated
in great measure by votes from two others,
namely, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the
universal desire of the country to settle the
vexatious Slavery question in accordance with
the views of the Fathers all these are pow
erful iu behalf of the Chicago ticket. But,
as we said, efforts must be made. The organi
zation must be perfected in every county, in
every district. Tracts and newspapers must
be disseminated. Public discussions must be
held. The people must be animated, enlight
ened, inspired with, a sense of the solemn da
ty resting on all patriotic citizens.
! 1 '
Thus the i
great Victory may be achieved, and the coun
y may ue redeemed from the pernicious in
uuences mat are hurrying it to ruin. Amer
icans I JKepublicans I Shall not all this be
accomplished ?
Hannibal Hamlin Hannibal Hamlin, who
was nominated by the Republican Convention
at Chicago lor Vice-President, was born in
rans, Oxford Co., Maine, in August, 1809
and is now m the 51st year of his age. He is
ty profession a lawyer, but for the last twenty
jour years nas been, lor much of the time, in
political life. From 1836 to 1840 he was a
member of the Legislature of Maine, and for
three of those years he was the Speaker of its
iiouse ot Mepresentatives. In 1843 he was
elected a member of Congress, and re-elected
for the following term. In 1847 be was again
a member of the State Legislature, and the
next year was chosen to fill a vacancy, occa
sioned rjy me acatn of John Fairfield, in the
u ii lieu oiaies senate, in loot he was re
elected for the full term in the same body,
but resigned on being chosen Governor of
Maine in 18o7. In the same month he was
again elected to the United States Senate for
six years, which office he accepted, resigning
tue LfOvernorship. He is still a member of
the Senate. This record Is an evidence of the
confidence with which he has always been re
garded by bis fellow-citizens in Maine.
Up to the time of the passage of the Kansas
Nebraska bill in 1854, Mr. Hamlin was a mem
ber of the Democratic party. That act he re
garded as a proof that the party, with which
he had been all his life connected, no longer
deserved the name of Democratic, and was
treacherous to the principles he had so long
cherished. Thenceforward he gave his sup
port to the Republican party, of which he has
ever since continued a faithful and distinguish
ed leader.
Mr. iiamun is a man or dignified presence.
of solid abilities, of unflinching integrity, and
great executive talent. Familiar with the
business of legislation, he is peculiarly adap
ted, by the possession of all these quailities,
to fill beneficially for the Country, and to his
party's honor, the high post for which he has
been nominated. The name of Hannibal Ham
tin of Maine is a fit second to that of Abraham
Lincoln of Illinois.
Closing: Scenes at Chicago. A Lincoln
man who could hardly believe that the "Old
Abe" of his adoration was really the Republi
can nominee for the Presidency, took a chair
at the dining table at the Tremont House, and
began talking to those around him, with none
ot whom he was acquainted, of the greatness
ot the events of the day. One of his expres
sion was, "Talk of your money and bring on
your bullies with you I the immortal princi
ples of the everlasting people are with Abe
Lincoln." "Abe Lincoln has no money and
no bullies, but he baa the people." A servant
approached the eloquent patriot and asked
what he would have to eat. Being thus recal
led to temporal things he glared scornfully at
the servant and roared out, "Go tq the de'il
wnai ao jl want 10 eat lor i am .Lincoln is
rominated, and I am going to live on air the
air of Liberty." But in a moment he inquir
ed tor me bin ot fare, and then ordered "a
great deal of everything" saying if he must
eat he might as well eat "the whole bill." He
swore he felt as if he could 'devour and di
gest an Illinois prairie." And this was one
of thousands.
Poisoned bt a Snake. The Abbeville. S.
C, South, of the, 18th instaut, says that some
three weeks ago a son of Peyton W. Bailey.
residing near Sylvan Grove post office, in Dale
county, being m the woods with his dog, sup
posed by the barking of the animalr that he
had puisued a rabbit to a hole under a clay
root. Putting in his hand to feel for the rabbit.
he was bitten by a snake, which had taken
refuge there. The lad, feeling his "dancer.
bound his arm tightly with one of his suspen
ders above the wound, and ran forborne, but
fell from the effects of the poison before he
reached there. His cries, however, attracted
the attention of the family, and he was borne
home and whisky freely administered, until it
produced its usual effect. His arm, however,
below the bandage swelled, turned black and
burst, and alter living two days he expired.
The snake was dug out and dragged from its
den, and found to be a very old rattlesnake,
full of poison, larce quantities beinjr forced
from its mouth by the pressure of the rope
around his neck, used to draw him out.
Novel Marriage. A couple were married
by Justice Purdy yesterday, says the Detroit
Free Press, of the 26th ult., one of whom was
a female, aged fifty-eight, and the other a ver
dant looking young man, of about eighteen.
He maintained and stuck to it, that he was
thirty-seven years old, and in order to make
up the deficiency, she brought her years down
to forty-five. The dodge did not work, and,
upon being informed that they must make
oaths to the facts, they, declined, and reques
ted to be united without any questioning. The
young fellow said he had no particular objec
tion to telling his age, but the lady was cap
tious, and refused to divulge until she was in
formed that she must give up all hope of pos
sessing the youngster as a penalty. She said
he didn't amount to much as a man, but then
he would be handy to have around, and she
thought she might as well take him, as she
had more money than she knew what to do
with, and wanted somebody to spend it. The
bridegroom looked as if he might fulfil the
duty with a little judicious training.
The steamship Great Eastern is being rapid
ly prepared for her trial trip across the Atlan
tic, and it is expected she will be completed
in the beginning of this month, so as to ac
company the Prince of Wales in his visit to
our continent, in July. Her proprietors hav
ing sent word to New York city that she would
come there if it were possible to get her into
the harbor, the Board of pilots have returned
an answer that they will navigate her right
straight up to "Gotham," if she does not draw
more than 26 feet of water. It is believed the
Knickerbockers' will yet see the 'Leviathon.'
A well primed lover of the bottle who had
lost his way, reeled into a teetotal grocery and
biccuped, "Mr. do you a keep anything
good to take here 7" "Yes," replied the
temperance shopkeeper,' "we have excellent
cold water the best thing you could have."
"Well, I know it," remarked Tipsy ; "there
is no one thing that's done so much for nav
igation as that." "And I Lave no doubt,"
added the shopkeeper, "that a liberal use of it
would help your navigation amazingly."
THE LOSS OF LIFE BY WAR.
Here is its chief aim; and terrible has been
its success in this respect. Even its inciden
tal havoc of life, has sometimes been almost
incredible. It has entirely depopulated im
mense districts. In modern, as well as in an
cient times, large tracts of land have been left
so utterly desolate that a traveler might pass
irom village to village, even from city to city,
without finding a solitary inhabitant ! The
war of 1756, waged in the heart of Europe,
left in one instance no less than twenty con
tignous villages without a single man or beast !
Tho thirty years' war, in the 17th century, re
duced the population of Germany from 12,000,-
000 to 4,000,000, three-fourths ; and that of
Wirtemberg from 500,000 to 48,000, more than
nine-tenths ! lhirty thousand villages were
destroyed ; In many others the population en
tirely died out; and over districts, once
studded with towns and cities, there sprang up
immense forests.
Look at the havoc of sieges in that of Lon
donderry, 12,000 soldiers, besides avast num
ber of inhabitants ; in that of Paris, in the
16th century, 30,000 victims of mere hunger;
in that of Malplaquet, 34,000 soldiers alone ; in
that ot Ismail, 40.000; of Vienna, 70,000: of
Ostend, 120,000; of Mexico, 150,000; of A
cre, 300,000; of Carthage, 700,000 ; of Jerusa
lem, 1,100,000. Mark the slaughter of single
battles at Leponto, 2o,000 ; at Austerlitz, 30,
000 ; at Eylau, 60,000 ; at Waterloo and Qua
tre Bras, one engagement in fact, 70,000 ; at
Borodino, 80,000; at Fontenoy, 100,000; at
Arbela, 300,000 ; at Chalon, 300,000 of Attil-
la's army alone ; 400,000 Usipetes were slam
by Julius Ciesar in one. battle, and 430,000
uermans in another.
lake only two cases more. The army of
Xerxes, says Dr. Dick, "niust have amounted
to 5,283,320; and, if the attendants were only
one-third as great as common at the present
day in Eastern countries, the sum total must
have reached nearly six million. Yet, in one
year, this vast multitude was reduced, though
not entirely by death, to J00,000 fighting men,
and of these only 3,000 escaped destruction
Jenghiz-khan, the terrible ravagcr of Asia in
the 13th century, shot 9 ,000 on the plains of
Ncssa, and massacred 200.000 at the storming
ot Kharasm. in the district ot Herat, he
butchered 1,600,000, and in two cities with
their dependencies, 1,4 60,000. During the
last twenty-seven years of his long reign, he is
said to have massacred more than half a million
every year ; and in the first 14 years, he is sup
posed, by Chinese history, to have destroyed
not less than eighteen millions; a sum total of
32,000,000 in forty-one years 1
What a fell destroyer is war I Napoleon's
wars sacrificed full six millions, and all the
wars consequent on the French Revolution,
some nine or ten millions. The Spaniards are
said to have destroyed in forty-two years more
than twelve millions of American Indians
Grecian wars sacriSed. fifteen millions; Jewish
wars, twenty-five millions; the wars of the
twelve Caesars, thirty millions in all: the wars
of the Ramans before Julius Ceesar, sixty mil
lions; the wars of the Roman Empire, of the
Saracens and the Turks, sixty millions each ;
those of the Tartars, eighty millions ; those of
Africa, one hundred millions. "If we take in
to consideration," says the lparned Dr. Dick,
"the number not only of those who have fallen
in battle, but of those who have perished
through the natural consequences of war, it
will not perhaps be overrating the destruction
of human life, if we affirm that one-tenth of
the human race has been destroyed by the rav
ages of war; and, according to this estimate,
more than fourteen thousand millions of human
beings have been slaughtered in war since the
beginning of tho world." Edmund Burke
went still further, and reckoned the sum total
of its ravages, from the first, at no less than
thirty-five thousand millions !
English journals record an instance in which,
upon the trial of a will case, the witness had
the best of it. He was a Mr. Gale, and on be-
ng put upon the stand, declined to an
swer any questions until he had received his
fee. After a long wrangle as to the amount
to which he was entiled, the Court ordered
that be should be paid, fortime and expenses,
.16. As another witness was ready, Mr. Gale
stood aside ; but, on being again called and
questioned, declined to answer because he
bad not received tho money. The amount
was finally handed to him, and then the ques
tion was repeated when it appeared that he
new nothing whatever on the subject. It is
needless to add that Mr. Gale was a lawyer,
and a sharp one at that. . .
The First Vine. When Noah planted the
first vine and retired, Satan approached and
said, "I will nourish you, charming plant."
He quickly brought three animals a sheep, a
lion, and a bog and killed them one after a-
nothernear the vine. The virtues of tho blood
of these three animals penetrated it, and are
still manifest in its growth. When a man
drinks a goblet, he is then agreeable, gentle
and friendly : that is the nature of the lamb.
When he drinks two goblets he is like a lion.
and says "Who is like me ?" He then talks
of stupendous things. But when he drinks
more, his senses forsake him, and he wallows
in the mire like a bog.
Typographical errors come in odd some
times. The other day we were reading a des- j
cription of enthusiastic demonstrations at a
political gathering, when the type went on to
say "The air was rent with the snouts of three
thousand people 1" A still more ridiculous
"bull" was once made by the foreman of a
daily office in Indianapolis. In making up the
forms he accidentally placed a large display
line belonging to a stage advertisement, over
a patent medicine. In the paper he was sur
prised to read : " Through by Daylight!
Braggs' Celebrated Pills."
Doke8tic Bears. Once upon a time there
lived a couple known far and wide for their
interminable squabbles. Suddenly they chang
ed their mode of life, and were as complete
patterns of conjugal felicity as they had for
merly been of discord. A neighbor anxious
to know the cause of such a coversion, asked
the gude wife to explain it. She replied, "I
and the old man have got on well enough to
gether ever since we kept two bears in the
house." "Two bears I" was the perplexed re- j
reply. "Yes, sure," said the lady, "bear and
forbear."
The Troy, N. Y., blacksmith, who made 240
shoes in ten hours, has been beaten. James
II. Simpson, of -Plessia, Jefferson county,
turned out in the short space of eight hours
243 horse shoes, which were pronounced good...
DETERI0EATI0N OF THE" SOIL.
The Baltimore Rural Register says: "In
this new country, upon which the first Euro
pean settlements were made but a little more
than two centuries ago, go where we will, east
of the Allegheny mountains, we are constant
ly meeting with old fields, worn into gullies,
or covered with sedge, and perfectly valueless
in their present condition for agricultural pur
poses. In England on the contrary, during
the last half-century, the crops instead of di
minishing in quantity, have been increased in
the product to the acre by more than 50 per
cent. Yet the land there has been under cul
tivation more than a thousand years. Now it
has been repeatedly demonstrated that by pur
suing a similar system, eur soils are capable of
raising as large an amount of grain- or hay to
the acre as those of any other country. The
remarkable decrease in our aericaltnral nro-
ducts which statistical tables indicate, can
proceed from no ether cause than careless ano!
slovenly farming. The fatal defect iu the old
system of farming with us was. that it did not
take into due consideration the injurious influ
ence excited by our climate upon surface con
stantly exposed to an almost tropical heat in
the summer season. At an earlier day tobae
co was our staple production. It was what
wheat has since become the planter's money
crop; and high prices and a steady demand
stimulated him to cultivate in a negligent
manner as many acres of chis plant as the num
ber of his field hands would admit of putting
under the plow. A succession of crops taken
from the same field, without rest or intermis
sion, speedily wore the life out of it. Fresh-
lands were cleared, which were subjected to
the same ruinous mode of treatment, until in
the course of a few years, thousands of acres
of as fertile soil as the world could boast h-
came but little better than a sterile waste.
Where the fields were not sufficiently exhaust
ed to be thrown entirely out of cultivation,
corn succeeded tobacco ; and shallow plowing,
and the sun, the wind, the rain, and the frost
acting continually upon the exposed surface.
completed the work of destruction which reek-
less tillage had commenced. If there had
been instituted, from the beginning, a proper
rotation of crops ; if tap-rooted plants had been
allowed to succeed, fibrous-rooted plants: if
the manure ot the barn-yard, and the wood
ashes of the house fires, had been husbanded :
it shells, or lime, or marl had replaced the al
kaline constituents which had been taken from
the soil by previous crops; if plaster bad been
permitted to exert its singular influence upon
me growing clover, and if the latter, instead
01 being cut and carried off the land, had been
turned under it, those fields now lookinz so
barren and forlorn would have been more fer
tile at this day than they were when the plow
turned the first furrow in the virgin soii."
"Great Men never swell. It is ouly threo
cent individuals, who are salaried at the rate
of two hundred dollars a vear. and dine on
potatoes and dried herring, who put on airs.
flashy waistcoats, swell, puff, blow and endea
vor to give themselves a conseanential ap
pearance. No discriminating person can ever
mistake the spurions for the cenuine articla.
The difference between tho two is as ereat as
that between a bottle of vinegar and a bottle
of the pure juice of the grape."
In the U. S. Senate, on the 28th nit.. Mr.
Hammond, Democrat, advocated the restora
tion of high rates of postage, on the eround
that the Post-Office Department does not Dav
its expenses. Of course it does not, when
Democrattc Postmasters, like Isaac V. Fowler
of ew 1 ork city, steal at the rate of S 150,000
apiece. Wouldn't it be better to stop the
stealing rather than add to the taxes of the
people t We should think so J
Dew has peculiar properties. It differs from
fine rain and common moisture because it ia
never deposited on any surface except it is
colder than the snrrounding atmosphere. Most
dew is deposited in clear nights when the
greatest amount of radiation goes on. It nev
er falls copiously in places screened from the
clear sky ; a thin piece of muslin, suspended
over a delicate flower, will prevent the dew
beidg deposited upon it.
John C. Heenan has written a letter to the
London Times, complaining of his inability to
come to any arrangement with Sayers for a re
newal of the contest. He says be is willing to
accept the proposition that he and Sayers
should have a belt apiece, got up by publio
subscription, the true champion's belt remain
ing in the hands of tho editor of Bell's Life,
to be fought for again.
"Pray excuse rue," said a well dressed
young man to a young lady in the second tier
or boxes at a theatre. "I wish to go ud stairs
and get some refreshments don't leave your
seat." A sailor seated in the box near his
girl, and disposed to go and do the same thing,
arose and. said "Harkee, Moll, I am going
aloft to wet my whistle don't fall overboard
while I am gone."
A thin old man, with a rag-bag in bis band.
was picking up a large number of pieces of
whalebone which lay on the street. The de
posit was of such a singular nature that we
asked the quaint-looking gatherer bow he sup
posed they came there. "Don't knew," he re
plied in a squeaking voice; "I 'spect some
unfortunate female was wrecked hereabout."
An honest Dutchman, in training his son in
the way in which be should go, frequently ex
ercised him in Bible lessons. On one of these
occasions he asked him : "Who was dat vould
not shleep mit Botipher's vife T" "Shoseph.
"Dat's a goot boy. Veil vat vas de reason he
vould not shleep mither?" Don't knowi
sphose he vasbn't sbleepy."
In Germany, wooden bridges are not allowed
to be erected on any of the railroads, because
they begin to decay from the moment they are
put up, and grow more insecure every day.
1 ---a,, 11 f ,
The recent change in the style of female
costume appears at once prudent and amiable i
it is a sign that the ladies consider that their
charms have been too Long Wasted. ' '
"Mother," said a little urchin, about five
years of age, "why don't the teacher make
me moniter sometimes r 1 can lick every
boy In my class but one !" ;
An Exchange says : A party ot our friends
chased a fox thirty -six. hoass- They actually'
"run. the, tfiing into tho ground"
1
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