kl tnuAlin W4,tricoitorg, WASHINGTON. *Wild Life in Washington—Start in g Exposition of Inner Life in the De.' p_artmentsc—T e Cane of L e wi s and Miss Duvall—Ladles Cautioned Against Accepting PositlOns in Wash ton. Correspondence of the Franklin Reflositorr. WaseiNATOT; CITY, May 7,_1864 Tile last week has been,one of great excite ment in this communftry":caused chiefly by ru ..morii of misconduct among the 'officials and lewdness of some of theinele and female clerks of the Treasury, and of the movements of Grant's army advertising upon Richmond. Of the Treasury= matter, I have to say: All the posted residents of Washington are aware , that for a year past numerous stories have been afloat of the unchasteness of our public men bothln and out of Condess who have been said to have recommended Women of immoral ano disunion tendencies for positions in the dif ferent departments of the government, and that some"women. of chaste character have had im p roperprOposals made to them by those through whom they sought position. There is some foundation for these statements, but not to the extent to which they have been currently re ported. A squabble having arisen in Congress last week respecting some matters in the Treasury, same of thcr copperheads openly declared that there were transactions transpiring there which - it was indecent to detail in the presence of the ladies in the galleries, .and a committee was appointed to investigate the charges made chiefly against S. - M. Clark. Pending this in vestigation. Col: Baker,• the detective of the War and Treasury Departments, elicited Some statements, which he assumed amounted to,the charge of attempt at abortion,- upon the person of Mist Maggie A. Din'all,'against a'oung man named Lewis (who was said to have seduced her) and Miss Ella Jackson. Beth the young women have ,beenl until recently, and the young man formerly wad employed in the Treasury. On Wednesday Miss Duvall, Who had been confined to her residence for nearly two months, died. Inimediately Col. Baker entered com plaint against theiaforesaid parthis, Miss Jack son was arrested,!butl.ewiti coulcimot be found, and a post moricni examination of the body of Miss Duvall was . ! ordered. , This examination resulted in a verdict that she had died oful monary consumption, and that there were no indications of her having been ancients, or of any attempt at abortion having been made upon her. • Miss Jackson is still held in custody, and the investigation -has not yet been concluded. This is indeed' a sadJcase, pandering as it does to the baser passions of many, and sorely dis tressing the better portion of those who appre ciate its most deplorable features and shudder at the thought of its effects upon the thousands of unprotected females in this city, as well as upon the smaller circle of those whose reputa tion and feelings are directly assailed by it.. • The evidence seems to indicate that Leivis and Miss Duvall were guilty of criminal inter course, and it is said there is other evidence of similar transactions. I have no doubt that this is true. Indeed so generally is this matter credited, that many women who should un doubtedly be above reproach, find it difficult to obtain social. recognition or tolerance in some : circles, and I am free to say that I think ho one who has any regard for a young female friend should allow her to come to this city to ~reside or seek employment in any of the de partments, unprotected. Of those already here. and especially of those old enough elsewhere to occupy an independent social position, I • have to say; in the language of one of the city papers; " it is the duty of the public to refrain . from stigmatizing any against whom no proof is • adduced . of complicity wifh this deplorable af fair, or any similar, with suspicions of impropri ety of conduct. And all, both male and female, who are conscious of entire personal freedom from any grounds of such suspicion' should feel steeled against the shafts of slanderous words or thoughts by the armor of their own rectitude." The publicity-which was given to the Duvall • affair I regard as premature, unnecessary, and wholly unjustifiable. But it is entirely in accordance with the general conduct of this de tective Baker.. I hope that he will pie as ready, and more - Successful than he has been' (notwithstanding the terrible expose) in this case in ferretting out the guilt of parties more • prominent, and whose offences are more heni . oxis than those of the parties implicated in this affair of criminal passion. Young Lewis, who is not to be found, is said to have been residing for some time in Arkan sas, and "was formerly an racer, brave and faithful, ins Pennsylvania regiment. Should there, be no. further evidence of seduction, or attempt at abortion than has - been thus fur ad duced, he will not,be punished legally, if found, But the sad fruits of his criminal indulgence of ' passion Will haunt-him through - life and embit ter the closing years of his father's most hon orable and eminently useful life. s. c. Exciting War News—The Wounded—The Crowd of Skodadlers—The Secesh of Washington Dispirited—A ItebelLiett tenant:stung by Prisoners—Burn side's (mach Troops Avenging Fort Pillow., Correspondence of the Franklin, Repository. - • WASHINGTON, May 13, 1864. The week about to close has been one of the most exciting that I' have ever experienced, and in listening for further news from the front, answering telegrams, helping.the wounded, and hunting after the fate of friends, we were not idle, nor will we be for some time to come.— Already 10,000 men from the battle field have been brouiit to our Hospitals and more than that number still remain beyond. - Of the first few thousand that arrived, at least one-half were "skedadlers," embracing officers and men, who represent themselves as wounded, but upon :examination are found to be perfectly sound, and who are . only trying to get away from the :smell of gunpowder. Already over 1500 of these have been picked up bythe Provost Guard to be forwarded to their regiments, and the Bur- Weons are initking an elimination throughout the IlospiOs toy the balance. Oa one boat yesterday forty were arrested, and on another aane hundred ar.d . .thi4pgjx, It is an • tainting scene to stand near the wharf where the board of detectives and examining officers are 4ation. ed and see thein overtani..dad ventilate -the decePtinnspracticed by these weak-kneed "like &Akre." . A private in a New York'regrinent amputated the left leg of his pants an ban daged his ankle, yet while hobbling along the wharf he was "spotted" and invited to show hisi wound. On the removal of the bandage he had not even a scratch. To-day a Captain in full uniform was picked up with his armban daged up, and after the removal of an enormous amount of dirty linens from the armn of a single mark' of a wound could be found. Another regular army officer had a slight scratch on his - leg - as if done 'perhaps by A briar. Upon his or "der he was furnished with an ambulance to coa -1 vey him to the Aquia Creek landing. While on liis way. the ambulance was fired into by a party of guerrillas and the officer received a seriou woundin. his neck: It his been very amusing to go rounnown and see old men and young men with canes and umbrellas making maps of Lee's position and Grant's movements in the dust, with which the pavements and streets of this city usually abound. Before the late rain these lines could be found before every doggery and on every 'corner from one end of the' city to the other. The secesh, as a general thing, are very gloomy and despondent. I accidentally heard one of oar large fashionable jewelers tell another , prominent dry goods man,t hat he should only wait a day or two, and- he would see the tables turned. You can tell a secesh now as far as you ean'See him by the way'he stands and reads-the bulletin hoards: • A rebel Lieutenant happened to be in Fred: erieksburg on leave of absence at the time our first wounded arrived there, and thinking of doing something smart he rallied the citizens and'captured several hundred of our wounded and stragglers and did not discover the "error of his ways" before he was overpowered by his prisoners and hung by the neck to the nearest 'tree. - Grant's losses are being made up rapidly by reinforcements. Lee's army, say the brave fellows who have been borne hitherwith evident marks of having combated them resolutely, are getting "groggy,?' and it•is confidently be lieved'iby these who have witnessed the last two days fight, that the hour is close at hand, when Lee will fail tto come to time' - The reports of the past week, until yesterday, were very much exaggerated, but now there is no need for imaginary doscri tions—the fights of ,Wednesday and Thu ha ing made lu.pa ges of history, w,prove the ld adage that "truth is stranger than fiction." It is positive ly certain that Leo can ne each'Richmond by railroad,, , without leaving his army to the tender mercies of Grant, and that determined executioner of rebels is in no mood to temper justice with much mercy. The black troops of Burnside's command have seized an early bp pprtunity to retaliate for the'slaught4r of their brethren at Fort Pillow. In the fiat of Tues day hist they cut of and disposed of a requisite number for such retribution, without taking any - s. c. prisoners Ou) Tim Gs.— Give me•the old songs, those exquisite bursts of melody which thrilled the lyfes of the inspired poets and minstrels of long ago. Every note has borne on the air a tale of joy and rapture—of sorrow and sadness! They tell of days gone by, and time hath given them a voice which speaks to us of those who once breathed those melodies—of what they now are, and what we soon shall le. My heart loves those melodies; may they be mine to hear till life shall end, and as I "launch my boat ".upon the sea of eternity, may their echoes be wafted to my ear to cheer me on my passage from the scenes of earth and earthland!, Give me the old paths where we have 'i•an= dered and culled the flowers of love and friend ship in the days of "Auld Lang Syne' sweeter far the dells whose echoes have answered to our voices; whose turf is not b. stranger to our footsteps, and whose rills have iu childhood's days reflected back our fenn e l; and those of our merry play-fellows from whom we Dave parted and meet no more in the old nooks we loved so well. May the old piths be watered with Hea ven's own dew, and be green, forever in my memory!