Ul V - . LEWIS BURG GE H Jo H. C. HICKOK, Editor. 0. N. WORDEN, Printer. LEWISBURG, UNION COUNTY, PENN., WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1851 Volume ?HT., Nnmber 24. Whole Number 388. Gh II TV i A IVX II A fl II II 1 LEWISBURG CHRONICLE i iiDiniMst raUT jocbsai, iWrf on Wednesday mornings at LewUburg, mc count;, Pennsylvania. TPS Ml S1-50 P1 J''ar fo rash cf nT in advance: , -Jif pud within three months; $iJ if paid within a ax . ejO if not paid before the year expires ; 6 cents for emgl numbers. euoarnplions f t six months or less, to paid ia advan-w. liiseoutuiiianccs optional with the pabliMtier, except when the year is paid up. AuBHTiasMkNT9 huBdsouiely inserted at SO cent per s-inare, oue week, $1 lour week a. a year: two squares, CI for six months, 7 tor a year. .Mercantile adveruae ,au, not excMd.ua: otic fourth of a column. J10 a year. jiiU WOKK and casual advertisements to be paid for when han ied in or delivered. CoMniXKlTiONj solicited onall siitjccts or rrncral Inte rest not within the rente of parly or sectarian ooutint. . lettan wast eome p,t-paid. auxnulianiud by the real aidreaa of the writer, Ui rjecive attention. -Tluse l.iattnc exriusivoly to the Editorial Iiel-arUueut, tn be di nKled to HfcNar 0. HtCk'iR, r-Mj , htixUiT and those on tuiiness to O. S. WoKl.rs. VMnh-r. irtBre on Market street, between S.y-oiid and Third, over lbs Poet-UKee. O. N. WOltliKS. Pr.rictor. Correspondence of the Central Christian Ucraid. Letter from Siam. Bangkok, March C, 1851. Ma. Editor. An opportunity of send ing letters Lome is rather a rare event to us Lere, and when it does occur, wc are gene rally informed of it hut a short time be fore the vessel sails. I avail myself of such notice, to send you a brief account of an excursion which we made to Petchiburee a town about one huudred miles south west of Bangkok, and situated upon the Malayan peninsula. Traveling is here generally done in boats the canals and rivers which intersperse the country serving fur highway". Such j are situated, at greater cr less intervals, facilities Siam possesses to a considerable ! At these wc often stopped, to distribute extent; rendering it practicable to travel in i books; always taking care Crst to ascertain almost any direction. Boats of various ) if the applicant could read. The number kinds are in use here, their name and ', of good readers is remarkably great, con form being determined by the uses to which 'sidering the few incentives to learn, as i j r. l. ! n , t .t. tueyare oppueu, as i uum r"P; who have introduced them. Thus wc have the " rua nicun, a 1 eguan uoai ; iiie " rua cheen," or Chinese boat; the "ruayuan," or Cochin Chinese boat, etc. Ours was a ' rua yuan." It was about CO ft ct long, and Lai a small room built upon it, of the dimensions of eight feet by six feet, and nerved a very comfortable purpose, as 3Irs. S. and our children accompanied mc. I will add that another advantage as re-1 cards traveling is found in the fact that the tides extend to a considerable distance : whom, we have reason to hope, have be inland, causing the water to run part of come wise, even unto salvation. I was not the time one way, and then to flow back ' sufficiently able to converse with them in again; thus rendering it convenient to use ; their own language ; although I could un large boats, without the expense of tuauy ( derstand them, as they repeated portions bands to work hem. AVhen the tide, : of the Scripture to mc, which thcy.gjatti, therefore, turns against us, we bave only me reason to hope that they in their hearts to stop and wait until it again turns. This appreciated. nc thing is certain: the time TeeQ not be lost, as we may stop near ; word of God, fo far as;, it is translated for; Borne village or wat, distribute books. etc. jthem, is extensively read by this people.! Leaving home, therefore, Feb. 11, we; You have heard of that interesting old! ascended the Mcmam a short distance, and . then turned off into a canal, the general ; direction of which was southwest, nd by a distance of about twenty-five miles, reached its junction with the Vac-been riv- j er, at the town Mahaichie. This river is ; direction is about the pame. We remained at this place over night, and the next morning wc amended the riv- er about three miles, and then entered 'thcr canal, running in about thc same I'Ui. lii.Llu iliieilC'i ll mi,.uiuu.,i.. direction as tbe former. It is about fori v ; J . !1m Tma ..vwl i Innlni r, f nnAflinl- 11- I ' . 1 r, larger inan tne nr , uvc u rexu Ju , a nm-li. ln. en Tln ! t-rtl" u y.i 1 iltn 1 ..1 .1. r.i 1 i .1: 1: la UMII i I IU(. O.llA. 1UU 1 1 " I . - " II'JM ' "V. , Maklang ; and a town of the same name is situated at the point where the canal enters., rtspopulation is said to be about ,000. We reached this place on thc mor ning of the third day and remained until thc next morning, in order to have calm weather for crossing the head of the Gulf cr Siam a distanco of about two miles, and then by a distanee of some ten miles, frOSSed Over tO tllC mOUth Of the I'etclli- ''h"''t0 l'hilanUiropit, than that we now cn..4. . .... , , I We have long behold with painful emotions the rarages buree mer, where IS Situated the town Of oftl,i, monster rice, coir.pured with which other sins are Iuulam. Ai'COndinJ' this river, Which :frcwl U conceal their deformity in the socm-y of rctirc a ,t ji . 1 r ii mfut, or uaJr corcr of the iiii'liL but this cmues fwth flows northwardly, we stopped fur the. . , . v . . J'm 11 1 tnniki'J. and with unblusli.ni uni-udcnce, while chwaee flight some four miles below the town of d.iu mark its pathway. Petchiburee, which wc reached thc next pxiBmtnheien 4 -mi 1 . t 1 1 stayed ; but of late, in our own OjtnmoRwcjJth at Jeaat, morning. The country between Bangkok j,lld rart,i,rl, within cur Action.! limits, it aud Maklang U almost a dead level, pre- j increasing with alarniins rapidity. Ko class of society Is senfing very little variety of seentrv, and ! T '1 rlv!lses- The.rfch Ml the elevated but little above high-Water mark. 1 Being subject to tidal influences, however, it is healthy, aud most of it appears sus ceptible of cultivation. Parts of it arc cultivated, thouirb I could nut iud tn i , i i But In order effectually to combat error, to order to cope What CXteut, lhc country on the Other ,ue,-MfuI!, with au adrersary of boasted atrenuUl and Side of the Gulf, along the Petchiburee "''f'tyi we must reconnoitre the position and strength of river, is higher, and more resembles parts himwhr"n " won,d ". i .isoourown c tn - i i resf urres. l. nee your committee have taken measures to of our OWn. J his characteristic becomes ; ascalain the number of places at which liquors are man morC and more marked, as we advance Up j "facturcd and sold within the bounds of this Association; .t . ,.i ... e i . ; nd verily their ' name is LiKion, for they are many." the nvcr, until witLia the vieiuity of l'ct- Th..w..iv . rL- . - , ' . I ln re are, within the liinits of thts Association, (ombrm- CUIDUree, WC have a mountain, Several hUll- dred feet high ; and farther off to the west .l,.'- . . . , . x, , there IS a ehain of mountains the bnun- dary between Siam and Burmah. and Wliich I would have loved to cross, to have taken I r j r , , , ., "' f jooio uy tue nana. 1 Ue countrv I along the Petchiburee river is well culti rated, for Siam, arid at this season the far mer are engaged in thrashing their rice. This labor is performed after night, as the . - ; flays are Very Warm. The night that We ' . o i Stopped below Petchiburee, I Went to wit- Hess this operation. The rice Was the property of a man of rank, who, seated ia Lis sala, superintended the work. The threshing Perfonr,cd y,y mean8 of cat. 1 The straw - r.Urol r,Ti a circular space, about 80 feet in diameter. The cattle were divided into two divisions, of about 20 head each, lied abreast, and then placed upon opposite radii, and made to go around until the rice is threshed off. . While in this part of the country, tve enjoyed the desideratum of clear water and sandy banks. Ilere, too, we 6aw carts, and oxen, and good roads things unknown at Bangkok. And from the top of the mountain before-mentioned, I had a most delightful view of the surrounding coun try a perfect panorama of the whole, ltice fields, dotted over with palm trees, etc., and the Petchiburee river meandering through a plain, limited on one semi-circumference by the sea, and on the other by mountaius. The whole country pre sented the appearance of prosperity and thrift, unusual for Siam. But I have no time for description. I will only add that a pagoda is erected upon the summit of this mountain, to which these deluded peo ple resort to obtain merit ; and that I saw cacti growing there from ten to fifteen feet high, but I could not tell tl.e sptc'es; and that the rocks which compose the mountain are graywacke and transition limestone. Along the whole route, from Bangkok to Petchiburee, bans, or villages and wats ul ."uum.j d...u..s people. They have, however, an excellent j system oi oriuognipuy, ueing aimoti per-, ifectly fectly rhjiietic. which may account in!, . J.t ( lute uPon was ie part, if not altogether, for this. d ,, But what :ire the missionary aspects of 'this field? This is the irreat question, and; , this question I am not able to answer. j We met, however, with much to encourage i Jus. At 3Iaklang, in particular, we mctj with several individuals who were quite ' conversaut with our beoks, and some of I man, who came from a part of the country, : whither Christian books liad teen taken, te the miss.onanrs hero, and tested ii.s love to Christ aud of Li appreciation ofi the great salvation ; bow ke exempted , that pro.cs.sion uurmg the remaining few j . . !,( pie here are under the authority of mas- - . fWfl ! Q 'Id ul'.r.rTT IU tit llrtltlil QTIll ......... ...l. .t i ..: 1 l. uo i j vu.-..j ue- r!lllW' tlliT TiW-1 T II HIP fl lit hrtrif V W (riinTillti 1 . I (.k. bu..i uu.uv11. , j ..i.i-..v-. 1 Yours, etc. J. SlLSBY. S&"Thc Northumberland Baptist Asso ciation at their recent session adopted the following Report on Temperanrt. TL&t ioWmperance is a great and irrtmiiig eril, perhaps all are r.'ady tu aliuit ; ani in the opinion of y.jur Com mittee, there are few auhjects at tbe irecnt day, that hare a greateraim upon the sympathies, the prajera, 'and the united, energvtie and untiring lalors of ccry man of hoary head and the youth of promise, are indis- eriminau-ly brought by its influence to one common lerel, and are seen bowing with brutish stupidity at the altar of Itacvhus. What Christian, what Philanthropist, what parent can mark the de:oIutiug intluenca of this moral f1' ,uJ to ""' icing toe counties of Lycoming, Clinton, Northumberland, j Uni"'' M"nto," Columbia, and guitar,.) ,t the lowest e.tfimate, StiO licensed UTerns, as many stores at which ( liquor, are ld, and thirty distilleries and breweries, i bc8llM larE numtier of groggerien and ale and beer- , " "et- From "d isnaa 01 iniquity, are constantly issuing streams of rollation. deltwins our land with Jr. ,.... ... I kindred Ticea, enrrupuns the morals of our youth, and carrying thousands to a drunkard's grave and a drunk ard's hell. In view of these facts we would present the following : 1. Resolved that in the opinion of this body, no person " - Il.w XUU1LU UICIM Wl Clljl Mill) IM:IW, " '5 manufacture, sale, or use of intoxicating liuuors as a nweracw. ... '''cdtbat u view of the Increasing prevalence of! If, 1u0,'w1, renewed leal to roil Uck this tia of 3. Raaolved that we recommend to the pasture of the churches coin r me this Afaociation, to prex-nt this report and these rranlutions to their coner. trauVms, and to deliver lectures, urginn all generally, and tbe membership espe cially, to have no fellowship with the accursed, wul-dca. troying tra&c in intoxicating liquors, in any shape. 4iaVaAJa.Guuri and, as they believe, wcr.t to heaven. The ; moujJej t',iat could kill them I have seen i j Lord may have many others such hcrcjjj gu'h mm ne(c(1 tom : ( but you must remember tfeat the most pow-j -ecJauj vet a f(JW' Inal.jeii jneiflexits ! an-jerful system of error, perhaps, under heav-j wor " (ila"tiUnerWion which liesdeep-l , en, here opposes the Gospel, that the pco-j , . 'n ' ' mB . 1(4nf ' P&rWIiiU Tray without ceasing." SL Patd. Vhcn the ruddy morn U breaking, And the birds, their nests foruking, on8 of gladness are awaking, Filling all the morninjr air- In the guneral praise partaking. Lilt Iky voice to God in prayer. XThen the noonday sun is glowing, Witb'ring flow'ivts in their growing. Shrinking streamlets in their flowing, And his rays are everywhere With soul enkindled, earn unknowing, Send on nigh thy lVrrent prayer. Then the lingering day is dying. And the birds are homeward flying. And the evening breeze is sighing O'er a world of sin and ewe With heart unwearied, real denying, Waft to heaven thy lowly prayer. When the night her tears is weepirjg, And the rttars tlvur watch are kin-ping, And the moon the earth is steeping With her silver fhii-n eo fair EtninMy kneeling, ere thr sleeping, Tour out thy heart in thankful prayer. Thu-, as down tiue's stream U.ou'rt drifting1, Aud the scenes of life are shifting, Let thy eyes be eott?t.int lifting To the goal bright gleaming TnERZ While from sin thy heart tltou rt sifting, Never cease thy strain of prayer! Brown University. W ill Woodtills. A Front View of Churubusco. By aaOfij:of American Artillery ictha Uome Journal. The victory sudicn.unique.completc had exlalerated us like cliampaigne ; the morning Fun. as he ascended to Lis meridian throne, warmed and dried us; the little shops which wc found upon the high-road, furnished bread and drink j and the Par-thhtn-like shots from the rear-guurd of the retreating army, seemed but au impromptu Jtu-de-Joie iu houor of our success. Au occasioljai L:iU to rest s Mesi(..iU j wingcJ fcy fuf incrcMcJ tLc (istulicc t... us, gave us opportunity to specu la our front. one, "what we are , . . , .v . j -"o J wondering : "Oh" said I, very wisely, ' wc hhall fcleen iu Mexico to-morrow night." All young soldiers are oracular. "I would to God," said my Captain, "that it were over!" The presentiment was upon Mm and iu two hours, the event which had cast its shadow upon his spirit had transpired : he was a rigid corpso. "Why, B ,' I exclaimed; "why do you wish it were over so dolefully ? ft is over : they arc scared to death, and are on such a trot-out now, that they will run through Mexico without stopping to look behind." .c . .... . .: jn)T (e siiiii: it was a lament tor his own impend-1 Ono wAri nTrmf riMintiinftnfs T Ivm-o trjeJ Mt tQ in tJ J t!lcmfilsificdlimcan,lay!lin. I have joined L . lauinj them to worn : 1 have known those wL like tbe cok.brak.d M. Stf .Wl ir.l t . fin! f nroa .1 1 "1 , T 1 ' vou could not see three feet on any side, the human soul :inti I iif.livi-. in Km.:"' J ' of reason, knowledge, education and desire: mJ j r sentiment. In sickness acd peril in pas- i ... . .. sivc endurance and exciting turmoil amid i . i v. i-i r mu c'lonu, or in fcouiary meuiiauon 1 have always felt sure that I should escape, depression the blues every one has; but if I had ever desjiaired, 1 should have needed no bullet to kill mc I believe I should have died a natural death. Nor was this sentiment incompatible with a sense of imminent danger. In the heat of action, nmong whizzing balls, I frequently expected a shot, and I schooled myself to care as little for it as possible. Ah ! there was one place in which I was squeamish about being hit : I always carried my large tin canteen in front, over my stomach. Anns, head, lung?, legs, all legitimate and honorable, as one might say quite pro fessional but the stomach! just think of of it, reader; does'nt it make one shudder ? With this Quixotic stomach-piece, then, as a collateral security, I always reverted to my hope, aud it neverfailed ; it shone like a star amid all perils, with ever-increasing lustre. "Put your trust in heaven, and keep your powder dry." Excellent advice ; but let mc add another item curb your fan cy : if it must flow, turn it into the chan nel of cheerfule.ss, or you will be depressed into presentiment and then, heaven help you ! Through San Angel, thc pursuit poured, being arrested in its course only to recruit our troops, or to exchange shots with the runaways. This little town is a summer retreat for thc rich Mexicans; and as we passed through, we caught glimpses of bright eyes through latticed windows, and tonsured Monks from the gothic aper tures of its convent. Through Coyoacan, from the steeple of which the engineers were reconnoitreing, we passed rapidly on ward, to encounter men and scenes totally unknown. "Haiti" llark -a quick and increasing ire iu front of ans ell-- - .. - iumuvii va iiiarctij was new signal of action. Our brigade was in advance of the column. The Rifles, as light infantry, had scattered themselves forward as skirmishers over the fields flanking our march, and my regiment was the first heavy infantry of the vanguard. As soon as the firing was heard in our ranks, more than one voice shouted "The Rifles are engaged, and will be cut to pieces !" and soon a staff officer without drawing bridle, sung out his orders at the gallop "For ward, the first artillery !" aud, at a double quick, the men trailing arms, the First went forward to mingle in the fray. And hero let me interweave a word of explanation and criticism. This was a grievous error, and was most fatally atoned. Less than a mile before us, and five hun dred yards apart, lay the convent and tele-de-xjnt of Churubusco so named from the little river flowing their in rear, of which the latter is the guard. Now, Worth, after taking San Antonio, had proceeded by the direct road to the bridgehead, and it was his firing that we heard. The Rifles were not engaged ; the First teas upon desperate service, as we shall see. We were rapidly lessening the interve ning space which separated us from the convent, when once more a loud cry arose " Make way for the battery !" and the rumbling of wheels and the clatter of hoofs told that the "light bobs" were com ing. We cleared the road, and scattering the clayey mud far and wide, Taylor came down at the full jump. A battery of light artillery coming into action is a splendid sight ; it makes the blood tingle ia the cheeks, and the eye kindle with enthusiasm. Then the drill is tested; then your " left-abouts" and "countermarches," " wheels" and "rever se," come into play "under creditable circumstances ;" then your horses are lions on the spring, and your men tigers at the guns; then your smooth and bright little "sises" bellow, and quiver, and recoil, and deal death with a venom and a celerity in special contrast to their mechanical repose upon the trim tcrre plcin of some peaceful holiday fort. Such were the thoughts suggested, light- ningdikc, by Taylor's compact, swift and graceful movements " into battery." He did not come off ao well, however: "two officers and twenty men wounded, and fif teen horses crippled," left the guns short handed, and the mud of the field in which the y were, at each recoil closed around the wheels with such tcnacitv. that it was with . , ... moved. JUais rcvenons. Wc set forward again at the run, as soon as Taylor had passed, and in ten minutes we were being handsomely peppered. Through a corn-field of dense and luxuri- ! ous growth (ten feet or more in height, auJ twk' M tL!ck M We rknt hy tLe course pointed out by n engineer, to what was consiJerecl a ""f" latterr!" We ,ll:,rcIlod' r ratbr r""' in frontinS thc storm of balls, " by company into line :" a'nd the stalks were clipped and torn all around by a scythe of balls. One look I cast at my captain when he sprang into tut' VC'lll, UUU WliCIt X WW tiliu uaiii, iuc , .... ' death-rattle was in his throat. Onward spurred almost to madness by the fire, the thick growth, and thc uncer tainty unconscious of his fate, on I rushed, with a few men ; and after falling into a drain, from which I was jerked by thc first sergeant, we at length cleared the corn ! Merciful heaven ! we were fifty yards in front of a regular field tcork two salients and a curtain containing at least three thousand infantry, with thc whole army in reserve, and seven guns in embrasure and barbette, keeping time to the c mtinued roar of musketry. The rain of the night before bad given it a slimy parapet and a wet ditch ; and as soon as we showed our selves, we were a mark for a thousand muskets. "One gun battery," indeed! my heart jumped into my throat My company had evidently entered through the densest growth, and were in advance of the rest of thc regiment, which had been organized by its able commander, in readiuess to take advantage of a closer and more reasonable reconnoisance. This I learned afterward "What shall we do, Lieutenant?" screamed the sergeant. "Maze awayl" said I, temporizing in this answer; for I plainly saw that some thing else must be done. He leveled his piece with deliberate aim, and discharged it into the blazing crest of the work, and was " ramming cartridge" for a second shot, when a convulsive leap, the blood pouring from his breast, and his gun rattling to the earth, told me ho was shot tlirowjh the heart! I caught, him to support his fall, and while " laying him out," a second shot penetrated his brain. Ah ! he was a doomed man i when he was buried, he had five wounds, and fourteen in vital part I ''K.Qh! Gracious God! Help!" II looked around me in the direction of these doleful cries ; to the right, to the left, be hind, like autumn eaves in a gust, were falling the men who had "broken cover" with me. Dragging two of the wounded, we gained the shelter of adobie wall a few yards to the left, which intercepted small shot, but which was riddled by cannon. "Victimiied this time!" thought I; but my hope did not fail : and there in momen tary chance of being torn to pieces, as the round shot ploughed through, were joined by little Hoffman. Ho was a gallant little soldier, of birth and breeding, who had received an appointment to the regiment but a few mouths before. " Hot work, isn't it 1!" said he. "Rather." " I wish the members of Congress were here for about ten minutes, to deliberate on army pay they'd give us fifteecn dol lars a day aud found, don't you think so 1" "Any price to run for it," said I, "I'll be bound." Poor little fellow ! with thc humorous smile upon his face, and the words scarcely through his parted lips, his throat and collar-bone were torn out by a canuen-ball, which came through the adobie, and like lightuing he went to the earth. I looked at the scathed aud ruined frame ; I turned him over and over, and seeing that life was extinct, I said to my only remaining mau, "Perkins, you see that stone house?" " Yes, sir." Aud away we went, a little to the left and rear, between the balls, as the old wo man escaped thc rain. It was marvellously like a retreat 1 There, to my great joy, I found a large portion of my regiment and old Strange, my servant, yelled out, with his hands tlaspcd very theatrically "Thank God! there's my officer. Oh! I thought you was kilt Wax melts no more easily in the fire, than did men at Churubusco ! At length an entrance to the work, where the fire was slacker, was found and forced by the third infantry and first ar tillery, and the "Convent of Churubusco" bad fallen : it belonged that day to the church militaut but not triumphant Meanwhile, as all the world knows Worth had carried the bridge-head, and the cause way to Mexico was swarming with the panic-stricken fugitives. The 3'ard of the convent, when we had time to contemplate it, presented ono of those battle scenes to which description is entirely inadequate. In one of thc bas tions an ammunition-box had blown up, and scattered the human frame anatomi cally around ; mules wore lying with their entrails streaming out of large shot-holes ; artillery horses, dressed with scarlet trim mings, were flying loose hither and thither, with streaming manes and distended nos trils, snorting at thc smoke and the noise; and the dead and dying were in every pos sible posture of agony. I gazed for a few moments, and my heart sank as I thought upon the misery caused by that battle : i through the electric chain of ten thousand ; relationships, far and near, native and for- i eign, a shock of grief was passing its ef fects no human heart can conceive. Not long aftir I entered the yard, a scene occurred of singular interest. " Is that you, Tom ?" cried one of our men to a Mexican, with a leer like that of the Artful Dodger when they caught Oli ver. " Is that you, ye ?" "What in the world is he talking Ea glih to a Greaser for?" thought I. What was my astonishment, when the person thus interrogated, hanging down his head, said in a low tone, " Yes" and then baring his breast, he added "Kill mc, I want to die." He was a deserter from our regiment, and one of thc cele brated San Patricios, who had done us more damage than all the rest of the Mex icans put together. "XO!" shouted an officer, in a voice of thunder; "don't you touch him: let him alone we'll save him for something better." "We'll hang you, you infernal dog," chimed in another. " Tie him up to that tree" and in a few moments, Tom was bound fast with his back to the tree, saved from the death of battle for a darker fate. Ten days after, the army had the satisfac tion of seeing him, among others, white capped and dangling at San Angel, expi ating an inexpiable crime. Life is no rec ompense for the mortal sin of desertion ; a foul and pestilent memory, even, cannot clear the score. Once more the field was still. The ech oes, tired of doing "double duty" that day, had gone to sleep perhaps to have a nightmare ! and we were aweary and sad. , The past ! a soldier's past ! to what shall I liken it 1 To some vast and dimly lit cathedral of the olden time, echoing through nave and transept, and from floor to groin, strange, scarce-remembered mel odies, or now discordant notes. Through the tall Gothi T;ndowg of .colored t glass, comes streaming in, a modulate-,!, checkered light: the pleasant yellow and orange of early joy of her I looked upon in childhood's love, and thought the earth was brighter for her presence, and hallowed by her step of him, tbe playmate brother, and the hand-clasped friend; then, min gling in splendor, come the blue and purple of grander reminiscences, telling of awe and majesty the priest in holy church the judge the soldier in his gala dress and nodding plumes earth's ermine and lawn and blue ; the streaming green of early hope, ambition, honor, love all but content. But stay! upon the chancel, flooding altar and cross, in ruddy reflection from column and cornice, pours in a tftyp-j Sonie suppose thai this disease originate rtd. ray crimson, lloodrcohr : alas ! it from the natural decay of the plant, and has its memories too, vivid and clear, and that it is necessary to renovate it, by plant grievous to be borne ; and as I gaze upon iug the ball, and by this means rear a new its changing touches, the plaintive, search- ,seed. Others believe that an insect pro ing tones of the " Kyrxe Eleison, Chrisle J duces the decay. I repudiate both of these " Ellison.!" Oh Lurd, Oh Chrut have mercy! come pealing in from the phantom-gallery of that old cathedral of the heart ! Ia that ray, upon that air, I seem to sec and bear ye once again ye who bore your soldiers' hearts so nobly forward upon the maddest wave of battle, and laid them down, in wreck and night, for your country's honor ! Aydemi! lying upon nnplaned boards, stark and grim, that weary night, were Burke, and Capron, and Hoffman; not far off was the body of Johnstone, and the handsome and galiant Irons was grappling with a mortal wound : five, in twenty-four hours, from our little regimental circle. They were gone! young and lusty, proud and hoping, clever and boon they were gone ! What was the field what its glory aud its laurels what was Mexico, the city, the territory, the whole peninsula what were they all worth, when weighed against those gallant hearts ? ! threw my arms around the neck of a classmate, aud shed bitter, because una- nureJ. In the drills lime was added, and vailing tears. But the fountain was soon j on this the potato was planted. The growth, dried : pride and maucaise honte came to ; of the vine was vigorous, and gave indica my relief, and I sat moodily gazing upon jtions of a large crop, until the heavy rain our dead, and "bitterly thought of the; the first of September. The ground was morrow" that was to consign them to their level, and the water remained upon the warrior's rest We cut a lock from each surface until it either evaporated or settled head, emptied the pockets and removed , below the surface. This rain was followed the rings and watches, and left them under a guard of honor until thc morning. And then, for the first time I thought of myself. From tbe morning of the ISth to . thc night of the 20th, I was almost without my rest ; my feet were cut and bruised by the rocks of the pedregal ; I had been twice wet through, and now that the excitement was over, I could scarcely move. While in this state of mental and phys ical depression, disinclined to speak or act, a pert little inoustachio-twisted Mexican officer approached us, aud waving his hand with aa air of great importance,accosted us by introducing himself (Japilaa , serdivor dc vn" (Captain So-and-so, your servant ;') of which no ono of us deigned to take the slightest notice. "Quisicra saber" he continued, raising his voice, "fo tfuese ha dispuesto tocante al alasltcimientodclosprisioneres. Biensesaoe 4"e podemos posar sin bebery comer." "What does he say, Caspar T' " He says that he wants to know what we are going to do about the prisoners' rations ; aud he adds," taid I, " most im-, hardly skin deep. By exposiug to the at pertineutly as I thiuk, that it is an axiom, ! mosphere' the progress of decay may be that men must cat and drink "The devil he does !" said another. We had no rations ourselves ; we were in the very sackcloth and ashes of our grief, and his errand and manner were ill-timed to a degree. His flippancy and contempt would have amused us at any other time, as ebullitions of spleen and mortification at being a prisoner; but thinking upou our desolation, aud feeliug something of the hatred of Cain for thc whole race, our first epcakcr arose, and taking out a pistol, said iu a hissing tone, as he cocked it, " Look you, amigo, you cowardly young puppy, if j you favor this party with any further ob-, servations on any subject whatsoever, 1 '11 blow your brains out !" , He understood that English, if he never did any other, for he bowed himself preci pitately into the back-ground, and whether he starved that night or not,I never heard. ! It is to be hoped he did, I slept soundly in the convent-yard that night found in thc morning that it had rained in torrents. I left a perfect intaglio in the Eiud,and felt decidedly relievo when I got to the smoking side of a blazing fire where Gen. Twiggs was drying himself. Soldiers are great sinners,e very body says; but they do terrible penance,sometinies. Ye who have neither the temptation nor thc hardship, drop a veil upon their faults and a tear upon their sufferings. II. c. BsS-The official Census Returns show ; the number of Fugitive Slaves in thc year endins 1st June, I860, was only . 1017 Manumitted in the same time, 114 ithe potato was planted and covered sufi-:.!...-:. 5SI jciently deep to escape the frost Then We think a "divine institution" which jsult was that I have had a full supply of i increases some 50,000 happy subjects per ; year, can stand such a small subtraction '.l. -.:.t,rut " dissolving iue t muu. The Farmer. Tbe Potato Rot Ma. Editor : I have read various Es says on the subject of the potato rot, and . as I dissent entirely from the conclusions of these writers, I am induced to put forth my own opinion through the medium of your valuable paper. My views are entitled to no other con sideration than as embodying the result of my own observation and experience, and while these have satisfied me, I do not pretend that they ought to satisfy others. notions, and assert from my own observa tion that these causes do not generate the. disease. The first potato rot, as a general epidemic in this section of the country oc curred in IS 12. I had a field which, looked very promising for a large crop. Ia August, after the crop was nearly ma tured we had a heavy rain, succeeded by a hot sun. It wa3 ascertained that the po tatoes immediately commenced rotting, and when they were dug, a large portion were found unfit for use. The ground on which this crop grew, was a clay soil, which re tained the water, and prevented its rapid escape. Under similar circumstances I noticed for several successive years, a like result; but attributing it to the popular opinion that the plant had degenerated, or that au insect had caused the decay, and adopting the belief that lime would obviate the difficulty, I had a piece of ground pro pared last year according to the moat ap proved method of preventing the rot The- i land was deeply drilled, and heavily ma- by a hot sun, and when my potatoes were dug it was found that at least one-half were rotted. Some were slightly touched., but tho process of decay continued, and out of a large crop I had difficulty in se lecting enough fur my family use. Hav ing adopted every precaution suggested by the different writers upon this subject, I have been forced to fall back upon my own opinion, aud maintain that the rot is pro duced by the peculiar character of the sea- j son, and from no other cause. A heavy , rain ia August, succeeded by intense heat, i where the ground is favorable, will inevi- ; tably produce tho potato rot, and thc rea- son is obvious. The ground is saturated , with water an August sun pours its heat I upon it. and the steam Drocess in th Igrouud affects the surface of the potato, , aud causes its rapid decay. When this . r : process of decomposition ouce commences, j its progress continues, aud communicates the disease to others. I have observed that the first affected are near the surface, and I have also noticed that some are struck arrested. Lpou sandy soil, such -as our river bottoms the rot is unknown, and the reason is, the water settles at once below the potato, ani consequently the action of .the sun does not affect it. The only argument against this theory of mine is that the rot has not universally prevailed uutil within the last few years, and it may bo urged that the same cause would have produced the same effect My ouly reply is, that the potato rot is not of recent origin. It has always existed under similar circumstances, and though partial in its operations, like causes have produced like effects. Then again our seasons for few years past have been favorable to the development of the disease, which has caused it to become more universal. I have now to suggest the remedy. By planting the potato near the surfaco, upon ground where the water can easily escape. rot will be avoided. 1 would recommend the process of ridging the land by turning two furrows together and planting upon tho top of the ridge. The water will then settle away and prevent thc chemical action that produces tho rot. By exercising care ia planting and in the selection of the ground, I am satisfied this scourge which has se extensively prevailed can be avoided. While talking upon the subject of pota toes, I am induced to advert to an experi ment which I tried last fall. I planted a plot about the middle of November, by leaking deep drills and depositing about four iuuhc3 of a0r3a an-e, upon which potatoes a month earlier than I ever had. , oore. , in.s may n0t oe 8e to 1 -- y vwvuay i? , i
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers