VOLUME 2 Richmond as it is. We (junto from the Hkuj its interest ing description of the present condition of Richmond : We gave in yesterday afternoon's edi tion of the IVA ire, between ihirtocnth and Fourteent sts. From this point the flamesraced nn tl el north si do of Main up to Eighth st., ai dj back to Hank st. The familiar aspc. t ami face of Main st., is changed so c in pletcly that those best acquainted with the buildings, cannot point them out with certainty Thobusy street of n tew u-.-sa ago is the ghost of its former set!-, an am phitheater oi crumbling v. a lis and t.»; :• ing chimneys. The Custom House, late Confeucrate Treasury, passed through the os-leil of tire unscathed, from the fact that the ed ifice is of granite and fire proof, 'i he Bank of the Commonwealth presents a granite front, but is a mere shell, as also is the B ink oi \ iigiuia. At one tin; during Monday Morning the Spotsw ■ Hotel was in groat danger, the flumes Imp ing toward its location with great rapidi ty; but a merciful Providence caused a lull in the bfceze, and blew the flames out of their track. TfIR mini STORES. A dozen drug stores at least shared ;n the common ruin. '1 bey are. as laras we ean recollect, the 112 -res of I'ureoll, l-a-!d| & Co., corner of Thirteenth and Main! sts.; William Grey, Main St.. between! Twelfth and Thirteenth; Peterson's r| nor of Main and Twelfth sts, *, Meade vS Baker, corner of Mainand Sixteenth sts.ij J. P. Duval, south-east corner of ll'ej same streets. Old boundaries and landmarks are sol entirely obliterated that it is with the! greatest difficulty that the sites of parti : I ular stores ean be pointed out, the dcbi isl of brick and granite and iron destroying! any trace of the cross streets; they can! be distinguished only by the openings mi the ruins- | SOME OF THE MFFEKEIIS. 1 The vastness of ths list of sufferers! and the lack of any correct guide in thei way of a directory, would render thj pub-I lication of their uauies impossible. 'W e| can only mention such as occur to ourl memory, commencingon Main st. : I West and Johnston, booksellers ; Ar-| cuts & Co., auction house ; John Don ley I iV Co., hatter-; (Jennet, jeweler; Secession! Club House aud Milliard Uunnis; Kent J Paine & Co., auction house ; \V kite, Mon-I teiro it Co.; Catlctt. Tellcson & Co., au • t tion house ; Maury & Co.. bankers ; Cull din, Harrison & Apperson,bankers; Willi ittnis and Co . Bankers) A. Antoui I fectionary store. * ADDITIONAL I'UBLISHINO TSTABLiSIt-l MEXTS in: It MKT). By n second survey of the burned dis I triet we perceive that several additional publishing establishments are to be iu I eluded among thoso destroyed, 'i lu -t| are the job printing establish men: of K 1 I ward J. Ayres, publisher ot the /'Ye. /-Jj tnl X' iry ; the old office tlf tile //.7c.* Jtofxi'iir/cr, corner of Twelfth and J*:.i k| Hts.; the office of the Ecru lay Ot>u. • r.p in the Dts/iutch building; tlie offices all the Central I'lrxbi/tcritw, Hontltcrm Churchman, and lit/in their property in these offices, biitß ■whether 111 oy can over realize a cent un-g Bier the present circumstances is a gravel (iiestiou. | H!' 11!: MSIT OF HIS EXCKI.t.KNi V MIESI-I DENT LINCOLN I Sams the event of yesterday afternoon. g H The Presidont, accompanied by Admi-B 1 ;il. i*• iiier of tbe I'uited States Navy,! ■with an escort of army and navy officers! ■wa ; lauded at lioeketts about 3p. 1i).,l B,'rom a gunboat, an 1 was enthusiasticallyß Bchcerod by tho populace and Federal solß Sliers ail tlie way up Main street to tluß | narkct, and up Franklin st.to Governo!® H-t. The President was on foot and walk-g led rapidly, towering above the crowd! ■flanked on his right by Admiral Porter! S hi bis left by bis son Thaddeus. | The President was dressed in a long! ■black overcoat, high silk bat, and black! !,units, giving to his form a very command-! ■ . ! Sing appearance. Iho President and cs-B Bcort moved up Governor to Twelfth st ! ■out Twelfth to Marshall st.and the man! Bsion of .left". Davis, late President of tin! Bf 'iinfcderato States, and now the head-! Hquutor., of Maj. Gen. Godfrey Wcitzel.K ral'lie crowd surrounded ilia mansion, am'! a cut cheer up after cheer as the President! jjtt ■ H'titercd tbe doorway and seated himself! M a the reception room and rcccptiou ehaii! B.f Jeff. l>avis. Three cheers for Admi! H.'al Porter were then proposed and given! ■ .villi a hearty good will. 1 A brilliant collection of l uion officers! Bis.-em'iled in the hall were then present I Bed to the l'resideut. and aficrward thejj Bcitizonsgenerally were allowed theoppor-l g. unity of shaking the President of '*oui! ■whole rnion" by the hand. Subsequent-! Biv the President and suite, with a cavalry! le-eortof edited traops, appeared on the! ■square, drawn iu a carriage and four! !which was driven around the walks, tbcl Hi'resident inspecting the condition of theft !'rooosund exibitiug an unwonted intcrestß | 1 B n everything. ■ Everywhere the reception was thesanic! 3 he bands playiing and the people besieg-l a.ng the grounds, euc.li anxious for a closet! linsjtection of the distinguished occupant;! ! >f the carriage. I While these ceremonies were going on! 3i salute of guns was fired from the steam! or.-; at lloeketts. I 'j lie President is still in Richmond, we g telievo. but we are not informed what Bire to be his future movements. i II" THE THEATEB. The Theater will be reopened fo-night under the management of Mr. It. P'Or say, who may now exclaim, ' llicbard is himself again." The play selected foil the occasion is Don Ciesar de Bazan.—p Mr. Ogden will personate Don Cwsar, pported by the company recently per rining at the Theater. Invitations have beeusent to President iueoln, Gen. Grunt, Weitiel, Shepley id other officers of distinction. An ef :ient guard litis been detailed by the rovost Marshal to preserve order. —A jtist deceased iu New 6rk, united, during his life, four thou, ud couples in marriage, and christened n thousand infants. —The Duke of Morny left 4,000,- )0 franca. CONTENTED JOHN. h; honest John Toti)kin*. a hedger #nd ditcher, Although he was porth did not want to be richer, •'.•r *ll -iirh Tain withes to hint were prevented, Uy a fortunate habit of belug contented. Thongh cold wore the weather, or ,tryr#TTFthe rood, John never fonnd In a mnrmm-in? naood; For this ho w;»* constantly heard to declari, What be could not prevent he would cheerfully bear. ••For why shonld I grumble ami murmur!"' he Bald, •If I cannot set meat I'H thankful for brea«U And though fretting may make mv calamities deeper. It can never ean«e bread anil cheese to he cheaper.'' If John was alHlcteil with nicknes* or pain, lie wished himself but did not complain, Nor lie down to fret in dcflitondunce and sorrow ; Hut eaid that he hoped to he better to.morrow; If any one wronged him, or treated him ill. Why. John wa- good natured and sociable still; For he raid that revenghig the injury done Would be nr..king two rogues where there need be hut! And thus honest John, though hi* station was humble, I Paswcd through tins sad world without even a grumble, I li l iv. re well if >oine t »ik. «h > are gr«-:«f- ; :tnd li'her.l Would copy John To inking, the hedge)* and ditcher, I Preseutation of a Watch. E The following correspondence will cx-1 plain itself, nnd needs no comments: I K.SOXVII.LK, March 25, 18G5. | Sin—A committee of the colored popu-l lation have desired uie, in their behalf, to] present you this excellent American! Watch. Costlier gifts, and from personal ij if higher pretentions, you lure often iv-3 ecivedV and may again receive. None! more expressive. Neither personal frienil-l -hip n>r motives of interest prompt it.g Far other. Of a race subjgctcd.tiv# bon l dago by laws of which there were for them,l neither husband and w.fe, nor parent ""ILL I-liild, much less property, tho humbled! donors have no stored wealth to lavish iu| ihe bestowmcnt of gratuitous or interest-! od favors. 1 112 I From this traditionary bondage theyl have just been delivered. Asa peoples they arc disenthralled. Possibly theiif conceptions of liberty may not be as devo-J ted or as dear as arc those of men who have] breathed no air but that of liberty. The! eye first opened to the light sees but dim-! ly, men as trees walking. Yet thoy deem] the boon of freedom incalculable, beyond! ill llieir powers to estimate—freedom tol S iwti themselves, and to receive tho fruits] ■oftheir own labor; freedom to appeal tol ||ihe law for protection and redress; and! S.Veedoni to organize families with hopes! Bif a prosperity that can inherit fortunes! ■acquired and a good name deserved.—l Vou the)" regard as. under the providence! of God, a chief instrument in this mightyg accomplishment. Pucli is the sentiments which, by this token, they wish to tx-S press. Enclosed you will find the names of the! committee nnd contributors. I Taking this occasion to tender assur-j anccs of personal regard, I am, very respectfully, Your obedient servant, I HORACE MAYNAHD. I To his I2.wiV.encj/, 11*. (l. Brmmloie\ Governor of Tennessee. G TIIE IULL'T.Y. MR. MAYXAUD —I accept the watch] presented to me through you. by a portion] of the colored population, and to then',J each and all, L tender my profound ae-l kuowledgements, as well as to you for tho] tortus in which you have made known] their wishes. This war tvas commenced,] and has been carried on by the South, to] enlarge the powers of slavery, and to per-] pctuatc the institution ; but in the provi-l donee of God, it has destroyed the iusti-j tution. and these colored persons are now! and forever lice. When this war is| closed out—and it can't last much longer! —and the demoralized, disappointed, and] defeated rebels return, thoy will be dis-1 posed t6 now occupied |>y the officer in command of the post and his subordinates. The dining hall is used as an office. In this room are three old fashioned book eases, containing some! four hundred volumes, principally old! books—broken sets of very small value.! flie parlor adjoining the hall is notoe l cupied, the only article in it being a ma hoginy sideboard, which camo from Mount Vernon. In the parlor, beyond, are two sofas and six stuffed mahogany chaiia. covered with scarlet velvet; two marble! top tables, a side board and a piano stool, matching the chairs. Oil the walls ara several coarse largo portraits, and one oi two line oil painting-. There are also, two old engraviugs, of a classical mytho logical character, hanging with the rest. The room in the Southerly wing, and used by Gen. Lee for his office, is now used as a bedroom; and all the upperpart of man sion is used for n like purpose. The build ing is not injured. The flower garden I lias been enclosed by a new fence and is laid out and tastefully adorned this spring. The grave of each soldier is neatly] marked by a wooden slab at the head audi foot, painted white, inscribed with the! name of Hie soldier, and his company audi regiment, and at a little distance these] slabs have the appearance of marble. The! mounds ara tc be neatly covefed with sod. lien. Robert Edmund Leo is the son of Gen. Henry Lee, of It evolutionary mem ory, and known as "Light Horse Harry," whose mother was the beautiful Miss (■rimes, Gen. Washlcgton's first love, and whom hp celebrated as "the lowland beau ty " Gen. Harry Lee was twice married. Uy the first mairiage he had two children Henry (an officer in the war of I*l-) uid Lucy. Jiy the second wife, a Miss Carter, of Shirley-—ho had five children, two daughters Annie and Mildred, and three sons. The sous were Charles Car ter. Hubert Edmund (the General) and Sidney Smith, the named au offi cer in our navy, and now in tne rebel ar my. Gen. ITobert E. Lee was born in 181'*'. and is. consequently, fifty-seven years oil aue. He graduated-second in his class,] iu J (Judy: Charles 'Ma.-on, < 112 this city,and formerly Commisioner of I'atents, standing first in teat class) and was as signed to'the Engiueer Corps, as Second Lieutenant; in 18555 Assistant Astrono mer, fixing the boundary between Ohio and Michigan ; in 1800 promoted First Lieutenant; Captain in 18iI8 ; Chief En gineer under Scott, in Mexico, and great, ly distinguished, being promoted t access fully by merit, Major, Lieutenant Colonel, and Colonel, for his gallantry ; iu 18-j- Superintendent Military Academy; in 1855, transferred as lieutenant Colonel of the new regiment of cavalry ; March 10, 1801, promoted Colonel of the First Cavalry ; resigned April 25, following, and reluctantly embarked iu tde rebel lion. The following are the children of Geu. Lee: George Washington Custis Lee, about thirty-three years of age; Mary Cus tis Lee, about thirty; William Henry I'itzbugh Leo, -about twenty-seven; Annie Lee, died at Berkley Springs in 1803,' and would have been now about twenty live ; Aguess Lee, about twenty-three ; —j Robert E. Lee, about twcDty; Mildred Lee, about eighteen. None of them have married except William Henry pitjthugh Lee, whose wife, Miss Charlotte Wickham, died at Richmond in 1808, The eldest Jon, George, graduated at the head of his class. at West Point, in 1854. and was NUMBER 19. I a first lieuteutant in the curps of engineers when he followed his fathei into the South ern service. William Henry was farm ing on the \\ bite House estate, which be longed to the Custis inheritance when the war opc-ned. lie was eoniuiisioned sec ond lieutenant in the Sixth Infautry in 1857. but resigned in 1859. Robert was. at a military school in Virginia. The sous it is well known, are all officers in the re bellion. The three surviving daughters are with their mother, who, it is believed has latterly been at Lynchburg. Mr. Custis, at the time of his death, iwned some two hundred slaves, who. by his will, were to be free at the termina tion of five years from his death, which period expired October 10, 1802. The of these slaves were kept on the White House estate, and all the valuable * gjpoition were curried South; some twenty or more old men and women and young ■children were left at Arlington. Mr. Cus ggti.s' mother owned the white House estate garni resided there when sho became the jßwife of Gen. Washington. |l The Confession of Kennedy, a Tlio following confession, in substance, jjwwa; made by Kennedy while awaiting his "After my escape from Joliti- Hson's Island I went directly to Canada, raw here 1 met a number of Confederate of fficcrs. They asked me if 1 was willing #o goT)ii an expedition. I said. -Ves, if |Hit -in the service of my country.' To ■which they replied,'lt's all right,' but iggave no intimation as to it's nature, nor .■did I ask for any. 1 was shortly after .■sent to New Vork, whero I stayed some .Htime. 'I here were some eight of us iu tHthe party, and after we had been iu tlio Lao ity three weeks, wu were told that tlio ■object of the expedition was to retaliate .■upon the North for the atrocities of Hsheri'Jan in the Shenandoah Valley, a "It was originally intended to sctfiro ■to the city on the night of the presidential Selection, but as the phosphorus was not Ipiepaired, it was postponed until the night gof'the 2."»tli of November. Of the eight '■men who formed the original party, two to Canada, leaving but six. I was -rait first stopping at the Belmont House, -Bin Fulton street, but afterward moved iHiuto Prince street. I set fire to four -■hotels, or rather to liaißiim's Museum, r"Jl,ovejoy's Hotel, Tammany Hall, and the ffiXew England House. The others only 'ja'ct fire to the house in which each was ! Estopping, and then cut off. Had the en iHtirc tight done as 1 did, we would havo t fire to thirty-two houses, and played a ■big joke on the lire department. Iu " know that lam to be hung for H;etting fire to Rarnum's Museum, but tlio fgli'uct is that the affair was simply a rcck- Syiess joke. I had no idea of doing it; but Hwhcu wo were iu there, for the mere fun 'Hof the thing I emptied a bottle of phos 'Hphorus on the floor, just to scare the peo- Epic. I knew it wouldn't set fire to wood, ■fur we had tried that before, and had at 'Hjone time concluded to give it up. There Inwa# was no fieudishiicss about it. The J| Museum was set on lire by merest acci gjdent, after I had been drinking, and just '■for the fun of a scare. H " After setting fire to my four places, I 'ejwaiked the street* all night, until near Rnioruitig, when 1 went to the Exchange ■ Hotel. There wo all met the next morn- Sing, and again ft night. My friend and :||f had rooms there, but we sat most of the Kjtime in the office, reading the papers, rtjjtthilo the detectives, who wero thick, Hwatclxd us, I expected then that I gj-hould be caught, and if caught I expeet [Sed to die. Had 1 done so then it would ißbave been all right; but I think now it -Hi.-; rather rough. 1 escaped to Canada, Was did all the rest, and very glad I was >gto get safely across the bridge. I was "Brestless, however, and wanted to rejoin my •■command. I started with my friend via ■ 1 tetroit. J list before we reached the city, ■lie received an intimation that .the detec -■tives were on the lookout for us, and giv 'Bing nie a signal, he jumped from the cars, 'fif didn't notico the signirt, but kept on, '■and was arrested in the depot. La "I wish to say that the killing of wo ■men and children was the last thing wo "■thought of. We wanted to let the people • Hot' the North understand and feci that there are two siclun to this war, ar.d that they eaut lie rolling in wealth and com fort while we at the South are bearing all the hardship and privations. In retalia tion for Sheridan's atrocities in the She nandoah, we desired to destroy property, not the lives of women aud children, al. though that would of course have follow ed iu the train." 4B < ' ■—■ —The French soldiers in Mexico are getting away as fast as possible. They have abandoned the projected expeditiou to Miuatitlun, and are seeking every op. portuuity to get passage to Franee, •