:7 : .r:2 , :: - :„..'!„-:: brlert THE WITCH WIFE. By U. (I.ritiII:TTIPIII When a boy, I oevasionly-met at the flovse of a relative in the adjoining town, a stout red nosed uld farmer of the neighborhood. — A fine tableau he nuidenf a winter's evening, in the red light of a lqrCh log fire.as he sat for hours watching its progress, with sleet y half shut eyes, changing his position only to reaco the eider mug on the shelf near him. Although he seldom opened his lips save to assent to some remark of his host, orio an swer a direct question, yet at times, when the cider mug got the better of hi taciturni• ty he would amuse . , us with interesting d, - tails of his early experiences in..the Ohio Country. There wes, however, one chapter in these experiences \Aide]] he usually held in reserve, with which, the strzinger not.. Ile was Lint willing to run tle.‘ risk of hearing that which was the frightr.d reality turned into ridicule by scoffers and unhelic• vers. The sillistance ul• it, es' I received it fr•An one of his neighbors, lorins as clever a Late of witchcrat • t es modern times have pro d need. seems that when quite a yout,g•man I.e ieCtihe homestead, and sCroliing westward, v.. - .l.ed his 11 ay t•tvm place to place until he C.ettel himself iu (the Of the' l'reneh settle meh(: on the ()lila. racer. l lore he procured emph.ylnent oil the farm of a widow ; being a smart active lellmr, provii,g, ahle in his Oepartr,ent, he rap i ra‘or in the ens °l ids r I:re contrary .to the adviec and in splll , or some diseouragite i _ hiros hen ertnin matrimonial inyclit. hies hy the 'late huslanol, he resulu!.. Ij stel.ped—into the dead inan's 61100: the nii.st re:is became n the Nvile. , , and the ser.vata v.-a , 3 legally promoted to the load of th.f! For a time matters went 011 cosily and yomfortahly enough. Ile was now lord of the soil; and 11 . 0 had laid in his crops of coin and potato( s, salted down his pork, and *piled up his wood for winter's use, he naturally e nough congratulated I,inisdf upo t his good r.-tune, ,ttel laughed at the sinstcr forehod dings of his neilibors. Put with the long winter months rune a change over his love's young dream. An evil and mysterious lull; • care seemed to he at work in his affairs.— Whatever lie did after consulting his wife, or at her sugge%tion resulted favorahly enough ; but all sAietue3 and projects were on a-countahlv marred and defeated. If ho letught a horse it was Stl re . to prove spavint d or NVIII(11:1'01:Cil. ITEiCIII4, i've down their or giling it pervt rse'y kicked it over. .A lire sow which he had bargained repaid his pmliality by do t-oaring liLe Saturn, h, r . own childrt n. lk degr,„,-s a dark thought fore, d av into his mind. Vomparing his repeated mischan. ccs with the anti-nuptial warnings of his neighbors, he at last came a the melaneholv conclusion that his tuft The victim in Motherwell's ballad 'or the Denten Lady, or the poor follow in the Arabian tale who discovered that he bad mnrrie'd a ghoul in the guise of a young and blooming princes:, was scarrelyin a moresorrowful prediea meat. fie grew nervous and fret!' tl. Old dismal nursery stories and all witch lure of boyhood came back to his memory and he crept to his bed like a criminal to the gallows, half a fraid to fall asleep lest his mysterious clam paniun should have a notion to transfor n him into a horse, get him shod at the smithy and ride him to a witch meeting.— And 11. 1 if to make the matter worse, his wire's affections scented to increase as - I,is troubles thickened upon him. She aggt Wl tea hi.tn with all manner of caresses and cm.- dear4nts. This was the drop to much.— The poor husband recoded from her as from a waking nightmare Bis thoughts turned to New England..; lie losged to see once more the old hmnestend, With its tall Nvellsweep and butternut rich bottom lands of his new holm; for his father's r)eky pasture, with its crop of stinted So one cold November (law, finding himself imt of sight nod hearing of Ids wife, he summoned courage to attet opt an esear, and resolutely turning his hack on the we,:t plunged into the wilderness towards the :us -30. After a hard and long journey I reached his hitihplacc, _and was .kindly wil t:caned h) his old friends. Keeping a elo:e mouth about liit> toduchy adventure in Ohio, he soon after tin:Tried one:pc Irk schoolninteLl, and by,dint of pii - •:,4!..;rving indtultry and NAM only, in a few yettvtional himself in poz;ses• ttion of a 'eol - 111 . 0rIala •But this evil stay still lingered ithove the . horizon. One stoomp evening on returning from the hay field, wl i to should meet 10,11,1 but. „„ _ • witeh•wire from Ohio; She .came riding ip the street on her old white lnirse,"with a iliun ladlind the Paddle. A ecopting him in tone,.yet not without soniethMg of Title reproaA for his unhandstime desertion ,1 her, she biformed limn:that she bad Caine .11 the way fro(ii Ohio to take him back a- at 11. It was in vain that he pleaded his latter •ngagemettts; it was in vain that his new vire'raiscd 'her shrillest remonstrances, not tinning-led with expressions of vehenient in lignation at the revelation of her husband's -ea] position ; the witch-wife was inexorable; 4-ct he must and that speedily. Fully ha pressed with a * 'll4:l.if in her supernatural power of compelling obedience, and perhaps dreading, more than witch-oratl itself the ef fects of the unlucky disclosure on the tent per of Lis ~Ne Iv . England helpmate, lie made a virtue of the necessity of the case, bade farewell to the latter Amidst a perfeet hurri can of reproaches, and mounted the white horse, with his obi with on the pillion behind hint. Ur that ride Burger might have writ ten a. counterpa'rt of his ballad : "'nand. tramp, along the 141.1 e they ride, ahrtig the sea." Two or three years had passed away bringing' no tidings of the 'unfortunate hus , band - , when he once more made his ap pcarance it. his native village. lie was'not disposed to be very communicative ; but for one thing, at least, he seemed willing to ex press his gratitude. Ms Ohio will; ha\ ing no spell against intern uncut fever, had paid the debt of natui:e nud left him free, in view of . Which his stir, iving, wife, Idler Mandl/sting a due degree ofxe.3c ntment, consented to take hint baek r to her bed and hoa,til mill Lead& :lever tarn that she had cause Lo regret her eltuneliev: Si oTT us ran: EASTERN 11'AR.- The Washington correspondent of the Charles fon Mercury writes as follov;'s: `I had recently the pleasure of hearing the ,:ritieism of General Scott un the war of the Crimea. I look upon Scott as one of the great captains of the ago, and I listened with ireat interest to his ideas. , Ile says the al. committed a great blunder in delaying the attack upon Sebastopol as long As the did ; that immediately—after the raising of ,the siege of Silistria, they should have at tacked Sebastopol, at which time there ivas t comparitirely small force in the Crimea chat the allies eanno). take SebasfopOrtnless . they rceci're reinforcements, giving; them superiority of force to the extent of from thir ty to fifty per cent; that the Russian regular soldiers are the best troops in the Nyorld for .lefence; they never fly, but parish unless or dered to retreat. Ile think,s the Mlles labor tinder great disalvantage in having, two comniaudin:r ~ ,e nt..rals: that the road to v;c turyis through unity (d . d,•sign. 'rho inrcr ,nce I \v,,ah.,l draw from t;eneral Scott's idea that tic. tt,t , , ucl,'till mit he taken; fur I doubt wlicther till• allies t•an throe such a prepmpleraucc of lire there fiS is littl'C'SS3lll. The General further said that the allics could not re : embark now without .immense loss of men. and all the materials of war in camp except the weapons in their hands." t.t.:i l y•The old nuts was toiling through the burden and heat of the day in cultivating his field with his own hand, and dope:fling he prontisitur seeds into the fruitful lap of jelding earth. , Suddenly there stood betUre tint, under the shade of a huge linden tree, t vision. The old man was struck with a- na: , ..etnent "1 ato Solomon," spoke the phantom, in a 'Cleanly voice. "What are you doing here, )1(1 man ?" "if you are Solomon," replied tho venom hie inborer, "how can you ask this ? In my Youth you .cent me to the ant; I saw its coon- P,qtion2 rind learned from that inseet•to be in dustrions mid to gather. What 1 then learn ed I have followed out to this hour." "You have only learned half your leEson,' resumed the spirit. "Go again to the ant, and le tin from that insect to rest iu the win (Cr of your life, and to enjoywhat you have gathered up."-6'criattit ...1//e f pry. „ Poe rA NITY OF DoEsTtcits.—Wo recently heard a very pious and upright oldlrtly, who was in the habit)of reading frequently froin newspapers for ' the entertainment a .her children, readit g some tit " Doebtieles le. tors. She rett4l . ollo with nitieh , apparent sat• isfactioll, till lie.. mule' to the IMMO Of 011 F of ili011(1. 4 , whereat Sht; 8110(101)11r cease.l, tout with B , trrowful countenance studied the word for some minutcs, but at letn.rth exclainfA " lVc , ll, it is Dan,•l'ltooli I cant. make all: • thing vim.: Doestieks is " dune fur" iii that, family Ql,arti.6lc t)cralb. 3literrritini 51utdj. [From Madame Junot's Nap(Voon.] . NAPOLEON AND THE SWISS GIRL The following adventure occurred in the brilliant days of Napoleon's empfre: II is well known. that lie was fond of going about Paris early in the 'morning, aeeone pilnied only by the fluke de Frionl, and was always greatly pleased when he escaped being recognized. About six o'clock one ' morning in the month of March or April he left the Elyee early, in company with flume. They bent their course toward the Boule vards, and on arriving there, the Emperor observed that they had got out very early, as all the shops were yet closed. "I must not play the Harombal-llaschid so early,'' said he; "besides, I believe it was always at night that lie wandered forth with his faithful (;iaffu•." When they arrived at the Passage du Panorama,'some of the shills were al ready opened. 01;e of them particularly at tracted the Emperor's attention. It was the celebrated in a gaZi It of Florence alabaster, which WaS kept then as it is now, by M. L.— and his sister, natives of Switzerland. There was at that moment nobody in the shop but a servant girl, who was sweeping it, aml whose movements were much constrain ed by the fear of breaking any of the brittle but valuable articles around her. The Em• purer was amused r t the cautious way in which she performed her task, and after he had stood looking at her fur some time, he said, "..111 .rt ! %rho keeps this shop? Is there neither master nor mistress herd "Do you want to Lay anything?" said the Thi,n - lental - g on her broom she rested her chin on her two hands, and stared the Emperor full in the face, aPparcntly hall inclined to laugh at his cecentriC appearance. Certainly it would be difficult to imagine a inure comical' figure than Napoleon presented in . ' his liaram-al- Raschid costume, es he used to call it. Ilc wore the famous gray frock coat; but it way not the coat itself, it was the stake of it which rendered it so singalar.• The Emperor would , never allow his clothes to be in the least de gree tight': antlTonsequently'his tailors made , his coats as if they had measured them upon sentrt -box. When he married Maria Lonisa, the King of Naples prevailed on him to have his clothes made by his tailor. •I'ln. Emperor wore them most coura;:tcously for a short time: but he eould . clultire4he torture no loner, and he begged for mercy. Ile submitted the question to the Empress, who as long as she could ride On horseback, amid take four or five meals a day, was always good humored and willing to agree to ant thing. She thercffirc granted Napoleon full power to dross according ti; 4 ,his 'own Caney: saving that she •liked the Emperor as re-1i nor as an,,llicr. Perhaps she would have spoke more correctly had 'she said, ;Jr, no( hint any 1, , t,h.r one may than an other. With the, loose frock coat above described, the Emperor wore it round hat slouched over his forehead, to prevent his being recognised. His untitshionable appearance, joined to - his abrupt and unceremenious instiller, led the servant-to conclude, at the first glance, that ho•wishedonly to purchase some trifle worth about ten Or fifteen francs, and that it was certainly not worth while to call her voting and pretty mistress for so , paltry a-customer. Rut the Emperor thought differently, and after looking about him for a few minutes he asked in an anthoritive tone whethe r there was any one to whom lie speak. Mademoiselle L—. who had just risen,, nt that moment came down stairs. On seeing her, the Emperor was struck by her WerlitlY' and elegant appearance ; trut,h she might well have vied with the fittest woman of the imperial court. " Padden, madame: . said the Emperor, touching the brim of his hat (for he could not vcntitte to take it oil' lest he should•bc-known), it would appear that you are not very early 'bilis here. A good shopkeeper should look after her busi ness better." " That would Ito - very trne, sir," repliell Mademoiselle L—, "if busi• !less were going on well. But as it is, it matters very little whether wo arc in our nhops or istr." "Is trade then so very bad ?" said Napoleon cNaminins vnrions things on the counter. t Ruined, sir, totally ruined. I know not what will b o.ne of us." deed I I had no idea that Fiance wasiii o Vl6lllllO ct COMliii011! lint a forOigllCr: Nvi,h to 111illW a few purcha,scs, and itt_ saute timo I should him 'o hear from so aggroublo a person as yourself some partii:u• h ars ro.larclin!,r the stale of business in Paris. 'W hat "'OH or vaeci do you call tin”ler Th o .r e are the inedii•is form," replied Mtt lcnuuselic T.—. They are very beauti tiful. Whitt is F lho price . of theno" 'demoiselle opened at once her ears • and her of es. The vaces were marked at three thousand frances.' She told Napelean . the price of them, but he merely nodded his head, and then :said, " Pray what is the fen sOn, that' trade is so bad ?" " Olisir,lts long as that little nine, our Emperor, is so madly intent on war, how can we hope to enjoy either prospevity or/appyness?" As she spoke these words, Mademoiselle I. threw herself into a chair, and the Emperor stood looking, at her s..:th the admiration and respectful interest which her beauty Was calculated to excite. "Is your husband with the army 7 - inquired the Emperor. " I am not _married sir; I live here with my brother, whom 1 assist in carrying on his business. We are not French, we are Swiss." "Ah all said the Emperor ; and he uttered these exclamations with ,as much indifference' as if he had been yawning. " Well, I will pur chase these two Medicis vases. I will solid for them at eleven O'clock. Take care to have them ready." With these words, which were delivered in a tfuly imperial tone of authority, he touched the brim of his hat and darted out of the shop, beckoning the Duke de Frioul to follow him. "That girl is very interesting," said he '-to Duroc, as they left the Passage du Pano rama. "Where she told o me` she- was a _Swiss, I fancied I beheld before me one of the ivives or sisters of the heroes of the Scully. Do you think she knew me?'' "I am confident she did not, Sire. Her manner was too calm and toe sell' possessed. She had no suspicion ill whose presence she was." At eleven o'cork, two porters, accompanied by a footman in imperial livery, arrived at the shop of Mademoiselle 1. . TIM foot _eu.au_was_the,, hearer_oral i billet, ma nest: ing that the lady would herself accompany toe vases ansEreeeive the payment for them. "And where ant I to go?" said Mademois elle 1. , trembling; for on seeing the lin. poloist! livery she began to regret the freedom with which she.' had spoken to her customer in the morning. "To the Elysee Napoleon, mademoiselle, - sail the footman. The vases were -carefully packed and delivered'. tb the porters, and Maslemoisclle L—, accent. puttied by her brothetylollowed them truinis - : - i ig I ke an aspen.leal; yet she was far from suspecting the whole 'truth. On arriving at the Elyscc Napoleon, they were immediately ushered into the Emperor's cabin. Ile took three bills of a thousand francs from his desk, and, presenting them to Mademoiselle L—, said with a smile, "Another time, mademoiselle, do nut be so ready to murmur at the sta , znation of trade." Then wishing her a good-mornin he retired into his in to.rior apartment. REMARK.% I: Discovmtv.---A curious work has lately bemi puldislied in France on the popular literature of the country, but partie ubtrly of that class Ilhich is called " La Lit erature du Colportage, - such as 'pamphlets, almanacs, hand books, chap books and others tor the million.'' The history of these almanacs is curious, and their con tents still more so. As a speciman Of the queer stories contained in them most of Which, it.,is said, are implicitly believed, be cause !they are printed in such reliable works, we quote the following. „A fisher for crabs, rear ha real.., on the coast of France, having ventured out on the rocks which 'spread along the base of the steep elitis, found in a little hollow basin a bottle which had been left there by the wat ters,of the-Main sea. TIM bottle was care fully stopped. Having been broken by'ilie er i ub tis,lier, he is ad in it a parchment on which were traced the following lines: '• I Nave now floated, on these waters fin• eight and, hirty days. Thank God, I am in good he'alth, and also my children, but toy animals give me a great deal Of trouble, The fox will cat the chickens, the wolw•s bite the sheep. and the lions east • upon me 'tm and then glances whTelt do not at all raise toy spirits. I begin to be very uneasy. 1 was certainly wrong not to hying a couple of Van Amburgs with me in the ark. Yes today Trent cut the ra• o 1 . to get mo some OCWA. The shabby fellow has not come back. The lion is looking at me and shuot- lag out his tongue. How it end ? I ton eaten, I hopesomehody will find this doeutnent. \ ' MO a: TRulltf.t: is Ii.ANZAS.—One of tit proviysions or the Nebraska-Kanyas lii 1 've6t4 in the Governor of Nanzas the power of appointing ;justices of the peace and tn.l. cr local (avers iii the territory. Tho Gov• ernor in the exereke ,of this power, did not aproint such per.-tons as suited the Missouri parN, and accordingly the !fluor I mvc I tc h! niecting• at likhapou Cify, tt.l. u hie! ' th o t ; . elected other justices to net instead of the legal 011(4.. 'Pik is it vCrsion of the squatter. f:',u9.reigil,ty, COURTING IN CHURCH. An eccentric rector.yernarlced a gentleman„ at church who was not 'a parishoner, but who Sunday after Sunday placed himself in . a pew adjoining that of a ryoung widow. On the first occasion, he detected him . slyly drawing the lady's glove from /off 'the back of -the pe,w where she was accustomed to place' it—her hand and arm, were deli , catcls fair. By and by the lady's prayer boolc fell—of course accidentally—from the edge of her pew into the gentleman's. He picked it up —found a leaf turned down, and scanned a passage which evidently - caused . a smile of complacency. Our minister saw all their movements, and continued to watch them with a scrutinising eye for two successive Sundays. On the third, as soon as the collects wen - , read, and while the beadle yet obsequiously waited to attend him to the chancel, our eccentric' pastor, in a strong and distinct voice, said: "I publish the banns of marriage between M— and H ," deliberately pronouncing the names of the parties. "It' any of you know any just cause," &c. The eyes of the whole - congregation w're turned on the widow and the gay Lothare the lady suffused with blushes, and the gentleman e<nsoned with anger; she fan ning herself wit - .lvellemence, aiul_ he open ing and shutting the pew door with rage and violence. The _minister, meanwhile, proceeded 11110' his acertstoMed duties ivith the same decorum and ease as if' perfectly igndrant of the ngi• tat ion he had 12. X cited. • ,• The — sermon Ilrettehetl-- en (lett ; away to the vestry rush the partie:• at the heels of the pastor•. `• \\•l Authorised you, r, to make publication of 'banns?" demanded they meth in a "Authorised me?" said he. with a star , that heightened their concti,ion.. ").'es, sir, who auth,,rised yEwY "(tin" sail the minister, with a sly glance alternately at each, "if you d“n't arprcve it, I'll forbid the banns neNt. Sunda." "Sir," said the lady, " ua have been too officious already! Nitt,dv requested you to Flo any such thin!.' You had better taind . voar own business." ' l lChy, pretty dear, - said he, palling' her on the cheek "what . 1. have done i. 4 all in it,: way of business, and if you d nut like to wait for three publication.“ advise you, sir,' —turning to the gentlenuin--"tp procure iL licence, the ring ; and the fee, and the whole may he settled as soon as to morrow.- repliud the mhlresFil the holy, with your hermit ;"u I will get: them, and we may t o nu,rr14: , ,1 in a day ~r 11911 "Nit, you ratty. Loth do p,t tishlw, hut nothiutr loth, r,-pliod tho widow. It was a (lay or tw(i atlvr tlx.t tl a li ri, I` was procured. The parAlti re ( eittd his fee, the bridegroom his brid,, nod the 'widow the last time threw her gluvvs ever the I .ew. and it was afterward said all partivs wen , satistietl. WnEnt: Corr comEs Ettost.—Cork is :loth Mg more or less thail the hark of evergrt oak, growing principally in Spain, and otht ctiuntries -bordering on the Mediterranean- - in English gardens it is only a cnrios.ie. - When the cork-tree is about fifteen years old, the bark has attained a thickness .. and quality suitable fornmtrufactiming purposes and after stripping, a flirt her growth of eight years produces a second crop—and-so on at intervals, for even ten or twelve cr o ps. The hark is stripped from the tree iu pieces two inchieS iu thickness, of considerable length, and of such width as to retain the curved form of the trunk whenit has Ipcon stripped. The bark peeler or 'cutter, makes- 4 slit in the bark with a knife, perpendicularly from the top ON-Iseinokr _to - 1.1 n.) bottom ; he makes -another incision paralell to it, and at some distance from the former and-two shorter horiainial cuts at the top and, bototo. For stripping off the pieces thus isoltsted, he uses a kind of a knife with two handles and a bl a d e; Sometimes after the cuts • hisre been made he leaves the tree to throw tattle hark by the sp,m0f1:00118 action t f;11,_! ve,,etntion within the trunk. The c'etattli,4 l . pieces am titmice(' iu water, and ate plue:•(1 over a tire Nvll,.n nearly drys they are, in fact, scorched a littie both sldt s, t.nd 11011 lire a .:;()IitoW11:li 1110141 by 0118 St•OIT111117 , ;" .111 (1118 eill'valtlCts, thelit.ll , ll. the ztr• doAti tv tll wt•I ! , 111,i \,,,l i tt t , vet hot, IBM then,, Lai are . you horningoil tti writ; will:"; to i servant. p paper that's Nvritted all over; lAtayea't, NVfli he reply,. MIMS
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers