$3 fft tori) 3itwtor and CliroaicU.
BY DAVID OVER.
sjlb
LETTER No. 2,
MODE OF GAINING THE NECES
SARY FACTS—REASONS WHY
THE CANAL COMMISSION
ERS' REPORTS ARE
IMPERFECT AND
UNRELIABLE.
IAM to prove, particularly, that the
Main Line is not sustaining itself, but lias
exhausted, and is exhausting, the proceeds
of the taxation from the people.
There is but one method in which this
proof can be obtained. It is bv reference
to the Reports of the Accounting Depart
ment of the Government. It. is by gather- j
ing from those Reports a statement of all I
the moneys received from the 3lain Line
for a term of years, and all paid out upon
it. 1 say all the receipts from, and all the
payments upon it. Nothing less will be I
the truth.
I iie Canal Commissioners do not fake
this view of the subject: and hence the
partial, unfaithful and unsatisfactory na
ture of their reports. They include in
their account all the receipts fiora the
Mair. Line; but they do not include al]
•he payments upon it. On the contrary,
they studiously exclude from their state
ment an account of all moneys paid, to oth.
or purposes than those they choose to con
sider proper to be charged to the Litre.—
In the exercise of this discretion, they have
excluded ail payments for damages caused
in the transaction of business: for all "new
work." whether upon the track of the Co
lumbia Road, on the New Portage Rail
roal, on the Depots or Machinery of the
Roads, or on the Reservoirs belonging to
the Canal; for tee expenses of themselves
aud their office, (until 1855) for repairs of
farm and road bridges: for *li "old drbts"
paid in years subsequent to those in which
they w. re conn acted: until recently, for
ncwdocomotives; and for improving or re
building bridges,.ami offices for the trans
action of business. It requires no evidence
to prove that a statement made upon such
jprinciple* could not give JI fair representa
tion of the facts. To secure this, every
tle.ni f receipt or expenditure must be in
cluded—and not merely tlvose which suit a ;
previously planned purpese. And these
items eati bo found only in the reports of
the Auditor General of the Commonwealth.
This officer audits all the accounts of the
State officers ori the Public Works, and
publishes every year, at the close of his re
port, a statement considerably iu detail of
the account of the Canal Commissioners. —
•i tn one side of the account, the Auditor
General represents Hie money paid by the
State Treasurer to these and on
the other, enters'the general 'purposes to
which the amounts arc applic-i. This ac
count is as complete a one as the present j
of keeping the books will present;.;
■ but lacks very much in fuljnesg and detail. I
•"• i • !
,ly comparing it with tha other reports, It |
s practicable, however, to gather an accu
rate idea of the state, of the case. This I
.propose to do hereafter, with regard to sev
,erul years, that thupublic may see what the
Main Line has actually accomplished, as
witjn what the Canal Board has
/claimed for it.
To illustrate tha difference* in result 8
caused by the difference in tbfl method of
making up the statements referred ta, it
may be uientioued that since 1851, the fol
lowing amounts have been paid on certaiu
•of tlie items of which no account has been
taken by the Canal Board:
Damages paid, §181,185 40
Pay of Canal Commis
sions and expenses
of office, 44,780 22
Old debts, ? 520,458 47
Improving track of Co
lumbia Railroad, 1.109,807 51
New locomotives, 1.>4,686 5_
§2,070,896 12
These are not nil the items which have
been totally excluded by the Oaual Board
from their statement of results, but they
serve as specimens. Last year (18501 the
Auditor General reported the expenses of
nil tho Public Improvements, a follows:
Expcuses, §1,910.890 82
Damages paid, 52,281 21
Old debts paid, 130,512 09
§2,110,090 12
rhe Canal Commissioners
returned the expenses at 1,076.685 11
Difference, §1,040,004 98
This discrepancy is caused tyy the former
A Weekly Paper, Devoted to Literature, Polities, the Arts, Sciences, Agriculture, &c., &c—Terms: Two Dollars per annum.
| officer including all the expenditures in his
statement, and the latter including only
particular portions. If all of what is
ebarged hy the Auditor Genera] to Con
struction Account bo deducted, (§449,892
50 on tho Main Line,) the discrepancy is
still one-half a million of dollars. Like
wise, the expenses of the Main Line in
1856, according to the Auditor General,
(excluding the above §449,892 50, and
counting only motive power and repair ex
penses, payment of lock keepers, collec
tors, &c.,of the Canal Board of damages and
of old debts,) Is 51,212,536 80
According to the Canal
Board, 840,377 03
Deficiency, §372,159 77
Caused by the suppression, by the Board,
of items of expenditure actually made but
not deemed advisable to include. Mana
ging in this way, tbey make the net profits
of the Main Line in 1556, §382,596,42.
Including all the payments, except Con
struction, the net profits are reduced to
I §10,436 75: and to bring this result it is
necessary to exclude all reference to the
§268,396 76 spent on the new track of tho
Columbia Railroad, the §181,495 74 spent
on the new Portage, and the interest on the
§16,472,634 13, reported in 1854 as the
then cost of the Main Line !
It must not be supposed that this scheme
for the suppression of essential facts, is ori
| ginal with the present Board. On the con
' trary, all previous Boards have pursued tho
same policy—it having early been deemed
advisable to charge renewals of machinery,
repairs of tracks, and many other like
items—not to Repairs, that, they be
counted against receipts— but to Construc
tion, by which they would be removed from
any such comparison. By these means, be
tween the opening of the Main Line and the
J ear 1854, §4,365,920 Itl wore added to
its cost; whilst during the same time, the
Auditor General reported the expenditures
of the line a{- $4,351,746 more than the
Canal Commissioners reported them.
It is manifest from these .fart* j,„f it,*,
-U. mf.nai,. of discovering the
precise receipts and the precise expendi
tures on the line, is by a earefnll analysis
of all the Reports of rhe departments, aud
to this, attention will be next directed.
APAUS.
LETTING DOWN TILE ARISTOCRACY. —
The elfegant Miss Mason, whose father had
made a splendid fortune as an enterprising
draper and tailor, appeared at this mag
nificent eutcrtainmcnt in royal apparel.
With that fastidious exclusiveness for
which the latest comers into fashionable
circles are the. most remarkable, she refu
sed various offers of introduction, as *hc
did not. wish to extend the number of her
acquaintances: 'her friends were few
very select.'
The beautiful Miss Taylor, radiant with
good natured smiles, and once well ac
quainted with Miss Mason wheu they went
to the public scnol in William street togeth
er, uoticed the /inultur of her ancient friend,
who was determined not tj recognize one
who would only remind her of her former
low estate. But Miss Taylor, the rogue,
as clever as she was pretty, determined to
tun her up short, and not submit to
boing snubbed by one whose ancestral asso
ciations weie no better than her own.
Watching her chance when the haughty
young lady was in the midst of her set,
Miis Taylor walked up and witli smiles of
winning sweetness remarked,
♦I have been thinking, my dear Miss Ma
son, that we ought to exchange names.'
'Why, indeed?'
'Because my name is Taylor, aud my
father was a mason , and your name is Ma
son, hut your father was a tailor
There was a scene then, but there was
no help for it. The little Miss Taylor had
the pleasure of saying a very cu'.e thing,
which was soon repeated in the ears of a
dozen circles, and the wits wished to see
her, but the proud Miss Mason bit her lip
in silence.
'Miss Brown, 1 have been learning how
to tell fortunes,' said a fellow to a brisk
brunette; 'give me your hand if you
please.'
'La, Mr. White, how sudden you are!—
Well, go ask pa.'
THRILLING NARRATIVE. — A dog's tail
under a cart wheel ! ! !
[This is all of this 'mazing story we shall
publish in the Express. Those who wish
more of it arc referred to the New York
Ledger.) Petersburg Express.
must, you dispose of a bobtail
ed horse at wholesale? Because you can
j not re-tail him!
! NOTHING PERSONAL. —A change iu the
weather is exported soon. We always wel
come any kind of c'tangt.
Deacon Tlirope's IMgeonS.
A CAPITAL STORY.
Several years ago, when the mast and
crops in some of the Western States were
abont to be dostroyed by the large number
of wild pigeons that came about, Deacon
Thrope and sevoral of his friends were sit
ting outside the log meeting-house, on Sun
day morning waiting for the minister to ar-.
rive, and, as a matter of course, talking
about the prospect of having nothing to
feed on through the coming winter.
•It's orful' said one of the company. 'I
never see the pigeons so thick afore. My
Bill and Ben went down to the roost last
night, and killed a bag full with clubs. I
think they'll take all my com.'
•Oh, yes its orful!' replied the others.
'That's nothing to what me and ray Felix
Joshua did, day beforo yesterday, said the
deacon. 'You know ray bottom field there?
Well they come in it so thick you couldn't
see the ground. I went down to scare
'em out, and perad venture, they riz up like
a cloud, you couldn't see the sky for 'era.
I hollered and slapped ray hands, and tore
around till I was plump worried out, but it
did no good. They just swarmed over ray
head, and as fast as I went to one side of
the field they began to pour down in t'oth
er. Felix Joshua had jest got up to the
crib with a load of corn, for he was a gath
erin' the ridge field aud 1 wout to whar he
was and tord him to go to the house and
get his shot gun and ray shot gun, and se c
if we couldn't drive thera ar' pigeons out'n
the bottom field. So he goes and gets his
shot guD and ray shot gun, and we goes
down. He slipt aloDg on one side of the
field, and I slipt along on t'other, till we
got about raiddlo ways, and theu I gin a
holler, aDd up they flew like a whirlagusf.
I blazed away in the thickest of 'era, and
Felix Joshua blazed away in the thickest of
'era, and what do you think? They were
all gone in a second. Then me and Felix
e x C JSI9.°J r ®£ L h . e J ence > says
Says Ito Liai, 'Go fetch the steers and
wagon, and upon ray word aud honor, we
picked up ten bushels!'
The good brothers stared wildly around I
thcra, and would probably have accused
their deacon of lying, had they not been in
terrupted by the arrival of the preacher,
aud the announcement that uieetiu was go
in to begitr.
After the services were over,little groups
of the faithful might have been seen here
and there, engaged in earnest conversation.
Their subject was an exciting one, as you
might have inferred from the length of their
faces and the earnestness of their gestures.
If you had listened to their conversation
you might have heard something about as
follows:
Did you hear what Brother Thropc said j
bout him and his Felix Joshua killin' ten
bushels of pigeons at one shot.
'Yes, it's orful, aint it?'
'lt's a lie as sure as shootin.' I don't
know what's got into Brother Tbrope.
'What'll Le done about it? It nrusn't
go so—it'll ruin the name of the church.'
•We'd better fetch it up next meetin' and
make him take it back, or church him.'
And so it would go on. Of course tire
good deacon heard a whisper of it which
gave him no little uneasiness. However,
be had been into several scrapes before,
and bad come out clear, and he doubted
not he should meet with the same good
luck on this occasion. Until the meeting
day arrived the entire settlement was in an
uproar Nothing was talked of but Dea
con Thrope's ten bushels of pigeons. The
good brothers said it was too bad to Lave
the church disgraced by a deacon who
would tell such unreasonable tales, while
the pious old sisters wiped their spectacles,
sighed and said, 'lt's hard telling the power
which the evil one cxcrteth '
At last the exciting day arrived. The
preacher stated that the church was ready
for the transaction of business, whereupon
brother Fingle arose aud said:
'Brother Deacon Thropc says him and
his Felix Joshua killed teu bushels of pi
geous at one shot. The church dor.'t be
lieve it, and would love to hear what the
brother has to say for himself.
With much solemnity the Deacon arose,
and after casting a serious look over the
congregation and elevating hi? eye 9 to the
rafters a few times, spoke as follows:
'My bretkeriug there is a sad mistake out.
—J didu't say we killed ten bushels of pi
geons at one shot, but—'
'What did you say, then?' interrupted
ouc of thu brothers, who was present when
the Deacon first told about the pigeon".
'Didn't vou say you nxid your l'elix Joshua
both blazed away?' t
'Yes.'
BEDFORD, PA., FRIDiY. JUNE 19,1857.
'Didn't you say you both clem over b
fence?'
'Yes peradventure.'
'Didn't you say that Felix Joshua sjd,
'Father, this beats all creation.'
'1 did, brother.'
'Didn't you say Felix Joshua fotchcdtbe
steers and wagon, and you picked upiten
bushels of pigeons?'
'There is the brother, relied
the Deacon, again rabing his eyes toward
the rafters. I didn't say we picked upJen
bushels of pigeons. Brother Fingle is bis
taken; I said—'
'Yes, I know what you said." iuterrmted
several; 'you did say it, and wo can prove
it easy enough! You can't conie that punc
over us, old hoss fly.'
'Order, blethering,' said the roimster;
'let s hear Brother Thrope's story, and then
you can make any remarks you may with.'
•V\ ell, as I was sayin,' resumed the Dea
con, I didn't say we picked up ten bushels
of pigeons Bro. Fingle is mistaken—l
said we picked up ten bushels of corn that
the pigeons had shattered off.
'Amen, went up from the congregation
and a rush was made at Deucon Tiirope, to
shake him by the hand. It is neodless to
say that he was restored to full fellowship
and confidence.
IncidentN In Hie Life of a felon.
The career of the youthful Ed. Hawkins
who has recently been sentenced to death
in Estill county, Ky., for tlio runnier of
Land and Irwin would furnish an exciting
annal wherewith to embellish the Lives of
the Felons. Ho is only about twenty-two
years of age, is robust and prepossosjing in
appearance, possessing an air and feature
well calculated to deceive ladies of suscep
tibility and verdancy. He has been married
no less than half a dozen times to young and
interesting females, and they are all yet
living. At the time of his arrost he was pro
menadiug with a lady to whom he was en
gaged to be married, who was to have been
the seventh victim of his arts. Young
notorious brigand ?."*** of Tom Harper, the
bloody scenes of early Kentucky, history. —
About the 15th of March last the subject
of this sketch stole a horse in Madison
county, Kentucky. lie had disposed of his
small estate at Proctor, Owlsiey county,
uear which place lie was apprehended by his
unfortunate victims, Land and Irwin on the
22d of the sauic month. The prisoner having
been couveyed some fifteen miles toward
Estill county, Irwin had dismounted and
given his horse to Hawkins who rode by
the side of Land. Iu an ungardod moment
Hawkins caught Land's right hand, and,
reaching forward, drew his pistol (which
was a self-cocking revolver) from his bosom.
He immediately fired upon Irwin who was
walking by his side, the ball taking effect
in his left temple and passing out through
the under jaw. Land and Hawkins then
jumped or fell from their horses simulta
neously; Laud running some distance on his
hands and feet. Hawkins ran up to bis
secoud victim with his pistol presented, when
Land raised his hands imploringly, invoking
Hawkins not to shoot. Hawkins fired, how"
ever, and the shot took effect in Mr. Land's
eye, killing him instantly. Irwin was still
struggling in death when found a few
minutes after the shooting. The murderer
wandered about for several days after he
had committed the double crime, and con
fesses that he rambled back to the scene of
the encounter the following Tuesday, his
path crossing the blood which had flowed
from the wounds of his innocent young
vijtims. He was finally traced to a cavern
in the neighborhood, and was so closely
pursued in his hiding place, that he heard
the conversation of his pursuers, and repeat
ed a proposition made at the time to smoke
him from his concealment. Discovering an
opening into the cavern, he made his escape
into Ohio, whither he was pursued by some
citizens of Estill county. The; were close
i upon him at one time, when he eluded their
I vigilanco by affecting to bo a laborer, and
proceeded to place some rails on a neigh
! boring fence. His identity war so nearly
i recognised by one of the party, that the re
i mark was made by one of the pursuers to a
companion that when they did liad Hawkins
they would find a man that aliuott exactly
resembled the individual laying the fence
before them. They passed on, however,
unconscious of the presence of the very in
dividual they wore so eagerly pnrsuing.—
He was subsequently identified and arrested
near his father's residence in Ohio, and con
veyed to the Estill county jail. A popular
meeting was thou held, which appealed to
Judgo Pearl for an immediate trial of the
prisoner. In accordance with the general
wish the Judge convened his special term
on the 27th ultimo. In the meantime,
many citizens who were impatient at the
i tardy administration of justice, informed
Hawkins that if ho should not be ready for
trial at the appointed time, or should obtain
a change of venue, they would themselves
administer that summary justice which the
nature of his crime demanded. But a jury
was obtained without delay and the young
outlaw had a fair hearing. He bad the
bonefit of the legal ability of four attorneys
of distinction. On the 80 th of March he
was found guilty of murder in the first
degree.— Louisville Democrat.
THE MYSTERY OF THE EVER
GLADES.
The long peninsula which run 3 out into
the Atlantic, forming the southern part of
Florida, has always been occupied by a
singular succession of savannahs, ham
njochs, lagoons, swamps ar.d forests nearly
impregnable and quite uninhabitable, PX
cept as the lurking place of Seminoles.—
They extend into the heart of the country,
two hundred miles north of Cape Sable, and
collectively, are called the Everglades.'
During the past wiuter a natural outlet
has opened somewhere which is draining
the Everglades dry. For nearly two
months, though no water flowed out of any
of the known outlets, the water in the
glades continued to fall rapidly. The in
vitible vent must have discharged a volume
equal to the Mississippi River.
A letter from a resident, dated April 2d,
says, "the Everglades are extremely dry—
literally parched up which has not occurred
before in the twenty five years that I have
lived in this region, and 1 have hunted on
them almost every season during that time."
Vessels passing the coast, report that
they have seen brackish discolored water
at various plaints, as if it was pouring out
of the swamps.
But the storids are so vague and Con
flicting that it in impossible to determine
whether a Dew rivet has formed through
some labyrinth of lagoons and islands, or
whether there is a cavernous, subterauean
passage to the depths of the sea.
One of the Coast Survey vessels at work
in that quarter sailed on an exploring
ir search of it in March, but a
compelled abandonment of thesearcn.
FioriJa has always been noted for its
mysterious streams. There are several
creeks and rivers of limpid water in the
State, which sink into the earth and disap
pear. Others rise suddenly out. of the
ground, one of which (the Wakulla) is nav
igable from its very source. The strange
i accounts of them which reached Spain in
ihe early years of discovery led IW-etle
Leon thither in search of the "Fountain of
Youth."
TilE FISHERMAN.
I was, some time since, walking upon the
warf where a (i-hitig boat lay, and as 1 was
passing, and re-passing, the master was
uttering the most tremendous oaths. At
length I turned to bim aud standing beside
the boat, said—
"Sir, I ain unacquainted with your
business. What kind of fishes are these?"
lie replied—"They are Codfish."
"How loug are you usually out iu order
to obtain your load?"
"Two or three weeks," was the answer.
"At what price do you sell them?"
lie informed uie.
♦'Well, have you not hard work to obtain
a living in this way'"
"Yes, hard work," said lis
I inquired, "With what do you bait
those fish?"
"With clams."
"Did you ever catch mackerel?"
"Yes."
"And I suppose you bait them with
clams, too?"
"Oh, no," said he, "they will not bite
at clams."
"Tlicu you must have different kinds of
bait for different sorts of fish?
"Yes."
"Well, now, did you ever catch a fish
without a bait?"
"Yes," said he, "I was out last year, and
one day when I was fixing ray liue, my
book fell into the water; the fool took
hold of it, and I drew him in."
"Aow, sir," said 1, "I have often thought
that Satun was very much like a fisherman.
He also baits his hook with that kind of
bait which different sort of sinners like best
but when he would catch a profane swearer
he does not take the trouble to bait at all
for the fool will always bite at the bare
hook."
He was silent. His countenance was
solemn, and after a moment's pause, as I
turned to go away, I heard hitu say to one
standing by him 'I guess tint's a minister."
Why are good hubaTids like dough'
Women knead them
SOLD —We yesterday heard of a practi
cal joke perpetrated, which in the dullness
of the times ,if not for its merit, is worthy
of being recorded. The parties to this
transaction we shall designate as Ben and
Tom.
It is prop T for a better understanding of
the joke to intimate that the former specu
lates to a modest degree in bivalves—and
right good bivalves they are too—and it is
not necessary to say what the latter does,
farther than he is as fast as the locomotive
and pet train which he swears by, and is,
withal a great wag.
The story runs that Ben had taken a three
dollar counterfeit bill, and not relishing such
dead capital, he conceived the idea of giving
it to Tom, who was a frollieking fellow, and
could make it go if anybody could. Ac
cordingly he approached the contemplated
dispensing medium one day when the fol
lowing conversation ensued:
•I say, Tom, hero's a pretty good coun
terfeit three if you pass it I'll divide.'
'J-iCt's see the plaster,' said Tom; and af
ter examing it carefnly, put it. in his vest
pocket remarking,' its an equal division—a
dollar and a half a piece V
•Yes,' said lien.
'All right,' said Tom, and ho sauntered.
A few minutes afterwards he quietly
stepped into the office of his frieod Ken, pur
chased a can of oysters for one dollar and
a half, and laid down the three dollar hit
in payment, for them. The clerk looked at
the bill rather dnubtinply, when his suspi
cions w era immediately calmed bjpTom,who
told him there 'was no use looking, for he
had received that hill from KCD, himself,
not ten minutes since.' Of course, the
elork, with this assurance, immediately fork- i
ed over the dollar and a half change, and
with this deposit and the can of oysters Tom
left.
Short afterwards he met Ben, who asked
him if he had passed the bill.
'Ob, yes,' said Torn, 'here's your share,'
at the same time pas-dug over the dollar and
a half to Ken.
That night when B?.n made up his each
accouut he was surprised to find tba same
jUg VU liumnrr* . - - • y 'P.. i
'Where did you get this cursed bill ?
Didn't you know it wis a counterfeit '
,Why, Tom gave it to rue, and 1 suspected
it was fishy, but he said he had just received
it from you, and I therefore took it ?'
The whole thing had penetrated the wool
of Ben, ami with a peculiar grin he muttered
j 'Sold,' and ehnrged the can of oysters to
profit and loss aceount.
THE HANDSOME SOUL. —Oue day last,
j winter, a litrle boy from the south, who was
on a visit from the town, was taking his first
1 lesson jn the art of 'sliding down hill,' when
he suddenly found his feet in rather too
close contact with a lady's rich silk dress.
Surprised, mortified and confuspd, he
sprang, his sled aud cap in hand, commenced
an earnest apology :
"I beg your pardou ma'am; I am very
sorry."
"Never mind," exclaioied the lady, "there
is no great harm done, and you feel worse
about it than 1 do."
"But, dear tuadam," s.,id the boy. as his
eyes filled with tears, "your dress is ruined,
i I thought that you would le very angry
j with me for being so careless."
"O, no," replied the lady; "better have
a soiled dress than a lufijed tempef."
(_), i<u't she a beauty!" exclaimed the
lad, as the lady passed on.
"Who? that lady?" returned his comrade,
"if you call her a beauty, you shan't choose
for me.
Why she is more than thirty years old
and her face is yellow and wrinkled."
"I don't caru if her face is wrinkled,"
replied the little hero, her soul is handsome,
anyhow."
A shout of laughter followed from which
he was glad to escape. Jlelating the incident
to his mother, lie remarked :
•O, mother that lady did me good. ' I
shall never forget it, and when 1 aiu
tempted to indulge uiy angry passions, 1
will think of what shesaid—" Better have
a soiled dress than a rujjled temper."
YANKEE DOODLE.—Hon. Mr. Winthrop,
in an address recently delivered, said:
I would not disparage Yankee Doodle,
my friends. It has associations which mast
always ronder its simple and homely melo.
dy dearer to the hearts of the Amcricon
People than the most elaborate
of aucient or modern science. Should our
free institutions ever again be in danger,
whether from 'malice domestic or foreign
levy,' that will still be the tune to which
American patriotism will keep step. We
must always preserve it, and never be asha
med of it; though 1 do not venture to hope
that a day may Come, when, like Etiglau t,
sud Austria, aud Kussia—to name no oth-
VOL. 30, NO. 25.
er lands —we may have something fit to he
entitled a National ~lnthem, which shall
combine an acknowledgement of God with
the glorious memories of wise and brave
men—which shall blend the emotions of pi
ety and patriotism, uniting ic sweet accord
the praises of the Divine Author of our
Freedom and Independence, with those of
his chosen antf commissioned human instru
ments, in a strain worthy to commemorate
the rise and progress of our Great llepub
iic.
OLD FASHIONED LOVE LETTERS.
Let ters betweeu the first Governor of
Massachusetts and bis wife, about the year
lGtiA:
My Most SJDtei Husband —llow dearly
welcome thy kiud letter was to nic, I am
not able to express The sweetness of if
did much to refresh me. What can be more
pleasing to a wife than to hear of the wel
fare of her endeavors ! 1 blush to bear my
self coninnrrt But it is your love that
conceives the b"st, and makes all things,
better than they are. I wish that all might
please thee, and these comforts which we
have in each other may be daily increased,
as tliey may be pleasing to God. 1 will
use the speech to thee that Abigail did to
L>avid, "I will he as a servant to wash the
feet of my Lord." I will do any service
wherein 1 may please my good husband. I
confess I cannot do enough for thee; bnt
thou art pleased to accept the will for the
deed and test content.
1 have ruauy reasons to make me love these
wherefore 1 will Dame two; first, because
thou levest God and secondly because thou
i-tvest me If these two were wanting all
the rest would be eclipsed. But 1 must
leave this discourse and go about my house
hold affairs. lam a had housewife to be
so long from them,but I must needs borrow
a little time to talk with thee my sweetheart
I hope thy business draws to an end, It
will be two or three weeks before T see thee
though be long ones. God will bring
us together in his good time, lor which I
shall pray. Farewell my go.rd husband
the Lord keep thee.
Your obedient wife.
m 9 wJUAJIGAIIKT WINTHKOP.
last week, yet having so fit an opportunity I
write to thee again; for 1 do esteem one
little.. sweet short letter of thine (snch as
the last was) to be worth two or three from
uie.
I began this letter yesterday at two o'clock
thinking to have been at large, but was so
taken up by company and business, as L
coii'd get but hither this morning. I have
not liberty to make better expression of uiy
love to thee, who art mors doai to wo than
ali earthly things, but I will endeavor fliat
my prayers shall supply the defect of my
pen; wliieh will be ot use to us both, inas
much a the favor and blessing of God i 9
better than all things besides.
I know thou lookest for troubles here,
and wheu one affliction is over, to meet with
another; but remember our Saviour tells us,
"Be of pood coiufort; 1 have overcome the
world."—Therefore my good wife, rise up
my heart and be uotdiauiayed at the crosses
thou meetest with in family affairs, or other
wise: hut still fly tn him who will take up
thy burden for thee. Go thou on cheer
fully, in obedience to his holy will, in the
course he hath set thee. Peace shall come
I commend thee and all thine to the gracious
! protection and blessing of the lx>rd. bare
i well uiy good wife- I kiss and love thee
with the kindest affection and rest.
Thy affectionate husband.
JOHN YVINTHROP
JUost Loving and Good Husband —l have
received your letters. 'I he true tokens of
your love and care of uiy good, now in your
absence: as well us wlicu you are present
make aie think that saying false "out of sight
out of mind." 1 am sure my heart and
thoughts are alwujs near you, to "do you
good and not evil all the days of iuy lite.
1 rejoice in the expectation of our happy
meeting, for thy absence lias been much de
sired. Thy welcome is always ready; make
baste to entertain it.
And so I hid my good husband farewell
and commit him to the Lord.
Your loving and obedient wife.
MARGARET WINTHROP.
OIKCCMsTANCKS. —'i>o J 0 " kUOW tll
prisoner, Mr. Joucs?'
'Yes, to the bone,'
•What is his character?"
•Never knew he he bad any.'
'Does he live near you!'
'So near that he ba only spent fifty cenu
lor firewood in eight years.
'Did he ever come into collision with
you iu any matter?'
'Only once, and that was when he was
drunk and mistook me for a lamp post.'
•From what you know of him, would you
believe hiiti uuder oath?'
'That doped? on circumstances. If lie
was so much intoxicated that be did r.ot
know what he was doing, 1 would, if he
wasn't, 1 would net '
'You can *tep aside, Mr Jones, Liter,
call the nxt wituess