Lansmere was situated in the county adjoining that which contained the
village of Hazeldean. Late at noon the Parson crossed the little stream
which divided the two shires, and came to an inn, which was placed at an
angle, where the great main road branched off into two directions--the
one leading toward Lansmere, the other going more direct to London. At
this inn the pad stopped, and put down both ears with the air of a pad
who has made up her mind to bait. And the Parson himself, feeling very
warm, and somewhat sore, said to the pad, benignly: "It is just--thou
shalt have corn and water!".
Dismounting, therefore, and finding himself very stiff, as soon as he
had reached _terra firma_, the Parson consigned the pad to the
hostler, and walked into the sanded parlor of the inn, to repose himself
on a very hard Windsor chair.
He had been alone rather more than half-an-hour, reading a county
newspaper which smelt much of tobacco, and trying to keep off the flies
that gathered round him in swarms, as if they had never before seen a
Parson, and were anxious to ascertain how the flesh of him tasted--when
a stage-coach stopped at the inn. A traveler got out with his carpet-bag
in his hand, and was shown into the sanded parlor.
The Parson rose politely, and made a bow.
The traveler touched his hat, without taking it off--looked at Mr. Dale
from top to toe--then walked to the window, and whistled a lively,
impatient tune, then strode toward the fireplace and rang the bell; then
stared again at the Parson; and that gentleman having courteously laid
down the newspaper, the traveler seized it, threw himself on a chair,
flung one of his legs over the table, tossed the other up on the
mantle-piece, and began reading the paper, while he tilted the chair on
its hind-legs with so daring a disregard to the ordinary position of
chairs and their occupants, that the shuddering Parson expected every
moment to see him come down on the back of his skull.
Moved, therefore, to compassion, Mr. Dale said, mildly:
"Those chairs are very treacherous, sir; I'm afraid you'll be down."
"Eh," said the traveler, looking up much astonished. "Eh, down?--oh,
you're satirical, sir!"
"Satirical, sir? upon my word, no!" exclaimed the Parson, earnestly.
"I think every free-born man has a right to sit as he pleases in his own
house," resumed the traveler, with warmth; "and an inn is his own house,
I guess, so long as he pays his score. Betty, my dear!"
For the chamber-maid had now replied to the bell.
"I han't Betty, sir; do you want she?"
"No, Sally--cold brandy-and-water--and a biscuit."
"I han't Sally, either," muttered the chamber-maid; but the traveler,
turning round, showed so smart a neckcloth, and so comely a face, that
she smiled, colored, and went her way.
The traveler now rose, and flung down the paper. He took out a penknife,
and began paring his nails. Suddenly desisting from this elegant
occupation, his eye caught sight of the Parson's shovel-hat, which lay
on a chair in the corner.
"You're a clergyman, I reckon, sir," said the traveler, with a slight
sneer.
Again Mr. Dale bowed--bowed in part deprecatingly--in part with dignity.
It was a bow that said, "No offense, sir! but I _am_ a clergyman, and
I'm not ashamed of it!"
"Going far?" asked the traveler.
PARSON.--"Not very."
TRAVELER.--"In a chaise or fly? If so, and we are going the same
way--halves!"
PARSON.--"Halves?"
TRAVELER.--"Yes, I'll pay half the damage--pikes inclusive."
PARSON.--"You are very good, sir: but" (_spoken with pride_), "I am on
horseback."
TRAVELER.--"On horseback! Well, I should not have guessed that! You
don't look like it. Where did you say you were going?"
"I did _not_ say where I was going, sir," said the Parson, drily, for he
was much offended at that vague and ungrammatical remark, applicable to
his horsemanship, that "he did not look like it!"
"Close!" said the traveler, laughing; "an old traveler, I reckon!"
The Parson made no reply; but he took up his shovel-hat, and, with a bow
more majestic than the previous one, walked out to see if his pad had
finished her corn.
The animal had indeed finished all the corn afforded to her, which was
not much, and in a few minutes more Mr. Dale resumed his journey. He had
performed about three miles, when the sound of wheels behind made him
turn his head, and he perceived a chaise driven very fast, while out of
the windows thereof dangled strangely a pair of human legs. The pad
began to curvet as the post-horses rattled behind, and the Parson had
only an indistinct vision of a human face supplanting these human legs.
The traveler peered out at him as he whirled by--saw Mr. Dale tossed up
and down on the saddle, and cried out: "How's the leather?"
"Leather!" soliloquized the Parson, as the pad recomposed herself. "What
does he mean by that? Leather! a very vulgar man. But I got rid of him
cleverly!"
Mr. Dale arrived without further adventure at Lansmere. He put up at the
principal inn--refreshed himself by a general ablution--and sat down
with good appetite to his beef-steak and pint of port.
The Parson was a better judge of the physiognomy of man than that of the
horse; and after a satisfactory glance at the civil, smirking landlord,
who removed the cover and set on the wine, he ventured on an attempt at
conversation. "Is my lord at the park?"
Landlord, still more civilly than before: "No, sir; his lordship and my
lady have gone to town to meet Lord L'Estrange."
"Lord L'Estrange! He is in England, then?"
"Why, so I heard," replied the landlord; "but we never see him here now.
I remember him a very pretty young man. Every one was fond of him, and
proud of him. But what pranks he did play when he was a lad! We hoped he
would come in for our boro' some of these days, but he has taken to
foren parts--more's the pity. I am a reg'lar Blue, sir, as I ought to
be. The Blue candidate always does me the honor to come to the Lansmere
Arms. 'Tis only the low party puts up with The Boar," added the
landlord, with a look of ineffable disgust. "I hope you like the wine,
sir?"
"Very good, and seems old."
"Bottled these eighteen years, sir. I had in the cask for the great
election of Dashmore and Egerton. I have little left of it, and I never
give it but to old friends like--for, I think, sir, though you be grown
stout, and look more grand, I may say that I've had the pleasure of
seeing you before."
"That's true, I dare say, though I fear I was never a very good
customer."
LANDLORD.--"Ah, it _is_ Mr. Dale, then! I thought so when you came into
the hall. I hope your lady is quite well, and the Squire, too; a fine
pleasant-spoken gentleman; no fault of his if Mr. Egerton went wrong.
Well, we have never seen him--I mean Mr. Egerton--since that time. I
don't wonder he stays away; but my lord's son, who was brought up
here--it an't nat'ral-like that he should turn his back on us!"
Mr. Dale made no reply, and the landlord was about to retire, when the
Parson, pouring out another glass of the port, said: "There must be
great changes in the parish. Is Mr. Morgan, the medical man, still
here?"
"No, indeed; he took out his ploma after you left, and became a real
doctor; and a pretty practice he had, too, when he took, all of a
sudden, to some new-fangled way of physicking--I think they calls it
homy-something--"
"Homoeopathy?"
"That's it--something against all reason; and so he lost his practice
here and went up to Lunnun. I have not heard of him since."
"Do the Avenels keep their old house?"
"Oh yes!--and are pretty well off, I hear say. John is always poorly;
though he still goes now and then to the Odd Fellows, and takes his
glass; but his wife comes and fetches him away before he can do himself
any harm."
"Mrs. Avenel is the same as ever."
"She holds her head higher, I think," said the landlord, smiling. "She
was always--not exactly proud like, but what I calls gumptious."
"I never heard that word before," said the Parson, laying down his knife
and fork. "Bumptious, indeed, though I believe it is not in the
dictionary, has crept into familiar parlance, especially among young
folks at school and college."
"Bumptious is bumptious, and gumptious is gumptious," said the landlord,
delighted to puzzle a Parson. "Now the town beadle is bumptious and Mrs.
Avenel is gumptious."
"She is a very respectable woman," said Mr. Dale, somewhat rebukingly.
"In course, sir, all gumptious folks are; they value themselves on their
respectability, and looks down on their neighbors."
PARSON (still philologically occupied). "Gumptious--gumptious.
I think I remember the substantive at school--not that my master taught
it to me. 'Gumption,' it means cleverness."
LANDLORD, (doggedly).--"There's gumption and gumptious!
Gumption is knowing; but when I say sum un is gumptious, I mean--though
that's more vulgar like--sum un who does not think small beer of
hisself. You take me, sir?"
"I think I do," said the Parson, half-smiling. "I believe the Avenels
have only two of their children alive still--their daughter, who married
Mark Fairfield, and a son who went off to America?"
"Ah, but he made his fortune there, and has come back."
"Indeed! I'm very glad to hear it. He has settled at Lansmere?"
"No, sir. I hear as he's bought a property a long way off. But he comes
to see his parents pretty often--so John tells me--but I can't say that
I ever see him. I fancy Dick doesn't like to be seen by folks who
remember him playing in the kennel."
"Not unnatural," said the Parson indulgently; "but he visits his
parents; he is a good son, at all events, then?"
"I've nothing to say against him. Dick was a wild chap before he took
himself off. I never thought he would make his fortune; but the Avenels
are a clever set. Do you remember poor Nora--the Rose of Lansmere, as
they called her? Ah, no, I think she went up to Lunnun afore your time,
sir."
"Humph!" said the Parson drily. "Well, I think you may take away now. It
will be dark soon, and I'll just stroll out and look about me."
"There's a nice tart coming, sir."
"Thank you, I've dined."
The Parson put on his hat and sallied forth into the streets. He eyed
the houses on either hand with that melancholy and wistful interest with
which, in middle life, we revisit scenes familiar to us in
youth--surprised to find either so little change or so much, and
recalling, by fits and snatches, old associations and past emotions.
The long High-street which he threaded now began to change its bustling
character, and slide, as it were gradually, into the high road of a
suburb. On the left, the houses gave way to the moss-grown pales of
Lansmere Park: to the right, though houses still remained, they were
separated from each other by gardens, and took the pleasing appearance
of villas--such villas as retired tradesmen or their widows, old maids,
and half-pay officers, select for the evening of their days.
Mr. Dale looked at these villas with the deliberate attention of a man
awakening his power of memory, and at last stopped before one, almost
the last on the road, and which faced the broad patch of sward that lay
before the lodge of Lansmere Park. An old pollard oak stood near it, and
from the oak there came a low discordant sound: it was the hungry cry of
young ravens, awaiting the belated return of the parent bird. Mr. Dale
put his hand to his brow, paused a moment, and then, with a hurried
step, passed through the little garden and knocked at the door. A light
was burning in the parlor, and Mr. Dale's eye caught through the window
a vague outline of three forms. There was an evident bustle within at
the sound of the knocks. One of the forms rose and disappeared. A very
prim, neat, middle-aged maid-servant, now appeared at the threshold, and
austerely inquired the visitor's business.
"I want to see Mr. or Mrs. Avenel. Say that I have come many miles to
see them; and take in this card."
The maid-servant took the card, and half-closed the door. At least three
minutes elapsed before she re-appeared.
"Missis says it's late, sir; but walk in."
The Parson accepted the not very gracious invitation, stepped across the
little hall, and entered the parlor.
Old John Avenel, a mild-looking man, who seemed slightly paralytic, rose
slowly from his arm-chair. Mrs. Avenel, in an awfully stiff, clean, and
Calvinistical cap, and a gray dress, every fold of which bespoke
respectability and staid repute--stood erect on the floor, and, fixing
on the Parson a cold and cautious eye, said--
"You do the like of us great honor, Mr. Dale--take a chair! You call
upon business?"
"Of which I have apprised you by letter, Mr. Avenel."
"My husband is very poorly."
"A poor creature!" said John feebly, and as if in compassion of himself.
"I can't get about as I used to do. But it ben't near election time, be
it, sir."
"No, John," said Mrs. Avenel, placing her husband's arm within her own.
"You must lie down a bit, while I talk to the gentleman."
"I'm a real good blue," said poor John; "but I ain't quite the man I
was;" and, leaning heavily on his wife, he left the room, turning round
at the threshold, and saying, with, great urbanity--"Any thing to
oblige, sir?"
Mr. Dale was much touched. He had remembered John Avenel the comeliest,
the most active, and the most cheerful man in Lansmere; great at glee
club and cricket (though then stricken in years), greater in vestries;
reputed greatest in elections.
"Last scene of all," murmured the Parson; "and oh well, turning from the
poet, may we cry with the disbelieving philosopher. 'Poor, poor
humanity!'"[14]
[Footnote 14: Mr. Dale probably here alludes to Lord Bolingbroke's
ejaculation as he stood by the dying Pope; but his memory does not serve
him with the exact words.]
In a few minutes Mrs. Avenel returned. She took a chair, at some
distance from the Parson's, and, resting one hand on the elbow of the
chair, while with the other she stiffly smoothed the stiff gown, she
said--
"Now, sir."
That "Now, sir," had in its sound something sinister and warlike. This
the shrewd Parson recognized, with his usual tact. He edged his chair
nearer to Mrs. Avenel, and placing his hand on hers--
"Yes, now then, and as friend to friend."
(_To be continued._)
VICTIMS OF SCIENCE.
There is a proverb which says, "Better is the enemy of well." Perhaps we
may go further, and say, that "Well sometimes makes us regret bad."
You would have confessed the truth of this latter axiom if you had
known, as I did, an excellent young man named Horace Castillet, who had
been gifted by Providence with good health, powerful intellect, an
amiable disposition, and many other perfections, accompanied by one
single drawback. He had a distorted spine and crooked limbs, the
consciousness of which defects prevented him from rushing into the
gayety and vain dissipation which so often ensnare youth. Forsaking the
flowery paths of love and pleasure, he steadily pursued the rough,
up-hill road of diligent, persevering study. He wrought with ardor, and
already success crowned his efforts. Doubtless bitter regrets sometimes
troubled his hours of solitary study, but he was amply consoled by the
prospect of fortune and well-earned fame which lay before him. So he
always appeared in society amiable and cheerful, enlivening the social
circle with the sallies of his wit and genius. He used sometimes to say,
laughing: "Fair ladies, mock me, but I will take my revenge by obliging
them to admire!"
One day a surgeon of high repute met Horace, and said to him: "I can
repair the wrong which nature has done you: profit by the late
discoveries of science, and be, at the same time, a great and a handsome
man." Horace consented. During some months he retired from society, and
when he reappeared, his most intimate friends could scarcely recognize
him. "Yes," said he, "it is I myself: this tall, straight, well-made man
is your friend Horace Castillet. Behold the miracle which science has
wrought! This metamorphosis has cost me cruel suffering. For months I
lay stretched on a species of rack, and endured the tortures of a
prisoner in the Inquisition. But I bore them all, and here I am, a new
creature! Now, gay comrades, lead me whither you will; let me taste the
pleasures of the world, without any longer having to fear its raillery!"
If the name of Horace Castillet is unspoken among those of great men--if
it is now sunk in oblivion, shall we not blame for this the science
which he so much lauded? Deeply did the ardent young man drink of this
world's poisoned springs. Farewell to study, fame, and glory! Æsop,
perhaps, might never have composed his Fables had orthopedia been
invented in his time. Horace Castillet lost not only his talents, but a
large legacy destined for him by an uncle, in order to make him amends
for his natural defects. His uncle, seeing him no longer deformed in
body and upright in mind, chose another heir. After having spent the
best years of his life in idleness and dissipation, Horace is now poor,
hopeless, and miserable. He said lately to one of his few remaining
friends: "I was ignorant of the treasure I possessed. I have
acted like the traveler who should throw away his property in order to
walk more lightly across a plain!"
The surgeon had another deformed patient, a very clever working
mechanic, whose talents made him rich and happy. When he was perfectly
cured, and about to return to his workshop, the conscription seized
him, finding him fit to serve the state. He was sent to Africa, and
perished there in battle.
A gentleman who had the reputation of being an original thinker, could
not speak without a painful stutter; a skillful operator restored to him
the free use of his tongue, and the world, to its astonishment,
discovered that he was little better than a fool! Hesitation had given a
sort of originality to his discourse. He had time to reflect before he
spoke. Stopping short in the middle of a sentence had occasionally a
happy effect; and a half-spoken word seemed to imply far more than it
expressed. But when the flow of his language was no longer restrained,
he began to listen to his own commonplace declamation with a complacency
which assuredly was not shared by his auditors.
One fine day a poor blind man was seated on the Pont-Royal in Paris,
waiting for alms. The passers-by were bestowing their money liberally,
when a handsome carriage stopped near the mendicant, and a celebrated
oculist stepped out. He went up to the blind man, examined his eyeballs,
and said--"Come with me; I will restore your sight." The beggar obeyed;
the operation was successful; and the journals of the day were filled
with praises of the doctor's skill and philanthropy. The ex-blind man
subsisted for some time on a small sum of money which his benefactor had
given him; and when it was spent, he returned to his former post on the
Pont-Royal. Scarcely, however, had he resumed his usual appeal, when a
policeman laid his hand on him, and ordered him to desist, on pain of
being taken up.
"You mistake," said the mendicant, producing a paper; "here is my legal
license to beg, granted by the magistrates."
"Stuff!" cried the official; "this license is for a _blind_ man, and you
seem to enjoy excellent sight." Our hero, in despair, ran to the
oculist's house, intending to seek compensation for the doubtful benefit
conferred on him; but the man of science had gone on a tour through
Germany, and the aggrieved patient found himself compelled to adopt the
hard alternative of _working_ for his support, and abandoning the easy
life of a professed beggar.
Some years since there appeared on the boards of a Parisian theatre an
excellent and much-applauded comic actor named Samuel. Like many a wiser
man before him, he fell deeply in love with a beautiful girl, and wrote
to offer her his hand, heart, and his yearly salary of 8000 francs. A
flat refusal was returned. Poor Samuel rivaled his comrade, the head
tragedian of the company, in his dolorous expressions of despair; but
when, after a time, his excitement cooled down, he dispatched a friend,
a trusty envoy, with a commission to try and soften the hard-hearted
beauty. Alas, it was in vain!
"She does not like you," said the candid embassador; "she says you are
ugly; that your eyes frighten her; and, besides, she is about to be
married to a young man whom she loves."
Fresh exclamations of despair from Samuel.
"Come," said his friend, after musing for a while, "if this marriage be,
as I suspect, all a sham, you may have her yet."
"Explain yourself?"
"You know that, not to mince the matter, you have a frightful squint?"
"I know it."
"Science will remove that defect by an easy and almost painless
operation." No sooner said than done. Samuel underwent the operation for
strabismus, and it succeeded perfectly. His eyes were now straight
and handsome; but the marriage, after all, was no sham--the lady became
another's, and poor Samuel was forced to seek for consolation in the
exercise of his profession. He was to appear in his best character: the
curtain rose, and loud hissing saluted him.
"Samuel!" "Where is Samuel?" "We want Samuel!" was vociferated by pit
and gallery.
When silence was partly restored, the actor advanced to the footlights
and said--"Here I am, gentlemen: I am Samuel!"
"Out with the impostor!" was the cry, and such a tumult arose, that the
unlucky actor was forced to fly from the stage. He had lost the
grotesque expression, the comic mask, which used to set the house in a
roar: he could no longer appear in his favorite characters. The
operation for strabismus had changed his destiny: he was unfitted for
tragedy, and was forced, after a time, to take the most insignificant
parts, which barely afforded him a scanty subsistence. "Let _well_
alone" is a wise admonition: "Let _bad_ alone" may sometimes be a
wiser.
ADDRESS TO GRAY HAIR.
Thou silvery braid, now banded o'er my brow,
Before thy monitory voice I bow;
Obedient to thy mandate, youth forget,
And strive thy word to hear without regret.
Why should regret attend that onward change,
Which tells that time is coming to its range--
Its border line, which God approves and seals,
As crown of glory to the man who feels
Content in ways of righteousness to dwell?
To such gray hair does not of weakness tell;
But rays of glory light its silv'ry tint,
And change its summons to a gentle hint
That time from all is fading fast away,
But that to some its end is lasting day;
And that the angels view its pure white band,
As seal of glory from their master's hand,
And closer draw, the near ripe fruit to shield,
Until to heaven its produce they can yield.
Monthly Record of Current Events.
POLITICAL AND GENERAL NEWS.
THE UNITED STATES.
Congress adjourned, as required by the Constitution, on the fourth of
March. The protracted character of the discussions of the session
compelled final action upon nearly all the important bills at the very
close of the session; and as a natural consequence many bills which have
challenged a marked degree of attention, were not passed. The bill
making appropriations for the improvement of Rivers and Harbors, which
had passed the House, was sent into the Senate, but was not passed by
that body. The bills making appropriations in aid of the American line
of steamers,--that authorizing and aiding the establishment of a line of
steamers to Liberia,--the bill providing for the payment of French
spoliations,--the one appropriating lands to aid in the establishment of
Asylums for the insane, and a great number of other bills, of decided
importance, but of less general interest than these, were lost. Sundry
valuable bills, however, were duly acted upon and passed into laws. A
joint resolution was adopted authorizing the President to grant the use
of a ship attached to the American squadron in the Mediterranean for the
use of Kossuth and his companions in coming to this country, after they
shall have been liberated by the Turkish authorities. A very interesting
letter from the Secretary of State to the American Minister at
Constantinople, in regard to the Hungarian exiles, has just been
published. Mr. WEBSTER refers to the fact, that under the convention
between Austria and Turkey, the term of one year for which the exiles
were to be confined within the limits of the Turkish empire, would soon
expire: and the hope is confidently expressed that the Sublime Porte has
not made, and will not make, any new stipulations for their detention.
Mr. MARSH is instructed to address himself urgently, though
respectfully, to the Turkish government upon this question, and to
convince it that no improper interference with the affairs of another
nation is intended by this application. The course of the Sublime Porte,
in refusing to allow these exiles to be seized by the Austrians,
although "the demand upon him was made by a government confident in its
great military power, with armies in the field of vast strength, flushed
with recent victory, and whose purposes were not to be thwarted, or
their pursuit stayed, by any obstacle less than the interposition of an
empire prepared to maintain the inviolability of its territories, and
its absolute sovereignty over its own soil," is warmly applauded, and
his generosity in providing for their support, is commended in the
highest terms of admiration. Mr. WEBSTER proceeds to say that "it is not
difficult to conceive what may have been the considerations which led
the Sublime Porte to consent to remove these persons from its frontiers,
require them to repair to the interior, and there to remain for a
limited time. A great attempt at revolution, against the established
authorities of a neighboring State, with which the Sublime Porte was at
peace, had only been suppressed. The chief actors in that attempt had
escaped into the dominions of the Porte. To permit them to remain upon
its frontiers, where they might project new undertakings against that
State, and into which, if circumstances favored, they could enter in
arms at any time, might well have been considered dangerous to both
governments; and the Sublime Porte, while protecting them, might
certainly, also, prevent their occupying any such position in its own
dominions, as should give just cause of alarm to a neighboring and
friendly power. Their removal to certain localities might also be
rendered desirable by considerations of convenience to the Sublime
Porte, itself, upon whose charity and generosity such numbers had
suddenly become dependent. The detention of these persons for a short
period of time, in order that they might not at once repair to other
parts of Europe, to renew their operations, was a request that it was
not unnatural to make, and was certainly in the discretion of the
Sublime Porte to grant, without any sacrifice of its dignity, or any
want of kindness toward the refugees." But now all danger from this
source has disappeared. The attempts of these exiles to establish for
their country an independent government have been sternly crushed: their
estates have been confiscated, their families dispersed, and themselves
driven into exile. Their only wish now is to remove from the scene of
their conflict and find new homes in the vast interior of the United
States. The people of the United States wait to receive these exiles on
their shores, and they trust that, through the generosity of the Turkish
government, they may be released.
A bill was also passed reducing the rates of postage on letters and
newspapers throughout the United States. All letters weighing not more
than half-an-ounce are charged _three_ cents if prepaid;
_five_ cents if not prepaid, for all distances under three thousand
miles;--over three thousand miles, they pay twice these rates. Upon
newspapers the imposition of postage is quite complicated. The following
statement shows the rates charged to regular subscribers, who pay
postage quarterly in advance, comparing, also, the new postage with the
old:
Miles. Weekly. Semi- Daily.
Weekly.
Under 50 (new bill) 5 cts. 10 25
Present rate 12 24 48
Over 50-under 300 10 20 50
Present rate 18 36 108
Over 300-under 1000 15 30 75
Present rate 18 36 108
Over 1000-under 2000 20 40 100
Present rate 18 36 108
Over 2000-under 4000 25 50 125
Present rate 18 36 108
Over 4000 30 60 150
Papers weighing less than an ounce and a half pay half these rates;
papers measuring less than three hundred square-inches pay one-fourth.
On monthly and semi-monthly papers the same rates are paid, in
proportion to the number of sheets, as weekly papers. All weekly papers
are free within the county where they are published. Although the bill
does not reduce postage quite as low as was very generally desired, it
is still a decided advance upon the old law. The experience of the past
has shown that reduced rates increase the revenue.
The usual appropriation bills were passed, as were also bills giving the
Colonization Society forty thousand dollars, for expenses incurred in
supporting the Africans recaptured from the Pons; appointing appraisers
at large, to look into the doings of the local appraisers; repealing
constructive mileage; repaying Maine money, formerly advanced to the
General Government; and establishing an asylum for soldiers, infirm and
disabled, who have served twenty years, or been disabled by wounds or
disease--the money for its support to be fines and stoppages of pay of
soldiers punished by courts-martial, and one hundred thousand dollars
levied by General Scott in Mexico.
A good deal of excitement was created by the rescue at Boston of a
person claimed and arrested as a fugitive slave, under the law of the
last session. The rescue was effected by a mob, mainly of colored men,
who rushed into the room where the alleged fugitive was in custody of
the officers, took him therefrom, and started him on his way to Canada,
where he safely arrived soon after. Intelligence of the affair was
transmitted by telegraph to Washington. The President issued a
proclamation, commanding obedience to the laws, and sent a message to
Congress, narrating the facts, and stating that the whole power of the
Government should be used to enforce the laws. The matter was referred
to the Judiciary Committee in the Senate, from which two reports were
made--one by Mr. BRADBURY, of Maine, stating that the President
possessed all needful power, and the other from Mr. BUTLER, of South
Carolina, arguing that the President could not call out either the army
and navy or the militia to suppress an insurrection, without having
previously issued a proclamation. No further action upon the subject was
had in Congress, but a great number of arrests have been made in Boston
of persons charged with participation in the rescue.
Unsuccessful attempts to elect U. S. Senators have been renewed in New
York, and Massachusetts. In New Jersey Commodore R. F. STOCKTON,
Democrat; and in Ohio Hon. BENJAMIN F. WADE, Free Soil Whig, have been
elected to the U. S. Senate.
In New Hampshire two Whig and two Democratic Members of Congress have
been elected. There is a Democratic majority in the Senate; in the House
parties are very nearly balanced, each, at present, claiming the
majority. The Free Soilers, apparently, hold the balance of power. The
Governor will be chosen by the Legislature, there being no choice by the
people; the regular Democratic candidate has a decided plurality over
either of his opponents.
In Virginia, the State election has been postponed from April to
October. This has been done in consequence of the unsettled state of
affairs growing out of the deliberations of the State Constitutional
Convention. It is supposed that the draft of the New Constitution will
be completed so that it may be submitted to the people at that time.
An Act to exempt Homesteads from sale on execution, has passed the
General Assembly of Illinois, and is to take effect on the 4th of July
next. It provides that in addition to property now exempt from
execution, the lot of ground and buildings occupied as a residence by
any debtor being a householder, shall be free from levy or forced sale
for debts contracted after the above date, provided that the value shall
not exceed one thousand dollars. This exemption is to continue, after
the death of the owner, for the benefit of the widow and children, until
the death of the widow, and until the youngest child shall reach the age
of twenty-one years. Provisions are made for levying upon the amount of
the value of property above one thousand dollars.
Upon the same day, a bill to exempt from levy upon execution, bed,
furniture and tools, to an amount not exceeding one hundred dollars,
becomes a law in Delaware. A license law, containing extremely stringent
provisions, has been passed in this State.
A Bill has passed the Legislature of Iowa, prohibiting the immigration
of negroes. They are required to leave the State after receiving three
days' notice of the law, and in case of returning are liable to
penalties.
Manufactures are advancing in some of the Southern States, especially in
Georgia. A few days since a large quantity of cotton yarn was shipped
from Augusta to find markets in New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore.
Emigration from the Old World, and especially from Germany, is setting
strongly into Texas, Houston and Galveston, with a population of 8000,
have 2000 Germans. An effort is made to appropriate a considerable part
of the ten millions received from the United States, to the purposes of
popular education. Indian depredations occur along the western frontier.
Two engagements, attended with loss of life on both sides, have recently
taken place between the troops of the United States and the Indians. An
expedition is to be organized against the Comanches.
Intelligence from the Boundary Commission has been received up to
December 31st. The initial point from which the survey is to commence
has been agreed upon by both sides. It is to be at a point on the Rio
Grande in latitude 32 degrees 22 minutes. The precise point is to be
ascertained by the astronomers, and will probably be about 20 miles to
the northward of El Paso. The time of completing the survey is variously
estimated at from one to three years.
From CALIFORNIA there have been three arrivals since our last, bringing
an aggregate of $1,700,000 in gold, and between 700 and 800 passengers.
Our dates are up to the 1st of February. The intelligence of most
importance is that of desperate hostilities between the Indians and the
whites. The former seem to have determined upon a war of extermination,
which of course meets with prompt retaliation; and the ultimate issue
can be no matter of uncertainty. Seventy-two miners were attacked by
surprise in a gulch near Rattlesnake Creek, and massacred to a man. A
petition for aid was dispatched to the Executive of the State,
and a force of 200 men ordered out. In the instructions to the
commander, directions are given studiously to avoid any act calculated
unnecessarily to exasperate the Indians. A daring attack was made on the
9th of January, by a company of 40 or 50 Americans, upon an intrenched
camp, manned by 400 or 500 Indians. The position was so strong that a
dozen whites might have defended it against thousands. Of the Indians 44
were killed, and the _rancheria_ fired. Many of the aged and children
were burned to death. Of the Americans two were killed, and five or six
wounded. It is reported that all the Indians from Oregon to the Colorado
are leagued together, and have sworn eternal hostility to the white
race.
The product of gold continues to be great. The report of the new gold
bluffs, mentioned in our last Number, is confirmed; but the access to
them is so difficult that they will not probably be soon available. They
are situated near the mouth of the Klamath River, about thirty miles
north of Trinidad. The approach to them by land is over a plain of sand,
into which the traveler sinks ankle-deep at every step. The bluffs
stretch along some five or six miles, and present a perpendicular front
to the ocean of from 100 to 400 feet in height. In ordinary weather the
beach at the foot is from 20 to 50 feet in width, composed of a mixture
of gray and black sand, the latter containing the gold in scales so fine
that they can not be separated by the ordinary process of washing; so
that resort must be had to chemical means. The beach changes with every
tide, and sometimes no black, auriferous sand is to be seen on the
surface. By digging down, it is found mixed with a gray sand, which
largely predominates. The violence of the surf renders landing in boats
impracticable. Several tons of goods were landed from a steamer
dispatched thither, by means of lines from the vessel to the shore. The
Pacific Mining Company claim a large portion of the beach, and have made
preparations for working the bluffs, and are sanguine of an extremely
profitable result.
Specimens of gold in quartz have been submitted to assay, which have
proved very rich. Operations in the "dry diggings" have been much
retarded by the absence of rain. Large quantities of sand have been
thrown up, ready to take advantage of the earliest showers to wash it
out.
A bill to remove the State Capital from San José to Vallejo has passed
the Senate, but has not been acted upon in the House. A project has been
started for a railroad from San José to San Francisco. The receipts into
the city treasury of San Francisco, for the quarter ending Nov. 30, were
$426,076, and the expenditures $638,522. The total debt of the city was
$536,493. No election for U. S. Senator had taken place. The choice will
undoubtedly fall upon Mr. Frémont or T. Butler King. The Whigs seem
confident of success. An expedition was dispatched toward the close of
October to explore the Colorado River from its mouth. They have been
heard from about 30 miles up the stream, to which point they had
ascended without difficulty. They believe the Colorado to be navigable
for steamboats, during the greater portion of the year, as high as the
mouth of the Gila.
MEXICO AND SOUTH AMERICA.
Señor Munguia, the new Bishop of Michoacan, has refused to take the
oaths required by Government, throwing himself upon the rights and
privileges granted to the clergy, upon the first establishment of
Christianity in Mexico.----Great complaints are made of the inefficiency
of the police in the capital. On the 3d of January a band of armed
robbers attacked the promenaders on the _Paseo_, rifling them of
their money and valuables.----Chihuahua was greatly alarmed by the
report that a band of American adventurers and Indians were encamped at
a distance of 25 leagues. The band is said to be well armed, having two
field-pieces. From the description of the leader he is supposed to be
the notorious Captain French.----The affairs of Yucatan are in a
situation almost desperate. The Indians are waging fierce hostilities,
which have prevented the transportation of provisions. The treasury is
exhausted, the army without pay, and almost reduced to starvation.----A
poetical work, by a young Mexican woman, is advertised. It is entitled
the "Awakener of Patriotism," and narrates the history of the late war
with the United States.
Hostilities have broken out between the central Government of Guatemala
on the one hand, and the allied States of San Salvador and Honduras on
the other. A battle took place on the 21st of January at a village
called San José, when the forces of San Salvador and Honduras were
totally routed, and fled in every direction, closely pursued by the
victors. Such, at least, is the Guatemalan account, which is the only
one that has yet reached us.
Attention has recently been turned to the gold region of New Grenada,
portions of which have been found to be extremely productive. The
districts richest in gold are said to be extremely unhealthy.
From Nicaragua we learn that the survey of the route from Lake Nicaragua
to the Pacific is nearly completed. The distance is 12 miles, and the
highest point only 40 feet. The steamer Director is running on the lake.
A complete steam communication will in a few weeks be effected between
the lake and the Atlantic; a canal of 12 miles will unite the lake with
the Pacific. When lines of steamers are established on both sides of the
Isthmus, connecting with this rout across, it is anticipated that the
passage from New York to San Francisco may be made in 24 days.
Carthagena was visited on the 7th of February by a severe shock of an
earthquake, which lasted nine seconds. Considerable damage was done
throughout the city; some houses were thrown down, and several lives
lost. The city walls and the Cathedral were much injured. Had the shock
been protracted a few seconds longer, the whole city would have been
laid in ruins. On the night of the 8th the public squares and walks were
filled with people who had left their dwellings in dread of a repetition
of the shock. But up to the 15th none had occurred. No city in the
region felt the shock so severely as did Carthagena.
In Peru, Congress was to meet March 20. The Presidential election has
terminated in favor of Echenique.
In Bolivia there have been one or two attempts at insurrection. A decree
has been issued, banishing all Buenos Ayreans except those married to
Bolivian women, and all who were known as Federalists.
From Brazil it is officially announced that liberated slaves, not
Brazilian born, must not be taken to that country. By a law of 1831,
which it is announced will be rigidly enforced, a penalty of 100
milreas, besides expenses of re-exportation, is imposed upon masters of
vessels for each such person landed.
GREAT BRITAIN.
We have the somewhat unexpected intelligence of the defeat and
resignation of the Whig Ministry at the very opening of the session.
Parliament met on the 4th of February. On the preceding evening, the
customary absurd farce of searching the vaults under the house, as a
precaution against a second gunpowder-plot, was enacted. Nothing was
discovered boding any peril to the wisdom of the nation about to be
assembled. The Royal Speech was of the usual brevity, and of more than
usual tameness. The following were the only paragraphs of the least
interest:
"I have to lament, however, the difficulties which are still felt by
that important body among my people who are owners and occupiers of
land. But it is my confident hope, that the prosperous condition of
other classes of my subjects will have a favorable effect in diminishing
those difficulties, and promoting the interests of agriculture.
"The recent assumption of certain ecclesiastical titles, conferred by a
Foreign Power, has excited strong feelings in this country; and large
bodies of my subjects have presented addresses to me, expressing
attachment to the throne, and praying that such assumptions should be
resisted. I have assured them of my resolution to maintain the rights of
my crown, and the independence of the nation, against all encroachment,
from whatever quarter it may proceed. I have, at the same time,
expressed my earnest desire and firm determination, under God's
blessing, to maintain unimpaired the religous liberty which is so justly
prized by the people of this country. It will be for you to consider the
measure which will be laid before you on this subject."
There was no actual debate on the Address to the Queen. It consisted of
a mere echo and amplification of the Royal Speech; and was still further
amplified and diluted in the speeches of the movers and seconders. The
Opposition were evidently taken by surprise at the moderation with which
the Catholic question was referred to. They had expected something
answering to the famous Durham letter of the Premier. Lord John Russell
took occasion to explain that certain phrases in that letter, which
Catholics had assumed to be insult to their religion, were, in fact,
applied to a portion of his own communion. Lord Camoys, in the Upper,
and Mr. Anstey, in the Lower House, both Catholics, most emphatically
repudiated any idea of the supremacy of the Pope in temporal matters;
and deprecated the establishment of the Catholic sees in England as
ill-advised in the extreme. This would seem to be the general tone of
feeling among the nobility and gentry of England. In Ireland, however,
the action of the Pope meets with warm approbation.
The campaign was fairly opened on Friday, the 7th, when Lord John
Russell asked leave to bring in the Government bill, "to prevent the
assumption of certain ecclesiastical titles in respect of places in the
United Kingdom." He admitted that no violation of any existing law was
committed by the assumption as it had been made; and though the
introduction of bulls from Rome was illegal, and liable to punishment,
the statute had been so long in disuse, that a prosecution would
undoubtedly fail. The measure which he finally proposed seems almost
ludicrous when looked upon as the sequel to the fierce controversy which
has convulsed the kingdom, and caused the effusion of such torrents of
ink. It contains two provisions. By the first, the provision of the
Catholic Act, which imposes a penalty of £100 upon the assumption by
Roman Catholic prelates of any title of existing sees in the United
Kingdom, is to be extended, so as to include titles belonging to any
city, district, or place in Great Britain. By the second provision, any
act done by or for any prelate under such title, is absolutely null and
void; so that any bequest or endowment made to him under such title
falls to the Crown. Leave to bring in the bill was granted, by an
overwhelming majority, after four nights of debate. Although the bill
falls so far short of what was demanded in one direction, it goes no
less beyond what will be submitted to in another. The Catholic prelates
denounce it as persecution, and declare that they will disobey it, if
passed; and defy the Government to place the religious teachers of a
third of the nation in a posture of conscientious opposition to the law.
All the indications are, that the bill will be carried triumphantly
through Parliament; or if at all modified, will be rendered more
stringent. This will be but the commencement of the difficulty.
Pending the ecclesiastical question, the Ministers "lost a victory" on
that of Free-trade. On Tuesday, the 11th, Mr. Disraeli, taking advantage
of that paragraph in the Royal Speech which admits the existence of
distress among the owners and occupiers of land, moved a resolution to
the effect that it was the duty of Ministers to take effectual measures
for the relief of this distress. This was, in effect, a covert and
dexterous attack upon the principle of free-trade in corn, and as such
was met by the Ministers. The leading speech, in reply, was made by Sir
James Graham, endorsed by Lord John Russell. He declared that the
abolition of protection upon corn had been of incalculable benefit to
the people at large, and that any attempt to raise again the price of
bread-stuffs by artificial protection must be a failure. The Corn-law
Rhymer could not have taken higher ground than did the Minister. He
declared, that in consequence of the removal of duty, millions of
quarters of grain had been introduced, and had been consumed by those
who otherwise would never have tasted of wheaten bread. There was not a
plowman, nor a weaver, nor a shepherd, whose condition was not made more
tolerable by the repeal of the Corn-law, and they knew it. The condition
of the mass of the people was the true test of national prosperity. The
resolution of Mr. Disraeli was made a test-question by Government, and
was lost by 267 to 281, showing a ministerial majority of only 14. If
this were to be accepted as a true indication of the state of parties in
Parliament on the vital question of Protection, the Ministers could not
carry on government, and must either resign or dissolve Parliament, and
trust to the chances of a new election. But it is said that many members
voted for Mr. Disraeli's resolution out of pique at the action of the
Ministers upon the ecclesiastical question, and that the true strength
of the Free-trade and Protection parties is yet to be tested. At all
events, the Whigs are irretrievably committed against any attempt to
enhance the price of bread by any artificial protection.
On Monday, the 17th, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir Charles Wood,
presented the Budget. The main difficulty here was to decide what to do
with the surplus revenue. It is so long a time since any European
government has had a question of this nature to deal with, that it is
not to be wondered at that it caused embarrassment. Official ingenuity
has been well-trained to devise ways and means to supply deficiencies in
revenue, by inventing new taxes, or by borrowing; but it has had no
experience in dealing with an actual surplus. Where every interest is
burdened to the utmost, each feels itself to be the most oppressed, and
demands to be first relieved. There were claims to ten times the amount
to be taken off. The Chancellor kept his project a profound secret from
all men; no deputation could worm out of him whether he favored their
own special views; when the proper time came, they should see what they
should see. They did all see; and not a soul was satisfied. The surplus
was estimated to be about £1,900,000; one million was to be devoted to
the payment of the National Debt--a rate which, if kept up, would
extinguish the whole debt in somewhat less than four thousand years; the
remainder was proposed to be so apportioned that no interest
will find itself specially benefited. For instance, the window-tax was
to be nominally abolished; but a large proportion of it was to be
re-imposed in the shape of a duty upon houses;--and all these proposed
reductions were based upon the condition that the income-tax, which has
some features making it particularly odious, involving as it does an
almost inquisitorial prying into private affairs, should be continued
for another three years. The debate upon the Budget was fixed for
Friday, the 21st.
In the mean time, however, it became apparent that the Budget could not
be carried. A circumstance unimportant in itself sufficiently evinced
this. Mr. King moved for leave to bring in a bill giving the right of
voting in the counties, as well as in the boroughs, to all occupiers of
tenements of the value of £10. Though this was nowise a test question,
Lord John Russell opposed it, and when the vote was taken only 52 votes
were found for the Ministers, while for the motion there were 100. The
apathy of their own party showed the Ministers that they could not
sustain themselves. Lord John Russell moved that the debate on the
Budget should be adjourned to Monday, the 24th. In the mean while, on
Saturday the 22d, the Ministry tendered their resignations.
The defeat on the Franchise was only "the last feather that broke the
camel's back." The Ministry fell, at the first attack, from inherent
weakness. For a week the Government literally went a-begging, no
statesman daring to undertake the task of conducting it. The Queen, as
the most natural recourse, applied in the first place, to Lord Stanley,
the recognized leader of the Opposition, and head of the Protectionist
party. But he declined to attempt the formation of a Ministry. She then
fell back upon Lord John Russell, who endeavored in vain to reconstruct
a Cabinet which should secure a Parliamentary majority. An unsuccessful
application was then made to Lord Aberdeen. Lord Stanley was again
applied to, who made an attempt to form a Conservative Ministry, leaving
the subject of Protection in abeyance; but he failed to gain the
acquiescence of the leading men of his party upon other grounds, and
abandoned the task. Thus matters remained up to March 1st, the date of
our latest intelligence. It is worthy of remark, how completely the
existence of the House of Peers has been ignored throughout the whole of
these proceedings; the only point aimed at having been to secure a
majority in the Commons.
A cool attempt to swindle the treasury out of £20,000 has been made in
behalf of the estate of the late Queen Dowager. Her comfortable annuity
of £100,000 was made payable at regular quarter-days, commencing after
the death of William IV. As it happened, he died ten days before the
quarter-day, so that the queen received pay for a whole quarter for
those ten days. She died 63 days after the last quarterly payment; and a
claim was made for payment for that time; although blending the two
periods together she would have received a quarter's payment for 19 days
less than a quarter's time. The court, however, refused to grant the
privilege of burning the candle at both ends; and the beggarly German
heirs of the late queen fail in gaining the sum.
Petitions have been presented to Parliament from the bishop,
commissioners of parishes, and householders of Capetown, stating that
the Legislative Assembly of the colony has lost the confidence of the
colonists, and presenting the details of a constitution which they pray
may be granted them.
Certain Protestants of Dublin addressed a letter to the Duke of
Wellington urging him to fulfill a pledge which they infer him to have
made many years ago, when he was Premier, to move the repeal of the
Catholic Relief Bill, if it should, on trial, be found not to work
satisfactorily. The Duke replies in one of the curtest letters in all
his curt correspondence; and in terms which the liveliest imagination
can not interpret as complimentary, refuses to have any thing to do with
them or their request.
The Commissioners of the Exhibition have decided upon the following
rates for admission: Season tickets for a gentleman will cost three
guineas, for a lady, two guineas. These tickets are not transferrable,
and will admit the owner at all times to the Exhibition. On the day of
opening those only are to be admitted who have season tickets. On the
two subsequent days, the price of admittance will be twenty shillings.
On the fourth day, it will be reduced to five shillings, at which sum it
will continue till the 22d day, when it will be lowered to one shilling.
After that period, the rate will be one shilling, except on Fridays,
when it will be two shillings and sixpence, and Saturdays, when it will
be five shillings. The severest tests have demonstrated the stability of
the building.
The proposed abolition of the Vice-royalty in Ireland, excites great
opposition, especially in Dublin. A large meeting has been held, at
which the Lord Mayor presided, for the purpose of petitioning against
the intended abolition, and protesting against the system of
centralization which, it is alleged, has been so destructive of the best
interests of Ireland.
FRANCE.
The main features of interest are confined to the quarrel between the
President and the Assembly. Bonaparte is gaining ground. The Minister of
Finance presented the bill asking for a dotation for the President. The
question was an embarrassing one for the Assembly. If they granted it,
it would be giving additional power to him. If they refused, he would
become an object of sympathy, and still gain power. The amount asked was
1,800,000 francs, in addition to his salary of 600,000. M. de
Montalembert was the principal speaker in favor of the bill. He declared
that the President had fulfilled his mission in restoring society and
reestablishing order, and warned the majority not to persist in their
course of hostility, or they would repent it in 1852. Upon taking the
question, there were 294 for the bill, and 396 against it; so that it
was lost by a majority of 102. In anticipation of this rejection,
subscriptions were set on foot throughout the country in aid of the
President; but Bonaparte, by an official notice in the _Moniteur_
declined to receive any such contributions, choosing, as he said, to
make any personal sacrifices rather than endanger the peace of the
country. He made immediate preparation to live according to his means:
stopped his expensive receptions, and announced a sale of his horses. He
is playing a subtle and well-considered game for re-election to the
Presidency; and if the constitutional prohibition can be repealed or
overridden, there seems little question that he will succeed. His
popularity among the middle classes is great and increasing. When the
question of the revision of the Constitution comes up, the great contest
of parties will begin, which will decide the fate of the Republic. It is
almost impossible that the incongruous combination which now constitutes
the formidable majority against him can hold together, against his cool
and cautious policy, and with so many elements of disunion among
themselves.
GERMANY.
The doings of the Dresden Conference have not officially transpired. But
enough is known to make it evident that our previous accounts are
correct. In addition it is now said, and with probable truth, that
Austria and Prussia have determined to share the executive power of the
Diet between them, to the absolute exclusion of the minor Powers.
Austria brings into the Confederacy the whole of her Sclavic and Italian
possessions. This will call forth the vehement remonstrances of the
other European states, who look upon it as undoing the work of the Holy
Alliance, and disturbing the balance of power. In consideration of
granting this real advantage to Austria, Prussia gains the empty honor
of sharing the Presidency in the Diet, which was formerly held by
Austria exclusively. The pacification of Schleswig-Holstein and Hesse is
complete. In the latter the malcontents are undergoing the penalties of
Bavarian courts-martials. Hamburg is occupied by Austrian troops. Well
authenticated accounts of a conspiracy at Vienna have been received, but
the particulars are not given. The 150th anniversary of the erection of
Prussia into a kingdom was celebrated at Berlin on the 17th of January,
with great pomp.
ITALY.
There can be little doubt that an insurrection, of which Mazzini is the
soul and centre is in course of organization. Funds to a considerable
amount have been provided. The overthrow of the democratic cause
throughout Europe has disbanded an immense number of soldiers, who will
be ready for any enterprise, and will be especially glad to fight for
the old cause, against the old enemy, upon Italian ground. Various parts
of the country are terribly infested with brigands, whose enterprises
are carried on with an audacity which reminds one of the middle ages.
There are reports of an approaching Austrian interference in Piedmont
and Switzerland. The Pope is said to be desirous of the withdrawal of
the French troops from Rome, that he may place himself under the more
immediate protection of Austria and Naples. The Austrian army in Italy
has been considerably reinforced, to provide against the action of
Mazzini and the growing discontent in Lombardy. Archbishop Hughes of
this city is preaching at Rome to increasing audiences. He predicts,
there as well as here, the speedy downfall of Protestantism, and
prophesies that ere long it will have disappeared from the world as
completely as the heretical sects of the Arians and the Manichæans.
There is apparently no doubt that the Archbishop will be raised to the
rank of Cardinal. At the sitting of the Piedmontese Chamber of Deputies,
in Turin, the Minister of Foreign Affairs delivered a speech on occasion
of presenting the Budget, marked by a liberality for which we are not
accustomed to look to statesmen of Italy.
THE EAST.
In INDIA, on the whole, tolerable tranquillity was prevalent.
Sir Charles Napier, in taking leave of the army of India, of which he
was commander-in-chief, addressed a most ultra-Naperian epistle to the
officers. Instead of reminding them of the laurels they have won, and
the territories they have overrun, he berates them for their habits of
lavish expenditure, and for contracting debts which they have no means
or expectation of paying. An interview has been held between Gholab
Singh, the ruler of Cashmere, and the Governor-general, in which the
usual protestations of eternal friendship were interchanged. These
interviews, since the days of Hastings and Clive, have betokened fresh
accessions to the territories of the Company.
An insurrection of a formidable character which had been raging in some
of the provinces of CHINA, the object of which was the overthrow of the
Tartar dynasty, was, at the latest dates, entirely suppressed. The
famous Commissioner Lin, whose energetic proceedings gave rise to the
opium war, is dead. From the un-oriental energy of his character, and
the salutary dread with which he had inspired his countryman, his death
is a loss to the Empire.
Difficulties are apprehended in EGYPT. The Porte demands certain reforms
of the Viceroy; among which are the abatement of taxes and the reduction
of the army. The Viceroy refuses to comply, and is determined to offer
forcible resistance, in case of an attempt to enforce the demands.
The hostilities at Bagdad between the Turks and Arabs have been renewed
since the death of Bem. Vigorous measures, are to be taken to reduce the
insurgent Arabs to subjection.
From Southern AFRICA, under date of Sept. 6, we have authentic
intelligence of terrible atrocities committed by the Namquas upon the
Danish missionary station. Numbers were killed; and women and children
cruelly tortured.
LITERATURE, SCIENCE, ART, PERSONAL MOVEMENTS, ETC.
UNITED STATES.
It is seed-time rather than harvest in the world of Literature and Art,
as well as in that of matter. Publishers are in deep consultation over
projected works. The still labor of brain, eye, and hand goes on in the
library of the author and the studio of the artist, the results of
which, when ready for the public eye, we shall chronicle. The series of
lectures before the Artists' Association has been brought to a very
appropriate close by a lecture from HUNTINGTON, the painter. His subject
was "Christian Art." He claimed, in theory, for his Art that lofty and
sublime mission which he has attempted to exemplify in practice.----The
most attractive series of lectures delivered in this city during the
last season has undoubtedly been that of Mr. LORD, on the "Heroes and
Martyrs of Protestantism." Those who might feel inclined to dissent from
several of his views and conclusions, could not be other than pleased by
the earnestness and zeal with which they were set forth and advocated.
As literary productions, these lectures are deserving of high
praise.----BANVARD'S three-mile Panorama of the Mississippi has been the
fruitful parent of a multitude of staring and impudent productions,
which it were almost a libel upon Art to call pictures. The "cheap side"
of Broadway is lined with these monstrosities, which for the most part
have met with the very moderate patronage which they deserve.
MARTIN FARQUUHART TUPPER, has arrived in this country. We copy
from the _Evening Post_ the following graceful lines, written in
the harbor on the morning of his arrival:
Not with cold scorn or ill-dissembled sneer,
Ungraciously your kindly looks to greet,
By God's good favor safely landed here.
Oh friends and brothers, face to face we meet.
Now for a little space my willing feet,
After long hope and promise many a year,
Shall tread your happy shores; my heart and voice
Your kindred love shall quicken and shall cheer,
While in your greatness shall my soul rejoice--
For you are England's nearest and most dear!
Suffer my simple fervors to do good,
As one poor pilgrim haply may and can,
Who, knit to heaven and earth by gratitude,
Speaks from his heart, to touch his fellow man.
WASHINGTON'S BIRTH-DAY was celebrated with unusual splendor in this
city. An oration was delivered by Hon. H. M. FOOTE, of Mississippi. At
the public dinner letters were read from President FILLMORE, and Messrs.
WEBSTER, CLAY, and CASS. The principal speech of the evening was made by
Hon. EDWARD EVERETT, in reply to the toast of "the Constitution."
WASHINGTON IRVING has written a pleasant and characteristic
letter, which has been going the rounds of the papers, to Jesse Merwin,
of Kinderhook, the original Ichabod Crane, of the far-renowned "Legend
of Sleepy Hollow."
EUROPEAN.
Among the recent issues of the London press we notice "_The Mirror for
Maidens_," by Mrs. Sherwood and her daughter, Mrs. Streeten. The
well-won reputation of the mother, acquired so many years ago, will not
be enhanced by her share in this tale.--A volume of _Poems_, by W.
C. Bennett, is made up of pieces of very unequal merit. Some portions
are extremely beautiful, while others are utterly devoid of expression
or character. The readers of Mrs. Marsh's tales will remember many
mottoes taken from Mr. Bennett, giving promise of no common degree of
poetic talent.--Sheridan Knowles, the dramatist, has taken the field as
a religious controversialist in a volume upon Transubstantiation, in
reply to the lectures of Cardinal Wiseman. He shows more familiarity
with the principles and details of the controversy than could have been
anticipated from his former avocations.--_England as it Is_, by Wm.
Johnston, is an attempt to point out the political, social, and
industrial state of the kingdom in the middle of the nineteenth century.
The author is of the opinion that, on the whole, the mechanical
inventions and money-making spirit of the last fifty years have lessened
the comforts and deteriorated the character of the poorer classes. The
book does not seem to be written with sufficient ability to make any
decided impression.
_Revelations of Hungary_, by the Baron Prochazka, presents the Austrian
view of the question with more zeal than ability. The author details
with the utmost complacency the fearful atrocities of the campaign,
wondering all the while that the Austrians were hated by the oppressed
population. Appended to the Revelations is a "Memoir of Kossuth,"
designed to instruct the world as to the true character of the
illustrious Magyar. Every good quality which has been attributed to him,
from genius down to personal beauty, is vehemently disputed. The world
is assured that "Kossuth is by no means the handsome man his partisans
represent him to be; he is of middle stature; his figure is
insignificant; his hair was brown, but being bald, he wears a wig of
that color." This last allegation, we fear is too true; for Kossuth lost
not only his hair, but his health and every thing but life, hope, and
honor during his imprisonment in Austrian dungeons.
_The Correspondence of Sir Isaac Newton and Professor Cotes_, edited by
J. Eddleston, M.A., presents a view of all the ascertained facts in the
personal and intellectual history of the great mathematician. When he
was engaged in elaborating his theory respecting light and color, in
order "to quicken his faculties, and fix his attention, he confined
himself to a small quantity of bread during all the time, with a little
sack and water, of which, without any regulation, he took as he found a
craving or failure of spirits."
A continuation of the _Dix Ans_ of Louis Blanc has been commenced by M.
Elias Regnault, under the title of _L'Histoire de Huit Ans_, 1840-48.
The London _Leader_ speaks of a new work by Harriet Martineau and
Mr. Atkinson which is likely to excite attention. It is entitled
"Letters on Man's Nature and Development." The _Leader_ having read
a few of the proof sheets, says that for boldness of outspeaking on
subjects usually glozed over, and for power of philosophic exposition,
it has few equals. The marvels of mesmerism and clairvoyance are stated
with unflinching plainness, as facts admitting of no dispute.
Materialism is unequivocally and even eloquently avowed; and phrenology
assumes quite a new aspect from the observations and discoveries here
recorded.
The London _Critic_ contains an interesting paraagraph giving an account
of the payments made to authors in France. It is said that Lamartine,
for the single volume of his _Confidences_, received 8000 dollars.
Chauteaubriand, a few years before his death, contracted with a company
to sell them, at the price of 4000 dollars per volume, any new works he
might write and desire to print. Victor Hugo, by contract with the
publishers, is paid 3000 dollars for each new volume with which he may
furnish them. De Balzac, in 1837, entered into a contract with his
publisher, Delloye, by which the publisher acquired the property for
fifteen years of the works of De Balzac at that time published. The
pecuniary consideration paid to the author, was 12,000 dollars cash, and
an annuity of 3000 dollars. Eugene Sue sold for 9600 dollars the right
of publishing and selling, during five years only, his novel called
_Martin the Foundling, or the Memoirs of a Valet de Chambre_. The work
was already in course of publication in the _feuilleton_ of _The
Constitutionnel_, and the purchaser's rights were confined to France. It
was the _Mystères de Paris_ that made the great literary name and
fortune of Eugene Sue. Previously the remuneration of his literary
labors was much more modest. _La Salamandre_ was disposed of at 300
dollars per volume. _The Wandering Jew_, and _Les Mystères de Paris_,
were sold at 20,000 dollars the volume: and the purchaser made 12,000 by
the operation. In August, 1845, _The Constitutionnel_, wishing to secure
M. Sue exclusively to itself, made with him a contract which was to last
for thirteen years and a half. By its terms the author bound himself to
furnish for publication in the _feuilleton_ of _The Constitutionnel_ not
less than four, nor more than six volumes of novels per annum, for which
he was to be paid 2000 dollars per volume on delivery of the manuscript.