Ravenshoe bay again. Sunlight on the waters; clear blue sky; all nature
smiling serenely; Charles Ravenshoe--I adore the man when I think of
him--landing a forty-four-pound salmon; ruddy with health, joyous in
countenance; two curly-headed boys screaming for joy; his wife, 'she
that was' (Americanism picked up among Yorkshiremen in Australia) Mary
Corby, laughing heartily at the _tout ensemble_. William Ravenshoe
affectionately helping Charles with a landing-net to secure the salmon,
thus speaks to him:
'Charles, this idea of yours of dividing the 'state evenly between us is
noble, but I shall not accept it. I would like a small piece of the tail
of this salmon for dinner, though, if it will not rob you.'
'William, halves in every thing between us is my motto; so say no more
about it. The delightful news that Father Macksham has at last fallen a
victim to his love of gain, while trying to run a cargo of cannons,
powder, and Enfield rifles to the confederate States, IN DIRECT
OPPOSITION TO HER BLESSED MAJESTY'S COMMANDS, rejoices my heart to that
extent that I exclaim, perish all Jesuits! Now that you have turned
Protestant, and are thoroughly out of the woods of medieval romance, I
may say,
'The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold,'
and quote Tennyson, like poor Cuthbert, all day long. Who is there to
hinder?'
'No one,' replied William, with all the warmth of heart of a man who was
once a groom and then a bridegroom. 'No one. I saw Adelaide this morning
a-carrying flannels and rum to the poor of the parish; how thoroughly
she has reformed, I'm sure.'
* * * * *
Reader, let us pause here and dwell on the respective merits of the
Bohemian Girl, and Father Rodin in the _Mysteries of Paris_, compared
with the characters described in _Ravenshoe_. Let us ask if an English
novel can be written without allusion to the Derby or Life at Oxford,
the accumulation of pounds or the squandering of pounds, rightful heirs
or wrongful heirs, false marriages, or the actions of spoiled children
generally? An answer is looked for.
* * * * *
'And further this deponent sayeth not.'
* * * * *
The Nashville _Union_--the new Union newspaper of that city--is
emphatically 'an institution,' and a dashing one at that. Its every
column is like the charge of a column of infantry into the unhallowed
Rebel-ry of Disunion. 'Don't compromise your loyalty with rebels,' says
the _Union_, 'until you are ready to compromise your soul with the
devil.'
Some of the humor of this brave pioneer sheet is decidedly piquant.
Among its quizzical literary efforts the review of Rev. Dr. McFerrin's
_Confederate Primer_ is good enough to form the initial of a series. We
make the following extracts:
'Nothing is more worthy of being perpetuated than valuable
contributions to literature. The literature of a nation is its
crown of glory, whose reflected light shines far down the
swift-rolling waves of time and gladdens the eyes of remote
generations. This beautiful and--to our notion--finely-expressed
sentiment was suggested to our mind in turning over the pages of
Rev. Dr. McFerrin's _Confederate Primer_, which we briefly noticed
yesterday. We feel that we then passed too hastily over a work so
grand in its conception.... The _Primer_, after giving the alphabet
in due form, offers some little rhymes for youngsters, which are
perfect nosegays of sentiment, of which the following will serve
as samples:
N.
At Nashville's fall
We sinned all.
T.
At Number Ten
We sinned again.
F.
Thy purse to mend,
Old Floyd, attend.
L.
Abe Lincoln bold,
Our ports doth hold.
D.
Jeff Davis tells a lie,
And so must you and I.
I.
Isham doth mourn
His case forlorn.
P.
Brave Pillow's flight
Is out of sight.
B.
Buell doth play,
And after slay.
O.
Yon Oak will be the gallows-tree
Of Richmond's fallen majesty.
Governor Ishain Harris 'catches it' in the following extract from the
Easy Reading Lessons for Children:
'LESSON FIRST.
'THE SMART DIX-IE BOY.
'Once there was a lit-tle boy, on-ly four years old. His name was
Dix-ie. His fa-ther's name was I-sham, and his moth-er's name was
All-sham. Dix-ie was ver-y smart, He could drink whis-ky, fight
chick-ens, play po-ker, and cuss his moth-er. When he was on-ly two
years old, he could steal su-gar, hook pre-serves, drown kit-tens,
and tell lies like a man. By and by Dix-ie died, and went to the
bad place. But the dev-il would not let Dix-ie stay there, for he
said: 'When you get big, Dix-ie, you would be head-devil yourself.'
All little Reb-els ought to be like Dix-ie, and so they will, if
they will stud-y the _Con-fed-e-rate Prim-er_.'
Very good, too, is the powerful and thrilling sermon on the 'Curse of
Cowardice,' delivered by the Rev. Dr. Meroz Armageddon Baldwin, from
which we take 'the annexed:'
'Then there is Gideon Pillow, who has undertaken a contract for
digging that 'last ditch,' of which you have heard so much. I am
afraid that the white 'feathers will fly' whenever _that_ Case is
opened, and that Pillow will give us the slip. 'The sword of the
Lord' isn't 'the sword of Gideon' Pillow--_that's_ certain--so I
shall bolster him up no longer. Gideon is 'a cuss,' and a 'cuss of
cowardice.''
We are glad to see that the good cause has so stalwart and keen a
defender in Tennessee.
* * * * *
We have our opinion that the following anecdote is true. If not, it is
'well found'--or founded.
Not long since, an eminent 'Conserve' of Boston was arguing with a
certain eminent official in Washington, drilling away, of course, on the
old pro-slavery, pro-Southern, pro-give-it-up platform.
'But what _can_ you do with the Southerners?' he remarked, for 'the
frequenth' time. 'You can't conquer them--you can't reconcile them--you
can't bring them back--you can't do any thing with them.'
'But we may _annihilate_ them,' was the crushing reply.
And CONSERVE took his hat and departed.
It is, when we come to facts, really remarkable that it has not occurred
to the world that there _can_ be but one solution to a dispute which has
gone so far. _There is no stopping this war._ Secession is an
impossibility. If we _willed_ it, we could not prevent 'an institutional
race' from absorbing one which has no accretive principle of growth. It
is thought, as we write, that during the week preceding July 4th,
_seventy thousand_ of the Secession army perished! They are exhausting,
annihilating themselves; and by whom will the vacancy be filled? Not by
the children of States which, under the old system, fell behindhand in
population. By whom, then? By Northern men and European emigrants, of
course.
But European intervention? If Louis Napoleon wants to keep his crown--if
England wishes Europe to remain quiet--if they both dread our good
friend Russia, who in event of a war would 'annex,' for aught we can
see, all Austria and an illimitable share of the East--if they wish to
avoid such an upstirring, riot, and infernal carnival of revolution as
the world never saw--they will let us alone.
The London _Herald_ declares that 'America is a nuisance among nations!'
When they undertake to meddle with us, they will find us one. We would
not leave them a ship on the sea or a seaboard town un-ruined. The whole
world would wail one wild ruin, and there should be the smoke as of
nations, when despotism should dare to lay its hand on the sacred cause
of freedom. For we of the North are living and dying in that cause which
never yet went backward, and we shall prevail, though the powers of all
Europe and all the powers of darkness should ally against us. Let them
come. They do but bring grapes to the wine-press of the Lord; and it
will be a bloody vintage which will be pressed forth in that day, as the
great cause goes marching on.
* * * * *
Let no one imagine that our military draft has been one whit too great.
Our great folly hitherto has been to underrate the power of the enemy.
In the South every male who can bear arms is now either bearing them or
otherwise directly aiding the rebellion. When the sheriffs of every
county in the seceding States made their returns to their Secretary of
War, they reported one million four hundred thousand men capable of
bearing arms. And they have the arms and will use them. It is 'an united
rising of the people,' such as the world has seldom seen.
But then it is _all_ they can do--it is the last card and the _last_
man, and if we make one stupendous effort, we must inevitably crush it.
There is no other course--it is drag or be dragged, hammer or anvil now.
If we do not beat _them_ thoroughly and completely, they will make us
rue the day that ever we were born.
The South is stronger than we thought, and its unity and ferocity add to
its strength. It will never be conciliated--it must be crushed. When we
have gained the victory, we can be what our foes never were to
us--generous and merciful.
* * * * *
A GENTLEMAN of Massachusetts, who has held a position in McClellan's
army that gave him an opportunity to know whereof he speaks, states that
for weeks, while the army on the Peninsula were in a grain-growing
country, surrounded by fields of wheat and oats belonging to well-known
rebels, the Commissary Department was not allowed to turn its cattle
into a rich pasturage of young grain, from the fear of offending the
absent rebel owners, or of using in any way the property of Our Southern
Brethren in arms against us. The result was, that the cattle kept with
the army for the use of our hard-worked soldiers, were penned up, and
half-starved on the forage carried in the regular subsistence trains,
and the men got mere skin and bones for beef.
* * * * *
So endeth the month. The rest with the next. But may we, in conclusion,
beg sundry kind correspondents to have patience? Time is scant with us,
and labor fast and hard. Our editorial friends who have kindly cheered
us by applauding 'the outspoken and straightforward young magazine,'
will accept our most grateful thanks. It has seldom happened to any
journal to be so genially and _warmly_ commended as we have been since
our entrance on the stormy field of political discussion.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 6: The _dingo_, or native dog of Australia, looks like a cross
between the fox or wolf and the shepherd-dog; they generally hunt in
packs, and destroy great numbers of sheep. I have never eaten one.]
THE
CONTINENTAL MONTHLY
THE CONTINENTAL MONTHLY has passed its experimental ordeal, and
stands firmly established in popular regard. It was started at a period
when any new literary enterprise was deemed almost foolhardy, but the
publisher believed that the time had arrived for just such a Magazine.
Fearlessly advocating the doctrine of ultimate and gradual Emancipation,
for the sake of the UNION and the WHITE MAN, it has
found favor in quarters where censure was expected, and patronage where
opposition only was looked for. While holding firmly to its _own
opinions_, it has opened its pages to POLITICAL WRITERS _of
widely different views_, and has made a feature of employing the
literary labors of the _younger_ race of American writers. How much has
been gained by thus giving, practically, the fullest freedom to the
expression of opinion, and by the infusion of fresh blood into
literature, has been felt from month to month in its constantly
increasing circulation.
The most eminent of our Statesmen have furnished THE
CONTINENTAL many of its political articles, and the result is, it
has not given labored essays fit only for a place in ponderous
encyclopedias, but fresh, vigorous, and practical contributions on men
and things as they exist.
It will be our effort to go on in the path we have entered, and as a
guarantee of the future, we may point to the array of live and brilliant
talent which has brought so many encomiums on our Magazine. The able
political articles which have given it so much reputation will be
continued in each issue, together with the new Novel by Richard B.
Kimball, the eminent author of the 'Under-Currents of Wall-Street,' 'St.
Leger,' etc., entitled.
WAS HE SUCCESSFUL?
An account of the Life and Conduct of Hiram Meeker, one of the leading
men in the mercantile community, and 'a bright and shining light' in the
Church, recounting what he did, and how he made his money. This work
excels the previous brilliant productions of this author. In the present
number is also commenced a new Serial by the author of 'Among the
Pines,' entitled.
A MERCHANT'S STORY,
which will depict Southern _white_ society, and be a truthful history of
some eminent Northern merchants who are largely in 'the cotton trade and
sugar line.'
The UNION--The Union of ALL THE STATES--that indicates
our politics. To be content with no ground lower than the highest--that
is the standard of our literary character.
We hope all who are friendly to the spread of our political views, and
all who are favorable to the diffusion of a live, fresh, and energetic
literature, will lend us their aid to increase our circulation. There is
not one of our readers who may not influence one or two more, and there
is in every town in the loyal States some active person whose time might
be justifiably employed in procuring subscribers to our work. To
encourage such to act for us we offer the following very liberal
TERMS TO CLUBS.
Two copies for one year, Five dollars.
Three copies for one year, Six dollars.
Six copies for one year, Eleven dollars.
Eleven copies for one year, Twenty dollars.
Twenty copies for one year, Thirty-six dollars.
PAID IN ADVANCE.
_Postage, Thirty-six Cents a year_, TO BE PAID BY THE SUBSCRIBER.
SINGLE COPIES.
Three Dollars a year, IN ADVANCE.--_Postage paid by the Publisher_.
J. R. GILMORE, 532 Broadway, New-York,
and 110 Tremont Street, Boston.
CHARLES T. EVANS, 532 Broadway, New-York, General Agent.
[Illustration: pointing finger] Any person sending us Three Dollars, for one year's subscription to "The
Continental," commencing with the July number, will receive the Magazine and
"Among the Pines," cloth edition; both free of postage.
* * * * *
[Illustration: THE FINEST FARMING LANDS WHEAT CORN COTTON FRUITS &
VEGETABLES]
~EQUAL TO ANY IN THE WORLD!!!~
MAY BE PROCURED
~At FROM $8 to $12 PER ACRE,~
Near Markets, Schools, Railroads, Churches, and all the blessings of
Civilization.
1,200,000 Acres, in Farms of 40, 80, 120, 160 Acres and upwards, in
ILLINOIS, the Garden State of America.
* * * * *
The Illinois Central Railroad Company offer, ON LONG CREDIT, the
beautiful and fertile PRAIRIE LANDS lying along the whole line of their
Railroad. 700 MILES IN LENGTH, upon the most Favorable Terms for
enabling Farmers, Manufacturers, Mechanics and Workingmen to make for
themselves and their families a competency, and a HOME they can call
THEIR OWN, as will appear from the following statements:
ILLINOIS.
Is about equal in extent to England, with a population of 1,722,666, and
a soil capable of supporting 20,000,000. No State in the Valley of the
Mississippi offers so great an inducement to the settler as the State of
Illinois. There is no part of the world where all the conditions of
climate and soil so admirably combine to produce those two great
staples, CORN and WHEAT.
CLIMATE.
Nowhere can the Industrious farmer secure such immediate results from
his labor as on these deep, rich, loamy soils, cultivated with so much
ease. The climate from the extreme southern part of the State to the
Terre Haute, Alton and St. Louis Railroad, a distance of nearly 200
miles, is well adapted to Winter.
WHEAT, CORN, COTTON, TOBACCO.
Peaches, Pears, Tomatoes, and every variety of fruit and vegetables is
grown in great abundance, from which Chicago and other Northern markets
are furnished from four to six weeks earlier than their immediate
vicinity. Between the Terre Haute, Alton & St. Louis Railway and the
Kankakee and Illinois Rivers, (a distance of 115 miles on the Branch,
and 136 miles on the Main Trunk,) lies the great Corn and Stock raising
portion of the State.
THE ORDINARY YIELD
of Corn is from 60 to 80 bushels per acre. Cattle, Horses, Mules, Sheep
and Hogs are raised here at a small cost, and yield large profits. It is
believed that no section of country presents greater inducements for
Dairy Farming than the Prairies of Illinois, a branch of farming to
which but little attention has been paid, and which must yield sure
profitable results. Between the Kankakee and Illinois Rivers, and
Chicago and Dunleith, (a distance of 56 miles on the Branch and 147
miles by the Main Trunk,) Timothy Hay, Spring Wheat, Corn, &c., are
produced in great abundance.
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.
The Agricultural products of Illinois are greater than those of any
other State. The Wheat crop of 1861 was estimated at 35,000,000 bushels,
while the Corn crop yields not less than 140,000,000 bushels besides the
crop of Oats, Barley, Rye, Buckwheat, Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes,
Pumpkins, Squashes, Flax, Hemp, Peas, Clover, Cabbage, Beets, Tobacco,
Sorgheim, Grapes, Peaches, Apples, &c., which go to swell the vast
aggregate of production in this fertile region. Over Four Million tons
of produce were sent out the State of Illinois during the past year.
STOCK RAISING.
In Central and Southern Illinois uncommon advantages are presented for
the extension of Stock raising. All kinds of Cattle, Horses, Mules,
Sheep, Hogs, &c., of the best breeds, yield handsome profits; large
fortunes have already been made, and the field is open for others to
enter with the fairest prospects of like results. Dairy Farming also
presents its inducements to many.
CULTIVATION OF COTTON.
The experiments in Cotton culture are of very great promise. Commencing
in latitude 39 deg. 30 min. (see Mattoon on the Branch, and Assumption
on the Main Line), the Company owns thousands of acres well adapted to
the perfection of this fibre. A settler having a family of young
children, can turn their youthful labor to a most profitable account in
the growth and perfection of this plant.
THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD
Traverses the whole length of the State, from the banks of the
Mississippi and Lake Michigan to the Ohio. As its name imports, the
Railroad runs through the centre of the State, and on either side of the
road along its whole length lie the lands offered for sale.
CITIES, TOWNS, MARKETS, DEPOTS.
There are Ninety-eight Depots on the Company's Railway, giving about one
every seven miles. Cities, Towns and Villages are situated at convenient
distances throughout the whole route, where every desirable commodity
may be found as readily as in the oldest cities of the Union, and where
buyers are to be met for all kinds of farm produce.
EDUCATION.
Mechanics and working-men will find the free school system encouraged by
the State, and endowed with a large revenue for the support of the
schools. Children can live in sight of the school, the college, the
church, and grow up with the prosperity of the leading State in the
Great Western Empire.
* * * * *
PRICES AND TERMS OF PAYMENT--ON LONG CREDIT.
80 acres at $10 per acre, with interest at 6 per ct. annually
on the following terms:
Cash payment $48 00
Payment in one year 48 00
" in two years 48 00
" in three years 48 00
" in four years 236 00
" in five years 224 00
" in six years 212 00
40 acres, at $10 00 per acre:
Cash payment $24 00
Payment in one year 24 00
" in two years 24 00
" in three years 24 00
" in four years 118 00
" in five years 112 00
" in six years 106 00
* * * * *
Number 10 25 Cents.
The
Continental
Monthly
Devoted To Literature and National Policy.
OCTOBER, 1862.
NEW-YORK AND BOSTON:
J. R. GILMORE, 532 BROADWAY, NEW-YORK,
AND 110 TREMONT STREET, BOSTON.
NEW-YORK: HENRY DEXTER AND SINCLAIR TOUSEY.
PHILADELPHIA: T. B. CALLENDER AND A. WINCH.
CONTENTS.--No. X.
The Constitution as it Is--The Union as it Was! C. S. Henry, LL.D., 377
Maccaroni and Canvas. Henry P. Leland, 383
Sir John Suckling, 397
London Fogs and London Poor, 404
A Military Nation. Charles G. Leland, 413
Tom Winter's Story. Geo. W. Chapman, 416
The White Hills in October. Miss C. M. Sedgwick, 423
Eighteen Hundred and Sixty-Two, U. S. Johnson, 442
Flower-Arranging, 444
Southern Hate of the North. Horace Greeley, 448
A Merchant's Story. Edmund Kirke, 451
The Union. Hon. Robert J. Walker, 457
Our Wounded. C. K. Tuckerman, 465
A Southern Review. Charles G. Leland, 466
Was He Successful? Richard B. Kimball, 470
Literary Notices, 478
Editor's Table, 481
ANNOUNCEMENT.
The Proprietors of THE CONTINENTAL MONTHLY, warranted by its
great success, have resolved to increase its influence and usefulness by
the following changes:
The Magazine has become the property of an association of men of
character and large means. Devoted to the NATIONAL CAUSE, it
will ardently and unconditionally support the UNION. Its scope
will be enlarged by articles relating to our public defenses, Army and
Navy, gunboats, railroads, canals, finance, and currency. The cause of
gradual emancipation and colonization will be cordially sustained. The
literary character of the Magazine will be improved, and nothing which
talent, money, and industry combined can achieve, will be omitted.
The political department will be controlled by Hon. ROBERT J.
WALKER and Hon. FREDERIC P. STANTON, of Washington, D.C.
Mr. WALKER, after serving nine years as Senator, and four years
as Secretary of the Treasury, was succeeded in the Senate by
JEFFERSON DAVIS. Mr. STANTON served ten years in
Congress, acting as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee and of Naval
Affairs. Mr. WALKER was succeeded as Governor of Kansas by Mr.
STANTON, and both were displaced by Mr. BUCHANAN, for
refusing to force slavery upon that people by fraud and forgery. The
literary department of the Magazine will be under the control of
CHARLES GODFREY LELAND of Boston, and EDMUND KIRKE of
New-York. Mr. LELAND is the present accomplished Editor of the
Magazine. Mr. KIRKE is one of its constant contributors, but
better known as the author of 'Among the Pines' the great picture true
to life, of Slavery as it is.
THE CONTINENTAL, while retaining all the old corps of writers,
who have given it so wide a circulation, will be reinforced by new
contributors, greatly distinguished as statesmen, scholars, and savans.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1862, by JAMES R.
GILMORE, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United
States for the Southern District of New-York.