that Mary's modest propriety of behavior, in a somewhat difficult
position, had gained her the good will of her employers, who
invariably spoke of her with kindness and respect. Nevertheless, the
care of a London life, with its incessant employment and late hours,
soon, I perceived, began to tell upon her health and spirits; and it
was consequently with pleasure I heard from my wife that she had seen
a passage in a letter from Mary's mother, to the effect that the elder
Westlake was betraying symptoms of yielding to the angry and
passionate expostulations of his only son, relative to the engagement
with Mary Kingsford. The blush with which she presented the letter
was, I was told, eloquent.
One evening, on passing Morris's shop, I observed Hartley and Simpson
there. They were swallowing custards and other confectionary with much
gusto; and, from their new and costly habiliments, seemed to be in
surprisingly good case. They were smiling at the cousins with rude
confidence; and Sophia Clarke, I was grieved to see, repaid their
insulting impertinence by her most elaborate graces. I passed on; and
presently meeting with a brother-detective, who, it struck me, might
know something of the two gentlemen, I turned back with him, and
pointed them out. A glance sufficed him.
"Hartley and Simpson you say?" he remarked after we had walked away to
some distance: "those are only two of their numerous _aliases_. I
cannot, however, say that I am as yet on very familiar terms with
them; but as I am especially directed to cultivate their acquaintance,
there is no doubt we shall be more intimate with each other before
long. Gamblers, blacklegs, swindlers, I already know them to be; and I
would take odds they are not unfrequently something more, especially
when fortune and the bones run cross with them."
"They appear in high feather just now," I said.
"Yes; they are connected, I suspect, with the gang who cleaned out
young Garslade last week in Jermyn Street. I'd lay a trifle," he added
as I turned to leave him, "that one or both of them will wear the
Queen's livery, gray, turned up with yellow, before many weeks are
past. Good-by."
About a fortnight after this conversation, with my wife I paid a visit
to Astley's, for the gratification of our youngsters, who had long
been promised a sight of the equestrian marvels at that celebrated
amphitheatre. It was the latter end of February; and when we came out,
we found the weather changed; dark and sleety, with a sharp, nipping
wind. I had to call at Scotland-Yard; my wife and children
consequently proceeded home in a cab without me; and after assisting
to quell a slight disturbance originating in a gin-palace close by, I
went on my way over Westminister Bridge. The inclement weather had
cleared the streets and thoroughfares in a surprisingly short time; so
that, excepting myself, no foot-passenger was visible on the bridge
till I had about halfcrossed it, when a female figure, closely muffled
up about the head, and sobbing bitterly, passed rapidly by on the
opposite side. I turned and gazed after the retreating figure; it was
a youthful, symmetrical one; and after a few moments' hesitation, I
determined to follow at a distance, and as unobservedly as I could. On
the woman sped, without pause or hesitation, till she reached
Astley's, where I observed her stop suddenly, and toss her arms in the
air with a gesture of desperation. I quickened my steps, which she
observing, uttered a slight scream, and darted swiftly off again,
moaning as she ran. The momentary glimpse I had obtained of her
features, suggested a frightful apprehension, and I followed at my
utmost speed. She turned at the first cross-street, and I should soon
have overtaken her, but that in darting round the corner where she
disappeared, I ran butt against a stout, elderly gentleman, who was
hurrying smartly along out of the weather. With the suddenness of the
shock and the slipperiness of the pavement, down we both reeled; and
by the time we regained our feet, and growled savagely at each other,
the young woman, whoever she was, had disappeared, and more than half
an hour's eager search after her proved fruitless. At last I bethought
me of hiding at one corner of Westminster Bridge. I had watched
impatiently for about twenty minutes, when I observed the object of my
pursuit stealing timidly and furtively towards the bridge on the
opposite side of the way. As she came nearly abreast of where I stood,
I darted forward; she saw, without recognizing me, and uttered an
exclamation of terror, flew down towards the river, where a number of
pieces of balk and other timber were fastened together, forming a kind
of loose raft. I followed with haste, for I saw that it was indeed
Mary Kingsford and loudly called to her to stop. She did not seem to
hear me, and in a few moments the unhappy girl had gained the end of
the timber raft. One instant she paused, with clasped hands, upon the
brink, and in another had thrown herself into the dark and moaning
river. On reaching the spot where she had disappeared, I could not at
first see her in consequence of the dark mourning dress she had on.
Presently I caught sight of her, still upborne by her spread clothes,
but already carried by the swift current beyond my reach. The only
chance was to crawl along a piece of round timber which projected
farther into the river and by the end of which she must pass. This I
effected with some difficulty; and laying myself out at full length,
vainly endeavored with outstretched, straining arms, to grasp her
dress. There was nothing left for it but to plunge in after her. I
will confess that I hesitated to do so. I was encumbered with a heavy
dress, which there was no time to put off, and moreover, like most
inland men, I was but an indifferent swimmer. My indecision quickly
vanished. The wretched girl, though gradually sinking, had not yet
uttered a cry or appeared to struggle; but when the chilling waters
reached her lips, she seemed to suddenly revive to a consciousness of
the horror of her fate; she fought wildly with the engulfing tide, and
shrieked for help. Before one could count ten, I grasped her by the
arm, and lifted her head above the surface of the river. As I did so,
I felt as if suddenly encased and weighed down by leaden garments, so
quickly had my thick clothing and high boots sucked in the water.
Vainly, thus burdened and impeded, did I endeavor to regain the raft;
the strong tide bore us outwards, and I glared round, in inexpressible
dismay, for some means of extrication from the frightful peril in
which I found myself involved. Happily, right in the direction the
tide was drifting us, a large barge lay moored by a chain-cable. I
seized and twined one arm firmly round it, and thus partially secure,
hallooed with renewed power for assistance. It soon came; a passer had
witnessed the flight of the girl, and my pursuit, and was already
hastening with others to our assistance. A wherry was unmoored; guided
by my voice, they soon reached us; and but a brief interval elapsed
before we were safely housed in an adjoining tavern.
A change of dress, with which the landlord kindly supplied me, a
blazing fire, and a couple of glasses of hot brandy and water, soon
restored warmth and vigor to my chilled and partially benumbed limbs;
but more than two hours elapsed before Mary, who had swallowed a good
deal of water, was in a condition to be removed. I had just sent for a
cab, when two police officers, well known to me, entered the room with
official briskness. Mary screamed, staggered towards me, and clinging
to my arm, besought me with frantic earnestness to save her.
"What _is_ the meaning of this?" I exclaimed, addressing one of the
police officers.
"Merely," said he, "that the young woman that's clinging so tight to
you has been committing an audacious robbery"----
"No--no--no!" broke in the terrified girl.
"Oh! of course you'll say so," continued the officer. "All I know is,
that the diamond brooch was found snugly hid away in her own box. But
come, we have been after you for the last three hours; so you had
better come along at once."
"Save me!--save me!" she sobbed, tightening her grasp upon my arm and
looking with beseeching agony in my face.
"Be comforted," I whispered; "you shall go home with me. Calm
yourself, Miss Kingsford," I added in a louder tone: "I no more
believe you have stolen a diamond brooch than that I have."
"Bless you!--bless you!" she gasped in the intervals of her convulsive
sobs.
"There is some wretched misapprehension in this business, I am quite
sure," I continued; "but at all events I shall bail her--for this
night at least."
"Bail her! That is hardly regular."
"No; but you will tell the superintendent that Mary Kingsford is in my
custody, and that I answer for appearance to-morrow."
The men hesitated; but I stood too well at head-quarters for them to
do more than hesitate; and the cab I had ordered being just then
announced, I passed with Mary out of the room as quickly as I could,
for I feared her senses were again leaving her. The air revived her
somewhat, and I lifted her into the cab, placing myself beside her.
She appeared to listen in fearful doubt whether I should be allowed to
take her with me; and it was not till the wheels had made a score of
revolutions that her fears vanished; then throwing herself upon my
neck in an ecstacy of gratitude, she burst into tears, and continued
till we reached home crying on my bosom like a broken-hearted child.
She had, I found, been there about ten o'clock to seek me, and being
told that I was gone to Astley's, had started off to find me there.
She still slept, or at least she had not risen when I left home the
following morning to endeavor to get at the bottom of the strange
accusation preferred against her. I first saw the superintendent, who,
after hearing what I had to say, quite approved of all I had done, and
intrusted the case entirely to my care. I next saw Mr. and Mrs. Morris
and Sophia Clarke, and then waited upon the prosecutor, a youngish
gentleman by the name of Saville, lodging in Essex Street, Strand. One
or two things I heard, made necessary a visit to other officers of
police, incidentally, as I found, mixed up with the affair. By the
time all this was done, and an effectual watch had been placed upon
Mr. Augustus Saville's movements, evening had fallen, and I wended my
way homewards, both to obtain a little rest, and to hear Mary
Kingsford's version of the story.
The result of my inquiries may be thus summed up. Ten days before.
Sophia Clarke told her cousin that she had orders for Covent-Garden
Theatre; and as it was not one of their busy nights, she thought they
might obtain leave to go. Mary expressed her doubt of this, as both
Mr. and Mrs. Morris, who were strict and somewhat fanatical
Dissenters, disapproved of play-going, especially for young women.
Nevertheless Sophia asked, informed Mary that the required permission
had been readily accorded, and off they went in high spirits; Mary
especially, who had never been to a theatre in her life before. When
there they were joined by Hartley and Simpson, much to Mary's
annoyance and vexation, especially as she saw that her cousin expected
them. She had, in fact, accepted the orders from them. At the
conclusion of the entertainments, they all four came out together,
when suddenly there arose a hustling and confusion, accompanied with
loud outcries, and a violent swaying to and fro of the crowd. The
disturbance was, however, soon quelled; and Mary and her cousin had
reached the outer door, when two police-officers seized Hartley and
his friend, and insisted upon their going with them. A scuffle ensued;
but other officers being at hand, the two men were secured, and
carried off. The cousins, terribly frightened, called a coach, and
were very glad to find themselves safe at home again. And now it came
out that Mr. and Mrs. Morris had been told that they were going to
spend the evening at _my_ house, and had no idea they were going to
the play! Vexed as Mary was at the deception, she was too kindly
tempered to refuse to keep her cousin's secret; especially knowing as
she did that the discovery of the deceit Sophia had practised would in
all probability be followed by her immediate discharge. Hartley and
his friend swaggered on the following afternoon into the shop, and
whispered Sophia that their arrest by the police had arisen from a
strange mistake, for which the most ample apologies had been offered
and accepted. After this matters went on as usual, except that Mary
perceived a growing insolence and familiarity in Hartley's manner
towards her. His language was frequently quite unintelligible, and
once he asked her plainly "if she did not mean that he should go
_shares_ in the prize she had lately found?" Upon Mary replying that
she did not comprehend him, his look became absolutely ferocious, and
he exclaimed; "Oh, that's your game, is it? But don't try it on with
me, my good girl, I advise you." So violent did he become, that Mr.
Morris was attracted by the noise, and ultimately bundled him, neck
and heels, out of the shop. She had not seen either him or his
companion since.
On the evening of the previous day, a gentleman whom she never
remembered to have seen before, entered the shop, took a seat, and
helped himself to a tart. She observed that after a while he looked at
her very earnestly, and at length approaching quite close, said, "You
were at Covent-Garden Theatre last Tuesday evening week?" Mary was
struck, as she said, all of a heap, for both Mr. and Mrs. Morris were
in the shop, and heard the question.
"Oh no, no! you mistake," she said hurriedly, and feeling at the same
time her cheeks kindle into flame.
"Nay, but you were though," rejoined the gentleman. And then lowering
his voice to a whisper, he said, "And let me advise you, if you would
avoid exposure and consign punishment, to restore me the diamond
brooch you robbed me of on that evening."
Mary screamed with terror, and a regular scene ensued. She was obliged
to confess she had told a falsehood in denying she was at the theatre
on the night in question, and Mr. Morris after that seemed inclined to
believe any thing of her. The gentleman persisted in his charge; but
at the same time vehemently iterating his assurance that all he wanted
was his property; and it was ultimately decided that Mary's boxes, as
well as her person should be searched. This was done; and to her utter
consternation the brooch was found concealed, they said, in a black
silk reticule. Denials, asseverations, were in vain. Mr. Saville
identified the brooch, but once more offered to be content with its
restoration. This Mr. Morris, a just, stern man, would not consent to,
and he went out to summon a police-officer. Before he returned, Mary,
by the advice of both her cousin and Mrs. Morris, had fled the house,
and hurried in a state of distraction to find me, with what result the
reader already knows.
"It is a wretched business," I observed to my wife, as soon as Mary
Kingsford had retired to rest, at about nine o'clock in the evening.
"Like you, I have no doubt of the poor girl's perfect innocence; but
how to establish it by satisfactory evidence is another matter. I must
take her to Bow Street the day after to-morrow."
"Good God, how dreadful! Can nothing be done? What does the prosecutor
say the brooch is worth?"
"His uncle, he says, gave a hundred and twenty guineas for it. But
that signifies little, for were its worth only a hundred and twenty
farthings, compromise is, you know, out of the question."
"I did not mean that. Can you show it me? I am a pretty good judge of
the value of jewels."
"Yes, you can see it." I took it out of the desk in which I had locked
it up, and placed it before her. It was a splendid emerald, encircled
by large brilliants.
My wife twisted and turned it about, holding it in all sorts of
lights, and at last said, "I do not believe that either the emerald
or the brilliants are real--that the brooch is, in fact, worth twenty
shillings intrinsically."
"Do you say so?" I exclaimed, as I jumped up from my chair, for my
wife's words gave color and consistence to a dim and faint suspicion
which had crossed my mind. "Then this Saville is a manifest liar, and
perhaps confederate with----But give me my hat: I will ascertain this
point at once."
I hurried to a jeweller's shop, and found that my wife's opinion was
correct. Apart from the workmanship, which was very fine, the brooch
was valueless. Conjectures, suspicions, hopes, fears, chased each
other with bewildering rapidity through my brain, and in order to
collect and arrange my thoughts, I stepped out of the whirl of the
streets into Dolly's Chop-house, and decided, over a quiet glass of
negus, upon my plan of operations.
The next morning there appeared at the top of the second column of the
"Times" an earnest appeal, worded with careful obscurity, so that only
the person to whom it was addressed should easily understand it, to
the individual who had lost or been robbed of a false stone and
brilliants at the theatre, to communicate with a certain person--whose
address I gave--without delay, in order to save the reputation,
perhaps the life, of an innocent person.
I was at the address I had given by nine o'clock. Several hours passed
without bringing any one, and I was beginning to despair, when a
gentleman of the name of Bagshawe was announced: I fairly leaped for
joy, for this was beyond my hopes.
A gentleman presently entered, of about thirty years of age, of a
distinguished, though somewhat dissipated aspect.
"This brooch is yours?" said I, exhibiting it without delay or
preface.
"It is; and I am here to know what your singular advertisement means."
I briefly explained the situation of affairs.
"The rascals!" he broke in, almost before I had finished. "I will
briefly explain it all. A fellow of the name of Hartley, at least that
was the name he gave, robbed me, I was pretty sure, of this brooch. I
pointed him out to the police, and he was taken into custody; but
nothing being found upon him, he was discharged."
"Not entirely, Mr. Bagshawe, on that account. You refused, when
arrived at the station-house, to state what you had been robbed of;
and you, moreover, said, in presence of the culprit, that you were to
embark with your regiment for India the next day. That regiment, I
have ascertained, did embark, as you said it would."
"True; but I had leave of absence, and shall take the overland route.
The truth is, that during the walk to the station-house, I had leisure
to reflect, that if I made a formal charge, it would lead to awkward
disclosures, This brooch is an imitation of one presented me by a
valued relative. Losses at play--since, for this unfortunate young
woman's sake, I _must_ out with it--obliged me to part with the
original; and I wore this, in order to conceal the fact from my
relative's knowledge."
"This will, sir," I replied, "prove, with a little management, quite
sufficient for all purposes. You have no objection to accompany me to
the superintendent?"
"Not in the least: only I wish the devil had the brooch, as well as
the fellow that stole it."
About half-past five o'clock on the same evening, the street-door was
quietly opened by the landlord of the house in which Mr. Saville
lodged, and I walked into the front room on the first floor, where I
found the gentleman I sought languidly reclining on a sofa. He
gathered himself smartly up at my appearance, and looked keenly in my
face. He did not appear to like what he read there.
"I did not expect to see you to-day," he said, at last.
"No, perhaps not: but I have news for you. Mr. Bagshawe, the owner of
the hundred-and-twenty guinea brooch your deceased uncle gave you, did
_not_ sail for India, and--"
The wretched cur, before I could conclude, was on his knees, begging
for mercy with disgusting abjectness. I could have spurned the
scoundrel where he crawled.
"Come, sir!" I cried, "let us have no snivelling or humbug: mercy is
not in my power, as you ought to know. Strive to deserve it. We want
Hartley and Simpson, and cannot find them: you must aid us."
"Oh yes; to be sure I will," eagerly rejoined the rascal. "I will go
for them at once," he added, with a kind of hesitating assurance.
"Nonsense! _Send_ for them, you mean. Do so, and I will wait their
arrival."
His note was despatched by a sure hand; and meanwhile I arranged the
details of the expected meeting. I, and a friend, whom I momently
expected, would ensconce ourselves behind a large screen in the room,
while Mr. Augustus Saville would run playfully over the charming plot
with his two friends, so that we might be able to fully appreciate its
merits. Mr. Saville agreed. I rang the bell, an officer appeared, and
we took our posts in readiness. We had scarcely done so, when the
street-bell rang, and Saville announced the arrival of his
confederates. There was a twinkle in the fellow's green eyes which I
thought I understood. "Do not try that on, Mr. Augustus Saville," I
quietly remarked: "we are but two here, certainly, but there are
half-a-dozen in waiting below."
No more was said, and in another minute the friends met. It was a
boisterously jolly meeting, as far as shaking hands and mutual
felicitations on each other's good looks and health went. Saville was,
I thought, the most obstreperously gay of all three.
"And yet, now I look at you, Saville, closely," said Hartley, "you
don't look quite the thing. Have you seen a ghost?"
"No; but this cursed brooch affair worries me."
"Nonsense!--humbug!--it's all right: we are all embarked in the same
boat. It's a regular three-handed game. I prigged it; Simmy here
whipped it into pretty Mary's reticule, which she, I suppose, never
looked into till the row came; and _you_ claimed it--a regular
merry-go-round, eh? Ha! ha! ha!"
"Quite so, Mr. Hartley," said I, suddenly facing him, and at the same
time stamping on the floor; "as you say, a delightful merry-go-round;
and here, you perceive, I added, as the officers crowded into the
room, are more gentlemen to join in it."
I must not stain the paper with the curses, imprecations, blasphemies,
which for a brief space resounded through the apartment. The rascals
were safely and separately locked up a quarter of an hour afterwards;
and before a month had passed away, all three were transported. It is
scarcely necessary to remark, that they believed the brooch to be
genuine, and of great value.
Mary Kingsford did not need to return to her employ. Westlake the
elder withdrew his veto upon his son's choice, and the wedding was
celebrated in the following May with great rejoicing; Mary's old
playmate officiating as bridesmaid, and I as bride's-father. The still
young couple have now a rather numerous family, and a home blessed
with affection, peace, and competence. It was some time, however,
before Mary recovered from the shock of her London adventure; and I am
pretty sure that the disagreeable reminiscences inseparately connected
in her mind with the metropolis will prevent at least _one_ person
from being present at the World's Great Fair.
_Historical Review of the Month._
THE UNITED STATES.
Our record of home affairs for the past month presents several points
of more than usual interest. Two different movements, both of which
originated in the Southern States, kept awake the public curiosity for
three or four weeks past, though at the time these sheets are going
through the press both appear to be rapidly subsiding.
Soon after the withdrawal of the Government prosecution against Gen.
Henderson, Lopez, Gen. Quitman, and the other persons arraigned for
trial as having been engaged in getting up a hostile expedition
against Cuba, rumors of a second attempt being in preparation, began
to be circulated through the country. Little attention was at first
paid to these rumors, but the matter soon assumed a more definite
shape, and the Southern newspapers began to notice the congregation of
suspicious persons at different points on or near the coast. From the
intelligence which the Government received, it became evident that an
extensive expedition, was on foot, the object of which was the
invasion of Cuba. The United States officers were ordered to be on the
watch, for the purpose of obtaining more particular intelligence of
its movements.
Two or three thousand men had collected in the neighborhood of
Jacksonville, Florida, which had been selected as the principal
rendezvous of the expedition. These men awaited the arrival of a
steamer from New-York, which had been chartered by parties there. The
Government, however, had already received intelligence of their plans,
and instructions were at once sent to the United States Marshal at
New-York, to prevent the departure of the steamer. This officer,
accompanied by a police force, sailed down the bay in search of the
suspected craft. In the mean time it was found that the steamer
Cleopatra, a large boat, formerly employed on the Sound as a passenger
boat, was the vessel indicated. She was then lying at one of the piers
on the North River, and was immediately seized and placed under the
supervision of the United States authorities. She was alleged to be
bound to Galveston, Texas. A large quantity of coal was found on
board, and a great number of water casks, and but few arms or
ammunition of any kind. A file of marines from the Navy Yard was
placed on board, and all communication with the shore forbidden. No
final disposition has yet been made of the vessel, though orders were
received to deliver her cargo to any person who may establish his
ownership to the articles found on board.
At the same time, notice was received by the Marshal that a number of
Germans and others had assembled at South Amboy for the purpose of
embarking on some secret expedition, and one of the Deputy Marshals
was sent there for the purpose of procuring information. Disguising
himself as a German emigrant, he obtained sufficient evidence to
warrant the arrest of the following six persons: William T. Rogers,
Jr., John L. O'Sullivan, Capt. Lewis, of the steamboat Creole, a
member of the former expedition; Major Louis Schlesinger, one of the
Hungarian refugees; Pedro Sanchez Yznaga, a Cuban refugee; and Dr.
Daniel H. Burtnett. Each of the parties was held to bail in the sum of
$3,000, to appear for examination.
The movement must have been of considerable magnitude, but there was
evidently a want of concert among its members, which may have led to
its abandonment. From what could be ascertained, it was not the
intention of the leaders to organize the expedition in this country,
but to sail to some point beyond the limits of the United States, and
there concentrate their forces for the invasion.
The South Carolina State Rights Convention assembled at Charleston on
the 5th of May. The Hon. J. P. Richardson, Ex-Governor of the State,
was appointed President. Forty district associations were represented,
and 431 Delegates took their seats. The President, in his opening
address, reviewed the present position of the South, and considered
that, under existing circumstances, Southern institutions could not
exist twenty years. He discussed at some length the want of affinity
between the two sections of the Union, and expressed his conviction
that those whom God and Nature have put asunder should not be joined
together. On the second day, a letter from the Hon. Langdon Cheves was
read, excusing his non-attendance. He deprecated separate State
action, believing that one State cannot stand alone in the midst of
her sister States.
A committee of twenty-one was appointed to prepare resolutions and an
address, which were adopted, after considerable discussion. The
following are the resolutions, which embody the sentiments of the
Convention:
1. _Resolved_, That in the opinion of this meeting the State of South
Carolina cannot submit to the wrongs and aggressions which have been
perpetrated by the Federal Government and the Northern States, without
dishonor and ruin; and that it is necessary for her to relieve herself
therefrom, whether with or without the co-operation of other Southern
States.
2. _Resolved_, That concert of action with one or more of our sister
States of the South, whether through the proposed Southern Congress,
or in any other manner, is an object worth many sacrifices, but not
the sacrifice involved in submission.
3. _Resolved_, That we hold the right of secession to be essential to
the sovereignty and freedom of the States of this confederacy; and
that the denial of that right would furnish to an injured State the
strongest additional cause for its exercise.
4. _Resolved_, That this meeting looks with confidence and hope to the
Convention of the People, to exert the sovereign power of the State in
defence of its rights, at the earliest practicable period and in the
most effectual manner, and to the Legislature, to adopt the most
speedy and effectual measures toward the same end.
Mr. Barnwell and two other members of the Committee presented a
minority Report, referring the whole matter to the action of the
Legislature. Judge Butler, U. S. Senator, also recommended a
postponement of any decisive step. The original Report, however, was
adopted, and the Convention adjourned _sine die_. The subject has
occasioned but little excitement out of South Carolina, and it is not
anticipated that any other State will pursue a similar course.
The Mexican Government has made a formal complaint to the President of
the United States, in relation to the Indian outrages along the
frontier, which the United States were bound to suppress, according to
the Treaty of Guadaloupe Hidalgo. It is believed that a demand of a
million of dollars will be made for damages which the Indians have
already caused; besides which, Mexico refuses to ratify the
Tchuantepec Treaty, unless these provisions are fulfilled. At the last
session of Congress, the appropriation asked by the War Department for
this purpose, was not made; besides which, the troops most serviceable
for such a warfare have been disbanded.
An order has been issued by the President, that the tracts of land in
Iowa, occupied by General Ujhazy and the other Hungarian exiles, shall
be withheld from sale until the end of the next session of Congress,
with a view to making application to that body for a grant of the
lands.
The Massachusetts Legislature, after a struggle of four months,
succeeded in electing a U. S. Senator on the 24th of April. Charles
Sumner, Esq., the Free Soil Candidate, was chosen on that day, by 193
votes, precisely the number necessary for election. The Boston Board
of Aldermen, who had passed a resolution refusing the use of Faneuil
Hall for a public address by Daniel Webster, have since then retracted
the step and concurred with the Common Council in inviting Mr. Webster
to address the citizens of Boston. Faneuil Hall, hereafter, is to be
granted on all occasions, at the application of one hundred voters.
Before leaving Boston, Mr. Webster delivered a speech to the citizens
of Boston, from the steps of the Revere House.
The Legislature of New-York adjourned on the 17th of April. The
question of the enlargement of the Erie Canal was before the Senate,
when twelve of the Democratic members of that body resigned their
seats in order to prevent the passage of the bill, by leaving the
senate without a quorum. The usual annual appropriations had not been
voted, and the Government was thus placed without the means of
sustaining its operations. An extra session of the Legislature has
been called by Governor Hunt, for the 10th of June. Elections have
been ordered, in the mean time, to fill the vacancies caused by the
resignation of the Senators. The Members of the Assembly, of both
parties, published manifestoes in relation to the question.
The Atlantic Coast and the Lakes have been visited this spring with a
succession of tremendous gales, which have done an immense amount of
damage in various quarters. A storm arose along the Northeastern
coast, on the 15th of April, and at noon on the following day the tide
was higher at Boston than had ever been known before. On the principal
wharves of the city the water was three or four feet deep, and the
streets were so flooded that a large boat could be rowed around the
Custom House. An immense amount of damage was done to private
property, and many lives were lost. The railroad tracks all around the
city were submerged, and in many places torn up and washed away. All
along the coast, from New Bedford to Portland, the gale raged with
nearly equal violence, causing much injury to the shipping. The loss
of property is estimated at more than one million of dollars.
On the night of the 17th of April, the third day of the storm, the
light-house on Minot's Ledge, at the entrance of Boston harbor, was
carried away, and the two men in it at the time drowned. Mr. Bennett,
the keeper, who had been to Boston, was prevented from returning to it
by the rough sea, and thus escaped. It was formed of wrought iron
bars, riveted into the rock, and rising to the height of sixty feet,
having chambers in the upper part for the keeper and his assistants.
The light-house had been severely tested in the late equinoctial
storm, and was considered secure.
His Excellency, President Fillmore, accompanied by the Hon. Daniel
Webster, Secretary of State; Hon. William A. Graham, Secretary of the
Navy; Hon. J. J. Crittenden, Attorney General; and Hon. N. K. Hall,
Postmaster General, left Washington on the 12th of May, in order to be
present at the opening of the Erie Railroad from New-York to Dunkirk.
They were received with great enthusiasm on the way; at Baltimore and
Wilmington they were officially welcomed, and were met at the latter
place by the Mayor and Common Council of Philadelphia, who escorted
them to that city.
Here the people turned out to give them a public reception, and
speeches were made by the President and Mr. Webster. On their way to
New-York they were met at Amboy by the Erie Railroad Company's steamer
and conveyed to the city, saluted on the way by national salutes from
the forts in the harbor, and the military companies of the city, who
were drawn up on the Battery, to receive the distinguished visitors.
The ceremonies of welcome were performed in Castle Garden, where the
President and Secretaries were welcomed by Mayor Kingsland. Eloquent
speeches were made in return by the President, Mr. Webster, and Mr.
Crittenden. A military procession more than a mile in length, was then
formed, and marched through the principal streets, which were thronged
with spectators. Flags were waving from every point, and as the day
was remarkably bright and warm, the spectacle was one of unusual life
and animation.
The Company's boat left New-York at 6 o'clock on the morning of the
14th, having on board the President and Secretaries, all the principal
State officers except Governor Hunt, the officers of the Erie Railroad
Company, a large representation from the State Senate and Assembly,
and both boards of the Common Council of the city, besides a number of
other distinguished persons. At Piermont, three special trains
received the company, 600 in all, and the grand march of 450 miles,
through what was lately the wilderness of the State, from the Hudson
to Lake Erie, commenced. All along the line of the road the people
turned out _en masse_, cannons were fired and bells rung as the trains
passed, and triumphal arches erected over the road. Brief addresses
were made at the principal stations by the President, Mr. Webster, Mr.
Seward, Mr. Crittenden, and other distinguished guests. The trains
stopped at Elmira for the night, and proceeded next day to Dunkirk,
which they reached in the afternoon. Here the crowning celebration was
made. All the country, far and near, arose to hail the completion of
the greatest railroad enterprise in the world. After the meeting, a
grand barbecue was held: two oxen and ten sheep were roasted whole,
and the company regaled on a magnificent scale. The day following this
opening excursion, the regular passenger trains commenced running from
New-York to Dunkirk. The distance between the Ocean and Lake Erie is
now but a summer's day.
In the Connecticut Legislature the Democratic candidate for Governor,
Mr. Seymour, was elected by a majority of one vote. The Legislature of
Rhode Island, on the 10th of May, restored to Ex-Gov. Dorr,
(well-known as the leader of "Dorr's Rebellion,") all the rights and
privileges of a citizen.
M. Bois Le Compte, the French Minister at Washington, who has been
recalled by his Government, took leave of the President on the 2d of
May, and will shortly return to France.
Jenny Lind reached New-York in the beginning of May, after a
triumphant tour of five months in the South and West. She commenced a
series of farewell concerts on the 7th. She was received with as full
a house and scarcely less enthusiasm than on the night of her first
appearance in America. The Firemen of the city, in return for her
donation of $3000 to the Widows' and Orphans' Fund, have presented her
with a resolution of thanks inclosed in a gold box, and a copy of
Audubon's Birds of America in a rosewood case.
A fire occurred at Santa Fe, New Mexico, on the 22d of April, which
destroyed the finest hotel in the place. Col. Sumner, who is to take
command of the United States military force in the Department, carries
with him a large amount of seeds, grains, improved stock, farming
utensils, and apparatus for developing the capacity of the soil. It is
designed to make the United States troops in New Mexico support
themselves as far as possible. The Apache Indians have been very
troublesome, but a treaty of amity has been effected with their
principal chief, Chacon. The Mexican citizens are well satisfied with
the establishment of the Territorial Government.
The California mails of March 15th and April 1st have been received.
The steamers which sailed from San Francisco on those days took away
more than $3,500,000 in gold dust for the Atlantic States. The news is
generally of a very favorable character. The severe drought which had
prevailed through the whole winter, terminated on the 17th of March,
when a succession of heavy showers commenced, the effect of which had
been to revive business of all kinds. The miners in the dry diggings
had a sufficiency of water to wash out their piles of dirt, and the
gold dust, flowing into the centres of trades, soon dissipated the
dulness which had fallen upon business of all kinds. Agricultural
prospects have also brightened, and the crops of California will this
year be an important feature of her products. The odious tax of $20
per month on all foreign miners has been repealed, and the Mexicans
and Chilians who were last year driven out of the country will
probably return.
The Legislature still continues in session, and since its futile
attempt to elect a United States Senator, has gone vigorously to work.
The sale of lottery tickets has been prohibited; the sum of $200,000
appropriated for the pay of persons engaged in military operations
against the Indians, and the State Treasurer authorized to obtain a
loan of $500,000. The District Court of Sacramento has given a
decision sustaining the suitors of claims on all lands on which the
city is located. A fugitive slave case--the first in California--has
been settled at San Francisco. The owner of a slave, who had employed
him in the mines for three or four months, was about to return with
him to the Atlantic States. But as the slave preferred remaining, a
writ of habeas corpus was procured and a hearing had before the Court,
which decided that the negro was at liberty to stay and could not be
removed against his will.
A fire broke out in a bowling alley in Nevada City, on the 12th of
March, and spread so rapidly that before it could be subdued, the
largest and best portion of the city was in ashes. One hundred and
twenty-eight houses were destroyed, and the entire loss is estimated
at $300,000.
Accounts from all parts of the gold region give flattering accounts of
the golden harvest for the present year. The richest locality appears
to be the district lying between Feather River and the American Fork,
embracing the Yuba and its tributaries. The northern mines, on
Trinity, Scott's and Klamath Rivers, continue to attract attention. On
the Mokelumne River, gold is found in large quantities on the sides
and summits of the hills. A placer of the precious metal has also been
discovered by the Mexicans near San Diego. The operations in quartz
mining promise to be very profitable. A vein near Nevada City has been
sold for $130,000. Later accounts from the Gold Bluff are more
encouraging. The top sand was washed away during a severe gale, and
the heavy substratum, being washed, was found to yield from three to
eight ounces to each pailful. Messrs. Moffat & Co., who obtained the
Government contract for assaying gold, received deposits of gold dust
amounting to $100,000 in two hours after opening their office. The
operations of the office had such an effect that the bankers of San
Francisco were compelled to raise the price of gold dust to $17 per
ounce, in order to have any share in the trade.
Professor Forest Shepard, of New-Haven, who has been prosecuting
geological explorations in different parts of California, has
discovered a remarkable valley in the Coast Range, north of Napa
Valley. It is an immense chasm, 1000 feet deep, in the bottom of which
was a large number of boiling springs and jets of steam, with here and
there a fountain of hot water, similar to the geysers of Iceland.
There are more than two hundred in all, within a compass of half a
mile square. The soil of the valley was so warm that, although it was
in the middle of winter, flowers were in full bloom and a luxuriant
vegetation springing on all sides. It is Professor Shepard's intention
to claim a portion of the valley, build a house thereon, and plant
tropical trees in the warm soil.
The Hon. Samuel R. Thurston, Delegate to Congress from Oregon
Territory, died on the 9th ult., on board the steamer California,
bound from Panama to San Francisco. His remains were taken to Acapulco
for interment.
Our news from Oregon is to the 22d of March. A discovery has been made
by Capt. George Drew, of a vein of coal on the Cowlitz River, eighteen
miles from its junction with the Columbia, and about one mile from the
main Cowlitz. The vein is two feet thick and about half a mile in
width, fifteen feet above high water mark and about forty feet below
the surface of the bluff mountain. Governor Ogden, of the Hudson's Bay
Company, at Vancouver, sent a boat and crew to bring a quantity away,
that it may be fairly tested.
EUROPE.
The Grand Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations, in the Crystal
Palace at LONDON, was opened on Thursday, May 1, with appropriate and
imposing ceremonies. Just before twelve o'clock, which was the hour
appointed for the arrival of the Queen, the rain that had been falling
at intervals during the day ceased altogether, and the sun shone forth
from a cloudless sky. On the appearance of the Royal cortege, the
utmost enthusiasm was manifested by the people who thronged the
vicinity of the Palace, and, in the midst of the cheers of the
multitude, and the flourish of military music, the Queen, accompanied
by Prince Albert, the Prince of Wales, and the Princess Royal, was
ushered into the interior of the building. She was welcomed by the
vast assemblage with repeated and universal cheers, ladies waved their
handkerchiefs, gentlemen their hats, and the whole scene presented a
spectacle of unrivalled splendor. After she had ascended the throne,
which was a raised platform surmounted with a blue canopy ornamented
with feathers, the National Anthem was sung by an immense choir under
direction of Sir Henry Bishop. When the music had ceased, Prince
Albert presented to the Queen the report of the proceedings of the
Commissioners, to which she replied in a short speech. The Archbishop
of Canterbury then offered the prayer of inauguration, at the close of
which the Hallelujah Chorus was sung. A procession was now formed,
composed of the architect, contractors, and officials engaged in the
construction of the Crystal Palace, the Foreign Commissioners, the
Royal Commissioners, Foreign Ambassadors, and the members of the Royal
Family. After making the circuit of the building in the procession,
the Queen resumed her seat on the platform, and announced by a herald
that the Exhibition was opened. A flourish of trumpets and a discharge
of artillery proclaimed the fact to the thronging multitudes on the
outside. The Queen, attended by the Court, then withdrew from the
building; the choir again struck up the strain of the National Anthem;
the barriers, which had confined the spectators within certain limits,
were removed; and the whole mass of visitors poured over every part of
the magnificent edifice, eager to gratify a highly excited curiosity.
The number of exhibitors, whose productions are now displayed in the
Crystal Palace, is about 15,000. One-half of these are British
subjects. The remainder represent the industry of more than forty
other nations, comprising nearly every civilized country on the globe.
The Exhibition is divided into four classes; 1. Raw Materials; 2.
Machinery; 3. Manufactures; 4. Sculpture and the Fine Arts. A further
division is made, according to the geographical position of the
countries represented, those which lie within the warmer latitudes
being placed near the centre of the building, and the colder countries
at the extremities. The Crystal Palace, which was commenced on the
26th of September, and has accordingly been completed in the short
space of seven months, occupies an extent of about 18 acres, measuring
1,851 feet in length, and 556 in breadth, and affords a frontage for
the exhibition of goods amounting in the aggregate to over 10 miles.
It can accommodate at one time 40,000 visitors.
An interesting debate took place in the BRITISH House of Commons on
the 3d of April, upon a motion by Mr. Herries for the repeal of the
Income Tax. In an elaborate speech supporting his motion, Mr. Herries
maintained that the Income Tax was proposed by Sir Robert Peel in
order to meet a peculiar emergency occasioned by the maladministration
of the Whigs prior to 1841. He presented a minute calculation for the
purpose of showing that two-sevenths of the tax might be remitted
without damage to the financial interests of the nation, and that the
remission of L1,560,000 would be a greater relief than the removal of
the window-tax. In reply to Mr. Herries, the Chancellor of the
Exchequer contended that the measures contemplated in the motion were
of the most disastrous tendency, and recommended the House to vote an
Income Tax for three years. On a division of the House, Mr. Herries'
motion was lost by a majority of 48.
The subject of Colonial Expenditures has elicited a warm debate in the
House of Commons. Sir William Molesworth argued in favor of giving the
means of local self-government to all colonies which are not military
stations nor convict settlements. The colonies cost the United Kingdom
the enormous sum of L4,000,000 sterling. He believed the military
force maintained in the various colonies might be cut down to less
than half the present establishment without injury to the Government.
Under proper regulations, 17,000 men would be sufficient for the
colonial garrisons, instead of 45,000. For colonial services the
troops should be paid by the colonies--for Imperial purposes, by the
General Government. He contended that in the North American colonies,
the expenditure for military affairs should be reduced L400,000 per
annum, and in the West Indies L250,000. From the Australian colonies
nearly the whole military force might be withdrawn to advantage.
Unless the military operations were discontinued in South Africa, the
war would cost L1,000,000 more than the value of the colony. In
conclusion, he estimated that the adoption of his measures would save
the Government at least L1,800,000 in military and civil expenditure.
The views of Sir William Molesworth were ably sustained by other
members, while, on the contrary, Lord John Russell declared they were
of a ruinous tendency, and earnestly protested against their adoption.
If the plan were carried into effect, the glory of the British nation
would be destroyed. She could no longer maintain her proud position
before the world. The integrity of her empire would be annihilated,
and she would be exposed to the attack of foreign powers. The debate
was finally adjourned without a division.
The latest intelligence concerning Miss Talbot, whose relation to the
Roman Catholic controversy has produced such a general excitement in
England, is her decision to accept of a proposal of marriage from Lord
Edward Howard, a Catholic nobleman of wealth and character.
Application was made by the friends of the parties for the consent of
the Lord Chancellor, which was given without hesitation.
The British Government has presented a memorial to the Courts of
Berlin and Vienna, on the subject of admitting non-German territories
into the Confederation, and insisting on a strict adherence to the
Treaty of Vienna.
A new cabinet has been formed in FRANCE, consisting of Baroche,
Rouher, Fould, Leon-Faucher, Buffet, Chasseloup Laubat, de
Crouseilhes, Randon and Maque. The most prominent of these ministers
are Baroche, Fould, and Leon-Faucher. They are all taken from the
minority of the Assembly, and their choice will increase the
difference between the President and that body. Baroche and Fould were
members of the ministry which was obliged to retire in January last,
before the opposition of the Assembly. Leon-Faucher labors under the
stigma of having used the telegraph for electioneering purposes, for
which he was condemned by the vote of the constituent assembly. Buffet
was minister of commerce and agriculture in the administration of
O'Dillon-Barrot. He is inclined to free trade sentiments, agreeing for
the most part with Leon-Faucher in his commercial views. De
Crouseilhes is a legitimist. He is an ex-peer of France, but has been
more distinguished for his private worth than his political ability.
Chasseloup Laubat has been in official employment since 1828, though
he is still under fifty years of age. The best debater in the new
ministry is undoubtedly Baroche, whose sagacity and mental vigor
cannot be mistaken.
The political condition of France is still the subject of much
speculation, but no definite conclusions can be arrived at in the
present fluctuations of parties. Every thing shows the uncertainty
which pervades the public mind. The President has renounced the hope
of improving his political prospects, by obtaining a revision of the
constitution. This could not be carried without a majority of
three-fourths of the Assembly, while at least nearly 190 of the most
strenuous republicans are decidedly opposed to the measure. The
government is now sustained by the legitimists, who perceive no
immediate hope of the accomplishment of their favorite plans. The
partisans of Cavaignac are in favor of the speedy resignation of the
President. In their opinion, this is necessary, in order to anticipate
the general election, and thus prevent the difficulties that would
ensue by the dissolution of the Assembly, without an established
executive. Others, on the contrary, are in favor of extending the
Presidential term for the period of ten years. A reconciliation was
about to take place, according to the general rumor, between the
President and General Changarnier. The government has demanded of the
cabinet at London the expulsion of Ledru Rollin and other active
politicians among the French refugees. With the present facilities of
communication between London and Paris, their influence was believed
to be adverse to the policy of the French government, and to increase
the difficulties of the existing crisis.
An insurrection, headed by the Duke of Saldanha, has been attempted in
Cientra, PORTUGAL. The insurgents were about five thousand in number,
and displayed considerable determination. Their leader is a man of
great energy, and has had no small experience in political
disturbances. He belongs to the reactionary party. The King, who
commands the army in person, has occupied the fortress of Santarem,
and the chances of the insurgents appear desperate, although they are
said to have some friends in the royal army. The garrison at Oporto
have declared for Saldanha, and the inhabitants of that city are
generally on his side. He had decided to abandon the contest, and
embark for England, but was recalled by the insurgents.
The King of NAPLES has prohibited his subjects from taking part in the
Exhibition of the World's Fair, and from being present at it as
visitors. The King of Sardinia proposes to visit England during the
Exhibition.
The Emperor of RUSSIA has appointed a Committee of manufacturers and
scientific men, under the Presidency of the Director General of Public
Works to visit the Exhibition, and also to examine the principal
manufacturing establishments of France. He has also given permission
to his subjects who may attend the exhibition, to pass through France
on complying with certain conditions.
The city of DRONTHEIM has again suffered from a popular outbreak,
although not from political causes. The military and burgher guard
were compelled to interfere, and several arrests took place. The
difficulty originated in the prohibition of the sale of fish by the
peasantry, in compliance with the demands of the licensed fishermen.
A misunderstanding of a serious nature has occurred between the
Emperor of AUSTRIA and the Sultan of TURKEY. This has resulted in the
withdrawal of the Austrian minister from Constantinople. The Sultan is
charged with refusing to comply with the demands of the Emperor in
regard to Kossuth and the other Hungarian prisoners. He declines
detaining them after the expiration of the year during which he had
promised to hold them in custody. An additional offence is his
presentation of a claim upon the Austrian treasury for the expenses of
the detention.
At our last dates from TURKEY, the Bosnian insurrection had been
conducted with great activity, although it has probably been
suppressed by Omer Pasha. A sanguinary engagement between the Sultan's
troops and a body of fifteen thousand insurgents has taken place in
the vicinity of Jaicza, in which several hundred of the combatants on
both sides were killed or mortally wounded. The conflict terminated in
favor of the rebels.
_Recent Deaths._
CAPTAIN J. D. CUNNINGHAM, of the Bengal Engineers, author of the
_History of the Sikhs_, died in India on the twenty-eight of February,
in consequence, it is said, of his removal from the political agency
of Bhopaul, where his services and abilities had been highly valued.
The act of the "Company" fell with peculiar hardship upon an officer
who had passed twenty years of honorable and uninterrupted service in
every climate of India, and whose error (if any were committed by the
publication in question) was certainly not of a character demanding
censure so grave. It will be recollected that the book threw some new
light on the conduct of Lord Hardinge at Sobraon, and that the writer
was dismissed on the charge of having, "without authority," published
documents officially intrusted to his charge. The friends of Captain
Cunningham aver that he had formerly asked permission, and he
construed the reply to be an expression of indifference on the part of
the directors. It was never pretended that an unworthy motive had
influenced him, or that he had acted on any other than a desire
(however mistaken) to promote the welfare of the government to which
he was attached. It is understood that Captain Cunningham's health
broke soon after this painful misunderstanding, and that its effects
pursued him to his death. He was a son of Allan Cunningham, had
distinguished himself greatly in all his Indian employments, and had
not completed his fortieth year.
* * * * *
The _Glasgow Citizen_ calls attention to the death of Mr. JOHN
HENNING, the well-known Paisley artist, whose studies from the Elgin
marbles and cartoons after Raphad obtained so much distinction for
himself, and contributed so largely to the diffusion of a general
taste for the fine arts amongst his countrymen. Mr. Henning was a
self-taught sculptor, and devoted twelve years of his life, under
great difficulties, to the restoration of the Greek marbles brought
over by Lord Elgin. His copies of these on a reduced scale are so well
known and esteemed as to render eulogium on their merits here
unnecessary. Many busts of his contemporaries remain to testify
further to the excellence of his hand. He was one of the men whom his
native town "delighted to honor."
* * * * *
PADRE ROZAVEN, one of the most famous of modern Jesuits, and
distinguished by divers polemical treatises, as well as by a long
residence and religious warfare in Russia, has just died in Rome in
his eighty-second year.
* * * * *
PRINCE WITTGENSTEIN, Minister of the Royal House of Prussia, died on
the 11th April, at Berlin, at the age of eighty-one. He had been in
the service of the state fifty-six years, and had filled the post in
which he died since 1819.
* * * * *
HENRY BICKERSTETH, LORD LANGDALE, late Master of the Rolls, died on
Good Friday, at Tunbridge Wells, to which place he had lately repaired
for the benefit of his health--impaired by long-continued mental
labor, resulting in a paralytic stroke, which took place shortly
before his death. He was born on the eighteenth of June, 1783, in the
county of Westmoreland, where his father was possessed of a small
property. Originally destined for the medical profession (of which his
father was a member), in which he had completed his studies, he
visited the Continent with the family of the late Earl of Oxford, by
whose advice he was induced to embark on the career of the bar. He
entered Caius College, Cambridge, where he took his degrees as senior
wrangler in 1808. Three years afterwards he was called to the bar, and
engaged at once in the duties of his profession. He rapidly rose to
great eminence in the Equity Courts, to which he confined his
practice. On the nineteenth of January, 1836, he was appointed to
succeed Lord Cottenham as Master of the Rolls, and was at the same
time called to the House of Peers. But a few months had elapsed after
his accession to the mastership of the rolls when Lord Langdale
delivered in the House of Lords his remarkable speech on the
administration of justice in the Court of Chancery, and on the
appellate jurisdiction of their lordships' house, and to the opinions
expressed in that speech, and in favor of the division of the duties
of the Great Seal, he constantly adhered. On the resignation of Lord
Cottenham last year, the Great Seal was more than once tendered to
Lord Langdale by the head of the present administration; but though he
consented to act as first commissioner, and sat for a short time in
the Lord Chancellor's court, and in the House of Lords, in that
capacity, the intense application to which the state of the Court of
Chancery had condemned him forbade a further stretch of his powers.
* * * * *
GENERAL E. J. ROBERTS, for many years conspicuous as an editor and a
politician in the state of New York, died at the age of fifty-five, a
few weeks ago, at Detroit. He formerly edited _The Craftsman_, at
Rochester, and in 1830 was editor of a journal of that title in
Albany. He removed to Michigan in 1834, and filled very important
offices in that state. He was a member of the state senate at the time
of his death.
* * * * *
From Stockholm is announced the death, at the age of seventy-one, of
the distinguished botanist and geologist, M. GOREAN-WAHLENBERG,
Professor at the University of Upsal, and director of the botanical
garden in the same institution. M. Wahlenberg is stated to have spent
thirty out of his seventy-one years in scientific journies through the
different countries of Europe; and the results of these travels he has
recorded in a variety of learned works. He left his rich collection
and numerous library to the University of Upsal; in which he was a
student,--and to which he was attached in various capacities during
upwards of forty-three years.
* * * * *
We lack room for notices of the lives of Archbishop ECLESTON, of
Baltimore; General BRADY, of the United States Army; and Mr. PHILIP
HONE, three eminent persons who have died since our last publication.
E. E. MARCY, M.D., AUTHOR OF THE "HOMOEOPATHIC THEORY AND PRACTICE."
[Illustration]
Dr. Marcy is one of the thousand or more physicians of the old school
who have become homoeopathists. With professional eminence, and a
liberal fortune, he joined the converts to the doctrine of Hahnemann,
and at once took rank among the most distinguished physicians of the
new practice. Homoeopathy is one of the grand facts of this age. It
is no longer laughed at, but has reached that condition which enables
it to challenge a respectful consideration from all who would not
themselves be subjects of ridicule. Of educated and thoughtful men, in
our large cities, it is contended that more than one-half are of its
supporters. In Great Britain we see that Archbishop Whately, the
Chevalier Bunsen, and Dr. Scott of Owen's College, constitute a trio
of its literary adherents. Cobden, Leslie, and Wilson, are examples of
its parliamentary partizans. Radetzky, Pulzsky, and General
Farquharson, rank among its numerous military defenders. Leaf, Sugden,
and Forbes, are three of its great London merchants. The Duke of
Hamilton, the Earls of Wilton, Shrewsbury, Erne, and Denbigh, and
Lords Robert Grosvenor, Newport, and Kinnaird, may serve for its guard
of honor. Queen Adelaide was one of its numerous royal and noble
patients, and the Duchess of Kent is the patroness of a great fair to
be held for the benefit of some of its institutions in London during
this present month of June--in the very heyday of the exhibition
season. In France, Guizot, Changarnier, Comte, Lamartine, and some
forty members of the Academy, are among its advocates. Here in
New-York, it is sufficient to say of the character of the society in
which it is received, that it includes Bryant, who has been among the
most active of its lay teachers.
It is clear that homoeopathy not only spreads apace, but that it
also spreads in all sorts of good directions, through the present
fabric of society. And this fact certainly conveys the idea that there
must be some sort of truth in homoeopathy; whether pure or mixed,
whether negative or affirmative, whether critical of something old, or
declaratory of something new.
Dr. Marcy is one of the leaders of the sect. He is the son of an
eminent lawyer, who for more than twenty years has been in the
legislature of Massachusetts; he was graduated at Amherst College,
took his degree of Doctor in Medicine at the University of
Pennsylvania, and for ten years devoted himself with great success to
medicine and surgery in Hartford: in surgery, on several occasions,
commanding the applause of both European and American academies. As a
chemist, also, he greatly distinguished himself; and it is not too
much to say, that in the application of chemistry to the arts, he has
been more fortunate than any other American. At length, while
travelling in Europe, he became a convert to the theory, _similia
similibus curantur_, and renouncing his earlier notions, gave himself
up to the study of it. He published, six months ago, in a volume of
six hundred pages, _The Homoeopathic Theory and Practice of
Medicine_, of which a second edition is now in press; and he is
industriously occupied, when not attending to the general business of
his profession, with a voluminous work on _Animal Chemistry_.
It is admitted by the most wise and profoundly learned physicians of
the allopathic practice, that the laws of that practice are for the
most part vague and uncertain. The cumulative experiences of many ages
have shown indeed that certain substances have certain effects in
certain conditions of the human organism; but the processes by which
these effects are induced are unknown, or not so established as justly
to be regarded as a part of science. Facts have been observed, and
hypotheses have been formed, but there has been no demonstrative
generalization, really no philosophy of disease and cure; and while in
almost every other department, investigation and reflection have led
by a steady and sure advance to the establishment of positive and
immutable principles, medicine has made, except in a few specialities,
no advance at all, unless the theory here disclosed shall prove a
solution of its secrets. Of these specialities, the most important has
been the discovery of the homoeopathic law in the isolated case of
smallpox. Every body knows how difficult and slow was the reception of
the principle of inoculation--of _similia similibus curantur_--in this
disease; but it was received at last universally; and then arose
Hahnemann, to claim for every disorder of the human system the
application of the same principle. Right or wrong, the father of
homoeopathy gave us a system, perfect in its parts, universal in its
fitness, and eminently beautiful in its simplicity. It has been half a
century before the world, and though all the universities have
parleyed and made truce with other innovations and asserted heresies,
and opened against this their heaviest and best plied artillery, it is
not to be denied that homoeopathy has made more rapid, diffusive,
and pervading advances, than were ever before made by any doctrine of
equal importance, either in morals or physics.
We cannot but admit that we have been accustomed to regard the
theories of Hahnemann with distrust, and that the principle of the
attenuation of drugs, etc., viewed as it was by us through the media
of prejudiced and satirical opposition, seemed to be trivial and
absurd. We heard frequently of remarkable cures by Hahnemann's
disciples, and even witnessed the benefits of their treatment, but so
perfectly had the sharp ridicule of the allopathists warped our
judgment and moulded our feelings, that we felt a sort of humiliation
in confessing an advantage from an "infinitesimal dose." We could
never forget the keen and brilliant wit with which our friend Holmes,
for example, assailed a system which threatened to take away his
practice and patients, deprive him of his income, and consign his
professional erudition and ingenious speculation to oblivion. But the
work of Dr. Marcy displayed these matters to us in an entirely
different light, and guarded by walls of truths and arguments quite
impenetrable by the most finely pointed or most powerful satire. His
well-known abilities, great learning, and long successful experience
as an allopathist, gave us assurance that his conversion to the school
of Hahnemann could have been induced only by inherent elements of
extraordinary force and vitality in its principles, and we looked to
him confidently, when we understood that he was preparing for the
press an exhibition and vindication of homoeopathy, for such a work
as should at least screen the layman who accepted its doctrines from
the reproach of fanatical or credulous weakness. We were not
disappointed. He has given us a simple and powerful appeal to the
common sense upon the whole subject. In language terse, direct, and
perspicuous, and with such bravery as belongs to the consciousness of
a championship for truth, he displays every branch of his law, with
its antagonism, and leads his readers captive to an assenting
conclusion.
Dr. Marcy's work is the first by an American on the Homoeopathic
Theory and Practice of Medicine; it is at least a very able and
attractive piece of philosophical speculation; and to those who are
still disposed to think with little respect of the Hahnemannic
peculiarities, we specially commend, before they venture another jest
upon the subject, or endure any more needless nausea and torture, or
sacrifice another constitution or life upon the altar of prejudice,
the reading of his capital chapters on Allopathy, Homoeopathy, and
the Attenuation of Drugs and Repetition of Doses.
The London _Leader_ demands attention to the scholarship of the
homoeopathic physicians, to their respectability as thinkers and as
men, and to the character of their writings; and surveying the
extraordinary and steady advances of the homoeopathic sect, urges
that every thing, which has at any time won for itself a broad footing
in the world, must have been possessed by some spirit of truth. Every
thoughtful person knows that no system stands fast in virtue of the
errors about it. It is the amount of truth it contains, however little
and overlaid that may be, which enables an institution or a doctrine
to keep its ground. The extent and quality of that ground, taken
together with the length of time it is kept, constitute a measure of
the quantity of truth by which a militant institute is inspired and
sustained.
_Ladies' Fashions for the Season._
[Illustration]
In Paris and London the chief novelties have been preparations for the
London season. Head-dress is particularly rich, by no means lacking
lively colors, and ornamented with gold, silver, and beads. We only
speak here of fancy head-dress; for diamonds are always very much
admired for a rare and _recherchee parure_. Never have they been so
well set as at the present day, both as regards elegance, lightness,
and convenience. Thus, each night a lady may change the disposition of
her brilliants: to-day she may form them into a band, like a diadem;
to-morrow, a row of pins for the body of her dress; another time she
can place them on a velvet necklace, and so forth.
Fancy head-dresses are made of lace, blond, silk, gold, or silver.
Flowers of all kinds are also worn, and above all foliage of velvet
and satin, deep shaded, enriched with white or gold beads, and gold or
silver fruit. We have also seen a _coiffure_ of gold blond, forming a
small point at the top of the head, and ornamented on each side with a
branch of green foliage and golden fruit in little flexible bunches.
Ball dresses have nearly all two skirts, which are ornamented with a
profusion of flounces, trimmed with ribbons or flowers, which follow
the shade of the first or upper skirt; or they are used to raise it at
the sides, or on one side only. We have also seen a dress of white net
with two skirts, the first (the under) trimmed with two net flounces
at the extremity with two gathers through the middle, and satin
ribbon. On each of these flounces was a trimming of Brussels
application lace, with a gather of ribbon at the top, of the same
width as those of the extremity. The second skirt was trimmed at the
bottom with two gathers of ribbon, and one lace flounce with a ribbon
gathering at the top; the body was an intermixture of gathered ribbons
and lace flounces.
Capotes will be more in vogue than bonnets, their style allowing
spangling, for which bonnets are not suited. We have seen capotes of
taffeta, and ribbon applied like flounces as ornaments to the crown;
these ribbons are cut into teeth or plain, but with a narrow border of
much brighter shade. We have also seen very pretty capotes covered
with net, made of very lively colored taffeta. The tops of all these
bonnets are widened more than they are high; however, they are drawn
near the bottom, and are quite closed.
Dresses, it is certain, will be open in front and heart-shaped to the
bottom of the waist. Low square-fronted chemisettes suit this kind of
bodice, with breast-plates of embroidery and lace. At concerts, many
dresses are seen either with flounces or apron-shaped fronts; that is
to say, the front breadth has a much richer pattern, and different
from the other breadths of the skirt. This pattern is generally an
immense bouquet, whose branches entwine to the top, diminishing in
size; or there are two large columns of stripes, which form undulating
wreaths.
Dresses of white or other ground of taffeta warped will be the fashion
this spring for walking; however, we must wait for Longchamps, at the
latter end of April, to decide the question.
In the illustration on the following page is a lace cap, trimmed with
flowers without foliage; African velvet dress; body with Spanish
basks or skirts cut out into teeth, trimmed with a small white lace,
having at the top a small gathering of ribbon; the body trimmed with
lace facing, edged with a gathering of ribbon; black velvet ribbon
round the neck, fastened with a diamond buckle; bracelets the same.
Bonnet of pink taffeta, very plain; and plain dress of Valencias, with
festooned teeth. Small felt bonnet, with bunch of ribbons; Nacaret
velvet dress; trowsers of cambric muslin, with embroideries; gaiters
of black cloth, and mousquetaire pardessus, trimmed with gimp or lace,
put on flat.
[Illustration]
Mantelets will certainly enjoy more than their usual vogue this
season, and from what we have seen of the new forms, we must own they
are very superior to any that have before appeared; the novelty of the
forms, and the taste displayed in the garnitures even of those
intended for common use, show that the progress of _la mode_ is quite
as great as any other sort of progress in this most progressing age.
First, then, for the mantelets in plain walking dress; they are for
the most part composed of black taffeta; several are embroidered in
sentache, and bordered with deep flounces of taffeta; others are
trimmed with fringe of a new and very light kind, and a number,
perhaps indeed the majority, are finished with lace.
The materials for robes, in plain morning neglige, are silks of a
quiet kind, and some slight woollen materials, as coutil de laine,
balzerine, striped Valencias; some in very small, others in large
stripes; corded muslins, and jaconet muslins, flowered in a variety of
patterns. We cannot yet say any thing positively respecting plain
white muslins for morning dress, but we have reason to believe they
will not be much adopted.
Taffeta has resumed all its vogue for robes; it is adopted both for
public promenade, half dress, and evening robes. Some of the most
elegant mantelets are of white taffeta.