North Carolina Newspapers

54 ORIGINAL - POETRY. For the Southern Weekly Port. ; LINES. j-. Call back to cheer the winter night, The summer bird that's flown ; t i- Or make again to " music bright," A harp with ruined tone. Then ask me miss to sing , j Call back the buoyancy of youth, V I ! With all its " golden hours"- ' Meek childhood's purity and truth, ; Ita sunshine and its flower. . . Then ask me to sing. ' Go seek the lonely pilgrim's track, Estranged from eartn ior years , Go gently, kindly, win him back From weariness and tears. " . Then ask me miss to sing. As well a clouded sun may light The hermit's lonely cell, As well a darkened soul grow bright, i" Where hope may never dwell. . , . ; As that this heart eould sing. 4- February, 18M.i Valley Cot;.. CONTRIBUTIONS. METBOPOLTTAN CORRESPONDENCE LETTER XXXVI. f March 6th, 1854. Following my last-letter Why it was delayed ; A memorable snow norm My journey Deten tion in Philadelphia Blasts of Snow The Washington Mouse An Old ProverbSnow Scenes in Quakerdom Railway Blockaded Snow versus Steam The Dominion of Snow- Progress at length Arrive at Baltimore and j Barnum,sThe city taken all aback Impromp tu sleighs A sledding 'frolic Annapolis be neath the Snow- Storm on the Bay Xorfolk . with its face washed Something about this let ter and others which may follow it. 'Mr dear Post: Only a few hours after I . mailed my last letter to you, I left the metropo lis to follow it in- its southward course, though not with the expectation of keeping pace with its progress. From the fact that it did not reach yju in season for your number of the 25th, I am led to conclude that it was hindered by the "- memorable snow storm of the 20th, which block ed up all the railways between Washington and New York, and which detained me at Philadel- phia from Monday afternoon until Wednesday morning. I have called the snow storm a mem orable one, and the terra is scarcely misapplied? for it is of rare occurrence that snow falls to the. dpth of fifteen or eighteen inches so far south' as the District of Columbia, and especially so . late in the season as the last of February and the eve of spring 1 I left New York at 9 o'clock, on the 20th ult.j and congratulated myself that I was leaving winter behind me. When the train reached Bordentown, in New Jersey the snow wasfall s ing fast, and already whitening the railway track. It filled the air.so densely that the waters of the r Delaware were scarcely3 perceptible as we mov ed along its banks. "We reached Philadelphia ; without detention, and the southward bound passengers generally proceeded to the station of the Baltimore railway, to take the 2 o'clock train. Fortunately I was hindered by a desire to meet a friend, and was-' left to proceed by the night . mail tnin. .All the afternoon the white tempest. ; raged, and the fierce winds drove 'the fine dry snow like chaff from the winnowing floor. . At . every corner you were njet by a snowy hurri . cane, and your face and bosom- were instantly filled by the cold and glittering crystals.' Before . it was dark the snowhad drifted so furiously in .;!" all directions, that all the 'railway tracks were ' partially-buried, and it was sufficiently evident j to all that -no trains would either arrive or de part that night. The 2 o'clock train for the , south, as I afterwards learned, made its way with great difficulty to the Susquehanna, and there'it - remained all night and part of the day, the pas- sengers finding only partial and scarcely tolera.- ble accommodations in the cars, and upon the . ferry boat. The rail way beyond the river was so blocked up on some of the deep cuts that it was impossible with the available force in the vicinity to open the track during the whole of Tuesday, and the weary and hungry passengers were finally sent on to Baltimore by. way of the - : river, in a steam ferry boat. You may suppose that I felt myself to be ex ceedingly fortunate in my almost involuntary detention in the Quaker City, ai d especially in ray most agreeable quarters at that mansion of cornfort, the Washington House. An experi ence stretching through quite a series of .years,, '"" enables me to say of this unostentatious hotel, that its table, its chambers, its waiters, and last : but not least, its skillful host, are not surpassed . in Quakerdom, if indeed they are in christen . dorn 1 Mine host of the "Washington '" re joices in the clear and transparent name of glass, and is a most amiable and peaceable gen tleman. All his guests should be of like dispo sition since the proverb declares that " they who live in glass houses should not throw stones !" I could not see much of Philadelphia on Mon- - : day, for it was hazardous : to lift one's head and open one's eyes in the street so jblindingly did the snow hurtle . through the" air; while the view from the: windows of oneV hJteLwas nearly .blank on account f the thickness of the atmos phere. On Tuesday the storm abated, ind then the rectangular city, presented a rare spectacle to the eyes of citizens and strangers alike. It was a wilderness of snow,' with houses and trees- and . i lamp posts sticking out of it, and with long teams of! horses trying almost vainly to flounder through j it! : Many a 'poor brace of sturdy horses stuck fast in the- treacherous drifts, and in the vast heaps made by the industrious army of shovellers and sweepers who were engaged in clearing the pavements of the great tho- , roughfares. In some places the snow storm was piled to the height of ten feet, completely blockading customary ; passes. That night, an adventurous train of cars from the great metro polis succeeded in reaching the city, thus re-establishing communication with the outer world. But not a whistle was heard upon any of the ' other railways going north or south or east or west The tide of travel was frozen at its flood. The strength of the locomotive had been suc cessfully resisted by 'the hordes of snow-flakes which separately a breath would dissipate, but which, in their mighty aggregation laughed to corn the power of iron sinews, and the hot breath of the giant steam spirit Within the corporate limits of the city there might be seen the mammoth engine standing helpless on the railway track, nearly buried in the white and glittering drapery of its silent but irresistible conqueror. Snow had vanquished steam,"and baffled, io the bargain, the cunning and skill of cu t 3cor wu a nJofiiKh co. tUt day I TXiiii i i - i n ::. "... crowned King, and the white flag of his domin ion stretched over hundreds of leagues of terri tory!"" ' '. t;v':0 : On Wednesday human energy and steam com bined wrested the sceptre from the hand of the Snow King, and opened all the principal routes, of travel. That morning I bade my host of the Washington adieu, and was couveyed, not with out many a perilous lurch jn the snow -piled streets, to the station of the Baltimore railway. There was a large concourse of passengers and the topic of discourse with all was the probabili ty of our getting through within the day. The doubt was resolved at 6 o'clock that afternoon for we had reached Baltimore in ten housr a vast improvement we all allowed upon our illustrious predecessors of the Monday afternoon train, who were thirty hours between the two cities ! A bountiful and excellent supper at Barnum'a greatly refreshed me after which I retired to my chamber to "report - progress" to already distant friends and loved ones. That night I went to sleep to the lullaby of the dripping wa ter from the rapidly melting snow but when-1 awoke on the morning I was not a little sur prised to see huge icicles depending from the eaves and ledges of the roofs and windows visi ble from my chamber. I think I have never seen a city so complete ly' frightened outofits propriety' as Baltimore was by that unexpected, snow storm. She is not accustomed to such meteorological vagaries, and she was therefore illy prepared to meet it. Howrjj ever she did her best. She paraded all the le gitimate' sleighs she could possibly muster ints service, and then mounted all manner of boxes ( and huge baskets upon extempore runners and with the aid of numerous stocks of merry sleigh-bell? she succeeded in getting up a pret-i ty respectable ' tentennabulation ' in those of i her thoroughfares- which were at all passable. ': But the merriest part of the snow carnival in Baltimore which fell under my observation was the sport of the lads with their hand sleighs. Beyond Barniim's hotel northward, there are several' streets which have exceedingly sharp aclivities to the west. Lexington and Saratoga streets especially the former were the scenes of the most boisterous and "mirthful revelry all day long and indeed during the whole of my stay in the city at least a hundred boys were gathered there, with their little sleds many of them evidently just made and one after the other they would start upon the adventurous flight of declivity, at first urging the sled with their feet and when it was fairly under way leaving it to its own augmenting velocity they j reached the bottom of the hill with a frightful; speed, and generally with no misadventure. m Sometimes, it is true, there would be an upset in'.midflight and then woe to the luckless un-; sledded it he did not gather himself up and get speedily out of the way of the sleighs coming behind him like ' so many arrows. It was an: exciting scenes-such as I have often witnessed! it is true and even participated inin my our. boyhood but such as I had not seen for years. -After the first and second day's sport the hill" became sadly worn and cut into holes which greatly increased the chances of an upset, and consequently many an urchin found himself turning a summerset in the . cavities while his sled darted from beneath him. j Business called me to Annapolis at the close of the week, and I found the little old town al4 most buried in the snow the State House and the legislature included ! In the grand 'circle which encompasses the" State House the snow was piled up several feet high. Of course the Annapolitans were nearly torpid in such1 extraordinary circumstances. But few heads were visible in the streets above the snowbanks; Returning from Annapolis, I arrived at BaltU more at 6 o'clock" on Saturday evening, and made the best speed I could, in a carriage, td the boat for Norfolk, I think I never, in my life bad a more uneasy and apparently interminable jolting, upon city streets than that was; an4 I felt trujy relieved when I arrived at the wharf and found the boat still, there waiting for th$ delayed mail from Philadelphia. . j That night the excellent qualities of the "Georgia" as a sea-boat were put to a severe test by a fierce gale of wind, notwithstanding which she connected with the railway at Portsj moutb at the usual hour and I crossed the river to the time-honored city of Norfolk sug gestive in name as it is also in its appearance of some fine Old English borough. The great fea ture ,iu the landscape for days past was "now missing. Not a flake of snow was anywhere to be seen and notwithstanding the mud and the rain, I felt, or fancied I did, ' whieh is pretty much the same thing a decided ' Southern 'change in the tone of the atmosphere. -Norfolk was thoroughly washed the very day I arrived there and a I saw her on the following day hung out to dry in a sunny air she looked as bright and fresh as though she were one of the newest instead of one of the, oldest of the Ame rican cities. You- need not to be told mv dear Post that this letter was written some hundreds of miles nearer to your sanctum than my letters! usually are for you know very well, that shook hands with you at Raleigh just before I; sat down to write it and it is my intention fur-i tbermore to put it into your editorial possession1 without the intervention of a third person. If any of your readers who are fortunately! very indulgent I gratefully confess to the faults of your correspondent think it somewhat an omalous to call this- " Metropolitan Correspon-i dence?' I bring you to witness that I did not! intend to continue my letters during my ab-: sencefrom the metropolis but you required ai letter at my hands and foi this and any sub sequentones that I may send you while I am upon ray travels you alone must answer to the charge of anachronisms, or solecisms, or any other isms whatever while you dignify with sounding title of "Metropolitan Correspondence,' .the hastily written epistles of, yours, at hand, ' COSMOS. I For the Southern Weekly Post. NATURAL HISTORY OF NORTH CARO LINA. Gentleman: I beg leave, through the col umns of your paper to commuicate to all those who have time and taste' for -such matters, an , extract from a letter lately received from my old school-mate and play fellow, the now distiri- ffuished Prof. Baird. of the Smithsonian Insti ! iutleo. . X wcoltect him a aa aile, Utto, agd sinewy boy, penetrating the woods, and wadinj the- streams contiguous to out Alma " Mater gathering nests and eggs, stuffing snakes anc bjrdvand' impaling butterflies, while the resi of ns were hum-drumming over the language o Homer and Thucydides, and the perplexities o Calculus, Integral and Differential. With acute perceptive faculties and more than ordinary pow ers of generalization, Baird had added so much to the domain of Natural Science as to have won a European reputation at thirty. His ability, learning, and industry gave him just claims to Ibis present position, and Prof. Henry could 'hard ly have found an abler assistant among all the scientific youngmen of America. He has conversed with'me very earnestly upon the lack of specimens in Natural History from North Carolina. My engagements are so press ing and my pursuits so almost entirely in-door, that I must hand over this matter to the i; boys. Perhaps your subscribers will read it to their children, and some "adult boys," to say nothing of girls, smaller and larger, may do sometbiiifr for the cause. In the collection of snakes in the Smithsonian Institution, it is re markable that only two or three gentlemen have forwarded more specimens than are sent by two accomplished ladies of South . Carolina, with whom I have the pleasure of knowing, and whose opportunities for making collections are not superior to those of hundreds of North Car olina ladies of my acquaintance. Hoping that Prof. Baird, will accept this ef fort to promote this accomplishment of his wish es as a discharge from the obligations he has laid upon me, and really anxious that the geolo gy of our State may have a representation in the Smithsonian Institute, I beg that you will copy it. Very respectfully yours, CH. F. DEEMS. Greensboro', Feb. 23, 1854. EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM PROF. BAIRD . TO C. F. DEEMS. " I have had it in mind for some time to write and beg your assistance in making some collections of Natural History of North Carolina for the Museum of the Smith sonian Institution. We have a pretty fair representation from other parts of the. country, but nothing from N. C. What I want particularly is as complete a collection as vou can have made, of the reptiles and fishes of your vi cinity, in any number of specimens, and the commonest species of all are the most wanted. I am trying ve,ry hard to connect the Zoology of the Southern States, with that of the North, and have pretty good material, but the unknown state of North Carolina intervenes, and it is of the highest importance, to know exactly what is in this benighted region. Nothing is easier than to tell all the idle boys about town to pick up ail the snakes, lizards, frogs, toads, tree frogs," 4c, together with the minnows, chubs, sunfish, perch, shiners, and the like, and throw into a keg of spirits. Gather many small fish, and pre serve in alcohol. To show what use we make of such ma terials, I enclose a copy of our Catalogue of N. Am. Ser pents, the first of a series of which I hope to carry through out the whole Zoology of North America. Every locality is given and the range of the species thus included. You will perhaps see wuli some surprise how often the name of Miss P. occurs. She and Mrs. D. have been most val uable contributors. There are a good manv other odds and ends I would like, as the smaU-fleld mill moles in alcohol ; any nests, eggs or skins of birds, fossil bones from excavations or banks of rivers,' 4c. And to one particular form of lizard please pay especial attention. In many of the rivers of . N. C. is a small salamandroid like animal. Smooth and slimy, with four feet, and a fringed flap (gills) on each side of the neck. It varies from a few inches to a foot. Look sharp for this ; it is sometimes called water puppy or water dog. I would like as many of these as I could get. They are in shape much like the water lizards (with out scales) found in spring houses and under logs. SCELLANEOUS STRANGE ADVENTURES IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN. Is advices bv the steamer Solent, from Val paraiso, we are furnished with accounts of the arrival there of the British brig, Caroline Hort, bringing the captain and doctor of the brig Chatham, which vessel was wrecked in the South Seas, on an unknown group of islands, inhabited by savages, and hitherto undiscovered. The following is the statement of Captain Snow, the master of the Chatham : " The brig Chatham, of San Francisco, George F. Snow, master, sailed from San Francisco on the-6th of September, 1852, on a trading voy age to the islands in the South Pacific Ocean. After having vjsited the Marquesas, Society, and Harvey groups, we left Whylootacke on the 28th of December, for San Francisco, with a full cargo of the produce of the islands. "We stood to the northward until the morning of the 5th of January, 1853, when at 4.30 a. m. the land and breakers were- described close under the bows, and before the brig could be wore, she struck on the reef on the west side of a low sand -island, not laid down on any chart or any book in my possession. I used every means to get the vessel off the reef, but she soon bilged. The natives by this time flocked to the beach, and seemed to show every mark of a savage and hostile people, much to the consternation of us all on board. A consultation was held among us as to the best means to pursue : some were for fighting, and some for trying to make friends with the natives : they dared not come on" board, nor did we dare to go on shore. So I pro posed to make every preparation for fight, and that I would go on shore and find out the dis position of the natives which course was adopt ed. Everything ready, I left the vessel for the shore" a'cross the reef, telling those on board if they saw me massacred, they then would know what fate awaited them. " On my reaching the shore the natives laid aside their spears, and received me very kindly, kissed and caressed me, and, as I afterwards learned, they thought me a curious specimen of the human being for they had never seen a white man before. By this time the natives perceived there were many things in and about the vessel they very much needed, and they made push for the vessel, and stripped her of all moveables they could lay hands on ; nor did they stop here, but robbed us of everything we attempted to save. They would not permit us to have anything at all. They even searched our clothes, and in some instances tore off the pockets, in their eagerness to get the contents of them. After they had stripped the vessel, r we were distributed among the people of the island, where we spent a most wretched night, expecting to be speared every moment. The weather was stormy, the houses very poor, and the natives yelling, passing and re-passing, arm ed with spears, kept sleep from our eyes. " The next morning commenced our natural ization. We were all drawn together, armed with spears, and marched "off to the north end of the island, as we supposed, to be there sacri ficed to their gods for they , have many ; but b tniaisg eadtSd Wl, ad we were cadi tat- en to our respective houses again. . Forseyeral days this training was carried on, differing only as their modes of worship differ, according to which, of the gods they worship. We then found out that we were considered supreme bc- ings, and that Wb had nothing to fear as long ! as they thought so. All we had to subsist on was the cocoa-nut, and occasionally a bit of fish. j ' 'The island produces nothing but the cocoa nut, and the natives are both indolent and ig norant I saw no marks of industry, except in their canoes, which are built for the purposes of warfare : they are from 50 to 70 feet in; length, and wjll carry from 100 to 200 persons. They are all overrun with rats and land-crabs so that it would be impossible to grow vegeta bles, if planted. The natives worship idols, de parted spirits of their own race, and , have god men, or a species of Pagan priest, among them selves, whom they worship on particular occa: sions. Their mode of worship would be hard to describe : it begins with a sort of spear exercise, then a dance, then singing, crying, and, cutting themselves in a shocking manner across the breast, arms, and face, with sharp shells, until they are a perfect gore of blood, and frightful to behold. "As soon as the weather and the natives would permit, I set about building a boat out of the yawl and fragments of the wreck, which took near six weeks to complete ; and during this time I suffered to the extreme from the heat of the sun and hunger and thirst. The crew, roaming about, fared very well from the differ ent tents. The boat complete, I started with my mate, one seaman, and a passenger the boat's complement being four to try to get somewhere to bring relief to the suffering crew for by this time the natives ibegan to think us a burden to them ; but the boat proved leaky, and on the second day we were forced to re turn. We now waited for the rainy season to pass, and on the 24th of March started for the Navigator's Islands, if no relief could be got nearer. Knowing there was a pearl fishery at Humphrey's Island, I made for it, and on the 26th, on shore, the mate and passenger refused to go further in it : consequently, I was obliged to remain until the 10th of August, when the Enp-lish brigr Caroline Hort touched at the island, and took me off to this port, where I ar rived yesterday. The Chatham and cargo were a total loss, but all persons were saved, and were in good health when I left the island, though the natives began to use them quite ill ; and they probably now are, if alive, in great suffer ing for by this time they have no clothing at all, and cocoa-nuts are scarce." The Val paraiso Herald appends to this nar rative the following : " The island on which they were wrecked abounds in pearl shells; consequently, when Captain Hort arrived, and learned this fact, he was unwilling to take any of them -with him until he should have taken a party to the island and set them at work diving for himself; but, finding that he could obtain the requisite infor mation for that purpose, he finally consented to take Dr. Burke and Captain Snow, on condition that they should not reveal the locality of the island to any one else which they promised. Consequently, we are not able to give the ex act locality of the island at present. Captain Hort, after getting on. board, though he was .several times refused a passage before consent was given, owing to the interest Captain Hort had in keeping the island to himself until he should have established a fishery there." London Journal. A DREAM THAT WAS NOT A DREAM. In the year 1834, when I was a youngster before the mast, I took a trip to Tampico in a little trading schooner, called the Ella, command ed by a jolly skipper one Mat Marin, a dark skinned Spanish Creole, who, for styort, was by his friends always termed " Nig." The schoon er generally carried out dry goods and provi sions on her owner's account ; but I always had an idea which I kept to myself that she car ried more than her register made her responsi ble for, and that her bold always contained more goods than could be found by her manifest. We were only nine days on our run from New York out to the mouth of Tampico River; and about noon on the tenth day we stretched over the bar, with a leading wind, that would easily have carried us with a flowing sheet up to the town, which was nearly twelve vnWes above; but for reasons best known to himself, the captain anchored as soon as we passed the fort, and rounded Point Tampico, just above and put of reach of its guns. The'revenu boat from the guarda costa came on board before our sails were furled, and the custom-house officers over hauled our papers and manifest They seemed a little suspicious ; and one of officers was left on board to watch us, while the rest went on board their own craft, which lay nearly half a mile further down the river, under the guns of the fort. As soon as the dinner was ready, the cantain invited the revenue officer down into the cabin to dine with him : and as thev went be low, the former winked his large, laughing eye at the mate, and I knew well that there was fun in the wind. " As soon as the captain and Mexican had got below, the mate slipped into the small boat, and sculled ashore. I saw no more of him until af ter dark that night In the meantime I could tell, by .he lively voices in the cabin, that the officer and captain were getting along very well together; md once in a while the tinkle of meeting glasses and a jolly song spoke of a spirit potential that was playing upon the hearts and senses of both parties. As night came on, more hilarious were the tones and more varied the sounds which arose from the cabin ; and it appeared that, while twi light began to get blue above, they were fast getting blue below. First, I could hear our Mexican sputtering out a Spanish bacchanalian glee ; then Captain Marin would give a touch from a sea-song, or a specimen of a nigger mel ody. At last, a little after dark, with a real Havannah in each of their mouths, they came on deck the skipper and watcher. Both were decidedly and unequivocally.drunk, if one might judge from their walk and conversation ; but I could see, at a single glance, that the captain was shamming although the spiritual reality was visible in the Mexican. He seemed, how ever, to retain some shrewd notions of his duty, and to know that, as night was over us, if we Intended to smuggle ii was necessary for fcira Lo keep his eyes open: so he seated himself on the taffrail with an ah-of drunken dignity ; an3 as he hummed a Spanish barraeole, kept watch over the iuovementbf the crew about the deck, glancing now and thnp the still river. As the night advanced I saw - that Captain Marin began' to lpobun.easy and anxious, al though he pf etenfied -to be even mpre drunk than his guest and py. At last-when it was near midnigrht the Mexican became less fre quent in his snatches of song, and the liquor drowse seemed to be coming over, him: he would unwillingly close his eyes, and then his head would make a long, slow bow towards some being imaginary or invisible, until his chin rested on his breast, when it would fly as if a bee had stung it, and si wly, drowsily, the eyes would open to the( accustomed watch. Captain Marin now lay down beside the Mex ican, and pretended ' to fall into a sound sleep, attesting the same by a long, loud, and regular snore. This threw the Mexican off his guard ; and, wrapping his watchcloak closer aroffhd him, he followed suit. And then the twain seemed to be trying which could snore the loud est When the Signor Mexicana had got fairly under way, the captain arose lightly from the deck, and, passing forward, took the lantern from the binnacle and held it for a minute over the bows. Presently I saw several dark objects coming out from under the shadow of the land, and in a few moments more, six large native canoes were alongside of us. In the first one that boarded us was the mate and a merchant whom I knew to belong to one of the first houses in Tampico. The boats came noiselessly alongside, and their crews crept steadily on board. Without a sound the hatches were raised, and package of rich dry goods was pased up from the hold, and over the side into the boats, by the tawny, half naked rascals. The boats were nearly all loaded, when I, who had been placed to watch over the sleeping revenue officer, saw him open his eyes ; and, before I could move or tpeak, he saw and com prehended all that was going on. Springing to his feet, he shouted : " Guarda costa ! Contrabandistat " One bound from where he stood by the main hatch-way to the taffrail, "and our captain was by the side of the officer, with his brawny hands encircling the wind-pipe from which proceeded so much noise. The Mexican endeavoured to draw his sword, and struggled manfully to ex tricate himself from the choking grip of the mulatto; but Captain Marin knew well that the entire loss of his vessel and cargo would follow detection and he was not disposed to trifle. Raising the Mexican in spite of his kickings and writhings, in his strong arms, he coolly pitched him overboard. It was quite dark, and as the tide was ebbing swiftly, he passed out of sight instautly ; but for some short time we could hear him splashing aud gurgling in the water, and endeavouring to shout. Then alt was silent a gain. We knew not whether he Cad .sunk, was drawn down by an alligator, or gained the shore in safety nor, to speak the truth, did we much care. " Bear a hand, boys !" said Captain Marin ; " tumble in these packages, get the rest of the goods into the boats, and let them get on shore ! If that Signoa Marco Paulo Diego hasn't drunk too capacious a draught of water to cool his burning coppers, or been devoured by an alligator for they are ever prowling-for food at this time of night, and dearly love a meal of Mexican flesh, if he has escaped he may yet gjve us some trouble about this matter!" . In a few moments the last package to be smuggled was passed into the boats ; the signor patrone, who had made the purchase, counted out the amount in doubloons ; the yanoes push-5" ed off from alongside, and were soon lost in the gloom up the river. In a few moments the hatches were replaced, the decks cleared up as before, and the crew retired to their berths, with ordeis to be sound asleep, and not to rouse on any account. All this was scarcely arranged, when the dash of oars coming hastily up the river was heard, and in another moment, an armed boat from the guarda costa was alongside. At the first sound of the approaching boat Captain Marin laid down where he first pretend ed to go to sleep, and was now snoring louder than ever. Even the curses, many, loud, and deep, ,of the angry Mexicans, failed to arouse him from his decp slumber. The officer who had been thrown overboard still dripping from his involuntary bath rushed aft, and with no gentle means tried to arouse the sleeping skipper. At last the captain, gaping and stretching, slowly opened his eyes, and, as he yawned and scratched his head, coolly asked what was the matter, and what was it they wanted wanted at this time of night Then came a scene ! All the Mexicans cursing and swearing, and threatening, and carrahooing at once pointing to the officer who had been taking a swim at midnight, all alone by himself, in defiance of alligators and sharks, who, with voice louder than all the rest, swore that he would have been drowned, if San Antonio had not made the sentinels who were keeping watch' on board of the guarda costa hear his voice, and caused them to send a boat to pick him up. Our creole captain could not be made to un derstand what was the matter ; and wbei. he Lwas accused of having thrown the revenue offi cer overboard, and with having smuggling boats alongside, he raised his hand in holy horror to wards the stars, and indignantly replied : fo It's all a Mexican lie ! Why," said he to the other officers of the guarda costa, 'that gentleman dined with me ! We drank pretty freely, and then came up from the cabin, when both of us lay down to sleep I You all saw that I was sound asleep when you came on board: how, then, could I have thrown him overboard ! The idea is absurd nonsensical ; the whole story improbable yes, impossible! See, ray hatches are all battened down, just as they were when you were on board,- when I came in from sea to-day ; nothing has been moved my crew are all asleep ! He must have been dreaming, and while, he dreamed of smugglers, alligators, sharks, and the like of such, he must have fallen overboard ! He .knows very well, and can't deny it, that he was as drunk as any lord or piper between the tropics and the equator P The story of the captain was well conceived, and told with still better effect among tie revenue officers save the:; victim j himself, who-called upon every saint Jn and out i)f the jpalendar, to coriiedownand vouch for the veracity of his story.' But-the;perfect ordea and quietude of our ve5sel--.tbe crew all sound asleep the hatches all battened down, just as jhey were? in the morning the honest indignation of or sleepy captain, and the acknowledgement of e'.victim that he had been very drunk compared badly with his own story and the yarn of Captain Ma rin was believed. The soaked official ,was taken back to his'own vessel, to be tried and punished for sleeping on his watch ; while anofbef officer was left in his plac, to keep us from smuggling. When daylight came we weighed anchor and sailed up to the town, when we.honestly dis charged the cargo per manifest, paying honour ably all charges and duty thereon. Captain Marin only cleared five thousand dollars by the trip ; and we have often laughed since at the scene I have described especially the Mexican's dream which was not a dream. C. D. B. The Island of New Caledonia. The fol low description of New Caledonia is from the latest authority, its author being a captain in the English Navy, John Elpbenson Erskine in command of "Her Majesty's ship Havannah.' This island, as our readers have been informed, has lately been taken possession of by the French, for the purpose of establishing a colony there : ... "The important island of New Caledonia,' writes Mr Erskine, "which, from its position and the excellence of its harbors, may be considered as commanding the communication of Australia with India, China, Panama, and California, was discovered by Captain Cook on the 2d of Sep tember, 1774, when, after exploring the New Hebrides, Verifying the discoveries of Quiros, and completing the survey of that archipelago, he was returning to rest and refresh his crew at New Zealand. " New Caledonia is about two hundred miles long and twenty-five broad ; a central rocky ridge of considerable elevation extending along its whole length, and a barrier coral reef sur rounding, with the exception of a very few miles the entire coast, both on its northern and south ern sides. This reef, which is distant from the shore from two to twelve miles, with many openings allowing the largest ships to enter, forms a continuous channel around the island, in almost every part of which anchorage may be found in from four to twenty-five fathoms. A continuation of the reef almost connects the south-east end of New Caledonia with the Isle of Pines, f'nd stretches out fully one hundred and fifty miles from the northwest point, occa-. si on ally dotted with islands, some of which are inhabited. " " The New Caledonians, who have no name for their whole island, are a finejntelligent race of men, resembling in pbysical characteristics the Ereejeans, although In 'religion and language, they differ entirely. Capt Cook, who passed eleven days in the port or Balad, on the north east coas, give them unqualified praise for hon esty and good nature, in which quality, he says, they exceeded all the nations he had yet met with. . La Bijlardiere, the historian of d'Entre casteau's expedition thinks that Cook much over rated the goodness of their dispositon, and the French certainly obtained convincing proofs of their addiction to cannibalism. "The population has been so differently esti mated from 15,000 to 60,000, that we can only make a guess at its amount, and may perhaps set it down at about 25,000. The London Mis sion Society occupied a station for a few years at Tualo, a village near the southern end of the island, but have abandoned it for the time, as have also the French Homan Catholics, who, '.headed by the Bishop of Amata, (Dourre,) Pue- bo, two neighboring districts, about 1845. They have now retired to the Isle of Pines, whence they are said to contemplate a return to their former quarters. We could not ascer tain that they had made much impression on the minds of the natives; nor did it appear that they had left behind them any traces of their language, although the people have a singular aptitude for the acquirement and pro nunciation of English words. . "The island, though picturesque, is not pro ductive ; but the inhabitants in some places prac tise irrigation very skilfully, and appear general ly to be a people capable of much improvement" THE CHILD'S PRAYER. A little cliild, ""beautiful and fair as a cheru bim, knelt in its white robes at its mother's feet, and with tiny bands clasped together, raised iu lisping voice in prayer to God. The mother was pale and wan ; thin and cold was the hand that rested upon the golden tresses of the child sorrow, bitter, poignant sorrow, wrung with anguish from her bosom large tear-drops coursed each other down her pale, sunken cheeks she, too whispered a pray er, and as it mingled with her infant's plead ings, they were wafted by the breath of. angels to the Redeemer's throne. '1 he mother prayed for the reformation of a drunken husband. The child pleaded for a fa ther's redemption from the fascinating spell which had bound him to the intoxicating bowl. Lo! the door opens, and before them stands the inebriate husband and father, his features aro bloated fumes of alcohol are emitted with his breath. Disfigured, besotted and loathsome, the man stands in the presence of his wife and babe; they, however, hear not his footsteps, See ! the babe raises its blue eyes to the moth er's face "Mamma," it spoke, " won't God make father love us again ? a little angel whis pered to me that he would." Convulsive sobs burst from the mother's heart, as her head dropped above the kneeling child. " I fear happiness can never more be mine," she uttered. , Leok ye at him who has caused the misery. The adamant.that has encased his heart is bro kenhis senses have overpowered the pernicious drug Ac is again the lover, the husband and the father. On bending knees he begs, forgiveness from her he had wronged ; and as his child clings to his neck, and the wife smiles with joy through her tears, he swears never again to be a brute a demon a slave to rumr accursed poison. - The little angel had been sent by God to . whisper unto the. pleading babe; that its prayer was answered,.. The drunkard , was reformed. The mother and her child were happy. - . THE flMjmt SttlteMii )i)st. RALEIGH, MARCH 11, 1854. - WILLIAM D. COOKE, KD1T0K AND PROISUTOl, i Terms-i-TWO DOLLARS FEB AXXUX, in Advance. , . j CLUB PRICES: Three Copies,. ...... .$5 full price, -. . 6, Eight Copies... ....1 ' " 16, Ten Copies 15 " ....... ....20, Twenty Copies, ..20 .-...40., ' '. (Payment in all eases in advance., JSr Where a club of eighteen or twenty copies is sent, the person making up the club will be entitled 4o a copy extra 1 : '. Vy- Postmasters are authorized to act as Agents ior the Southern Weekly Post- Ma H- P- DotJTHrr'is our authorized agent for th Slate of Alabama, ijlississim and Tennessee. THE DECLINE OF ELOQUENCE' ThbI middle of tlie nineteenth century in which we live, will be noticed by future .histori ans, as! a brilliant era in science, and in many of the arts which depend upon science for their im provement. The progress of the human miijd in the successful investigation of the secrets of nature has been rapid and glorious. Astronomy, Chemistry, Geology, are constantly exteuding the area of their acquisitions, and erecting new trophies in remote or long hidden ijealras. In the useful arts, the most surprising, additioms have been made'tothe implements of human poweif, atd such discoveries and inventions as Photdgraphy, Ansestbesia, the Telegraph, and the North-West passage, have occurred, within ' the ctfmpassof a very brief period, in such rapid succession as to -dazzle and astonish the most philosophical observer. 1 , But whilst we felicitate ourselves because it is our fortune to live in such an age, and to wit ness so many wonderful triumphs of scientific investigation and philosophical skill, it must be confessed that our times are no less remarkable for stagnation or decline in several of those arts which, at other periods, have most abundantly rewarded the efforts of gei ius. The great mast ers of Poetry, Eloquence, "Musical composition, aud Historical and Allegorical Painting, haya passed kway, and left no successors who can boast even of the power of skilful imitation. There is still much to admire, among the pro ductions of inferior genius, aided by the refine ments of taste and cultivation ; but the highest order cf original excellence in these elegant arts, can no longer be found among those who culti vate! them in the Old ' World, and in the New there are yet no names made venerable by tie admiration of successive generations, except those whose popular eloquence has made them immortal. But we ask in yain for their succes sors Within a few years past the last great examples of American oratory have suddenly disappeared, either gradually withdrawn from a sphere in. which their influence could no longer be felt, or stricken from the zenith of their fame by inexorable Death. The pulpit, the forum, and the balls of legislation, are no longer vocal with those enchanting strains which formerly charmed the thousands who flocked from the most distant' sections of the Union to enjoy the . sound. There have been a few whose high pri vilege it was, Th' applause of listening senates to command, And read their history in the nation's eyes." jhe ashes of some of these are scarcely cold, and the echo of their voices lingers still in the imagination of those who heard them ; but the scene of their enchantment is dull and desolate. Thpre is much ability remaining in the Ameri can Senate, but all ag'ee that the lofty, and oft en classical eloquence for which that body was on j;e distinguished, has now "no successful votary, and many of those senators who could, upon occasion, awake some little emotion in the stag nant audience, seem now rather to affect the cool artifice of the diplomatist than the fervid eloquence of the warm-hearted patriot. lit is easier to recognize the fact to which we refer, than to assign to it any one .sufficient cause. We may lament the tfecline of Ameri can eloquence, but cannot hope tor its speedy revival, unless some great civil convulsion should occur to rekindle the dying flame of patriotic en thusiasm. There are several causes which ap pear to us to have conspired to suppress those sentiments, the cultivation of which is necessary toj true eloquence. Among these, one of the; mo8t obvious is the general repose and prosperi ty of the country, notwithstanding the continued effort of pa ty agitators to create a crisis in our national affairs. The fact that the Unior has already survived a number of these perilous oc casions, has led the people to believe that the dangers through which we have passed havfe been greatly exaggerated, and to suspect rather than sympathize with those who have sounded the alarm. There can be.no favorable occasion for eloquence on the political theatre, without s general popular interest in the theme of whicl it is the subject, and we imagine no orator, how ever capable of exerting a dramatic influence, would be equal to the task of being truly elo quent on any of the stale and hackneyed topics of the day.j Another powerful restraint, maj be found in the aversion for excitement andgii tatiou produced in refined and elevated intellect by the disgusting displays of modern fanaticism The offended tAste of cultivated minds naturallj revolts at sucl exhibitions of vulgar emotion, and such a prostitution of the functions of th orator. Sentimental men and boisterous women have so completely usurped the place once ae. corded by popular respect to a higher order of public decjajmers, that a trufy accomplished and scrupulous speaker can no longer earn lau rels in the Bame field of ambition, without los ing the confidence and good opinion of the bet ter classes ofj society. Fanaticism, is everywhere rampant in ihe northern States, and consequent ly among t(ie sober and rightly thinking por tions of the people there, as well as throughout the south, it: has become common and respecta ble to cultivate a kind of stoical indifference, a lofty insiccessibility to fanatical appeals, which is fatal, of course, to every aspiration for elo quence, j The mjnujte decision of our people into little 1 sects and factions is another apparent obstacle to mis noble art. j There are very few subjects of discouree which, if acceptable topics to one party, do not exposi a speaker to the criticism , and the denunciation of vthers. In the absence of a etrongj pervading sentiment of patriotism, which cannot upplant the Usual party issues, accent in times of I; f sT