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A FAMILY NEWSPAPER NEUTRAL IN POLITICS. TERMS, i EDITOR & PROPRIETOR TWO DOLLARS PER Amx 33etotetr to all tije s$n -imsta of Ci)e Soutf), itztatm, ttm thn, multure, ilefrs,. tjjc JWatftcts, YOL. Ill NO. 25. RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, SATURDAY, MAY 27, 1854. WHOLE NO. 129. e WILLIAM D. COOKE, SELECT POETRY AN HOUR IN AN ANTECHAMBER. How irksome for a freeman thus to wait The summons which may license him to see The minister who holds the seal of state, Who wields its sword, or keeps its treasure key ; Here whilst one yawns or walks impatiently, He feels 'twere happier far to hold the plough, 'Or stalk with dog and gun the forest free, Rather than seek for place as he doth now. Abasing him before man's face to bow. . This clositered silence, these thick-matted floors ; That supercilious menial who withdrew ; The sullen echo of far clanging doors; These hedge the magnate we but lately knew Of speech profuse, accessible to view,- ' When fame and station hung upon a 'vote ; But now the lord of an obsequious crew, His frown or smile the fortunes doth denote Of him who waits without with message or with note! Off this vile bondage ! we were never born : To cringe for favor, or to sue for bread ; Nor has dishonor any term of scorn - So bitter that we should its stigma dread, More than by human bounty to be fed ; - Leave we this haunt of sycophants and knaves, And of our memory be it ever said, That from our cradle to our humble graves, We never yet were any master's slaves. Washington, 1854. SELECTED STORY. THE FIRST PARTY. BY ELLA RODMAN. For weeks the house of Breliington, root and branch, had been in earnest consultation over the "coming out" ofjthe only daughteF. They were an important familyimportant in them selves and in their influential connections; and it seemed strange that an important, consequential-looking woman like Mrs. Brellington should be called " mother" by such a delicate snow-drop as Ella. The Brellingtons, with their city palace and alUproper appurtenances, were at the head of the very elite ; and Mr. Brellington was the lead ing member of a clique of choice spirits endowed with .too much intellect and soul for the aim less character of mere fashionable men. Ella Brellington, therefore, could not " begin the world" under more favorable auspices.'. But it was provoking, as her mother thought, that the child should be so thoroughly a child, and so ob stiuately indifferent to the triumphs that awaited her. Mrs. Brellington had in her younger days been a reigning belle was a belle still ; bat she was quite willing to resign her throne to the youthful beauty who now engaged all her hopes and plans. It was so unfortunate, though, that Ella should have no particular "style." Mrs. Brellington's -' characteristics had been expressed by the . terms magnificent," " distingue," "queen-like;" but , Ella was neither haughty-looking nor hoydenish looking she was neither a romp nor an icicle ; , but simply a bright, enthusiastic girl, who was sometimes in gay spirits and sometimes in dull one, and who would never have distinguished herself as an actress from her incapacity of maintaining the same " role" for any length of time. : Mrs.-Brellington was in despair: just as the drooping eylids and sweet sadness had made ..her an. Ophelia, a gay,, mocking expression and laughing eyes transformed her into r. Rosalind - then came the noble countenance of Portia, and the reckless, defying Beatrice. That lovely young face was a perfect kaleidoscope of expres sions, and Mrs. Brellington5 was sadly afraid that her only daughter would fail of making a sensa tion. The proud father, however, was delighted that his rosebud preferred the subdued light of home to the glare of fashinable assemblies; and the two spent many pleasant hours in the library hours that should have beeu employed by Ella in listening to her mother's instructions. But lately these conferences had been interrupted. One might have supposed that Mrs. Hauteville's party was the only one that would ever be gi ven that it would enjoy as melancholy a dis tinction as the last rose of summer; and Ella raised her violet eyes until they were perfect notes of interrogation, when her mother impres sively observed : " Recollect that on this, your first appearance in ' the world,' depends everything." y ; "Don't recollect any such thing!" exclaimed her father, " upon this 'first appearance' depends nothing but the certainty of your having more beaux than you can possibly talk to, and hear ing more nonsense than you can possibly under stand. And. now let us take a visit to .the bowling-alley you look fairly bleached for want of exercise." ; The next moment they were flying down the path, and Mrs. Brellington watched Ella's glow ing face and disordered hair with a conviction that her praiseworthy efforts in that daughter's behalf were entirely wasted. ' The important evening arrived, and Ella was placed under the . hands of the French maid, hours before it was necessary. Upon the subject of her toilet all had something to say ; and yet, such was Mrs. Brellington's tact that none felt offended at the rejection of their pro posals. There was Miss Jerusha Brellington, a rich, spinster aunt of Mr. Brellington's, who was a perfect terror to her relations from a habit of hunting up causes of offence and making a fresh will at least once a week. She had lost a lover in her younger day&, by testing the strength of his affection in various unique ways that have not transpired. This lady, having produced a thick, brocade silk, that fairly stood alone from its very richness, with some magnificent old lace, that looked as though it had just been baptized in coffee, " took the chair" and held forth upon the mighty things that had been done by herself in that snuff-colored brocade. She concluded by observing, in a manner that expressed her con viction of being accommodating to a fault, that "she would allow the dress to be taken in for Ella, and, perhaps, ' modernized a little !' Ella's tip-toe height was only an inch above five feet, andier two arms would scarcely fill one ample sle'e of Miss Jerusha's dress ; there fore, she laughed in the very face of her scan dalized aunt in uncontrollable merriment. Mrs. Brellington would as soon have equip ped the pretty debutante in one of her drawing room curtains, but she wisely remembered that the self-important spinster had property to " give and bequeath ;" so she laid her hand on Miss Jerusha's shoulder, and looking down into her face, wiih an expression that seemed to be saying " You generous woman !" she replied, in the most grateful of voices, " Dear aunt, this is really too kind !" "Don't mention it," said Miss Jerusha, look ing as though her niece ought to be too full for utterance. " We all know how much you prize that ele- gant dress " Miss Jerusha turned it over and regarded it affectionately, "but even my partiality cannot consider Ella as suitably attired in any dress that has been graced by you." Miss Jerusha looked reflective, and encoun tered her niece's eyes in the mirror. " We all know what you must have been in that dress," proceeded Mrs. Brellington, in a touching manner, "you have kindly given us a description of your appearance, thus attired and do not, my dear aunt, for one moment ima gine that we canaot appreciate you without such sacrifices. Believe me that I shall be far better satisfied with Ella in a toilet more adapted to her humbler charms than if she were at tired with the unworthy attempt of aping that which is so far above her." Miss Jerusha looked triumphant, as she de parted with the treasured brocade ; and that very evening she re-made her will in favor of " her dear niece, Sarah Brellington." The next attack came from grandmother Brel lington. The old lady had set her heart upon seeing Ella decked in a pair of pearl ear-riugs, a garnet necklace, and a broach of turquoise and diamonds. The articles were exquisite in the fashion of a bye-gone time; but Mrs. Brel lington, who had a nervous horrerof things that didn't match, adroitly replied : " We really do not deserve so much kindness ! But, my dear madam, you must not tempt me with a sight of these beautiful ornaments, for Ella is such a careless little thing that I cannot allow her to wear them. Think how I should feel if she returned without that exquisite brooch, or if the drop of one of those lovely ear-rings, should be missing !" Grandmother looked frightened ; they were too valuable to be lost, and she hastily replaced them in their cases savins, as she did so : " Well, well we must try to console the child for her disappointment." But Ella was not even aware of the existence of the ornaments, for during the discussion she' had been deeply absoibed in the pages of " Ken itworth." She certainly was a strange child ; and so thought her mother as she entered her room on the night preceding that eventful evening. The apartment had been furnished by a mother who was both able and anxious to gratify every fan cy of a beloved child, and articles of beaut' wtre grouped arouud in charming confusion. " Ella was asleep; and Mrs. Brellington ap proached the richly carved bedstead with its pink and white draperies, and stood watching the slumberer, a? she had often watched in bye gone years. She glanced at the small, white hand that rested on the counterpane, and start ed at the sight of a slender' ring of gold, in which was set a small ruby heart. She had never seen the ring before who could have given it to her ? It looked most suspiciously like a. gage d'amour, but it might prove nothing tnorcs alarming than a gage (Tamitie. "Some school girl token, I suppose," thought the wretched mother ; but she determined to ques tion Ella upon the subject. The next morning Ella blushed and hesitated beneath her mother's searching glance ; but at length she replied: " I have had it for some time I got it at aunt Sarah's." " Did aunt Sarah give it to you ?" continued Mrs. Breliington. " Please don't ask me now, dear mother ?" replied Ella, in great distress, " I will tell you all about it to-morrow." Mrs. Brellington was anxious to hear the7 whole story at once ; but Ella coaxed, and the wary mother, reflecting that " a scene" might materially interfere with her hopes and expecta tions for the evening, prudently dropped the subject for the present. Poor Ella ! It was with a heavy heart that she surveyed the party preparations ; and while trying on her wreath, her busy thoughts con jured up a background f grand, old trees and summer skies and another band than hers, twined wreaths of violet gathered beside the eld brook. For in her heart the poor child car ried a secret .thafe had not even been unfolded to ner indulirent father; a something would rise up to choke her on the very eve of an unuttered confession. So all that day had she roamed vaguely through the house ; and when her eye fell upon' the rubv heart, her own srrew heavy. Years ago, when Ella Brellington was a sickly, half-neglected child, she had been confided to the care of Mrs. Brellington's aunt a kind- hearted, woman, who would now-a-days be term ed " strong-minded," from the fact of managing her own farm. After a short sojourn at " aunt Sarah's," it would scarcely have been possible to identify the delicate child with the rosy romp who delighted to climb fences, swing on gates, and do everything else not usually found in books of etiquette for girls. Ella's rapid progress in such accomplishments was doubtless owing to her boy-companion, Liu- dey Mellwood, who seemed to have taken root at aunt Sarah's before the lady's arrival. lie was the orphan child of a much-lamented friend ; and aunt Sarah insisted upon his making her home . his home. Lindley remained in obedience to her wishes ; but having more than a com mon share of enthusiasm and love of adventure, he determined, before long, to carve his own way. The little bright-eyed Ella soon mingled with his dreams and while the child sat playing with the daisies and buttercups, he loved to picture her in all the graces of beautiful wo manhood they are setting forth, hand in hand upon the pilgrimage of life. Lindley was very much given to repeating poetry; and while indulging such visions, he was sure to think of those beautiful lines of Longfellow's : Net as a child shall we again behold her, For when with rapture wild, In our embraces we again enfold her, She will not be a child ! But a fair maiden in her father's mansion, Clothed with celestial grace, And beautiful with all the soul's expansion, Shall we behold her face !" One day, when Ella was about fourteen, her mother suddenly remembered her existence a circumstance nearly forgotten in Mrs. Brelling ton's unending round of gayeties and the ab sent daughter was forthwith recalled. Lindley had before this departed " to seek his fortune," as the fairy tales say ; but there had been quite a scene in the old grape-arbor, and Ella emerged from the interview the possessor of the ruby heart, which she had purchased at the price of her own. Aunt Sarah yielded up her charge, little dreaming that "the baby," as she called her, had the audacity to become engaged ; and Mrs. Brellington received her without a doubt that, except in the matter of health and the natural change effected in live years, she was in all res pects the daughter whom one of aunt Sarah's country neighbors had pronounced her "too lazy to raise." This was the episode in the young life of Ella Brellington that threatened to cloud all her fu ture days. Mrs. Brellington, though a skilful manoeuvrer, was foiled in her turn. She had determined that Ella's first appearance should at least be characterized by magnificence ; and for this de sirable end she had procured an elegant white satin dress, brocaded with silver, and had her own rich diamonds splendidly reset ; bnt papa declared. that " he would not have his perfect little piece of statuary overloaded in this heavy style." So he and Elfci put their hea"ds together and between them composed a dress which Mrs. Brellington at once vetoed as " roniautic looking." But papa persevered, and Ella entreated; and with considerable reluctance the French assist ant arranged the folds of lace beneath which glis tened the satin under skirt. Bouquets of violets looped up the over-dress, and one purple cluster fastened the folds of lace at the bosom ; while a wreath of the same contrasted prettily with the golden-colored hair of the wearer. Even the disappointed mother acknowledged to her self that the smiling young party-goer looked wondrously lovely ; while papa contemplated her dress with rapture, as entirely his own work, although, had Ella followed his directions im plicitly, her appearance would have been deci dedly unique. Mrs. Brellington had, unfortunately, injured her foot in a manner that prevented her from using it, and after watching and tending it in vain for Mrs. llauteville's party, she was reluc tantly obliged to consign Ella to the care of another chaperone. Mr. Brellington was to ac company his daughter ; and in the dressing room they were to meet an old friend of mamma's who was delighted to usher in the radiance of this new star. Ella, beautiful as a dream or the genius of spring, as 6he sat there decked with the violets, thought sadly of the morrow's confession and scarcely raised her ey to the many faces in the room the property of various relatives who had assembled to pronounce their judgment upoa her appearance. Aunt Jerusha kindly observed that " she would pass" and then reflected what a splen did change would have been produced by the snuff-colored brocade. Grandmother Brelling ton thought fhat she "really did very well," but sighed as she remembered the beauties of her own day, arid how they bd degenerated ; "then a person must really desjrve the distinction of belle-6hip now, a little beauty, a great deal of brass, a fantastic style of dress, and numerous unmeaning airs and graces did the thing at once. Other less important judges were enraptured with the fair vision who sat absorbed in a silent contemplation of her bouquet ; and Mr. Brel- ington, after surveying her from all points of view, observed in a tone half earnest, half iron ical. " Your first party, Ella! Your first introduc tion to the gay world I think that is the phrase and to friends who will commence their good offices by criticising your dress, disapproving your style, and insinuating that the diffidence of the debutante is, doubtless, the skill of the prac ticed tactician !' " But I am wrong," he added, as his face re sumed its pleasant expression, " tn riv you this 'peep behind the scenes,' when more .agreeable thoughts might occupy our hour of waiting. I was just thinking of my ' first party,' and the rather original ideas which, at that tender age, I attached to merry-makings. I was then just fourteen ; and was to have the honor of accom panying my sister, two years older, in the char acter of beau. I had been dressed for some time ; and impatiently perambulating up and down, as I beheld one curl after another slowly emerge from its paper-chrysalis, I began to fear that my companion never would be presen table, and I exclaimed at length ; " Oh ! sister ! D make haste ! The party will certainly be in before we get there !" " Whether I had visions of a demolished supper-table expecting the first arrivals to make a hungry descent upon the viands or whether I was tormented by the apparation of a room full of dancers, and no resting place for the soles of our feet, I do not remember ; but my appeal, instead of hastening matters, proved fatal to the already arranged curls, and it took my sister some time to recover from a fit of laughter." "My first party," said Mrs. Brellington, "was a rose surrounded by thorns. I was young in such things, then, and my mother had just bought me a particularly handsome, round shell comb, to keep back my hair. I had brokeu several before, and was strictly charged not to remove this from my head during the evening. " Eve, however, could'nt be contented in Par adise, without knowing how those apples tasted, and before long I was boasting to my compan ions of the wonderful stretching qualities possess ed by that comb. Upon the principle that 'see ing is believing,' I attempted to illustrate my assertion ; but as I sat pulling the elastic shell, it suddenly snapt'in two and I remained for some moments overwhelmed by the thoughts of punishment. But at the supper-table a bright idea struck me ; mamma, I knew, was fond of maearoons, and watching an opportunity, I slip ped half a dozen in my pocket for a sin-offering. ' I presented these and the broken comb to gether ; but, instead of being appeased, mamma was perfectly horrified and I am quite certain that the severest punishment I ever Received, was given more for my vulgarity than for my disobedience." "I shall watch your pocket this evening, Ella," said her father, laughingly, ' to see that no contraband goods are slipped into it. I think, though," he added, " that you are more in dan ger from love-letters than confectionary." Ella's face was perfectly crimson, and com plaining of the heat, she walked into the conser vatory ; but her father, soon joined her to ask an explanation of this singular emotion. She told him all, but the expression of his countenance puzzled her. lie looked neither surprised nor grieved,, nor angry. "Unfortunately for youi candor," said he, at length, " I have heard very much such a story before. Tale-bearers are to be found every w here, and the friend who informed me of your singu lar penchant was by no meaus a disinterested one. Could Aunt Sarah have been in the arbor on that eventful afternoon I Ilad she related, then, their conversation ? Ella's face wore such a look of distressful interrogation that Mr. Brellington was quite moved by it. "I am ashamed of you, Ella !" said he, with a merry light in his eyes, " you are a perfect digrace to the sisterhood ! After being 'got up,' regardless of trouble or expense, to go forth and distinguish yourself in the peculiar line of prac tise 'sacred to young ladies,' you remorsele-sly give a death blow to the hopes ot your sanguine relations by acknowledging yourself to be a per fectly heartless individual having parted with the same to a harlequin of a young man, who seems to have distinguished himself in yourown eyes by turning somersets and climbing fences !" " Oh, papa !" said Ella, reproachfully, " how can you !" " I don't know, indeed," said he, " how I can for you are, of course, pondering overjthe pos sibility of my consenting to smile updh this ridi culous love affair. Nought and nought never made anything when I was at school, so how can you two expect to become one ? For I had it from the best authority, that your hero is as unencumbered with worldly goods as an romance reader could desire." Ella was mercilessly pulling the camelias to pieces, but she looked up to say in tueh a tone ; " Oh, papa ! If you had only seen him !" Mr. Brellington smiled and turned his head to ward the door; but Ella thought this silence ominous, and mournfully followed him back to the drawing-room. Aunt Jerusha was just fairly started (for the fortieth time) on the narrative of her "first par ty," which comprised the entire history of that wonderful brocade a description of her whole personal appearance and powers of fascination with other particulars " too numerous to men tion " when, to the relief of her auditory, the hall bell was violently pulled, and all exclaimed : " There's the carriage !" Ella stepped into the hall as the door was opened ; but, instead of Thomas, she beheld an elegant looking youug gentleman, and a face which, though considerably altered, had often looked down upon her from the top of a tree, or gleamed roguishly out from loads of hay. Lindley Mellwood stood gazing upon the young May queen, who had appeared so sud denly in silent admiration ; while Ella neither screamed nor approached him ; but in spite of the rudeness of the thing she retreated into the parlor, and sought refuge in the farthest corner. Provoked at her own folly, she sat waiting the result with feelings that were a perfect whirl pool of confusion. The first words that fell upon her ear were an exclamation from her father of: "Lindly Mell wood! Is it possible ! This is very unexpected!" Then followed some communicatiomin a low tone that she easily recognized ; and Mr. Brel lington entered the drawing-room with the guest saying, as he presented him to kis wife, " Allow me to introduce a young .friend of mine and an old playmate of Ella's one who is dear to me a3 well for his father's sake as for his own." " Mrs. Brellington was too well-bred to show her surprise; but Elk felt more foolish than ill l i . . i ever, one iremoiea ana meaiutea an escape when her father approached with. Lindley Mell wood ; het confusion increasing as Mr. Brelling ton whispered, so that only the two could hear him, " I am inclined to think, Ella, either that the touching story you just related to me was a lit tie fiction invented for my amusement, or that I have been mistaken in the name. Did you not tell me that you were engaged to Lindley Mellwood T "Ella!" whispered a voice that thrilled her with old memories. She looked up Mr. Brel lington was deeply engaged in conversation with his wife, and the lovers soon got up a whisper ing in their retired corner, which showed that neither were familiar with the book of etiquette. " After I left you," said Lindly, " I had a dreary, aching feeling at. my heart that almost unfitted me for any exertion but I knew that the prize could not be won without vigilant and active effort. Poverty is a hard task-master ; but as I plodded through with the weary rou tine of a lawyer's office, your image would often gild thedul! books before me until, in my eyes, they became 'illuminated volumes.' You re member the old arbor, Ella ?" At this juncture, Lindley suddenly stooped to kiss a ruby ring that flashed before his eyes ; but aunt Jerusha, who was sharp in such mat ters, was quite sure that the little, snow-flake of a hand on which it rested came in for at least a " lion's share " of the salute. The whispering was resumed. " My adventures, you recollect, were not to appear piecemeal, like the chapters in magazines, but were to be condensed into one volume, be fore they were submitted to your inspection or, in other words, dearest, my obstinacy and indomitable confidence in my own powers of success, made me refuse to give you the least clue to my wanderings until, like the heroes in fairy tales, I should return loaded with wealth and honors. But as time sped on, and no good genius came to my aid, I began to be weighed down by a sense of my delinquency in having inveigled a child like yourself into a clandestine engagement conscience whispered that it was not honorable, and acting from a good impulse, I went to your father's office, and encou raged by his kind, sympathizing manner, told him the whole story. He looked grave at first but having promised him never to see you without his permission, he praised what he was pleased to call ' my candor and sense of honor' gave me both advice and assistance in my discouraging affairs and concluded by tel ling me that my father bad been an early friend of his, and that he had no doubt of my prov ing quite as worthy of his esteem. " You may imagine, Ella, what a load was lifted from my heart by the interview, and how perseveringly I toiled after that. But ah ! it was a difficult thing to keep my ridiculous ima gination within proper bounds ; in the midst of the most matter-of-fact employments, wild visions of adventure came galloping across my 'brain, and at one time I was quite beset by the idea of a pilgrim journey in the Bayard Taylor style so taken was I with the handsome pe destrian in his pilgrim hat and blouse. But the shadow of a little fairy in a sun-bonnet was to be linked to mine to render these journies desi rable ; and I began to fancy that papa might not altogether fancy these gipsey wanderings for his only daughter. " I plodded on wondering when and how all this would end ; but one day I saw an adver tisement in a daily paper for one Lindley Mell wood, who was requested to go somewhere and hear something to his advantage. To oblige the advertiser I complied, and found to my great surprise, that by the death of a distant relative, I had become the possessor of an ele gant residence, with horses, carriages, and other vanities, and a most liberal allowance of sub stantial bank stock. After being regularly installed in possession, I came to be absolved by your father from my promise. " Our carriage is at the door, Ella our home is pining after its mistiess when is our mar riage to be ?" "Eleven o'clock!" said Mrs. Brellington, " why ha3 not the stupid Thomas arrived i I told him to be here at ten" " He came," replied her husband, misehiev cmsly, " but I told him that the carriage would not be required to-night." To the great surprise of the family party, Mr. Brellington then published an "intention of marriage" between Ella and Lindley Meljwood ; and " although Mrs. Brellington did'nt: know, upon consideration, that Ella could haf e done better, it was certainly provoking that her ' first party ' should never come off after all !" Ella's chaperone waited in vain for her ex pected charge ; but she was afterward informed that, on the evening in question, the young laJy was " very much engaged " at home. MISCELLANEOUS THE HOME MOTHER. Some one, writing for the Masonic Mirror, has drawn a charming picture of a home-lovingt child-loving mother : " We must draw a line, ay, a broad line, be tween her and the frivolous butterfly of fashion who flits from ball to opera and party, decked in rich robes, and followed by a train as hollow and heartless as herself she who, forgetful of the holy task assigned her, neglects those who have been given in her charge, and leaves them to the care of hirelings, while she pursues her giddy round of amusements. " Not so our home mother blessings be on her head. The heart warms to tee her in her daily routine of pleasant duties. How patient ly she sits, day after day, shaping and sewing some article for use or adornment for her little flock ! And how proud and pleased is each lit tle recipient of her kindness ! How the little face dimples with pleasure, and the bright eyes grow still brighter, as mamma decks them with her own hands in the new dress she has made ! How much warmer and more comfortable they' feel, if mamma wraps them up before they go to school ! No one but her can warm the mits and overshoes, or tie the comforters around their necks ! " There is a peculiar charm about all she does the precious mother. They could not sleep, nay, for that matter, she could not, if she failed to visit their chamber, and with her own soft hands I arrange them comfortably before she slept ! Her heart thrills with gratitude to her Creator, as she looks on those sweet blooming faces; and when their prayers are done, she imprints a good night kiss on each rosy little mouth. It may be, too, a tear will start for one little nestling, laid in its chill narrow bed, for whom her maternal care is no longer needed. It sleeps though the sleet and snow descends, and the wild winter winds howl around its head It needs no longer her tender care ! A might ier arm enfolds it! It is at rest. She feels and knows that it i right, and bends meekly to the Hand that sped the shaft, and turns .with a warmer love, if it be possible, to those little ones who are left her to love. How tenderly she guards them from every danger, and with what a strong untiring love, she watches by their bed side when they are ill ! Blessings be on the gentle, loving home-mother. Angels must look with love upon her acts. Her children shall rise up and call her blessed, and the memory of her kindly deeds will enfold her as a garment" INTERESTING INCIDENT. The following acceunt is given by the Rev. Leigh Richmond, as having been related by a minister in a meeting of the British and Foreign Bible Society. A drunkard was one day staggering in drink on the brink of the sea. His little son by him, three years of age, being very hungry, solic ted him for something to eat The miserable fath er, conscious of his poverty, of his criminal cause of it, in a kind of rage, occasioned by intemper ance and despair hurled the little innocent into the sea, and madeoff with himself. The poor little sufferer, finding a floating plank by his side on the water, clung to it. The wind soon wafted him and the plank into the sea. A British man-of-war passing, discovered the plank and the child ; a sailor at the risk of his own life, plunged into the sea, and brought him on board. He could inform him little more than that his name was Jack. He g ew up on board that man-of-war, behaved well, and gam ed the love of all the officers and men. He be came an officer of the sick and wounded depart ment. During an action of the late war, an aged man came under his care, nearly in a dy ing state. He was all attention to the suffering stranger but could not save his life.; The aged stranger was dying, and thus ad dressed thU kind young officer. For the great attention you have shown me, I give you this only treasure I am possessed of (presenting him with a bible bearing the stamp of the British Foreign Bible Society.) It was given me by a lady ; has been the means of nay conversion ; and has been a great comfort to me. " Read it and it will lead you in the way you should go. He went on to confess the wickedness and pro fligacy of his life before the reception of his Bi ble; and other enormities, how he once cast a little son, three years old into the sea, because he cried for needed food. The young officer inquired of him the time and place and found here was hit own history. Reader, judge if you can, of the feelings of kis dying patient, to find that this same young stranger was his son ; the very son whom he had plunged into the sea, and had no idea but that he had immediately perished ! A descrip tion of the mutual feelings will not b attempt ed. The old man soon expired in the arms of his .son. The latter left the service and became a pious preacher of the gospel. On closing thia story, the minister in the meeting of the Bible Society, bowed to the chairman, and said, " Sir, am little Jack. Romantic Incident the Lost Hind. A paper printed at Elizabethtown, New Jersey, gave an account last fall of a grievous misfor tune to a young girl 13 years old namedj Meta Taylor. She was running to cross the railroad track, when she stumbled and fell. Just at that moment the cars of the New Brunswict road came up, and the locomotive cut off hkr 4eft hand which lay over the rail. In the confusion of the moment the hand was not picked up ; and finally, when it was looked for, it cotla not be found. It was feared some animal had carri ed it off,, and this thought was very distressing to the mother of the girl, as well as tj Meta herself. , Last week the lost hand was recover ed as follows : A young man from Elijabeth town (Jjppened to call on a friend of his at a -. boarding house in Eighth street, New York. On the shelf in the room he saw a gliss jar with a pretty little hand suspended in it, toreser- vea in spirits. 11 naa a ring on me taira nnger and was in every respect a lady like looking hand. He thought at once of the lost hand in Elizabethtown, but he did not suspect that this wasjhe one. On asking his friend whose hand it -mps, he was told that it came from thej Medi cal College, as his room-mate was a medical student. The vounfir man thought no more of the matter until he got home, when he mention- i ed what he had seen. His sister told him that : Meta Taylor's lost hand had a ring on the third finger, which she described. This ring was ex actly like that on the hand in the jari The sequel, may be told in a few words. Meti Tay lor came over to New York along with her moth er and the young man above alluded to. Pro ceeding at once to the house in Eighth Btreet, she recognized the preserved hand in the jar as her long lost member. The Student gave it up very cheer ully, assuring the young girl that he had bought it of a person who supplied bodies to the Medical College. It is suspected how ever, that he stole the hand himself as he was known to have been down at New Brunswick about the time the hand was cut off, and was probably a passenger in the cars that very day. Altogether this is the most singular case we .ever recorded. No prosecution of the youHff student will be made, as both parties seperated on the most friendly terms after, the hand was given up to its fair owner. J India Rubber Shoes. The New York Jour nal of Commerce, in an interesting article on the manufacture of Connecticut, gives the fol lowing account of the manner in which! India Rubber Bhoes are made. 'Contrary to the general impression, India Rubber, in the process of manufacturing is not melted, but it passed through heated iron rol lers, the heaviest of which weighs 20 tons, thus worked or kneaded, as dough is at a bakery. The .rubber is nearly 'all procured from the mouth of the Amazon, in Brazil, to which point it is sent from the interior. Its formj upon arrival, is generally that of a jug or pouchi as the natives use clay moulds of that shape, 'which, they repeately dip into the liquid caoutchouc until a coating of the desired thickness accumu lates, when the clay is broken and emptied out The rubber, after being washed, chopped fine, and rolled to a putty like consistency, is mixed with a compound of metallic substancesprinci pally white lead and sulphur, to give it body and firmness. Those sheets designed for the soles of shoes are passed under rollers having1 a dia mond figure surface. From these the soles are cut by hand and the seven pieces required to perfect the shoe are put together by females, on a last The natural adhesion of the rubber joins the seams. The shoes are next varnished and baked in an oven capable of holding! 2,000 pairs, and heated to about 300 degrees, where they remain seven or eight hours. This js call ed the 'vulcanizing process by which the rub ber is hardened. A large quantity of cotton cloth and cotton flannel is used to line shoes, and is applied to the surface of the rubbeil while it is yet in sheets. Not a particle of any oi these materials is lost The scraps of the rubber are re-melted, and the bits of cloth are chopped up with a small quantity of rubber, and rolled out into a substance like pasteboard, to form the inner sole. The profits of this business have been curtailed of late by the prevailing J high price of rubber, which has varied within a year from twenty to sixty cents per pound. The de mand, however is very large. A species of rub ber shoe, is lined with flaanel, and is more extensively used than the leathern shoe," , The Fashions. The Paris correspondent of the Boston Atlas writes under this head: The best midnight dress for elderly ladies con tinues to be a warm, white nightcap,' and a Jong white night-gown. The best cough mixture that has yetj been made consists of a pair of thick boots, mixed with lots of air and plenty of exercise. People who hug the stove and grow lean will please notice. Boston Post. ." -; -' j u m be blowed if I do," as the hot milk said when told to be ccoL
Southern Weekly Post (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
May 27, 1854, edition 1
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