Telegraph & Texas Register (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 16, No. 27, Ed. 1 Friday, July 4, 1851 Page: 2 of 4
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an approving eye.
[from the Richmond Times.]
A PICTURE.
B the Shockoe Hill Bury-
ifig Ground, a few evenings since; wo un-ex-
eye-witness to a scene;
jjht look down upon with
Within the railing of a
Matiy though plainly enclosed section, near
tfce Southern boundary of the burying ground,
WO discovered three sweet little girls—the
oldest had probably seen ten, and the
' joungest not over six summers. The trio of
v little inooents bad noiselessly gathered aroand
a little green mound whiohappeared to be the
Mtwly made grave of an infant. The elder
•ister—for sisters we judged them to be—
occupied in attitude of deep derotion, kneel-
ing softly and gently by /the side of the little
amen mound, which hid from view the loved
form of a little sister's own brother, who,
" the morn and liquid dew of youth,' bad
been translated to a happier sphere. On
either side, speechless and motionless, stood
iter little sisters, whose eyes, like her own,
wore running down with the meltings of their
pure and innocent hearts.
Not an audible whisper escaped the lips of
the little mourners. The orison of the kneel-
ing child was in sccret, but her whole manner
bespoko the eloquent nature of the prayer
the offered up to the throne of Heaven for
the little on s. That prayer, we doubt not,
has l^en registered in Heaven; and if, in
after life, its author should waver in the path
of rectitude, it will pl^ad trumpet-tongued in
her behalf.—Fearing that our presence might
-- disturb the secret devotions of the sweeet
little trio, we paused, and quietly took a
position which would enable us to watch,
unobserved, the action of the devout little
mourners. The elder sister held in her right
hand a bunch of .flowers—the earliest which
- a genial spring had caVled forth—consisting
of violets and hyacinths. These she would
press to her lips, and then scattcr them over
the grave of the little child. Anon she would
gather them up, press them .to her lips, and
again scatter them over the grave. The sun
was rapidly descending the Western horizon
—his last rajs were gliding the tops of the
obelisks which maTk the repose of the opulent
or the gifted, and >he shades of evening were
fast gathering a.ound the holy scene. Softly
and reverentially the little sister arose from
her kneeling posture, and as she arose we
oaught-a glimpse of her sadly sweet face; it
waaillnmined by an angelic radiance, which
for a momect induced us to believe her more
than mortal. Gently taking her sister by the
hand; the little trio of inncents softly left the
enclosure, the eldest sister closing the gate
With a degree of caution which seemed to in-
dicate her great anexiety, not to disturb the
slumbers of the little child reposing in the
enclosure. After casting one long lingering
look at the littiu green mound, the sisters
departed; and with the hurried eager sieps of
childhood soon reached the street. After
they had left we .drew near the spot rendered
saered by the outpourings of their hearts.
One little mound only broke the even surface
of the section—tke violets and the hyacinths
were there, and we imagined they distilled a
■ore delicious perfume on the "desert air"
than the rarest exotics cultivated by the
horticulturist. No stone told the name, age
or sex of the sleeping child, but his resting
place has been indelibly stamped upon our
awmory.
The Powder Mill Explosion—Shock-
ing Scene.—The Wilmington correspondent
of the Philadelphia Sun gives the following
particulars of the explosion of Garasche's
powder mill:
About 10 o'clock A. M. yesterday our
citizens were startled by an explosion like
that of blasting rocks, followed by a more
terrific one; some thought it was the new Gas
Company blasting rocks at the site of their
building, but soon the truth was told by a
large cloud of light smoke passing over us
from the direction of Garasche's. Immedi-
ately the whole city wasin motion, and hun-
dreds on foot, and a large number of every
description of vehicles at command, with
squads of horsemen, hastened with all speed
to the scene of disaster. Wc saw a woman
and her daughter on the road, distracted with
terror and agofly, crying, "Oh, my husband;
dear father! something tells me it is he that
is killed." These two were taken up by Mr.
Samuel A. Price, a merchant of our city,
who was in a caraiage, and conveyed to the
spot, and tbore, too true In her fears, she
found her husband a blackcned corpse. But
ooo building was blown op, aud three uicn
kiUed, one of whom lingered nntil this
morning. One was discmbowled and horri-
bly mangled, while the others were greatly
mutilated.
One of the hands who was tending' the
engine, on hearing the first, fled,and reaching
a wall, threw himself behind it, and in so do-
IBg saved himself. The firemen, with their
apparatus, were among the first on the ground,
Mid quenched the ' flames and smouldering
embers, thoreby preventing further danger
from the magazine or other mills. At one
time the firemen were warned ol the danger
of another explosion, bnt tbey stofcd their
ground|likesoldiers,jaod conquered the danger.
Mr. Garasche was in Wilmington at the time
Of the accident, and it is said, bad not one o!
the killed, one of his best hands, who had;
Wilbed to leave that day. stayed at bis post, I
. Mr. G. would have filled his place in this
tale'of disaster.
A MINE UNDER THE SEA.
. The following description of a visit to
Boftaltack copper mine, in England, is from
a work recently published, entitled ''Rambles
beyond railroads." In complete mining
equipment, with «randles stuck by lumps of
clay to their fell hate, the travelers have pain*
fully descended by perpendicular ladders. u;itJ
alqpg drippingwet rock passages fathoms
down into pitch darkness. The miner who
guides them calls a halt ; and their exact
position with reference to the surface of the
terraqueous globe ie thus described:
We are now {bur hundred yards out, under
dw bottom ol the sea, and twenty fathoms—
or a hundred and twenty feet—below the
sea levol. ('oast-trade vessels are sailing
uvea our beads. Two hundred and forty
fitet beneath u* men aro at work, and there
are galleries deeper yet. even below that !-t~
The extraordinary position down the lace of
the cliff of the engines and other works on
Iho surface at Bottallack is now explained.—
The mine is not excavated like other mines
Mttder the land, but under the sea.
Baring communicated these particulars, t he
Miner nejU teiU us to keep strict silence and
Jittcn. Wo obey him, sitting speechless and
faotionless. If the reader could only have
beheld os now, dcessed in our copper colored
jprmenis. huddled close together in a mere
«Jefi of subtei aureus rock, with flames burn-
jyqg go our and darkness enveloping
our limbs, he must certainly have imagined,
without any violent stretch of fancy, that he
was looking down upon a conclave of gnomes.
After listening (or a few moments, a distant,
unearthly noise became faintly audible—a
long, low, mysterious moaning that never
changes—that, is fete on the ear as well as
^eard by it—Jfraound that might proceed from
some incalculable distance—from some far,
invisible height—a sound unlike anything
that is heard on the upper ground, in the free
air of Heaven—a sound so sublimely mourn-
ful, and still so ghostly and impressive, when
listeued to in the subterranean recesses ofthe
earth, that we contin&e instinctively to hold
our peace, as if enchanted by it, and think
not of communicating to each other the strange
feeling and astonishment which it has inspir-
ed in us both from the first.
At last the miner speaks again, and tells
us that what we hear is the sound of the surf
lashing the rocks a hundred and twenty feet
above us, and of the waves that are breaking
on the beach beyond. The tide is now at the
flow, and the sea is in no extraordinary state
of agitation ; so the sound is low and distant
just at this period. But when storms are
at their height, when the ocean hurls
mountains after mountains of water on the
cliffs, then the noise is terrific, tha roaring
heard down here iu the mine is so unexpres-
sibly fierce and awful, that the boldest men at
work are afraid to continue theirjabor—all
ascend to the surface to breathe, upper air and
stand on the firm earth—dreading, though no
catastrophe has ever happened yet, that the
sea will break in on them if they remain in
the cavern below.
Hearing this, we get up to look at the rock
above us. We are able to stand upright in
the position we now occupy, and, flaring our
candles hither and thither in the darkness,
can see the bright: pure copper streaking the
gallery in every direction. Lumps of coze of
the most lustrous green color, traversed by a
natural net work of thin red veins of iron,
appear here and there in large irregular
patches over which water is dripping slowly
and incessantly in certain places.' This is
the salt water percolating through invisible
' crannies on the rock. .On stormy days it
spurts out furiously in thin, continuous
streams. Just over our heads we observe a
wooden plug of the thickness of a man's lag:
there is a hole here, and the plug is all that
we have to keep out the sea.
Rapid Talking—Emhusiam.—All the
world over, natural as well as moral, in physics
ps well as in metaphysics, rapidity is closely
related to heat, and heat to light. Here is a
grand advantage of a rapid utterance. lj)
stirs the spirit from laziness into excite^
ment; it raises a gentle, genial glow over the
whole nervons system. A succession of quick,
decisive sentences, freely and easily delivered,
will often kindle the mind into a luminous
heat, like bo many blasts from a pair of bel-
lows. Enthusiasm, it is pretty generally
agreed, is an indispensable postulate of great-
ness. For great things it is required in a great
degree,—fof little things in a lees and almost
imperceptible degree; but it is requsite for
suceess in all. And so intimately is the idea
of enthusiasm blended with that of rapidity in
word and action,' that to hear of a slow, dull,
heavy enthusiast would seem as strange as to
be told of a frozen spark, or a flaming icicle.
We should repudiate it as a flat contradiction
in terms. If, then, you would temper your-
self to the vivifying warmth, the fine glow of
enthusiasm—that is, if you would take the
first step towards greatness of mind,—cul-
tivate rapidity, and in proportion as you suc-
ceed you will be so much nearer to your ob-
ject.—Self Formation.
THE TELEGRAPH.
EDITED BY FRANCIS MOORE, Jr.
Houston, Friday, July 4,1851.
DIED.
We are pained to announce the death of
Mrs. M. R. Gray, who died in this city, on the
morning of the 1st inst., at the residence of her
son, Peter W. Gray, Esq. Seldom is it the lot
of the Journalist, to record the death of one so
distinguished by every ennobling virtue. The
loss of this estimable lady will be long and
deeply felt in this community. She was ever
the friend of the suffering and afflicted, and
ber whole life was marked by Christian
charity and benevolence. Of such an one we
may truly Bay, Bhe has gone to her reward
in another and betier world.
EXTRAORDINARY-ESC APE.
We find in the late Abingdon Virginian
the following account of one of the most re-
markable escapes probably on record. I
was almost miraculous:
The children of Mr. George Hickan, a
citizen ofSeolt county, were playing together
in field, and near the m->uth of a fathomless
sink-hole.# In their gambols, one of them,
a boy about eight or ten years of age, pushed
his little brother, about four years old, head-
long over the edge and down into the deep
dark pit below. It was some time after the
child was missed before any certain informa-
tion could be drawn from th^j others as to
what had become of-him; and it was on!}'
by threats of severe punishment, that finally
overcame their fear and extorted from the boy
who did the deed, a confession of what had
happened. An effort was made immediately
to ascertain the situation of the little fellow,
and afford him relief if he was not beyond its
power. Ropes were tied together, with a
stone attached to one end, and an attempt
was made to fathom the depth beneath, but
more than sixty feet of rope were employed
in V∈ no bottom could be reached. A
lighted candle was then let down, but its light
gave no hopeful indication except that the
pit was free from choke damp or impure air,
as far down as the candle descended. Night
came on and ail othes efforts had to bejbr
the time abandoned. On the next day further
trials were made of the depth of the pit, but
with no belter success* In despair the fran-
tic parents were about to give up all hopes of
recovery or relieving their little innocent,
and pieparations were being made to close
tip the mouth of the pit, to prevent a like oc-
currence iu the iutuiu, when it was suggested
and agreed upon, that another and a final
effort should be made by letting some indi-
vidual down by ropes to examine the nature
of the abyss and ascertain if thero was any
encouragement for farther efforts to be found
below. A brother of the lost child undertook
the fearful task. Curtis were fastened around
his waist and limbs, and one to his wrist, by
which he might indicate to'those above his
wishes either to descend or to be drawn up.
He was swung off and slowly lowered, until
having gone to the depth of about fifty feet, he
looked below him, and there shone through
the thick darkness two glistening eyesjntent-
ly looking upward. In another moment he
was standjng on a shelf or angle in the shaft
with the .child-clasped to bis bosoin. He
' fastened the little fellow secure to his own
body, and bidding him take the rope firmly in
his hands, the signal was given to draw up.
The child held convulsively to the rope, and
in a few minutes, tbey arose within view of
the hundred auxious spectators, who had as-
sembled lo witness the result; and when*
the first glimpse of the little felluw alive
caught their eager gaze, screams and shouts
of joy from the excited multitude filled the air.
and liig tears of sympathy started from the
eyes of every beboldfer. After the first parox.
ysms of delight had subsided, the child was
examined to see if it had sustained any injury,
and extraordinary to tell, with the exception
of a little bruise on the back of its head, it
was perfectly sound aud unhurt. The only
complaint ii made was that it was hungry,
being nearly 27 hours under the ground. To-
inquiries made of it, it replied that it saw a
light, and heard it thunder. From the nature
of (be pit, it appeared that the little feiiow
had fallen a perpendicular distance of 40 feet,
upon a slope or bend in the sail, and from that
place had glideddowh twenty feet farther to
the spot where was found, leaning against a
sort of pillar or wall, and gazing upward.—
How he escaped instant destruction is beyond
ail account.
Gen. Sara Houston arrived in town on
Monday evening, and was cordially welcomed
by the citizens.
There was a heavy and refreshing rain
here on Monday afternoon.
The Masonic Fraternity are making great
preparations to celebrate the laying of the
corner stone of the Masonic Hall in this city,
in an approgriate style. It is expected that
an address will be delivered on the occasion,
by Gen. Houston. Many members of the
Order, from the Lodges in adjoining counties
will probably be present. The ladies, with
their characteristic public spirit and gene,
rasity, have kindly offered to give a Fair on
the evening of the 4th, which will proba-
bly be one of the most splendid and magoifi.
cent entertainments of the kind that has ever
been given in our city.
Col Thayer, of the Houston House, is ma-
king great preparations for the public dinner
j to be given on the 4th of July. He has en-
! gaged a band of musicians to attend, and
| play a variety of national airs suitable to the
| occasion. His table will be loaded wiih the
| most choice and luscious delicacies of the
! season. We understand that it is the inten-
I tian of Gen. Houston's friends, to tender
| him a complimentary ball, previous to the
! 4tb.
capital to invest in an enterprise of this kind,
should come forward and aid in forming a
company to extend the commerce of Houston
to the great miningtowns ofNorthern Mexico.
Owing to the supineness. arfd apathy of our
capitalists, a large portion of the trade of
Austin and the neighboring towns has been
diverted from Houston. Formerly nearly all
the goods consumed in Austin were trans-
ported through Houston : now nearly two-
thirds of the goods are transported through
Port La Vaca. We are assured, however,
that if a regular transportation line were es-
tablished between Houston and Austin, that J
goods would be sold in Austin by Houston
Capt.b. K. 1 ^ewls passed through our city
last week on his way to Galveston, and ad-
dressed the citizens here in regard to the
Congressional canvass. Those who heard
him were quile pleased with his remarks.
The Hon. G. W. Wright, one of the Whig
Congressional candidates in the Eastern Dis-
trict, tm&iirjthdrawn frqm the canvass, owing
to ill
Gale.—The Gulf coast has recently been
visited by a heavy gale, and it is feared that
some injury has been sustained by the coast-
ing vessels. We have been informed by Dr.
Smith, that the gale was so severe at Galves-
ton, that seveta! of the buoys on the bar were
Bwept away. The steamer t Maria Burt,
which was due from New Orleans, had not
arrived at Galveston on Tuesday last; and
the Mexico, which was expected from
Matagorda, had not returned. It is supposed
that these vessels were driven ont to sea by
the violence of the gale.
Babbecvk.—We have been informed that
the barbecue, intended to be given at San
Jacinto, on the 4th instant, has been deferred
until Thursday,-the 10th instant.
Fatal Accident.—We regret to state
that Mr. Michael Connelly, of this city, acci-
dentally fell through the hatchway of the
steamer Reliance, a few days since, and was
killed. He had gone to the Reliance at the
ship-yard, and the evening after, his arrival
he was missed. The next morning he was
found in the hold, under the hatchway, quite
dead. He has left a wife and six children,
to deplore his loss.
Trade with Chihuahta.— We ended
vored several years since to induce the capi-
talists of this city to make an effort to divert
'a portion of the Chihuahua trade to this city.
We mentioned that goods could be trans-
ported from Houston to Chihuahua, at as
cheap a rate, or cheaper, than they could be
transported from any point on the Gulf coast.
Although a new road has been opened by
Matagorda bay to El Paso, by way of Bexar,
we are still confident that the route from
Houston, by way of Austin and Fredericks-
burg, to El Paso, is the best ; and if proper
exertions were made, the capitalists of Hous-
ton might furnish not only Austin and Frede-
ricksburg, and the intervening towns, but El
Paso and Chihuahua with the principal por-
tion of their goods and merchandize. To
effect this desirable object there should be
concert of action, and every citizen who has
Merchants, at a much lower rate than they ;
can possibly be obtained from Port La Vaca.
Year after year our merchants have depend- ;
ed on the caprice of wagoner^ who would j
haul goods only when it suited their conven- :
ience ; and, iu consequence, prices of trans-j
portation have been as variable as the winds.
Atone time, the cost of transporting goods
from Houston to Austin, would be one dollar
per hundred, and at another five times this
sum ; and yet if there were a regular line
established, goods could be transported by
this city to Austin,at all seasons, at an average
rate of one dollar a hundred weight. The
government stores for all the military posts
around Austin, and for those at El Paso,
might also be conveyed by this fine from
Houston, at a cheaper rale than they have
hitherto been conveyed from any other point.
The same teams that would be employed in
the transportation of goods and stores from
this city lb the interior towns, could bring
back cotton, corn and other produce, and
thus a profit would be made on the return
trip also. It must be obvious to the most
dull intellect, that if a line of this kind were
established, it would soon become a source
of immense wealth to this city.
Cattle Lost.—Several of the citizens re-
siding in the out*skirts of town, are complain-
ing that their cattle have disappeared, and
that at their old ranges scarcely one-tenth of
their stock can be found. Owing to the late
sultry weataer, and the scarcity of water on
the prairies, the cattle have probably been
induced to retreat to the bottoms of the
Brazos and Oyster Creek.
Our fellow-citizen, J. W. Henderson, can-
didate for the office of Lieut. Governor, was
at San Antonio on the 18th ult., and addres-
sed the citizens on that day. The Editor of
)he Ledger, referring to his qualifications for
office, says: "he is a gentlemen that has done
our State some service, and will, if elected,
we have no doubt, fill the office he aspires to
in a manner that will be creditable to the
State."
Noble Conduct.—The officers and me-
chanics employed on the steamer Reliance,
and those employed at the steam-mill of Mr.
Charles Speer's, have generously contributed
sixty dollars, lo relieve the distressed family
of Mr. Connelly, who was accidentally killed
ou the Reliance last week. It is pleasing to
notice such instances of liberality.
We were much pleased on Saturday last,
to meet our old friend, Thomas S. Lubbock,
who has jiiSt returned from California. He
came iu company with Mr. F. Terry, and
several others, through Mexico, by way of
Mazallan. He speaks of the route from Ma-
zatiau as beiug preferable to that by Panama.
He was about forty days on the way from
Mazallan to Houston.
We are happy to learn that several gentle-
men have purchased the tract of land at the
crossing of the San Jacinto, near Mr. Joseph
Dunman's place, and intend to erect a large
steam saw and grist mill, directly on the bank
of the river. There are immense quantities
of beautiful pine and cypres timber in" the vi-
cinity, and lumber enough could be furnished
from this section to supply-the most populous
section of the State for several years. The
lumbeir, when prepared for market, can rea-
dily be conveyed down the San Jacinto, and
shippeda to Galveston, Houston, or any
markets in the interior. We are glad to find
that the immense forests of the Norih-easlern
portions of Harris county are thus likely to
become sources of wealth. Hitherto they
have been comparatively valueless.
The gold fever in Maine is still raging.—
It is estimated that over two thousand miners
have commenced work, aud thousands are
still flocking to the new gold region. It is
said that some of the miners have made forty
or fifty dollars a day.
We learn from a gentleman who has re-
cently retrncd from Graysoncounty, that the
couutry in that section is fast filling up with
emigrants from Missouri, Illinoisand 1 ndiana,
and large quantities of rye, wheat and oats,
and other graius, that are generally cultivated
in the North, are raised there. The nor-
thern fruits are also cultivated, and the country
resembles portions of the North-Western
States. Very few cotton planters have set-
tled there, although the soil and climate were
as well adapted to the culture of this staple as
the Southern portion of Tennessee, and the
Northern part of Mississippi. The settle-
ments are gradually extending westward into
Cooke county, and towards the sources of the
Trinity. The settlers gel most of their sup-
plies of goods from the towns ou th^ Red
river,and the frontier ports in that sectionare
also furnished with military stores from the
same poiuts. Large quantities of military
stores have been shipped high up the Red
river, to be transported from thence to the
new post that has been established on the
Brazos. Messrs. Hunt and Black have ta-
ken the contract to transport these stores to
the Brazos. The crops of corn, wheal &c.,
'iti Grayson and the adjoining counties, are
quite good. Abundant rains have fallen in
that section. Qut the country extending from
Collin, quite down to the San Jacinto, is
parched up with the drought.
The democratic party is in no want of
Presidential candidates at this time, It has
generals and heroes enough to supply presi-
dents for the next half century. Ge::: Wool,
Gen. Persifer F. Smith, Gen. Butler of South
Carolina, and Gen. Houston, are all in nom
, I '
ination for the Presidency. Gen. Cass and
the Hon. Levi Woodbery, seem to be cast
quite into the shade by the blaze of these
military stars. The heroes of the Whig par-
ty on the other hand seem lo be overshadow-
ed by the brilliant talents of Clay, Webster
and other civilians whose fame has spread
wider than even the glorious victories of a
Scott.
Soap Mine.—A substance resembling
soap has been found in New Mexico by John
Gorman, one of the assistant Marshals to take
the canvass. It was found in the town of
Chimallo :—
It makes a lather like soap, and has ths
property of removing grease spots or stains
out of any kind of cloth. When put in water
it immediately slacks like lime. At the
place where the discovery was first made, it
is even with the surface, and about fifteen
yards square. It is rotten on the top to about
he depth of three feet, hut appears cleaner
and sounded at greater depth. It can be ta-
ken out in large lumps of ten or fifteen pounds
weight. It is as white as snow, and seems
to exist in large quantities. Specimens have
been forwarded to the Patent Office at Wash-
ington^
The July number o&Godey's Layd's Book
Qpntains some veyr interesting articles, edit-
ed, as it is, by Mrs. S. J. Hale, one of the
most talented of female authoresses in the
United States, and its principle contributor •'
being American ladies it is deservedly entitled
to the popularity that it has acquired.
Among the most interesting and useful
articles in this number are the Broken Mer-
chant, a storo written by Mrs. S. J. Hale.—r
*A Plea for Equestrians, by Mrs. Alice B.
Neal. ' Independence, a very good article,
by Mrs. Hovey. The " book" has now reach-
ed its majority, having been published 21
years; and we have tio doubt, with the en-
ergy and skill of its publisher# it will give
increased evidence of its having come- to
years of maturity.
The Editor of the Red-Land Herald speaks
of the Democratic Convention, lately held ai
Henderson, as a " humbug," and denies that
it represented even a respectable minority of
the Democratic Party of the Eastern Dis-
trict. The Herald, which is. regarded as the
organ of Mr. Greer, says: " the impression
in our community ou the subject of the Con-
vention, is, that no true and sound Democrat
would have given countenance to such a
movement, and their attempts to palm it off
as a Democratic Convention." It appears
fiom the proceedings of the Convention, that
eighteen counties in the Eastern District
were represented, and we doubt whether a
Convention was ever held in that section, in
which a larger portion of the citizens were
represented. If the democratic party there
is strong enough, however, it may run three
or four candidates, without jeopardising its
interests. The Herald states that, at least
three of the Democratic candidates will re-
ceive a much larger vote than either of the
Whig candidates.
DEATH-PLACE OF PONTIUS PILATE.
A legend is popular among the people of
Vienna concerning the death of Pontius Pi-
late. The story is of a strange character,
and throws a wild and pleasing interest over
the locality which cammemorated the event.
Not far from Vienna is situated a small tow-
er ; its walls are built square, and rise to an
unusual height. Its lattice work overlooks
the waters of the river ; and the lofty shadows
of its exterior envelope the shining tiood
winding at its base with a perpetual gloom
that seem3 to borrow an additional uature of
melancholy from the character to the deed
which i« presumed to have been enacted
there. This place iscalled the Tour de Man-
conseul. After the crucifixion of Jesos Christ,
Pilate, broke in spirit, retired to the tower,
to indulge in bis griff, and to conceal bis la-
mentations from the eyes of his unbelieving
people.—Here, violently susceptible of the
great wrong and wickedness he tell himself to
have participated in, in a paroxysm of despair
he threw himself from the lofty windows of
the tower and perished in the waters of the
Rhine. The Swiss have likewise the trudi-
tionary accounts of the death of Pilate. At
the foot of one of the Alpine Mountains, call-
ed by the name of Pilate, stands a small fake;
its waters are constantly in a disturbed state,
and often the Rcene of violent storms. Gloom
and solitude are the leading characteristics of
the unfrequented place, which presents but a
wild .aud ilb-boding picture.
THE JEWELLED WATCH;
and support of these baby-visitors, formed a
serious item fn their yearly expenditure.
For a whilo they struggled on without fall-
ing into-debt; but at length . their giddy feet
slipped into that vortex w,hich has engulfed
so many, and their affairs began to assume a
very gloomy aspect. About this time an ad-
venturer named Smith, with whom Captain
Dutton became casually acquainted, aud
whose plausible manners and appearance
completely imposed upon the frank, unsus-
pecting soldier, proposed to him a plan for
insuring, as he represented it, b large and
rapid (fortune. This was to be effected by
embarking considerable capital in the manu-
factory of some new kind of spirit-lamps,
which Smith assured the captain would, when
once known, supersede t,Le use of candles
and oil-lamps throughout the kingdom.
To hear him descant on the marvellous vir-
tues and money-making qualities of his lamp,
one would be inclined to1 take bim for the
liueal descendant of Aladdin, and inheritor of
that scampish individual's precious heirloom.
Our modeTn magician, however, candidly con-
fessed that be still wanted the "slave of tl <?
lamp," or, in other words, ready money, to
set the invention agoing; and be at length
succecded in persuading the unlucky captain
to sell out of the army, and invest the price
of his commission in this luminous venture.
If Captain Dutton had refused to pay the
money until he should be able to pronounce
correctly the name of the invention, he would
have saved his cash, at the expense probably
of a semi-dislocation of his JaWs; for the
lamp rejoiced in an eight-syllabled title, of ^
which each vocable belonged to a different
tongue—the first-being Greek, the fouith
Syriac, and the last taken from the aborigiual
language of Zealand; the intervening sc.mas
believed to be respectively akin to Latin,
German, Sanscrit, and Malay. Notwith-
standing, however-, this prestige of a name,
the lamp was a decided failure: its light was
brilliant enough; but the odor it exhaled in
burning was so overpowering, so suggestive of
Sn evil origin, so everyway abominable, that
those adventurous purchasers who tried it
once, seldom submitted their olfactory nerves
to a second Ordeal. The sale aud manufac-
ture of the lamp and its accompanying spirit
were carried ou by Mr. Smith alone in one
of the chief commercial cities of England, he
having kindly arranged to take all the
trouble offhis partner's hands, and only re-
quiring him to furnish the necessary fands.
For some time the acgonnts of tbe business
transmitted to Captain Dutton were most
flourishing, and bo and his gentle wife fondly
thought they were about to realise a splendid
fortune for their little ones; but at length
they began to fcel anxious for the arrival of
the cent.-per-cent. profits which had been
promised, but which never came; and Mr.
Smith's letters suddenly ceasing, his partner
one. morning set off to inspect die scene of
operations.
Arrived at L -,he repared to.a street
whore the manufactory was sitoated, and
found it shut up! Mr. Smith had gone off to
America considerably in debt to those who
bad been foolish enough to trust him; and
leaving more rent due on tbe premises than
the remaining stock in trade'of. the unpro-
nouncable lamp would pay. Aato .tbo poor
ex-captain, he returned to his family a ruined
man.
But strength is often found'in the depth of
adversity, courage in despair; and both ovr
hero and his wife set resolutely to work to
support themselves and their children. Hap-
pily they owed no debts. On selling out,
Captain Dutton had honorably paid every
farthing he owed in the world before intrust-
idg the remainder of his capital, to the un-
principled Smith; and now,this upright con*
duct was its own reward.
He wrote a beautiful hand, and while seek-
ing some permanent employment, earned a
trifl* occasionally by copying manuscripts,
and engrossing in an attorney's office. His
wife worked diligently with her needle, bnt
the care of a young family, and the necessity
of dispensing with a servant, hindered her
from adding much to their resouroes. Not-
withstanding their extreme poverty, they
managed to preserve a decent appearance,
and to prevent even their neighbors from
knowing the straits they were often reduced?
Their little cottage was always exquisitely
clean and neat; and the children, despite of
scanty clothing, and often insufficient food,
looked, as they were tbe sons and daughters
of a gentleman. ~ .
It was Mrs. Dutton's pride to preserve tbe
appearance of her husband's wardrobe—and
often did she work till midnight at turning
his coat and darning his linen, that he might
appear as usual among bis equals. She
often urged him to visit bis former acquaint-
ances, who had power to befriend him, and
solicit their interest in obtaining some per-
manent employment—but the eoldier, who
was as brave as a lion when facing tbe enemy,
shrank with the timidity of a girl from ex-
posing himself to tbe humiliation of a refusal,
and could not bear to confess his urgent
need. He bad too much delicacy to press
bis claims; he was too prond to be impor-
tunate; and so others succeeded where be
failed.
It happened that the General' under whom
he had served, and who bad lost tight of him
since his retirement from tbe ssrvice, came
to spend a few months at the watering-place
near which the Buttons resided, aschhired for
the, season a handsome furnished house.
Walking one morning on tbe sands, in a dis-
oonsolated mood, our hero saw, with surprise,
his former commander approaching; and with
a sudden feeling of false shame, he tried to
avoid a recognition. But the quick eye of
General Vernon was not to be eluded, and
interceptingliitn with an outstretched band,''
he exclaimed—
4'What, Dutton! is that you? It serins an
ag ' since we met. Living in this neighbor-
ly ,>d, eh?"
"Yes, General; I have been living here
since I retired from the gervice."
"And you sold ont, I think—to please the
mistress i suppose, Dutton? Ah! these ladies
have a great deal to answer for. Tell Mrs.
Dutton 1 shall call on her some morning, and
read her a lecture for taking you from us.°*
Poor button's look of confusion, as ho
pictured the Geueral's visit surprising his wife
in the performance of ber menial labor,
rather surprised the vctern; but its true causo
He had a great re-
THE DANGER OF RASH JUDGMENTS
[We recently published a tail by Dr. W.
L. Elder, of which this (from Chamber's
Edinburgh Journal) will remiud the reader
—a watch being tbe cause of suspicion in
both cases. This is the only resemblance,
however, between the two tales, both of which
are very good.—Ed. Sat. Eve. Post.]
Among the many officers who, at the closo
of the Peninsular war, retired on half pay,
was Captain Dutton, of the—th regiment.
Ho had lately married the pretty, portionless
daughter of a deceased brother officer; and
filled with romantic visions of rnral bliss and j didfnot' occur to them.
'love in a cot age, the pair, who were , for Dutton, considering him one of the
equally unskdled in the practical details of j b^tand bravest officers untfcr his command,
housekeeping, fancied they could live in j am] WBS sincerely pleased at meeting him
affluence, and enjoy all the luxuries of life, | again; so, after a ten miuutes' coloquy, dnr-
on the halt pay which formed their sole in- j jng the progress of which the ex soldier, like
c0™,®" , * , . , , , j the war-horse who pricks np his ears at the
lhey took up their abode near a pleasant j 80und of a trumpet, became gay and animat-
ed, as old associations of tbe camp aud icld
town in the South of England, and for a time
got on pretty well; but when^at the end of
the first year a sweet little boy made bis ap-
pearance, and at the end of the second an
equally sweet little girl, they foiled that
nursemaids, baby-linen, doctors, and all tbe
etceteras appertaining to the introduction
i
t
r
eame back on him, the General shook him
heartily by tbe band, and said—"You^l dine
with me to-morrow, Dutton, and meet a few
of your old friends? Come, I'll take no ex-
cuse; you must not turn hermit on our
hands."
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Moore, Francis, Jr. Telegraph & Texas Register (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 16, No. 27, Ed. 1 Friday, July 4, 1851, newspaper, July 4, 1851; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth233356/m1/2/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.