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apartment filled ;Witri the splendor of the
evening sky?1 There kneeled Justa by the
bid of his father,, who sat looking into the
heavens, while his pate wasted countenance
gleameJ strangely in the rosy light. Got
. treiuh full upon the old man's bosom, who
stretched toward hi:n his withered yel
low hand, and said, " You have come just
ia time my, son."
Justa related, ia a few words, how the fa
ther had overwrought himself in attention
to his duties, and had -been now, for some
days, half sunk in leatheargy; seeming to
take no more intetest in all that had once
been dearest to him. As he spoke, the old
man heard not, but continued gazing upon
the sun, sitting now behind clouds of crimson
and gold. Suddenly the heavens were over
t clouded; a dead calm lasted a few minutes;
ihen fell heavv shower nf min r th lirrhtninn
streamed through the chamber, and th. thun
der rolled among the hills. It seemsd that
- the disturbance had aroused tha dvintr man
-'from, his, stupor: H hear," said he, "the
rain againg; speak, children; fori must soon
go." The heaven discharged their fulness,
and all life throughout the vale seemed re-
freshed by the shower as the sun broke forth
again and changed the cloud-wrecks of the
storm into shapes and hues of wonderous
beauty. "See," said the enlivened old man.
pointing to the sky, "see the glorious r0rk
M bod! And now, my son, tell me for
last comfort here, something of the goodness
and "loveliness of the Alro:.ghty. One, ss
you told us in your homilies in the spring."
ooureicn wept as ne thought that the little
manual drawn ur lor his own use the " Re-
- collections of the Fairest Hours to cheer the
Latest Hours of Life" must be first read
mi UXa Ct 1 . ,1 1 ....
lai.ici s ucam-Dea. wnen he men
tioned them, the old man said, "Hasten and
bring them.', ' And so, with trembling voice,
Gottreich began:
" Oh think, in the darksome hour, how the
glory of heaven and earth once filled your
bosom! how you gazed by day into one in
finitude of beauty, and by night into anoth
er! Put away the unmeaning notion of void
space, and surround yourself ae-ain, as a
middle point, with the fullness and glory of
innumerable suns and worlds, all full of life
and love splendor with splendor, grandeur
with grandeur mingling. Soar, spirit! ages
after ages, from world, you will ever be in
the bosom of the infinite fullness, in no per
il of falling into a dead void; for empty space
is only between the worlds, and not around
them all. Oh think, in the darksome hour,
on the time when your heart burst forth in
rapturous prayer to God! on the diy when
the thought of the infinite, the eternal, open
ed in your mind."
Here the old man folded his hands in si
lent prayer. " Have you not known and
felt present the Being whose infinitude is not
only of power and wisdom, but of love?
now the sweet hours of childhood, when the
deep blue sky of night opened upon you
like the scft kind eyes of a preserving angel
over you. And think how a gentle reflec
tions of the eternal goodness, from heart to
heart, from eye to eye, of mankind,' have
played around you, as the one light plays
from sun to sun, from world to world, through
all the universe.
"Oh think, in the darksome hour, how, in
the springtide, the' grave only seemed the
horrizon of a few world, and how, even in
the fullness of life, you could think of better
things attor death. Think that your life is
ever surrounred with the universal life in
which birth and death are only the light up
permost billows of an unfanthomable ocean.
And run vim fnromt In th larlrnmA hnnr
" j vu v g v .ft. - - viaaw iiuui
father how great and gooo! men have lived
and died whose path you are oow following?
See the great spirits of the human race who
stand en their mountain-towers, with the
storms of life about and below, but never
above them. Recall to mind the enthroned
succession of sages and poets who have
illuminated and inspired people after people,
through so many ages."
"Seak of our Redeemer," said the father.
"Yes; think, in the darksome hour, of Jesus
Christ. Life is holy, and death is holy; for
he has shared both with ns. May he look
upon you, in this last darksome hour, and
show you hit and your Father!"
A gentle burst of thunder rolled among
the clouds awhile, and then the sun looked
out again in mild beauty.
"And think, father, how the heart can love,
aniJiow many millions of coulds may live in
love, nourished and supported by one heart
spring, ss the oak for many centuries, out of
one root, draws life for the glories of five
hundred spring tides."
" Do yon mean me!" asked the father.
"I am Jhinkiag of my mother, too," said
lbeson;and Justa melted into tears as she
saw that thoughts of love could so overcome
the bitterness of death;. while the old man
musing on his long-deceased wife, murmured
softly, "Meet again!" .
Suddenly the clouds were arranged in two
dark mountain-peaks, ' between which the
sun looked out with a kind farewell glance
upon the earth.
"What a glorious countenance!" said the
dying man.
" It is (he setting sun, father," said Got
treich. .' '. " .
"Yes, I see that face again; and " said
the father, thinking all the while of his depar
ted wife. Gottreich felt unable to continue
his " Recollections," and gt on to. describe
the joys of reunion upon fcarth which he
had i penned in the rooming; for how could
he speak of ea:Vniy happiness to one who
ven nstf was gazing into a higher life!
" Father !" he exclaimed, as he marked the
fixing gaze of the dying man, how are you
now!"
" Yes, I am thinking so and so," the old
man kept murmuring, as he imagined he still
heard his son speaking. " Death is, sweet,
and 'tis lovely to depart in Christ." Still
he seemed drinking in '.'ne words of his son,
and enriching his departing soul with all the
joys of his past life, as from time to time he
whispered, with failing breath, "All good!"
till the brightness of all those views of his
life was lost, not in darkness, but In light, as
in his soul arouse the sun God. As the sun
sank down, the lather raised himself from his
pillow, expanded his arms, and said, "There
are three beautiful rainbows over the setting
sun I must go." , Then he fell back and
expired. Whatever livingjnen may say
of death as a sleep, or annihilation. ( both
words without meaning.) those who have
wacthed by the dying, and heardlheir last
breathing, knowing that thethoughts of
the last hour rather rising and going hence.
"He is gone!" said Gottreich, weeping,
to Justa, who wept over the pule form "lie
is gone, full of holy joys to his God. Let us
not weep. The sun has set and risen at once;
and he knows now the same light makes glo
rious the evening and the morning."
"We have fully weighed ' the actual and
the possible value of the territory of Texas,
the advantages accruing to Mexico by retain
ing it in possession, and still more the preca
rious situation to which she would find her
self reduced, were she to permit a colossus
to arise within her own limits, always ready
to advance and covetous to obtain new ac
quisitions by the tritejtitle of theft and usur
pation: but'eren - were the soil of Texas a
mere desert of cand, reproductive aave of
thorns, to wound the foot of the traveler, this
plane,useless, sterile and unproductive,should
be (efended with energy and constancy, un
der the conviction, that the possession of a
undisciplined soldiery: many of the prisoners
of Goliad who were among the most excited",
were immediately charged with my custody;
projects to murder me in some oamarious
manner succeeded one to another, I was
hand-cuffed to an iron bar for more than fifty
days, and on the 30th of June I was ordered
to march out to be shoti on the same spot
where Fannin and his men were executed.
This wicked plan was frustrated, thanks to
the kind offices of Stephen Austin. Now
that you announce to me your intention to
proceed to Texas, you may in the theatre
itself of my sufferings, verify circumstantial
ly and minntelv the cruel, unwor-, nd in-
right imposes upon a nation the necessity of j human treatment, to which I became the butt,
From the New Orleans Picayune Extra.
TEXAS AND MEXICO. .
(concluded.
Answer.
"Palace of the Gov. of Mexico,)
February 18, 1842. $
Mr. J. Hamilton:
My Dear Sir Mr. Packenham, minister
of her Britannic Majesty, placed in my hands
in due time, your letters of the 1 8ih of last
January, which had reached him by the
steamer Forth, and 1 at present acknowledge
its receipt after the delay required by the
grave matter on which it treats.
."A letter written without previous ac
quaintance with me, either official or person
al, by a man whose very acts stamp him an
enemy of my country, could not fail to sur
prise me; and the more so, from the want of
tact and delicay with which certain proposi
tions are addressed to one, who knows how
much is due to his eminent position, and to
his own dignity and honor. You have placed
me, sir, under the necessity of being expl:
cit and severe, because I cannot consent that
you and the partizens of your cause, should
deceive themselves concerning the final res
olution of Mexico in the question of Texas,
nor can I omit the expression of the profound
disgust which you have excited in me, by so
rudely coming forward, to propose to me
the sale of Texas, and the acquisition an in
famy.
" You commence by acknowledging your
self a citizen of the United States, and at
the same time agent of Texas, for the re
cognition of its independence, by tha Euro
pean powers, and for the well known and un
fortunate negotiations for loans. I do not
conceive how you can preserve the title of
citizen of a nation at peace, harmony and
friendship with Mexico, while at the same
time, you endeavor to do her all the harm in
your power, and to cut off from her a part
of her tirrity, by means which you have em
ployed with such singular activity. This
species of independence with which you rep
resent yourself as a citizen of the United
States, excites vivid recoliections that your
countrymen first commenced the war; intro
duced disorder into Texas and still maintain
it in scandalous violation of the. treaties
which should, in good faith, unite the two
nations. Butleaving this examination to the
criticism of the civilized world, which is ig
norant neither or the origin, nor the tenden
cies of thejusurpation of Texas, I will quick
ly show you, that you are mistaken, and that
too, greatly, in supposing Mexico deficient
either in the strength or the will to maintain
her incontestible rights.
never abandoning it with shame and disgrace
to her name. 1. If you are acquainted with
the statistics of Mexico, you cannot be igno
rant of its population and its wealth; and if
you have read history, you will remember
that the race which now peoples the Ameri
can continent is the same, which on so many
memorsliVe occasions, has given signal proofs
not only of constancy, but even ot obstina
cy in defence of their lands, their hearts and
their national individuality.
"Eleven years of a bloody and mortal
strife to conquer our independence, wil
serve perpetually to prove that strong pas
sions agitate our hearts, and nerve our arms
in a great crisis; and this very prolonged se
ries of civil wars has formed here a popula
tion as warlike as they are patient, and emi
nently capable of action under all the stimu
lants of glory, when controlled by a govern
ment which respects itself, and enforces re
spect for the people whose welfare is confided
to it. You must clearly remember that in the
beginning of 1 836 Texas found itself subju
gated, and tltat only a freak of fortune, the
unexpected conduct of the general, who sue
ceeded me in the command, withdrawing im
properly the Mexican army, and other causes
which, even at present, appear incompre
hensible, annulled the immense and definite
results of the rapid succession of victories
gained by this same army, under my orders
and directions. Greater and more powerful
efforts than those can still be made; and sir,
you must not doubt that they will be made;
for to the knowledge of my duties, I unite a
consciousness of the power and the resour
ces at my control. One of the most grave
and vehement charges preferred by the na
tion agniifst the government which ha3 just
disappeared from office, was the apathy and
criminal neglect with which it conducted the
affairs of Texas, and I am not the man who
will incur so just a reproach, or will sanction,
by silence or inactivity, one of the most
scandalous robberies of the present centua
"Feeling as I do, all the merit and impor
tance of Texas, all the basis of my country's
rights, and the imponderable, results of their
renunciation,! can never contribute to the
recognition of her fatal independence; I will
say more, never will 1 permit any one to dare
do that which the nation will not sanction;
and he, whoever he may be shall be consid
ered and punished as a traitor to the rights,
the name, and the glory of Mexico.
"Your proposals of five millions of dollars
for the renunciation of Texas, is a miscalcu
lation, and an act of audacity; permit me,
sir, to add to you, that your offer of two hun
dred thousand dollars for the secret agents of
the government of Mexico, is an insult and
infamy unworthy of a gentleman.
"Perhaps you have ventured upon this im
prudence yielding to the illusion that my re
turn to power gave some probability to the
hope of an arrangement, favorable to Texas:
if such was your opinion, you, like many
others, have been deceived for I have chan
ged neither my convictions nor my resolu
tions, nor am I bound by any pledgeor pro
mise whatever, that could give plausibility to
so unjust a suspicion. I promised in Texas,
beneath the rifles ot the tumultuary (tumulta-
rious) 'soldiers, who surrounded me, that 1
would procure a hearing for their commission
er Jrom my government, and would exercise
my influence to prevent for the time being a fa
tal struggle: and this promise, whose object
was to secure, without molestation, the re
treat, which the Mexican army had already
commenced, and which I learned with Ahe
greatest sorrow from General Wall, natural
ly remained without effect, from my sad con
sideration as a prisoner; because the aggres
sions of theTexians removed even the pos
sibility of lightning the evils of war, and be
cause they failed themselves, in their promi
ses, they annulled the resolutions of him
whom they called their cabinet, they caus
ed me violently to disembark from the schoo
ner Invincible; and abandoned me to the ex
cited passions of one hundred and thirty re
cruits jusi arrived irom .New Orleans. I was
exposed to the gaze and the insults of this
after the nominal agreement of the 14th of
May. In those I did not compromise myself,
nor could more than as a private individual,
to make representations to my government;
but even this weak and isolated agreement
lost its validity as soon as they commenced
to treat me as in former days it was custo
mary to treat slaves in the region of Barba
ry. I send with this letter the protest which,
on the 6th of the same June, 1 directed in
the port of Velasco to Mr. David G. Bur
nett, who acted then as President of the so
called Republic; read it sir, without prejudice
and in cool blood, and confess that, to the
very enemies who were so anxious for my
death, I openly threw the accusation of in
fidelity and inconsistency; and I proved to
them that my pledges had been annulled en
tirely by their own fault.
"Messrs. E Austin and Samuel Houston
saved my life; they alleviated my lot as far
as was possible to them; they made me an
object of their compassion and most gentle
manly commiseration. Mr. Houston dis
tinguished himself by obtaining for me my
liberty, without requiring from me any retri
bulion. How great are my obligations for
this act! Ever will 1 be greateful for actions
so worthy of Christains and sensible men.
Ever will 1 survive to reward them, under all
possible contingencies. I will publish their
deeds to their honor and praise; for such acts
invariably secure the sympathy and admira
tion of the whole human family. But even
these considerations cannot bind me down
to act withlukewarmness in the affair of the
great nation which I govern; more purticu
larly when they involve her major interests.
The Mexican army has again taken a posi
tion of offence, and she will not vary her at
titude till she plants her Eagle Standard on
the abnks of the Sabine.
time, that change th every thing, brought re-
lief, and I still had two sons. But my cap .,
of affliction was not yet full. They tooV
were taken from me. Side by side they--died
not is their brother, but the fire-damp-1 :
caught their breath, and left them scorched
and lifeless. They brought them home to-
the old man ; his jewels than whom earth?
richest treasures in his sight bad no price "
and told him he was childless and alone. It ' '
is a strange decree that the old plant should
thus survive the stripling things it shaded, and -for
whom it would have died a thousand times.
It Ss surprising that I should wish to die ia
the miner
"Yoil have intWrt " 1 ronKaJ UHnlk.r
1 .v.m, uiwia-vi
affliction ;--whence do you derive consols-'
tionTj'
The old man looked up. "From Heaven :
V 1 . .i -V .
gave ana ne tasetn away blessed be "?
his name!" . '
I bowed my head to the miner's
prayer, and the old man passed on.
- THE R.IDIC11;
SATURDAY. APIL.2. 18421 ,
' - -
THE MINER.
"There's danger in the mines, old man," I
exclaimed to an aged miner, who with his
arms bent, leaned against the sides of the
immense vault, absorbed in meditation; it
must be a frightful life."
The old man looked with a steadfast but
somewhat vacant stare, and then in half bro
ken sentences muttered, "danger where is
there not on the earth or beneath it, on the
mountain or in the valley, on the ocean or
in the quiet of nature's most hidden spot
where hath not death left some token of his
presence!"
"Tru'y," I replied, "but the vicisitudes of
life are various; the sailor seeks his living on
the waters, and he knows each moment that
they may engulph him; the hunter seeks
death in the wild woods, the soldier in the
field of battle, and the miner knows not but
that spot where he now stands, to-morrow
mav be his tomb."
"It is so, indeed," replied the old man;
"we find death in the means we seek to per.
petuate life; 'tis a strange riddle, who shall
solve it!"
"Haveyou long followed this occupation r
asked, somewhat struck with the old man's
manner.
"From a boy I drew my first breath in
the mines I shall yield it up in their gloom."
"You have seen some of these vicisitudes,"
said, "to which you just now alluded."
"Yes," he replied, with a faltering voice,
"I have. There was a time three small boys
ooked up to me, and called, me father. They
were sturdy striplings. Now it seems but
yesterday, they stood before me in the pride
of their strength, and I filled, too, with a
father's vanity! But the Lord chasteneth
the 'proud heart. Where are they now! I
saw the youngest he was the dearest of the
flock his mother's spirit seemed to have
settled on him crushed at my feet a bleed
ing mass. We were together so near that
his hot blood sprung up intq. my face. Mol
ton lead had been less lasting than those fear
ful drops. One moment, and his light laugh
was in my ear the next, and the laree mass
came; there was no cry of terror, but transi
tion to eternity was as the liehtnine's flash
and my poor boy lay crushed beneath the
fearful load. It was an awful mnm.i i....
...wujvuii UUl
We are apprised of the many perplexities, tri
als and difficulties attending our present position.'
The scholar, the critic, the wise man, and the:
fool, will all have some fault or failing to point ,
out in our course of conduct : we have not the
most distant idea of being able to please all per- -
haps but very few. Some will find fault with '
the appearance of the paper some with the taste?
displayed in making selections, and others with,
the advertisements, &c. We have been told, if we
had continued the paper thoroughly Democratic,,
we would have been well sustained; others have
said, if you had changed the name, we would
have taken the paper and given you all the sop
port possible. Others have said, give us the facts, -we
care nothing about the editor's opinions; if
we have the facts, we can form our own conclu
sions. Some say they want a " whole hog" pa
per, they will not take a neutral paper; others
have said, we will fake your paper, but if you
abuse either of the political parties we will quit
you. Some are afraid we will lean towards the
Wbigs, and others that we will lean towards the
Democrats. And now we say, gentlemen, be
sure your own eye is " zaclly " plumb before you
accuse us of being straight up and leaning over.
We have already said we will endeavor to act
fairly and impartially with all, at least as much
so as human nature will permit. We do not deny
having our principles and preferences, but at the
same time we are willing to allow others the-
same liberties we take ourself. It is probable wes
will be censured by many, yet we hope to deserve
it from none. After mature deliberation, and"
viewing the subject in its various bearings, we
have adopted the course laid down in our pros
pectus, and we expect to pursue it most scrupu
lously. We have already received much encou
ragement from many of our best citizens, who
wish the welfare and happiness of our common,
country, regardless of parties or names ; others,
again, caring more for these things, as we sup
pose, than for the good of the country, have in
an abrupt manner withdrawn their support. We
thankfully receive the patronage of all those die
posed to encourage us ; and to those disposed to
censure and find fault we say, withdraw your
patronage we don't care a fig; we intend to do
the thing we believe to be right, regardless of
consequences.
News from Texas is of the most interesting
character. We learn from various sources that
Mexico is in arms, and marching some fourteen
thousand strong against Texas, and already have
crossed the Rio Grande and captured several
small towns. President Houston has issued his
proclamation, calling upon every man, subject to
military duty, in the government to hold bim
self in readiness for three months' service, with
eight days' rashions and one hundred rounds of
ammunition. We may look for a clean sweep,
as t!iere is no probability there will be any quar
ters given on either side. For particulars, exa
mine an article on our third page, quoted from
the New Orleans Crescent City.
The alternative between England and tke U,
States appears to be, that the former must recede
from some positions taken: the latter mnx have
her authority treated with contempt, or they
must try the strength of arms. America has de
manded the mutineers and murderers in the Cre
ole case ; England refuses to deliver them up.
England is now ruling some nations with a rod
of iron; and It appears she will not be satisfied
until all the nations of the earth are brought into
subjection. However, she will not have the
wnnese to contend with when she sends her i
nues to the land of Columbus.
1 ar-
We say to our correspondent "A friend of InoV
pendence"we have not time to answer r mL.
tions to the Temperance cause this week, as we are
compelled to be absent three days, but yon ahaQ
have a fair hearing hereafter.
No changes in money matters since our last.
J-
