The republic. [volume], June 20, 1849, Image 2

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THE REPUBLIC.
LITERARY NOTHES.
cixavnob: a I'kai.euy. By George H. Borer.
Philadelphia: Published by E. H. Butler A Co.
A successful tragedy from an American pen is a
novelty which must not be suffered to pass unnoticed.
"Caluynos" seems to have been published
without any immediate view to its pioduciion on
the stagei Perhaps the author was indifferent to
the histrionic test; and perhaps he despaired of interesting
managers in his behalf. A stray copy,
however, attracted the attention of Mr. Phelps, a
tragedian of considerable repute in London. He
discerned the merits of the play, and brought it out
last month at the Sadler's Wells Theatre, person
uting ihe part of the hero himself. The English
papers inform us that the success of "Calaynos"
was decided and complete. At the end of the fourth
act, Mr. Phelps was summoned before the curtain
to receive the congratulations of the audience; and, |
at the fall of the curtain on the fifth act, he was
again called out, when he informed the audience
that the play was the production of a Philadelphia
gentleman, who would doubtless be as much surprised
as gratified at hearing of its successful representation.
The favorable reception of an acted play, however,
is far from being an earnest of qualities of
plot, language, and action, that shall claim the attention
or gratify the taste of the literary reader.
A drama, which has the stamp of genius in every
line, and which fulfils in all respects the conditions
included in the most comprehensive definition of
the term drama, may yet fail utterly on the stage ;
while another, that shall seem in the perusal wearisome
and deficient, feeble in plot, and ordinary in
style, shall yet, from the happy disposition of some
purely mechanical coups de theatre, or the adaptation
of particular characters to the idiosyncrasies of actors,
receive a life not its own from the representation
: and. thoue-h rejected from the close! of the
? unprofessional reader, find a prominent place on the
prompter's book-shelf. Can a play, then, be essentially
dramatic?does it answer the very conditions
of a play?if it be not suitable for successful representation
? Undoubtedly, yes. A play may deal
in events, and characters, and utterances, at once
true to nature and to passion, and which, in the
reading, are of an order to move the profoundest
sympathies of our nature, and hold the attention
captive, but which, nevertheless, disappoint us
greatly when embodied on the stage.
We have rarely met with a person, who had
given much study to the tragedy of "Hamlet," to
whom any personation of it he had ever witnessed
was satisfactory. Still, to many, the "Hamlet" of
even an indifferent performer would seem dramatic,
inasmuch as his impersonation would rise above
the level of their conception of the part; and this is
the reason why "Hamlet" is so popular a play in
the acting with the many, and so distasteful to the
few.
As there are some plays and characters, which,
though fulfilling the dramatic conditions, are un
suitable for the stage, so there are many, not excepting
even some of Shakspeare's, which are
much heightened in their effect by good acting and
appropriate scenic illusions. It was the fashion
during the rage for Mrs. Butler's "Readings1' at
the North, for some of her admirers to profess
themselves more moved by her reading of a play,
than they could be by its representation under the
most favorable circumstances. For instance, of her
If
recitation of Rumeo and Juliet, they would say,
"how much better it was than any representation
on the stage, however perfect; since every part was
adequately filled, and every line spoken as it should
tbe." Such eulogists must have seen very little
good acting in their day, fur, admirable as the
lady's elocution and action were, wh4U*at was competent
to 8peak on the subject, could say, that, sitting
in her chair and reading the part of Mercutio,
for instance, she could lend to it the spirit, the
sparkle, the effect, which her father, Charles Kemble,
in his personation of the character, was wont
to give. There are many great points even in
Shakspeare, which are not obvious in the closet,
and which the traditional interpretations of the
actor and the mechanical opportunities of the stage
can alone bring out. And again, there are points
to which neither the stage nor the actor can do
justice.
But it is with "Calaynos" that we sal down to
deal, and we are gratified in being able to nay, that
whatever may have been lta aucceas on the stage, it
deserves a higher "quotation" in the literary than
in the theatrical market. The subject is a Spanish
one?whether purely fanciful or in any degree historical,
we cannot say. We will not attempt an outline
of the story ; for the most faithfully drawn outline
must generally convey a meagre idea of the
sulistanlial, well-proportioned original. The plot
is evolved gracefully and easily to its tragic termination.
Flaws may be detected in it, no doubt, and
some incongruities; for adequate causes are employed
to bring about great results; and we are left
in doubt as to whether the heroine is a monster of
iniquity, sacrificing her husband's peace and honor
for a cause which includes no pallianon of her guilt,
or whether she is the victim of circumstance and
violence. But through all these defects runs a vein
of the pure ore. Flashes of true dramatic power,
happy presentations of character, choice and pithy
turns of language, and scenes of genuine interest
abound in the tragedy, and evince that the author
has not mistaken his forte. Wc add a few detached
(manages from the play, with which we must
close the book, and lay down our pen.
The wife of Calayrwn is persuading him to take
her to Seville, of the gayetics of which city her
maid, .Martina, has given her glowing accounts,
Calayrwn replies:
" Martina told but half:?
Or did she tell b?>w -loth nd lirtrirary,
Cloudy attended by their handmaid vice,
I | Stare. with lack-lustre and ferocious cyw,
[ ' Into the p?>r< b of every palace gate'
I How want creeps forth at night with tottering
I P"""'
I And ' trains! the window* of the reveller*
I Klrttti n* ju pirn b< d and wasted features out,
| Cursing the feasts, for which om-lialf tin worli
Ijubor* unpaid ?"
Here ia n knave's speculation on the probabilii]
of his being detected :
" This fdlow look* through loth of us like ylass;
He's keener than my lord, and wist far:
Some sunny day we'll both pitch o'er the*
walls.
And he will Is- the man that breaks our ne< k*.
Ah! 'tis a sad thing, Sito, very *a<|,
To Is* ku,tie's knave, e'en thouirl, I,/ Is ., II,,,
To take the peril, and do all the work,
Then, at the laal, come in for all the ki< b."
J Oalayno* naya:
o Why did I hide rny hirih ?
Ah, who run tell how noon one need of din.
Which we dhort-?ijrhted mortal* think d<
troyed,
May uproot and bear, and xhakc it* no*jo
fruit
I.'(ton <air head*, when we ne'er dream of ill;
For naught that in can ever pa*? away!"
Atrain :
t!om* forth, thou minister of bloody dee'da,
That biased a < omet in the v an of war,
I'riniiyinf death to man, and t?*ar* to earth ;
Pale, (flearninir tempter, when I clutch th
I ii tnua,
Thou,of thy*e|f, doet (dead that murder'* rijfl
i m half bt Hm It luxury "
I
????????I
And to conclude:
" All nature erica- Whatever is must be!
Earth's tonus may change, but tiiue can ne'er
destroy
The smallest atom ill the universe;
Much less this life of intellect, the soul,
Whose very form is changeless.?Death is not!
Serene and calm ami indestructible,
Above die touch of chance, or sin, or time,
On these Heaven-scaling attributes shall soar
In infinite progression towards their source?
In death is knowledge."
We are pleased to learn, front the Philadelphia
pa}>ers, that "Calaynos" hus reached u second edition,
and thut the author is engaged upon u new
play.
" European Life and Manners, in Familiar Letters
to Friends. By Henry Column, author
of European Agriculture, and the Agriculture of
France, Belgium, Holland, and Switzerland."
Two verv entertaining- and instructive volumes,
under the above title, huve been recently published
by Messrs. Little & Brown, of Boston; The book
is u good one, and not to be confounded with the
crudities under the name of "Travels," with which
the American press has swarmed during the last
two years. Mr. Column writes with the unaffected
ease of one who utters his own thoughts in his own
most natural way. In addition to the extracts
which have already appeared in our columns, we
quote the following passage, descriptive of the
French?so unlike the stories which other tourists
have given us:
" For sobriety, industry, and frugality, the
French serin to ine to excel all others. I make no
exception. I never knew a people where there is so
much charity to the poor; and as to church-going,
so far as that constitutes religion, no people go liefore
them; and in no places of religious worship
have I ever seen more attention, more decorum, or
more apparent devotion. I should as soon think of
seeing a dead man sitting erect in a chair at church,
as seeing an individual in the congregation asleep.
The churches, too, are all free. You may make
some contribution at the door if you choose, but nothing
is demanded. In the Protestant churches the
congregation are all seated in chairs, and there is
no distinction in seats, so that a gentleman or lady
of the highest rank will be found seated alongside
of the most humble laborer, who goes in his frock;
or, if a woman, in her cap. * * As to domestic
attachments in France, I believe there is a full share
of fidelity and domestic comfort; and wherever I
have been admitted into (heirsanctums, land in no
country is it more difficult to get into their home
retreats.) nothing can bo more charming, and no|
thing more affectionate."
IRELAND REDIVIVl'S.
< Jerrold's Weekly News contains a notice of a book
just published in London, entitled "Rizzio; or
Scenes in Europe during the Sixteenth Century," by
the late Mr. Ireland. The author of this work is
the William Henry Ireland who acquired so much
notoriety, about half a century ago, by the fabrication
of documents concerning Shakspeare; and
also by the composition of two whole plays, "Vostigern"and
"Henry II.," which he endeavored to
persuade the public were genuine productions of
the great poet, and by which he succeeded in making
numerous dupes among the literary and critical
circles of the day. Ireland afterwards published a
confession of the fraud. He died in 1834. Mr.
James, who has edited the present production,
speaks of it thus in his preface:
"The manuscript was sold by public auction to a
highiy respectable bookseller ; by him it was transferred
to another, who laid it before the present
editor. That editor found the style antiquated, and
the expressions often of the worst style of the novelistic
school of thirty or forty years ago; but in the
work itself there is a very curious and minute picture
of Europe in the age to which it refers. It nas
evidently been the fruit of much severe reading, and
the author's introduction shows that the propensity
to fabrication, in which all young Ireland's misfortunes
began, had not even yet entirely left him.
That he intended to pass this off as an authentic autobiography
of David Rizzio, I do not mean to say;
but he certainly had a great inclination to leave it
doubtful whether the work was authentic or not."
"Rizzio," says the.Vrtcj, has little or no merit as
a literary composition, but is full of evidence of the
imaginative faculty of the writer, and of his familiarity
with the great historic facts, and some of the
minnr rwrnliAritifh nf thf- mrp th#?. r\niinfri#?? nf
which ne treats. The author ha* contrived to bring
Rizzio in personal communication with almoatevery
remarkable personage of hi* time?Henry VIII.,
Wolsey, and Anne Boleyn, Francis I , Henry II.,
Diana of Poictiers, and Catherine de Medici, Charles
V., and Philip II., and of course Mary Queen of
Scots and Darnley. Beside* these persons, he introduces
the reader to Raphael, Michael Angelo,
Correggio, Rabelais, and the famous Lord Surry
and the infamous Pier Leugi Farnese, Duke of
Piacenxa."
THE TOP OF THE GREAT PYRAMID.
The top of the pyramid i* scribbled and scratched
over with the name* of the travellers, considerably
more than an average proportion of which are
Frenchmen. We English have received the character
(or, perhaps, have given it to ourselves, for
an affectation of humility is one of the features of
our pride) of being a scribble some people. But
not altogether, I think, with justice; for, at least,
among the higher clause*, it strike* me that the
French are more open to the imputation than
ourselves. So essential did M. Chateaubriand consider
it that his name should be inscribed upon the
top of the pyramid, that, not being able to make
the ascent himself, he commissioned a friend to do
it for him. And we meet with the names of Lamartine
and Lalionfe, (and worthy names they are,)
scrawled upon the doors of convents, and cut even
on the cedars of Lebanon, to the horror of our
modest English travellers, one of whom, Lord
Lindsay, says, " I would as soon cut my name on
the wall of a church;" and Mr. Warburton expresses
the same sentiment in a rather aueernr
form. "I would as soon," he says, "have thought
of carving my name on the skin of the venerable
village Sheik." And yet, methinks, both Lord
Lindsay1* and Mr. Warburton'* are names that
would not disgrace even the cedars of Lebanon. We
were now joined on the summit by several other
Arab#, who forthwith began to display their store# of
worthless curiosities, which traveller* are in the
habit of buying for the abstract sake of doing business
on the top of the Great Pyramid. One of them
kept refuting at regular intervals the following
sentence:?"fine Arab,?top B< Izoni's pyramid,?
five minutes." "Old her" said I on the first recital,
thinking he was telling me a story, " very quirk
work it was, and an active fellow he must nave
been." Presently it came again, "One Arab,?top
Belzoni's pyramid,?five minutes." "So you have
just told me," replied I. "One Arab,?top Belzoni's
pyramid,?five minutes." "Will you hold your
chattering tongue. You have told me that twice
already. Again it came, but this time, with an
addition. "One Arab,?top Belzoni's pyramid,?
five minutes.?one *M/ing." This exnlnined the
matter He was the "one Arab," and it was not
' a narration, but n proposition. He, the said "one
Arab," for the sum of one shilling English money,
or five piastres Egyptian, covenanted to ascend to
the top of the pyramid of Ophrrnes, alias of Sensiiphis,
alias of Beltoni, in the space of five minuses.
So the bargain was struck, and off he set,
r and in the course of a few minutes was seen, like a
fly. creeping up the sides of the pyramid. The ascent
of this pyramid used to be an affair of some
I difficulty, owing to the overhanging casing at the
top, and some travellers have taken great credit to
themselves for accomplishing it. But it has recently
1 lieen very much facilitated by the cutting of notches
in the smooth casing stones, so that it requires nothing
more than s steady head, whirh is not one ol
my accomplishments, or I should have certainly
< attempted it. In the mean lime an Indian officer
who had joined us on the top, had hern trying th*
exfieriment of throwing a stone from the summit sc
I -I .L- I ?L..L I I . ?A U.
f u? cimr inr imiw, >* men n?u? iwen umimj u/ i*
1 impossible, but which, however, was, with a suitable
atone, accomplished in the present instance.?
Presently the Arab returned, having performed tht
feat within the stipulated time, to receive the prv>
mised reward. How practice in any thing makei
perfect! Pyramtd-climbing is the trade of the**
r men. Like the guides of some Alpine mountain
they live at the foot, and watch day by day to con
us duct travellers to its summit, ana into the cavert
upon its side.
TMr. OrsTrs.?M. De (^uatrefages hasrecen'l]
ascertained that, contrary to the common opinion
the sexes are separate in the oysters. M. Blan
chard's observations confirm those of M. deCt.ua
trefages. Iri his investigations into the nervou
system of Mollusca, he has had occasion to ex
amine a great nnmticr of these antmala, arid in th
it, proper se.aaons he has always found the eggs ani
the spermnto/ji isolated in different individuals.
THE REPU B LIC.
WASHINGTON:
WEDNESDAY MORNING, JUNE 20, 1849.
OFFICIAL.
APPOINTMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
Hon. Daniel M. Barking kh, of North
Carolina, to be Envoy Extraordinary and.
Minister Plenipotentiary to Spain, in lieu
of Hon. William A. Graham, who declined
the ottice. Mr. Saunders, the present Minister,
having been recalled at his own re
quest.
The Executive Mansion, the Capitol,
and the buildings of the several Departments,
are ordered to be closed this day,
and shrouded in black in token of public
grief. A darker and a more impenetrable
veil has obscured from mortal gaze a distinguished
citizen who lately tilled the
highest destiny known to human ambition.
VVhe'n those sable tissues which droop in
witness of the general gloom shall be removed,
the stately piles will look as though
there had not been sorrow in the land;
but the pall that covers in darkness the
work of the Creator will remain forever.
Here where Ex-President Polk stood,
so lately the representative head of a
mighty people, his death has produced, as
well it might, a profound sensation. To
HIM who holds the issues of life and death,
it matters not if he lay his hand upon the
great or the small. It is a soul called
hence to meet the reward of deeds done
in the body. To mankind the passing
away of a life like this produces a chasm
which startles the understanding. It brings
closer to the apprehension the feebleness
of our hold on life. All that man could
do, all that a nation could bestow, was frail
as a web of gossamer against the shaft of
fate. They could not add a span to the
length of his days. He faded from the
earth like a transient glimmer. Whatever
the difference in the condition of men
here, in the grave all are equal.
Whilst we contemplate in wonder the
.extinction of a shining light, it should teach
us to know that, in the economy of nature,
men are nearer equal than the observances
of society would imply. If humbleness
has its wants, greatness has its cares.
There is that which qualifies whatever
seems enviable. Much is exacted from
those who are exalted above the rest.
Popularity is at best a task-master, requiring
more than it bestows. Good deeds
done in high places will oft-times bring reproach
upon the doer; bad ones as often
are applauded of men. This should be an
admonition; all situations have their cares,
their duties, their blessings, and their burdens;
and they act wisest who win content
by following the path of duty in meekness
and thankfulness of spirit
WAR NTF.AMRR8.
.The British navy has lately received an
important addition of an iron steam frigate,
the Greenock of 1413 tons burthen,
launched into the Clyde on the '20th of
April, constructed on the principle of our
far-famed Princeton, with a screw propeller
of the same size, 14 feet diameter ; a
sliding chimney, capable of being depressed
or elevated at pleasure, similar to that of
the Princeton ; and with engines placed in
the bottom of the vessel, out of reach of
shot. England having got the start of us
in the construction of ocean and war
steamers, by at least a dozen years, we
have reason to feel proud of having set
her an example in the art of constructing
the latter. Those of our readers who are
not familiar with naval matters, may not
have reflected that there are three essential
conditions that must be fulfilled to
produce an efficient war steamer. Firstly,
the propelling instrument must he capable
of operating under water ; secondly,
the steam machinery must be placed below
water-line, out of reach of shot; and,
thirdly, the chimney must be capable of
being struck, and the combustion in the
boiler furnaces sustained independently of
the ordinary draught. All these indispensable
conditions are practically fulfilled in
the Princeton, and the American navy can
boast of having produced the first war
steamer cajole of encountering the thunder
of an old fashioned fighting ship, without
fear of being crippled at the first broadside.
Our friends on the Clyde must not
in their exultations forget that their formidable
(irrrnork is, after all, in every
i I 'a __ 1 '
essential point, oniy a copy 01 a certain
ship built on the Delaware, and well
known, having .ho frequently exchanged
friendly salutations with Her Majesty's
navies in the Gulf of Mexico and in the
Mediterranean.
winistkh to hpaix.
The President has appointed the Hon.
Daniel M. Barring er, of North Carolina,
1 Minister to Spain, in the place of William
A. Graham, late Governor of that noblf
Whig State, who declined the office.
Mr. Barringf.r has been long a dis
! tinguished member of Congress, and hii
< appointment no doubt will, as it should
, give general satisfaction throughout tht
Union.
71 Mr. Saunders, our present Minister U
1 Spain, has bten recalle<l at his own re
~ quest.
Nrw HAMF-sMisr.. ?The I^eislntur* on Wfdnes
e day elected Thomas P. Treed well, Secretary o
rl State, John Alwood, Trcnenrer, and Butterfiefd A
Hill, State printers, the former incumbents.
THE REPUBLIC.
OFFICIAL.
punbrbal ob8brvancrs in honor of
bx-phrsidbnt polk.
The President, with deep regret, announces
to the American people the death
of James K. Polk, late President of the
United States, which occurred at Nashville
on the 15th instant.
A nation is suddenly called upon to
mourn the loss of one, the recollection of
whose long services in its councils will be
lorever inscribed on the tablets of history.
As a mark of respect to the memory of
a citizen who has been distinguished by
tiie Highest honors which his country could
bestow, it is ordered that the Executive
Mansion, and the several Departments at
Washington, be immediately placed in
mourning, and all business suspended
during to-morrow.
It is further ordered, that the War and
Navy Departments cause suitable military
and naval honors to be paid, on this melancholy
occasion, to the memory of the
illustrious dead.
(Signed) Z. TAYLOR.
Washington, June 19, 1849.
State Department,
June 19, 1849.
In pursuance of the President's order of this day,
the State Department will be immediately placed in
mourning, and all business will be suspended during
to-morrow.
JOHN M. CLAYTON.
Treasury Department,
June 19, 1849.
In pursuance of the President's order of this day,
the Treasury Department will be immediately
placed in mourning, and all business will be suspended
during to-morrow.
W. M. MEREDITH,
Secretary of the Treasury.
U. S. REVENtB MARINE.
GENERAL ORDERS.
Treasury Department,
June 19, 1849.
The President has, with deep regret, announced
the death of James K. Polk, late President of the
United States. As a tribute of respect to the memory
of the deceased the officers of the Revenue
Marine will weir the customary badges of mourning
for the period of six months. At dawn of day
13 minute guns will be fired, and afterwards, at intervals
of 30 minutes between the rising and setting
sun, a single salute of 30 minute guns will be fired,
on the day next succeeding the receipt of this order,
by such vessel in commission, and'the colors
hoisted at half mast.
W. M. MEREDITH,
Secretary of the Treasury.
GENERAL ORDERS?No. 34.
War Department,
Adjutant General's Office,
Washington, June 19, 1849.
I. The following order of the President of the
United States and Secretary of War communicate
to the Army the death of the late Ex-President
James K. Polk:
The President, with deep regret, announces to
the American people the death of James K. Polk,
late President of the United States, which occurred
at Nashville on the 15th instant.
A nation is suddenly called upon to mourn the
loss of one, the recollection of whose long services
in its councils will be forever preserved on the tablets
of history.
As a mark of respect to the memory of a citizen
who has been distinguished by the highest honors
which his country could bestow, it is ordered that
the Executive Mansion and the several Departments
nt Washington be immediately placed in mourning,
and all business be suspended during to-morrow.
It is further ordered, that the War and Navy
Departments cause suitable military and naval
honors to be paid, on this occasion, to the memory
of the illustrious dead.
Z. TAYLOR.
Washington, June 19, 1849.
Was Department, June 19, 1849.
The President of the United States, with deep regret,
announces to the Army the death of James
K. Polk, our distinguished and honored fellowcitizen.
He died at Nashville, the 15th instant, having
but recently left the theatre of his high public duties
at this Capital, and retired to his home amid the
congratulations of his fellow-citizens. He died in
the prime of life, after having received and enjoyed
the highest honors of the Republic.
His administration was eventful. No branch of
the Government will be more intimately associated
with it in history than the Army and its glorious
achievements. Accordingly, the President orders
that appropriate military honors shall be paid to
his memory by the. Army of the United States.
The Adjutant General will give the necessary instructions
for carrying into effect the foregoing
Orders.
G. W. CRAWFORD,
Srcrrtary of War.
II. On the day succeeding the arrival of this
"firntrnl (hder" at .each military post, the troojis
will lie jmraded at 10 o'clock, a. m., and the Order
read to them; after which all labors for the day
will cease.
The National flag will be displayed at half-itiifl
At dawn of day, 13 guns will l>e fired; and after- |
wards, at intervals of thirty minutes tieiwean the
rising and setting sun, a single gun; and at the close
of the day, a national salute of 30 guns.
The. officers of the Army will wear crape on the
left firm and on their swords, and the colors of the
several regiments will be put in mourning, for the
period of six months.
By order: R. JONES, Mj't Gm'L
UPARRAIi ORDER.
Navt DaeARTMENT, ./une 19, 1849.
The President of the United States, with deep
regret, announces to the Navy and to the Marine
. Corps the death of Jamet K. Polk, our late distin^
guished and honored fellow-citizen.
He died at Nashville, the lf?th inst.. having but
' recently left the theatre of his high public, duties at
this Capital, and retired to his home amid the congratulations
of his fellow-citizens. He died in the
) prime of life, after having received and enjoyed the
highest honors of the Republic.
' His administration was eventful. The Navy and
the Marine Corps, and their glorious achievements
j. were intimately associated with its history. Acr
cordingly, the President orders that appropriate
military honors be paid to his inemOry at each of
the Navy Yards and Naval Stations, and on board
all the public vessels ill commission, by firing 30
minute guna, beginning at 12 o'clock, m., on Uie
day after this communication is received; by carrying
their flags halt-moat for one week, and by the
officera wearing crape on the left arm for six
months.
WM. BALLARD PRE8TON.
Post Ok net; Dkfaetment,
Tuesday, June 19, 1H49.
In testimony of respect for the memory of the
late Ex-President Polk, who departed thia life on
the 15th instant, it ia ordered that thia Department
be closed, and the business of its several offices
be suspended to-morrow, Wednesday, the 20th
instant.
J. COLLAMER,
Postmaster General.
Department op the Interior,
Washington, June 19, 1849.
As a mark of respect to the memory of the late
James K. Polk, Ex-President of the United States,
and in pursuance of an order of the President, the
Department of the Interior, and the several bureaus
thereof, will be immediately placed in mourning,
and all business will be suspended during to-morrow,
the 20th instant.
T. EWING, Secretary.
MUSIC AT THE CAPITOL.
We are requested to state that, in consequence
of the Capitol building being closed,
on account of the death of Ex-President
Polk, there will be no music at the Capitol
grounds this evening.
THE "EXPRESS" BUSINESS OP THE
UNITED STATES.
The Express business is one of the most
r>nrmna nf A mormon on^ompiuoa
vuiiv/un ui iiiixviivau ioi>o, i ucic
are now three great houses in this country,
to whom we owe the foundation and
the advantage of this business. Wells &
Co., Harnden & Co., and Adams & Co.,
whose principal offices are in the city of
New York. These companies operate between
Boston and New York, New York
and Washington, and New York and Albany,
Montreal, Buffalo, Cincinnati, and
Chicago. They all have agents, who are
travelling night and day over their lines,
which not only connect these distant
points, but have numerous off-shoots and
branches to every town of consequence in
the Atlantic and Western States.
In New York they take orders from
their customers to call and receive their
packages. These are collected in wagons,
and brought to the offices, receipted for,
marked, entered on way-bills, and despatched
by the first boat or railway train
after receipt. The messengers travel with
these goods, having iron safes, on board the
steamers and railway cars, besides being
well armed. The charges are v-ry moder
ate, and the expedition is great. On
Wells & Co.'s Northern and Western line
large amounts of money are annually carried?at
least the sum of twenty millions a
year?consisting chiefly of the remittances
and exchanges of banks, brokers, and
merchants. This company pays about
$100,000 per annum for freights, and
about $'20,000 more to agents and clerks.
They have, in the last two years, extended
their operations abroad; and as they
are, perhaps, more enterprising than com
mon, they have established their own firms
in Paris and London, and have agencies in
all the principal towns of Europe, and an
express line between New York and California,
with a resident agent at Chagres
>kf\/l Unnomo f n Porm Vw? tr Kotrn tkn itnui
(lliw 1 41 II (XI I 1(1. Ill 1 (Xiao XII* y I I (X T Vy XII* IlllCtSl
office in that city, and maintain a free
reading room for the benefit of the Americans
there. In London they have a place
of business equally useful. They receive
orders for the purchase and transportation
of every kind of goods. They will
carry a paper parcel as large as your hand,
or fill a vessel with tons of freight.
Money is remitted by them in all directions,
drafts are bought and sold, collections
made, and every advice and
assistance given to travellers. The convenience
of these arrangements is beginning
to be felt by the public.
The effect of these Express lines upon
the business of the interior is a curious
one. Instead of our country merchants
purchasing heavy stocks in the spring and
fall, they now purchase principally for
cash, and all the time, whatever articles
they want; thus proportioning their outlay
to their business. One of the richest dealers
in wool in the city of New York said,
1 he other dav. that with the Teleeranh and
Express lines he did not want a store any
longer. His immense operations were conducted
in a small office. Both the late
and present Secretary of the Navy have
found these lines the most convenient and
economical medium of forwarding their
despatches to the Mediterranean; and we
trust that they will, in time, be favorably
noticed by all the Departments.
Wrfrk on I?ake llnrnn.
Detroit, Michioan, .Ame 17.
Captain Gage, of the steamer Albany from Chicago,
reports that the steumer New Orleans, while
on her way up with a large number of steerage
passengers, ran nard on a reef of rocks on Thursday
evening last, on Sugar Island, in Thunder bay.
The boat will prove a total wreck No lives were
lost, the passengers being brought ashore in fishermen's
boats. Her cargo was mostly saved with
but little injury. The hull is lying up to the deck
in water. The passengers were on the island waiting
conveyance up the Lake.
Cholera In M. I<onl?,
St. Louis, .Awe 16
The cholera is increasing here. In nine came
teries, on (he 14th, there were 87 interment* reported,
69 being of cholera; on the 15th, in seven cemeteries,
57 interments, 47 being of cholera. During
the week ending Monday last, the number of
interments, was 5JH2, 191 being of cholera. The
weather is very warm.
Qiiehec and Halifax Teleoraph.?The stock
for the construction of the electric telegraph from
Ciuehec to Halifax has been subscrilied for, and the
line from Halifax to Father Point, on the St 1 jiwrence,
is commenced.? hvfitdn ("mmerrial.
NTATK OK PARTIKH IN KHANCE.
In a letter from Paris, under date of
May 24th, to the Courrier des Etatn-Ums,
M. Gaillardet gives the following clear
statement of the condition of parties, which
the recent election has developed:
" Hardly a month since die Moderate parly believed
itself absolute master in France. It appealed
to die coming elections for the confirmation of its
triumph and the exclusion of its enemies from
the parliamentary arena. The latter, sharing the
same conviction in regard to their approaching
doom, retarded as much as possible the grand test
of the ballot-box. And lo! the hopes of the one
and the appBehensions of the other have been alike
deceived by the mysterious decree thut has gone
forth from the electoral urn. This decree has
thrown one party in France into a stupor of amazement,
and another into an excess of exultation ; thai
is to say, while the result leaves still a considerable
majority to those who thought to have all, it has
placed the minority, who did not hope for any
thing, in a position more imposing, more formidable
than ever. In a word, the Montagnard and Socialist
party will count from two hundred and fifty
to three hundred members among the seven hundred
and fifty, who will compose the next Assembly.
As a mere political opposition, this will be of
less account than that which existed in the last Assembly,
where the Assembly was evidently hostile
to the opinions represented by the ministry ; but as
a socialist symptom it is much more, because the
actual opposition was simply democratic, while that
of the new Assembly will do battle openly under
the flag of Socialism, which now becomes a regular
element constitutionally represented in that body,
and on which consequently it will be necessary to
reckon. The struggle must henceforth be between
two extreme points. The intermediary party, represented
by the National and the Siecle, has almost
entirely disappeared, crushed as it has been between
two mill-stones?adventurous progress and
resistance to it the most deadly.
" Party lines must now be more distinctly drawn.
Yesterday, and there were people in plenty who
dreamed of a return to effete institutions, whether for
the profit of the empire, of the Orleans regency, or
of legitimacy. All these dreams are on the eve of
hemp- d'Hsinnted. and thev will leave but one secure
O 1 ? J
ground on which to find aaylum and safety?the
ground of the Republic and the Constitution.
"It is there that all the men of order must meet to
abjure their resentments and contract alliances; to
counteract the fusion of strength which the ranks of
their adversaries have received. For some time
Socialism has seen the Mountain coming to its embrace?the
Mountain by which it was at first anathematized;
to the Mountain has succeeded the
katiunal, which has just shaken hands fraternally
with the Peuplt of M. Proudhon. Every question
having but two extremes, France must soon see itself
divided into two camps: the one having property
inscribed on its banner, and the other Socialism;
which last is merely the antecedent of Communism.
The future lying thus before us, it would be as
great a fault to let such men as Cavaignac, Lamoriciere,
and M. Dufaure, seperate from the camp of
order, as it would be greatly criminal in them to refuse
to enter it. If this sacred alliance of all the
men of sincerity and of progress can be accomplished,
its mission may lie briefly stated. It must
resolutely take the initiaiive in all possible, all necessary
reforms. It is with their own weapons
that the Socialists must be resisted; and they must
he deprived of their assumptions as the exclusive
defenders of the popular classes."
__________________
From the Alexandria Gazelle.
Ia the opposition to the present Administration a
jual or a reasonable oner This ia the question now
before th' people of thin country for their consider*
ation am) decision We omit any reference at this
time to the other question, whether the lone and
manner of the opposition can be excused?but we
limit the inquiry to the interrogatory first out.
Let it lie remembered that the opposition on the
part of the leaders of the ejected dynasty was quite
as intense and bitter on the fifth day of March as it
is on the eighteenth of June. Some of the more
wily presses, it is true, for a few days, pretended
"to hope better things" for themselves and their
friends from the President. But the veil was thin,
awkwardly worn, and soon pulled off, as inconvenient
and useless. The system of opposition was
plant ed and organized in advance of any declaration
of his course of policy by President Taylor,
and tiefoie any action with regard to gubltc affairs
was taken by himself or the Cabinet. It would
have tieen the same had other gentlemen than those
now occupying the 1 lends of Departments lieen selected
foi those offices?and it would have Iteen just
as intense and bitter had the removals from office
been limited to a very few. Do we want proof of
this? We refer to the files of the Union and its affiliated
journals throughout the country. When
Brown and McCalla were justly removed from of
fir*, for gross and continued "interference with the
freedom of election*," a* loud a wail went up, and
as malignant comments were made, as if the "innocent*"
had really been slain; and had these two
alone been the "victims" of Executive reform, we
should still have heard the shouts of "proscription,"
listened to the moans of affected grief, and
been threatened with the retribution of indignant
revenge
We hold that an opposition thus contrived and
planned, determined upon its course, per fax out
ntftu, is not either just or reasonable, and ought to
be discountenanced and condemned hy the American
people. We. contend that, elected a* General
Tay or has been, by the people of the country,
without regard to sectional divisions, and in consideration
of his life and conduct, and his illustrious
services, it is but right he should have a fair trial,
and not be subjected to the predetermined hostility
of a political party, organized to break down and
deatrny hia own fame and the character of hia Administration.
Let ua have juatice.
G neral Taylor himaelf, we know, aska no particular
favors at the handa of hit opponents Coming
into office the Preaident of the nation, he may
not have expected that the leaders of the political
party opf?o*ed to his election would have pursued
precisely the course they have done. But their action
docs not swerve him from the line of his duty.
He has faith and confidence in his countrymen.
From the Ptnnsylrimia Inquirer.
A contemporary remarks that " anonymous letterwriting
is nearly as l>ad as murder." This is strong
language, but we really lielieve that, in some rases,
this cowardly system of insult and annoyance has
produced anxiety, illness, and death. We can
conceive of nothing more atrocious than for an
individual to sit down, coolly and deliberately, and
inflict a stab upon the peace or reputation of another
from behind a musk. We speak thus strongly,
because we believe that many persons foolishly indulge
in this vice, this crime, without an adequate
conception of its enormity. They mistake for jest
what is in reality malice. They attempt to deceive
themselves into the lielief that they are only indulging
a propensity for humor, when, in fact, they
are giving vent to malignant and vindictive feelings
Years ago we heard of a case in which a gentleman
of thiM city was devotedly attached to his wife,
who was hs pure and faithful a woman as ever
breathed. A happier couple could not he found in
society. Their very hnrmony of aoul and of sentiment
annoyed some of the envious and malignant,
or at least one of them, and an anonymous letter,
artfully written, and assiduously assailing the. conduct
of the wife liefore marriage, was addressed to
the confiding huslmnd. He believed the allegations
to l?e vile and alanderoue, and yet such was his
nature that he was annoyed, inflamed, and maddened.
He exhibited the dastardly epistle to the
wife, and she, although entirely innocent, was
unnble wholly to convince her husband. The
wound, thus inflicted by a concealed hand, rankled
?distrust was caused?nnkindness and inattention
followed?and finally a separation was determined
upon. And all from an infamous anonymous letter
! What punishment too severe could be accorded
to the author of such cowardly villany?
Srvatob Rknton fob thb Pbmimvct.?A Locofoco
convention in Walworth county, Wisconsin,
have put up "Old Bullion" for the Presidency.
KHUN THE GOLD HKGIONH. ' f
> 4
The following teller, which we condense from the
New Orleans Crescent of the 11th instant, will be
read with interest by many of our readers:
Correspondence of the Ma California.
Sacramento citt, March 28, 1849.
Winter, with its "heavy wet," is about over, and
spring, warm, genial, and soothing, has opened upon
Sacramento. A warm sun and mild southerly
wind have, during the past month, worked wonders.
The roads from this place to ditferent parts f
of the placer are rendered passable, and communi- (
cation with all points is eusy and frequent.
The spring season, "the opening of the ball," f
having returned, spring trade may be considered
fairly commenced; and this was announced last
week by divers arrivals from, and sundiy departures
for, the various "diggings" of the great placer.
Fuck-horses und pack-mules, heaped upon by loads
of supplies and merchandise, might have been seen
grouped about stores and landing places, or jogging
on along the rouds leading hence to the different
mountain'"diggings.'' Gray clouds of dust in another
direction proclaim fresh comers at hand, eager
and sharp-set for trade Yesterday witnessed the
arrival of schooners "Catherine" and "Antonila,"
each of forty tons burthen and upwards, and also of
three launches at our Embacadelo, all from San Francisco;
it also saw the depurture from the fort of eighteen
or twenty heavily loaded ox wagons, all destined
for the North Fork (American river) and Dry Diggings
adjacent. But it is Stanislaus that has gathered
the floating population of the mines during the last
month: "Stanislaus," whose waters, it is said,
have washed out the shining, beautiful gold, as it
was never washed out before. The borders of this
Stanislaus stream form an inexhaustibly rich portion
of the placer, though because it is at this time
"o'erflowing full," the heavier depositee cannot be
reached, and labor generally is suspended in consequence.
The Sierra Nevada, as seen from the Fort,
is covered with snow. A sublime feature in the
scenery of Sacramento ig this range of mountains ,
This great body of snow has yet to And the ocean
through the various streams flowing to the Sacramento
and San Joaquin rivers, and the waters must
remain high until May or June.
The general health of the mining community,
and of our thriving Sacramento city in particular,
remains good, although a number of cases of actual
scurvy are reported in the several "diggings." An
entire absence of vegetable food, and coarse, irregular
diet, have produced this disease. Sacramento
city is building up rapidly, and its "manifest destiny"
is too perceptible to require comment. Its
worn and crumbling Fort Sacramento has been con
vtncu iniu an iiiuiicuac mart aiiu uusmeas centre.
Houses are erected about us when the means of
building are attainable, and canvass is substituted
where not; it is by no means rare to see a frame
house shingled with canvass hereabouts. The printing
office ol the "Placet Times," a little "weekly,"
to be published here, is nearly completed, and the
first number will be issued in a few days.
The mania for making cities (on paper) in this
section of country is quite as extravagant as that
which pervaded the people of the Western Slates
in 1837 and 1838. Several new town sites have ;
been actually surveyed and regularly laid off, each
claiming of course prior and superior advantages
over each and all of its competitors. '
Among novelties, first and foremost, however,
comes an application of the diving bell to gold
gathering. This is seriously intended, and the bell
is now being constructed at this place by the projector,
a practical mill-wright, and who is very sanguine
of success. Scuttles and "cradles" will be
entirely superseded by this ponderous machine.
Companies are forming, and making preparations
to bring the hidden treasure within human grasp by
diverting the course of the streams in many places
from their natural channels. It is supposed immense
wealth will be realized from the rivers' ?
beds.
In a few days this place will resume its wonted
business bustle, when rare times are anticipated.
We will have but little rain from this time until the
setting in of another winter.
Goods are plenty here, and the advance upon
San Francisco prices is but proportionate with the
times. Lumber is with the greatest difficulty obtained,
although the Culloma suw-mill is running
incessantly; eighty cents per foot is not balked at
in many instances; we should marvel not to see it
at one dollar. Horses are worth from ?200 to $300
each. Oxen bring $200 per yoke. Freight from
this place to the Dry Diggings is $30 per hundred.
Flour sells at $30. Beef on the hoof $45, (scarce,)
and dried beef $75 per cwt., etc Board at this
place, exclusive of lodging, is $20 per week. It
would be well were one of those boarding-house
vessels, advertised in the United States, to arrive.
We would undertake to ensure her owners a fortune
"up Feather river," as the saying goes. ,
FROM MKXICO.
The schooner Renaissance arrived at New Orleans
on the 11th instant, from Tampico, bnnging
accounts from that port to the 23d ultimo, and from
the city of Mexico to the 19th ultimo. We copy
from the New Orleans Picayune all the news of
importance:
The war in the Sierra is yet far from being extinguished.
An agreement to suspend hostilities
had been signed by Gen. Bustamente and Don M.
Verastegui, the latter in the name of Don E. Uuiros,
a chief of the rebels, and the document hnd been
brought to the capital by Col. Robles for the ap
prov&l of the President. Subsequently, fresh hostile
demonstrations had been made by the Indiana,
in the direction of Sen Luia Potoai.
The Miniater of Finance, Senor Arrnngotz, has
submitted to Congress a project by which oermia- '
aion will be granted to foreign vessels calling at
any of the Mexican porta, on their way to California,
to ship passenger* and merchandise, under certain
cuatom-house regulations. It will undoubtedly
be adopted, and will facilitate commerce both in
the Republic and the United Statea.
Four steamer* and three sailing vessels, armed
with S-pounder*. each having a crew of thirty men,
are to be purchased for the protection of the roasts
of Mexico, and for the prevention of smuggling.
The project of uniting the two weans by a railroad
from Vera Cruz to Acapulco has I wen adopted
by the Senate, and is now before the Chamber of
Deputies. '
There was a tremendous catastrophe at the mag- ?
azines of the famous mines of La Luz, on the 8th .
nit., caused by the explosion of 1,800 arrobas of
gunpowder. A considerable quantity of property x
was destroyed and many lives were loat.
In various parts of the Sierra Gorda, hitherto freefrom
commotion, there has been a general riac/W
the Indiana, caused by the withdrawal of the government
forces. The insurgents are directing tneir ?
way to Guadalcazar. The whites were emigrating
in crowds, and taking refuge in San Luis Potosi
In Chihuahua the Apaches and other wild In- '
dians continue their ravagea.
The appointment of Senor Lacunza to the office
of Minister of Foreign Relations, has liecn received
with great satisfaction by all ranks of tin
population. I
t I.. : :i ?
mi rjnmivr privilege lor ten yoars nns net
granted to Henor Don J. de la Qranja, for the estalvlishment
of an electric telegraph throughout the
Republic.
Steamboat* will in the courae of a very short
time?a month or two?be on the lakae in the vicinity
of the capital.
Much interaat in displayed by the population
throughout Mexico, in the recent discovery of gold
depoaiten in California; and on the Pacific coant
considerable bodies of men have moved olf tow ard
that territory.
CoLowiitmn THr Aucslavp Isi.Awn*.?We learn
from the late English papers that the subject of the
Health Hen Whnb Fishery is exciting considerable
attention in England. It in represented that the %
fact that the United States have fiOrt vessels engaged
in that trade, while England has less than twenty >
the southern whaling-grounds, has for some time
been felt as a reproach to that country, and llntish
enterprise is now about to attempt further efforts in
the antipodean seas. It is suggested that the want
of n proper station tins been a cause of delay ; but
Mr. Enderhy, late M. P. for Greenwich, whose
name is already associated with sntarrtir discovery,
has just obtained a grant of the Auckland Islands,
on condition that government be. called on for no
portion of the incident expense. Thin group of
islands lien to the south of New Zealand, and is said
to be well suited for a depot, both as regards climate
and situation ; and a successful trade is anticipated,
as the vessels engaged in the capture of
whales will be soared the long voyage to Fiu-lm d
as at present. No special inducements sre to be
held out to colonists, as it is believed that a enmmknity
will naturallv eatablish itaelf in the islands
in course of time. Mr Enderhy himself will go
out to superintend the arrangementa.?Ronton Journal.
Tiif A?tos PiArr Riot. We understand tha'
the grand jury have indicted four persons for being ,
concerned in the Isle riot, and two of them have
I teen arrested and held to bail.?N. V. Mirror.