Maryland free press. [volume], December 05, 1862, Image 2

About Maryland free press. [volume] (Hagerstown [Md.]) 1862-18??

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VOLUME 1.
A. G. BOYD, PUBLISHER
REBEL POETRY.
The following stanzas wero found on the person
of a rebel sergeant of the "Stonewall Brigade,"
recently captured by our troops near Winchester,
Va:
Come, stack arms, men! Pile on tho rails—
Stir up the camp fire bright,
No matter if the canteen fails,
We'll make a roaring night I
Here Shenandoah brawls along,
There bnrly Blue Ridge echoes strong,
To swell the brigade's rousing song,
Of "Stonewall Jackson's way."
We sec him now—(ho old slouched hat.
Cocked o'er his eye askew—
The shrewd dry smile—the speech so pat,
So calm, so blunt so true.
The "Blue Light Elder," knows 'em welj J
. Says he, "that's Banks—he's fond of shell,
Lord save his soul!—we'll give him"—well,
That's "Stonewall Jackson's way."
Silence i ground arms 1 kneel ail I caps off I
Old Blue Light's going to pray,
Strangle the fool that dares to scoff!
Attention it's his way 1
Appealing from his native sod,
In forma pauperis to God—
"Lay bare thine arui, stretch forth thy rod,"
"Amcnl" That's "Stonewall's way."
He's in the saddle now 1 Fall in 1
Steady 1 the whole brigade I
Hill's at tho ford, cut off; we'll win,
His way out, ball and blade.
What mattor if our sftoes are worn ?
What matter if oir feet ire torn,
"Quick step i with him before dawn I"
That's "Stonewall Jackson's >j.
The sun's bright lances rout the mists,
Of morning—and by George I
Here's Longstrcct, struggling in the lists,
Hemmed in an ugly gorge.
Pope and his Yankees, whipped before,
"Bay'ucta and grape I" hear Stonewall roar,
"Charge Stewart i pay off' Ashby's score,"
Is "Stonewall Jackson's way.
Ah I maiden wait, and watch, and yearn,
For news of Stonewall's band I
Ah I widow, read with eyes that burn,
That ring opon thy hand 1
Ah wife, sew on, pray on, hope on !
Thy life shall not bo all forlorn !
V-- u —a a'or been borne,
That gets in "Stonewall's way.
POETICAL PATCHWORK;
QUILTED DY BTRANOEH.
'Twas midnight, in his guarded tent,
He was a wight of high renown,
In splendid robes profusely drcst;
His breeches cost bim but a crown.
Old Grimes is dead, that good old soul,
Thou should'st not thus repine ;
They laid bim in bis narrow bed,
At Bingen on the Rhine.
Hear ye those loud contending waves,
deeji the pearly caverns among T
Far. far away in Illinois, .
Where burning Sappho iov'd 4nd suDg 7
'Twas many and many a year age,
The cold round moon shone brightly down;
All bloodless lay th' untrodden snow,
When Old Dan Tucker came to town.
One cve'ning as I wandered forth,
On broad Lake Huron's pebbly shore ;
I spied a maiden past her prime,
Rich and rare were the gems eho wore.
'Twos midnight on the mountains brown,
Along tho banks of Ayr ;
When through an Alpino village pass'd,
The boy with the auburn hair.
Saw ye tho mighty from their graves7
Whore is the Pyrrhic Phalanx ,gonc7
0, terribly proud was Hiss Mac Bride I
Were tho last words of Marinion.
The Sun's eye had a sickly glare,
On old long Islaud's sea-girt shore ;
When black eyed Susan came on board,
And a bright gold ring on her wand she
[bore.]
It was an ancient fisherman,
That name is quite forgot—
He led her to the altar,
The Lady of Shalot.
Earl March look'd on hig dying child,
His ruddy check grow wan 5
Why should the spirit of mortal be proud,
Or any other man.
Mary Moloney's Idea of a Lover.
'What ate you singing for?' said I to Mary
Maloncy.
'Oh, I don't know ma'am, without its be
cause my heart feels happy.'
'Happy are you, Mary Maloncy? Let me
see, you don't own a foot of land in the
world.'
'Foot of land, is it? she cried, With a hearty
Irish laugh. 'Oh, what a hand yo bo after jo
king! why, I haven't a penny, let done the
land.'
'Your mother is dead.'
'God rest her soul; yes,' replied Mtry Malo
ncy with a touch of the gonuina
'May the angels mako her bed in heaven.'
'Your brother is still abald,case, I suppose.
'Ah, you may well say. that, It is nothing
but drink, drink, and beating his poor wife,
that she is a poor creature.'
'You have to pay your sister's board.'
'Sure, the bit creature, and she'is a good lit
tle girl, is Hinney, willing to do whatever I
axes her; 1 don't grudge the money that goes
for that.'
You haven't many fashionable dresses, ei
ther, Mary Malone?'
•Fashionable, is it? Oh, I put apicoe of
whslebone-in my skirt, and the calico gown
looks as big a# the great ladies. But thon ye
say true, I haven't but two gowns to mo back,
two shoes to me feet, and one bonnet to me
head, bating the old hood ye gave me/
'You haven't any lover Mary Moloney?*
"COMMON CONSENT IS THE ONLY LEGITIMATE BASIS OF GOVERNMENT."
'Oh be off wid ye!—ketch Mary Malone get
ting a lover theso days when the hard times
is come. No, thank heaven, I ain's got that
to trouble me yet. Nor I don't want it.'
'What on earth, then, have you got to
make you happy? A drunken brother, a poor
helpless sister, no mother, no father, no lover
—why, where do you get all your happiness
from?
'The Lord be praised, miss, it growed up in
me. Give me a bit of sunshine, a clean flure,
and I'm made. - That makes me laugh and
sing. And then if deep troubles come, why,
God hclpiu' me, I'll try to keep my heart up.
Sure it would be a sad thing if Patrick Mc-
Guire should take it into his head to ax me,
but the Lord willin' I'd try to bear up under
it.'
The last speech upset my gravity. The
idea of looking upon a lover as an affliction
tvas so droll. But she was evidently sincere,
having the example of her sisters husband and
her drunken brother.
Change ofllubUs the cause of Death.
A man may change his mode of life as long
as he is on the youthful side of middle life;
the meridian line once passed, all such radical
changes is attended with the peril of death.—
Have you never noticed in burying-grounds, cr
in necrologies! Colum's of newspapers, how of
ten husband follows wife or wife husbands,
with brier interval of time between their de
parture, when they have long Jived together!
The age-worn constitution is unnblo to; react
against the bereavement and to adapt it self to
the new circumstances in which it was placed.
The usual form in which death invades the body
of these nged persons demonstrates this truth;
for they die of appoplexy Or of parolysis of the
brain. The mind shrinking instinctively from
death, exerts all its powers of recoverv to ral
ly after the blow is received,, the exertion is too
much for it, 'tis shattered by the very attempt.
There used to bo an old diplomatist in paris
Count do Lowenhelm, from Sweden—who
TT"' near the
Tuillers for mgh fifty years. He Was a well
preserved old man, an habitual frequenter of
the grand opera and French comedy, going
constantly in society, and never absent from a
single court ball. The Crimean war gave unu
sual importance to the diplomatic relations of
the two courts, and it became necessary to ap
point a more active man to the Sweedish lega
tion The old minister seemed to grow older ev
ery hour after tho newspapers recorded the
appointment of his succosssor. He roamed
about the lobhiesf the grand opera and the
French commcdy like a person lost in the
woods. He went to Stockholm and fell dead
of apoplexy a few days after his arrival. His
letters of recall were his death warrant.
Have you never heard the vulgar remark
that tho builder of a house dids almost
as soon as tho house is completed? The
observation has some foundation in truth, but
the cause of the effect is not "luck," it is this
very inability of the aged mind to react against
old habits lost. Men rarely build houses until
they have amassed something like indepen
dence of fortune: in other words, they are gen
erally in tho afternoon of life, and they build
tho housq for a harbor from the cares of busi
ness, whore tlioy may twirl their thumbs and
'•enjoy life" by oppressing themselves with
idleness. As long n3 the houso is building, gll
goes well, they dont miss tho absent shop or
counting room. There is the bricklayer to be
scolded and tho carpenter to be overlooked,
and discussions to be held with the architect.,
and.money to be paid out; in fiue, there is
something to think about, something to worry
over; something to fret about; it is the old
round of life in minaturc if you will, but still
it is the old round which has been paced for
forty years. But when tho liouse is complete,
when tho last coat of paint has dried, last chip
has been removed, and last bit of mortar ta
ken away; when the owner has nothfr.g to do
but to emjoy his fine bouse and his affluent, for
tune, then comes the vacuum, notliiug to do.—
Tho old man finds pears have not changed his
mind a? much as they have changed his body,
and the toy tired the old man even sooner than
it tired the child. There is no correlation bo
twecn building a house and death, but there is
a close connection between age and change of
life.— Spiridion,
—Agaseiz made a drawing of a fish from a
single Bcaie, and afterward, when the fish was
found, the drawing proved to be a very good
likeness. 1,1 ■ , ■' • >.;*
—An Irish jingle-driver, in Dublin, mada a
rery.happy and characteristic reply the other
day. A gentleman had replied to Pat's " Want
a jingle, sir?" .by saying, " No; I am able to
walk;" "May your honor long Btfable, but sel
dom willing,"
—A' Western paper publishes the follow
ing: "We knew an old man who believed that,
what was to be, would be.' He lived ink re?
giori ihfestfed'by savage Indians. He aMM-.
took his gun with htah when going' ih& the
woods; hut thiAtime ho found that n of his
family hadthkbti'it. Ashe would nvtgowith
out it, his friends tan talized him by saying that
there was rid danger of the Indians; that ho
worild not did till his time came, anyhow.
—"Yes yes!' said'tio <{Jd fcllow; 'Wt suppose
I was to moot oft Indian, aid his time had come,
it wouldn't do not to has* my gun!" •
HAGERSTOWN, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5, J862.
USEFUL AND INTERESTING. ♦
—o . , . \
Chapped Hands.
Tliis is an annoyance in wintor-time; whik
to keep them soft anil white is sometimes verj
desirable—to do this, wash the hands not more
than onco or twice a day, and always iix water
a little warm, using tho finest, purest white
soap. Rinse them well, so that the soap shall
be entirely removed, then wipe them with a
soft, dry towel closing tho operation by rvL
bing tho hdhds with one another very freely
until there is a feeling of comfortable softness
in them.
At bed-time, especially of the coldest days,
a few drops of sweet-oil should be most thor
oughly rubbed with one hand iuto tho other.—
If coal must be handled, or fires made or re
plenished, do not go near tho fire until a pair
of gloves, lined with some soft material are put
on.
The Baltimore and Ohio Ralroad.
It has hccn ascertained from parties coming
through on foot from Martinsburg aud vicini
ty to Harper's Ferry, over the lino of the Bal
timore and Ohio Railroad, that the damage
done the road has been far greater than was
anticipated. The facts arc, that the road for
twenty-five miles in length has been almost
entirely destroyed; The destruction commen
ces three miles west of Harpers Ferry, and
extends to a point about ten miles west of
Martinsburg, where the road approaches the
Maryland shore of the Potomac river. Along
that part of the road named, the iron rails;
with all the cross ties and sills, and.tho fixtures
of every description, have been taken up,
burned, or carried off and broken in such a
manner as to be unfit for use. A number of
bridges have been totally destroyed. At Mar
tinsburg (which has always beau one of the
principal statious for the exchango of engines,
and where large repair shops aud other build
ings were located; great damage has been done.
These buildings, together with the agent's and
master mechanic's dwellings, a passenger di
uinir hotel, alarae ticket ofiiec and storehouse;
lUimiis. water stalioiisjmd
other improvements incidental to the workiug
of a large road, have all been totally destroyed.
Several miles of side tracks, with mirocroo.s iu
-1 terscoting switches, were also removed and the
material burned—the wooden parts entirely
and the iron parts so bent or otherwise distor
ted as to he useless. In many places along
the road the iron rail after being heated were
twisted around the trunks of trees or hung
over fences on the roadside.
Throughout the entire distance where tho
road has been destroyed the telegraph wires
and poles have been cut down and removed.
In short, the railroad and its telegraph, with
all its water stations, appliances and conveni
ence, will have to ho entirely rebuilt, except so
far as the grading is concerned, which is said
to ho disturbed only fvhere the bridges have
been blown up r.r burned The company have
not yet recovered tho section of the road dam -
aged, and the Federal troops have not j v et oc
cupied the territory through which the road
runs, west 'of Harper's Ferry, and until such
occupation is made in such force as to promise
permanency, tho company, it is asserted, will
not attempt to restore the road. Tne amount
of material requisite for the reconstruction of
the road is almost incredible, more especially
in those times of scarce labor and material.
Wellington's Strategy,
On a certain occasion during "Wellington's
campaign on the Pyrennese, that "Great Csp
] tain" being displeased with the dispositions
General Picton had made for receiving the as
sault of Marshal Soult, who menaced him in
front, ordered the plan to be entirely changed.
But the difficulty was to delay the attack of the
French until the chango could he effected.—
This the "Iron Duke" accomplished in person
in the following manner. Doffing Iris cocked
hat and waving it in the air, ho rode furiously
to the head of a regiment, as if about to order a
charge. Thereupon arose a tremendeous cheer
from the men, wliicli was taken up by corps
aftc, until it reverberated along tho whole ex
tent of Pictou's line. As the roar died away,
Wellington was heard to remark, musingly, ns
if addressing himself—"Soult is a skillful but
cautions commander, and will not attack in
force until he has ascertained the meaning of
these cheers. This wilLgivo time for the sixth
division to cotac up and we shall beat him."—
It turned out as he anticipated. Soult, natu
rally enough, supposed these trcmcudous shouts
announced the arrival of large .reinforcements,
and did not attack until too lata. Had ho struck
at thh right moment he would havo won an ea
sy victory; as it was, ho tact with a bloody
repulse. This was strategy. Not tiro strate
gy of books, but tho strategy of genius, engen
dered and executed in the same inotaent.
ISTFIUJEHCJE or NEWSPAPERS.—DanieI "Web
ster said: "Small is the sUm that is required to
pßtrobteu a'newspaper and amply repaid is its
patron, I care hot how humble and unpreien
diDg the gazette be takes. It is next to im
possible to fUI a sheet without putting inty it
something that isworthy the subscription prieo.
Every parent whose son is away from home at
school, should supply him with a npwsgapor.
I well remember what a marked diffeW?
tWrwas between those whp haduot. Other
tilings being oqul;thfi iirtt was always supo
riof to the last in debrte, composition and. gen
teal iftWligeiKV' ' • t * : ' ®? '*** "
STONEWALL JACKSON ADMINIS
TERS THE SACRAMENT.
On the morning'of a recent battle near Har
per's Ferry, after a serman by one of Ihs chap
; lains, Stonewall Jackson, who, by the way, is
an elder in the Presbyterian church, adminis
tered the sacrament to the church members in
his army. He invited all Christians to partici
j pate in this ceremony', A Baptist, the straigh
| test of his sect, thoroughly imbued with the idea
"*,f close tormuuuten, was seen.te hositjitoj but
the occasion, and the man who presided over
' came his scruples and thus it has happened that
the prospect of a fight and the eloquence of
Jatkson made a Baptist forget that baptism is
the door into the church.—ln all Jackson's
amy an oath is rarely uttered. A religious
enthusiasm pervades it which makes every man
a lirro. In this incident wb have an explana
tion of Gen. Jackson's invincibility, and we
are thus enabled to understand why bis men
arc all heroes, and why they endure without a
murmur the severest hardships to which any
; troops have been subjected during tlio war.
■ When peace is restored, it will be honor enough
for any man to say ."I belonged to the army of
• Stonewall Jackson."
Joe Parsons, of Baltimore.
A Correspondent of the Boston Transcript
relates the following story:
1 Joe enlisted in the Ist Maryland Regiment,
and was plainly a "rough" originally. As we
i passed along the hall wc first saw him, crou
i ched near an open window, lustily singing,
"I'm a bold soldier boy!"
| and observing the broad bandage over his
I eyes, I said:
"What's yoifr name, my good' fellow?"
"Joe, sir," he answered—"Joe Parsons."
"And what is the matter with you?"
"Blind, sir—blind as a bat."
"In battle?"
"Yes—at Antietam. Both eyes shot out at
I I one clip."
'' Poor Joe was in the front, at Antietam
; ! Creek, and a Minie ball bad passed directly
I t through his eyes, across his face,' destroying
1 | his sight forever, ttc v,,* *wnt y ynars
I old; but he was as happy as a lark!
! <7l is Illt-iulAil,' i sain.
T,m very thankful I'm alive, sir. It might
ha' been worse yer see," he continued. And
then he told us his story.
'I was hit,' he said, 'and it knocked tne
down. I lay there all liight, and next day
the fight was renewed. I could stand the
pain, yer see, hut the halls was flying* all
around, and I wanted to get away. I cuddii't
sec nothing though. So I waited and listened;
and at last I heard a feller groanin' beyond
mo. 'Hollo!'says I. 'Hello yourself,' says lie.
'Who be yer?' says I—'a rebel?' 'You.i'e a Yan
kee' says he. 'So I am,' says I; 'what'ts the mat
ter with you?' 'My leg's smashed 'says ho,' Can't
yftr walk?' 'No.'. 'Can yer see?' 'Y'es.'-r
--'Well,' says I, 'your'e a d—d rebel, but will
you do me a little favor?' 'I will, says lie, 'of
I ken.' Then I says, 'Well, ole butternut, I
can't see nothin. My eyes is knocked out,
but I ken walk. Come over yer. Let's get
out of this. You p'int the way, an'd I'll tote
yer off tho field on my back.' 'Bully for you,'-
says he. And so we managed to get together.
We shook hands 011 it. I took a wink outcn
his canteen, and lie got on to my shoulders.
I did the walkiu' for both, and he did the nav
igatin'. An' ef he didn't make me carry him
straight into a rebel colonel's tent, a mile away,
I'm a liar! Hows'cver, the Colonel came up,
an' says liq, 'Wliar d'yer come from? Who
ho ya'r? I told him. He said I was done for,
and couldn't do no more shoot'n; an' he sent
me over to our lines. So, after three days, I
came down here with the wounded boys,
where we're doin* pretty well, all things con
sidered.'
•But you will never see the light again, my
poor follow," I suggested, sympathetically.
'That's so,' ho answered, glibly; "but 1 can't
help it, yoU notice. __ I did my dooty—got
shot, pop iii-the eye—an' that's my misfort'n,
not my fault—as the ole man said of his blind
boss. But
'l'm a hold soldier boy!'
he continued, cheerily renewing his song; and
wo left him in his singular merriment. Poor,
sightless, unlucky, but stout-hearted Joe Par
sons.
LET HIM GO.
When you've lost a lover, let him go.—
Never try to stay his departure, nor to get him
back. Love that can Serve yon.so, was never
worth the having. It was an insult and an
imposture from the first, De thankful to be
rid of it at lost. No doubt 'tis a haid and
better thing to stiffer as you must from woun
ded confidence and affection ; "but it is not
half so hard and bitter to suffer because yon
have last that man, as it would bo to endure
the having of him. As soon as,you can gain
your own consent to give him tq> entirely, and
to look his meanness fairly in the/pee, you will
be. time and' happy again, which you never'
could be had yoti become his wife-.
—The Aurora Borealis is a phenomenon of
Nature concerning wliich *i?u?littte is SSihwn,
except that it produces puturbatious in the
magnetic needle, and in the workings of the
telegraphs. '(# v •-
Another Letter from Ex-President Bu
chanan—Reply to Lt. Gen. Scott.
Ex-President Buchanan has published a let
ter in reply to Lt. Gen. Scott's, in rejation to
tne early history of the war. He sets out by
stating that he has already furnished clear and
distinct responsos to all the allegations of Gen,
Scott; and in his (Scott's) rejoinder he lias not
called in question any of his (Buchanan's)
statements, with a single exception. This has
reference to the garrlssonlitg rrf -the
' forts, and Mr Buchanan adduces many addit
ional facts and figures in support of the decla
rations made in his original letter, and to
which General Scott responded.
. We have room only for the following ex
tracts from the ex- President's second letter.
It will he seen that they meet certain new al
legations made by General Scott:
"I should have nothing more to add had
General Scott, in his rejoinder, confined him
self to the topics embraced in his original let
ter. He has extended them, and now for the
first time, and in a sarcastic and no kindly
spirit, refers to tho alleged stealing of public
arms by Secretary Floyd, and their transpor
tation to the South, in anticipation of the ro
-bellion. The most conclusive answer to this
allegation is that, "notwithstanding the boast
ing of Mr. Floyd at Richmond, evidently
with the view of conciliation his new allies
cited by the General as his authority, no pub
lic arms were even stolen. Tho fact is estab
lished by the report of the committee on mil
itary affairs of the House of Representatives'
now before me, made by Mr. Stanton, of Obio
their chairman, on tho 18th of February,
1801, and to be found in tho second volume of
the reports of committees of the House for the
session of IS6O-'Ol. This report and the tes
timony before the committee establish.
"1. That the Southern States received .in
18G0 less instead of more than the quota of
arms to which they were entitled by law ;
and that three of thorn—North Carolina, Misr
sissippi and Kentucky—received no arms
whatever, and this simply bccauso they did
not ask for thorn. Well may Mr. Stanton
have said in the House "that there arc a good
deal 6£ rumors and speculations and niisapprc
| hension as to the true state ef in regard
to lliie matter."
Secretary Floyd, under suspicions cir
cumstances, 011 the 22d of December, 1860,
and but a few days before he left the Depart
ment, had, without the knowledge of flip
Piesideuf, otdpred one hundred and thirteen
(113) columbiads. and eleven (11) thirty-two
pounders to ho transported from Pittsburg to
Whip Islhnd and Galveston, in Mississippi and
Texas. This fact was brought to tho knowl
edge of the President by a comnunication
from Pittsburg, and Secretary Holt immedi
ately thereafter countermanded the order of
his predecessor and tho cannon were never
sent. The promptitude with which we acted
elicited a vote of thanks, dated on the 4th of
January, 1801, from tho select and common
councils of that city "to tho President, the At
torney General, and the acting Secretary of
War,'. (Mr. Holt.) ,
"After this statement, how' shall we ac-:
count for tho explicit declaration of General
Scott that, 'accidentally hearing early in March
that under this posthumous order (that of
Mr. Floyd of tho 22d of December) the ship
ment of these guns had commenced, I com
municated the fact to Secretary Holt, (acting
for Secretary Cameron.) just in tune to defeat
the robbery ?" And this is tlis samo Secreta
ry Holt who had countermanded the posthu
mous order, in tho previous December. And,
strange to say. these guns, but for tbc alleged
interposition of General Scott, were about to
be sent so late as March from the loyal States
into those over which Jefferson Davis had then
for some presided '
I "fta'ct General Scott Tcfloctcd (or a moment
lie conlcl not have fallen into this blunder.—
It i.s quite manifest ho was 'without a printed
document and my (his) own official papers.'
'B. The government had on Laud in the
year 1869 about 600,000 old muskets, which
had been condemned 'as unsuitable for public
service,' under the act of 3d of March, 1825.
They were of such a character tlfat, although
offered both at public and private safP for $2-
60 each, purchasers could not be obtained at
that rate, except for a comparatively small
number. On the 80th of November, 1859.
Secretary Floyd ordered about one fifth of the
whole number (105,000) to be sent from the
Springfield armory where they had accumu
lated, l > five Southern arsenals, 'in'proportion
to their respective means of proper storage.'—
This order was carried into effect by_tho Ord
nance Bureau in flic usual course of* adminis
tration and without rcferenoc to the President.
It is but justice to say that from the testimony
before the committee there is no reason to sus
pect that Secretary Floyd iesucd this order
from any sinister motive. Its date was
months before Mr. Lincoln's nomination for
the Presidency, and nearly a year before his
election, and whilst the Secretary was still an
avo.wed opponent of secession. Indeed, t, e
testimony of Colonel Craig and Captain May
nadicr, of the'orduauce, before the committee,
is wholly inconsistent with any evil intention
on his part.
"And yet these 'condemned muskets,' with
a few thousand ancient rifles of n callibre then
no longer used, are transformed by Gen. Scott
into '115,000 extra muskets and rifles, uith
all (heir implements and ammunition .' This
*>.. * ' ••••*• •* *' -a- '■
NUMBER 6.
TWO DOLLARS A YEAR,
is the first time I have heard—certainly thoro
was nothing of the kind before the committae
—that ammunition was sent with these con
demned and inferior arms to the'r places of
storage —just as though they had bsen intend
ed not for sale but for immediate use in the
field. The truth is, that it is impossible to
steal aims and transport them from one de
pository to another without the knowledge and
active participation of the officers of the Ord
nance Bureau, both in V Jtnd at
tliese deposlioitco." .
FROM TItE SEAT OF WAR
Army Operations in Virginia.
OFFUTTS CROSS ROADS, Montgomery Coun
ty, Md., Nov. 25—This morning, at daylight,
a body of rebel cavalry, said to bo sixty strong,
entered Poolesville, seized Messrs. Cherry and
Sargeant (the government telegraph operators
stationed there) in bed, paroled them and per
mitted them to telegraph their mishap to
Washington. ... <
We have not. yet learned what namagc they
have done, or where they crossed the river.—
We think, however, at White's Ford. Their
number must have been.so small that they
managed to slip over, unperccivcd by our
guard, in tho night's darkness. Their bold
ness has caused much excitement in this
neighborhood.
FURTHER CONCERNING THE REBEL
! RAID AT POOLESVILLE.
OFFCTT'H Cnoss ROADS, NOV. 2G. —Tho
parties making the impudent raid on Pooles
villo yesterday morning were forty-five or fifty
Marylandcrs, principally belonging to this
county, .who crossed the river not long since,
to ovoid the draft, raid tco temporary ser
vice with the rebels, joiniug White's guerillas.
They did n<j other damage than was previous
ly reported, but spent the few hours they dar
ed remain in Maryland with their families and
friends.
FROM FREDERICKSBURG.
The Star of the 25th says :
The signs are that the rebels design making
serious resistance to our crossing tho Rappa
hannock at Fredericksburg. A mile from tho
rive'' there they have a fine ridge for defense,
which they are said to be strengthening as
rapidly as possible with works. It may tic
that it is not Burnside's purpose to attempt the
crossing just there, owing to these improvised
defenses. However, there is no sign that a
serious collision will come off there for somo
daysyef, fve hear. . ,
PROM WARRENTON JUNCTION.'
FAIRFAX STATION, NOV. 25.— Editor Star
—I hear from a refugee who came byway of
Warrenton Junction that the rebels arc lurk
ing in - 'the pines," northwest of the Junction,
in considerable numbers, and {hat they proba
bly design to gobble up our picket guards in
that vicinity, atjd may haVe other mischievous
ends in view - . They are concealed in precise
ly the same dense growth of pines used by
them as a cover prior to their descent upon
Pope's baggage train.
PHILADELPHIA, NOV. 25.—The New York
Herald contains a dispatch dated Harper's
Ferry, yesterday, giving iutclligeucc from
Stonewall Jackson's Head'thavtcrs, which wcro
at Berryville on Saturday. His force was
30,000 strong, and included sixty guns. On
Friday afternoon Jackson received the follow
ing telegram from Jeff Davis: "If you don't
leave the valley at. once and come help us de
fend Richmond, it will not be worth your while
to come toits defense at all." Jackson's reply
is not known, but his forces were not in motion
on Saturday morning.
The Times has a special dispatch from
Gen. Sigcl's headquarters, dated yesterday,
saying: "Such information has been received
at these headquarters this afternoon, as leaves
no further doubt that that entire portion of
Virginia has been abandoned by the rebel
troops. Some of White's guerillas are roam
ing about Lcesburg and the vicinity,' but Jack
sou has gono to Richmond;"
CONVERSATION.
| Conversation is most pleasing when it is
I carried on in an easy tone without letting the
! mind feel irksome from lethargy, or a distrac
tion fiom violent emotions. This is tiro kind
j of conversation that givea most pleasure to
i people of fashion, and even to scholars and
' men of profound learing. Dr. Johnson used
| always to like the conversation of his fashion
j able friend, Topham Beat c rc, because he
talked with an apparent insensibility—with
an affectation of perpetual calmness. This
Johnson called carrying on ■ a conversation
without effort. He preferred a calm monoto
nous talker to a violent emphatical one.
BSPA friend of ours, who had taken pride
for several years in cultivating a full crop of
hair on his face, was called away c n business
some time since. While absent an experienc
ed aarbor spoiled his whiskers in trimming
them, which so chagrinncd him that he diroc
tcd the barber to mako a clean job of it by
shaving whiskere and moustache both off.—
The barber obeyed, and our friend's face was
as smooth and as delicate as when in his toens.
He returned home in the night. Next mor
ning his little girl did not recognize him on
waking up. Looking over her mother and
seeing as sho supposed a stranger in the bed,
she remarked in her childish simplicity, 'Miß
tcr get out of here ; I'll tell my Pa when b*
comes home.'
. ... ..