The Sun.
London, England, 1864-06-13 00:00:00

The Last of the Shaksperes.

The following letters have been addressed to the
editor of the Times :
Sir,—The starling Shakeperian communication in the
Times of yesterday is indeed well noted by you as " wonder.
ful if true," and if you had written "miraculous" for " won-
derful" you would hardly have been far wrong. Extraor-
dinary things, however, do turn up in this world, and it is
certainly within the limits of possibility that a descendant
of Gilbert Shakspere is still among us. The verification
of such a pedigree would beat any peerage case yet recorded,
and surely your correspondent cannot, at all events, object
to publish the preliminary evidence—that which is sup-
posed to link Shakspere'a brother with an ancestor of the
present George Shakspere of Wolverhampton. The pro-
duction of that testimony would at once enable any one ac-
quainted with the subject to decide whether the case were
worthy of further investigation.

Few things of their kind are so easy as getting up a pedi-
gree in a loose sort of way ; hardly anything is so difficult
as the production of one of a long series of descents which
can bear the test of a critical investigation. If you are bent
on reaching accuracy in this pursuit—and I cannot conceive,
in a literary point of view, that any name but that of
Shakspere is worth the enormous and insipid trouble—you
must doubt at every step, and aim at the attainment of more
than legal evidence. Tombstone and register testimonies are
at best only presumptive, and identity of name is too often
admitted as proof of identity of person. Suppose one of
many similar instances, the rather as the uncertainty of the
particular kind of evidence has been overlooked in the
numerous discussions which have lately taken place on
the truth of alleged cases of great longevity—Thomas
Hotham, son of Richard Hotham, of Shelley, dies in 1820
at the reputed age of 100. there being the following
entry in the registry :—" Thomas, son of Richard Hotham,
baptised 20 June, 1720," We will suppose that the evi-
dence is complete, that the Thomas who was born in 1720
is be son of the same Richard whose son Thomas died in
1820. Would Mr Baggage himself require better evidence ?
Hardly, if it did not occur to him that it frequently hap-
pened that a child was named after a deceased brother or
sister; so that the Thomas who died in 1820 may not have
been born until 1740, the Thomas who was born in 1720
having died before the birth of that Thomas who was born
in 1710 and died in ISM. I merely name this to show the
risk of drawing inferences in such matters even when the
even when the evidence appears to be com Pete. To prove
the case confided in by Mr Coleman would require a con-
currence of discoveries that would be literally preternatural.
If I recollect rightly, there is a case something like this in
the pedigree of the Shakspere family, which, in itself, sup-
plies another example, in respect to the member of it alluded
to by your correspondent, of the extreme uncertainty atten-
dant on genealogical investigations. Gilbert Shakspere, the
poet's brother, was born at Stratford in 1566. One Gilbert
Shakspere was buried there in 1612, and it is by the merest
accident, that of the term " adolescens" being appended to
his name in the burial register, that the two persons have not
been taken for the first and the same. It is surmised that
the Gilbert Shakspere, who died in 1612, was the poet's
nephew, and Malone, who had access to materials now lost,
asserts (" Malone's Shakspere," ed. 1821, ii. 615) that the
elder Gilbert, Shakspere's brother, certainly died before
his son. Unless Mr. Coleman can bring forward certain
evidence to the contrary, the probabilities are in favour of
the elder Gilbert and his issue having died before the year

1616, the great dramatist not mentioning any of them in
his will ; for those who have studied the subject with any
care know that the probabilities are in favour of Shaks-
pets having been intensely affectionate in the three capa-
cities of son, husband, and brother. His wife may have
been provided for by dower, as Mr Knight suggests, or in
one 01 three or four other more, or, at least, as probable
ways; but brother, and sisters and their children were,
comparatively and legally speaking, outsiders ; and we may
rest assured that any of them whe were living in 1616
would have been mentioned in the will in one way ar other.
Joan, his sister, is the only one of sisters or brothers
alluded to in that document, and in a manner that suffices
to prove Shakspere's affection for her. Now, so far
from there being, as Mr Coleman imagines, " no living
descendant of our great poet's family,' if George Shak-
spare of ‘Volverhampton be not one, there are at least a
dozen, but more likely 20 or 30, persons now in existence
whose descent can be traced with accuracy from Shak-
sp arc's sister. The early portion of the pedigree from
Joan is well knewn and admitted, and I an in pos-
session of a vast accumulation of materials respecting the
Hart family, into which she married, by means of which
the present descendants could be accurately determined.
The family descending front Joan Shakepere spread out in
the last century into several branches, the only one of which
not yet traced being that (if any) which sprung from the
union of Catherine 'Hart, daughter of William Shakspere
Hart, who was born in 1745, and who married one Brad-
ford, of Birmingham. Perhaps some one may there be
found to tell us whether any arose from that union.
I have never put these materials inte order, nor, indeed,
taken much troub e beyond noting everything relating to
the subj, et which has .ccurred during the progress of many
years' researches into kindred matters, their being no lite-
rary value attached to the investigation of the descent from
Shakspere's family, and not having been inclined to under-
take the responsibility of collecting and distributing sub-
scriptions among the present numerous descendants of Joan
Shakspeare.
Having, however, long felt an inclination to be of service
to the ascertained descendants of the poet's beloved rela-
tives, it you will most kindly give are the opportunity—
this letter is written in the hope that you may do so—l ven-
ture to make this off: although I must decline to be the
distributor of funds ; yet if any of the numerous wealthy
readers of the Tancs will signify their intention of lending
a helping hand to those descendants of Joan Shakspere
who may need one, and whose title to the distinction can
be fairly proved, I will spare no pains to complete the re-
searches that may justify the direction of their generosity—
a generosity which will no doubt also amply suffice for the
requirements of the case Mr. Coleman has so kindly taken
up, if the claims of George Shakspere can really
obedient
be sub-
stantiated.-1 am, sir, with sincere respect, your
J. 0. HALLIVIELL.
servant,
St. Mary's-place, West Brompton, -Tune 10.
Sir,—Following the Tercentenary Fete of the poet ap-
pears a discussion as to whether there are in existence any
male descendants from his father. This may be a very in-
teresting subject to some, and I daresay that registers will
be rummaged over and tombstones examined by the curious
with a hope of making a satisfactory discovery.
For myself I hove always understood thafr I was de-
scended from Gilbert Shakespear ; but I can only prove
that my great grandfather was John Shakespear, an alder-
man of the city of London somewhere about a century
since, He may have been the grandson of Gilbert Shakes-
pear.
I shall be much obliged to any one who will have the
kindness to drop me a line should they in their researches
come across the father of the alderman.
Hoping you will kindly excuse my troubling you with a
personal matter,—I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
J. D. SHAKEsr EAR, Lieutenant• Colonel.
Richmond, Surrey, S.W., Juee 11.

A GERMAN SHAKSPERE SOCIETY, with its centre
in Weimar, has been established by Messrs. thrici,
Dingelstedt,o,,chelhausc,r, Bodcnstcdt, Eckardt, Gottschall,
Ka=ter, Lemcke, Leo and Marshall. The object of the
Society is to illustrate the Puet's text, and to spread a
knowledge of his poetry among German readers,

SECOND EDITION.

SUN OFFICE, HALF-PAST 4 O'CLOCK.

TURKEY.

BUCHAREST, June 11.—Prince Couza has met
with a splendid reception at Constantinople. The
Sultan received his Highness most graciously.
Th 3 Prince is to dine this day with the Ambassador
of France.

THIRD EDITION

SUN OFFICE, SEVEN O'CLOCK.

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.—This Day,

TATTERSALL'S—TnIs EVENING.
THE DERBY, 1865.
7to 1 agat Liddington (offered)
20 to 1 agst Zambesi (taken)
40 to 1 agat Wild Charley (taken)
40 to 1 agst Dilly Daily (take 50)
Heavy settling, and nothing done on the Northumberland
Plate.

CITY BETTING—Tins DAY.
THE SURREY AND MIDDLESEX STAKES.
4to 1 agst Douche (taken)
6to 1 agst Early purl (taken)
6to 1 agst Alabama (taken)
10 to 1 agst Wharfinger (taken)

NORTHUMBERLAND PLATE.
6to 1 agst Sir Roger (taken)
Bto 1 agst Caller On (Offered)
Bto 1 agst Donnybrook (taken)
8 to 1 agst Tottenham (taken)
ST. LEGER.
3to 1 agst Blair Athol (offered)
4to 1 ant General Peel (offered)
sto 1 agst Scottish Chief (offered)

iMPERIAL PARLIAMENT

HOUSE OF LORDS—This Evening,
The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack
at five o'clock.

NEW PEERS.
Lord HOWARD and Lord DE FREYNE took the eaths and
their seats as Peers of the United Kingdom.

COUNTY COURTS.
Lord CHELMSFORD presented a number of petitions
from the tallymen of Doncaster, Liverpool, Manchester, and
other places against the County Courts Bill.
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.
Lord WROTTESLEY moved for papers referring to the
standard of weights and measures.
THE NATIONAL GALLERY.

In reply to the Earl of STANHOPE,
Earl GRANVILLE said he was not aware of any cor-
respondence between the Board of Works and the Royal
Academy, but if there were no doubt it would be produced.

PRIVATE BUSINESS.
The following bills were read a third time and passed :
Scottish North-Eastern and Alyth Railway Company—
Scottish North-Eastern and Perth Almond Valley and
Methven Railway—North British Railway—Liverpool and
London Fire and Life and Globe Insurance Company—.
Dublin, Wicklow, and Wexford Railway—Denburn Valley
—Scottish North-Eastern and Scottish Cential Railway
Companies.
THE QUEEN'S MESSAGE.—PENs'ION TO THE

COUNTESS OF ELGIN.
Her Majesty's message upon this subject having been
read by the clerk at the table,
Earl GRANVILLE moved that her Majesty's gracious
message be :taken into consideration. His lordship com-
menced by tracing the brilliant career of the late Earl of
Elgin from the time of his leaving Oxford until
his death in India. He said he had no doubt their lord-
ships would readily concur with the recommendation of her
Majesty to recognise the services of the.late Earl
lof Elgin,
who was struck down by the fatal climate of ndia. by
granting Lady Elgin £l,OOO per annum. From the Indian
Fund £l,OOO had been already voted, by which arrangement
the combined pension would then amount to £2,000 per
annum.
The Earl of ELLENBOROUH felt great pleasure in
endorsing all that had fallen from the President of the
Council in his eulogy of the late Earl of Elgin. As a
public servant the deceased nobleman had won the gratitude
or the whole nation, and it was much to be regretted that for-
tune had been so capricious. No appointment had ever been
made which had given greater satisfaction to all parties
able, prudent, resolute, unimpassioned, he appeared to be
of all men the best calculated to act in the true spirit of his
wise and beneficent roclatnation in India. We acknow-
ledge his worth, and all that remains for us to do is, as tar
as we can, to make such provi4ion for bis bereaved widow,
that anxiety for the future may not increase the poignancy
of the grief she must ever retain in contemplating the
memory and the glory of her noble husband.
The Earl of DERBY could not deny himself the pleasure
of paying a brief tribute to the memory of the late Lord
Elgin. He had watched with great interest the brilliant
career of the deceased nobleman from the time ho first left
England for Jamaica. In all his subsequent actions he bad
well maintained the honours he had won, and he could not
14 the present occasion pass without bearing his testimony
to the excellency of his character, and his admiration of his
conduct as a public iran.
The mction was then agreed to.
THE WEST RIDING ASSIZES.
Lord WHARNCLIFFE moved that an address be pre-
sented praying her Majesty that the late decision ordering
the removal of the West Riding Assizes from York to
Leeds, instead of Wakefield, be reconsidered.
(LEFT SPEAKING.)

HOUSE OF COMMONS.---This E vening.
The SPEAKER took the chair at 4 o'clock.
The following bills were read a third time and passed :
Charing.cross Railway, Cheddar Valley and Yatton
Railvay (changed from Somerset and Dorset Railway),
Londonderry Improvement, Somerset and Dorset Railway
(changed hone" Somerset and Dorset Railway Extension to
Shepton Mal:et"), Stamford and Essendine Railway, Weald
of Kent Railway, and Worcester, Bromyard, and Leomin-
ster Railway.
HERNE BAY, HAMPTON AND RECULVER
FISHERY BILL.—THE OYSTER SUPPLY,
On the motion for the second reading of this bill,
Sir E. DERING moved that the bill be read a second
time this day six months, He founded his amendment on
the fact that about an area of nine miles, which was
directed to the supply of the public with so essential an
article of consumption as oysters, was about being absorbed
by a private company.
Sir B. BRIDGES seconded the amendment, and some
discussion followed.
The amendment was negatived without a discussion, and
the bill was accordingly read a second time.
HER MAJESTY'S SHIPS IN THE NORTH
PACIFIC.
Mr WATKIN asked the Secretary to the Admiralty
whether her Majesty's Government, bearing in mind the
existence and extension of the nava, etations of the United
States near San Francisco and of Russia at Sitka, proposed
to establish any means for enabling the docking and repair
of her Majesty's ships in the North Pacific; and if so,
whether the harbour of Esquimalt had been selected as the
site.
Mr CHILDERS in Cie absence of Lord C. Paget, ex-
plained that negotiations were going on the subject, but he
could not enter into official details at present.
THE PROPOSED NATIONAL GALLERY AT BUR-
LINGTON HOUSE.
11i: HIBBERT asked the First Lomniissioner of Works
whether. as the vote for the new National Gallery at Bur-
lington house had been rejected, it was his intention to take '
any steps to obtain possession of the rooms now occupied by
the Royal Academy in Trafalgar-square, so as to render the
same available for the exhibition of the national picture.%
Mr GREGORY also .seed the right hen. gentleman
whether it was the intention of the Government to take
immediate steps to procure the buildings to the rear of the
Natienal Gallery, inasmuch ao the present structure is not
large eneugh properly to exhibit all the national pictures
and ss'ections trom the national drawings.
Mr CO WPE R repeated the statement he had
previouslyc
made, to the effect that arrangementsrit national
we r emadec
for
oietin t
securingoa
amplecmh3wdaetriecinatfpresarthene get
not placed in that position
pieturesa,cwconnii
Ak
eJ
GIO
theß Under
to which, tram their instrinsic value as a
tion for the public mina, they were entitleindeans of
inStrUe.
M
Mr. LIDDELL
Foreign Affairs by whose ordersand• tru -
GORDON.SNecretary of State for
tions Major Gordon was appointed under what inso_
thec
to the. command. t
Chinese disciplined force now employed in suppressing the
rebellion in China, ane empowered the present
.to conduct
military operations ha •
ving tor their object the restoration
of Nankin to Imperial rule, inasmuch as Sir Frederick
Bruce, in the enclosure of a despatch' to Earl Russell, dated
copy of a memo June 12, 1863, being
randum addressed by
him to Prince Kung on June 5, 1873, states " that he, Sir
Frederick Bruce, must decline to allow officers of her Majes-
ty's army to take any part in military operations further than
or the
may be necessary f protection of British interests,
step, consequently, would and his first be to desire that Major
Gordon and others serving with him at Shanghae should
not pass the boundary described as the 30 mile radius.
Mr LAYARD said that all the information asked for
would be found in the blue books, which could be referred
to by any lion, member,
THE CONFERENCE,
In reply to Mr B. OSBORNE and Mr KINGLAEE,
Lord PALMERSTON declined to verify officially any
statement that appeared in the Morning Post or any other
newspaper relative to the Danish Conference. (Laughter.)
He was not in a position to confirm any newspaper
statement as to what the Danish Plenipotentiaries said or
did, (Daughter ) The statement he had made to the house
was sufficiently explanatory, and there were no new cir-
cumstances that called for any supplemental statement.
An lion. MEMBER—the noble lord has not,
to my mind,
made a satisfactory statement in regard to this matter.
Lord PALMERSTON said he did not feel himself
called upon to dt•al with every variety of mind which might
arise even in that house, and all that he could do was to
make a clear and so far as he u(Hear, and laughter.)
THE NA
OF THE CARNATIC.
On the motion for going into committee of supply,
Mr SMOLLETT moved that a select committee be ap-
pointed to inquire into the claims of his
he Highness Azeem
the
Jah to the title and dignity of tof
Carnatic; and further to report upon the circumstances
under which the treaty entered into between his high.
ness's father, Azeem ul Dowlah and the East Inaia Com-
pany, dated the 31st daylof July, 1801,:had been declared
void. [LEFT STE.kI:ING.]

Ey adrices from Hamburg the price of gold is i 25 per ;nark
and the abort exchange on London is 13.5 a per £1 atcrlin<•
Standard gold at the English Mint price is, therefore. about
!.I.othe pez Cent, dealer In, London than in liambar,„7,

THE YELVERTON CASE,

HOUSE OF LORDS.
TRLVERTON V. LONGWORTR (OR YELVERTON).
_ _ _

Sir Hugh Cairns, this morning, on the part of the appez,
lant, maintained that the Irish marriage was invalid under
the Act which made marriage null and void between n
professing Roman Catholic and a Protestant.

The learned gentleman was proceVing when we wcztt
to press.

Pepper's Ghosts,

The spectators, seated on benches as in a theatre
er. lecture-room, see a stage in front of them, 'suitable
for some kind of dramatic performance. Between
them and the stage is a sunken chamber, the floor
sor 6 feet below the level of the stage. The
chamber is open at the top, but the opening is con-
cealed from the audience by suitably arranged
boards and screens. Behind the sunk chamber, and
at the front edge of the stage, is set up a large
plate of plain or unsilvered glass, inclining for-
ward a little at the top, and so environed with
painted scenery, as to induce the observer to lose
sight of the fact, that he is looking at the stage
through a glass. Living actors, dressed up in any
way at pleasure, are in the sunken chamber, with
avery strong lime-light or other light shining on
them from properly placed; the actors and
lamps

the lamps being equally concealed from the audience
by screens. The strong rays from the illuminated
figures strike up in a slanting direction against the
glass, and are then reflected to the audience. The
glass has'such an inclination given to it, that this
reflection shall be visible to the spectators generally.
The effect produced, though scientifically plain
enough, is practically very surprising. Supposing
a young actress, dressed as a theatrically beau%

tiful sylph or nymph, to be properly placed
in the sunken chamber, and an intense
lime-light shining on her, we see the reflected
sylph .in the glass ; but not knowing that
there :s any glass there, we seem to see a brilliant
real sylph on the stage. If the actress-sylph, the
living person in the sunken chamber, smiles or
makes any gestures, the phantom sylph on the stage
does the same; if she sings or speaks, we hear the
sounds, and see the lips of the phantom moving. If
the light of the lamps is made gradually to go out,
the phantom disappears like a dissolving view ; and
if a trap-door suddenly silently closes the top of the
sunken chamber, the phantom disappears instantly.
If the lady walks away from the sunken chamber,
so does the phantom walk away from the stage ;
and then, if an actor, dressed, say as a magician,
should appear on the stage, he may seem to per-
form a little drama with the phantom, if distances
and lights are properly adjusted. True, he cannot
see the phantom himself; but he is guided towards
its apparent position by marks, cues, or clues of
some kind, If the glass does not extend all across
the stage, he may pass from behind to the front of
it, or vice versa, by an opening at the side, without
the spectators detecting either the glass er the ab-
sence of it ; and he may thus carry on the details
of many a curious dramatic plot with the phantom.
If there are two or more actors and actresses in the
sunken chamber, and two or more on the visible stage,
the by-play may be greatly varied, and the effect
wonderfully increased. If one of the actors in the
sunken chamber is a sculptured statue or a plaster
bust instead of a living person, a diversity of result
follows from combining the phantom of a living
being with the phantom of the copy of a living
being.—Chambers's Journal.

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE—This Day.

(BY MAGNETIC TELEGRAPH,)
GRAVESEND, Monday Morning
Arrived, June 12—Diana, from Amsterdam—Jora, from
St. Lucia—Tuhicon, from Manilla—Arcadia and Melita,
from Jamaica—James Holmes, from Barbadoes—Auto-
matia, from Cuxhaven—Theresa, from Antwerp, Anta,
from Jamaica—Najaden, from Boston—Freya, from Fred-
rickstadt—Cashmere, from Nelson—Marietta, from Copan-
hagen—Fidlitas, from Villa Vista—Ganges, from Deme-
rara—Chili, from Singapore.
Arrived, .June 13—Countess of Lonsdale, from Ham-
burg—New Express, from Sines—Adriatic, from New York
—Alster, from Nor dkopi ng—Monarch, from Bruges—
Mary Russell, from Colombo.
Sailed, Julie I'2—Prince of Wales, Prince Arthur, and.
Ocean Nymph, fur Hudson's Bay-11erchantman, for New
Zealand,

DEAL, Monday Morning.

Passed—Jane Innis, for Tagautoi—Bermuda hr Porto
Rico, both from London—Kersage, Amsrican man-of-war,
from east for west.

AFRICAN STEAM SHIP COMPANY.—The directors
of this company have issued their report, which is
to be presented at the ensuing half-yearly meeting. After
making a reserve for depreciation, defraying all expenses of
navigating and maintaining the s!iips, insurance, and re-
pairs, discharging the cost of the intercolonial service, and
augmenting the boiler and repair account funds, there
remains a balance of £4,955 4s 10d, to the credit of the
revenue account—out of which the directors recommend
the payment of a dividend of 8s per share, free of income
tax, for the half year ending 30th April last, being at the
rate of 8 per cent. per annum on the company's capital.
This payment will absorb £4,403 4s, and leave £562 Os 10d
to be carried over to next half year's accounts.

A FEMALE FEDERAL SPY.—The Detroit Tribune
narrates the adventure of a Miss Pauline Cushman,
who has been engaged as a Federal spy. It seems that
Miss Cushman is an actress, and fell under suspicion at
Louisville from having consorted with " rebel" officers.
She was arrested, but she stoutly denied that she was a
" rebel." In order to test the love for the old flag, she
WAS asked if she would enter the secret service of the
Government. She readily consented, and was at once
employed to carry letters between Louisville and Nash-
ville. She was subsequently employed by General Rose.
crane, and was for many months with the Army of the
Cumberland. She visited the rebel lines time after time,
and was thoroughly acquainted with all the country
and roads in Tennessee, Northern Georgia, Alabama, and
Mississippi, in which sections the rendered our armies
invaluable service. She was twice suspected of being
a spy, and taken prisoner, but managed to escape.
At last, however, she si as not so fortunate. After our
forces had captured Nashville, Miss Cushman made a
scout towards Shelbyville to obtain information of the
strength and position of the enemy, and, while returning
to Nashville, was captured on the Hardin Pike, eleven
miles from the latter city. She was placed on a horse,
and, in charge of two scouts, was being taken to Spring-
hill, the head-quarters of Forrest. While on the way to
this place, she feigned sickness, and said she could not
travel any further without falling from her horse. Her
captors stopped at a house on the roadside, when it was
ascertained that a Federal scouting-party had passed the
place an hour before. lirosviag that her guards had im-
portant- papers for General Bragg, the quick-witted spy
seised the tact and schemed to use it to her advantage.
Seeing an old negro, who appeared to commiserate her
unfortunate plight, she watched her opportunity and
placed ten dollars in Tennessee money in his hand, saying,
' Run up the road, uncle, and come back in a few minutes,
telling us that 400 Fe ,erals are coming down the street.'
The faithful negro obeyed the order literally, and
soon came back in the greatest excitement, telling the
story. The two • rebels' told him he lied. The old
coloured man got down on his knees, saying—' Massa,
dey's cumin, sure nuff; de Lord help us, dey is cumin.'
Soon
n Thinkingcame the
h she hceh hadall challenge
coleduordserabfbdttuieohpnatteihatet rebel lines
The scouts at this believedto hois
wsotoonryd,edmsoouldniteerd
inthtehira
horses, and skedacdled for the woods. Miss Cushman,
seizing a pisiol belonging
house, also mounted her horse and fled towardsuhaketrrteFehaontnmero,seatmhdoe,nsreeNkebnnvnlwaiianhtenurf,
She travelled through the rain, and alter nightfall lost
hero
com ewsatyh.ereb?o,
she said, 'A friend of Jeff. Davis.' ' All right,' was the
reply, ' Advance and give the countersign.' She pre-
as
y
sohasscgwaienloeoidhinuraidtnitlmhsdeisghkadhnaeya,notutt.olwthydhrseoseeohueicer
morning
teele
sriiotavot
rta.uenhisdni,
ieanctashesi
trkgi reocesorkfaui
brgdhnokadnemenui
tlradreoi
kindly,
aetyei
trrit
an early
showed
hais:
ennvhee
ena.kapdnelpl
Franklin, but
She passed five pickets in this way, but the
k.
d
d
Seeing a light at a farmhouse, she sought shelter, An
Aslulomubdekrsn,oackndawupookne
arousing she found her horse saddled and the two guards
from whom she had escaped the previous afternoon. She
was taken to the head-quarters of Forrest, and he sent
her, after a critical examination, to General Bragg.
Nothing could be found against her until a secesh woman
stole her gaiters, under the inner sole of which were
found important documents which clearly proved her to
be a Spy. She was tried and condemned to be executed
as a spy, but being sick, her execution was postponed.
She finally, after lying
in prison three months, sent for
General Bragg, and asked him if he had no mercy, She
received from him the comforting assurance that ha
should make an example of her, and that he should hang
her as soon as the got well enough to be hung decently.
While in this state of suspense, the grand army of Rose-
craus commenced its forward movement and one fine
day the rebel town where she was imprisoned was s
ur.
prised and captured, end the heroine of this tale was re.
leased."
The retiree of exchange at. New York on London for bills at
6o days' sight is about 204 per mut., and the premium on
gold is SOi per cent. At tuese rates there is a snas..l profit
on the importation of gold from the United States,

TEE CIVIL WAB IN ABIED,ICA,

(Front tice, liazes Corresponeent.)

NEW YORK, ?Jay 31.
General Gant having discovered that the direct
road to Richmond, to be traversed with the iota of
from 10,000 to 15,600 men per mile, was practically
impassable, has changed his tactics. Twice he at-
tempted, in a series of battles extending over ten
days, to cut his way by sheer brute force through
the obstacles opposed to his march, and twice, if
not actually beaten back, he was foiled with tre-
mendous slaughter. At his third halting-place on
the bank of the North Anna, he found the impedi-
ments much more formidable than those of the
Wilderness cr ;:ilpottsylvania Court-house, and
paused to consider what was to be done. The par-
tisans, bath of the North and the South, were
equally anxious that at this point he should once
more try the mettle of his legions. The Federalists
had an idea that Lee's army was decimated, demor-
alised, and hopeless, and that Grant had only to
fight with the fierceness and tenacity of his open-
ing battles to overbear all opposition, scatter the
panic-stricken hosts of the South, and rush con.
quering and to conquer into Richmond. The Con-
federates, on the contrary, maintained that the
position between the North and the South Anna
was that in which, above all others, Lee would have
preferred to try conclusions with his adversary, and
that it was the place on which he had lavished all the
resources of his military and engineering skill. For
these reasons they hoped that Grant would resort to
his old policy, and risk everything upon the issues of
battle. Grant took time for reflection. He studied the
work to be done, anl after a repose of several days,
varied only by an occasional skirmish between the
outposts and a few feints to discover the whereabouts
of particular divisions of the opposing army, came
to the conclusion that the position was in all respects
what it was represented to be, and was only to be
taken at such an awful sacrifice of life as to make
it cruel, if not insane, to attempt it, He, therefore,
determined upon another flank movement, and
hastily, secretly, and successfully transferred his
whole army by forced marches to the north bank of
the Pamunkey—a river formed by the junction of
the North and South Anna—where he took up a
new position at Hanovertown, within about 15 miles
of Richmond. On Sunday he crossed the Pamun-
key, and occupied a position about three miles to
the south of the stream. Should the attempt to
enter Richmond by ; this route prove as hope-
less as those previously made, we may next
expect to hear of this alert and indefatigable in-
vader at M'Clellan's old quarters amid the swamps
of the chickahominy ; or, giving these the go-by,
because of their noted unhealthiness during the
summer heats, which have already begun to blaze
upon the land with a fury equal to that of the dog
bays in our milder Europe, he will perhaps effect a
junction with General Butler at Bermuda Hundred,
on the James, and try to break into Richmond by
the back door. It will be observed that in all these
movements General Grant keeps the rivers and his
transports behind him, and that in case of defeat he
can save his army from destruction by the aid of a
numerous and well-appointed flotilla both on the
Rappahannock and the James. It will be observed
that the strategy leaves Washington undefended;
and that while he " pounds away" (the popular
phrase just now) at lii,:l;Lond, Lee may leave the
Southern capital to General Beausegarci and 40,000
or 50,000 men—quite adequate for its defence—and
march to the Northern capital with the remainder
of his army, either by the Shenandoah or the direct
route. It is not considered, however, by military
critics that Lee will undertake an expedition of this
magnitude, but that a series of battles on the Chicka-
hominy will either give him the victory or force
him into Richmond.
But amid all this din of war the din of politics
is not silenced. The Baltimore Convention meets
this day week to nominate Mr. Lincoln for re-elec-
tion, and towards that pleasant city are flocking the
delegates from all pe.rte of the country—the great
shoddy interest, the contracting interest, the place-
holding interest, the place-expecting interest, and
that very numerous class of political thinkers who,
without much respect for Mr. Lincoln's character,
and none for his abilities, aro sincerely of opinion
that a change in the Presidency at a time like this

is a national peril. Oae section of Mr. _Lincoln's

quondam supporters and present opponents have
endeavoured to forestall or de:eat the action of the
Baltimore Convention by summoning an indepen-
dent Convention of all parties at Cleveland, in Ohio.
That Convention opens its deliberations to-day.
Though all parties have been summoned, none but
Itepublic,7.4ns have been erected, and these, to the
number of between 1.500 and 2,000 have swarmed
into Cleveland with bat one purpose in their minds
nominate General Fremont. They are sincere
in their convictions that " State rights" are of no
farther use in the government of America ; that
their day has gone by; that State lines must be so
far obliterated as to be of no greater political value
than the lines of a county or a town-ship; that a
great and homogeneous nation and a strong Go-
vernment must be created cut of the ruins of the
Federative system ; that slavery, serfdom, and
social Lind political disqualification on nccount of

colour must be abolished ; that the Monroe
doctrine must be maintained at all Lezrda; that

General Fremont is Can able, the consistent, and the

Proved champion of "free speech, free soil, and free
mon," and of all the ideas that naturally grow
out of them ; that be is a gentleman as well as a
statesman, and fitted both by his manners and
his education to reflect honour upon the chief
magistracy, instead of making it a laughing-stock
in the eyes of the world ; and that for these and
countless other reasons, of which the egregious in-
capacity of Mr. Lincoln is not the least, it is both
the duty and the policy of the Republican party to
unite their vote in his favour. The Germans in the
West, who are declared to be a unit on the question,
are enthusiastic fcr the" Pathfiader ;" the Germans
Nc>fir York and other largo cities go with their
countrymen ; and as they have the support of the
churchts and of such men as Dr. Cueaver, I) c.Tyng,
Mr. Ward Beecher, and Mr. Wendell Phillips, and

•
the great bu± of the educated and contemplative

Abolitionist party, who deispiss Mr. Lincoln for his
wont of manners and education, aEd distrust him for
his Inkewarmnees in the cause, which appears to

thun too sacred to ba taken up or lei; f 3.11 as expe-
diency may dictate, it is all but certain that the
Cleveland nomination will be as enthuEiastic for

Fremont as that at Baltimcre promises to be for
Lincoln, A few friends of Gen. Grant have rnuatered

at Cleveland, as they will pronably do at Baltimore,

to urge the claims of the hero of Vicksburg upon the
gratitude of his countrymen ; but as Grant bas not
asked for the nomination—as it is not certain that

he would accept it, if offared—as it is not known to

any one that he hasany political principles at all, or

any talents except those which find their normal
exercise in the c.Lnap or the battle-field--ana as,
moreover, his defeat on the Chickahote icy or at Ber-
muda Hundred would make an end of him as

thoroughly in a political as in a military sense, and
consign him to obscure service on the Indian fron-
tier, or perhaps to private life at his tan-yard in
Missouri, his friends labour under many disad-
vantages in pressing his claims, and are not likely
to advance his prospects- at either convention. Oa
the other hand, if signal, undoubted victory should
reward his efforts before Richmond, he will need no
aid of ccnventions to jump into the Presidential
chair. Success in the field would make him Presi-
dent in spite of himself, so that in view of all the
circumstances his friends but waste their energies
in premature discussions of his candidacy. The
mass meeting summoned for Saturday evening
next
in Union-square, in this city, with the objrct of
nominating him to the Presidency by acclamation
of the crowd inster,d of by the ordinary Inachicery
of a party convention, will, of course, afford the
opportunity of speech-making end speech -hearing,

. ..
both so dearly beloved by the Yankee multitude, but
will be of no further importance, unless, on or before
that particular day, the victory his friends expect
shell have been fairly won. In that improbable

contingency the meeting would become a fortunate
accident, and be the signal and forerunner of a series
of popular gatherings, the force of 'which no other
candidate could help to withstand.

The friends of General IvlTlellan keep discreetly
quiet. Their convention will not be held until the

end of June, during which time the claims put for-
ward on behalf of but not by General Grant will
probably be decided one way or another by him.ielf
or General Lee. With Grant as President, General
APC:ellen would, doubtless, be reinstated in high
command, so that APClellan's pole2y to watch
and wai!, and take advantage of any divisions in
the ranks of his opponents which may serve to
keep his name before the public, and gather round
it the great Conservative party that still believe
in State rights, and see in a centralised Government
the inevitable downfall of republican liberty. If
he could serve that party as President, he could
also serve it as Commander-in-Chief, Thus
Grant's success or failure will kqually servo his
purpose. In the one case he may be at the head of
the army; in the other at the head of ,the State,
so that he, of all men, has most reason to maintain
his soul in peace and leave events to their natural
solution.
Mr Lincoln's temporary suppression of the World
and the Journal of Commerce for being as ready to
be deceived by a forgery as his Secretary of State
in Washington and his Ambassador in London has
considerably damaged his popularity. In America
a man is either very much praised or very much
execrated. The people have no medium in their
love or hate. Their generals must either be
Napoleons or "stunted corporals," and their lead-
ing men paragons of honesty and virtue, or
knaves arid imbeciles. Mr Lincoln has had his
"heated term," in which it was the fashion to
endow him with every possible good quality, and
in which, if a blunder were brought home to him,
the all-sufficient excuse and palliative was found in
his immeasurable and unprecedented honesty. The
cold fit is now upon his reputation, and he who was
so great before finds none to do him reverence,
except those who expect favour or fortune at his
hands. The journal which was the first to recom-
mend him for re-election has changed its tone, and

denounces him with a virulence of ill-will of which

no journal in the world is so great or so mean an
exemplar. It states that the renomination of Mr

Lincoln will be an attempt to perpetuate the
petty despotisms, the gross corruptions, and the
unparalleled abuses of the past four years, and that
the slightest probability of his success will intensely

infuriate the masses of the people; that the politi-
cians, by simply nominating two or three weak
candidates, may allow Lincoln to slip in between
them ; but that if this old game, frequently
played and generally successful, be attempted
while the people are in their present temper,
it will not answer for the consequences. It adds
that "riots, burnings, assassinations, barricades, and
a revolution will probably ensue, All that the people
want is a fair chance to defeat Lincoln. Give them

that by nominating such a man as Grant, and all
will be well. Attempt to cheat them out of it by
nominating half a dozen weak men in order to
divide the opposition vote, and Lincoln's re-election
will be the signal for such an upheaval of the North
as has never before been witnessed." It requires
but little knowledge of the American character to
know that this wicked prophecy will not be fulfilled,
and that if Mr. Lincoln were elected by a legal vote
—whether resulting from the split in his own or the
opposing party—the people would very quietly
submit to the infliction. The danger to the public
peace does not lie in that direction. A defeat of
Grant and a call for another half a million of men,
to be taken from the ranks of labour by conscription,
are the rccks ahead. The people respect the civil
law but they chafe at the introduction of a military
law which would deprive them of their liberty, and
is in opposition to their prejudice and whole course
of life and thought. They detest and abhor the
conscription, and rather than submit to it they will
run any risk of violence in opposing it, as every
homeowner and capitalist in New York well knows,
and as every public man of the least foresight is but
too thoroughly convinced.

Neither is there much danger of such a mult;plicity
of candidates as will greatly increase Mr. Lincoln's
chances. Banks and Butler are out of the way—
ruined by military failure ; and there remain but
Grant, M'Clellan, Lincoln, and Fremont. In the
sweat of any mishap to Grant, it seems as if the real
struggle will lie between the Itsvolntionists and
Radicals under Fremont,and the Conservatives under
M.Ciellan, and that poor Mr. Lincoln will have to
quit his perilous honours and his thorny chair in
18G3, and retire to Illinois to practise law in the
couniy of Eaugamon. Happy will it be for him if
at the end of his troubled career, health, a good
appetite, and the power to indulge in his little
jokcs be still left to him ; happy also if he do not
expect the gratitude which he will never obtain, or
any other place in his country's history but that
reserved for all weak men of good intentions, who
do mischief withoat meaning it, and ruin the coun-
try which it was their ambition to save.

The price of gold, which y esterdy ran suddenly up
to 041, the highest yet attained, dropped to-day to
MI; but not in consequence of any favourable news
from the army or other cirounistances tending tc
restore the drooping spirits of the people, butbecause
Mr Chase was represented in Wall street by an agent
authorised to sell a surplus, real or supposed, in the
National Treasury. The agent threw half a million
of gold and sterling bills into the market, with the
solo object of reducing the premium, and accom-
plished it. Mr Chase thereby sacrificed the sum of
30,000 dots. end upwards, for the poor satisfaction
of milking financial matters look six per cent. less
gloomy to-morrow on the departure of the Persia
than they could have done had he not been in
readiness to discount fora time the bull operators of
the Exchange. No one expects gold will remain at
the lower level to which it was thus forced, not even
if victory in Georgia or Virginia should occur to
prevent a too rapid rise. It is understood better
than it used to be that it is the irnmen3e volume of

;he paper currency and not the varying military
'ortanes of the day which causes the depreciation
n greenbacks. No victory that does not end the

war will put paper and gold on a level ; and that
the war will be ended even by the capture of Rich-
mond few are now so sanguine as to believe.

1 TEE SCENE OF THE IMPENDING BATTLE.—The
situation of both the opposing armies in Virginia is
slch, a; the latest advices, that a battle may be considered
imminent. In view of this fact a brief topographical descrip-
tion of the battle-field may not be uninteresting. Both
armies are now in Hanover county, with the North Anna en
the north and the Chickahominy on the south. Lee's army,
as is announced in official despatches from General Grant,
is on Mechanicsville• road, south of the Tolopotonion river,
one of the tributaries of the Pamunkey, and between that
Grove. stream and Hawes's shop, with his right resting on Shady
The surface of Hanover county is hilly, and the
l
sandy, but there are few natural impediments to the
operation of an army. Hanover Court house, the county
scat, is memorable as the scene of Patrick Henry's early
career, and as the birthplace of Henry Clay. The object of
Lee will be to preserve the rebel capital from the advance of
iitnelihnied to give his enemy
General Grant, andfor this reason he has selected a field
ghways leading to Richmond. Gene-
rd, and therefore has ordered the destruction
no oppor tuuity
rtuoallmG! cohrvaecnnot voserertialv2lal
t
The road from Hanovertown crosses this
of the bridges over Little and the North Anna rivers. Lee',
It ehfet —c
iscskuanrb
yhat he faces to the south— is protected by
stream at Mechanicsville, which is on a turnpike five miles
io
northwest of Richmond. There is another road just in
the rear of this which also leads to the rebel capital. In
moving down these roads General Grant will encounter
the situation is so con-
tractedthe lines
that
o f
tLao'sbe;
e is
army,
If the Chickahominy is in-
tended by Lsaa as the last line of defence, the position has
e probability o bhili tey itua
of another flank
movement being suc&ssitil,
been well chosen. The stream itself is peculiarly adapted to
the defensive warfare. The river is a small one, and flows
sluggishly. It divides itself into half a (Eva strearnlets,
running into and out of each other at random. These
water-courses occupy a space about 70 yards in width.
Immense trees grow up out of the water, and the entire
stream is covered by thick woods. It is a remarsalle in.
stance of a river running through and watering a long strip
of woods. From each side of this woodland a flat surface
extends for about half a mile. This is nearly always over-
flowed, and becomes an impassable morass. It is only when
the water in the river is very low that men can safely walk
upon the ground bordering it. On the fiat surfaces there is
not a solitary tree. They are bare, and anything moving
upon them can easily be discerned. From the borders of
these plains huge hills, in some cases 200 and 300 feet high,
abruptly rise. They are covered with thick woods, and are
so steep that waggons cannot be hauled directly up their
fees. The few roads go down them diagonally to the
bridges, across the swamp and river. This Chickahominy
valley, one of the strongest in America, is the outer defence
of Richmond. From the tops of the hills on the one side,
across the swamp to the hill-tops on the other side, the
distance varies from a mile to a mile and a-half. The ordi-
nary 12-pounder rifled Napoleon gun just about throws a
shell from one hill-top to the other. From the Fredericks-
burg railroad crossing down to New-bridge, a distance of
eight miles, the Confederate works are all along the hills
on RS southern border,—,A ew York, World June I