The Sun.
London, England, 1860-04-12 00:00:00

LII'BRATURE.

American Photographs. By J. W. C. Turnbu,
and M. Turnbull. 2 vols. Second Edition
Newby.
It is with much pleasure that we see our an-
ticipations of the favourable reception of these
agreeable volumes so quickly .realised, and a
second edition now before the public. There is
much in them to attract and amuse a large circle
of readers. Leaving the vexed questions of Ameri-
can politics, and disclaiming any pretensions of
giving any solid and serious information, the
authors fully and fairly carry out their title,
and show us a series of vivid and life-like "Ame-
rican Photographs." They give in a pleasant and
unaffected manner the impressions of two ladies
during fire years' travels on the Great Western
Continent, interspersing plenty of amusing de-
tails and interesting anecdotes. The scenery is
spoken of with the enthusiasm of those well able
to appreciate the wonders of nature in those
richly gifted localities, and the people are spoken
of throughout in so kindly a tone that even Ame-
rican susceptibility can hardly take offence at the
humorous incidents which ttie quick observation
of the fair travellers enabled them to chronicle.
We subjoin a few extracts as fair specimens of the
pleasant style and graphic power of the authors :
NEW YORK FIRE ENGINES.
A few moments brought us into Broadway, and we at
once realised the fact that we were on foreign soil, or
rather snow, which was in some places several feet deep.
The large bell from the City Hall was booming out the
number of some district in the city, and all the church
bells were following the example by pealing out 1,2, 3,
—l, 2, 3,-1, 2, 3. As we continued our progress along
Broadway, several of the celebrated American fire com-
panies passed us, preceded by two men, one yelling " fire !
fire I fire 1" through a trumpet, and the other carrying a
pole, from the end of which swung a red glass lantern with
the number of the company on it. The engines were very
beautiful, most of them being covered with paintings and
gilding, and some of them were decorated with large
gilt eagles ; every engine had a large bell at-
tached, which emitted a discordant noise every time the ma-
chine moved. The engines had long ropes attached to them,
and men and bays in long lines were dragging them along
at a gallop, and shouting with all their might. Most of the
men wore red flannel Jerseys, and leather belts round their
waists, into which were stuck cutlasses ; they had also fire •
mens' helmets with the number of the company painted on
them. Then followed men with the hose, which is wound
round a machine with a large bell in front, and lastly the
hook and ladder company with their hooks and ladders and
bell. Both these apparatus were dragged along in a simi-
lar manner to the engines.
We had often heard accounts of the fires and fire bells of
New York, but our imagination fell far short of the extra-
ordinarily wild scene of confusion that greeted our eyes ;
such a clanging of bells, and yelling and shouting of men
and boys, as they rushed through the snow, dragging their
machines after them.
THE GREAT HORSE SHOE FALL.
We passed the greater part of the evening in watching
the ever-varying appearance of the waters. About nine
o'clock the hitherto cloudless sky became overcast, and it
was our good fortune to witness one of the heaviest thun-
der-storms we had ever seen. The light of the moon and
stars became dimmed, as cloud after cloud collected in heavy
masses, and hung threateningly over the cataract. In a
short time everything was wrapped in the deepest gloom.
We could hear the mighty rushing of the waters, and their
roar seemed deeper and more sonorous than during the
earlier part of the evening. A heavy rain commenced
falling, which appeared as if responding to the whistliog and
mournful wind which at intervals we heard in the distance,
when all at once appeared hurrying through the heavens,
as if intent on some work of death, long lines of blue forked
lightning. These fiery messengers in their zig-zag course
lighted up the awful scene with a momentary, but almost
continuous light; and flash after flash continued to illumi-
nate the cataracts and the surrounding scenery. Sometimes
the lightning poured a purple flood of light over the dash-
ing waters ; at other times it assumed a cold steel-like
colour, which played and glittered upon the waters in a
most extraordinary manner; sometimes the whole heavens
and water appeared as if on fire, pouring down floods of
liquid flame ; and the deep thunder rolled in almost con-
tinuous peals above this war of elements, sometimes rum-
bling in the distance, then crashing and breaking over, and
around us, making everything tremble at the voice of God,
speaking from the heavens and from the depths of the
earth. It was an awfully sublime spectacle, never to be
forgotten.
There is an amusing account of a visit to the
Shaker Village, and of their method of public wor-
ship :
After looking at each other for some time, they all got
up, and placed the benches one on the other at either end of
the room. They then formed themselves into lines across
the room—the men facing the women, and leaving a space
between them at the wall side, of about five feet, gradually
extending in width to about twenty. The women then
took their towels and hung them over their left arms ; next
the "spirit moved" a man (when they were all ready), and
he came out from amongst them, and standing in the nar-
rowest part, addressed them ; then they all sang, then
another addressed them, then singing at the end of each
address, they all made a bow, lowering their hands like
Chinese. After that they put their towels down, and one
row of men and women stood with their backs against
the wall, all the others facing them, they then all com-
menced a quick step forwards, and then hack, except the
row against the wall, who sang something that sounded like
" Fi, yi, yi I" When we saw them dancing backwards and
forwards, we could not keep our gravity, and one of them
came up to us and threatened to turn us out. After ad-
vancing and retiring for about five minutes, they turned
round, clapping their hands; this they continued for some
time. Then 12 men and 12 women took their stations in a
circle in the centre of the room, and commenced singing—
" Fi, yi, yi ;" all the others, with the exception of six, who
kept time at the end of the room, forming two circles, the
youngest near the singers, and commenced dancing round
with a sort of see-saw motion. At a signal all yi,
yi-ed ;" then all clapped their hands, then sang, and then
off they went again, this time pressing their elbows into
their waists keeping the arm stiff with the exception of the
hand, and allowing the wrist joint to remain loose; and
every time they hopped, the hands flapped up and down in
front of them like flippers ; we could compare them to no-.
thing but a flock of Penguins ; and in this style they
danced round and halted—the men at one end, and the
women at the other. Off they went again, but this time
there was a great improvement, for every now and then
they stopped and danced a kind of shuffle, " Fi, yi, y-ing,"
more than ever. The performance lasted above an hour ;
the poor creatures then mopped their faces with their towels,
drew out their forms and sat down. Then the spirit moved
one of the Shakers to address the sinners present (the
visitors), and he came and stood before our party, and ap-
peared to address us in particular, in consequence, we sup-
posed, of seeing one of the party noting down various parts
of these Sunday performances, The following is a portion
of his address :
"There is but one Israel, as the Bible says—a peculiar
people, who have come out from among the rest, and who
are pure and holy as Christ. You," looking at us, " call
yourselves Christians ? By your works,' saith the Bible, you
shall know them:* What are your works but sin ? Priest
and people all alike, whether you are Episcopalians, Infi
dels, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, Universalists,
&c., all one—marrying, and giving in marriage, and every
kind of wickedness. ' In these last days,' saith Christ, (and
these are the last days) many false prophets shall arise,'
and you are they. Did Christ marry, or his disciples ?
No ! There is no licence given to it. We lead a pure and
holy life, you do not, &c., &c."
After this another gave a short address, making mention
of " Mother Ann." Soma of them say that her spirit makes
itself known to some that are very holy. Some are called
perfect Shakers, and these are so perfect, that it is not oven
necessary for them to fro to meeting.
o
Mother Ann Leo, who was, I understand,
Ar dearnsetahnesdietrh, efounderof
this strange sect, was a native Lancashire,
England. Whether they are the
cashire Witches or Macbeth's, we willdescelneadvane tLrofrtehadeeLrsanto-
judge.
anecdotesfthbaenanr:e_told in illustration of
gove n
tThheegf
eonlleorwalinl
"The tobacco chewing that goes on is very extensive, and
we have often seen them chewing such huge pieces, that
their
cheek on one side would look as if it were swollen.
While we are on this subject, the following anecdotes, one
on Scotch economy, and the other relating to two bishops
in Virginia, may not lee out of place :
" ' A gentleman, in conversation, said he was much
astonished that the Scotch nation, a people's° very famed
for political economy, should indulge in tie habit of taking
so much snuff, which, in his opinion, was an abominable
practice, independently of its being so much money wasted
in vain. The Scotchman replied that he would prove to him
satisfactorily that snuffing was clearly an evidence of Scotch
economy. The gentleman smiled, and said, I should like
to hear that.' The Scotchman replied, take one penny,
and buy a penny's worth of Scotch rappee, and divide that
into twenty portions, and each portion is a separate taste of
delight ; now can you tell me anything else by which you
will receive twenty tastes of delight for one penny?
" One of the Episcopal bishops of Virginia, who is very
fond of smoking, was one day visited by another bishop,
who, on entering his room, found his brother bishop en-
joying his pipe. The room was filled with smoke, and the
visitor was exceedingly enraged, and spoke against the
habit in very strong terms. The bishop, who was smoking.
with great calmness, asked his brother bishop if the evil in
smoking did not arise from its abuse ? He replied, iCer-
tainly, it was the abuse of the weed, and not its proper use.'
The smoking bishopimmediatelyreplied, thet, my brother,
those resent."
statement produced great laughter among present.
A are abusing it, and I am properly using it.' This
A visit to the Great Dismal Swamp is one of
the prominent features in the second volume,
few ladies having ventured into that singular
locality. Many of the party did not feel in.
dined to trust themselves among snakes, alliga-
tors, and runaway slaves, and accordingly our
adventurous authoresses set out with but a slen-
der escort. They accomplished their expedition in
perfect safety, however, and have given an ani-
, mated account of the curious scene. The mode of
progression is singular. They went down the
canal in a skiff, so called, but which was " a flat-
bottomed boat, 62 feet in length and about 3 feet
wide, perfectly flat at each end, and without a
single seat or awning—not even an oar." Two
chairs were placed in this " skiff," when the follow-
ing means of progress were adopted In a few
minutes we were all seated in our chairs. The
bargemen then each took hold of a long pole, and
,
by the help of a strong peg and a withe, rigged
them horizontally one to the bow and the other to
d the ole
over the tow path. They then gras. pe p
the stern of the skiff, so that the ends projected
with both hands,
foot advanced, remained them, and with on© and leaning their chestsupon
fashion, they fairly
time in this ey
proceeding for some
itself mo-
tionless,
waiting for the signal. to start." After
"We have now fairly entered the Great Dismal Swamp.
profusely fringed with ferns, reeds, and
entered the Great Swamp itse :
The borders were.
various beautiful aquatic plants, of every size and variety.
vdra,geas, and the fragrant yellow jessamine, and myrtle,
perfumed' the air ' • behind these were thickets of juniper,
laurel, bay, and briars ; towering above these were white
pine, furo, and cypress trees, whose branches on either side
van ed crier the smaller shrubs a&. trees, These branches

in many parts were festooned over the canal with masses of
tangled vines, and various parasites, giving a sombre and
darkened appearance to the canal. Sometimes the mass of
tangled vegetation was so thick that our skiff could scarcely
find a passage between. Now and then a branch would be
broken off and tumble on our awning. At first we took
them for snakes, and the cry was raised, a snake ! a snake
At last we saw a real, genuine snake drop from the branch
of a tree, and dive alongside of our boat—this caused us to
retreat under c )ver.

" The reflection from the trees and shrubs on the glassy
surface of the canal, which was as smooth as a mirror, was
exquisite ; and the perspective lines ran almost to a point
both before and behind. A death-like stillness pervaded
the whole atmosphere; not a sound was heard except the
solemn tramp, tramp, tramp, of the bargemen, who kept
rapidly propelling us on our onward course towards Lake
Drummond."

TL. American ladies' proverbial love of dress is of
ecurse alluded to. While our travellers were stay-
ing at Saratoga, the fashionable watering-place of
New York, they had good opportunities of obser-
vation. "We knew one lady who arrived with 50
trunks. She had 100 dresses, and when each dress
had been worn once, she left to go to some other
watering place ; and so well was this known to be
the habit of some ladies, that we have often heard
speculations as to the length of time such-and such
a lady would remain ; these speculations Leing
based upon the number of dresses she bad appeared
in. We often heard it said— Such a one will be
going soon, for I noticed she had a dress on to-day
that she has alrtady wo:n.'" We lay down these
pleasant and entertaining volumes, with the assur-
ance that those readers who wish for vivid and
various " Photographs" of American life, cannot do
better than secure them.

EXECUTION OF SERAFIN MAIVZ4NO.

The Spaniard, Serafin Manzano, who was con-
victed at the recent Wilts assizes for the murder of
Anastatia Trowbridge, at Ashcombe, was executed
yesterday (Wednesday) in front of the new prison
of Devizes.

The demeanour of the prisoner after his convic-
tion was mild and gentle, and every facility was
afforded by the authwities of the prison for supply-
ing him with the means of religious consolation.
An Italian convert from Romanism, named Ferraro,
who is staying in Devizes, was admitted to the
prisoner's cell, and at first it was stated, that the
unhappy man preferred him as his spiritual advircr
to any other person. Mr. Burt, the Mayor of De-
vizes, who understands Spanish, was subse-
quently requested to have an interview with the
prisoner, and on his complying with that request
the wretched man expressed a desire to see a Roman
Catholic priest. Catholicism was, he said, the
religion in which he had been brought up, and im-
mediately the question was put to him he drew a
crucifix from his breast and kissed it devoutly. The
Rev. Mr. Clarke was accordingly requested to
attend tie prisoner to the time of his execution.
An image of the Virgin and Child was placed
in his cell, and the prisoner continued through-
out most attentive to his religious duties.
On Sunday the prisoner wrote letters to Mr.
Alexander, the governor of the prison, and
his wife, thanking them for their kindness during
his confinement, and assuring them that he was
about to suffer martyrdom unjustly. He likewise
addressed a communication to the governor's
children, charging them never to be disobedient
to their parents. His own father, he stated, was
a millionaire, possessing two silver mines, but that
through disobeying him God had chastised him.
He added that he had two sisters (nuns) in a
convent, called the convent of San Francisco.

The prisoner slept but little during Tuesday night,
and appeared to feel his position most acutely. He
drank a little tea, but ate nothing for breakfast.
The priest was in attendance upon him between 8
and 9, and remained with him up to the hour of
execution-12 o'clock. Calcraft, the executioner,
arrived on Tuesday afternoon, and slept at the pri-
son. The High Sheriff (li. N. Goddard, Esq.) and
the Under Sheriff (West Awdry, Esq.) arrived
shortly before 10 yesterday morning.
About hall-past 11 the unhappy man was asked
if he had any request to make. He replied that he
desired nothing but the prayers of those around
him, and still continued to protest his innocence.
The prison bell commenced tolling at a quarter
before 12, and the high sheriff then proceeded to the
condemned cell, and demanded the body of the pri-
soner, and the usual process of pinioning having been
gone through, he was handed over to the execu-
tioner. The mournful procession, headed by the
priest bearing a lighted taper, and reading the recom-
mendation for a departing soul, wended its way to-
wards the drop, arrived at which the wretched cul-
prit mounted the steps without assistance, and hav-
ing placed himself beneath the fatal beam, appealed
to the multitude to pardon him. He remained on
the drop nearly ten minutes when, the sacrament
having been administered, the signal was given,
the bolt was drawn, and he passed into eternity
without a struggle. The culprit was 29 years of
age.

-Three or four thousand persons had assembled
in the vicinity of the prison, and all appeared to
conf"uct themselves remarkably well. After hang-
ing the usual time the body was taken down, and
interred within the precincts of the prison.
This is the first execution that has taken place
at Devizes for alewen years.