The Sun.
London, England, 1866-11-19 00:00:00

Miscellaneous American News.

CALIFORNIA STATE FAIR.—The thirteenth annual
State Fair of California ended on Friday, Sept. 14.
The weather was beautiful and the attendance very
large. Among the entries we notice a variety of
domestic manufactures by the ladies, good to hear
of in that far-off land, and including all the variety
of articles our mothers have been in the habit of
making. One exhibitor showed 265 varieties of
apples, 80 of peaches, 12 of quinces, 240 of grapes,
5 of figs, 13 of plums, 40 of dried fruits, 2 of raisins,
and 11 of native wine. Then there were samples
of ores from various mines, wool of imported sheep,
horns, brushes, &c. One lady had a quilt which
was made by Mrs. Martha Washington. One gen-
tleman showed 110 varieties of California seeds in
bottles, which are to be taken to the Paris fair.
The Michigan Southern and Rock Island Rail-
way opened their new depot at Chicago on the 9th
inst. The passenger depot is one of the finest and
most capacious buildings of the kind in the country,
being 612 feet in length, and 160 in width. The
freight-house is an immense structure, 600 feet in
length by 52 feet wide.
MR. SEIVARD.--A DOMESTIC AFFLICTION.—
Secretary Seward has sustained another bereavement,
in addition to the personal sorrows which have
fallen upon him so thickly of late, in the death of
his daughter and youngest child, Fannie, which
took place as stated in the following despatch from
the Secretary of War :—" Washington, Monday,
Oct. 29. I deeply regret to inform you that Miss
Fannie Seward died at 6.30 this morning. We
thought, until last evening, that she was improv-
ing, as she certainly was for the last three days. But
her strength suddenly failed after the fever went
down. There will be a funeral ceremony here on
Wednesday, and then her remains will be taken to
Auburn.---EDWIN M. STANTON." Since the death
of his wife Mr. Seward's affections have clung most
closely and fondly to his daughter, whose character,
resembling her mother's, was well calculated to win
love and tender regard from all who knew her. She
was eminentlyquiet and unobtrusive in her manner,
shrinking always from public notice, seeking happi-
ness in the pursuits, duties, and enjoyments of do-
mestic life, and ministering with constant and soli-
citous assiduity to the wants and welfare of those
around her. Yet she bad a strength of character
far beyond what any casual observer would detect,
and was equal to any emergency,- no matter how
trying and terrible it might be. The fearless cou-
rage with which she threw herself between her
father's breast and the uplifted knife of the assassin
Payne, and the tenacity with which she clung to his
arm, and sought to divert his deadly aim, attest this
trait in her character. Payne afterwards said that
if he could have made up his mind to strike her out
of his way he could have accomplished his purpose
upon the secretary, but that her face, between his
weapon and her father, disarmed him ; he had not
the heart to take her life also. Mr. Seward's at-
tachment to her was always most warm and de-
voted. While travelling in Europe he never retired
at night without writing to her full descriptions of
all he had seen and heard during the day ; she was
always in his thoughts when absent, and always
closely watchful of his comfort and happiness
at home. That home, already so shadowed
with gloom, will be darker than ever now that
she who gave it so much of its light has left it for
ever.

George Peabody arrived at Baltimore on Wed-
nesday afternoon, Oct. 24, and was received by the
mayor, a committee of the city council and the
trustees of the Peabody Institute, and escorted to
Barnum's Hotel. The formal opening of the Insti-
tute took place on Thursday, in presence of a large
assemblage. Prayer was offered by Dr. Backus,
after which a formal address of welcome to Mr.
Peabody was delivered by Governor Swann. Mr.
Peabody made a brief response, and the report of
the board of trustees was lead. A telegram was
received from President Johnson, in response to an
invitation to be present, expressing the regret that
official business prevented his attendance.
OBlTUARY.—Commodore Robert F. Stockton, of
Princeton, died suddenly on the 7th October, aged
seventy. His grandfather was a signer of the De-
claration of Independence, and the name is a his-
torical one in the annals both of the State and na-
tion. Commodore Stockton entered the U.S. Navy
as a midshipman when fifteen years of age, and dis-
tinguished himself. He resigned in 1849, and was
elected to the United States Senate in 1851, an
office he resigned in 1853. He was largely interested
in the Camden and Amboy Railroad Company
and its connecting lines. Mr. C. L. Daboll,