The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1850-09-12
THE SOUTHERN PRESS.
WoNprRruI. THlEyEs.-We elip from an

WosDERFuL THrEyEs.- We clip from an
exchange paper, the following interesting d.
aIogue between an English tourist and a
sbrewd Yankee, who were travelling West
ward on the same boat:
The Englishman laid back in his chair
and called for another mug Of 'aH-and 'af, ,
while Case smoked his segar and credulous
friend most remorselessly at the same time.
ell shan't 90 any further West, |
think" at length observed the excited John
Bull
81 should not advise any one to CO." said
Case, quietly. envy brother once lived
there, but he had to leave, although his bust
ness Was the best in the country"
"What business was hem, pray;'
Lumbering-had sawmill."
"And they stole his lcmbern'
eyes, and his saw logs, too"
"SNw logsn'
Yes. Whole dozens of fine black wal
nut logs were carried of in single night. /"
Is it possible'"
"True, upon my honor, SIR. He tried
every way to prevent it.; had men hired to
watch his logs, but II was all Of no use, They
would whip 'em away as easily as if there
had been nobody there. They would steal
them cut of the river, out of the cove, and
even out of the mh'ways."
"Good gracious!"
"Just to give you an idea how they can
steal out trere," continued Case, sending a
sly wink at the listening company, just to
give you an ilca-diI you ever work in a
sawmlil -
"Ncver"
Well, my brother, one day, bought an
all fred fine black walnut log-tour feet
three at the butt, anu not knot in it. He
was determined to keep that log, any how,
and hired two Scotchmen to watch it all
night. Well, they took a small demi John
of whisky with them, snaked the log up the
side hill above the mill, and built a fire and
then sot on the log to play keerds, just to
keep them awake, YOU see. Twas a mon
strous big log--bark two inches thick. Well,
as was sayin', they played kcerds aud
drank whisky all night, and as it began to
grow light, went to sleep a-straddIe of the
| log. About minute after daylight, George
went over to the mill to see how they were
getting on, and The log 'cas gone"
And they setting on it :"
Setting on The bark The thieves had
drove an iron wedge into the butt end, which
pinted down hill, and hitched yoke Of oxen,
and pulled it right out, leaving the she'll and
the Scotchmen setting a-stradde Of it, fast
asleep"
The Englishman here rose, dropped his
cigar-stump into the srttoon, and looked at
his watch, said he thought he would 60 on
deck and see how far we'd be down the
river before morning.
| SAN SLICK AND JUDGE HALILDURroN.
Like many other famous literary produce
tons, Sam Slick appears to have been the
result of an incidental inspiration. The al
thor was provincial judge, and in riding his
circuit he had often encountered many peri
palette Yankees with their packs OF small
merchandise, or their wooden clocks, which
! i seems 10 be their mission to sell to the
rest e the world Being a man Of keen OBJ
servaton and lover Of humor, the judge
amucd himself, probably, while stopping Il
night at dull tavern, by jottins down
some of the odd remarks lie had listened to
from the pcddlers, or hal encountered on his
road, or met in the bar-rooms Of public houses.
These lettings he sent anonymously to the
editor of weekly journal at Halifax; they
were printed from time to time, an! their
tluthiuness and humor were at cree per-
ccivcd and rc!shed. They were widely
copied in our own papers, and owing to tie
nreat desire to read them, the publisher OF
the journal in which they first a, peared, col
Iected them into u volume and published
them They were soon after published IN
London, at the time when the reading puo-
lie was absorbed with the Pickwick papers,
and for while divided attention with those
popular and amusing sketches.
The author, seeing what favor had been
bestowed upon bis careless offspring, no
longer felt any desire to DEFY their patton
age; ard he no sooner Announced HIS name
than he became famous at bound. Judge
Halliburton had been many years riding his
circuit and deciding the fshv disputes of the
! Nova Scotans, unknown to the world; but
a the author Of Sam Slick, his name became
household word wherever the English Ian
gu" ge was spoken.
Judge Halliburton is now about fiity-tve
years OF age-a hearty, laughter-l loving Oh
server Of human character. He writes with
great ease, is perlec! master Of pure sly Ie,
and had he turned his thoughts to literature
instead Of law, in the outset Of his LIE, he
would have occupied an eminent position
in the republic of letters He is a native Of
Nova Scotia, and Of Scotch parentage, and
IS the first British colonst, since the indpend-
ence of the United States, that Las distin-
guished himself in literature. His pccu-
liar humour has been most felicitously char
acterized By an English journalist, as the
sunny side Ct common sense,--HoM MS
Uayo-ine.
a New ARTICLE OF ExPoET.-A f'~n1
informs US that man in Newburyport is
h#sing up all the whortleOerries to be had
in that vicinity, for tie purpose Of sending