The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1850-11-13

wrongs, so far forget the dignity of our sex to
rebel against best friends. Rather let us re-
tire peaceably, think the matter over coolly, and
when we mount our quiet roosts this evening,
trust we shall all be better and wiser hens" Much
futtering and strong marks of misrepresentation @
At this jupcture a mschieyous dog, which hap
pened to be passing along the road, seeing such u
dainty collection of feathered bipeds sprang over
the fence and seized little Bantam in his fierce
jaws. Great was the CONSERVATION thus suddenly
created amongst the fowls. Away they flew in
great confusion, each trying to escape from their
canine enemy, who dropped his prey, and was
soon IN full pursuit Of the long-egged Shanghai
herself. i know not what the result would have
been, had not Chantcleer-who had been won
derng at the strange conduct of the hens i'm shun-
ming his society, and holding so long confab
among themselves-galantly came to the rescue,
and after severe conflict driven the aggressor
| from the field. ...a-.- ".
The enemy was vanquished but there lay his
poor victim, gasping for breath, the cold, damp
ground. Her friends gathered round her only in
time to see her dying struggles, and hear her last
words. +" Alas ~ said she, Z" am too late con-
WINGED of my fatal error. All things are ordered
for the best" Then with convusive effort she
regained her feet, stared wildly round her, and fell
back " a gone chicken" . ...a..,. ......
This afternoon, my little boy brought in twenty
two eggs! which furnishes good commentary on
the proceedings of the Convention.
I STRAITS OF GIBRALTAR.-This is spot which
has influenced the destinies and formed the char
acter, not of one, but of many people; it is the
home of the feeting Canaanite, The bourne of the
| wandering Arab; II was the limit of the ancient
world. That world of mystery and of poetry,
was not like ours. 1t was not crammed into
Gazetteer, nor were its laws schoolboy lesson
learned by rote. These Straits, then the peculiar
domain of mythology, were approached with nat
ural wonder and religious awe. The doubtful in
quirer came thither to see if the sky met and res
ted upon the earth--if Atlas did indeed bear
| starry burden-to discover what the world was
whether an interminable plain, or a ball launched
in space floating on the water--whether the
ocean was portion of it or supported it--whether
beyond the Pillars" was the origin of present
things the receptacle of departed ones --wheth-
er the road lay to Chaos to Hades
| And something, too, of these feelings crept over
me, even although came thither to ruminate on
the past deeds of men, the shadows Of which
looked for on the face of that watery mirror,
which was the centre Of their solid gobe--the re-
solver, the adjuster OF all their contents. The
! Mediterranean has made the world such as it is.
Ancient history has been balanced on its bosom
and without passage connecting it with the
ocean, none of the events OF recent history could
have happened.
To the dwellers on the skirts of Palestine, she
was handmade for a thousand years, affording n
liquid way for the which they scattered over
half the globe from her bosom rose on all sides
those sea kings of the South, the Pelasgi. She
bore the Etruscans to their Ausonian homes. She
furnished to the African daughter Of Tyre, the ell
. ements Of the power by which she enabled to
compete for the domain of the world. Transferred
by the struggle of a few hours, and by the sink
ing of few crafts-she carried with her that do
minion to Rome, and fixed it there for centuries.
:, When the course of that Empire was run, and
barbarism was spread over the land, she fitted uI
new and beautiful things upon her shores nurtured
Amalphi and Venice and Pisa, and built up Genoa
and Barcelona. Then opened order. Sea-
manshIp, by magnetic touch endowed with wings,
dared to lose sight of earth issuing from these
portals, 1t gave to the princes of the peninsula the
knowledge of a new world, and the title of lords
Of the eastern and western hemispheres. Maritime
power now no longer pent up within the land, was
successfully competed for, and attained by Ho-
land and by Englan it conferred upon the one
Independence at home-upon the other, dominion
in the remotest regions Of the earth Here are
connected the first enterprise of man and his last
) struggles. Hence the path sought to Britain.
Here floats Britain s standard. The ruins OF
, the Temple Of Hercules saw Trafalgar's fight
Urq,tiart's Trarels
A CURtoUs SCENE FOR New ENGLAND.-A wri-
ter in the Boston Traveller, who recently visited
the muster field, or what they would call in other
parts, the training ground at Newtonville, gives
this description of the scene:
| "At numerous booths were vended eatables and
drinkabes, and Of the latter, ardent spirits bore no
small proportion. Shows of various kinds were
in full East, attracting crowds of spectators. In
! a
another an exhibition Of wax figures aid wild ami
mails. AT n little distance an auctioneer was en-
deavoring to sell an ACCORDION, but for lack of a
bid he was treating the crowd to tune. Country
lads and lasses were crowding around in every d-
rection, seeing ghs and scenes they never saw
before.
"Where the gamblers? was general in
quiry. Turn down shady lane, and after n few
minutes they will begin to appear. At first their
tables appear under the trees at the sie OF the
road, with heaps of silver and few bills tempt
| the passer. To hear them would Judge that
their money was waiting for you to come and take
1t, but oftener the result is an addition to the gilt
tering pile. The game of props seemed to e.
ponderate, though roulette tables were pretty
plenty. The keepers were generally cam unless
some desperate gamester had run OF luck,
which would speedily reduce their gains and even
threaten an entire ruin. The chance of these,
however, to judge from what was going on, was
but small. 1t is an established fact that in most
cases, the keeper of the table must be the winner
After passing, perhaps, fifty Of these tables, you
come to place where the business is more syste-
ma,ically carried on. In field, shanty, large
tent, and numerous small ones have been erected |
appropriately, numerous drinking booths
guard the entrance, where ardent spirits are dealt
out to the thirsty throngers to the scene. Some
of these dealers, with an eye to change, have
their bars located i'll wagons and other vehicles,
ready to fit upon the first alarm. One shanty has
upon it large piece of cloth, upon which is
painted, IN large letters" The Shakers Home"
Upon the large tent is the significant sign of
"The Elephant" At the door of the former
stood a man who, in loud tone, when customers
were scarce, cried out, Come in and gamble
Ah, yes,' shouted liquor seller from without, in
Joyous tones, come in and GAMBLE for my trade
will flourish; with gambling comes drinking.
The scene within can hardly be described. Heated
and flushed men stood about the tables, making
their bets and watching with feverish looks for the
fatal throw Boys of a tender age, and hardened
| fhonc x.,ara A
would fear to meet in dark night, urging on
those who had never or seldom seen such a sight
! before.
" An attempt was made early in the day to dis
perse the gamblers, but, driven from a location
| near the muster ground, they hired the field as
above stated. During the night number Of men
sailed from the lane in body, and forcibly
robbed two of the booth keepers of all their re-
celpts during the day An attempt was made to
rob third but he saved his money by throwing
II into the grass. One person was robbed Of a