The weekly Minnesotian., 1853-01-08
NUMBER II.
kentucky in the Oiden Time.

Of one of kentucky's most accomplished and
travelled daughters, the wife of late ex-Goy-
ernor:
In the carly settlement of that territory her
present aged and queenly matrons were with
out many Of those things now esteemed by
their sex so indispensable. and amongst them
the looking glass, which never made its appear
ance across the mountains. In its stead, the
eye and hand of q companion, or the smooth,
reflective surface of the CLASSY brook, were
made TO subserve the purpose of the toilette
and wooden trough, or followed stump, filed
with water, not unfrcquently daguerrcOtyped
the flowing curls and talloWed heads Of tbe
backwoods beauties
But it happened, on time, that there came
along the Indian trails Yankee pedlar. who,
amongst his precious store of goods. which he
was exchanging for furs and skins, had small
looking glass, such as fits the top of an old
fashioned, round shaving box. AS soon as
seen by them all bid for the rare and desirable
thing; but, with native shrewness, under the
pretence that he could not spare it-well know
ing it would prejudice his trading did he prefer
a buyer then-he refused all offers, intending,
in the end, TO accept the highest
At last, however, ready to pack and leave,
he called upon his best bidder and received his
offer. The purchaser was a young beau, who
at once presented it to family of beautiful
sisters, the rival bellies of the country. 1t was
near the time of a large ball. to which they
were invited, and where they proudly appear
cd with pieces of the looking glass framed in
lead suspended i'm yellow bark strings from
their pretty brown necks. They were at once
the observed Of all-thc main attraction of the
evening--much to the slight of others equally
handsome and ''quite as respectable" who
were, after that night, with bitterness and
wounded pride heard to rcproach their late at
tending beaux witf-"Ies, oh yes, you couldn't
see as this evening: we're too common. You
chose first to dance up to the girls with the
looking glasses" "And,' said the lady narra-
tor, here were first sOwcd seeds of envy and
hatred that show themselves to this day between
many of the leading families of old kentucky
and all because of the looking glasses"
The Fowl FEvER.-It would seem by the
following paragraph, which is extracted from
the New England CultivatOr, that the fowl fe-
yer has by no means abatcd in that quarter:
AT the late Boston Fowl Exhibition, lin
September 1922 three Cochin Chinas were
sold at 800. A pair of gray ChittagOngs at
$50. TwoCanton Chinese fowls at $50. Three
gray Shanghai chickens at SIS. Three white
Shanghais at SG5. Six white Shanghai chick
ems $40 to $40, &c, aud these prices, for SINH
lar samples, could now he obtained again and
again."
Within three months. extra samples of two
year old fowls, of the largest Chinese varieties,
have been sold in Massachusetts, for SlOO the
pair. Several pairs within our knowledge,
have commanded $50 pair, within the past
six months. a few weeks ago. a trio Of white
Shanghas sold in BOston for S45 and the
best specimen of Shanghai and Cochin fowls
now $50 and S35 a pair, readily. to purch ,sers
at the South and West.
The prices do not equal, however, the sums
which have been recently paid in England for
fancy fowls. The Cottage Gardiner says:
"Withn the last few weeks. a gentleman
near London has sold a pair of Cochin China
fowls for 30 guinieas, (Sl5O,) and another pair
at 81 guineas, (SlGO) He has been offered
e20 for single hen has sold numerous eggs
at guinea (S5) each, and has been paid down
for chickens just Matched. II guineas, (S60,)
the half dozen. to be delivered a month Old
One amateur alone has paid upwards Of e400
for stock birds"
DIVING IN LAKE ERTE.-Mr. John Green, the
Diver, who has been engaged during the season
in descending to the wrecks of several of the
steamers sunk in Lake Erie, informs us that the
wreck of the Griffith, burnt some two years ago,
and sunk fifteen miles from Cleveland. has now
been entirely removed. No property, however,
of any account was recovered. the heavy seas
having washed everything away. The fire, now
that the wreck has been examined, is supposed
to have arisen from the ignition of large auan-
u
without the knowledge of the persons in charge
of the boat since the wood of the boat remain
ing unburnt was found to be thoroughly impreg-
mated with sulphur In saving the keelson, the
friction Ofthe saw several times ignited the wood.
We learn from Mr.. Green, that early next sum-
n,er the raising of the Atlantic will be resumed,
and that the raising of the Erie will he attempt
ed. Work will also be commenced on the wreck
of the propeller City of Oswego, early next sea-
v'I,n, xln,,
she can be found at any time, and Mr.. Green has
been three times down on to her stern deck
without any apparatus. She lies in fOrty-two
feet of water and the depth to the deck is thir-
ty-One feet Mr.. Green on the day following
the loss of the Oswcgo, also went down on six
several occasions. to the bottom Of the lake in
the immediate vicinity of her, in search Of bod
les, but without finding any. 1t was shortly
after the loss of the Oswego that Mr.. Green first
went down in the submarine armor. Upon one
occasion he remained two hours and fifteen mir.
utes, and upon another, three hours on the
wreck of the propeller, in forty feet water. At
the wreck of the Griffith he remained under the
water, at the depth of fifteen feet, for upwards
of five hours. He seems calculated by nature
for diver, his powers of endurance being truly
wonderful.-Bnf. .ddu.
WOrkmen, says the Philadelphia Ledger, are
now already employed at the Navy Yard,
Washington, in the manufacture of sixty-six
hydraulic pumps, for the Treasury department.
They are to be finished in time for transmission
to all prominent points on the seaboard and
lakes by the list of January, and are designed
to test the strength Of steam boilers at two
hundred pounds pressure, under the strictest
supervision, indicated by the law of Congress. I
Each boiler is also provided with an alloy, fusi-
BILE plug, which at given heat will operate as I
an ettectual check upon careless engineers.
LIFE IN NEw-YoRK.-Tbe Express, speaking
of the rapid growth of New.York says:
Another novel feature of the city is the ur-
dereround building which is going on round
about us. In some parts of the city half as
much business is transacted under ground as
above il. Two stories downward are lighted
from above, and here are at work, in rooms ex-
well fitted up, all sorts of people up
on all sorts of jobs Some of the best ware
rooms and salerooms are below the surface Of
the earth The printing of newspapers is near.
ly altogether a subterranean business, and
of people. too, live in the first and