The Planters' banner. [volume] (Franklin, Attakapas Co., Lou.) 1849-1872, 1853-08-18


a"jug of punch," are matters of anti
quarian interest that have sorely puz-
zled some of the most pains-taking cor
respondents of Notes and Queries; nor
have We evidence of our own to assist
in setting such important questions
Bowls were in vogue when, in the mid
die of the last century, Hogarth drew
his great punch picture Of Midnight
Modern Conversation. Still earlier
were they in fashion,. when (1701) a
poet of King William the Thirds reign
perpetrates in print the following bad
verses on punch bowl: fs
Capacious goblet stored with all delight,
Sweet to the taste and pleasant to the SIGHT;
Where nutmegs, lemons and the Jolly toast
Scattered like wrecks O tn merry ocean float.
The last note that Otway is said to have
composed was "a song in praise of
punch - but it unfortunately has not
reached Us. Johnson in his youth low
ed bowl of bishop-"a MIXTURE" he
tells US In his Dictionary, "ot wine, or
auges. and sugar" Burns delighted
in whiskey punch; and his bowl has
cost its present generous possessor ma
ny hundreds of pounds to keep it filled
for his own friends and the poets nu-
merous. admirers. We have drank
from it often, and hope 10 do SO, while
it is still in Mr.. Hastie's hands, on other
and still greater occasions. Campbell
loved TO recite poetry over the silver
punch bowl presented to him by the
Glasgow. students, and we have seen
the poet who wrote Ye Mariners of
England, sitting like prophet in
drink" d" over the grateful steam derived
from his favorite beverage. What sort
of duty is performed by the bowl al
present is unknown to MS. The last
time we saw the Ettrick Shepherds
silver punch-bowl, it was filled with
strawberries and cream. But, when
this occurred, death, as Wordsworth ex-
presses, had closed the shepherd-poets
eyes. 1t was never filled with so mild
mixture in the poets lifetime. To
what base uses may even punch-bowls
come at last .ss
We must close our paper with fact
and an admission. The fact is-the
death, on the 5th July. 1776, at the age
Of seventy-eight, of no less a person
than Mr. James Ashley, of whom it
was recorded on his grave-stone. that
" he was the first who retailed punch in
small quantities" Hang him for a
rogue! And our admission is said in a
whisper; that we have sneaking pre-
ference for jug of punch over bowl
of punch We know not why.
Singular Discouery-There is nothing
new under the sun. The American
coffin which attracted so much atten-
lion at the great exhibition of 1851,
and which by producing a vacuum by
means Of. the air-pump, was thought 10
be an entirely new method of preSery-
ing corpses from decay, has been Just
proved to have been known in the mid
die ages. While demolishing, short
time ago, the old church of The ancient
Welch college, at Helmstedt, near
Brunswick, coffin made of lead, the
lid of which was of glass, of immense
contained the body of
young girl apparently about twelve
years of age, which still preserved
every appearance of yonth and fresh
ness, although the coffin bore date
1861. i.,fa5ts r-sasfga
nsA private letter from bystander
tells us that "the face and figure of the
child were perfect as in life, not sin-
gle signof decay being visible through.
out the whole person. The cheek pre-
served its delicate rosetint-the fore
head It's snowy whiteness.l The hair.
which was of a beautiful color, WAS
parted on the brow, and fell in long
ringlets over the bosom, crisp and fresh |
as though thepchild had laid down 10
sleep the moment before. The dress |
Of white satin,9 embroidered in gold |
flowers, the shoes of white velvet, the |
ace apron, aHseemed bright'as if new
y purchased; and, more astonishing
still, the bunch of lilies in the hand |
IF the corpse still, looked as fresh and |
moist as though the dew still hung up
IN it. The workmen engaged in the
demolition of the building were struck
with awe, and Immediately went in
luest of the chief magistrate of the
3laee,s who soon arrived on the spot,
by several of the inhabi-
ants Unfortunately, the worthy func-
ionafy having recently been made the
rictim of practical joke in the town,
md being half suspicious that the same
hing was intended, would not believe
n the reality, and seizing spade from
he hand of one of the workmen who
TODD near, dealt a heavy blow upon the
id of the coffin, and smashed one or
wo of the diamond-shaped panes of
,lass of which it was composed. In
and while we yet gazed. a
hin cloud of dust or vapor, like a
wreath of smoke, rose up from the cof-
in and dimmed the sight, yelling the
orpse from our view When it had
disappeared, we gazed downwards in
we; nothing remained of what had
truck US with so much interest and
had vanished, and left
ought behind but heap of discolored
usL few rags of tinsel, and one or two
ried bones!n Ioif.s