The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1856-02-21

THE MISSING STEAMER PAcrFIc--we are still
without any definite information in relation 10
the steamer Pacific. The officers Of the steamer
Canada arrived at Boston, report that no iutelli.
gence OF her had been received In England when
that vessel sailed. The statement received at
Halifax in private letter, that the Pacific had
put into the river Shannon, Is not regarded in New
York as at all lessening the apprehension in
reserenee to her fate The Journal of Commerce
| says:
The reader win observe that this intelligence
.ame from Liverpool to Halifax in letters; and
thsrefore cannot be quite SO late as the de.
par.ure or the steamer (the Canada) which brought
'ne letters In other words II there was any news
aooot the Pacific worth repeating, it would have
peen more likely to reach the officers and passen-
gers OF the Canada, or some of them, than to be
contained In letters put on board that shin an hour
previous to her departure
Again, the reader will observe that the Pacific
was on a1 iody out of the Channel" when she
put INTO the shannon. This could not have been
more more tnan DAY orfwo after she left Liverpool
01anaary 23d) whereas the Canada left Liver
pooi February I'd, eleven days after the Pacific
VI cotr'e, If the Pacific put into the Shannon
on her way out of the Channel and If this "a ct had
been deemed of any Importance in reference to
the question of her present safety Il would have
been duly announced by the officers of the Cana
da, who nevertheless report that "nothing had
been heard from the Pacific" C., since she went
to sea from the Shannon If, indeed, she put in
there. -
On the whole, we do not perceive that the above
despatch adds anything to the grounds of hope for
her safety which still exist, though she has been
out near month or say q days
GIVING AND RECEIVING GPREsENTs-A Ajudicious
correspondent "a lady, evidently of the New York
Home Journal, says that this matter of ladies Civ
ing and receiving presents is subject upon which
many of the sex have never bestowed thought
upon which many more are in error and which
few, perhaps, view in just the right light and the
writer proceeds to say what follows:
1 think it a safe rule for every young lady to
adopt--never to lay herself under pecuniary ob
cations to an unmarried man, not connected with
her by the ties of blood or family, for any gift
whatever, except the very fitting, appropriate and
amblematic one of a boquet of flowers. What
ever may be the relations of the parties to each
other at the time Of giving and receiving the pre-
sent, circumstances may subsequently occur which
will make 1t extremely awkw ard and unpleasant
to tho lady to remain under obligations and
equally impossible for her to cancel the obligation
in any way. Indeed, think lady of native re-
inement. delicaey and proper self.respect, will
always be unwilling to incur pecuniary indebted.
ness under any circumstances, and the conscious
ness OF being deeply indebted TO any other than a
dear friend, for any gift favor, is never agree.
able.
Ladies-and very young ladies, espeeially-of.
ten incur improper obligations by allowing gentle
men to pay their travelling or other expenses when
they are accidentally thrown upon the protection
OF the gentlemen. In such a case, no man of the
world, acquainted with the usages of good society,"
will obge lady to remain in his debt by refusing
to accept payment from her. 1t often happens,
however, that men of generous impulses. and even
webred men. will decline being remunerated-
Under such circumstances from a mistaken idea
of the requirements of politeness, lady should
invariably, insist upon his receiving the price of
her ticket even at the risk of offending the gentle
man. have known instances in which ladies have
been obliged to incur obligations of this kind to the
very persons, of all others, to whom they would
least wish to be indebted; and, the other hand,
in which gentlemen have been drawn into an ex-
pense for those, of all Others for whom they would
DE least willing to make any pecuniary sacrifice.
A SOLDIERS HoNoR--In an old new spaper
printed soon after the close of the revolution we
find the following singular statement During
the march of a detachment of the American army
through New Jersey, in the late war, silver
spoon found missing in the house where par
ty of troops had billeted. Suspicion pitched on a
soldier, who was seen to have entered the apart
nlent where the spoons were kept, and he was ac-
cuscd of the theft.
MAY never meet salvationi" exclaimed the
soldier, may be sunk into the endless regions of
perdition, if have seen, heard of, or taken your
spooni"
But no one else could have taken it, replied
the host
The soldier again went through the manual of
his attestations of innocence, and imprecations
against himself if he was guilty. The landlord
looked astonished, and being an honest man, was
obliged to believe the soldier. But just on the
point to leave the examination-he taking hold of
the soldiers coat and looking him in the face-said
Now say upon your honor, that you have not got
my spoon, and shall be satisfied"
Upon my honor" said the soldier to him SELF af.
ter thinking few minutes. Upon my honor-
Poh blast youi" he cried pulling the spoon from
his pocket and giving it to its owner-Blast your
spoon-take your spoon, and be d-dr'
The host started, surprised; and while lament
ing that the great principles of religion and moral
ity 81 ould have less weight in the mind of an in
teliigent being than the principles of what he con-
ceived to be mere sound, the soldier swung his
knapsack, joined the corps and marched off.
CAUSE OF BOILER ExPLosIoNs.-Mr. Fairbairn
was some time since appointed by the British AS
sociation OF Science to make experiments in re-
spect to aseertainng the of boiler explosions
He therefore had a boiler made so as to determine
not only the proportionate strength of boilers but
also IN relation to their management. The boiler
was L! feet IN dlameternal tubes, 3 feet in diane
ter. 1t stood q pressure of go lbs. on the square
inch, but at 100 of the tubes collapsed. The
object was to discover a means of proportioning
the strength of all the parts, because as Professor
Fairbairn believes, the majority of explosions arise
from an excess of steam.
CHEAP LIvING.-A letter from Florence, under
udte Vi JANUARY y says: InlS Is the only cheap
place to live in have seen. have dining room
and drawing room and two chambers and SER
wants room, and have for breakfast and dinner
whatever want have an excellent Swiss SER
want, who speaks French and Italian a coachman
and pair of horses and two carriages, one open and
the other close, and all this costs me $120 month
My man servant waits upon me and goes ON the
carriage, and has nothing to do with cooking for
me- That is done by the master of the house for
me, and Is included in the above estimate"
SUIT FOR SLANDER.-A slander suit was dis
posed of at the Court House, yesterday morning
after three days trial, by the jury finding YER
diet of sixpence for plaintiff The suit arose out
of quarrel between preacher and a deacon in
his church, in the course of which the deacon said
to the preacher, "If you like mutton as well as /
do, wouldn't trust my sheep within three miles
of you Several persons were present, and the
quarrel progressed until finally the preacher sued
the deacon and recovered sixpence damages and
sxpence cost-SyracHse Standard.
Coal IN NORTH CARoLINA.-On Friday last,
the operations at Egypt on Deep river, North Car
olina, so long and so indus trously prosecuted
der the superintendent of Mr.. McLain, the agent
of the Egypt Company, resulted In reaching