Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1857-06-12

My lads. g whispered the comlnmanaer,
ssStletsus replace the ,Eolus and hoist the
tri-color &C the mast head Of this fine
laloop- -of.Mar. towards 8 which we so quiets
j ysdrift. all but two of you follow me
softly into the larboard chains-and let
those two then take the long boat around
her bows and make atfalse attack Fol-
How {"
And with cat-like agility did the coms
lmander mount the vessel s side. followed
by his desperate; band. Aswhisper might
have ruined all. Aa15
Yet old Pierre remained IN the bot
tom of the boat. wi.hering In .apparent
grief. AT the moment Of his SON self.
sacrifice. a cry would fain have escaped
his lips but he stifed il, and ia 60 doing
ilritated his throat aud provoked q cough.
AT first he sought to clasp his mouth
with his hand-his throat swelled as If it
would burst-hiis face became scarlet
But it was ofino avail-he though Of his
comrades-and with his left hand he plum
ged his sheathsknife into his heart. His.
writhing were the agonies of death.
Fatigued and decimated by the days
conflict the surprised English crew was
an easy prey and at daylight Comman.
der Marcel found himself in possession Of
a fine sloop.of-war. somewhat damaged,
but making fine headway for Brest Then.
was it on getting in the long boat that
Pierre vas discovered. And on the gun
vale, traced in his own blood, was his
dying wish" my wife," Need l say
that every one on board gave the widow
ed mother liberal share of pay and prize
money? az az .e.4a GS 20
And now, sabre.t trainers, what say
you ? Do not the events of that night
the martyred son and father-the brave
handful of men, prove that gallant hearts
exit by salt water. Ay, ay, lads. the
anchor button birds, French uniforms
over true hearts, and from De Joinville
down, well sustain the honor Of the tri-
color afoat. That's all l'
We all drank bumpers to Captain Har>
rol. and left the coffee house. But I'll
warrant not one of the party slept with>
out thinking of the widowed mother.
Rats Become an Article of Commerce.
AS civilization advances human inge-
nuity is severely taxed to supply man,s
natural and artificial wants. Our grand
fathers would have said that the. destruc>
tive vermin which infests our cellars un-
der the name of rats would be the last
thing which could ever be turned to
useful purpose. Even the fineo lady of
the. present day., who piques herself on
ber exquisitely fitting gloves. would give
one OF those little shrieks, which she
thinks, SO 'sweetly feminine, If told that
the thumb of her glove was made of rat
skin. as more elastic~yet tougher than
kid. The nineteenth century, in fact,
sees rata elevated to an article of COM
merce. In Europe the fur of the rat is
used BY hatters. having been found to ex.
ceed in delicacy even that Of the beaver.
A company exists is Paris, on the princi-
pal of the 'Hudson's Bay Company. to
buy up all the rats of France. In Lon
don many persons earn livelihood by
hunting rats in the sewers. A late num-
Der of the London Quarterly Review
makes these facts. the text Of d curious
and interesting article on the habits Of
the rat. an animal heretofore considered
unfit to be introduced into decent society,
but which, under the auspices of the
Quarterly, makes quite respectable fig
ure.
Nearly every portion Of she habitable
globe is infested with these yermin.
Hardly vessel sails without carrying
with it colony. and thus even the islands
Of the Pacific are supplied with rats. On
board of ship they generally keep out Of
sight. provided they can command that
great necessity. water; but il this is
guarded against. in their depredations
they will come on deck, on rainy nights,
to drink. and will even ascend the rig.
ging for the sake Of the moisture lying
in the folds of the sails. When very
thirsty they have been known to attack
the spirit.oasks, and get. like wiser be-
ings, tipsy, though, We believe, they new
or beat their wives even when drunk
Sometimes two distinct colonies are TO be
found in the same ship: one occupying
the stem and the other the stern. It is
no uncommon thing to destroy Eve hun
dred in single East Indiamsn on her
arrival at Calcutta. Often, when water
has been scarce on the voyage, they vol
UNFAIRLY desert the vessel the night after
her casting anchor. generally passing to
land, in single file, along the mooring-
rope. though. if this is impracticable.
they do not hesitate 70 swim. The gen.
unine ship>rat is more delicate animal
than the large brown rat. and approxi-
mates to the original English rat. which
is not yet entirely extinct. though some
naturalists have asserted the contrary.
Few persons have an idea Of the vast
numbers Of these yermin. The Quarterly
says, "rats are 20 the earth what swal-
lows are to the air. universally present.
But. unlike their feathered rivals, we
j raralu see than and. hanna axa ie.,nrn !.