The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1859-01-15
Letter rom Kentucky.

MINERVA, ny, Jan, /, 1859.
pEu, EprToR The bdFh, and JOYOUS New
Ycar ha, opened In beauty upon us--brght
with mellow sunshine and smiling faces, and
JOYOUS wish the chorus Of musical voices
'bDi ring out on every hHut thrir merry
"ncv years sir " TIE cheerful day Il oil
the moro agreeable, as TOR thr past two
months we have been oyeyspread with almost,
continual clouds, aul poured upon by scarce
ly m,crmirci; sheet, Of rain. For more
lhan frty days aud nights the Windows Of
;ra,cn have been opened and tho earth
d-cnehgd with the Waterv element. The
bread aud bounding Ohio Is now full 70 the
br,m, and ia Luoyant bosom il studded with
crlfl of every grade and name, bearing the
produce Of the adjacent lands 20 the thrifty
--.---t-szf ll--s-....i ~ t4i---.,t
manufactured are routirg forth their various
products 60 enrich the hand Of enterprise,
and repay with generous profits the outlay Of
money, time and toll. The boun,cous har.
vests Of the year are either suugly housed in
safety, awaiting ai advance in prices, or have
been exchanged for the needed whcrcNithal
20 supply the pressing wants OF life. The
year opens TO us, indeed, with favorable aus.
pieces and may il continue bright TO US, and
to all IN, readers OF your plcosan, journal,
ill us last hour has been merged in the
yawning gulf Of time. May you, dear Edit
or, enjoy "huppy new year" and be ora-
pheiRed but not destroyed, by friendly sub.
scription lists to TIM CALIFORNIAN.
"Mcrry Chsistmas" has passed away, with
/ It's usual amount Of fun and frolic- its par
ties, prate aud puddngs,--its wedding'
sqpib, and ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ramnlosr roatS
and rollickings.
/ Its manifold customs have been well ob.
served, although some Of the Protestant
! preachers advise their disciples TO pay less
attention to the occasion, calling il Catholic
innovention and saying that there is no his
toricn. evidence that the 2jth of December is
/ the anniversary OF the birth of Christ Du,
| though Christians may be dissuaded from re.
/ garding Christmas as holyday, "niggers'
| and children, as well rs the gay and giddy
generally cling to it with as much tenaciiy
as the ivy TO its supporting oak. But the
weeks merrimcnt has passed away, and the
"darkics" now again are bending beneath
/ their yoke Of seryitude,--
While de white folks many voices,
As above is said or sung,
! Echoes forth from cid and young,
And the sunny earth rejoccS
Pdrdonner-p,oi this streak of poetry, kline
readers Of the Caledonnn, and attribute it &c
the outbuI sting splendor of the day, after sc
long an imprisonment of Fog and gloom.
One Of the favoriie amusements Of th'
sporting gentry daring "the holydays" is tha
Of shooting matrhes." Turkeys, Of course
are the fowls contended for for who evei
heard Of hens, ducks, or geese being set VI
as the target for a sharp.shooter' The tur
key himself, is, how ever not shot nt-he be
ing generally represented by an -inch-squur'
Bit of white paper, OF which whoever drives
the centre or approaches the nearest thereto
secures the Jiped as his prize. Tho shooting
1 is generally followed up by railing spree
accompanied by "now and then" n eight, es
peciolly if whisky" has hand in the game
At a shooting near this place, during
the recent holyduys,- a drunken WORTHLESS
fellow by the name OF Arch Rye was stabbed
.hy a rpvdy TOPPER but as the full force Of thu
stroke was received by pint bottle in th'
hllov', b,eschc,rcc%rt, his ,ifs ya' saved