The Oxford intelligencer. (Oxford, Miss.) 1860-18??, 1861-04-10

In turning over, few days since, the leaves
Of book which had attained the respectable
age Of century, We we're profoundly impressed
with the Importance and gravity Of the events
that have occurred since the volume then before
US was given to the world We were almost
startled, too, when we realized that hundred
years, after all is but very brief space Of time
When the man Of my looks back to the days
of his boyhood, the Intervening bridge Of years
seems scarcely longer than that whereby today
is connected with the month thai has just now
become part of the eternity behind us; and
while he recalls the narratives Of former times
to which he listened In his youth as they fell
from aged lips, and reflects that he has himself
conyersed with those who were eye and ear wit
nesses of what took place nearly hundred and
fifty years ago, century, in retrospect is to
him but the duplication of that personal exist
ence which he compares to the feeting "vapor,
that appeareth for little time, and then vanish
eth away"
On the 25th Of October, 1850, George iii as
cended the throne Of England His marriage
with the princess who was so long afterwards
known as The good Queen Charlotte" and the
coronation of the pair, occurred in 1851. On
the 14th of April in that year. we read that
"His Majesty in Council was pleased to appoint
the following new Governors, and other officers,
in several of His Maesty's Plantations in Amer
lea, riz - "fs ~
"New Kork-Rob't Moneton, ESQ., Governor.
Cadwal,ader Golden, Esq; Lieut. Governor
Benjamin Pratt, ESQ.,; Chief Justice.
South CarOlina-Tho. Boone Esq; Governor.
Charles Skinner, ESQ.,; Chief Justice.
Georgia-James Wright Esq; Governor.
Ne,c Jersey-Josiah Hardy Esq; Governor.
North Carotina-Tho FaIknsr, Esq; Secre-
tary and Clerk of the Crown"
How ellis Majesty" would have stared, il he
had been told, in 1861, what was to be the his
tory of his EXAMINATIONS in America up to 1861
Little did he then dream that in fifteen years the
standard of rebellion would be raised in the col
onies, and that the .despised colonists would
compel him to recognize their Independence Of
his authority and as little could he have i'm
agined that those plantations" were to grow
up, in less than hundred years, into ono Of the
greatest powers of the earth, and that, in 1861,
this mighty Confederacy Of the West would be
numbered among the things that were. The
great Napoleon was not born until George III
had been nearly ten years King, and yet, after
astonishing mankind by the splendor of his
achievements, and literally changing the face of
Europe, he was preceded to the tomb by the
British monarch only by about sixteen months.
An English writer, in 1861, felictated his
countrymen upon the ease and rapidly with
which they could transport themselves from
place to place. ''Stage-coaches, said he, ina
Chimes iys, and post-chaises arc ready to trans
port passengers to and fro, between the mctrop-
oils and the most distant parts of the kingdom
The lover now can almost literally annihilate
time and space, and be with his mistress before
she dreams of his arrival. Even troop of geese
and turkeys may be driven from the country to
town in a shorter time than a noblemaD and his
family could have made the journey heretofore
and the gamester offers to bet that he can 90
from London to Edinburg in twelve hours" If
that writer could have lifted the veil Of the fli-
ture and caught a glimpse Of the swift steamer
and the swifter locomotive Of 1861, he would
undoubtedly have wondered whether he himself
was sleeping or waking; and il he had been in
formed what wonderful feats were to be per-
formed by the obedicnt lightning, through the
telegraph, it is not probable that his informant
would have been regarded by him as prophet
to be credited. To us, the idea of ''annihilating
time and space" with stage-coaches and post
chases seems extremely preposterous; but the
expression is suggestive intiinating, as it does,
that travelling in England had, at no great dis.
lance Of time, been among the "slowest" of hui
man performances.
France and England, in 1851, were still en-
gagged in the war Of 1856, and England made |
sad havoc with the commerce of her ancient en-
emy During the nine months ending with Sep |
TENDER, 1861, no less than sis hundred and eigh-
ty.four French ships were captured by British
cruisers. At that time, the commerce of France
compared with that of the United States at the
present day, was very small IL therefore,
Great Britain, in 1871, could make II pay to |
cruise against the commerce Of France, protect |
ed, as that commerce was, by powerful navy,
It seems probable that the commerce Of the U. |
States, in 1861, would present richer field to
enterprising privateers, both because the prize
is far greater in value, and because the means
of defending it on the part Of the United States,
are scarcely worth considering.
Men appear TO have bad appettes, a hundred
years ago, as well as now, for food and drink
Thus, we learn that THE following is an exact
account Of the articles consumed at dinner only, |
by voters of a small borough, on the day Of
electing their members, Independent Of veal,
mutton, poultry, pastry, &c, and preparatory
breakfast which last alone amounted to 1901,
(S,750.) CONSUMPTION at dinner-ssO stone
e. $50 Ib.) of beef s15 dozen Of wine, 70 pipes I
of ale and s65 gallons Of spirits converted into
punch" We presume the voting was done be-
fore dinner.
We close, for the present. our extracts from
the ancient volume we have referred to. with
the following illustration Of taste and poetic tai
ent '-Sir John TroIlop added steeple to his
parish church, and erected near It statue Of
himself which pointed with one hand up to the
new-raised building. and with the other to the