The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1863-08-20
Miscellaneous.

A Valparaiso correspondent Of the New York Com
merciGi advertiser says that a Spanish war steamer
named the Cdrdd0ugd, had arrived there, bringing
two men said 10 have been picked up from an island
near Cape Horn, where they had been living, after
shipwreck, twenty-three years.
The London Times luiing to the intercepted
correspondence between the rebel government aud
Mason, makes an unwilling admission, thus The
first thing the documents prove beyond any doubt Is
that the Northern blockade. if not quite perfect is
very effective. The correspondence even Of the
Southern government with its agents abroad IS car
ried on with the greatest difficulty, though duplicates
of the dispatches are forwarded. Their arrival on
either side is a matter of chance"
PROSPERITY AND ITS DANGERs-There is no more
perilous ordeal through which a man can pass-no
greater curse which can be imposed upon him as he
ia at present constituted-than that of being con-
demned to walk his life long in the sunlight Of
unshsdowed prosperity His eyes ache with that
TOO ~untempered brilliance-he is apt to be sml;ten
with a moral coup de soleif. But II as little follows
that no sunshine is good for US. He who made US
and tutors us, alone knows what is the exact meas
ure of light and shade, sun and cloud. storm and
calm, frost and beat, which will best tend TO mature
those flowers which are the object of his celestial
husbandry, and which when transplanted into the
paradise of God. will bloom there forever in anna
ranthine loveliness Nor can it be without presump-
ton that we essay to interfere with these processes;
our highest wisdom is to fall in with them.--N Y.
Examiner.
When the men of the Fifty fourth (colored) regi-
men, of Massachusetts received their bounty of $50,
4O8 out of $50 men composing the regiment. signe l
their name III good AMI clear hand. The intelligence
or at least the education of the Northern colored men
would thus appear to be very much superior TO the
whites of the South, inasmuch as a very large major
iy of the rebels taken prisoners by our troops are
unable to write their names.
The Syracuse Journal tells good story as follows
The New York mail train on the direct road, Sunday
morning, when just this side of Savannah, struck a
man who was sitting on one OF the rails, knocking
him some feet into the ditch at the side of the track.
The man was not seen by the engineer III time 10
stop the locomotive before reaching him. The train
was stopped and backed up, in the expectation Of
finding the man dead. Great was the surprise of all
who knew of the occurrence. TO find the man stand
ing by the side of the track. having scrambled out of
the gutter and sustained no harm besides torn and
soiled clothing; and he cried out Go on with
YOUR cars, | amt hurt - 1t cannot be denied that
whiskey has preservative qualities.
The NONSENSE OF HERALDRY-At the funeral
service performed in the fashionable church of St.
Clothilde, at Paris, for the soul of the Duke de Lewis,
lately deceased. many people were puzzled TO know
what could be the meaning of the words inscribed
upon the catnfalque, Second Christian of France
The explanation Is that when CLOVIS was converted,
the first noble who offered himself 10 be baptised was
the ancestor of the Montmorencys, and the second
ancestor of the Duke de Lewis. The pedigree of the
Count de Chambord's late right-bnnd man goes back,
however. TO L much earlier date in history. The
French Levises trace their descent from a first cousin
of the Virgin Mary. In the ancestral hall of the
Dukes of Lewis. is an antique picture representing
an interview between the founder of the family and
his relation, the wife of Joseph the carpenter. The
parent of the house of Lewis is represented in the act
of taking of his hat, and a scroll issuing from his
mouth bears the words bon Jour, ma cOuSine, (good
day, cousin). The Virgin replies cOuUres rouS, mon
couSine (put on your hat, cousin). What - boast of
heraldry' can beat this?
A good anecdote is related of a Newfoundland dog,
owned in Montreal. Among other things the dog
has been taught to take a basket and 60 to the mar
ket for meat. This duty he performed for some
time, when the butcher presented his bill for settle
ment, and, to the establishment OF the owner, IL
was double the account he had kept. The bill
was paid, but the dog was suspected and watched;
and one day it was found that after doing the regu-
lar marketing, he took the basket and did a little on
his own account, eating the proceeds on his way
home, and on his arrival returning the basket to its
proper place. To put n stop TO this, the butcher
was instructed to give meat only when a piece of
paper was found in the basket. The dog tried the
marketing on his own account several times, but
failed to get anything; and finally, as though he had
turned the matter over in his mind. observing how
it was done. be one day went in and tore off a piece
of newspaper, placed it in the basket, aud obtained
the hard-earned dinner. If the whole of this is true,
it shows a reaectiveness on the part of the dog not
often seen among animals, and stamps him az one of
the most sagacIous OF his Kind.
ENGLISH AND FRENCH ~SEAMEN.-Nine or ten thou
sand French seamen having been constantly under
my review for so long a period. 1t may be expected
that | should 8 y a few words respecting their condi-
ton. They are wiry, active, and easily amenable
both to instruction and discipline; but they are a less
muscular, and certainly a smaller race than the sea-
men of the British Islands, and are not 80 cleanly
either in their persons or their dress. | do not now
speak of their appearance at muster on Sundays or
holidays, but when in their ordinary working dress,
both on board and in the boats. On this particular
head, | have been surprised that more pains has not
been taken, with a view to improvement; for the
ships are beautifully clean in every part, and the
boats are perfection. The costume of the French
sailor is au exact copy of ours in every respect, but
they cannot successfully initiate the style OF the hat,
tho nnt nf tho m nr tho N N fhn rnal so
man. They are not volunteers, but are dra @n by
ballot, and are obliged TO serve for seven years, after
which period they are free, and can demand their
discharge. Very few of these conscripts voluntarily
reuIain, and when their time of service has expired
on a distant station, this regulation causes great en-
barrassment to the captain and officers. Generally
speak ng, they dislike the service, and consequently
rarely make the Imperial navy their profession from
choice. 1t is strange TO observe the difference, when
evening has set in, between the habits of the seamen
of the two nations. In the English ships the ports
are left open, each mess is lighted up, singing is
heard. and dancing and merriment 60 forward till
the time for piping down at the hour of half past 9.
In the French ships all is gloomy darkness; the ports
are all closed, not a lantern is visible, nor is the
sound of amusement heard. Their days work is
over, the air of night is supposed 10 be deleterious,
and they rest from their labor. Yet the reason of
this difference is obvious; the lower deck OF the
English ship of war is the home of the seaman; the
lower deck of the French ship of the line is at the
best II temporary barracks. The former has volun-
the latter is earnestly looking forward to the day of
his reiease.-H NJ S. " HaRnIbdl.'' OF Palermo
and Naples, by Rear-.4fmirGi Sir Rodney .Nundy,
Il. G. II.