Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1866-12-25

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hundred of the savages precipitated into tn
sea. The balloon collapsed. and | went tum
bling down and down! Luckily one of tn
blockade runners from Nassau was passing a
the time. / was picked up, and after pleasan
journey of two days, arrived safely at Charles
ton. Having made my report to General Beau
regard, who was pleased to compliment me,
obtained month $ furlough to recruit
| The Major, having finished his truly wonder
full narrative, fell back, as usual, upon his couel
| of straw, resting his head upon his right hand
and putting Justify the fumes of his favorite xii
likenic. .-l@ a4' @.
"Winged human beings are rare, Major
said Smilax, tugging at his moustache; II be
lieve they are not mentioned by writer's on nat
ural history"
They are only spoken Of by Peter Wilkins
the renowned voyager, whose narrative has
passed through the hands of almost every child
in the land who is able to read. [ am surprised
that you have not met with the work, Captain,
was the reply of Stretcher.
ssPeter Wilkins, bah p exclaimed the Cap
tain, she and his Flying Islanders are mere
myths. [ suppose you believe in Sinbad the
sailor, don't you?'
Pshaw p retorted the Major ''Sinbad, Gull.
yer and the like were all humbugs, so far as ad
venture is concerned. could depict scenes oi
my life which would put them quite in the
shade
mo doubt no doubt" replied the Captain,
winking to the company; "your improbabilities
would far outshine theirs. [ was surprised
when you stated that you were at loss for gas
to fill your balloon"
'iSir' calculated the Major, rising from his
reclining posture; Il hope you do not doubt
my veracity ?" a -f
Il doubt nothing in this age of imitation, y
was the cool rejoinder.
''Oh-ah-I understand you. Age of 'infa-
tion;'' you mean by that the currency. True
everything is distorted and twisted out of shape.
l am sorry l cannot give plain and unvarnished
account of my adventures without encountering
doubters All right-the bible has it's doubt
ers.' .a ~ 1 1-t- sfa-l
Here the Major again resumed his reclining
posture, perfectly satisfied with himself, and
apparently, Indifferent as to the scepticlsm of
Smilax. The bugle call sounded at the concu-
sion of the Majors last argument and sum-
moned US to evening parade. In few moments
every man was in his saddle.
Divisions in Ireland.
We extract the following from the foreign
correspondence of the Richmond Times; .q'.
When the English invaders arrived in the
country, about seven hundred years ago, Ire
land was divided into five petty kingdom
Meath, Connaught, Ulster. Munster, and Lein-
ster. Dermod MacMurrogh, King of Leinster,
having seduced and forcibly taken possession of
the wife of q Rorke, a prince who governed
Bretny, provoked a combination against him
self. Having been defeated by the confederat-
ed kings, MacNurrogh fled to England and
solicited the aid of Henry IL, who, it is said,
by adding Ireland to his dominions. To secure
the cooperation of the Church, the polite king
entered into an agreement with Pope Alexan-
der Ill, the Pope, as 'Gads vicegerent on
earth, y giving to Henry the sovereignty of the
island, and Henry on his part, agreeing to es-
tabllsh by law the papal supremacy in Ireland,
and to cause every householder in the country
to pay to the Pope one penny annually. But
though the Pope, with few strokes of the pen,
transferred the sovereignty Of the country to
the English king, possession was not SO easily
obtained. A small party of Welshmen We're
the first to go over and engage In the conflict
which was followed by the celebrated Richard
Strongborn with force of 200 gentlemen and
1000 inferior fighting men, I" who landed on the
eve of st. Bartholomew, A. ID. 1l7O What
Ireland was then may be we'll imagined from
the paltry force that was considered sufficient
to effect a landing and take possession of the
country 1t was only by arraying one section of
the country against the other, asthey have done
in India, and other places, that the English
invaders were able to succeed. But Ireland
was not easily conquered. For the space of4OO
years the invaders and their descendants though
they maintained their power in the island, were
unable to reduce the natives to subjectlon; nor
were they able to agree among themselves, for
they continued to wage a brutal war with one
another as well as with one another for the
plumber which they impiously pretended that
God and the church had given to them In
the reign of Queen Elizabeth temporary peace
was concluded, but it was, as the historians tell
us, "a peace of desolation. After the Protes-
tant reformation, the bitterness of sectarian war
fare was added to the cup Of trembling which
had already been presented to the lips Of the
unhappy Irish; !. and if any people in. the world
ever drank freely from that cup, it was the
Irish of those terrible days. Protestant ascend
ancy was finally secured by the victorious armies
of Oliver Cromwell and William the III, and
in the fierce conflict deeds of atrocious cruelty
were committed on both sides, the remembrance
Of which lives and ranl1les in the hearts of the
people to this day. fa3f -.. ,s