Litchfield enquirer., 1871-06-01
WHOLE NO a4oo


 o A CURIOUS ,PHENoAENoN.-- The caving in of all the blnffs on the eastern side of the Mississippi, from Cairo to New Orleans, has led to curious eonelusionss a1t iS said that the molten of the earth on its axis, or some result ofcsome general law of nature, must have begotten this uniform and con- stant abrasion of the eastern shore 0F the river! Fort Pillow has wholly odisappear- ed. There is not 8 vestige of the earth works erected by General Pillow and others at Randolph. The river has cut caveFnous depths for it's strong currents beneath the everlasting hills, and these have slowly crumbled and fallen, 8 grain of sand at Q time, into the abysses of the mighty deep. Now and then bill sides have disappeared in 8 single night, and scuriously enough this work of desolation goes on mainly np- on the eastern side of the river. Here at low and Randolph; the resistless, fathom- less river, whose course none may antici- pate and none can resist, pnrsues it's ap- pointed tasks with force and pertinacity which has lessened property values between Wolf river and Fort Pickering many mill lions of dollars. Great as is the damage already done by the mighty river, the ca lamity begotten is steadily progressive, and none can tell when a dehection of the willful current may relieve the anxieties of those owning property along the river shore between the navy yard and Fort Pickering. The city once imagin ed that in the navy yard 1t had9a basis of credit to be used in the perfection of it's railway system. The Little Rock railroad at one time was strengthened in its resources by a mortgage on the navy yard. This morteagev sub- slsts, but the property has been disposed of by power against which chancery may issue its thunder in vain. Plainly enough while the river holds it's present course, there is no assignable limitation to it's dis. tructiveness. 1t is generally conceded that the direction of the current cannot be changed or it's forces restrained by any To. cal Instructions. Several miles above the city. where the current turns westwardly, 1t should be directed into its old channel within the confines of Tennessee But who shall essay the task2 No one individ- ual property holder, directly interested, will attempt it, and it seems impossible to effect any combination among riparian pro- prietors. Those interested, lazily look to the city for relief, and the city. answers that there is space enough for several cities between the river and Germantown, and that 1t is none of the business of those un- affected by the flood to pay for or amelio- rate the misfortunes of those who specula. ted upon these very chances when, they sought lots fronting on the river. E If this were not true, the whole of Mississippi should be taxed to replace the losses of those whose river plantations have recent ly disappeared beneath the flood of the great river. Would it not be we'll for those slowly ruined by the abrasions of the bluff and of the eastern shore to hold O meeting? A small sum levied on each owner of property fronting the river, would probably save millions of money. The plan proposed is very simple and costs lit. tie, and consists only in diverting the cur rent by devices long used by British en. gineers in India and Europe. Sball we have such 8 meeting? or are these sluggish last vestage of there wealth, from the navy yard to Fort Pickering, swept into the Mexican gulf ?--MemphiS .AppeaL lo
 - THE FOLLY OF ATTEMPTING TO CONTINUE YoUNG. Once for all, there is no misery so distressfullas the desperate agony of try. ing to keep young when one can't, I know an old bachelor who has attemptedit. His affectation of youth, like all affeCtations, is a melancholy failure. He is rapid young man of fifty. He plies innocent young la- dies with the pretty compliments and soft nothings in vogue when he was a spooney youth of twenty The fashion ofltalking to young ladies has changed within thirty years, you know, and this aged boys soft nothings seem more out of date than two. years-old bonnet. They make you think, somehow of that time-honored frog story, wherein is set forth this discovery of gal yanic electricity. When you see his old fashioned young antics-his galvanic gal antry, so to speak-and hear the speeches he makes to the girls in their teens, when he ought to be talking to them like fath- CT, you involuntarily call him an old idiot, and long to remind him of that quaint re- buke of grand old John: l"Th6u Italkest like one upon whose head the shell is to this very day." a..-...,. ... .t-..F-.
 That is how he seems. He is old enough to have almost full fedged before you were born, andVhereihe is trying to make be. lieve that he is still in the daysof his gos- ling. green, with the shell sticking on his head to this day! It is 6 melancholy ab- surdity. One can't be young unless one is young. Only once is it given us to be un. tried and soft. and gushing and superlative( and when the time comes for it all to 20. no sort of effort can hold back the heeting days -Lippinco1's Magasfaeso ieolah
 r DICKENS AS AN AcToR. Dickens always greatly rejoiced in the theatre; and, having seen him act with the Amateur; Company of the Guild of Literature and Art I can well imagine the delight his impersona. tions in Montreal must have accustomed. I have seen him play Sir Charles Cold. stream. in the comedy of Used Up, with such perfection that all other performers in the same part have seemed dull by com parison.i Even Matthews, superb artist as he is, could not rival Dickens in ,tha Char. acter of Sir Charles, Once saw Dickens. Mark Lemon, and Wilkie Collins on the stage together. The play wan called Mrs. Nightingale'aDisry ia farce in one act, the joint production of Dickens and Mark Lemon), and Dickens played six charac- ters in the piece. Never have I seen such wonderful changes of face and form as hs gave us that night. He was alternately . rattling lawyer of the Middle Temple, an eccentric pedestrian and cold. water drink CT, a deaf sexton, an invalid captainy and an old woman. What fun it was, to be sure, and how we roared over the psrfotmancel Monthly. sHt hf Psaosns
 A story is told of young couplein Hart.