Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1872-06-06

Historical Record, edited by Benson J.
Losing. has been received by Mr..
Brsntano, No. 33 Union square 1t con-
talns An unusually interesting variety
OF historical understanding them the
story Of the origin of the American
Navy. DR.. Albert G. Mackey writes to
the editor from Washington as follows;
A few years ago, while looking over
a volume OF manuscript letters in the
Charleston Is. CO Library, l found
leaf OF coarse foolscap, with the fol-
lowing endorsement
"oHIeIN OF THE NAVY.
AT caucus in 1894, consisting of
Seward, Morris, and Ellsworth, of the
Senate, Amcs, Sedgwick, Smith. Day.
ton, &c, of the Representatives. and of
Secretaries Hamilton and Knox. to
form plan for national navy. Smith
began the figuring as secretary of the
meeting. Hamilton then took the pen,
and instead Of minuting the proceed
ings, he made all the hourishes here
described, during the discussion. In
consequence of the plan adopted at
this meeting, a bill was reported for
building six frigates, which formed the
foundation or origin of the American
Navy"
The Figuring" on the top of the
page consists of five lines, and is as
follows
First cost OF frgate, Al guns, of
800 tons, aud provisions for Six
mouths. ............ $3.50, 600
oou uen ....,... Observation-Disclosures. 900
Provisions for six months .. 1000
Total ....:..., ........ .,........92l2,0 900
Annual cost of such vessel. ......... $50, 900
The rest of the page below these e5-
Inmates Is occupied by bold tlourishes,
which seems, if they meant anything,
to initiate n drawing of peacock
tail Sin its PRIDE" to use the Herald's
phrase. Similar scratching but to
less extent, is on the other side of the
page.
During the bombardment of Charles
ton, and directly after the capture of
the city by the Union troops, the Ii.
brary was subjected to some deyasta-
ton. As the only member of the Book
Committee then in the city, | obtained
very readily protection for the build
ing and its contenst from Gen. Hatch,
the commander of the post, but | know
not whether this valuable volume of
manuscripts escaped the cupidity of
the gatherers of scraps for the paper
manufacturers, many of whom were
then in the city, and whose first depre-
dations ! was not in time to prevent.
DR.. Lieber contributes this reminis-
cence of Scott
A CURIOUS DISCOVERY.
In reading the paper on "Flora Nc
Donald in the third number of the
Record, l thought of what VIM G..
Preston, the eloquent and genial Sena-
tor of South Carolina once told mo,
"on the veranda" in Columbia, the
capital Of his State, in the month of
April, the yellow jessamine pertaining
all around us After the downfall of
Napoleon l. in 1915, (and | am writing
this year after the breaking down of
Napoleon I'D, number of young
Americans went to Europe to visit the
continent long debarred by the insa-
table Emperor of the French. Among
these were Washington Irving, George
Ticknor, Edward Everett, Hugh Lee
care, at later period Attorney General
Of the United States, and William c.
Preston; General Scott also went. All
OF them, or surely most Of these Amer
leans, the ardent youths now famous
dead, took an opportunity to pay visit
to Sir Walter Scott in 1915. Preston
WAS among them, and, on the mention
ed and perfumed evening, he told me
that Walter Scott gave him the follow
ing account:
Not long after it had been divulged
who was the author of the "Waverly
Novels" Scott was the Regents (after-
ward George the Fourth guest in the
royal palace, where, one day, the latter
ordered the koy of a certain room to be
given to the great writer, saying that it
opened the door of the Stuart Cham
Der Ct think this was the name given to
it,, where all the papers concerning the
Stuarts and their pretenders were kept.
George gave Scott full permission to
rummage among all these records, and
to use what he liked for his works
~ depend on your discretion" he
said, and Scott went. He spent sew
eral days in this curious chamber, and,
so he told Preston one day stumbled
upon what seemed to him
n remarkable paper. 1t consisted
of call and petition, by Scottish in
America, chiefly, however, by the Gaelic
Scottish, who had a settlement" sad
die bagging" as have heard the word
in the west--in North Carolina, adj
dressed to the Pretender prince Charles
grandson of James the Sec
ond }, as he was then called, to come to
America and assume the crown of this
realm.
The question whether this country
had not best be turned into a monarchy