Year: 1863

1no hereAd ~ an Omn n1prosent ~
nsence-Iateresttng Incidents of jour-
nalism.


Anewspaper. in order 70 be great, and in order
to exercise its full measure Of usefulness, must
be almost a. all-pervading as the very air itself
With limited and local circulation, its sphere
OF usefulness ia contracted but in proportion
as II extends itself its benefcent influence is
increased. We are constantly witnessing proofs
OF the ubiquitousness of the HERALD and Of its
consequent value to the whole country. II is
but few weeks since we published letter
written by rebel soldier in one of the
Gettysburg hospitals, stating that he was
among the wounded prisoners lying there,
and that he was Maryland colonel who
had at the battle Of Bull run given aid and
consolation to dying captain Of New York
volunteer regiment. and had received from him
a sum Of money and q few mementoes to send to
bis wife-a mission which up to that time
he had had no opportunity to execute The
very day this letter appeared in the HERALD the
widow of the dead officer called at our Office,
verified the statement, and Immediately started
for Gettysburg, where she received from the
rebel colonel the effects entrusted to him by
her dying husband On her return she again
called to express her obligations to the HEaALD
and her sense Of Its all-pervading influence.


This incident reminded us Of some others
that have occurred in the history of the HERALD.
One Of them was the recovery by boatman on
the Western lakes of large estate in Scotland,
his right to which he learned from an advertise
ment which appeared in our columns. Stretch
4 49, - L.
ing, he was reading in the declining sunset
copy Of the HERALD which had chsnced to fall
into his hands, and there his eye lit upon
paragraph which showed him the possessor of
a princely estate in the Gland o. cakes" or
course he lost no time in making his way to
New York, putting himself in communication
with the solicitor who had the matter in charge,
and, having procured few hundred dollars
from him, he presented himself at our Office in
gentlemanly costume, was profuse in his ac-
acknowledgements sto US, attributing his know
ledge of his good fortune to the ubiquitousness
of the HERALD, and gave us a most pressing
invitation to visit him at his ancestral domains.
Nearly about the same time there came into
the Office a bright intelligent lad of ten or
twelve years of age, who, like Japhet 10 search
Of his father, had made his way from the Far
West to the great metropolis in search Of bis
mother. The boys story was plain, simple and
stamped with truth. Some years previously he
had lost his father by death in this city. The
fathers brother large farmer in one of the
Western States, came on and took the lad home
with him, promising to be a parent to him. But
he proved to be only stepfather and treated
him so heartlessly and brutally that the poor
boy could endure it no longer, and, without
dollar in his pocket, be turned his face to the
East His frank, honest face and simple story
gained him friends by the way, and at last he
reached Albany, where he went on board one
Of the steamers bound for this city, told his
! tale to the captain, and met with the same
| good fortune that had attended him on his way.
When the steamer reached New York the kind
| captain told him 10 come to this Office and
make known bis history, and that he would
find the mother from whom he had been 50


long separated. He did 50. We Inserted an


advertisement stating the circumstances. and
| placed him next morning in care Of the gentle


man who then had charge Of the publication


office, in order that he might thero be on the


lookout for his mother. And he had not long
| to wait. His fortitude and iial love were re-
| warded by finding again the mother whom be
| had braved so many dangers to find. Their
meeting was such as would draw tears of sym
patty and affection to the eyes Of stole. And
| Of course the HERALD came in for its share Of
blessing.


1 1t is only a newspaper Of tho illimitable cir
| culation Of the HERALD that can have such ex-


periences. There is but one other journal in


the world that Is similarly circumstanced, and


that is the London Times This country is the
refuge Of the unfortunate of all lands, and offers


an irresistible attraction for persons Of wan.
dering disposition. Letters come to us by


nearly every steamer from Europe, seek
| ing information Of relatives who are


here or who came here in puruit Of
| their fortunes We have had princes of
the Bourbon, the Orleans, the Bonaparte and


the Murat families domiciled among us; poor


mobiles from the continent, rich aristocrats from


England, expelled statesmen from Central and
| South America. and soldiers Of fortune from


all lands under the sun. The HERALD is the


medium Of communication between them and


their homes, and thus its influence IL as useful


as It is universal. We expect its growth cIrcu-


lation and influence in the future to expand in


the same degree that they have done in the past.
| The PRISONERS on DAvID's IsLANp.-In an


swer to our remarks on the uncomfortable con-


dition in which these prisoners were kept In


respect to clothes, we are Informed substan-


TALLY that they ought not to be uncomfortable


at all; that over two thousand pairs Of drawers.


as many shirts. sixteen hundred pairs of panta-


looms, and bootees accordingly, have been issued


to them; that they are ''all supplied with hos.
pital clothing, including flannel dressing


gowns, which are worn as coats;' and also that
| ''other articles Of apparel have been issued TO