Saturday Evening Mail, Volume 2, Number 43, Terre Haute, Vigo County, 20 April 1872 — Page 7

KWV

BOR&OMOOLA QUA."

A i»tr*ng«r preached uu( Sanday*'v And crowds of p«ople came To hear a two hours' nrrmon

With a barbarou* wounding name Twas all wboutMjme heathens, A thousand Ilea afar, Who live in a land of darkness

Called "Borroboola ha. So well their wants he pictnred That when the plates were passed, Each llst'niTfelt hi» pockets, •,:

And o*Uy sums were cast,. .* For all must lend a *iioulder To push the rolling car

That carries light and oomfort «,• To BorroLxKU GUu. "i» |giit tbe'r want* and sorrow

L»y henvy on my soul, And deep meditation, I. 1 toolt my morning »lnU

Till something caught rny mantle With f-agt-r ifrnhp and wlli, J3 And looking down In wonder,

I Haw a litl le child.

& A pale and puny creature, In rags and uirt forlorn,

And what could she want? I questioned, m5 Impalfeul to b« gone. With tr.-mlilin« voice she answered,

We live Just down the street, Ami rna'nmy shn'aH dyln', iSiikiiAnd we've nothin' leit to eat."

Down in a wretched basement, .*•? With mould upon the walls. Through whose naif-burled windows

God's sunshine never tails Wilt-re cold, ami waul and hunger, Crouched near her as she lay, I foumi a fellow cr ature

Gasping her life uwny. 1

A chair, a broken table, "v A bed of dirty 81 raw A hearth all dark and cheerless—

But thi-ae I scarcely saw For the mournful sinht «fore me, The Had and sickening show— Oh! never had I pictured

A scene so full of woe.

The famished and the naked, The babies that pine for bread. The squalid group that huddled

Around the dying bedAll this distress and sorrow Hiiould be In lands afar, Was 1 suddenly transported

To "llorroboola Glia?"

Ah! 1«.! tlie poor and wretched Were close behind the door w.w 'v And I had passed tliein heedless

A thousand times before Alas! for the cold and hungry, That meet me every day, Willie all mv tears were given

To the suffering far away. ri-mt

There's work enough for Christians In dstut lands we know, Our 1-iord commands til'' servant# through all tin- world to go, Not only for (lie heathen.

Tills was His charge to then: "Go, preiich the Wont, bvyinniny

Ji'int at Jerusalemn." Oh, Christians! God has promised whoii'ur to these has given A cup of pure cold water, ,"- hall find reward in heaven. Would you Hreure the blessing, "VV.v:

You need not seek it far (Ji), find In yonder hovel A •'Borrobool.i lla."

•rn

?-4y

i% s*

HOME.

Sweet 1-* the thought to those in storms outcast, Til at hey nhall be remembered tit the last,

And taken home.

Out of ennh'S cold, Its drlviug rain, Its gloom, Into the Hhellerlng warmth, the Joy, tlio lilootn,

Ami rest of home.

Weary of storms, O Lonl, I wait for Thee! When wlltTiiou think ot me and eomu lor

•.•V

me,

Atid take mo home?

Still must hide my time, enduring Fate, 0 Lord, I'hy will be done! I wall, I wait My culling liomu.

[From the Ove»land Monthly.]'

Placcr.

UV MRS. JAMKS NKAI.I.,

Ksthor.inv dear, hero is present iCir you," H.ibl John II unilton to his wife, caretnlly placing on the floor a buKO bumile, wrapped in a shaggy, tau-colored blanket, not altogether immaculate in the matter ot eleaiillness. Esther r»Hpund(d with "Oh, thank you, John supposing it to bo the longcovoted butt i»nd gold toa-set—adding, "It is so kind in you to bring ityonrsoIf, instoad of trusting it to the tender uiorcies of that uurelesa earlier."

But Hiidden movoment of the bundle, and a cry proceeding from souiowhoro in the middle of it, caused h«r to slarl from rather than toward it, exclaiming, "Mercy! John Hamilton, is it alive "Certainly, my dour, it Is alive and what is more, it will soon be kicking." And he proceeded gentiy to unfold tho lilanket, revealing to tiio astonished gsuo of Esther a Digger Indian papoose.

The mop of coarse, black hair, the deep-set eyes, tho tawny, grimy skin of the bare-legged creature, suggested anything rather than a human being. And Ksther shrank away with disgust aud repugnance, culminating in aversion as bhc caught a glimpse ot the crawling wonders, defying concealment, which doubtless had been the cause of Its uneasiness. •'Takeitawsy at once I will not have it lit the house. How could you bo so cruel, John And the voico of the neat little housewife quivered with ang*r and tears,

It has nowhere to go, my doar," said blatid and provoking John. "To tAke it away mentis starvation, cold and do 4th."

Where In the world did yon got it? You are always picking up tratdi of gome kind, and have any amount of rusty treasure** now that I should be giad to throw in the fire."

This among them questioned John. Nonsense! But I .. really cannot twte that thing in the hoase. Who is touke earn or it? I'd rather have a voun cinnamon lear."

Ksther' Uamilton, hava you no bowels of compassion? Of wnat avail am all the humanitarian ideas yon have been inculcating by precept, if thoy fall you when the time cornel far their exercise I have beard you say cepeatodly that every human creature waa endowed with Uod-given faculties. Which needed only development and groper training to produce a Christian. Where ia the benevolence that constituted you a member of every moral raibrtn society in the past, from antislavery down to the prevention of cruelty to animals? Now, hero is a Human soul "Oh, bother, John! Don't preach. am not going to have that Digger baby, all over filth in my bouse so

you can juai tak* It to some squaw. There la the spade, you can ahovel it qp and do not come near me again UU you have had a drenching ahowerloath."

Bather, m\r dear «Do not 'ilither, luv dear,* ma I *VBV*r conld endure Indiana. Tbay %ava %one of the attributes novellala aacrib* to them, and the hMoriao who mites of them should live among ibaat a1 ^.aaoertain that the'm»hl* rad inan'la m. mean, thieving, revengeful scow' •ijl, fr«4ao

-v

I4#W

begau to pat j»lcek-uair«*l Kiddie, who barked furiously at the miserable little specimen of our aborigines eu the

John Hamilton had calculated upon the charity and tenderness of his wile, when a wretched squaw, dying by the road aide, had implored him, with the instinct of maternity strong in death, to take her papoose. Dismounting from his horse, he had scarcely lilted the child away from the stiffening ariua of its mother, wuen, with a gasp, she died, aud he found himself, perforce, obliged either to abandon it or to take it

The Diggers generally collect in the autumn from remote localities, aud concentrate near some village, gathering acorns, buying salt tlsb, whisky, and whatever else their scanty uieaus atiord begging, pilfering, and iu a week or two closing up their annual meeting with a grand landango, preparatory to migrating, in small companies, to any spot where timber and water will supply them with fuel and serve their necessities. Tho burdens are strapped upon the backs of their women, an»l these toil in weariness, and almost nakedness, up and down steep hills, through ravines and across swollen streams, seldom resting by the way, till the tents are pitched for the winter their lords, meanwhile, leisurely ridiug on the bundle ol bones, covered with a hide, they miscall a horse. The very aged or very sick are otten left behind, to linger out a miserable existence by begsrinn, crawling under shelter ot a" haysiack, or rooming in a hollow tree, or burrowing like animals in the earth till the rainy season is ov«*. II they survive till spriiig, and are able to gather grasshoppers aud worms, the healthy diet soon recuperates them, and they travel 011 to join their tribe, await its return. Many of them, however, uuablo to help themselves, drift away, unseen and unheard ot, to the sunset land, and their skeletons, laid bare by the revealing winds, are all the records left cf the poor creatures. The mother of the little Digger, unw the subject of con test between John Hamilton and his wile, had probably been unable to travel with the tribe, and, deserted and alone, was kept alive only by the animal instinct of preservation lor her child.

Tne face of John Hamilton was one which even a brute would appeal to. in the certainty of finding commiseration and he was the owner of more lame dogs, lean cats and wounded hares than his wife cared to number. She was naturally sympathetic toward all phases of sutTering, but the universal benevolence of her easy-going husband had slightly acidulated, if not curdled, the milk of human kindness in her nature and there is something so uncanny and revolting about the Digger tribes,that it requires a strong amalgam of generosity to concentrate the gold of benevolence toward them.

It was a raw, chilly evening, peculiarly Califoruian tor, notwithstanding the general halcyon character ascribed to the climate bv travelers, who brace themselves during a few weeks of relaxation by tho salt breezes from tho bay. or the more exilorating influences of the rarifled mountain air, permanent residents cuitiously admit that a few months in the year ar-* lar from heavenly and the shivering oldest inhabitant, dating from '49, will occasionally indulge in expletives of ungentilo force, in alluding to certain days preceding the setting in of the rainy season, when the sky is veiled in clouds which never reveal a silver lining, and the bare hills brood moodily under a covering which is iintlecked with sunshine and shadow. Dull, raw, and cold, such days have not the snap ot frost to redeem their cheerless monotony, nor tho whiteness 01 snow to cover their bleak inhospitalitv, yet are they ominous of the erys af blessing which makes February unequalled in anv climate in tho world.

John Hamilton looked from hi*helpless charge to his wife, not at all defeated by her protest, and having no idea of abandoning tho little Digger to the tender mercies of the atmosphere. He knew Kstlier would relent. lie was sure of her goodness and its ultimate exercise, and ho was content to wait.

Wishing to amuse the baby and keep up his courage, he leisurely took the spade, and with a "Here goes, then," carefully lifted his present upon it, and, with a courtly bow. approached Esther, saving "Now, my dear, you can have it, served either like John tlie Baptist's head, or whole, for we must either kill or keep it.. If you docide upon the former alternative, it must speedily be dispatched, for I am too tender-hearted to let the little creature perish with either cold or hunger."

The baby, so far from being disconcerted by its iron sent, smiled iu Esther's face, and held out its skinny hands to her, as its mother had dono to her husband.

A glance between them, laughter and tears, and the matter was settled. II »ve it washed, then, and I will keep it for the present."

To put it, blanket and all, into a warm bath, was the work of a few moments. To sheer its locks fell to the lot ot Sandy Crap, a shock-headed biped whose" paramount excallente consisted in being endowed with "faculty," for nothing was out of the lino of his skill aud under bis manipulations tho papoose began to look almost as human as Fidelle, who condescended to sniff at It with a disdainful air or superiority.

There are tnany men and women, theoretically benevolent, whose purse strings are more easily relaxed than the tenacious threads which hold in check their self-abnegation.

Esther Hamilton was one of the women whose theory of benevolence had been so oontinually exercised as to have given her tho reputation of more than atenure self-sacrifice. She had the advantage, also, ot not having the outward appearance of a female iconoclast. She never robed herselfln unbecoming drapery, and waa unconscious of green spectacles and the abomination of cropped hair. Her manners were genial and pleasant, and she deserved the character she had so long held of being thoroughly good. But missionary work of all kinds, performed amid the pleasant social combinations which are often so efficient, is far from calling for that absolute surrender of one's own personality which attends it when individual effort only ia required.

This little one could, in a city, hare been turned over to a foundling asylum, and perhaps have become quite a pet and the rage among lady managers, and the recipient of generou. bounty frwra the vlailor iotnxiaeed to It, aa a California curioaUy. Bat a pan from all snch means of edacatfng it Into membership with ita kindred of higher racea. Bather fWt that aha mmtt grapple alone with her problem, and bring into aotlve esarcisa bar aapeeial theory of development tor the isolation of her mountain home predoded the possibility of a sharer la bar reaponalbility.

She looked upoa the onweloome addition to bar family with the aame amotions of pity, ah*: would have fUt

IUII PI.T .AIIRNIII ,.J

saTW

and wan willing to extend toward it the same oomfort of food aad shelter. But had she not (as her husbaud had reminded her) asserted that to be human was to be susceptible of recipiency, at least and that education and culture were alone noeded to place the races of humanity on a par with each other?

She thought over these things with vexation of spirit. To be brought to the trial of putting one's theories inta instant exercise is rather a severe ordeal but Esther nerved herself for the

Xo I will not cast out this perishing human soul," she said. "I will struggle, at least, to mold it into the beautiful likeness of its Divine Originator and taking the poor, skinny babe in her arms, now wrapped in clean garments ol her own, she laid it across her lap. Fidelle sprang furiously at the stranger usurping his place, and with angiy leaps tried to displace the baby from the soft warmth of a seat so long his own. Nor would he suffer Esther to lift him beside the child. He slunk away, whining piteously and thereafter, unless the Digger was entirely out of his sight, refused the c«ressesshe had lavished so abundantly upon him. S »nd Crup volunteered to take charge of the foundling at night, ami fcisther heard the good natured fellow lulling it with a "roek-a by, baby." as he sat beside the kitchen fire. Her trials came with the morning. "This wretched thing will neither drink milk nor eat spoon victuals, John what shall I do with it "Call Sandy." suggested John, which certainly was an inspiration, lor Sandy's idea was prompt and to the point:

Get a goal, inarm What, and let it feed itself?" "Yes'111. I've know'd young 'tins raised in that way. Tnis 'mi's half animal, aud I shouldn't wonder ef a goat would prewail where nothin' else couldn't."

Sandy's advice w.is acted upon at once. 'Esther saying: "Now, John, you have brought this baby you must get it a nnrse. I have concluded to take a goat."

Whew!"

"Yes and th.it is not all. It must be vaccinated at once." What, the goat i" "No the Digger. And I want it baptized, and some red 11 Minel."

John jotted 011 his fingers: "The minister and some red fl annel, vaccine and a goat anything else?"

The little papoose greedily adopted its nurse, and contentedly slept 011 the warmth of its shaggy skin—creeping after it on all-fonts, and uttering a strange Meat in its absence. The gradual growth of the Dig er baby from infancy to childhood was unlike that, of other children. It disliked the fondling and dandling commonly bestowed upon infants, spurning plaything with fretful impatience. It was ippy, surrounded b.v rabbits, cats, or dogs, and mide unceasing efforts at friendliness with Fidelle, who invariable snarled at it. A3 the spring weath er yieldfd to the summer heats, it would roll out to tho low doorstep, and thence to tho soft earth, with a keen instinct of enjoyment and delight its great, deep eyes peering curiously and utibiinkingly sunward, and sometimes seeking those of Esther with eager, questioning looks, which its tongue refused to interpret.

That child seems always to bo asking for something, John. I am suro I do my duty by it. What can it. want

Do you love it I can not say I do neither do I dislike it. But there is some want in its soui, young as it is, unsatisfied, and I can not fat honi it."

Bear with me, my wife," said John, tenderly. "I think "T

can

,!151 *t l*t .f'"'T'l A If-'MMrfT

explain

lie

great need of this poor, little waif It craves mother love. You are resolute in your sense of duty toward it, but you'do not take it into your heart. You speak of it ns an indifferent objeet—a mere thing. Tho goat and Fidelle aroiHS much to you as the child. You have not even named it, for the baptism did dot follow the vaccination. To call out the best and highest that is in it, yon miuit love it."

Esther made 110 reply. She felt that John was right. And lis the little crrature crept to his knee, he raised it, as he had often done, and held it quietly to his breast for the little one had found the avenue to his heart, and clung to him with touching dependance and trust. A week after this conversation the He v. Arthur Atwill baptized the Indian child. John claiming it as a surface treasure, it was christened Plscor. This event took place in 1853.

II.

Animal tendencies of nnusrfal force, strong will, fierce passions, grovelling tast s, were nature's endowments of Esther Hamilton's charge and repeatedly did she resolve to give up the "horrid little Digger," and assuming the peculiar responsibility of its keeping, but as often as she felt that this strange being was guarding her from her own besetting sins. For to be hasty or impatient with Placer was to set a*t naught her own teachings, and the redeeming trait of unbounded affection in the child appealed powerfully to her heart. She manifested her joy at Esther's return after a few hours' absence, with leanings and shouts of delight. Toward John the demonstration was more qnist, but not leas earnest and the large, wistful eyes would fix themselves upon his with awakening intelligence, as he taught her the meaning of the simplest words, or lured her to ask questions. For tho first few years, objects perceptible to the sense, only, were explained. thir uses revealed, and a clear conception of their meaning conveyed in eoncise words, which Placer readily repeated, and appeared to understand. But the irksomeness of restraint waa apparent in every movement.

To keep shoes and stockings on her feet during the summer season was an impossibility, and she would yell out her disapprobation, with sundry rebellious kicks to enforce it, and passionate tea rings of her hair, pitiful to behold and exhausting to contend with.

I never shall civilise this miserable thing, JoVn! Do let us turn it out to grsas. Such unreasoning rage is impossible to control, and I am ready to adopt the enlightened philosophy which places the lower orders in a dedescenaing scale toward the brute creation."

But Darwin's theory of developtnent, my dear, places them in an aaoending scale from the monkey, through tho different grades af ape, baboon and gorilla, till tbey toncb humanity. oh, dear! I think Placer mast be a young gorilla. II you bad heard her terrific yells tbi morning, and seen bar tear tor hair and beat her bands, you would have believed aba waa one or Da ChaiHo'a importations eaeaped from conlnement. She even attempted to bite me." **Aod how did your doctrine of moral anaaion answer, my love

Joho'a Irony w«e ihe fratber that bfvke the aamit* back. Ertbar*a flnabinrasBHLUpttluromancd

DAY MAIL. APRll, SfyVrrer

a civilised explosion of tamper but tho finer forces of her nature conquered, though tho straggle to maintain ooinpoaura was severe and protraoted. She left the room with decided step, and something of emphasis In her manner of closing the door but as she passed the kitchen,she heard the nasal voioe of Sandy Crup reading to the little Dig

ger,

and

what

be read was this: "He

that ruleth his spirit is bettor than he that' taketh takcth a city." "Come here, naughty little Placer, till I tell you what this means," said Sandy, laving dawn the book.

I won't. I don't wan't to kftow. I hate everything. I hate everybody," was the indignant responseof the child. I won't wear shoes I won't go to Sunday school I won't be made a Christian of I'd !ike to lick little Samuel, and those wore good children which the bears ate np." "My, my! Here's Placer settin' at naught all that me and Mis' Hamilton's pin teachin' her these years said Sandy softly. "What's to be did in the premises, ain't for uie to determine. But I reckon, she's gut all them buttin' propensities from that 'air goat what fetched her up. But me an'Alis. Hamilton ain't got to give 111, that's certain, fur Mr. Hamilton he jest lets her alone."

Wise John Hamilton. How many sweet

graces

have been the fruits of the

letting-alone system. "Don't do this," Hud "I'm ashamed of you," and what will people say," and "Oh, dear! what will become of you have been the sources ot manilold wicked tendencies in the naturally perverse and rebellious heart and a judicious letting alone is oft 'n the most adroit management lor an unruly temper.

Wait a little, was the invariably gentle advice of John rtamilton, and bv the time Waiting had had its perfect word, Paiience was ready lor hers, and the conquest was comp iratively easj\

Tho especial cause of Piacers's temper, on the morning in question, was her aversion to the

Sabbath-school drill

for the yearly exhibition. Remarks touching her parentage, her nursing by the oat and various other comments, 1 1 reached her ears and made her Jsonitiwhat conspicuous. If there was anything irksome to this child ot nature, it was the stillly starched white drofs which was tho usual Sunday wear and even the light hat tli't shielded hor from the sui: vvas more frequently held by the strings, when out of sight of Mrs. Hamilton, than worn on her ho id. So ill it the robes in question were not, perhaps, the most alluring prosp* ct for tho little Indian, whose traditionary spirit-land is per sonal freedom and unlimited space. "Oh, John, dear!" said Esther, "wh it a vixen I am. 1 actually shook

Placer this morning and gave her a box on the ear, and then when you twitted 1110 with my moral suasion doctrine, I felt so vexed. Do forgive me I will try hard in future to be patient with our little charge."

Forgive you, wife! I was just thinking I had imposed too heavy a burden upon you. I am out and about, and you have all the weaiiness, all the contest, and all the responsibility of poor Placer's training. It seems almost cruel and yet I do love the little 0110, and could scarcely bear to give her up."

Nor I nor do I intend to. I suppose you will laugh but do you know despite her stealthy eating of grasshoppers and ticorns now and then—despite her inclination to inactivity ami uncontrollable temper, I do believe we cm win her to gentleness, and trans form her into an interesting and noble woman. She has strong affections as well as strong issions keen perceptions and ready intuitions and with the help of Sandy and yourself I am going to turn over a new leaf and give up educating heron any theory—only following out. the indexes leading to purity and tr tthin her own character."

Good for on," a dd John, in. It ain't no nso to ask Mis' Hamilton. I'm sure certain she won't give no consent. She an' l's sull'ered enough by th 111 Diggers now and the}' can't camp down here."

Wall. S ndy, who'd a bought you was that onfoelin'. Here these poor critters, jeswantin'a campin' ground tor a little spell, an' you're so feebleminded you won't go an' ask Miss Hamilton to let 'em have that pasturlot down by tho creek. You're swayed by petticoat government altogether too much." "That ain't so. Israel Why don't von leave'em have your own pastur? It's not nigh onto "the house, while ourn is, an' ef you've so much charity for Injuns, why all I've got to say most likely you know whore charily begins/"

Ef they wouldn't burn up the tim berso, they might get into that piece of woodland t'other side an" that's the best I can do fur them," returned Is rael not noticing Sandy's proverbial hint.

An' ef they want to shake our oaks or gather th*em big snails alongside, where the water's brought in on the divide, I shouldn't mind. But I don't keer about there bein' 'round here along o' Placer."

That's so, Sandy: I railly didn't think tbet they might, meybe, steal her away, tho* she's got too big, now

Israel rode on, stopping as he went to tell Captain Tom—the chief among the Diggers—that the tribe might encamp in the woodland, "purviding the timber wa'ant teehed a promise readily given aa there was plenty of dry, broken wood lying lor tho present need of Tom and his tribe.

Placer had always wandered about at her own 11, during the hours not employed in study or household duties. Esther Hamilton had attempted to send her to tho village school. But to the rude taunts of the boys she bad op posed tiuch a ready aggressiveness, that she had pommeled more than one youngster into black and blue remeui brance ot her. Ano she waa continual ly getting into disgrace for playing truant, that it waa finally concluded to teach her st home. Many evening did John Hamilton spend in reeling her mental energies.at last awakening them toquestion—that being,perhaps the best training a child can haye, eagerness to learn following aa a natural consequence while Sandy Crup devoted hours to explaining, in his crude, yet original way, natural objects and spiritu il philosophy. Estbf tangbt the feminine grace of neqdle-work for which Placer expressed supreme contempt. She waa permitted to roam anywhere within a half dozen miles ol tbe cottage, and often returned laden with wood-moases and wild-blooms freah aa when she started. But barefooted she mast and would go. It was pain enough to be compelled to be shod in tbe bouse. Bat out doors, tbe soft turf or the atony road, the long tonne! through tbe hills, or tbe surface dig gings, oflan bore the ipipreaa of her broad fbotjand If she abuld ride thus

P°'Jl *u iu-

WMDelr btDDV. m\£ During one of laeer came auddenlv opot^oX iplng ground of tbe Wggersjgji abe waa an Indian but ha T,

the depths of degradation, or the squalid misery from which she had been resoued. Occasionally she saw one or two of the tribe in tbe village, Mrs. Hamilton having been carpfUl to keep her from their knowledge leat tbey might chaim her. But now they stood revealed in all their grimy triumph.

Placer stood at the entrance of tbe wood lookin upon the enoampment. It was a warm summer day, and the halfnaked and dwarfish men and wholly nude children were lying about indolently under tbe trees* or at the doors of tbe tents. An old and elfish looking Creature, smeared with pilch aud the horrible ratty compound constituting an Indian woman's mouruing was pounding a disgusting masa of grasshoppers and acorns in a circular stone, hollowed out like a bowl. Someyounge- ones were skiuning a hare, and with unwashed hands tearing it apart. An

iron pot was suspended between forked

slicks over some glowing coals, **jd

Kude and altogethpr repulsive was the scene no adjuncts of word or stream could soften the bare ugliness of those brute like human creatures, they marred the sweet ieaco and loveliness of Nature with their harsh gutte or their exhilarated moments was even more shocking to tho poor child thau their unmeaning words. Tho halfdrunken laugh of the men frightened Placer she shrank away unseen, with loathing of soul, and hiistened horrorstricken, home.

And I am one of these I belong to them came again ami again from her lips, and out of their hearing she almost shrieked in her agony lor ii. that moment the seeds which Esther Hamilton had planted quickened their germinating forces, and closed over in their sudden growtn, and torn soil from whence tho weeds had been uprooted.

LIFE JJ\ WASIUNGTOM.

Social Extravagancies and Toadyism.

A Washington correspondent of the St. Louis Republican says: THK SOCIAL EXTItAVAOANCIKS -$i&„ Of the old world ttan scarcely be said 10 equal ours 111 some respects. That very uufixedness \sliich is our republican characleris ie, loads to an aggiavation ot these court lollies, wiiiio tho sudden lilting up and casting down officially propagates that shoddyistn which makes oflice alone the guage ot individual worth.

UUnen a moment Iroin tho politicosocial l"o the purely social atmosphere, and mark how lie "principle works. Il is well understood, to begin with, that ihe distinction is siuiplv nominal, for the two are counterparts. There is little official that is not social, and there is certainly very little that may be called social which is nut olfleial. The red tape which ieatooiis tho depart incuts, stretcncs through the congressional halls and occasionally trips up the president, is just as conspicuously flaunted from the bell-knobs of private residences, while the tair inmates thereof manifest quite as keen an appreciation ot its significance as do the most consequential of their lio^o lords. No sooner would they depait from tho metaphorical lino of social measurement than they would disclose their obscure origin (if they had one), and, not unfrequently, the lowei tho beginning the 1110re" uncompromising ihe adherence to every ostentatious form.

Who ever heard of Mrs. Senator lliglilly calling upon Mrs. Treasury Clerk Sinilii, notwithstanding the tact that in their native town Mrs. Htghfly was more than glad to claim Mrs. Smith's acquaintance. Both drilled to the capital, and fortune reversed their positions, il you requite added proof of this fact, ma'rk the disdain iu the «xpre«ive luce of Mrs. 11. as sho sweeps past her late towiiswomau

And it is this principle which underlies our whole social fabric, 'lo lie sure theio are ind.vidual exceptions, and some very noble ones, but so rare aro^ they, indeed, as to be actii stinjccts of icinark. .Oflicial position hen- is everything. Culture goes for veiy little outside the pale ol olllce, and money, that unfailing elsewhere, find* for once its talismanic limit while beauty, the dream of tlio poet, the inspiration of chivalry and the pet of nil classes, sits at the capital like a dethroned queen, ne absolute essential.

TOADYISM

Is another official production which may be studied here in all its varied aspects. And, verily, they are many. It is toadyism which announces that Miss Nellie Grant—a child just escaped from tbe nursery—is going to Europe, "accompanied try Secretary Borie, his wile and two nieces, and by the ex-col-lector of the port of New York." What a distinguished retinue for an American miss who baa not yet donned her first long train.

Then, too, it Is toadyism which inspires Mrs. Oen. Fairfax to "cultivate" Mrs. Senator Shoddy. Six years ago Mrs. Shoddy helped to eke out a scanty livelihood by measuring dry goods b«hind a western counter. She waa a "coarse woman" then, but by a grand railroad swindle her husband bought his way into the United States senate: and as Gen. Fairfax needs the political influence of tenator Shoddy, the senator's "amiable lady" becomes at once a most charming friend.

Now go to the department and observe the development ot toadyiam therv. From the chief clerk who obsiquiously seeks to curry favor with tho head of his division, all tbe wav down to the bumble rueaaenger who alternately carsmi and crouches before the pompous officials above bim, thia

com

roll ng element la apparent. It hsa come t» be an indispensable institution of the government, and the man or woman unwilling to submit to ita demands haa no place in official life.

Is the picture dark, gentle reader? Still, it la trne, nevertheless. If you bare never taated it experimentally, you are happy In tha escape and If you are yet nnaopbisticated enough to have tbe least weakneas lor that old superstition called honesty, I pray you be warned agaimt any attempt at an official career in Washington.

Mrs. Van Cott ia conducting a spirited revival for the Melbodiat Episcopal

jallayd Church, In Watertown, Wisconsin.

[ConespooUciiCG sail cd\UMH).] A JAPANESE EXECUTION, Yokohoma, Feb. 27, 1872.—XhtJ decapitulation of four men uf^Tobe (Yokohama) for the crime of stealing some forty rifts (in value 'tftfout as many dollars,) is thus described bv an eye witness of the mournful scene: The execution ground was fenced in the form of a corral, and stood amidst fields of vaA^ing barley. In one corner of the enclosure was a mat shed, and just outside of it an.ominous group 01 trees— ominous at ie^st to condemned prisoners, tor 1 he last decaying skulls which lie around too pi unify tells the talo.of that sequesterod spot. The birds and dogs have been at work in mis offensive burying place, and have unt#u*ilied those remnants of the do.*d. The droad hour appointed for tho sentenced culprits to expiate their crimes*, is

A nm we

from this th« men would occasionally numerous and somewhat, motley dip a portion of its contents, passing group of foreigners and natives are asthe dirty tin cup from one to the other, ambled, and some ot ihe more callous

jt .wus ihirty

tLka^t liour llui alremiy

Indulge in unseemly conversation Hiid rude jokvs. While moving about tho spot, we observe the preparations which have been made for the execution. A horizontal bar, upon which are four

neBS of Nature with tlieir narsn gui- ominous spikes projecting upward— iral sounds, and tlie discordant howl

Hn{j

whereon, it is readdv surmised,

the heads of the doomed criminals will be bleaching in the sun for two or three daj's—stands about two yards from the fence, near the mat-i^ ed on one siue, and the gate 011 the her. Opposite lo this are two holes in the ground, tiio dimensions of which aro about threo teet by one and a halt feet, and some eighteen inches deep. Beside these tho

{leheaded,

oor

wretches will have lo kneel when that the heads'may lull into them they also receive their blood. There area number of straw mats lying noar, in which we are told, the bodies will be wrapped and buried. Near one of these holes—the owe where the executioner will first pertorni tho sanguinary duty of his revolting olflce is a white handkerchief 011 a staff. Thus it will bo seen that the a:ram*enients are neither elaborate nor pervaded by that mourntul air which should' characterize tho occasion. In the huts sit the executioners and attendants complacently awaiting tho arrival of tho sorrowful procession from the prison. Anxious to havo a chat with t. lie duel headsman, a man apparently fifty or sixty years of age, wo enter the mat-shed and wish them good morning, which is politely returned, light cigars, aud enter into conversation regaiding the prisoners. We then casually examined tjie executioner's swwrd, a long two-handed one, and doubtless of the best steel, aud received an invitation to look o\cr tho prison 011 some future occasion. .Moving outside again, we observed ihe increasing concourse anxious to witness the dying ihroes of th" unfortunalo men. '•--.v- Jm •, THK PROCESSION.

But, listen! that mournful chant, softly wafted o'er the fields of grain which glow in tlio morning sunshine, betoken the approach of liie sad procession. Nearer and nearer, though slowly, it approaches us and as its sorrowful lay is echoed by thehillsand coppices around, a. thrill of, pain, of sympathy for those on whom another sun, anothoi morn,will never brightcnis felt by almost every heart that's there. Now it is within a few yards. Three men are carrying us many boards held aloft 011 poles,'upon whicti is written a declaration ol the crimes committed by tho culprits then came threo or lour more, having poles with a cross covered with spikes at tho top—emblematical ol the prison aud justice—then follow a string of oflicers and attendants, in the midst 01 whom are tho prisoners—four very young men--each dressed in a light colored kimono—a long dress lasteno'l at ihn waist with a sash or girdle, and contrasting strangely with 1 ho darker attire id" the others. Time of them walk with firmness and strength, but fourth, sick and overwhelmed with distress, is being carried in a lean go, or basket chair, iu which the c'linmon people of Japan travel, being boruc along by two coolies.

THK DoOMI'.t) MKN.

As tliev pass through the gate we, being inside the fence, nee plainly each man as he comes in, and are somewhat surprised to hear one of llieiti, as he walks close bv us, say, "Ohako pazaninm.%!" (good 'morning) in a calm natu-

ifshe lack the one absolute essential, mas: \go.». nu.u, ... Be. uty is occasionally fortunate enough ral tone of vo ce, ..n.r hen express his to i. herself in high places here, but "pinion that the terrible dea to which is a note-worthy fact thai of' late ho is .loomed would resemble going to vfiars these instances are very rare, sleep. Ho evidently hiid no fear years these install This is unquestionably the era of plain, not to say ugly women. If you do not believe it, oh, icnlli lie reader go to Washington and pronounce for yourself. Watch the uncomely, graceless figure, as it whirls through the giddy d^nee observe tho coarsely cut features, and perhaps coarse expression, of laws that might be denominated common among the "vulgar herd," but before whom beauty itself now sinks into insignificance,' I11 looking upon such a picture, you can but generously admit that fortune was just in its compensatory effort.

death. Threo men (tho fourth being in a stato of semi-insensibility) take 11 long, long gaze at surrounding objects, and the attendants proceed to blindfold them, their arms having been securely bound behind thein belore leaving tho jail. The threo inon, Ciw:h in turn gave utterance to a sort of exhortation and a prayer. Tho miserable wretch in tho tango is now lifted out and placed inside tho hole on his knees, while two men staud behind him holding his lody but there is nothing to place his head upon. Another then takes him by tho chin to put his head in position, which he succeeds in doing iu a minuto aud a half, a delay terribly agonizing to the victim. ,, TUB EXECUTION

The executioner now »tep» uu, and, amiliug like a man about to perforin a feat of sport, takes

aim,

and the next

moment, with a sudden gleam of that shining sword and a sickening thud, the head, saturated with blood, rolls into the earth, tbe blood at tbe same time gushing from tbe headless bodv which lay quivering on tho ground. The blood-stained head la immediately lilted from its receptacle by the hair, and presented to the public gaze with an air of satisfaction. Water is then poured over it, the lifeless trunk being covered with straw unata and removed a short distance away. At a given sign another is led forth, and kneels at tbe other hole, the same scene of blood was again enacted. Tbo third is now brought forward, his slaughter differing from the others only in the fact that another headamau does tho work but he lails to cut so clearly as did tbe old man. the first stroke of the sword leaving the bead hanging by the neck—quick as thought another stroke is given and dawn drops tbe head. It waa notioeable that on tbe first stroke of tbe sword, tbe Wood spurted from this man's neck, a distance of threo or four yards, causing a few spectators to step qnickly back. And now the fourth—tbe man particularly remarkable for his seeming indifference to tho horrible fate which awaited him—steps up to play his part in this dreadful tragedy. Another aim—another gleam of that terrible weapon of death, and the last victim sinks to the earth, "asleep"—asleep In death. This scene ot blood is now ended, and foor bumsn beads are upon those

ugly

spikes,

bleaching In tbe sun, ss a terrible warning to law-breakers. But painful aa this-recital may be. the Japanese inflict far greater punishments on those guilty of forging, homicide, etc., cruclnxion being quite common.