important business. It will be all right, I tell | stone would pour them forth, Sir, before such you!" And he soothed and coaxed Mrs. Landlady out of the room, with the crowd of anxious little ones hanging at her coats. "Sampson, I have come to ask your pardon again," says Mr. Warrington, rising up. "What I said to-day to you was very cruel and unjust and unlike a gentleman." "Not a word more, Sir," says the other, coldly and sadly, bowing and scarcely pressing the hand which Harry offered him. "I see you are still angry with me," Harry continues. goodness as yours! May Heaven eternally bless you, and give you prosperity! May my unworthy prayers be heard in your behalf, my friend, my best benefactor! May-" "Nay, nay! get up, friend-get up, Sampson!" says Harry, whom the Chaplain's adulation and fine phrases rather annoyed. "I am glad to have been able to do you a servicesincerely glad. There-there! Don't be on your knees to me!" "To Heaven who sent you to me, Sir!" cries the Chaplain. "Mrs. Weston! Mrs. Weston!" "What is it, Sir?" says the landlady, instantly, who, indeed, had been at the door the whole time. "We are saved, Mrs. Weston! We are saved!" cries the Chaplain. "Kneel, kneel, woman, and thank our benefactor! Raise your innocent voices, children, and bless him!" A "Nay, Sir, an apology is an apology. A man of my station can ask for no more from one of yours. No doubt you did not mean to give me pain. And what if you did? And you are not the only one of the family who has," he said, as he looked piteously round the room. "I wish I had never known the name of Es-universal whimper arose round Harry, which the mond or Castlewood," he continues, "or that place yonder of which the picture hangs over my fire-place, and where I have buried myself these long, long years. My lord, your cousin, took a fancy to me, said he would make my fortune, has kept me as his dependent till fortune has passed by me, and now refuses me my due." "How do you mean your due, Mr. Samp- performing this sweet benedictory service. Mr. son?" asks Harry. "I mean three years' salary which he owes me as Chaplain of Castlewood. Seeing you could give me no money, I went to his lordship this morning, and asked him. I fell on my knees, and asked him, Sir. But his lordship Chaplain led off, while the young Virginian stood, simpering and well-pleased, in the midst of this congregation. They would worship, do what he might. One of the children not understanding the kneeling order, and standing up, the mother fetched her a slap on the ear, crying, "Drat it, Jane, kneel down, and bless the gentleman, I tell 'ee!". . . We leave them Harry walks off from Long Acre, forgetting almost the griefs of the former four or five days, and tingling with the consciousness of having done a good action. The young woman with whom Gumbo had had none. He gave me civil words, at least been conversing on that evening when Harry (saving your presence, Mr. Warrington), but no drove up from White's to his lodging, was Mrs. money-that is five guineas, which he declared Molly, from Oakhurst, the attendant of the lawas all he had, and which I took. But what dies there. Wherever that fascinating Gumbo are five guineas among so many? Oh, those went, he left friends and admirers in the servpoor little children! those poor little chil-ants' hall. I think we said it was on a Wednesdren!" "Lord Castlewood said he had no money?" cries out Harry. "He won eleven hundred pounds, yesterday, of me at picquet-which I paid him out of this pocket-book." "I dare say, Sir; I dare say, Sir. One can't believe a word his lordship says, Sir," says Mr. Sampson; "but I am thinking of execution in this house and ruin upon these poor folks to-morrow." day evening, he and Mrs. Molly had fetched a walk together, and they were performing the amiable courtesies incident upon parting, when Gumbo's master came up, and put an end to their twilight whisperings and what not. For many hours on Wednesday, on Thursday, on Friday, a pale little maiden sate at a window in Lord Wrotham's house, in Hill Street, her mother and sister wistfully watching her. She would not go out. They knew whom she was "That need not happen," says Mr. Warring-expecting. He passed the door once, and she ton. "Here are eighty guineas, Sampson. As far as they go, God help you! "Tis all I have to give you. I wish to my heart I could give more as I promised; but you did not come at the right time, and I am a poor devil now until I get my remittances from Virginia." The Chaplain gave a wild look of surprise, and turned quite white. He flung himself down on his knees and seized Harry's hand. might have thought he was coming, but he did not. He went into a neighboring house. Paps had never told the girls of the presents which Harry had sent, and only whispered a word or two to their mother regarding his quarrel with the young Virginian. On Saturday night there was an Opera of Mr. Handel's, and papa brought home tickets for the gallery. Hetty went this evening. The "Great Powers, Sir!" says he, "are you a change would do her good, Theo thought, and guardian angel that Heaven hath sent me?—and, perhaps there might be Somebody among You quarreled with my tears this morning, Mr. Warrington. I can't help them now. They burst, Sir, from a grateful heart. A rock of the fine company; but Somebody was not there; and Mr. Handel's fine music fell blank upon the poor child. It might have been Signor Bonon cini's, and she would have scarce known the difference. As the children are undressing, and taking off those smart new satin sacks in which they appeared at the Opera, looking so fresh and so pretty among all the tawdry rouged folk, Theo remarks how very sad and woe-begone Mrs. Molly their maid appears. Theo is always anxious when other people seem in trouble; not so Hetty, now, who is suffering, poor thing! from one of the most selfish maladies which ever visits mortals. Have you ever been among insane people, and remarked how they never, never think of any but themselves? "What is the matter, Molly?" asks kind Theo: and, indeed, Molly has been longing to tell her young ladies. "Oh, Miss Theo! Oh, Miss Hetty!" she says; "how ever can I tell you? Mr. Gumbo have been here, Mr. Warrington's colored gentleman, miss; and he says Mr. Warrington have been took by two bailiffs this evening, as he comes out of Sir Miles Warrington's house, three doors off." "Silence !" cries Theo, quite sternly. Who is it that gives those three shrieks? It is Mrs. Molly, who chooses to scream, because Miss Hetty has fallen fainting from her chair. "IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN." WITH heavy head bent on her yielding hand, And half-flushed cheek, bathed in a fevered light With restless lips, and most unquiet eyes, A maiden sits, and looks out on the night. The darkness presses close against the pane, And silence lieth on the elm-tree old, Through whose wide branches steals the white-faced moon In fitful gleams, as though 'twere over bold. She hears the wind upon the pavement fall, Then wearily she taps against the pane, Or folds more close the ripples of her hair; She sings unto herself an idle strain, And through its music all her thoughts are seen; For all the burden of the song she sings Alas! that words like these should have the power To crush the roses of her early youth That on her altar of remembrance sleeps Some hope, dismantled of its love and truth That 'mid the shadows of her memory lies Some grave, moss-covered, where she loves to lean, And sadly sing unto the form therein, "It might have been-O God! it might have been !" We all have in our hearts some hidden place- We go from its still presence to the sun, To seek the pathways where it once was seen, And strive to still the throbbing of our hearts THE We mourn in secret o'er some buried love In the far Past, whence love does not return, Some lingering spark that yet may live and burn; We flee away, far from the hopeless scene, Where'er we go, in sunlight or in shade, We mourn some jewel which the heart has missed- Of sunbeams dancing on the hill-side green, And cry, like her, "O God! it might have been!" Monthly Record of Current Events. UNITED STATES. the officers and crew followed in procession, bearing the cable up the steep hill to the Telegraph house. The wire was brought in connection with the galvanic instrument, when the deflection of the needle showed that the communication between the two continents was complete. The great event was commemorated by a solemn religious service. The Agamemnon had in the mean while encountered difficulties by which the success of the enter HE month over which our Record extends has been made memorable by the success of the Atlantic Telegraph. On the 17th of July the Niagara and Agamemnon, bearing the cable, attended by the Gorgon and the Valorous, steamed quietly out of the harbor of Queenstown, in Ireland. Their departure excited little attention, for the enterprise was considered hopeless. The Niagara reached the rendezvous in mid ocean on the 23d. The Gor-prise was repeatedly endangered. Early on the gon and the Valorous arrived on the 25th and 27th. first evening a defect was discovered in the cable, The Agamemnon was detained until the 28th. At within a mile or two of the part that was paying one P.M. on the following day the cable was joined, out. Before this could be cut out and a splice and the steamers proceeded toward their several made the intervening portion was almost run out. destinations. Nothing was heard of the vessels Nothing remained but to put down the brake, and until the 5th of August, when a telegraphic dis- stop the paying out. For a few moments the ship patch was received, announcing that the Niagara hung by the cable, the strain upon which was raphad arrived at Trinity Bay in Newfoundland, that idly approaching the limit of its strength, when the cable had been laid from shore to shore, and the junction was effected, the cable was let loose, that signals were passing through its whole length. and this danger was over. The next day a vieThe steamer had experienced favorable weather lent gale sprung up, which lasted, with brief interthroughout; the machinery for paying out the ruptions, for four days. Every time the stern of cable worked perfectly, without any accident or a the vessel rose upon the swell it was expected that moment's interruption, until the Niagara anchored the cable would part. Men were stationed at the in Trinity Bay, at 1.45 on the morning of the 5th brake to regulate its action as the vessel rose and of August. Mr. Field immediately landed, and fell, while every ear was strained in the momentgroped his way in the darkness to the Telegraph ary expectation of hearing the gun which should station, half a mile from the shore, and awoke the announce the parting of the cable. Still the slesmen in charge with the news that the vessels had der line upon which hung so many hopes held arrived, and that their assistance was demanded fast. Other perils than those arising from the in landing the cable. The arrival of the fleet was storm were encountered. A huge whale approached wholly unexpected, and the telegraphic operator the larboard bow at full speed, tossing the sea into was absent. The nearest station from which a foam, and apparently making direct for the cable, dispatch could be sent was fifteen miles distant, which must have snapped like a thread had he en through an almost unbroken forest. Before day- countered it. Great was the relief of all when the light a message was prepared and sent by a mes- ponderous living mass passed slowly astern, just senger on foot to this station, and before night the grazing the cable where it entered the water. On intelligence was known throughout the country. two occasions vessels came bearing down toward Preparations were immediately made for landing the steamer in such a direction as to threaten a the cable. Captain Hudson of the Niagara and collision with the cable, which was slowly sinkCommander Dayman of the Gorgon took the end;ing astern. They could hardly be made to under view will not all nations of Christendom spontaneously unite in the declaration that it shall be forever neutral, and that its communications shall be held sacred in passing to their places of destination, even in the midst of hostilities. (Signed) JAMES BUCHANAN. The line was then for some time devoted exclusively to experiments on the part of the electricians; no general dispatches being sent over it until the 25th, when a message, dated at Valentia on that day, was published in the New York newspapers of the following day. It is worthy of note that this first regular dispatch borne by the Telegraph communicated the intelligence of the treaty entered into with China. The next day a dispatch appeared in the New York afternoon papers, dated at London on the morning of the same day. stand the signals to heave to or alter their course. Occasionally, also, the signals from the Niagara became almost imperceptible and even ceased for a time, giving occasion to the apprehension that the line had parted; but they were renewed, showing that the cable still held fast. As they approached the Irish coast, the gale died away, the sea became calm, and all were elated with hope. As day dawned on the morning of the 5th, the mountains near Valentia rose to view, and before six o'clock the Agamemnon was at anchor off the town. At this moment a signal was received announcing that the Niagara had reached its destination. The two vessels had performed their task almost within the same hour of absolute time. The distance between the two termini is 1695 geographical miles; of this the Niagara had accomplished 862 miles, with an expenditure of 1030 miles of cable; and the Agamemnon 813 miles, expending 1020 miles of cable, each vessel having left a surplus of about 80 miles. Signals had been continually interchanged, indicating the distance run and the expenditure of cable by each vessel. The note-book of Mr. Field, recording these signals, was published immediate-aged. The 1st of September having been fixed upon ly on his arrival; and so great was the similarity between the messages sent to the Agamemnon and those purporting to have been received from her, that a prominent New York journal hazarded the singular opinion that no real communication had been received from the other side, but that "our electricians had been deceived by the return to them along the cable of their own messages after the manner of an echo." The cable was laid, and signals were transmitted along it. But the telegraphic apparatus not being arranged, for some days no verbal messages could be transmitted. It had been previously determined that the first dispatches sent over the line should be a message from the Queen of England to the President of the United States, and the President's reply. The necessary arrangements were not completed till the 16th of August. On that day these messages were transmitted in the following words: THE QUEEN'S MESSAGE. To the President of the United States, Washington: The Queen has much pleasure in thus communicating with the President, and renewing to him her wishes for the prosperity of the United States. THE PRESIDENT'S REPLY. WASHINGTON CITY, Aug. 16, 1958. To her Majesty VICTORIA, Queen of Great Britain: The President cordially reciprocates the congratulations of Her Majesty, the Queen, on the success of the great international enterprise accomplished by the science, skill, and indomitable energy of the two countries. It is a triumph more glorious, because far more useful to mankind, than was ever won by conqueror on the field May the Atlantic Telegraph, under the blessing of Heaven, prove to be a bond of perpetual peace and friendship between the kindred nations, and an instrument destined by Divine Providence to diffuse religion, civilization, liberty, and law throughout the world. In this of battle. The intelligence of the successful laying of the cable was received with universal enthusiasm. The transmission of the first message was celebrated by public demonstrations in almost every considerable town. In New York a grand display of fire-works took place on the 17th, in front of the City Hall; by some accident fire was communicated to the building, which was considerably dam as the day when the Telegraph would probably be opened for general business, was set apart for a formal celebration in various cities. In New York the display was highly imposing. Business was generally suspended. The streets were decorated with banners and inscriptions. In the morning religious services were held in Trinity Church. In the afternoon a military and civic procession, numbering more than 15,000 persons, marched from the Battery to the Crystal Palace, where an address was made by David Dudley Field, Esq., giving a detailed history of the enterprise. In the evening there was a grand torch-light procession of firemen.-The Telegraph, however, was not thrown open on that day; nor have any general messages passed over it up to the day when our Record closes. The plan for a telegraph across the Atlantic dates back to March, 1854, when a number of gentlemen, assembled at the residence of Mr. Cyrus W. Field, in New York, formed themselves into a Company for this purpose. Mr. Field took the lead in the enterprise, and to him, more than to any other man, its success is owing. The first step taken was to lay a cable across the Gulf of St. Lawrence, from Cape Breton Island to Newfoundland, the necessary authority and valuable privileges having been secured from the Colonial Assembly. The first attempt, made in August, 1855, failed, a violent storm rendering it necessary to cut the cable in order to save the vessels engaged in laying it. The cable being, however, recovered, was successfully laid the following year, and a line was carried across the island of Newfoundland, through a region almost uninhabited, from Cape Ray on the western coast to Trinity Bay on the east. Mr. Field, in the mean while, proceeded to England, and succeeded in organizing a Company to construct a cable across the Atlantic, to unite with the Newfoundland line. The original capital of this Company was $1,750,000, divided into shares of $5000 each. Of these, eighty-eight shares were taken in America, and the remainder in Great Britain. The capital has since been increased to $2,500,000. The Governments of the two countries took a deep interest in the enterprise. Each agreed to furnish vessels to aid in laying the cable, and to pay to the Company an annual sum of 690 $70,000 for conveying official messages when the At present, the dispatches received at Trinity Bay, on the eastern shore of Newfoundland, are transmitted over the island some 300 miles through the wilderness; thence across the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Cape Breton Island, and through Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to Portland, in Maine. It is proposed to do away with this long land line through Newfoundland. The eastern and western shores of this island are deeply indented by Trinity and Placentia Bays, just opposite each other, with an isthmus between of only a few miles in breadth. Across this it is proposed to build a telegraphic line to connect with a submarine cable from the head of Placentia Bay to the eastern extremity of Cape Breton Island. The following table gives, in English miles, the length of all the submarine cables now in existence, with the dates of their construction: Wires. Date. 66333 1853 1853 1854 1854 4 Dover and Ostend 75 Holyhead and Howth. 65 Orfordness and the Hague 115 Port Patrick and Donaghadee.. 13 6 1853 Second cable, do., do., Italy and Corsica.... 65 Corsica and Sardinia.. 10 Denmark, across the Great Belt. 15 Denmark, across the Little Belt. Varna and Balaklava (across Balaklava and Eupatoria... Across the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Across the Bosphorus, at Kan- Across the Gut of Kanso, Nova Six cables across the mouths 1855 1855 1856 1857 From Petersburg to Cronstadt. Across the Soland, Isle of) Across the Atlantic, from Trin 1950 ity Bay to Valentia Bay.. Small river crossings 1855 3 4 1855 7 1858 Total length of submarine cables 2900 The success of this first experiment upon a large scale has already called forth schemes of a still more extensive character. The most imposing of In Kansas, an election has been held to decide The United States brig Dolphin, while cruising in the Gulf of Mexico, fell in, on the 21st of July, with a vessel which was suspected to be a slaver. The Dolphin displaying English colors, the other vessel ran up the American flag. Having been brought to by a gun, she was boarded, and found to be the Putnam, an American brig, manned by a crew of eighteen men, with a cargo of 318 slaves on board. It appears that on the 5th of July she shipped 455 slaves at Kabenda, on the west coast of Africa, not far from the Congo River. Of these 141 died on the passage to the coast of Cuba, and Those that remained were thrown overboard. when the vessel was captured were in a feeble and emaciated condition. The brig was sent to Charleston, South Carolina, under the charge of an officer. Twelve of the negroes died on the passage. Upon their arrival at Charleston the slaves were put in charge of the United States Marshal, and placed in Fort Pinkney. A requisition was made upon the Marshal by the Sheriff of Charleston District, who demanded that they should be given up to him, on the ground that they were free negroes introduced into the State in violation of the law. The Marshal, acting under the advice of the United States District Attorney, refused to surrender the negroes, and removed them to Fort Sumpter, where The crew of the they are properly cared for. slaver will be tried on a charge of piracy. The negroes, by the provisions of the law, must be returned to Africa, for which purpose the steamer Niagara will be employed. The New York Quarantine establishment, situated on Staten Island, was set on fire by the inhab itants of the vicinity on the nights of the 1st and 2d of September, and totally consumed. When the Quarantine was established here, forty years ago, the neighborhood was almost uninhabited. |