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fight in Washington Thursday, and
was knocked down by his opponent." Neal Dews and John B. Goughs are not so much
needed to effect a reform as a higher tone of popular feeling respecting such
things at the capital. Barnum may laugh at the Washington Monument as the humbug
of Washington ; but there is a moral slough in this city more shameful than this
stump of an unfinished Washington Monument, and darker and fouler than the
natural one from which the elder ADAMS redeemed the pride of the country
Pennsylvania Avenue.
But let us change the atmosphere,
and, crossing the Potomac at the Aqueduct Bridge, enjoy this beautiful winter's
prospect of the capital from Arlington Heights. We get a fine view from the
piazza of the Custis Mansion, now left alone and an untenanted possession of the
Government. As we walked through that grand oak forest an army of crows were
cawing their ill bodings to him whose late home crowns the eminence. The grounds
about the Custis Mansion are occupied as a graveyard for Union soldiers, while
in the house itself is the head quarters of the captain superintending.
We pass by Forts Albany,
Corcoran, and others, crowning these heights with their high flags afloat, and,
as a more interesting and instructive object, devote our time to " Freedman's
Village," a colony of eighteen hundred liberated slaves. It is under the control
of Government, and a sentinel takes your " pass." You scarcely enter before you
perceive in their countenances of joy that both old and young appreciate the
opportunities they have here for getting an education and learning the arts of
civilization. Here we see the deserted Lee Mansion and the happy Freedman's
Village side by side. " How are the mighty fallen !" The master and freedman
have exchanged places. " What God hath wrought!" is the message which now comes
over the Potomac from Arlington Heights.
Mr. H. E. SIMMONS, of Rhode
Island, superintends the schools here. He is assisted by half a dozen male and
female assistants, and a casual call at the school convinces one that the
children of Ham can become bright scholars. But Freedman's Village has another
and quite as powerful teacher in that well known lecturess SOJOURNER TRUTH. We
found this veteran laborer for the slave in one of the little cottages, her
hands in the flour. We congratulated her upon the rescue of this fragment, like
that of the Israelites from the land of Egyptian darkness. But SOJOURNER replied
with energy that this was only a " large Government poor house." She wanted "
her folks to be learning habits of economy, to be earning something, to become
real Yankees." We bought one of SOJOURNER'S pictures, and she desired our
autograph in her memorandum book, in which a few days before had been inscribed,
" For AUNTY SOJOURNER TRUTH, A. LINCOLN." Some horse cars labeled " Colored
persons not admitted" collect fares from far less sensible ones than honest,
earnest, and God-worshiping SOJOURNER TRUTH.
WASHINGTON, January, 1865. C.
P. O.
THE
ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH
CABLE.
THE new Atlantic Telegraph Cable
is in rapid progress at the works of the
Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company,
formerly Glass & Elliot's, at East Greenwich. This work, if successfully
completed, will be the triumph of the century; and to the accomplishment of this
end the engineer and the electrician are exhausting their combined energies. It
is not chiefly the powerful machinery by which fourteen miles of the " core," or
gutta percha coated copper wire, are worked up into cable every day that excites
our astonishment, but the more minute and complex operations those, for
instance, by which tons of material during the manufacture must undergo the
trial of those exquisite instruments over which the man of science bends
watchfully hour after hour, ready not only to detect a fault, but to apprise the
engineers at what exact distance in the cable it has occurred.
The core of the cable is
fabricated from iron wire and Manila yarn, which is afterward steeped in a
seething compound of tar and gutta percha. A section of the perfected cable
measures an inch and one eighth in diameter, the seven conducting wires lying
close together in the middle. These wires are surrounded by layers of gutta
percha. This is then covered with an additional protection consisting of ten
closely twisted strands, having iron wire in the middle. Fifty tons of this iron
wire are used every week in combination with Manila at the rate of six and a
half tons per day. The wire is twisted around by machinery from bobbins, the
machines each turning out 140 miles of the Manila covered wire in a day. As it
is twisted it goes through the hot solution of tar and gutta percha above
mentioned, when it is passed through a trough of water to cool it. The noise of
the machinery in the factory where this process goes on is absolutely deafening.
It should be observed that before being worked into cable by the ten strands of
wire and yarn the core is wrapped in a twisted fold of jute.
From the gutta percha works the
cable is then carried to the Morden Wharf factory. Here the core is received on
large reels, and is sunk in circular openings, which are then filled up with
water. From first to last, we may here observe, the cable is in all its
processes of formation at this factory kept in water, that any flaw in the
coating may the more quickly be made apparent. For twelve hours the coils of
core are subject to electrical tests, their continuity being ascertained and
their complete isolation proved beyond a doubt. The joining of the ends is a
very delicate operation, and in ninety nine cases out of a hundred if any fault
is detected it is found in one of the joints. Hitherto the superintendents of
this anxious work have been very fortunate ; but it has sometimes happened that
a great length of cable has had to be uncoiled, the defective joint cut out, and
the whole made good. An account is kept of the daily progress, and there were
six hundred and twenty-nine miles completed December 16,1864. More than twelve
miles are added
daily, so that now there are over
a thousand miles completed. The distance from the west coast of Ireland to
Trinity Bay, Newfoundland, is one thousand six hundred and forty nautical miles.
Two of the eight tanks are nearly full, and will soon be ready for embarkation
by the Amethyst and Iris, two ghostly looking hulks which lie alongside, near
the wharf. The decks of these vessels have been knocked about considerably, and
in great part got rid of, to make room for tanks in which the cable will be
stowed in the same manner as at the factory. The hulks, when laden, will be
towed to the Medway, where the Great Eastern is now lying, with three enormous
tanks on board, occupying, by comparison with the surrounding bulk, so little
space as to deceive experienced eyes as to their actual dimensions. The Iris and
the Amethyst have each two tanks on board. They will have to make nine trips to
get all the cable alongside the " big ship." Mr. Canning and Mr. Clifford, under
whose control the operations have been conducted at East Greenwich, will
accompany their precious charge on board the Great Eastern, and will direct the
laying of the cable across the Atlantic Ocean. Our statement of the mileage of
perfected cable gives but little idea of the length of all the materials taken
separately. For example, to make up the 2300 miles of cable which, allowing for
various contingencies, will be required, 16,000 miles of copper wire are used.
The insulating material is equal to an aggregate length of 18,400 miles ; the
jute, being in ten strands, will extend to 23,000 miles, which will also be the
length of the iron wire ; and as each wire is separately covered with five
twists or strands of yarn, 135,000 miles of the latter will be worked into the
cable, making together a length of material which amounts to 215,500 miles. What
these figures really signify may be understood by reference to the astronomical
fact that the distance of 237,000 miles is that from the earth to the moon.
PETROLEUM.
THE New York and
Liverpool Petroleum Company, whose advertisement appears elsewhere, offers
unrivaled guarantees of safety and good management in the fact that it is so
largely owned and conducted by real men of oil not mere speculators in
corporations. Mr. Anger, one of its trustees, belongs to the Titusville firm of
Brewer, Watson, & Co., whose wealth counts by millions. Mr. Myers, another, is
an extensive well proprietor and oil shipper ; and others of them, so to speak,
" live and move and have their being" in oil. Such features show that a company
is real, and meant for permanence.
ADVERTISEMENTS.
TWELVE YEARS AGO HOSTETER'S
STOMACH BITTERS was struggling into notice against the prejudices which every
thing new, however excellent, is doomed to encounter: TODAY it stands at the
head of all the tonic and alterative preparations in existence. Its celebrity
has evoked many imitations, but no rivals. Physicians pronounce it the ONLY SAFE
STIMULANT that has ever been introduced into the sick chamber. In the Hospitals
of the Army and Navy the surgeons find it the very best tonic for convalescents,
and report it as invaluable for sustaining the vigor of troops on the march, as
a remedy for scurvy and all scorbutic affections, and as the only specific for
sea sickness. California and Australia have emphatically indorsed it as the
MINERS' MEDICINE par excellence, and in Spanish America and all the tropical
climates it is considered the only reliable antidote to epidemic fevers. There
is no mystery about the causes of its success. It is the only stomachic and
alterative in which are combined the grand requisites of a mild, pure, and
unvitiated vegetable stimulant, with the finest selection of tonic, antibilions,
antiscorbutic, aperient, and depurative herbs, plants, roots, and barks that
have ever been intermixed in a medicinal preparation. The Bitters have this
distinctive quality, which is not shared, it is believed, by any tonic,
tincture, or extract in the world: they do not excite the pulse, though they
infuse a wonderful degree of vigor into the nervous system, and strengthen and
sustain the whole physical organization. New York Tribune.
Itch! Itch! Itch! SCRATCH !
SCRATCH ! SCRATCH! WHEATON'S OINTMENT WILL CURE THE ITCH IN 48 HOURS. Also cures
SALT RHEUM, ULCERS, CHILBLAINS, and all ERUPTIONS OF THE SKIN. Price 50 cents.
For sale by all Druggists. By sending 60 cents to WEEKS & POTTER, Sole Agents,
170 Washington St., Boston, it will be forwarded by mail, free of postage, to
any part of the United States. RITTER'S Patent Portable DESK, Portfolio, and
Checker Board combined, containing 20 writing and sewing articles for Soldiers,
Sailors, Miners, &c. at CUTTER, TOWER & Co.'s, 128 Nassau St. Sample mailed free
for $2, by A. J. RITTER, Rahway, N. J.
" THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE
SWORD."
THE GOLD PEN—THE BEST OF ALL PENS, MORTON'S GOLD PENS, THE BEST PENS IN THE
WORLD. On receipt of any of the following sums in Cash, the Subscriber will send
by return mail, or otherwise, as directed, a Gold Pen or Pens selecting the same
according to description, viz.: GOLD PENS WITHOUT CASES. For 50 cents, the Magic
Pen; for 75 cents, the Lucky Pen ; for $1 00, the Always-Ready Pen ; for $1 25,
the Elegant Pen ; and for $150, the Excelsior Pen. These Pens are not numbered,
but correspond in sizes to Numbers 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 respectively. THE SAME PENS
IN SILVER-PLATED EXTENSION CASES WITH PENCILS. For $1 00, the Magic Pen; for $1
25, the Lucky Pen; for $1 50, the Always-Ready Pen ; for $2 00, the Elegant Pen
; and for $2 25, the Excelsior Pen. These are Well Finished, Good Writing Gold
Pens, with Iridosmin Points, the average wear of every one of which will far
outlast a gross of the best Steel Pens; although they are unwarranted, and,
therefore, not exchangeable. MORTON'S WARRANTED PEN. The name, " A. Morton," "
Number," and "Quality," are stamped on the following Pens, and the points are
warranted for six months, except against accident. The Numbers indicate size
only; No. 1 being the smallest, No. 6 the largest, adapted for the pocket; No. 4
the smallest, and No. 10 the largest Mammoth Gold Pen, for the desk. Long and
Medium Nibs of all sizes and qualities. Short Nibs of Nos. 4, 5, 6, and 7, and
made only of first quality. The Long and Short Nibs are fine pointed ; the
Medium Nibs are Broad, Coarse Business Points. The engravings are Lc-similes of
the sizes and styles. GOLD PENS WITHOUT CASES. For $1 25 a No.1 Pen, let quality
; or a No. 5 Pen, 2d quality; or a No. 6 Pen, 3d quality. For $2 75 a No.
5 Pen, 1st quality ; or a No. 6 Pen, 2d quality. For $3 50 a No. 6 Pen; $4 50 a
No. 7 Pen; $5 75 a No. 8 Pen; $6 50 a No. 9 Pen ; $7 50 a No. 10 Pen—all 1st
quality. THE SAME GOLD PENS; IN SILVER EXTENSION CASES, WITH PENCILS. For $2 00
a No. 1 Pen, 1st quality ; or a 6 Pen, 3d quality. For $4 50 a No. 5 Pen,
1st quality; or a No. 6 Pen, 2d quality. For $5 75 a No. 6 Pen, 1st quality.
GOLD PENS, ALL FIRST QUALITY, IN SILVER- MOUNTED DESK-HOLDERS. For $2 75 a No. 4
Pen; for $3 25 a No. 5 Pen; for $4 00 a No. 6 Pen ; for $5 75 a No. Pen. For $7
a No. 8 Pen; for $8 a No. 9 Pen; and for $9 a No. 10 Pen. The "1st Quality" are
pointed with the very best Iridosmin Points, carefully selected, and none of
this quality are sold with the slightest imperfection which skill and the
closest scrutiny can detect. The "2d Quality" are superior to any Pens made by
him previous to the year 1860. The "3d Quality" he intends shall equal in
respect to Durability, Elasticity, and Good Writing Qualities (the only true
considerations) any Gold Pens made elsewhere. In regard to the Cheap Gold Pens,
he begs leave to say that previous to operating his New and Patented Machines,
he could not have made as Good Writing and Durable Pens, for the Price, had the
Gold been furnished gratuitously, Parties ordering must in all instances specify
the "Name" or the " Number" and " Quality" of the Pens wanted, and be particular
to describe the kind they prefer whether stiff or limber, coarse or fine. All
remittances sent by mail in registered letters are at my risk, and to all who
send twenty cents (charge for registering), in addition to the price of goods
ordered, I will guarantee their safe delivery. Parties sending Gold or Silver
will be allowed the full premium on the day received. TO CLUBS.—A discount of 10
per cent. will be allowed on sums of $12, of 15 per cent. on $24, and of 20 per
cent. on $40, if sent to one address at one time. Address A. MORTON, No. 25
Maiden Lane, New York.
Gold Pens 50 cts. to $2. Pens in
silver extension cases, $1 to $3. Send stamps for circular. GEO. F. HAWKES, Agt.,
Manufacturer, 64 Nassau St., New York. Also for sale the only perfect Fountain
Pen in the world.
AGENTS, COME and EXAMINE An
Invention urgently needed by every body, or samples sent free by mail for $1,
which retails for $12 easily, by R. L. WOLCOTT, No. 170 Chatham Square, N. Y.
HOW TO MAKE MONEY EASY ! An Art
Worth Knowing. On Receipt of One Dollar, I will send to any lady or gentleman a
valuable SECRET ART, the knowledge of which will enable any active person with
ordinary intelligence to make from $20 to $25 per week. BUSINESS HIGHLY
RESPECTABLE, and is invaluable to all correspondents. Costs but $1 for material
to make $50. JUSTICE TO ALL. Address J. WESLEY BRADFORD, 25 Park Row, N. Y.
J. H. Winslow & Co.
THE GREATEST OPPORTUNITY EVER
OFFERED
TO SECURE GOOD JEWELRY AT
LOW PRICES.
100,000
WATCHES, CHAINS, SETS OF
JEWELRY, GOLD PENS, BRACELETS, LOCKETS, RINGS, GENT'S PINS, SLEEVE BUTTONS,
STUDS, ETC.,
Worth $500,000,
To be sold for ONE DOLLAR each,
without regard to value, and not to be paid for until you know what you are to
get. Send 25 cents for a Certificate, which will inform you what you can have
for $1, and at the same time get our Circular containing full list and
particulars ; also terms to Agents, which we want in every Regiment and Town in
the Country. J. H. WINSLOW & CO., 208 Broadway, New York.
INDISPENSABLE ! THE NEW HAND
BOOB; How to Write, How to Talk, How to Behave, How to Do Business. One vol., by
return post, $2 25. AGENTS WANTED. Inclose stamp, and address FOWLER & Warms,
389 Broadway, New York.
STAMMERING; its Causes and Cure,
20 cents. BASHFULNESS, How to overcome it, 20 cents. THE PHYSIOGNOMY of
INSANITY, 20 cents. Address FOWLER & WELLS, 389 Broadway, New York.
Inclose two red stamps, and send
for circular, to Y. DELAFIELD, 35 Maiden Lane, New York.
ALL ARTICLES FOR SOLDIERS At
Baltimore, Washington, and all places occupied by Union troops, should be sent
by HARNDEN'S EXPRESS, No. 65 Broadway. Sutlers charged low rates.
PUBLISHED BY
HARPER & BROTHERS, NEW YORK.
HARPER & BROTHERS, will send any
of the following Works by Mail, postage prepaid, on receipt of the price.
HARPER'S CATALOGUE and HARPER'S TRADE LIST sent by Mail on receipt of Five
Cents. THE BOUND VOLUME OF HARPER'S WEEKLY, 1864. Harper's Weekly for the Year
1864, with over 1000 Illustrations. 852 pages, 4to, substantially bound in
Cloth. Price $7 00. Also, now ready, complete sets, Vols. I. to VIII., bound in
Cloth, $7 00 per vol. CAPTAIN HALL'S ARCTIC RESEARCHES AND LIFE AMONG THE
ESQUIMAUX. Arctic Researches and Life among the Esquimaux: being the Narrative
of an Expedition in Search of Sir John Franklin, in the years 1860, 1861, and
1862. By CHARLES FRANCIS HALL. With Maps and 100 Illustrations, beautifully
engraved from Designs by CHARLES PARSONS, HENRY L. STEPHENS, SOL. EYTINGE, W. S.
L. JEWETT, and GRANVILLE PERKINS, after Sketches by Mr. HALL and Photographs.
8vo, Cloth, $4 50 ; Half Morocco, $6 50. DICKENS'S NEW CHRISTMAS STORY: MRS.
LIRRIPER'S LEGACY. 8vo, Paper, 10 cents. QUEENS OF SONG: being Memoirs of some
of the most celebrated Female Vocalists who have performed on the Lyric Stage
from the Earliest Days of Opera to the Present Time. To which is added a
Chronological List of all the Operas that have been performed in Europe. By
ELLEN CREATHORNE CLAYTON. With Portraits of Mrs. Billington, Madame Pasta,
Madame Sontag, Madame Garcia Malibran, Madame Giulia, Grisi. Madame Clara
Novello, Madame Viardot Garcia, Madame Marietta Alboni, Madame Jenny Lind
Goldschmidt, and Madame Marietta Piccolomini. 8vo, Cloth, $3 00 ; Half Morocco,
$4 50. MY BROTHER'S WIFE : A Life History. By AMELIA B. EDWARDS, Author ,of
"Barbara's History," "The Ladder of Life," &c. 8vo, Paper, 50 cents. QUITE
ALONE. A Novel. By GEORGE AUGUSTUS SALA. 8vo, Paper, 75 cents. (The new edition
will be ready in a few days.) THE PERPETUAL CURATE. A Novel. By the Author of "
Chronicles of Carlingford," "Margaret Maitland," "The Laird of Norlaw," "The
Days of my Life," &c. 8vo, Cloth, $150; Paper, $100, MARGARET DENZIL'S HISTORY.
Annotated by her Husband. A Novel. 8vo, Paper, 75 cents. "FROM DAN TO
BEERSHEBA:" or, The Land of Promise as it now Appears. Including a Description
of the Boundaries, Topography, Agriculture, Antiquities, Cities, and Present
Inhabitants of that Wonderful Land. With Illustrations of the remarkable
Accuracy of the Sacred Writers in their Allusions to their Native Country. By
Rev. J. P. NEWMAN, D.D. Maps and Engravings. 12mo, Cloth, $1 75. CAPTAIN BRAND,
OF THE "CENTIPEDE." A Pirate of Eminence in the West Indies: his Loves and
Exploits, together with some Account of the singular Manner by which he departed
this Life. A Novel. By HARRY GRINGO (H. A. WISE, U. S. N.). With Illustrations.
8vo, Cloth, $2 00; Paper, $150 MAURICE DERING; or, The Quadrilateral. A Novel.
By the Author of " Guy Livingstone," "Sword and Gown," &c. New Edition. 8vo,
Paper, 50 cents. NINETEEN BEAUTIFUL YEARS; OR, SKETCHES OF A GIRL'S LIFE.
Written by her Sister. With an Introduction by Rev. R. S. FOSTER, D.D. New
Edition. 16mo, Cloth, $100.
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