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diff --git a/old/55015-0.txt b/old/55015-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index c220426..0000000 --- a/old/55015-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1726 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Stephen H. Branch's Alligator Vol. 1 no. -23, September 25, 1858, by Stephen H. Branch - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Stephen H. Branch's Alligator Vol. 1 no. 23, September 25, 1858 - -Author: Stephen H. Branch - -Release Date: June 30, 2017 [EBook #55015] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BRANCH'S ALLIGATOR, SEPT 25, 1858 *** - - - - -Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - Transcriber Notes - - Obvious printer errors, typos and missing punctuation fixed. - Misspellings in the pupil’s speech in the Stephen and his Adult Pupil - story have been retained, as have archaic spellings and inconsistent - hyphenation. - The table of contents has been created and added by the transcriber. - A description of an illustration with no caption has been added. - Italics are represented by underscores surrounding the _italic text_. - Small capitals have been converted to ALL CAPS. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - Early Boyhood and its Merry 1 - Pastimes. - - The Alligator Lives for Another 2 - Week. - - Stephen and his Adult Pupil. 3 - - Stephen H. Branch, in his Cell at 3 - Blackwell’s Island—A Mournful - Scene. - - Advertisements 4 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - -[Illustration: STEPHEN H. BRANCH’S ALLIGATOR.] - - ---------------------------------------------------------------- - - Volume I.—No. 23. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1858. Price 2 Cents. - - - - - Early Boyhood and its Merry Pastimes. - - -I remember the woman’s school at four years old, and the merited -chastisement of the school marm; my desperate descent on the sugar bowl; -the military company of which I was commander; my annual cries in the -trundle bed at 12 o’clock and one second, A. M.: “I wish you merry -Christmas, Ma,—I wish you happy New Year, Pa,—now gim me cent;” with my -father’s: “Go to sleep, you young rascal, or I’ll come and spank you;” -the two cents I always got on the 4th of July, if I had been a good boy, -and the solitary penny if I hadn’t; the death of my mother of twins; the -copious tears of my father and Aunt Lucy; my grief at her sudden demise; -the country boarding school, and the blast of lightning that felled me -to the earth, while whittling on the summer green; my eyes soon open on -the glories of the lurid universe, and I scamper into the pretty -cottage, and bound into the arms of my aunt, who nearly smothers me with -affectionate embraces; the storm passes; a bow appears, with crimson -arrows, and lingers on the concave’s rosy verge, till Venus gleams -through the twilight leaves, when its gorgeous hues are vailed by the -revolving spheres, and it descends the dazzling west. - - Whose Archer follows the resplendent sun, - Before whose darts the stormy Furies run; - -the moon ascends the east in matchless splendor, and roams in tranquil -beauty through infinitude, spreading its snowy light on vale and mead, -that vie with lakes of liquid silver; my aunt lingers at my bed, while I -say my evening prayer, and invests my heart with sacred feelings; myself -and brother William, on our way to school, through a dreary wood, espy a -boy in a wagon, when I exclaim: “Why, Bill, there’s our brother Albert;” -Bill stares and says: “Steve, your perceptions are very foggy, and I -begin to think you aint got good sense;” I closely scan the boy, and -smile, but elicit no response, the little rogue riveting his bright blue -eyes on the vacant air; Bill passes on to school, with: “Steve, you are -raving mad, and I’m going to tell Aunt Freeman so;” when I address the -stranger thus: “Little boy, you look like my brother Albert, and this -horse and wagon resemble ours, and won’t you please to tell me if you -aint my brother Al, who lives far away from here, in a place called -Providence? I always dearly loved him, and I havn’t seen him for a long -time now, and I would like to see him very much; come, now, little boy, -aint you Ally Branch, and if you are, won’t you please to tell me so?” -Tears roll down his pale cheeks, followed by the sweetest smiles, (like -simultaneous rain and sunshine,) extending his arms, with: “How do you -do, dear brother Stevy;” I scream; dart into the wagon, and, placing my -arms around his neck, fondly kiss him. And then I made the woods ring -with my cries for Bill to return, and behold our dear brother, found so -mysteriously alone in the forest wild. Bill slowly returns; and I hear -the echo of a laugh, and see a man emerge from the monarch oaks, whom I -discern as father, whose playful stratagem blares brightly before my -enraptured vision. And with the velocity of light, I spring from the -wagon, and at a bound, am in the embraces of my adored father. The vail -slowly passes from the eyes of Bill, who stands like a statue in the dim -perspective, crying lustily over my triumphant conquest. We all shout -and wave our hands, and Willie bounds into Albert’s and father’s arms, -whose fervent kisses soon dispel his tears; when his crescent and -revolving eyes gently threaten to eclipse the sun and moon with -hilarious splendor; three happy brothers then rock the forest solitude -with merry vociferations, and run like deer, and sing like infant -Jubals, with sweet responses from congenial birds, prancing on the oaks’ -majestic branches. And with hearts of gladness, we spring like hounds -into the wagon, and return to Aunt Freeman’s, and that I regard as one -of the happiest days of my early boyhood. On the following morn, we -leave for Providence, which I scarcely reach, ere our yard is a camp of -boys, eager to embrace their favorite commander, after his long -captivity in the desert wilds of Woodstock; myself and Albert soon go to -another country school; we board with a minister who has a large family, -and a small salary, which was tardily and scantily paid with very poor -provisions; myself and Al don’t like the fare; has fried pork too often -for breakfast, and pork and beans for dinner, with a cold cut of pork -and beans at nightfall; and we enter our solemn protest against so much -fried hog, and so many baked beans; we protest, too, against his not -fastening the doors and windows nights, as father does at home; we hear -strange noises nights, while abed; and respectfully implore him to put -locks on the doors, and nails in the windows, who refuses, and says, -that good boys are never afraid of robbers or assassins; we still hear -dreadful sounds at midnight; and bury ourselves, head and all, in the -bed clothes; sweat terribly, and nearly smother; grow pale; lose flesh; -get very weak; have cold night sweats; finally despair, and threaten to -leave for home; write long letters to father, full of bad writing and -spelling, who doesn’t answer them, because he can’t read them; we start -for Providence; our sacred host pursues us on a cadaverous horse, whose -ribs rattle, and captures us in the haunted woods, where, in old times, -a man was murdered, and two lovers hung themselves, because their -parents wouldn’t let them marry; I and Al were hurrying through this -dreadful wood, when old cadaverous and the parson pounce upon us, who -threatens to whip us if we don’t return, and cuts a switch for the -purpose; his eyes roll terribly, and, as I once heard he was slightly -insane at times, and, fearing he might murder me, I gave the wink to Al, -and we concluded to return, very gently shaking our heads and fists, -with threats of telling our father all about it some day, who was a -Justice of the Peace, and could lock up any body, and have them hung -beside; to silence our unceasing clamors, the parson gets some cheap -second-hand locks, and rusty nails, fastens the doors and windows -nights, and gives us fried liver twice a week for breakfast, and lets -pork and beans slide awhile, with very tender veal instead; don’t hear -strange sounds at night any more; sleep very soundly; don’t hear the -cheerless midnight winds as of yore; get fat as butter; are very -contented; Fourth of July close at hand; father comes after us; shed -tears of joy, and run and jump like wild cats, and get home alive once -more from a country boarding school; go to a party on the night of our -arrival; Oscar Rivulet and Clara Violet are there; at the party’s close, -I can’t find my hat, and while in its vigorous pursuit, Oscar takes the -arm of Clara, when I step up and whisper in his ear, that I will -chastise him the very next day for cutting me out; Oscar and Clara -depart; I find my hat in the oven, where Oscar doubtless put it, and -begin to cry with rage; to console me, my aunt places the arm of Flora -Rosebud in mine, who was a dashing little belle, with whom I slowly -ramble towards her home beneath a brilliant sky; soon after I bid Flora -good night, at her father’s door, a dark cloud rapidly arose and -obscured the moon, and I became afraid, and ran fleetly home, expecting -to meet an assassin at every corner’s turn, but when I heard the -cheerful watchman’s cry of “half-past eight o’clock, and all’s well,” -and beheld his noble form in the distance, my fears are tranquilized, -and I walk as erect and firm as the hero of many battles, and loudly -boast of my courage, after I get snugly in the trundle bed with Albert, -the shield of my father’s voice above me, to fortify my pretended valor. -On the following day, my step-mother struck me on the head with a jacket -with brass buttons, for my impudence at dinner in my father’s absence, -because she wouldn’t give me more boiled onions, of which I was very -fond; the blood flowed freely, and she was terrified lest I would bleed -to death, and she be hung; she dressed the wounds most tenderly, and -gave me plenty of onions and sugar, and warmly coaxed me not to tell -father when he came to tea, lest he would gently chide her for her -laceration of the skull of the prolific brain of the darling son who -bore his own father’s promising name of Stephen; and for many days she -gave me candy and peanuts, and gave me so many onions that I have -loathed them since; she even poulticed my lacerated head with boiled -onions, which I smell to this day; I had the ear-ache, and she even put -a small roast onion in my ear to check the pain; I once passed through -Weathersfield, (where onions are as thick as leaves in the Vale of -Vallambrosa,) whose atmosphere caused me to fertilize its streets with -bile; my step-mother finally stops my supplies of sweetmeats, and I -threaten to tell my father of her violent blow, and show him my scars, -when she surrendered, and gave me sweet things for a long period; and -she saved me many a whipping from my father, when I was mischievous, -lest I would tell and show the relics of her trouncing, which gave me a -boundless latitude for pranks until the scars all passed away; at this -time, my dog Watch was drowned, but he rose the ninth day, and I buried -him at the foot of my father’s garden, with funeral honors, a -neighboring dog, in traces, bearing his precious body to the grave, over -which I placed turf and stones in memory of a dog I dearly loved; after -the funeral, Cornelius Snow, nicknamed Flop, called me names, and I told -my father that “Flop Snow had called me names, and I meant to lick him -for it,” when my father effected a reconciliation, by allowing Cornelius -to call me Steve as long as I called him Flop. He had long been at the -head of my class, at school, and I had never been at the head, which -mortified my father, who told me if I would get above Flop through good -spelling, he would give me a sixpence; I tried long and hard, but I -couldn’t do it; so, on a very stormy day, while myself and Flop were the -only boys of our spelling class at school, I told him that if he would -make a mistake in spelling, and let me keep at the head until school was -over, I would give him three cents; Flop consented, and broke down on -beef, which he spelled _b-e-a-p-h-f-e_, for which the teacher boxed his -ears, and made him see ten thousand sparkling stars; I got sixpence from -my father, and gave Flop half of it; there was a full class the next -day, and down I went to the foot, my usual place; my father learned of -my collusion with Flop, and gave me a tremendous whipping; the next day -I went several miles down Providence river, in a canoe with Elias Smith -and Joseph Fuller, and was gone four days, and all the town was terribly -excited lest we were lost; but Mr. Proud, a neighbor, of whose peaches -and melons I was very fond, stuck to it like beeswax, that I would never -be drowned, while hemp grew in Kentucky; the day after my return, my -step-mother whips Albert for stealing a small lump of sugar, at about -11, A. M.; father usually came to dinner at 12, M.; Ally cried for a -long time; but he began to lull, and I was afraid he wouldn’t hold out -until father got home; so, I got Ally down cellar, and pinched him, and -pulled his hair, to make him keep it up, until father got home; it being -near twelve o’clock, and my step-mother knowing my influence over Ally, -told me if I would pacify him before father came to dinner, she would -give me as much sugar as I wanted for a whole week; I accepted the -bribe,—but Al overheard us, and declared that he would cry like thunder, -until father came, if I didn’t give him half the sugar; we finally -compromised, by allowing Ally a quarter of all the lumps I got; a few -days after, while returning from a Saturday excursion down the river, my -brother Bill cut up so, that the boat capsized, in very deep water, a -short distance from the shore; Jim Baker and myself got on the bottom of -the boat, while Bill’s feet and head were entangled in the ropes and -sail; Sam Thurber and others swam to the shore; Jim Baker and myself -couldn’t swim, and we expected to be lost; and we bellowed murder like -fury; amid this awful scene, the owner of the boat came down the shore, -and cried: “Pay for that boat, you rascals, pay for that boat;” he had -scarcely breathed these brutal words, when down went Jim Baker and -myself to the river’s bed; I rose to the surface first, and went down -again, when Jim grabbed my leg, and we came up together, and a noble -sailor seized and bore us to the shore, where we were put in barrels, -and pints of water squeezed out of us; Jim and myself open our dewy -eyes, shake hands, and walk home arm in arm, with the sailor behind, -thrashing the boat proprietor for demanding pay, instead of coming to -our rescue, whose unparalleled inhumanity the gallant tar couldn’t -tolerate. I went to bed, and had a horrid night-mare, and dreamed of -sharks and whales. On the day after the boat calamity of Jim Baker and -myself on Providence river, I arose with the glorious sun, ate a spare -repast, and went to school. My stomach yet complained of salt water, and -my head and books were at rapiers’ points. The teacher, SHAW, vainly -chides me for my indolence, and summons me before him, and demands my -spelling-book, and gives me _genuine_, which I spell “_gen-ner-wine_.” -The school is convulsed in the wildest screams. Shaw seizes his -lignumvitae ruler, darts through the aisles, rolls his big gray eyes, -and bangs the desks until the dust rises into clouds, when the mirthful -tumult is hushed into the silence of a tomb, and he bids me take my -seat, with furious cuffs of both ears. My brother Bill had been -snickering in his hat, and sleeve, and handkerchief, until he had -saturated them all with his hilarious tears, and, as I passed him on my -way to my seat, he burst into a _genuine_ Branch laugh, and all again -was chaos. The scholars were more uproarious than before, and Shaw rages -furiously, and calls up Bill, when all is silent terror, and every eye -is riveted on its book. Shaw demands Bill to extend his right hand, -which he declines to do, because he has a felon, and tender warts all -over his knuckles. Shaw then commands him to hold up his left hand, and -Bill obeys, when Shaw’s eyes flash sparks of fire, his cheeks are -deathly pale, and his ferule descends with tremendous violence - - On the vacant air, - As Bill’s hand wan’t there! - -The scholars roar again, and clap their little hands, and stamp their -feet in the wildest ecstacy, when Shaw bellows like a rabid bull, and -gesticulates fatality to the rebellious scholars, whose eyes fall -quickly on their books, and all violently move their pallid lips, with -pretense of study, while a terrible revenge rankles in their hearts, for -Shaw’s cruel treatment of Bill, who has so many warts and a felon, with -salt water still gurgling in his ocean belly. At Shaw’s wrathful behest, -Bill again raises his trembling hand, and keeps his eye fastened on -Shaw’s; and as the ruler nears his palm, he dodges, when Shaw flies to -his scholastic throne for his cow-skin, and descends his ramparts with -the pomposity of a king, calmly surveying his juvenile and affrighted -subjects, and directs Bill to remove his jacket, who firmly declines. -Shaw seizes him, and Bill cries murder; the girls weep and faint, and -water is sprinkled on their cheeks and foreheads; the boys shake their -fists, and dare each other to rush to Bill’s rescue, but Shaw threatens -them with utter annihilation if they interfere, and the belligerent and -affrighted boys leave poor Bill to his unhappy fate.—Fortunately for -Bill, Shaw is short, and of very slender mould. Bill is stout, knows -well the physical weakness of his adversary, and proves himself fully -equal to the awful crisis before him. For, while Shaw strives to get -Bill across his knees to switch and spank him, Bill, by a sudden and -very elastic movement, gets between, and coils himself, like a snake, -around Shaw’s legs, and pinches, and bites, and tears his pants, and -finally trips him, and down they go, with Bill on Shaw, and with both -hands so firmly and desperately clenched in Shaw’s white cravat, as to -make his tongue protrude. The girls faintly titter, while the stoutest -and bravest boys bang their desks, and wildly shout with joy. The -panting combatants spring to the floor, and, like two roosters, have a -moment’s respite; Shaw is pale, and trembles with shame, and relents, -and in feeble and broken accents, directs Bill to take his seat; the -silence of a Capulet pervades the school, when my tremendous horse laugh -breaks the calm; the scholars scream again with frantic contortions; -Shaw’s eyes roll like a demon’s, and his voice rises high above the -universal clamor, which slowly subsides, and all is still again; Shaw -then comes on tiptoe to my desk, and grabs and drags me to the aisle, -with one hand clutched in my throat, and the other in my long hair, when -I grab him in a tender spot, and make him squeal; and so severe and -unrelenting is my grasp, that he gladly gives freedom to my throat and -hair, and implores, in tones of excruciating agony, to release my hands. -I slowly do so, when he re-seizes me, and, dragging me several feet by -my hair, kicks away the scuttle, and casts me headlong beneath the -schoolhouse, closing the scuttle over me; I can hardly sit upright in my -new abode; all is darkness; I smell the awful perfume of a dead skunk; -little mice squeal, and run over me, and nibble at my mouth and nose, -and big and hungry rats approach, and violently attack me, which I keep -at bay with my feet and hands, and hideous yells, and they finally -scamper to their holes, while a myriad of mice remain to torment me; I -chew tobacco, to drown my abject sorrow; it is the first cud that ever -graced my mouth; I cover it with the fragment of a newspaper, to prevent -my giddy exhiliration through a too strong taste of tobacco; I soon got -deathly sick, and thump and scream for Shaw to let me out, who heeds not -my piteous cries; I am desperate, and resting my hands and feet on the -ground, I get an irresistible purchase, and with a mighty movement of my -back, I burst the scuttle with a tremendous crash, and dart from my -narrow and dreary cavern into the schoolroom, and run down the aisle, -vomiting at every step; the scholars are nearly gone; as I approach the -door, Shaw grabs me, when I belch the purest bile plump in his face, -which, of course, was purely accidental; Shaw is blinded with tobacco -bile, and wipes his cheeks, and nose, and mouth, and eyes, and commands -me to go to his desk; I refuse; he then expostulates, and breathes kind -words, which allay my anger, and check the flow of tobacco and salt -water bile; I go to his desk; he dismisses the few scholars that remain, -save my weeping brother Bill, curled in the corner; Shaw laments the sad -occurrence; hopes we will be better boys, and permits us to go home; on -our arrival, father is at tea, listening to brother Albert’s version of -the story; Bill and myself seat ourselves at table, when father directs -each to give his melancholy narrative; Bill is hungry, and slowly -begins, and lacks vivacity, and the impatient father turns to me for the -rapid and vivid analysis of the horrid scholastic anarchy and rencontre -then flying on exaggeration’s wide-spread wings, and distracting the -peaceful firesides of Providence; I swallow the delicious food already -in my mouth; cleanse my throat with a prolonged swallow of commingled -tea and sugar, and tell my story in a nervous strain; my father’s eyes -are large, and fixed on mine, throughout my exciting narrative, at whose -close, he gets his hat and cane and autumnal mantle, and bids myself and -Bill to follow him; we penetrate the pitchy darkness, and after varied -street meanderings in the turbulent and piercing evening winds, we -ascend the steps, and tap at the door of Shaw; we enter his pale -presence, who is extremely courteous to father, who is a member of the -Visiting School Committee, and invested with power of a teacher’s -dismissal, which Shaw now fears; father opens his deadly batteries, and -Shaw, perceiving no possible escape, pleads extenuation for the violent -temper that nature gave him; spoke of William as a very good and -studious boy, (a truth,) and of Stephen as a meritorious and -enthusiastic youth, who dearly loved his books, (a lie,) and deeply -regretted that his heated passion led him to the chastisement of -William, and the incarceration of Stephen; and declared in tones of warm -sincerity, that if father would forgive him, he would never whip nor -imprison us again, but lead us up the hill of science through gentle and -persuasive means; father pities and admires his humility, and, rising to -depart, directs Shaw to inform him every Friday by letter, how many days -William and Stephen have played the truant during the week, and with -what facility we recite our lessons, and what our general conduct is; -Shaw’s eyes flash joy at these delightful and magnanimous behests, while -the eyes of Bill and myself flash guilt and fury at Shaw’s apparent -conquest, because all our future sport is spoiled, and mine, especially, -as I played truant about twice a week, and Bill once a month; and -because I seldom got my lessons well; Shaw and father extend their -hands, and shake a warm good night: and while they linger at the outer -door in friendly conversation, I slyly crawl through father’s legs, to -get into the street as soon as possible, and away from Shaw’s victorious -presence; the last shake of hands transpire between father and Shaw, who -slowly closes the door with a beatific smile; father, myself, and Bill -muffle ourselves in our fervent garments; it snows and blows very hard; -and, as we walk slowly homeward against the snow and wind, father -delivers an affectionate and mournful lecture, gently chiding us for the -trouble we had caused him, and the rapid increase of his snowy locks; -kindly warning us that we were constantly exposed to the sad fate of -orphans, our tender mother being already gone forever; and with a -trembling voice implored us to be good boys, to study hard, to be kind -and obedient to Mr. Shaw, to cultivate manly virtues, and strive to -become intellectual giants, and the pillars of our country, in peace or -war, after the fathers of his generation had passed from the field of -action. We both wept bitterly, and besought our dear and indulgent -father to forgive the past, with assurances of our efforts to please him -and our teacher in the future. We reach home, and father kindles a -crackling, hickory fire, and gives us cider and walnuts, and tells us -pretty stories, and puts on extra bed clothes, because the night is so -piercing cold, and tucks our bed at the sides, to keep out the biting -air, and then directs us to clasp and raise our little hands to God, and -say after him our evening prayer of - - “Now I lay me down to sleep, - I pray the Lord my soul to keep, - If I should die before I wake, - I pray the Lord my soul to take;” - -and then gives us a parting kiss, and pats our little foreheads, and -breathes sweet tones of affection until he passes from our view. Bill -and myself make good resolves for the future, and breathe a fond “good -night!” and then embrace the tranquil slumber and innocent dreams of -early boyhood. - - - ---------------------------------------------------------------- - - Office—114 Nassau Street - - ------------------------------------------------------ - - THE ALLIGATOR. - - ------------------------------------------------------ - - New York, Saturday, September 25, 1858. - - ---------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - The Alligator Lives for Another Week. - - -The Ladies have saved the ALLIGATOR for six days more, in which God made -the gorgeous realms of infinitude! Last week, I proclaimed that unless -advance subscribers or patriots came to the rescue of the wounded and -bleeding ALLIGATOR, he must soon expire amid the tumultuous exultations -of his proscriptive adversaries. The gentlemen responded in companies, -but the ladies in battalions, and soothed and rescued the poor ALLIGATOR -from the jaws of immediate death.[1] Without the sympathy of woman, man -soon droops, and totters, and expires. Woman is the prolific source of -all that glorifies the cottages, and mansions, and palaces of the globe. -And her benevolence ameliorates the poor, and oppressed, and -disconsolate in every region of the earth. From Eve to Mary, the mother -of Washington, the history of woman is a brilliant constellation. -Without the pure and patriotic Mary, there would have been no -Washington,—and without Washington, the Americans would have had no -country, and the oppressed of all lands no asylum of liberty and -prosperity. In the sacred bosom of her family, woman is like the queen -of night amid the pretty stars. In our infant years, she nourishes, and -shields, and cheers us in our precarious journey to maturer years. She -imparts the first kiss, and moulds the first prayer, and is prouder of -her offspring than a queen of her throne. As the child buds, and blooms, -and blossoms, and ascends the hill of moral and scholastic science, she -watches every pace with breathless solicitude. And in penury or -affluence, in bondage or freedom, in power or on the scaffold, she -clings with intense affection to the adored objects of her creation. -Every family is a dominion. The father is a king, and the mother a -queen, and the children their subjects. The same laws govern a family as -a kingdom. Judicious penalties follow disobedience, and a good mother -imbues the heart and mind of her offspring with humanity and wisdom that -govern the world. And over all presides a Being of beneficence and -ubiquity, who wields the destinies of a Universe. Woman, under God, is -the source of all that cheers and ennobles man in his weary pilgrimage -from the cradle to the grave, and to her sympathies am I greatly -indebted for my recent liberation from captivity and the partial -resurrection of my declining fortunes. God bless her, then, and in my -sacred orisons and soliloquies, on land or ocean, I will ever cherish -her with those grateful emotions that I inherited from the genial heart -of my departed mother. - -Footnote 1: - - If the ALLIGATOR dies, advance subscriptions will immediately be - returned to my generous patrons, with my fervent wishes for their - prosperity. - - ------------------------------------ - - -WILLIAM MACRAE is the only person authorised to collect subscriptions -for the “_Alligator_.” And here is his likeness, that when he calls to -solicit subscribers, all may know him by a comparison of this accurate -engraving with his living face. My Office is at No. 114 Nassau street, -second story, front room, where advance subscriptions will also be most -gratefully received. - - STEPHEN H. BRANCH. - -[Illustration: William Macrae] - - ---------------------------------------------------------------- - - -The tomb of Franklin—if a palm flag-stone with the earth can be so -called—is concealed from the public view by a venerable brick wall at -the corner of Fifth and Mulberry streets, Philadelphia. The remains of -the lightning philosopher are deposited there in the old burial ground -belonging to Christ Church. An appropriate monument has been -accidentally reared above them, in the shape of a telegraphic post, and -the lightning is at constant play over, if not under the eye of the man -who first chained it to the earth. - - - - - Stephen and his Adult Pupil. - - - THE FIRST LESSON. - -_Stephen._—What do you first wish to learn? - -_Pupil._—I desire first to review my figures. - -_S._—How far have you cyphered? - -_P._—I went through the book several times, when I was a boy. - -_S._—Whose Arithmetic did you study? - -_P._—Mr. Dollbay’s. - -_S._—Daboll’s, I suppose, you mean. - -_P._—Ah, yes, it was Daboll’s; and I remember him very well. He was a -fine man, and understood figures very well. - -_S._—Then you went through his book several times? - -_P._—O yes, I can take my oath of that. - -_S._—How much is twice nothing? - -_P._—That is two, of course. - -_S._—How much is nothing times two? - -_P._—That is two. - -_S._—How much is one-half times one? - -_P._—One. - -_S._—How much is four and a-half times four and a-half? - -_P._ (scratching his head)—That must be about thirteen. - -_S._—How much is three-quarters times five-eights? - -_P._—I never saw that in Daboll, and to be candid, Mr. Branch, I have -long been accustomed to rush of blood to the head, and I had a slight -rush just now, and I guess I won’t go any farther in figures to-day; but -I would like to renew my Grammar studies. - -_S._—Very well: whose Grammar did you study in boyhood? - -_P._—Mr. Murphy’s. - -_S._—I presume you mean Lindley Murray’s? - -_P._—Ah, yes, it was Murray’s, and he once dined at my father’s. - -_S._—As it is absolutely essential to understand spelling, before -Grammar, I will first examine you in a few words, before we embark in -Grammar. Can you spell well, sir? - -_P._—Yes; and I hope you don’t mean to insult me with such a question. - -_S._—Certainly not. Spell Grammar? - -_P._—Gramer. - -_S._—No. - -_P._—Gramar. - -_S._—No. - -_P._—How do yau spell it, then? - -_S._—Grammar. - -_P._—That’s the way I spelt it. - -_S._—No, sir. - -_P._—If I didd’t, I intended to. - -_S._—That may be. Spell sloop? - -_P._—Slupe. - -_S._—No. - -_P._—That’s the way old Captain Tallman spelt it, when I was a boy. - -_S._—It is spelt sloop in these days. - -_P._—Ah, yes, that’s correct, I remember. - -_S._—Spell dough? - -_P._—Doe. - -_S._—No. - -_P._—My grandmother used to spell it so. - -_S._—It is spelt dough. - -_S._—Spell God? - -_P._—Gorde. - -_S._—No. - -_P._ (is silent for some seconds, and grows pale, and sweats -profusely)—Merciful Heaven! And do you say Gorde is incorrect? - -_S._—I do. It is spelt God. - -_P._—Ah, yes, I was mistaken. That’s the way I have always spelt it. - -_S._—Spell scholar? - -_P._—Skoller. - -_S._—No. - -_P._—Skollar. - -_S._—No. - -_P._—That’s the way I always spelt it, and I’ll bet a dollar that’s the -way to spell it. - -_S._—That’s a bet. - -_P._—How shall we decide it? - -_S._—Have you got a dictionary? - -_P._—Yes. (Examines it.) Well, I declare, you have won the dollar. What -a curious way to spell scholar, to put _ch_ for _k_. Mr. Branch: who -invented language? - -_S._—The Egyptians. - -_P._—What old fools they must have been? - -_S._—Those Egyptians who discovered the alphabet, were the wisest -linguists of the human race. And those Arabians who discovered the -digits, were the profoundest mathematicians. And, as you can neither -spell nor cypher well, I advise you to defer your arithmetic and grammar -lessons until you learn orthography. - -_P._—I don’t know what you mean by linguist, nor by digits. And what on -earth do you mean by orthography? - -_S._—Orthography means spelling. - -_P._—Ah, yes, I thought that was it. Now, Mr. Branch, I am in public -life, as you know, and I am very anxious to make a good speech and write -a good letter; and, in order to do that, I must understand Grammar. And -I think I can spell well enough to study Grammar, Mr. Branch. You have -only examined me in a few words, and because I slightly broke down on -them, you must not suppose that I can’t spell well enough to study -Grammar. Just try me in a few more words. - -_S._—Spell alderman? - -_P._—Oldermon. - -_S._—No. - -_P._—Olldermone. - -_S._—No. - -_P._—How, then? - -_S._—Alderman. - -_P._—Ah, yes. That’s the way I was just agoing to spell it. - -_S._—Spell Common Council? - -_P._—Komon Kounsil. - -_S._—No, sir. It is spelt Common Council. - -_P._—Is it possible? - -_S._—Yes. And now spell municipal? - -_P._—Dam if I don’t give that up; for, although I have been a member of -the municiple government, I nover could spell that awful word without -looking at the dictionary two or three times; and it always took me a -mighty long time to find municiple, even in the dictionary. Now, do try -me on some easier word than that,—won’t you, Mr. Branch? - -_S._—Spell Mayor? - -_P._—Mare. - -_S._—No. - -_P._—How, then? - -_S._—Mayor. - -_P._—Ah, yes,—I forgot. That’s it exactly. - -_S._—Spell contracts? - -_P._—I can spell that fast enough. Kontrax. - -_S._—No. - -_P._—Kontracks. - -_S._—No. It is spelt contracts. - -_P._—I begin to think my memory is getting bad, for I once could spell -all these words. And I have had so many contracts from the Corporation, -and have written that word so often, that I am sure I used to spell it -correctly. Now give me one more easy word, and if I break down, dam if I -don’t surrender. - -_S._—Spell Cable? - -_P._—I have got a few shares in that precious stock, and I’ll bet $5 I -can spell it correctly. - -_S._—Done. - -_P._—Kabell. - -_S._—No. It is spelt cable. - -_P._—There’s a V. And now, although I have spelt several words -incorrectly, yet, as I am growing old, I desire to learn as fast as -possible; and I want you to give me grammar lessons and teach me -spelling at the same time. And if you will learn me very fast, I will -let you have one share in the Atlantic Cable, for your instructions. - -_S._—I would rather have the cash, as I cannot believe that a cord about -the circumference of my thumb can permanently connect the hemispheres. - -_P._—Very well, sir. I have perfect confidence in the Cable enterprise, -and I don’t care about parting with my stock. So I will pay you in cash -for your tuition. Now please give me a lesson in grammar. - -_S._—Well, I will strive to gratify you,—although I again assure you, -that orthography is the basis of grammar, and we shall encounter ruinous -obstacles in the construction of the grammatical pyramid, in the absence -of orthography and orthœpy. - -_P._—For the land’s sake, what is the meaning of the last word? - -_S._—Orthœpy means pronunciation. - -_P._—How queer your jaw opens and closes, when you pronounce that -strange word. - -_S._—I suppose so. I will now give you the first lesson in grammar. - -_P._—Let me first take a good stiff horn of brandy to brace my nerves. -(Drinks.) Now, sir, I am ready for Grammar, which, I repeat, I studied -when a boy; and I only desire to review what I know already. - -_S._—How many parts of speech are there? - -_P._—What do you mean by that? - -_S._—I mean, into how many parts of speech is language divided? - -_P._—Well, by golly, I don’t know exactly,—but, from the immense number -of words in the Bible, and in all the books at the Harpers, and in the -Historical Society, and in all the newspapers, I should think there must -be, at the lowest calculation, about five hundred million parts of -speech. - -_S._—There are only nine parts of speech. - -_P._—I begin to think you are crazy; for, do you think you can humbug me -by saying that there are only nine different words, or parts of speech, -in the English language? I shall consider it to be my duty to have you -put in the Lunatic Asylum, if you talk in that way. - -_S._—I still assert that there are only nine parts of speech, which are: -a noun, article, adjective, pronoun, verb, adverb, preposition, -conjunction, and interjection. - -_P._—Ah, yes, I recollect. - -_S._—Well, what part of speech is iron? - -_P._—As near as I can recollect, iron is the seventh, and it may -possibly be the ninth part of speech. - -_S._—No, sir,—it is one of the nine parts of speech I just mentioned. - -_P._—Ah, yes, excuse me,—I understand. Well, iron must be a conjunction, -because it can be heated and spliced. - -_S._—Iron is a noun. - -_P._—Ah, yes, I recollect perfectly well that iron is a noun, and I am -surprised that I did not remember it, as I have long dealt in fron, and -know all about it. - -_S._—That will do for to-day, and I will resume your grammar lessons -to-morrow. Good day, sir. - -_P._—Good day. I am much pleased wite my progress in grammar, and I will -see you again to-morrow with much pleasure. Good day, sir. - - [_Exeunt_, - - - - - Stephen H. Branch, in his Cell at Blackwell’s Island—A Mournful Scene. - - - _A lovely Family, at the iron door, peeping through its small - perforations._ - -_The Father._—What is your name, sir? - -_Stephen._—My name is Branch. - -_Father._—For what are you confined? - -_Stephen._—For an alleged libel. - -_Father._—On whom? - -_Stephen._—On Mayor Daniel F. Tiemann, Simeon Draper, and Isaac Bell, -Jr. - -_Father._—What is the period of your imprisonment? - -_Stephen._—One year. I think I have seen you before. What is your name, -sir? - -_Father._—H——d. - -_Stephen._—Where do you reside? - -_Father._—In Charleston, South Carolina. - -_Stephen._—Ah! The dearest associations of my life are connected with -two students bearing your name, who were from Charleston. - -_Father._—My wife and children: I think the keeper has directed us to -the Lunatic Asylum, instead of the abode of convicts. Let us go and ask -the keeper to show us to the prison. - -_Stephen._—Stop, sir. I now most positively discern the relics of your -early features. Were you a student at Cambridge in 1835? - -_Father._—I was. - -_Stephen._—And your brother also, who was rescued from a watery grave in -Boston Harbor? - -_Father_ (_leans against the iron door, and his frame trembles, and his -face assumes a deathly palor_).—God of Heaven! And are you the son of -Judge Stephen Branch, of Providence, Rhode Island? - -_Stephen._—I am, sir. - -_Father_ (_wiping sweat from his forehead and tears from his -cheeks_).—Dear Stephen: Give me your hand, after our long separation. -Alas! my poor brother is dead, whose life you saved in that dreadful -squall, in Boston Harbor, twenty-three years ago. (_All weep, and his -eldest daughter sobs aloud._) - -_Stephen._—Where and when did your noble brother die? - -_Father._—In Switzerland, ten years since; and in his last days he spoke -most kindly of you. - -_His Wife_ (_in profuse tears_).—Have you a wife, Mr. Branch? - -_Stephen._—Neither wife, nor child, nor parents, nor hardly a relative -on earth. And I am glad they have gone down to their happy graves. And I -almost wish that I was reposing by their side. The earth is no place for -me, nor for those who expose the licentious officials and plundering -monsters of this age, who allure spotless females into the horrors of -prostitution, and drive the friendless masses into cellars and attics -and crowded and pestilential habitations, and into the inclement -atmosphere. - -_Wife._—But why rejoice over the eternal departure of nearly all your -kindred? - -_Stephen._—Because it would have blighted their health and fondest hopes -to have beheld me in a felon’s dungeon. - -_Wife._—But you have committed no crime? - -_Stephen._—I could not do that. And I am in prison, because I have -exposed the crimes, and resisted the gilded bribes of official -plunderers for a dozen years, and utterly refused to join them in their -various deeds of infamy. I could have been affluent, and had my liberty, -if I had joined the public thieves, and shared their plunder. And if my -parents were alive, although they would rejoice at my exposure of -vicious public men, yet they would weep over the cruelty of those who -consigned me to this dungeon, without an honorable trial, and rudely -thrust me into the chain-gang of the quarries, and even yearn for my -life. - -_Wife._—Yours seems a hard fate? - -_Stephen._—Yes; mine is indeed a mournful destiny. - -_Her Eldest Daughter_ (_whose lovely eyes gleam with tears_).—I weep -over your misfortunes. I have often heard my dear uncle, whose life you -saved at the peril of your own, speak of you in tones of deep affection, -and here is a diamond breastpin he gave me in Switzerland, on the Lake -of Geneva, on a tranquil moonlight evening, only ten days before his -soul’s departure for the spirit realms. Take it, dear Mr. Branch, and -keep it in remembrance of his affectionate niece. To no other being -would I present a sacred gift of my departed uncle. - -_Stephen_ (_with overwhelming emotion_).—Please accept my profoundest -gratitude for your precious donation, which I will wear near a heart -that dearly loved your departed uncle, with whom I passed some of the -happiest hours of my life. - -_The Youngest Daughter_ (_who is about ten years old_).—Dear Mr. Branch: -Will you take this sweet rose from me, and let me kiss you through the -grate? - -_Stephen._—O God! This is too much for my poor nerves. (_I shed copious -tears, and all weep._) Yes, my pretty little girl, you can kiss me -through the grate. (_And her father holds her up, and I place my pale, -and cold, and haggard cheek to a perforation of my cell door, and this -affectionate little girl imprints a fervent kiss, which I cordially -reciprocate._) - -_Father._—God has blessed me with great prosperity, and I will devote my -fortune to your restoration to liberty. - -_Stephen._—Mr. Ashmead, my able and faithful Counsel, assures me that I -will soon emerge from prison, through the Supreme Judiciary. I most -sincerely thank you for your extraordinary generosity, and for the visit -of yourself and wife, and daughters, whom I will cherish all my days. - -_Father._—When you obtain your liberty, you must come to Charleston, -where you will be received with our warmest hospitality. - -_Wife._—If you come, you shall never leave us. - -_Eldest Daughter._—You shall have the vacant seat of my uncle at our -table. - -_Youngest Daughter._—Yes; and I will kiss you again—won’t I mother?—when -you come to Charleston. - -_Mother._—Yes, my dear child; and you shall give him the sweetest rose -in our garden. - -_Youngest Daughter._—That I will, and pretty flowers, too. - -_Father._—Good by, Mr. Branch. (_Strives to get his hand through the -perforated door, but can clasp my fingers with but two of his._) Good -by, sir—good by. - -_Wife._—Good by, Mr. Branch. I hope you will be restored to freedom. - -_Eldest Daughter._—Good by, Mr. Branch. I shall think of you with -kindness, after I am gone, and I shall yearn to see you at our home in -Carolina. - -_Youngest Daughter._—Good by, dear Mr. Branch, and I want you to give me -another kiss before I go. (_I kiss her, and receive many in return._) -Good by, and you must not forget to come to Charleston, when these bad -men let you out of prison. Good by, dear Mr. Branch, and I hope you will -not be lonely and cry much after we have gone far away from you. Good -by, Mr. Branch. - -_Stephen._—Farewell, kind friends, and may God ever bless you for your -noble sympathy. (_All go, and I prostrate myself on my cot, and am in -prayers and tears long after their mournful departure._) - - ------------------------------------ - - -I cut these lines from a newspaper when I was a boy. I think they bore -the Christian name of a lady. I am no poet, and do not know their merit. -Perhaps Bryant or Prentrice can discern their beauties. Let pure and -pensive and wild enthusiasts scan them for congenial spirits, and I -think they will preserve these curious meditations which have been in my -scrap-book since I was a pale youth, with my classic satchel, in the -schools of Rhode Island. Those editors who copy these lines must not -credit them to STEPHEN H. BRANCH, but they should say that they came -from the jaws of his ALLIGATOR, as their author is unknown, and as that -Animal introduces them to the public for the first time in thirty years: - - - MIDNIGHT MEDITATIONS. - - Earth lies dumb before me, and the shadows - Of midnight cast their dim forms athwart it. - Quiet is brooding o’er a silent world, - And the soft hush of slumber seals each lid. - Night is too fair for sleep: with me thought wakes - And treads in distant paths, where human step - Ne’er left an echo on the vacant air. - The gorgeous canopy of heaven is wrapped - In silvery haze: Gems of uncounted wealth - Bestud the lofty concave; and the bright - Moon seems rolling like a silvery ball - Across the trackless æther, mantling the earth - In glory;—while her mellowed light - Falls on my spirit with a holy calm, like that - Of heaven. Tell us—why are we chained to earth? - ’Tis far too gross for the immortal mind, - Which yearns for higher realms, and pants in vain - For the full measure of perfection. Oh! - I have gazed upon night’s starry volume, - Till I have read long lessons of delight, - And drank the raptures of another world. - Thought, living thought, burns to embrace the whole - Of those deep mysteries eternity - Conceals from mortal understanding; and - The mind speaks out, and questions every beam - Which falls from the bright reservoir of heaven— - Interrogates each plant and breathing thing— - Retires within itself, and calls up every - Faculty—sends powerful fancy forth to - Search through untrod regions, but spends its pow’rs - Unsatisfied, till it sinks down at last - Exhausted by its own intensity. - - O for a walk among those stars of light, - Where grandeur fills immensity! I long - To fling my soul upon the pinions of - Eternity, and revel in the blaze - Of glory unrevealed—to gaze upon - The light that emanates from God’s vast throne, - And hear the music of the rolling spheres - As they revolve in mystic circles round - The deep centre of unknown attraction. - Spirits of heaven are hov’ring round me, - And breathe sweet songs of rapture in my ear. - The rustle of their wings is like the sigh - Of leaves, when the soft zephyr moves among - Their quiv’ring branches. Their hallowed voices - Wake the eternity within me, and warm - Aspirations rise from my heart’s altar - To the great throne of Uncreated Power, - The wings of seraphim seem wafting me - In thought far through the bright and boundless ether. - O for the freedom of unbodied life! - To rove where thought ne’er ventured—where fancy - Halts, her swift wing wearied in its lofty flight. - - I gaze upon the stars, and drink the full - Glory of the midnight heavens—and breathe - The breath of spiritual existence - Till my soul beats, like a captive bird, - Against its prison grates, and longs to soar away, and mix - With immortality. - - Are not the stars - Immortal? Do they not live forever - In a joy of light? Have they not looked down - From age to age upon this distant world - And watched its evolutions? Viewed its face - Change beneath the whelming flood—its cities - Sink beneath the earthquake’s shock—its mountains - Belch destruction—its boasted empires fall— - Its armies crushed in battle—its proud kings - Fade from earth—its ancient monumental - Grandeur crumble into dust? Yet they roll on, - Creatures of life, a beaming essence, - A mysterious throng of heavenly - Pageantry. But is there not a region - Far above that envious height; above - The stars; where beings live forever, and - No darkness comes; where light exists for ages, - Unborrowed from the sun; where storms dim not - Its brightness? and where rapture never dies? - Yes, far above the sky-bound ceiling, there - Is light—eternal light—joy unsubdued, - And everlasting life! - - Is there such a - Thing as sin? I feel it not. This is a - Holy hour. Nothing exists to me but - Heaven, and heaven’s pure habitants; all worldly - Thoughts are drowned in high communing. Is there - Such a thing as pain? I know it not, who - Oft have known it. Heaven’s high-wrought happiness - Is mine. This is a peaceful hour, and I - Could deem myself already entered on - Immortal ground, did not this clog of clay - Assure me I am yet of earth, and have, - Perchance, long years of pain, and wo, and sin - To witness, and the dark vale of death is - Yet unpassed by me, though ever near. Well, - If it must be so, welcome the hour that - Breaks these mortal shackles, and lets loose my - Spirit on the wings of life, to find its - Native element and long sought home, if - Heaven at last be mine. Congenial spirits - Of unknown existence! would that your forms - Could be perceived by mortal eyes, that I - Might hold sweet converse with you, and forget - That I am mortal. - - Oh! there is that - Within, which tells me I was destined for - A higher sphere; that heaven was made for me; - For _all_—if we accept the gift, and mount - Faith’s ladder, as the word of life directs - This life is not our destiny; ’tis but - A prelude to a state eternal, a - Mere beginning of existence, when once - Begun, that ne’er shall cease to be. Life! Life! - What art thou _now_—what art thou doomed to be? - A shade; a substance; dream; reality; - A blessing or a curse; a moment here; - Hereafter an eternity! Dread thought, - Eternity! Eternity! My soul - Is lost in that vast subject, and I shrink - Appalled from the unmeasured time to come. - No more I ask to know its hidden space; - ’Twill soon unfold to me, and I shall dwell - Forever in its changeless realm; no more - To feel emotions known on earth, or think - As now I think, or live as now I live; - ’Till then, “the mysteries of fate are hid,” - And all lie buried in a world to come. - - ---------------------------------------------------------------- - - -A LADY M. D. OCCULIST AND AURIST RESTORES to Sight from Blindness, -Amaurosis, Granulated Eye Lids and Weak and Sore Eyes of any standing; -opening Tear Glands, removing Cataracts, Scums, Films, Ulcers, Tumors, -Cancer &c., without operation or pain. Persons wearing spectacles -permaturely, enabled to do without them by recovering the natural tone -of the eye. Those of the aged strengthened and restored to the natural -form or convexity. Worst of cases treated successfully, as seen at the -Infirmary, from 12 M to 2 P. M., on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. - - NO. 656 SIXTH AVENUE, NEW YORK, - - (FIRST FLOOR, ROOMS NOS. 1, 2 & 3) - -Abundant personal references given that her remedies are harmless, and -her cures performed without operation or the slightest pain. - - ---------------------------------------------------------------- - - -THE FINEST ILLUSTRATED WORK EVER ISSUED—cost $12,000. Price $2.50. - -THE LIFE, TRAVELS AND ADVENTURES OF FERDINAND DE SOTO, DISCOVERER OF THE -MISSISSIPPI. 1 vol., 556 pages octavo 30 superb Steel and Wood -Engravings, Printed on fine paper and bound elegantly. One of these -superb Steel Plates is photographed of the $10,000 painting ordered by -Congress, worth the price of the book. - -This book is indispensable to every library. Pronounced by The New York -Herald to be “the most interesting book in the English language.” 10,000 -Agents wanted to canvass for this work, to whom we will give a district -not already taken. - -Sent by mail free of postage on receipt of the money. Postmasters are -allowed 30 per cent on all subscribers they send us—Address - - JAMES T. LLOYD, Publisher, Philadelphia, Penn. - - ---------------------------------------------------------------- - - - FALL ELECTION. - - STATE OF NEW-YORK, } - OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE, } - ALBANY, August 2, 1858. } - -_To the Sheriff of the County of New York_: - -SIR—NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, THAT AT THE GENERAL Election to be held in -this State on the Tuesday succeeding the first Monday in November next, -the following officers are to be elected, to wit: - -A GOVERNOR, in the place of John A. King; - -A LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, in the place of Henry R. Selden; - -A CANAL COMMISSIONER, in the place of Samuel B. Ruggles, appointed in -place of Samuel S. Whallon, deceased; - -AN INSPECTOR OF STATE PRISONS, in the place of William A. Russell; - -All whose terms of office will expire on the last day of December next. - -A REPRESENTATIVE in the Thirty-sixth Congress of the United States, for -the Third Congressional District, composed of the First, Second, Third, -Fifth and Eighth Wards in the city of New York; - -A REPRESENTATIVE in the Thirty-sixth Congress of the United States, for -the Fourth Congressional District, composed of the Fourth, Sixth, Tenth -and Fourteenth Wards in the city of New York; - -A REPRESENTATIVE in the Thirty-sixth Congress of the United States, for -the Fifth Congressional District, composed of the Seventh and Thirteenth -Wards of the city of New York, and the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth -and Sixteenth Wards of Brooklyn; - -A REPRESENTATIVE in the Thirty-sixth Congress of the United States, for -the Sixth Congressional District, composed of the Eleventh, Fifteenth -and Seventeenth Wards in the City of New York; - -A REPRESENTATIVE in the Thirty-sixth Congress of the United States, for -the Seventh Congressional District, composed of the Ninth, Sixteenth, -and Twentieth Wards in the City of New York; - -And also, a REPRESENTATIVE in the Thirty-sixth Congress of the United -States for the Eighth Congressional District, composed of the Twelfth, -Eighteenth, Nineteenth, Twenty-first, and Twenty-second Wards in the -City of New York. - - - COUNTY OFFICERS ALSO TO BE ELECTED FOR SAID COUNTY. - -SEVENTEEN MEMBERS OF ASSEMBLY; - -A SHERIFF, in the place of James C. Willett; - -A COUNTY CLERK, in the place of Richard B. Connolly; - -FOUR CORONERS, in the place of Frederick W. Perry, Edward Connery, -Robert Gamble and Samuel C. Hills; - -All whose terms of office will expire on the last day of December next. - -The attention of Inspectors of Election and County Canvassers is -directed to Chapter 320 of Laws of 1858, a copy of which is printed, for -instructions in regard to their duties under said law, “submitting the -question of calling a Convention to revise the Constitution and amend -the same to the people of the State.” - - - CHAP. 320. - -AN ACT to submit the question of calling a Convention to revise the - Constitution and amend the same, to the People of the State: - -Passed April 17, 1858—three-fifths being present. - -_The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and - Assembly, do enact as follows_: - -SECTION 1. The Inspectors of Election in each town, ward, and election -district in this State, at the annual election to be held in November -next, shall provide a proper box to receive the ballots of the citizens -of this State entitled to vote for members of the Legislature at such -election. On such ballot shall be written or printed, or partly written -and printed, by those voters who are in favor of a Convention, the -words: “Shall there be a Convention to Revise the Constitution and amend -the same? Yes.” And by those voters who are opposed thereto, the words: -“Shall there be a Convention to Revise the Constitution and amend the -same? No.” And all citizens entitled to vote as aforesaid shall be -allowed to vote by ballot as aforesaid, in the election district in -which he resides, and not elsewhere. - -§2. So much of the articles one, two and three, of title four, of -chapter one hundred and thirty, of an act entitled “An act respecting -elections other than for militia and town officer,” passed April fifth, -eighteen hundred and forty-two, and the acts amending the same, as -regulates the manner of conducting elections and challenges oaths to be -administered, and inquiries to be made, of persons offering to vote, -shall be deemed applicable to the votes to be given or offered under the -act; and the manner of voting and challenges, and the penalties for -false swearing, prescribed by law, are hereby declared in full force and -effect in voting or offering to vote under this act. - -§3. The said votes given for and against a convention, in pursuance of -this act, shall be canvassed by the Inspectors of the several election -districts or polls of the said election in the manner prescribed by law, -and as provided in article four, of title four, of chapter one hundred -and thirty of the said act, passed April fifth, eighteen hundred and -forty-two, and the acts amending the same, as far as the same are -applicable; and such canvass shall be completed by ascertaining the -whole number of votes given in each election district or poll for a -convention, and the whole number of votes given against such convention, -in the form aforesaid; and the result being found, the inspectors shall -make a statement in words, at full length, of the number of ballots -received in relation to such convention, and shall also state in words, -at full length, the whole number of ballots having thereon the words, -“Shall there be a Convention to revise the Constitution and amend the -same? No.” Such statements as aforesaid shall contain a caption, stating -the day on which, and the number of the district, the town or ward, and -the county at which the election was held, and at the end thereof a -certificate that such statement is correct in all respects, which -certificate shall be subscribed by all the inspectors, and a true copy -of such statement shall be immediately filed by them in the office of -the clerk of the town or city. - -§4. The original statements, duly certified as aforesaid, shall be -delivered by the inspectors, or one of them to be deputed for that -purpose, to the supervisor, or, in case there be no supervisor, or he -shall be disabled from attending the board of canvassers, then to one of -the assessors of the town or ward, within twenty-four hours after the -same shall have been subscribed by such inspectors, to be disposed of as -other statements at such election, are now required by law. - -§5. So much of articles first, second, third, and fourth, of title -fifth, of chapter one hundred and thirty, of the act entitled, “An act -respecting elections other than for militia and town officers,” and the -acts amending the same, as regulates the duties of County Canvassers and -their proceedings, and the duty of County Clerks, and the Secretary of -State, and the Board of State Canvassers, shall be applied to the -canvassing and ascertaining the will of the people of this State in -relation to the proposed convention; and if it shall appear that a -majority of the votes or ballots given in and returned as aforesaid are -against a convention, then the said canvassers are required to certify -and declare that fact by a certificate, subscribed by them, and filed -with the Secretary of State; but if it shall appear by the said canvass -that a majority of the ballots or votes given as aforesaid are for a -convention, then they shall by like certificates, to be filed as -aforesaid, declare that fact; and the said Secretary shall communicate a -copy of such certificate to both branches of the Legislature, at the -opening of the next session thereof. Yours, respectfully, - - GIDEON J. TUCKER, Secretary of State. - - SHERIFF’S OFFICE, } - - NEW YORK, August 4, 1858. } - -The above is published pursuant to the notice of the Secretary of State, -and the requirements of the Statute in such case made and provided. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Stephen H. Branch's Alligator Vol. 1 -no. 23, September 25, 1858, by Stephen H. 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