DOUGLASS, SIR HOWARD, an English general, born in Gosport, Hampshire, July 1st, 1776, and died on the 8th of Nov. 1861, in the 86th year of his age. His career, military, political, and scientific, was long and distinguished. Some thirty years since he was well known on this side of the Atlantic as the Governor of New Brunswick, a position which he held from 1823 to 1829. His name is more particularly identified with military matters, for which he had a decided preference, as is shown by long, active service, as well as by many able treatises on fortifications and gunnery, which he has written. He entered the British army early in life, served in Portugal and Spain in 1808-'9, took a prominent part in the expedition to Walcheren in 1810, returned to the Peninsula in 1811, and served there until the close of the campaign in 1812. He was Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands from 1835 to 1840, and represented Liverpool in parliament from 1842 to 1847. Among the productions of his pen is an essay "On the Construction of Military Bridges," and "A Treatise on Naval Gunnery." He was lineally descended from one of the most illustrious families of Scotland.

DOUGLAS, STEPHEN ARNOLD, an American statesman, born at Brandon, Vermont, April 23, 1813, and died at Chicago, Illinois, June 3, 1861. With his mother and step-father he removed to Canandaigua, New York, about the age of eighteen years, and entered as a student in the academy at that place, in which he continued until 1833. At the same time he pursued the study of the law, and finally adopted that profession. He commenced the practice of the law at Jacksonville, Illinois, and in 1835, when scarcely twenty-two years of age, was elected attorney-general of the State. In 1835 he resigned, and became a member of the Legislature, and in 1837 was appointed register of the land office at Springfield, and resigned in 1839. In 1840 he was appointed Secretary of State, and in 1841 elected by the Legislature a Judge of the Supreme Court, which he resigned in 1843, and was elected a member of Congress, and again reelected, and in 1847 was chosen Senator for six years from the 4th of March; which position he continued to hold until the time of his death. He was a candidate for the Presidency of the United States in 1852, and again in 1856, and in 1860 received a nomination. (For the details of his distinguished career up to this period see NEW AMERICAN CYCLOPEDIA.) The vote at the Presidential election in 1860 resulted in the electoral college as follows:

Douglas, 12. Bell, 39.

Lincoln, 180. Breckinridge, 72.

The popular vote was as follows:
Douglas, 1,365,976. Lincoln, 1,857,610.

Bell, 590,631. Breckinridge, 847,953. Senator Douglas took a lively interest in the exciting troubles which commenced subsequently to this election. His views were freely and forcibly expressed in his place in the Sen

ate, (see CONGRESS, U. S.,) and his determination to sustain and defend the Government at every cost.

Soon after the close of the extra session of the

Senate he left Washington for Chicago. On the 20th of April, 1861, he was detained at Belair, Ohio, in consequence of the railroad train having missed a connection. No sooner was it known that the distinguished Senator was there than the town became alive with excitement, and in the afternoon a crowd of the citi zens, and a large delegation from Wheeling, and hundreds from the surrounding country, gathered in front of the house where he was stopping. They cheered him and the Union, and Major Anderson, and the Stars and Stripes.

Finally Mr. Douglas made his appearance, and found it impossible to refrain from speaking. In a lengthy speech he thus expressed in a few words the matter at issue before the country:

We in the northwest of this great valley can rever recognize either the propriety or the right of States bordering along upon the Gulf of Mexico and upon the Atlantic Ocean, or upon the Pacific, to separate from the Union of our fathers, and establish and erect taxgatherers and custom-houses upon our commerce in its passage to the Gulf or the ocean. If we recognize the right in one case we give our assent to it in all cases; and if the few States upon the Gulf now are to sepa rate themselves from us and erect a barrier across the mouth of that great river, of which the Ohio is a tributary, how long will it be before New York may come to the conclusion that she may set up for herself and levy taxes upon every dollar's worth of goods imported bushel of wheat and every pound of pork and beef or and consumed in the Northwest, and taxes upon every other productions that may be sent from the Northwest to the Atlantic in search of a market? The very existence of the people in this great valley depends upon maintaining inviolate and forever that great right secured by the Constitution, of freedom of trade, of transit, and of commerce, from the centre of the continent to the ocean that surrounds it. This right can never be surrendered; our very existence depends upon maintaining it.

States into little petty confederacies. First, divide The proposition now is, to separate these United them into two; and then, when either party gets beaten at the next election, subdivide again; then, whenever one gets beat again, another subdivision; and then, when you beat on Governor's election, the dis if this new system of resistance by the sword and comfited will rebel again, and so it will go on. And bayonet to the result of the ballot-box shall prevail here in this country of ours, the history of the United States is already written in the Bistory of

Mexico.

On the 25th of the same month the Legislature of Illinois assembled to hear an address from him, in which he discussed with considerable fulness the exciting topics of the day. On the 1st of May he returned to his home in Chicago, somewhat indisposed at the time with the incipient stages of inflammatory rheumatism. His primary attack rapidly assumed a typhoid character, and continued from the outset very unyielding. After some ten or twelve days his attack was complicated with an ulcerated sore throat, which soon disappeared. At this time he writes to the Chairman of the State Democratic Committee, giving, in a candid, friendly manner, his views

upon the posture of affairs. This letter is rendered more valuable by being the expression of his sentiments in a form which he did not anticipate would be given to the public; at the same time it was probably one of the last letters from this distinguished man :

CHICAGO, May 10, 1861.

MY DEAR SIR: Being deprived of the use of my arms for the present by a severe attack of rheumatism, I am compelled to avail myself of the services of an amanuensis in reply to your two letters.

It seems that some of my friends are unable to comprehend the difference between arguments used in favor of an equitable compromise, with the hope of averting the horrors of war, and those urged in support of the Government and flag of our country, when war is being waged against the United States with the avowed purpose of producing a permanent disruption of the Union and a total destruction of its Government. All hope of compromise with the cotton States was abandoned when they assumed the position that the separation of the Union was complete and final, and that they would never consent to a reconstruction in any contingency-not even if we would furnish them with a blank sheet of paper and permit them to inscribe their own terms. Still the hope was cherished that reasonable and satisfactory terms of adjustment could be agreed upon with Tennessee, North Carolina, and the Border States, and that whatever terms would prove satisfactory to these loyal States would create a Union party in the cotton States which would be powerful enough at the ballot-box to destroy the revolutionary Government, and bring those States back into the Union by the voice of their own people. This hope was cherished by Union men North and South, and was never abandoned until actual war was levied at Charleston, and the authoritative announcement made by the revolutionary Government at Montgomery, that the secession flag should be planted upon the walls of the Capitol at Washington, and a proclamation issued inviting the pirates of the world to prey upon the commerce of the United States.

These startling facts, taken in connection with the boastful announcement that the ravages of war and carnage should be quickly transferred from the cottonfields of the South to the wheat-fields and corn-fields of the North, furnish conclusive evidence that it was the fixed purpose of the Secessionists utterly to destroy the Government of our fathers and obliterate the United States from the map of the world.

In view of this state of facts there was but one path of duty left to patriotic men. It was not a party ques. tion, nor a question involving partisan policy; it was a question of Government or no Government, country or no country; and hence it became the imperative duty of every Union man, every friend of constitutional liberty, to rally to the support of our common country, its Government and flag, as the only means of checking the progress of revolution and of preserv⚫ ing the Union of the States.

I am unable to answer your questions in respect to the policy of Mr. Lincoln and his Cabinet. I am not in their confidence, as you and the whole country ought to be aware. I am neither the supporter of the partisan policy nor the apologist for the errors of the Administration. My previous relations to them remain unchanged; but I trust the time will never come when I shall not be willing to make any needful sacrifice of personal feeling and party policy for the honor and integrity of my country.

I know of no mode by which a loyal citizen may so well demonstrate his devotion to his country as by sustaining the flag, the Constitution, and the Union, under all circumstances, and under every Administration, (regardless of party politics,) against all assailants, at home and abroad. The course of Clay and Webster towards the Administration of General Jackson, in the days of nullification, presents a noble and worthy example for all true patriots. At the very

moment when that fearful crisis was precipitated upon the country, partisan strife between Whigs and Demtween Democrats and Republicans. The gulf which ocrats was quite as bitter and relentless as now beseparated party leaders in those days was quite as broad and deep as that which now separates the Democracy from the Republicans. But the moment an enemy rose in our midst, plotting the dismemberment of the Union and the destruction of the Government, the voice of partisan strife was hushed in patriotic silence. One of the brightest chapters in the history of our country will record the fact that, during this eventful period, the great leaders of the opposition, sinking the partisan in the patriot, rushed to the support of the Government, and became its ablest and bravest defenders against all assailants until the conspiracy was crushed and abandoned, when they resumed their former positions as party leaders upon political issues. These acts of patriotic devotion have never been deemed evidences of infidelity or political treachery, on the part of Clay and Webster, to the principles and organization of the old Whig party. Nor have I any apprehension that the firm and unanimous support which the Democratic leaders and masses are now giving to the Constitution and the Union will ever be deemed evidences of infidelity to democratic principles, or a want of loyalty to the organization and creed of the Democratic party. If we hope to regain and perpetuate the ascendency of our party, we should never forget that a man cannot be a true Democrat unless he is a loyal patriot.

With the sincere hope that these my conscientious convictions may coincide with those of my friends, I am, very truly, yours, STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS.

TO VIRGIL HICOX, Esq.,

Chairman State Democratic Committee.

Torpor of the liver and constipation soon ensued, followed by a jaundiced condition which still more prostrated his nervous system. A wandering and delirious state accompanied his illness more or less to its fatal close. The salvation of the Republic was uppermost in his thoughts by day and by night. His own condition, the imminent peril of his death, his complicated affairs, gave him no concern. Almost his last coherent words expressed an ardent wish for the honor and prosperity of his country by the defeat and dispersion of her enemies.

DRANESVILLE is 17 miles west of Wash

ington, in Fairfax County, Virginia. A skir mish took place in its neighborhood on the 26th of November. The First Pennsylvania Cavalry, under Colonel Bayard, were ordered to proceed to the village, and arrest certain citizens who were openly and actively aiding the Confed

erate cause. Having accomplished this object without meeting any of the Confederate force, except two picket men, who were captured, the party set out on their return, when a fire was opened upon them from a thick pine wood a few miles from the village. The wood was immediately surrounded, and four were captured, and two killed, of the hostile force. Another conflict took place near the village on the 20th of December, which was a sharp affair. Its success was so complete in favor of the Union troops that much credit was bestowed upon them. A brigade of General McCall's division, under the command of General E. O. C. Orde, having been ordered to advance in the direction of

Dranesville, for the purpose of obtaining a quantity of forage known to be in the possession of secessionists, they marched from camp about 6 o'clock in the morning. Apprehending that they might be attacked, General McCall ordered another brigade, under General Reynolds, to follow at 8 o'clock. Meantime, General Orde's brigade, having advanced nearly to Dranesville, were assailed by a Confederate force in ambush. A spirited engagement ensued, which lasted nearly an hour, when the enemy's force fled in the direction of Fairfax Court House, abandoning on the field a number of their killed and wounded, besides arms, clothing, and other articles. The force under General Reynolds did not come up until the

EARTHQUAKES and ERUPTIONS OF VOLCANOES. One of the most disastrous earthquakes of modern times occurred on the 20th of March, 1861, along the western border of the Argentine Republic and the eastern foot of the Andes, totally destroying the city of Mendoza and the greater part of San Juan, lying 120 miles further north. On the eastern side of the mountains the shock was felt at about half-past eight in the morning, at Valparaiso and Santiago, causing great alarm and confusion to the people, who at that time were assembled in great numbers in the churches, it being near the close of Lent. To the east the subterranean movement extended to the borders of the Atlantic, being felt at Buenos Ayres, 823 leagues from Mendoza, where it was observed that the movement of pendulums vibrating north and south was accelerated, while those moving east and west were not affected. At Cordova, 150 leagues east from Mendoza, a church was thrown down. The shock was felt at Mendoza in the evening of March 20th, at the time when a large congregation was dispersing from the Jesuit church. Those who had reached the Plaza were saved, but many were destroyed by the falling in of the walls and roof of the building. In a short space, computed at only six or eight seconds, every building, public and private, in the city was thrown down, burying a large portion of the population in the ruins. Flames soon burst forth from these, consuming the dead and wounded entangled in them. The air was filled with the awful sound of the subterranean rumblings, and affrighted animals ran howling about; while from the gaping fissures floods of water were vomited forth. For several days the earth continued to tremble at intervals, till every portion of the walls that had resisted the first shock had fallen to the earth. For some leagues towards the Andes the roads were renered almost impassable, by the fissures and deep holes opened by the earthquake; while upon the mountains huge masses of rock were precipi

action was over. The Union force, after remaining at Dranesville till near sundown, returned to their camp, which they reached be tween 9 and 10 o'clock at night, bringing with them fifty wagon loads of forage, and the pris oners and abandoned articles.

The enemy's force was composed of the First and Eleventh Kentucky regiments, and the Tenth Alabama, with a regiment of cavalry and a battery of cannon, all under the command of Colonel John H. Forney, acting BrigadierGeneral. They left on the field ninety dead bodies, and ten of their wounded. Eight of their number, unhurt, were taken prisoners. On the Union side, about seven were killed, and sixty-three wounded.

tated down the steep slopes, filling the road, and occasionally falling for days after the first catas trophe. The city of Mendoza is described as one of the most attractive of that portion of South America, pleasantly situated, about 2,900 feet above the level of the sea, near the Andes, its houses adorned with porticoes, and surrounded with gardens and orchards. Its public promenade, called the Alameda, was about a mile long, bordered with stately poplars. The total population was about 15,000, of whom it is reported that three-fourths were destroyed, though in some of the accounts the number is given at about one-half the whole population. At San Juan it is reported that about 3,000 persons were destroyed.

Earthquake and Volcanic Eruption on the East Coast of Africa.-On the night of the 7th of May, or morning of the 8th, earthquake shocks were felt for about an hour, at Edd, about half-way between Massonah and the Straits of Bab-el-Mandel. Fine dust, at first white and afterwards red, continued to fall during the day, becoming in places nearly knee-deep. This ceased to fall on the 9th, and at night fire and smoke were seen issuing from Jebel Dubbeh, s mountain about a day's journey inland, never before known to be a volcano; and sounds like the firing of cannon were heard at Perim-these sounds were heard at 2 A. M. on the 8th, and at long intervals up to the 10th or 11th. The dust was also met with at sea, and along the entire coast of Yemen it fell for several days. Several shocks were felt on the 8th at Mocha and Hodeida.

Eruption of Vesuvius.-One of the great eruptions of Vesuvius, such as occur but once in the course of centuries, took place on the 8th of December, 1861. It was preceded by a succession of subterranean movements during the night, which were felt at Naples, violently shaking the furniture in the houses, and causing no little alarm to the people in their beds. The eruption commenced at about one o'clock Sunday morning, just over Torre del Greco,

about one-fourth the distance up the mountain. In a short time there were six openings in full operation, sending forth enormous jets of flame, accompanied with terrific explosions. This was in an inhabited district, and some of the houses were thrown into the air by the eruptions. The lava commenced to flow on Sunday morning, and destroyed several houses and villas at Torre del Greco; but more buildings were destroyed at this place by the tremblings of the earth, which caused the walls and roofs to be fissured or thrown down. According to the official report the number thus injured was from 400 to 500, but from private accounts it would appear that none seemed to be in a secure state. The inhabitants reported that about 22,000 in number fled at the first alarm towards Naples, and the city was left to the depredations of thieves. At about two o'clock on Monday morning, the grand crater at the summit of the mountain, which had been for a long period comparatively dormant, burst out with a tremendous noise, and the escape of its pent-up fires gave hopes to the despairing population that their dwellings might yet be saved. The opening of this new outlet, no doubt, checked the flow of lava from the lower craters; and the total destruction of Torre del Greco, which had already been laid waste nine times within the historic period, was averted by the diversion of the lava streams, caused by elevations above the town that lay in their course. Within a quarter of a mile of the town the lava stream was seen on Monday, slowly moving down about half a mile below the craters that fed it, covering about half a mile in width and reaching to the height of about 24 feet. It is remarkable that in these terrible scenes, the loss of human life should have been so small, only two deaths being recorded-one that of a guide who was killed by the falling of a stone upon his head as he was attempting to procure a piece of the semifluid lava, in which to imbed a coin; and the other, of a person who fell into the molten stream. The scene is described by those who witnessed it as one of unparalleled magnificence, both by day and night. The volume of smoke that poured forth from the craters was remarkably dense and black, and charged with enormous quantities of fine dust and sand, which were carried up in the heated column to great heights, and hung suspended over the bay in the calm atmosphere, or were swept onward by the winds, overshadowing the sea and hiding the islands and headlands from view. In the morning and evening the rising and setting sun illuminated these dense clouds, tinting them with a profusion of rich colors, and giving to their irregular forms the appearance of solidity, with hues of fiery brilliancy. From the craters the clouds were renewed with wonderful rapidity, rolling over each other in magnificent involutions; while each eruption was preceded by a sound as of the heaviest artillery, followed by a shaking of the mountain itself, which was felt at Naples and by vessels

at sea, many miles from the shore. Every where in the vicinity the fine black dust settled down upon the surface, and at Torre del Greco attained the depth of 44 inches. At night, under the pall of the dark cloud the volcanic fires appeared like brilliant fireworks upon the grandest scale. Then the immense quantities of stones thrown high up into the air were seen to be of an intense red heat and rose like Roman candles. Bright flames were seen shooting upward through the dense smoke, and appearances resembling forked lightning darting around with globes of electric light. On Tuesday, the 10th, the violence of the eruption had greatly subsided, and it was an occasion of regret to the people that the volcano did not continue in more vigorous action; as this would have insured a cessation of the earthquake shocks which still continued at intervals, doing increased injury to Torre del Greco and the other towns. These continued even into the first week of the new year; and the vicinity of the volcano was rendered almost insufferable from the shocks, and from the exhalations of gas, especially about Torre and Resina. This gas, upon the land, was said to be carbonic acid, intermixed with a small quantity of carburetted hydrogen; and at sea chiefly the latter intermixed with a small portion of the former. About the close of the year the people who had returned to their houses, were again driven forth by the shock of an earthquake, and a new volcanic opening was produced under the sea, causing the water to be thrown into violent commotion, like boiling, for a considerable distance.

Earthquake on the Island of Penang.-Feb. 16, 1861, a severe earthquake occurred at halfpast 7 P. M., in three distinct shocks, each of which seemed to pass from north to south and to continue about thirty seconds. The ground undulated, causing persons to be affected with nausea, crockery to be thrown from shelves, &c. The shock was also felt at the same time at Malacca and Singapore, where no earthquake had been known for the seventeen preceding years. The sky was clear at the time, no air stirring; thermometer at 91° F.

Earthquakes in the United States.-During the year a number of earthquakes occurred in the United States, but none of serious charac ter. At Syracuse, N. Y., at about 9 P. M. of July 11, a very sensible shock was felt, which extended over most of the county. It lasted about four seconds, and was so severe as to cause dwelling-houses to rock, and in some cases furniture was removed and persons tipped in chairs to and fro. The shock was preceded by a sudden change in the weather, which became cold and chilly, after having been intensely hot for several days previous.

On the 31st August at 5 l. 22 m. A. M., two marked shocks of an earthquake were felt at the Washington Observatory, each being a succession of long waves of slight elevation apparently proceeding from south to north. The in

terval between the shocks was perhaps five seconds. They were accompanied by the usual rumbling noise, and were sufficient to jar the furniture in the building. The sound of the earth wave in the air continued audible some seconds after the tremor had ceased.

EGLINTON AND WINTON, ARCHIBALD WILLIAM MONTGOMERIE, Earl of, an English and Scottish peer, born at Palermo, Sicily, Sept. 29, 1812, died at Eglinton Castle, Ardrossan, in Ayrshire, Oct. 14, 1861. He was educated at Oxford, where he attained a high rank as a classical scholar, and received the degree of D. C. L. He held for many years the office of lord-lieutenant and sheriff-principal of Ayrshire. He became 13th earl of Eglinton on the death of his father in 1819, Earl of Winton, in Scotland, in 1840, and Earl of Winton in the peerage of the United Kingdom in 1859. In 1852 he was elected lord-rector of Glasgow University, and in Feb. 1852, lord-lieutenant of Ireland, but resigned in December of the same year. In 1858 he was again appointed to the same office, but retired in 1859. He was passionately fond of the sports of the turf, and had done much to improve the qualities of the English blood horse. He also made improvements in agriculture. In 1839 he revived on his own estate the tournament of the middle ages, with more than its original splendor. The preparations which had been made for this festivity were vast, and the scene was one long to be remembered. Lady Seymour, now the Duchess of Somerset, was the Queen of Beauty for this occasion, and the present emperor of France one of the knights. The earl was greatly beloved by his tenants for his efforts for their improvement and welfare.

ELLIS, JOHN WILLIS, late Governor of North Carolina, born in Rowan near Davidson County, Nov. 25, 1820, died at Raleigh, 1861. His early education was conducted under Robert Allian, Esq., at Beattie's Ford, and was continued at Randolph, Macon College, Va., from which he transferred his college relation to the University of North Carolina, where he graduated in 1841. He there studied law with Hon. R. M. Pearson, of Rowan, since Judge of the Supreme Court of North Carolina. In 1844 he was elected a member of the House of Commons of the State Legislature, and reëlected till 1848, when he was chosen a Judge of the Superior Courts of Law and Equity, which position he held till 1858, when he was elected Governor of the State, and in 1860 reelected. On the 2d of January Governor Ellis took possession of Fort Macon, at Beaufort, the works at Wilmington, and the United States arsenal at Fayetteville, professedly on behalf of the State. On the 20th of April he ordered the seizure of the United States mint at Charlotte. He was active also in promoting the passage of the secession ordinance in North Carolina,

ELLSWORTH, EPHRAIM ELMER, a colonel of volunteers and the introducer of the Zouave drill and organization into the United States,

born at Mechanicsville, Saratoga Co., New York, April 23, 1837, killed at Alexandria, Virginia, May 24, 1861. The financial misfortunes which overtook his father during Elmer's early childhood, prevented him from attaining the object of his boyish ambition, a cadetship at West Point; but, passionately fond of study, he acquired a good English education. After brief engagements in mercantile employment in Troy and New York, he went to Chicago, and though not yet of age, commenced business for himself as a patent solicitor, and soon attained success and a handsome income; but through the fraud of one whom he had trusted was despoiled of his hard earnings. Instead of giving way to despondency, he turned his attention to the study of law, supporting himself meanwhile by copying law papers at night. But while thus rapidly familiarizing himself with the science of law, his predilection for the military profession was very strong; and having attained a thorough familiarity with the French chasseur d'Afrique or Zouave drill and organization, he resolved to form a Zouave corps in Chicago, with such modifications as he deemed desirable to better adapt it to this country and the genius of the people. The corps which he organized and of which he became the commander, was a remarkable oLE; the strictest abstinence from spirituous liquors and tobacco was enforced, and the drill was exceedingly severe in its gymnastic requirements. They had been organized less than a year when their extraordinary performances won them at the State Agricultural Fair a stand of colors, and in July, 1860, with their gallant commander at their head and bearing their prize colors, they visited the Eastern cities, and challenged competition in their military discipline and practice, and won golden opinions everywhere. On his return to Chicago he organized a Zouave regiment, which he offered to the governor for the defence of the State, as if in premonition of the coming struggle. Dur ing the autumn Ellsworth entered heartily into the political campaign, advocating the election of Mr. Lincoln. After the election he accompanied the President elect to Washington, where he received a lieutenant's commission preparatory to his entrance into the War De partment, and had already matured in his own mind a reorganization of the militia of the country. The breaking out of the war changed his plans. At the proclamation of the Presi dent on the 15th of April, he hastened to New York, organized a Zouave regiment of 1.200 men, from the Fire Department, and in three weeks marched at their head through Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington. He drilled his regiment assiduously, and more than any other man could have done, tamed and controlled those restless and ungovernable spirits. the 23d of May his regiment was ordered to Alexandria, which they reached early in the morning of the 24th. Seeing a secession flag flying over a hotel, (the Marshall House,) be

On