the powder, disabling the guns, and killing Señor Galvez, the Minister of War and Marine. The batteries were little injured, and were as efficient the next morning as before. EUROPE. The question of war and peace in Europe hangs now in an almost even scale. It is still further complicated by the action of Italy, which has suddenly placed its forces upon a war-footing and recalled all furloughs and leaves of absence, and manifests a determination to make war upon Austria for the sake of wresting from her the province of Venetia. It is impossible to present any thing like a full and intelligible abstract of the negotiations and claims and counter-claims. The essential point, however, is that Prussia insists that Austria shall disarm; Austria declares that she can not do so while Italy maintains her present threatening attitude; and in the mean while both nations are making vigorous preparations for war. The position of France has been apparently undecided. At length, on the 3d of May, M. Rouher, in the Corps Legislatif, said officially that the efforts made by France toward the maintenance of peace had been limited by a firm resolve not to contract any obligation, and to maintain liberty of action in questions which did not, after all, affect her dignity and her interests; but he continued, "Particular duties are imposed upon us in regard to Italy. Italy may believe herself called upon to interfere actively in the AustroPrussian conflict. Every nation is the best judge of its own interests. We do not claim to exercise any guardianship over Italy. She knows that we should highly disapprove Austria making any attack upon her; so, also, we are thoroughly determined to throw upon her all the perils and risks of any attack she may make upon Austria. The policy of the Government is a pacific policy, an honest neutrality, and complete liberty of action." M. Thiers, in reply, said that the balance of power in Europe required that Italy and Germany should be composed of separate and feeble States. This was the intention of the treaty of Westphalia, in 1648, and this was the intention of the treaty of 1815. The policy of Prussia was hostile to this intention. It would found a great empire in Central Europe, which would threaten France. France should therefore protest against the course of Prussia, and should warn Italy that if she attacked the statu quo by seizing upon Venetia, France would not lift a finger to save her from Austrian vengeance. On the 6th the Emperor Napoleon made a visit to the little city of Auxerre, in the Department of Yonne, and in replying to the congratulations of the authorities said a few words, almost casually, as it appeared, which, however, like his famous New-Year's speech in 1859 to the Austrian Minister, which foreshadowed the Italian war, were meant to have a significance. He said: "I see with pleasure that the memory of the First Empire has not been effaced from your memory. I have a debt of gratitude to discharge toward Yonne. This Department was the first to give me its suffrages in 1848, because it knew that its interests were my interests, and that I detested equally with them those treaties of 1815, which it is now sought to make the sole basis of our foreign policy." These last fiveand-twenty words have great significance, when it is borne in mind that this treaty of 1815 is the basis upon which rests the present territorial distribution of Europe, which took from France a considerable portion of her former possessions. In the mean while efforts are now making to convene a Congress of the European Powers to arrange the disputed questions. The Emperor's speech at Auxerre occasioned a financial panic throughout Europe. It was especially severe in England. The Bank of England raised its rate of interest to 10 per cent.; a great number of failures took place, prominent among which was that of the old banking house of Overend and Gurney, and the suspension of Peto and Brassy, the great railway contractors. For a fortnight the pressure upon the money market was greater than had been known for a generation.In Parliament the main subject of debate has been upon the Reform Bill; after protracted discussion the Commons, by a vote of 318 to 313, agreed to consider the bill. The majority for Government being only 5 on an important measure, the ministry under ordinary circumstances would have either resigned or have "thrown themselves on the country," by dissolving Parliament, and ordering a new election; but they decided to go on with the measure, perfecting it in points of detail. The financial statement of the Chancellor of the Exchequer was on the whole satisfactory. The purport of all was that the revenue of the past year was £67,812,000, the expenditures £65,914,000, leaving a surplus of about £1,800,000. Of the expenditures, £26.233,000 was for interest on the public debt: £24,829,000 for the army and navy; £10,250,000 for the civil service; £4,602,000 for the collection of the revenue. The Chancellor of. the Exchequer furnishes the following approximate statement of the public debt of the principal nations of Europe: Great Britain.... £799,000,000 $3,995,000,000 2,000,000,000 Austria. 1,580,000,000 1,395,000,000 Of these debts a large proportion, say £1,500,000,000 or $7,500,000,000, according to Mr. Gladstone, "has accumulated during a time of peace, and has not been thrown upon the several countries during a struggle for life." And even during peace the debt of the various nations keeps on increasing at the rate of about £60,000,000 or $300,000,000 a year. So that should peace prevail in Europe for the rest of the century, at the present rate of increase the debt of the nations enumerated would amount to nearly £4,000,000,000 or $20,000,000,000. "These," said the Chancellor, "are portentous circumstances." Referring to the American debt Mr. Gladstone said, that "looking to the vigor and energy of the people, he did not think it would long remain a burden upon the people." Our principle in applying as much of the revenue as possible to the reduction of the national debt "was an example to Europe, where borrowing was the growing vice of the governments in all the states." D URING the years '59, '60, and '61 there was in F the wildest class of students, both in law and physic, that ever studied in that elegant little place. With the assistance of two young editors they managed to keep the town on the qui rive constantly. These students organized a club among themselves. In this club no opportunity for a joke was ever allowed to pass unimproved. The war scattered its members. Some fought nobly against the rebellion, and some laid down their lives for their country. One of the survivors sends some of these club stories to the Drawer. "Well, Sir, please state to the Court what kind of a reputation he bears as regards fast or slow riding on horseback," TOM P, one of the most brilliant of the club, and who, poor fellow! subsequently lost his life in the service of his country, had strong indications of "W-a-a-l, I suppose if he was a riding with a baldness. One day, lamenting the prospect of hav-company of persons who rode very fast, and he did ing his appearance marred thereby, he was consoled not want to be left behind, he would ride fast too. by Jim Hwith the following: "Never mind, And if he was riding with a company that rode very Tom; an empty barn needs no thatch!" Tom said slow, and he did not want to go ahead alone, I supbut little after that about his head. pose he would ride slow too." ONE evening the subject of noses and their characteristics was under consideration, and the discussion assumed an earnest aspect. In the midst of it Will P, whose nose was not exactly Roman in structure, said, "I wonder what makes my nose so flat at its end?" Sticking it in other folk's business!" promptly replied Charley T. The discussion closed for that evening. On the stove in the office of Lawyer B―, now Judge of the Supreme Court, was a bowl which, by long use, had a deposit of sediment at the bottom. When full of water, by an optical illusion it appeared as if a large cake of ice was floating in it. One day Charley M- came in to see Will H then a student in the office. It was a cold day, and a fierce fire was burning in the stove, and the water in the bowl was consequently boiling hot. Charley, seeing as he supposed the ice in the bowl, very naturally put his fingers in it. Drawing them out very hurriedly, he exclaimed, most emphatically, "By thunder, Bill, that ice is hot!" JUDGE (very much enraged). "You seem very much inclined to evade answering questions properly. Now, Sir, you have stated how the gentleman rides when he is in fast company, and how he rides when he rides in slow company. Now, Sir, I wish you to state to the Court how the gentleman rides when he rides alone." "W-a-a-l, having never had the pleasure of riding with him when he was alone, I don't think I can tell!" IN a thriving Quaker town in Ohio, a little slip of the tongue occurred that deserves record. Little Janey C, in speaking of the bride at an aristocratic wedding that was to take place that evening, said: "Oh, ma! she is going to have a trail to her dress three yards long, and four pall-bearers to carry it!" THE following good one we find hid away in the columns of the San Antonio Herald. It is too good to be buried there. The story is told by Colonel Jack Baylor, who, though a great rebel, occasionally gets off a good joke. The scene is laid in Burleson A GOOD fellow generally was Dr. Van C- and County, Texas, about seventy miles below the beauone who never missed his joke. The Rev. Mr. tiful and flourishing town of Waco, and within ten M'L was the pastor of the church to which the miles of the present residence of that celebrated Doctor belonged. The arduous labors of the pas-character in Texas, "The Notch-cutter of the Yegtorate injured the health of the minister, and he called on the Doctor for advice. Van examined him carefully; asked the usual number of questions; and then, with the most serious countenance imaginable, exclaimed, "Go gunning, dominie! go gunning! It will help you, and it won't hurt the birds!" It is not recorded that the "dominie" tried the experiment, but he certainly got better after the prescription was given. THE following has appeared in print before, but those who have seen it can afford to laugh over it again, and the hundreds who have not seen it ought not to miss it: About ten years since a young man of very good character hired a horse from a livery-stable, to ride out to a little town about twenty miles' distant. Unfortunately, about half-way out the horse was taken sick and died. The livery man sued him for VOL. XXXIII.-No. 194.-S uas: Mr. Felix Taylor, familiarly known as Uncle Felix, Colonel Baylor, and two others, were out hunting, when they accidentally fell in with a small party of the Wacoes returning from the settlements, encumbered with plunder, and pursued by those whom they had robbed. Uncle Felix, Baylor, and party attacked the retreating Indians, and pursued them so warmly as to cause one of the hindmost of their party to cut loose a large piece of beef which was tied to his saddle, in order to facilitate his escape. This was done in full view of the pursuers, just before entering the timber bordering on the Yegua, about sixty miles below Waco, in what is now Burleson County. Further pursuit was abandoned; and the three young men, being very hungry, struck fire and immediately went to cooking and eating the captured meat. They had not proceeded far in appeasing their vo racious appetites when Uncle Felix rode up to them. As the old man alighted from his horse he exclaimed, with earnestness: "Great God! how can I dig your graves with nothing but a hunting-knife? That meat's poisoned, and you'll all be dead in fifteen minutes! Run down to the river and stay there-drink just as much water as you can. Good Heavens! what fools you were to eat that poisoned meat!" The three young men, terrified with the prospect of almost certain death, dashed off to the water, drank most bountifully, and calmly awaited their fate; but after a while their fears gave way, and they returned to the fire just as Uncle Felix was swallowing the last piece of meat. Wiping his mouth as they approached, by way of sympathy for their verdancy, the old man smilingly remarked: "Well, boys, I couldn't desert you; if the meat's poisoned we'll all die together!" They didn't die, yet they never forgot how slick Uncle Felix tricked them out of their meat. A FEW Sabbaths since Eda was, at her own request, allowed to go to Sabbath-school for the first time, and there she learned the startling intelligence that she was made of dust! Little Eda's mind was fully impressed with the importance of the great truth, as was evinced by her frequent reference to the subject in the shape of questions answerable and unanswerable. This morning, however, she propounded a stun ner which "brought down the house." Intently watching her mother sweeping, as if to learn the art she must finally practice, saying not a word, her eyes rested upon the little pile of dirt accumulated by the mother's broom. Just as the dirt was to be swept into the street the little philosopher burst forth with: "Ma! ma! why don't you save the dust to make some more little girls?"" A WESTERN friend writes: I send you the following concerning our worthy friend John B, who was the whilom Mayor of our goodly city: John, though possessing an unbounded amount of genuine good sense, has the misfortune of having gone on the other side of the street from the schoolhouse, so that in his speeches he very often says, "We are sure of being successful if we do not get into any divulgence of opinion," and equally outrageous words; the right word often troubles him. On the occasion, of his taking the Mayor's chair John was too full for specch. He had reached the acme of his ambition, and he was sure no inaugural could add a line to his lustre-so he contented himself with stating "that this was the first time he had ever had the honor of presiding over such a distinguished body of men as the Common Council of this great city." He said he lacked experience in such matters, and he hoped the Council, at this their first meeting, would act only on business of the present and of importance-or, to quote his own words: "Gentlemen, to conclude, you will defer upon me a great favor if at this meeting you will confine your doings to the present, and not go back into futurity at all!" It is needless to say they abstained, and did not go into the futurity business. A CALIFORNIA lawyer sends us the two following: Some years ago, when Justices of the Peace had jurisdiction over cases where the amount involved did not exceed two hundred dollars, there lived a Squire in the coast range. A sued B before him on a note for four hundred dollars. B posted up to the next town and consulted a "limb of the law," S. "We'll go down and throw him out of court on no jurisdiction,'" said S. The day for trial came, and B and his attorney were on hand. Just to see how far he would go, S let him enter judgment against him, and then called his attention to the fact of "no jurisdiction." "Ah, yes," said his Honor, "Mr. S, the Court has thought of that, and discovered a remedy. The Court enters judgment against your client for four hundred dollars, and issues two executions for two hundred dollars each!" And he did it. THERE was a very irascible old gentleman who formerly held the position of Justice of the Peace in one of our cities. Going down the main street one day one of the boys spoke to him without coming up to his Honor's idea of deference. "Young man, I fine you five dollars for contempt of Court." "Why, Judge," said the offender, "you are not in session." "This Court," responded the Judge, thoroughly irritated, "is always in session, and consequently always an object of contempt!' There was disorder in court as his Honor passed on. A CORRESPONDENT in a Western State sends the following "mite." A pretty considerable mite it is for the size of the Drawer: Some time since I was in the "post-orifice bizness," not a thousand miles from the capital of the "Sucker State." While in the "bizness" I received from a postmaster in the classic southern part of the State the following letter relative to differences of opinion as to the proper mode of transmitting a registered letter. I came across the letter the other day, while overhauling a batch of old papers, and give it verbatim et literatim et spellatim: SIR-I have Ben Indulgen you Quite as longe as I think it Prudent for me to Doo my Postel Law togeather with My Instruction teaches me to Makout two Bills Jest alike and Send one with the Rede Letter and Retane the other and then Place it in a Sealed Envilope and Direct it to in the maling Office until the Deparur of the next male the Post Master whair the Letter had ben Sent which You Should Rite on it Corect if You have Receved the Reg Letter and Send it back if Not Receved you will Rite on it Not Receved and Send it back and I file them away Now Sir their is one of two things Eather You Doo not Read and under Stand your Law or all of the Rest of the P.m. Does not under Stand the law we have Sent fifty or Som to Springfield and Caro and Evansville and Louismore Reg Letters in the last Six months Som to Chicago ville & Cincinnati Indianapolis & Lafayette Columbus Ohio & New York & Washington DC and menney other Promnient Post offices and we always Sent Bills as we Sent to You and they Cam Back all Rite and we have Receved letters from other Offices in the Same way it is your Duty to Retane the Reg Letter in Your Office until Return Bill Back to me without Signing and with a hole Mess of tom foolry Rote on it as you ded on the Bill Recved from You to Day I will have the Matter Investigated for I will Report You to the Department whair we will no wheather You or Eye air the fool I would have Don it long agoe But ihad Pitty on on you I Suppose you air a Yong man and think You no it all and have not found out that You are a fool and have a Greate Eal to Lirn I doo not Som things that I Read Espcealy when it is as plane as the Profess to no Much my Self But I Profess to understand Reg Postel Law if you had found me in an urrer and had notifyed me of it in abecoming manner have had my Best wisheses for it we aught look over Each other for Good and You Receve the Return Bill now Sir if You Send another EDITOR'S DRAWER. The schoolmaster has been in "Egypt" since this letter was written, and things are no doubt much improved there. ILLINOIS has some crops of wit as well as wheat, as the following "good one" from that thriving State bears witness: An old farmer and his wife came to town to do some trading. The old man is given to taking a little The wife went to beer, and was full at the time. the dry-goods store to get some flannel-cloth, and complained to the clerk about the width, saying At this time the husband came in, about half tight, and heard her. Coming up, he took hold of the cloth, unrolled it, and said: "Betty, it is narrow; but, my eyes, look at the length!" that it was too narrow. THE Drawer is happy to receive the following It is encouraging from the "Athens of America." to Boston's literary rivals to think that such an incident could take place there: 19 The old fellow turned over, gave a groan, and wanted to know Now and then a good thing comes to the Drawer A gentleman with an invalid wife went to one THE two following come from San Francisco: In our mining regions, when persons discover a mineral vein, it is the duty of the mining district recorder, at request, to proceed upon the spot and record the notice of the claim. Some of these noatises will compare favorably with any which one of these mining districts having occasion to abhave ever adorned the Drawer. The recorder of sent himself lately, left, as he thought, a competent deputy in his stead-charging him particularly, in recording any "claim," to mention its distance from some other object for future reference and identification. Judge of his surprise, on his return, to find the deputy had only recorded one claim, and that was "located about 300 yards north of an old broken wheel-barrow!” Having occasion a few days since to make a memorandum of the weight of some bar steel, I gave pencil and paper to a workman, and requested him to weigh the steel and put down the size, whether round, square, or flat. This he did, and handed me the paper. On looking over it, I found a kind of steel put down which I could not decipher, WOOD in Reese River is wood-worth $16 to $20 and after puzzling over it for some minutes I finally called the man, and pointing out to him the difficult place, asked him to explain it. "That! why that's winter certain parties were wont to forage on their "Oh! yes," plain enough," said he, in evident surprise at my a cord in gold, and not much of a cord at that. Last "Esq. (Square) Steel!" ignorance; said I, after a pause, a new light breaking in on my more fortunate neighbors who were provided. Near mind; "that's so-I didn't notice the E!" and by one of these private suffering wood-piles was a thereupon sloped, fully convinced that he was ahead mill, with a large supply on hand for mill purposes. of my time, and a man of genius to boot; for sure- A sufferer one night detected the petit larcener in ly no ordinary mortal could have so happily and con- the act of shouldering a couple of back logs, when his hand upon his shoulder, said, encouragingly: cisely bestowed upon steel an honor so well merited the former approached the latter, and gently laying "My friend, the mill men can stand this better by its great usefulness to man. than I can; go there the next time." The thief dropped the logs, and walking off, said, meekly: "I never thought of that—I will!" FROM an advertisement in the Virginia (Califor- PASSENGERS leaving San Francisco by Boat at 4 P.M. CROSSING THE MOUNTAINS BY DAYLIGHT. "OUR Army" had been at Memphis, Tennessee, over a year, and it became absolutely necessary to in a measure reorganize the General Hospital Decompetent and respected Superintendent, Surgeon partment. One thing thought requisite by the B. J. D. Irwin, U. S. A., was the appointment of a number of hospital stewards of the regular army (a class of men, by-the-way, who do more work and get less pay than any in the army). They must geons. One young man from the Western States stand a strict examination before a board of surcame before a board of which a pompous German We would like to see some of those passengers officer was President. The first question by the after they arrived on both roads ! THERE is a grim humor about the following, which comes all the way from Fort Scott, that is well worth preserving: President was, "Vel, my young man, you can make shicken soup ?" "Yes, Sir" (with a smile). Vel, now, young man, vil you pe so kint as you vil soup?" "I would catch the chicken!" promptly The Doctor looked a model me de first ting you tos ven you make shicken A rebel prisoner was about to die in one of our replied the young man. ment, and then, amidst the roars of laughter which followed, broke out: "Young mans, you'll too. I bass you!" And in due time he was appointed. EVERY body has been in either the army or navy, so every body knows that whoever wishes to enter the service of his country must strip and be examined by the medical officer. Fleet-Surgeon Ld, of our ship, found at San Francisco, California, just the man to fill the recent vacancy of surgeon's steward, and, after the usual examination, took the certificate "that A. B. was physically qualified to perform the duties of surgeon's steward" to the Commodore for approval. While the ink was drying the Commodore asked the Fleet-Surgeon "if the man knew much about medicine?" "No," said Fleet, "nor do I wish one who knows much about it, for he would then be too often left by the assistants in a very responsible position." The old Commodore flushed up, and asked, in a voice that betokened his rage: "What for did you certify that he was physically qualified then ?" ONE day, when we were at sea, the two young "pills" were arguing some case, and Passed Assistant-Surgeon P- whose quotations were often more forcible than literal, astonished the ward-room mess with: "Oh, H—, you are straining at a gant and swallowing a camel!" H, who was posted in Scripture, looked so funny about the eyes that Psaw he had quoted wrong, and immediately rectified his mistake with: "I mean 'straining again and swallowing a camel!"" H-advised him not to "strain again," or he might break that camel's back. CLERGYMAN. "I declare, my son, you do seem to understand your business." The boy now took his turn question-asking. BOY. "Say it." Clergyman repeats the Lord's Prayer. Boy. "Well, really, you do know it! Now say it backward." Clergyman says he can not do it. Boy. "You can't do it, eh? Now you see that I understand my business a great deal better than you do yours!" Clergyman acknowledged himself beat, and retired. WHEN General Fremont was trying to capture Stonewall Jackson in the Valley of Virginia, the latter, to prevent further pursuit, destroyed the bridge across the Shenandoah at Mount Jackson. The pontoon-train was hurried forward, and while that was being put down the wagon-train filed out into a large field near by. Most of the teams were composed of green mules, and were a great annoyance to their drivers, who gave vent to their feelings by volleys of oaths, swearing only as army teamsters can. Just then General Fremont came riding by, and on hearing the swearing of the men, he ordered the wagon-master to instruct all the men of his command that "hereafter there will be no swearing allowed to any of the drivers except to those who drive oxen!" A CANADIAN boy, too young to fully comprehend the doctrine of total depravity, but old enough to have at least a vague idea of the hereditary princi DURING the war, when stationed in St. Simon's Sound, Georgia, Joe B, our Paymaster, used to furnish the mess with an enormous amount of fun, which was often at his own expense. Joe was born at Charlestown, Massachusetts, but went to Phila-ple of mankind, was recently detected by his paterdelphia a few years before he entered the navy, and was never tired of decrying the city of his birth and its neighbor, Boston, and lauding the "City of Brotherly Love" to the skies. One day Joe was convincing the mess that there was a good deal of humbug in the generosity found in Boston. "Talk," said he, "of the benevolence of Boston! Why, in Philadelphia we have no less than five societies for indignant females, and I don't believe there is one in all Boston!" HERE is Young America at the wheel: A well-known clergyman was crossing Lake Erie, many years ago, upon one of the Lake steamers, and seeing a small lad at the wheel, steering the boat, accosted him as follows: CLERGYMAN. "My son, you appear to be a small boy to steer so large a boat." Boy. "Yes, Sir, but you see that I can do it, though." CLERGYMAN. “Do you think you understand your business, my son?" Boy. "Yes, Sir, I think I do." CLERGYMAN. "Let me hear you box it." CLERGYMAN. "Well, really, you can do it! me hear you box it backward." Boy boxes it backward. nal ancestor in falsehood, and punished therefor by solitary confinement. The punishment over, the youngster accosted his father with the question: "Pa, did you tell lies when you were little ?" The father, perhaps conscience-smitten, evaded an answer, but the child, persistent, again asked: "Did you tell lies when you were little?" "No," said the father; "but why do you ask?" "Did ma tell lies when she was little ?" I don't know, my son. You must ask her." "Well," retorted the hopeful, "one of you must have told lies, or you could not have a boy who would!" This is a veritable record of an occurrence in the quiet town of St. Catharines. In the town of S-, in Vermont, lived Justice T-, one of the Sons of Temperance, very zealous to prosecute all violations of the prohibitory law against rum-sellers. T had a neighbor by the name of H—, who was in the habit of imbibing too much, and a great opposer of the prohibitory law-taking away our liberties-and was sometimes hard up on account of T's vigilance in prosecuting the violators of the act against rumsellers. Tsent to New York for ten gallons of old Holland gin, and, in order to keep the matter Let secret, had it directed to his neighbor H, expecting to take it from the dépôt. It so happened that H was at the dépôt when the gin arrived, |