The New York Herald Newspaper, December 13, 1868, Page 5

MEXICO. Racy Experience of an American Doctor— Cadereyta Jimenez and Its Surround. jegs—A Home for Cones mptives —Examina- tion of the Remains of Three Padres— Tocir Histeriee—Highiy Interesting Sketch af Maxine CADEREYTA, Oct. 28, 1868. Being one of a commission lately summoned by the city authorities of this place, to say whether or ‘not the public health would be endangered by open- ing and clearing the vaults of the old Campo Santo and the appropriation of the grounds to streets and building uses, my observations as to the state and condition of the human remains exposed to view and examination may be of interest to science, or of curious interest, at least, to readers ‘‘at home,” who know about as little of Mexico and the man- nerd and customs of the people, and the genius of the country, even on the hither side of the Sierra Madre, as they do of the state of the remains of one forty years interred. It will hardly be travelling out of the record, therefore, as the lawyers say, to give a bird's eye view of the physi- eal geography of this whereabouts or jurisdiction of Cadereyta, and to say something of the ethnological characteristics of tlie people, the mock of burial, climate, 4c., for these are concerned in the question of the duration of human remains after interment here. Cadereyta, the second town of Nuevo Leon, is a city of some nine or ten thousand inhabitants, and the rural district under its jurisdiction (some forty miles square) contains about as many more. It is saia to be one of the prettiest little towns in all Mexico, the houses being built of stone, plastered and whitewashed, on streets crossing at right angles. Itis thirty miles east of Monterey, on the Matamoros road, on the south bank of the Cadereyta river, esconced in a vast plain under shelter of tnumerable orange groves, in the midst of culti- vated gardens rendered productive by irrigation. It has a grand plaza in the centre, with orange trees on its four sides, and is ornamented with a doric column some seventy-five feet high in the centre, and glorie‘as or imitation marble sofas on all sides ‘under the orange trees. The church, with its lofty tower and ckime of bells, fronts the plaza on the east, and the juzgado or court house on the west, the invariable style throughout the republic. The Plaza de Toros, or amphitheatre for bull fights, is one block south of the public square and will seat commodiously five or six thousand spectators, It has a larger circumference than Castle Garden, of New York, I think, and is built of stone—iarge blocks of hewn stone. I$ is mostly unoccupied, ex- cept during the last half of the month of August an Dually, when the fiestas, feasts or fairs, are cele- brated at Cadereyta. Then everyone comes and pitches his tent here and opens shop to sell wares and merchandise and manufactures in the mornings, go to bul) fights in the afternoons, and panoramas, theatres, balls and circuses and Jofty tumblings and ‘ail other amusements in the evenings. Every square Tod of ground on the public plaza is rented out for the time of the feasts for about ten doliars a rod, which goes into the city coffers, and every tenant puts up such a tent as he pleases, always fronting in line, 80 that the whole plazais a city of shops of goodies to eat and drink and pretties to buy and wear, and in the rear of each shop is a kitchen for the family to cook, eat and sleepin. Here are to be found congregated adventurers from the Rio Grande and every town on this side and many from the other side, and from all the cities and towns for many leagues in the interior. The mode of travelling 4s simple and costs a family almost nothing. <A cart and male, with a bag o6 corn and a metate to mash it on, constitute the outfit, the mule grazing o* Lights. Yes, they must take along their earthen pot to boil the corn ia and the earthen comal or griddie to bake the tortillas or cakes on, and a Little coffee, an carthen cazuela or porringer to drink out of, and last, though not least, a bag of sun dried meat in scraps. In this manner they come from hundreds of miles to our annual fairs without coating them a cent on the road, and live in the kitchen part of the tent during the fair, without any expense other than to keep up the supply of corn, meat and céffee, and per- haps adding frijoles or beans to their daily bill of fare—a national dish with a Mexican, as potatoes are with an Irishman, Their sales, therefore, are clear gain, as 1f made at home, for it costs no more to live here and en rome than at home. Their lodging costs nothing—a sheepskin with the fleece on it is the bed, and a calico bag stuifed with wool the pillow. They sleep in their clethes and need no other cover, All this, of course, must be understood as descriptive of the lower classes, The rich are very aristocratic, and como in fine coaches, with thetr train of ser- vants and outriders and retainers that would have a swell mob appearance if done in the United States. But tims is necessary in Mexico for security, inasmuch as highway robberies are often perpetrated. If not sleepy the ball, with music at the public expense, affords all who like to dance better than to sleep amusement tili morning. ‘These balis are not very select, ’tis true; they are in- tended for the recreation of the working classes, And what is creditabie to tho social regulations of this people is, there 1s no degraded outcast class of females here. Where one has lapsed she ts treated in the spirit with which Jesus of Nazareth said, “Neither do I condemn thee; let him who is without ‘sin cust the first stone; aud of such are some of the hard working servant girls who cook, and wash, and fron, and do good work in good famiiies and mix in these bails. And a portion of this, the lowest class in Mexico, manage to recover position by getting mat ried and raise families—soldiers for the republic. I have known several such instancesin this city dur “ing the six years of my residence here, Thus for two weeks there is a continual round of enjoyment, niglt and day, in which thts simple- minded, primitive people engage with a zest and an enthusiasm betokening a cormorant capacity for such delights, Noris there ever the least disturb- ance at these shows and sports from rowdyism or drunkenness, I have yet to see the first instance of it, and my observations have been critical. Occasionally, at the buil fights, @ barbed bull upsets his tormentor and gores him and his war steed most unmercifnily, if Not fatally, bat the sensation soon passes off and his place 18 supplied by another more expert peleccor, or fighter, who soon plants bis straight two-edged sword up to the hilt im the root of iis neck on his right side, penetrating the heart, and the toro drops. Then goes up the applause of the vias or hurrahs of the thonsands of voices of men, Women and children, each strained to its breaking teh. But the sout of these feasts ie gambling. During the time of the feasts itis licensed, everybody 1s at Iiberty to gamble as much as he pleases, and tus being the besetting sin of the natton—the love of L egetlan | professed player or amateur seized with @ contagious mania, who can raise a dollar, ad- ‘ventures it in this royal road to fortune. If he has tt notin hand he hypothecates his incoming credits, his corn crop, his sugar crop, his tobacco crop, his oxen, his carts, his niules, his goats, his fat herd of swine, or, if in humbler circumstances, his blankets, his finger rings, his breastpin, &c.; anything he may have to pawn on which he can raise a dollar. All Mirough the shops on the plaza you will see the men and boys gambling in every conceivable manner in ‘which a chance throw can be gotten up, from a pica- June to five dollars a throw, and the s/as or parlors Of the houses frouting the plaza are rented for about $100 for the two weeks or season as faro banks, ronlettes, ,&c., and there the tables roan under the weight of the eagie jollars and doubloons, surrounded by grave, silent, ato nabob Fey tekst Not @ word is spoken ; chink, chink, chink only is heard, 1 the winner bears off bis Iucre, or the bank wins and the loser t ay) up another pile. And so it goes night and day for two weeks, and o is no richer nor poorer than before, The money has only changed hande, and the jovers of this iatense excitement have had their sport and pleasure. The iong countenance of the joser is to be equated by the shorter one of the winner, and the balanee sheet dixplays neither profit nor losa to the treasury of society, for every debt contracted for gambling purposes is a devt of honor, and 18 punctually paid even at a sacrifice. Now let us look beyond the city limits and seo what geographical features present. Take a stand anywhere (in the shade, for the sun t# #corching hot) where you can look out between the orange groves towarda the southwest, as from the centre of an im- menuse amphitheatre, and there you behold the Ifnite of this jurisdiction iu that direction—the great Sierra lade chain of mountains, with its sawtooth sammit elevated to an angie of avout torty-tive degrees, and Yet thirty mile distant. You will suppose it to be oOniy three or font miles of, Do you see how blue it is and bow granite gray the rocks are in Patches? And do you see that white cloud Stretching aloug 10s side about halfway up tt, some- ‘Brues there are two strata of clouds and the summit #til! far above the second stratum. it Danke us from due west to soutu-soutiioest, and Courses on down to Tampico in a south-southeast direction. Xow turn round and look out between the orange trees towards the northeast, over the sugar reduery ov the river bauk and tue old Campo Santo we ai SS Se eee et to visit soon, Thaf lower and more distant range 3 the Capidera chain of mountains, a great spur of the Sierra Madre, that flanks us on the norta and northeast and is the limit again of our jurisdiction in that direction. It tanks us from north-northwest to due east, and is about Jorty miles distant. You observe that gap in a due northeast direction. Geueral Taylor and his came through that gap. The river Capidera courses eastwardly on this side of the mountains. Now look west-northwest. That great but end of & mountain with an immense Span- isu saddle chiselled out upon its summit, lying nearly due west, is the Silla, or Saddle Mouniain, close to Monterey—just this side of Monterey. General sanon ordered the United States flag to be placed on mp of said mountain after the taking of Monterey, which was done. I have known some varties of Americans to perform the feat of ascend- ing to the summit of gaid mountain, but pone but the moat athletic dare attempt it. That lofty sum- mit you see a little further to your right is the Mitre Mountain, from its resemblance to bishop's mitre, It 18 ten miles from the butt of the Silla Mountain, northwest, and Monterey is half bond between the two,in the mouth of the pass to Sal tillo and the interior, ‘Then to the north of the Mitre 7 see the Whale Mountain, an exact resembiance the body and fukes of an immense whale half out of the water. These are all spurs of the great Sierra Muare, And now turn you around and look down this Immense valley to the east-southeast, down the river—the only direction m which mountains do not rise up out of the plain—laden with mineral wealth, but instead of mineral wealth here you have the agricultural weulth. The Cad- ereyta river, the Arroyo or brook San Juan, the river San Juan, the river Ramos and the river Morélos, that emerge from the Sierra Madre on our southwest, and also the river Capidera on our north- east, are all clothed with fine haciendas, or farms, where corn and sugar are the main staples grown. But eee beans, rere. Gee pomegranates, oranges, es, melo also produced abundantly, and all these are rendered productive by irrigation, being the bot- tom lands mainly upon these rivers or mountain streams. On the uplands the cattle ranches are mostly located. Now all this immense valley of Cade- reyta is densely covered with chaparral or bushy forest timber and cactuses of every species; and if you can get through, even on tlie travelled roads, with @ whole coat you may be considered an expert traveller, All the apovenamed rivers unite to form the San Juan, which falls into the Rio Grande at Oamarego. ‘fhe climate of this region calls for a few remarks. All this inclined plane from the Sierra Madre to the Guifof Mexico is a tierra caliente, or hot country. It is not only a hot but a dry country—a good resort for sons pee. and others laboring under chronic diseases. I have derived incalculable benctit from my restdence here, and have known others to recu- erate in a remarkable manner who came in a roken state of health from the United States. The heat of the sun is intense in the middle of the day during summer, but the nights and the mornings and eve! agreeable. The Mexicans do not warm their houses with stoves nor fire places in winter, only wrap themselves up and keep indoors when acold day comes. The northers are sudden and sometimes bring frosts and even snow and ico. But this is rarely the case. In six years I have not seen over an inch of snow here. Twice, I think, the Sierra Madre has appeared @ little whitened with snow during said years. In December, 1860—the winter of my coming to Brownsvilie—there was & fall of snow of four inches in depth which reached here and inuch further, There was a slight snow in January, 1867, with severe cold, that endured two or three days. Some of the orange trees were kuled by this hard frost, Last winter (so cold in almost all parts of the world) brought us no snow here and but o alight frost, which occurred on the ist of January, but not so severe as to injure the sugar cane. There are no violent storms, hurri- canes, &c., here. The terrible storin that inundated Matamoros and Brownsville in October last and did so much damage on the Gulf coast and in the West Indies did not reach here. Nor during the past winter and since, while earthquakes have shaken and convulsed nearly all parts of the world, have we felt the least shock.” A stight shock was felt here in the autumn of 1865, the only one I ever felt, and from this Ican judge how alarming and terrible must be 8 fully developed earthquake. Comparatively speak- ing there are no annoying insects here—such as Mosquitoes, gnats, flies, Neas, &c. One may sleep all the year round without a bar and hardly suffer from the bite of an insect. It is to be imputed to the dryness of the climate. It is by far the best climate J have ever iived in, and I have proved the climates: all the way from Massachusetts to Texas, or from Boston to Brownsville. This is a hot cltwate, but [ have never euffered from heat here as [ have in St. Louis, Mo., or even in the city of New York, itt have suffered from the want of Irish potatoes and fresh butter. Potatoes cannot be raised here, and butter is never made. At Saltillo, upoa the table laud, potatoes grow well, and we get a few here now and then. The Carolina, or sweet potato, grows here tn tolerable perfection. The milk of goats is mainly served here, and is excellent. It ig ke the top of the pan of cow's milk in the Siates. The cow’s milk here is good for nothing almost. It is about equal to the chalk-and-water imitations and stump tail cow’s mnlik of New York. Hogs living on it would be apt to die of choiera—i agony of scurvy. Oranges are abundant and yi tine, the only abundant supply of fruit grown here; but apples, pears and quinces are supplied us from Saitillo, Peaches grow weil here, of good quailty, but are not sure. The meats are good and very cheap; two pounds and a half fora picayune is the price fixed by the Juzgado, Jt may seem, strange for the city authorities to fix the price of inarketabie products; but they do it he Corn, for example, can never go up over twenty-five cents a peck. If a scarcity occur the Juzgado becomes the depository or granary, where all the poor can buy at twenty-five cents a peck, and every cer who seils higher 19 liable to be muicted tn ‘a fine of five doilars on pre- sentment before the Alcade. But | am running quite out of climatology into ma- Nicipal regulations, and keep forgetting that [ am reparing a scientific paper. Still, J like &cience that is not all symbols and technology, aud this jorce of taste may be the reason why I have taken this three miles start. fe bp the walls of our Old Campo Santo upou yon Altito, and open the cofting to snow you the remains of three fathers of the Churcl. Or, out of re- spect to all who may have curiosity sufficient to wish to know how the dead may stand this climate, I have taken leave from the repuisiveness of my subject to Interweave some matters pertaining to the livmg subjects here and their surroundings—not that I sup- pose, if Shakspeare has said it, that a tanner willen- dure longer than a tinker, or a padre longer than a peon; but the remains of the three padres rst turned up—I will tell you how. Look away yonder, over to the northeast from the public plaza, on that higher plane of ground on the river bank, called the Aitito for pretty lttie height) and you will see the walls of our Old Campo Santo, covering some of tne most desirable acres of building lots the city can boastof. The new sugar refinery, lately buiit at a cost of over $100,000, is in unseemly proximity toit. The Juarez government 1# down on the Church, its property and its perquisites, and, therefore, the Old Campo Santo musi be soid and the grounds opened for streets and alleys and private or public improvements. Our first Al- cade, Don Manuel Ortega, ig an ultra liberal and a brave man where there is any break!ug down of the church party interests to be done: and our Govern- or, General Geronimo Trevino, is and a brave general in all things cumstances and & progress man, every inch of him, a8 weil as the Alcade; so that it was only necessary for the shrewd Aicade to propose tuis city waprove- ment for the Governor to order it done, provided a commission of yaeuitativos, or doctors, should report it harmiess of evil to the public heaith. Accordingly the commission Was summone! to meet at the old Campo Santo on such @ moruing at such a and, always obedient to the on c ties, I was there punctualiy at the i that had been shut up ve years ago to prevent any opened and astrong Loree, with or aad picks, breaking he vaults and taking out the coffins, pltch- ing the bones into a common pile and burning the boxes; the whole grounds, overgrown with rank woeds and grase of tive years’ growth and decay, on fire, smoking and crackling |: a fiinois prairie burning in midsummer tiurty yqurs ago or a Hades in the Valley of Jehosophat baci? of Jerasaiem 2,000 years ago. Although I was the only memb Commission on the spot as yet, { was o the Alcade, who was present ab tions, to say Whether the Ii dangered by the proce gone,’ decided on and being exe of course, which was truo ¢ gave tie thing force. The other members of the Commission concurred, on their arrival, ia like man- ner, although ther fathers’ and yiotlers’ and sisters? and brothers’ remains were there deposited, at an expense of twenty-five to fifty dollars a head paid to the Church, and the depository supposed to be sacred forever. But now, behold, all were to be pitched pell-meil into one common pit, without permitting anybody to remove their interred dead to the pew Campo Sento, And the reason they were not per- Mitted was, the health of the city would be endan- gered by it. So you see by biowing hot and cold with the same breath the aithorities accomplished taeir ends, They anticipated sport of the Com- mnssion and opened the vaults, declaring tt harm- less to the public health, and they prohibited the removai of the remains to tho new Campo Santo, de claring it unsafe to the i ublic healii. ‘The Commis 1 found the 1 inasonry uteriments 2 1 opera city was ¢ ne was “done ated, I aaid “No, my convictions and sion was useful only in filing up the record, uniess this article, growing o f it, may be sidered of some use, if 1 is to be cs accepted as the report of the Commission 1 wish to say that T concur with ite authorities. 1 commiserate the Wounded sympathies of tle public, cértainly; bot the least expensive taode was adopted, and in reality there ia no violence done the community tn the interment of the osecous re- mains of the priests and laymen i one common rave. e The style of constructing 4 Campo Santo, or bury- ing ground, in Mexico, and mode of burying the dead is a8 follows:—-A lot of five or atx acres on ele- ted gronnd 1s chosen, generally west of the city, id a well built wall of stone masoury thrown around it, twelve fect high, plastercd aad white- washed Inside and out, evento ihe top ef tie fencifal turrets, An imposing parton, or entrance gawway, adorns its eastern centre, and an elegant portico for reating the coMfins under, from the learse, the inte- rior of the rear wall. the vaulta are masonwork, one above another, along the just roomy enough to shove a coffin eadwive H jen shut with bricks and mortar. All w ran atta 1 to pay from twenty-live to fifty dollars gre thus ioterred, Those who cunnot aré put in graves dug in the wround, from tree to six y—no monament Marking the spot, not even © foot stone; for the sooner the piace 8 effmect end levellod od the #oonce it Wl serve for being dug over for a frean ¢ cupant and bring in &@ new fe Quite a jot of od boues were throwo out In digging a grave in the new Campo Santo for an American who died here ig 4902, Belore the Juares reformation We « NEW YORK HERALD, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1868—TRIP Carnpo Santos all belonged to the eras, or crrate: of the parishes, and these fees were very burdea- some to the people. Now they are taken possession of by the ‘olvit magistrates, or authorities, and the feos placed at the lowest figure possible. The clergy are not only deprived of their perquisites, but are forbidden to wear any distinguishing costumes. They formerly wore along black sack or wrapper, “all buttoned down before,” and 2 stovepipe het with @ brim about four feet wide roled ito a scroll on each sire up tight to the erown, pre jecting apout two feet fore and aft trom tie head. Now they ap- bear on the streets dressed like other gentlemen: Another source of revenue to the clergy that was formerly burdensome on the people was the dodie, or tolling of the bell after every death. Every dodvie cost one or two dollars, and the rich soul that died had to be dovlet morni noon and night for a Week at least, and at the first anniversary as much more, and everybody knew how much the defunct was worth by the manner in which the bell was tolled. if it rich it went off with such a Sprigitly air and lofty glee as carried a selfish joy and gladness to all the living connections, who were thus publicly heralded thrice a: for a week or more as the richest and best of the city nobility, If mod- erately rich it went off half cocked, or about half as lively aa the rich soul sped to heaven. And if mght poor it went like a cripple going to the gallows. You would surely think the bellringer was sick or had a great pain in his side and could not pull the oo well. Now all this bell-tolling ts done away with, and the rich and poor die on a silent equality. The coffins here are constructed with the side pieces straight, not sawed and bent at the elbow; it gives them a rude and unseerly aj nce. Most of the oor are buried without a lid to the coffin, the dirv ving thrown in upon the face, Many are buried without a box, only laid on a board flat on the back, lowered thus into the grave and the'dirt thrown on, All from the country within the limits of the juris- diction, not nearer to another Campo Santo, are brought to the city for interment, exnens during the prevalence of an epidemic, when permission is given the authorities to bury the dead on the haciendas. ‘ou frequently meet a cot lashed to a board being brought on the pommel of the saddle by aman on horseback. Almost all children are thus brought for ioterment. Occasionally it occurred to Dr. Kearny, my predecessor, and has occurred to most Puyeician, I dare say, to be sent for to visit a very sick patient some twenty miles off, find him dead, start before day for the-city with a party, and as daylight broke tind he had been riding with the corpse in the saddle by his side, dressed in his best costume and sustained by 4 triend riding behind, The Mexicans often ride double; always when a man and woman ride to- gether, the woman before, never behind, as in our country, and the first time riding with a corpse thus you would naturally conclude your horseback friend ‘Was tight, as Dr. Kearny told nie he did, for he would reel and pitch and hang his head on his breast, aud generally nate &@ Iman doing his best on horse- back nearly dead drunk. But experience opens our eyes to some strange things—some strange resorts in this terra incogmata, How else could the dead man be brought twenty miles over a road impassable for carriages or carts? You see at once there was no other 80 decent @ mode of complying with the re- acoso of burying the man in consecrated groun ‘To return again to old Campo Santo. The grounds fre now ail burnt over, the fire that is consuming the coMne ts only kept faming. ‘There ts a large obiong square pit dug twenty feet deep, and as the bovedas, or vaults, are opened and the coffins drawn out and broken, the remains are scraped into thig’ pit and the boxes pitched upon the fire, And thus the work is continued day by day for two weeks, or until all the vaulis are cleared. 1¢ is the middle of July, the heat is oppres- sive; thousands visit the scene day by day; the police keep order; an epidemic is prophested; the syim- pathies of the people are disturbed; but Alberat prin- cipies have prevailed, the grounds are wrested trom the Church, and progresy gud utility are the results expecied—pues, quien sabe? And now mofé pafticularly to my text—the re- mains of the three Padres, had often felt a curi- osfty to know from observation how the remains of persons buried looked, and whether or not any ves- tige of the soft parts could be discerned after a few years, and what the odor might be upou opening the coffins and exposing the remains wo the air. My first impression was that a comparison of the state or condition of those long interred with those of more recent interment might be serviceable to to science in &@ medico-legai point of view: butt soon found | had reckoned without my host; that I had calculated wrongly in this regard, for the re- mains of the jast one buried, or vaulted, here pre- sented only the skeleton, 1 attended tue funeral five years and two months before, He was a citizen of distinction, And what struck me as strange was that no ladies attended the funeral. The women never go to funcrals in Mexico. Whether con- trolled by good sense or good taste | will not attempt to decide: but itstrikes me it 1s both, | have seen so inany things to profit by in the man- ners, customs and ‘usages of tiis people that J have learned to be very tolerant where any usage differs from the customs under which Iwas reared. Why in the name of common sense should women be compelled by custom to go to such unpleasant gacherings, through mud and rain, and siect and snow, as in our country? In atl the kind oMces that carry coimsort and consolation to the sick ie Women of Mexico will compare with ou country women of the United States, if not cast them quite mto the shade; and their heari-pious offerings when the doctor has finished his sission—has done al! in his power to avert the fatal issue in vain, When there is no further remedy and the terror-stricken soul is entering the dark valley of the shadow of death, the frieuds distnayed and the death-gloom pervading all—then, to listen to the appropriate prayers for the dying recited by one of the women, see the candie lighted and held near the dying one, walle anotier woman puts her lips close to the ear and personii the agonized by calling in a loud and distin on the Saviour to aid and accompany him, “ves Jesus, Jesus me ayude, Jesus me cecompane! rew peating the earnest supplication till the soul has de- parted—if any one cun witness without weeping these pious duties of the ever ready and devoted Mexican women, he must have less emotional feelings than 1 have; he certamly must coincide with me in this, that however ay! faults Mexico may have as @ lace to live m itis at least a good piace to die in. But | keep running off the track ao often that | very much fear all my scientific readers will get wearied with disappointment and conclude I am but a quack in science, whatever may be my pretensions other- wise. Softly, do not judge hastily, for many items burst upon us by suggestion. This is a great country, as I remarked to a French oMcial, Captain Ney, son of the old Marshal, when the contra-querrilieros were here, and who replied, with the accompaniment of a Frenchman's significant shrug, ‘Very large.” Yes, so very large the French couid not hoid it, and although 1 am tempted here to run olf the track again, as I could very easily, into a stirring chapter On politics, | forbear, except in one particular whit concerns Americans—the levying of prestanos or forced loans for military operations. Under the Juarez government a law was enacted enabling any one having the Jove of his country at heart to raise forces—a company, a battalion or a regiment—and thus elevatmg himself to be @ captain, major or colo- nel, become a soldier of the regular army of Mexico. Waving collected his men, such cap- tatu, major or colonel, with said’ forces, en- ters a town or city and demands of the authorities, the Alcade, & loan of some $5,000 or $10,000, to clothe, arm and mount his men. te de- mauda it within a given time, say tiree days, or they will he’ iselves to it by force of what arais they have. So the alcades appoint a commission Lo raise the money of some five or ten citizens able to pony it up forthwith, and this obiained mander aud his forces leave. Then the cor apportion this loan upon everybody according to their conception of lis means, citizen is notified that he has such an ay, and if not satisfied he st show cause way and wherein it is unjust on him. Foreigners are never exeupted. Although there is a treaty vet m the United States and Mexico that the citizens of each shall be ex- empted from from taxation for military purposes, tt is entirely disregarded in Mexico. I have been forced thus to to susiain the Mexican ardics through the whole striggie of the French invasion, and have been compliuiented as betng wealthy oa the levying of these prestamos, raced far above my Just quota. This I believe to be general, this bre ing of the treaty stipulations with the United st by compelling her citizens in this republic to contri- bute their means for sustaining sailitary oper. Consul Ulrick, of Monterey, is moving the U States government to consider this with other abu: and is to be hoped justice may yet be dope American citizens in Mexico. But | must stick to my text. I must open tho cofins of those three padres, and show you tue con- dition and state of preservation of their remains, ‘They were ali tree vaulted on tie north side of the enclosure adjoining the portico of reception, as was also the citizen of whorn I have spot this being the piace of honor. They had tus been eatombed, respectively, forty, twenty and ten years, under & southern exposure and reflection of a high wall in this tierra caiiente, The remains of Padre Gonzate: Martinez were the first examined—forty years en- tombed. ‘The three had been taken from the vaults before my arrival and piaced in the portico, bat the coffin of this padre was broken i pieces in the act, and the boils were acrabbled into @ heap@nd placed on the lid of one of the other cofiine, and on the top of the conical heap sat perched the old padre’s cranium as if taking a survey of the alcade's doings. About two-thirds of the skull remained, one stde being all smashed In, 80 that it was easy to look into what was once the *'paiace of tne soul” of this pious old esiastic. They suy, those who re member hin (and the good that ineu do lives after them), that he was a mun after God's own heart and dispensed $0 many good gifts jor so many long years in Cadereyta that this sacrilege done lis remains wiil bring down the vengeance of God upou the irreverent ones Who have done this thing, As | took hold of a ecting portion of the broken cranium (@ corner ¢ oowipital bone) to Ilft aud examine it more closely the corner broke oif by the mere weight of the skull and pulverized ja my fingers. I found the fat bones could thus be generally pulverized be- tween the thamb and finger, although th ubject ‘was nearly uty years of age and the osseous sys- tem as dense as it may ever be found. The oasa pa- vistalia, the os frontis, the os occipiila, the scapule, the sternum and some portions of some of the long bones could thus be crumbled. The benes of the face were entire; the styluid processes of the os sphenokles were very long and perfece and not brittle, standing out from the base of the cranium like thorns, and guite firm and resistant; the lower maxillary bone perfect and too hard to be erumbied between the thumb and oer, a8 well as the supe- rior maxillary; the verte! fect, the tire, the oasa brachii broken, ulna and radii of both arnis entire, oasa Innominata etire, both femurs en- Hire, one bia broken and friable, both thale perfect, clavicles perfect, riba generally perfect, but very friable, crumbling under the porch of tue thamb and finger; the tarsal and metatarsal bones perfect, and the phalanges of the flogers and twee also, as far as round; no odor except aX earthy smell, the color of the bones brown, the feel siigbt!y soapy orunetuous, A brownish powder pervaded ail, seusi- bie to the touch as also to the sight, but no vestige of cartilage, tendon, skin or any structure but the osseous, and this exceedingly light, dry and friable. What remained of the grave cloths aud sacerdotal Vestnents gave way to the force of touch like & spider-web, and seemed as transparent. The dust, ho doubt, was in part due to the decayed clothing: and in part to the mineral or earthly solid matter of the soft solids and Muids of the remains. The brown color and nuctuous feel were duc, no doubt, to the absorption of a portion of the oleaginous part or ple not yielded to the wood of the coin, The exceeding lightness of the bones I cannot aceount for, 1 cannot believe it was but seeming. tempted to purloin a hone for the purpose of weigh- ing and comparing, and thus subserving the interest Of science ; but I scrupulously forbore todo so. 1 did not test the temperature of the locality, but 1 Presume it must be at least 120 degrees Fahrenheit Quring midday through the hot season of the year, and this may’ be the cause of the lightness of the bones, every partiole of animal matter having been dissipated by heat. From all the information I have been able to ther this was a moat excellent priest, rising be- fore the dawn of day and saying mass as a uniform custom ronan. wlong life. Rather reserved and dignified in his deportment, but kind to all and charitable to the poor, he won the respect and love of this community, and died very much lamented, He was a cultivator of the rich soil of this country, a8 Well as the richer products of human respect and regard; he bad a hacienda, which he managed suc- cessfully, or, in other words, was a planter as well ire, from which he acquired wealth that no bled him to be more extensively charitable and useful. There is nothing particularly scientific in this information, but it reflects the genius of this people and the usages of the clergy. Some of the riesis amassed considerable wealth here in former lays. Not many years since the house of a wealthy curate of this city was robbed of a large amount of coin and plate, and the robbers were never detected, There is not much prospect of the clergy of this country recovering their wealth aud power. The tendeicy is m the other direction, The goverament 48 cCastigating them in ail manner of ways, and would, if it were possible, without creating a schism in the Church, enforce matrimony upon them, The remains of Padre Sanches, twenty years en- tombed, were the next examined. On opening the comin, which was sound, a full length skeleton pre- sented every bone beautifully in place, lying loose, in perfect order. ‘The gauze-like grave clothes were no obstruction to vision—were like a spider's web oniy. ‘There was no odor perceptible. The soles of the shoes lying below the bones of the feet were all that could be said to be discoverable of the habiliments with which these remains had been clothed. ‘The uppers of the shoes were entirely gone, as well as every vestige of other garments in fact. 1 think there Was a part of the stole noticeable on tne breast of the skeleton, and what may have been a part of a vest about the trunk, which seemed to impede a lit- Ue the examination. Some locks of hair were dis- coverable at the top and sides of the cranium. This padre died at the age of about thirty-seven years, and the skeleton was perfectly sound, dry and light throughout, = and, what was remarkable, the cartilages of the larynx were oasified, and so was also the ensiform cartilage of the steruum, Every bone was sound and perio and except for the brown color this would have been a good skeleton for the anatomival rooms. There is an idea con- nected with this subject that is apropos. The bony structure or osseous ato of this nation of people is tye soundest, | believe, of any on the face of the earth. Their teeth are the mMoste per- fect and they seem to be amlicted with fewer diseases of tne bones than any other people. The cause of this exemption from disease of the bones, the great perfection of the teeth and probably of this early ossification I finpute to the use of so much lime in the preparation of thelr corn cakea—thelr main breadstuils. The corn is first bolled with lime to get of the husk of the Kernel, and frequently the tortikas or cakes are of a yellowish color and taste of the lime, Ihave no doubt myself this explanation is the true one, In noticmg the beautiful manner in which the bones Of the feet and toes lay arranged on “the Noor of the comin, I discovered pieces of sgme- thing of a dark looking texture, Which proved fo be the skin of the soles of the fect. [ then examined the floor of the coffin under the bones of the hands on each side of the spine at, the lumbar veriebriv, as the arms lay crossed, and found portions of the skin of the palms the hands also, of nearly a black color, By a continued aud careful inspection in this way [ couid discern portions of the cutis along ie of the lower extremities. But my search was vain for any other soft, solid texture than the No, not a vestige of cartilage, tendon or ote: fibrous structure, unossified, could be discovered. This one scientific fact is learned by this report, then—that the skin 18 preserved longest of any of the soft, solid structures of the human remains, entombed after the manner here described, Nor do J think any agent Dut heat and the atmosphere here had anything to do in dissipating these remains. ‘fidugh worms destroy this bouy,” says tue inspired writ many ® time have we all heard of the d buried belng devoured by woris; but ! tuink this 18 all figurative, uniess we admit the doctrine of ivocal generation, How coud fies penetrate the masonry of these vaults and deposit the eggs which produce the maggot worms? low can they enter the grave Six feet under ground? No; the ele- ments of bie human body, as generaily interred, are dissipated Into tuin air, being mostly water or oxy- gen aud hydrogen in the proportions that go to form water. ‘The mineral products, of which the lime of the bony fabric Constitutes the chief part, remali as the ashes. How long the bones of a human being vaulted hke these were would last, or retain their form, remains unknown, but, judging from te fria- bie state of the skeleton forty years vaulted aud comparing it with the others, T think a century would redace tie fat boues to powder aud the con- dyles and apophyses of the jong bones also, and tat the shafts could be easily broken if not pulverized in the hands. Deeply buried In the earth, totally e) ciuded from the action of the alr, the bones of ani- mals aud len endure thousauds of years and in a condition as sound as the skeleton of the first of bean padres examined, only forly years ln the vault. ‘This excellent padre was cut down in the prime of life by fever during the series of epidemic years of the days of the Irish famine, He was a very com- panionable man, @ jovial, ligit-hearted, gentiemanty, affable, agreeab.e priest, Whose exampie made reit- gion agreeable. Ihave his history from a wealthy patroon here, who Was his chum in coliege, and by all [can Jearn he seems to bave had a soul forever pitched on the major key. [ils arduous duties in riding night and day on sick calls durmg those epi- deudcal mes threw him into fever, which termi- nated his short career of some two or three years only in Cadereyta, If 1 have been interested in @ sci- entifle point of View in the examination of his bones, as Icertamly have, Lhave been edified also with his religious aud social character. He aliured to brighter wortds and led the way, and scattered flowers tn the pathway of a around him. And here I large a little—-itcan hardiy be called ion— upon the extraordinary duties of the clergy here duriag epidemic years. It has fallen my lot to mest the Cura wad two ‘other priests stationed here times almost without number during Lue last three years, in the ver and cholera epidemics thal have raged both in and out of the eity, sometimes tour or tive leagues from town, riding ou borseback under 4 burping sun, hardly sleepiag nights, and ali with- out fee or reward, other than that which arises from & conseiousnoss of doing thelr duty, having the e of souls under them, ‘The almost Universal practi here is to send for the p Land next for the doctor, and many a time and oft have we been companions by the way. Lnever have scen @ more devoted set of servanis, or amore duty-fulfliling class of men; entering the meanest hovels of the sick and dying at all hours of the aud nigat to slrive ue depa ing soul, to animate the sick with hope and to seat- (hew charities in substantial aid for the relief of the poor, never giving up ll prosirated by sickness from over work. ‘Then it has failen to my lot to be the imedical friend sud adviser of these excellent , than Whoin i have never hnown any better in country. fue remains of Padre examined—ien years 1 little under sixty years oF nie divd, and be- ing an exccediugly corpulent subject the cofin had been Milled with quick lime over tue body on being posited in the vauil, ‘Tne surface of the lime, on wving the iid of the coMn, appeared nearly kK, and to make short Work of dispos- of ihe remains the Alcade ordered the the bones to be pick al were the last is father was a ing comin upset, aad the the lime wud disentangled from the grave Which offered considerable resistance. The bones were perfectly sound and dry and more free from te soapy feel of the two previously exautined, owing, no doubi, to the action of the lime. No vestige of avy coft parta could be discovered, nor was there any odor perceptbic. | swod over the remains for half an hour exaiining the bones without bemg sensibie of any disugreeable odor whatever. Nor on subsequent days, alter hundreds of vaults were cleared, the cofilus opened ant tue remains pitched into a central pit, coulll [ discover any putrefactive odor on or about tie premises None whatever arose from the pit after being half filed with the human remains, Of the last padre, so far as | have been in- formed, the eeciesiustical record is excelient. He rose every morning While it was yet dark, and re- pairing to the ciurch said his mass, and in all that oes to sustain a igh character tu the fulfilment of iis official duties his record will not lose by com- Parison. He was wealtiy, or in easy circumsta and excessively mirtifal in his disposition, punning and joking in all sorts of ways with every one be met, Unwieidly, corpuleut, he would sit on the shady side of the plaza, with whatev coterie of iriends his mirth-loving habit’ might attract around him, and there crack his jokes and reel his yarns to the infinite amusement of his bumor-loving circle, Without injustice the language of Shakspeare ‘will apply here, as over the skull of poor Yorick—“He was a fellow of infinite mirth,” and dispensed, no doubt, an infinite amount of pleasure during hits long ministration in Cadereyta. | By all accounts he would have been a fit companion for the late President of the United states, Abraham Lincoln, whom, before I knew who he was, before he rose to any distinc- tion, | have seen many a time and oft sittingon a brick bat on the sunny ‘side of some store in Spring- field, cracking lis jokes and telling his yarns to a mirth-loving circle of the arrah boys of that longt- tade, before his political aspirations tad matured, or perhaps been conceived. And here again ft aim aks lo ran off the track into politics on the left bank of the Kio Grande, but it is bootiess to do so. I will only say that I came to Mexico before the war, 1 not being im any way sible for it L will say nothing about it further than that it has been any- thing bat “pleasant through the leop-holes of retreat peep # such @ world!’ if Padre Gonzales Leal displayed an tafinite capacity for mirth he also displayed a firmness of purpose inthe chastivement Yof his nephew, fis intended heir, that betokens a spirit of revenge. He liad a favorite nephew, to whom fe was dearly deveted aud Who it Bow one of LE SHE Louls, Mo., who speaks the English kanguage fiu- ently, is married in one of the mo=t wealthy fauailies of this city and Who was the doclared heir by the dre to all his estates; but by some misunderstand- ing with his nephew, from what provoeation | can- not exactly appreciate, it having been rapidly told ine in Spanish, he disinherited aim at on He soon after sickened and died without sending for his nephew to visit bim. So the sun went down upon ovr worthy Atcades hom he had educated in St. | | his wratl jast, While his mirth was, as it wer fresh on fhe ear, But of these three holy mon let me No longer seek their merits to disclose, Nor draw thew frailties from thei ‘There they atike in trembling bi ‘The bosom of their father anv RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE. | Progress of Christinnity in the West. | We are continually recelying the most encouraging | reports of the progress of Christianity throughout | the Western part of our country. Wherever a new settlement 1s located the Gospel 18 heard and a reii- | gious community springs up. Most of the foreign | immigrants bring their religion and pastors with them, and it requires but @ brief period for them to establish @ religious sentiment in the hitherto benighted wildernesses. There is a continued demand for clergymen in the West, This is apparent in the winisterial provision made for the Bethel Presbyterian church, Jately organized in Audrain county, Mo, The new society is not @ very small one, consisting of forty members, including two etders and two deacons, it was organized in connection with the Presbytery of Mis- sourt by Rev. W. W. Robertson and Rev. J. M. ‘Travis, and the latter agrees to give a fourth part of his time to this new charge, which is all the pastoral care it enjoys, The laborers are indecd few in thas part of the harvest fleld. In the same State twelve members of the churches of Dardenne and Olivet petitioned Presbytery at its late meeting to organize a church at Wentzville The request was complied with and a society con- ating: of thirteen members was formed there last month. A new Presbyterian church wag organized by a committee of the Presbytery of Fort Wayne, in Whitley county, near Pierceton, Ind., th Fifteen members were enrolied and two elders and two deacons were elected and ordained. At Greenville, In the same State, as announced last week, Rev, P. Beran has recently formed a new church. Other Presbyterian churches have also been organized in Mobile, Ala., and McKay, Ohio. At Huntington, Long Island, a Baptist church composed of nineteen members has recently been organized under the auspices of the Long Island As- c tion. This church was duly recognized, and lis per Rev. L. Steward, installed by a council held the Second Presbyterian church, on the i2th ult. ‘The sermon on the occasion was preached by Kev. J. W. Sarles, D. D. A new Congregational church has been organized at Su Joseph, Mo,, with Key. Jonathan Crane, formerly of Middieton, Conn., as pastor. The Rev, J. P. Moore, of Swan, Ind., writes to the Presbyterian Banner;-—-We enjoyed a precious coin- munion season November 8 The spirit of God was present. Four heads of families, eae of them re- ceiving the ordinance of baptism, made a public pro- fession of faith in Christ and six were received on certificate from other churches. The membership of the church is now forty-seven—more than double what it was when J commenced my labors here three and a half years ago. The Methodist Episcopal Church een reports 535,440 metabers, after ali the losses of the rebellion— @ gain‘of 29,939, or nearly six per cent since last year. The old Methodist Epixcopal Church has 1,255,074 members—an increase of 109,470, or above mie per cent since last year. The South has 2,380 travelling reachers and 3,952 local—a votal of 641. The Methoodist Episcopal has 8,981 travellmg preachers ‘and 9,898 local—a total of 16,379. Total preachers in both churches, 25,720, Much religious interest exists at Oberlin, Ohio. At the close of a powerful sermon by Professor Finney a few weeks ago, in response to @ request that ali who were willing to come to Christ should signity it by taking seats in front of the pulpit, nearly ali the body of the church was filled. Several conversions im the advanced college classes are reporied aad about twenty in all during oue week. The Little DiMiculty About Dr. Littlejohn. The legality of the tion of Dr. Littlejohn as bishop of the new dlocese of Long Island is cated in question on account of the exciusion by Bishop Pot- ter of the vote of Rev. Alvah Guion, a member of the Convention. By the exclusion of this vote a bare majority was secured to Dr. Littlejohn. Mr. Guion had been for six years a missionary in the diocese, had received bis salary ag such regularly from the treasnrer of the Misstonary Committee, and just be- fore the meeting of the Convention received trom Bishop Potter ihe following certith My Drar M 10N-—I write to inform you that you are certitied to broct wx A miskionary of this diocese, which will give yuu a seat, Yours, alectionately, I. POTTER. | the promi: Commission, which states that the number of en- dowed scvuols lor girls is only tweuty, wale for boys there are about 3,000, ‘The Rev. ze, of the Pearl street Congreya- tional chure! tford, instead of saying during the service, “Let us sing the —— hymn,” says, “We pW listen to the singing of the — iyinu,” and oir sing. Old Parson M., of Torringford, Conn.. wos a queer sort ofa man. One time wien his con; ton had, | most of then, fairly disposed themselves for their | afternoon nap, he startied them as Weil as their ideas 1 propriety by asking in his loudest tone, “Woars ne price of buicer 7? A minister in the interior of this State, under the heading ef “Good Times at the Parsonage,” gives us an aecount of the “very pleasant efervescence”? produced in his hausehold by the possession of a base-buruing coal stove aud a Devonshire cow and f a catgut piano. ‘The congregation of the Rey, Nehemiah Adams, D.D., Boston, hive commenced the erection of a new and eciegani house of worship, with seats for about 1,000 “hearers, the siructare to cost about $125,000, Its situation, tower and spire will muke: ita couspicuons ol tin the city; m-short, another spoke in “the F Fe Hadelphia, one ® Most eminent ministers of the Society of As, pre week ago last Sunday morning in the ker nieetiug house in ‘Twenty-seventir Blrect. Those who heard her testify that her dis- course Was wonderfully impressive, and that her tes- timouy agains! extravagance in dress wud living was alike emphatic and rimeiy. A French journal reports the discovery of a book of theological discussion written by some of the early monks, upon such questions as thes “What Wak the shape of the wings of the Archangel Ga- briely” “Did Pilate use soap when be washed ils hands?” “How much wine did they drink at the marriage in Canay”’ “Are there any angels with baritone voices ¥”" ‘The Hebrew Leader thus discourseth npon ‘Lead- ers in Istael?;—We also have tie “self-constituted’? leader, Clad in the lion's skin of orthodoxy, he commands respect as the king of ihe forest; but when he opens his mouth the asstnine bray and the long ears proclaim the real ‘auinnie,” and instead of being terrifled at his approach we are only ane noyed at his hideous roar. The Tadie/ says that on November 30 Miss Bliza Grennan (in religion Sister Mary de Sales), Miss Ann Powers (in reliion Sister M. Angela), areG Murray (in religion Sister M., of the C assion of Our Lady) and Miss Anna vi (in reiizion pisier v Mary Agatha) received the whife veil in she chapel of the Convent of the Good Ninetietit street, The Very Rev. Wiiliam Starrs, D.D,, Vicar 4ieneral, oficiated and preached on the oceasion. Rev. Jonn Francis, Baptist, was lately invited by Brigham Young to occupy the new tavernacte at Sait Lake. 4,000 persons attended to tear the mon. Brigham Young and all his oiticiais were p: sent and sac on the platform. Hearty response: tended the delivery of the sermon, and at 1t9 Shepherd, ate ose he was surrounded by all the dignitaries, who ex- pressed the highest gratification and wished bim to come again. There are 24,000 people in Utah, three- fourths of whom belong to Brigham Young's church, The Friends of this country differ in their strict- ness in dealing with what ts called “marrying out” — that 1s, Inarrying one who is not also a Quak: In the South it is a disownable offence to “marry out’? or to attend such a marriage, The offender Is dis- owned “until he shail come toa sight and sense of his miscouduct,” At the North, however, and ¢s- ecially at the West, Friends are allowed full liberty In regard to marriage. Disuwning for “marrying ouv’ 19 a thing of the past. Miriam Holton Brown died at Le Ciaire, Scott county, lowa, November 8, 1865, and her remains are buried on the prairies west of the Mussiasippi. Her school having been the first in New York city in which phystology aud hygtene were introduced as prominent branches of study, she by ber last wili aud testament, now in probate at Milwaukee, Wis., be- queatis over $16,000 to Ler executors, to be devoted ‘to the diifuston of Knowledge and information of and upon the said subjects or branches of study. An “American Israelite’ makes the following re- marks through the columns of the Hebrew Leader Our various synagogues are but so many stages ministers to display their individual and paruc whins and notions of what # synagogue serv should be. Lverything is Germanized, 1 admit that we are greatly indebced to Germany for much of our titerature and talent; but we are Americans, and, while wuling to render homage to talent ry whe think thatsome regard should be lad for those « vur fellow believers who speak Uke vernacular aud are not Germans At Oxford some twenty years ago a tutor of one of the colleges imped m his’ walk. Stopping one day last summer at a railway station le was accosted by & Wel-khown polilician Who reeogn! him and asked ithe was not the chaplain of tue college at such atime, naming the year. The doctor replied that le was, “L there,”? said bis interrogator, “and LKnew you by your jimp.’?) “Well,” said the doctor, “it see sion than my” pr reply with ready Wwe can pay xanimister to say t walk rather than by his cony A zealous representative of the Young Men’s Chris- implug made a ceeper tnpre: “Ah, do tor, was the est compliment 4 known by bia ’ und, accord. the Conven- Jonvention, aby to vote for bish He sat in the Convention ing to a statement by **A Li tion,” on Ute second day of the three hours before the time 1 Bishop Potter said to Mr. Guion, in a “Such is the pressure here that 1 stati hw draw your cert Using here the words of Mr. Guion himnself:—“Bishop Potter, in that solemn hour, without any authority from the constitution, privace: ly struck my name from the clerical jist, then in ie hands of the 5 iary of ihe Convention,” Legacy to the Sisters of the Hely Cross io New Grieans, The will of Miss Adele Laville, the young lady killed a short tine ago.on Orleans street, New Or- leans, has been filed m the Probate Court. With the exception of several bequests, heretnafier men- tioned, the deceased lady left the whole of her pro- perty, movable and immovable, to the Sisters of the Holy Crosa, together with the claim against the steamer Princess, {A suit is now pending against the owners of the stcamer for damages caused by the death of her brother.—REr.] She constituies the Sisters of the lioly Cross, corner of Love and Elatra streets, her universal legatees, on thie conditions that they will give (o the hospital or asylum which they will bulid the name of F. ©, Laville, or any house erected for @ charitame purpose; that they will pronounce a mass each month for the repose of the souls of her parents, and will speelall pray for her father, her mother, brother and he self; that they will tam tie Keeping of the family tomb in the cemetery. As soon as her pro- arty shail sold $500 are to be given to Madame jiicmont. The lady excepted from her me property certain portratis, charms and jewe which she dir the disposition. ‘The will a postscript or codiet. In the event the above con- ditions are not complied with by the Sisters of the Holy Cross the children of Mad Hous ae Ville mont will become her same condition that they baiid svi to pay Veuve Nuiez the sum of $500. Biblical Chronology. The chronology used by the civilized world is founded on the dates farnishet us in the We reckon the date of the food from tie dates found in the fifth chapter of Geuesis, Years. We learn fore his om thia chapter that Adam n seth was born hi lived before his son Enos was vs lived before his son Canaan was bor anaan lived before his Mathalaicel wa Mahalaleel lived bevore hia sou Jared was vorn Jared lived before lis son Enoch was born. Enoch lived before thuselah Was vort...... 6 Mathuselat lived before his son Lamech was born 187 Lamech lived before bis son Noah was born..... ved b Hence Noah was born Anno Mundi... 1050 la Genesis, 7th chapter, 6th verse, we are tiformed that Noah was 600 vears old when the Mood of waters Was upon the earti. Add 600 years, his age, to 1056, gives the date of the flood, 1656. We learn from the h verse, Sti chapier of Genesis, that “all the days of Mathuseiah were 669 years, und he died.” By reference to the forggoing table it will be seen that Mathuselal was born Anno Mundi 687, to which add his age, $69, and we have 1666, the date of the flood, which proves to a inathematical certainty that Ma- thuselah was drowned for his wickedness. A Smart Appen! for Charity. An appeal issued by the Catholic Bishop of Co- lumbus states that after the consecration of the new Uan Association in Connecticut was a tew drmaming up recruits for the “noow le 8 . tag”? tle slreet he met Mr. outside vty lint. Ph ding le! ong in a free ay The rep: ve of the Young Mei sociation sted him and the following conve tion o¢ —Y. M,C. A—"Do you reside im tue 1 —- "No, sity 1 live in the courtry.’? prayer meeting Just around here, aud vaniry meet A woutd be glad to have friends from: ih with us; will You comer? (Suspiciously) mecting?? “Yes, sir; come tn and ye (More any of ¥ ce fi N.C. A., louking crestlatte and contus.d. TRE NATIONAL GAME. | of the National Associatiou—Ofivers and Committees for the Ensuing Your. ‘The firat reeting of the National As: wonen the basts of represetitation through associations wag held on Wednesday last at Metzerot Hail, Washington, D. C., aad while the respectability gad general ere- ditability of the representation present marked the convention as success Im one particular it was «a comparative failure in auother, as there were but thirty-two deiegaies present. Several of toe gations, it uppears, were snow bound on their to Washington. The experience of inst y should have taught the delegates who were present of the inadvisability of holding ihe Cony tion so late ju the winter time. Had tie me been held tiimediately after the close of the Meet ; of immediately before the opening of t: Would, nodoubé, be muck more fully a would ate mul more interest. The Convention adjourned to mee of December nex that some 4 ob meeting el again oa the secone at Boston; but it i 8 Will Ye taken toh ged, 80 a5 to insur Wednesday » be hoped + the ume he calling togetuer of elegates before the bad weather sets in. {t was expected many that tie New York dele. gation would vot be adunited teseats In the Cou. vention becatise of Ue action of the New \ork.State ockation in Uke case. 1 Mutual rred ct in the Way of suarpenin inrules of ‘he game, which thee perience of the past year lad shown to be advisable, ihe most important amendments are those to ion two of rule tive and section tivo of rule seven. The fore ag amended so as to require & person to be @ member of a chute sixty dave be he would be entitled to appear o4 4 player in a match game, The iatter was amendicd so a8 Lo allow runs nade on any unfinished including and atter the iifth (provided one finished its fh ining), vw count, if cae gan alled or stopped, Whether any hauds be out or not. ‘This is & Capital amendmeat and will put a stop to the practioe and consequent unpleasantness of play - ing into the dark, The question of recognizing championship games Was brought up and very properly voted down. Pho proposed rule in regard to professional players niet @ similar fate, The election of oMcers for the ensuing year ro- sulted as lollows: ident, Thomas Tassie, of New York; First Vice ident, Frank B. Wood, of v dersey; Second Vice resident, J. J. Rogers, of Penn. syivania; Kecording Secretary, E. E. Coon, of the Olympic Club of Washington, D. C.; Corresponding cathedral in Columbus a regular weekly mass or “sacrifice” isto be kept up for the benefit of those 10) ire eipt will be sent with the accompanying certifi. cate:—We do hereby certiiy that your néme haa been entered a8 a full sharer im the fruita of a perpe- tial mass, to be offered every Saturday, not simply for your spiritual and temporal good, but accordiag to your intention, applicable, at your option, to your- seif or your ye ds, vee and au heir. ur family unto the end,” ga YL BR i. ROSECRANS, ishop of Columbus, Onto. ‘The Observer looks cramped and old matdish in its confined columns. The Anti-Sunday Railroad Committee have isened their thirty-fith tract. The anti-use-your-legs-on- Sunday Committee make no tracks. ‘The Children’s Aid Society propose to establish a taining school for servants, This will ve good news for the babtes, if not the biddies, A namber of Christian ladies met in the Bible House last Friday afternoon and formed the New Mexico, Atizona aud Colorado Missionary Asso clation. In Baltimore $22,000 have been subscribed toward the fund for the endowment of the American College jn Rome. ‘This araount has been nearly au given by twelve wealthy Catholics of that city. ‘The condition of femaie education in Hogiand may be judged irom the report of tie Selweis Inguiry Secretary, ©. A. Downey, of Montana; Treasurer, Mort. M. Rogers, of Massachusetts, © The comimitiees appointed for tue ensuing year are as follows:— On Rutes—Henry © adwick, ~ the Potomac Club rd of Washington, Db. O.; EB. A. of New Jersey; J. Seaver Page, of New York; Rovere Spry, of Ohio; A, Bush, of Massachusetts, Judiciary—G, A. Porter, of New York; J. A, Fan- ning, of New Jersey; iH. Kk. Hillyer, of Pennsyl jay G. 5. Sands, of Ohio; W. H, Murtha, of New York} K. Selden, of Connecticut; A. R. Benner, of the Na tional Club of Washington, D. C.; CW. Clifford, of Massachusetts; E. Hy rs f Pennsylvania, pe eres of eens b J ashington, . C.; BE. T. Jen! of New York; J. J. Rogers, Fon Piciie-3, Weer, ot Jey Fx Me Printingimd. le ew York; J. J. Beardsiey, of Olio; F, B. Wood, of New Jersey. Base Ball Notes. ‘The Mutuals, it seems, have not kad enough balt during the season. They will have another grad game at ball on Christmas night, The Neppernan Clad of Yonkers has given notice Vs MIR pg o withdraw from the State seoctation, because of the action Asso in the Mutual matter, Av oe The Excelsior Club of Rochester has applied for admission to the State Association. FIRE ON STATEN ISLAND, About atx o'clock yestehaay morning a cre entirely destroyed a sinble and dwelling hi eltuated oa Wall ste Dear Smith, at Stapleton, 1, owned by Puiliy bealy, Involving a loes oF §3,500, upom, Which there was uo bisuraace.