SIEGE OF YORKTOWN. 19 fourteenth of September. Clinton did | great breaches in the British works and not discover their departure until it was too late to prevent it. The French fleet under DeGrasse had been blockading York river since August 30th. A British fleet commanded by Admiral Graves had entered the bay on the fifth of September, for the purpose of relieving Cornwallis, but De Grasse having been reinforced by eight ships of the line and some transports under Count De Barras, could bring into action thirty-six men of war besides the transports. The English admiral seeing that it would be an impossibility to force his way through such a powerful armament, left the bay. But not until he had been severely handled by the French ships. On the twenty-eighth of September the allied army numbering sixteen thousand men moved forward to invest Yorktown, and on the evening of the same day camped within two miles of the British outposts. About this time Cornwallis, who had been putting up a line of breastworks and redoubts some distance from the town, received a letter from Sir Henry Clinton, stating that he had determined to send Cornwallis a fleet with five thousand men to render him assistance. After receiving this intelligence, Cornwallis abandoned these outer works and retired within the lines surrounding the town. He also dispatched Tarleton with his cavalry to take possession of Gloucester, a small village situated directly opposite Yorktown on the other side of the river. On the thirtieth the allies occupied the evacuated works. On the ninth of October, everything being in readiness they opened their batteries within six hundred yards of the enemies works. The cannonade was very destructive, demolishing many buildings in Yorktown and even reaching the English ships which were anchored in the harbor, setting fire to several, and burning them to the water's edge. On the eleventh the Americans and French opened a second line of fortifications three hundred yards nearer. Large siege guns were wheeled into position, the fire from which opened made terrible havoc in their ranks. There were two redoubts situated on the left, manned by the British, which returned the fire with a will, severely distressing the besiegers. These the latter determined to take by assault. On the night of the fourteenth, under cover of darkness, two detachments, one American and the other French, under the respective commands of Colonels Hamilton, Laurens and Deuxponts, moved silently forward to the assault. The English, taken by surprise, fought desperately, but were obliged to give way with considerable loss in killed, wounded and prisoners. On the side of the allies the French, having to oppose the greater number, sustained the heaviest loss, one hundred men. These redoubts were then included in the second parallel and in the morning opened their guns on the British. The condition of Cornwallis had now become exceedingly critical. The latest news from New York, was to the effect that Clinton would be unable to render him any aid for the present. Cornwallis then resolved on a sortie. On the morning of the sixteenth Colonel Abercrombie,with four hundred men,made a dashing charge and succeeded in penetrating a part of the American lines and spiked several cannon. But fresh troops arriving on the scene they were driven back with severe loss. Cornwallis was now growing desperate. A portion of his men were sick, unfit for service, nearly all his cannon were rendered useless by the terrific fire from the allies, whose batteries were gradually closing in upon them. His only chance, he thought, was to cross over York river with his strongest battalions and break his way through the French lines that were besieging Gloucester. On the night of the sixteenth he commenced to embark his troops to the opposite shore, but a storm soon arising only one battalion succeeded in crossing. Not receiving any support it recrossed the river in the morning. With the failure of this attempt, Cornwallis thought it would be useless to hold out any longer. So on the morning of the seventeenth he sent a messenger the headquarters of Washington, asking him to cease hostilities and to appoint commissioners to help draw up the articles of capitulation. On the nineteenth the necessary articles, having been duly signed by representatives of both armies, the whole British force with General O'Hara at the head (Cornwallis feigning sickness had remained in the town) marched out of Yorktown. On O'Hara proffering the English Commander's sword, Washington called to General Lincoln, who immediately stepped forward, took the extended weapon, to confirm the surrender, and then returned it. The soldiers to the number of seven thousand two hundred and forty-seven then grounded their arms. The British, besides a vast quantity of small arms, delivered up one hundred and sixty pieces of cannon. name was destined to be handed down from generation to generation, loved honored and respected by all mankind. It was on this memorable occasion that the true and noble character of Washington shone forth with greater lustre. At the time the British were marching out, he rode along the line and said "My brave fellows let no sensation of satisfaction for the triumph you have gained induce you to insult your fallen enemy. Let no shouting, no clamorous huzzaing increase their mortification. Posterity will huzza for us." The following day he ordered the troops to perform divine service and return thanks to Providence for the watchful care extended to them through all the vicissitudes of war. The surrender of Yorktown virtually closed the war, for a feeling soon began to manifest itself in England which was favorable to America. The subject of peace was brought up in the House of Commons, in June, 1781, and supported by many prominent members, but bitterly opposed by prime minister North and the king. However in 1782 the English people had become so utterly dissatisfied with the war that Lord North was oblig The news of this victory soon spread throughout the whole of the colonies, and was everywhere received with joy and satisfaction. Congress tendered a vote of thanks to Washington, La Fayette Rochambeau, De Grasse and others for the able and successful manner in which they had conducted the siege. Wash-ed to resign. The new parliament that ington had continued the unequal struggle for six long and weary years, enduring severe hardships and privations with those noble and self sacrificing soldiers, who generally were ragged, poorly fed and badly equipped with the implements of war, and whose families at home were suffering for the want of the common necessaries of life. This great victory, however, inspired the people with a greater reverence for the man, whose was formed, declared peace, on the nineteenth of April, 1783, and the united colonies blended into one great commonwealth was acknowledged as one of the independent nations of the world. Thos. Y. Stanford. Josh Billings says that "a good doctor is a gentleman to whom we may pay three dollars a visit for advising us to eat less and exercise more." VIRGIL. SOME writers claim that Publius | tiquity of a similar nature, of which we Virgilius Maro was born in a small village near Mantua, then called Andes, but now bearing the name of Pictola. Others say that Mantua itself had the honor of being his birthplace. This is a question, like so many others of an can receive no satisfactory information and which is, after all, of but small import to any but the antiquarian, the traveler or the lover of controversy. It would doubtless be interesting to travelers in that portion of the world to VIRGIL. know the exact place of the poet's birth, which is supposed to have occurred about the fifteenth of October, 70 B. C. But little is known of Virgil's father. It is supposed that he was either an itinerant astrologer and physicist or a servant of some of the learned in these sciences, or that he was a potter of Andes. His mother Maja was not only a woman of noble birth, but of superior intellect and judgment. She claimed to have had visions and dreams concerning the future greatness of her son, which doubtless had the desired effect upon her husband in causing him to give their son educational advantages. These Virgil received. His studies in youth were prosecuted principally at Mantua, Cremona and Milan. He applied himself very assiduously to study and associated himself with the greatest men of the day. At Milan he composed a great many verses on a variety of subjects and formed a plan to write an heroic poem on the Wars of Rome, but after some effort, becoming discouraged by the harshness of the old Roman names, he discontinued and instead prepared himself for writing the great work, which was to immortalize his name and put him on a level with the greatest poet the world had ever produced, the Grecian Homer. Too close application to study in connection with night watching had so debilitated him that it was thought absolutely necessary to remove to the southern part of Italy for his health. He chose to go to Naples, and, on his way thither, going via Rome, he was introduced to the Emperor Octavius who received him with marks of the greatest esteem. 21 ence, his confiscated property was restored to him though his petition for the restoration of his countrymen's possessions was denied. This was a debt of gratitude which Virgil never forgot and, in return, he highly extolled Augustus as a "god-like youth" in his first pastoral, and in the Æneid, desiring to reconcile the Romans to submission to the absolute rule of Augustus, he traces the latter's lineage to his great hero Eneas who was a son of the goddess Venus. Thus he flattered and overawed the people with the most heroic pedigree reaching back directly to the gods! Previous to the writing of the Eneid,'he had written ten Pastorals and four Georgics which are handed down to us. The Pastorals are usually written in the form of dialogues between Greek shepherds wherein he mixes a good deal of the "tripping Satyr" and "Sylvan Fawn" nature-an arcadia, of course, "with all the rural deities about him." The Georgics give instructions in agriculture, raising cattle, etc.-rather an unpoetical subject, to be sure, but Virgil has made the best of it and some very poetical lines and expressions can be found in them. But in the Eneid is where we most admire the Roman poet. It has been called a Roman Iliad and Odyssey combined and so it was doubtless intended to be because Virgil made Homer his model, and while the latter is mentioned for his description of strength, the former is spoken of for his sweet delinea tion of the beautiful. We have neither time nor space to follow Eneas in his sorrows and misfortunes, nor the fate of Dido or Lausus or the unrelenting hate of Juno. The poem is a grand one and we cannot read it without admiring its glowing sentences. The following lines describe the death of Pallas: At the famous and fatal battle of Philippi, Cremona and a portion of Mantua were distributed among the legionaries who had fought for Octavius and Antony. Virgil and his friend and contemporary poet Horace, suffered in the calamity: Prepares to charge him first-resolved to try But his friends and patrons, Pollio and Mæcenas, who were the most accomplished and influential men of the day, made intercession with the Emperor in Virgil's behalf and, through their influ "Young Pallas, when he saw the chief ad vance Within due distance of his flying lance, If Fortune would his want of force supply; Assist my great attempt to gain this prize, Alcides mourned, and stifled sighs within his breast. Then Jove, to soothe his sorrow, thus began: So many sons of gods, in bloody fight Now with full force his spear young Pallas threw; And, having thrown, his shining falchion drew. Through folded brass, and tough bull-hides, it passed. His corselet pierced, and reached his heart at last. In vain the youth tugs at the broken wood, Neither the Æneid nor Homer's great descriptive epics can injure the mind. On the contrary they tend to cultivate an appreciation of the sublime and the beautiful and should be carefully read by all students of literature. Of course in reading these and other classics we must use a sound judgment and accept only the true and beautiful, and, giving scope for erratic Pagan or even Christian notions, appropriate only the best. In person, Virgil is described as being broad shouldered and tall, dark complexioned and of a very delicate constitution. Although he moved in the highest Roman society he never forgot his old friends. He retained his rustic appearance and was very bashful. Nevertheless he was greatly honored by his countrymen. Biographers never forgot to relate that once, upon entering a theatre, the whole audience arose and saluted him-an honor never before shown only to Augustus himself. He died a very rich man; his fortune being estimated at about seventy thousand pounds Sterling, besides which he owned a mansion on the Esquiline Mount, which contained a good library; also an elegant villa in Sicily. Both of these, beside a good deal of other property, he left after his death to the prime minister Mæcenas; the rest was divided between Augustus and his relations. It is also said that during his life he sent money annually to his aged parents. Virgil, while on a trip to Greece having arrived at Athens, met the emperor Augustus, on his return from a triumphant eastern expedition, who desired the poet to return with him to Italy. Virgil, wishing to please his sovereign, did so; but, having come to Greece with the intention of staying three years to put the last finishing touches to his epic poem, and desiring to see as many of the Grecian antiquities as possible, he went to Megara and was there seized with an illness which proved fatal in the fifty-second year of his age. He died tranquilly and was buried near Naples. His last resting place can still be seen. Of the English translations of Virgil, Mr. Dryden's is perhaps the best, although some critics insist that the more recent translation of the Eneid by Mr. Conington is far superior to any former English Virgil. Ruby Lamont. An old gentleman of the name of Gould having married a very young wife, wrote a poetical epistle to a friend to inform him of it, and concluded it thus: So you see, my dear sir, though I'm eighty years old, A girl of eighteen is in love with old Gould. To which his friend replied: A girl of eighteen may love Gould, it is true, But believe me, dear sir, it is Gold without U! I AM not at present prepared to explain just how this term came to be applied to the class of individuals usually designated by it, as I have heard different explanations of the matter; but it is a name given to persons who dabble in literature or art, in a random, irregular, unsettled sort of a way, and who confine themselves to no special nor legitimate branch of either; but do "odd jobs" for any price they may be able to obtain. Your true literary "bohemian," is nearly always a man of some talent; varied and extensive information, quick wit and ready pen; is likely to have been a traveler; knows all about living leading men, and can quote from the poets, novelists and philosophers. He is rarely a family man, and, frequently, his ideas of religion and morality are more speculative than practical, and abstract rather than concrete. He writes letters for the newspapers, articles for the magazines, and sketches for the literary periodicals, and occasionally, perhaps, tries his hand at verses. For these productions of his brain, he gets the cash. If he be a "bohemian" in art, he will enlarge a daguerrotype, sketch a landscape, model a bust in plaster, or paint you an indifferent portrait, charge you a price which he expects to reduce onehalf, or more, before he gets it, and when through with one "subject," will canvass for another. When a boy, I had read of the bright side and romantic phases of the life of a literary "bohemian," and was charmed. How delightful to be a "bohemian;" to travel, write articles and sketches, and, whenever one should be out of pocket-money, to send a production of his brain to some publisher, with a good round price marked on it, and to spend the result with professional nonchalance. When I grew older, duty called me on a journey to a large eastern city. There I met Dr. B. Here was my ideal of a happy man, a representative "bohemian." He was a graduate of a western medical college, and an exeditor, wrote articles on philosophy for the Phrenological Journal, articles on hygiene, for medical publications, and had written pamphlets on finance, and treatises on metaphysics. He gave phrenological dilineations, sometimes lectured on various topics, and was on hand for any kind of literary work. I envied him, and wanted to be like him. But, as our acquaintance progressed, I noticed that his wardrobe was seedy, that he lived in a cheap boarding house, and that he was chronically "hard up.” He could write articles, but it was a very different matter to get a price for them. He could "phrenologize" people, but "subjects" were rare. He could lecture, but could not draw an audience, and his roving habits, prevented any attempt at practicing medicine. In fear of his landlady, in dread of the tailor, and haunted with the phantom of a washerwoman, whose demands his exchequer could not meet; one side, at least, of his life was the opposite of pleasant or romantic. My admiration for such a life became somewhat less ardent. My next experience with "bohemians" was in Washington. I had been introduced to one of the fraternity, and one day, at the Capitol, met him in company with two others, to whom he introduced me. One of the latter, a really good newspaper writer, when sober, was too intoxicated to walk straight, but, true to his instinct as a "bohemian" in search of material for a five dollar letter, he proceeded to interview me on the Utah question. As we were talking, a courtesan passed us, when the other newspaper correspondent to whom I had just been introduced, dropped a remark from which I inferred that he knew too much of her and her kind to be a man of good morals. I subsequently learned more of this class of scribblers, who throng the corridors and lobbies of the Capitol, and that they will lend their brains and pens to any cause or clique that will furnish them money for dissipation, for they are nearly all given to it. The next I met was an "artist," whose |