CHARLESTON MERCURY
January 1863 – January 1865
 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, January 8, 1863, . 1, c. 4
               
A Female Soldier.--Among the strange, heroic, and self-sacrificing acts of women in this struggle for our independence, we have heard of none which exceeds the bravery displayed and hardships endured by the subject of this notice, Mrs. Amy Clarke.  Mrs. Clarke volunteered with her husband as a private, fought through the battles of Shiloh, where Mr. Clarke was killed--she performing the rites of burial with her own hands.   She then continued with Bragg's army in Kentucky, fighting in the ranks as a common soldier, until she was twice wounded--once in the ankle and then in the breast, when she fell a prisoner into the hands of the Yankees.  Her sex was discovered by the Federals, and he was regularly paroled as a prisoner of war, but they did not permit her to return until she had donned female apparel.  Mrs. C. was in our city on Sunday last, en route for Bragg's command.                                                  Jackson Mississippian. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, January 9, 1863, p. 1, c. 4-5.

The Jews and the War.

                To the Editor of the Richmond Examiner:  Among the prevailing fashions, none perhaps has grasped the public mind, with a firmer hold, and none withal is fraught at times with more cruel injustice than that of seeking in a particular individual or a separate class scapegoats for the general disappointment at failures or indignation at crimes.  For the occasional blunders of our finance or disasters of our arms the officers of the government punish the ready and oftentimes the appropriate victims, and I esteem it among the attractions of our political system that it provides ex officio shoulders for the bearing of these public burdens.  But the practice now generally obtaining of ascribing the faults of a whole community to a particular class or the kindred error of condemning a race for the criminal conduct of individuals is so unjust, ungenerous and unfair, that it behooves those who see its injustice to cry out in earnest protest against it, though all Babeldom should clamour [sic] in consequence.
               
Conspicuous among the examples of this conduct is the indiscriminate and perpetual assault upon our fellow citizens of the Hebrew faith.
               
Of that remarkable race which has survived a tragedy of forty centuries, preserving through an ordeal of exile persecution and torture, that makes the heart curdle with horror, its creed, its prejudices and its blood, which has stood by the cradle and the grave of so many mighty empires, itself the spoil and sport of them all, and which, to-day, without a home, a nation or a name, a temple, a sacrifice or a priesthood chants the triumphant paean of Miriom or the sublime dirge of Job, or the magnificent prophecies of Isaiah in every civilized land under Heaven--a race which amid the scoffs, the insults and oppressions of private sentiment and public law has even in our day asserted its claim to the brotherhood of genius by giving a Mayerbeer to Music, to Finance the Rothschilds, to Literature and Politics the D'Israelis, to Painting David, to the Drama the immortal Rachel.  Of this race I do not blush to be the apologist, but their true defence is the record of their life and character.  True, you will find them thronging your marts, devoting their acuteness of mind and activity of energies with untiring zeal to the accumulation of wealth, mortally offending therein many whom they distance in the race of industry, economy and address; but there are places where you will not find them.  Go to your almshouses, your workhouses, your jails, your criminal docks, your penitentiaries, your houses of correction, your tippling houses, your worse-houses, and you may search long and search fruitlessly for the marked features of the scattered children of Israel.  What, then, are the crimes which debar a people so orderly and so thrifty from the boon of simple justice in the criticism of the street and the press?
               
It is asserted that they have not furnished their quota of men for the public defence.  To the extent that this charge is well founded, and it is not true to the extent that it applies to other classes of our people, it is attributable mainly to two causes.  In the first place, our Jewish fellow-citizens rarely mix in politics, either in its toils or its gains.  They are noted wherever they live for the readiness with which they accept any Government, and their indisposition to take part either in its conduct or overthrow.  But the main reason is their avocation.  Trade (and the Jews are all tradesmen) is proverbially conservative, peaceful, timid.  The fighting of the world in all battles for freedom has been done by the farmers and the gentry, the artizan [sic] and the professional man.  Moreover, to the considerations which impel all men to avoid the perils of war, there is added, is the case of the man of trade, the extraordinary inducement of the unexampled profits of which a time of civil disorder furnishes the occasion, the temptation and the means.  Let us look around among our Gentile trade community, and ask ourselves if the same feverish anxiety to obtain an exemption, or "put in a substitute," is not the prevailing character of all?  And which conduct is more reprehensible, that of the Jews, who have remained in their old channels of business, enlarging and extending them, or that of those Gentiles who, from every profession and pursuit, from that of the clergyman to the seller of "truck," have rushed into the wildest speculations?   When we add that many of the latter were among the most blatant of our secession friends, the Jews have still less reason to shrink from the comparison.
               
The main reason why the number of Jews out of the service seems so very disproportionate is the fact that so large a number of them are unnaturalized Germans, and while I do not propose to defend the policy which permits foreigners to feed upon the distresses of the country, I protest against the Jews being made the victim of especial blame until it can be shown that they are peculiar in claiming the privilege which public legislation accords them; above all when we see the eagerness with which so many of the native born avail themselves of every shadow of excuse to avoid serving the land that gave them birth in the throws of immortal agony.
               
I have said the Jews were not as justly amenable to the charge of shirking the public defence as others.  Will any one point out a class more wealthy, more honored, more influential, more keen to see the main chance in peace or war than the Scotch?  And yet as far as I am aware there is not a Scotch regiment, battalion or even company in the Confederate service, to offset the splendid Scotch regiment which so stoutly upheld the banner of our foes on the first field of Manassas.  Their victories are in the bloodless but profitable fields of speculation, and yet we hear no sweeping imputation of their loyalty or denunciation of their greed.
               
The other charge is that of "infamous extortion."  If extortion means buying as cheaply as possibly and selling as dearly, I know one Gentile firm in Charleston that has profited more by extortion than all the Jews on Broad street, and I fancy that a woolen firm in  Richmond or a certain flouring establishment or a certain foundry might run a similar race with considerable prospects of success.  Those who make this charge and turn to the great cotton factories, to the iron factories, to the tanneries, to the commission houses, to the railroad companies, to the importers, to every conceivable branch of business; but especially to that vast storehouse of villainous corruption and vast profits in which, as in all I have named above, Christians enjoy an undivided monopoly of extortion, will have occasion to pause ere they assign to our Jewish fellow citizens the palm of superiority in that great trade vice which gnaws, like the Promethean vulture, at the vitals of the body politic.  No, Mr. Editor, for bold, unblushing thievery the above mentioned establishments owned and managed by the longest faces and the broadest phylacteries at synod and conventicle, the most immaculate purists in patriotism and Puritans in faith, claim a proud precedence over the worst and wickedest extortion ever charged against the petty trader or the larger dealer who so excited the indignation of these worthies.
               
Dry goods are not, perhaps, the forte of these Christian gentlemen, and the
                               
"Compound for sins they are inclined to,
                               
By damning those they have no mind to."
               
When the crime of extortion ceases to stalk abroad with so satisfied a post in every thoroughfare of life; when the press ceases to content itself with those glittering generalities of criticism which satisfy the editorial conscience without affecting the subscription list; when pampered extortioners cease to flaunt their ill-gotten gains unchallenged in the face of the sanctuary; when dastard pulpit orators arm themselves with the thunders of the church, and launch its righteous wrath against his crying wickedness in high places; and when public opinion and the potent voice of the law cease to connive at, if they do not absolutely applaud, all this gaudy crime, timidly shrinking from a contest with the monster, or meanly admitting their impotence to subdue it--then, and not till then, will it become us to pluck the mote from the eye of our Jewish brother, or reproach him for his blindness.
               
If, finally, it be true that many of our Jewish fellow-citizens have accumulated fortunes in the progress of this unhappy war, it is no less true that among those who have given of their abundance with lavish hand to every enterprise having the benefit of the soldier for its object, a conspicuous place may be claimed for the men and women of that faith.  I attest the reader's experience for corroboration of the statement, that in whatever tended to the army's weal, in camp or field, barrack or hospital, Jews have leant their aid with untiring energy and munificent generosity.  They have been appointed committee men, and worked well; they have been approached for assistance, and have paid well--better in many instances that have come under my own observation--far better than those who find employment for their malice or a cloak for their own crimes in vilifying them.
               
Such, Mr. Editor, are the candid sentiments of a volunteer, "who does not sign himself Moses," and is                                                                                                        NOT A JEW.
                                                                               
Petersburg, December 22, 1862. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, January 12, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
               
The Relief of Soldiers' Families.--We have received a copy of the Report of the Board for the relief of the families of soldiers in the Parishes of St. Philip's and St. Michael's.  It is a condensed and interesting account of the operations of this excellent State establishment.  The Board recommends to the Legislature another and further appropriation as absolutely required for the good work.  The report says:
               
The Board has now to provide for over six hundred soldiers' families, numbering about eighteen hundred persons; it has paid out the past year near thirty-seven thousand dollars, during the greater portion of which time the prices of food and provisions were fifty per cent. less than now; still, when it is known that the number of soldiers' families requiring aid is daily increasing from the harrowing truth that without credit and no work there is no alternative left but to apply for aid or starve, and, when, too, food and the indispensable necessaries of living are commanding and obtaining prices appalling to humanity, it is the advised and deliberate judgment of this Board that the recent appropriation by the Legislature of $59,5?2.23 to aid the soldiers' families in these Parishes is inadequate and insufficient for that purpose. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, January 13, 1863, p. 1, c. 5

Woman and the War.

                What a beautiful tribute to the women of the South was that paid by Bishop Elliott, in his recent sermon at Savannah.  Said he:
               
"The attitude of woman is sublime.  Bearing all the sacrifices of which I have just spoken, she is moreover called upon to suffer in her affections, to be wounded and smitten where she feels deepest and most enduringly.  Man goes to the battlefield, but woman sends him there, even though her heart-strings tremble while she gives the farewell kiss and the farewell blessing.  Man is supported by the necessity of movement, by the excitement of action, by the hope of honor, by the glory of conquest.   Woman remains at home to suffer, to bear the cruel torture of suspense, to tremble when the battle has been fought and the news of the slaughter is flashing over the electric wire, to know that defeat will cover her with dishonor and her little ones with ruin, to learn that the husband she doted upon, the son whom she cherished in her bosom, and upon whom she never let the wind blow too rudely, the brother with whom she sported through all her happy days of childhood, the lover to whom her early vows were plighted, has died upon some distant battlefield, and lies there a mangled corpse, unknown and uncared for, never to be seen again, even in death!  Oh!  those fearful lists of the wounded and the dead!  How carelessly we pass them over, unless our own loved ones happen to be linked with them in military association, and yet each name in that roll of slaughter, carries a fatal pang to some woman's heart--some noble, devoted woman's heart.  But she bears it all, and bows submissively to the stroke.  He died for the cause.  He perished for his country.  I would not have it otherwise, but I should like to have given the dying boy my blessing, the expiring husband my last kiss of affection, the bleeding lover the comfort of knowing that I kneeled beside him." 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, January 13, 1863, p. 1, c. 5

Save Your Rags.

                This would perhaps, in ordinary times, be quite an unnecessary piece of advice, but at this moment it is of vital importance.  As our readers know, the price of paper has advanced enormously, and as a consequence, publishers have been compelled to make a corresponding advance on their prices.  One great reason of this increased tariff on paper is the scarcity of rags with which to manufacture it.  The manufacturers inform us that rags are exceedingly difficult to obtain, even when, as is the case, the rates paid are higher, by at least 800 per cent. than formerly.
               
We write this article solely with the view of calling public attention to the scarcity, that it may, as far as possible, be remedied, and that speedily.  The press is one of the most potent auxiliaries of this Government in carrying forward its objects, and subserving its interests.  As a medium of communication, in times like these, when every day adds some memorable event to our history, the newspaper is as indispensable as our daily food.  And it is essential to our individual intelligence, and as a record of current events.  And as we sit down to read the pages of the favorite book or journal, let us not fail to remember that the materials for its manufacture must be obtained, or we shall have no book or newspaper.  Until the blockade is removed--a desideratum altogether among the uncertainties--we must rely upon our own resources.  Let then every family carefully save up all the rags--all the shreds--all the scraps—either linen, cotton, or woollen, and furnish them to the Paper Mills, and the proprietors of those mills will pay them handsomely therefore.  Husbands, tell your wives to see to this--and not only the wives, but let every member of the family, white and black, commence the saving of rags to make paper.  The possible contingency of a country like ours deprived of newspapers is shocking to contemplate.  And we will not believe but what, as we have thus sounded the note of alarm, every one interested (and who is not?) will do all in his or her power to keep the mills supplied with rags, that the press may thereby continue to dispense intelligence to the people.                                                                            Augusta Chronicle. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, January 14, 1863, p. 2, c. 2
               
Large Arrival of Ladies.--Between five and six hundred ladies and children, who arrived at City Point by the last truce boat from the North reached this city on Saturday by the trains from Petersburg.  Many of them are from Baltimore, and have long been waiting for Lincoln's permission to join their relatives in the South.  They looked travel worn and fatigued, and as they plodded wearily through the mud from the depot to places of temporary refuge, their first impressions of the Confederate capital seemed anything but agreeable.  Still, they are now in a place where they can wear the Dixie colors without the fear of a dungeon before their eyes.--Richmond Whig. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, January 16, 1863, p. 1, c. 2-3
                                                                                               
Richmond, Tuesday, January 13.
. . . Among the five hundred women and children who came from the North a day or two ago, is said to be the wife of Fitz John Porter, the Yankee General.  What she came for we know no more than we know why and wherefore all the rest came.  So crowded is this city that many of these ladies and children had to stay all night in the cars at the depot.  Large fires were kept up in the stoves, and they were made as comfortable as circumstances would admit.
               
Are your readers aware that Gen. Jeb Stuart carries with him wherever he goes, in all his circuits and raids, a brother of Joe Sweeney, the famous banjo player?  Such is the fact.  Sweeney is also a banjoist, and Stuart calls him his band.  He carries his banjo behind his saddle, wrapped up in a piece of oil cloth, and whenever the cavalry stop, even to water their horses, the band strikes up on the banjo and picks a merry air.  The performance of the banjo band in Pennsylvania drove several Dutch farmers raving distracted, for Sweeney swore that his banjo strings were made out of the viscera of their departed relatives and friends!                                                                 Hermes. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, January 16, 1863, p. 1, c. 5
               
Ice is selling in Richmond at eight cents a pound, or four dollars a bushel.
               
At the Orphans' Fair, in Mobile, the astonishing sum of $17,223 was raised on the occasion.
               
The death of Miss Julia Pardoe, the well-known novelist and "boudoir historian" is just announced. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, July 16, 1863, p. 1, c. 5
               
A new species of food for army uses, called the extract of flesh, is highly commended for invalid soldiers and others.  A half ounce represents the whole amount of nutriment in a pound of fresh beef.  The method of preparation is thus described:  "The whole process consists in taking lean beef, free of bone and fat, chopping it fine as when used for sausages or mince meat, and mixing it with its own weight of water.  It is then slowly heated to boiling and allowed to boil briskly, for a moment or two, when it is strained through cotton cloth to separate the coagulated albumin and florin.  The evaporation to dryness of the solution must be conducted at a low temperature by a water bath or a steam heat.  The powder is readily soluble in water.  When properly dried it will keep for months.  Enough can be stored in an ordinary watch fob to sustain a soldier a week.  An ordinary porcelain lined kettle, holding a gallon, is sufficient for the preparation of the extract.  To dry the solution, put the kettle into a larger vessel containing hot water." 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, January 17, 1863, p. 1, c. 1
                                                                                               
Mobile, Ala., January 10.
               
Mobile is a charming place, except in rainy weather, which invariably transforms the city into a kind of muddy Venice.  The Mobile ladies are the most beautiful and hospitable that I have seen south of the good old State of South Carolina.  And Mobile is quite a literary spot in our Confederacy.  Here reside the celebrated madame Octavia Walton Le Vert, now, as ever, dispensing hospitality to strangers, and making them feel at home in her elegant mansion; and Miss Augusta J. Evans, the authoress of "Beulah," who is generally seen, not in the ballroom or in gay assemblies, but beside the couch of some ill or dying soldier, many of whom daily pray for the health and good fortune of their beautiful friend.  Rumor says that Miss Evans has another work, superior to "Beulah," nearly ready for the publisher, the scenes of which are laid in Germany.  While I am writing of authoresses, I must not forget to mention a young writer of much promise; and I am told that she is one of the most beautiful young ladies of the Gulf City.  Her nomme de plume is "Augusta Washington," and report says that she is the daughter of one of the wealthiest merchants of Mobile.
               
On the 8th instant the Hebrew young ladies of this city gave a ball and supper, the proceeds to be given to the 32d Alabama Regiment, who have nobly distinguished themselves in Tennessee.  The spacious hall (Temperance Hall) was crowded, and, your correspondent speaks for self, all enjoyed themselves to their heart's content. . .   Leigh. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, January 17, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
               
Substitute for Gum Arabic.--Gum Arabic is used in some cases to increase the strength and brilliancy of starch.  For fine clothes, the gum which exudes from plum, peach or cherry trees, when transparent, answers this purpose well.  For making and sealing envelopes, the gum from the common red cherry tree is a good substitute for Gum Arabic. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, January 24, 1863, p. 1, c. 2
                                                                                               
Richmond, Tuesday, January 20.
. . . Speaking of Vicksburg, I give you an instance of female heroism recorded in a letter from a friend, who reached the City of the Hills too late to take an active part in its defence.  He is an officer of high character and undoubted veracity.  He says:  "I must tell you of a feat performed by a young girl, as told me by one who saw it, on the day of the hardest fight.  Her brother belonged to one of the batteries, and hearing that he was wounded, she started out alone and on foot for the battle field; and, against the remonstrances of all who saw her, walked along the line of entrenchments and across an open field, swept by a murderous fire of musketry, grape and canister, as if she had been going to church to show her new bonnet, to the point where his battery was.  You can imagine that the men whom she passed did not fight the worse for the sight." . . .  Hermes. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, January 27, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
               
Woolen Factory Burned.--On Monday, the 12th instant, the large Wool Carding Factory, located near Lincolnton, N. C., accidentally took fire and was entirely consumed, together with all the machinery, much of which was entirely new.  The property was owned by Col. L. D. Childs, one of the proprietors of the Saluda Factory, near Columbia, who lost by a similar cause some weeks since, an extensive cotton factory situated at the same place.  There was no insurance. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, January 27, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
               
The Israelites in the Army--There was a paragraph in one of the city papers the other day, to the effect that General Beauregard has said there were 40,000 Hebrews in the army, and hence, when applied to, had to decline the request made to him on one occasion, to permit them to be absent for a time from the army, in September, 1861.  What General B. really said will be found in the letter herewith:
                                                                                                            
                                                                                               Headquarters,                                    }
                                                                                             
1st Corps Army of the Potomac,       }
                                                                                            
Manassas, September 1st, 1861.        }
               
Dear Sir:  Your letter of the 23d ult. has been received and duly considered by the General Commanding, who instructs me to reply as follows:
               
The advance brigades of the army are now bivouacked in full view of the Capitol of the late United States, and have daily small conflicts with our invading enemy; therefore, to grant your application to give furloughs to the soldiers of the Jewish persuasion from "the 2d to the 15th day of September, so that they may participate in the holy service" of your ancient religion for this period of the year, is impossible, as you and all Hebrews serving with this army will surely understand.
               
It would seem, indeed, the Ruler of nations and God of battles is guiding and aiding us, as certainly and visibly in these days as when, of old, He released your people from Egyptian bondage; and the General sincerely believes that all Israelites now in this army will do quite as acceptable service to Jehovah, at this momentous juncture, in standing here, at their posts, ready to battle for their homes, their liberties, and their country, as if their time were passed in the strictest observance and celebration of the sublime rites of Judaism for this period of the year.
               
Confidently trusting in this, and assured that on reflection such must be the conclusion of all of your religion,
               
I have the honor to be,
                               
Respectfully,
                                               
Your obedient servant,
                                                               
Thomas Jordan,
                                                                               
A. A. General.
               
To M. I. Mechelbacker, Rabbi Preacher. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, February 4, 1863, p. 1, c. 4
               
One of our exchanges publishes a new recipe for making coffee, which we recommend to the steward at our boarding house.  Take coffee grains and pop corn of each an equal quantity.  Roast the same together.  The corn will pop out, and what remains will be unadulterated coffee. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, February 5, 1863, p. 1, c. 3-4
               
We find in the London Times another long letter from Mr. Lawley, its correspondent in the South.  We make some interesting extracts:
                                                                                                            
Culpeper Court House, Va.,
                                                                                                                                               
November 14, 1862.
. . . Meanwhile, in the shelter of the dense woods about Culpeper, in wonderful spirits, with physique greatly improved since the bloody day at Sharpsburg, are clustered the tatter-demalion regiments of the South.  It is a strange thing to look at these men, so ragged, slovenly, sleeveless, without a superfluous ounce of flesh upon their bones, with wild matted hair, in mendicants rags, and to think when the battle flag goes to the front, how they can and do fight.  "There is only one attitude in which I never should be ashamed of your seeing my men, and that is when they are fighting."  These were General Lee's words to me the first time I ever saw him; they have been confirmed by every other distinguished officer in the Confederacy.  There are triumphs of daring which these poor, ragged men have attempted, and attempted successfully in this war, which have never been attempted by their Sybarite opponents.  Again and again they have stormed batteries formidably defended at the point of the bayonet; nothing of the kind has ever been attempted by the Federals.
               
Again and again has Gen. Stuart's cavalry surprised Federal camps at night; no Confederate camp has been surprised since the beginning of the war.  One or two regiments of these tattered men will stand firm, though attacked by overwhelming numbers of the enemy, and will constantly under such circumstances successfully hold their ground.  Reverse the conditions, and see how long Federal regiments would bear such a blunt.  Lastly, even a small body of these men, under a favorite commander like Stonewall Jackson, have again and again thrown themselves on the flank or rear of immense armies of the Federals and done desperate execution.  Where has anything of the kind ever been attempted by their opponents?  It is a never failing source of wonder and admiration to the observer to see these men, so miserably found in every respect, so sparsely fed, so destitute of blankets, and yet so cheerful and light-hearted under every privation, so resolute and indomitable in suffering and in doing, so irresistible in the field.  It is a lesson in the duty of every day life which no man can watch without improvement and advantage.  Say what anybody likes, these are the true heroes of the memorable struggle for Southern independence.  No one would wish to deny to the commanding Generals their full mead of praise for the conduct of operations in the field; but they would be the last men to deny that higher praise is due to the suffering but indomitable rank and file who have borne cold and hunger and inadequate food and endless privations without a murmur, and yet have never bated a jot of heart or hope. . . . 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, February 9, 1863, p. 2, c. 3

Grand
Masquerade Ball!
at
South Carolina Hall,
on
Friday Evening, Feb. 20, 1863,
Commencing at 9 O'Clock.
----o----
A Full Band is Engaged.
----o----
Price of Tickets................................................$3.00
----o----

                Tickets for sale at the following places:  Courtenay's, 9 Broad-street; Welch & Harris, 68 Broad-street; Mills House, Charleston Hotel, Calder House, Teetotal Restaurant, King-street.                                            1*                                            February 9. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, February 12, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
               
To Slave Owners.--During the past few days several parties have been brought before His Honor the Mayor, for neglecting to get badges for their servants.  As our city laws are extremely rigid on this point, it would be well for those owning slaves, and who have neglected to procure badges, to do so at once, else the fines at the Mayor's Court will amount to more than the cost of the badges. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, February 19, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
               
Novel Idea.--During a recent debate in the Confederate Senate, Mr. Phelan, of Mississippi, adverted to the fact that they had seen white women, in "hoopless skirts and broad sunbonnets," guiding the plow in Southern fields.  He invoked God's blessing upon such women and hoped that they would be "mantel ornaments in the parlors of Paradise." 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, March 2, 1863, p. 1, c. 6

Bombardment of Vicksburg.

                                                                                                                                                                Vicksburg, February 18.
 
. . . As usual, the ladies again acted a conspicuous part in this scene, and the hills were covered with crinoline to look at the flying monsters as their noise indicated the direction in which they were coming.  The remark was frequently heard that "this looked again like last summer."  There are a great many women and children in town yet; many have nowhere to go; others have no means to take them away, and some obstinately refuse to leave.  At present there is a serious break in the Southern railroad, which prevents many from going, as that is the only route by which they can get away.  If General Pemberton's order is enforced it will create a good deal of suffering in this inclement season.  If the poor must leave town the country people should open their doors wide for them. . . .  

CHARLESTON MERCURY, March 3, 1863, p. 2, c. 1

Thanksgiving Service.

                                                                                                                                                                Camden, February 27th, 1863.
               
Bishop Davis sets forth the following special services for the congregations of the Protestant Episcopal Churches of the Diocese of South Carolina, to be used on Thursday next, March 5th, being the day of "Thanksgiving, Humiliation and Prayer" appointed by the Governor of the State:
               
Begin with the sentences "Rend your heart," etc., and "O Lord, rebuke me but with judgment," etc.
               
For the Psalter, use Psalms 51st, 25th and 54th.
               
First Lesson--Daniel, 9th chapter to verse 25th.
               
Second Lesson--St. John, 16th chapter.
               
The Long or entire Litany.
               
After the General Thanksgiving, this special

Collect of Thanksgiving.

                O Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, we poor sinners lift up our hearts to Thee, to bless and praise Thy holy name for all Thy manifold and great mercies to these Confederate States, from the first day even until now.  O most Mighty and Gracious Good God, Thy mercy is over all Thy works, but in special manner hath been extended towards us, Thy people, whom Thou hast so powerfully defended.  Thou hast showed us wonderful and terrible things; but Thou hast continued to protect and bless us; that we might see how Powerful and Gracious a God Thou art; how able and ready to help those who trust in Thee.  O God, with deep thankfulness of spirit we worship and adore Thee for Thy protecting power and grace.  Be Thou still our God, our Guide and Mighty Defender.  And make us, we beseech Thee, truly sensible of Thy mercies.  And give us hearts always ready to express our thankfulness, not only by words, but also by our lives, in being more obedient to Thy Holy Commandments; that we, whom Thou hast saved, may serve Thee in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life; through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.  Amen.
               
Then the following

Prayer:

                O most Powerful and Glorious Lord God; the Lord of Hosts; that rulest and commandest all things; Thou sittest on the Throne, judging right; and, therefore, we make our address to Thy Divine Majesty, that Thou wouldst take our cause into Thine own hands, and judge between us and our enemies.  Our trust is in Thy Mighty Power.  Stir up Thy Strength, O Lord, and come and help us; for Thou givest not always the battle to the strong, but canst save by many or by few.  O let not our sins cry against us for vengeance, but hear us, Thy servants, begging mercy and imploring Thy help, and that Thou wouldst be a Defence unto us against the face of our enemies.--We implore Thy protection and power against those who have invaded our soil and our homes.  We humbly look up unto Thee, O Lord, and say that we have done them no wrong.  Raise up Thy Power, and come among us, and with great Thy Power, and come among us, and with great might help us.  Be Thou our Stronghold in the day of our calamity.  We flee unto Thee for succor, and our hope is in Thy Great and Glorious name.  Defend, O Lord, and establish our cause.  Endue us with power and strength; give us victory over all our enemies, and make it appear that Thou art our Saviour and Mighty Deliverer; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.
               
Also the prayer set forth for the soldiers now "fighting the battles of our country."
               
The Ante-Communion service, with the Collect for the third Sunday in Lent, and the following

Collect.

                O Eternal God, Wonderful in Counsel and Infinite in Power, who rulest in the Heavens above and in the earth beneath; hear the supplications of Thy servants on this day of humiliation and prayer.  We beseech Thee, O God, favorably to behold this Government and people, now bending before Thee in deep humility of heart; confessing their own sins, acknowledging Thy Divine Sovereignty, and earnestly imploring Thy Heavenly Benediction and Grace.  We are sinful, but Thou, O Lord, art Holy and Merciful.  We are weak, but Thou art Mighty.  Draw near and help us; pardon our sins and receive and answer our prayers.  Bless our rulers, direct their counsels, unite their hearts, strengthen their hands and prosper all their undertakings.  And may it please Thee, O Lord God, to visit and bless this whole people in this time of danger and trial.  Be Thou our present Helper and Defender, and a strong Tower against the face of our enemies.  Give courage and strength to our army and navy.  Fight with us, O God, against those who are threatening our homes, our firesides, and our families.  Confound their counsels, bring to naught their wicked devices, subdue their pride, break their power and deliver us from all their oppressions and wrongs; that we, Thy people, being hurt by no persecutions, may be preserved evermore to glorify Thee, Who art the only Giver of all victory.  Grant, this, O Father, Almighty, for the sake of Thy Blessed Son, our Redeemer and Saviour, Jesus Christ.  Amen.
               
The Epistle, 1st Peter, 3d chapter, from the 8th to the 18th verse.
               
The Gospel, St. Matthews, 24th chapter, from the 3d to the 14th verse. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, March 5, 1863, p. 2, c. 2

A Prayer for Our Country.

                O Lord, Thou who bringest the counsels of the heathen to naught and makest the devices of the people to be of none effect, and castest out the counsels of princes, when they have offended They; have mercy upon this Confederacy; forgive and pardon the sings of this people; turn Thee unto them and bless them, that the world may say--Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord Jehovah, and blessed are the folk that He hath chosen to Him to be His inheritance.  Lord, hear and grant for Jesus Christ's sake.  Amen.
               
Lord, bless our country, that religion and virtue may season all sorts of men; that there may be peace within the gates, and plenty within the palaces of it.  In peace, we beseech Thee, to preserve it, that it corrupt not; in war, so defend it that it suffer not in plenty, so order it that it riot not in want, so pacify and moderate it, that it may patiently and peaceably seek Thee, the only full supply of both men and states; that it may continue a place and a people to do Thee service to the end of time; through Jesus Christ our only Saviour and Redeemer.  Amen.
               
O Lord, according to all Thy righteousness, we beseech Thee, let Thy anger be turned away from this City, this State, and this Confederacy, and cause Thy Face to shine upon whatsoever is desolate therein; for Jesus Christ's sake.  Amen.

----

                Grant, we beseech Thee, our God, to the people of this Confederacy grace "to hearken unto Thee, and to walk in thy ways."  "Put down," we entreat Thee, "our enemies, and turn Thy Hand against all our adversaries;" yea, against our every spiritual and national adversary, do Thou turn Thy Hand--so that by Thy grace and strength we may ever continue to win one victory after another over every ghostly and human foe, until our hearts and lives, our churches and homes, our politics and government, our army and navy, be purified from all sin and corruption, and our land be freed from the presence and power of its every enemy.  And, O Lord of Hosts, "the Great, the Mighty, and the Terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before Thee, that hath come upon us;" but "let now," we implore and beseech Thee, "Thy sword be quiet; let it now put itself into its scabbard and rest, and be still.  Let its charge against the sea shore be withdrawn, and its appointment thereon be ended."  For our Saviour's sake, hear and answer in mercy; and to the ever blessed and glorious Trinity be all praise and worship.  Amen. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, March 19, 1863, p. 1, c. 2
A book as big as the palm of your hand, and about as thick as two batter cakes, has been published by a Texan, who calls himself "A Young Revelle."  Its title is "Abram," and I am told it sells readily in camp for a dollar the copy.
               
Snow or rain in the offing.                                                  Hermes. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, March 20, 1863, p. 1, c. 6
               
Substitute for Tea.--A new style of Confederate tea, which is very much approved by those who have used it, is made by mixing half a teaspoonful of tea with a table spoonful and a half of blackberry leaves, which have been cured by drying them on a cooking stove.  The blackberry leaf can be found in any seasons in sheltered places, and will soon be abundant. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, March 23, 1863, p. 1, c. 3
               
Novel Impressment.--Fifteen or twenty women, the leader of whom carried a revolver, in Atlanta, on Wednesday, went around to a number of grocery stores, seizing bacon, meal, and vegetables, paying such prices as they thought proper.  They were dispersed by the police.  The Confederacy says the women were only imitating the example set them by Government officials. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, March 25, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
               
Another Female Food Riot took place in Salisbury, N. C., on the 18th.  The women concerned in it compelled the merchants to share with them their stock of flour, and also robbed several families of the stock laid in for home use.  Salt, snuff and molasses was also taken. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, March 27, 1863, p. 2, c. 2-3

A Prayer for the Times.
Compiled from an Old Writer, With Alterations and Additions Suitable
to the Present Condition of the Confederate States of America.

                Gracious Father, the life of man is a warfare upon earth, and the dangers which assault us are diversely pointed against us.  We humbly beseech Thee be present with us in all the course and passages of our lives, but especially in the services of our various callings, in the Secession we have undertaken, and in every stern consequence in which it has involved us.  Suffer, we entreat Thee, no malice, or treachery, or stratagem to hurt us; no cunning to circumvent us; no surprises to overtake or discomfit us; no violence to assault or conquer us; no falsehood to betray us; no sickness to enfeeble, and no mortality to diminish our forces; no inferiority in numbers or in the outward appliances of war, and no incompetence in our officers and in those under their command, to occasion our overthrow, or to defeat or impair our successes.  That which we cannot foresee we beseech Thee to prevent; that which we do not fear we beseech Thee to unmask and frustrate; and that which we cannot withstand we beseech Thee to master--particularly the possession of so many of our cities and forts by the enemy; their presence and strength in our waters and upon our soil; and the blockade of our ports:--And, as all these national calamities have their counterparts in our spiritual existence, wrest, we beseech Thee, from our ghostly foes, and take into Thy own keeping, every stronghold of our hearts; destroy within us the dominion of the world, the flesh and the devil; and remove every obstruction to the free ingress of Thy Holy Spirit into our souls, and to the fullest returns of our love, or obedience and our gratitude to Thee--that, being delivered from all dangers of spirit, soul and body, we may praise Thee, our Deliverer, and experience how secure and happy and triumphant a thing it is to make the Lord of Hosts our Protector and Helper in the day of fear and trouble, of peril and distress.  Amen.
               
O Merciful God, though might and numerous States, and armies, and navies gather together against us, yet let them be driven away from our borders as the smoke before the wind, and as the dust before the whirlwind; and though they take counsel together, bring it to nought.  For though they pronounce a decree, yet it shall not stand, of Thou, O God, be with us:  Be with us, therefore, O God, for Jesus Christ's sake.  And since at this time we need thy more especial assistance both by sea and by land, for the mercy of Christ deny us neither, but vouchsafe us both in the fullness of Thy Omnipotence to save.  Grant that our enemies' ships may find no new ways in our seas, nor any further paths in our floods; and wherever their fleets and armies are already within our watercourses and our territories, grant that they may find no abiding place in either.  Defeat, we implore Thee, the designs and confound the machinations of all who seek our subjugation and ruin.   Baffle their plans and subvert their enterprises; turn their expeditions back by the way which they came, and by Thy own Almighty Power render powerless against us their every invention and expenditure for our injury and destruction, and especially everything now in preparation against our city--against the capital of our Confederacy--against our every sister city throughout the length and breadth of the land--may "the mischief they intend, and the devices they imagine, be such as they are not able to perform. [Ps. xx:12]  Grant that their spies and emissaries, and every secret foe and traitor among ourselves, may be speedily detected and effectually banished from the country.  Amen.
               
Preserve us, Most Merciful God, from plague, pestilence, disease, sickness and mortality; from famine, from scarcity and high prices of food, of raiment, and the common necessaries of life.  O Father, we beg Thee to feed, clothe and shelter our soldiers.  Place under them Thy Everlasting Arms and over and around them Thy All-watching Wings.  Make them all soldiers of the Cross of Christ no less than soldiers of the Confederacy.  Rescue them and the whole country from the inhuman grasp of the speculator and the extortioner; have mercy upon these unhappy instruments of so many of the woes and sufferings which now afflict us, and turn their affections and energies from the groveling, transitory accumulations of earth to set them upon the elevating and ever enduring riches of Heaven.  Look in the city upon the poor; raise up friends for the succor of the helpless, the sick, and the aged; and bless the young and healthy with employment, and active, persevering industry.  Amen.
               
Deliver us, we implore Thee, from war and tumult, invasion, and from battle, murder, dueling, from assault, from personal conflicts of every kind; from all recklessness and rashness, from mistakes and carelessness, and from injurious and fatal accidents; from wounds and from loss of limbs, of feathers, and of life, but above all, from praylessness, from forgetfulness of Thee, from neglect of Thy Word and Commandments, from sin, and from spiritually sudden death.  Blessed Saviour, Thou Great and Compassionate Physician, be present at every bed of suffering and death; speak to the sick and wounded, to the languishing, the desponding, and the despairing, the word of healing power which bids them "arise and walk"--and that word of a yet better healing, which bids them "go and sin no more."  Lord, now that Thou art in Thy kingdom, remember us and our dying friends; remember, too, our dying enemies, and impart to us all the repentance and faith of Him who was crucified at Thy dear, bleeding Side; and make the day of death to each of us the day of our being with Thee in Paradise.  Behold in tender pity the thousands of our bereaved people, and according to Thy own most precious promise, be Thyself the husband of the widow--the father of the fatherless--the All-Sufficient One who remembers when nursing mothers forget or die--the friend that sticketh closer than a brother--and cause the parental heart, even in its keenest anguish and most lonely desolation, to experience that Thou art better than many sons and daughters.  Thou hast made us to weep and bow before Thee as a nation of mourners--make us to the same extent to humble ourselves in Thy sight as a nation of submissive, sanctified penitents, and as each loved one departs to be no more seen on earth, bless us with so sensible an increase of Thy presence in our spirits, our lives and our households, as may constrain us to feel that in exchanging the finite for the Infinite Friend, our loss has become an unspeakable gain.  Amen.
               
Almighty God and Merciful Father, guard us in each State of the Confederacy from sedition, conspiracy, rebellion, or insurrection; and in our Army and infant Nation from disaffection and insubordination, from mutiny and desertion, from cowardice and panic, from intemperance and blasphemy; and from the want of generalship which fails to obtain an advantage, or to improve it when obtained.  Make all in authority in every ecclesiastical, civil, military, and naval department, examples of holy allegiance and Christian fidelity to Thee, of sobriety and truthfulness, of self-denial and fortitude, of courage and prayerful dependence upon Thee.  Take not from us the sharpness and the point of the two-edged sword; but enable us to win one victory after another over every spiritual and national foe, until our hearts and lives, our Churches and homes, our politics and our government be purified from all sins and corruptions; and our land be freed from the presence and power of its every enemy.  Protect our soldiers and citizens from capture and imprisonment, and from cold-blooded, murderous executions; and extend deliverance to those already in the custody of our adversaries--whether shut up in their own cities or within the walls of some foreign Bastille; and accept our heartfelt praises for the many whom Thou hast so graciously restored to their homes and country.  Amen.
               
Lord of all Power and Might, be Thou Thyself the Defence of our defences [sic], and the Shield of our entire coast; of our forts and harbors; our inlets and rivers, and of our railroads and bridges.  Be the guardian of our persons and the persons of our slaves; of our churches and our homes; and of our substance of every kind.  Keep us and all that we are and have sacred from the touch, and safe from the shell, the cannon, and the torch of our adversaries--that we may glorify Thee for these deliverances no less than for Thy signal presence and power with us in the Bloodless victory of Sumter.  We supplicate Thee that the lives of our soldiers may again be as precious in Thy sight as on that day of miraculous preservation, when the waters of death saw Thee and fled--so that "the sum of the men of war being taken, there lacked not one man of us."--Num. xxxi:49.  "This was the Lord's doing: and it is marvelous in our eyes."--Ps. csviii:23.  "For God is our King of old, the help that is done upon earth, He doeth it Himself."--Ps. lxxiv:13.  "Now, therefore, our God, we thank Thee and praise Thy glorious Name."--1. Chron. xxiv:12.  And like the Samaritan leper, we return to give Thee glory, and to beg that our gratitude may like his be accepted and commended by the Saviour.  Amen.
               
Abate, we beseech Thee, the pride, appease the wrath, and assuage the fury of our enemies--soften their hearts, and change their unnatural hatred and cruelty into Christian love and humanity.  Let them, and let us, see this whole conflict in the Light of Eternity.  Let us understand it now, as we shall when we look back upon it from the better world of unbroken harmony and everlasting peace.  Have mercy upon both Republics, and put a speedy end to our bloody distractions.  Speak as of old to the Destroying Angel--"It is enough; stay now Thy hand."  Once more let the command go forth, that "he put up his sword again into the sheath thereof."--1 Chron. xxi:15-29.  May the fall of this Great Babylon, the Union, which we have so long and so audaciously claimed to "have, built by the might of our power, and for the honor of our majesty--Dan. iv:30--rebuke forever into silence our vain self-reliance, and wholly extinguish our trust in everything which is not Thyself.  Withhold us from becoming a second time inflated into a nation of Nebuchadnezzars, and restrain our impious desires and impotent hands from again attempting to build a "Tower, whose top may reach to Heaven"--Gen. xi:3.--lest in Thy holy wrath and righteous indignation Thou uproot us from among the kingdoms of the earth, and blot our names from among the living; from which doom, Good Lord deliver us, for Jesus Christ's sake.--Amen.
               
If it be Thy Gracious and Merciful Will concerning us, grant that the North may have no more "portion, nor right, nor memorial" in the South.--Neb. xi:20.  Fit and prepare us for a right reception and improvement of an early termination of the war; and then bless us with an equitable and abiding Peace:--so abiding, that henceforth Thy Word may be our Country's only sword; prayer our only wrestling; and faith its triumph.  Father of Infinite Wisdom and Love, do Thou Thyself regulate for us Thy own institution of slavery; set Thou the bounds of our habitations, and cause us and our slaves to grow up within them into "a chosen generation a royal priesthood; a holy nation, a peculiar people;" 1 Pet. ii:9--and provide for us, from every Sovereign State of the Confederacy, able men, such as fear Thee--men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over us to be our rulers.--Exodus xviii:21.  "Govern us" Thyself, "and lift us up forever."  Vouchsafe to keep us without sin in our time of our tribulations, and in all time of our prosperity.  Help us, Thy servants, whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy precious blood.  O Lord, save us, Thy people, and bless us, Thine heritage;" and, in Thy good time, make us to be numbered with Thy saints in glory everlasting.  May the severe lessons and bitter sufferings of the past be turned into self-knowledge and self-abasement, into humility and repentance, and into wisdom and purification; and grant that for the future, being sheltered by Thy grace and favor from every spiritual and temporal evil, and cleansed from all personal and national vices, we may continue from generation to generation to obey and serve thee in such purity of spirit and holiness of life, that we may ever abide a place and a people to do Thee service to the end of Time, through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour; to Whom, with Thee and the Holy Ghost, be all praise, worship and dominion.  Amen.
               
And we will stand up and bless Thee, the Lord our God, for ever and ever; and blessed be Thy glorious Name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise."--Neh. ix:12.  Amen and Amen. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, April 8, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
               
The Want of Printing Paper.--The Augusta Constitutionalist, of Saturday last, appears in a half sheet.  The editor says:
               
The destruction of the Bath Paper Mills, from which was derived our supplies of printing paper, may entail on us the necessity of suspending the issue of the Constitutionalist.  At this time it seems impossible to obtain paper from any other sources.  All the paper mills of the Confederacy are now monopolized to their fullest capacity by press engagements.  Under these circumstances, we prefer not to receive any more subscriptions.  We request all persons contemplating remittances by mail or express, to withhold them, at least until we can announce definitely whether we will be able to continue the issue of this paper.  Should we be compelled to suspend, we will resume our publication as soon thereafter as practicable.  It is wholly impossible, however, now to make any calculation as to when that can be.
               
The remarks apply equally to the publication of The Southern Field and Fireside.
               
It would be vain for us to attempt to express the depth of our regret at this great calamity.  It is one of those terrible providences to which we must bow, and we feel our subscribers will do so likewise, without any other sentiment towards us than that of regret at a common misfortune.
               
Under these circumstances, we will be compelled, for the present, to publish our daily on a half sheet, and to condense, or perhaps leave out, our contract advertisements.
               
The Macon Telegraph, of Monday, also appears on a half sheet.  The editor says:
               
What we have for a long time foreseen and dreaded as inevitable, has come upon us.  We are obliged to take to a fragment of a sheet and even then can only promise that it shall be as large as possible.  For the reasons which impel this step we refer the reader to an article copied elsewhere from the Charleston Courier of the 3d instant--and so stringent are they as to force that old, wealthy, and influential sheet to a suspension for a few days.  Nothing remains for us and all other Confederate newspapers, but to diminish our consumption to the lowest possible limit consistent with keeping our readers advised of current events, and this must be done by throwing out all standing advertisements, and restricting that branch of our business to the smallest possible limit. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, April 9, 1863, p. 1, c. 5
               
Advance in the Price of Richmond Papers.--The Richmond papers have all been compelled to advance their prices.  The Enquirer and Examiner have gone up to $15 for twelve months, and $8 for six months.  The Whig has advanced to $12, and the Dispatch to $10.  The Sentinel, a new paper, is mailed at $10 a year.  These rates are high, but do not begin to correspond with the advance in everything else. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, April 14, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
Frank Vizetelly.--This talented artist and accomplished observer of men and things, we are glad to know, has spent some time in Charleston, busily employed in professional labors for the London Illustrated News.  His pictures of life and the events of the war are calculated to convey more correct ideas of the Southern people than any which have yet reached Europe.  They greatly assist the popular mind.  Portfolios of his sketches, as engraved and printed, would, after the war, be quite interesting and desirable as ornaments for the tables of Southern families.
               
A day or two since we had the pleasure of seeing a beautiful drawing of the Battle of the 7th in this Harbor, to follow many preceding illustrations in running the blockade.  We wish Mr. Vizetelly all success. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, April 14, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
               
Wooden Shoes.--Mr. A. Pudigon, the well known florist, has established a factory on the Neck for the manufacture of the "French sabot," or wooden shoe, and has now five experienced workmen, directly from Paris, employed.  Mr. Pudigon manufactures men's, women's and children's shoes from a solid piece of wood, and the articles look much more convenient than the idea of a wooden shoe would suggest.  They are most admirably adapted for overshoes in wet weather.  A specimen pair may be seen at our office. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, April 15, 1863, p. 1, c. 3
                                                                                    
Richmond, Saturday, April 11.
. . . The paper famine rages here as fiercely as with you.  The publishers look glum, and the shop keepers are at their wit's end almost.  It is funny to see them pinching their wrapping paper to the merest scrap, hardly enough to cover the parcel you purchase.  In a few days we will have to toat [sic] things in our handkerchiefs. . . . Hermes. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, April 15, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
               
That noble charity, the Free Market of Charleston, is, we regret to learn, badly in need of support.  Nearly eight hundred families of soldiers now in the service are dependent upon this beneficent institution for sustenance.  A heavy outlay is required to meet the wants of so many worthy and destitute persons.  The expense foots up fully $10,000 per month, and the task of providing this large amount has fallen of late upon a small number of liberal gentlemen.  But the burthen has now grown too heavy for them longer to sustain alone, and unless our citizens come to their aid, the Free Market, which is already $5000 in debt, must close on the 5th of May.  We trust, for the fame and humanity of Charleston, that this good enterprise, which is absolutely indispensable for the alleviation of want in our midst, will not be suffered to fall to the ground in this the crisis of our fortunes as a community. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, April 16, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
               
Cure for Mange.--A great desideratum for sportsmen is a certain, simple and cheap cure for mange, and one that can be easily procured in the country.  I have kept a pack of dogs for many years, and have tried, with various success, every variety of mange ointments, both of scientific and simple applications.  The most speedy, certain and simple that has yet come under my observation is the following, which I have used with entire success:
               
1 pint common soft lye soap              }
               
1/2 pint sugar,                                   }
               
1/2 pint powder of sulphur,                } well mixed together.
               
1 pint coal tar,                                   }
               
A simple application, well rubbed into the skin (not merely daubed on the hair) will in two weeks time effect the cure.  Tie the dog, after the application, in the sun for two hours, until dry, with his head well up, so as to prevent rolling, and then let him go until the gradually wears off, which will be in about two weeks.  Try it.
                                                                                                               
Hunter. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, April 17, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
               
Shoe Pegs.--The Staunton Spectator describes the process of making shoe pegs at the factory in that town.  A maple tree is felled in the forest one day--hauled to town--delivered at the peg manufactory--in less time than a stammering man can say "Jack Robinson," it is manufactured into shoe pegs, and in a few more days some of the pegs are on the shoes of our soldiers, chasing fleeing Yankees.  The proprietors are now furnishing the Government at the price of $10 per bushel, and sell to individuals at $16 per bushel. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, April 20, 1863, p. 4, c. 5

Cultivation of the Garden Poppy.

                To the Editor of the Mercury:  As the prospect of cultivating the Garden Poppy on an extensive scale is very encouraging, and having received a number of letters asking information relative to the planting, management and preparation of Opium, I send you the following directions, which I have extracted from a work, recently published, entitled "Resources of the Southern Fields and Forests," by Surgeon F. Peyre Porcher, C. S. Army.
                                                                                                            
Thomas Lining, 
                                                                                                              
Medical Purveyor, C. S. A.
               
Garden Poppy.--The variety most preferred is that whose heads or capsules, when ripe, assume a slightly bluish tinge.  The color of the flower is unimportant.  The seed is either white or black; some persons think that the black seeded variety is more productive, others give the preference to the white in this respect.  The structure of the capsules is of more consequence; for there is a variety in which the envelope of the capsule dehises [sic?] spontaneously when ripe, so that the seed is easily shed; and another, in which the seen remains enclosed within the capsules, which must be opened in order to extract it.  The Poppy may become one of the most profitable corps, if we have the means of disposing of the seed, or if we knew how to extract the oil.  By proper cultivation it might be made to produce from nine to ten bushels of seed per acre, and one bushel yields twenty-four pounds of good oil.--This oil, especially the first portion, which is cold expressed, and mixed in the mill with slices of apple, is doubtless the purest kind of oil for the table, and the most agreeable that is known.  It is inferior to none excepting the finest Nice or Lucca oil.  It is preferable to the second rate oil of those places, and the peculiar taste of the olive oil may be imparted to it by the addition of a small quantity of that oil of superior quality.--The oil of the Poppy is bland, and not narcotic.  It is used both for food and light, and is considered a fifth more valuable than that of the Coliza.  The cakes remaining after the expression of the oil are valuable for the fattening of swine, and the stalks for fuel.  The ashes which remains after burning it are of the best kind for manure.  The oil expressed in cold weather is much superior to that obtained in warm weather, and the two must not be mixed.  The largest seeds, which are employed for medical and domestic use, are obtained from the single-flowered kind, not only for the purpose of extracting Opium, but also on account of the bland esculent oil which is expressed from the seeds, which are simply emulsive, and contain none of the narcotic principle.  For the latter purpose, if no other, its culture in this country is worthy of attention.  The annual amount of Opium imported into the United States is valued at upwards of $407,000.  The Poppy, it is said, produces better when planted in the fall.  The seeds should be planted in the month of September, by which means the plants attain sufficient size to endure the cold of winter; they were also found to produce more opium than those planted in March.  Having a tap-root, their size will consequently be proportioned to the depth of earth they are enabled to penetrate--hence the necessity of land that will admit of deep ploughing [sic].  The finest of the surface, too, is very essential.  As the seed is small, and the plants on their first coming up so exceedingly tender, that the brush harrow should always be used after those which are commonly employed.  They should be so cultivated that the gatherer may not disturb the plants in collecting the juice.  The successful cultivation of the plant, however, requires the provision of a good soil, appropriate manure and careful management.  In obtaining Gum Opium, the capsules are cut longitudinally only through the skin, though some advise that it should be done from below upwards.  The incisions should be made in the afternoon, the hardened gum being scraped off the next morning.  If the incisions be too deep, the juice passes within the poppy head.  In England, forty pounds were made in one season by one person. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, April 27, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
               
The Latest Fashions.--The London Illustrated news, containing the fashion plates, has arrived through the blockade--from which it would appear that the costume of the ladies is returning to a simple style.  Hoops are assuming rational dimensions, and the ball room dress, compared with the past styles, is almost denuded of ornament.  This change is especially true in relation to street costume.  Trains have entirely disappeared.  The dress falls hardly below the ankle, leaving the whole foot exposed. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, April 28, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
               
We have received from Mr. Samuel Hart, Sr., a copy of the Stonewall Song Book, being a collection of patriotic, sentimental and comic songs, published by West & Johnston, Richmond, Va.
               
Field and Fireside.--The last number of this interesting weekly announces its discontinuance after that date for the want of paper. 

CHARLESTON MERCURY, April 29, 1863, p. 1, c. 1-2

Resources of Our Fields and Forests.

                In compliance with the suggestion of the Surgeon General, we begin to-day the publication of extracts from the valuable work of Dr. Porcher.  We call the special attention of farmers and planters, of house-wives, gardeners, and all who deal with herbs, to these extracts, in the hope that they will devote themselves with energy to the patriotic task of collecting and preparing medicinal plants for the use of the soldiers in the field and in hospitals.  A vast deal of good may be done, and an immense stock of native medicines may be gathered before next winter sets in, if the hints here given are attended to.  Of course, a fair price will be paid for all medicines, and a ready sale will be found for them:
               
Sassafras.--Whilst engaged in active duties as Surgeon to the Holcombe Legion, whenever a soldier suffered from measles, pneumonia, bronchitis, or cold, his companion or nurse was directed to procure the roots and leaves of sassafras, and a tea made with this supplied that of flax seed or gum arabic.
               
Bene (Sesamum).--The planters and farmers throughout the Confederate States should save and cure all the leaves of the Bene now growing, to be used in camp dysentery, in colds, coughs, etc., among our soldiers, in place of gum arabic or flax seed.  One or two leaves in a tumbler of water imparts their mucilaginous properties.
               
Dogwood (Cornus Florida)--Since the war, the bark has been employed with great advantage in place of quinine--by physicians in Sumter District, S. C., and elsewhere--particularly in cases of low forms of fever, and in dysentery, on the river courses, of a typhoid character.  It is given as a substitute for Peruvian bark.  In fact, in almost any case where the Cinchona bark was used.
               
Wild Jalap (Podophyllum Peltatum).--This can be used as a laxative in place of rhubarb or jalap, or whenever a purgative is required.  Every planter in the Confederate States can produce the opium, mustard and flax seed that is required, either for the army or home use.
               
Podophyllum peltatum, L.  Wild jalap; May Apple.--We have employed this plant among negros [sic] as a substitute for jalap and the ordinary cathartics, and find that it answers every purpose, being easily prepared by the person having charge of them.  Thirty grains of the root in substance were given, or an infusion of one ounce in a pint of water, of which a wine glassful three times a day is the dose; employing the Liriodendron tulipifera as a substitute for quinine during the stage of intermission of all mild cases of intermittent fever.  We would invite the particular attention of planters to the extensive use of these medicines upon their plantations.  We have caused them to be used on one on which upward of a hundred negros [sic] resided, and we found that during a period of seven months, including the warm months of summer, they were used in all cases, and apparently fulfilled every indication.
               
Papaver Sumniferum.  Opium Poppy.--"The poppy may become one of the most profitable corps if we have the means of disposing of the seed, or if we knew how to extract the oil.  By proper cultivation it may be made to produce from nine to ten bushels of seed per acres, and one bushel yields twenty-four pounds of good oil.  This oil, especially the first portion, which is cold pressed, and mixed in the mill with slices of apple, is doubtless the purest kind of oil for the table, and the most agreeable that is known.  It is inferior to none, excepting the finest Nice or Lucca oil.  It is preferable to the second rate oil of those places, and the peculiar taste of olive oil may be imparted to it by the addition of a small quantity of that oil of superfine quality."  The largest heads which are employed for medical or domestic use, are obtained from the single flowered kind, not only for the purpose of extracting opium, but also on account of the bland, escurent [sic] oil that is expressed from the seeds, which are simply emulsive, and contain none of the narcotic principle.  For the latter purpose, if no other, its culture in this country is worthy of attention.  Certainly, it is an object worthy of public encouragement, as the annual amount of opium imported into the United States is valued at upward of $407,000.  If this was true some years since, how much more essential to us is its production now (1862), when gum opium and morphine are so very difficult to obtain?  Occupied in researches upon these subjects during the month of June, under the order of the Surgeon-General, I was enabled to collect, in a few days, more than an ounce of gum opium, apparently of very excellent quality, having all the smell and taste of opium (which I have administered to the sick), from specimens of the red poppy found growing in a garden near Stateburgh, S. C.  I have little doubt that all we require could be gathered by ladies and children within the Confederate States, if only the slightest attention was paid to cultivating the plants in our gardens.  It thrives well and bears abundantly.  It is not generally known that the gum which hardens after incising the capsules is then ready for use, and may be prescribed as gum opium, or laudanum and paregoric may be made from it, with alcohol or whisky.
               
The poppy, it is said, produces better when planted in the fall.
               
In obtaining gum opium, the capsules are cut longitudinally only through the skin, though some advise that it should be done from below upwards.  I find longitudinal incisions the most economical.  This is generally done late in the afternoon, the hardened gum being scraped off early next morning.  Boys and girls can easily attend to this.  If the capsules are cut only on one side, the same operation may be repeated on the other side, and a fresh supply of opium obtained.  A knife with three or four edges, cutting about the twelfth or fourteenth part of an inch, is some times used.  If the incision is too deep, the juice passes within the poppy head.
               
Liriodendron tulipifera, L.  Tulip tree; white wood; poplar.  Grows in swamps; diffused.  Collected in St. John's, Charleston District; Columbia; Newbern.  Fl. June.
               
This plant is tonic diuretic, and diaphoretic, and is generally considered one of the most valuable of the substitutes for Peruvian bark.  Dose of bark xx to xxx grains.  It is a stimulant tonic, slightly diaphoretic.  The infusion or decoction is made in the proportion of an ounce to a pint of water; dose, one or two fluid ounces.
               
Aconitum uncinatum, L. Aconite, monkshood, wolfbane.  Shady banks of streams among the mountains of Confederate States, and northward.
               
The tincture of aconite is more manageable, and is useful as an external anesthetic in frontal neuralgia, local pains, etc.  No remedy, save chloroform, equals it when applied locally for the relief of pain.  The tincture may be combined with oil and chloroform, as a liniment in rheumatism.
               
Cornus Florida, L.  Dogwood.  Well known; diffused in rich shady lands; Newbern, Va.
               
In our present need of astringent and anti-periodics and tonics, the dogwood bark powdered will be found the best substitute for Peruvian.  Internally and externally, it can be applied wherever the cinchona barks were found serviceable.  The dogwood bark and root, in decoction, or in form of cold infusion, is believed by many to be the most efficient substitute for quinine, also in treating malarial fevers; certainly it might be used in the cases occurring in camp, to prevent the waste of quinine, as it can be easily and abundantly procured.
               
Dr. Richard Moore, of Sumter District, informs me that he not only finds it efficient in fevers, but particularly useful, with whisky or alcohol, in low forms of fevers, and dysentery occurring near our river swamps.
               
During convalescence, where an astringent tonic is required, this plant supplies our need.  See eupatorium (boneset) and Liriodendfon.  These, with the blackberry and chinquapin as astringents, the gentians and pipsissewa as tonics and tonic diuretics, the sweet gum, sassafras and bene for their mucilaginous and aromatic properties, and the wild jalap (podophylum) as a cathartic, supply the surgeon in camp with easily procurable medicinal plants, which are sufficient for almost every purpose.  Nitrate and bi. carbonate of potash are most required, and with calomel, may be procured from abroad.  Our supply of opium can be easily procured by planting the poppy and incising the capsules.  Every planter could raise a full supply of opium, mustard and flax seed.  The wood of the dogwood, like the willow, is preferred in making gun powder.  See Salin.  A tonic compound, as advised by the herbalists, is made with the bark of the root of dogwood, colombo (Frasera), poplar, each six ounces; bark of wild cherry, six ounces; leaves of thoroughwort, four ounces; cayenne pepper, four ounces--sifted and mixed.  Dose, a teaspoonful, in warm or cold water, repeated.  It is stated in the Newbern Progress "that a ripe dogwood berry taken three times a day, before meals, will cure ague and fever."
               
Cucumis pepo, W. Pumpkin.  Cultivated very successfully in South Carolina.
               
The fruit which should have been dried as a winter provision for our army, ahs been converted into brandy, and dried fruit will probably be very scarce.  An excellent substitute may be found in the pumpkin.  Cut into slips and dried either in the sun or in a dry room, it is said to be little inferior to dried apples.
               
Ricadus communis.