CELEBRATED FAMILY SEWING NEW STYLES-Prices from $50 to $125. Ex- This Machine sews from two spools, as purchased from the store, requiring no re-winding of thread. It hems, fells, gathers and stitches in a superior style, finishing each seam by its own operation, without recourse to the hand-needle, as is required by other machines. It will do better and cheaper sewing than a seamstress can, even if she works for one cent an hour. 495 Broadway, New York. 181 Baltimore St, Baltimore. Iron Hall, 318 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D. C. Mechanic's Hall, Richmond. 223 King St., Charleston. 33 St. Francis St., Mobile. 11 Camp St., New Orleans. 97 Fourth St., Louisville. 4 Higgins' Block, Lexing ton. 58 West Fourth St., Cincinnatti. 154 Superior St., Cleveland. 87 Fourth St, St. Louis. "I take pleasure in saying, that the Grover & Baker Sewing Machines have more than sustain. ed my expectation. After trying and return ng others, I have three of them in operation in my different places, and after four years' trial, have no fault to find."-J. H. Hammond, Senator of South Carolina. My wife has had one of Grover & Baker's Family Sewing Machines for some time, and I am satisfied it is one of the best labor-saving machines that has been invented. I take much pleasure in recommending it to the public."-J. G. Harris, Governor of Tennessee. "I think it by far the best patent in use. This Machine can be adapted from the finest cambric to the heaviest cassimere. It sews stronger, faster, and more beautifully than one can imagine. If mine could not be replaced, money could not buy it."-Mrs. J. G. Brown, Nashville, Tenn. "It is speedy, very neat, and durable in its work; is easily understood and kept in repair. I earnestly recommend this Machine to all my acquaintances and others."-Mrs. M. A. Forrest, Memphis, Tenn. 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"I have one of Grover & Baker's Sewing Machines in use in my family and find it invaluable. I can confidently recommend it to all persons in want of a machine."-G. T. Thomson, Nashville, Tenn. "I would be unwilling to dispose of my Grover & Baker Machine for a large amount, could I not replace it again at pleasure."-Mrs. H. G. Scovel, Nashville, Tenn. "I take pleasure in certifying to the utility of the Grover & Baker Sewing Machines. I have used one on almost every description of work for months, and find it much stronger and better in every respect than work done by hand."-Mrs. D. W. Wheeler, Nashville, Tenn. "Our tw., Machines, purchased from you, do the work of twenty young ladies. We with pleas ure recommend the Grover & Baker Sewing Machine to be the best in use."-N. Stillman & Co., Memphis, Tenn. "The Grover & Baker Sewing Machine works admirably. I think the stitch and work far superior to that of any Sewing Machine I ever saw. On fine work, I think the Machine would be hard to beat."-W. J. Davie, Memphis, Tenn "I find the Machine easily managed, very durable, and take pleasure in recommending it to all who wish convenience, economy, and pleasure."-Mrs. F. Titus, Memphis, Tenn. "The Grover & Baker Sewing Machines have given such satisfaction that we cheerfully recommend them to all who wish a good and substantial Sewing Machine. It executes work with much care and speed, and more finely than any other machine I have seen."-Mrs. R. B. Mitchell, Memphis, Tenn. "I am happy to give my testimony in favor of Grover & Baker's Sewing Machines, and of the perfect satisfaction it gives in every respect. It sews neatly, and is by no means complicated, and I prefer it to all others I have seen."-Mrs. Bryan, wife of Rev. A. M. Bryan, Memphis, Tenn. "It affords me much pleasure to say, that the Machine works well; and I do not hesitate to recommend it as possessing all the advantages you claim for it. My wife is very much pleased with it, and we take pleasure in certifying to this effect."- R. C. Brinkley, Memphis, Tenn. "It gives me pleasure to find the Grover & Baker Sewing Machine giving so much satisfaction. I have it in constant use, and find it all that could be desired. It is the most simple and durable machine in use, and I heartily recommend it."-F. M. White, Memphis, Tenn. "Having seen, examined, and used many other kinds of Sewing Machines, I feel free to say that the Grover & Baker Machines are far superior to all others in use "-M. Francois Seltz, Nasheille, Tenn. SEND FOR A CIRCULAR. LIST OF CONTENTS. 1. MEMOIRS OF ROBERT-HOUDIN, 401 2. BEAUDROT: A BALLAD OF THE FRENCH DOMINATION. BY THOMAS DUNN ENGLISH, 410 3. КАТЕ, 415 4. SELECTIONS AND EXCERPTS FROM THE LEE PAPERS, 428 5. BEHIND THE CLOUD. BY AMIE, 6. GREENWAY COURT; OR, THE BLOODY GROUND,-(CONCLUDED,) 7. THY BIRTHI DAY. BY WILLIAM C. RICHARDS, 8. FOOLOMETERS. PART SECOND, 9. NOTICES OF NEW WORKS: The Virginians-Twelve Years of a Soldier's Life in India-The Deaf NOW IS THE TIME TO SUBSCRIBE FOR THE 475-476 SOUTHERN LITERARY MESSENGER, One of the Cheapest Publications in the Country. TWO VOLUMES A YEAR, Each containing at least 480 pages, in neat style, with fine Cover, and Advertising Sheet. The Two Volumes furnished for ONLY THREE DOLLARS A YEAR! FOR THE YEAR 1860. The MESSENGER will, as heretofore, present its readers with Reviews, Historical and Biographical Sketches, Novels, Tales, Travels, Essays, Poems, Critiques, and Papers on the Army, Navy, and other National Subjects. CLUBS-Remitting us Fifteen Dollars in one letter, will be entitled to Six Copies. The Editorial and Critical Department of the MESSENGER will continue under the charge of JNO. R. THOMPSON, ESQ. The Business Department is conducted by the undersigned, to whom all communications of a business nature must be addressed. November, 1859. MACFARLANE, FERGUSSON & CO., MY STOCK OF BOOKS AND STATIONERY For fall and winter sales, is large, and additions are made by every packet. Blank Books of my own make in great variety, always on hand. Buying for cash, I offer unusual inducements to Merchants, Teachers, and others. Catalogues will be mailed, post paid, to all Bookbuyers. J. W. RANDOLPH, 121 Main street, Richmond. N. B.-Having the largest and most complete Book Bindery in the State, all kinds of Binding is done in superior style, and at short notice. Blank Books for Banks, Clerks of Courts, and Merchants, made of the best material and warranted to give satisfaction. SOUTHERN LITERARY MESSENGER. A MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO LITERATURE, SCIENCE AND ART. RICHMOND, DECEMBER, 1859. MEMOIRS OF ROBERT-HOUDIN.* Mr. Charles Dickens, in one of the most agreeable, but least known, of the books which he has given to the public, the Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi, thus discourses of pantomimes :-"It is some years now since we first conceived a strong veneration for clowns, and an intense anxiety to know what they did with themselves out of pantomime time, and off the stage. As a child, we were accustomed to pester our relations and friends with questions out of number concerning these gentry-whether their appetite for sausages, and such like wares, was always the same; and if so, at whose expense they were maintained? Whether they were ever taken up for pilfering other people's goods, or were forgiven by everybody, because it was only done in fun? How it was they got such beautiful complexions, and where they lived? and whether they were born clowns, or gradually turned into clowns as they grew up? On these, and a thousand other points, our curiosity was insatiable; nor were our speculations confined to clowns alone: they extended to Harlequins, Pantaloons, and Columbines-all of whom we believed to be real and veritable personages, existing in the same forms and characters all the year round. How often have we wished that the Pantaloon were our god-father! and how often thought that to marry a Columbine would be to attain the highest pitch of all human felicity!" In our boyhood (it is some years now, as Mr. Dickens says) pantomimes were unknown in the place which had the honor of giving us birth and education. We were strangers even to Mr. Punch, till we had attained to the dignity of long-tailed coats, round hats, and Wellington boots. At the theatres, when the first play was over, and when (we quote Mr. Dickens again) "the lovers were united, the ghost appeased, the baron killed, and every thing made comfortable and pleasant," instead of the pantomime, there succeeded the English farce, and we relaxed our intense excitement, in sympathy with the wit, and roguery, and comic embarrassments, of Fag, and Scrub, and Jeremy Diddler-Jerry Sneak and Paul Pry. We do not complain of the exchange-we only lament that one source of boyish pleasure-one class of those early enchantments, which shed a twilight of romance over all the succeeding years of life-was not opened to our eyes. But there was another, and a kindred delight, which we enjoyed in no slight degree, and in no stinted measure-the marvels of the Conjurer. The juggling with cups, balls, and boxes-the tricks with cards, handkerchiefs, and watchesthe empty bag, which produced dozens of MEMOIRS OF ROBERT-HOUDIN, Ambassador, Author, and Conjurer. Written by himself. Edited by Dr. R. Shelton Mackenzie. Philadelphia. Geo. G. Evans. 1859. VOL. XXIX-26 eggs, scores of turnips and cabbages, and a whole aviary of ducks and chickensthe quart bottles, which poured out innumerable tumblers of all sorts of liquors (except lager beer, which Providence had not then inflicted upon us)-and the thousand other miracles, wrought for our wonder and delectation by the benevolent magicians in spangled tunics and embroidered small clothes-these things are all far more fresh in our memory now than matters of much greater consequence, that we have since labored hard to learn and to remember. Nor do we forget the kind, ingenuous, simplicity, with which the artists vouchsafed to explain their astounding evolutions, until we were no less mystified by their outlandish words, and the obscure rationale of their processes, than by the feats which they performed. It was, therefore, with considerable eagerness that we saw the first announcement of the book, of which we have quoted the title above. At the risk of betraying a discreditable ignorance, we must admit that we had not before heard of the illustrious Robert-Houdin; but we have done what we could to make amends, for we have read his memoirs through and through, and laid them down with a sincere regret that he did not extend them to two volumes, instead of one. Something there is, perhaps as much as was necessary, of the description and explanation of his performances; but this is by no means the only, nor even the chief, topic of interest in his pages. They furnish what Mr. Dickens craved so much in respect of his clowns, and what he has given us himself as regards Grimaldithe life of the artist by daylight-his birth and connections-the events which influenced and determined his careerhis efforts, struggles, successes, and disappointments-his troubles and his joys, domestic, social, and professional-his occupations and amusements, tastes and habits-in a word, the personal history, revealing to us all those traits of character and conduct which draw out our feelings towards him as a fellow-man, while it discloses also the rare talents and peculiar gifts, which distinguish him from ourselves. We must endeavour, by selections, to give our readers some idea of this entertaining-and, may we add, not wholly unprofitable-contribution to the light reading of the day. Whatever else criticism may find to say about it, we can safely aver that it is innocent. Not a word or sentiment will be found in it which can offend the most fastidious delicacy, or the most rigid morals. Our hero was the son of a watchmaker at Blois, and gave tokens from his infancy of mechanical taste and talent. But the father, averse to the plan of bringing him up to his own business, discouraged the exercise of his ingenuity, kept him at school till the age of eighteen, and then put him into a lawyer's office. It was all in vain. The lad was one of those predestined unfortunates-if we may parody the lines "A youth foredoomed his father's soul to cross, Who shapes a bird-cage when he should engross." The result was that, by the lawyer's advice, the father yielded at last, and the son was apprenticed to his cousin, a watchmaker, who had succeeded the elder Robert in that vocation. Having spent some years in acquiring this trade, and at the same time in practising the construction of various mechanical toys, and perfecting himself in sleight-of-hand tricks (to which he was impelled by a sort of instinct), he went to live with a watchmaker at Tours. By a strange accident, so strange indeed as almost to make one suspect the autobiographer of assuming the novelist's privilege, he falls into the hands of a peripatetic conjurer, named Torrini, alias the Count de Grisy. By him M. Robert is kindly nursed through a dangerous illness, and with him he continues for several months, learning much of his art, and rendering no small service in mechanical repairs. At last he returns to his parents-soon after marries a Mademoiselle Houdin, whose name he adds to his own-and goes to Paris to establish himself in business. From this time, he proceeds to combine |