'Pipe down' whistled the boatswain to the crew, and you can safely assert, that 'pipe down' it was. Soon the Jack of the Dust' announced his grand levee upon the main gun-deck and the weather-beaten tars held high carnival around the grog tub, luxuriating upon a full allowance and forgetting for the nonce all about their perils and fatigue. 'How near the rocks did we go?' I asked, the next morning, of one of the master's mates. He made no reply, but taking down his chart, showed me a pencil line between the outside shoal and the Light House Island, which must have been merely a small strait for fishermen to run their smacks through in good weather and only by daylight. I soliloquized-'For what great purpose is the noble and dear old frigate yet reserved ?' I went upon the deck; the sea was calm-a gentle breeze was swelling our canvas from mainsail to royal, the Isle of Scilly had sunk in the eastern waters and the clouds of the dying storm were rolling off in broken masses to the northward and westward, like the flying columns of a beaten army. I have been in many a gale of wind and passed through many scenes of danger, but never, before or since, have I experienced an hour so terrific as that, when the Constitution was laboring among the breakers of Scilly with the lives of five hundred souls whose existence hung upon that little iron bolt on the night of May the 11th, 1835." The famous "Figure Head" of the Constitution, it will be recollected, was a life-size figure of General Jackson, about which, in 1834, there was considerable excitement, from the fact that on the night of the 3d of July of that year it was decapi It is a singular coincidence that the frigate Boston, Captain McNeil, about the close of the Revolution, escaped a similar danger while carrying out to France Chancellor Livingston, a relative of Edward's, and also Minister to the Court of St. Cloud. He likewise had his wife on board, and while the vessel was weathering a lee shore, Mrs. Livingston asked the Captain-a rough, but gallant old fire-eater-if they were not in great danger. He replied " You had better, Madam, get down on your knees and pray God to forgive your numer. ous sins, for if we don't carry by this point, we shall all be at the bottom of the sea in five minutes." tated by some then unknown person at the Boston Navy Yard, where the ship at the time was laying in ordinary. All sorts of ridiculous rumors were in circulation as to who committed the act of vandalism, and what the cause of the apparently senseless outrage. It seemed, however, to be the general impression that the iconoclast was an enemy of the General (then President of the United States), probably incensed at the course he was pursuing towards the United States Bank. Be this as it may, on the 11th of December, 1839, an article appeared in the New York Morning Dispatch, purporting to give an exposé of the circumstances connected with the "Decapitation." This article brought out a reply, dated, New York, December 14th, addressed to the Editor of the same journal, and signed, Samuel W. Dewey. He says: "In cutting off the figure-head, I conceived I was only following in the footsteps of my illustrious predecessor.' He took the responsibility to do certain things; and as some things may be done as well as others, I took the responsibility to do what I did, and like him, I stand ready to answer for my deeds. Whether they were good or evil, remains to be shown by the test-stone of time. I will now proceed to point out a few of the most barefaced misrepresentations made by the writer. He states that I was exceedingly alarmed after having perpetrated the act; that visions of the United States Marshal, District Attorney, etc., were constantly floating before my eyes, whether asleep or awake.' To this false assertion I have only to state that early on the morning after the cutting off of the figure-head I called at the United States Marshal's office, and in common with those present, expressed much astonishment at the sad catastrophe which had befallen the figure. I bewailed with them the loss of the 'darling head,' but then I could not fully sympathize with those who considered it a 'National calamity.' The writer also states that I mounted the bows to the bowsprit of the Constitution, and then sawed away.' The truth is this-I went up the ship's side where all gentlemen visitors go, and entered the regular gangway; there was no climbing work about it, all was plain sailing-the coast was entirely clear, and the very elements appeared to favor the enterprise; there were no traces of saw-dust left; all was washed away by the rain that fell in such torrents as to lead me to suppose for the time that the flood-gates of heaven had burst asunder for the express purpose of driving the sentinel from his place of duty; he went for shelter under the eaves of the house that covered the Columbus line-of-battle-ship which lay directly alongside thus leaving the way entirely clear for the operator to perform head work' unmolested. I was on board at work from 12 midnight till 3 A.M., and at no moment of that time did the rain cease to fall in torrents, the lightning to hiss, and the thunder to roar it was one constant flash, one constant peal and constant pouring of waters from above, and in fact, if Espy the Storm King had been master of ceremonies on the occasion, things could not have been done up in better style than dame Nature served them up herself. I frequently caught sight of the sentinel as he tried to dodge the flashes-he snapped his eyes much after the manner of a toad under a currantbush watching lightning. I have been thus particular in regard to the sentinel, as the commander of the station on the following morning accused the poor fellow of winking at the act. It is true he did wink at the operation, but he did it innocently, and should this paragraph ever meet the eye of the then Commodore of the station, I hope he will wink at the poor sentinel's fault, and forgive him for ignorantly suffering me to do that which caused him so much pain and chagrin that I fear he will never entirely recover from it. Perchance I may pop in upon the Commodore at some future time, and further enlighten him on that 'head.' Should he ever visit this city, he will find me at 77 South street, where I am doing a cent. per cent. general commission business,' and where I shall be happy to see all who may be disposed to throw any business in my way. It is further stated by the writer of the article on 'Losing the Figure Head,' that on the morning after having cut off the head I called in a fellow-lodger, made known the midnight undertaking to him, left the head in his charge and then repaired to New York.' The truth is as follows: The gentleman who was my room-mate at the time alluded to now resides in this city, and will testify that he did not know who was the decapitator till more than a year after the deed was done. And as to myself, instead of repairing immediately to New York, I remained in Boston several weeks, and then went to the State of Maine, previous to visiting this mighty London of the West,' where many adventures have befallen which I purposely omit, but which I may relat: hereafter." The original figure-head of the Constitution a representation of "Hercules armed with ba Club;" the second was the figure of "Neptune, trident in hand;" the third a "scroll," or billethead; "Old Hickory" being the fourth and last; and although it met the fate of "Buckingham." the occiput has been replaced so deftly that the closest scrutiny can scarce detect the mark of decapitation. In 1839 the vessel was ordered to the Pac f Squadron, as the flag-ship of Commodore Ales ander Claxton, carrying to Vera Cruz the Ho Powhatan Ellis, our Minister to Mexico. In 1842, on the Home Squadron, as the fig ship of Commodore Charles Stewart; 1844, spec al service, East Indies and Pacific, carried out H Henry A. Wise, as Minister to Brazil. During 1849-51, attached to Mediterranein Squadron as flag-ship of Commodore W. C. Bolton. In 1853-55, flag-ship of Commodore Isaac Mays, Mediterranean, and Coast of Afnca, carrying out J. H. Nicholson, Esq., Consul a Tunis. In 1856-57, in ordinary at Navy Yard. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. In 1858-59, ir ordinary at Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine. L 1860-61, laying at Annapolis, Maryland. It s said that to General Benjamin F. Butler belong the credit of saving the vessel from destruction, L seeing her safely convoyed from that city at the breaking out of the war. During 1862-63, employed as a school-ship at Newport, Rhode Isla & From thence to the Naval Acadamy at Annapos where she remained until ordered to the Philadel phia Navy Yard. The old ship has been overhauled and repaired so frequently, and upon such occasions relic" hunters invariably made a raid upon her, that it is extremely doubtful if a single stick of the original timber now remains. On the adjournment of the last Congress, it being found that no special appropriation for her repairs had been made, and as it appeared se would be of no further use in the service, it was proposed by the Navy Department that she be broken up. Many of our readers will recollect that a similar proposition was made once before, at which Oliver Wendell Holmes put in his well known poetic protest, the last stanza running the dock was hauled in and grounded preparatory thus: "Oh, better that her shattered hulk And give her to the god of storms, The lightning and the gale!" Upon a reconsideration of the matter, the Department issued an order to have her thoroughly repaired and fitted out, so as to present as nearly as possible her original appearance, with a view of exhibiting her during the Centennial year; and in accordance with this order an attempt was made to take her upon the Sectional Dock on the 5th of January, 1874, but owing to the high northwesterly winds prevailing several days before, there was not sufficient water. tempts to dock her were again made on the 12th and also on the 13th of the month, both being failures, by reason of the breaking of certain bolts, which threw the dock out of gear; on the 27th of the month, however, they succeeded, and At to hauling the vessel up on the ways. This was not done until the 5th day of March, when they commenced hauling at 11.30 A.M., and accomplished the work by 5.30 P.M. On the 30th day of December, having been newly planked and well calked, she was hauled upon the Sectional Dock, and there remained until the 12th of January, 1876, when at 2.30 under the direction of Naval Constructor Philip Hichborn, United States Navy, she was once more placed in the water, and moored at the south wharf of the old Yard. P.M., At this time proposals had been issued asking for bids to finish the vessel by contract. The firm of Wood, Dialogue & Co. being the successful bidders, the vessel was taken, in the month of March, over to their works, at Kaighn's Point, New Jersey. It is worthy of notice that (in the immediate vicinity of the Navy Yard) the United States was the first Government vessel put in the water, and the Constitution the last. "Of transitory things which soon decay, SKETCHES OF CELEBRATED WOMEN. BY MRS. CHARLES H. HALSEY. V. MRS. KNOX, WIFE OF GENERAL HENRY KNOX. LUCY FLUCKER was the daughter of the Secre- | observed of all observers." He was subsequently tary of the Province of Massachusetts, and he, of course, was a strong adherent of the royalist cause in America. The fair, young Lucy, gifted with many charms both of mind and person, the idol of her father, and universally known as "the belle of Massachusetts," was brought up in the most rigid and uncompromising devotion to the British Government. All those arrayed against the Mother Country she was taught to consider as rebels and traitors. Had any one hinted to her that she would marry a rebel officer, she would have repelled the insinuation with scorn, and yet one single interview with Major Henry Knox not only turned the current of her thoughts, but changed entirely the career which her father had so fondly and proudly planned for her. Miss Flucker first saw the young officer at a dressparade of his regiment, and even without knowing him could not fail to admire the handsome, spirited young soldier, who was on that occasion "the introduced to her, and at once yielded his heart to the fascinations of "the belle of Massachusetts." Before his love the claims of the British Government disappeared like chaff before the wind. He was no longer the rebel and traitor whom her incensed father so violently denounced; he was a patriot, a gallant soldier, ready to lay down life itself for Freedom and America. Her parents argued, entreated, expostulated, threatened in vain; the maiden had adopted her lover's views and feelings, and openly renounced the allegiance in which she had been nurtured. Darker and darker grew the clouds, and her father finally told her she must choose between her family and her lover. She did not hesitate, but with womanly faith and self-devotion pledged herself to share the changing fortunes of a soldier's wife. She suffered fearfully in parting from her family, but her resolution never wavered. Mr. Flucker, with the rest of his family, left the country soon after the battle of Lexington, while companied him to the beautiful domain she ha Mrs. Knox with her husband joined the American inherited from her maternal grandfather, Genera army at Cambridge, and from that time she fol- | Waldo, on Penobscot Bay, her absence was bitter.s lowed him through all his campaigns. She had regretted by the inhabitants of the gay capital. great personal courage, and great powers of endu- They had built a splendid mansion at Thomaston, rance, and they never failed her in all the hard- at the head of St. George's River, which Mrs. ships and perils which she encountered. She was Knox had furnished with her usual taste and in Boston when it was occupied by the British elegance. Here the gallant soldier enjoyed the army. She escaped with her husband, and while literary pursuits to which he had always been he was devising plans for getting away she quilted much attached, and here in this lovely home his into the lining of her cloak the sword which he friends were always welcome. Mrs. Knox had had wielded through the campaign, and which she been so much in public life that society was could conceal so much better than he could; and necessary to her happiness, and with her husband', when once out of Boston, his delight at finding full consent she exercised the most unbounded his trusty weapon safe more than repaid her for hospitality. It is asserted that one hundred bes the risk she had run. were frequently made up and occupied in ts superb establishment, that twenty saddle horses, and several pair of carriage horses were always kept standing, ready for use in the stables, and that it was no uncommon thing for an ox and twenty sheep to be killed on Monday morning to supply the table of "Madame Knox," as she was universally called during the war. The same wonderful gifts of fascination made her the most popular person in her neighborhood, as it had during the dark Revolutionary days and in the brilliant circles of Washington. She beautified and adorned her home by every means in her power. She dispensed the most graceful and refined hospitality to those in her own sphere of life, and the utmost charity, kindness and sympathy to the poor, the sick and sorrowing. She had ter children, to whose education and welfare she devoted much time. Seven of these she followed, one by one, to their early graves, sorrowing for them as only mothers can sorrow, but turning with additional care and love to those who were left to her. But the greatest blow, and that from which she never recovered, was the death of the husband, for whom she had in her girlhood given up friends, home and country. Though she survived him nearly eighteen years, she never ceased to mourn him. She continued to reside at the mansion where they had been so happy together, still dispensing hospitality, but passing most of her life in the exercise of the most active and judicious charity. She died peacefully in 1824and the memory of her loveliness and many virtues still lingers around St. George's River, and the name of "Good Madame Knox" is still a house. hold word in the community where she spent so many happy years of her life. While the army was encamped on the Hudson, she lived with her children in a little hut not far from the headquarters at Verplanck Point. Whenever it was possible she followed the army, sharing what she had with both officers and men, and always so bright and cheerful that the soldiers were ashamed to complain of hardships or privations which a delicate woman bore so patiently and unflinchingly. Her mind was a very remarkable one for intelligence and power. This and her calm judgment gave her a great influence over her husband, who is said to have consulted her on every point, and it is said that even General Washington often deferred to her superior judgment. During the long, weary, struggling days of the war, General Washington became very much attached to both General and Mrs. Knox. When peace was restored, and the victorious Chief was called to rule as President over the nation whose liberties he had so nobly defended, he offered the position of Secretary of War to his tried and trusted friend, Gen. Knox. How changed now was our heroine's life! She was next in position to Mrs. Washington, with whom she was on terms of extreme intimacy, and who often consulted her in matters of ceremony and etiquette. Mrs. Knox was one of those women born to be leaders, for which her rare conversational powers, her retentive memory, her courteous manners, her love of show and management, and her knowledge of public life peculiarly fitted her. She fascinated all who came within scope of her attractions, and few women have ever acquired more influence in political and social circles than she did. She was a most efficient and gracious helpmeet to her husband in his political career, and when he retired from the arena, and she ac THE FAIR PATRIOT OF THE REVOLUTION. BY DAVID MURDOCH. CHAPTER I. UNCERTAINTY. To read this tale with profit the reader tnust take a brief survey of the region where the scene lies, on which such great events have transpired. The place for this will be that gorge in the mountain that lies half-way between Elmira, Caatsban, and old Kaatskill. There is, when it is reached, a paved floor of stone. Through the crevices therein grow up innumerable small pines, where the bear and the deer found refuge, and the hunter lodged all night for his prey. Go forward to the brink of the precipice, and look out, where all New England stretches before you; then look northward and southward, where the Knickerbockers dwell. On that spot where you stand the Indian and the Tory met to hold their bloody conclaves. The mountain range was the dividing line. The road from the settlements below, to Fort Niagara, runs over the hills beneath you up to this point, going through Unadilla and Scenedawa, by Queen Catharine's County, near Lake Ca-nun-da-saga. From these crags the savage descended upon the peaceable Boermen of the vlatts like a hungry cormorant, or a wolf on the fold, sweeping the Whigs away to death or bondage. It was on an evening of October, 1778, that old Martin Schuyler, with his wife, the good Angelica, were sitting musing in silence, interrupted only by the ticking of the old clock in the corner, that had told the course of time to generations before Martin himself had looked up on the sun, moon or stars. So well had its present possessor become acquainted with the solemn regular tick, tack, that his pulse and his thoughts went in unison with the venerable timepiece. Slow or fast, he had come to regard the mysterious machinery of his soul and body as parts of the same creature within the mahogany case, so that whenever anything went wrong with the one, the other was sure to be out of order. The Dominie, who was the only doctor in his parish, knew this fact so well, that when he came on a spiritual or a bodily visitation he was sure first to administer to the soul, then leave some medicine for the stomach, and he as invariably set about putting all right within the old clock-case. VOL VII.-3 This essential regulator of the venerable mansion had given warning through the day of a hectic pulse, which brought on midnight before the natural time, making the old man give an unusual start as the hammer struck twelve. He had just finished his second pipe, and was pushing his finger and thumb into his bladder bag for a new supply when he found time to say: "Anshela, vat's dat de Dominee said bout te spy in te camp, an sarch out te men in te city ?" "Awee," was the quiet answer of the vrow, for she perceived that her good man's mind was excited or disturbed, and she wished to allay his troubles rather than increase them; "te Dominee meant te King of the Jews finding te men dat ver 'gainst him." "Ha! te Dominee, Schuneman, is a very cunning man, and meant to give Jake Overpagh a hit wid his gad; for I saw dat he looked straight in te rascal's face, dat made him bring down his impudent head like a shot duck." Old Martin chuckled at his own jest, and waited to hear what his vrow would say to his conjecture. But Angelica, with true woman's wit, knew that she was on dangerous ground when her companion's peace had been disturbed before, and she merely said: "Te Dominie drew his bow at a venture, and it might pierce Jake between te joints of te harness." "I wish to te Lord," said the husband, with more haste than usual, "dat I could speak to te skitimylink through old Peg dere, and a hole would be made big enough to let te light in dat would make him spy from te toder world rayther than round Whig doors." "Whish! whish!" said the anxious vrow, "stone walls have ears; better, Martin, to have a close mout' than an open skull." All this time, while this unusually long conversation was going on, the one was preparing his pipe, and the other knitting quietly at the other side of the long chimney, in which smoldered the remains of what had been a proportionably large fire, now left to sink into red coals. All was quiet in the other parts of the capacious dwelling, cattle and negroes had alike been cared for, and |