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■ CAP^ ISLAKUT~n^W JKKSKY. Thursday, DECEMBER. 4. ists-i. NPMisiii.^27^' 1

SWrct Stisttllann. coxnto SOKE. ''Yoor father ii coming home," said M Mrs Dtralap, in a constrained voice, I looking up from a letter which she had joit tiken from an envelope. There was something unnatural in ber manner, aid an natuual paieneH in bar face. Three children started from diffcrcn 1 1 parti of lb# room, and crowdi£' round j tbefr mother, aniwered, in many joyful j 1 worlds, to the unexpected intelligence. "I'm so glad ! I'm so glw !-' shouted ; little Andrew, fire years ol5, dancing | and clapping his hands. "And I'm eo glad !' said Alice — . grave, womanly Alice, who-had caught the sunlight of joat ten summers in her j 1 golden bair. She was sundihg at ber j mother's knees and looking into an read- j 1 Ing her face. "To-morrow we shall see him." Mrs. j " Duulap tried, bat vainly, to look joy- i fuL \ 1 "I hope " and Alice faltered in Ber words. "I hope, mother, that be Is'nt —"She checked herself, and the hue 1 of ber mother's face was reflected in I ber own- -"ii'ntsick, or— or — orwound- • bd!» A momentary shiver ran along th» nerves of Mrs. DuhUrp, rattling the open latter in her band. "He's been sick, dear," she replied. 1 parity tnrnlng away, .so that Alice 1 t might not read all that she knew we* 1 writing itself In her countenance ; and, ! 1 leaving the children, she went to her 1 own room, and shutting the door, fa.--tcned it. Her face * u white as sba re opened tho litter which she bid held, ; crushed in her hand, snd read it for.- the ! 1 second time. It was from an officer of | the company in which her husband 1 bcid the rank of first lieutcuant, and ' stated.-trrfeflr.'-tkat be had been w'onud ed in « recent battle, and was on his way home in a government transport. As to the character of the wound nothing was said. — It was almost'a year since Mrs Dun lap had parted from her husband — parted with him in the flash of health, ami ia^tbo vigor of manhood— end what u year of trial and fe.nr it had been! lie

v had taken part in maoy battles, bearing * himself bravely and had passed from d lb# ranks to a first lieutenancy ; hut J now, after a year's absence he was com- * ing home. The long and anxiously ■ looked for dsy wasst hind. To-morrow u the was to see him agsin. To-morrow ! c Ah, when the veil of to-morrow wgs c lifted, and she stead bee to »'aen with j* the long absent— what then I 1 c Mrs- Dunlap bad borne apall day, as j ' calmly as possible for the sake of her » children ; bat, as the evening closed < ' down, strength began to fail, aud she « withdraw to one of the chambers that t the might be alone, and let the pent-np I aagwish of mind that was almost suffo- c anting bar, have anreatrained atterancc ■ la nebs and neaping. . Por a little ' while body and aoak were convulsed, i Then the overleaping floods drew back, I and she felt calmer snd stronger., s "Mother 1" I» wne the Voice of Alice i Mrs Dunlap turned and looked into ber 1 child's flsee, that wot* a strange, almost j stem expression. ; \ ... "What Is it, dear?" Mrs Duulap j , eon trailed ber voica. 1 1 ••'Faxfrsr Is wonndetl !" j , The mother started aud shuddered— ! | then asked, qaicktj : I , "How do -fon f now ? Who told | , yon T" i -Ks one told me ; bat 1 fed it moth- , er. DidV the WueT say he was wound - I • ■ ■

! Pale and weak from suffering, Mrs, j j Danlsp oq the morrow was sitting with I Alice leaning against her, caitiug fur j I the return' of herhosband's^brothera, who 1 1 bad gone down to the landing at, which the transport bearing sick and wounded I toldjgr* was expected to arrive. Nine, j ten, eleven o'clock had come, but they were still wailing in suspense and apguish. Pur more than half of the j morning they had stood at the window, j eager to catch the first sight of a messenger, or of him in whom their hearts I were bonnd up. How would he come ? What would be his condition ? Would [ he como at all T ' The wounded die ! ! How fruitless questions and paralyzing | fears wrought with tbem, bringing dismay and terror. - — ! Mrs.. Dunlap and Alice, who bed j seemed l>mpw to woaubhood in a few ] hours, sat thus aioue{ waiting, hearkenj ing, suffering. Andrew and May, too > young to comprehend the situation, were at play in ihe'bcxt room, that opened j inloa garden, out of wbidia gate, led j into the street. , Ail at on& they w.ere | still and May exclaimed, in a voice of; glad anrprise : "Why, papaT' and Andrew' echoed i the word— "Papa I" It seemed to Mrs. Dunlap that she | was bound to the chair in which she sat. j She made no effort to rise, bat could | not stir. A faintness and blindness ; came over her. Alice had bounded to, her feet, aud was already half way to the door, which she gaiued an instant aflerwards. Stooping to Andrew and May, she saw her father. One arm whs j around both, and he was huggiug them j j to his heart. The other arm was band- J I adged. Ho arose, as she came forward, j How pale and wasted ho was ! How ; i bruuzed his tine Ace,; uow deep in their | orbits and changed in expression iiis ; . bewoitft! byes ! "Falser ! O father!" she cried, giv- j ing way wildly ti h«r feelings, and springing towards. him. lie had lifted : himself from his stooping posture at I sight of Alice, and advanced to meet her hut in a. weak way. She stood still,*' a pace or two diltMt; asJJ some invisible power bud,arre*ted ber step* ; then advanced, and laid her face gently Duvnuiiru, ■"« I»I« ' iwvc SrMI,z

against him, sobbing, "0 father! Dear, ' c dear father !" ' Mrs. Dnnlap bean! all this, bat •still j • she bad no power to stir. She was in : kind of waking nightmare ; and not until her husband entered, with the : children clinging to bim, was the spell, j ' ' paralyaia, removed. And so he bad come boqje to her — ■ ' oome home with » shattered arm, and j vested by batdships aud sickness not. 1 spoken •>( iu Inters ; come home a j 1 i wreck : : somparisoo with what he was, : 1 when, at the round of danger, he sprang 1 to I.:.- '•ov.utfy's defence. Tet, as Mrs. Donlsp stood np «nd looked into his • changed lace, that bore to many lines of suffering and exhaustion, she said, "Thank Qod, that it it no worse 1" And again, as she laid her wet face against bosom, "Thank Qi^^" Ami j •gain, with her hot kisses oti his lipf, : and cheeks, and forehead, ' Thank Qod! Thank God !" I It might have been worse. Alas ! In i ' many thousands of inslaucaa has it j j not been worse. Ah, these comings , I bomej Once euggactive of joy, now of ! i sorrow. From. distant places, after a] long tojoora, the beloved tarn their fa- j | homeward, and their welcome is in | instead of smiles. They went forth strong limbed, and in the full vigor of manhood ; they come back nick, or j maimed, or dead, bringing shadow h- , stead of snnsbtne. I It is an evil Use that givaa fruit to ' Ih* people like this, and we ahall never i dwell in safety while lie roatt rtrike in- j I to ear toil, and Its branches stretch over > our land. Evt it be bawtt dosnT and OMt Into the ttt. C^Tak* tlm " Prtac W»«." — M oaL—

X0THER8 AUD BABIES. 1 A child's infancy is the period, of all j others, when a aiother's care is Indispeni I sable to its comfort. After this is pas'-/ j her place mey be supplied , bnt until I that time when Hannah resigned her j j son to tho set vice ol the Temple, no living thing is so depeodant.es ad infant ; ' and dependince !*_ naturally upon ; tbs mother. She who can disregaril this call of Natdre— who can .taoiah her j child to the bosom of a stranger at ! home, while they figure at watering places, or make needleuly prolonged visits away from it, bare already stilled the voice of Natnre in their breasts; and it is not very probable that reason aud I conscience retain n habitation there. — But there is another class of women, ^ who, strange enough, appear inclined to ' reason themselvtd np to that' point to which thuse otheri have fallen— a class I who talk of elevating woman above the j ! drudgery of- nursing ; who habitually ' speak of alt employments which coufiue ' a woman to the bouse at degrading, and insist that all tgch shall be abated by , • ' the other sex. Old Dame Nature, when , i . let aloue, appear* to regulate this mat- ' | tor very uic Iv— to prompt uti affection- - i ate husband and father to hold baby , wheu "mother ft fatigued, or is not at . leisure ; and in times of sickness to nb- . audon his avocation, if possible, to share her cures. Bat, with all. this, the baby ' is the mother's peculiar care. To her it i ' was cspecislly given ; and she is espeI daily accountable for its welfare so lung as it is a baby. By the order of Nature she stands between it and the father. — The child it pre-einiuenlly hvrs ; and one of the greatest political evils of ' which we here to complain is the laws ! which place the father between the moi ther and her child. IT a woman be, even . in the lowcM-degrva, fitted for thn office I of mother, even the father of q child, be j he ever so judicious, has no right to ! give directions ubonl its treatment, cxcept with reference to and deference for His wishes of the mother. A child must I get past babyhood before it comes with•I in the sphere ol n Esther's Authority. A tuan should think of this in choosing the mother of his children, and be careful to select one who has sense enough to take select one »iiu •

care of the baby ; for, If she larks It, no ' wisdom of his can supply the deficiency. ' _ Widt World 'f BUSINESS-LIKE COURTSHIP. There is a story cxtsnl abont five tnin-. , I nles courtship between a thriving and >i busy merchant of a watering place in i | England, and a lady. Cor whom, in conjunction with a decoaaed friend, ho was 1 ; a trustee. The ladycalled at hi* conn I- 1 ; ing. house ttnd sfSTirbmi her iiusiness was j ! to cousult him an thd propriety or oth- ' erwise of ber accbptiag an offer of marI rinse which »be |lnd received. Now, for the first '.iuie, occurred to the Brietol - 1 merchant the Itfea of this holy estate in : his own case. " Marriage," said he, listlessly issuing over some West India, correspond- | ence ; " well, I suppose everybody ought ! to Diarry, tiiough such a thing never oc. carved to me before .Have yon given j this gentleman an affiwaative answer T" j "No." I "Are your feelings particularly engaged in lite matter?" •• Not particularly." i " Well, then, madam," said he, tdrn- ' ing round on his office stool, " if that be ! the case, and if yoa could dispense with courtship, for which I hare M lime, and think yon could be comfortable with ma, : I am rqer humble servant tocororoand." There were people who thooght that j the lady had a pnrpoat in going th.;re, I |,Qt if »ov she pradently disgoised iu— , Hhe said the would consider the matter. The Bristol merchant sa* her oat with , : the same coolness as if ahe was one of 1 ! bit corresponds: Ms, and wbao she was . , gone fire miautea, waa once more i»- ! mersed in Ms le*lers smd ledgers, A \ ;.dsr vrt^b'Bf^.'fatbai t ftrmtrtsiea- • > • '

tiou from the lady, accepting bis offer, 1 . very considerately excusing him from an 1 elaborate courtship, and leaving him to | • .pame the "most convenient dsy." They were married. I , OUR CAJtP CORRESPONDENCE < ' M *«**•*■ J criterion. V*,. V | Not. 15, 'M. ] j Dtar llrav«.-— In nearly every i»»-e of! : jnpr mluw.le sheet 1 sea letter* from dir. ! ferent portions or the army, and as Comps- [ j oy A. of the "ih New Jersey, has not been j represented jo it lately. I thought a brie! j ; account of oar march from Alexandria to j ; this place would prove interesting to Sume ! j of voor read ars. provided >on should see •fit to publielr it. We lay I:, the vicinity of Alexandria so ' long that we tried to make ourselves W J liev# we shoald make oar winter quarter^ i there ; bat, as had been lira case mam ' times before, we were doomed to disap ipoiniment; lor, on tho first day o? this mouth we received marching oiders. We . p*i Iced np our "dods," and. in obedience tn orders, started, ant knowing our d stinai lion. We had not matched far before ««■ found ont that we were going into active service, for we had tramped over the eeme ; ground once before. I need not give you a ' detailed account of our adventures ou the ;jourm-y. Suffice it to say that w«r marched all duy, and slept in the open fields at 1 night, with forty rounds ofminnie halls for j a pillow, and the broad sky' for a covering, We arrived at this place in due time, and pitched our tents, expecting to stsr here for the purpose of guarding the railroad ; j a e wera again doomed to disappoinlmeu'. for, just as we got completely fixed. «e had to pack up and leave. Wa went a* far as'Rritlow Station, about three miles from this pluce. staying there one day and night, when we again received orders to , march. We went as far ns Warfeatnii Junction, al>ont ten miles (ram Briitow, where we arrived uboot dark. drNs^g iu the rebel pickets. We tb-n halted fob. the night, and threw oat pickets in .all directions. The wind" wet blowing fro*. — «ho . north at the time, and a bitter night it was, , which made us all think of %arm stoves and feather beds; but we built large fires, end , wrapping ourselves In our blankets, slept at only soldiers can sleep. Hat we were not |»ennilied to spend the night hers ; for about two o'clock we wcr* aroused from our slumbers and ordered to park cpa^in. 1 wbith we did. shivering nil the time with i the cold. But wt> were toon re^ly and 'in • line; but were astouisbed to. find that we

going back instead of forward ; for we expected to go to Warrentoo. We reirac- ri ed our steps to Bristow, where we arrived w at an early hour, and soon found out the fr reason ot our turning back. General Pat- V terson had obtained information that the V lebels were iiy/tiong force close by, and li although 1 will venture to say there is not a a braver generl rn the field, yet he did not a wishSo expose his little biigode to an ovi-r- t powering force of the enemy, with no rein* s , furcemei.ts near at band. -Soon after wc 1 relumed to camp at Bri-toa it commriiefd |i snowing, and continued all day. We had <| made up oar minds to have a good night's 1 sloop; bat juet at dark that old, familiar or- f dvr waa sounded io our ears—" Get ready fto move." It went very much against the - grain to do It. bat WH got really without a : • murmcr. and started. The night waa pilch i dark, and very C"M. and tte^iad to almost j ' feel our way : but after we bad m*rcl>*d~a j I while w* received the command to hall | * end found ourselves in the same eemp we > i had left a few days before. At thh time ' we had nothing to sleep iaraot' imall she! tar louts, made of light drilling, so ibe next morning, old boards being pretty plenty. ' we went to wnrk building shanties to pro- 4 I lect as from the weather, and by Bight we I j all bad onr bouses built, and bad moved 1 .Unto them. They were built in AH- scanner < , of shapes and »ix«-a. according t* the taste ' t of the builders. Some of them looked like I hen-rooets, while others bad the appear, i arc# or pig-sties ; bat it made Bo difference , ' to BO, >*o that We bid something to shelter us from tbs rain and cold. Those of os who t went fortunate enough to find "eld stoves i , that the rebel* left behind wbsn ther re- . j treated from here last rtpring.^dt thvui np. sbd mads ourselves vers comfortable. W« jr were permitted to occupy oar hoesos for a - , fow days only, when our qoartvRmurter far- ' t»i»brd us with tsnu, nod the woode%shae1 lias had to come d*wo. because they upoil- " ' cd Ae appeanutck of the eamp. We took ' ; the boards from oor houses, however, sad j r • laid fltern iu «mr tstrt*: «fc# buflt Vints Ih j

them, and those that had sterg| pet thaw and those th*t wsre not lucky snottgb have stove* built ovens of bricks and mod, so that we are agate Sxsd pretty tin- -U I fortably; but we are not lying here idle, for ' have to d" picket aud fatigue duty ; and | our number* being small, it makes oath :.f v i man's torn come wrrv-otber day. We qxj pect to make onr winter quarters here, but 1 , i j we may be disappointed, at we have often H . been before. Kach regiment is having a ?J iiake-oven built, so that we can, have soft ' -Ij i <tread, instead of 'bsrdees.' Hat I am makj ing my Utter too lopg, so I will bring it to * 1 , • ! * close. A* I am not used to letter wrij ting. yoiTrndit excuse Al mistakes, both ip . lb* composition snd writing. y -.;ii Tours, trnly, Smrta Paa*Tt* ' I ; From the S. J. Twrnty-ntlSi, i FAIRVAX Scwixakt, VA..) ia November 24th, XM2. J" ; 1 Eortoa:— I'srhsps a few lints Tram' ..?J here might prove of some interest to the : Si many who have near and dear ones in this .rj part of Virgiaia'iT wide domain, who ai* now battling for their country in the ranks • I ' j or the Twenty-Fifth. 1 feel proud of th« " I 'q position the sons of Cape Ms;. have lakes in tile cante, which, above all others, com- q mends the respect snd admiruliuii of all io- q vers of Freedom thiongboal the civilised "1 world. We have, of Iste, been doing1 picket duly, which seems to pirn* tho boys vsry .'..1 well. TLej go out fur forty eight hours ' j n turning much wiser and better satisfied than when they left. With picketing, for- a aging, guarding, and. lbs doily routine ul i drill, they are kept quits bos;, having hard- ;j ly a moment to spare, yet all is borne with-' ' out a murmur. All seem to be looking for- * : ward to the time wheu they may strike a J blow for the flag they love anil lionor— a " - flag trader whose folds tbry will rally until ' the last traitor's brsath no loegsr pollutes" :1 the soil where sleeps a Washington,— •' Bag whose every stsr stands aa a sentinel J over the grave where the pairi A sleeps — Tbeir^ Is tho dnty to protsct that' banu-r frmn all disfrannr— to shield it from all in. I . snip— and if they provo rvcreant to this they" "will be false to tfivir homes and children — false to the name of Americans. Hat rest assured the men that compose this regiment will, if tho occasion presents itself. 1 , give a noble uccounl of thamsslvws, of which . New Jersey will be proud Our I.ieat-'Col. has beeg^* confined for nearly two weeks, from an attack of typhoid i fever; this, with a few other casea, mak* I i op the amount of sickuees at present in onr i regiment.

All bail 1 The fled tidings of joy. the arrival in camp of the " M ail"— here can be' ■ seen a group of Co. 1's boys reading letters . H near and desrtme# at borne, and here \noth*r gruep reading their own " Ocean Wave." The one who bat '.be good fortune ri-ceive a copy is " beteiged." " flanked," and surrounded on all aides. And to try end break though Ae assemblage it next impossible. Bat should he escape thro' some avenue rot guarded, he it immediate- ] attacked by the •' reserve corps.'" Jle therefore one resource left— en " unconditional surrender," by reading aloud the and items of interest* to the many friends of that joorosl. We have just received "marching orders" for dinnef-x*nd as "hsrd lack" and •'salt junk " seem to tempt the soldier's I appetite, I shall obey the snnimons sod at [ " doubl: qoick " r take np the line of march** ! the cook-house, where, no doubt, a gVest j ! skirmish " 5?!k.como off. The particaWe at soma other tiiftg. Yours, Ooasi Bus*. ECOHOXIZZ PAPER. Wrapping and writing paper have been ebeep. and therefore have been nsed profusely and wastefnlly. The time boa come economise. Let the half sheets be ated when it will answer the pnrpaee intended. Turn the envelopes and nte them a second time. Slick np the scraps snd cava to be made over. Paper has advaneed 60 p*r cent., chiefly because the material for making it is scarce. Save all sock mat. vial that you can. If tBw kind of eeeensay should be generally practiced, it would m* foil to considerably modify prevailing prices, and be of immense advantage to the readiog and publishing comtr.au ity.— Syracuse Union. - Ugh 1 How J'yon make oat that pan are exempt, eh V - I'm over age. I am a N>gr*, • Miawj t»r, a Cripple, a British 3utj0cl, and a' ■ Hab utsl Drunkard." -