either attacked the enemy or been attacked by them 
— moat likely the former. General Jorfnaon well 
knew the Bound to b« that of light, — the direction of 
the tiring and the hour of the day told plainly that 
at least a skirmish was actually going on—probably 
a grand battle pending. So ho ordered the signal 
gun to sound, and for the first (.lino our regiments 
formed in line of battle, 
A messenger shortly came over with the intelli¬ 
gence that Willlch’s pickets had ospied rebel soldiers 
in the woods beyond them, and immediately their 
lion-hearted Lieu ten an t-Colonel, Henry Von Frobra, 
had ordered two companies to advance, and, if possi¬ 
ble, effect their dialodgraent The enemy retreated 
half a mile to its main body without firing a shot, 
and the two companies pursued him, stealthily ad¬ 
vancing as skirmishers. Suddenly and unexpect¬ 
edly a troop of rebel cavalrymen came dashing over 
the hill, and a careless volley tram their shot guns 
told cur boys that they were falling into an ambus¬ 
cade, and that, the enemy was actually in their front 
in considerable force. But nothing daunted, the 
brave Germans, veteran-like, returned the volley 
with a galling fire, slowly retreating so as to bring 
tlio enemy oul, from the woods, and into a level, 
open field. • 
The enemy, confident in his nurubers, was not 
slow to accept the invitation. In the meantime, the 
two companies being bard pressed, the bugle was 
sounded to bring up the remaining companies of the 
regiment They came on right gallantly, part of 
them having to cross Green river, and felt in upon 
the right and left tlank with as much apparent cool¬ 
ness uh if this had been their hundredth battle 
instead of their first. Then followed an almost hand 
to hand conflict, lasting fully an hour. The enemy 
SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 
In governing a school, dignity and love should bo 
combined. But. where the teacher attempts to gov¬ 
ern by the principle of love, he often loses bis 
dignity, by a sort of fawning process, by which he 
expects to purchase obedience; and knows not until 
an unruly school declares the fact that in doing it 
he has sold his authority. Dignity is one grand 
essential in the government of a school. A teacher 
may be learned, loving, ingenious and religions, but. 
if he bas not dignity he will have trouble. But by 
dignity I do not mean pride or insolence. Dignity 
springs from a conscious certainty of a perfect right 
to do right, A proof of it is an ear deaf to that 
which tends to excite fear or favor, that might lead 
to a wandering from what is deemed just. It is an 
expression of Godlike manhood. 
You meet a man walking, who steps as if the 
ground was made to tread. Ilis form is erect, yet 
he is not assuming and foppish, and iiis countenance 
wears an expression of frankness and firmness. 
You are impressed with two thoughts concerning 
him; first, that, he is a gentleman; second, that he 
possesses decision and independence of character. 
This you fool the moment you see him. Take 
lum to the school-room, and all the pupils get the 
Same impression, and they will love, respect and 
obey him. No making of rules would make up for 
the hick of this dignity, nor could threatening and 
punishment. The value of a rule is its power to 
impress the mind with the necessity of obedience, 
while it also instructs to duly. But the teacher 
whoso very manners and expression have a power 
to make the required impression, has not need of 
many rules, or much threatening and punishment 
Another te-acher, perhaps superior in power of 
thought to the one already supposed, might fawn 
upon the children, do more to please them, connive 
at their faults, and they would remain ungoverned, 
because the lack of dignity would t>o detected by 
the child at, the first glance, and lead him to throw 
off restraint 
That, is not love which fawns upon the child, but 
does not seek his highest good, whether he desires it 
or not; but this fawning spirit is an obnoxious weed 
that grows well in the soil of love, and should be 
uprooted. 
1 will only add, that while the teacher is govern¬ 
ing the school by this dignity, he is also blessing it 
by example. What greater kindness can a teacher 
do, than to stamp the character with a principle, 
and the countenance with an expression, that, will 
make the child respected through life, give him 
courage to act what he feels to he right, and often 
secures to him his rights without the aid of severe 
measures. This fact, in addition to the one that it 
so aids ip government, may be an inducement to 
cultivate it .—Connecticut School Journal. 
[Written for Moore's Rural New-Yorker.] 
THE STUDY GRAMMAR. 
It would not be easy to mention another element, 
of intellectual education, in the study of which so 
much valuable tiino is utterly wasted as in the pur¬ 
suit of grammatical knowledge. The time so spent 
may be considered as thrown away, for two reasons; 
first, the definitions and rules of Grammar are laid 
down in terms perfectly unintelligible to the mass 
of learners; and second, the committing them to 
memory is altogether unnecessary and unprofitable 
for any purpose, of helping to a correct uso of one’s 
native tongue, even if those rules and definitions 
were expressed in language easy to bo understood. 
Brown's Institutes defines English Grammar the art 
of speaking and writing the English language cor¬ 
rectly, and boys and girls are earnestly exhorted by 
parents and teachers to zealous study of the Gram¬ 
mar, in order that they may learn English. In nine 
cases out of ten, and probably a larger proportion, 
the only result of such study is to tax the memory 
with a quantity of sentences made up of words, 
many of which need a philosopher to explain them, 
and which the pupil does notevon remember after a 
little time, because he never understood their 
meaning. 
Take, for instance, the definition of that part of 
speech called by grammarians the Article: An Arti¬ 
cle is a word placed before nouns to limit their sig¬ 
nification. Now, how many students, at the common 
age of learning Grammar, who read this definition 
for the first, time, or even the twentieth time, have 
any distinct idea of the meaning of the phrase 
“limit their signification?” though before their fifth 
year they had acquired such proficiency in speech 
as always to employ the A rticle whore it. was needed. 
Further, the Articles are distinguished as the definite 
and the indefinite — the former denoting some par¬ 
ticular thing or things, the latter one thing of a 
kiud, but not any particular one, A boy or girl of 
ten to fifteen years of age in want of a new slate or 
Geography, is at no loss which Article to use in 
asking for it, whether the object desired is a particu¬ 
lar or an indefinite one; but when they come to 
parsing or analyzing sentences according to the 
definitions and rules of Grammar, it is only after 
considerable practice and repealed reference to the 
definitions and the examples accompanying them 
that they learn to distinguish immediately the word 
the as the definite, and a or an us the indefinite 
Article. One would be puzzled to toll how the 
above information concerning the Article helps a 
peiyon to speak or write English, when he knew 
before how to use that part of speech unerringly. 
Passing on to the Noun, wo find that the class of 
Common Nouns includes the particular classes col¬ 
lective, abstract amt verbal; and (hat, an abstract 
Noun is the name of some particular quality con¬ 
sidered apart from ils substance —a definition which 
children may learn to repeat, but the sense of which 
they will he a long time discovering; Then, Pro¬ 
nouns are divided into personal, relative and inter¬ 
rogative—the relative Pronoun being defined as one 
that represents an antecedent word or phrase, and 
connects different clauses of a sentence. Of Adjec¬ 
tives we are informed that a Common Adjective is 
any ordinary epithet, or adjective denoting quality 
or situation, and that a Pronominal Adjective is a 
difinitive word, which may either accompany its 
Noun or represent i# understood: all which is 
very intelligible and very delightful to the youthful 
mind, lint when we come to Verbs and their modi¬ 
fications, and learn that the infinitive tnood is that 
form of the Verb which expresses the being, action 
or passion in an unlimited manner; that the poten¬ 
tial mood expresses the power, liberty, possibility 
or necessity of the being, action or passion; and that 
the subjunctive mood represents the being, action 
or passion as conditional, doubtful or contingent; 
the absurdity of making children believe that, learn¬ 
ing these definitions helps theqj to speak and write 
their native language correctly is very striking. 
What do they know of the meaning of the word 
passion in ibis connection? or wlmt idea can they 
have of conditional or contingent , in relation to being, 
actiou or passion? 
But if the etymological part of Grammar is of so 
little profit toward acquiring the art of speaking and 
writing one's native language, the syntactical part 
is little better. Subject and predicate, antecedent and 
relative, apposition, nominative, absolute, &t%, &c., 
are terms which belong to the philosophy of lan¬ 
guage, and which it is idle to expact schoolboys to 
understand. What is Said of them in the Grammar 
is learned with great labor, amt, in general, eonveys 
little or no knowledge to the mind. The truth is, 
wo learn our own language by conversation and by 
reading, and not at all, or only in a very subordi¬ 
nate way, by studying the rules of Grammar. 
Intercourse with educated people, and the perusal 
of well-written books, is a better school for the study 
of the English language than all the Grammars, 
from LtNni.KV Mijkuav down to the last one pub¬ 
lished. Custom, not the Grammarian, gives the law 
to language. Instead of Shakspkark, Byron, 
Addi so.s and Macaoley studying Grammar to 
learn to write English, the compiler of Grammar 
observes the habits ot writing of these authors, and 
then makes his rules. What hinders us all learning 
the English language from the same sources as he? 
Bui .we u says there never was such a thing as 
Grammar heard of before Lind ley Murray, and 
he wonders, playfully, what they did for Grammar 
before his day. We might wonder seriously how 
Grammar comes to be considered so important a 
part of children’s education, when, without its aid, 
they learn practically all that it proposes to teach. 
Better than rules and definitions for the correction 
of our language in speaking and writing is the read¬ 
ing of good works.on science and literature, and 
listening to the conversation of well-educated people. 
This plan does away with the immense waste of 
time involved in the usual dry, tedious method of 
learning Grammar; for while it stores the pupil’s 
mind with a fund of useful and interesting informa¬ 
tion, it teaches him to use his native language with 
far more ease, elegance and propriety than he could 
over acquire by learning the rules of Syntax. There 
can he no objection to tho formal study of Grammar 
as a part of an extensive education, and by those old 
enough to understand what it teaches; the mistake 
is in making other branches of education, more 
important and easier acquired, give place to the 
philosophy of language—one of the most difficult 
and, so far as the business of life is concerned, least 
useful of sciences. a. 
8outh Livonia, N. Y., 1861. 
MA,rOR-C 4 HUSTTGKA.to 1GG7N.TAM IN' P’. KUTIiER 
Major-Generai, Botler, whose portrait wo are 
happy to place before our readers, was born at 
Deerfield, N. 11., on'the 5th day of November, IS IS. 
His father, John Butler, was a seaman of the war 
of 1812. The father died, when Benjamin was a, 
boy, and the mother removed to Lowell, whore, 
beiifg dependent on her own resources, she kept a 
hoarding-house, I for son received a liberal educa¬ 
tion— was sent to the High School, the Academy, 
and to Waterville College; after which lie studied 
law in the office of William Smith, a Boston law¬ 
yer. In 1840young Benjamin was admitted to the 
bar. being then in the twenty-third year of his age. 
He had political aspirations, and very soon endeav¬ 
ored to make himself prominent, but ho was a Dem¬ 
ocrat, and the Democrats have not often been in 
power in Massachusetts. However, Butler, in 1852, 
was elected to the State Legislature. He immedi¬ 
ately became the leader of the Opposition in the 
House of Representatives, but it was still in a 
minority. Yet Butler fought manfully and skill¬ 
fully against, the Whig State Administration. 
Ilis next important position was that, of delegate 
to the Constitutional Convention, to which he was 
easily elected from Lowell, and in which he dis¬ 
played more ability than ever before. In 1354 he 
was active in his opposition to the American party. 
In 1858 he was mentioned by many of the Democrats 
as candidate for Governor, but did not succeed in 
obtaining tiie nomination until the next year, when 
he was, however, defeated. In lHtiO hi' was a mem¬ 
ber of the Democratic Conventions at both Charles¬ 
ton and Baltimore, and espoused the side of tin' 
North, but afterwards accepted the Gubornationat 
nomination of the Breckinridge party in Massa¬ 
chusetts. His military history is shorter. So long 
ago as 1840 he was a member of a Lowell company, 
ono of those that were attacked in Baltimore last 
April. He is of Irish extraction, and was Colonel 
of an frish regiment for many years. When Gov. 
Gardner disbanded tho Irish companies, Butler 
resisted, and after his commission was withdrawn 
prosecuted the Adjutant-General for taking the guns 
from the armory. In 1857 he was elected Brigadier- 
General. He offered his services to Gov. Andrew, 
his successful rival in the Gubernatioiiul conflict, 
almost immediately after the capture of Fort Sumter. 
Gen. Butler has been distinguished in every 
sphere of life—in his legal and his political careers— 
by the same traits; by a daring that was never 
daunted, a persuveranco that was never discouraged; 
by a fertility in expedients, and a promptness of 
invention that, few have rivalled, lie generally had 
the most unpromising cases as a criminal lawyer, 
but spumed to prefer them, for they gave him a 
better chance to show his talents, which were quite 
ns much trails of character as intellectual gifts. 
Energy, confidence, industry, skill; sometimes im¬ 
pudence, always pluck—these are the peculiarities 
by which he has been distinguished, and which have 
placed him in his forty-third year iu his present 
position. These are peculiarities quite likely to 
prove of ns good service to a military general in 
time of war as to a politician or lawyer. The hold¬ 
ing of Baltimore, the letter to Gov. Andrew, the 
decision that slaves are contraband of war, the whole 
tediavior of Gen. Butler since this war broke out, 
seem to indicate that these traits have not yet 
deserted him. tt is expected that Gen. B. will soon 
take Iiis departure for Ship Island on board the 
Constitution, now loading at Boston. When ho 
arrives at that point, we may look for warm work in 
his vicinity, for his nature is not only to strike when 
the iron is hot, but also to warm it by striking. 
In this connection it. may not bo out of place to 
state that other portraits of leading men will rapidly 
occupy this page of the Rural, as it is our intention 
to furnish during the present year a gallery of living 
notabilities, civil and military, not excelled by any 
journal in the country. 
Simplicity. —Some able and excellent men are 
never able to get down to the level of children. A 
man of this class, a learned theological professor, 
was once engaged to address a Sunday School. He 
read a number of verses from the Bible, and then 
said; “Children, 1 intend to give you a summary 
Of the. truth taught iu this portion of the Scripture.” 
Here the pastor touched him, and suggested that he 
had better explain to tho school what “summary" 
meant Ho he turned round and said to the children: 
“Your pastor wants me to explain what summary 
means, and i will do so. Well, children, summary 
is an al.ibrevialed synopsis ot a thing .—Christian 
Intelligencer. 
The Pensacola Fight—Interesting Account. 
The following letter to the Boston Merchants’ 
Exchange, from on board the steamship Richmond, 
November 22d, gives one of the best accounts we 
have yet met with of the bombardment of Fort 
Pickens: 
On the morning of the lffih of November wo 
anchored off Santa Rosa Island near tho frigate 
Niagara, and the next day your correspondent 
visted Fort Pickens. The aspect of everything 
within and about the fortifications was, of course, 
warlike. The sand in the enclosure had been 
thrown up in immenso quantities, forming a covered 
face, which entirely protected tho embrasures on the 
inner side, so that shells bursting inside the fort 
could not injure the walls or endanger the men. Of 
the armament of the fort l shall say nothing for obvi¬ 
ous reasons, other than it is all sufficient for any 
emergency. 1 found that the officers were very 
sanguine of success in the event of their opening fire 
on the rebel batteries, and hailed our coming as 
likely to expedite the attack. 
On the 22d of November, at 10,15 A. M., three 
guns roared from Fort Pickens at the steamer Time, 
that had just entered the Navy Yard dock from Pen¬ 
sacola. At, the same instant we manned the capstan 
bars, and up came our anchor. Scarcely a minute 
elapsed after the first shots came from our side, when 
“Barrancas,” the “Light House Battery,” and 
“ McRae” replied, and at it they all went pell-mell. 
Iu a very short time the Niagara and Richmond, 
now under command of Cupt, Ellison, gained their 
positions on the western flank ot Fort McRae, and 
opened fire. The Richmond drawing but 16 feet 
was enabled to go in shore nearly a half a mile 
nearer than the Niagara; and with hedges out and 
springs on our cables, wo got our battery to bear 
finely. 
The firing on both sides was at first necessarily 
wild, but we shortly obtained the range of McRae, 
and dropped shells over and on all sides of the walks. 
Until 3 P. M., the batteries near McRae did not 
trouble us much, but about that time they succeeded in 
bringing two rifled guns to bear on us, and instituted 
a series uf experiments, which speedily culminated 
in a shell hitting us abaft the main chains about four 
and a half feet under water, forcing in the outer 
planking, and us it exploded, literally lifting the 
ship bodily in the water. This sounds like Mun- 
the battle, evidences wore seen that the enemy's 
magazine had been exploded, and it is thought, that 
it was the effect of the shell. 
After Cupt. Easton’s battery had fired about sixty 
rounds, Gen. McCall ordered tho. firing to cease, for 
the purpose of making an advance. The force of the 
enemy at this time was unknown, as they were all 
concealed from view by a thicket, in which they 
were .sheltered, and which they did not leave 
during the light.. General McCall, who had come 
early iu the fight, placed iiis whole force in posi¬ 
tion for a charge, himself and General Ord leading 
tho assault. It was a gallant and brilliant charge, 
and was perfectly successful in routing the enemy, 
who lied precipitately, spurred by a galling tire from 
the Pennsylvania reserves, and leaving the field 
Strewn with dead and wounded. A panic seized the 
rebels, the men throwing away their blankets, knap¬ 
sacks, overcoats, and arms of every description, and 
even the officers throwing away their swords and 
revolvers, amt in some instances, their coats. 
In the meantime the wagons were loaded up with 
the forage which the enemy had deserted, consisting 
of 17 wagon-loads of hay and 22 loads of corn in 
the ear. The arms, clothing, and accoutrements 
thrown away by the enemy were sufficient to have 
loaded all these wagons, and more; but the things 
were so scattered that it was impossible for our sol¬ 
diers to gather them up in lime to return to their 
camp. 
Iu addition to the 87 (among them one Colonel and 
two Captains.) dead bodies left on the field, there 
were numerous pools of blood where the rebels had 
been posted, showing that in their flight they had 
taken with them what dead or wounded they could 
carry off The highest estimate of the killed and 
wounded which has been made, is 150, but. the prob¬ 
abilities are that the rebel loss was much greater. 
On the bodies of many of the dead rebels were 
found letters and papers, mostly of l’lttlo impor¬ 
tance. On one, supposed to bo Lieut. T. R, Rend¬ 
ing, Aid-de-Camp of Brigadier General Wilcox, was 
found, with the seal unbroken, the following order: 
Hk.U)QIIAI1T1£KS Flstii liUlllADK. Skoo.vd CORPS, ) 
Dec. 18, 1801. ; 
Detail —Field Officer of the Day, Lieut, Col. J. 
0. Martin. By order of Brig. Gen. Wilcox. 
T. R. Rending, Lieut, A. A. D. 
Brigade Guard from 10th Alabama Regiment 
Countersign, “Stockholm.” 
On another was found an order showing that 
rations for four days had been distributed. 
In the woods where the enemy’s battery had been 
were found numbers of shells and balls piled up in 
good order, and other indications that the affair was 
premeditated on the part of the rebels. From the 
fact that Gen. McCall had only resolved, at a late 
hour on the previous evening to make the attack on 
the enemy’s cavalry in the morning, it was supposed 
that no information could have been carried to the 
enemy, but circumstances show conclusively that 
they were informed of it. The fact is corroborated 
by one of the prisoners, who stated that they were 
marched from Centreville to Drainsville, at quick 
and double-quick, under orders to support General 
Stewart, This indicates that tho enemy received 
information of the Intended attack during the night 
previous. The same prisoner stated that four thou¬ 
sand men were marching down from Leesburg for 
the purpose of meeting Gen. McCall’s Brigade, and 
that the plan was to allow the Union forces to pass 
Drainsville, and tor the force there to assault the 
rear, while the force from Leesburg made the attack 
in front. This programme failed by the skirmishers 
of the 6th discovering the pickets of the enemy, 
and being tired on by them, and that brought 
on an engagement prematurely. Had the rebel 
plan succeeded, the First and Second Brigades, 
which General McCall had taken the precaution 
to order on as reserve, would have come up in 
time to join in tho battle, and the probability is 
that a still larger number of the enemy would have 
been destroyed or captured. 
The South Carolinians seem to have arrived latest 
upon the field, or to have run the fastest, as they left 
behind the largest quantity of knapsacks, haver¬ 
sacks. blankets, and overcoats. All the-garments 
are of cotton, of a dark-brown color, as though dyed 
by tobacco juice. Two United States Army over¬ 
coats were found upon rebel soldiers. In one of the 
caissons wasa well cooked turkey,evidently prepared 
for an officer’s dinner. A number of soldiers’ letters, 
containing information of the movements of the 
enemy, were obtained, and have been placed in the 
hands of Gen. McClellan. Richmond papers of the 
day previous were found in tho pockets of some of 
the coats. 
Col. Tom Taylor, commanding the Kentucky rebel 
rifles, was killed. Col. Taylor, it will lie recollected, 
occasioned much excitement at the commencement 
of the war, by unexpectedly appearing at Arlington 
with a flag of trace, and by afterwards being brought 
to headquarters here blindfolded, and subsequently 
conveyed outside our lines, the object of his mission, 
an exchange of prisoners, being unaccomplished. 
Our loss was 7 killed and 46 wounded. The vic¬ 
tory on the part o! our troops is considered the more 
brilliant as they had never before been in any action. 
They have been highly complimented, both by Maj. 
General McClellan and Gen. Call. 
Fi.ao of tho heroes who left us their storj, 
Borne through their battle fields' thunder and flame, 
Blazoned in song and illumined in story, 
Wave o’er us .ill who inherit their fame! 
Up with our banner bright, 
Sprinkled with sturry light, 
Spread its fair emblems from mountain to shore, 
While through the soumling sky 
Loud rings the Nation's cry — 
Union and Liberty! one evermore!" 
ROCHESTER, X. Y„ JANUARY 4, 1862 
The Baltic ol' Druinsville. 
In our last issue we gave such details of this 
brilliant little engagement on the Potomac as were 
at hand, and now draw upon the report to the Asso¬ 
ciated Press, and also the special dispatch of the 
N. Y. Tribune, for a more minute account of the 
transaction: 
For some days previous to the battle, about a 
hundred of the enemy’s cavalry had been in the 
habit of coming down to Drainsville and foraging 
between there and the Potomac. General McCall 
determined to attempt their capture, and on the 20th 
ult., at an early hour, issued an order for the Third 
Brigade, consisting of four regiments, commanded 
by Gen. Ord, to proceed to Drainsville for that pur¬ 
pose, and to forage. Forty or fifty wagons wore 
taken along. The whole line, except one regiment, 
had passed a wood on rising grouud near Drainsville, 
to the loft of the Leesburg turnpike, when the skir¬ 
mishers of the 6th regiment wore fired upon by 
re tads lying in ambush. The first rifles returned 
the tiro, and after two or three rounds a concealed 
battery opened on the rifles, but with little effect, the 
balls going over their beads and falling into a low 
place in the rear. Gen. Ord immediately posted his 
men in line of battle, ami Capt. Easton's battery 
opened a most destructive lire on the concealed 
enemy. The position of the enemy’s battery could 
not bo ascertained except by the smoke from the 
discharges, at which Cupt- Easton fired sixty rounds, 
three only of his guns being in action. The 4th had 
been placed in another position, and was not in 
operated during the fight. Oil the third round, a 
shell from one of the howitzers burst immediately iu 
the enemy’s battery, killing several men and horses, 
and disabling one, if not two, of their guns. After 
The Fight at Muinfordsvilla. 
From the correspondence ot the Cincinnati 
Gazette we extract the following account of this 
desperate encounter, a brief sketch of which we 
received by telegraph and published in the last 
Rural. The Gazette says: 
At about half post one. on the afternoon of the 
17th ult., our camp was startled by the sharp rattle 
of musketry, which seemed to come from the south 
bank of Green river. It was known that a part of 
Colonel Willich’s magnificent regiment, tho 32d 
Indiana, was doing picket duty on that side, and the 
inference at once was that the lusty Germans had 
