SEPT. 46 
MOORE’S  RURAL  NEW-VORKER 
THE  WELL-DIGGER. 
Come,  listen  all,  while  I  relate 
■What  recently  befell 
Unto  a  farmer  down  In  Maine, 
While  ditrgltig  of  a  well. 
Full  many  a  yard  he  dug’  and  delyed, 
And  still  be  dug  In  vain ; 
“  Alack  1”  quoth  he,  "  e’en  water  scem.^ 
Prohibited  in  Maine !” 
And  stjll  he  dug  and  delved  away, 
And  still  the  well  was  dry ; 
The  only  water  to  be  found 
Was  in  the  farmer’s  eye. 
For  by  the  breaking  of  the  bank 
That  titmblcd  from  the  station. 
All  suddcni.v  his  hnues  were  dashed 
Of  future  liiiuidatlnn. 
And  now  his  mnds  were  running  fast. 
And  be  had  died,  no  doubt. 
But  that  Just  when  the  earth  caved  in. 
He  happened  to  be  out ! 
“  Alas !— I  have  a  hai>py  thought !” 
Exclaimed  this  wicked  man— 
“  To  dig  anew  this  enrsod  well 
I  sec  a  pretty  jdau : 
“  I’ll  hide  me  straight,  and  when  my  wife 
And  eke  the  neighbors  know 
What’s  happened  to  my  digging  here. 
They’ll  think  that  I’m  below  ! 
“  And  so  hi  save  my  precious  life. 
They’ll  dig  the  well,  no  doubt. 
E’en  deeper  than  it  was  at  first. 
Before  they  find  me  out !" 
And  so  hi'  hid  him  In  the  barn 
Through  all  Ihe  hungry  day, 
To  bide  the  digging  of  his  well 
In  tills  deceitful  way. 
But  list  what  grief  and  shame  befell 
The  false,  ungrateful  man, 
The  while  hn  slyly  watched  to'sea 
The  working  of  hU  plan. 
The  neighbors  all,  with  one  accord, 
Unto  each  other  said: 
“  With  such  a  weight  of  earth  above. 
The  man  Is  surely  dead." 
And  then  the  wife,  with  pious  care. 
All  noecUees  coat  to  save. 
Said-"  Since  the  Lord  hath  wUled  it  so. 
E’en  let  it  lie  his  grave.’’  [John  O.  Saxe. 
- 
CONSTANTINOPLE. 
The  capital  ot  I.slam  Is  undoubtedly  among  the 
most  prominent  points  ot  Interest  at  present, 
in  view  ot  the  Ea.stern  dinicuUles.  Oonsiantlno- 
ple,  or  Tstainboul,  as  it  is  Icnown  to  the  *•  faltbtui," 
la  dollgbtfully  situated  on  a  trlangnlur  peninsula 
ut  tbe  entrance  ot  the  Bosporus.  The  harbor, 
known  us  the  tJolden  Horn,  will  shelter  vessels  ot 
the  greaiftst,  rtruught  and  1200  ships  can  ride  easily 
on  Its  commodious  surt.aoo.  Tbe  population  Is 
estimated  at ono  million  Mussulmans,  Armenians, 
•lews,  I'crslaus  and  Levantines,  who  pursue  their 
usual  avocations  undeterred  by  the  wldo  social 
and  religious  dlfTerences  that  divide  them,— a 
human  Barnum’s  Happy  Family.  A  wall  contain  ■ 
Ing  twenty-seven  gales  surrounds  the  town.  The 
old  streets  are  very  crooked,  and  strangera  rind  It, 
most  dinicult  to  traverse  the  labyrlnthlan  reces¬ 
ses  Destructive  conflagrations  are  not  unusual. 
In  1866  some  8,000  houses,  20  mosques  and  numbers 
ot  baths,  khans,  ete.,  were  devoured  by  tbo  flames. 
The  city  Is  divided  into  districts,  or  quarters, 
which  are  usually  occupied  by  dlfTerent  nation¬ 
alities.  Tho  city  presenta  a  most  charming  ap¬ 
pearance  when  viewed  from  tho  harbor  near  by. 
Its  main  characteristic  is  flUU. 
The  markets,  or  bazaars,  are  Largo  tlreproof 
buildings,  lighted  from  above,  In  which  hundred.s 
ot  tradesmen  retail  their  wares.  Open  markets 
for  the  sale  of  horses  are  kept  dally  In  several 
streets.  The  .Avrot  Bazaar,  or  woman's  market, 
was  formerly  set  apart  for  the  sale  of  female 
slaves. 
The  Sultan’s  residence  ot  state  Is  called  the 
Serai  Ilumayun.  H  Is  Ui  small  walled  city  ot  twclf. 
nearly  two  inllesln  I’lrcunirerciice,  and  Ineludos 
mosques,  baths,  gardens,  government  ollices,  etc. 
Formerly  It  was  Inhabited  by  at  least  c.oou  per¬ 
sons  and  eni.lrel.v  liiaocesslble  Ui  sl.rangurs.  Since 
tree  access  has  been  galnefl,  niueh  of  the  romance 
and  mystery  surrounding  the  precincts  have  been 
dissolved.  The  oui.er  gate  of  tbe  seraglio  Is  known 
as  the  Sublime  Porte,  a  designation  frequently 
applied  to  tho  Oovernment  llsclt. 
The  moat  noteworthy  monument  In  the  city  Is 
the  Agla  Holla,  fonncrly  tho  Church  of  St.  Sophia, 
originally  built  by  fiossTANTtsK  .and  transformed 
Into  a  mosque  by  MoHA.MMKn  1.  in  It  is 
biilll  ot  light  bricks  and  lined  throughout  with 
colored  marbles.  The  dome  measures  107  feet. 
Tho  celling  and  arches  .are  Inlaid  with  beautiful 
mosaic  work  and  gilt.  Tho  gallery,  fifty  feet  broad, 
la  sustained  by  columns,  some  of  which  are  ot 
green  Jasper,  said  to  have  been  taken  from  tho 
temple  of  Diana  at  Ephesus. 
Uistodciil, 
OUR  COUKTEY; 
ITS  ACQUISITION  AND  DIVISION. 
BT  LKSTEK  A.  ROBERTS. 
(Contlnusd  from  page  173.] 
'INDIANA. 
When,  In  1800,  Ohio  had  boon  given  a  soparato 
Government,  the  remainder  of  the  country  north¬ 
west  of  the  Ohio  was  roorgaiilzud  under  the  name 
of  Indiana  Territory.  This  wa.a  dismembered  la 
1805  by  tho  erection  of  Michigan  Torrttory,  and  In 
1809,  when  Illinois  Territory  was  created,  leaving 
Indiana  Territory  clrcumscrlbotl  to  the  limits  of 
the  State  of  that  mime.  .Much  trouble  with  In- 
(Bans  occurred  before  and  during  the  war  with 
Great  Britain  In  1812-15;  but  after  pe.ace  was  de¬ 
clared  they  were  kept  In  control  so  far  that  their 
moiosiatlons  were  not  nunicleutlo  reiicl  Immi¬ 
grants,  and  population  rapidly  Increased. 
In  1815  the  Territorial  Legislature  petitioned 
Congress  for  admission  to  tlio  Union,  and  there 
being  no  objection,  afU:r  the  usual  formalities  In 
Dc(;embcr,  1816,  Indiana  wa.s  declanid  to  bo  one 
of  tho  I'nltoil  states,  with  boundaries  a.s  follows: 
East,  by  the  meridian  line  vvhleh  forms  tho  west¬ 
ern  boundary  ot  Ohio,  being  a  north  line  from  tho 
mouth  ot  tho  Miami;  south,  by  tho  Ohio  Ulver 
from  tho  mouth  of  tho  Great  Miami  to  tho  mouth 
of  the  rlverJWabash ;  west,  by  a  line  dra-wn  along 
the  middle  of  tbe  Wabash  from  Its  mouth  to  a 
point  where  a  due-north  line  from  the  town  of 
Vincennes  would  lost  touch  the  north-west  shore 
of  tho  said  river  and  trom  thence  by  a  due-north 
lino,  until  tho  same  shall  Intersect  an  east  and 
west  line  drawn  through  li  point  ten  miles  north 
of  the  southern  p.ttremlty  of  Lake  Michigan: 
north  by  said  east  and  west  lino  to  the  meridian 
of  the  west  line  of  Ohio. 
MAINE. 
At  the  close  of  the  Uovolutlonary  War,  the  ter¬ 
ritory  now  comprised  In  the  State  of  Maine  be¬ 
longed  to  and  was  under  tho  government  ot  Mas- 
sachiusetts.  and  so  reinalnod  for  niauy  years.  But 
In  1819  the  quusllori  of  separallon,  which  had 
Itrcvlonsly  boon  agitated  without  success,  was 
submitted  to  the  people  and  as  It  was  found  a. 
iniijorlty  were  In  favor  of  aaepanito  and  State 
Government,  tho  assent  ot  Congress  and  ot  Afas- 
sachusetta  was  obtained  and  In  March,  1820,  Maine 
became  a  State  In  tho  Federal  Union,  Maasacliu- 
setts  retaining  ownership  In  a  portion  of  the 
domain. 
MISSISSIPPI. 
In  17ST  Mls.slsslpi)l  'I'errltory  was  organized.  It 
embraced  the  country  bounded  by  a  lino  drawn 
from  the  mouth  of  tho  Vazoo  lUvor  duo  ea.st  to 
the  Chattahooche,  tiionoo  down  that  i1ver  to  tho 
31*  parallel,  thence  west  to  the  Mississippi  Klver 
— which  ivus  tho  western  boundary.  At  that  time 
the  I'nlted  States  Inul  only  Jurisdiction  of  i.lio  ter¬ 
ritory  by  enrisent  of  Georgia,  lu  whom  the  right 
ot  soli  vested.  But  in  1802,  in  oousldcratlon  of 
$1 ,250,0(10  (Kill  a  strip  of  land  on  Its  present  northern 
border  twelve  miles  wldo,  all  reserved  rights  to 
all  lands  south  ot  30’  lailtnde,  were  ceded  to  the 
United  Stales.  These  were  In  1801  annexed  to 
Mississippi  Territory,  which  then  embraced  all  of 
the  present  states  of  Alabama  and  Mississippi 
above  31*.  Spain  bad  formerly  made  claim  txi  all 
tbo  territory,  but  had  ceded  It,  with  Florida,  to 
Great  Britain  InlTiiO.  This clal[n,  however,  had 
never  been  adrnll.lod  by  Great  Britain  tn  extend 
above  3f',  and  now  Florida  being  divided  by  tho 
Chatahooehe  Into  East  and  West  Florida,  was 
restricted  on  tho  north  to  that  parallel.  \ 
In  1779  tho  Spaniards  captured  Baton  Rouge, 
and  In  1781  took  posscs-slon  of  Pensacola,  (Maiming 
1/)  have  conquered  the  whole  of  West  Florida  as 
originally  claimed  by  them,  viz.,  to  !15".  m 
1788  Groat,  Britain  relrocodod  East  Florida  to 
Spain  and  tho  same  year  gave  all  above  sr  tn  the 
Unlt.edStal.es.  With  this  Spain  was  not  content, 
and  held  poasesalon  of  the  "Natchez  Dlsi.rlct’' 
until  1798,  when  she  reun(iul3hed  all  claim  to  the 
dlspntod  territory  Insisting,  however,  on  her  right 
to  all  below  ai*  from  tbo  Chatahooehe  to  tho  Mis¬ 
sissippi  excepting  tbe  Islo  of  Orleans,  and  organ¬ 
ized  tho  District,  of  Baton  Uouge. 
In  1S10  the  liihabltaut.s  of  this  District  revolted 
against  Hpanlsh  rule,  and  Gov,  CiAtnuOKN  of  tho 
then  Territory  of  Orleans,  with  their  consent  and 
co-operation,  toijk  pi)s.sc8slf.m  of  tho  country  for 
tho  L'nltcd  States,  claiming  It  as  apart  of  the 
purchase;  rron(  Fni.uoc,  and  that  the  eastern  lino 
ot  that  purchase  wus  the  PenUto  River. 
In  1817  that  portion  ot  tho  territory  east  ot  the 
present  ea.Htern  boundary  ot  Mississippi  waserect,- 
ed  Inlo  a  s(!parato  territory  and  muned  Alabama. 
The  remainder,  having  tho  requisite  population 
who  had  agreed  upon  a  Constitution  satisfactory 
to  Congress  was,  in  December  of  the  same  year, 
admitted  as  a  State. 
ILLINOIS 
Territory  was  made  In  1809  and  comprised  all  the 
country  west  of  tho  Wabash  River  and  Lake 
Michigan  to  the  iMIsalsslppl.  in  ISIS  tho  residents 
of  the  souihorn  portion  petitioned  for  .admission 
as  a  Htatc,  but  not  being  aattsllcd  wK  h  tli.i  north¬ 
ern  limit  as  llxftd  by  the  act  organizing  tbo  terri¬ 
tory  nori  h.WBst  of  tho  Ohio,  (which  was  the  south 
cud  ot  Lake  Mlohlgau,)  Inst  ructed  t  heir  dologato 
In  Congress  to  ask  for  a  boundary  to  be  llxed  far¬ 
ther  north.  At  that  time  there  was  considerable 
anxiety  in  tbo  country  relai  lvoto  the  fuim-o  ot 
the  groat  Sonlh-weSt.  Tho  scaro  caused  a  few 
years  before  by  the  (»xppdltlou  attempted  by 
Aaron  Burk,  was  not.  euMcMy  abal.ed,  and  fears 
w(.'re  still  i;ritori.alni'd  that,  the  Mississippi  Valley 
Slates  might  choowi  to  boI  up  a  gov(>rmm;rit  by 
tbomsolvefi.  Advantage  was  taken  of  tins,  and  It 
was  argued  that  llllnola,  although  by  position  a 
Norlbern  BtalC,  If  It  had  no  lake  ports,  must  nec  - 
ossailly  seek  an  outlot  for  her  productions  through 
her  rivers  and  the  Gulf  ot  Mexico,  and  thus  natu¬ 
rally  Join  her  Interests  with  tho  Bouth-west; 
while,  otherwise,  If  her  norllnu'n  boundary  was 
fl-xed  at  12*  00',  sho  would  have  .snniclent  lake 
shore  for  all  necessary  pods,  a  closer  commercial 
interconrso  with  the  N’orthern  and  Fiastort[  States 
would  ensuo,  and  llllnots  b(;como  ;il  oneo  a  great 
power  In  support  of  the  Federal  Union  forever. 
Tbo  propriety  of  the  ro(iuosl.  was  readily  seen  and 
an  act  passed  admitting  the  State  with  a  northern 
Ijoiindary  at  42“  30'  as  desired,  and  tho  wisdom 
thereof  has  never  been  questioned.  At  the  same 
time  that  portion  of  t.ho  Nortb-weat  territory 
lying  north  of  Indiana  and  Illinois  w;is  added  to 
Michigan  Territory. 
ALABAMA. 
The  early  history  of  tho  country  now  comprized 
In  tho  Stato  ot  Alabama,  was  given  In  connection 
with  Ml.s.slsslppl.  A  Territorial  Government  was 
made  In  1817.  Much  trouble  with  Indians  had 
rL'tard(!d  settlomeut ;  but  a  peace  having  been 
conquered,  emigration  from  adjoining  States  be¬ 
came  brisk,  and  lu  1819  tho  State  was  admitted  to 
tho  Union. 
FLORIDA. 
In  1690  Spain  rcllnqiilshed  all  country  north  of 
38* ;  but  Great.  Britain  still  encroached,  and  tho 
bord{jrs  were  continual  scenes  of  conflict  and 
blood.shod.  In  1702  war  was  declared  b(itween 
Spain  and  Groat  Britain,  and  during  tho  next  two 
years  Gov.  MooRwof  Uarollna,  with  an  army  of 
voluntooi-s  and  Indians,  overrun  Florida  as  far 
south  as  the  settlements  and  extended  west  to 
the  Appalaohleola,  but  no  (lellnlto  change  of 
hounds  was  made.  .Meantime,  (i^arollua  renounced 
Proprietary  Oovernment  and  was  anno.xed  to 
Great  BrltalriasaBoyal  Province,  extending  from 
the  Roanoke  t/O  the  Savannah. 
In  1732  thla  was  divided  Into  i.wo  Provinces,  and 
about  tbo  same  tiling  Georgia  was  organized,  ex¬ 
tending  from  tho  Savannah  River  to  tlie  Altama- 
ba,  and  was  afterward  extended  to  t  he  St.  Marys, 
fn  1763  Spain  ceded  all  Florida  to  Great  Britain. 
In  1779,  during  tho  war  between  those  two  na¬ 
tions,  Spain  captured  and  Ujok  possession  ot  Baton 
Rouge  and  In  I7KI  of  Pensacola,  and  thoncefor- 
•ward  made  claim  to  the  country  westot  Pensa 
