BY FAYETTE ROBINSON, AUTHOR OF "THE ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES," ETC. ALL persons naturally exhibit a great desire to be- | that occasion, with one or two exceptions, are now come acquainted with the events of the lives of those alive. The battle of Chippewa occurred on the 5th individuals who have made themselves or their of July, 1814, and was the date of Worth's first country illustrious. It is very pleasant to inquire brevet. into the nature of the studies which matured their minds, to examine the incidents of their early career, and follow them through the obscurer portions of their lives for the purpose of ascertaining if the man corresponds with the idea we have formed of him. Gen. Worth has recently attracted so much attention, and the events of his whole life have been so stirring, that this is peculiarly the case with him. No one can think without interest of one who, while a boy almost, opposed the British veterans at Chippewa and Lundy's Lane, and in his manhood won a yet higher reputation amid the hamacs of Florida, and in front of the batteries of Molino del Rey and Monterey. It is, however, a matter of much regret that of Worth's early history and family annals but little is known. It is true, no man in the army has been the theme of so much camp-fire gossip, or the hero of so many gratuitous fabrications; but we are able "to learn nothing of him previous to his entry into the service. A thousand anecdotes without any basis in truth have been told of him, altogether to no purpose; for one who has so many real claims to distinction need never appeal to factitious honors. Though a brevet captain, Worth continued with Scott in the important position of aid-de-camp, and served in that capacity at Lundy's Lane, in the battle of July 25th, 1814. On that occasion he distinguished himself in the highest degree, and won the reputation his whole subsequent career has confirmed, of coolness, decision, and activity. During this engagement the whole British force was thrown on the 9th foot, commanded by the veteran Lieut. Col. Leavenworth. This officer sent for aid to Gen. Scott, who on that occasion gave Gen. Taylor the example after which that gallant general acted at Buena Vesta. He repaired to the menaced point with the strong reinforcement of his own person and aid, and had the proud satisfaction of seeing the attacking column beaten back, and the general who led it made prisoner. At the moment of success, however, both Scott and Capt. Worth fell wounded severely. The country appreciated their services, and each received from Mr. Madison the brevet of another grade, with date from the day of the battle. Major Worth soon recovered, but, attached to Gen. Scott's person, accompanied him southward, as soon as the wound of the latter enabled him to bear the fatigue of travel. assigned to the military command of the corps of Cadets at West Point. This appointment, ever conferred on men of talent, is the highest compliment an officer of the service of the United States can receive in time of peace. To Worth it was doubly grateful, because he was not an elevé of the institution. Ten years after the battle of Niagara, Major Worth was breveted a lieutenant colonel, and when in 1832 the ordnance corps was established, he became one of its majors. In July, 1832, on the organization of the 8th infantry, Lieut. Col. Worth was appointed to its Gen. Worth, at the commencement of the last war with Great Britain, is said to have been a resident of Albany, N. Y., and to have been engaged in com- When peace came Worth was a captain in the mercial pursuits. Animated by the feeling of patriot-line and a major by brevet, with which rank he was ism which pervaded the whole people, he left the desk and ledger, and is said to have enlisted in the 2nd regiment of artillery, then commanded by Col. Izard, afterward a general officer of distinction. The lieut. colonel of one of the battalions of this regiment was Winfield Scott, the attention of whom Worth is said soon to have attracted. Col. Scott is said to have exerted himself to procure him a commission, and to have taken care of his advancement. This may or may not be true; it is sure, however, that Worth first appears in a prominent position in the military annals of the United States as the aid-de-colonelcy. camp and protegé of General Scott, at the battle of Chippewa, where Scott was a brigadier. Worth was his aid, having in the interim become a first lieutenant. No man in America is ignorant of the events of that day, which retrieved the disgrace of Hull's surrender, and reflected the greatest honor on all the participants in its events. For his gallantry and good conduct, Mr. Madison bestowed on Lieut. Worth the brevet of captain; and he was mentioned in the highest terms in the general orders of the officers under whom he served. The brevet of Worth was announced to the army and nation in the same order which told of the promotion of McNeil, Jessup, Towson, and Leavenworth. Strangely enough, though death has been busy with the officers of the last war, all who were breveted for their services on Hitherto we have seen Worth in a subordinate position, where he was unable to exhibit the highest qualification of a soldier, that of command. Since his entry into the service he had been either an officer of the staff, or separated from troops. He was now called on to participate in far more stirring scenes. The war against the Seminoles in Florida had long been a subject of great anxiety to both the government and the people, and thither Worth was ordered, after a brief but effective tour of service on the northern frontier, then infested by the Canadian insurgents. At first he acted subordinately to the late Gen. Armistead, but, on the retirement of that officer, assumed command. The war was prosecuted by him with new vigor, and the Indians defeated ultimately at Pilaklakaha, near the St. John, April 17, 1812. This fight was virtually the termination of the war, the enemy never again having shown himself in force. Gen. Worth was highly complimented for his services on this occasion, and received the brevet of brigadier general. During the season of peace which followed Gen. Worth remained almost constantly with his regiment, which more than once changed its station; and when the contest with Mexico began, reported to Gen. Taylor at Corpus Christi. His situation here was peculiar, and he became involved in a dispute in relation to precedence and command with the then Col. Twiggs, of the 2nd dragoons. The latter officer was by several years Worth's senior in the line, and, according to the usual opinion in the army, entitled to command, though many of the most accomplished soldiers of the service thought the brevet of Worth, on this occasion at least, where the corps d'armée was made up of detachments, valid as a commission. This dispute became so serious that Gen. Taylor interferred, and having sustained Col. Twiggs, Gen. Worth immediately tendered his resignation to the President. There is no doubt but that the decision in favor of Gen. Twiggs was correct, and that Worth was radically wrong in his conception of the effect of his brevet. He, however, had been brought up under the eye of Gen. Scott, who entertained the same ideas on this subject, and who, years before, under precisely similar circumstances, had resigned his commission. Gen. Worth having proceeded from the Rio Grande to Washington, the President refused to accept his resignation, and he returned at once to the army. The resignation of Worth was a most untoward circumstance, for during his absence from the army hostilities commenced, and he lost all participation in the battles of Palo Alto and La Resaca. When, after the capture of Matamoras, the army again advanced, Worth had resumed his post, and acquiesced cheerfully in the decision which had been given against him. The laurels he had not grasped on the Rio Grande were won in front of the batteries of La Loma de la Independencia, and in the streets of Monterey. Amid the countless feats of daring recorded by military history, none will be found to surpass his achievements in the slow, painful, but bold entry he effected through a city swarming with defenders, to the very plaza. For his gallantry on this occasion he received the brevet of major general, and, with the exception of Generals Scott and Taylor, is believed to be the only officer in the service who has received three war-brevets. Gen. Worth from this time became one of the national idols. When Gen. Scott assumed command of the expedition against Vera Cruz and the capital, one of his first acts was to order Gen. Worth and the remnant of his division to join him. The general-in-chief remembered the events, on the northern frontier, of 1814, and anticipated much in Mexico. He was not disappointed in this expectation, for at Vera Cruz and in the valley of Mexico, his old aid did not disappoint him, and proved that service had but matured the judgment of the soldier of Chippewa and Niagara. It was at Molino del Rey that Worth displayed his powers with most brilliancy. When it became evident that the city of Mexico must be taken by force, a prominent position was assigned to Gen. Worth, who, with his division and Cadwallader's brigade, was ordered to carry the strong position of Molino del Rey, and destroy its defences. This spot is famous in Mexican history as Casas Matas, and and is the scene of the famous plan, or revolution, of Feb. 2, 1823, by virtue of which a republican form of government may be said to exist in Mexico. It lies westward of Chapultepec, the old palace of the Aztec kings, and from the nature of its position, and the careful manner in which it was fortified, was a position of great strength. It lay at the foot of a rapid declivity, enfiladed by the fire of Chapultepec, and so situated, that not a shot could be discharged but must fall into an assailing column. Under these great difficulties the works were carried, Worth all the while marching with the column, and directing the operations of the horse artillery and infantry of which it was composed. In respect to this part of the operations in front of Mexico Gen. Scott adopted, without comment, the report of Gen. Worth. This is a rare compliment, and proceeding from such a person as Scott should be highly estimated. After the capture of the city of Mexico, difficulties occurred between Gen. Worth and the general-inchief, and a friendship of thirty-five years was apparently terminated. The matter is now the subject of consideration before a competent tribunal, and non nobis tantas componere lites. Gen. Worth is yet in Mexico. His age is about fifty-six or eight, and in his personal appearance are mingled the bearing of the soldier and of the gentleman. The excellent portrait given of him is from a Daguerreotype by Mr. Clarke, of New York. ENCOURAGEMENT. WHEN first peeps out from earth the modest vine, How easily some step, without design, Support to feebleness, the tendril twine Around some lattice-work, and 't will bestow Its thanks in fragrance, and with blossoms shine. E. C. KINNEY. HE CHANGED AND THE UNCHANGED. BY PROFESSOR ALDEN. CHAPTER I. says that my queenly cousin is to lay solute sceptre, and submit to a lord and d George Mason, to his cousin, Emily took his arm for an evening walk. mean that I am to be married, that is a truth does not require me to contradict," ng lady, in a tone adapted to repress the ner of her companion. He had just n a long absence in a foreign land. His ad been passed in his uncle's family. Cousin a beautiful girl. He found her a still more beautiful woman. anxious," said he, with a slight change to see the man who has drawn so ze. Is he like the picture you drew of would marry, as we sat by the willow e rising of the moon to its meridian? er that most beautiful night?" esirable to remember all the follies of id Emily, coldly. Mason was silent. at they were no longer what they had and sister. "You g for some distance in silence, Emily a tone inviting conversation, a great deal of the world." some means of observation," he reave seen nothing to wean me from -om my friends here." "I am surprised that the romantic, warm-hearted Emily Earl should become the worldly-wise lecturer of her cousin." "We had better speak upon some other subject. Had you a pleasant voyage homeward?" "Yes. It could not be otherwise, when my face was toward my own, my native land,' and the friends so fresh in my remembrance." A slight shade of displeasure flitted across Emily's features. She made no remark. "Where is Susan Grey?" said Mason. "Indeed! She was just my own age. She was a single-hearted girl.” "She often inquired for you. You never fancied yourself in love with her?" "No. Why that question!" "She was under the impression that we were engaged, and seemed quite relieved when I informed her that she was mistaken." "What has become of Mary Carver?" "She is married, and lives in that house," pointing to a miserable hut near at hand. "Is it possible?" "Her husband is intemperate. It was a clandestine marriage-a love match, you know." "Was her husband intemperate when she married him?" "Not habitually so. He was so very romantic s are obliged to you for the compli- and devoted to her, so that, I suppose, she thought she tend the remark as a compliment." as an interval of silence. "I have -ur years," said Mason, as though self, "and I am not conscious of any as my feelings are concerned. The nd things which I then loved, I love e views of life which I then cherished could reform him." "What has become of Mr. Ralston, your old friend?" admirer, he would have said, but he deemed it unwise. "He is a lawyer here, in a small way. I believe they think of sending him to Congress." "Is he married?" "No." "I thought he seemed to be attached to you; at and knowledge of the world," said least I hoped that he would become my cousin." o give wisdom." "I will answer your questions in regard to others verse as to regard it as wisdom to my own affairs do not require remark." eams of our early days." This rebuke, so unlike any thing he had ever ought, it seems to me, to change as received from his cousin, led him to fix his gaze upon her countenance, as if to make sure of her identity. e that we ought to grow old, so far There could be no mistake. There was the same re concerned." ngage in the vain effort to retain shness of morning, after the sun has -ning heat." brilliant eye, the same faultless features on which he had gazed in former years. A conciliating smile led him to resume his inquiries. "Is Eliza Austin married?" His voice, as he dew of our youth may be preserved asked this question, was far from natural, perhaps in e." consequence of the agitation which the rebuke just spoken of had occasioned. ed that acquaintance with the world your views of life. One would d lived in entire seclusion." "No; she lives somewhere in the village, I don't know exactly where." |