'Alas! that skating frolics should end, however bright the moon, or happy the 'hearts keeping time to the music's chime.' Down through the ghostly trees, away from fairy-land came the skaters; and I gathered them in to a roaring fire, and we sat on the floor, and stirred egg-nogg, and cracked jokes and walnuts, until long enough after you, you dear old respectable KNICK, were sound asleep!

'So it goes: the world swings from the depth of August noons, fiery and passionate, love-drunken with the amber wine of mid-summer, back to the white silence and cold starry splendors of winter-nights; our eyes see the wonderful beauty, our ears hear the marvellous story, and the fools say, All is vanity! We can tell them a different story! Addio! FREDA.'

Dame FRÉDA, when the spirit of ice and fire shall inspire you to speak or sing of 'Love and Skates,' you shall not lack audience. Were KNICK an illustrator, your story should be illuminated with the fine picture which we have somewhere seen, of a young couple in full Flemish dress, darting along like wind, and yet calmly and confidently billing and cooing the while; as Dutch or Flamands would do, though seated on a comet. Much quainter even is an old engraving, of the same school, representing two owls, who in a wild moment have buckled on skates, and are 'cutting high-Dutch' on a river.

We quote from memory-'tis many long years since the ballad was · penned — all that KNICK now recalls is, that the owls were drowned, and that the Dutch lover drew from the melancholy occurrence the moral, that his love should love him betimes, and not wait till all love should be chilled and drowned in the icy waters of procrastination.

It is curious to go back to the beginning of things, and see from what seed grew many social fruits, which now puzzle us. From the jolly, cosmopolite, well feeding and smoking Dutch, sprang New-York; and lo! New-York is jolly and cosmopolite, well-feeding and much smoking, even unto the present day. From Bible-believing, Christian-socializing, educated, hard-thinking Puritans came the Yankees; and the Yankees are like their sires. From the admixture of younger sons of nobility and 'Redemptioners,' sold to pay their passage, came the whites of the South; and are not their descendants still proud and beggarly?— first families mingled with dirt-eaters and mulattoes? — the whole heterogeneous and socially un-mixable? As for South-Carolina that State of aristocracy run mad—is not the whole story told in a few paragraphs by 'H. P. L., published whilom in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, which paragraphs we here cite in happy illustration:

"THE Northern man who has watched the gradual growth of the gaudy Carolina tiger-lily of mutiny, from the time it burst out of the mud at Fort Sumter, until it

flowered at Bull Run, and commenced fading at Port Royal, regards the entire exhibition as decidedly of the exotic order. Not seeing the necessity of Carolina's paying any more attention to the subject, he has proceeded to open the windows of the hot-bed, at Port Royal; and if needs must tear down the entire conservatory. It is time that

the useful should be allowed to enter the Palatinate!

'South-Carolina is unworthy of association with the United States, for the first principle of a Republic equality has never been known to, or consequently been believed in, by any of its leading mutineers. They remembered only that on the first day of March, 1699, Lord CRAVEN, Lord ASHLEY, Lord CORNBURY, Lord BERKELEY, Sir JOHN COLLETON, Sir GEORGE CARTERET, signed the Fundamental Constitution of one hundred and twenty articles; which Constitution, as expressed in the last article,

"Shall be and remain the sacred and unalterable form and rule of government in Carolina forever.'

“That a Palatine shall be chosen out of the Proprietaries, who shall continue during life, and be succeeded by the eldest of the other Proprietaries.

There are to be three hereditary Noblemen in every county, one called a Landgrave, and two called Cassiques.

"The Parliament consists of the Proprietors, or their Deputies, the Governor, and Commons; and should have twenty-five Landgraves and fifty Cassiques to make a Nobility.

"The Landgraves are to have four Baronies, annexed to their dignities, of six thousand acres each Barony; and the Cassiques two Baronies, of three thousand acres each, and not to be divided by sale of any part.'

'Palatine, Landgraves, Cassiques, Nobility, with Baronies, Slaves, chivalric admirers of Rattlesnakes, yellow-covered Novels, Black Flags, Tournaments, the melo-dramatic and mock romantic, the flashy and superficial, behold your coming is waited for in the 'Halls of the Montezumas!' The mud-sills of a Republic are up in their might; the invisible hand of fate beckons you away: assisted by the points of many bayonets, Go! 'Among the stalwart men of North-Carolina, a love for the Republic has burned well and deeply into their hearts; of ruder and rougher make than the sleek Cassiques of their sister State, they have dared to be honest, when in the dictionary of FLOYD and DAVIS there was no such word as honor. In the appointed time they shall again be gathered under the banner of the Great Republic; but for the Palatinate-for South-Carolina with the black flag and cross-bones flying from Charleston there is no hope, save in Mexico. There, Spain, France, and England, the three champions of monarchy, are preparing to pave the way for a little more king-craft, and a little less republicanism -a word in their ears associated with Chartist, Carlists, Carbonari, and other dire combinations of vowels and consonants; and with open arms will they welcome the Cassiques, Landgraves, and Palatine, flying for dear life from liberty to slavery and moral degradation.

--

'Carolina stands in the way of civilization; it must yield the right of way, or be crushed. Liberty insulted assumes the form of NEMESIS, the avenging goddess of justice, and demands redress. Down through a thousand years rings the trumpet-tones of the full-voiced chorus of the Greeks - prophetic of her awful triumph :

of freedom, should I say,

Or Fate! - How long shall vengeance pour her terrors?
When curb her fiery rage, and sleep in peace?''

Certain it is, that the world at large has reached an age when all this machinery and tom-foolery of romance, as attached to rank, must yield to com

mon-sense. And yet it is virtually in a social difference, and on a state of feeling based on these follies of 'privilege,' that South-Carolina, and with her the entire South, express constant loathing for the North, and seek to rend away the bonds of Union.

MARCH! If KNICK were called on to preach a lay sermon, in a single word, like him who was forced of old by divers 'godless youth,' to expound on the monosyllable Malt,' he would probably find nothing which, in the opinion of the impatient world of the present day, would suit more aptly than the name of the month for which we now 'editorialize.' From every newspaper come notes of impatience. 'Forward, march! Hurry along! Why don't you fight?' En avant, marchons. Never yet was there such a desire made manifest to see March transformed into the most active of all active verbs. From the street-boy, who apostrophizes Government with a profanely sandwiched recommendation to 'hurry up the cakes,' up to the grave divine, who in his prayer for the President and Congress, of these mentally adds, 'And let them be up and doing!' there is but one sentiment, all compactly condensed in a word of five letters MARCH!

Yet, there is such a thing as unwise precipitation. We have been well nigh a year at fierce war JOHN BULL grumbles, France grumbles, we all grumble - and yet it may be that we are not over-wise in this outcry. No one can accuse KNICK of having been slothful in stirring up the heavy sleepers; no one can accuse that venerable hero of having been backward in urging the warriors to advance with their bayonets, the ladies with their needles, or the editors with their steel-pens. But now, at this moment, when popular impatience never raged so furiously, and when there was never so much apparent cause for crying aloud for prompt battle, KNICK would say, Pause. There is much behind the curtain, friends, which ye wot not of. 'Let us reason thereof.'

In the first place, even a prize-fight requires training; and if he who is to be trained be as much out of condition as Uncle Sam was, when he first undertook to prepare for this 'mill,' with his Southern foe, a year is not too much time for the course. Be it borne in mind, too, that it was only while the war went on that Government could fully master the situation. Step by step it has at length mastered this; it has found what no earthly wisdom could guess at in a moment; what points must be secured to take the foe, as in the meshes of a gigantic net. Step by step it has spread the net, and it was no easy task, for it was not the mere cast of a butterfly-catcher, but the deadly danger of a Roman retiarius, who was opposed by an agile, vindictive, and sword-armed foe. Let us wait till the cast has been made, and remember meanwhile that it is to be one of life and death.

With all that is said of our splendidly-appointed army, it is as yet not what is required for this great effort. He who goes to Washington, and sees the camp, still sees not the many deficiencies which must be supplied ere a host can go forth, as it were into foreign lands, where it will be encountered by opposition of no trifling nature. Take up the map see all the points which must be seized observe how completely the foe can be entrapped; but re

flect, at the same time, on what a tremendous effort it must be; and remember that it is a turning point and a cast involving all!

We hold the winning-cards, but we must play carefully. Our adversary is one who will cheat and lie, till truth itself seems a falsehood. He has poisoned all England against us, he is lying still through thick and thin, and he has both strength and skill. With such a foe, one must walk warily.

Patience, therefore, and let us see the programme worked out; for there is a programme, and we are promised a tremendous effort ere long. Sooth to say, it is hardly credible that a Cabinet of intelligent men have of late been doing nothing, and meaning nothing; waiting, like a party of diplomatic MICAWBERS, for something to 'turn up.' The end of the beginning is at hand. But when the victory shall have been won, then let measures be taken for effectually consolidating the Union. Should this be done, should future disunion be rendered impossible, we shall not have purchased too dearly.

THE following letter embodies hasty sketches of Washington. As it is by a prominent legislative official, it will be read with interest by many :

Washington.

'THE great centre of operations at this time, both military and political, is Washington. I do not propose to write a labored article on this subject, but give merely some sketches of what one sees and hears, who has 'his eyes and ears open.' Every third man one meets, at least, wears shoulder-straps or other insignia, denoting that he is in the 'service.' It would seem as though many of our 'brave soldiers' expected that the next great battle would be fought on Pennsylvania Avenue. The grand army is the centre of attraction; even Congress fails to divide the honors with those who wear the Government blue. The galleries, that erst were so thronged with the beauty and fashion of every State, are for the most part deserted; and the grim legislators below address their remarks to the Speaker, instead of the galleries, as they did in days gone by.

'However, if the army goes into 'winter quarters,' Congress will no doubt receive its full share of attention. Speaker GROW is one of the most popular officers that ever filled that chair. He is prompt and energetic in his decisions; he presides with stern impartiality, and so far as in the power of any man, preserves order and decorum in that usually boisterous arena. But that is not so difficult a matter now, for the elements that made the Hall of the House a 'bear-garden,' in years gone by, are now mostly in the rebel army.

'The Senate is a quiet, orderly, and dignified body. Vice-President HAMLIN, for so many years a member of it, presides with easy grace and dignity, and is regarded as an excellent presiding officer. The leading man in the Senate now, I should say, was CHARLES SUMNER; his earnest and deep tones always command instant attention; his is a style of eloquence entirely his own; classic, scholarly, impressive and grand. A few years ago, this noble Senator was carried from those senatorial halls, mangled and bleeding from the assault of a ruffian. Now he leads the Senate, as Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations; and is to the Senate what the Chairman of Ways and Means is to the House.

'Emancipation or confiscation of the slaves of all the rebels, is to be the chief topic of

debate this winter. In this the Republican element is to be divided, as is the President and his Cabinet. Those termed Radicals, will follow the doctrines of General FREMONT'S Proclamation, before it was 'modified' by the President; and General CAMERON's Report, before a portion of it was 'suppressed' by the President; while another portion will follow the President, and attempt to conduct the war in such a manner as to preserve Slavery, at all hazards, Union or no Union. Among the leading men on the side of the Radicals, will be found Senators SUMNER, WADE, WILSON, WILMOT, CHandler, Trumbull, Hale, FOOTE, and MORRILL; and Representatives COLFAx, Fenton, Dawes, STEVENS, WASHBURNE, etc. Among the Conservatives will probably be Senators SIMmons, Harris, CARLISLE, the Democratic' Senators generally, and the same class in the House. In what force these elements will combine, has not yet been tested. It is believed the so-called Radical element will be in the ascendency.

'The weather in Washington, during the first half of December, has been a topic of conversation. A warm and genial sun has beamed out of a hazy, dreamy sky, for many weeks. The days have been as gorgeous as our own Northern Indian summerdays; the nights have been comfortable. It seems as though PROVIDENCE had provided these balmy days, and sweet moon-light nights, for the especial comfort of the soldiers. Yesterday, toward the close of a beautiful afternoon, I ascended to the dome of the Capitol, and here one of the most magnificent views burst upon the eye imaginable. It was toward the close of a gorgeous day, not a cloud flecked the clear blue sky; the city with its wide avenues lay spread out beneath us, like a map, while the rays of the sun flashed and shimmered upon the polished bayonets of several squadrons, marching in various directions.

'To the west, along the line of Arlington Heights, could be seen the white tents of the almost countless host that environ them. To the south, the Maryland Heights were also dotted over with the encampments of our troops; while to the east and north, innumerable tents lay quietly as far in the distance as the eye could reach. To the north, high up in the heavens, and distinctly pencilled against the blue sky, hung a huge balloon, some three miles away, and at least half that distance from the earth, containing officers taking observations.

'When we arrived on the dome, a corps of engineers were signalling their distant correspondents. These signals are made with various-colored flags, with a square in the centre, of some color in contrast with the main body of the flag; a white flag, for instance, has a black centre; a black flag, a white centre, while some are red. These flags are waved a certain number of times, each motion corresponding to a figure, and certain combinations of figures meaning words. It is a new system of signalling, recently invented in the army; the old signals being also understood by the rebels. On one side of the dome an officer was conversing, by means of these signals, with a man in the balloon; while on the opposite side, another officer was conversing with a man on Fairfax Seminary, dimly visible on a distant hill in Virginia, ten miles away. By the aid of powerful glasses, these signals have been successfully seen and answered thirty miles apart.

'We remained on the dome till the eastern slope of Arlington was bathed in twilight, and the deep sullen boom of the evening guns rolled along the distant heights. The curling smoke from a hundred thousand camp-fires ascended on every side, as the evening meal was prepared; while strains of martial music, sometimes low and faint, and then swelling out full and clear, saluted our delighted ears. It was a scene of grandeur and sublimity and beauty never to be forgotten.

'Perhaps a picture of General MCCLELLAN may not be out of place in these rambling sketches. I saw him last evening at the President's reception. As he is not often seen, except on business, many were grateful for this opportunity to pay their respects