Vicksburg Past And Present

A correspondent gives the following pioture of affairs at Vioksburg : In 1861, Vicksburg liud two railroads. Slie has none now ruuning West, and her eastern railroad oonneotion is a mere military affair, with a track worn out aud no rolling stock to speak of. At that time there wcre services every Sunday iu five elegant churches, with large aAtentive congregutions. All except the Catholio Church are now greatly injured by shells, and by being occupied for military purposes. Thero is no longer any nicb thing here as regular or stated religious services, and twothirds of tbe inhabitants do not know when Sunday comes. ïhen, in 1861, there was a laf ge public school building, in which some live or six hundred pupils were instructed, besides numerous smaller private schools, which were well maititaiued. During the past fifteen months the childreu of the town have studied only the science of military and laziuess. - There is not dow, I believe, a single uiau or woman in the place who is making, or thinking of making, an eifort to teach a child to read. There were then many palatial residences, with splendidly orna niented gardens and walks. Now there is just enough of thcm left to indícate how pretty they were once. Then there were two large foundries and machine shops, employing hundreds of hands, and turning out a vast araount of machinery for steamboats, milis, gins and factories. Now, out of this army. there is not even a blatksiniíh shop in the place. Then there were two haspitals in the place - the Uuited States Marine Hospital situated below the Southern boundary of the city, conimanding a fine view of the ■iver, and the city Hospital, an iusiitu tkin uuder the charge of the Mavor and L'ouncil. Now nearly the entire city isa ïospital, and you caonot go amisa fot a Tramoyará. Then there were in Vicksburg three daily newspapers - all well sustaiued - an ufallible test of eaterprise and prosperi ty. The Wn'g has been burnt up. The Sun has set to rise uo more, and the Citizen bas becoroe alien - its proprietor a siíent foreigner, who suspended because wall paper cou'd no longr be procured. Brokers, banks, Masonic and Odd Felow Lodges, hote's, public reading rooms, jiiliard 8ml wlikkey saloons, stores of everv kind, and all the machinery for supplying civilized wants, disappeared with the newspapers. The oniy merchante viho are now here aro sutlers - The only mechantes are extm duty men eiongiog t-o th army. A lady cannot to shopping. There are two reasons - shfe bas oo motiey and there are no shops Siegro women v end ing very dark looking 'ingerbrcad and eonsutnptive pies, repre sent the co-mmereiai portion of the comnanity.