SECESSION AND READMISSION OF REBEL STATES.—­

Seceded.          Readmitted. 
South Carolina  Dec. 20,1860.     June 11, 1868. 
Mississippi     Jan. 9, 1861.     Feb. 3, 1870. 
Alabama         Jan. 11, 1861.    June 11, 1868. 
Florida         Jan. 11, 1861.    June 11, 1868. 
Georgia         Jan. 19, 1861.    April 20, 1870. 
Louisiana       Jan. 26, 1861.    June 11, 1868. 
Texas           Feb. 1, 1861.     Mar. 15, 1870. 
Virginia        April 16, 1861.   Jan. 15, 1870. 
Arkansas        May 6, 1861.      June 20, 1868. 
North Carolina  May 21, 1861.     June 11, 1868. 
Tennessee       June 24, 1861.    July, 1866.

THE EARTHQUAKE OF 1811-12.—­The earthquake shocks felt on the shores of the Lower Mississippi in the years 1811-12 are recorded as among the most remarkable phenomena of their kind.  Similar instances where earth disturbances have prevailed, severely and continuously, far from the vicinity of a volcano, are very rare indeed.  In this instance, over an extent of country stretching for 300 miles southward from the mouth of the Ohio river, the ground rose and sank in great undulations, and lakes were formed and again drained.  The shocks were attended by loud explosions, great fissures—­generally traveling from northeast to southwest, and sometimes more than half a mile in length—­were opened in the earth, and from these openings mud and water were thrown often to the tops of the highest trees.  Islands in the Mississippi were sunk, the current of the river was driven back by the rising of its bed, and overflowed the adjacent lands.  More than half of New Madrid county was permanently submerged.  The inhabitants noticed that these earth movements were sometimes vertical and sometimes horizontal, the former being by far the most serious in their effects.  These disturbances ceased March 26, 1812, simultaneously with the great earthquake which destroyed the city of Caracas, South America.

THE DARK DAYS IN NEW ENGLAND.—­On May 19, 1780, there was a remarkable darkening of the sky and atmosphere over a large part of New England, which caused much alarm among those who witnessed it.  The darkness began between ten and eleven o’clock on the day named, and continued in some places through the entire day, and was followed by an unusually intense degree of blackness during the ensuing night.  This phenomenon extended from the northeastern part of New England westward as far as Albany, and southward to the coast of New Jersey.  The most intense and prolonged darkness, however, was confined to Massachusetts, especially to the eastern half of the State.  It came up from the southwest, and overhung the country like a pall.  It was necessary to light candles in all the houses, and thousands of good people, believing that the end of all things terrestrial had come, betook themselves to religious devotions.  One incident of the occasion has been woven into verse with excellent