response of a 24-pounder from the fort. This useful defeL sive work, which mounts some twenty heavy guns and con tains quarters for a regiment, was built in 1848, by Halleck, Peachy & Billings. It is now used as a hermitage by a lonely officer of the U. S. Army. The people of Monterey have a wild legend concerning this desolate recluse. I was told. that he passes the whole of his time in sleep, never by any chance getting out of bed until he hears the gun of a steamer, when he rushes forth in his shirt, fires off a 24-pounder, sponges and reloads it, takes a drink and turns in again. They never have seen him; it's only by his semi-monthly reports they know of his existence. "Well," said I to my informant, a bustling little fellow named Bootjacks, who came off on board of us, "suppose, some day a steamer should arrive and he should not return her gun ? " "Well sir," replied Bootjacks, with a quaint smile, "we should conclude that he was either dead, or out of powder." Logical deduction this, and a rather curious story, altogether; how I should like to see him! Bootjacks kindly presented me with the following state of the markets, &c. in Monterey, which will give you a better idea of the large business and commercial prosperity of that flourishing city, than any thing that I can write on those subjects. MONTEREY MARKETS. The arrival of a stranger by the Maj. Tompkins from San Francisco, during the past week, with specie to the amount of $4 871, most of which has been put in circulation, has produced an unprecedented activity among our business men. Confidence is in a great measure restored, and our merchants have had no reason to complain of want of occupation. The following is the state of our market, for the principal articles of domestic consumption: FLOUR-Twenty-five pounds, imported by Boston, & Co. per Major Tompkins, still in first hands; flour in small quantities is jobbing readily at 15 @ 18 cents. We notice sales of 10 b by Boston, & Co., to Judge Merritt, on private terms. PORK-The half bbl. imported by Col. Russell, in March last, is nearly all in the hands of jobbers; sales of 4 ħ at $1, half cash; remainder in note at 4 months. A half bbl. expected by Bootjack & Co., early in September, will overstock the market. CANDY-Sales of 6 sticks by Boston & Co. to purser of Maj. Tompkins, on private terms; the market has a downward tendency; candy is jobbing in sticks at 6 @ 8 cents. POTATOES-We notice arrival of 10 from the Santa Cruz; no sales. DRY GOODS-Sales of two cotton pocket hdkfs. by Mc Kinley & Co. at 62 @ 75 cents; indorsed note at 6 months. Lively place this. Thank Heaven my lot is not cast there-it was once, but the people sold it for taxes. Having taken on board the U. S. mail, containing one letter (which I believe must have been the resignation of the Collector), our noble steamer bore away to the Southward. Four bells tinkled from the little bell aft; four bells chimed from its deep-toned brother forward, and being of a retiring disposition, I retired. 9 PHOENIX IS ON THE SEA. BRIGHT and beautiful rose the sun, from out the calm blue sca, its early rays gleaming on the snow-white decks of the Northerner, and "gilding refined gold" as they penetrated the state-room "A," and lingering, played among the tresses of the slumbering McAuburn. It was a lovely morning, "the winds were all hushed, and the waters at rest," and no sound was heard but the throbbing of the engine and the splash of the paddle wheels as the gallant old Northerner sped on her way, " tracking the trackless sea.' Two sailors engaged in their morning devotions with the holy stones near my room, amused me not a little. One of them, either accidentally or with "malice prepense," threw a bucket of water against the bulwark, which ricocheting, struck the other on his dorsal extremity, as he leaned to his work, making that portion of his frame exceedingly damp and him exceedingly angry. "You just try that again, your soul," exclaimed the offer ded one," and I'll slap your chops for you." "Oh, yes you will," sarcastically rejoined he of the water bucket "I've heerd of you afore! You're old chop-slapper's son, aint you? Father went round slapping people's chops, didn't he?" Then followed a short fight, in which, as might have been expected, "Old chop-slapper's son" got rather the worst of it. There was no excuse for being sick that morning, so our passengers, still pale, but with cheerful hope depicted in their countenances, soon began to throng the deck, segars were again brought into requisition, and we had an opportunity of ascertaining "whether there was any Bourbon among us." A capital set of fellows they were. There was Moore, and Parker, and Bowers (one of Joe Bowers' boys), and Sarsaparilla Meade, and Freeman, which last mentioned gentlemen, so amusing were they, appeared to be travelling expressly to entertain us. And there were no ladies, which to me was a blessed dispensation. "Oh, woman! in our hours of ease Certainly but at sea, Woman, you are decidedly disagreeable. In the first place, you generally bring babies with you, which are a crying evil, and then you have to have the best state-room and the first seat at the table, and monopolize the captain's attention and his room, and you make remarks to one another about us, and our segars and profanity, and accuse us of singing rowdy songs, nights; and you generally wind up by doing some scandalous thing yourself, when half of us take your part and the other half don't, and we get all together by the ears, and a pretty state of affairs ensues. No, woman! you are agreeable enough on shore, if taken homeopathically, but on a steamer, you are a decided nuisance. We had a glorious day aboard the old Northerner; we played whist, and sang songs, and told stories, many of which were coeval with our ancient school-lessons, and like them came very easy, going over the second time, and many drank strong waters, and becoming mopsed thereon, toasted "the girls we'd left behind us," whereat one, who, being a temperance man, had guzzled soda-water until his eyes seemed about to pop from his head, pondered deeply, sighed, and said nothing. And so we laughed, and sang, and played, and whiskied, and soda-watered through the day. And fast the old Northerner rolled ca. And at night the Captain gave us a grand game supper in his room, at which game we played not, but went at it in sober earnest; and then there were more songs (the same ones, though, and the same stories too, over again), and some speechifying, and much fun, until at eight bells we separated, some shouting, some laughing, some crying (but not with sorrow), but all extremely happy, and so we turned in. But before I sought state-room A that night, I executed a small scheme, for insuring undisturbed repose, which I had revolved in my mind during the day, and which met with the most brilliant success, as you shall hear. You remember the two snobs that every night, in the |