FEBRUARY 20th.—Bright, calm, but still cold—slightly moderating. Roads firm and dusty. Trains of army wagons still go by our house laden with ice.
Brig.-Gen. Wm. Preston has been sent to Mexico, with authority to recognize and treat with the new Emperor Maximilian.
I see, by a letter from Mr. Benjamin, that he is intrusted by the President with the custody of the “secret service” money.
Late papers from the United States show that they have a money panic, and that gold is rising in price. In Lowell not a spindle is turning, and 30,000 operatives are thrown out of employment
From England we learn that the mass of the population are memorializing government to put an end to the war!
I saw a ham sell to-day for $350; it weighed fifty pounds, at $7 per pound.