land, is
in Winder's office, and has got the general to propose to the Secretary
that he shall have the exclusive handling of the letters; but Mr. Ould,
it appears, detected a letter, of an alleged treasonable character, on
its way to the enemy's country, written by this Higgens, and reported it
to the Secretary. But as the Secretary was much absorbed, and as Winder
will indorse Higgens, it is doubtful how the contest for the perquisites
will terminate.

The Secretary was aroused yesterday. The cold weather burst the
water-pipe in his office, or over it, and drove him off to the
Spottswood Hotel.

FEBRUARY 22D.--The offices are closed, to-day, in honor of Washington's
birth-day. But it is a _fast_ day; meal selling for $40 per bushel.
Money will not be so abundant a month hence! All my turnip-greens were
killed by the frost. The mercury was, on Friday, 5 deg. above zero; to-day
it is 40 deg.. Sowed a small bed of curled Savoy cabbage; and saved the
early York in my half barrel hot-bed by bringing it into the parlor,
where there was fire.

A letter from Lieut.-Col. R. A. Alston, Decatur, Ga., says Capt. ----
----, one of Gen. Morgan's secret agents, has just arrived there, after
spending several months in the North, and reports that Lincoln cannot
recruit his armies by draft, or any other mode, unless they achieve some
signal success in the spring campaign. He says, moreover, that there is
a perfect organization, all over the North, for the purpose of
revolution and the expulsion or death of the Abolitionists and free
negroes; and of this organization Generals ------, ------, and ---- ----
---- are the military leaders. Col. A. asks permission of the Secretary
of War to go into Southern Illinois, where, he is confident, if he
cannot contribute to precipitate civil war, he can, at least, bring out
thousands of men who will fight for the Southern cause.

Dispatches from Gen. Lee show that nearly every regiment in his army has
re-enlisted for the war.

The body guard of the President has been dispersed.

Here is the sequel to the history of the Jew whose goods brought such
fabulous prices at auction a few weeks ago:

"_A Heavy Robbery--A former citizen of Richmond stripped of all his
goods and chattels._--A few weeks ago, Mr. Lewis Hyman, who had for some
years carried on a successful and profitable trade in jewelry in the
City of Richmond, disposed of his effects with a view of quitting the
Confederacy and finding