The Alexandria Herald

On Monday last we were cited to appear before the circuit court to give testimony in a case of assault, as we thought. But we were certainly not a little confused at a very unexpected interrogatory as to the name of the author of an anonymous communication which we published some time since in answer to another anonymous one. So unprepared for a question of this nature, and conceiving the circumstances under which it was made an infringement upon the rights of our profession, we hesitated in giving an immediate reply and took our seat; but, after a conversation of a few moments by the court (during which we felt confirmed in the opinion of the impropriety of such an extortion), we were again called up and told, in a tone which convinced us there was no jesting in it, that we must surrender the information or take the consequence. Now there really was but a morsel of comfort in this; and presuming that the "consequences" would be, with an escort, to take up lodgings in our honest old friend Rounsavell's red castle (an edifice, by the way, with which we have never been over-delighted either by the splendor of its architecture or its romantic situation) we thought we could very well forego this high honor, notwithstanding the pleasure that might be derived from the company of the distinguished French gentleman who is quartered there, and, accordingly, at the suggestion of an old brother "chip," and on consultation and with leave of the author, who were present, we yielded to the inquiry.

But this is not all. We were also actually made to explain (as well as we could) what was even meant by a number of asterisks (**) in the communication. We notice this fact principally that it may possibly serve as a caution to our correspondents not to use Chinese in their compositions--or had that language been used instead of the celestial signs, we might, probably now have been in durance vile.