THE DOUGLAS DEMONSTRATION-SENATOR SLIDELL.

CHARLESTON, S. C., April 21st, 1860.

The principal hotels swarm like hives this morning. The greatest crowd is at the Mills House, which is the Douglas head-quarters The air is full of tobacco-smoke and rumors. There is nothing definite to be found out. The private consultation rooms are the centres of interest, but it is impossible to arrive at results. The friends of Douglas are by no means disposed to talk about their second choice. They swear they have none, and will stick to Dug while the hair is on their beads. They won't, however. Many of them would be weary after two days' balloting. The Administration and Southern U. S. Senators scout the idea of the success of Douglas. They consider his defeat a foregone conclusion. Slidell was urged last week to come down and attend to the extermination of his enemy, but said at first, he would not -for there was no danger of the nomination of the obnoxious individual. The Douglas men made such demonstrations in Washington, however, and indicated such power and confidence, that • Old Houmas,' as his enemies style him, concluded to come. He will be here this evening, and will operate against Douglas. He is a matchless wire-worker, and the news of his approach causes a flutter. His ap pearance bere means war to the knife. It means also, that the Administration is uneasy on the Douglas question-and feel constrained to exert every influence against the Squatty Giant of Illinois, whose nomination would be perdition to Buchanan, Slidell & Co.

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There is not, however, for the moment, so much bitterness of denunciation in the talk of the Southern delegates here, as there was on the road. The Douglas element is so powerful, that it would be indiscreet to exasperate it. And the Douglasites repeat very few of those disparaging words so familiar in their mouths at home, about the Southern fire-eaters and fanatics. They sing low and roar gently about Southern sectionalism. All these ill humors must, however, have their breaking out in the heat of the Convention. In these piping times of private caucuses, the bad blood is diplomatically preserved for home cousumption.

THE DAY PRECEDING THE CONVENTION-DOUGLAS STOCK UP.

CHARLESTON, S. C., April 22d. The run of the current this morning is Douglas-ward. The friends of Douglas are encouraged by the events of last night. In the first place, the Executive Committee adjourned sine die, without repudiating the action of Judge Smalley, the Chairman, in issuing tickets to the Cagger, Cassidy and Dean Richmond New Yorkers, and to the Douglas Illinois delegation. Fernando Wood and Ike Cook and their delegations are full of wrath, and denounce Smalley in extreme terms. The fight in the Executive Committee on the question of adjournment sine die, was a small fight between the Douglas and Anti-Douglas men, and the former triumphed by one majority. The Committee, however, was not full, only eighteen States being represented. This sends Douglas stock up this morning. Another thing is, the Southern delegations

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have held caucuses and consultations for two or three days, to try to agree upon a candidate upon whom to concentrate their vote, and upon the points of the platform. They had a special meeting last night and failed to accomplish any thing, except to exhibit their incapacity to come together. The game of the Douglas men, just now, is one they are not well qualified to play. It is to be quiet and conciliatory. They try to think and act upon the presumption, that they have the Convention in their hands, and wish to make all the friends they can in the South. They say, and it is possible there is some truth in it, that the failure of the South to unite, arises from secret Douglas influences. The ultra Southerners are becoming more bitter. The delegations from Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, Arkansas and Texas, have agreed to withdraw if Douglas should be nominated, and it is believed that a portion of the North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky and Missouri delegations would follow. The Douglas men look a little wild at this, but say they don't care, and console themselves by assuming that this course on the part of the South would be great gain to them in the North. They assert their ability to carry all the Northern States, if this Southern withdrawal should take place. The South is not unwilling, if it fails to control the Convention, so far as to defeat Douglas, to accept the hazard. The ultras have no doubt of their ability to carry six or eight, perhaps more, Southern States.

They expect Douglas then to carry enough Northern States to carry the election into Congress, where they have no doubt the Senate would finally be called upon to elect. In case of the nomination of Douglas by the Convention, and the withdrawal of the Southern ultras-there would be a desperate battle fought in the ultra Southern States between the slave code and Douglas Democracy; and it might do the fire-eaters great good to be whipped in that way upon their own ground. They have, however, unlimited confidence in their ability to carry their own States.

Several incidents occurred last night to raise the spirits of the Douglasites.

The majority of the Pennsylvania delegation is against Douglas and proposing in the caucus last night that Pennsylvania should vote as an unit in the Convention; the Douglasites rebelled, and threatened to leave the caucus room if the movement of the majority were persisted in, whereupon the caucus adjourned, to meet at nine o'clock to-morrow morning, when the majority will experiment again on giving the vote of the State solid. The prospect of attaining this solidity, is by no means flattering. On the other hand, in the Indiana delegation, the Douglas majority triumphed, and the stiff-necked Administration district delegates, Develin of Wayne, and Tabot of Marion, knocked under, and agreed to go with their Douglas brethren and cast the vote of the State as a unit. My opinion still is that the chances are against the nomination of Douglas. I can see how he can get a majority votebut I cannot figure out a two-thirds vote for him. The tide of affairs is, however, favorable to him to-day, and the capacity of the presuming and vehement bearers of the political fortunes of the Little Giant to realize their prophecies, may be very great.

THE NIGHT BEFORE THE CONVENTION.

CHARLESTON, S. C., April 22-10 P. M.

The excitement in the city to-night is higher than heretofore. The politicians are in full blast. I think Douglas stock, which went up a little this morning, is now drooping.

Passing Magnolia Hall this evening, I saw the Douglas delegation of Congressmen from Illinois, seated mournfully on the steps. Their native resolution seemed sicklied o'er by the pale cast of thought, and to have lost the name of action. They were pensive and silent. There was Logan with his dark, narrow face, and black hair and eyes, gazing upon one of the pillars, his hat tilted far back on his head, his hands in bis pockets, and his mouth full of tobacco. There was Col. McClernand, with peaked face, running to a hooked nose, sadly playing with his watch-guard. Presently there was Richardson, the Douglas leader in the Cincinnati delegation, and the champion in the House of Representatives, of the Little Giant, in the days of the Kansas Nebraska Bill. Poor Richardson has had a hard time of it. He left Congress, where he might have been a fixture, and made the canvass for Governor of Illinois against Bissell. He did this against his wishes, and to carry the State, where his popularity with his party is second only to that of Douglas. He was influential in carrying the State for Buchanan, but lost his own election He was appointed Governor of Nebraska, and resigned after the Lecompton rebellion, to escape removal. He is a fine specimen of a strong, coarse man. He has an immense nose and mouth, and fine eyes, and amid such scenes as are here being enacted, he is second to none as a worker of sagacity and force. The Mills House, where Douglas men most do congregate," is as lively as a molasses barrel with flies. Here is where the outside pressure is brought to bear. It is here that "public opinion" is represented according to Douglas. Here they tell you Douglas must be the nominee -"all that is to be done is to ratify the voice of the people.' There is nothing but a few ballots, and all is over-Douglas the nomineeSouth will come down-certain to be elected. The country safe—the party safe. They only want a "chance to raise the war-whoop for Douglas in the North-west-that's all. Carry every State North-west -carry Ohio? Lord, yes! Carry Ohio by twenty thousand. If somebody suggests, but where are your figures? How can you obtain the two-thirds vote requisite to nominate? And half a dozen of the makers of public opinion tell you all about it. Every thing North is claimed of course, and you hear that on certain ballots, Kentucky, Missouri, and Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, California and Oregon, are coming into line. "And suppose Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Louisiana, with scattering delegates in other States, go out-what then?" "What? why tremendous gains in the North, to be sure, just the thing we want." But if you suggest, "Douglas stock is drooping a little this evening. It is not at the high mark it was this morning. You have enthusiasm enough, but you have not the votes." You are told, Not a bit of it. Douglas stock down-not possible. It can't go down."

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There is" For God's sake Linder," of Illinois. He made a speech last night in Hibernia Hall to the faithful, something after the John Brough style of eloquence. His linen suffered in the effort, and he has not been at pains to conceal the evidences of his enthusiasm by the proper change. His collar and cravat have seen service evidently. He gets his name For God's sake Linder," from a letter which Douglas once wrote him saying, " for God's sake, Linder, come down here, I need help." Some enterprising editor obtained a copy of the letter, and printed it, and it has not been forgotten. There is the enterprising firm of Faran & McLean, looking solemn as the grave, and button-holeing some refractory delegate, telling him how essential it is to the safety of the universe that Douglas should be nominated. They of course don't feel any personal interest in the matter. They are af flicted with principle only. T. Jeff Sherlock, Esq., is looking in upon the crowd, and don't think Douglas can be nominated. He represents the Collector's office, and the virtuous Douglas men, who don't want office, insist that he is nobody because he is in office. And radiant in a full suit of white along comes W. J. Flagg, E-q., legislator-the man who was so bold as to advocate the admission of fresh air into the hall of a deliberative assembly in Ohio. It is clear that he is an innovator, and in these times, when conservatism is so much in demand, he must be held to be dangerous.

Passing along we find a tall portly man in glossy black, with a bad stoop in the shoulders, a new stove-pipe hat retaining in places the original shine, a bright red face out of which look brilliant eyes, carrying in his right hand, as if it were a mace, a huge gold-headed' caneit is Col. Orr, of South Carolina, late Speaker of the House, and now suspected of Douglas inclinations and of a willingness to be either President or Vice President of the United States. He is in the midst of a confidential talk with a burly, piratical looking person in a gray business suit, the sack coat making him look even more squatty than he really is. The features of this individual are a little on the bull-dog order. He does not look like a man of much intellect, but is evidently a marked man—a man of energy and perseverance, of strength and strategy. Ponderous as he is, he moves lightly. Fat as he is, he is restless, and as he smokes his cigar, he consumes it with furious incessant whiffs. The black whiskers are sprinkled lightly with gray. Young America, otherwise Geo. Sanders. And, so, so, Mr. Orr, we see how the cat is jumping with you. You would have no objections to be second choice of the Douglas men-not a bit. You would be willing to take the Vice Presidency at the hands of the Douglas Democracy, wouldn't you? And, so, so, you got up a Convention in South Carolina the other day, Mr. Orr. The Platform was a little too strongly anti-Douglas to suit you, but that could not be helped. You could not do too much violence to the traditional leading Southern proclivities of South Carolina. You did all you could. Your intentions were toward Douglas, and yourself. If you dared, you would, with your South Carolina delegation, make common cause with the Douglas men. But you dare not do that. And we leave you, Col. Orr, in the care of Geo Sanders.

It is

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At the Charleston House we find another atmosphere. Here are the fire-eaters in full force. We miss the prince of them, Yancey of Alabama. He is not a man to talk confidentially in crowds. He don't talk politics with or like the common herd. He may be found in the private parlor of the Alabama delegation. And there is Barksdale, the Congressman of Mississippi, with his hat pulled down over his right eye. He has a way of throwing his head on one side and turning up his chin, and talking in a short sharp way, like a New York B'hoy. He is thick set, broad shouldered and short-legged. His eye is small and fierce. The whole country knows that he wears a wig-for Potter, of Wisconsin, knocked it off once upon a time. But as for a duel, beware of meeting Barksdale with bowie-knives! He knows how to handle the implement and has handled it. The fire eaters are talking about principle. A Douglas man or two have strayed down here, and are trying to explain that Douglas don't really mean any thing by popular Sovereignty. He had to talk that pretty strong to get back to the Senate." e." The people must be talked to violently about somethingmight as well say popular sovereignty to them as any thing else. Douglas would leave it all to the Courts at last. The Courts will fix it all right. Let us drop this immaterial issue and go in for the strongest man and his name is Stephen A. Douglas.' The South listens and commences-"What, and we must throw a bone to the Abolitionists, must we, eh? We must compromise with Abolitionism in order to carry the North-must we? We must take up an unsound man, or lose the battle-must we? No, sir. We have had too much of this. It is time the Democratic party took up sound men, and fought on principle. It is the best policy to fight on principle. Mayor Wood carried New York on principle. Connecticut would have been carried, if it had not been for the taint of Douglasism. Rhode Island victory! There is no such thing. The Seward Republicans and Douglas Democrats in Rhode Island united and beat a John Brown Helperite. That's the way of it. I tell you we can succeed without Douglas. He is the weakest man out. But if he was strongest, I would not give a damn for a victory with him. I want the party destroyed if it is a one-man party. I want defeat if we can't have honest victory. No unfriendly legislation shall exclude our property from the Territories. We must have our property protected.'

This is not, by any means, an imaginary conversation. I have heard two to-night that were in substance as I have set down here.

To complete the rounds to night, we must go over to King street, and look in upon the head-quarters of the Administration Senators established luxuriously there, in a large old-fashioned building, overlooking and entered through an ice-cream garden, which, though this is Sunday evening, is open to the public, and thronged by visitors. The Administration Senators tell us that they are not at all uneasy on the subject of the nomination of Douglas. They say he cannot possibly get more than one hundred and six votes on the first ballot; that his strength will never be as great as it was at Cincinnati after Pierce was withdrawn; that is, they say, "if there is truth in men." But sometimes, and this is one of them, there is not truth in men. Douglas will