The Aberdare Times

SEARCHING FOR GUY FAÙX, ?ot generally known that the search for a "Guy 5*e&t a Portion of the ceremony of opening parlia- "las tav e Morning Post states, however, that this search n Place under every government for more than two ay r^lfca and a half, and was prosecuted as usual on Tues- ih-t eleven o'clock precisely (says the Mormng Post), ^ere a8Sembled in the Princes' Chamber, at the tlle H°nse of Lords, some 70 persons—peers, ^^°ners, officers of the household, yeomen of the ■ p°bce of the A division, marshals, and heralds, We array so blazing and gorgeous that it would Wa.11 founded" Mr. Bright to the highest degree, intent on the one gr6at|business before them— the search." While the procession was being orga- nised some members of the government strayed into the royal gallery. The order to fall in is given, and the great procession is marshalled. Inspector Moran, of the A division, leads the way then follows repre- sentatives of the High Bailiff of Westminster, mar- shals of the Guard, a detachment of a score ot beet- eating Yeomen, with their halberds and swords. The Clerk of the Parliaments, Colonel Todd, one of the exons of Her Majesty's Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard, bearing a silver stick of his omce, the Earl of Ducie, the Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard; Major Fitzmaurice, the Lieutenant, and other offices of the Yeomen of the Guard, Mr. Burrell representing the Lord Chamberlain. The Board of Works was represented by Mr. Fincham, the clerk of the works in the new palace; and there were many others representing various departments of the go- vernment and Her Majesty's household. By the courtesy of the Lord Chamberlain we were permitted to join in the search; a lantern was given to each member of the party, and the order, "Right about face, quick march," set the whole cavalcade in motion. It first passed through the House of Lords, going in front of the throne, and along the Opposition side of the House. Ushers and door-keepers stood respect- fully at their posts, and the brazen doors were opened wide at the approach, and we passed in through the Peers' corridor by frescoes which tell of the historical events of the escape of the son and grandson of that James who so narrowly escaped being a victim of the Gunpowder Plot. Across the large octagon hall the procession passed, each member bearing his lantern, while the sun streamed brightly through the richly- coloured windows—lanterns in sunlight, as strange an anachronism as searching for Guy Faux in the 19th century. The lobby doors of the House of Commons were next thrown open, policemen stood at attention as we passed, and their stolid features relaxed into a smile as they thought, perhaps, of what would happen if a real Guido Fawkes were met, match in hand, ready to fire the train. Arrived at the back of Mr. Speaker's chair, now-like the benches on either side, and the galleries at either end—vacant and silent, a small trap door, about two feet square, was opened, and down this the cavalcade was to pass. The big beefeaters looked wonderingly to see how they could screw their long bodies and their scarlet and gold trimmings down this little and dark opening. They drew their swords—not, however, for the purpose oi offence, but as a precautionary measure to prevent their being tripped up as they descended into the cel- lars and by dint of good management this first stage in the descent was made, and the procession re-formed beneath the floor of the House of Commons. The procession passed in the same order through the whole of the subterranean chambers principally occupied by the machinery used in the ventilation of the apartments over- head, but, of course, the search was fruitless:— No GlPy Faux was discovered in the vaults (says the writer), but one vulgar wag was heard to say, as the last member of the procession disappeared down the trap door behind Mr. Speaker's chair, that all the guys had gone down. Not ooly was there no conspirator concealed in the cellars, but, strange to say, there are no cellars in which he could conceal himself. All the lower regions traversed are broad, spacious halls, formed into galleries by rows of piers carrying the arches which support the basements or floors. Every- thing below is in perfect order, clean whitened; and the exploration, however interesting in a scientific point of view, or however gratifying to the curious, answered no practical purpose. It is a ceremony which cast ridicule and raises a smile upon what should be in every respect a ceremony befitting the dignity of a great nation, and an occasion worthy of an en- lightened people.

EARL RUSSELL AND THE CATTLE PLAGUE. A deputation from the Royal Agricultural Society waited on Earl Russell on Monday, in London, in re- ference to subjects connected with the Cattle Plague. Lord Fever<*ham introduced the deputation, and read the resolutions of the council of the society; and a plan for carrying out the necessary measures for staying the Cattle Plague was also submitted to his lordship. In reply, EarJIRussell agreed that the Cattle Plague had increased, and was increasing to a large extent; but there was this to be said, that measures could not be adopted some months ago that could be adopted now, and therefore much greater facilities existed for allaying its progress. With regard to the conveying of dead meat from one part 'of the country to another, he believed measures had been taken that were not in operation some months ago that would make that a much easier work than it was then. He understood the society were not of opinion that all the sound animals sh ould be slaughtered, as was done in Aberdeen but at the same time he must observe that precations ought to be taken to prevent the remma1 of ca.ttle from a herd or farm where the disease had broken out for a very considerable time, as he had heard of several instances where two or tluei cows had died, and the owner being in a hurry to dispose of the remainder sold them at a low price; and although the animals appeared to be sound the disease broke out amongst them. He be- lieved the plague was spread in this way. It was therefore desirable that although all the aninals should notbe slaughtered there should not be any immediate sale or removal of them. He thought the means of preventing such removal might be improved. It was proposed by the government in order to facilitate the action of counties and boroughs, that in all towns be- low a certain size the county magistrate should have a jurisdiction with the borough magistrate, so as to make the action uniform. Then the necessary expenses should be charged on the county rate. The government proposed to impose a county rate, and also to lay a tax of so much on the owners of cattle. The prohibition of the transit of all animals by road or rail should likewise be provided for in the bill to be brought in, with a limitation as to time. It should not be continued longer than was necessary. With regard to the slaughtering of all animals at the port at which they were landed, there was some difficulty as to the terms of our commercial treaty with foreign nations, and it was to be considered whether there should be a. special prohibition for foreign animals. Of course it was a matter of con- siderable difficulty in a country where the consum p- tion of meat was so great to make effectual regula- tions, and therefore there were many points on which there might be a difference of opinion as to the carry- ing out of particular regulations in particular places, but the power of putting barriers against the progress of the disease ought to be increased. When measures were adopted the<e would be a willingness throughout the country to submit to privations which in the ordi- nary state of things would not be submitted to. In answer to Mr. Dent, Earl Russell said he imagined that the local inspectors would act by some general and uniform rule under the measures which were to be adopted.

THE RUSH TO THE BAR. "W. D. B." in the London Times gives the following graphic description o £ the "rush to the bar," and the conse- quent scene, on the occasion of "Her Majestys faithful Commons" being summoned to hear the Queen's Speech: Just extricated from the mass of struggling humanity into which Her Majesty's faithful Commons resolves itself on the occasion of the deliver^)f the Queen's Speech, having partially recomposed my physical and mental organization, and, to a certain extent, recon- structed my hat, I ask leave to briefly detail what I have just witnessed. I had been informed that the space at the bar of the House of Lords beinsr limited a certain number only of members would be allowed to accompany the Speaker, and that these would be selected by lot from the names .of those wishing to be present at the cere- monial. On my way to inscribe myself in this loyal band 1 met a tall friend, to whom I confided my errand, asking him at the same time whether he had done like- wise. He smiled sardonically, and replied that he usually found that he could take his own part, and that he did not find it necessary to appeal to fortune for his opportunity on these occasions, and I confess that his broad shoulders appeared good vouchers for the truth of his assertion. But I began to doubt the value of the prize I proposed to give myself a remote chance of winning, and, instead of waiting for the ballot," I joined a small knot of members who had taken up a position a.t the entrance to the Lords' cor- ridor, where three policemen barred further progress. After waiting there a little while the additions to our party became very numerous, and at last a vast crowd of members filled up the space behind and forced us, the early comers, into a front row facing the police- men, and filling up the archway they guarded. Retreat was now impossible; otherwise, with an instinctive knowledge of what was to follow, I think I should have attempted it, and there I stood till the pioneer of the "Black Rod" made a narrow lane for his passage through our dense mass. Taking advan- .tage of a B i¡!ht confusion which accompanied this operation, I slipped round the pillar and seated myself en a bench on the other or Lords' side of the arch, and to this manoeuvre I owe the power of describing exactly the scene which ensued at that point. After the delay of a few minutes the procession arrived. Black Rod's pioneer first, then the Mace, and t hen the Speaker. Up to that point, I believe, all had gone well but then came a sudden fierce rush, caused, I pre- sume by the contest between those who had legiti- mately followed from the H. use, and those who, like mvself, had gone forward for a start, and the pro- cession overflowed its banks at once and became a disorderly and outrageous mob, brutally struggling for precedence. Reckless of everything except this ob- ject, they pressed so closely on the Speaker that their feet became entangled in his robes, bringing his dignifie progress to a sudden and most unseemly halt. The tableau for the moment was fine, and the scene, if it had possessed any historical or political interest, would have made a splendid addition to the frescoes around. It was the "ugly rush" spoken of by the prophet Henley. The Speaker, helplessly tethered to the ground, nevertheless bore himself as a Speaker, and, turning on his assailants, flashed back a glance of outraged dignity, of solemn and Jove-like anger, which for the time was not without its grandeur or effect, and a loud cry of "Order" arose. Meanwhile, the dignified and venerable figure of the Black Rod was seen feebly defending himself with his back to the wall against which he had been violently hustled. Lord Charles Russell halted and turned back irresolute, ap- parently debating whether his duties did not require him to employ the mace on the heads of the mis- doers, of whom "Those behind cried Onward, «' And those before cried Back and some little time elapsed before the" first COIn- moner of the realm" could extricate bis trampled robes from their profane tread. "iaw" Then the procession was resumed, and, more law heirisr allowed this time to the Speaker, I took ad- vantage of my position and joined its foremost ranks, and all went with comparative safety till we reached the lobby. There another stream seemed to come to j ointhe aiready brimming nver, and my firmbeheB that numbers of people not members of the House were stationed there, and joined the procession, as I r ] Hone before. Anyhow, though the space >vas teer '&. bSSw. iemei suddenly to have m- (vrease'd and I found m> self enclosed in a hying wall and borne forward with accelerattd velocity in the di- rection of the lefthand doorpost of the entrance to the Upper House. All steerage power was gone, and I (Sifted helplessly on, and finally dashed violently against the obstruction my hat, acting as a buffer, broke the shock but I was whirled round and carried sideways into Her Majesty's presence, eventually settling against the bar with a thump which seemed to occasion both surprise and alarm to a very pretty woman on the other side of it. Therb I remained, of course, a fixture till the Queen retired. I had the ad- vantage of a front place and could see Her Majesty, but, obliged to exercise the whole muscular power I possessed to avoid being crashed flat by the pressure from behind, I was not much the wiser for her Speech, which, indeed, even had I been in a position of greater physical comfort, such were the jostfings, stragglings, exclamatiens, imprecations, and laughter of those behind me I could not have heard a word of. I have since heard that one hon. member was thrown down, and I believe the House" walked over him. The Chancellor of the Exchequer was so maltreated that he retired from the contest and was seen wending his solitary way back to the Lower House, mournfully moralizing on the nature of the unruly assembly of which he is the leader.

THE NEGRO IN JAMAICA. The Kingston correspondent of the Times makes the fol- lowing remarks on the character of the Negroes in Jamaica?— I do not pretend to have fathomed the negro's character to do so requires close study and wide ob- servation, for he seems to have a complex character, with many good qualities, crossed by much that ire- quires humouring, management,,and firm control. On the surface of things, however, Quashie appears to be a likeable fellow, good-tempered, sociable, joyous, easily pleased, easily—ah, too easily—wrought upon and led excitable, and in that state liable to sudden and almost unaccountable excesses of rage fonder of basking in the shade than of working in the sun, and, as political economists agree, contented with too little, having few wants, and these easily supplied, and seldom caring to raise his condition. I wish he would be more careful of his womankind, and less careful of his own ease. It is nearly always the women who bring down the heavy loads to market. Sir Quashie rides his pony or mule in dignity and ease, while the hewer of wood and drawer of water whom he has taken to wife trudges patiently by his side, generally poising on her head a big basket of yams, bananas, or green oranges. How well she poises it, too, and with what a Royal air she walks. Her lithe, shapely figure and well-set head, the light, clean dress and gay turban, the basket full of tropical fruit—perhaps gold-coloured, perhaps flaming red— and the good-humoured black face, which returns your nod, and shows the reddest (also the thickest) of lips and the whitest of teeth, make up a study of form and colour vhich would delight an Academician. But, then, this. always erraceful, seldom pretty, black Venus, who toils so hard for six days in the week, is actually fond of wearing finery on the seventh I believe she shares this reproach with a good many of those in Europe and elsewhere who think themselves her betters. She is a daughter of Eve, and on Sun- days at all events likes to be well dressed, according to her notion of good" dressing. Let me assure all who may be inclined to think poorly of her in this respect that the black woman seems to possess an instinct for dressing well, that she evidently has an eye for colour, and is gifted with a taste very far beyond that of her class in England. Her turban is gay, as I have said; but its bright colours contrast well with the dusky face and gleaming teeth below. Her dress is a cool, clean print, always light, hardly ever gaudy. In the early days of emancipation I am told that the negress bought dressf-s of flaming colours, but for these there is now no market in Jamaica—a proof that, in mat- ters of taste, the negress is, at all events, an improv- able being. For, this reason, a lady assures me, the black girls make excellent ladies' maids. They are never tired of brushing and dressing hair, and are never happier than in decking out their mistress in her best, and in showing their taste by the choice of her dress and the jewellery which is to help her charms. That the blacks are not very considerate towards their women seems to be too true. In the market groups here this is very apparent, and on the wharves the same scene is enacted. The coaling of the steam- boats is done principally by women. Some weeks ago a sketch of this very lively scene appeared in the Illustrated News, and was accurate so far as it repre- sented the wocian carriers, but not at aJl accurate in depicting them as half-naked. Captain Cooper, R.N., the manager of the Royal Mail Steamboat Company here, showed this sketch to some of the women em- ployed, and they were highly indignant. Him make great mistake," one of them said; "let 'em come and see us Sundays." And no doubt on Sundays these women, coarsely dressed as they are when at work, and necessarily dirty while doing this dirty work, come out resplendent. They are well able to do so, for chey e.rn excellent wages. The Royal Mail steamer Tamar was coaled here the other day, and 260 tons were put on board. I have obtained the statistics, which are curious enough. Forty-seven people were employed as day labourers, of whom 13 were women, and in three-quarters of a day they earned Is. 6d. each, no difference being made in the payment to either sex. At task-work 99 persons were employed, and of these 84 were women. The coal is carried on the head in baskets from the heap upon the wharf to the steamer, and in this instance the price paid, which varies according to the distance traversed, was 3d. per dozen baskets. The largest number of baskets carried during the three-quarters of a day was 166, the next highest was 161, and in both instances the carriers were women. The average earnings of each person were about Is. 9d. At night the pay is double. There was no difficulty in getting the requisite number of hands; but the work, of course, is not continuous.

A TRAGEDY ON THE HIGH SEAS. On Saturday morning, the Eliza, Captain Nickerson, from Mobile with cotton, arrived in the Mersey. She displayed the flag for the river police, and a boat put off to her. On the arrival of the police, the first mate, Henry Frederick Williams, surrendered himself to the police, on the charge 01 having, as he expressed it, caused the death of William M'Guinness, a seaman:— It appeared that the Eliza left Liverpool in 1864. Her last destination was Mobile, where the captain took on board several new hands, including the de- ceased, and the crew became what was termed a rough lot. The cargo consisted of 3,650 bales of cotton, of which a portion was stowed in the hatchways. She sailed from Mobile on the 28th of December last; and all went well until Wednesday, the 31st of January, when she was about 100 miles west of Cape Clear. About nine o'clock in the morning of the day some bales of cotton which were lashed on the aft hatches broke loose, owing to the listing of the ship. According to the testimony of Timothy Mc. Sweeney, a seaman, the prisoner then came forward and ordered the deceased and others to go and assist in making all secure. The deceased, who had joined the ship to come to Liverpool by the rud," refused to do so, and alleged that he had no right to do so, because he had not joined to interfere with the cargo, but only to assist in navigating the ship. It would then appear that the prisoner, who had previously heard of some things against him, went into his cabin and obtained a heavy oaken club, -which he had got the carpenter to make for him, and this he hid under his coat. He then went forward again, and, addressing the deceased, told him to go aft that he might "log him," meaning that he might enter his name in the log. Deceased replied, I know nothing about your log or your laws. What do you want me for?" Prisoner asked "Do you refuse to go?" and deceased said, "No, I shall not." Prisoner then drew forth the club, and struck deceased on the left side of his head. Deceased threw up his hands and grasped the prisoner by the arm and throat. Pri oner again struck him violently on the crown of the head, in- flicting a wound over an inch in length, which bled freely. The man then staggered, but prisoner recovered, and struck deceased a third blow on the right side of his head. Deceased fell to the deck, and the prisoner ran aft. The deceased got up and calling after the prisoner, applied a filthy epit to him, said he could not break his head yet, and lif he would come forward he would fight him nan fashion. Deceased was taken into the fora htle, and his head was washed by a seaman name I iraham. He soon became senseless, and lied i i >. I > before midnight. The next morning he body was sewn up in canvas and committed to he sea, the secoud mate reading the burial service. should be mentioned that all through the voyage, the aptain was suffering severely from ague fever, and WaS unable to leave his cabin. The captain has now charged three of the crew with mutiny.

THE A ST OF GORDON. Dr. Alexander Fiddes, the Jamaica physician who attended Mr. G. W. Gordon and his family professionally, has written a long letter to the Daily News, in which he narrates minutely the circumstances of Gordon's apprehension :— On the 26th of September Dr. Fiddes was consulted by Mr. Gordon, and the doctor detecting symptoms of pulmonary disease, ordered his patient to observe per- fect quiet, which he promised to do. On the 16th of October Dr. Fiddes received information that Gordon, who was still under treatment, though much better, was about to be arrested, and at once went in search of him, not with the view of advising his escape, nor with any intention of apprehending him himself in his capacity of a justice of the peace, but sioiply to ac- quaint him with what he had just heard, so that he might regulate his conduct accordingly. "Iconsi- dered," he says, "that this was due to a man with whom I had been acquainted, and on friendly terms, for a period of twenty years. I fiist called at the house of his mother-in-law, Mrs. Shannon, and was told that Mr. Gordon had not been there for several days. I next went to his counting-house, adjoining the sea, and was informed that he had not been there since the day preceding. I concluded that he had pro- bably gone to his country residence at Cherrygarden, in St. Andrew, about six miles distant from Kingston. I was much pressed at the time with professional busi- ness, and at that late hour of the day I could not spare the 'necessary time to go so far, but I decided to see Mr. Gordon, if possible, on the following morning." Accordingly the next morning the doctor found his patient at the house of a friend in Kingston. "I at once he says, announced to him the object of my visit'* told him that the Government had issued a warrant for his apprehension, and advised him to ap- pear immediately at head-quarters. Without a moment's hesitation he expressed his concurrence in my advice, and entering my carriage we drove to our destination. Cards we< e sent in to General O'Connor, who received us with the utmost civility and polite- ness in the meantime I had sent my coachman to Mr. Gordon's solicitor, Mr Airey, to request his im- mediate attendance, in case any legal advice might be required. Martial law did not exist in Kingston and I entertained no idea that Mr. Gordon would be im- mediately transferred to a parish where it was in ac- tive preparation. I imagined that Mr. Gordon might be bound over to appear before the civil tribunals of the country, and I, having confidence in his innocence, was then ready and willing to have guaranteed his bail to any amount. I considered that the worst that could then happen would be incarceration and a refusal to take bail. General O'Connor informed us that he was a soldier I and nothing more, and that he could not interfere in the matter; and at once perceiving the justice of the worthy General's remark, Mr. Gordon, Mr. Airey, and myself were in the act of repairing to the Execu- tive Chambers, when Governor Eyre, accompanied by his chief adviser and opunselior, Dr. L. Q. Bower- bank, Custos of Kingston, entered the room, and confess that I was not a little surprised at the scene which then ensued. These two functionaries walked rapidly up to Mr. Gordon, who was standing at the corner of the General's writing table, and the Governor placing himself on Mr. Gordon's right side and Dr. j Bowerbank on his left, they both, in somewhat hurried language, made him understand that he was their prisoner. Mr. Gordon assured them that he had just arrived at the' General's house, for the purpose of meeting any charge which he laid against him —that he was on the point of going with me to the Executive Chambers, and that he placed himself enti- rely at the disposal of the Government. Governor Eyre then replied that he would not permit him to leave the General's house, or to go anywhere without an escort to guard his person. The scene ended by Mr. Gordon beipg taken into Dr. Bowerbank's car- riage and, accompanied by a few mounted troopers, the Custos and the prisoner drove to the Ordnance Wharf, from whence the latter was immediately trans- ferred to the war steamer Wolverine, and within half an hour after the arrest he was on his way to Morant Bay, at which place a court-martial, composed of two naval lieutenants and one army ensign, was busily engaged in meting out punishment to the rioters." Dr. Fiddes adds that from what he saw in the man- ner of Mr. Gordon's seizure, and in his immediate transference from a place where no martial law existed to a town where it was in full activity, he con- cluded that his fate was sealed.

A correspondent, writing from Exeter, on Sunday, says:— The news of further respite has caused the utmost ex- citement in this neighbourhood. Calcratt arrived the second time on his dread errand, and the under-sheriff had made every preparation for the execution to-morrow morning at eight o'clock. An official telegram of the conclusion of the judges reached Exeter on Friday afternoon, and within a short time after the receipt of the fatal news it was com- municated to the convict, with the additional warning that she would be executed on Monday. This news had a great shock upon her, although from time to time, when she heard the adverse decision 01 the judges as to the legality of the second trial, she had been told that not the slightest hope remained of the commutation of her sentence. The wretched woman is quite abandoned by her relatives. The chaplain of the gaol, the Rev. J. Hellins, has been unceasing in his ministrations for her spiritual benefit, but little impression seems to have been made upon her. She eats her meals regularly, and sleeps soundly.

Another account says:—When, on Friday night, Winsor was informed by the governor of the gaol (Mr. Rose) that the last hope of escape from her doom had vanished, and that she must prepare to meet death on Monday morning, she received the intelligence with apparent unconcern, remarking-" It's no odds what they do to me." On Saturday, the convict's relations —her husband and two sisters—had what they believed to be a farewell interview with her, remaining in her cell with her from half-past two o'clock till five. On the part of her relatives the meeting and the parting Were painful and distressing but the prisoner main- tained a wondrous composure and seeming indifference to her fate. During the time she has been in gaol the convict has been taught to read and write; and she has lately written a statement which enters minutely into details concerning the murder of the child. This statement consists principally of alleged conversations between herself and her accomplice, Harris and in it she reiterates the denial that she was the actual murderess, but admits that she knew of the crime and endeavoured to conceal it. When afterwards the convict was informed of the respite she appeared perfectly unconcerned. It is announced that Harris, Winsor's accomplice, and the mother of the murdered child, will be put on her trial at the next assizes, but no evidence will be offered against her. This is con- sidered preferable to granting her a free pardon.

THE WOES OF HAIRDRESSING. A writer in All the Year Round, after pithily describing the operations of the hairdressers at their meeting in Hanover-square Rooms (which hits already been reported in the papers), dilates on the ball which took place afterwards, and gives the following as a conversation between him5eU and one of the young ladies, who, it would appear, was a martyr to her fahter's love of his profession:— Having thus disposed of the business part of the matter, let us now devote ourselves to pleasure in the ball-room. But just one moment. I am invited to view the ladies in their private apartment. Here they are, a bevy of beauty, a wild parterre of the choicest flowers-as regards their heads-shaking from their curls, and bandeaux, and chignons the powdered gold of Ophir, and the balmy perfumes of Araby, with just a flavour of the unguent odours of the northern bear. Who shall be fairest at the ball to-night? To whom shall we award the prize ? Here in the midst of them all, it is an embarrassment of rich tresses. Let us fly from the intoxicating scene, and plunge into the vortex which Terpsichore is preparing for us in the grand ball! „ A delightful ball! The Academicians most gallant and polite, the ladies elegant and stately; but gracious. Etiquette and the proprieties strictly observed; but not too strictly. No affectation, and oertainly no vulgarity. Nothing that the most ill-natured person could sneer at. My impression is, that I have never seen at a ball so much natural politeness and easy courtesy. If these hair-dressers, and their wives, daughters, and sisters, are not ladies and gentlemen — in the ball-room sense — they are the best imitation of them I ever met with among what is called the industrial class. That many of them are ladies andgentlemen in the true sense, I was fully assured by their intelligent conversation and good manners. And the ladies—ah, what charming dancers they were! Why was my polite education neglected in my youth ? Why was I not sent to danc- ing-scheol, particularly to have learned that po'ite arts soften the manners, and prevent a man from be. coming savage ? Not having learned the polite art- of dancing, I am (as a natural consequence) savage— v* ry savage that I am not In a posItlOn to go up to that handsome young lady with the gold-dust in her hair, and beg the favour of her hand for a polka. How tantalising it is as she sweeps past, on the arm of another, shaking the gold from her curls as if she were Fortune scattering her favours. Alas! the golden shower falls not on me, for I cannot dance. I retire into a corner to gaze in silence upon the giddy scene in which I cannot join. How I envied those happy joyous dancers I do not know whether I fell into a reverie and dreamt what follows, or whether it actually occurred; but it is deeply impressed in my mind, that when I exclaimed, Ah, how happy they are a a lady sitting near me sadly made answer Ah, sir, you know not what it is to be the daughter of a member of the Hairdressers' Academy," Is not yo or father kind to you then ?" I asked. 'Asa man," replied the maiden, he is kind, loving and indulgent; as a member of the Hairdressers' Academy, he is cruel, relentless, and inexorable." Explain yourself maiden you speak in riddles." Know, then, sir," the maiden began, drawing a deep sigh, that I am cursed with a luxuriant head of hair, whose colour is that of the setting sun." "Some," I muttered, "would call it blessed to be thus endowed. It is the fashionable colour." Worse luck," said the maiden, in tones of despair. "That accursed tint is the cause of my persecution. My paternally kind but professionally cruel father has woke me in the dead of night and seized me by this golden hair-" To beat you, maiden ?" Nay, sir; to dress my head a la something, a new form of coiffure which had arrived from Paris while I slept. When I have been coming to the most deeply interesting part of a novel, he has rushed into the room and insisted on my trying on a chignon. He takes me from my tea to practise the double roll upon me. When I am ready dressed to go the play, he pulls my hair down to try a new form of bandeau. At all hours of the day and night I am liable to be curled, and frizzed, and plaited, and powdered. In sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, I must yield my head to his ruthless but skilful hands. I know no rest. For months I have slept with my eyes open." With your eyes open, maiden?" "With my eyes open. It was the consequence of having my hair done a l'lmperatrice. It was pulled back so tightly that I could not shut them. It was not until the neglige friz came up that the muscles relaxed. Ah, sir, you know not what I have sacrificed!" f "Sacrificed, maiden?" Yes, sacrificed. My heart, my love, my life. Listen. A young man, handsome, elegant, accomprsh- • ed, from Truefitt's, was ia the act of offering me hi", hand and heart, when my father entered the room, and, though tbat elegant young man was on his knees before me, insisted upon my going down into the shop and having my hair done with blue bugles. When I returned to the apartment, the young man had fled." But he came again, of course ?" Alas! he did not-he married another." "Every great cause, maiden, has it martyrs," I said by way of consolation. "And I," she replied, "am a martyr in the great and, I trust, good cause of the Hairdressers' Academy."

AN EXTRAORDINARY TRIAL. In the Court of Queen's Bench the Lord Chief Justice, with a special jury, has been occupied the best part of two days with the case of Campbell v. Lord Wenlock," which was an action brought by Colonel Campbell, the owner of 49, Eaton-place, London, to recover 525l. for the use and occupation of the house and furniture from the 22nd of April to the 31st of July la&t. Lord Wenlock pleaded that he took the house upon the express condition that it should be in a clean and fit state for habitation, but that it was overrun with certain noxious insects, and that by reason thereof he was discharged from his con- tract. Mr. Huddleston, in opening the case for tbe plaintiff, insinuated that the butler of Lord Wenl tck, being disappointed in the receipt of a douceur from Colonel Campbell's house-agent, had sought to depre- cate the accommodation of the house, and had caused his master to be discontented with it. The learned counsel suggested that the butler's ambition was satis- fied by the family leaving 49, Eaton-place, on the 28th of April, and removing to a larger house in Dover- street and with regard to the special plea he said that if there were any noxious insects they were casual intruders, and might have been brought in with some extra bedsteads. The evidence for the plaintiff was of course directed to show that the house was clean, while that on the other side (on behalf of which several witnesses were called) was of the opposite character. In the course of the examination Lord Wenlock said :— I live at Esrock-park, Yorkshire On the 11th of February I first went over the house. On the 13th I saw Lawrence. I said I thought the house weuld suit, but I must lay the plan before Lady Wenlock and take her opinion upon it. On the 15th we both went over the house, and I saw Lawrence again I said the house would suit us with regard to accommodation and situation, but that if we took it, it must Qe put in thorough condition for our reception. I asked Lawrence when the then tenants would leave. He said it was taken until Easter, and they would leave either on the loth or 17th of April. I said I wanted to be in as sol n as I could, and I arranged our agreement should commence on the 22nd, giving him a week to prepare for our reception. I under- stood it would be quite ready for our servants on the 22nd, who would put it ready for us on the 24th. Lady Wenlock told Lawrence she had been in houses in London and had always found them in perfect cleanliness and order, and she should expect this house to be the same and ready forus on the 22nd of April. She also said that both she and I were very par- ticular about the house being clean, and Lawrence said there would be nothing to complain of on that score. I took the house at the price asked for it—viz, 500 guineas. I went down to Yorkshire, and came to town on the 24th of February. I again went over the house, and 1 went to see Lawrence afterwards. I repe, ted the injunctions that we should expect the house to be quite clean, ana he said I need notdonbt it, because Mrs. Campbell made it her business to go over the house between one tenant going out and another taking possession. Be- lieving I was in good hands X said no mort; about it. Law- rence produced the agreement, and I refused to sign it. In April I was at Bourton, in Shropshire, and we were coming direct from there to London. I delayed a day or two in con- sequence 9f the representations which had been made to me as to the house. We reached the house about eleven o'clock at night on the 27th of April. I never heard until to-day the suggestion that beds were brought from stables in Berkeley- square. The beds and bedding were sent up from Yorkshire. On the morning of the 2Sth representations were made by the servants, and I verified them as far as I could. I then made up my mind to leave. I sent for Lawrence, and told him there were so many bugs in the house that I should not fulfil the contract. To the Lord Chief Justice: I did not see any myself. I never saw one in my life, and don't wish to see one. (Laughter. ) Examination continued.—Lawrence offered to put in other beds and bedding in lieu of those which were affected. I declined. All the servants in the house left that night. The coachman and his family at the stables remained a few days. I and Lady Wenlock went to Farrance's Hotel. Subsequently we found another furnished house in Dover- street, and remained there the season. The only reason for leaving was the annoyance of the bugs. It caused me great expense and ineonvenience to remove. The furniture, which had been brought from Yorkshire, had to be repacked, and the rent in Dover-street was more. The house in Eaton- place was in every other way suitable and convenient. As soon as possible I threw the house on Mr. Lawrence's hands to do what he liked with it. Lady Elizabeth Wenlock said I saw the house first on the 13th February, and thought the accommodation suitable. I said we had hired houses for the season, and always were particular that they sheuld be clean. As far as my recollec- tion serves me, Lord Wenlock has correctly described what passed. No beds came from any stables. The sole reason for leaving was the reason Lord Wenlock has given. Charles Abbott, the butler, said he had been eight years in the service. He arrived with the housemaid and other servants on the 22nd, about 7 o'clock in the evening. There was some luggage belonging to Mr. Dundas in the dining- room, and nothing had been done towards cleaning th« house. No carpets had been taken up and it was impossible to make the inventory on the Monday. Witness could not unpack I the things which he had brought up with him. On the .Monday three or four women were sent in to scrub the floors and clean the house, and three or four men came to brush the window curtains and clean the beds. They con- tinued to do so on Tuesday and Wednesday. en the Wed- nesday witness was in the best bedroom when two men were brushing the hangings of the bed. He felt something strike against his face, and found it was a bug. He saw two more in the same room. The bedsteads from Yorkshire arrived on the Thursday night. On the Friday one of the beds in the front attic was to be moved. The man employed to do it showed him 12 or 15 bugs, and he showed them to Lucy Darnell. She said, "What can you expect in a room which has not been cleaned out for three or four months? The kitchen people were so busy in the kitchen that they could not do it." On the same day he was shown a second lot of upwards of 20 in the attic. The other servants and Lord and Lady Wen- lock arrived that night. On the Saturday he heard that com- plaints from the other servants had been made, and being asked, he told Lord Wenlock what he knew of the house. He had not said anything about it until he was asked. He saw marks on the arms and face of Todd, the footman. Wit- ness never asked Lawrence for a present or for a commission. He complained of the delays, and Lawrence said he was afraid there had been some mistase about the time of taking possession, and that he should be blamed for it. He begged witness to do his best to get the place ready, and said he would recompense him for his trouble. Witness was autho- rized to take another stable. Lawrence said there would be a small commission, and he would see witness righted, and would make him a present. Some curious statements were made by Mr. H. Tiffin, a professional bug-destroyer. He said :—" These in- sects increase rapidly, and show themselves in June or July, depending on the weather. They hatch in about a fortnight, and bite as soon as they come out of the eggs. They lay about ninety eg..s in the season. Washing the Boor with soda very seldom had any effect on them it would disturb those on the surface and make them lively and walk about; he had fre- quently seen them walking In daytime they are carried from room to room in servants's clothes. The jury subsequently found a verdict for the plaintiff—damages, five hundred guineas.

themarket S. MARK-LANE —MONiur. There was very little English wheat fresh up this mornin and the conditionwas very bad in consequence of the la « rain. For any good dry qualities formerrates were obtain -j but for secondary qualities, and parcels out of condkioo prices were very irregular and mostly lower. Tlle fore grain tradePF'lclPated in the prevailing dullness. Th"^ waS £ ?1Vlng iuJ'ers a somewhat better c.a j purchases were made sparingly, but in what was done priced JorJloating cargoes of wheat there h u better inquiry, and the number on offer having been ^,older1s ftre somewhat firmer in their terms The flour trade ruled quiet, and country marks of English were freely offered on former terms, but not pressed at any appreciable decline. Tn foreign flour the few sales t iiecttnt 5 •j'ji after late quotations. American barrels wero decidedly firm. Grinding barley met a steady sale at thtj late currency, and for malting descriptions there was fair demand with prices quite as high. Malt quoted the same :'8 on Monday last, withonly moderate transactions Beans sold steadily at the previous currency, for both native a"ti foreign. Foreign peas were in short supply, and l'àteo( nominally altered. English sold in moderate quantities at the late currency Maize on stands is arm but not aciive For floating cargoes rates were 3d. to Cd. higher A tt- ■-iv quiet business was transacted in oats at unaltered prices Linseed brought late rates and met a fair inouirv R°r." eed unaltered lD valua and a qUiet sale. Oilcake in steady requcsli and quite as dear. METROPOLITAN CATTLE MARKET-MONDAY. The arrivals of beast from abroad were only 1,270; but ti e number was made up more liberal receipts from tha various grazing grounds of England. The best sorts short- horns met a moderate demand at the late currency, main- taining the top price at 5s. but secondary descriptions sol t unevenly, and in some cases cheaper. Of sheep the only foreign supplies were 1,270 from Germany and Holland, but there were good supplies of home fed. Sales progressed vn y slowly in any but the primest descriptions, buyers having the turn of price in their favour, but no general reduction can be quoted. The number of calves was small, but quite equal to the demand, which was dull. Pork sold slowly aa the quotations. At market: Beasts, 5,340; sheep, 2'),9o0; calves. 121: pigs, 375. Prices: Beef, 3s. to 6s.; mutton, 3s. 8d. to 6s. 4d veal, 3s. 8d. to €s. 4d.; pork, 3s. to 4s. lcld. POTATOES. The trade remains without improvement, with ample sup- plies and prices for all but best qualities weak. Kent ami Essex regents, 50s. to 90s. York and Lincoln, 60s. to 95s flukes, 70s. to 100s.; rooks, 45s. to 60s.; Dunbar regents, cos. to 90s: Scotch, 40s. to 60s. rocks 40s. to 50s. per ton.

NOBLE GIFTS AND BENEFACTIONS. The following special gifts for the purchase of the Lifeboats hereafter named were presented last year to the National Lifeboat Institution:— Holy Island, Lady W., 6007. North Sunderland, Mrs. Anstice, 400l. Hauxley, Eleanor, Duchess of Northumberland, 4501. Newbiggin, Miss Hopkinson, 4001. Cullercoats, P. Reid, Esq., 4ool. Tynemouth, collected in Pontefract and Goole, by A. Hale, Esq., and W. Porter, Esq., 200l. Sunderland, collected in Derby,by W. Peat, Esq., and others, 480l. Bacton, a lady, per T. Jones Gibb, Esq., 300l.; Ramsgate, collected in Bradford, byflCharles Semon, Esq., ex-Mayor, 4ool.; Kingsdown, William Ferguson, Esq., 300[.; Shoreham, Miss Robertson, 300l.; Hayling, Messrs. Leaf, Sons, and Co., 550l.; Worthing, a Lady, 582l. Ilfracombe, George Jeremy, Esq., and Mrs. Jeremy, 400l. Aberdovey, collected in Berkshire, by Captain Stephens, of Reading, and others, 489l. 16s. 8d. Cemlyn, Mrs. Col. Vernon, 200l. Whitehaven, Miss Leicester, 300l. Maryport, Henry Nixson, Esq., 550l. Castletown, Commercial Travellers N o. 2, per Messrs. Bishop, Affleck, and others, 252l. 9s. lid.; Peterhead, Dundee People's Journal, No. 1, Arbroath, ditto, No. 2, collected by J. Leag, Esq., and W. D. Lutto, Esq., 800?.; Anstruther, a Lady, 600l. Courtown, collected in Manchester, by Robert Whitworth, Esq., 300l.; making a grand total of 9,254l. 6s. 7d. During the past year the following legacies have also been bequeathed to the Institution. Captain Hugh Brown, Kilmarnock, N.B., 100l. John T. Roper, Esq., Woolwich, 500l.; Mrs. Anne Warner, Widcombe, 2501. Miss Anne Frances Smith, Greenwich, 50l. 15s.; Miss Mary Frances Woodburne, Kensington Park Gardens, 300l. William Hollins. Esq, Over Wallop, Southampton (stock) 500l. Richard Thornton, Esq., Old Swan Wharf, London Bridge, 2,000?.; Mrs. Frances Gates, Leamington Priors,51. Samuel Hor- ton, Esq., Priors, &c., 10(M. Mrs. Mary Ruston, Kingston-upon-Hull, 10(M. Miss Jemima Bennett, Sloane-street, Chelsea, 90?. John Jacobson, Esq., Glasson Dock, Lancaster, 19l. 19s. Captain Sykes, R.N., Bolsover-street, Portland plaue, 100l. ;and Mrs. Betty Coles, Tunbridge Wells, 50l. During the past 12 months the institution has sent 37 Lifeboats to the coasts, and the total expense during the same period on its 160 Lifeboat Establishments has amounted to 26,723l. 14s. 5d. The National Life- boat Institution has become one of the most important benevolent societies in our land, and contributes to the saving every year of about 700 shipwrecked persons. Could a history of all these noble Lifeboat services be written it would probably contain more golden deeds than has ever been culled from any other records. It is therefore to be hoped that all who recognise the sacredness of human life will deem it a duty and even a privilege to help forward the Lifeboat work—a work which has hitherto been manifestly blessed by Provi- dence, and which has brought relief to many thousands of men who to-day, in its absence, instead of being useful members of the community, would have been engulphed in mid-ocean by the tempest, and their wives and children have become widows and orphans.

THE LAW RELATING TO BIDDINGS AT SALES BY AUCTION. I In the House of Lords on Thursday night Lord Sb. Leonards, in drawing their lordships' attention to the law relating to bidding at sales by auction, said :— Scarcely an auction was held in this country without some one being employed to bid on the part of the owner. On this subject, however, and on this subject alone, he believed law and equity to be at variance. The courts of common law held that every sale was actually void if any person was employed to bid upon the part of the owner. The courts of equity, on the other hand, for the protection of the owner, permitted him to appoint a person called a "puffer" to bid on his behalf up to a certain price, provided that such price did not exceed the real value of the property. It was no credit to the law of England that there should be that conflict between law and equity, and it was quite true that it should be put an end to. He there- fore be<*<*ed to introduce a Bill to amend the present law upon the subject. By the provisions of that Bill an auctioneer was forbidden to bid at the sale of any property either on account of himself, the owner of the property, or any other persons, but the owner of the estate was permitted to engage a "puffer," who might bid up to a certain price, provided that such price was communicated to him and to the auctioneer in writing before the commencement of the sale. Those provisions would enabie a man to insure that his property should not be sold at a price far below its real value, and yet would prevent tne public from being induced to give more than the estate was worth by fictitious bidding on the part of either t^e auc- tiVinppr or the "puffer." He was aware that Lord Loughborough, when Lord Chancellor, bad spoken with something like disrespect < f those who thought that the biddings of one man influenced those of others, but he, on the contrary, believed that all men were influenced more or less at auctions by the biddings of those around him. In the first place, the biddings at an auction gave some indication or the real value of the property; and, in the second place, a little bit of vanity induced a man to show that pe possessed the longest purse. He therefore thought it absolutely necessary that the public should be protected from being taken in by fictitious bid- dings. In sales under the Court of Chancery, where a bidding was reserved, the sum below which the estate was not to be sold was stated in a sealed paper, which was placed in the hands of the auctioneer, who was not allowed to open it till the sale was commenced. If the bids stopped short of the price stated in that paper, he announced to the persons assembled that no sale had taken place. That was very proper, and this bill provided that where there was a reserved bidding, as in sales under the Court of Chancery, the sum below which the estate was not to be sold should be stated in writing and delivered to the auctioneer, so that thero I should be no misunderstanding; and where the bid- dings were real, but did not come up to the sum fixed, he was to announce that no sale had taken place; but he would then be at liberty to receive any bidding equal to or beyond the sum fixed as the value. An auctioneer acting contrary to the directions of this bill would be liable to an action for the damage which any real bidder might sustain. There was another pro. vision in the bill of a different nature. It was not one man in a hundred who knew the extremely important conditions under which auctions took place, and the expense incurred in making up the title was often very onerous. When he came into the hands of his own solicitor, the buyer generally found he had some 200l. to pay for making out the title. That expense ought to fall on the seller. The noble and learned lord concluded by laying the bill on the table. The bill, after one or two remarks by the Lord Chancellor, was read a first time.

A NOBLE STUD! The Paris correspondent of the London Daily Telegraph, suffering, as he says, from a lack of political news, directs his attention to the stables of the Emperor of the French, and gives the following excellent description of this magni- ficent establishment:— < The Imperial stables contain 350 horses and employ 280 regular men, besides helpers, and the numerous blacksmiths employed at the forges attached to all the stables. When in Paris this vast stud—the larger portion, I should say, for it is never all here—is partly quartered at the stables built by the present Emperor in the new division of the Louvre, and partly at the Alma—a stable recently erected close to the bridge of that name. I have just been revisiting this truly Im- perial stud, which, under the charge of General Fleury and bis aide-de-camp, Mr. Gamble, is a sight which alone would repay your sporting readers for a visit to Paris. The stables of the Louvre, where the General and Mr. Gamble both reside, occupy the ground-floor of two courts. They are so lofty and so vast that a sixteen-hand horse looks like a cob. The roofs are vaulted like the crypts of the old Milanese churches. The floor is paved with granite—the only error, as hard iron on hard granite is, of course, false heraldry. The horses slipped about so that it was found necessary to engrave a sort of Arabesque on the pavement, at a great expense, in order that there might be some hold for the horses' feet. The stalls and boxes are of cak, and the latter are about as big as a moderate sized dining-room. All that can be polished is polished till it shines again. The rack-chains and pillar-chains look like silver; the cocks of the water-taps—which you see at every fourth stall—shine like gold the straw is plaited before the stalls in a way to shame even Mr. Sago," of Piccadilly; and an Imperial green wisp is woven to relieve the ordinary yellow. When a horse is being harnessed, he is turned in his stall, and has a rug to stand upon to save this ornamental border. But this is all "luxury." "Le luxe effrene des chevaux;" the essential is that the condition is perfect, and that may, I think, be much attributed to the regulation of the temperature. Mr. Gamble is a disciple of the "plenty of clothing and constable" theory, and so has few coughs, and consequently few roarers. Of the hundred horses stabled in this Im- perial pile I can only write a few lines; if I were to praise every horse before or rather behind which we paused and said, Now that's just the horse I should like to fiod waiting for me at Barkby," or of which the ladies of the party cried out, What a love and what a pretty tail!"—ladies always seem to think that the edict about horses is "by their tails ye shall know them"—I should exceed even my usual pro- lixity, and you would have to publish another supple- ment. Still I must glance into one or two stalls— Porthos, for instance, a bay hack, which is fitted for better things Stentor," a superior hunterthese were two of the lot reserved for the Emperor's own riding. The requirements for an Imperial mount are only these he must be young and sound, 16 hands high, with the temper of a lamb and the action of a pony; he must be so bold on the road that the proverbial cart load of monkeys with their tails cut off would not make him wink, and so calm with troops that even file-firing, the most annoying manoeuvre to the equine temperament, would produce no more effect than the cries of costermongers on their "mokes." Horses with all these qualifications has General Fleury found in London for the Emperor of the price it is better, perhaps, not to speak. Such a horse is Buckingham, a chestnut 16 hands high, as thorough-bred as Gladia- teur, and as quiet as Somnus, bought of the late Mr. Anderson, of Piccadilly. On the back of this some Buckingham the limperor, who rides 12st. 71b., mounted one fine Italian summer morning at 6.30 and stopped on his back till at 7.30 he saw that Magenta was won. But the horse of horses, and the old country may be proud of it, was "Perci- val," a brown horse bought at Wansford in England, and christened after the cheery proprietor of that hunter's home." As it happened, there were several of our party who knew that spot, and the shape and make of the grand hunter-looking horse brought up memories of good breakfasts eaten hastily and digested by a gallop to a place close by"—which was Wans- ford-for eighteen miles—and then a rattler over the grass. I wish I had him tnere," was the general ex- pression. You would not be far wrong," said Mr. Gamble' for we have not a better in the stable." The Alma stables are to the Louvre what the shell- jacket is to "full-dress"—more useful, less glittering. There are about two hundred and fifty horses there, including the Empress's private stud, of which Phoebus, a magnificent chestnut, is the one remark- able animal, and the ponies of the Prince Imperial, whose advance towards manhood is marked by a s-ries of small animals which he has outgrown. The larger part of the stable is filled by the posters, about 100 pair, chiefly those Percheron and German mares with clubbed tails so familiar to us residents in Paris; they stand without clothing, are in hard condition, do all the work there is to do, and cost about 80l. to 100l each they are as useful a lot as could be found.

THE CASE OF CHARLOTTE WINSOR. The Attorney-General, upon the application of Messrs. Burt and Stevens, the solicitors, and Mr. Folkard, counsel, acting on the prisoner's behalf, has considered her case to be a fit one for further argument, and granted his fiat for a writ of error from the Court of Queen's Bench to the Court of Exchequer Cham- ber, which writ has been issued, and in consequence a further respite has been granted. The matter was lately before the Court of Queen's Bench on a writ of error from the justices of assizes, and since the decision of that Court against the prisoner a memorial has been granted praying for the clemency of the Crown, on the grounds that eight of the jury who were dis- charged on the first trial were for an acquittal and four only for a conviction; that at the following assizes her fellow-prisoner, Harris, the child's mother, who was charged upon the same indictment, was taken from the dock and examined as a witness against her with- out being first acquitted or convicted that Harris gave evidence to the effect that the prisoner Winsor had committed various other crimes, which created a prejudice against her; and such evidence was received and placed before the jury, although objected to by the prisoner's counsel as illegal; that the legality or illegality of the reception of the evidence of Harris under such circumstances could not be decided on the writ of error; and that the presiding Judge refused to reserve the point for a higher tribunal. It was also urged that the Lord Chief Justice, in giving judgment upon the writ of error, said that the discharge of the jury had brought about the mischief which produced the resolution of the Judges in former times not to al- low the discharge of the jury in such cases, and that it had placed the prisoner under a great disadvantage. It appears that the writ of error to the Exchequer has been applied for upon the grounds that the late decision of the Court of Queen's Bench as to the le- gality of the discharge of the jury on-the first trial is at variance with a judgment of the Court of Error in Ireland in a similar case in 1845, and the report in an- other case to the effect that all the Judges in Ireland held a meeting and unanimously agreed that it was not in the power of a Judge to discharge a jury in a capital case without verdict merely because they had remained a considerable time in deliberation. The further arguments in the present case cannot be proceeded with until Easter Term, in ApriL The proceedings have made a further respite ne- cessary, and a special messenger was despatched from London to Exeter on Saturday by the express train, which left at five o'clock, and arrived at Exeter at ten p.m.

UNLUCKY WEDDING DAYS. The detailed annual report of the Registrar-General for Scotland points out that December is the favourite marriage month in Scotland but when the December registers are looked into it is found that, though the daily number of marriages during that month exceeds that of all other months excepting June, it is the last day of December which is the public pet, for on it alone are celebrated One-twentieth of all the marriages which take place during the year (says the Pall Mall Gazette). In last year's report attention was directed to this striking peculiarity in the social habits of the Scottish people, but the registrar was not then in pos- session of data sufficient to t-how the exa t magnitude of the fact. He has now, however, gone over the marriage registers for a series of years, to procure some tangible facts on this subject, and they are extremely curiou". At present (says the registrar) we flatter ourselves that the days of superstition have passed away. It is not so, however, with the Scootish people, as these registers avouch. No Scotchman will begia any kind of work on a Saturday, if he can possibly avoid it, because he has the superstitious belief that he will never live to finish it. For the same reason no Scotchman will marry on a Saturday it is with him an "unlucky day," and he dreads that one or other of the parties to the marriage will not live out the year, or if they outlive the year, that they will have no family. Accordingly, as a general rule, no marriages occur in Scotland on Saturday among natives of Scotland. On Sundays, also, no marriages take place; so that the marrying days in Scotland are limited to five weekly, or from 20 to 23 in each month. While 48 marriages occurred during each marrying day of May, 5L in April, 52 in October, 57 in September, 58 in March, 60 in February, and 63 in January, they rose to 104 daily in November, to 117 daily during 22 of the marrying days in December, to 142 daily during the marrying days of June, but to the enormous num- ber of 1,083 during the last day of December. Here then we have the very singular fact ascertained, that the last day of the year is such a favourite for marry- ing with the people of Scotland, that a full twentieth øf the marriages during the year were contracted on that day. This, however, is not a casual occurrence, but recurs year after year with a regularity even in th$numbers which is truly surprising. Thus, on going over the marriage registers for a serious of years, it was found that when the last day of December fell on the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, the numbers who annually married on the last day of December only varied from 1,020 to 1,090, so that the average number of marriages on every 31st day of December, when it fell on the above days of the week, was 1,055. But all this is changed when the last of December falls on a Saturday. The Saturday superstition, as to its being an unlucky day, outweighs all fondness for the last day of the year as a day of marriage so that when, in the revolution of the seasons, the last day of the year falls on a Saturday, the marriage register virtually remains a blank, so far as the nat.ives of Scotland are concerned. In 1859, when the 31st of December fell on a Saturday, only fifty-nine marriages were contracted instead of 1,055, and these chiefly by persons not natives of Scotland. The Scottish people had in that case anticipated the 31st aud contracted their usual 1,055 marriages on the 30th of the month. It is strongly suspected that the same singular practice prevails in Sweden, for in that country even a greater excess of marriages takes place in December than in Scotland. But the official tables and reports do not give us the means of determining that point with certainty.

MELANCHOLY ACCIDENT AT A SHOOTING PARTY. In December last M. Leddet, the President of the Civil Tribunal of Loches. bemg invited to a deer- stalking party by his neighbour, M. Luce de Tremont, had the misfortune to snoot his friend and host dead, mistaking him, in a thick wood, for a roe deer. A more sad shooting accident than the one disclosed at the trial for Homicide by imprudence has rarely been heard of. The greater part of the morning had been spent without a find, but towards one o'clock fresh footmarks of a deer were discovered in one of the rides of M. de Tremont's forest. The hounds b,-ing laid on gave tongue immediately, and went on at a great pace. M. de Tremont, who carried no gun him- self, rushed into the thick of the wood to halloo on his pack. He wore a brown shooting dress very much of the colour of a deer's skin, and M. Leddett seeing something brown moving in a thicket, supposed he had a deer before him, and fired with but too sure aim. A piercing cry It-d him and a friend who w; 3 with him to dash into the wood, and they fouhd M. on lremont wounded. The accident appeared to tn<*M fl ^t' ^or they only saw a little trickling of blood ou the left temple and the right arm. But M. de Treiuon', unbuttoning his shirt, showed a far moreseriuu:< v.-cu v i on his breast. He was able to walk, and his two frien i gave him their arms to support him to the chateau, t a v1 coming up proposed to run for a doetoi. 'Ah, my friends," said M. de Tremont, "I do in want a doctor but a priest get me one if you cin, H I quick as possible!" Five minutes later he died shriven, but said first to M. Leddet, whose dist? < was dreadful, Calm yourself, I forgive you tluj na I f rtn-ie. Think of my wife and children." J he 1 rocurtur-General of the Court of Or!' •li I whereth* case was tried, while greatly eomnusuMl •. 1 • M. Le ;det. felt coustraiu»"d to urge upon the C, Co a that upon uis OWiJ cimfet.sioii hi< had been carelc.-Ts. (• cause lie said h" thought Le saw a deer," where,!« L¡. knew that M. de Tremont and another gantiru.^t were in the wood a few yards from him, and ougi:* 1" helve been quitr sure before allowing himseli tu h; Alter retiring for an hour and a half, the court fouu-t the presiding judge of the court of Loches guilty d homicide by imprudence, with extenuating stauces, and sentenced h'm to pay a fine of 600;.

A REMARKABLE WILL CASE. In the Court of Probate the course of Patera v. Cordrey has occupied the Court for some time th* particu ars being as follows:- The plaintiff, Annie Paterson, propounded the will, clatt"t the 12th of August, 1865, of James Cordrey, formerly a t.-H- mongerin Beraiondsey, and late of C.'averton-street, Pimiico London, who died on the 4th of September, 1865, at the a" of sixty-two. The defendant, who is the widow of the deee pleaded undue execution and incapacity in opposition to iu 5 wtlL The deceased began life as a shoeblack. He was after war 6i a market gardener's labourer, he then went into busiu* as a publican, and lastly became a fellmonger. He w, a l'ï<), perous in business, and saved enough money to eUa "j" H, '.1 to retire upon a good income. He was described as a 1O,ln'4 man of business, although uneducated, being justablemi eji l and to write. He had been twice married, and had chiian a both by the first wife and by the defendant. In L862 lie wns living apait from his wife, and he became acquainted wstn the plaintiff under circumstances of which she gave an 3Ci:\lII"t in her evidence. She stated that she was earning her liveli- hood as a dressmaker, and living with her mother, and in December, 1861, or January, 1S32, she accidentally ust h i.11 on the doorstep of a house in Pimlico, as she was taking home some work to alaly who was ledging in thehouai. He spoke to her, and soon afterwards called upon her mother and asked to be allowed to pay his addresses to he", representing himself as a widower. He made her au uff cr of marriage, which she accepted, took her to see his IHUSa, in the Grange-road, Bermondsey, and bought a weildin.j- dress and a wedding-ring for her, apd fixed the 14th Of Fd»- ruary, 1862, as the wedding-day. On the 13th of February she noticed that he seemed depressed in spirits, and a-kud him to explain the reason, and he then confessed that he had deceived her, and that he was not a widower, but was living apart from his wife. He promised to marry her if his wife died before him, and read over the marriage service witti her in private, and she consented to live with him ashis wia They accordingly lived together until his death—at fiivst in the Grange-road, Bermondsey, then at Battersea, and latterly at the house in Claverton-street, where he died. They occ w sionally stayed at a house which he had built on a farm be- longing to him in Sussex, near the farm-house where his wife and her family were residing. A cousin of the plaintiir, w 10 was a grocer's assistant named Alexander Skene, was intro- duced to him by the plaintiff, and assisted him in vari-m* business transactions and kept his books; and another e.)Uc in of the plaintiff, Miss Sanderson, came from Scotland ill Va- cember, 1862, and remained with the plaintiff and the Jdoo eeased until his death. He was accustomed to smoke and drink more than was good for him, and some of the witness.* stated that he drank habitually to great excess, but oUh-m said that, although he was not a temperate man, he W.1S 11 Jt an habitual drunkard. By the will in question the deceased left his houce in Claverton-street, which he had taken on lease for ihrje years from March, 1865, and all the plate, furniture and effects contained in it, to the plaintiff. The house let at 7 >L a year, but the deceased obtained it for 651, by paying the three years' rent in advance. The will was prepared .ny a clerk to Mr. E. Lewis, of Great Marlborough-street, from ia- structions written by the plaintiff from the dictation oi the deceased, and signed by him. It was attested by Skene and Miss Sanderson. On the 29th of August, 1865, he executed a deed of gift of his farm in Sussex in favour of the plain tiit The farm was a freehold, and was said to be worth about 1,500Z. or 1,600J., but was subject to a mortgageof 7501. Ti is was also attested by Skene and Miss Sanderson. The in- structions for this deed had been given and it had lx on drawn up a considerable time before its execution. It w is suggested on the part of the defendant that the will fmd deed disposed of all the property, with a trifling exception, of which the deceased was possessed I;\t the time of his <1eatl1; but it was said on the part of the plaintiff that he must hxve had a good deal of money besides, which would go to his wife and children under a previous will The plaintiff and the two attesting witnesses prove 1 the due execution of the two documents, and gave very strong and positive evidence of the deceased's perfect testamentary capacity. Two medical men who had attended him during his residence at Battersea and in Claverton-street also pave evidence of his soundness of mind. Mr. E Lewis and two of his clerks, who had prepared the will and the deed, were also called to prove that as far as they. could judge he was perfectly nompetent to transact business. The plaintiff and some d the other witnesses also gave evidence that the pro- visions contained in the will and deed were in accordance with his frequently declared intentions. The defendant's case was that the deceased's mind had been uusound for three or four years before his dea;li, and that Miss Paterson and her two cousins had conspired to- gether to get hold of nearly all his property, and to leave his wife and children penniless. No imputation was male against the attorney who had prepared the will and the deed, his clerks, nor against the medical men who had attended the deceased, but it was pointed out that none of them had attested either of the two documents; that they were unacquainted with the circumstances under which the deceased had executed them, and with the fact that he had a wüe and family dependent on him, and that he was entirely under the control of the Paterso* family at the time to which the evidence referred, T.Ta widow of the deceased, Mrs. Louis Cordrey, a very inii r ia old lady, was called to support the case, and she stated tr.at he had always been a very geod husband and affectionate father, a religious and moral man, and a regular attendant at chapel, up to about 1858 or 1859 that she had along and serious illness about that time, after which he began to be eccentric in his habits that at Christmas 1861, he announced to her that he had taken a new wife. and on her crying aod remonstrating with him; he referred to Abraham aad Solomon, and other persons in Scripture, in justification of his conduct; that he then brought a young woman to the farm, and she stayed for a short time with him at the mw house which he had just built on the property, close to the old farm-house occupied by his wife and children that on a subsequent occasion he brought down another worn afi who stayed with him for four or Ave days at the new house and, lastly, he brought down the plaintiff, who stayed with Mm at the new house from time to time. Mrs. Cordrey also stated, for the purpose of proving the deceased's ua- soundness of mind at the time when he formed his coa- nexion with the plaintiff, that in September, 1832, he pur- chased 5 cwt. of hams and sent them to the new house; tnat on another occasion he purchased 12 or 14 L) 11 ch clocks, worth about half-a-crown each, and had them 110 hung up and set going at ence in the kitchen, and that he had made another purchase of 10 or 12 guns. He onea told hie wife when she spoke to him about his conduct that he was like a man in the Slough of Despond, and as fast as he got one foot up the other went dwn In April, 1S65, he paid his wife a visit and stayed a fortnight with her. He then told her that his head had been b iu, and he had been in a lunatic asylum at Brompton. lie also s:1¡d that he had been tempted to murder Miss Paterson and h. c family, that he had been tempted to throw Miss Putersoa over Battersea-bridge, that he had sharpened a knife to cut off her head when she was asleep, and that he had loaded a gun with which to shoot her ffirst, and himself afterward. Some of the children, and brothers, and other relatives ol the deceased were also called to prove that he had com- mitted some acts of eccentricity and indelicacy, but it ap- peared that he had been engaged in various business trans- actions with them, and had bought and sold properly. It was extracted with a good deal of difficulty from one of the brothers, Charles Cordrey, that he had in his poisessioa 1,000l. belonging to the deceased, but he thought he wal entitled to keep it, as the deceased had got the better of him in the transactions between them. A great number c £ witnesses from the farm and from the place of busines in Bermondsey and elsewhere were called, and expressed a de- cided opinion that during the last three or four years of hii life he was perfectly incompetent. It appeared thst a woman with whom he had lived before he made the plaintiff i acquaintance and her friends had brought four separa ,t actions against him-for breach of promise, for trover, fog assault, and for trespass. At the close of the defendant's case the jury intimnfeil that they did not require to hear it summed up by Mr. Ser- jeant Ballantine. Mr. Karslake replied, contending there was evidently a good deal more property in existence than was disposed of by the will and the deed, that all the deceased's farniiy ha i treated him as perfectly sane, and had dealings with hi "t up to the end of his life, and that although the decease had fallen into bad habits during thelastfewyearspreeed i.il his death, and had led a life of drunkenness and imraor.i: ( the evidence of his testamentary capacity was overwhelming. His large purchases of hams and other articles were to 10 explained by his habit of making a bargain whenever he bIt the chance, and his intention, no doubt, was to dispute 1. them at a profit. Sir J. P. Wilde, in summing up, said that he found, from an examination of theaccount-boeks which had been put in evidence that during the last two months of the deceuseis's life he had drawn out no less than 240i. of the capital in the hands of one of his brothers. All the notes asking for t h" checks were written by Annie Paterson, who was living witl. him, although they were signed by him. He called tluir attention to the marked contrast in his conduct and be- haviour before and after 1861, and pointed out that in atl the business transactions in which he had engaged afur that date he had got into difficulties, and that advanu.^a seemed to have been taken of him by the persons whoh i i dealings with him. His Lordship then went through toy whole of the evidence, and left the question of incapacity to the jury. The jury immediately found that the deceased was of unsound mind at the time when the will propounds by the plaintiff was executed. The Court pronounced against the will, and took time to consider the question of costs.