The Aberdare Times

A RAMBLE IN BELGIUM. [By our London Correspondent.) Apollo's bow is not always bent, I believe. But the old classic axiom does not seem to apply so well as a more familiar one which tells us of the effect which all work and no play has upon Jack, who is a representa- tive personage. At this time of the year, however, we don't count axioms and adages to palliate the crime of taking a holiday and I venture to think that a few rough notes of a ramble in Belgium may be of some interest. Afflicted with the mal de mer whenever there is the slightest excuse for it, I feel the full force of "sea pas- sage 90 minutes only," and go from one shore to the other where they approach the nearest. There is a good deal to see no doubt at Calais; it is more French than Boulogne but then it is not so "nice," as ladies would say. The municipality of Calais might make it a charming town if they would. Life would be very pleasant," said the late Sir G. C. Lewis, if it were not for its amusements;" but then he was a scholar and „ a studious and sedate man. His remarks at any rate will scarcely apply to towns. Calais would be all the better for some approach to amusement and entertain- ment. You can't alwayisbe walking on the pier; you can see the Hotel de Ville and the Cathedral in an hour or two, and then Calais is used up. So you had better be off. In fact, Calais is only a place to arrive at and start from. Your humble servant, in company with a genial and congenial friend, does the latter, and we ar- rive at Lille. I rather like Lille as a town; it is lively, busy, fall of signs of trade and industry, and is a very fair specimen of a thriving commercial French town. But then for or e-or two-" long in populous city pent" it scarcely affords you the repose and relaxation you want. So, after a tiring walk about the city, winding up with a visit to some very pleasant gardens where there was some capital singing; after earning our night's repose, I suppose, by the labour of pleasure after a comfortable dijedner at the Hotel des Voya- geurs, we take the rail to Ath in Belgium. My friend and I differ about this same Ath (which looks rather an awkward word, but which is easy enough when you know how to say it). He thinks it dull and uninterest- ing I don't. It is bright and clean, and looks happy and prosperous. There is not very much to see, it is true the Tour du Burbard, perhaps, is the principal sight for people who love antiquities, for it is more than seven centuries old; but the town itself is pleasant and agreeable, and if you can't feel pleasure in rambling about and noticing the features of the place, and the manners and customs of the people of the period, it must be your fault, not theirs. I could put up with a couple of months here, and could live very cheaply. What say you to a nice, bright, clean bedroom for a franc and a-half per night for two nights ? And then, doubtless, there would be "an allowance made on taking a quantity of bed But if I could put up with a couple of months at Ath, how much more agreeable to pass that time at Brussels I could even bear a sentence of being -i interni in this charming, lively, animated bustling and yet sedate and sober city. Everybody has heard it spoken of as un petit Paris, and verily it is so; but everything appears to be on a smaller scale and toned- down. The glare and glitter, the flashy gaiety, the v dash and chic of Paris are wanting in their full force, but there is much to remind you of them. As my friend expresses it, Brussels is Paris with the chill off." At all events Brusee's is a most delightful city; busy without some of those concomitants of business which make other cities so disagreeable; lively and cheerful without being dissipated, as far as superficial observers can see with a full complement of working people, but yet free from those signs of squalor which unhappily you see nowhere else so strongly marked as in the United Kingdom. Bat I have no intention of describing Brussels; that haa been often done before; but I would strongly re- commend any who have not seenit, and who may be con- templating a few weeks'holiday, to pay dear, charming Brussels a visit. You can take the opportunity to see Antwerp, with its strange mixture of languages and nationalities, its famed cathedral, and its world-re- nowned paintings; Bruges, whieh carries you back into the Middle Ages; Ghent, lively, prosperous, and business-like; and a number of other places of in. terest, which have historical associations intimately connected with England's chequered career. A sum- mer ramble inBelgiumis more refreshing and invigorat- ing than one in France, and certainly isnotsoenervat- ing as Paris in the summer time; and you will find travelling, hotels, &c. cheaper in the former country than in the latter. Belgium scenery is by no means remarkable for its beauty, but then go where you will you are likely to see memorials of bye-gone age?. Here you may find a Town Hall which dates from centuries back, and you wander about it and ponder on the changes that the lapse of time has produced and then in some other town you are shown buildings that date three or four centuries farther back still Belgium defierves to be studied; she is worth more than a mere superficial visit; her history is rich in stirring episodes, and a house, or a town hall, or a church which one will pass by carelessly, not knowing the historical associations which cling to it, will to another primed with information, be full of deep in- terest. A pleasant railway trip of less than an hour takes you from Brussels to Louvain, which is a town you certainly ought to see. It has a history of a thousand years, and there are ruins of a castle which has had a thousand years pass over it, and the Hotel de Ville, which is more than four centuries old, is about as splendid a monument of Gothic architecture and of the skill of sculptors and artists as you will find anywhere in Belgium, and that is saying a good deal. Here, as in most other Belgian towns, you will find splendid paintings by Rubens. Rubens must have worked very quickly and have been very industrious to have produced all the works that are attributed to him; and perhaps they will not all bear inquiry; but when we ramble in a foreign country for recreation we don't waat to inquire too curiously into the authenticity of what is pointed out to us. Pour moi, I may flatter myself I know a little about paintings, but it may be that it's a precious little, and certainly I am not a Waagen, or a Varsori, or a Rey. nolds, or a Mrs. Jameson for critical acumen. But lean follow the advice which Goldsmith gave to the critics of his time; lean "safely say that the picture would doubt- less have liaen better had the artist taken more paws. and I can praise the works of Peter Perugino, or Rubens, as the case may be and when I am gazing at a grand painting, par Rubens," I don't want to be vexed with the thought that he can't have painted all that are attributed to him and if a worrying friend at my side suggests this much, I prefer to think that Rubens was sui generis, that his style was his own, and that none but himself could be his parallel. The principal products of Louvain, says this same worrying friend, seems to be learning and beer; and certainly breweries abound, so that there is some foundation for the odd remark. Ihe University of Louvain was founded more than six centuries ago, by a Duke of Bra- bant. It played an important part in the learned con- troversies of the Middle Ages, and in the sixteenth century it had acquired such fame as a school of theology that it had 6,000 students and about 40 colleges. Do not leave Louvain without visiting the church of St. Pierre. Founded more than eight cen- turies ago, and twice burned down, the present church dates back only to 1430 (which is not much for Belgium). Its architecture, its painting, its iron-work (by the cele- brated Quintin Matsya) and paintings of the same versatile genius, and ite curved wood-work, are specially remarkable. But Louvain on the whole is not a lively place it is noteworthy for its history and not for its present importance and so — what say you ?-to go to Liege ? The contrast between Louvain and Liege is most striking. The latter is a very busy, thriving, populous town—110,000, I believe, in this year of Grace,-and so high does its manufacturing reputation stand that it has been called the Birmingham of the Low Countries. Every one knows its fame in the manufac- ture of fire-arms, and it is said that for years past it has produced a million a year. What can have become of them ? It is decidedly a fine city, with a well-to-do, prosperous air about it, while its river, its boulevards, and its gardens, give it a cheerful aspect. Liege is indubitably the busiest- looking town in Belgium, though it is not so large as Ghent; Ltege, however, has too many factories, and is too noisy for a holiday trip, and so we will go to Spa. And here again is another great change. The business of Spa is the business of pleasure, of recrea- tion, of idleness, of illness, of lounging, of gaming. There are now at least two visitors to each inhabitant, and nearly all the inhabitants get their living, somehow or other, all the year round, out of the visitors during a few months. It is a lovely place, with charming walks, delicious gardens, and attractive—some of them too attractive—places of resort. Spa suggests bathing and drinking the waters, and it suggests also rouge et noir and roulette. Bathe, if you will, my friend; drink the waters, if you will; but rouge et noir, avaunt! roulette, down, down Who has not read about their gaming-tables? I will net bore you, therefore, gentle and courteous reader, with my im- pressions, reminiscences, or moral homilies. Suffice it to say that Spa on the whole is a charming holiday resort, and you might do a worse thing than visit it, always provided you have suffictlht self-control to keep on the right side of the doors of the gaming. rooms. The London, Chatham, and Dover advertise London to Spa and back for 41s. 9d. by Ostend, or 45s. 6d. by Calais, at through rates; but I prefer travelling bit by bit as fancy dictates, and not on a pre. arranged plan; so that one may go where one likes, or two like. Of course, a speaking knowledge of 1 French is of great advantage, but it is by no means necessary. The Belgians shame us in this respect, and it is not the only thing in which a candid English traveller will own the inferiority of his countrymen. We can't expect to be superior to the Belgians in everything," says my friend. Jast so; and perhaps they don't pretend to be superior to us in everything. We learn by travel; we give and take; we rub off prejudices and acquire" corrigenda," for" by others' faults wise men correct their own." And although the Belgians are our near neighbours, and we see and know much of each other, there are few, if any, of my readers who may not have been there who would not derive mental as well as bodily benefit from a ramble in Belgium." My friend and I had the pleasures of hope when we set out, and we have the pleasures of memory now that we have returned to the great city."

SPAIN, FRANCE, AND PRUSSIA. A special telegram from a Madrid correspondentstates that the Spanish Government is determined to proceed with the candidature of Prince Leopold of HoheEzol- lern, notwithstanding the attitude of the French Go- vernment — In the Madrid papers, a statement of Senor Sagosta has been published complaining that the French Government has successively opposed all the candidates for the throne, in order to favour the Prince of Asturias. Senor Sagosta denies that Spain is pur- suing a Prussian policy, and declares that she will en- deavour to carry out her own views without allowing her desire for peace to prejudice her dignity or her rights.—The Epoca recommends that the candidature of Prince Leopold should be abandoned while there is yet time. It is announced, however, that the Spanish Government has officially notified to the European Courts its intention to propose Prince Leopold to the Cortes as a candidate for the throne, and that it has also addressed a despatch to its representatives abroad, instructing them to deny that this candidature has been planned in a spirit of hostility to France. The same despatch states that the negotiations have been conducted with the Prince direct, without any refer- ence to Count Bismarck. It is stated in the telegrams from Paris that, if the French Government does not at once obtain a satis- factory reply from Prussia, military measures will im- mediately be taken. The Ministers of War and Marine have conferred with the Emperor Napoleon, and on Saturday orders were sent, it is said, to concentrate part of the troops in Algeria. Some of the semi-official Paris papers maintain that the time has now arrived for insisting on the absolute execution by Prussia of the treaty of Prague. From Brussels there comes a denial .that the King of the Belgians, during his recent stay in England, took any part in the negotiations with Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern. The Independance Be'ge declares that this statement—which was made by the Journal Francais-is a calumny. The Moniteur Belge also contradicts the statement in formal terms. The New Prussian Gazette maintains that neither the King of Prussia nor the North German Confederation has any interest in the accession of Prince Leopold to the Spanish throne, and that the Foreign Minister of a friendly Power ought not to accuse Prussia of dis- turbing the European equilibrium. It points out that the Prince is not a member of the Prussian Royal Family, and says it is stated that King William has advised him not to accept the proffered Crown, but that if he were to accept it, France has no right to play the schoolmaster over Spain. It concludes by hoping that the French Government will soon rightly judge Prussia's neutral attitude in this question. The painfully ridiculous story is told by the France that, in the eventuality of war, the Emperor means to command the army "in person." What misjudged flattery this is Everybody knows that if the Em- peror can get up from an arm-chair to walk for a few minutes on the arm of an aide-de-camp, in a green alley in the garden of St. Cloud, he hai made a great achievement calculated to produce a rise at the Bourse. He is somewbat prematurely but really in his "chair days," and the notion of his commanding an army in the field is all nonsense. The France, which naturally is regarded as a great diplomatic authority because it lately belonged to Viscount de la Guerronnibre, the ex-minister at Brussels and now the French ambassador at Con- stantinople, and who is still supposed to inspire the journal, also says that the negotiations which led to the acceptance of the candidature for the throne of Spain by Prince Leopold of Hohenz >llern were carried on by his sister the Countess of Fiandera; and that when the King of the Belgians lately paid a visit to Queen Victoria at Windsor he mentioned the subject to her. The France adds that the Qu en of England gave him no encouragement, bat at the same time says that France is justified in resenting his attempted interference. This circumstantial story is contra- dicted. The France, pursuant to the system of the French press, takes no notice of the denial except in this incidental way, that it alleges the notification of Prince Hohenzollern's acceptance of the throne of Spain to have been received very coldly by all the Powers, "except Belgium."

MADRID, July 9 (Evening). An order has been issued by the Minister of War that the conscripts should join their respective corps by rail in order to press forward their equipment and drill, and that certain strategic positions in the north of Spain should be occupied. The Imparcial regards this order as a precautionary measure agaimt the Car lists. PARIS, July 11. The despatch received yesterday from M. Benedetti is said to leave small hope of peace. The Spanish incident might 'be arranged, but King William, who asks for delay is not in. clined to give certain guarantees demanded for the proper execution of the treaty of Prague. Figaro says that the Emperor will take the command of the army, and that the Prince Imperial will serve on the staff. The Constitutional states that M. Benedetti has communi- cated to the King of Prussia the protest of the French Go- vernment, and that the King had reque3ted time to reply. T hereupon the French Government instructed M. Benedetti that the delay could only be very short. The Constitutionnel proceeds to say:—" It is now abso- lutely certain that the King authorized the Prince of Hohen- sollern to accept the crown of Spain." The same paper, refuting certain assertions of the Spanish Journals to the contrary, demonstrates that hitherto the French Government had neither favoured nor opposed any candidate to the Spanish throne.

Private correspondence from Spain confirms the impression produced by the telegrams that the country has been deeply excited by the menaces of France. Prim's behaviour has of late produced a strong feeling against him among the people and if he had been left to himself, his candidate would very possibly have been rejected. But the Duke of Gramont has produced an instant change of sentiment. Spanish pride is sorely wounded, and recollections of 1808 embitter the popular exasperation. Troops are under orders every- where to be in readiness to march to the Pyrenees at a moment's notice the Spanish fleet, which at present is much scattered, is to concentrate at once; the fortresses of Pamplona, Santofin, and Figueras are being rapidly but carefully inspected and replenished with warlike stores and provisions. We hear also that the Spanish Ambassador at Paris, Senor Olezaga, has very precise instructions as to the circumstances under which he is to demand his passports. The Spanish navy is by no means con- temptible. Spain has some ten very fine ironclads, manned by men who, as sailors, are superior to the French, and, in conjunction with the Prussians, could give the French a good deal of trouble. As for the army, it is demoralized, and the officers are ignorant of the art of war; but if they confine themselves to de- fending the Pyrenees they may do it successfully. Spanish troops fight very well from behind walls, and there are only two good roads into Spain, one the road through San Sebastian, and the other through Pam- plona. These from the mountainous nature of the country through which they pass are well adapted for defence. In the open field, however, the Spaniards would be of small account.

The Times' Paris Correspondent writes The French seem to be all the more provoked by the calm tone of the German Press. Nothing is naturally so irritating, if you are in a sudden, red-hot passion, as to have an antagonist who won't lose his temper, and Celtic fire is all ablaze at Teutonic phlegm. The contrast is very character- istic <f the two races The Prussians are ready to wait and think the matter over until the gathering of the Spanish Cortes, or, if necessary, the arrival of the Greek Calends. The French, all eagerness for action, can see in tbis tardiness only a deep design of Bismarck's to gain time and measure his strength. They believe that he is vi- gorously working the wires to feel the pulse of Europe in general, and Germany in particular, and that if he can make the quarrel German-with the assistance of his enemies in the Parisian Press—he will not shrink from it. It is to be feared that Prussian pride, flushed by its recent victories, will not at all relish any step that may even appear retro- grade in the face of French menace, and, besides, If the semi-official Press on both sides can be trusted as the ex- ponent of official views, the two parties are rather at an awkward dead-lock. The German rdle of unconscious inno- cence must be accepted, I suppose, as true in the absence of any documents or other evidence to prove it false, andit places the French Government in rather an embarssaing position. If Prussia has really had nothing whatever to do with this petty intrigue of Prims-if, as her journals assert, she would, on the contrary, much rather not have a Prince of her own on the throne of Spain-it is certainly hard upon her to be told, in a tone of menace, that she must at once actively interfere to quash the intrigue, or prepare for war. It she had been asked to do this it would have been an other affair, but now, unluckily, she has been told to do it. Everybody is bound at table to pass the mustard, but this did not justify the American In enforcing his re- quest with a levelled revolver. The collision is, indeed, a grave one when two proud and powerful nations thus find themselves face to face in a position from which neither feels that It cau without some loss of prestige retreat, and there is no divining what result may come of it, though here the general belief appears to be that Prussia will give way.

ACTION AGAINST A DENTIST. In the Court of Exchequer, In London, the cause of Rubury v. Forsyth" has been tried, and was an action for the alleged unskilful treatment of the plaintiff by the defendant, a dentist. The plaintiff, who was thirty years of age, resided at Twickenham and the defendant was a dentist practising in George-street, Hanover-square, London. In December last the plaintiff was suffering from a decayed tooth, and not being able to get any sleep, he went to Mr. Heath, a dentist, at Richmond, for the purpose of having it taken out. Mr. Heath declined J?erf°rin the operation, having no anaesthetic or as- sistant at hand, and recommended him to Mr. Forsyth. He went to the defendant and told him that one coun- try practitioner had declined to remove the tooth, and another to take it out without an anaesthetic. Thede. fendant, according to the plaintiff's evidence, placed him in a chair, and said in an off-hand way, as if he were reflecting on the country practitioners, Let us see what we can do! With an instrument the defend- ant brought away a part of the crown of the tooth, and afterwards a fang, not having previously lanced the gums which were much inflamed, or used any fomen- tation. The gum was very much lacerated by the operation, and he was in such pain when he left the defendant's house that he could scarcely get into a cab. The defendant's fee was a guinea. A few days afterwards his face swelled in a frightful manner, his left eye closed, and he could not open his mouth or swallow. Ultimately the swelling burst, and great quantities of offrnsive matter came away, together with small pieces of dead bone. He then Went to Birmingham to consult another dentin, and he advised him to see the defendant again. This he I I did, and defendant said there was something more to be removed and suggested that an adjoining molar should be taken out. A month or so afterwards Mr. Maunder, of the London hospital, and Mr. Clark, a surgeon, of Twickenham, performed an operation upon him, under the influence of chloroform, making an incision under the chin, and removing some injured bone of the jaw. A piece of the fang which had been left was also removed, as well as the molar, and shortly afterwards the plaintiff recovered. The plaintiff said he was about six months away from business in con- sequence of the state of his health, and los-t £300. In cross-examination the Plaintiff admitted that the tooth had been decaying for nine or ten years, but said it had not troubled him before. He had twelve or eighteen months before consulted another dentist, and he hadhadthis and two other teeth stopped at different times. The defendant might have said, after he had taken away two pieces of tooth, that there was another piece to come away, but he did not reply, "I am too unwell to have another operation," and refuse to have it taken out. He was very unwell, but could have borne the taking of it out if it had been necessary. A quantity of blood but no matter came away when the operation was performed. Mr. Heath, the dentist, said when the plaintiff con- sulted him he suspected the existence of an abscess at the bottom of the tooth. The suggestion affirmed to be that the defendant onqbt to hwe med an ansssthetic, in consequence of the highly nervous state of the plaintiff and that con- sidering the state of his pums, he ought to have been more careful in performing the operation. At the conclusion of the rlaiutdT a the Jury in. timated that they bad made up their minds, but at the request of one of thun Mr. Forsyth was called, and he said that the plaintiff's gums wtre highly inflamed, and that when he applied the forceps a quantity of matter gushed out. The plaintiff objected to the re- maining portion of the bone being removed, on account of his health and sufferings, and he failed to come back, as he had requested him to do, a few days after- wards. He said he had treated the plaintiff in a skilful and proper manner. t The Jury at once, without hearing the defence, found a verdict for the defendant.

The WORKING MEN'S INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. The following interesting account of Her Majesty's visit is given in the Daily Nevis:— Her Majesty paid a private visit on Monday morning to the Workmen's International Exoibltloa at the Agricultural HalL Great exertions bad been made in the endeavour to get the whole of the goeds which have arrived into their places for the Queen's inspection but without avail; for in- cluding thelarge consignments which areexpected from South America, Denmark and other countries,the articles which are conspicuous by their absence are at present in a clear majority. And yet a very tolerable appearance was made. If the at pre- sent unseen portion of ,he exhibition prove to be as good as that which the royal vhitors-lheir Royal Highnesses Pro- cesses Louise and Beatrice accompanied the Queen-went over with so much apparent gratification, the present wi:l be by far the best exhibition of the kind that has been held. From an early hour the officials were besieged by importu- nate persons presenting all sorts of claims for admission, the oddest of which was perhaps that of a geatleman who was most anxious to see the Queen as he had known the Secre- tary of the Exhibition when he was a boy Each exhibitor seemed to have been allowed to attend on condition that he remained by the side of his case; but as the Royal command that the visit was to be a strictly private one was imperative, very few other persons were admitted to the building. A body of police, under Inspector Green, were drawn up in the courtyard, and a little before ten that zealous officer waited upon the secretary—who is, we believe, a j lurneyman joiner-and in a slightly formal manner, which is possibly the etiquette on such occasions, said, Well, air, everj thing is ready and we deliver her Majesty into your charge safely inside the building." Although there seemed sometaing of incongruity in this formula — the Queen of Great Britain bsing thus handed over as it were, with a caution, as one might intrust a very precious gem to rough but honest keeping—it was soon apparent that even the Sovereign could not have been in better keep- ing than that of these loyal workmen. It was remarked that there was the most respectful and yet self-respect (honing demeanour on the part of all those present which persons who have known Royal personages to be mobbed by genteel crowds remember to have seen. The hon. secretaries re- ceived the Queen, and were graciously allowed to accompany her through the building, and point out the various objects of more than ordinary interest. The English portion of the show—comprising the contribu- tions of some three thousand exhibitors—appears to possess much interest. Exhibitors in Sheffield have sent a really ex- ceMeut collection of cutlery, comprising razors of most elaborate finish, centipede pen-knive<, with a hundred steel legi apiece, and wondrous travellers' knives, with so many different instruments in the placa where biales usually go, that if only a camp bedstead could have been ingeniously let in between the handles one of them would be almost an out- fit. If we might in passing venture to express an opinion upon the exquisitely finished goods sent by Mr. Shirley's workpeople, we would put it to them whether these poly- gamous pocket knives are not rather a mistake? Fancy the embarrassment of riches in having to cut anything with a twenty Mader The first thing which strikes one in the English part cf the building is the small quantity, as compared to what we iiave been u3ed to seeing at. exhibitions, of machinery. Perhaps there is much more of this class of exhibits to come, but at present there is not a very imposing collection of wheels and spindles; what there is, however, will be set in motion, which is always a great source of attraction to visitors. We understood that the Queen was much interested in the Eng- lish and Trifh collections. Among the latter a striking statue of a Belfast beggar, which, we were informed, was executed by an amateur, a Mr. M'Creery, was the most noticeable work T ere are several very beautiful specimens of inlaid cabinet work, both in the English and Italian collections. Italy seeim to have entered into the spirit of the Exhibition with all her he irt, and the beautiful articles of art work- manship which fill the large space allotted to her, would form an interesting exhibition in themselves. As it is, the Italian is decidedly the fairest department. It would be invidious to select one or two articles for commendation where the majority appear to possess so much merit, but it may be mentioned that her Majesty lingered for some few moments, with evident enjoyment, to contemplate an imposing-looking, life-sized portrait of General Napier at Magdala, the production of an Italian artist, named Ademollo, who was presented to the Qaeen and graciously complimented upon his work. The majolica ware in the Italian Court was also attentively examined by her Majesty, who returned to that part of the building after visiting the rest; during the second visit the merits of an invention for fixing the colours in paintings were discussed by the Princesses and some of the gentlemen of the Italian Commission, who called their Royal Highnesses' attention to it. Next to Italy, Holland seems to have most heartily ac- cepted the English workmen's invitation. The members of the Dutch Royal Commission, with those sent by King Victor Emmanuel, escorted the Queen through the hall and drew her Majesty's attention to the most striking objects among their countrymen's exhibits, which consists chlellyof works of art, uphoistery. cabinet making, &c France and the United States are scarcely represented at all. Prussia, Austria, and Belgium have each sent several cases, but it will be impossible to form an opinion upou the relative merits of any one country to the other till everj thing is in its place. The gallery walls are devoted to pictures, but owing to the backward state of the preparations upstairs, the royal party confined their visit to the ground- floor. The preponderance of art woikmanship—especially in the lighter kinds of domestic furniture-gives the exhibition a generally tasteful appearance, which contrasts favourably with all which have gone before. Considering that we are in July, we think the committee might have done a good deal with fl wera. Drapery, too, seemed rather scanty; would not the Government, which has helped the committee so much already, lend some flags? We remember travelling to the Paris Exhibition in the company of an Admiralty official who had no end of boxes full of Union Jacks in charge-we presume they have come back again. There will be plenty of music, for in addition to a large organ which is being fitted up, there are numerous pianos on exhibition, and a peal of bells in one of the galleries of such power that we venture to remind the gentleman who entertained her Majesty with them on Mon- day that a little of their melody goes an astonishingly long way, and should always be taken neat, as the notes of the organ do not blend with it so completely as he from his exalted position might be led to s appose. There are men among the working classes who understand music, and, per- haps, they may not like to stand between two loud instru- ments playing different tunes. The Queen graciously declared that the visit had given her much pleasure, and wishing the Committee complete success, retired after about an hour had been spent In the progress through the show. There were many noticeable stands, in addition to those we have mentioned, which her Majesty honoured by stop- ping at and making inquiries, which were answered by the exhibitors themselves, by the Hon. Auberon Herbert, or by Mr. Paterson; among these we remember a veiy beauti- ful chair, in gold and blue satin, designed by Mr. Lucraft, a journeyman, who attended her Majesty round the building. This chair is the property of Messrs Hampton and Sons. Messrs. Peyton and Peyton, the Birmingham firm, which introduced the co-operative system cf sharing all profits over a stipulated percentage on their capital with their workmen, have allowed one of their foremen, named Johnson, to exhibit a very handsome bed- stead of his design, which seems to be the perfection of iron ornamentation. In admitting articles to this Exhibition, the Committee have very properly insisted upon two things- first, permission to publish the names of the work- men who have actually produced them; secondly, the attainment of a certain standard of excellence in the case of amateurs who have submitted their work for ap- proval. Those well-known ridiculous toys, which are only a mask for begging-such as wonderful water-wheels which work when a halfpenny is dropped into them, <fec., < £ c.—have been sternly kept out, although we hear that the Committee have had some hard battles to fight with sundry persistent folk. One gentleman nearly worried the secretary into an illness by imploring him to allow a pig in spirits, w th eight, or some other outrageous number of legs, to be exhibited at a chatge of an extra halfpenny a peep, for the benefit of a widow of his a quaintance. Such puerilities as these which have appeared in some other exhibitions, have, the Committee declare, conveyed an altogether erroneous notion to the members of the well-to do classes of the general habits, ideas, and aspirations of working men. The formal opening of the Exhibition on Saturday next is likely to be a very brilliant ceremony. Besides the Prince of Wales, who will preside, a long list is given of eminent personages who are expected to be present, and the proceed- ings-will, doubtless, be full of interest. We have heard whispers among the exhibitors to the effect that the Committee- doubtless with a laudable anxiety to make the undertaking pay-are showing signs of a niggardly spirit in deal- ings with its clients. We refer more particularly to the matter of free entrances. There should be no attempt at either muzzling or keeping out of their stable the oxen who tread out.the corn-begging the exhibitors pardon for the simile. We trust that the intercommunication between the working men of different nations which such shows as these tend to briug about, will strengthen the bonds of sympathy, which should unite mankind, perpetual peace and increase the sum of human happiness. The rich of different lands have frequent opportunities of travel, are already tomowhat acquainted with each other; perhaps these International shows will help to bring the poor together. We are assured that such is the hope of the working men who received the Queen on Monday, and we congratulate them upon the work they have done and their prospects of ruture success.

CHARLES DICKENS AND WASHINGTON IRVING. The following correspondence will be read with in- terest as showing the friendship which existed between these two distinguished authors. The intercourse be. tween them commenced in 1841, when Mr. Irving was in his fifty-eigth year, and Mr. Dickers had attained precisely half that number of yearfl-twenty-nine. The American took the lead and wrote a letter expressing his heartfelt delight with the writings of the Englishman and his yearnings toward him. The reply was minute, impetuously kind, and eminently characteristic. Mr. Dickens said :— There is no man in the world, 11 who would have given me the heartfelt pleasure you have. There is no thing writer, and there are very few among the dead, whose ap- probation I should feel so proud to earn. And with every- thing you have written upon my shelves, and In my thoughts an'J in my heart of hearts, I may honestly and truly say so. It you could know how earnestly I write this you would be glacl to read it, as I hope you will be. faintly guessing at the warmth of ti.e hand I autobiographically hold out to you over the bro ld Atlantic. 1 have been so accustomed to aisociate jou with my pleasantest and happiest thoughts and with my leisure hours, that I ruih at once into full con- fidence with you, and fall, as it were naturally, and by the very laws of gravity, into your open arms. I cannot thank you enough for your cordial and generous praise, or tell you what deep and lasting gratification it has given me." After the two authors had met face to face, and Mr. Irvine had been appointed American Minister to Spain, Mr. Dickens wrote to him:— "What pleasure I have had in seeing and talking with you I will not attempt to say, I shall never forget it as long as I live. What would I give If we could have but a quiet week together Spain is a lazy place, and its climate au indolent one But if you ever have leisure under its sunny skies to think of a man who loves you, and holds communion with your spirit oftener, perhads, than any other person alive-Iet- sure from listnessness I mean-and will write to me in London, you will give me an inexpressible amount of plea- sure." The following letter was written by Mr. Dickens, during his last visit to America, to Mr. Charles Lanman, of Georgetown :— Washington, February 5, 1868. My dear Sir,—Allow me to thank you most cordially for your kind letter and for its accompanying books. I have a particular love for books of travel, and shall wander into the wilds of America with great interest. I have also re- ceived your charming sketch with great pleasure and admi- ration. Let me thank you for it heartily. As a beautiful suggestloncf nature, associated with this country, it sh ll have a quiet place on the walls of my house as long as I live. Your reference to my dear friend, Washington Irving, renews the vivid impressions reawakened in my mind at. Baltimore the other day. I saw his fine face for the last time in that city. He came there from New York, to pass a day or two with me before I went westward, and they were made among the most memorable of my life by his de- light ul fancy and genial humour. Some unknown admirer of his books and mine sent to the hotel a most enormous mint julep, wreathed with flowers. We sat, one on either tide of it, with great solemnity (it filled a respectably-sized tound table), but the solemnity was of very short duration. It was quite an enchanted julep, and carried us among in- numerable people and places that we both knew. The julep held out far into the night, and my memory never saw him afterward otherwise toan as bending over it with his straw with an attempted gravity (after some anecdote involving some wonderfully droll and delicate observation of character), and then, as his eye caught mine, melting into that capti- vating laugh of his, which was the brightest aiid best I have ever heard.—Dear, sir, with many thanks faithfully vours, CHAEI.ES DICKENS."

A BABY SHOW. (From the Daily News ) The sight of a tea-garden in the daytime is, on the whole, rather depressing to the spirits. The aspect of Highbury Barn during the afternoon of Monday last was, however, not taken into account by the visitors who came to see the baby show, so extensively advertised by the proprietor. The grounds had the usual unkempt, ramshackle, and raffish air of all such places during suultght, but the business of the hour was settled under Colver in a large hall decorated as if for a floral exhibition. Festoons of paper flowers were sus- pended from the roof of a long room, in which an orchestra was established, and in which the babies competed. Tiie infants, to each of whom a mother was attached, were arranged in avenues, and in front of the lane was a bar, to which was affixed a distinguishing number. At the first blush, one would mfer that the figures might have been put on for purposes of identification in case of accidents, for de- cidedly the performers in the spectacle bore so wonderful a resemblance to each other, that in case of a panic it might be difficult for their respective owners to distinguith them on closer scrutiny this notion was dissipated. The bill of the play contained the names of the several actors, in fact the babies were neatly catalogued in the style of objects of art. Th-)y were remarkably quiet under the circumstances, none of them discovering traces of stage panic or nervousness, although it was probably—and indeed, from the conditions of the diversion, certainly-their first appearance in public. There was the stolid baby with a stare as stony and indifferent as an aristocratic duchess, the baby who chirrups like a young sparrow, the sucking-thumb baby, the clutchitg infant whose whole mind is bent upon grabbing and clawing anything or any one within reach, the cradle Solomon with an expression of wis- dom on its countenance which would make the fortune of a diplomatist. The little creatures responded atter the fashion of their kind to the natural homage in the way of compliments rendered to them by the spectators. As a rule every numbered baby retained its own individuality, as if conscious that it was entered for competition. There were lady babies and gentleman babies, ludged indiscriminately sidt) by side, but they looked straight before them when they looked at all; and even the twins, George and Elizabeth, ag, d four months, and weighing 18 and 19 lbs., seemed as estrai gad and pre-occupied as it they had never met before. The friendly contest was conducted with the utmost reserve, inasmuch as a trial of lungs between the candidates for prizes might have been expected to arise with- out a rehearsal. There was nothing of the kind, and yet we do not think the fact was due to artificial means. The babies were satisfied with the situation, but not abashed or fright- ened at it. Some of them when stared at by an old woman in a poke bonnet, would murmur their dislike at the liberty, and we noticed some of them resorting to a bottle (of milk) for consolation. Many were condescendingly gracious to those who grinned at them with that familiar nursery smirk which cm only be acquired by him who hath his quiver full. Of these latter gentry there were not many present. The majority of the visitors were women. u From this It will be perceived that the babies did not find their own music, and consequently the band was engaged to promote the hilarity of the proceedings, and to prevent them from becoming monotonous. The band had a poor notion of the fitness of things. The conductor for instance, by way of an overture might have led off with an arrangement of Mendelssohn's "Cradle Song," of Arthur Sullivan's "Rest thee, my baby "—in fact he would be embarrassed with the musical resources at his hand which would have given an operatic effect to his programme; but instead of this he played as much beside the occasion as It was possible for him to do. Waltzes and Canca,n quadrilles sounded quaint and rather eccentric in connection with the ranges of placid infants and their maternal guardians, who looked anything but fit for pranking it according to Offenbach. The exhibition partook of an international character, inas- much as babies of colour were not excluded. There was one amazingly woolley little nigger shining as if he had been Day- and-Martined lor the event, with the duskiest of limbs and eyes burning with an almost tropical fire. We believe this African was a native of St. Pancras. Another promising in- fant was of a rich coffee complexion, and wore a pair of lustrous opal jewels in his head to which the celebrated or- nament of Shakespeare's toad would appear dim. It would be a task for which we have neither the requisite taste, ex- perience, nor courage to make comparisons between the Individual competitors. Judging from a few things that we saw we should be inclined to think that the judicial committee of the baby show will have a hard time of it when the period comes for announcing the verdicts. An indignant mother held out what is sometimes termed a "thumping child," and explained with much eloquence that neither its age nor its weight had been printed in the list. And It are a good one for five months, isn't it now," remarked this wronged and delicate female, who really was hurt at the neglect to which her contributions was subjected. There were extra- ordinary varieties of heads in the show-heads round as oranges, heads peaked like Sir Walter Scott's, heads massive and well set as those of mature engineers or lawyers. The lady-babies were perhaps brighter and more demonstrative than the gentlemen, and few of them indulged in siestas or in luncheons. The mothers appeared to enjoy the whole affair without the least apparent recognition of a disagreeable feature in it. They were the wives of artlaans, and we understand that they came from as far iff as Deptford and Greenwich to assist at the singular fite. As a rule they were plain-featured but kinuly-aeeming women, with the marks of a sad ignorance and lack of refinement or thought on their faces To say that they appeared fond of the children aud thoroughly care ml of them would not bo to pay them a coupliment considering the nature of the fes- tival. The affair is altogether as agreeably managed as a disagreeable spectacle could be. The babies at least did all they ceuld to render It interesting. Everyone of them deserved a prize for the nil admirari mode in which they regarded the ornamental incidents of the speculation. in- cluding snatches from the Grande Duchesne. The fathers were conspicuous by their absence, or, at any rate did not arrive in character. A goodly share of the spectators might have been composed of ladies of the Gamp persuasion. They came on the same impulse that drives an actor on his holi- day into a theatre for amusement. Perhaps after all there are worse uses to which a baby can be put than to make a show of it in the Highbury fashion, but it Is not pleasant to see the women indifferent to the fact that they are placing themselves in an unworthy position in aiding such a performance. If there was more time in Deptford for the graces of home life to be developed, we suspect the baby show would not receive much encourage- ment from that quarter; and we should make the same re- mark of the other districts from which the children were brought. The attraction of a good dinner, the chance of a prize, and the vanity of a coarse maternal instinct were sufficient to overcome in the exhibiting mothers the few qualms of a delicacy which they probably regard rather as a weakness than as a virtue.

COMPENSATION FOR RAILWAY ACCIDENTS. The report of the Select Committee appointed to inquire into the law of compensation for railway acci- dents and other matters, has been published. The following recommendations are made: The recommendation of the Royal Commissioners is in the following terms :—We recommend that, on the one hand, railway companies should be absolutely responsible for all injuries arising in the conveyance of passengers, except those due to their own negligence and that, on the other hand, the liability of the railway companies be limited within a maximum amount of compensation for each class of fares. With respect to these rec >mmendations, your Committee propose an alteration in the tribunal before which cases of railway accidents for the future should be heard. They are of opinion thit trial by jury does not In these cases work satisfactorily; and they recommenl that for the future a court should be established for the trial of these ca^ea without a jury, which would be sufficiently strong to secure the con- fidence of the public, and which should possess adequate legal experience, and be assisted by engineering and meoical advice. They recommend to the careful consideration of her Majesty's Government the best mode of constituting such a tribunal. All disputed claims for damages arising out of railway accidents shall be made to such court, which shall have power, if it thinks fit, to institute an inquiry on the spot. The costs shall in all cases, when the claimant recovers damages, be borne by the company, except when the com- pany shall have tendered a sum equal to or larger than the sum recovered, In which case the costs shall be in the dis- cretion of the court. Notices of possible or probable claims shall be given to the company within a limited specified time from the date of the accident; in default thereof no claim shall De esta- blished. Should this tribunal be established, your Committee see no reason for altering the present system of unlimited lia- bility. In the event of the tribunall emainlng as now, your Committee are of opinion that the liability should be limited as follows, viz in the case of first-class passengers, £ 1,000 second-class passengers, £500; third-class passengers, jesoo. Your Committee further think that if this limitation is conceded, the public should have power of injuring with the company, for an additional sum of £ 3,000 iu a first-class, P,2 000 in the second-class, £ £ K 0 in a tnii d-class, at a reason- able charge not exceeding 3d. 11..£1,000 for the first-class, 2d., for J6500 in the second class, and Id. for jESOO in the third class for the journey. It may not be inopportune to remark that the evi- dence given by Mr. Grierson before the Select Com- mittee on Railway Companies certainly goes far to account for the slender dividends which the Great Western Company has hitherto been able to pay. He stated that on one occasion the company carried a number of persons 150 miles at 2s, 6d. per head, for which their receipts amounted to jBlO, and an accident occurring, the company had to pay £24,79G as com- pensation. On another occasion a number of passen- gers were conveyed 450 miles at 12 j, 6d. a head. The receipts were £87; the compensation, £42,230.

THREATENING TO SHOOT A GENTLEMAN. At the Hammersmith Police-court, Frederick Thom- son Sutton, aged forty-six years, described as a labourer, was brought up on a warrant charged with threatening the life of Sir Edward Hilditch, of Artmdel- gardens, Bayswater. Sir Edward stated that he was one of the executors of the late Mr. Orr, with whom he had been on friendly terms for a number of years. He bad no knowledge of the prisoner until he received letters from him, claim- ing the estate, which he inferred amounted to many thousand pounds sterling, and imputing fraud. The last letter contained a threat that he would send a bullet through his head. and he bad since gone in bodily fear of him. The witness further said that the whole estate did not realise more than JE600, and that the only interest which he derived from it was a legacy of JE50. The prisoner made a long statement, in effect that he was the illegitimate child of a lord, was christened at Sr. George's, Hanover-square, and that when he discovered the origin of his birth he wrote to his lord. ship telling him of it, the result being a reduction in his allowance. He continued to live upon an income allowed by his mother, and which was paid by Mr. Orr, but after her death it ceased. After repeating the charges of fraud, he said he had been in great dis- tress for three years, that he had a sickly wife and three children to support, besides being himself nearly blind, with very little employment. The Magistrate pointed out to him that if Sir Edward Hilditch wished to hand the estate over to him he had no power to do so. He called upon him to find two sureties in JB40 each to keep the peace for six months-

THE FRAUDS BY BENJAMIN HIGGS. In the Court of Exchequer, on Tuesday, an action was brought by the trade assignees of Benjamin Higgs, a clerk of the Great Central Gas Company, whose enormous defalcations startled the public in March last year, against that company and the Guarantee Society, and Mr. Poole, of the firm of Poole and Emmens, auc- tioneers, for having seizsdand sold the furniture, wines, and other goods of Higgs, in his residence known as Tile End House, Teddington. The defendants paid into court B2,050, the actual net proceeds of the sales, and pleaded several pleas, denying their liability in re- gard to the rest of the plaintiffs' claim. Mr. Seymour, Q.C., in opening the case, said that Higgs bad given the Central Gas Company a policy of the Guarantee Society for £250, and when he decamped the society, under a clause of the policy, employed Poole to make a seizure to the amount for which they were liable but ultimately, under an indemnity given by the directors of the Central Gas Company, he seized the whole property in the house, which was magnificiently furnished. The furniture was removed to the Clarence Rooms at Ted- dington, and sold, as the plaintiffs contended, at a great sacrifice, and the choice and expensive wines were also dealt with in a manner which prevented anything like their value being realised. Mr. Baron Martin said that as the question was only one of damages, viz., whether various articles had realised a proper sum it was utterly impossible that the case could be tried by the jury, and he suggested 4 a reference. 1 Mr. Seymour agreed that was the best course to adopt. Sir John Karslake, Q.C., said the solicitor for the defendants had no authority to make any arrange- ments. Ultimately, the learned Baron positively refused to try the matter of account of this description, and de- cided to issue a summons, in order that he might, under < the powers given to him by Act of Parliament, older it < to be referred. ]

A BETTER CONTEST THAN WAR! Amid the clangour of discordant sounds and rumours floating across the Channel, all powerfully suggestive ( of "vUlanous saltpetre," it is quite refreshing to be B saluted with one still small voice uttering a soft bleat 1 that recalls the most peaceful and idyllic associations, remarks the Daily Telegraph, and thus continues:- < According to a contemporary, at the very time when s Paris is convulsed with anticipations of coming war, the Agricultural Society of France is busy with the s trial of reaping machines. A place called Petit t Bourg, about twenty mites from the Bourse, the Champ de Mars, and the Tuileries, was the scene of that society's first meeting last week; and here, J under the_ eyes of M. Drouyn de Lhuys, a first- J rate practical farmer, and of other eminent men, eleven machines, some of them by English makers, were set to work on a field of wheat 300 acres in f extent. The English, including such familiar names 1 as Howard and Samuelson, carried all before them J although, on account of the necessity for further trials, the prize had not, at latest accounts, been c awarded. If English machines carry of the palm this J time, assuredly next year our implement-makers will find the victory, if they win it at all, more difficult to achieve. The French have a habit of improving on their defeats, and of wresting ultimate success 81 from early reverses and nothing ia more cer- tain than the fact that, if an Agricultural Society, d with a basis of national support, invites and encou- rages native competition with foreigners, the rivalry across the Channel will be earnest, persistent, 01 and intelligent. Meanwhile the prospect is to be ti hailed with satisfaction. If French agriculture thrives C and multiplies its products, no country will benefit so b quickly as England; for we have mouths to feed as si well as hands to employ. Moreover, if French energy ow finds vent in such wholesome efforts, would not tl humanity, in more senses than one, be the gainer ? It it is better to move reaping machines to the assault of h standing corn than to bring field batteries to mow e4 down columns of living men. Better forge plough- it shares than bayonets—chaff cutters than Chassepots." f( ol

FLOODS IN AUSTRALIA. We learn from the Melbourne Argus, of May 21, that New South Wales has been visited with a series of the most disastrous floods ever known. The wet weather set in on the 20th of April, and continued, with short interruptions, up to May 21. By the 25th the rivers began to rise above their banks, and communication by the northern telegraph was interrupted. The Hunter rose six feet in one day. Immense damage was done to property. All the low-lying were under water, and large quantities of stock drowned. On the 28th April the embankment at Maitland gave way, and the town was partially submerged, the court-house and police-office being destroyed. The inhabitants of Gunnedah were obliged to take to the hills for safety; the town being under water. Seven persons lost their lives. 1 he town of Denman suffered very much, several houses being washed away. At the end of the month the rain ceased, but soon set in again. Wagga was the first to feel the effect. A great flood took place, and the town was soon half under water. The Nepean rose no less than twenty feet from sunrise to sunset on the 1st May. The Macqearie and Hawksbury rivers were a »ain flooded, and many lives were lost. The iron bridge at Gundagai was carried aWay by the flood on the 3rd of May, the massive iron girders being carried a con.. siderable distance by the force of the torrent. At Winris >r a number of houses were washed away, and a large amount of distress was occasioned. At Shoalhaven th. n <OLi was four feet higher than the gruan flood of 1860 The telegraph and post-offices, and a large number of houses were swept away. The distress prevailing in Maitland was fearful, and applications for relief came from all quarters. Hundreds of unfortunate people had escaped only with the clothes they stood in, and were without food or shelter. The mayor telegraphed to Sydney for authority to render aid to those in actual want, and received permission to do so to the extent of jElOO, a sum wholly inadequate to afford anything be- yond the most temporary assistance to the sufferers. In West Maitland the number of those flooded out of their homes exceeded 1,000. On the 13th May the rain ceased, but again set in, and the rivers were flooded. Wagga wagga was asrain submerged, the Murrumbidgee rising to within 23 inches of its former level, 5,000 acres of crop on the Hunter were destroyed. The Sydney telegram of May 20 states that the floods in the interior were again doing great damage in every direction. As soon as the particulars of the distress existing in Sydney became known in Melbourne, a meeting of subscribers to the funds for the relief of the sufferers by the floods in 1860 was held, and the amount of money in hand, amounting to over JB1,000, forwarded to the Floods Relief Committee in Sydney. While Sydney was thus suffering such serious damage, the weather continued very fine in Victoria, with the exception of Gipps Land, where the rain began to fall in torrents about the 10th of May. By the 14th the rivers had ovejflowed their banks, and the low-lying country in all directions was under water. The coaches were stopped, several bridges swept away, and the town of Stratford was completely surrounded by a sheet of water. The damage done is very great in every part of the district. The Sydney Herald says—" The deaths by drowning as yet known in connection with these floods are as follow:—Mrs. Rvan and four children, and Mrs. Greenwood, at Denman a boy named Monagbue, at Raymond-terrace; Mr. George StandeD, at Dunmore Mary Kelly and child, and four children of Mr. Gould- inp, at Shoalhaven Mr. Lang bridge, jun., at Menah Flat (near Mudgee); Mr. Thomas Fairhurst, at Braid- wood Mr. James Kemp (died of exhaustion, being nearly drowned), at Camden; Ayliffe, at Goulburn Mr. and Mrs. Franklin and two children, at Gundagai. One life is reported lost at Grenfell, two at Wagga Wagga, and one at Cowra, but these reports are not confirmed, though probably correct. These would make a total of twenty-six lives lost.

THE COUNTESS OF DERWENTWATEB. At the Shotley Bridge County Court, on Monday, the judge gave his decision in the cause of the Com- missioners for Executing the Office of Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom against a person named Storey, the purchaser of a heifer sold by auction on Newland's farm, co. Durham, in January last. The animal had been seized, among other stock, at the in- stance of the Countess of Derwentwater," and the action was now brought to recover the value from the purchaser. The Commissioners last week were awarded £ 500 for value of stock and damages against the countess in consfquence of the seizure, by the high sherff's jury at a special court held at Newcastle. The sale at which the defendant bought the heifer was admitted to be an illegal one, but it was contended that the sale by public auction gave the purchaser an absolute right to the goods purchased thereat and that the plaintiffs, having brought an action of replevin against Amelia Radcliffe and recovered substantial damages for this identical trespass and salf, had so de- barred themEelves from recovering in the present ac- tion of trover. These points having been elaborately argued, his Honour said he did not consider the objec- tions sustained, and gave a verdict for the plaintiffs, with costs. The decision is to rule other similar case.

Uttsceilancotts fnttlligflttt, HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL. ATTEMPTING TO MURDER A SWEETHEART.—A young woman of Azay-sur-Cher, Indre-et-Loire, named Pelletier, has just escaped in a most providential man- ner from an attempt at murder. Bourdon, a tailor, who had been paying his addresses to her, irritated at finding an offer of marriage made by him rejected, con- cealed himself in her bedroom with the intention of shooting her. On the young woman entering at night he stepped forward and pointed a pistol at her, but juat as be drew the trigger she put out her hand in- stinctively to save herself, and a handkerchief she was holding was by chance caught between the hammer of the lock and the nipple, and prevented the cap from exploding. Her screams brought some persons of the family to her assistance, and the man was secured and given over to the police. MCTRDRR OF A BSGGAB,—A labouring man named Dezerville has just been tried at Orleans for the murder of a beggar, one More], at Marsainvilliers, Loiret, in May last, to obtain possession of a sum of about two francs in copper money, which the latter bad incautiously exhibited in a small inn at which he had stopped for supper. The accused followed the other out and knocked his brains out with a heavy stone. The evidence was quite conclusive, as the snuff-box of Morel and a quantity of cigar ends which had been given him were found in the possession of Dezerville, who was now sentenced to 15 years' hard labour. OBTAINING MOJEY AND-GOODS UNDER FALSE PRETENCES.—At the Central Criminal Court in Lon- don, Mrs. Emily Macgregor pleaded guilty to several charges of obtaining money by ialse pretences from tradesmen in London and Cheltenham. Her counsel, the Hon. A. Thesiger, addressed the court in mitigation of punishment, and said that up to the date of these proceedings Mrs. Macgregor had led a very exemplary life, and although he was unable to contend that she was legally irresponsible, he submitted that her mind had been so unhinged through pecuniary trials and physical suffering, acting on a delicate organization, as to lessen her responsibility, and to j ustify a lenient sen- tence. Several of her relatives both on the paternal and maternal side had been insane. Mr. Metcalfe, on the part of the prosecution, disclaimed any wish to press for a heavy punishment, but remarked that a list of banks, with their addresses, was found on the prisoner that she drew on a different bank and gave a different name and address in almost every instance and that she must have shown considerable assurance and self-possession to induce tradesmen to cash cheques drawn on plain paper as she had done. Two meaical gentlemen who had seen her in prison had found no in- dication of insanity. Mr. Tnesiger s-iid that two other medical men who had seen the prisoner took a different view of her condition. Sentence was deferred. AN ATMOSPHERIC TELEGRAPH.—iSignor Guat- tari, an Italian, has invented an atmospheric telegraph, which he claims to be better than an electric one. He charges a reservoir with compressed air, and, by the operation of valves worked in the same manner as those in use in the ordinary telegraph system, sends pulsa- tions through a tube, which pulsatiors are made to work upon the receivirg instrument with an effect jorresponding with that of the electric current passed along insulated wires. The method adopted for the working of the Guattari is the Morse or printing- cypher system. The words were recorded in cypher at the receiving end, and were read off by the gentleman from the Post Office, who found the valve at the transmitting end difficult to work, and requiring a manual pressure of something like seven pounds, instead of the mere touch required by the regular Morse instiuments. NOT ABLE TO AGREE.—Ihe Court of Ex- chequer has tried an action in which damages were I claimed for personal injuries, alleged to have been received under these circumstances The plaintiff, Mr. Brown, proprietor of a panorama, was with hia wtte laat April at Mansfield, in Nottinghamshire. I Mrs. Brown happened to be resting on the side of a turnpike road in that neighbourhood, when she was fctutUd by a young lady on a pony suddenly crmintr upen her. She jumped up to (ie!; out of her way, but the flank of the pony caught her and knocked ht-r down. It was said she received a severe blow on the chest, was attacked with epitting of blood shortly afterwards, and on the 10th miscarried. The young lady was Mis3 Annie Walker, aged thirteen, daughter of Sir Edward Walker, who re- sided near Mansfield. She was the defendant in the case, and her defence was a denial that the pony struck Mrs. Brown. As the jury could not agree upon their verdict they were discharged. ACTION AGAINST LADY EARDLET.—In the Court of Queen's Bench,on Tuesday, there was an action to recover JB160 for a suite of walnut drawing-room furniture. The plaintiff was a furniture dealer, and in February last the defendant called at his shop, and se- lected the furniture in question, but on her stating she intended to pay cash on delivery, the plaintiff agreed to take 2140. The furniture was delivered at 13, Lang- ham-street, Portland-place, and the plaintiii's manager called for payment, when Lady Esrdley informed him that as his lordship was in Paris, she could not pay him for a few days. Afterwards she wrote to say that she disapproved of the furniture, and intimated that if it was taken back she would take other goods to the same amount. The furniture was taken back but her ladyship had refused to take other furniture. A ver- dict was entered for the plaintiff for JB15, with a certi- ficate for costs. TWELVB MONTHS' IMPRISONMENT.—A charge of perjury arising out of the Bridgwater election peti- tion was tried on Monday, in the Central Criminal Court, in London. The defendant, William Heale, a brickmaker, was examined before both the Commis- sioners and a House of Commons' Committee, and it was on account of the contradictions in his evidence that he was now prosecuted. Mr. Commissioner Kerr, in summing up, said the defendant was charged with having made false statements on oath before a duly constituted committee of the House of Commons, and it was only in consequence of the disclosures made be- fore the Royal Commissioners last year that the alleged perjury of the defendant was discovered. On all the points of his evidence he had been contradicted. It was a fortunate thing that at last the customary de- clamations against bribery were to end in something better than mere words, and that action was taking place in such matters. The only question for the jury was whether or not they were satielied that the defen- dant. in making statements before the committee of the House of Commons, deliberately swore what he knew to be false. The jury returned a verdict of guilty, with a recommendation of the prisoner to mercy on account of the time that had elapsed since the offence was committed. The defendant was sen- tenced to twelve months' imprisonment. BRITISH AND COLONIAL EMIGRATION FUND.— The Lord Mayor, as President of this Fund, has re- ceived through Mr. Haly, the honorary secretary, a letter from Miss Florence Nightingale, enclosing a fourth donation of £ 5 towards it, in answer to his Lord- ship's recently published appeal for additional aid. Small as the sum is," she writes, and I wish it were 100 times as much, I think it is more like casting one's mite into the Temple to help people to help themselves I in cultivating God's earth, than 99 out of the 100 charities, and I wish that at this time nearly all people's charity flowed your way." I TRADE STRIKES IN Fa.&r, cr,. -Daring the past week the manufacturing town of Mulhouse has been in i a state of great excitement owing to the numerous workmen employed in cloth manufactories having struck work in consequence of their demands for a reduction in the hours of labour, and an increase in the scale of payment, nilt having been complied with. The workpeople, including woman and children, formed processions, and marched though the streets of the town and presented a statement Of their dexn to the local authorities. No breach of the pe^ ."j. curred, but troops were summoned from the houring garrisons, and were quartered at J points. On Saturday the processions were ren at an early hour and were continued throughout > day, which, however, passed off without at>y disorders, but in the evening the masons of tbe announced their determination to cease work J their terms should be aceeded toby their ffl The agitation has spread to the neighbouring tfjww Guebwiller, where the spinning factories have ceaB«y work owing to the withdrawal of all the bands. manufacturers of Mulhouse are represented as to advance wages by 15 per cent, and to .j, working hours from 12 to 11, but the workpeople j} mand an increase of pay to the extent of from 20 » per cent. on present rates. RATEABLE VALUE OF MANCHESTER.—The seers' report of value of the property in Mancbe' rateable to the poor give the following totals :-M¡:. Chester, £ 1 312 951 14s. Chorlton, £ 229,409 J* Hulme, £ 226,239; Ardwick, £ 92.827; Cheetb^* £ 104,098; Beswick, £ 5,184—gross value, £ 1,970,869 as against £ 1,920,629 153. last year, beiug an in_cre..f of £ 50,239 12a. The township rate for Munch'6 i upon the above totals is to be 6d. in the pound, the highway rate 5d. THE SHANNON" ASD THIS "CHESAPEAKS- < As the son of tbe late Commander George (writes this gentleman to The 'limes), I beg y°u correct a statement ia your imprets'on of the 8&h 1° j healed The Shannon and the Chesapeake," "J. S. stating thit Commander Raymond is living. He served as midshipman in t iie ShmnOfl the action, but died at Abingdon on tbe 13th of Octo>; 1866, in the seventy-second year of his age. 1 y statement relative to Sir Morton Peto's > correct. I have the honour to be, Sir, your ca obedient servant, GEORGE RAYMOND, Staff mar,der, R.N. Dartmouth, July 9. PRUSSIA AND THE SPANISH CdOWN. — The North German Correspondent of Saturday says > The real attitude of the Prussian Government in the sff* of Spain maybe succinctly stated as follows: hitherto avoided all interference In the question of • # Spanish succession, and is resolved to adhere to the ea policy in the future. The Spaniards ought themselves to the judges of what is best for their country—whether • J public or a monarchy, this prince or that other, a Sp»n**(j or a foreigner. The Prussian Government, while it respf^ the independence of Spain, is not conscious of having recti* any special mission to solvefthe complicated constituti"" question on which i hj attention of Europe is fxed, but jJI lieves it will be most safe and politic to leave this problem re' the hands of the Spanish ptople and their accredited reV sentatives." REPORT ON RAILWAY COMPANIES.—The of the Select Committee on Railway Companies P been iisfued. The Committee recommend trains with liability for compensation in case of dent limited to £ 100 for each individual. For ordin^ pi8ser>g«-rs they would limit the compensation i £ 1.000, £ 5C0, and £ 300 for the first, second, and tb>»Jj class pastengers respectively, a power being reser^ to the public to insure at a low rate for further SOP" amounting to £ 3,OCO, £ 2,000, or £ 900, according class. They also recommend the establishment ot couit to try claims for compensation without a jury. e SINGULAR ACTION FOR COMPJ!NSA'tION.- 'f:. cause of Chaplin v. de Castro" has been tri<d in don, and was an action brought by an administrator recover compensation in damages, under Lord CatOr bell's Act, for the death of his father through the negligence of the defendant. The deceased was a c('P' tractor, and the defendant was an attorney at lake. In September, 1868, the deceased was with the defendant. After dinner the conversatl0 ø turned upon pistols, and two were produced. 0^ was a revolver, and as tbe defendant was handling it went off, and the bullet struck the deceased in tj* neck, from the effects of which he died the same nigjj} i The defendant was unaware at tbe time that the pfc% was loaded. The action was brought for the benetl of the widow and children. The Jury returned verdict for t be plaintiff-Damages £3,000.. LOCUSTS IN FHANCE.—" Our climate," says Salut Public of Lyons, having become like that Sahara, threatens us with the same scourges as th# which sometimes desolate the African colony. At present locusts are making their appearance amofl? us. The squares and the quays of this city are covtie by a quantity of these insects of about average b ^-> and with either red or blue wings. The wheat aboO here is already harvested, but the other crops in th ground may be further damaged by the visitation" those seen in the city presage a regular invasion. How TO MAKE MONET.—The New Orløf/t Picayune thus instructs people generally Let the business of everybody else alone, and attend yonr own. Don't buy what you don't want. Use every ho" to advantage, and study to make even leisure hours u-tf'1' Think twice before you throw away a dollar; remember YO have another to make for it. Find recreation in lookiog after your business, and so your business will not D. neglected in looking after recreation. Buy low, sell fair, ftI1i take care of the profits. Look over your books regularly, ao if you find an error of only a cent, trace it out. Should stroke of misfortune come upon you In trade, retrench work harder, but never flinch. Confront difficulties with UP tiring perseverance, and they will ultimately Though you should even fall ill the struggle, you will be pected but shrink from the task, and you will be despise; By following these rules however, you need never say fa". Pay debts promptly, and sw exact your dues. Keep your wor" most conscientiously, and you have nothing to fear." A MURDER IN PARIS.—On W^nesday in last week a horrible crime was perpetrated in a house It the Rue de Rambuteau. Upon the third story 0 that house lived Madame Carrd, a widow, aged 21, who was in easy circumstances. A young man on the afternoon in question presented himself at the bouse, and having ascertained from the porter that Aladaffl0 Carrd was at home, ascended to her apartment. Very shortly afterwards load cries and the noise of a violent struggle alarmed some of the neighbours, who vainly endeavoured to obtain admittance until the door w*? tuddenly opened, and the young man rushed out and sought to pass down stairs. He was seized, arid aftef much resistance, was secured. The neighbours entered the room, and found the body of Carré lying on the floor quite dead, with a dark Luaric round her neck, proving that she had been strangled; The murderer, a tavern waiter, was searched, three watches, articles of jewelry, and money were found upon bim which had been stolen from the deceased. He admitted the crime, but: sought to jag. tify it by stating that he had been urged to its co if* mission by another man, whose address, however, bø could not find. THE WOMEN OF AMERICA.—Miss Hatfield, of Northampton, Massachusetts, haa done more foe higher education of her eex thsn all the ladies and gentlemen of England together have been able to t>C' complish, in the vale of Hitchir. She has left 300,000 dollars to found a first-rate college for women. Other American women are busy, not merely in "opening' doors" for further employment, but in pressing through them. In Boston a new firm of conveyancerlf has been established under the title of E G. Steven8 and Daughter, Miss Mary Stevens being her father's partner in tbe business. A still more curious and novel sign of the times, however, must have been seen in the Connecticut House of Representatives laSt month, when the Rev. Mrs. Phcene Hanaford. the pastor «f the Universalist congregation in NeW Haven," officiated as chaplain. Mrs. Hanaford i9 said to be an admirable preacher, as effective as tbe Quaker lady ministers of the last generation, th< ugb of much more enlarged views. Oa the present occa- sion she prayed that "the time might come when the daughters of the State, not neglecting the duties of home, may take part in the Scate and the Church to the good of the Commonwealth and the glory of Thy name." SOWING IN A DRY SEASON.— (From the Gar- dener's Magazine). -To sow seed of lettuce and endive,orr indeed, any other crop of like character, in the ordinary way in a season like the present is simply a waste of time and seed, for it is impossible to transplant the young plants with any degree of success In the first place, a drill about six inches in depth should be made with an ordinary draw-hoe, aiid then flooded with water. After this water has soaked into the snround- ing soil, sow the seed along the trench and cover it rather deeper than in an ordinary season, and put a layer of peahaulm or long litter over the drill to pre- vent the soil drying up quickly. The seed will soon germinate, and the covering must be removed to pre- vent the young stock being drawn up weaklv. The plants mu&t also be thinned out before they suff -r from overcrowding. Select a showery day for this work, or moisten the gruund artificially a few hours previously, to render the check to those remaining as slight an pos- sible. By adopting this simple method of procedure there will not be any difficulty in securing a fair crop, which by the ordinary method would be impostibio. Of course, the trenches must not be filled iu to their full depth, but a sunken space allowed to enable the plants to be watered expeditiously after they are up. A SINGULAlt. iKSCRimoy.—A corresjjwident writing from Fredericksburg, Virginia, U.S., Bonds tbe following inscription from a tombstone which existed in the churchyard of St. George's parish in that town up to the occupation of that town by the Federal troops, but has now disappeared. "Here lies the body of Edward Helder, practitioner in physic and chirurgery. Born in Bedfordshire, England, in the year of our Lord 1542, was contemporary with, and one of the pall-bearers of William Shakspeare. After a brief illness, his spirit ascended in the year of our Lord 1618, aged seventy-six." THE SCIENCE OF ADTERTISISG !-The art of advertising is ever advancing. Behold another Example to illustrate the undoubted fact. It comes from America, ever ingenious in the discovery of new methods of publicity. A newspaper in Georgia pub- lishes an advertisement to the following eifect:— "The last words uttered by great men are often emgnlarly characteristic. Their tone of solemn prophecy does not fail to produce in U* the most profouud impressions. "The van- guard of the army,' murmured the great Napoleon, when his mighty soul took its departure from its tenement of clay. More light,' sighed GfMthe Crown me with flowers,' satd Mirabeau. 'Give a chair to M Dayrolies,' said Lord Chester- field, in his supreme agony. Charge, Chester, charge on Stanley, on were the last words of Marmion. • Bury mo,' said Jack Bowers, in a suit made by Messrs. So-and-So; the cut and excellence of the materials are warranted, and I wish to be buried as I have lived, dressed like a gentleman.' SPOTTED TAIL.The New Yorlc Times re- ports the death of the favourite squaw of Spotted Tail," the great Sioux chief, the day before his return from his visit to Washington. All the presents the chief brought back from the East were at once buried with the wife. Spotted Tail" is very angry, attri- buting the death to white sorcery during his absence from his wife. STOPPING A TRAIN I-Rather an amusing story is told of a stranger, who, the other day, on returning to the station found he was just in time to be too late. He hurried to the gate at full speed, but it was only to hear the signal given, and to see the train pass quietly off. With as much authority as he was capable of commanding, he shouted to the guard at the top of his voice, Stop Lord Lifford's coming." It acted like magic. The obsequious guard instsmtly signalled, speed was blackened, the train stopped, moved back, and took its place at the platform, to wait his lord- ship's arrival. Meanwhile, the very anxious herald secured his ticket, and with great composure took his seat in a third-class carriage. Then, putting his head out of the window, he informed the obi ging guard that his lordship had entered, and that he might move on.