The Aberdare Times

SOMETHING LIKE A HAIL-STORM. When they do have a hail-storm in Lucknow it ^otild appear that it is a storm ef no ordinary descrip- tion, according to evidence quoted in the Times of India (remarks the Standard), In this country a bail-stone the size of a marble Is regarded as large; bnt then we have a good many storms in the coarse of *he winter, which may now be said to last from September until the beginning of June; and in J-mcknow, where it does not hail so frequently, they have in one fall a sufficient quantity of hail to Jhake np several storms of very considerable power. One evening, a few days before the dispatch of fae last mails from India, for about a quarter of an "our^the Times of India & ays, there was a downpour of hul-stones varying in size from a pigeon's egg to Jumps of a pound, and even more, in weight. The largest stones are reported to have fallen in the open country, between Lucknow and Rai Bareilly, but that Lucknow itself bad a fair share is shown by the fact thatnumerons lumps of eight and ten ounces were picked ?P* An officer of Royal Artillery bad a sample weigh- 'hg a full pound, whilst at this various officers' messes some- extraordinary specimens were handed round, There was," the journal observes, a curious variety 111 the nature and formation of much of the hail, as in quantity we collected, weighing in the mass close ?POQ 251b., some of the largest lumps were opaqne, leading to the idea that they must have been rapidly xroBaa in the upper regions; whilst others again were translucent and of considerable size." The rain of ice øhot did much injury; and altogether it was a very *»«kable storm. Certainly it is better to put np jroh the inconvenience of frequent hail storms than to v T'™ted by s«ch a tremendous one as this seems to nave been.

I WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE. In London, en Saturday night, a public meeting In favour 1 of women's suffrage was held in St, George's Hall, Langham- p! a :», Mr Russell ffurney, M. P., the Recorder of London, pre- • • u. The ball was quite full, and among those ott the plattcrm were Miss Becker, Mias Sturge, Miss Frances Power i Cobbe, and Miss Tod. ¡ The Chairman said he was glad to see so large a meeting, especially after a temporary discouragement in the House of Commons. One, however, could not help observing tb&t the arguments used by their op- ponents were not against the matter contained in the Bill which had been rejected, but against other matters, which were altogether outside it. For his own part, his object was a very simple one, aüd it was confined entirely to the provisions ofHhe Bill which had been introduced this Session. That Bill corrected the in- justice which he thought existed. By the law of tnis country their franchise was one which depended upon toe ownership of landed property, and upon rate-pay- ing for house or land. These were the main qualifica- tions, and he could not see why a person occupying: No. 13 in a street, paying rates for that honse, should have a vote, when a person occupying No. 14, and bearing the same burdens, should not be allowed to vote, merely because there was a difference of sex in the two occupants. (Cheers) He denied that if women had votes they would therefore be entitled to the right of sitting in Parliament. Clergymen had votes, but for more than a century they had been pre- vented from sitting in Parliament. They were told that the persons who now complained of being ex- cluded were their wives, sisters, and daughters. No doubt, but men did not always take the same view of questions as women, and he could not see why the latter should not have their views repre- sented. They were also told that there were men who suffered hardships. Younger sons, for instance, suffered hardships, lor the eldest sons carried off all the property, and the youngest were left without any but they did not exclude younger sons from the franchise, and they, at any rate, have the opportunity of electing members of Parliament to assist in remov- ing evils which affected them. The younger sons have thus the means of making their grievances known to those who have the means of remedying them. (Cheers.) Miss decker rose to propose the first resolution as follows :— "That this meeting hereby records Its approval of the assimilation of the conditions of the Parliamentary to those of the Municipal franchise, in so far as regards the disabili- ties of sex, and pledges itself to support the principle by every constitutional means." Before speaking to it, however, she wished to read the following letter :— "SO, Sloane-street, May 13. "Madam,—I regret that I cannot comply with your re- quest in attending the meeting at St. George's Ball Yeu must not on that account, however, infer that I am un- friendly to its object. I have voted in Its favour upon more than one occasion, and doubtless I shall do so again. It may be, as some think, thllt no great advantage at this time would accrue to the country by extending the electoral suffrage, but I cannot lee any principle or consistency in withholding it, especially from those whose cause you are pleading. The Legislature has conferred the right on women of voting for their municipal representatives, of voting for (and, indeed, acting as) Poor Law Guardians, and the same with regard to School Boards, and tbey have always been entitled to fill certain parochial offices, and it is never alleged that in the discharge of these duties they have acted less worthily than men. In most respects, their rightA as owners of property are concurrent with those of men. They can Inherit peerages, and, as we know to our satisfaction, they can occupy the Throne. I cannot, therefore, see on what ground it is that they can reasonably be said to be dis- qualified from determining upon the claims of candidates who seek to represent their interests in Parliament, especially under the peaceful condition in which they would now record their votes. "As far as I am acquainted with the objections usually alleged, I am bound to say that they only appear to be those which have always been offered whenever any fresh extension of liberty to the subject has been proposed, and which in former years I have myself heard urged against personal freedom in the Colonies, religious liberty in this country, the enfranchisement of the working classes, and against the abolition of every monopoly (political or commercial) when- ever it has been astaile(L We have seen, however, with what little success resistance upon these great matters has of late years been attended, and with what satisfaction the results of past changes are now regarded by the country. Yon, then, have little reason to feel discouragement at the present position of your cause. You have only to persevere, making it clear to the public that your claim is just and possible to be enforced—and that political rights are now withheld where there is intelligence and capacity to use them wisely, and where the possession of them would afford protection and benefit to those who demand them. With great respect, dear Madam, I remain your obedient servant, C. P. VrtLlKEa. "To Miss Lydia Becker." She said no one would suppose for a moment that an adverse vote of the House of Commons would convince any woman who made this claim as a matter of jus- tice that the claim was unjust. Not all the eloquence of all the most eloquent men who ever lived could persuade an intelligent, patriotic woman, who cared for the welfare of her country and the interests of those among whom she lived, that she had no right to vote it she possessed the legal qualification, and paid her rates, any more than it could persuade the same woman that she had no right to be educated if she eould pay the college fees, or to sit down to dinner if she cuuld pay the bill. (Hear, hear.) She demanded no more than was contained in the Bill introduced by Mr. Forsytb, and she thought they were entitled to that. Mr. Cowen, M.P., supported the resolution, re- marking that, although they might not be successful for some years, their cause would in the end triumph. Whatever else women voted for, they would be sure to favour peace, economy, and temperance. (Hear, hear.) Miss Cobbe said indirectly the giving of the vote to women would make even brutal men have semewhat more respect for them, and they would have no more the cry of a recent murderer, Do you think they would hang a man for killing an old woman ? The two most splendid privileges which Mr. Bright cited seemed to be that maid-servants were not taxed like footmen and grooms; and, secondly, that, in trials for breach of promise of marriage, women obtained ini- quitously favourable verdicts. This last privilege was, she confessed, real. Masculine judges and juries were cold enough when a woman lost her property, her limbs, or even her life. But when she lost "a man" their sympathy and sense of indignation at her wrong was to the last degree affecting and instructive. (Laughter.) She believed the granting of the suffrage to women was no less expedient for men than just for women, and that it would redound to the happiness, virtue, and honour of the country. After a few words from Mr. Hinde Palmer in sup- port of the resolution, an amendment was proposed declaring that it was expedient and wise to allow the law to remain as it is; but it was lost, and the original resolution carried by a large majority. Miss Sturge moved the second resolution, as fol- lows :—" That this meeting hereby expresses its earnest thanks to Mr. Forsyth, Mr. Jacob Bright, Dr. Ward, Mr. Fawcett, Sir Robert Anstruther, and Sir Charles Legard for introducing and supporting the Women's Disabilities Removal Bill; also to the 161 Members of the House of Commons who voted or paired in its favour in the divisions, on the second reading of the measure on the 26th of April, 1876, and respectfully requests Mr. Forsyth and his coadjutors to take steps for the re-introduction of the Bill at an early period next Session." Mr. O'Sbaughnessy, M.P., seconded the motion, which was supported by MisB Tod, and carried. The Chairman was thanked for presiding, and the meeting broke up.

AN ANCIENT INSTINCT FOILED. The humour of Yankee inventions would make the subject of a very amusing book. One of the latest ideas is that of an Ohio farmer, who has hit upon a plan for curing the butting propensities of rams. At certain seasons of the year these pugnacious animals often charge each other with such desperate violence that they seriously injure and sometimes kill each other. This Ohio farmer observed, however, that be- fore charging a ram invariably backs up to get a good start, and it occurred to him that if by any means he could put a stop to this preliminary, perhaps the fighting could not be carried on. To do this, he says, take a light stick—a piece of broom handle will do— about 2ft. or 2ft. 6in. in length. Sharpen one end, and lash the other end securely to his tail This will draw harmlessly along the ground so long as his majesty goes straight about his business, but on attempting to back up, he is astonished to find an effectual brake in his rear. Don't laugh and call this all gammon,' he adds, but if you have a butting ram, try it, and the time to laugh will be when you see him jump out sideways and whirl round and mund trying to upset the machine, which will keep behind him." It is a somewhat odd circumstance that the ram, after having suggested the battering ram to ancient war- riors and the ram to naval warfare, and after having had his name incorporated in the English language as the most expressive of all words for signifying the action of driving with the head, should after all live to have this ancient characteristic propensity thus ridicu- lously foiled and baffled by the cunning of a Yankee farmer. Function, Darwin tells us, determines struc- ture, and if farmers generally should adopt this con- trivance for curing the pugnacity of the fathers of the docks, the thick skull and strong neck of the ram may in a few generations entirely lose their peculiarity. Such trickery must necessarily very much complicate the great subject of evolution, and Dr. Darwin ought to lose no time in protesting against it.-Globe.

ARTIFICIAL MOTHERS. The announcement of the invention of an artificial mother may occasion a shock of alarm to many persons to whom the possibility of an indefinite multiplication of mothers-in law will at once occur (says the Globe). There is really no occasion for any serious appre- hensions, however. The novelty referred to merely aims at providing a maternal substitute for a brood of chickens prematurely thrown upon their own re- sources, and as many amateurs are just at this time of year interested in the subject, it may be worth while to reproduce the statement of a correspondent of the Country Gentleman's Magazine. He says that he had a Cochin China hen which died, leaving eight or nine golden Polish chickens to shift for themselves. At the time they were confined in coop two or three feet square, and by way of experiment he put inside this a bed of warm, dry sand, inverting over it a box about nine inches square with a hole cut in the side large enough to admit the orphans one by of one. Into this little snuggery they were in the first instance allured by a few grains of canary seed, but they soon toddled in regularly every evening and tucked them- selves close up together, their bodies buried in the sand and nothing of them visible but eight or nine fluffy little beads. With this simple accom- modation these unfeeling birds appeared perfectly con- tent, betraying not the slightest sympathy of distress at their bereavement, and when by and by they grew toe big to be able to get into bed all together they are said to have taken it in turns, some turning into bed and the others making themselves as comfortable as they could on the top of the bedstead. Artificial hatching has long been practised, and the inventor of this substitute for maternal care has only to hit upop a method of artificial laying, and poultry ought to be ex- ceedingly cheap.

The street cars in Constantinople are never over- crowded. As soon as they get too heavy the fellows who draw them stop, sitdewn, cross their legs, and take a smoke.

FLOATING HOTELS. Speaking of the floating hotels erected on the Delaware river, Philadelphia, the D»Uy Telegraph lay. :— At this moment a considerable part of that hive of human beings which swarms in China has to dwell in aquatic habitations because there is not space on land, and high ground rents do not suit empty pockets. In the veracious memoirs of "Jacob Faithful'' it is reo lated how many bargees live on the Thames, and inland waters have always had human inhabitants floating, under some sort ef roof. Accordingly, why not the Delaware as well as the estuary of the Thames or Can. ton harbour! The difficulties will soon be removed by so practical a people as the Americans, being chiefly such as must arise from the necessity of communi- cating with the shore. It would be unpleasant even to imagine the contingency of a rival hotelkeeper in- spiring some land or water rat to cut the connecting cable or sever the mooring chains during the night. thus giving the inmates of the improvised ark the luxury of a new sensation, at finding themselves at dawn bound outwards for the Atlantic without engines, rudder, a sailors^ or sail. America is so big, and the new Exhibition u to emphatically the Biggest L thing of Its kind, that a hulk less, or a hundred visitors less, would not be rnmaed, and Dr. Johnson's definition of a ship would receive a new illustration. But the people that have utilised Pullman cam, and started moving drawing-rooms on our railways are not likely to be baffled by such trifles as the facts that vessels move as well as float, if they are not looked after and we should not be surprised to find the marine hotel become a most successful novelty. In fact, facility of locomotion will probably be converted into a boon, for when the summer heat becomes stifling in the City of Brotherly Love, the floating hotel has only to lift anchor from before the panting town, and drop down the Delaware in the sultry afternoon, to give the inmates a breath of fresh air, returning at the hour when the early milkman goes his first round, and the breakfast cakes have to be shipped from shore.

JOTTINGS ABOUT DOGS. The following are extracts from an article In the Globe about Dogs :"— Long intercourse with man and a study of his wishes have made the dog the most intellectual of animals. Of all carnivorous quadrupeds, say the naturalists, the dog has the greatest variety ef modu- lations of voice, and these modulations indicate ideas. They have barks for encouragement, menace, jealousy, fretfulnejs, fear, joy, and ferocity. Though endowed ap a race with a horror of harmony, there have been sxceptions even to this; for during the Revolution there used to be a dog called Parade, who marched with the military band every day in the Tuileries and at night went to the restaurants near the Opera and the Theatre Feydeau, and dined with any kind- hearted musician who would place him a plate. To speak they have not yet been properly taught. Leibnitz mentions a dog who could repeat intelli- gibly the words—"Coffee, tea, and chocolate." Dogs must dream, and have imaginations, or they would not bark, and groan, and start in their Bleep. There are other animals beside the dog who love their masters during life, but the dog has been known to show affection long after death. In 1660 a dog fol- lowed his master's bier to the grave, and remained there till he died. In the last century a similar in- stance of love and fidelity was seen at Lisle, and the paople in admiration built a hut for the dog and brought him daily food. The fidus achates resided on the spot for some years and then died. Dogs have been found, as will be remembered, by the bodies of slain soldiers. Dogs have been known to detect fires that had broken out in houses, and it was thought almost super- natural at the earthquake at Galcahuasco in 1835 that all the dogs left the town before the last great shock ruined all the houses. Dogs have been known to combine for purposes of revenge, which shows a power of reflection and organisation, and is a relic of their gregariousness in the wild state. Tilesius declares that his own dog, having been worried by a stronger animal, ate only half his food for several days and stored up the rest. After some days he brought back several dogs of the neighbourhood and demurely feasted them from his hoard. When they went out, Tilesius followed tbem through several streets to the økirta of the town, and there saw the leader fall on a large dog, whom the other guests also assailed and very severely punished. A similar story is told of a Devonport dog being mal- treated when on a visit to London on his return to the country he returned to town with a friend of his, a large house dog, and killed the offender. Of the sagacity of the Scotch sheep dog, Professor Wilson tells some wonderful stories. He Bays that he has seen a sheep dog at the fire side, apparently asleep, leap up and dash through the open window when his master, in pure fun, has whispered to a friend that the sheep had got into such a field. Collies, too, have been known to hide themselves when they have heard servants talk of chaining them up. That dogs easily leam tricks, dance, and balance, everyone knows, but there is a well-authenticated story of a dog, which, the first day he was taken to coffee house, dropped a half-crown in the hand of his owner directly he got into the street. He had been a thief's dog, and trained to steal all money left about. The sheep dog has been known to knock down and drag in a puddle curs assailing his charge. There was an English mastiff on the French coast in the reign of Charles IX. which pulled down in three successive combats a bear, a leopard, and a lion. A bulldog has been known to pin a bison and hold him till the bison trod him to death. Sir Thomas Diek Lauder tells a good story of a sagacious St. r Bernard dog which he had. This dog always fol- lowed the postman in daily rounds, and one day when a substitute came the dog eyed him severely, and tried to snatch the post bag. The man resisting, the dog at last stood on his hind legs, laid his fore legs on the man's shoulders, pushed him down, and carried off the bag on the long round with the utmost calmness and dignity

THE "PROS" AND "CONS" OF A SEA VOYAGE. The ingredients of a prescription are assumed to be and certainly always should be, well known to the pSB- scgiber. We take it, however, that a large proportion ofthose practitioners who prescribe a sea voyage for this or that patient are not at all familiar with the vast variety of material that goes to make up the mixture. It matters not whether the invalid be ordered to America, Australia, Egypt, the Cape, or Madeira, whether he travel by steam or sailing ship, whether or not he be affected with sea sick- ness, there are, common to all sorts of water travel, little peculiarities, regarded by most as huge discomforts that the uninitiated dream not of. The favourable side of the subject is familiar to alL Quiet, rest, regular hours, pure air, salt-water baths, a genial climate, with abundant food, are a summary of advantages offered to the sick man who seeks to recruit health by a sea voyage. The recom- mendations are to a certain extent genuine. but must be taken with several grains of salt. On all good pas- senger ships the fare provided is always ample ia quantity, and as a rule satisfactory in quality. Breakfast at half-past eight, luncheon at one, and dinner at six form the rtle of meals, supplemented by coffee in the early morning and evening. In spite, however, of the abundance ef fresh meat and bread, invalids and convalescents, if the passage extends over ten days or a fortnight, invariably complain of a monotony, and a so-called "ship" flavour in the food served to them. Condensed water is commonly used in steam ships, and is unpalatable to many people, as there is usually little oppor- tunity for its proper aeration before drinking. And, lastly, there is the natural antipathy to the constant company of strangers. Unless your patient is blessed with a tolerably good income, he cannot afford to pay for three or four berths in order to secure a cabin for himself, and so must always run the risk of being quartered with two or three o .her travellers whoee personal habits may be peculiar and not always plea- sant. A restless man above or a neisy man below you, a person who is in and out of the cabin at all times of the night, and insists upon lighting his pipe just out- side your door, are decided but unavoidable nuisances afioat. La.nut.

WHAT MAY HAPPEN! There is an American story of respectable antiquity which tells how a fast train outran the sound of its own signals and came to utter grief, the sound of the warning whistle arriving after the collision (says the Standard). The driver was killed, and the story ended with the words, Poor fellow he was dead when his curses reached him." As curious, and much more certainly true, is the fact that when a man is struck by lightning he does not see the flash. W", do not know whether it has been observed that something similar will happen to the first man killed by the 81-ton gun within a mile of the muzzle, who will not hear the shot fired. The velocity of sound is 1,132 feet per second. The muzzle velocity of the bolt of the 81-ton gun is about 1,500 feet per second. This, of course, rapidly diminishes, but the average for some distance would be greater than that of the sound. In fact, as the shot carries its whistle along with it, one would hear the whistle of the shot before hearing the explosion of the gun. Some curious observations might be made with regard to this latter point as to the acoustic effect of sound emitted by a body travelling- faster than the sound. The only other example we have is the lightning flash, producing the irregular roll of the thunder.

THE PRINCE OF WALES'S WILD ANIMALS. On Friday (in last week) a portion of the large number of birds and animals brought from India in the S'.rapis and Oebome by his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, ;od which are to be sent to the London Zoological Gardens and to Sandringbam, were landed at Portsmouth, and placed in charge of a keeper sent specially to convey them to town.— The Special Correspondent of the Daily News, in a letter to that journal, gives a most graphic and entertaining descrip- tion of the animals and their habits, from which we extract the following :— The collection comprises representatives of nearly every tribe of Indian wild beast, and there are in it animals of species which are elsewhere unrepre- sented in Europe. Of its magnitude some idea may be formed when it is stated that there are nearly 500 animals—beasts and birds—on board the Serapis only. In tigers and leopards the menagerie is specially strong. Under the break of the Raleigh's poop, where several special correspondents were quartered during that vessel's voyage from Bombay to Ceylon, two large tigresses, splendidly marked, now tramp restlessly to and fro in roomy cages faced with strong iron bars, Sailors make themselves wonderfully at home with most animals, however queer-tempered, but they have not been able to get on good terms with these beautiful furies, whose ferocity is such that they growl confi- dentially to themselves as they pace impatiently their dens. Very different are the manners and dispo- sitions of the young tiger and tigress, named re- spectively |uTom" and "Minnie," which inhabit cages on the forecastle of the Serapis. They are not full grown, being scarcely a year old, but they are very large for their age, in splendid condition, and striped with rare beauty and regularity. They were bom and bred in confinement, which accounts for their docility and on their way to the Serapis they were led along the streets by a couple of natives as we see ladies leading poodle dogs in a string. To qnote one of sailors, they walked up the companion "just like Christians." Every morning since their arrival they have been brought out of their cages for a pro- menade on deck, and the beautiful dangerous creatures are made quite pets of by the seamen of the Serapis. At first their deportmentrtvas not quite perfect, as they developed a strong propensity for springing at dogs and deer, and on more than one occasion displayed hos- tility against the black bear; but these objectionable peculiarities the sailors eradicated by summary I clouts on the side of the head," and they now con- duct themselves with the utmost deeorum, except that Minnie cannot be broken of her unaccountable taste for furious onslaughts on ship's buckets. We all of us have our faults, and who of us can aver that his beset- ting sin is more venial than this curious failing which spoil. the symmetry of Minnie's perfection as a tamed tigress? Of a less docile temperament is the beautiful but fierce tiger cub whose dam the Prince shot in Nepaul, and whose cage is now on the port side of the wheel- house of the Serapis. Its life appears to be mostly spent in a succession of furious springs and hoarse short roars, and when not thus venomously dashing at everybody and everything that comes near it, it lies writhing in a sullen fury of snarls and growling, hissing, and showing its teeth. It made a desperate resistance I against the two Nepaulese who, after the killing of its mother, were sent into the den to secure it, and it was not captured until, immature as are its claws and teeth, it I had inflicted some severe bites and scratches. It is re- ported to be unaffected by either kind treatment or stronger measures, and had to be put into a smaller and stronger cage to keep it from mischief, so that it most richly deserves its name of "Vixen." The collection is strong ia leopards. Near to Vixen's cage on the quarter-deck of the Serapis is one containing P'hool-Jharri," one of the cheetahs, or hunting leopards, which afforded sport to I the Prince and his companions on the plain just outside of Baroda—a creature of supple, sinister grace, long, I lithe, and serpentine, with immense muscular power in its shoulders. Its fiat head and lurid eyes remind one somehow of the aspect of a cohra oopella. The cheetah I when on the hunting cart, and witn his keeper by his I side, is not vicious, and it is no exploit to stroke bis beautifully spotted back; but on such an occasion he is houded, and is also on his best behaviour. In the cheetah of the Serapis, no longer hooded, constantly connaed in a cage, and perhaps occasionally teased, the natural ferocity of the species has reasserted itself, and P'bool Jharri is as dangerous and treacherous a beauty as one is likely to meet even in this wicked world. Close to it is "Pompey." a beauti- fully spotted little leopard from the Calcatta gardens, and born in confinement, perfectly tame and playful as a kitten. He is full of antics which the sailors have taught him, and will jump over your arm like a dancing-dog, and then put up his beautiful head to be scratched. The Serapig also carries the "baby leopard," by name" Jack "—full of play as Pompey,"butgiven to a suspicious and not altogether confidence-inspiring scream, something between the mew of a cat and an incipient roar, accompanied by a display of claws and a very neat assortment of teeth, and he has a feline way of wriggling himself among the straw of his bed. Master Jack is a pretty pet enough just now, when young and comparatively inno- (lent; but a year hence it may not be quite so pleasant to be within easy reach of his claws. On the Serapis there are four young leopards, one of which is the sweetest-tempered thing in the world," and is not caged at all. Of the two presented to the Prince by Sir Jung Bahadoor, Lizzie" is bashful, but harmless her brother, Sailor," is re- ported significantly as uncertain," and this feature of his character is graphically illustrated by the face, hands, and arms of the young sailor who looks after him, which are all over scratches. He has a festive habit of converting irouser legs into ribbons, and has naughtily deprived sister Lizzie" of a large portion of one of her ears. Their immediate neigh- bour is a young sloth or black bear, with a most curious rough of strong black hair round his neck—indeed, he resembles a ball of black fur more than anything eltfe. The Prince shot the dam; and two young ones, of which this is the survivor, were captured when trying to suckle their dead mother. "Mr. Brown" loves the seclusion of his cage in a gloomy corner, but is ani- mated, not to say vindictive, when extracted there- from, and does not object to a rough and tumble on the deck with hia neighbours, the young leopards. It is very funny to see all the five rolling about together in a clump. Jamboo," another of the Raleigh's pas- sengers, in a very large and beautiful full grown leopard, presented to the Prince by the sergeants of the 109th Regiment. "Jamboo," which is fat and sleek, yet lithe and supple, is a capricious annioaal, and has his liking and dislikings." He is not fond of officers or strangers, and has an unpleasant way of darting out a claw-tipped paw to a surprising distance and without the slightest notice, but he genially lolls on his back to be stroked and scratched by the man who has the charge of him. In relentless, active, never- abating ferocity not even the tiger cub I have already described can equal a wild cat brought home in the Serapis—so. iron-grey creature studded with dingy black spots. This feline demon for the most part lies on his back, with his fore and hind claws close together ready for mischief. He absolutely writhes with devilry when any one approaches, and spits and hisses with indomitable hostility, showing a mouth full of cruel white teeth. It is "no surrender" with the wild cat, and it is clear its greatest joy would be to be at your throat with teeth and claws. On one occasion he worked himself into such a fury that it was feared he was going rabid, and his cage was carried into a dark place where he might cool down in seclusion. The Prince has brought home four elephants, two on the Serapis and two on the Osborne all four young ones, or as they are called in India, butchas. The Serapis pair, which are presents from Sir Jung Baha- door, are the larger, and Salar Kulley 1B rather more more *>"»■" half-grown. His smaller companion, Jung Pershad, is the livelier and more intelligent, and the men of the Serapis have made him quite an accom- pliahed young elephant in the course of the voyage home. He has mastered an indescribably comic waltz step, and can make his bow with the aplomb of a pro- fessor of deportment. But the Serapis: elephants can- not compare in versatility of capabilities to the two comical black little prodigies of talent on board the Osborne. It is claimed for these that they can do everything but speak," and if they are TanjoreiuteAas it is clear that they mastered the comprehension of the English language. During the voyage home they saved ten men's labour in hauling up and lifting the ash-buckets from the furnaces. They kept watch and wateh, and worked in canvas harness. At the words hoist away, the one on duty would begin to pull, emitting a queer squeak of remonstrance as he felt the weight, and stopping dead at the words "high enough." The Osborne came into Portsmouth harbour with Omar serenely perched on one paddle-box and Bottom" on the other. It would be interesting to know what their first impressions were regard- ing the aspect of this island ef ours. The horses were taken on shore yesterday, and with them was the Yarkund pony or ghoont, 30 inches high or thereabouts, which used to run loose about the deck of the Serapis; but two beasts of burden atill remain on board that ship—the dainty and graceful "gainies," or miniature bullocks, which, with the tiny crimson-covered "ecka" with silver wheels, of which they were the team, were among the presents to the Prince at Bankipore. The gainies rejoice in the names respectively of Serapis and Taurus. On the Serapis there are eight Indian dogs. Four of these are tailless dogs—jackal looking animals with sharp noses, cockears, and not enough tail to swear by, much less to wag; and four are "hill" degs, varying somewhat in breed. One pair are not unlike rough and rather underbred collies, with the black and tan well developed on the face, but they are more muscular, especially in the limbs, and in some points they resemble the otterhound. The other pair, which are a present from Sir A. Ramsay, are much larger and heavier dogs, bearing a resem- blance in some points to the mastiff, in others to the St. Bernard. One is an especially noble-looking dog, although his appearance has been temporarily spoiled by his being clipped French poodle fashion. He has a heavy coat of tawny orange hair darkening on muzzle snd limbs; his head is as full of majesty and intelligence as that of any St. Bernard I ever saw he is large-framed, tall, and powerful, and his whole as- pect is full of dignity and sagacity. One of the cages on the Raleigh is occupied by a Himalayan bouza or wild dog, an animal strongly resembling an English fox, but larger and heavier. The wild dogs of the Himalayas hunt in packs they are very ferocious, and are regarded as untameable, but the mood of the animal on the Raleigh has so far softened that he licks the hand of the man who attends on him. Of deer the collection contains many and varied specimens. In a horsebox on the Serapis is a magni- ficent sambur, or bora singha, an animal as large and as stately as the biggest red deer. His antlers when he came on board measured nearly five feet across but they had to be shortened, for at first the sambur was extremely wild and even dangerous, and it took a dozen men to put him into his horsebox. He has now quieted down, but still cannot be termed a com- panionable animal. On the Serapis there are three Indian antelopes and a blaok buck the gazelle brought home for the Princess of Wales has been forwarded to London. The after part of the Osborne's quarter-deck is quite lined on either side with bexes containing deer. There are two hog deer and seven antelopes—pretty graceful creatures, with dark brown bodies, white underneath, with long spiral horns. The Raleigh brought home a i musk deer, or Custoora, a variety of which there is | none now in England j although there have been musk j deer In the Zoological Gardens, they are no longer I (dire. The musk dear inhabits the higher ranges oi a the Himalayas, being found at an elevation of from 1 9,000 to 11,000 feet; in its jaw there is a curious long I tooth like that of a walrus, and its body iB covered with stiff quill-shaped hair, which acting as a non-conductor enables is to resist the cold of its mountain home. On the Raleigh a'so there is another animal unique in Europe—a thirnee, the female of the thar, the wild goat or cIllinois of the Upper Him&lays. It is extremely shy and difficult to shoot, much more to capture, so that Sir Jung Bahadoor was not able to present the Prince with a pair. There are indications, however, that the thirnee of the Raleigh will not long be the only specimen of the species now in England. In a pen amidships of the Osborne are four beautiful shawl goats of the long-haired specimen, a Cashmere ram and one of the Baroda fighting rams, whose motto is "Ready, aye ready." He has had sundry encounters with the Cashmere ram, and the two are now kept apart; but the MaLratta champion, one pair of horns rising over his head, the other inclin- ing downwards and backwards toward the shoulders, stands ever at attention, facing his foe resolutely, the embodiment of steadfast alacrity for fighting. Of the monkeys there is no room to speak in detail, or of the beautiful Nepaul pheasants which were among Sir Jung Bahadoor's presents, and which cannot fail to attract attention and admiration when the collection is exhibited. The armadillo, or scala mana. did not complete the voyage, having died of the wound from which he was suffering when he came on board; but the Cingalese yellow parrot, the rarest of the rare of his species, is extant and flourishing, as is the mon- goore—that curious composite of rabbit, weasel, guinea pig, squirrel, rat, and bat. Mr. Drew has brought home in the Serapis some black partridges, the accli- matisation of which in Norfolk the Prince is anxious to attempt.

The Daily News of Monday gives the following par- ticulars respecting the journey of the wild animals to London:— At seven o'clock on the evening of Friday (in last week), Salar Kulley and Jung Pershad, the two young elephants preiented to the Prince by Sir Jung Bahadoor, were brought out of the Serapis, and started on their mareh by roadto the Zoological Gardens. Salar Kulley behaved like a perfect gentleman. Jung Pershad, who on his Indian railway journey down to Bombay smashed the truck on which he was travelling, gave some trouble at first, displaying a consider- able dislike to quitting the Serapis; but his Mahout soon re- duced him to order. Their progress through Portsmouth, preceded by an avant courier to notify their approach created no small sensation. When last seen they were plodding along the London road, each carrying his own Mahout, while a keeper from the Zoological Gardens and a marine walked alongside and the artist of an illustrated paper brought up the rear. The two distinguished travellers spent the night between Saturday and Sanday in Godalming, and were reported to be active and enduring pedestrians, so by this time they have probably passed through London and are snugly housed at the Zoo. The sad experience furnished by the railway journey from Portsmouth to London of the elephant which the Duke of Edinburgh brought home from India, and which is now in the Dublin Zoological Gardens, when the animal became un- governable frem terror and crushed his keeper te death, im- pressed on Mr. Bartlett the advisability of prefering a road journey for his young charges, and all the more so because they are perfectly docile and under control, and in excellent health after their long voyage. The two Thibetan mastiffs, Ramsay and Jung, Peter Robertson took with him direct to Sandringham. The wild beast train" it was originally intended to start from Portsmouth early on Saturday morning, so as to get the animals through London, and into their quarters at the Zoo, while the daylight yet lasted. But the work, notwith- standing the hearty zeal of the crews of the Serapis and Osborne, proved heavier and more tedious than bad been anticipated, and it was not till put. three o'olock in the afternoon that the train quitted the railway jetty in Ports- mouth Dockyard. The most awkward part of the work was the removal of the ostriches, which were quartered in the wheelhouse of the Serapis. Two were placed together in a large cage, or transhipping box, the other came up alone. In another transhipping box were located together the two young elephants of the Osborne, Rustom, and Omar, and they went over the side amid a chorus of regrets and farewells from the crew of the beautiful paddle yacht. All the cages and boxes were carefully covered with canvas and tarpauling, so that none of their contents were visible. The larger cases were placed in open railway trucks, but those containing the/elidm and the birds were inside closed vans. Of the twenty-six trucks composing the train, some eight or ten carried luggage belonging to the Prince and suite, the rest conveyed the animals. The journey to town was not a sucoess in point of speed, the engine failing at intervals and finally breaking down about a mile outside Willow-walk Terminus and it was marked by an accident which is very regrettable. At Chichester a telegram was placed in the hands of Mr. Bartlett, in which he was informed that a large deer had been found dead by the side of the line, about a mile from Portsmouth. Until the receipt of this message there was no suspicion that any- thing was wrong, but an inspection at once showed that the horse-box was empty which had contained the largest and finest deer of the collection, the Cashmere deer, which in Saturday's Daily News was called a sambur. The lacing and fastening of the tarpauling hood were found loose and flap- ping at one end, and the animal, which was always shy and wild, had probably made a jump clean out of its box. All was safe and fast when Mr Bartlett inspected the train before starting, and the conjecture is that some curioll8 person just at the point of starting must have undone the lacisg to look at the deer. It was quite ten at night when the passengers by the wild beast train, having left it standing disabled a mile down the line, tramped into the Willow-walk Station. Here, by the light of the lanterns, were visible a large and eager gathering of railway officials and workmen, who were waiting to dis- charge the train, and who it appeared had been waiting ever since six o'clock. In attendance also were several of men from the Zoological Gardens, who greeted Mr. Bartlett with great warmth. It should be mentioned that wherever in this article Mr. Barlett is named, it is Mr. Clarence Bart- lett, who is the son of the estimable superintendent of the Zoological Gardens, that is meant. Mr. Clarence Bartlett has been in India with the Prince of Wales, and came home in the Serapis as the naturalist in charge of the collection. In the absence of the beasts, the Willow-walk crowd concen- trated its attention upon the native keepers, and there was much surprise at the discovery that they knew English. After some delay the train was broughtup to the siding amidst an interest which was scarcely repaid by results. The tigers declined to roar, even the wild eat had temporarily ceased from snarling, and the tailless dogs were presumably asleep, since when awake they yelp with fiendish persistency. Nothing was to be heard, nothing strange or rare was to be seen, unless in such a category may be mentioned the head of the Barbary donkey on which Lord Charles Beresferd dis- tinguished himself at Gibraltar races, and which looked out on the scene with an expression of the profoundest wisdom. The work of shifting the canvas-hooded cages from the trucks to the vans was at once busily commenced—a truck at a time being moved up into the shea, where, by the gaslight, strong and willing arms worked the crane. The qnietnde of the animals was surprising. The tigress "Minnie emitted something between a grunt and a yawn as her cage was run up; the low vindictive gasping of the tiger cub" Vixen was audible as a gang of men caught up the cage and car- ried it across the platform; the demoniacal tiger cat hissed with all its chronic venom, and made dabs with its claws at the canvas from the inside while its cage was lifted; and Phool Iharri," the cheetah, gave a single short sharp grow jmt as the van carrying it moved on. That was all; and that it was so little caused much disappointment. It would have been considered much more satisfactory, and a substan- tial guarantee for the ferocity of the animals, if the work had been done amidst a medley of roars, growls, hissings, and angry spittings. The want of excitement was obviously de- pressing, and It was clearly felt that the wild beasts were detractmg from their reputation in the eyes of Bermondsey in not eating a small boy or biting off somebody's head with a single crunch. But the labourers, although disappointed of their dues in the way of ferocious demonstrations, worked with a will, and the caravan of twelve vans was under way by midnight. No roarings awoke the echoes of the early morning as they rumbled on to the Zoological Gardens which were lately reached before two o'clock, and a couple of hours later all the animals were snug in their new temporary quarters, the whole strength of the gardens, under the superintendence of £ 8en » toing turned on to the task. The whole collection is quartered together in or about a canvas-roofed, timber-tided shed, which naa been specially built directly in front of the new deer-house. In one corner is a fixed den, in which II Georgie," the brown bear of the Serapis, has been housed, not wholly to his own satisfaction. Geergie had the run of the Serapis forecastle, and has acquired a love for roaming at larze. This penchant he began assiduously to exercise immediately on his arrival in the" Zoo," and engaged in a general exploration of the vicinity when caught and caged. Fastened to rings along. side the same side of the shed are the shawl goats, the Cash- mere sheep, and the Mahratta fighting ram, still constant to the attitude of "attention" for combat. and In the lower corner, also on the same side, are "Rustom" and" Omar," carefully swathed in rugs and blankets, and looking as if they very much missed the rollicking, skylarking life on board the Osborne. They salaam under protest, as it were, and DO persuasion can induce Omar to stand on his head, a feat of which, on the Osborne, he was extremely and justifiably Pf°ud- Along the other side the ostriches have a run, which, although circumscribed, is larger their old quarters in the wheel-house of the Serapis Their plumage has suf- fered a good deal, and they are rubbed bare ia places not intended by nature to be bare, but Mr. Bartlett is to be congratulated on getting them home alive and well. Before their arrival the Zoologieal Gardens could not boast of a single ostrich, in marked contrast to the Paris Jardin dAcclimatation, where the ostriches are a strong feature. The last "Zoo" ostrich died poisoned by the coppers given to it by visitors desirous of witnessing the apparent gusto with which it consumed a diet not to all seeming of a very savoury character. When opened after death its stomach was found to contain a Urge quantity—either a pound's weight or a pound's worth, I am not certain which. Although the copper currency exists no longer the Superintendent is of opinion that bronze money is not healthy feeding for ostriches, and desires to caution the public, therefore, against its administration. On the same side as the ostriches are the felidi Tom" and Minnie," the Serapis tigers, contentedly gnaw their bones in the same cages they occupied in the Serapis, and P'holo Jharri," the cheetah, from his cage alongside of them, looks up at the spectator with furtive spitefulness. The tiger-cat whose oage is above that of the cheetah, is as passionately vicious as ever, in his new quarters; and "Vixea," the tiger-cub, snarls, and spits, and shows his teeth—he is a male, spite of his name—like a feline Mr. Carker, in a very small cage on the top of "Minnie's." The baby leopard "took it out In sleep" during most of yesterday; but "Pompey" is not happy, and weaves, and writhes, and rears himself supplely in a cage where he haa no spare room, between the tiger-cat and the baby leopard. Inside the shed on the same side is the two Castor," one of the two so-called "hog deer" from NepauL Mr. Bartlett, sen., regards them as of a distinct species not yet taken cognisance of in our natural history nomenclature, and it is his intention to ask the Prince of Wales to sanction the bestowal of some such name as "Cervus Albert! "Pollux," the other hog deer, received some injury to one of his horns during the journey up, and has been relegated to hospital quarters out of sight. Next to Castor is the rare and beautiful axis deer from Ceylon, which Sir Joseph Fayrer brought home, and which the Princess of Wales graciously accepted from that gentleman when she came on board the Serapis on its way up the Solent. Outside the shed in the open air the seven Indian antelopes appear quite comfortable in their cages well littered with hay, and near them are the "gainies" or toy bullocks, and the donkey "Gib," lookiBg rather wiser than ever with perhaps a slight infusion of cynicality. Opposite, in their coops, and showing to wonder- ful advantage after their long voyage, are the Nepaul phea- sants, none of which, it may be remarked, are of great rarity. The dogs are outside the fencing, and indicate, in a way not be misconstrued, their extreme discontent at being thus relegated to the cold shade of obscurity. They were not intended to be shown, and probably they will be sent to Sandringham in a few days.

ELEPHANT CATCHING WITH THE LASSO. The mode of catching elephants is as follows (says The Field):- They are tracked by men on foot into some conve. nient place, the best being a valley with precipitous hills on three sides and a narrow opening on the fourth. When the wild elephants are tracked into such a place, information is at once sent down to where the keddah elephants are, and, if the latter can reach the entrance to the valley before the wild ones have come out, the catching is comparatively easy. The tops of the hillg are lined by footmen, armed with muskets and blank ammunition; the entrance is guarded by a line of keddah elephants, and some picked ones go in to catch. If the keddah elephants arrive too late, or if the wild ones break through the line, then there is a chase, fighting, &c. The lasso or noose is thrown in exactly the same manner whether the elephants are in the valley or are chased. The keddah elephant runs along- side of the wild one, and they go on side by side for a long distance, or else fight. The man behind puts the noose of the lasso over the mahout, with the eye in front, and the single end hanging down. The mahont pays out into a loop as much as he thinks will suffice to drop over the wild elephant's head and trunk he then lifts up the loop, holding it over his head by a hand on either side, and leaves as much of the loop as he can throw with ease and certainty hanging behind, and the man behind lays this part of the loop carefully on the top of the coiled rope. All this while the man behind is laying into the keddah elephant with the spiked club, urging them on, and shouting at him. When the mahout gets a good op- portunity he throws the noose over the head of the wild elephant; and, if it gets under the trunk, he pulls it up tight, turns his elephant sharp round, and checks it. Then there is a fight, &c. If necessary, other elephants come to assist, and after a time a man en a separate elephant runs up, and takes the loose thin rope from his pad, and with it fastens the rope to the eye, so that it cannot slip tight and hang the elephant.

MR. GLADSTONE IN THE WOOD. Mr. Gladstone's sympathy with labour has converted him, during the enforced idleness of Opposition, into a model working man (says the Globe). We live in days when literary work is sometimes disparaged. He preaches a sermon a week"—says the Northern Farmer, drawing a rather disadvantageous contrast between the curate and himself—"but I have stubbed Thornaby Waste." Mr. Gladstone both preaches and stubbs. After settling certain Homeric doubts in his study, he passes into open air life and fells a beech tree. A local paper is very exact about this beech tree,^ which was 13 feet in circumference, weighed nine tons, and contained over 200 cubic feet." These measurements did not in- duce the woodman to spare either the tree or himself. Six hours' work "in a thorough business-like-manner, and quite to the satisfaction of the purchasers," pros- trated the beech, which was afterwards sold to some timber merchants. It was Steme who said that every man should plant a tree, write a book, and leave a son to succeed him. But the ex-Premier's taste has always been rather to pull down than to plant. His sylvan activity is not, however, without precedent; for Cincinnati ploughed, and Warren HastiDgø-ac. cording to Lord Macaulay—anticipated the labours of the Acclimatisation Society. Mr. Gladstone has, before this, shown his versatility for office by holding different posts at the same time, and he may now, per- haps, consider himself in training as a possible Com- missioner of Woods and Forests.

THE EXPORTATION OF FOOD FROM HOLLAND. The exportation of meat, cattle, fish, fruit, vege- tables, butter, cheese, and other similar articles from Holland to England, and at the same time to Belgium, France, and Germany, which has for some time been conducted on a very large scale, is now steadily on the increase year by year. This state of things, says Mr. Fenton, Secretary of Legation at the Netherlands, in his report of the foreign trade of that country for 1874, though no doubt satisfactory to the particular class of persons by whom the articles in question are produced or who profit by the export trade in them, is by no means so satisfactory to the population at large of the country for the natural result of this wholesale ex- portation is that the home markets are almost cleared in order to feed it, and the retail prices of such commodities are consequently driven up in Holland to very nearly the level of those current in the largest and most expensive capitals in Europe; and not only are the retail prices very high, but, as the best of everything in the shape of provi- sions is taken by the contractors for the export trade, that portion which remains for home consumption is, as a rule, but of second-rate quality. It is especially in the article of butchers' meat that the effect of this organized system of wholesale exportation is injuriously felt by the population generally for, although Holland is probably as rich in cattle as, if not richer than, any other country in Europe, this commodity, instead of being plentiful and cheap in proportion, is on the contrary, so extremely dear not only in the large cities but in the provincial towns and through- out the kingdom generally as to be quite be- yond the reach of the labouring classes, of whose regular daily food it consequently forms no part, while even among the less well-to-do of the middle class it is considered rather as a luxury. The price of butchers' meat is stilI further increased by the excise tax of 15 per cent. which is levied on the assessed value of every head of cattle of every description slaughtered in Holland. And this tax, as it is not charged on cattle sent alive out of the country, acts directly as a premium on exportation. In like manner sea fish is only to be purchased in retail at extremely high prices; for, although the quantity of fish caught by the great fleet of Dutch fishing boats and landed in Holland is enormous, it is no sooner brought on shore than the greater portion of it falls into the hands of the contractors, and is packed and sent off to foreign countries. Salmon, too, which the great Dutch rivers produce in sueh abundance, is ex- ported on so large a scale as to be almost a rarity in the Dutch markets; and Dutch salmon, it is stated, may frequently be bought in the London fishmongers' shops at little more than half the price that it usually fetches in the markets of the Hague, Amsterdam, &c., where from 3s. to 3s. 6d. the pound may be considered as the minimum price, and from 5s. to 8s. the pound by no means an unusual one. The prices of poultry, fruit, vegetables—in fact, of provisions of all kinds whieh will bear a journey of a couple of days—are equally high in proportion, and seem to be constantly on the increase. Under these circumstances Canning's remark that "in matters of commerce the fault of the Dutch is giving too little and asking too much" sounds hardly just on these unfortunate people.—Pall Mall Gazette.

A VAIN ATTEMPT. (From Pun.) Vexatious veered the virgin mind Of blonde Belinda, blithe and gay "Henceforth," laid she, "I'll try and find A means to prove I'm not behind In taste or fashion. I'm not blind To what is what in onr array. "All future time shall see me drest In colours of contrasting hue; No more shall Fashion make behest: 111 wear what I alone think best— A panier green, a scarlet vest, A rinking hat of Oxford blue. rn be unique in dress at least, And none shall say I'm like the throng On me all folk their eyes shall feast, And say, There goes une belie artiste.1 Who blends aU things of West and East, Who dares to do it though it's wrong Bat Ph, alas, and wirruthrne Likewise and not forgetting dem Belinda, trying all the knew, Coul 1 ne'er escape the common crew; Whate'er she did they all must do, And wouldn't let her part from them. Forgot she in her impulse dread The saw once uttered by a sage, That, sure as women's bom to wed, She always follows where she's led. Belinda's speed was soon outsped, And cruel" oostume's all the rage.

SELECTED ANECDOTES. NOT IMPROBABLE.—A certain young clergyman, modest almost to bashfulness, was once asked by a country apothecary, of a contrary character, in a public and crowded assembly, and in a tone of voice sufficient to catch the attention of the whole company, How it happened that the patriarchs lived to such extreme old 8(" To which question the clergyman replied, Perhaps they took no physic." A CURS FOB rapid and emphatic re- cital of the following is said to be an infallible cure for lispingHobbs meets Snohbs and Nobbs Hobbs bobs to Snobbs and Nobba Hobbs nobs with Snobbs and robs Nobbs' fobs. This is," says Nobbs, the worse for Hobbs' jobs and Snobbs' sobs." A MAYOB AT FATJLT.—When Louis XIV. was re- ceived by the City of Beaune, he tasted their wine and praised it.. Sir," said the mayor, it is not to be com- pared with what we have in our cellars. Which you keep, no doubt, for a better occasion," replied the king. GETTING OVER THE DIFFICULTY !—A French lady of title fell ill and called in a doctor, who cured her. The man of medicine requested to be permitted to print on his card, "Physician to her Grace." Im possible," said the latter; "I have a physician-in- ordinary." Well, we will get over that difficulty," replied the doctor. I will put on my card; Physi- cian to her grace when she is ilL'" A MISTAKE SOMEWHERE.—A wittol. a barber, and a bald-headed man travelled together. Losing their way they were forced to sleep in the open air; and, to avert danger, it was agreed to keep watch by turns. The lot first fell on the barber, who, for amusement, shaved the fool's head while he slept; be then woke him, and the fool, raising bis hand to scratch his head, exclaimed, Here's a pretty mistake; rascal! you have waked the bald-headed man instead of me." SMART "REPROOF.—Once at a meeting of ministers, a question was started to be debated among them. Upon the first proposal of it. a confident young divine said Truly, I hold it so." You hold, sir," replied the Rev. Philip Henry; it becomes you to hold your tongue." A LIGHT UNDER A BUSHEL.—A gentleman who imagined that be possessed gifts for the ministry, went to consult the Rev. Rowland Hill on the subject, and talked about "hiding his talents." Mr. Hill, who entertained different views of the matter to what the gentleman himself did, intimated that for his part, he thought the closer he hid them the better." NOT WEATHERBEATEN.—One of the last parties at which Theodore Hook was present, was at Amen Comer, St. Paul's, where his friend, "Thomas In- goldsby," resided. He was unusually late, and dinner was served before he made his appearance. Mr. Barham apologised for having sat down withont him, observing that he had quite given him np, and had sup- posed that the weather had deterred him." Oh! replied Hook, I had determined to come, weather or no." NOT QUITE THE SAXB THING.—The king of France complained that his Irish regiments gave him much uneasiness. "Sire, replied their commander, "your Majesty's enemies make the same complaint." DECLINING TO FOLLOW IT.—One of the patients of the celebrated Dr. George Cheyne, of Bath, was the equally celebrated Beau Nash, who on being asked one day by the doctor if he had foUowd his last prescrip- tion, replied in the negative, adding, "If I had, Doctor, I should certainly have broken my neck, for I threw it out of a two-pair-of-staira window." A DIFFERENT CASE.—A student in one of the uni- versities sent to another to borrow a certain book. I never lend my books out," said he; but if the gentleman chooses to come to my chambers, he may make use of it as long as he pleases." A few days after, he that had refused the book sent to the other ) to borrow a pair of bellows. I never lend my bellows out," says the other "but if the gentleman chooses to come to my chambers, he may use them as long as he pleases." A LITTLE OLD.—Lord Stormont, boasting to Foote of the great age of the wine which, in parsimony, he had caused to be served in extremely small glasses, the wit observed, with well-simulated surprise, that it was very little of its age." A PLACE WeBTH KNOWING. —When a young man, the celebrated wit, Dr. John Arbuthnot, attempted to settle as a physician at Dorchester, a town remarkable for its healtby situation, and, therefore, unpropitious to the profitable practice of physic. On quitting it, a friend met him riding post to London. "Where are you going, Arbuthnot?" asked his friend. "To leave your confounded place (was the reply), for a man can neither live nor die there." SINKING THE WILL.—Theodore Hook once ob. served a party of labourers sinking a well What are you about?" he enquired. Boring for water, sir," was the answer. "Water's a bore at any time," responded Hook; "besides, you're quite wrong; re- member the old proverb—* Let veil alone. A REASON FOB BEING TOO LATE. — Canning and another gentleman were Rooking at a picture of the Deluge; the ark was in the middle distance; in the fore-sea an elephant was seen struggling with his fate. "I wonder," said the gentleman, "that the elephant did not secure an inside place." He was too late, my friend," replied Canning; "be was detained pack- ing up his trunk. A SPHINX FROM CONNAUGMT. —An uninformed Irishman, hearing the Sphinx alluded to in company, whispered to a friend, The Sphinx who is that, now ? "A monster, man." "Oh a Munster-man I thought he was from Cannaught," rejoined the Irish- man, determined not to seem totally unacquainted with the family. KEEPING IT TO HIMSELF.—Burke once mentioned to Fox that he had written a tragedy. Did you let Garrick see it ? inquired his friend. co No," replied Burke though I had the folly to write it, I had the wit to keep it to myself." BEAUTT UNSATISFIED.—The Emperor Alexander of Russia was present in .r"aris at a collection in aid of the funds of an bospitaL The plate was held to his Majesty by an extremely pretty girl. As he gave his louis d'or, he whispered-" Mademoiselle, this is for your bright eyes." The girl curtseyed, and presented the plate agam to him. What," said the emperor, "more!" "Yes, sir," said she; "I now want some- thing for the poor." THE SAME WITH A DIFFERENCE.—An Irishman asked a friend, Will you dine with me to-morrow ?" Faith, an' I will, with all my heart," was the reply, Remimber, 'tis only a family dinner I'm asking ye to." And what for not ? A family dinner is a mighty plisant thing. What have ye got r" Och, nothing by common Jist an illegant pace of corned beef and potatoes." By the power! that bates the world Jist my own dinner to a hair— barring the beef! PREDESTINATION.—A member of a flock presuming on his weight and influence in the congregation, called upon his pastor, and took him to task for not more frequently or more fully preaching" Predestination," which he hoped would in future be more referred to. The pastor, the most moderate and cautious of men on thm dark question, was very indignant. He looked steadily at his censor for a time, and replied, At any rate, sir, I perceive that you are predestinated to be an ass, and what is more, I see that you are determined to make your calling and election sure! VEBT SHOCKING, IF TRUE.—At a dinner-party the plebeian habits of one of the guests had attracted very general attention. Amongst other mistakes he used his knife improperly in eating. At length a wag asked aloud "Have you heard of poor L s sad affair ? I met him at a party yesterday, apparently well and cheerful; when at the dinner table, to our great horror, he suddenly took up the knife, and "Good heavens!" interposed one of the ladies "and did he cut his throat V Why no," answered the relator, he did not cut his throat with his knife but we all expeeted he would, for he actually put it up to his mouth." A NECK NOT MAM MB A HALTER.—When Wash- ington was retreating through New Jersey, he appealed to the people to furnish him with fresh recruits; but very few came forward. It was a period of great de- pression, and Washington himself could not always resist a feeling of dejection. Such moods, however, were with him but momentary. His singular cheer- fulness, fortitude, and self reliance were abiding in- fluences, which nothing could permanently destroy. One day he said to his Adjutant-General, Joseph Reed, If we should retreat to the back parts of Penn- sylvania, would the Pennsylvanians support us?" Reed answered, If the lower counties are subdued and give up, the back counties will do the same." Washington passed his hand over his throat, and reo marked, My neck does not feel as though it was made for a halter. We must retire to Augusta county in Virginia. Numbers will be obliged to repair to us for safety; and we must try what we can do in carry. ing on a predatory war. If overpowered, we must cross the Alleghany mountains." Such were the brightest prospects which at that time Washington could hold out, even to himself.—Cassell's History of the United States,

(ADVICE GRATIS.—When IMAGING your Will be very careful, and write foil instructions, if you wish the writefull heir to inherit.—Fun,

THE FEEDING OF POULTRY. This is a matter of some importance for in places where they have no grass run they barely obtain & sufficient supply of vegetable food, and get out of health in consequence. Indeed, where they have a good run, the waste of the kitchen garden is a help in the way of food, and may be made to take the place of corn to some extent. As to hard food, there is nothing to be gained by a very careful study of economy; for good corn costs money, and cheap corn is often not worth having at any price. As there are more sparrows than we care about, we feed chiefly on whole Indian corn, and always purchase from a large sample. We have ob- served that it occupies a sparrow 20 minutes to swallow one large grain of maize; and so as these rogues insist on sharing with the poultry, we take care that the latter shall have the best of it. Young chickens do not need any food for at least twenty four hours after they are hatched, and then hard-boiled eggs are the best food they can have, with crumbled bread made slightly moist. The eggs should be roughly cut up with the shells for them, and from the first they should have green-meat regularly. Nothing suits them so well as lettuces roughly cut up, and a cabbage may be- hung up for the mother to help them from. For hard food nothing suits chickens so well as whole groats, un- less it be canary seed, which is, perhaps, the best chicken food in the world; but the price of this grain has for a long time past ruled too high to allow of its being used in the poultry yard. This will seem to the genuine amateur of poultry superfluous advice but we see in our travels a sufficient number of half-starved chiekens to suggest that the world still needs a little urging to do right in this matter. The use of coops is to be commended for those who have plenty of time, but all we are bound to adopt the easiest way of doing every- thing, we gave up coepg years ago. Onr broods are kept in a shed they were hatched in until they can eat maize, and this they soon learn to do, and then they go into the yard and range over the grass, and get on amazingly fast with a plucky mother to do battle for them.- Pictoritil World.

THE MARKETS. MARK-LANE. —MONDAY. Firmness has been the characteristic of the grain trade a Mark-lane to-day. The attendance of millers was large, and business more brisk. English wheat came sparingly to band. Corn was a better demand, and the tendency of prices was against buyers, specially for fine samples. Foreign wheat In moderate supply. Greater activity prevailed In the trade, and fully late rates were realised. Barley was sparingly ofiered. With a healthy inquiry, extreme prices were paid. Malt sold slowly at previous quotations. Oats were In mode- rate snpply. There was a fair business deing at steady cur- rencies. Maize was firm in value and inquiry Beans and peas were quietly dealt In on former terms. The flour market was more active, and prices were steadier. METROPOLITAN CATTLE MARKET.—MONDAT. The total imports of foreign stock Into London last amounted to 18,692 head. In the corresponding week In 187 we received 16,439 in 1874.15,990; in 1873, 18,571; In 1872, 18,337 and in 1871, 21,223 head. The cattle trade was without special feature. Supplies were not extensive, but neither was the demand brisk. The show of EngUab beasts was rather below the average as regards number, but the condition and quality were about equal to former occasions. Somewhat more steadiness prevailed in the demand, and quotations were on the whole tolerably firm. For the beat Scots and crosses & 6d. to 5s. ad. per Sib. was paid. From Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, and Cambridgeshire we re- ceived about 1,750 from other parts of Jtugland, about 25Ch and from Scotland. 95 head. On the foreign side of the market there was about an average supply of beasts, chiefly Danish and Dutch, over 600 of the former cattle being offered. With a moderate demand the prices ruled about the same. With reference to sheep, the pens were fairly stocked, and the English breeds were of good quality. The market was flat, and prices declined abeut 2d. per SIb. The best Devons and half-breeds changed hands at 6s. 6d. to 6s. 8d per 81b. Lambs were in moderate request, at from Sa. to 9s. per Sib. Calves sold quietly, at late rates, figs were dull At Deptford there were 600 German beasts. Coarse and inferior beasts, 4s. to &I.; second quality ditto, 6s to 5s. 4d. prime large oxen, 6s. 6d. to 6s. 6d.; prime Scott, Ac 6s. 6d. to fis. 8d.; coarse and inferior sheep, 4s. 6d. to 5s. 6d.; second quality ditto, fis. 64. to 65. prime cearae woolled, 6s. 4d. to 6s. fid. prime South- downs, fis. fid to fis 8d large coarse calves, fit to fis. prime small ditto, fis. to 6L 4d.; large hogs, 4s. 4d. to 61. small porkers, 6s. to 5s. 4d. and lambs, 8s. to 9s. per SIb. to sink th. nttil METROPOLITAN MEAT MARKET.— MoTOAT. Trade this morning was fairly animated, and prices were firm. The supply of all classes of meat was moderate. In- ferior beef, 36. to 8s. 8d. middling ditto, 4s. to 4s. 8d prime large ditto, 4s 10d. to 6s. 4d.; prime small ditto, 6s. to be. 6d. veal, 6s to be. 8d. inferior mutton, 3s. id. to 4s. middling ditto, 4s. 4d. to 5a. 4d.; prime ditto, -6s. 8d. to 6s. 8d. lambs, 7s. 4d. to 8s. 8d.; large pork, 4s. to 4s. 8d.; and small ditto, 6s. to 6s per Sib. by the carcass. TALLOW. s. d, s. d. Town Tallow, per cwt. 42 9 Rough Stuff, per cwt. 14' 9 Rough Fat, per 8lbs. 1 10J Greaves 16 0 Melted Stuff, per cwt. 29 0 Good Dregs „ 6 0 Yellow Rutsian,new 48s. Od. per cwt. Ditto Dit,t9 old 00a. Od. Australian Mutton Tallow. 43s. Od. Ditto Beef Ditto. 42s 0.:1. „ FISH. Crimped salmon, 2s. Sd. to 2s. 6d. kippered ditto. 9 £ d. to Is. 6d. trout, Is. 6d. to 11. 9d. eels, 10d. to la. haUlbut, lid. to is. bd. sturgeon, In. to la 6d. per lb soles, la 6d. to 4s. 6d per pair cod, £2 15s. to £,7 10s. per score: mackerel, 2s. Sd to 4s mallet, 3s. to 5s. lobsters, 10s to SOL crabs, 8a to 27s. 6d. oer dozen uxttve oysters, 18s. 6d to 2Os.; Dutch ditto, 7s. 6d. to 8s 6d. American ditto, 6s. to 8s. Spanish ditto, 4s. to 6a common ditto, Sa. 91 to 8v 6d per hundred. POTATOES. The trade in potatoes continues steady, and prices show some advance. The arrivals are upon a moderate scale. Kent regents, 1403 to 170s. Essex ditto, 130s. to 165s. Scotch, 160s. to 1808. rocks, 100s. to 110s. Victorias. 160s. to 186s. flukes, 160s to 190s. and kidneys, 100s. to 130s. per ton. „„„„ HOPS. The trade for hops has been very quiet, and no feature of importance has presented itself. Choice qualities of produce remain scarce, and command g 'od prices, and the few trans- actions recorded In other descriptions have been at previous rates. She supplies of foreign hops are now falling off, the rates current here not being sufficiently remunerative to foreign growers. East Kent Holdings 1876. £5121 to £ 7 7s Mid Kent ditto, LB 5s to A6 63 Weald of Kent ditto, £2 5s. to L5 Ilis. Sussex ditto, AC3 to L5 51 Worcester ditto, P.4 16s. to &6; Farnham ditto, z4 log to Z7 7 s. ditto country ditto, U 4s. to u, 10s; yearlings, 187*, t4 10s to JM Bavarian, 1875, £8 15s. to £,6 On. Belgian ditto, jM 12s. to t3 Alsaoe ditto, 93 10s. to 94 10s. American ditto, £4 to A6. PROVISION. LONDON, Monday, May 16 -The arrivals last week from Ireland were 113 firkins butter, and a,13b bales bacon; and from foreign ports 34,818 packages butter, 6,132 bales and 424 boxes bacon. The supplies of foreign butter having increased prices have declined—say Normandy 4s. to On., Brittany 8s. to 10s., and Duteh about 10s. per cwt. The dealers still pur- chase sparingly. The bacon market ruled dull, at a decline of 2a. on Irish and 4s. on Hambro' cured. Butter, per cwt L s. Cheese, per cwt. L a. Dorset 148 to 150 Cheshire M to SA Friesland 12» 124 Dble. Gloucester 60 76 Jersey 102 120 Cheddar 74 88 Fresh, per doz 16 171 American 50 64 Bacon, per. cwt: Hams York .104 112 Wiltshire 82 84 Cumberland .104 112 Irish.green.f.o.b. 82 84 Irish 96 no HAY. WHITE CHAPEL, Saturday, May 13.—There was a moderate supply of hay and straw on offer. With a brisk trade, prices ruled firm, as follows Prime Clover, 100a to 147a inferior, 85s. to 95s. Prime meadow hay, 90s. to 135s. inferior, 66s. to 75a Straw, 35a to 48a per load. SEED. IONDON, Monday, May 15 -There were very limited quantities of any kind of Cloverseed offering, and few country orders were executed, and those at prices in favour of the huyera Little passing in Trefoil, and prices were nominal. English Rapeteed of tine quality was quite as dear, with a moderate demand Canaryseed was offered for less money, and taken very slowly. Tares were in limited demand at prices under those of last week. Dutch Hempseed realised as much money as previously. White and brown Mustard- seeds were held at very full prices, with more inquiry than dnring the last week, the Dutch advioei being higher for both nrtii