The Aberdare Times

Our fonbiw Corxcsganbettl [We deem it right to state that we do not at all tldCfl identify ourselves with our Correspondent's opinions.^ Nine years ago this summer London received a note- worthy visitor. He was lodged in Buckingham rajace, the Royal Standard waved gaily over the building in token that a reigning sovereign was under its roof; he was entertained with great magnificence at Guildhall—the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs receiving titles of distinction in consequence he dined in digni. fied state with the Q;leen at Windsor a review of the fleet was held in his honour at Spithead; and he was invested by her Majesty in person with the Order of the Garter. Who was this illustrious guest ? Who but the Sultan of Turkey, the thirty-third in male descent from the founder of the dynasty, the absolute ruler of millions both in Europe and in Asia, the veri- table representative of the Prophet, the type of earthly power and grandeur! He hadthenjbeenon the Throne of the Grand Turk six years and although people did not know much about him, it was hoped that contact with the progressive civilization of the West, and the spectacle of the results of energy to be witnessed amid the ever- shifting panorama of life in London and Paris, would have beneficial results upon the mind of the Sultan- that i3, if it were possible for it to receive them. It has since been seen that the Turkish ruler was utterly incapable of learning any lessons of this kind. He went from bad to worse. With a civil list of two millions sterling per annum for his own personal expen. diture, he built one new palace after another at the expense of the nation, and by his extravagance brought his empire to bankruptcy. No wonder that at last even the fatalistic Moslem rose in revolt against such an embodiment of incapacity and mis- rule, and declared that they would no longer have this man to reign over them. And now the news which has been flashed over by the telegraphic wires that Abdul Aziz has committed "suicide gives a tragic end- ing to the historical drama in which he had played so prominent a part. The history of the Turkish Em. pire, now extending over several centuries, has shown that when its rulers were mentally strqpg it grew; when they were weak it decayed, until it has reached its present degradation in that descendant of Othman who has just passed away. Yet it was not always so. Instead of the slothful luxury of the Seraglio, the heirs of Royalty in the heyday of Turkish glory were educated in the council and in the field. From early youth they were entrusted by their fathers with the command of provinces and armies; and this manly discipline must have essentially contributed to the vigour of the monarchy. The custom, which was dropped by the Sultans, was taken up by the rulers of Prussia, and in each case we have seen the results. The King of the Belgians has been making a short visit to London; but his Majesty runs over to see us so frequently, and is so well known in our midst, that we now make no stranger of him. Brussels is really nearer to our shores in point of time, than many parts of our own islands are to the metropolis. You can now easily breakfast in the Belgian capital and dine in the English on the same day. In these days of cheap and rapid continental travel, our people possess more personal knowledge of many parts of Europe than of their own country, either on the idlands or of the main- land. How many, for instance, know by experience any- thing of the wild grandeur of the scenery in the far-off Hebrides, or of Orkney and Shetland ? Are the lovely solitudes of Mayo and Gal way or the unrelieved desolation of Connemara aught but a name to millions of our population? Yet you find immense numbers who can tell you all about the geography of the Place de la Concorde and the Rue Royale in Paris, the antique glories of the Cathedral at St. Dennis, and the splendours of the spacious Palace at Versailles. And as you can now get a return ticket to Brussels for about thirty shillings, no wonder that the independent and compact little Belgian kingdom is such a favourite resort of those who have a few pounds in the autumn to spare. The people are hospitable, more especially in the country districts, and the cost of living is very reasonable-no mean consideration for many who go upon a holiday. The brief holiday which Parliament takes at Whit. suntide is the last to be enjoyed by that assembly before the final break-up, when the cry is Away to the woods, awa.y There are now ten weeks of hard stern work before our legislators and no long time will elapse until the overcrowded order-book must be lightened by the throwing over of some of the measures which now stand there nightly never to be reached. If the House could only agree to conduct its business upon some fairly intelligible principle, so far as opposed Bills are concerned, an enormous amount of valuable time might be saved. For instance, in consequence of the early hour at which the London papers now go to press, it is found impossible to report at length anything which happens after mid- night and many members, therefore, contend that no opposed measure ought to be taken subsequent to the time when Big Ben has struck twelve. This, how- ever, does not meet with general acquiescence, but as a minority possesses an almost incalculable power of stopping the way by incessant divisions, no way is made. An hour and a half. from twelve to half-past one in the morning, is sometimes spent in this way, with the result that the majority 1.1103 to give way at last, and nothing has been done. Meanwhile, public business must necessarily stand still, and this leads to what is calied late in the session, "the massacre of innocents," or the wholesale slaughter of unoffending measures which, owing to want of time it is impossible to pass. Before Sir John Lubbock's Act of 1871 made the first Monday in August a Bank Holiday, Whitsun- tide was the most generally observed holiday of the working classes. More people seemed to be about than at Easter, when the weather, as a rule, is any- thing but settled; yet there have been Whit-Mondays which have proved most disastrous to the enjoyment of those who have sought pleasure and recreation. Such a day was Whit-Monday, 1874, when the morn- ing broke splendidly, and tens of thousands, dressed in light summer attire, went forth rejoicing. By.and. bye vast banks of cloud overspread the sky; the thunder pealed with a terrific crash and rattle; and the rain de- scended for hours literally in pails-full. Utterly unpre- pared for such a visitation, and without any protection f-om the unanticipated tempest, not only were dresses spoiled, but colds were caught, and the health of many a constitution impaired. It is possible that the first Monday in August is now aa thoroughly observed by the working classes as Whitsuntide-for after that has gone there are no more recognised public holidays until Boxing Day, a spell of nearly five months. That is the longest interval of the whole. The "leafy month of June" is one the praises of which have been sung by poets in various ages. Coming when the days are at their longest, and nearly at their hottest, and when the opportunities for out-door enjoyment are full and ample, it generally leaves pleasant memories behind it. If some are inclined to ask What's in a name ?" the answer would be a great deal, so far as the appellations of the months are concerned. June, for instance, is suggestive of long summer days and agreeable excursions; while the very mention of the word December carries the memory back to times of gloom and darkness, when the sun no longer shines upon the land. The name of the month is derived from the goddess Juno, one of the lights of ancient mytho- logy. If the ancients did nothing else for us they gave us lasting names for the months of the year which the vicissitudes of 2,000 years have been unable to change. Only one serious attempt to alter it was made, and that was in the time of the first French Revolu- tion, when the months were called according to the seasons; and for example the 20th of May to the 18th of June was ordared thenceforth to be known as Prairial, which being interpreted signifieth Pasture month. Old things were to pass away, and all was to become new. People, however, never took kindly to the contemplated conversions of the months into mere descriptions of the progress of Nature's works, and the original mode of calculation was restored by Napoleon. It is somewhat remarkable that of the two great ranges of mountains in Western Europe, one should enjoy so mueh larger, a share of popularity than the dther. Every summer are the Alps crowded by throngs of English tourists, who seem almost to outnumber the native population. But in the Pyrenees, which would seem to the impartial critics to offer nearly equal charms, the British tourist is almost unknown For one who starts from this country to explore the great mountain range between France and Spain, at least a hundred rush off to Switzerland. Yet if the scenery of the two districts be compared, an artist might well hesitate to which he should give the palm and if a study, of the inhabitants be at all an object with the travSl er, there is little doubt that the rustic of the south of France is as lively and cheerful as the Swiss. Some parts of the temperate and pleasantly-wooded valleys of the Pyrenees are recom- mended as places of sojourn for those who suffer trom bronchial affections. Both mountain ranges have been the scenes of fierce fighting in times gone by—the Pyrenees more especially in 1813, when a series of engagements took place between the British army under the Duke of Wellington, and the French, under Marshal Soult, the latter being defeated. Exactly a quarter of a cen- tury afterwards these two distinguished men met under very different circumstances. It was at the coronation of Queen Victoria in Westminster Abbey on the 28th of June, 1838. Marshal Soult was then French Ambassador to the Court of St. James's, and formed one of a brilliant company entertained by the Dake of Wellington that evening at Apsley House. It is satisfactory to note that, while the London School Board is attending to the mental improvement of the children of the metropolis, their physical devel- opment ia not forgotten. Some time ago a of ¡ military drill was introduced — a step well calculated to expand the chest, to quicken the eye, and to exercise the muscular power. The more recent agreement to recognise swimming as a branch of public education will do much to encourage an extremely useful and healthy art, and one in which, to pre-eminently Marl- time, people as the English are singularly deficient. Even among sailors, who have been bred near the sea coast, it is by no means uncommon to find complete ignorance of what to them is a vital branch of know- ledge; There can be little question that the decision of the Board was right in principle, however difficult it may be found to give it practical effect, owing to the comparative paucity of swimming- baths in the metropolis. Physical education for girls, too, is commanding more attention, and a simple gymnastic apparatus is now often at- tached to the playground of many a day-schooL From the excess of females aver males, it seems clear that a certain proportion of the former must inevitably earn a living by manual labour more or less severe. Hence the importance of giving thejn when young such an amount of physical education as will render them capable of doing hard work in after years. There is an act of parliament in existence on our statute-book which is unknown to the code of our im- mediate neighbours across the Channel, and it is directed against what in its own language are described as "lotteries, little-goes, and unlawful games." An ex- ception was, however, made in favcur of art-unions, and its expressed object was to promote the encouragement of the fine arts. It was chiefly through the agency of these that the works of Turner, Wilkie, and Maclise, were made known to their countrymen. The skill of the engraver has multiplied them a hundredfold. Take for instance those two grand historical paintings of Maciise in the Houses of Parliament, representing two of the most signal victories ever won by British arms-one upon the sea, and the other upon the land— Trafalgar and Waterloo. Both have been engraved upon steel, thanks to the Art Union principle, and in their neat maple frames may now be seen on the walls of large numbers of British homes. The efflorescence upon the walls of the Palace of Westminster may gradually destroy the magnificent work of Maclise; but the figures have been transferred to enduring steel, which is well calculated to resist the effacing figures of decay.

SUICIDE OF ABDUL AZIZ. The Times on Monday published the following, which they had received from their own corretpondent at Paris under date June 4:- "A telegram from Constantinople received this evening announces the death of Abdul Aziz. The telegram is horrible in its brevity. It says:— 'Sultan Abdul Aziz is dead. Stabbed himself with a dagger in the region of the heart. Will be buried immediately.' Doctors of the English and other Embassies tes- tify that the deposad Sultan oommited suicide by cutting the arteries of both arms with a pair of scissors. He died at the Tcheragau Palace at ten o'clock in the morning. He was buried at Mahmoud the Second's tomb in the evening. It has been generally remarked this evening as strange that the Sultan, who has always shown him. self so feeble, should have suddenly displayed so much energy, and that, on the other hand, his death was of so little importance to any one that it seemed re- pugnant to attribute it to others."

The Constantinople Correspondent of the Daily Telegraph writing on Saturday, says* "All classes here, without exception, are delighted at the accession of the new Sultan. The mosques palaces ships, and residences of the different pashas! were brilliantly illuminated last night, and many dis- plays.of fireworks took place, Hussein Avni's palace, which is near Scutari, exceeding all others in point of splendour. From the ships which lay out in the Bosphoras bright atreams of limelight were darted across the water with immense effect, and the flashes thus sent were responded to by limelight apparatus from the top of the minarets of the mosques. i I am informed that the hoarded treasures of the late Sultan, which may be said to have been at the bottom of a great deal of the trouble that eventually overtook Abdul Aziz, and which are variously esti- mated at several millions sterling, will be applied to national purposes. Upon this sum of money there will be large demands in the shape of arrears of pay for the troops and the civilian officers of the Empire. At present, however, nothing is definitely stated with regard to the uses to which it will be put."

The Special Correspondent of The Times, writing on May 30, a Turkish officer of high rank reclining there nn ftS with two ygunger men-one in uniform, the oth°r m Dl £ ?n clothes, in such garb as is now common among "the young sindents or Softas of La Jeune Turquie. The officer who ha_d come up with these two son. /rom his quaners Beylerbey welcomed us with true Arab hospitality; gave us a drink of water, and we had with him a long conversa tion which revealed in him a well-educated and travelled gentleman, able to convey his ideas In excellent French. Oar talk turned on a variety of subjects, chiefly political, and we lamented the condition of the country, which It was natural to impute to mlsgovernment, all agreeing that mat- ters could not proceed on the present footing without bring- ing about the utter ruin of the Ottoman Emp re. Yes naid our friendly Bey, there must be reform, and there must be change, whether it be pacific or violent-and, mark you, 1 teu you to-day. Walt till the 18th of May, nhnniri IHl, ?hat happens then." We tried—or, I some qa!?ltlve American friendytried—to obtain Xcv hnt ?i«n °' ^ia Positive 'aiSrparticular pro- •Look* out fnr t>?0f0 Osmanli would tell nothing more. ■the 18™ ofMa^ld^' ¥ aga,n and ft*aln TOUT LathiCalendl^ «^reek and lurkl»h style, the.3Qch in randum-book. The man who had W r, mJ „mem°" ous up to this moment became now gravelnd°earnest T^if most anxious to impress upon us that he wts neither Lt ni nor attempting to hoax us, and I observed that the Ln who wore no uniform evinced some confusion »nH twno u .mmMM.(.»«<. mpHidSfS.'StajSS need not advert to the fact that this la the 30th nr .vLj ing to Eastern reckoning, the 18th of May That the Sultan sheuld not be allowed to live or «f i„ not allowed to reiga is whati Turks, Greeks, and peoVleof all claues and conditions, and even members of the DreZni Cabinet, have been for a long time proclaiming oDenlv almost at every street corner. As I telegraphed to von yesterday, the Sultan himself had been for a long time in ex- pectation of the fate which awai td him. and endeavoured to evade it by perpetually shifting his residence, by avoiding the necessity of appearing before the public on his way to Mosque on Fridays, or by putting off his attendance from noon to a later hour, and by biding as he best could in the most secret apartments of his Palace. He bad also taken the precaution of shutting up Murftl Effendi and all his other nephews, and keeping a close watch upon their movements. though lavishing upon them all demonstrations of honour and affection, possibly with Intent to do away with them whenever an occasion to save himself by sacrificing their lives might arise. Fortunately for these Princes, the Sultan had neither guards nor servants on whose fidelity he might rely, and those who laid hold of him were In all probability the same who set his prisoners at liberty. One of the devices by which the conspirators hoped to rid themselves of the Sultan consisted in enticing him on board one of his ironclads, and steaming away with him to some distant region where efforts would be made to induce £ 200 OOO^0^* the strong bribe ol an annuity of

THE AMUSEMENT OF LONDON HOLIDAY-MAKERS. In a leader on the Whitsuntide holidays, and the manner in which Londoners enjoy them, the Daily Bews remarks:- It may well be doubted whether any great city has environs so charming for the holiday-maker as London. The outskirts of Paris are singularly unattractive fcr the most part; and, indeed, wherever Paris is not artificially and elaborately beautiful, she may be set down as decidedly ugly. She is, perhaps, in that respect a little like the famous saint who had one side of her face very beautiful, and 'the other side unmistakably plain, only that Paris does not usually try, as the saintly womau did. to keep the unattractive side always turned to roving eyes. Berlin is a city set upon a sandy fht. Florence has delightful surroundings, but her river assuredly is not like our river. Home can hardly be said to have any environs. The citizen passes at once from the gates into the waste, as in Mr. Lowe's famous simile inconsiderate nations venturing on extension of the suffrage pass at once into the barren plains of demo- cracy. But our river, our hills, our commons, our roads, our green lanes—which can still be reached without much toil or delay -to say nothing of our parks and our palaces of amusement north, south, and cen-tral, seem with all the spread of bricks and mortar to make London still an unequalled city for a summer holiday. Probably a stranger studying London during the season would think ours the most home-keeping popu- lation in the world. Every place of amusement in and near the metropolis he would find to be crowded. The Crystal Palace with the Dog Show, the Alexaudra with its concert and its dramatic performances, the Aquarium, the Rinks, the Horse Show at the Agri- cultural Hall, the Canadian game of La Crosse at Hurlingham -all these will draw their crowds. The Royal Academy will be thronged by people who will go there under the impression that, as it is a popular holiday, everybody else will fear a crowd, and keep away from Burlington House. Every place of amusement will be filled at night. Nor will all these be filled by holiday-makers who have come up from the country. The unmistakeable Lon- doner will be seen in the majority everywhere. It is a fact which we think any reasonably observant eye can vertify for itself, that the Londoner of the class which makes up the larger proportion of the Whisuntide holi- day crowd is not growing taller as years go on. Not very long before his death Canon Kingsley drew atten- tion to the surprising increase in the number of small young men and women to be seen in a crowd of London holiday-makers. Any one who doub's the accuracy of Mr. Etngsley's observation has only to open his eyes to-day as he passes along the streets, and judge for himself. It is not, however, by such a test as that we would recommend the observant stranger to distinguish between the London holiday- maker and his comrade from the country. As all cities become great, the tendency of the hard-workers who live in its central places is, we fear, to fail in ro- bust growth, but in any case the observation will only apply to certain classes. Tried by whatever test, it will be found that an immense number of the holiday-makers in London places of amusement at such a season as this are genuine Londoners. The observant stranger, therefore, whom we have supposed to be engaged in studying the question, might well imagine that all the Londoners stayed at home to enjoy their holiday. His observation, however, would have led him very much astray. Every year our people go farther afield aDd in greater numbers to find their amusement. In all the seaside towns and places, in the Isle of Wight, in the Caannel Islands, at Boulogne, at Dieppe, in Paris, the Londoner will ba found this season. Our observant stranger, if he only takes another point of view for his observation, is likely enough to come to the conclu- sion that during Whitsun-time all the Londoners who care for a holiday rush out of London. There will be evidence of vast vr ight on both sides of the question, and the philosophic stranger who forms his opinion from the study of the one side only which happens to come under his eyes will not be very unlike the ma- jority of travellers who tell of the national habits of strange peoples.

A WARM TIME. Quoth Jane to her husband, a dealer in shares, The weather keeps cold-what a pity With wonder she opens her optics and stares, When her sptuje with undoubted conviction declares It's been awfully warm In the City.—.f MM.

ARRIVAL OF SIR SALAR JUNG IN ENGLAND. His Excellency Sir Salar Jung arrived at Folke- stone on Thursday evening from Paris vid Boulogne, by the South-Eastern Railway Company's special steamer Alexandria. He was met by the mayor and corpora- tion, who presented him with an address. In reply Sir Salar said—" I thank you most heartily for your very cordial expressions of welcome on my arrival in England. It affords me the greatest interest and plea- sure to carry out my long-cherished desire to see this country, with which the family of my master, his Highness the Nizam, has been so closely connected during the pwt century. I can also claim an intimate association with some of the highest officers of the British government, dating back as far as the year when my great grandfather, Meer Aulum, on the part of the Nizam, proceeded to Calcutta to arrange with Lord Cornwallis the treaty and alliance for making the first 55ar against Tippoo Sahib. You have alluded to the recent visit of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales to India, and I mint ask your per- mission to add my assurance to your conviction on this subject, namely, that England and India are thereby knitted closer together in bonds of unity and peace. The opportunity offered to the princes and nobles of the native States to do honour to the Heir Apparent to the British Throne has been gladly and faithfully accepted wherever it was possible; and I can affirm the result ii that this Royal visit has very materially strengthened the affection and developed the local feelings of the native princes and people of India to the British Crown and to the Empress of India, and I shall ever pray lor the prosperity of Great Britain and her Inaian Empire." His excellency, who is still an invalid, was loudly cheered, and was then carried to the special Royal saloon train in waiting to convey hun to London. He arrived at Charing-cross Station • 25> acc°napani,jd by the Dake of Sutherland, and a household of about sixty servants. His Excellency at once drove off to the mansion which has been pre- paid for his occupation. The Hon. James Byng, deputy chairman, and Mr A. Beattie, and Captain Warren, directors attended to superintend the arrangements on behalf of the railway company, rhe tram was in charge of Mr. Shaw, the manager, and Mr. Cockburn, the superintendent of the line

WHAT WIT AND LEABNING !-Madame de Stael was a pitiless talker. Some gentlemen, who wished to teach her a lesson, introduced a person to her who they said, was a very learned man. The blue-stocking received him graciously; but, eager to produce an im- pression, began to talk away, and asked a thousand questions, so engrossed with herself that she did not notice that her visitor made no reply. When the visit was over, the gentlemen asked Corrine how she liked their friend.—"A most delightful man!" was the reply: "what wit and learning!" Here the laugh «ame in—the visitor was deaf'ana dumb.

SALMON IN AUSTRALIA. The Correspondent of The Times, writing from Melbourne, on April 19, says In April, 1864, a shipment of salmon ova arrived in Victoria for introduction to our waters, but we were unable to rear any fish from it. Since then no attempt has been made to acclimatize the salmon in this colony, although in Tasmania the acclimatizers' success has been gradually established, and, finally, by the unfail- h:g demonstration of the fishmongers' shops, in which young salmon were Bold in January. Sir Samuel Wilson about two years ago gave £ 1,100 for a second trial in Victoria, and the ova purchased with his gift arrived in the steamship Durham on the 16th of March with a consignment for New Zealand to another order. The ova unpacked here have not turned out well. Not more than a third showed signs of vitality, and from this third there has been great loss since its deposit in the hatching boxes. Several causes are said to have militated against success. We are told that the boxes should not have been sent by a steamship, as the oscillation of the screw is injurious, though how it could affect the carefully packed ova it is difficult to understand. Another and more obvious objection is that the shipment has been landed too early in the year before the summer heat has altogether left us. Again it is beyond doubt that this importation has been handled with much less care than that of 1861. The boxes have been placed in the ordinary railway trucks and carted over cross-country roads without any special precautions against concussion. The mischief of concussion is shown by the con tents* of a box in which a nail was carelessly substituted in England for one of the screws by which the lid should have been fastened. In this box all but five of the ova were found to be dead, and their destruction is put down to the blow of the hammar. The bulk of the shipment is now at the icehouse in Melbourne in the charge of the Victoria Acclimatization Society. Another portion is in the Western district under the cara of the local society, and Sir Samuel Wilson has taken forty-three boxes to his estate at Ercil- doun, near Ballarat. He is not discouraged by the comparative failure of the present attempt, and has telegraphed for another shipment of ova in a. more advanced stage of development than those just received, which ought to arrive here in June or July. The Times of January 20 published a letter from Mr. Youl, describing the different processes adopted by Mr. Frank Buckland and himself in pack- ing the ova shipped for Victoria and New Zealand by the Durham, the comparative merits of which be was anxious to test. In the Victorian boxes Mr. Youl's packages are said generally to show a larger percentage of sound ova than Mr. Buckland's, but in the New Zealand shipment Mr. Youl's method does not seem to have answered so well, as appears from the following extracts from Dunedin newspapers:- The salmon ova arrived at the Bluff by the Arawata on the 1st., and were at once conveyed by a special train to within two miles of Wallacetown, where the hatching boxes were, and the rest of the distance the ova was car- ried on a hand barrow. On opening and examining two of the boxes at the ponds, one, packed by Mr Youl, which was supposed to contain 600 eggs, turned out 90 apparently healthy. The other—packed by Mr. Buckland-was tup- posed to contain 1,200 eggs, and it turned out 280 which appeared to possess vitality. The greatest care was taken in unpacking. Mr. Buckland's choice of ova was superior to that of Mr. Yout, the fish being visible to the naked eye in numbers of them, and the sphagnum moss as packing appears more ^nitable than the common moss, Mr. Buck- land having a far greater proportion of living ova than Mr. YouL Large numbers of Mr. Youl's ova are valueless, and that even when taken from boxes packed at the bottom of the large box, and consequently having the best chanca. A sort of mouldy growth is visible in Mr. Youl's moss, in appearance not unlike a spider's web. Under the micro- scope, when first exposed to the atmosphere, it is quite opaque, but in a few minutes becomes transparent. Mr. Buckland's moss is quite clean and free from this growth. Both mosses have a strong taste of turpentine, the use of ch rcoal by Mr. Youl not appearing to make any appreciable difference in this respect." On April 3, Mr. Howard succeeded in placing the last of the salmonlova in the hatching boxes of the Makarewa pond-. About 16,000 altogether are in the boxes, but it is estimated that little more than half of that number are fecundated. Mr. Howard thinks that after miking all allowances for loss through weakly and deformed fish, about 6,000 eggs are likely to produce healthy young salmon. It has been a feature of the shipment that a large portion of the eggs have not been impregnated. In one box the eggs bore the appear- ance of not having arrived at maturity, and not one of them contained any signs of vitality. Out of a total of 112 boxes only two were quite blanks, and the position of the boxes In the ice-house on board the Durham does not seem to have been any criterion of the condition of their contents. Some, which had been packed by Mr. Youl, and which had been tumbling about on the top of the ice, had more good eggs in them than others which were in the lower tier. The best box of Mr. Buckland's came from the lower tier, and it contained nearly 1,000 good ova. The sphagnum moss, which was used for packing by Mr. Buckland, seemed to come out tofcer and less fiiky than the common moss which Mr. Youl employed."

VIVISECTION. A general meeting of the members of the Society for the Protection of Animals Liable to Vivisection was held, under the presidency of Lord Shaftesbury, K.G., at the Westminster Palace Hotel, Victoria-street, London, on Friday, and the Bill now before Parlia- ment for preventing cruel experiments on animals was taken into consideration. Among those present were the Marquis of Bute, the Earl of Glasgow, the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol, Sir Rutherford Alcock, Cardinal Manning, the Hon. Evelyn Ashley, M.P., the Hon. W. Cowper-Temple, Mr. A. J. Mundella, M.P., &o. Thete were also several ladies in the room. It appeared from the report that this society was organised at the cloee of last year, and had for its sole object the obtaining th9 utmost possible pro- tection for animals liable to vivisection. The total re- ceipts of the society up to the 1st of April last amounted to J6815 503. 9.1., and the actual cash balance, after settlement of all liabilities, at the same date, was JM21 14s. The exertions and influence of the mem- bers and friends of the society were earnestly invoked by the committee in aid of the Bill, which, it falling short of their desires, still represented a great improve- ment in the present state of the law as regarded vivi- sectable animals. It laid down a principle of protection which might be thereupon reinforced should the pro- vision of the Bill be evaded by the persons concerned, and it would, without doubt, secure the immunity from torture of a large number of animals during the ensuing year. The Chairman said this was a special meeting con- vened for the purpose of taking into consideration the Bill now before Parliament and expressing their firm support of it. He should assume that the report had been read, so that the proceedings might be abbre- viated. He had received two letters, one from Lord Coleridge and the other from the Bishop of Win- chester, expressing their sympathy with the objects of the meeting and regretting that they were unable to be present. It was not necessary for him to detain them, for they all knew perfectly well the circumstances which had brought them together. A strong feeling had arisen against the cruelties prac- tised by vivisection, and the result was that a Royal Commission was appointed by the Government to in. quire into the matter, and, after due consideration, a measure was introduced by them. That measure was not all they desired. There was a large number of persons who wished for the total abolition of vivisec- tion, but it was not possible to obtain all they wanted, and, he believed, at the present time it would be impos- sible to do away with vivisection altogether. Having considered the Bill, he had come to the conclusion that it deserved the support of the country, and he hoped they would be prepared to promote it by every means in their power, so that it should become the law of the land. He prayed them not to be discouraged if they were not successful in carrying the measure which they now had before them. They might be de- feated, for it was quite possible that such alterations might be introduced that would tend, not to proteetthe animals, but to protect vivisection. That was not the kind of Bill they wanted. He was certainly prepared to stand by the Bill now before them, and he hoped they would all do what laid in their power to sustain public opinion in putting an end to this cruel practice. Cardinal Manning then proposed the first resolution, that the report of the honorary secretaries be adopted. Having expressed the pleasure he felt in doing so, he said that it was not because man had been given power over the lower creatures he had any right to convert it into tyranny or abuse. He was of opinion that so long as the Bill was framed on the report of the Commission, it could not be said that they were legislating against men of science. It was obvious the Bill now before them interfered with no man of science, and if he said that he was driven to a foreign country to study phy- siology, the speaker would say that it was not so, for the public law of England would give to all men of science a proper certificate of freedom to exercise what was right and legitimate. The resolution was seconded hv fcViA Hnft- W- Cowper Tenanla The following resolution was then proposed by Mr. Mnndella, M. P. That this society considers that legislation is1-urgently needed for the protection of animals liable to vivisection." This was seconded by the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol. The next resolution, as follows, was proposed by the Hon. Evelyn Ashley, M.P., and seconded by Mr. James Graham "That this society thankfully ac- cepts and supports the Bill now introduced by the Government to prevent cruel experiments on animals, and especially desires that the fifth clause of the Bill, exempting dogs and cats from all physiological experi- ments, should become law, and that a similar im- munity should be extended to horses, asses, and mules." The last resolution—"That this society pledges itself, should the Bill in question be thrown out or essentially weakened, to persist in its efforts to keep the question before the public, and so obtain an effec- tive measure for the protection of animals was then peoposed by Dr. Walker, and seconded by the Earl of Glasgow. All the resolutions were carried unanimously. A vote of thanks to the chairman for presiding, proposed by the Marquis of Bute, terminated the proceedings.

VIVISECTION AND SPORT. The Times has published the following lebter on the sub- j set of Vivisection and Sport" :— Sir,-If a few men of known character and reputa- tion, numbering certainly not more than 20 or 30 in this country, who are or may be engaged in some researches by vivisection, are not to continue them except under conditions almost amounting to prohibi. tion, and under police regulations which are vexatious, not to say insulting, it becomes absolutely necessary if only legislative action is to be consistent, to control the conduct of thousands who torture animals in countless numbeis for the sake of what is called "sport." It is proposed, then, to introduce a short Bill at an early period into the House, to be intituled An act to prevent cruelty to Animals in Sport." Its previsions may be somewhat as follows :— It will be enacted,— 1. That no trout, salmon, or øther fish be taken by the system of "playing it" with a fine line. All hook fishing is to be made with a line sufficiently large to pull in the fish at once, as in deep sea fishing, and the fish is to be instantly killed by a blow on the head. 2. No fishing is to be permitted with live bait. 3. All fish are to be taken by the net wherever prac- ticable. 4. No fish or shell fish are to be boiled alive. Relative to all winged and ground game, it will be SDacted,- That, in pursuit of game with a gun, whenever an animal is shot but not killed, the wounded bird, hare, or rabbit must be recovered, and at once put out of misery; and that no fresh game may be shot at until this has been done, under severe penalty. Relative to other wild animals, not being game, and commonly recognized as "vermin," no trap is to be employed that does not kill the animal at once, An Act also is required to protect animals, especially dogs and horses, from mutilation, which is practised toan enormous extent. The ears, tails, and other organs are removed, in part or entirely, for various purposes, in order to modify appearance in accordance with the prevailing taste, or to fit them for the table, er for certain kinds of work. Many suffer severely from the insertion of rings and wires in the nose, by branding with hot irons, and the like. All these mutilations should be rendered penal, and if in any case judged absolutely necessary, must be practised under the influence of chloroform. The necessary steps for procuring these Acts may be taken by our present excellent Society for the Pre- vention of Cruelty to Animals; or, if not, will doubt- less be accomplished by some new society of humane persons brought together for the purpose. I beg to add that I am not a vivisectionist In any senae of the word, but I desire that in all legislative enactments we should, before all things, be just and CONSISTENT.

AMERICAN HUMOUR. Wooden Ulsters" is the name by which coffins are designated in a fashionable New York paper. The advantages of advertising are clearly proved in the case of Cincinnati man. who advertised a few days ago for a harmiuicon," and was preaented by his wife on the folio wing night with twins. Some one calls the race of American ladies indo- lent," whereupon one of them retorts, I wonder if that man ever reflected upon the amount of shopping we do, and the willingness with which we do it ?" A Canadian editor announced that "he had a keen rapier to prick all fools and knaves." His contemporary over the way said he hoped his friends would take it from him, for he might commit suicide. There is said to be a man in New York so thin that the can keep cool at any time by standing in the shade of a lamp-post. Put down your umbrellas. You'll scare this engine off the line I" screamed the engineer on the Western North Carolina road to a crowd of country people who had gathered to see the first train come in. They were all lowered at once. A Yankee journal offers this inducement:—" All subscribers paying in advance will be entitled to a first-class obituary notice in case of death." I say, Sambo," said one Virginian darkey to another, can you answer this conunderfrum: s'posin' I gib you a bottle of whisky corked-shut with a cork, how would you get de whisky oat without pullin. de cork or breakin' do bottle ? "—" I gibs dat up."—" Why, push de cork in." How is your establishment run ? asked a Wes- tern editor of an Eastern brother, at whose presses he was looking.—"By water-power. How Is yours run?"—"By the same power," replied the man from the setting sun, but we take it pretty much in our whiskey." They were sitting together, he and she, and he was arduously thinking what to say. Finally he burst out with: "In this land of noble achievements and undying glory, why is it that women do not come more to the fiont: why Is it that they do not climb the ladder of fame ?" "I suppose," said she, putting her finger In her mouth, "it is all on account of their supports." A young lady and gentleman, taking a romantic stroll together in New York the other evening, walked into a well in South Water-street, which some one had care- lessly left uncovered. Their emotions were too deep for utterance. An American farmer sent to an orphan asylum for a boy that was smart, active, brave, tractable, prompt in- dustrious, clean, pious, intelligent, good-looking, reserved, and modest. The superintendent wrote back that unfortu- nately they had only human boys in that institution A young American lady, anxious on a great State occasion to be allowed to kiss the Pope's slipper, was told that "only Princes of the Blood were admitted to that honour." Forthwith she began to argue that her father, as an American citizen, was one of the Sovereigns of the Great Transatlantic Republic, and upon that ground she was en- titled to all the privileges of Royalty. Always cut up savagely a man who announces that he makes a point of speaking his mind," as he is sure to have a disagreeable one to speak. A good fellow may speak his mind, and be a good fellow still, but he will not state it beforehand. "What on airth is that?" exclaimed a Yankee countryman on board a steamboat, coming down the East River, and pointing, as he spoke, to the mouth of a huge sewer on the New York side. "Tbat," demurely said another passenger, is one of those mammoth monster guns we read about in the newspapers." What's it doing there 7" asked the greenhorn. Oh," replied the other. it's there for the harbour defence, that we also read about in the newspapers." They are ten widowers in the United States Senate. When they pass the Treasury Building they hear musical murmurs of "Sonoble looking;' "Such a boyish walk. An Oregan paper refers to a new editor on a rival journal as "a young man of frugal mental capacity." It is decided that woman cannot practice law in Wisconsin; but the judge who decided it crawled under the barn last week and hasn't come out since. A Madison County (Illinois) damsel has offered her- self as a prize to one of four suitors who outspells the others. The match will be held in a schoolhouse, and an admission fee of 25 cents will be charged, the proceeds to go towards furnishing a house for the young couple. A lawyer rose in the midst of a case in Chicago, the other day, and said, May it please the court, there's a fight out-doors, and I ask for a short adjournment." The court went out with him, Josh Billings, talking of his experience in love matters, says' The golden rule Iz, fill her above the brim with love of herself, what rins over she will giv you. Thare iz a grate menny rules also to make married life comfortable, but the golden one tz this, go slow, and giv each other half of the road. Thts rule iz az simple and easy az milking a cow on the right side, and will be found as 'Usephul az ile to avoid hot journals and dri axles." A soft-brained man, who is slighted by the belles, very modestly asked a young lady if she would let him spend an evening at her house and hear her play the piano. No,' she angrily replied, "I won't" "Why." replied he, "you needn't be so fussy; I meant some stormy night, when I can't go anywhere else and the piano would be subdued by the storm without." His softness is not quite apparent.

litisttllanmrs Intel%ma. HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL. ^WORSTED.—Porters "Third smoking? Here y'are "—Cad I b'leeve yer puts the werry wust carriages on for smoking I "-Porter: "Course we does—for the very worst smokers I "-Fun. THE INCOME TAX.—In an article on the Income Tax The Times remarks :—" The first Income Tax was introduced in 1798 by Pitt to defray the expenses^ of the ITrench War. It was levied on all British incomes above £ 60, with a relief to those under JE200 a year, the rate falling with the income from 10 per cent. to 5-6 per cent. In 1802, after the Peace of Amiens, the tax was repealed, but in the following year, with the return of war, it was re- imposed with a regressive rate on incomes ranging between £ 150 and £ 60, from 5 per cent,, the highest, to 5 6 per cent., as before. In 1806 incomes down to BaO were made taxable, and a rate of 10 per cent. was imposed on all alike, with an abatement for those under £150. Thus the tax was retained till 1816, when with the peace it became possible to abolish it. In 1842 it was reimposed by Sir Robert Peel to meet the demands arising from the inefficient fiscal administra- tion of previous Ministries. It was voted for three years, but on the expiration of that time it was still found indispenable, and has since then been revoted for one year or more, and retained, with considerable modification, till now." FROM WOOLWICH.—The latest Report-The report of the 81-ton gun.—Judy. WORKING MEN'S COOKERy.-On Saturday, under the auspices of Mr. Hodgson Pratt, a free lecture was arranged at the Cookery School, South Kensington, for the members and fl iends of the Work- ing Men's Club and Institute Union which now num- bers some 10,000 members in the metropolis alone. Mr. Buckmaster gave some simple examples of pre- paring Australian meat, which appeared to give general satisfaction. He dissolved the jelly with hot water, and made it into a savoury soup; the meat was made into a pie and stew. A soup was also prepared with vegetables and milk. One of the working men said that the club to which he belonged attached great value to such lectures, and as he understood the ser- vices had been gratuitous, he thanked the gentlemen for the use of the room. NAVAL ENGAGEMENTS.—" Which of the pro- fessions do you like best ?" we asked a sprightly nymph of our acquaintance the other day. "Oh, the sea I" she blithely replied; what could be more interesting to our sex than marry time matters ?"—Fun. TOWN TAXES ON COALS.—A Parliamentary Re. turn, ordered on motion by Sir James Hogg, shows that there are a number of our boroughs which, being ports, levy a tax upon coals imported, and some extend the tax to coals brought into the town otherwise than by water. London, as is well known, levies Is. Id. per ton upon all coals brought into or within a certain dis. tance from the City Harwich levies as much as 2s. per chaldron upon coals in any way brought or delivered within the town Brighton levies 2s. 6d. per ton Deal, 33. per ton; Hastings, 33. per chaldron. Barnstaple lets annually by auction the privilege of collecting 4d. in respect of each vessel coming into the port laden with coal or cJke. Dues are payable to the Mayor of Cork on vessels entering the port laden with coals, the dues ranging from 6 to 12 bushels, according to the ship's tonnage; the dues are farmed to a collector. The Mayor of Limerick has a farthing per ton on coals im. poited, but no account can be given of the amount pro- duced, "as the Mayor for the time being orders its dis- tribuion by his sergeants among the poor." THE ARGUMENT.—Lord and Master (small. sized, but resolute). You are wrong, Madam; quite wrong !-His Slave. But I say I am not wrong!— Lord and Master. But I have proved you are wrong. -His Slave. I beg your pardon, I am not wrong I may be mistaken, but I am not wrong.-Judy. MACKEREL IN THE BRIGHTON AQUARIUM.— A fine shoal of mackerel were caught off Brighton on Saturday morning by the Aquarium officials, and safely located in No. 37 tank. These very delicate fish are, perhaps, the most difficult to keep alive, as if they are the least injured in their capture they die immediately. Forty of this fine shoal, however, were taken out of the water without being meshed, and there is every probability of their living and being one of the greatest attractions of the Aquarium for some long time to come. It is believed they are the only specimens to be seen in any Aquarium, and to naturalists and sightseers will be a most interesting fact. The Aquarium has never possessed so many, ten or twelve only living together during the laat two years. FASHIONS IN HAIR-DRESSING. — Madame Guilmarde, the famous modiste in hair, has no exact standard or style of coiffure (says the Court Journal ) Wear what is most becoming," she says, in a classic knot at the nape of the neck or high on the head, waves, puffs, or braids, or altogether if you please." Was ever anything so comforting in the way of hair- cressing ? If your head is bald on top pile up the puffs, if at the back then wear a coiled braid. If you have no hair at all the most delusive wigs can cover such a deformity. In the rage for blonde hair some women have had their dark locks shaved off and wear a golden- coloured wig. Some women have two vi^s, so aa always to have one ready to put on. Good Queen Bess bad one hundred and fifty wigs when sbe died, ranging from pale gold to deep red in colour, WHAT ARE WE COMING TO he Registrar. General;s return contains an alarming fact. Last week," he says, 2,509 births and 1,457 deaths were registered in London." What Is going to happen if this sort of thing lasts Is too awful to think about. Where shall we all live, by-and-by, if the population increases at the rate of 1,000 a week ?—Judy. THE FLOODING OF THE SAHABA.-Iron says that Mr. M'Kenzie, with a party of ten, will leave London in the beginning of next month for Western Africa, for the purpose of making the necessary surveys preliminary to turning the waters of the Atlantic into the great sink or basin which extends from the valley of the Bella to Timbuctoo. He is very confident that a canal eight or nine miles long will suffice to accom- plish the great operation which he contemplates, and bring the mysterious capital of equatorial Africa within six or seven days' sail of the Thames. If he succeeds, there can be no doubt as to the immgnse development of trade that will ensue, and, to some extent, the condition of the natives will doubtless be ameliorated, although the introduction of European civilization has not always proved an unalloyed good to the negro races. And even if the main project fail, there can be little difficulty in establishing a good land route, with a base at some part of the coast accessible to shipping, for the climate at this point on the parallel of the Canary Islands, unlike that of the present commercial depots, suits European constitutions well enough. A SPITTING SNAKE.—There is a dangerous snake, not uncommon about Benjuella, West Africa, called by the natives naja neje, and by the Portuguese cuspedira. It is small in size, and remarkable from its habit of spitting when interfered with. The saliva is ejected to considerable distances, and is said to cause blindness if it touches the eyes. One of the snakes was captured by the natives and brought to where some English miners were at work. It was teased by a miner who was standing over the cage, which was on the ground, and retaliated by a discharge of kpittle. Some of the liquid entered one of the miner's eyes; and though the eye was immediately washed out with water, it was very much irritated for several days. The snake was killed before any experiments could be made with it by the scientific superintendent of the mine; he has, however, no doubt of the miner's state- ment and that of his companions, corroborated as it is by the testimony of the natives and the Portuguese. LET Us HOPE So.-Lieutenant Cameron, who so recently came triumphantly through the splen- did achievement of traversing the continent of Africa from sea to sea, is it is stated, shortly to undertake another exploring expedition towards which the Go- vernment have resolved to contribute £ 3,000. Among the honours received by the gallant explorer since his arrival in his native country, he has been admitted into the Turners' Company. Lat us hope that when this new expedition has accomplished its end, Lieutenant Cameron may not only be a Turner, but also a re- turner.— Judy. RARA AVIS. A Naturalist" writes to The Times from Lymington, under date Saturday:- "Yesterday morning about ten o'clock a spoonbill Platalea leucoradia flew over my garden here, almost within gun-shot. It was a beautiful object. An adult bird, of snowy whiteness with flowing crest, and from bill to end of tail measuring apparently nearly three feet. The occurrence of this bird in England ia very rare, and as it is included in the Schedule annexed to the Act 35 and 36 Vic., cap. 78, known as 'the Wild Birds' Protection Act,' it is hoped that it may not meet with the reception usually given to our ornitho- logical strangers. The flight of the spoonbill is singu- larly graceful, and its appearance was a sight not to be readily forgotten." POPULATION OF THE PRINCIPAL TOWNS OF SCOTLAND.—The Registrar-General of Scotland reports the following as the estimated population of the eight principal townq. in the middle of the year 1876:- Glasgow, 515,144; Edinburgh, 215,146; Dundee, 139.125; Aberdeen, 96,499; Greenock, 70,192; Leith, 52,919; Paisley, 48,679; Perth, 26.535. The total is 1,191,239, or more by about 18,000 than a third of the population of Scotland. Since the Census the registra- tion area of Glasgow has been extended, but that of Edinburgh contracted. SHIPBUILDING ON THE CLYDE.—The Scotsman says that the leturns of the shipbuilding trade of the Clyde for last month exhibit an increase in the aggre- gate tonnage of the vessels launched compared with the month of May in 1874 and 1875. The first five months of the present year are still, however, con- siderably below the corresponding periods in the four preceding years In tonnage, though above the average in the number of vessels. A large proportion of the vessels now on the stocks are nearly completed, and few new orders are coming in. AN UNKNOWN ARTIST.-The gentleman who took the Duchess of Devonshire's portrait.-Fun. THE JEWS IN GREAT BRITAIN.—The Jewish Chronicle has obtained from official sources figures which enable it to arrive at an approximate estimate at the number of Jews in Great Britain.^ The total Dumber of interments in Jewieh congregations during L875 was 1,230 of this total 956 interments took place in London. The annual rate of mortality among the general population of London is 24 per 1,000 and, as. suming this to have been tlje death-rate among the Jewish population of Great Britain, it is found that the approximate number of Jews in Great Britain is n,250, and that of this number 39,833 reside in London. MBs. SIDDONS'S ADVICE.—"She wished," she said, to give me a few words of advice before taking leave of me. You are in the right way," she said; but remember what I say Study, study, and do not marry till you are thirty. I remember what it was to be obliged to study at nearly your age, with a young family about me. Beware of that; keep your mind on your art; do not remit your study, and you are certain to succeed. I know you are expected at a ball to-night, so I will not detain you, but do not forget my words. Study well, and God bless you." Her words lived with me, and often in moments of despondency have come to cheer me. Her acting was a revelation to me, which ever after had its influence on me in the study of my art. Ease, grace, untiring energy through all the variations of human passion, blended into that grand and massive style, had been with her the result of patient application.—Macready,s Reminiscences. SAND-GROUSE.—Mr. Alfred Newton writes to The Times from Magdalene College, Cambridge:- I have received information which leads me to think that these islands will very likely be visited shortly by that very beautiful and extraordinary bird, Pallas's sand-grouse, and I venture, through you, to ask all whom it may concern to afford any such im- migrants all possible protection, so that the discredit- able slaughter which attended the visitation of 1863 may not be repeated. I would remind your readers that in that year this bird bred both in Holland and Denmark, and that there are many parts of this country, particularly on the Eastern coast, just as well suited to its habits and wants as the sandhills of Jutland or the Datch dunes. Furthermore, I would add that no possible scientific discovery can follow from the destruction even of a single example. Museums are well supplied with specimens, .and the structure, both external and internal, of this remark- able form has been sufficiently well studied." PAST A JOKE.-Elderly people never jest or chaff in France. It is considered there bad in age.- Fun. PAUPERISM.—The Lady Day Return issued by the Local Government Board shows that the number of persons then receiving relief from the rates in England and Wales was 700 332, which number shows a decrease of 76,169, or 98 per cent., compared with the number at Lady-Day, 1875, and of 10*8 per cent. compared with Lady-day, 1874. The improvement thus shown in the present year compared with 1875 extends to every one of the 11 divisions of England, but it was as small as 2*0 per cent. in Yorkshire, and it ranged from 56 to 9'1 per cent. in six other divisions. There are only four in which it exceeded the average of 9 8 per cent.-namely, the Suuth-Midland and the Eastern divisions, in which it was 10'8 and 10*9 per cent.; the Metropolis, 11'4 per cent. and the Welsh division, as much as 25 9 per cent., owing to the com- parison being with a time of trouble in the iron and coal trades. But about 3 per cent. should be added to all the figures owing to these returns not including vagrants nor paupers in lunatic asylums.

EPITOME OF NEWS. BRITISH AND FOREIGN. The salaries of the Clerks of the Crown in Ireland for the year 1875 amounted to £9,826 Is 6d., and the emolu- ments to £8,741104. 6d., making £13,667125. A Pipe Colouring Bse for a prize of five pounds is the latest development of this intellectual amusement.— Court Journal. It is stated that a special train has crossed the con- tinent of America, from New York to San Francisoo, in eighty-four hours. Another Nonconformist body, the Dissenting Depu- ties, have passed a string of resolutions condemning Lord Sanson's Education Bill. The Boston Courier says exorbitant prices for food and drink are in vogue at tke restaurants within the cen- tennial grounds. Three men, named Williams, Harrison, and Brown while returning from the Black Hills, were tomahawked and scalped by Indians near Cuater City, U.S., on the night of the 16th ult. The annual meeting of the Order of Druids was opened at Oldham on Monday. There were seventy dele- gates present. The Grand Master, Mr. James Sheldon, re- ferred to the Friendly Societies Act, which he said was a great improvement on the old Act, although the provision as to registration would entail considerable trouble and expense. Oa Friday in last week, Messrs. Weeks and Co. despatched from Plymouth Sound the ship Samuel Plimsoll, 1,444 tons register, Captain Borden, for Sydney, with emi- grants—60 married couples, 126 single men, 60 single women, 45 boys under 12 years of age, 43 girls, and 17 infants, making 412 souls, equal to 3501 statute adults. Speaking on Monday at the anniversary dinner of the Foresters at L«wes, Mr. Cohen, Q C., the Liberal candidate at the last election, referred to the Eastern Question, and said he rejoiced to know that when the destinies of England were assailed, no matter to what party they belonged, each one would heartily sink his political differences to strengthen the bands of the Government. He warned Russia to beware, lest the powerful weapons of justice and right should be brought to bear on her aggrandising policy. The Paris Correspondent of the Pall Mall Gazette writes :—" While the Germans are regretting that the French war indemnity of five milliards, or j6200,000,000, has brought neither wealth nor happiness, one finds M. Octave Noel here groaning over the fact that there is lying idle in the coffers of the Bank of France a metallic reserve of £ 80,000,000. Simple-minded people,' he writes, will consider this as an element of wealth, and will think that with this accumulation of gold France has attained the apogee of prosperity; our opinion is that it is the symptom of aserions and persistent crisis.' Altogether, M. Octave Noel estimates that 3,3C0.000,000 francs are now lying idle In France." In spite of the bad weather on Whit-Monday, the various places of public resort in and around London were visited by large numbers of persons. Upwards of 63,000 went to the Crystal Palace, and it is estimated that there were about 60,000 at the Alexandra Palace. The visitors to the Zoological Gardens numbered 42.826, upwards of 8,000 more than on last Whitsun Monday, when the weather was fine. There were 16,000 at the British Museum, over 2i COO at the Simth Kensington Museum, 2,640 at the Tower, and 6 801 at the Royal Academy. The number of persons who went to Epping Forest is estimated at 60,000; about 20,000 passed through the State apartments at Hampton Court, 4 000 or 6,000 visited the Stite apartments at Windsor, and' 14 600 went to the Brighton Aquarium. The theatres and other Slaces of public amusement are said to have been-very full I the evening. n The Indian papers say that a large male shot near.Callian on the 0th of May by some of CIAPIOYJS. Joseph Stevens, a Waterloo veteran, died on the 25th of April. The plague is said to be still virulent i There are about 70 oases and 40 deaths daily. The take of salmon in the Tweed last we< poor, and showed a considerable falling off coi the fishing o< the previous week. 14,500 persons passed the turnstiles at tt Aquarium on Monday, the number being very than on the corresponding holiday of last year. The National Dog Show was opened at t Palace On Saturday. There were 480 exhibits parts of the kingdom, the exact number of ei 1,133. The amount of prises offered was about i. A Times' telegram from America says miners at North Sydney are on strike. They havl violence, and troops have been asked for to breach of the oeace. The Castalia made a passage from Dover and back on Saturday. The time occupied w. and three-qu arte-s ench way. She did not c large number of passengers The divers have recovered from the w Strathclyde, a cash-box containing Valuables w: of £ i,000. Moody and Sankey did well in New Y< cleared 103,000 dols., besides getting a handsom the sale of their hymn books. There was a very large attendance at E last Saturday to witness a match, consisting of i La Cross, between a party of Canadians and a do Indians. The advantage was on the side of tt team. A Bill in the Commons bearing the nan Russell Gurney and Mr. John Bright has just 1 to remove restrictions on the granting of quali registrations under the Medical Acts on the groi An Omaha girl introduced a romantic m clde. She atufled her lovers letter's down her she was suffocated. According to a Parliamentary Paper, the Monday last 168 Bills in the House of Commoi 60 were Government measures. The body of M. Moulin, the Fren< murdered at Salonica, reached Marseilles on Frii Mr. Macdanald, M.P., addressing a lar of miners at Dunfermline on Monday, said, in his Employers' Liability Bill. that he did not ex) measure would be passed just yet. AU he w affirm Its principle. At Dundee, on Monday afternoon, a lii scribed for by the proprietors and readers of Mechanic, was launched. Rear-Admiral Rob Yeaman, M.P., and other leading citizens took ceremonial, and Mrs. Dalgleish christened the Engli8h Mechanic." "Donald," said a Scotch dame, looking i Catechism, to her son, What's a slander ?" gude mither?" quoth young Donald, twisting t his plaid; a-weel, I hardly ken, unless it be ower true tale which one gude woman tells of ai Lady Aberdare opened a bazaar at Exel Saturday in aid of the London Temperance Hoa stitution which during the last two or three yel pied temporary buildings. Lord Hylton, who, as Sir William Jolli some years the chief whip of the Conservative pi Friday morning, in his 76th year. He is succ< eldest son, the Hon. Hed worth Hylton Jollifle, w In 1829. Progress is being made with the prelimii in connection with the proposed Channel Tunn vations being continued day and night. The po a beginning has been made Is at Bungatte, near C Sir Joseph Whitworth, D.C.L., has beei with the freedom and livery of the Worshipful Turners, in recognition of his distinguished engineer. A letter was received from the Baro Coutts, expressing her great regrtt at being 1 present to do honour to Sir Joseph. The proprietors of the Graphic have sent of the sketches taken by their special artists. Johnson and Mr. W. C. Horsley, during the Prln tour in India, to be included among their ex1 American Centennial Exhibition. Before bel America these drawings were inspects*) by the Wales, who expressed her approval of them. You in the Edinburgh Post Office si to his son. You thiak yourself competent for A nice party you'd be in the Post Office. What ( in the Post Office, except to stand in the doorwf mouth open for folk to wet postage stamps on yo A skating rink has been opened at Si pronounced to be a success. A gentleman from now at Bangalore making preliminary arrangemi establishment of a roller skating rink at that sta A native named Soobroya Pillay has left Government three lakhs of rupees by his will I inhabitants of Pondicherry are anxious that the ihould establish a school of Industrial Arts with A plot of land at Heaton Norrip, whic laid out as a recreation ground, was opened on the use of the people of Stockport. The estate In extent, but it has been acquired for £3,200, L of Tatton having conveyed it to the Corporation at the low price of lOd. per yard. The Edinburgh Working Men's Coi Association having sent an address to the Queen, ting her Majesty on her assumption of the title o and the safe return of the Prince of Wales Ir.9m In, has been received from the Home Secretary's d intimating that Mr. Secretary Cross has had til; lay the addrets before the Queen on the subject of alteration in the Royal title." Lieutenant Conder, in addressing the Scier ference at South Kensington, furnished an acco exploring work recently accomplished in Palestin five years 4,600 out of 6,000 square miles of countr surveyed, and nearly 4,000 heights measured. T] of three-quarters ef the Biblical towns had been I and the true site of the cave of Adullam, and also of Baptism of the Jordan, had been ascertained. At some penny read n^s recently a Cod attempting to recite a part of Ballle Niool Jarvie indifferent succais. A brawny Scot in the audience, at the ruthless murder of his native tongue, bi '•Whaur's yer awksent, mun?" "Why, you'1 answered the Cockney, to the Intense delight of the The National Independent Order of Od< holds its annual moveable committee at Bradford The sittings commenced on Monday, Mr; Ed wan Manchester, the grand master, presiding. 1 numbers 47,000 members, thirty-three lodges ha opened during the year. Mr. Burns in his epeni condemned the Friendly Societies Act of last 868814 The Maidstone Journal says the hop-buu backward, compared with this time last year. It ever, during the past few days made good progress here and there fly has been seen. The bine is t places it is half way up the poles, at others just co to climb. The few showers we have had lately the means of an extra spurt. At present the weal that can be desired, not only for the hops, but fo things in general Two lads, named Innes and Abernethy, wer in Wick Bay, on Saturday, when the former was a cramp. Abernethy swam to his rescue, and I round the neck by the drowning lad. In this Its mained till dashed upon a rock A gentleman me by tying a handkerchief in stripes and throwing him. Abernethy was swept off by a receding i perished in sight of the lad whose life he had so attempted to save. American civilisation cannot dispense 1 cat and the pillory. Ten criminals, white and were flogged at the gaol at Newcastle, Del., on the the number of lashes received by each ranging fr< thirty. Before the whipping of three of them, t and one coloured, were publicly exposed In the ] an hour. A working men's gathering, which was taken part iØ by many thousands, was held on Monday in Hyde Park support Sir W. Lawson's Permissive Bill. Four meeting^ were held, at the chief of which Mr. T. Burt, M.P., preside*? the speakers being the hoa member himself. Cardinal Mai>l ning, Sir Wilfrid Lawson, MP., and Mr. Pope, Q C. order prevailed, and the resolutions in favour of the obje** of the meeting were carried unanimously. The opening by a new company of the famed GleØ Helen pleasure grounds in the Isle of Man, on Monday, wa* marked by 'a sad occurrence. A young man belonging Liverpool playing imprudently on the brick of onw of tJ1, water-falls, fell into the deep pool at the base of the toeV" There was a delay of half an |hour before a rope codM obtained, and the young man was drowned under the gass 01 a crowd of holiday makers. A Chinese giant of extraordinary height has beso discovered. His name Is Chiu ki TSZQ, he is nearly 7ft. 41ø;, high, and weighs 2971b he is 37 years eld, and a native of Shantung Province. He is taller by two and a halt Inched than Chang, and is believed to be the tallest Chinaman ever on exhibition. He is now on his way to the Centennial At Philadelphia, In charge of an Italian showman. Seventeen native chiefs, headed by the aunt and sister of the deposed King of Wassau, have petitioned She Lieutenant-Governor of the Gold Coast to have that monarch restored to bis throne. On the 25th of February last he wa £ sentenced by the Judicial Assessors' Court to a fine of ounces of gold and three years' Imprisonment, or In defato of payment to a further term of two years' imprisonment, toff purchasing slaves contrary to the ordinance abolishing slavery on the Gold Coast. The Times Barrow-in-Furness Correspondent writes, under date the 6th inst. "This morning the trade of the Barrow-in-Furness district is still in a dull and Inactive state, and the future prospects are gloomy and uncertain. Iron » but in limited demand, consumers are only placing a smaU number of orders. Steel in better request. Iron ore a trille cheaper. Coal easier. Prices :-No. 1 Bessemer, 721. 61, No. 3 force. 67s, Iron ore best samples, 14s. loreened 12s. Notwithstanding the unsettled state of the weather on Whit Monday Windsor was visited by an immense mun" ber of excursionists. The state apartments of the Castle1 were thrown open from eleven till four o'clock, and some! 4,000 or 6,000 persons passed through the rooms. For hour" the battlements of the Round Tower or Castle Keep were thronged with spectators, and all the well-known places of attraction in the neighbourhood were crowded throughout the day. In the afternoon a fCte in celebration of the return of the Prince of Wales was held upon the Windsor race course, Clewer, and attracted many of the visitors. A meeting of the Society for the Protection of Animals tiaMe to Vivisection has been held at the West- minster Palace Hotel; Lord Shaftesbury In the chair. Reso- lulions in support of the Bill now before Patliament to prevent cruel experiments on animals were carried*; and amongst the speakers were Cardinal Manning, Mr. £ owpet Temple, M.P, Mr. Mundella, UP., the Bishop of GtoCcettef and Bristol, and Mr. Evelyn Ashley, M.P. A most interesting letter has been received at Kirte- caldy from Allan Simpson, one of the missionaries who pro-" ceeded to Africa in connection with the settling of the Free* Church Mission on Lake Nyassa. It is dated Feb. 21, and, after noticing that the mission party had as yet met with no opposition, the writer proceeds to describe the dwellings of the natives along the banks of the river. They are con- tinually harassed on account of the slave trade carried on by the Portuguese and Arabs. A mission house has been built in which the whole party stayed. It serves for purposes of a dispensary, storehouse, dining-room, and sleeping ment. An important addition has jost been made to the" open spaces of Birmingham by the opening on Friday, in last week, of a new park some 13 acres in extent, on an acclivity on the south side ot the town. The land in question was bought by the Corporation from the trustees of Hollier's Charity for the sum of ZS,000, and a further sum of £4,500 has since been spent in enclosing and embellishing it Th* upper part has been laid out In grass plots, flower-bedn. shrubberies, and walks the lower end being asphalted to- form a playground tor children. Although the smallest of the five parks of Birmingham, Hlghgate-park is the most central and valuable in point of situation. Mr. Frederick Martin, the editor of The Statesman's Year Book, writer :—" The word Softa to a corruption of the Persian participle suchteh, signifying burned up, or destroyed by fire. In theory, tLe Softas are supposed to be devoured by a thirst for wisdom and knowledge, to such an extent as to be dead to all earthly Influences. Rence the name. From of old, the Softas have played an Important part in every insurrection that has broken out in the Turkish capital, but always in an anti-European and anti-Christian sense." Agricultural prospects have, says the Magnet o Monday (the 6th) undergone a marked improvement during the week. The weather has been essentially "growing weather." Warm showers, alternating with bright sunshine, have given an immense impetus to vegetation and greatly raised the hopes of farmers. Let the weather continue as favourable, and affairs will then speedily recover to their proper condition. On the heavy clay lands wheat does not look so well as might have been wished, owing to the abun- dance of moisture but on light aoils the plant mostly looks healthy. The green crops and the pastures hjve greatly benefited by the liberal rains, but hot weather la now requisite to ensure a good yield of hay.

III a leader remarking upon the suicide of the late Sultan, The Times remarks :— The astounding turprixes of Extern politics are crowned to-day by an event of the most startling interest. The de- posed Sultan Abdul Az z has put an end to his own life by opening the veins of his arm, or, according to another account, by stabbing himself to the heart with a dagger. Such, at least, Is the form in which the announcement ot his dea< hiamide. The world, probably, will never know the whole truth about the extraordinary tragedy of which tnls is th closing scene. In the East there is no great interval separat- ing deposition and oeath, and few believed that Abdul Az z even though his Ute was not threatened by any power- ful enemies, could long survive the ignominious fall which closed his career of* selfish and ruinous degeneracy. To such a despot, whose will has been obeyed with a suoserviency unknown in civilised coun- tries, the loss of power means the extinction of all capacity of enjoyment. Even the possibility of leading a life of sensual delights has no attraction for a voluptuary, who has exhausted all pleasures, except the Inexhaustible, and for the future Inaccessible, joys of caprice. The suicide of Abdul Aziz is probably as natural a result of the Turkish revolution as any on which conjecture could have fixed. It is not the less an event which will deeply move Europe The suicide of a Sovereign—even of a deposed Sovereign—is without a modern precedent, and some compassion will be felt for the cruel reverse of fortune, not un- deserved, but none the more tolerable, which smote Abdul Az'z, and of which this despairing act is the con- summation. It may be thought that self-destruction Is Inconsistent with the placid fatalism of the Moslem; but it has been sufficiently evident that the late Sultan had lost many of the eharacteristis qualities both of his race and of his faith. A will debauched by unrestrained caprice can- not rest In unshrinking submission to destiny, and this last proof of weakness finds an interpretation in harmeny with the other evidence of Abdul Az z's visible and progressive degeneration in mental and moral fibre. The unfortunate man leaves a tangled web behind him, and; though we can hardly believe that he had spirit or intelligence enough left to estimate fully the difficulties and the dangers which are gathering around his country, some dim perception of his fatal influence may have penetrated his soul, ati fiat stupefied by disaster, and have given his reason a final shock. It is needless, at any rate, for us to go beyond the version of the fact which is presented in the bald official announcement, The death of Abdul Aziz removes the most formidable element of danger, and secures for his country, more cer- tainly even than his deposition, the breathing space which may give Turkey yet another.chance of recovery. .The whole situation has been changed by the transac- tions of the past week clowned by the suicide of Abdul Aziz. It becomes necessary for Russia to reconsider her policy after events so unexpected, and which may possibly pro- duce consequences as momentous. We can hardly doubt that she will not only hesitate to press hardly upon the new Government at Constantinople before its strength and its temper have been clearly revealed, but that she will exert her influence to prevent her partisans in Servia and Montenegro from precipitating an International conflict the limits ol which mutt be at present unforeseen. We shaUexiwt therefore to find that the alarming intelligence "SXfve movements and preparations In Servia and Montenegro which come to us from Berlin will soon be contradicted [rom sources of more immediate authority. There leZ. tn be little question about the reality and importance of The £ lemonstrations, but we are well assured that they will not be persisted In against the advice or injunctions of Russia ThI nost serious aspect of the attitude in which the SlaVonlc States have placed themselves is the irritation their DOIICV 188 caused among the Orthodox Mussulmans, who regard ,he deposition of Abdul Aziz as a victory over fatal foreign ln- luences. It is not at all certain that even if Sarvia and Monte- legro lending ear to Russian counsels, should exercise a pain- ul and difficult selt-restraint, a collision will be averted for .?5euare ?&Dy °J new Sultan's advisers who cherish the rild hope that a bold course would now be a prudent course nd that to deal a succession of blows which would crush the nsurgents in Bosnia and Bulgaria and cripple Servia and ,Iontenegro would enable Turkey to treat upon something ike equal terms with the Great Powers. °

ACCIDENT at ST. GEORGE'S HOSPITAL, LONDON. On Saturday an accident occurred at St. George's Hospital, Hyde Park-corner, which naturally excited great alarm. A large iron tank hnd been erected some time ago at the top of the building to sapply water at high pressure throughoot the hospital. Soon after eleven in the morning of Saturday a little water was observed trickling from the ceiling of the top ward, and immediately afterwards the tank burst with a loud report, and its contents, variously estimated at 20 and 40 tons of water, poured through the top ward, the next ward below that, and the room on the ground- floor which is appropriated to the students and to the use of the Coroner for ir quests. The two wards through which the great volume of water passed are women's wards, and great panic prevailed, which must necessarily have had a bad effect upon the health of many of the patients. Severe injuries were also suffered from contusions. The water bore down with it broken beams, masses of plaster, iron, and other building material, and in the top ward two women, Rosa Streton and Sarah Gomez, and in the ward next below Jane Halliday were very seriously injured by the falling masses. In the sta- dents' room three gentlemen were very much in- jured. Wright's and Holland's Wards and the whole of the lower part of the hospital were flooded. Toe water swept along the corridors and into many of the rooms on the lower floor, and found its way out by washing through the entrance doors and through the basement into the sewers. It had not all escaped by nightfalL Great crowds collected round the spot on Saturday afternoon to observe the damage done to the building.

BURNING OF THE SHIP "KASHGAR." The British India Steam Navigation Company's steamer Africa, which arrived in Bombay harbour lately, brought from Goa the crew of the Kashgar. From the statement of Mr. Miller, the first officer, it appears that the Ka8hgar left Newcastle, New South Wales, on 23rd January, under the command of Captain RusselL She was bound for Bombay with a cargo of coals, and had a crew of 17 men, all told. At half-past nine o'clock in the evening of the 6,h May flames were seen issuing from the after part of the ship. The crew did allJ. in their power to extinguish the fire, but they could not get at it. Seeing this, the captain gave orders to make for land. At this time they were about eighteen miles from Goa, and were just able to see the lights of the town. The fire increased so rapidly that the captain ordered the boats to be got ready, and when they were about fifteen miles from Goa the crew had to abandon the vessel At this time the whole of the after part of the ship was in a blaze. It. was fortunate for the crew that they were so near land, as the fire took place in the after part of the vessel where all the water and provisions were stored, and the crew had only time to save their personal luggage. They landed at Goa early on Sunday morning, and were brought on by the Africa. The vessel was consigned to Messrs. Pelly and Co. The last accounts received about the Ka,shgar are that oa Monday she was seen by a fishing boat. Her after part was then burnt down to the water's edge, but part of her foremast was standing. So rapidly did the fire spread that the captain had not even time to unscrew the outer case of his chronometer, but had to be satisfied with taking the chronometer itself away.