The Aberdare Times

lIAL PARL1 1 OF LORDS, June 20, tb olution declaring the exp< Ilr Instead of five o'clocl notion, which was suppo: a Sari of Camperdown. Jeaoonsfleld said the propi venient to law lords and I lie supported the change who would then have a 1 House. On a division -1 voces. )• having given a third. ieadtoi' to and passed (MetropolU) Bill and the On in lb us ftegula- vanced some other orders a at) ige, adjourned oel to seven o'clock. ng Sitting of the HOICJSE OF COl IMONS, Mr. P. notice that on Wednesday n* xt he would to bring in a Bill to establish a tribunal in notions akin to those of Parlla mentary Com- rd to local and private Bills oil an industrial aracter. and the Chancellor of the E. cebequer, In Otway, declined to give any affairs while negotiations we're still pro- Chancellor added that the Governments ef I of France were in perfect accord upon the a question from Major Dickson, Colonel that the Colonial Secretary bwd received telegraph that the body of the Prince Im- recovered and would be forwarded to this Sir R. Peel, Colonel Stanley said he was not opacity the Prince was serving or whether I t) the Staff of the Commander-in-Chief, bat 3 had not gone on the reconnoitring party by ih the knowledge of Lord Chelmsford. a* for the rest of the morning in Committee lll, and clauses 45 and 46 were agreed to. tog Sitting, Sir C. Dilke moved for copies of ess passed by Sir Garnet Wolseley in Cyprus. !Vas seconded by Mr. Monk. Colonel Stanley lome of the returns he had received were with each other, and he promised to obtain information. Forster, Mr. Goldney, Mr. Gladstone, Mr. her hon. members also took part in the debate for papers was agreed to, and the House /l'enty minutes to two o'clock.

E OF LORDS, June 23, the death of the Prince referred to by the Duke of Cambridge, the and Lord Granville; the numerous body of d the benches on both sides expressing their manifestations of concurrence In the remarks IUA Duke and the two noble Earls. Cambridge approached the table, and said,- very anxious to make a short statement with le Bad and painful circumstances connected of the Prince Imperial, that we have all been he last few days, and on which there is only one )athy for the illustrious mother who has lost son, and of deep respect for the gallantry of an who unfortunately has come to this un- (Hear, hear.) There Is very great doubt as lances in which the Prince Imperial went to Mid I think it is much to be deplored that that remain for a moment longer than necessary. tos to me that I should be neglecting my duty "1 to your lordships the two private letters >rtunate Prince took out with him as letters of J Sir Bartle Frere and Lord Chelmsford. They ters and are the letters under which the Prince elf to the army In Zululand February 25,1879. •-helmsford,—This letter will be presented to cince Imperial, who is going out on his own B as much as he can of the coming campaign He is extremely anxious to go out and employed in our army but the Government Ider that this could be sanctioned, but have y writing to you and to Sir Bartle Frere to ou can snow him kindness and render him see as much as he can with the columns In Ie you will do so. He is a fine young fellow, nd pluck, and having many old cadet friends 7, he will doubtless find no difficulty in getting can help him in any other way pray do so. My In his account would be that he is too plucky —I remain, my dear Chelmsford, yours most 20RGE." tter to Lord Chelmsford, and I should also like i* lordships that which was addressed to Sir n order that there may be no mistake :— February 26, 1879. lir Bartle Frere,—I am anxious to make you ith the Prince Imperial, who is about to pro- by to-morrow's packet to see as much as he nlng campaign in Zululand In the capacity of He was anxious to serve in our army, having at Woolwich, but the Government did not J could be sanctioned. But no objection is made ut on his own acconnt, and I am permitted him to you and to Lord Chelmsford in Id with my personal request that you will ■y help In your power to enable him to see what Ie written to Chelmsford to the same effect. He young man, full of spirit and energy, speaking 'ably, and the more you see of him the more aim. He has many young friends in the Artil- I doubt not with your and Chelmsford's kind will get on well enough.-I remain, my dear Iura most sincerely, GBORGE." ring read these letters, all I can say is that I as the authorities at home are concerned, st feel that nothing has been done by them to fortunate Prince in the position which un- ied in his death. We all deeply regret his sure there is not a man, woman, or child In from Her Majesty downwards, who does not ire what has occurred; but, certainly, so far as es here are concerned, 1 feel that we had ) with bringing about such a catastrophe as s now all so greatly lament. (Hear, hear.) Beacons field: I am sure your lordships have great interest to the letters which have just the illustrious duke which he has thought it ,lace before your lordships' House and which deplorable calamity. Your lordships »i. illustrious duke the regret which was p nation when we heard of the death of distant serve with her Majesty's nd, caunoiTheW\ 086 U«" I feel has been y sacrificed. Prince'Nannl™7 °WD OP1111011. ot,J probity, of ability, of many virtues, mnm^gii2aalLties- (Hear> bear.) It is im- moment like this that the thoughts of men directed as those of the illustrious duke have v a8 m08^ deeply Interested in the life of an who has been so prematurely cut off. I feel caslon like the present any attempt at consola- e fruitless, but the day may come when the a free and great people may be appreciated by a nt. (Hear, hear.) ille: I may be permitted to say one word on case. I think your lordships will be glad that s duke did what he has done on the present t must be a source of melancholy satli- im to have proved the Interest which he young Prince whose death we so greatly to have had the opportunity of paying a of praise to his personal character and thoroughly agree with the noble earl the ter, at all events until we have some further )f the matter, in what he said as to a person of Prince's position and his youth having been circumstances which unhappily have proved (Sear, hear.) I will only add that I entirely Le expression of opinion that absolutely apart Itical feeling, the sympathy of this country is the strongest manner to the illustrious mother I Prince in her almost unparalleled affliction. > Lord Granville, Lord Salisbury said that Eng- ice had advised the Khedive to abdicate in son and Germany, Austria, and Italy had sup- ecommendatlon. No reply had been given by in took place on the Thames River (Prevention 111, to the rating provisions of which Lord e Bishop of London expressed some objection, was eventually read a second time. her measares were advanced a stage, and their e shortly after six o'clock. USE OF COMMONS, Sir W. Fraser gave notice that he will ask whether the Secretary of State Till ble any correspondence which may have passed ie Prince Imperial leaving this country for the whether he will state the precise position of l the army, and also whether he will state the nk of the officer by whom the Prince was put or the specific duty in the performance of which ife. 'elock also gave notice that he would 'ask what if any, were given to Lord Chelmsford as to the itles on which the Prince was to be employed i itructlons when he left Lord Chelmsford's head- Colonel Wood's camp were given ta the officers a he was serving as to the precautions to be « 'vent him running unnecessary risks. 1 IItion-time" lasted more than an hour and a < c1 more than 40 inquiries were addreised by 1 ibers, though the majority were of a limited or ] I un asked whether it was true that her Majesty's Resolute was to be broken up, and, if so, jtead, the Admiralty would have any objection "rto a training ship for boys. '» in reply, said that the Resolute had been be broken up, and that the sound pieces of shall be converted into a piece of furniture for 1 to the President of the United States, as It 'rd6r that the ship was restored to this country, finally a merchant ship, and she would require a ^ture ol money to keep her afloat. Her small !;• cot render her a healthy ship for a "pi for b'ojij. K Id anowor to Mr. Mtway, defined to glye any naation about Egypt than that the abdication Quested. As negotiations were still in progress aame a day for the production of the papers, ht hoped the Government would take an early ^worming the House what their policy was 9 iSgypt. of the Exchequer said he could not answer without giving rise to dlsoussions Into which L~ent could not enter at present. He would cement as soon as it could be done consistently lbUc interest. rith °* Partington gave notice that he will ask on itn whom the negotiations are going ou, and upon the Khedive was requested to abdicate. ,Ie was In committee on the Army Regulation evening. was under discussion for nearly five hours. A pfo- v by providing that two non-commls- cet; and fwo privates should sit on every Court-Martial waS opposed by Mr C. Bantlnck, 'court, Colonel Alexander, and others, and sup- 14r. 0 Donnell and Mr. Blggar, and ultimately An amendment by Mr. ODonnell depriving courts-martial oi the power of icflictiDg flogging ved, by 97 to 18 and a proposal by Colonel Moray ffi-marPSfal.,resrlmental, gene- strict—by Which each military »uld be specified In a schedule, was defeated by 67 up to 68 were agreed to, with the exception of which was struck out. |W business was disposed of, and the Some ad- ten minutes to one o'clock.

GIN PRICES OF BRITISH COKN.—The following average prices of British corn for the week une 21, as received from the inspectors ap>i 1 Exoise Wheat, 4Is. 8d. barley, 25s, lid. 1. 5d. per imperial qr. Corresponding week =-Wheat, 46a. 9J.; barley, 30s. 9d.; oats, ^NTT OF HOBSES.—The conflict of evidence AB oa8 occurred on the sale of a horse is often as- Sir Eardley Wilmot proposes to remedy thisin Quiring every "warranty'' made upon the sale hge of a horse or other animal to be in wiiting. Q that hia Bill assumes is that proceedings taken in respect of a warranty unless it is in Writing signed by the person to be charged or by a servant or agent who has been antho- do 80.

THE DEATH OF THE PRINCE IMPERIAL. varinus sources the following interesting We glean '*om. v^ ctlne the sad death of the Prince items and e*tr £ cts re6pectl g regret with which the The Times of Monday said Telegrams have been received at Chislehurst from most of the Sovereigns of Europe, including the German Emperor and the Crown Prince of Germany, the Emperor of Austria, the Caar of Russia, the Queen of Wurtemberg, the King of Spain and Queen Isabella, the King of Italy, the King of Sweden, the King of Denmark and from many private persons. The Pope has sent his benediction through Cardinal Bonaparte. The Turkish Ambassador and the Portuguese Minister have been among the bearers of messages of con- dolence. Our reaiders will be glad to learn that, in spite of many disquieting rumours, the Empress her- self haB been well enough to take cognisance of the expressions of sympathy made to her. Her Majesty received on Sunday, after Mass, two of the earliest friends of the Prince-Lieutenant Conneau and Lieu- tenant Espinasse-who were the companions of Prince Louis at the Tuileries, and are now in the French Army. At midday, M. and Madame Rouher, who bad arrived in London late the prrvious evening, paid a visit to Chislehurat, and were received by her MajeBty, not for any political object, it may well be assumed, but to express the natural feelings of sorrow and sympathy with the illustrious lady on whom the shadow of the Zulu war haa fallen so darkly. At 9J0 the Empress attended Mass in th« room of the Pnnce Imperial. Monsignor Goddard, of Chislehurst, offi. dated. Her Majesty was very much affected, and r immediately after service retired to her own room. Baron Corvisart, who was for so many years the prin- cipal physician to the Emperor, and is always at Camden-place, issued a bulletin at 8 a.m. as follows. IS. M rimp^ratrice elt dana le raeme état de profonde douleur; Ie sommeil eat; venu cette nult, pendant quelques heures. The slumber spoken of in the bulletin was the first that Her Majesty had enjoyed since the news reached her, but she had borne her great sufferings with the most heroic fortitude, and Christian resignation, and the statements which had considerable circulation as to her becoming and remaining unconscious must have been the result of some misapprehension. The Em- press has been suffering from a nervous contraction of the throat, which gives her trouble in swallowing, but has always been able to take liquid food, did she ever lose consciousness even at the moment when the unenviable duty fell to the lot of the Due de Bassano to communicate to her the full tenour of the disastrous news from the Cape. The Empress is surrounded by many of the old adherents of her house. Notable among these is General Bourbaki. The Due de Mouchy anived on Sunday. The Duchess de Monchy, born a Princess Murat and niece of the Empress, has been with the Imperial lady for two days. The Countess Clary and the Countess Aguado are among those by whom her Majesty is faithfully attended. "The principal religious functions relating to the death of the young Prince will be solemnized on the return of the body to England. It is not expected till the middle of July. In addition to the mass at Camden- house, at which the Empress was present, three masses were solemnized yesterday at Chislehurst Catholic Church, at each of which reference was made to the event which has filled this pleasant country vui»Ko w»u mourners. A constant procession of black-clad visitors from London and Paris passed from the station to the gates of Camden-house and thence across the common, all golden with the gorse which Linnaeus thanked God for, to the little chapeL The building is of Kentish rag without ornamentation, and is situated in the midst of tall lime trees, b6eches, and flowering laburnums. Within, the walls are plain, only relieved by the stations of the Cross in eoloured terra-cotta. The gorgeous Paschal ornamentations have been removed-the satin curtains offered by the Empress, the carpet woven by ladies of France. A few flowers decorated the walls, and there were roses and peones among the tapera on the altar, where the chalice or the gold monstrance was the only orna- ment. Above it the light came through a roae window, in which the Virgin in painted glass supported her child on her knees. A perpetual lamp was suspended from the roof; The swinging censer made the air faint and heavy. Within the sanctuary stood a chair draped in black. It was one of three reserved for the Em- peror, the Empress, and their son. Now two of them will be always vacant. Another chair in the mortuary chapel at the side where, in the great marble sarco- phagus presented by our Queen, the body of the third Napoleon reposes, was also draped in black, lhere were no other sable hangings. Indeed, the altar furniture was white and gold, for yesterday was the festival of the Sacred Heart. From this building three times yesterday the Angelut rang, and as many times a numerous and attentive congregation gathered, first at 8.30, again at eleven, and for the last time at half-past three. Monsignor Goddard said the first mass, and afterwards proceeded to Camien- house, where a temporary altar had, with the sanction of the Bishop, been erected in the Prince's room. A prie-dieu was placed just before the altar for Her Majesty, and she was surrounded by her immediate attendants. The Monsignor returned to the church for the mass of the day at eleven o'clock. The ceremonial commenced with the asperges, or sprinkling holy water among the faithful; the mass for the festival of the Sacred Heart was said by Father Wale. At the end of the mass Monsignor Goddard came into the sanctuary and went at once into the pulpit, He announced that the mass for the repose of the soal of the Prince Imperial would be said to-day ateleven, andatter reading this and other notices, he said a few words to his flock, evidently unpremedi- tated, and spoken from the heart with much emotion. The parishioners, on their part, were deeply affected. It would be easily understood, the Monsignor said, that his whole duty that morning consisted in asking them to pray earnestly for tho Prince and for the Empress- for the dead eon and fur the childless mother. In his anxiety about the Prince, knowing the dangers to which he would necessarily be exposed by circum- stances and by his own daring, he himself wrote to his Imperial Highness, and reminded him that it was the season of the year in which every Catholic ap- Droached the altar and performed his sacred religious duties. He added that he was afraid lest m the hurry of preparation for his departure this should have escaped his memory. In replying with his usual gentleness, the Prince wrote these words in French :— "I thank you, Monsieur le Cur6, for the letter you have been kind enough to write to me. It proves once again the love you bear me; but I am anxious that you should not believe that the hurry of my departure or the care of its de- tails should make me forget my duties as a Christian. I will present myself to-morrow morning at eight o'clock to receive for the last time the Holy Communion in the church of Chislehurst, where I destre to be placed when I die.' II The next morning thePrince came aad went through the most solemn duties of life. He knelt by his father's tomb, prayed for a little while, kissed it, and left Chislehurst for the last time-till he should be brought back to it dead. They must all pray for him, because, although he was a Christian in life and a Christian soldier in death, yet faith taught them that absolute purity is needful for the soul before it can stand before the Throne of God. "Many who had been desirous to attend were excluded from the service in the afternoon at half-past three. After Monsignor Goddard had said a short prayer before the altar, Faber's hymn, Heart of the holy child,' was sung by the congregation and the choir, chanting from the far end of the church. The Mon- signor then went to the pulpit and recited the acts of faith, hope, and charity, and gave his usual cateche- tical instruction, which happened be on that article of the Creed which relates to the communion of souls. The Litany of the Holy Name was then said, and the same prayer for the Prince recited as in the morning. The service concluded with the usual long benedictum, in which the village choir chanted excellently."

Large numbers of persons arrived at Chislehurst during Sunday, and many ladies and gentlemen of distinction called at Camden-house to express their regret and condolence with the Empress in her deep Borrow.

PULPIT REFERENCES TO THE PRWCES DEATH. On Sunday in all the Roman Catholic churches be. longing to the Archdiocese of Westminster allusion was made to the death of the Prince Imperial and the prayers of the faithful were requested at each of the services for the repose of his soul. At the French church of Notre Dame de France, Leicester-square, there was a very affecting scene, when prayers being requested for the repose oi the soul of the late Prince and for the Empress in her present condition many of the congregation were moved to tears. At the Jesuit Church, Fann-street, the Prince was alluded to as being a faithful Catholic, and prayers 'were said for the Empress. At the special request of Dr. Donell, Roman Catholic Bishop of Southwark, in whose diocese Chialehurst is situated, the prayers of the faithful were offered up for Prince Louis Napoleon. and at St. George's Cathedral the Dead March, in Saul, was played after the High Mass. The Bishop of Southwark officiated in the Church of the Sacred Heart, Camberwell, and during the service the preacher, the Rev. Harrington Moore, M.A., of the pro-Cathedral, Kensington, alluded to the sad event. He said that dating the past few days a gloom had fallen upon this country and a disaster had occurred to a great cause, with which, though it was none of theirs, they could not help feeling sympathy in its misfortune. In a great house in the diocese there was a home of Borrow, wherein an illustrious lady mourned over the loss of her only son. While they prayed for the repose of the soul of the Prince, he begged them also to remember in their prayers the sorrowing mother.

v?ntrrdArUUerryngsomee o/wtVha'^com^ upborn Brighton to the parade mustered on the Thames Embauk- ment. numbering aboat 300, under the command of their Lieutenant, Viscount Ashley, and marched to Westminster Abhey. The Rev. Dr. Lee, chaplatia of the corpa, met the brisade outside, and accompanied them into the Abbey. The sermon was preached by Pean Stanley, *ho tQ°k I text from P.alm 107, v. 23, 24 Ihey that 8° tato the sea lu ships, &c." After dwelling on the value of naval service as a discipline, and as tending to enlarge and strengthen the mind, and on the great naval captain", some of whose remains lay in the Abbey, the Dean said I had written thus far when there came the skock of the tragical event which has reminded us how, in the service of their country, sailors and soldiers have but one heart and soul, and how in that one heart and soul all the world share. Many and strange are the memories which crowd on the mind, as we hpar that, fighting under the British nag, the Prince Imperial of Franca has passed away- Any one who was in Paris on the day of his birth can never forget the moment when, in the eatly dawn of that Sunday morn- ing, we were roused by the sound of the cannon which announced the birth of a child, and the feeling of which deepened as the continuance of the volleys announced that the child was a boy. Every Inhabitant of that vast city was listening at the same hour and the same moment with anxious expectation to the long-protracted thunder of the artillery, which told us that another bulwark was elven to the Empire, another prop to a rising rivnastv a fresh complication for the future of France. We heard as years rolled on of the love of his parents to this one hone of their llve»-a devotion unchanged amidst the ^.aRndes of all the world beside. We heard of the boy at hia rhildhood B play building castles in the sand at his well- knowif resort on the shores of the Atlantic. We heard of his #iJ?hfni Fnelish nurse and her good advice to him. We J him vet later tossed to and fro in the rack and ruin nf ^he^mnerial House at Gravelotte and Sedan. We heard «f Wm ^ter his arrival In this country suddenly called to his f^tMeathbedTand gathering up hi. boyish energies to I ofler with a force strangely beyond his years a few words of I agonised prayer as he knelt by the llfelew corpse. We learned of his studies at our own Institution at Woolwich, achieving his honours without fear or favour. He devoted him- self to the study whicn had been the taste of his father and the nurse of the great genius of his uncle, Then we learned of his wish to share the tolls and dangers of his com- rades in South Africa-that Africa which has been so strangely associated with St. Helena, the place of the exile and death of his uncle. All is now over—all the hopes and fears of those to whom his existence was the rallying-point for all the memories which gathered round the Im- perial name. It might almost be said that jjJ1 hopes and aspirations, that this name at which the world grew pale," have sunk beyond foreign seas to point a moral or adorn a tale." This is not the place, nor Is this the time, to dwell upon that wider range of politics, nor to speak of the fortunes of the family of Napoleon. At these moments, when the life- less remains of the young Prince are travelling across the sea we had best fix our thoughts on the spirit which has gone to God who gave it, and on her who now sits solitary, who once was great among the nations. He is gone, and he has left a stainless name behind, honoured and respected even by his adversaries. To his comrades and to you English boys he has left the best of legacies, the example of a faith- ful and earnest friend-the example of a pure life and of clean lips, as I have been told by one who knew him well. To the country which had sheltered him he gave what he could, his service and his life. To him it was permitted to die a soldier's death, which was denied to his father and to his uncle, and he has been spared the life-long struggles and temptations the thought of which drew tears of anguish from his father as he was standing over his baby couch and for her who now survives Is there not a tender sympathy which is good for us? Much people and of many lands are with her as she awaits the coming of these remains, much people, both of France and England, princely, noble, and humble. Let us all remember that he was the only son of his mother, and she Is a widow. The Dean then uttered a fervent prayer for the Empress, and ooncluded with the benediction.

The Bishop of Manchester, in concluding his sermon at Westminster Abbey in the evening, after appealing to the congregation for their sympathy on behalf of the be- reaved Empress, said:—What an unstable thing was human life! What fortunes had not that youog Prince of twenty-three years passed through since the memor- able day which dawned eo darkly for his House, and when he passed through his baptism of fire on the heights of Saarbruck. To him (Dr. Fraser) It teemed always a pity that he should have intermingled with this African affair, with which he had no concern. Whether it was the instinct of a chivalrous nature, or whether it was as he had been assured by one who knew him at Woolwich that it was the impulse of friendship, and to join old comrades betweenwhom and himself there was a strong mutual attachment-what prompted him he could not say; but he had fallen not in the fierce height of the battle field where the soldier loved best to die, but he had fallen a victim of a petty sur- prise. They had no concern with the dynastic or pontical consequences. They thought only of the mother and of the son and the high rank of the two made them the more conspicuous objects for their pity. The mother had been bereft of her last support, and left-oh I how lonely in the world. He hoped they would find, even In the midst of their deep national and personal Interests a place of sym- pathy for this lady. The "Dead March in Saul" was played on the organ as the vast congregation dispersed.

In St. Paul's Cathedral on Sunday morning the Rev. J. Davies, rector of Christ Church, Marylebone, whilat exhorting his congregation, amongst which was the 3rd London Volunteers, to cultivate the virtue of Christian courage, remarked that we have to-day examples of heroism not unworthy of the traditions of English valour, and that that valour of our eountrymen was being put to severe tests by the physical oourage of savage foes. He added that a tribute of sorrow and sym- pathy was claimed at this moment by that miserable death of a high-spirited young prince which had shed a thrill of anguish through the universal heart of the nation. Sach Incidents showed that the courage of sacrifice needed to be borne by mothers who offered their sons, as well as by sons who offered themselves. We might well, however, grudge such sacrifices in such a war.

At the Chapel Reyal, Savoy, in the sermon In the morning, preached by the Rev. Henry White, from Romans viii, 28, the following allusion was made to the death of the Prince Im- perial "No one," the preacher said, u ean contemplate the vicissitudes of life and their final issue for good without re- membering the great sorrow which has desolated the heart of one who has endeared herself to the homes and affeations of every English family in this nation. The Impress Eugene has ever won the respect and love ol the country of her adop- tion but never has she attracted so swiftly and surely the sympathies of the people as in this sad hour of her lonely and crushing grief. There is no time nor place for the entrance of political considerations. Even those who may have regarded the hopes and longings of her house with distrust or dislike are seen to stan d uncovered, and to bow the head before a calamity so sudden and so shock- ing Our compassion yearns for one who loses home and country and destiny by a stroke of mysterious be- reavement. The Prince had become as one of our- selves in loyalty to this country-in love of her sons, in the earnestness. industry, and Intelligence which made him attractive as a student, a soldier, and a friend. The death of the young is always touching and terrible but the sacrifice of one so blameless in life, so high in hope, so loving in character, saddens all hearts. That he should have died in defence of our cause but makes his memory the more sacred. For his widowed and childless mother, who has now lost everything In losing her brave, good, and gallant son, the sympathies of this English nation will be poured forth abundantly."

The Rev. Pere Coppin, preaching at the French Chapel, Leicester-square, thus referred to the death of the Prince Imperial: "We ask your prayers for the late Prince Im- perial and for his grief-stricken mother, who has thus suffered such a fearful bereavement. We should bow with re- spect before her lose. Tne God who holds in his hands the fate of Empires and Sovereigns has just struck one of those noble families a great blow. It does not come within my province to say whether the death of the Prince has been a misfortune for France or not; but I will say that he was a good Christian, and always attended regularly to his religious duties. It is only be- coming to suppress all party feeling before this great and irreparable misfortune, and we should all unite to pray for the soul of the unfortunate young Prince, and ask God to support his mother under the terrible ordeal through which she Is now passing."

COUBT MOURNING. A supplement to the London Gazette, issued on Saturday, contains the following :— "Lard Chamberlain's Office, June 21. Orders for the Court's going Into mourning on Sunday next, the 22nd Inst., for his late Imperial Highness the Prince Napoleon-viz. "The ladies to wear black dresses, white gloves, black or white shoes, feathers, and fans, pearls, diamonds, or plain gold or silver ornaments. "The gentlemen to wear black Court dreBS, with black swords aud buckle:. The Court to change the mourning on Sunday, the JOth inat.-viz. :— "The ladies to wear black dresses, with coloured ribands, flowers, feathers, and ornaments, or gray or white dresses, with black ribands, flowers, feathers, and ornaments. The gentlemen to continue the same mourning. And on Wednesday, the 2nd of July next, the Court to go out of mourning."

It was officially announced that the German Court would go into mourning on Monday, and until the 30th inst., for Prince Louis Napoleon.

HOW THE NEWS WAS RECEIVED IN FRANCE. The Paris Correspondent of the Daily News wrote —" The news of the Prince's death has been received with a feeling of stupefaction. Regret is uppermost in most minds. The people say the young Prince has paid the debt to glory due trom the Bonapartists since Sedan, and has redeemed the military honour of his name. They are sorry, too, for the bereaved and exiled lady at Chis Ie hurst, and none can think without a pang oi the overwhelming grief which has fallen upon her who was once Empress of France. The Bonapartes have been always per- sonally beloved, especially by the army; and as this is the only one who has died in battle, the tears which old soldiers shed for him are not without pride. Pleasant stories are told of him. People remember his cheery talk. They say he rode to danger like a French cavalier, with laughter in his eyes and a jest upon his tongue; and that he died as a banished Emperor should die, with the name of his country among his last-recorded words."

The following is an extract from the letter of the Paris Correspondent of The Times :— It is impossible to Imagine an event which would have caused a greater sensation in France than the news of the death of the Prince Imperial. It is only justice to the French nation to say that the prevailing sentiment Is one of melancholy astonishment. Even among the greatest opponents of the Bonapartists no unbecoming expression is heard. The only objection entertained to the young Prince who kas just died was based upon apprehensions of his suc- ceeding to the throne and upon the feelings of hostility ex- cited by his partisans. Personally he had done nothing to justify any resentment against him, but his political friends had taken up an aggressive and threatening attitude, and many people had gone over to the Republic from_ a fear of the possible establishment of a Third Empire to which they were strongly opposed. All appre- hension of this kind now vanishes. The Bonauartist party is paralyzed as by a lightning stroke, and the Repub- lic, while it is freed from a dangerous pretender, loses those of its supporters who had only adopted Republicanism as a means of preventing the restoration of the Empire The news, which spread with great rapidity, caused a burst of surprise and stupefaction, and that, as might have been anticipated from the national character, the most in. credible rumours were put into circulation. In particular, one was struck by the strange coincidence that twice since the departure of the Prince rumours of his death have been current, and it Is alleged that previous to sailing he had some presentiment of the fatal event. All parties, however, join In regretting that a fate so little in keeping with the legiti- mate hopes which might have been entertained of the Prince's future should have befallen him, and the general unanimity is even more marked in regard to the unfortunate Empress who has suffered so Irreparable a loss. As for the leaders of the Bonapartist party, they seem to have had a pr* sentiment of the disaster, and only two days ago one of them said to me, We did all we could to dissuade the Prince from going, but In vain, and when M. Rouher saw him and wished to speak to him on the subject, the Prince said, There is no use iu discussing the matter as a project; we must resign ourselves to facts. Then, as it by singular irony, my interlocutor added, You will see; the Prince will be like his father. I believe he will do great things, but at all events be will do things which nobody expects." At the moment these words were spoken the Prince had been dead seventeen days, and his untimely end was a bitter realization of the enthusiastic prediction. We must wait some days before seeing the attitude which the Bonapartist and Republican parties will assume, for the action taken now may exeyclse a great in- fluence on the subsequent policy of the Bonapartists and upon the future of the Republican regime.

An address by the Bonapartists to the Empress Eugene has been drawn up in these terms Madame,-We come and lay at your Majesty's feet the expression of our profound and Immense grief. The blow which strikes you so cruelly strikes France In her deepest recollections and highest hopes. God has not permitted that young Prince, who had already all the qualities of a Sovereign, to be preserved for your love, for the service of France, and for our tender aud entire devotion. Death takes him trom us at the moment when we had a right to expect France would soon recall him. We do not compare your grief to ours, although ours is without limits. We merely beg your Majesty to accept the homage of that grief which France shares, and of which we shall all come and offer you the expression." And to this is subjoined the following declaration :— The Senators and Deputies of the Appeal to the People have assembled to-day. However profound their grief, It is their duty to affirm before the country that if the Prince Imperial is dead his cause survives him The succession of the Napoleons does not fall unclaimed. Representing an imperishable principle, the Imperialist party remains erect, compact, faithful, slid devoted. The Empire will live."

The Rtpublique Francaise considers that the event of the Prince's death has extlugulshed the Bonapartist party. Do what it will, it says, the faction is going tu pieces. Most of the electors who remained faithful to the Empire will now, the Republique Francaise thinks, rally to the Republic. The Bonapartlst senators and deputies have meanwhile issued a Proclamation, in which they say that, profound as is their grief, they feel it a duty to tell the country that though the Prince Imperial is dead his cause survives. The succession of the Napoleons (they add) is not vacant. Representing an imperishable principle, the Imperialist party remains up- standing and devoted. The Empire will live."

Qalignani says" We are enabled to state that If all the persuasion of his mother and friends failed to prevent Prince Louis Napoleon from Joining the expedition In which he has unhappily fallen a victim, It was because the same Influences proved a euccesefol impediment to his Joining the Austrian army in Its Bosnian campaign, or the British forces in their operations against Afghanistan. Political reasons were adduced in both these cases to dissuade him, and the argu- ments proved sufficient to his sound sense: but In the Zulu war politics could not be Invoked as a check to the mliltary ardour with which he burned, and he positively refused to surrender his own will."

"The melancholy event caused the profoundest sorrow among the pensioners at the Hotel des Invalides, where a few glorious old veterans who fought under Napoleon I. are still to be found. One of the heroes of Lutzen, Bautzen, and Leipstc, in describing how the news was received at the Invalides, said in his rough, simple, but touching language Ah, air, this is not just. A Napoleon ought not to die assassinated by such dirty niggers as the Zulus. And then he was so young, the poor little fellow. Ah! you should have seen how upset we all were. Some of us could not eat our soup. Of course we did not weep, because we are too old and tough, and we should have looked like babies; but we felt something in the throat which was hard to swallow, and then we swore a little to ease ourselves. I saw him once, many years ago, but I have forgotten how he looked. But that is no matter. To all of us he was the nephew of the Petit Caporal, whom we loved and fousht for. That was enough for ns.Paris Correspond- ent of Standard.

A GERMAN VIEW OF THE PRINCE'S DEATH. The Cologne Correspondent of the Standard says "The profound impression created in Germany by the death of Prince Louis Napoleon continues to form the topic of num- berless leading articles throughout the Press of the Empire. The sentiments generally expressed may be gathered from the following extract, which I take from a lengthy article on the subject in the Cologne Gazette, and which Is entitled -The End of the Napoleon Dynasty, From the point of view of humanity it is impossible for us to withhold our sympathies from Prince Napoleon under the cireumstanees of his death. Personally, indeed, he never did anything to forfeit our sympathy. On the contrary, he had of late shown himself an excellent young fellow, and the great hopes which the adherents of his house had set upon him were to all appearances not without justification. Whether in France, too, the Prince will be judged in a similarly unprejudiced manner we know not; but there, too, we believe he had merited favourable oplnloas. From a political point of view the death of the Prince must be regarded as an event of the first rank of Importance, although according to the different parties to which men belong, he will be differently judged. We do not purpose here entering any further into the consideration of this point. Accidents otten have the greatest influence on history; and the Zulu brave who killed Prince Napoleon probably never dreamt that the death of this young man was of far greater importance in the history of the world than the entire Zulu war, however that may happen to end. Whether Cetewayo or Queen Vtotorla shall rule In Zulu- land,—that is a question of local importance, but that the son of Napoleon III. has fallen there that is an event of the highest and most far reaching importance. Whether with him the dynasty of the Napoleons is or is not destined to come to an end, no was at any rate its highest and compara- tively most promising representative, and it we have ven- tured in this artiole to speak of the end of the House of the Napoleons,' we believe that from a political point of view we have hardly said too much."

MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS. In reference to the death of the young Prince Napoleon the Hungarian newspapers of all shades of politics express deep sympathy with the bereaved Empress Eugenie. Count Andrassy, who resided for a lengthened period in Paris during the most successful portion of the reign of Napoleon Ill., and who was a great favourite at the French Imperial Court, where he married one of the most beautiful women surround- ing the Empress at that time, was deeply moved on receiving the fatal intelligence, and despatched a touching telegram of condolence to Chislehurst.

The Standard of Tuesday said To the overwhelming grief into which the Empress Eugénle was plunged on hear- ing of the news of the death of her only son has succeeded a period of comparative calm. Tears have come to the relief of the afflicted lady, she has had some sleep, and Baron Corvisart speaks more hopefully of her condition, though her calm is still but the calm of a submissive, almost despairing, yielding to fate. As yet she is ignorant of the horrible circumstances attending her son's death she only knows that he is no more, and probably imagines that he succumbed to the fever from which he had been ailing."

We learn that there is no foundation for the statement that' the body servant whom Prince Louis Napoleon took with him carried to South Africa the materials for embalm- ing his body In case of any untoward event: "-Daily Telegraph.

In the course of a leader commenting upon the statements in the House of Lords and the notices of questions in tha House of Commons, relative to the circumstances attending the death of Prince Louis Napoleon, TAe Tunes of Tuesday says :— The circumstances under which the Prince Imperial met his tragic fate canuot fail to command the most anxious con- sideration in England. The French, Indeed, and the political friends of the Prince, have displayed the just and generous feeling which was to be expected of them in their comments on the event so far as the British autho- rities have been concerned in it; but it is none the less due to ourselves that it should be made perfectly clear on what terms and in what capacity the Prince went to South Africa, and Incurred the risks whfch have had so fatal and it must be added, so momentous a result His death is an historic event which will be vividly fixed In the imagination of his countrymen and of the world, and all Englishmen are con- cerned that no undue responsibility for it should be held to attach to them in consequence of mere misapprehension of the facts • It is t0 be remembered that the unfor- tunate Prince'was under the strongest temptations to thrust himself forward into situations of peril. His very object in going out was not merely to learn the art of war and a campaign in Zululand would not have been of much value as an introduction to European warfare. He was much more concerned to prove to the world, and to France in particular, that he possessed the true temperament of a soldier. The military fame of his family had been sadly tarnished; and though he could not repair the wreck which Sedan had wrought fit the reputation of the Napoleons for the higher arts of generalship, he might at least show that the heir to the Empire inherited the gallantry and audacity of its founder. For this purpose it was absolutely requisite for him to thrust himself forward, with or without reason, into situations of peril. When he started, his enterprise was the subject of a good deal of raillery on the Continent, in his own country as well as in Germany; and enough must have reached his ears to stimu- late very keenly an eager desire to prove such deprecia- tion unfounded. The Prince, in fact, was guided by a truer instinct than those who would thus have shielded him. Though the particular choice to which it led him may have been injudicious, it was a just view of his position which impelled him to seek some opportunity of winning the reputation of a brave and dalhmg soldier. Even now it is not impossible that his sad death will do much towards rehabilitating his family in the regard of the French people. lie has touched the chord of popular sym- pathy, and there is a tragedy about his fate which will go far to eclipse the disgrace of Sedan. There is, however, a great distance between this recovery of personal respect for his family and the re-establishment of the Bona- partist party. The Prince's death weakens many ties, and brings to en end many sympathies which have hitherto been on the side of his Hoase England has no reason to feel any special regard for the Napoleonic dynasty in Itself; and it was to Napoleon III. and to his family that such popular support as it received In England was attached. The case is much the same in France. The present heir of the House commands none of the confidence which the administration of the Second Empire aroused, and it is very doubtful whether the party can remain united."

Owing to the advanced age of the Countess di Monti jo, the grandmother of Prince Louis Napoleon, the intelligence of his death had not, on Saturday, been communicated to her. The Prince's death has been deeply lamented by the Spanish newspapers and the population at large.

The following bulletin was issued by Baron Corvisart at Chisleburst on Monday morningThe Empress heard mass yesterday in the Prince Imperial's room. Her Majesty afterwards seemed calmer and has pasted a better night."

M. ltouber had an Interview on Monday with the Empress, but her Majesty made It a condition that political subjects should be avoided. M. Rouher returned to London by the train at 44.7, and in the same train Prince Lucien Bonaparte and the Crown Prince of Sweden travelled from Camden Place to London.

On Monday morning, at eleven o'clock, Monsignor Goddard celebrated mass, robed in black vestments, in the little Catholic church. The altar used was that of the mortuary chapel in which the banner of Napoleon III. as a Knight of the Garter hangs above his tomb. The frontal of the altar was black. The mass was sung by the village choir, led by Mr. Doyle. A prit-dieu within the chapel was occupied by Prince Lucien Bonaparte, and the household filled the church. At six o'clock on the morning he left, the late Prince, who had sat up writiug till three, called the old servants of his father round him and told them he had provided for all of them in his will. At the railway station, before he left, he signed a letter addressed to M. Rouher. The Abbfc Frechein, an old man of 86, was among those who attendea the mass. He was once the parish priest, still lives in the village, and was affectionately attached to the young Prince. A singular example of the thought for others which the strong and noble character of the Empress preserved in the midst of her misfortunes was afforded by her Majssty's inquiry as to this old man-u Does the Abbe Fréchein know it t How does he bear it, pauvre vitux 1

Monsignor Goddard, chaplain to Her Imperial Majesty the Empress of the French, received on Monday evening from the Mayor of Dublin by telegraph an address of con- dolence, voted by the Corporation unanimously, which was to be presented to Hor Majesty when a favourable oppor- tunity might offer.

A meeting of the Stafford House South African Aid Fund was held on Monday, and an address of condolence was drawn up to be presented to her Majesty the Empress Eugenie.

The Leicester Town Council have passed a vote of con- dolence with the Empress Eugénie.

The Figaro states that before leaving for the Cape the Prince Imperial, in presence of two English officers, wrote a political testament, which will be opened at a general meet- ing of the Imperialist party.

A committee Is being formed to promote the erection of a fitting memorial to Prince Louis The Duke of Sutherland, Lord Strathnairn, Stanhope, and Lord Gerard have consented to take part in It.

The remains of the late Prince, it is believed, will arrive In England In some three weeks time. On its arrival In Eng- land the body will be conveyed direct to Chislehurst, and it Is understood that it will lie in state for a short time before the burial. The remains of the Emperor, who died on January 9, 1873, lay in state on January 14, and were consigned to their resting-place at St. Mary s Roman Catholic Church, Chislehurst, on the day following.

By the unhappy death of the Prince Imperial, Prince Napoleon, the son of the late ^"jce Jerome, formerly King of Westphalia, becomes ohief or tne Imperial Family. But it is thought by many that the expectations of the Bona- partist party will bo directed to his children. His eldest son by his marriage with the Princess Clotilde of Savoy, Prince Louis, was born in Pans in July, 1862, and is con- sequently nearly 17 years old. ills second son, Prince Victor, is exactly two years younger.

A correspondent In Scotland writes to the Pall Mall Gautte :-An incident of the Prince Imperial's visit to Scotland in the January of last year Is recalled by the cir- cumstance of his woful death in South Africa. So far as our present information goes, it would appear that it was his failure to mount his horse at :8tltu Kraal that led to his death. Yet the Prince was not only a bold but a most skilful rider. This was illustrated in a remarkable manner when be was the guest, along with the Prince of Wales, of the Duke of Hamilton, to January. 1878. On the Sunday on which the party at Hamilton Palace visited Merry ton, for the purpose of inspecting the famous stud of Clydesdales belonging to Mr. Drew, the Prince Imperial leaped on the back of Lord Harry, a horse which had never been ridden before. Ihe byestanders looked on with amazement, not unmlngled with alarm, as he scampered round the yard, hardly knowing whether to admire or reprove the wildness of the feat.

The late Prince Imperial was born on the 16th March, 1850. For the first ten years of his life it was feared, owing to the delicacy of his health, that he would not survive to manhood, but in 1870 he had become much stronger, and ac- companlid his father in the campaign against Germany. He was present on the 2nd August at the capture of Saarbruck, whence the Emperor telegraphed to the Empress at Paris— Louis has just received his baptism of fire. He showed ad- mirable coolness and was not at all affected. We were in the front rank, but the bullea and cannon balls fell at our feet. Louis has kept a bullet which fell quite close to him. Some of the soldiers wept at seeing him so calm." After the disastrous defeat and capitulation at Sedan, the young Prince made his escape to Belgium, and crossing from Ostend to Dover on the 6th December, proceeded to Hastings, where he was joined by the Empress on her flight from Paris. He subsequently resided with the Emperor and Empress in their exile at Chislehurst. He entered the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich as a gentleman cadet, and acquitted himself with considerable distinction, standing at Use final examination in 1875 seventh in a class of 34, a position which would have entitled him to elect or serve either in the Royal Artillery or the Royal Engineers. With the English people, and especially in the metropolis, the young Prince was exceedingly popular, and his occasional appearance as a speaker at public gatherings were always warmly welcomed. Upon the despatch of reinforcements to the Cape the Prince volunteered for service with his old oomrades of the Artillery and Engineers, and was attached as a volunteer to the Staff.— Qlob«.

A rumour that the Empress Eugenie had died reached the Crystal Palace on Saturday while the concert arranged In honour of the Duke and Duchess of Connaught was In pro- gress. The Royal visitors had postponed their visit owing to the death of Prince Louis Napoleon, and the "Dead March" in Saul was about to be played in recognition of that sad event when the rumour came. A profound sensa- tion was caused, but was followed by a corresponding sense of relief when the report was soon afterwards contradicted.

THE PRINCE IMPERIAL'S FUNERAL. L. R. B." throws out the following suggestion to the Globe Sir,-The body of the young Prince Napoleon is to be brought to England to be buried in the country of his adoption, among his friends whem he made through his good heart by his kindly nature. He fell in the service of his adopted country, an example of all that is noble and chivalrous. At this moment the great heart of England throbs in unison of grief with the noble lady who has lost the one thread binding her to eaith. Every man whom I roeet seems desirous of doing Homething to lessen this sad trial of her Majesty Eugenie, so much beloved. Let us, therefore, give her some proof of our feeling, and not allow empty words alone to express the sympathy we feel. I beg to suggest that a military funeral worthy of a Napoleon should be given to his remains, and that four officers from every battalion in the country-be they cavalry, Guards, line, militia, or volunteers-be permitted to follow his re- mains to their last resting-place. Let it be voluntary, as he was a volunteer, and I am sure the response will be one gratifying alike to the feelings of her Majesty our Queen, her Majesty the Empress, and to the nations of France and England.

The Times of Tuesday published the following letter :— Sir,—When the late Mr. Peabody died, who had done so much for the working classes in England, we sent one of our finest ironclads to America with his remains. The Prince Imperial Louis Napoleon has given ua his life, and died as a brave soldier should do. Can we do otherwise than convey his body to England "with all honour" in one of our ships of war ?-I remain, Sir, yours faithfully. HENRY E. CROZIER, Captain R.N. Kingston-on-Thames, Surrey, June 20.

THE ASHES OF COLUMBUS. Although not much public attention has been attracted to it in the presence of more stirring ques- tions, a violent controversy has been raging for some eighteen months pastas to the true resting-place of the remains of Christopher Columbus. The Spanish Go. vernment, which felt itself specially interested in setting the matter at rest, referred the point at issue, and the evidence adduced by the opposing parties, to the Royal Academy of History at Madrid; and this learned body has recently issued its report, the substance of which is now brought before English readers in a small pamphlet from the pen of Sir Travers Twiss. The salient points of the arguments and facts may be very succinctly described. The great Admirals remains, after lying for seven years m a Fran- ciscan convent at Valladolid, were thence trans- ferred by his son, Don Diego, in 1513, to a Carthusian convent at Seville. It was not till 1537 that the Royal grant was obtained from Charles V. for reo moving them to the Cathedral Church of Santo Domingo, where the celebrated explorer had always wished that his bones should be deposited. In this Cathedral the body was accordingly laid by the grandson, Don Luis, in 1549, and continued to be an object of veneration therein till near the end of the eighteenth century. In 1783 there were alterations made in the structure of the Cathedral and the vaults beneath, and some doubts appear to have prevailed even then as to the true position of the cofRn. But the origin of the present dispute is to be traced back to 1795, when, in accordance with the Treaty of Basle, the Spaniards had to cede to France the ground in which the Admiral was interred. His bones, or what were supposed to ba his bones, ^e*e' *~ere- fore, solemnly disinterred and transported to the Havana, where they were deposited in a place of honour near the altar of the Cathedral. # That this event took place as recorded at the time is a thing which was never doubted, as it appears, until, on the 10th of September, 1877, the Bishop of Orope, Vicar ApoBtolic of Santa Domingo, issued a pastoral letter asserting that the true remains of Columbus had never been taken to Havana at ali, but were still reposing in the Cathedral of Santa Domingo, where they had been found by some work- men engaged upon repairs. If this assertion were true it would follow that those who effected the transfer of the coffin in 1795 were the victima either of a blunder or a fraud, and "the burden of proof of this astounding fact rests," as Sir Travers Twiss justly observes, "upon the Vicar Apostolic." The report of the Academy is conclusively adverse to the idea that any such proof has been adduced, and the Christian mariners of the West Indies will not, as it was at one time feared, "be permanently perplexed by having to decide which of the two rival bodies of Christopher Columbus is the true body of the dis- coverer of the New World.Globe.

THE HOSPITALS IN SOUTH AFRICA. Nothing is more welcome to patients wearied out by suffering and hospital confinement in distant lands than news from home, and to ne patients can this apply more truly than to soldiers struck down by wounds or sickness in the midst of active occupa. tion in time of war. We can well understand what the effect of the arrival of a supply of newspapers from England must be among such patients. The revival of interest in the outer world that will be excited by the intelligence contained in them must act as a material aid to the restorative remedies employed by the medical officers. Surgeon- Major Cuffe, A.M.D., senior surgeon of General Wood's column engaged in the operations against the Zulus, made a request some time ago by ad- vertisement for newspapers to be sent to the field hospitals under his charge. In a recent letter, this officer has expressed his thanks, and the grate- ful thanks of a large number of sick and wounded officers, non. commissioned officers, and men," for the liberal response that has been made to his re- quest, as well as to an appeal made by a thoughtful lady, who was kind enough to draw attention to the same subject in the Times newspaper. We would Buggest that not only newspapers, but any periodicals, weekly or monthly, that can be spared, should be sent for the use of the patients in the hospitals of South Africa during the war. We feel assured they will be highly valued by our countrymen in that distant region. -Briti,h Medical Journal.

THE BISHOP OF LICHFIELD ON EDUCATION. The Bishop of Lichfield was present on Saturday afternoon at the opening of a new national school in Sydney road, Enfield, where he was curate-in- charge some years ago. In the course of an address he spoke of the kind of instruction which children would receive at the school, dwelling particularly on the fact that a sound religious teaching would be one of the principal features. Although he was bound to acknowledge the good done by the Education Act, he could not but say that all should feel thankful for the means by which, while providing a first-class elementary school, they had also been able to secure a building in which Christianity to the very letter would be taught, thus preparing the present and future generations for the world to come. By pro- viding such education for children the best interests of the country were being studied. They were living in a time of great distress and depression through- out the country, and they read daily in the news- papers of the continual quarrels and disputes be- tween employers and employed, as also of the sorrow and misery that were being wrought. Could they therefore, doubt that if both sides were thoroughly in- structed in the true principles of Christianity strikes would be less frequent occurrences ? So that, the more they spread Christian education throughout the country, the greater would be the counteracting in- fluence of strikes and miserable homes. He regarded such schools as a great blessing not only to the children taught therein, but also to the neighbourhoods in which they were situate, inasmuch as they would tend greatly to strengthen the hold which religion was getting on the people of this country.

VIOLENT THUNDERSTORMS. A Szegedin newspaper states that not far from that city a shepherd had charge of between 400 and 500 sheep during one of the late storms. They were feed- ing on a wide pasturage when the storm broke out. Instinctively they huddled themselves together, there being no shelter, while the shepherd covered himself as beet he could and leaned on his staff until the tempest should pass away. About ten minutes after the commencement of the storm there was a terrific crash, accompanied by blinding lightning. He felt himsell dashed to the ground, and remained senseless for some time. When he came to himself he rose with diffi. culty. Going to the herd he found 49 sheep quite dead, and 200 more seemed so paralyzed by fear or the electric influence that it was only after much time and trouble he could get them on their legs again. The Chios states that during the early part of this month thousands of strangers had come to the Polish town of Czenstochau to venerate a famous image of the Virgin. While crowds were gathered in the churchyard, unable to find room in the church, lightning struck a tree and killed fifteen persons who were praying beneath it.

WOOD PRESERVATION. By an accident, Herr K. Fleischer, a well-known horticulturist of Gonobitz, Germany, some time ago discovered a capital means of preserving wood from rotting, and as he has since tested the matter very carefully, he has published an account of the dis- covery in the Landwirthschaft und Industrie. From this we learn that four years ago he set about making a preparation of coal tsr and ashes for the purpose of driving away ground fleas and beetles from his garden. Just as he had completed the mixture he was called away from his work, and, on returning, found to his surprise that, instead of tar in the ashes, there was a kind of woody texture in its place. Astonished at the transformation, he tried the experiment over and over again, and always with the same result. Just about this time he had occa. sion to re-floor an outhouse, where the woodwork came into almost immediate contact with the ground, and he took the opportunity of testing the preserva- tive effects of the mixture by smearing the under side of the planks with coal tar, and then sprinkling them liberally with ashes, a thin layer of the latter being also sifted over the ground. The procedure proved very successful, and the floor is still in good condition, and not in the least attacked by fungus growth; while on all previous occasions, though laid down with equally good material, it had always required constant repair after the first few months, and was also thoroughly rotten in about two years. The experi- ment has been tried successfully on many other occa- sions. Herr Fleischer is of opinion that the discovery will prove a boon to many thousands of persons.— Globe.

ANOTHER EXPLORATION FUND. There is a talk of the institution of a fund for the exploration of certain spots in Western Asia, just as a similar work has been carried oninPalestine. The inte- rest of scholars in this part of the world has of late been immensely increased, and it will be very sur- prising if a scheme for a systematic and competent research in what is now generally recognised as the birth-place of all our arts and sciences, does not call forth a considerable degree of enthusiasm, not only among those learned in Oriental matters, but among all who are capable of understanding the kind of knowledge to which such exploration would pretty certainly lead. We already possess relics of the ancient Babylonian Empire which cannot but fill with astonishment any one who will take the trouble to examine them, showing, as they do, that in an age of the world which we are accustomed to regard as an age of all but universal darkness and savagery, there flourished a degree of learning and civilisa- tion which seems in many respects to have been but little behind our own. It is really startling to find a library catalogue compiled some 4,000 years ago, appended to which is a direction to the student to write down and hand to the librarian the number of the book he wishes to consult, just as he would have to do to-day at the British Museum or the Guildhall Library. There are now in the col- lection at Bloomsbury, Assyrian bas reliefs testifying to an extinct, but advanced civilization to an extent of which comparatively few persons have any idea. Fortunately, the ancient libraries of Mesopotamia were largely made up of tablets composed of clay, and the fact that many of these have survived the wreck of the empires, and the extinction of the learn- ing and civilisation to which they testify, and are now in our possession, of course affords abundant reason to believe that Western Asia still possesses hidden treasures of a similar kind, such as would cer- tainly have the most profound interest for every de. partment of learning. So great an addition has recently been made to our knowledge of this old world that it is a matter for wonder that men, and money, and State influence have not by this time been secured for the prosecution of earnest and extensive explora- tion, -Globe,

THE TRANSMISSION OF LIVING CREATURES BY POST. The Post Office authorities in the United States are sorely troubled by the number of birds, reptiles, in. sects, and other living creatures that are transmitted by the mails, contrary to the provisions of the law, which strictly prohibits the carrying of such contra- band articles in the mail-bags. An interesting corre- spondence on the subject has lately taken place between the postmaster of New York and the head office at Washington. It seems that a live and ex- ceedingly active horned toad was discovered the other day in a mail bag at New York, and after some consultation it was decided to send the toad to the Post Office Department at Washington, for the Postmaster General's inspec- tion and advice as to the disposal of live animals generally thus irregularly posted. The toad was ac- cordingly forwarded on the 3rd instant to Washington with the following letter from the New York Post- master "Sir,—Herewith please find a live horned toad excluded from the mail by the regulations, and which is respectfully forwarded to your office without the usual detention, because the close confinement in this office would seriously endanger the animal's existence. I would like to be advised what dis- position to make of this class of unmailable matter in future, as I am not aware that I am authorised to destroy them. Even it I were, I do not know by what painless method their destruction is to be accompUthed.—! am, &c. (signed) T. L. JAMES," In reply to this communication the Postmaster at New York was informed on the 9 th instant that "his action in forwarding the live horned toad to the Dead Letter office is approved and will serve as a precedent to be followed in similar cases at his office in future." Live animals despatched by the American mail bags will therefore in future be returned to the persons who posted them. In the meantime it is to be hoped that they will be supplied by the Post Office authorities with such refreshment as they may need while passing through the Dead Letter Office.-Pall Mall Gazette,

BEARDS IN THE ARMY. It is not obvious why (the Lancet says), exoept for the red-tape reason that uniformity must be a primary consideration, those men whom nature has provided with a beard should not wear it in the army. As a general rule, it may be inferred from the fact that an individual has been supplied certain appendages that he requires them. The beard is no exception to this proposition. Women are not intended by nature to undergo the same amount of exposure to rough winds and weather as men, and they are not naturally pro- tected about the mouth and throat. Men differ among themselves as to the extent of the requirement. Some are without beards, and it is fair to presume that these are as well er better without them, but those who are thus provided ought certainly to be allowed to wear them; and the prohibition which deprives the throats of the great majoity of our soldiers of their natural covering, is clearly an offence agauist tne laws of nature. The absurdity of the. regulation which interdict < the wearing of beards is inaniifest, because it is practically only at borne and for toe sake of appearance, the men are compelled infinite active service abroad beards are ■ v ridiculous, then, the rule that prohibits them at home. The spirit of red tape could scarcely take a more Duerile form, unless it insisted on a particular pattern of^nose or regulation cheeks to ensure that beautiful uniformity" which the military instinct regards as the highest development of excellence, and above which the enterprise and j udgment of administrative authority seldom aspire.

VERY LIKE EACH OTHER.—There were once living in London two persons of the name of Dr. John Thomas, not easily to be distinguished for somebody (says Bishop Newton) was speaking of Dr. Thomas, when it was asked. which Dr. Thomas do you mean? "Dr. John Thomas."—"They are both named John." Dr. Thomas who has a living in the city." They have both livings in the city." Dr. Thomas who is chaplain to the King?"—"They are both chaplains to the King." Dr. Thomas who is a very good preacher?" — "They are both good preachers." "Dr. Thomas who Bquints?"—"They both squint," They were afterward* both Biahops.

DESTRUCTIVE TORNADO. A tornado which visited North Missouri and Kansas on the evening of the 30th of May appears to have been one of the most destructive character. It was preceded by a severe storm of wind and rain, which suddenly ceased, and then appeared a funnel-shaped cloud," which swept along at the rate of twenty miles an hour, laying everything waste in its path. The account given of the demolition of a farmhouse near Independence, Missouri, shows the terrible nature of the cyclone. The house occupied by a Mr. and Mrs, Harris and four children was. without a moment's warning lifted up with its inmates into the centre of the funnel completely out of sight -carried a distance of three hundred yards, and then dashed down, "a mass of shivered and broken timbers and mangled humanity." Mr. Harris, his wife, and two children were killed, and the others so injured that their death was regarded as inevitable. Fragments of the house were found at the distance ef a mile from where it originally stood. Persons who witnessed the scene about 200 yards off felt, it is stated, no effects of the storm at all. They at first heard a tremendous roaring, and on looking saw the funnel- shaped cloud advancing with extreme velocity, at times close to the earth, then bounding upwards and almost disappearing. The air was impregnated by a sulphur- ous smell, and the electric currents could be plainly seen and heard snapping like gunshots. They saw Harris's house drawn into the vortex of the cloud, and in a few seconds falling timbers rained upon them from all directions.-Pall Mall Gazette.

A HOUSE-BOY BRIGADE. On Saturday afternoon her Royal Highness Prin- cess Mary, Duchess of Teck, presented the prizes awarded during the last twelve months among the boys connected with the institution now well known ia various parts of the metropolis under the name of the House-Boy Brigade. The National Industrial School for Crippled Boys, in Wright's-lane, Kensington, London, was the scene of the ceremony, which was attended by a large number of ladies. In the course of the proceedings Mr. W. E. Hub- bard, hon. sec., made known the contents of the re- port on the institution for the year ending on the Slat of March, and the assembled boys sang several songs in a manner which showed that musical culture forms no inconsiderable part of their training. A vote of thanks to her Royal Highness for the share she had graciously taken in the ceremony was proposed by Lord Lawrence and seconded by Mr. J. H. Fordham. The institution, which was established eight years ago for the purpose of training orphan or destitute boys for domestic service and the printing trade, has now three homes connected with it, situated respec- tively in Pimlico, Kensington, and Marylebone, On the 31st of March there were in the brigade 114 boys. In the preceding 12 months 23 inmates of the homes were sent into domestic service and nine obtained busi- ness situations. The institution, which was originally called The Door-step Brigade," owes its present title to the fact that the boys whom it shelters can be hired by householders to make themselves useful in various subordinate occupations.

STEAM CABS IN VIENNA. It was, we believe, that remarkable old lady Mother Shipton who foretold, or is said to have foretold, some centuries past, that" carriages without horses would go." The railway has verified this prediction; but whether steam will supplant the cab horse in the streets in, we imagine, at all events for the present, doubtful, notwithstanding-the partial success which, according to the Vienna Tagblatt, has attended an essay just made to run a steam cab in the streets of the Austrian capital. The steam cab, driven by its ingenious inventor, Herr Ofenheim, made its dibut in public a few days since in the Gilrtelstrasse and Kaiserstrasse. Scarcely larger than an ordinary cab, says our Austrian contemporary, it carries commodiously seven persons—four inside, and three on the box. The boiler is placed behind the convey- ance on a sort of platform, where the stoker stands. The engine driver is seated on the box, and guides his vehicle with as much facility as though it were drawn by horses, the water reservoir -a tank-being placed beneath the driver's seat. To guard against accidents, the new invention on its first appearance in public was preceded by two mounted policemen, whose office, however, seems to have been no very enviable one, since we learn that, so rapidly did the conveyance behind them scud over the ground, that they narrowly escaped at different moments being run down. The steam cab moves alongs noiselessly; thus, though some or the fiacre horses eyed their possible rival of the future with apparent amazement, they did not take fright. It is easily stopped, and easily turned in any direction desired, and seems in short to be a really ingenious affair: we doubt, however, in spite of the success which attended the steam cab at its dibut whether it will ever be suitable for town or crowded thorough- fares. In country localities it may have its advan. tages, but since it is stated that on its course through the Vienna streets the twe mounted constables who rode in front had to give proof of considerable agility in order to save themselves from being run over by the steam conveyance, to how much greater danger would not pedestrians be exposed? Jehu, in Vienna, is reported to be somewhat uneasy in his mind at the possible damage Herr Ofenheim's clever invention may do his traae. We fancy his disquietude is cause- less, and that all the Jehus of the present generation will have lived their lives and be gathered to their fathers ere the steam cab will seriously cempete with them in their calling,-Evening Standard.

HARVEST PROSPECTS. The Evening Standard makes the following reference to harvest prospects in America and Australia:- Whatever may be the case as regards the English home harvest of the present year, there seems to be no danger of a failing supply of wheat from abroad. From statistics which are just published, the Australian and American crops promise to yield very satisfactory results. The result of the grain harvest in South Australia is, indeed, already known, and it has been very favourable. The total yield is given at one and a half million quarters, and after making all allowances for home consumption, it is calculated that there will at least be 670,000 quarters available for export. South Australia yields double the quantity this year for export that waa available last year from the whole of Australia together. This is sufficient to demon- strate the abundant nature of the present year's har- vest. Moreover, the quality of the wheat is reported to be fine. In South Australia this year there is an increase of 142,205 acres in the whole area sown with wheat, against an advance in the previous year of 80,697 acres. There is thus a strengthened feeling amongst farmers as to the wheat growing capacity of the soil. With regard to the condition of the crops in the United States, the New York Times publishes reports from seventy places, covering more than a thousand points # of observation in the States. The general conclusion is that while there is no such universal promise of overflowing har- vests as was the case last year, there are satisfactory indications of an average product in many sections, and more than an average in others. The weather has militated against the crops. A late spring was suoo ceeded by a severe drought, the consequence being that everything was in a backward condition. Still," the wheat and maize crop of the Western and North- Western States will surpass that of last year should the later season prove favourable.

TBUE TO YOU, WhYl sir," cried young Ardent, enthusiastically, as he tried his hardest to convince the stern parent of the desirability of his marrying Miss de Pauperly, marriage, you must admit, is the end of a man's troubles."—"Ye-es," answered the otern parent, but which end? "—Judy,

THE QUEEN'S VISIT TO CHISLEHURST. The Times of Toesday gives the following particulars of the visit which the Queen paid to the Empress Eugenie on Monday:— The Queen discharged yesterday what must have been a most afflicting duty. Her Majesty travelled from Windsor Castle to Chislehurst and remained nearly an hour with the Empress. The Royal special train left Windsor, South-Western Station, at five minutes past five, and going through Waterloo with slackened speed, but without stopping, passed on to the South-Eastern line, and at precisely ten minutes past six came in sight of Chislehurst, stopped, was passed by the up express, and then drew up at the station. In the state carriage travelled the Queen, accompanied by Princess Bea- trice, Prince Leopold, the Marchioness of Ely, and Major-General Sir Henry Ponsonby, the Queen's private secretary. Two other saloons and two brake vans composed the train, which was under the charge of Mr. Verrinder, general manager of the South. Western Railway, and Mr. John Shaw, general manager of the South-Eastern Railway. A director of the South-Western Railway, Colonel the Hon. C. Camp. bell, accompanied the train from Windsor, and Sir Edward Watkin, M.P., chairman of the South-Eastern Railway, was in attendance at Chislehurst. The Lord-Lieutenant of the county, Earl Sydney, had arrived at 5.33, and awaited her Majesty upon the plat- form. Immediately after tho Queen had left the train he preceded her Majesty to Camden-place, The Queen's landau, with postilions and four horses, had travelled from Buckingham Palace, and the Queen, the Princess, the Prince, and Lady Ely took their seats in it, Sir Henry Ponsonby riding as Equerry beside. The car- riage, with an outrider ahead, proceeded slowly up Summer-hill, under the gate of the water tower, and in five minutes had driven through the lodge gates and up the iong avenue to the house. The Queen was re- ceived at the doer by the Due de Bassano, the Due de Mouchy, and Prince Joachim Murat, who had arrived that morning by special train from Dover. It is needless to say that in the presence of such a grief the etiquette which prescribes that Sovereigns shall advance to a certain place to receive Sovereigns of equal rank was not for a moment regarded. The Queen was ushered at ence to the Empress's boudoir, and there had the long and inevitably most distressing interview into the details of which no efforts have been made to enter, nor have any particulars of it been given. The two ladies of exalted rank who had met in such dif. ferent circumstances and whose illustrious posi- tion only serves to emphasize their sufferings, met alone. Princess Beatrice and Prince Leopold were only admitted for a few minutes at the end. The hour of 6 45 had been fixed for the Queen's train to leave on the return journey, for it was thought the Empress s strength would be exhausted by a long interview; but a mounted Bervant was sent off to the station to inquire as to a postponement of the time for starting and a second time to bespeak it more urgently. »ir.Shaw and Mr. Verrinder drove up to the house, and it was arranged that the depar- tu.e of the train should be deferred till ten minutes past seven. The other stations were at once warned by telegraph, for the time at which the train was to pass them had of course been carefully fixed in the special instructions issued, and the train was hand-signalled by platelayers throughout the journey from Waterloo to Chislehurst and back. On the road across the common between the water-gate and Camden- place many carriages were drawn up, the occu- pants of which uncovered their heads as the Queen passed by. When the Queen and the PrinceBS drove back it was noticed that they had been shedding tears, and when the Queen stood at the window of her railway carriage to look back at Chisle- hurst before commencing the return journey her handkerchief was again held to her eyes. The Qaeen had arrived at ten minutes past six and left at ten minutes past seven. It was said afterwards that the Empress had been calmed and consoled by the visit."

CUTTINGS FROM AMERICAN PAPERS. "I spell it "kopphy," and Webster spells it •coffee.' I kant tell wlcn Is right, Web. or me.—Josh Billings. An American paper tells of a young man who swore off smoking, and in five years he was worth 10,000 dollars. N.B.-It was left to him by an uncle. r How is your wife's health?" said one Chicago man to another; Is she well Y" Well I-hardly ever," was the response. The questioner gazed sternly at the questioned, but finding he meant It, put up his revolver. The last instance of originality in a marriage an- nouncement is the followingNo cards, no cake, no fuss." A friend asks for a definite idea of how much a billion is. A clear conception of the vast amount of units represented by this number Is afforded by the cures for colds and rheumatism that your friends give you on the slightest provocation. The Big foot feud continues to rage this is the latest wrathful paragraph. Great excitement was created at Burlington a few days since, by the supposed discovery of a sea serpent's skeleton. The wonder turned out to be nothing but an old striped stocking, which a Troy girl had left there during a late visit. Astronomers tell us that it would take 1.250,000 years, providing there was a telegraph wire from the earth to the nebula in Andromeda, for a despatch to reach there. So no wire will be put up. A New York paper says: "Two Kentucky lovers have centred their affections upon a damsel who would be happy with either were t'other dear charmer away. A walk- ing match has been propoted, and the successful competitor will get the girL" Church-workers in New England, however humble, certainly obtain due appreciation from their clergy, for a certain Yankee Minister, when lately holding a farewell ser- vice warmly evoked the Divine blessing upon everyone con- nected with the Church, and finally interceded for the one who although hidden from sight, yet contributes so much to the musical part of our warship, ending, I mean the boy who blows the organ. Blowing into the muzzle of a shot-gun is a standard method of producing newspaper items. It remains for a young lad down town to introduce a variation. The street hose wouldn't work the water was turned on at the spiggot all right, but there seemed to be au obstruction. He placed his mouth completely over the end of the nozzle and blowed just once. The pressure of the whole reservoir sud- denly broke loose, concentrated into that one nozzle The lad let go with his mouth and sat down about fifty feet away, down the street, and he haB not yet been relieved of the Im- pression that his brain is watersoaked.—Boston Courier. An Irishman of the better class, who thought he ??U81 c,°,n J1?-. fashionable mania of paying a visit to the ialls of Niagara, arrived at the Falls, and on taking a look at the surrounding wonders, addressed himself to a gentleman with—" And this Is Niagara Falls T II Yea," waa the reply. And what is there here to make such a bother about Y" asked Pat. Why," said the gentleman, do you not see that mighty river, the deep abyss, the great sheet of water pouring down ?" Pat looked at the water, and replied hesitatingly, A*' what's to hinder It ?" They were telling yarns about good shooting out in Virginia, the other day. Said one of the marksmen, Some years ago I was out in New York State, hunting grouse. There was an old fellow along, who was somewhat near- sighted. We were just at the edge of the farm, when sud- denly one of my favourite game cocks jumped up on my fence, and he drew a bead on it, mistaking it for a grouse. I didn't have a second to lose, so I just threw up my rifle and quietly knocked off the left nipple of his shot-gun at fifty yards so that when the hammer fell the nipple wouldn't be there—see ?" You saved the bird, then' chirped in an at- tentive listener. No," said Austin, sadly, I picked out the wrong nipple the fellow fired the right barrel, and blew my fifty-dollar game-cock all to feathers." The crowd quietly and sadly dispersed, after another look at the truthfifl man.