The Aberdare Times

AN dtor IWhra Corrtspoubeni. fWe deem i" right to state that we do not at all times identify ourselves with our Correspondent's opinions. It will have been noted for several years past that the Queen spends four or five weeks at Balmoral from about the middle of May until towards the close of June, and her Majesty has told ua how much she enjoys the quietude of the Highlands and the pure mountain air. About this time London is at its brightest and its gayest, and her Majesty's sons and daughters- in -law are so acoustomed to the discharge of State duties that no inconvenience is caused by the absence of the Sovereign, who in the earlier part of her reign, and before her children were 80 well able to take her place, was unremitting in her attention to the functions which devolve upon one holding so high and responsible a station, Kow, however, if there i a State Ball to be held at Buckingham Palace, '-he Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are there to receive the guests. Other duties have been performed by the Duke and Duchess of Connaught and the Duke and Duchess of Albany, as well as by the Princess Louise and Princess Chris- tian. Prinoess Beatrice, whom the Queen described some weeks ago as her constant and devoted com- panion, is seldom away fiom home except with her Majesty, and is now with her royal mother at Bal- moral, together with two Princesses of Hesse, daughters of the late Prineess Alite. The Australians have come to London in the very fioodtide of the season, which may be said to culmi- nate with Ascot, and to have seen the best of its days with the week at Goodwood. The splendid play made by this team of cricketers has commanded universal attention amongst those who take an interest in this truly English game. Many surmises have been hazarded an to the reason why these colonists should attain such a high degree of proficiency. They are, of course, picked men; but there is little doubt that the climate of Australia, by permitting practice well nigh all the year round, contributes very materially to that standard of excellence which the Australians have shown. In England, during the autumn and winter months, all ericket is in abeyance but all this time, so fine is the weather at the Antipodes that, while the English cricketer in, as it were, resting on his oars, the Australian is endeavouring to perfect himself in his profession, so far as the attainment of perfection is possible in anything relating to mundane affairs. One thing in connection with cricket cannot fcavo faHd to striki those who follow the scores, and thai L, the fluctuations in the fortunes of the various English counties. At one time it is Hampshire, at another Kent, then Gloucester, and then Lancashire which possesses the best team of players. For some time past the establishment of a School of Dramatic Art in this country has been under the con- sideration of those who believe that the study of the legitimate drama tends to an expansion of the mind. The matter has been of sufficient interest to be the subject of a public meeting in London, at which Lord Wharncliffe took the chair. Several literary men, musicians, and members of the dramatic profession were present; and an unanimous opinion was ex- pressed in favour of such a school. Time was when our most eminent actors repudiated the idea of a school for the development of dramatic art, main- taining that the actor's art was a gift, and could not be acquired by any amount of instruction. It is now, however, seen that a school of dramatic art, properly conducted, might be good not only for the stage, but for the people. Meeting a want which is now recog- nised, it would have the opportunity of exercising a beneficial influence, and there are many outside the ranks of the dramatic profession who would watch its working with interest. The comet discoveied some time ago by Mr. Wells, the astronomer, can now be seen on a clear night with a good glass. It is described as gradually making its way through a group of telescopic stars, not far, com- paratively speaking, from the Pole Star its tail is about two degrees in length can easily be seen with a binocular, and presents a very beautiful sight. It will continue to approach the earth until the middle of June, when some very hot weather has been predicted. The Midsummer Ti .jhts are so short that a great part of the im. pressiveness of sach a spectacle is likely to be lost. There is, in fact, no real n'ght just then. Some clear dark nights, such as those which, in October, 18i8, enabled awe-struck crowds to gaze upon Donati's comet, as it spread its long-sweeping tail from the zenith even to the horizon, would materially add to the effect produced by the presence in our skies of one of those erratic visitors; but these are not to be had in the middle of Jane. During recent seasons there has been a remarkable revival of what is termed the English Renaissance, and nowhere is this more perceptible than of an afternoon just now in Pall Mall and Bond-street. It is not too much to say that the art galleries in these thorough- fares may now be numbered by the score. Fifty is a moderate estimate, and amid all this competition for the public favour, there are plenty of devotees of art, who passing from one gallery to another, fill the whole of them in succession, and form their estimates of the different degrees of progress represented. With the im- provement in trade which has been perceptible during the past two years, better prices are now obtaimed for pictures, and this was well illustrated a few days ago at a sale which took place at the rooms of Messrs. Christie, when Mr. Long's famous painting, The Babylonian Marriage Market," went for 6,000 guineas, and the proceeds of one day's sale of the pictures belonging to the late Mr. Hermon, M.P., amounted to £ 37,000. The granting of a baronetcy to the Lord Mayor of London is a graceful recognition of the public spirit manifested by the Corporation in preserving Epping Forest to the people for all time. A vast deal of adverse criticism is bestowed upon the civic Parlia- ment of London but there can be no doubt that in many ways that body has displayed an enterprise which might well be remembered. It is not so many years ago that the Corporation bridged Holborn Valley at an enormous coat, cut off two dangerous bills, and constructed a massive Viaduct which has now become a handsome thoroughfare. Simul- taneously with this gigantic work, Blackfriars Bridge was built, and the old broken-backed dangerous structure, which had lasted a century was taken away. The Corporation were the first public body in London to apply the electric light to the illumination of the streets, and their latest act is to secure to the people for the purposes of recreation a splendid open space which can never be touched for those of building. Acts like these merit recognition, and the fact that the Lord Mayor has received a baronetcy is regarded not so much a personal com- pliment as one to the important body of which he is the official head. The possession of facilities of communication has always been regarded all a test of a people's civiliza- tion. The beaten tracks of the North American Indians would, for instance, compare very unfavour- ably with the broad gauge of the Great Western Railway. Visitors to Paris will not have failed to note the number of bridges across the Seine; and when these structures in London were to some extent toll-bridges, the contrast was even more unfavourable than it is now. But those who know anything of the British capital are well aware that if they come down the Thames, beginning say at Kew, they pass under bridge after bridge of varying degrees of stateliness and beauty until they come to London Bridge, and there those structures cease. North and south of the river, for seven miles beyond that point towards the sea, lives a population which amounts to a third of the whole of London, and these have been complaining for years of the impossibility of getting from bank to bank except in a small boat that has to run the gauntlet of the enormous river traffic. Another meeting has been held at the Mansion House, with the Lord Mayor in the chair, to impress this subject upon public attention. Thus far the Corporation and the Board of Works, after separately considering the question, have arrived at no decision upon it. The May meetings have now mostly come to an end and Lord Shaftesbury, with the weight of eighty years upon his shoulders, may look back once more upon another course of duties thoroughly discharged and days well spent. The princely sums which have been announced will during the next twelve months not only help to send civilization and the Gospel abroad, but do much useful work at home. The names of the institutions whose claims have been advocated during the last month or five weeks is legion. Take for example the Society for benefiting the condition of a most useful and indeed indis- pensable class—domestic servants. The advance of education deee not dispense with the necessity for the employment of those who, in some degree, answer to the Biblical description of hewers of wood and drawers of water;" and it is satisfactory to know that an important branch of philanthropic work has been growing in the past few years which not only looks to the present social condition of the domestic servant, but impresses upon this class to make some provisions for a future day, when through sickness or old age misfortune comes upon them, and they are no longer abla to earn for themselves. The suggestion that the Parliamentary holidays at Whitsuntide should this year be in abeyance, so that the Legislature might push on with the mass of work that lies before it, is one which perhaps may be adopted at some future time. There can be little doubt that the Whitsuntide recess follows too speedily that at Easter for the convenience of many. The CtMWM no noner settle down to work than they again disperse; and so long as human nature is con- stituted as it is, after every holiday it takes a little time to brace up the mind for work when a relaxation has taken place. Nor does the great body of the people appreciate to its full extent a holiday which succeeds so quickly its predecessor. At present the division of the Bank Holidays is unequal. This year we shall have had one in April and another in May, while there will be none between the beginning of August and the end of December. While it is not easy to see how this is to be remedied, the fact is fairly open to remark and as the matter stards the holiday with the long days is too near Easter to be made the best possible use of by those who ought thoroughly to enjoy it. am

ARRIVAL OF THE QUEEN AT BALMORAL. The Queen, accompanied by Princess Beatrice and the Princesses Elizabeth and Irene of Hesse, arrived at the Balmoral Castle on Saturday. A guard of honour of the 42nd Royal Highlanders and the company of the Ballater Volunteers received her Majesty at the Ballater Station, where an arch was erected composed of spruce and Scotch fir, bearing the following inscription, "Cead mille failte a bhan righ" (a hundred thousand welcomes to the Queen), and surmounted with flags, a gratifying and loyal welcome from her Majesty's Highland subjects on her first return to Balmoral after the preservation of her life on March 2.

ICE IN THE ATLANTIC. The New York Correspondent of the Standard, writing on Sunday, says The reports made by ships coming westward read like accounts of Arctic exploration. The Magdalene, which has arrived here from Bremen, passed icebergs almost daily between May 7th and 17th, in latitude 43, longitude 47. Many were of immense size, and were visible for forty miles, others were within arm's length of the ship's side. Arctic animals were seen upon them, some living, and others skeletons. The Atlas liner Aiùtt, from Aspinwall, reports that in the middle of the afternoon of the 7th it was dark, and lights were necessary. Ten waterspouts were observed whirling in dangerous proximity to the ship. They were rendered visible by the lightning. The captain of her Majesty's ship Tenedos reports that the ice is nearly solid from Cape Breton to New- foundland, and that two ocean steamers have been caught in it, They were, however, too far from the Af the ice for identification. The George Shatltick has been icebound in Kelly's Cove for the past eight days, and was still there on Wednesday sealing. The brigantine Rescue was completely crushed near Belle Isle. The crew, numbering seventy-two, took to the ioe, although there was a heavy rolling swell surging among the floes. A perilous passage was made by the steam-ship Mastiff, of Scotland, which has arrived at Montreal. She was among the iee for nine days. The crew and passengers, becoming desperate, cut a passage through the ice, which was sometimes twenty feet above the water. They had endured short rations for several days. The Texas has arrived with her bows stove. The President, which has arrived at Quebec from Antwerp, reports that the Western Bellt, from Greenock, struck an iceberg off Newfoundland on May 1st, and sank instantly, with her captain and thirteen hands, the mate and six others being saved the next day by the President, when they were almost frozen.

THE LABOUR MARKET. Trade in most parts of the country is fairly good, and the operatives in all branches of industry are well employed. In the North there is an improvement in chemicals, especially in the Newcastle district. The furnace men are now working full time, and the gun- makers are better employed. There is a marked recovery in the iron trade this week, but prices remain the same. Orders for all descriptions of iron and steel have been coming in freely, and makers are intimating that they cannot accept more after the present month on the existing basis of remuneration. The Scotch pig iron market has been stronger, and there is a better demand in the home trade. In Staffordshire things are much im- proved. It is satisfactory to state that in all the iron centres the men are fairly employed and the wages question temporarily settled. In all the coal districts trade is dull, and the miners are still discussing the question of the best means of preventing over. production. They point out that 7,215,000 tons more coal was raised last year than in 1880, and they maintain that unless this excess of pro- duction is checked, it will tend to reduce wages still lower. The woollen and other textile industries are quiet, but there is a fair demand for the home trade. Manu- facturers keep their quotations firm, and in all the dis- tricts the mills and factories are running full time. The boot and shoe business continues brisk, and in all parts the men's wages are being increased. The engineering trades are very busy, especially in Y olkshire and Lancashire, and there is a further de- crease in the number of men out of work. Pattern- makers fitters, and smiths are in demand, and in some towns employers are in want of these classes of work- improvements now going on and contemplated in the metropolis keeps the building and engineering trades busy.

The following is a description of Great Paul" Weight, 16 tons 14 cwt. 2 qra. 191b. height, 8 ft. 10 in. diameter at base, 9 ft. 6i in. circumference at base, 30 ft.; thickness where clapper strikes, of in.; weight of clapper, 4 cwt. 0 qrB. 20 lbs. note of bell E flat. At the upper part of the bell an impression of a florin has been cast, and the imitation is so good that to a casual observer it has the appearance of a real coin. It was explained that a genuine florin could not have been cast in the bell, as being much softer than the bell metal it would have become molten momentarily. It was done merely to denote that the bell was cast in 1881.

THE ENGLISH SUNDAY. Commenting upon the recent debate in the House of Commons on Mr. Howard's motion in favour of the Sunday opening of Museums, The Times has a leader, from which we take the following A resolution in favour of the Sunday opening of public museums and picture galleri-s was moved by Mr. George Howard, and was duly supported and opposed on the old customary grounds. Mr. Howard is careful to disclaim any wish for the introduction of a Continental Sunday. The change he advocates, does not, in his opinion, tend to such a result as thK He has no fear of it, for the danger, if any, is too remote to be worth taking into account. Mr. Burt, who seconded the motion, denies its irreligious character. The addition it would involve to Sunday labour would not be great, while the benefit it would confer would be widely felt and appreciated. It was urj?ed, on the other side, that the change sought would be of no real benefit to anybody, and that an infinity j of mischief could hardly fail to follow from it. If j museums and picture galleries are opened, the next J step must be to open music-halls, and dancing saloons, and places of entertainment of every kind. It is impossible, the House was assured, that any hard and fast line should be drawn. It must be all or nothing, and for this reason the case was irresistible for nothing. It was about the interests of the working classes that the battle was joined. The question is so far open, and authorities are so divided upon it that it is by no means easy to decide. Sunday, it may be urged, is the one certain holiday which the working man can make sure of. Places which are open on six days in the week and closed on the seventh day are of little or no use to him. It is on the seventh day, or not at all, that he can find time for visiting them. If they were open to him on that day, he would gladly avail himself of the chance which is denied him under present arrangements. It is a charming picture which the advocates of the Sunday opening movement suggest. They show us the model working man, oblivious of the delights of beer, deserting the bar or the tap-room, and intent for once on the improvement of his mind and the cultivation of his artistic taste. Arm-in-arm with his wife he wanders from gallery to gallery, and finds himself at each remove a wiser and a better man. His children, too, can be admitted to a share of the pure pleasures which a reformed Sunday has been made to yield. It is a family affair now a sort of town Watteau scene a triumph of innocence a return to the joys of Eden as far as the conditions of London life permit. It is hard that a being who is capable of such a as this, should be driven, whether he will or not, to the lower and baser part which society has been perverse enough to assign to him. His choice of the publichouse as the best place for getting rid of the long afternoon hours is no proof whatever of what the man's tastes really are. It is a sort of Hobson's choice, made only because no alterna- tive is offered to him. The fact remains that the cry for the open'ng of museums on Sundavs does not come from the working clashes. It is raised on their account; it is raised by their professed Mends; but it is not raised by themselves. It is a matter of no small dirticulty to induce them to take any interest in the case put forward on their behalf. They are suspicious of the proffered boon, and are far more ready to lend their names to a petition against it than in support of it. They value Sunday as a day of rest, and they wish above all things to make quite sure that it shall continue to be this. The dulness of the day they 80 not feel. Foreign visitors feel it, and are free and outspoken in their complaints about it. But to the English working man the dulness of life presents itself as a matter of course. He has scarcely a wish that it should be otherwise. The one difference he recognizes is between a day of leisure and a day of hard work. His working days belong to his master; his day of leisure is his own. He has no mind. to let it go on any pretence, however plausible. While he continues in this mood it is uphill work for his self-constituted friends. Their strongest ground is cut away from them. Their à priori arguments as to the right use of a Sunday holiday lose all their force. The working man prefers Sunday as it is to Sunday as he is told it ought to be. He knows now that he has one day in the week to himself, and he declines to be roused to indignation at restrictions which he does not feel and at the absence of privileges which are of far less im- portance to him than those which he actually enjoys. An English Sunday is not an ideal day from any point of view. There is, perhaps, no class in the coun- try which makes the most of it. To some it is a day set apart for religious observances. But it is too long to be entirely taken up with these. Human nature demands some break. The work of prayer and praise does not admit of being carried on continuously from morning to night. There must be some relaxation found, some other admissible method of getting through the time. The result is that a sort of compromise is arrived at. The Sabbath must not be broken, but people must eat and drink. It thus comes that the necessary meals of the day last longer on Sunday than on other days, and are repeated more frequently. There is no preserved, Hut, ti.. e strict Sabbatarian views are not common.' The working classes do not as a rule share them. The working man's Sunday is more nkely to be a day of pure rest. It brings no duties with it, and no need for strong positive pleasures. The contrast it offers is almost enough by itself. Men who have toiled hard for a long, weary week are in a state of body to enjoy the repose which they have earned. Nor is it true to say that Sunday is a gloomy day in this country. Shops, it is true, are shut, streets are deserted, and the ordinary signs of town life are at an end. But a Sun- day outing is no such uncommon break in the working man's life. A metropolitan railway station on a fine Sunday morning presents a busy scene enough. On each high road from London to the country there is an almost continuous line of vans crowded with pleasure- seekers. To Done of these is Sunday a day of gloom. As for the complaint that the working classes are shut out from Museums and such like places of combined instruction and amusement, the tact is not quite as it is stated. Some of these places are open on Sundays. Others which are not open are just as really closed for good and all to other classes as to the working man.

PROTECTING INFLUENCE OF VACCINATION. Dr. J. H. Raymond, Health Commissioner of Brooklyn, furnishes the Brooklyn Eagle with the following interesting statement regarding the first hundred cases of small- pox that have come under the observation of the Health Department since the 1st of January last, which, he considers, should set at rest all questions as to the utility of vaccination "From January 1st to February 26th there were reported to the department 112 cases as small-pox cases. Of this number, 98 were found on examination to have the disease, and 14 not to have it; and two cases reported to be chicken-pox proved to be small- the 14 cases that were examined and found not to have small-pox, one was scarlet fever, four chicken- pox, three measles, one German measles, and five were cases of skin disease. Of 100 who had small-pox, 45 had never been vac- cinated 27 of whom died.. Eight others had pale, indistinct, and imperfect marks of vaccination, and were probably never vaccinated—using the term as it should be properly used. Of them, four died, so that we may say that 53 had never been vaccinated, or that 31, or 58 per ^Of'the^f who had been successfully vaceinated, or 12 per cant., died. Twonty-four of this number were adults, who had not been vaccinated since infancy three of them died. J „ Of the 23 who were supposed to be protected by vac- cination, 20 had a mild attack of varioloid one aged three years, who had been well vaccinated in infancy, and again later, died two children, aged respectively five and eight years, members of the same family, and having good marks of vaccination, died. The youngest person attacked was three months, and the oldest sixty years old."

SIR GARNET WOLSELEY ON CONSCRIPTION. Sir Garnet Wolseley, G.C.B., presided on Monday night at the annual public debate of the University College Debating Society, Gower-street, London, and it having been proposed that Conscription ought to be introduced into England," and decided in the negative, the gallant General pointed out that con- scription held good in France for supplying the number of men annually required for the Army prior to 1870 but it was a system into which the ele- ments of chanoe entered largely. It was, in fact, a tax imposed by lot, and therefore the worst that could be devised. Universal service in Germany was of a different kind. In that country every man must be a soldier, and a great deal, as far as the training was concerned, could be said in its favour. On the other hand, the disadvantages were numerous. A distin- guished German general had said to him No one but ourselves can realise the burden which universal service imposes upon us, and he believed that to be true. He had had some little experience m warfare— (cheers)-and he could safely say that if he had any dangerous or serious work to perform, he always preferred the services of one man who volunteered to do it to two whom he had to order. Enough volunteers could be procured in England to supply the deficiency in the army without any resort to Soldiers could always be obtained in the labour market- and not conscripts, but voluntee.rs. (Cueers.) lhere I'Sl'f J, £ loii V. °»r fleet floated it, bridged over nor tunnelled u^ & ^g as we c°uld bold late those enormous armies without attempting to emuiat^ which sucked the lifeb WOuld there be no neces- Continent of Europe, so long « sity for this country to adopt c =

MODERN DRESS, The WareMusemen and Drapers' Trade Journal Th\ what there is to remarks It m V 0f to-day. Ordinary dresses quarrel with the fashions ot« defended *8 bei in this year of grace can eas^J f<)r wh5ch .fc wqu1| sensiWe andf becoming to a J j We have nQ trai be difficult tohnd a preceden have neither tight nor do we yet wear enno mes^ g S «e l„g.e„.»6h to give Uc«„„ .„d warmth, o«r^»t. are not g to cULfwira motot n—1 growth in place of a hideous chignon. Dresses are ordy heavy and inconvenient if a woman chooses to make them so. It is in truth to modern dress to have so sweeping a ret0"n Qf*™e introduction of trousers advocated. Dre^s has always critics and censors in plenty, and if modern modes were-as foolish and unhealthy as theyaresometimes asserted to be we should hear occasional lecture, an exceptional exhibition, or a few perfunctory Vmphlets.

MARRIAGE WITH A DECEASED WIFE'S SISTER. The following letter has been written by Cardinal Manning to the Very Rev. Canon Gilbert D.D., Vicar-General of the (R.C.) Archdiocese of Westmin- Rev. and Dear Vicar-General,-Some years ago the bishops laid before Lord Chelmsford's Commission on the Marriage Laws certain points on which modula- tion would he desirable. One was for some provision by which the marriage with a deceased wife's sister, after a dispensation from the Holy See had been ob- tained might be legalized. These words of ours have been quoted by the promoters of such marriages as favourable to their views. Nothing was further from the intention of the bishops. 1.—The law of the Catholic Church forbids and annuls the marriage with a deceased wife's sister. 2.—The law of England on this point is to this moment Catholic, and supports the discipline of the Church. 3.—The Holy See can alone dispense in such cases, and it never dispenses, except (1) rarely, (2) with reluctance, and (3) for grave reasons and to avoid greater evils. 4. -To abolish the law which prohibits such marriages would have the effect of throwing open as lawful to everybody that which in few, rare, and exceptional cases is reluctantly given to avoid greater evils. 5.—And this throwing open of the civil law would encourage and multiply such marriages, in direct opposition to the discipline of the Catholic Church, and to the grave and dangerous disturbance of domestic life. Better far is it that a few cases should still suffer a legal hardship than that the home life of our whole commonwealth should be seriously endangered. I trust that all Catholics in either House of Parliament will vote firmly and always against such a change in the statute law. You may use this to satisfy any doubts as to the subject of it. BS™ mTaKay. ?,?»'» MthMly, Henry Edward. Cardinal Archbishop."

A PERPETUAL CLOCK. M. Dardenne's self-winding perpetual clock may now be considered to have had a fair trial. A speci- men clock was fixed at the Gare du Nord Terminus, Brussels, last September, all due precautions being taken to avoid tampering with it by affixing the Go- vernment seal. After six months' trial it was found in perfect time with the Observatory clock, and had not varied in the slightest degree during that time. The clock is wound by a small aIiem»meter windmill which is placed in a £ chimney ?r any other ^lace where ^tol^rablycon^^ r,rer,ed"trr«" of 2SSpl,lng wheel., continually draS over a wheel an endless chain, in one loop of whkh the clock-weight is supported. As the loop hangs between the clock and the winding-machine the weight is continually drawing through the clock the slack chain drawn up by the wind-motor, and thus a constant motion is maintained. A ratchet-wheel prevents the motor from turning the wrong way, and, by a snnplg arrangement, whenever the weight is wound right up to the top the motion is checked by a friction brake automatically applied to the anemometer by the raised weight lifting a lever. When the weight is ihus raised to the top, the clock has a sufficient store of energy to go for twenty-four hours, so that it is not by any means dependent on a regular current of air. As this clock receives such a liberal supply of winding, it does not require so long a train of wheels as aa ordinary clock. The works of the clock are only con- nected with the winding arrangement by means of the loop of chain so that no injurious matters can reach the former from the chimney. M. Dardenne is now supplying these clocks for domestic and office pur- poses.

THINGS ONE WOULD WISH TO HAVB EXPRESSED DIFFERENTLY.—Musical Maiden I b P Youth • boring vou playing so much? Enamou '• Oh no r Pray go on 1 I-I d so much sooner hear you play than talk !"—Punch. IDEAL DRBsa —What constitutes ideal dress with what requirements should it comply? What every- body agrees to be wanted, and what nobody can describe, is a mode which can be worn by ladies of all ages, of all styles, and at all times which shall be by alteration of adjustment, as suitable to a girl of fifteen as to a matron, fat, fair, and forty. It should, as we are told, be simple it should give freedom of move- ment, yet afford support; it should be warm in winter, and in summer cool. It should be light, airy, eaHy to wash; imbued with the individual tastes of the weaier comfortable, as well as becoming; sen- sible, as well as graceful. It should not violate the principles of beauty or the laws of health, and should be adaptable to all the incidents of age, position, use, and circumstances It should, in short, do what nothing has ever yet done, suit, fit, and please every- body Warehousemen and Drapers Trade Journal,

DIFFERENT NATIONALITIES IN THE COLONIES. A curious return has been published by the Govern- ment Statist of Victoria, showing, in connection with the recent census, the birthplaces of all the people of the colony. From this it appears that, of the 862,346 people who comprised the whole population, 499,199 were born in the colony itself, 147,453 in England and Wales, 48,1 3 in Scotland, and 86,733 in Ireland. Of persons born in the Australasian Colonies other than Victoria, 11,876 came from Tasmania, 9,928 from South Australia, 9,826 from New South Wales, and 6,000 or 7,000 from all the other colonies to- gether. All other British possessions claim between them 7,148, of whom 1,118 were Canadian born, 998 East Indians, 1,877 born at sea, and 4,707 vaguely described as British." Of foreigners the greatest number are Chinese-viz., 11,799 Germans come next with 8,571; Americans third, with 2,343 Swedes and Norwegians fourth, with 1,375; French fifth, with 1,334 Swiss sixth, with 1,314; Danes seventh, with 1,039 and Italians, just under the thousand, with 947. No other country claims to be the birthplace of so many as 400. Summarising the whole, it appears that out of the 862,346 souls in the colony, only 30,783, or 1 in 25 are aliens by birth. The colony thus proves itself eesentially British m every sense, notwithstanding the outcry against the risk the colony ran of being swamped by foreigners. If we deduct from the above calculation the Chinese, who only come to the colony to "make their pile," and do not permanently settle there, the proportion of foreigners to British subjects by birth is reduced to about 1 in 45. These figures, says the Colonies and India, largely explain the recent outcry against Chinese immigration into the colony.

flUstdlimemw |itiditgem HOME, FOREIGN, AND GQLONIMTG WELL THEY MAY !-Country parsons coming up to town for the May Meetings speak of the trip as their Exeter Hall-idays,—Judy. AVERAGE PRICES OF BRITISH CoBN.-Tho following are the average prices of British corn for the week ingMay 20, as received from the inspectors and officers of Excise :-Wheat, 47a. Od. barley. 27s. lid. oats, 23s. Od. per imperial qr. Corresponding week last year :-Wheat, 44s. 2d. barley, 31s. 10d.; oats, 22s 9d A COOL WAITER.—The following scene took place the other day in a Paris restaurant on the eccasion of a wedding dinner ;-An awkward waiter, in at. tempting to place on the table the soup-tureen, filled with fat chicken broth, spilled its contents on a lady's white satin dress. The lady screamed and was seized with hysterics. The waiter stopped and shouted in her ear: "Don't despair, madam; there's plenty of broth yet left in the kitchen. I am going for it "A SOFT HAMMER TORNETH AWAY NOISE.Old Lady.—" Oh, carpenter—yes—while you were at dinner, I-ah !-tied some rags round the head of your hammer, as I found the noise of it this morning disturb me very much. You will find it much pleasanter now.Fun. A CONFIDING SPARROW.-A Scotch contemporary (says the Evening Standard), relates a rather curious L.i wViioVi has iust come to the knowledge ot the workmen engaged, at Dumbarton, in the building of a^screw steamer for the Union Steamship Company of New Zealand.i It appears that at the top of a shore supporting one of the beams in the upper deck of the vessel, a bird of the species known as the white-winged sparrow has boldly 'built its nest, which at the present moment contains three eggs'. The spot selected by the sparrow is neither an isolated nor a sheltered one, being immediately beneath the deek beam, near the centre of the tibip. Neither the noise of the work that is being done nor the unusual nature of the surroundings seem to have intimidated the visitor nor hindered her in the task of making a snug home c^f family. By a fortunate chance the vicinity of the nest will not have to be disturbedforalongtime to come, the spot it is placed in being exactly where a space is left for the erection of a winch fnundation. Workmen are, however, continually em. ployed within a few yards of the sparrows home but the bird seems so thoroughly domiciled that their presence does not alarm her, nor does the con- stant movement inseparable from a shipyard upset her equanimity. She hops about the uprights and staging near her nest just a3 any other member of her species might do in the branches of trees, and has become quite a favourite with the men engaged in the yard. The eggs will, it is anticipated, be hatched in a few days, and there will probably be time enough for the young ones to reach maturity before it be- comes necessary to disturb them in their singularly. placed home. THE Loss OF THE DOURO.—Among; the latest subscriptions to the Douro relief fund received by the Mayor of Southampton is a sum of *,r the nassentrera and officers of the Royal Mail steamer^ Don handed to Captain Gillies, com- mander of that vessel, with a letter from a committee formed on board, '« as a mark of their appreciation of the unselfish and gallant efforts of the officers of the Douro to save life, not only at the risk, but at the sacrifice of their own. "We venture to trust the letter saya, "that this small offering may serve'to alleviate the distress of the widows or orphans of the crew, who made duty their first consideration." -The passengers and officers of the Royal Mail steamer Tagus have also contributed 248, and smaller amounts have been received from other sources. The fund now amounts to about Cl, 250. A SAPPHIRE MINE.—That beautiful stone, the sapphire, seems inclined to make a great stir in the world (says the Globe). A short time ago we com. mented upon the excitement caused in Burmah and the Malayan Peninsula by some remarkable discoveries of this gem in Siam, and now there comes astory that it has been found in the Himalayan 6 »»? hS 'MT G. T ower Thibet. This account, how- eier w^s evidently intended to throw searchers « iv,o spent It is now known that the r £ l "Tom Tiddler's" ground is at Padna, an outlying district on the Upper Chenab, belonging to the Maharajah of Cashmere. According to the latest intelligence, a great sapphire mine waa suddenly revealed there by a landslip, which carried away the side of a mountain, and Dosed the long-hidden treasure. No sooner' did the news reached Serinuggur than the Maharajah sent a strong sepoy guard to the spot. Previously, however, some enterprising prospectors had done a little rough work, and their prizes have duly reached India. The stones are pronounced to be genuine sapphires, but of poor quality it is considered pro- bable, however, that better ones will be found when 1 the min, come. t<. be systematically workfd. EpPING FOREST IN THE OLDEN TIME one of the earliest documents in existenj to Fnnine Forest, states the Athenceum, is « SE L«»»ry «f th. MkltoJ thirteenth or the beginning of the fourteen which contains a list of foresttlrS, varderers, regardors, and free and customary tem> various forests in the county of Essex. A occurs Moricius de Eppinge, woodman of tl Waltham's wood in Eppinge. This roll is the Comiwtus Roll of the collectors of wool in Essex, to which Epping contribute ix. petr'.ij. lib', j. qnar' Several other relating to these subjects are fastened ^here is also auiong the Uoval Kolls in "he time of Henry VIII., containing one ox p. an(j distribution oi deer in t for the taki«. J PRINCE Bismakck.. THE HEALTH from irrjedrichsr to the latest telogramt, cQr- He cont Bismarck is somewhat bei«~ a wani ever, to suffer much from gonv, tat and indigestion. Acute pain has or from sleeping. The Prince is still conipC his bed, and looks vsry thin and carewo; covery, however, will, it is hoped, now ac quickly, so as to allow him to leave Fri after Whitsuntide. If he is able to do so a few weeks in Berlin, in order to be pI second reading of the Tobacco Monopoly cannot do this, the Prince will immedia to a watering-place. It appears probable ao-ain visit Kissingen this summer. In illness the Chancellor continues daily to w as possible with his second son, Count Wi AMERICAN SILK PRODUCTION.—The a silk in America is progressing by gigi towards perfection. A dress of brocadt been presented to Mrs. Garfield, for which of cocoon, making fourteen pounds of rl been employed to make the dress pattern. being made from cocoons in which the sil been fed upon osage orange. Great sui tended the experiment, three pounds of cocoons making one pound of silk. Ame declared to be equal to the best Italian is to Mrs. Bayard Taylor, of Pennsylvanii of the great traveller-diplomatist, that t tion of silk culture in America is owing. THE PHYLLOXERA.—Messrs. Hachette a issued two large coloured plates of th< vastrotrix, the pest which has wrought I destruction among vines. The first pla insect in all its stages, from the egg to a w and in all its various forms. The figure magnified and beautifully printed. In plate are shown the roots of the vine in healthy state, and the roots and branch attacked by the insect, besides other which will enable anyone to understan< habits. In vine-growing districts these be of the greatest service, and there they on the walls of every school. A RUSSIAN FRIEND OF THE AUTHOR < LEY."—A Russian friend of Sir Walter away last week at St. Petersburg, in the great landowner and nobleman, Count OJ (says the Coltrt Journal). The Count great landed autocrat, occupied among men the position of a Duke of Sutherlanl youth he was sent to Great Britain to be University, and his religion disqualify Oxford and Cambridge he entered St. i took his degree there. While staying I ho madfl thA aCfmaintance of Sir Walti Eaid many a visit to the author, not only at house but also at Abbotsford. This intima great impression on the young Russian noble, a to admit that his mind and tastes had be< influenced by Sir Walter Scctt. Returning he soon came into the possession of estates in area a million acres, and sought to live i possible like an English landlord. A coi was built in the English style, and furnu most approved English fashion. Gardener mers were brought over, and agriculture w on by means of all those mechanical applial have been invented in England from tin Up to the day of his death the Count man admiration of Great Britain, and nothing him more than a visit from tourists fr< Britain, to whom he had always a string o anecdotes to relate about his acq uaintanc author of Waverley." STRANGE GROWTH OF TREES.—Mr. E. W. of Nepcar House, near Sevenoaks (says Water), draws our attention to, and sends of, the curious manner in which a large lo of an elm-tree has grown into the trunk bouring elm, giving the appearance ^.jt' great forest trees joined Siamese twins-like, constantly observed curious growths of various kinds of trees. We remember se< holly that had attained a great age, and the of a forest tree, which had grown against 1 a gate, gradually embracing and enclosinf of the gatepost in a portion of its trunk. several very interesting examples preser.t the museums at Ktw Gardens of portions c had grown once and enveloped in their railings, iron chains, &c. THE WAY WE LIVE NOW.—" Well, old Ch did the doctor say I" "Oh—said I was tea and take plenty of rest, and all that. "But what did he say about big cigars ar and-sodas in the morning and all that ) didn't mention it. Fact is-never aske Punch. EARNINGS OF THE FRENCH EAILWAYS.- ings of the French Railways last year were J or jEl.620,200 more than 1880, while th lines open for traffic had increased from in 1880 to 15.800 miles at the close of last mileage receipts showed an increase upon belonging to the six great companies, whi< great bulk of the traffic j lines the State exhibited a marked falling off, receipts for 1881 being six per cent. less were the year before. CURRENCY IN THE SOLOMON ISLANDS.- tants of the Solomon Islands have a curio decimal currency. A cocoanut seems to but the circulating medium consists of str and shell beads, dogs' teeth and porpoise string of white money is equivalent to U or one flat stick of tobacco. Ten strii money make one string of red money ( tooth ten dogs1 teeth make one isa, poise teeth, and ten is as are equivalent t quality wife." So that a wife in good soc 10,000 cocoanuts. R THE BLOCK SYSTEM.Affable 01 Ticket Clerk-Morning Express just due) 1 not going up this morning, but one ol time-tables, if you please; and can yo i (shouts from the crowd, Now then, Mu ? 10.45 steps at Dribblethorp Junction, anc bus meets the trains, which it always dc days, I know, 'cause my married siater < a farmer, generally goes by it. But if ° o' Toosday as well as Wednesday, I shal a out at Shuntbury and take a fly, wh money, you know, when you're by you: ° you'll be good enough to look out thl change for half a sovereign, if you please ci in no hurry, as I ain't a goin' sill next morn- [Bell rings. Position storn: it BANQUET TO AFRICAN TRAVELLERS.- and Commander Cameron, the diatingu d travellers, arrived at Liverpool on S 6t were entertained to a banquet by Africa )f Both of them spoke highly of the res ie Dark Continent. Mr. Barton said thi -h simply a country impregnated with g mander Cameron remarked that there investment than the gold mines of the Africa, if properly managed. The tr 1e wards proceeded to London. of DRINKING ELEPHANTS.—The followir of related by Mr. Barnum in illustration re that drinking is a habit that growsLi }k of my elephants began shaking with cl an inc. The keepers ran down to the villi 'te gallons of whisky. Hastily returning, ee were given to each elephant. ortun is them. They liked the artificial warm duced. Next morning when the keeper re he found both elephants shaking with m 'ia No, you don't," he shouted, "you a to day," and they stopped shaking. HOUSE RENT IN PARIS AND LONDON known French publicist has lately pub French industrial journal, some details o of Paris, which contrast rather forcib experience of London (remarks the Builde) Leroi de Beaulieu is, indeed, of opinh homes of the poor are being banished The value of land in that city, he coni coming so enormous, that the owners ai to allow the erection of any but the moi kinds of houses, so that there is an incres accommodation for the poorer classes. SiJ cent of the tenancies in Paris are let at exceeding B12 per annum. The total nut rate tenancies is stated at 684,992. Th is over two millions but as the returns b altered, so far as they are published in th rities we have at hand, for some years pai speak with the precision we should wis] licundly, however, the proportion is a littl souls per tenancy. In London, in 1881, i sons occupied 486,286 houses, being at tb persons per house. Over the Greater the Registrar General (the above bei called the "Inner London"'of that ott the number of houses is 645,818; th, 4 764 312 and the proportion, 7 "37 sou Two-thirds of the population of Paris a something like 21d. per head per week, i hend that the correspondmg figures, if o London, would show a much more c London, would buuw u uiutu mum wa housing. BICYCLE MEET AT HAMPTON COUET.—TW three hundred and fifty bicyclists repret hundred and forty-two metropolitan at provincial clubs, took part in the annu Hampton Court, on Saturday. Fine weati; the demonstration, which, as in former yaai a large multitude of spectators, many of non-club bicyclists. The men mustered 01 green, stacking their machines in divisions and indicated by numbers, the tricyclis attached men following in the rear. The through Hampton to New Hampton, Clarence at Teddington, and thence down t avenue of Bushy Park, emerging at the Li the green again. Along this route marshlili high pointy of vantage, controlled the ua and red flag signals, and the merit of thist was proved by the fact that there was Di awkward spills which in the early years very often occurred. The procession, con half-past five, oecupied nearly two hours, as a whole, being very easy and skilful, i in the C¡he of some of the bt.>w.nown applause from the spectators who lined < the ch-miut avenue in the park. The pr< exceedingly well-marshalled, and some magnitude may be gathered from thi although the route is computed at five mi II division of riders returned to ilampton-f the last had left. A number of unatt and several tricycling clubs also took procession.

MUSIC FOR THE PEOPLE. A drawing-room meeting was held the other day at the house of Mrs. Jeune, Wimpole-street, London, in support of a movement which has been instituted for the purpose of providing the industrial population ot London with a better class of musical entertainments on a self-supporting basis, to take the place of the inferior quality of most of the entertainments now at their disposition, The proposal of the committee is to establish musical centres in certain selected dis- tricts, and to this end their intention is to rent on fixed evenings in each week large halls well known to, and frequented by, the working class, and to give concerts, the programme of which will consist of ballad singing by competent artists interspersed with carefully-selected instrumental music of a more classical character and also dramatic and poetic recita- tions. Ic is e.ho inter' Vfl, as exp.ained by the .biFiiop of Gloucester a; Brist 1; who picsided, to estabjsh at each hall a choral training class so as to obtain and employ the educational as veil as the recreative in- fluence of music. The committee, as was stated by Mrs. Ernest Hart, the honorary secretary, have already commenced operations at the Foresters-hall in Clerkenwell, where fourteen cencerts have been given since January last with marked success, and the work of music teaching has been commenced and is proceeding with success. Resolutions in support of the movement were passed on the motion of the Dean of Westminster and other speakers, and the meeting thanked Mrs. Jeune for the use of her drawing-room, and the Bishop of Glou- cester f-Jr having presided over the meeting.

ARCHBISHOP CROKE ON IRISH LEGISLATION. ( Archbishop Croke was, on Sunday after mass in Galbally Chapel, county Tipperary, presented with an address from the parishioners of Galbally and Aherlow. In the address his grace was thanked for his efforts to rescue the people of this sorely tried land from the sufferings and misery which for generations have been the lot of the Irish people." It continued Were it not for you, and many exalted souls like you, the Irish race were doomed to groan for ever under a system of merciless servitude, which more than once, even in this generation, his reduced them to be famine-atricken spectres in their own fair and fertile land." Archbishop Croke, in reply, said that the address which he had just received, and the demonstration in the same district a couple of days ago, afforded con- vincing proof to him, if proof were needed, that the priests and people of Ireland are thoroughly united. No class in the community could have the interest of the people more at heart than the clergy—their interest, moral, social, and political, were identical with those of their flocks. It would have been well, indeed, if the Government of the country had paid attention to the suggestions made by the assembled hierarchy of Ireland about a year ago in reference to the Land Act. Had it done so, by adopting leading amend- ments then suggested by their lordships the country, instead of being distracted and unsettled as it is unfortunately to-day, would have by this time realised all its legitimate aspirations, and we would have been spared those heartrending scenes and other disastrous events which we have had such reason to deplore. Even now he, as one of the Irish Bishops, would earnestly call on the Government to pause in their coercive career to settle substantially the land question to consult in future with a view to the government of Ireland the friends of the country rather than its enemies and he would promise them that if they did so, peace and prosperity would be as manifest in a shert time as distress and uncertainty were at the present moment.

A SAD CASE OF DROWNING. Mi. Pinniger, the Berkshire Coroner, held an inquiry on Monday at West Woodhay on the bodies of Ellen Brown and George Hamblin, who were drowned on Saturday In a lake near West Woodhay House, a mansion in the course of rebuilding for Mr. W. H. Cole, of London. The deceased woman was the wife of the coachman in Mr. Cole's employ, and it appeared that her mental faculties were weak. On Saturday afternoon a girl named Cox saw Mrs. Brown near the lake, and heard her exclaim, I must, I must; there is no hope," after which she jumped into the water. The aot was observed by two men employed in a field close by, one of whom, named George Hamblin, ran into the water, which was deep, and not being a swimmer, he sank immediately. A stonemason named Robert Weeks swam out, and brought the body of Mrs. Brown to shore, but life was extinct. He made two attempts tu rescue Hamblin, but without success, and was so much exhausted that he narrowly escaped drown' ig. Hamblin's body was subsequently found. The jury returned a verdict that Mrs. Brown com- mitted suicide while in a state of unsound mind, and that Hamblin WTIB drowned while attempting to rescue her. Both the Coroner and Jury were unanimous in their opinion as to the brave conduct of Hamblin and Weeks. A subscription list for the widow and family of Hamblin was at once opened, and the rector (Rtlv. J D. Bealea) and the foreman of the Jury (Mr. Churcher) consented to act as treasurers of the fund,

ARRIVAL OF "GREAT PAUL" IN LONDON The great bell for St. Paul's Cathedral arrived safely at Highgate on Saturday afternoon by about three o'clock, and there had to remain until twelve on Sunday night, the regulations with regard to road traffic within the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Board of Works prohibiting tha passage of steam traction engines after seven in the morning. It was drawn into the Great Northern Railway goods yard and remained there during Sunday. Many thousands of people were attracted to the spot during the day to see the great bell which was "uncovered for in- spection. A guard of police were, however, on duty, and only a few privileged visitors were allowed within the gates. The journey was resumed at mid- night, the route being vid Holloway, Highbury, Islington, Goswell-road, and Aldersgate-street, to its destination, where it arrived at daybreak on Monday morning. Operations were at once commenced for getting the bell inside the Cathedral ready to be hoisted into its place in the clock tower. During the day great crowds of people gathered round the Cathedral, and crowded the steps to get a sight of the bell, A number of policemen were drawn up round the trolley, who kept the road as clear as possible, but during the morning the heavy traffic through St. Paul'a-churchyard was con- siderably impeded.

Messrs. Coles and Matthews, a firm of engineers in Coventry, undertook the whole risk and responsibility of bringing the great bell from the foundry of Messrs. John Taylor and Co., at Loughborough, and deliver- ing it at the foot of the Dean's tower of the cathedral, in which it is to hang and Mr. R. Coles, of this firm, has accompanied the bell throughout its journey, fol- lowing on a tricycle when his active superintendence was not required to extricate the bell-carriage from some soft bit of road. The only serious delay occurred near Fenny Stratford, where the trolly re- mained for two days sunk to the axles until a load of boiler-plates had been procured from Coventry, and the engine and bell were thus enabled to get over about 500 yards of clay covered only by a thin crust of stones. This bad road would not have been taken had not the authorities at Bedford placed restrictions on the passing of the bell through that town which were practioally prohibitive, JE10 being demanded for a Ero i i ive I licence which would not be granted until the Justices met at Quarter Sessions in June. The different regu- lations of Hertfordshire and Middlesex with regard to traetion engines nearly caused the loss of another day when the bell was within three miles of Barnet, a strip ) of road in Middlesex having to be crossed. On Friday a day's journey of 20 miles was made. Loughborough was left on the 11th, the distance by the road traversed being about 112 miles, The massive trolly constructed for the purpose by Messrs. Coles and Matthew*, which with its strong cast-iron wheels, from lOin. to a foot thick, and 2ft. 6in. in diameter, the iron-work and platform, weighs over five tons, has behaved very satisfactorily, and shows no sign ot injury from the weight of the heavy load it has borne so long and over such varying ground. The swinging T struts, hanging outside the line of the wheels at either side of the platform, in all probability prevented an overturn when the very bad piece of road was met with. No difficulty was found p in going up or down hill, one of Messrs. Fowler's 9-horse power traction engines proving quite sufficient to move this load, bell and trolly weighing 22 tons, up any hill on the way. The scotching arrangement and brake-power on the trolly made it possible to stop at a moment, either in ascending or descending a hill.

"GREAT PAUL'S" ARRIVAL IN LONDON. The Daily News thus describes the entrance of Great Paul" into London All Sunday, and more especially in the evening, curious crowds thronged out to see the bell and to touch it, and to discuss its proportions and its composition and its tone-as judged of by a poke with an umbrella or a rap with the knuckles -and when daikness had dispersed the mere sensible or the less enthusiastic and the small hours of Monday morning succeeded to the larger ones of Sunday night, a pertinacious little mob of perhaps three hundred still clung to the railings of the enclosure from which they had been expelled and drowned the songs of the Highgate nightingales with their whistling and interchanges of cockney wit. They had come to see the bell into London, and if the contractors chose to postpone the start from twelve o'clock till three, was that any valid reason why they should not do as they intended ? Cer- tainly not, they seemed to think, and so they stuck to their various coigns of vantage, and when the traction engines began to blow out their sparks and sooty smoke the cold grey dawn softly breaking over into the woody heights in their rear there was still the little mob, a little stiff and chill and hungry, it might I be, but still in the best of spirits. It was about three o'clock, nearly broad daylight.. when the ponderous burden got fairly under way amid a ringing cheer of the valorous three hundred who f marched on all sides of it, and as they tramped down into London found apparently ample reward for their long virgil in the ludicrous apparitions that were described at the bedroom windows along the route. Nightcaps and curlpapers, and hurried toilets of every imaginable kind were continually being protruded from half-opened windows or from behind curtains and blinds, only to be hastily withdrawn as a rough but good. humoured roar broke from the pedestrians in the road- j way below. It certainly was very droll to witness the I bewilderment and alarm displayed by one half- awake face after another as its owner who had < just popped out of bed to take a peep at the passing bell suddenly found himself or herself the observed of all observers, and the subject of a demonstration which just for an instant evidently was supposed to belong to Great Paul, until the alarming truth became too evident to be doubted, and then in popped the head. Here and there one tried to brave it out, but rarely with much success. The attendance band never became very large until the hour grew late, Mid the bell approached inner London. All along the line people peeped out upon it, but could not be allured to join the procession. The arrival at St. Paul's, however, was later than had been calcu- lated on. The Cathedral is only about five miles and a-half from the spot on which the bell had rested on Sunday, and between three and six it was imagined there would be ample time to accomplish the down- hill journey. Unexpected difficulties presented them- selves, however. The surveyor of Islington put hisr veto on the proposal to come down the Liverpool- road, and Upper-street, Islington, had to be sub- stituted. This route presented alternate ascents and declines, and more than once it became neeessary to send on an engine ahead and throw it across the road as a stationary engine by which to haul up some slippery slope with a length of steel rope. However, the last acclivity was successfully scaled, and from Islington-green to the Cathedral progress was rapid, and the attendant crowd ever on the increase. Those who were awaiting the arrival at St. Paul's were made anxious for a time by the rumour that the City police intended to stop the fiery cavalcade at the City boundary, where it did not arrive till close upon eight, the proper limit of time being six in the morning. However, nothing so injudicious was attempted on the contrary, the police afforded every facility and at five minutes to eight Mr. Coles, the contractor for the conveyance of the bell, had the satisfaction of bringing up his charge to the very inch assigned for the purpose by Mr. Penrose, whose plans had evi- dently been laid with the greatest skill and fore- thought. The crowd of spectators around the Cathedral had by this time become a large one, mustering perhaps two thousand ceople, who cheered vociferously as the snorting engines pulled up alongside. In an hour or two the space intervening between the top of the trolly and the platform from which the bell was to slide down to the front of the tower, was bridged by complementary timbers, and the various stays and ties by which the new comer had been secured to the carriage were removed. In order to do this it became necessary for one or two men to creep up through a hole in the woodwork at the bottom of the bell into the body of it, and a large pair of bellows and elastic tubing had to be brought into play to guard against their possible suffocation. While the work waa proceeding and the ever-increasing crowd was surging around the Cathedral boundaries, the Lord Mayor drew by in semi-state, on his way to the Old Bailey Sessions-house, and in passing his lordship was seen to be endeavouring to address to Mr. Penrose something, which was no doubt, as currently assumed to be, his ccngratulation at the suc- cess thus far attendant upon this weighty undertaking. Mr. Penrose's responsibility, however, had only just commenced, and some little anxiety among the spec- tators inside the enclosure was naturally experienced and expressed as to the success of the arrangements that had been made. With the smallest possible delay, and with apparently no difficulty whatevsr Great Paul was induced to make a slow and stately movement towards the Cathedial, and set out upon the sloping launch-way that had been constructed towards the enlarged doorway at the foot of the clock- tower. One strand of a rope gave way, but another and a stouter rope, with all necessary gear attached, was immediately forthcoming to take its place, and to illustrate the provident forethought of the arrange- ments for the day's proceedings, which were as suc- cessful as the most exacting could have desired.

OBEYING ORDERS.—In a very interesting brochure on the passage of the Danube by the Russians, Major Oatapov tells a story which might with advantage be printed and hung up in every English barrack-room. General Dragomirov, who commanded the division detailed to force the passage, had given his men the strictest orders not to waste their cartridges, not to fire before landing, and so on, generally pushing them towards a proper use and no abuse of their ammuni- tion. After the crossing the Czar visiting the hos- pitals, and saw among the wounded a man who ap- peared to wish to show him something. The Czar ap- proached the bed and addressed some kind and en- couraging words to the soldier, who thereupon drew forth two packets of cartridges which he had caved and showed them with an air of triumph to his Majesty, who understood at once, and thanked the man heartily for having so well understood the orders of his general and shown so much self-denial in carrying them out,

THE GREAT HAMILTON SALE. We make the following extracts from an article on the above subject in Monday's Daily News Some idea of the extent of the sale of what belongs to Hamilton Palace which is to take place in June next, may be realised by stating that the illustrated catalogues are to be sold at the price of one guinea. The magnificent duc-1 residence of Hamilton, which has always been known as a palace," is to be all but gutted of its precious contents, which will be scattered to the four quarters of the world in a London sale room. Pictures by the first masters, rare sculptures, ancient vases, cabinets of the most curious and costly workmanship, a library with a world-wide celebrity, objects of historical interest—a collection which it has taken centuries to bring together is coming at last to that end which all collections seem to reach—the hammer. To the literary world the sale of the Beckford Library will be a great event. It is said to contain about 800 volumes of MSS., and 25,000 printed tomes. It was collected by William Beckford, of Fonthill Abbey, a man who was left a princely fortune by his father, Alderman Beckford, and who devoted it to the construction of a. splendid residence, which was celebrated at the time for its magnificence and the costly treasures with which it was hll.d. Byron called Beckford, Englands Wealthiest Son." He earned a high reputation in ^,terai> world in his day by the publication of a" Oriental romance called "Vatbek.' lhere are o which bear his name, but from his literary tastes and unlimited means the value of his collection of books may be guessed at. The reason of this collection being now found at Hamilton Palace was owing to Alexander, the tenth Duke of Hamilton, marrying Beckford's daughter. Beckford's death took place in 1844, and the library was then transferred, the Duke having constructed a place in the Palace for it, which has gone by the name of the Beckford Library," to distinguish it from the "Hamilton Library. It is said to be designed after the model of the Vatican library, the wall are adorned by portraits of Beckford himself, his father, and his daughter. The Hamilton Library is also be sold, and it also contains some very rare works. Christie and Manson's fame is not unknown in Hamilton, and the high prices they get is at present much talked of there in connection with the coming sale. As Hamilton Palace is believed by the people about to be the grandest thing of the kind in the uni- verse, they have been making guesses at the probable re- sult No less a sum than two millions is the figure they have put down. The large picture of Daniel in the Lion's Den, by Rubens, is talked of as likely itself to realise jS-K),000, in fact, it is said that this sum has been alreadv offered for it. It is a large canvas, mea- suring lOft. lOin. by 7ft. 6in., and was presented to the Duke of Hamilton by Charles I. having been in Hamil- ton Palace ever since, its authenticity must ba beyond a doubt. There are other works by Rubens, one of which is peculiarly interesting. It is called the Loves of the Centaurs." George the Fourth wished to pos- sess this picture, but the Duke of Hamilton managed to secure it, and this led to an unpleasantness, and produced some curious events which are said to have occurred at Edinburgh when the King visited that place. This picture is in a very perfect condition, but that may be said of nearly the whole collection. There is a large fresco by Bottichelli it has been brought home and framed, and is said to weigh six tons. It was exhibited in the Winter Exhibition of the Royal Academy a few years ago. There is a Hobbema, which is about as fine a specimen of that master as is known. There are also pictures by Albert Durer, Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, Corregio, Guido, Rembrandt, Vandevelde, &c., &c. The family portraits are not to be sold. Amongst these are some very fine works. There is the first Duke of Hamilton, a full length, by Vandyke a full length of the second Duke, by Mytens; and the third Duke, by Paul Van Somer. There is a portrait of one of the Dukes taken at Rome by Gavin Hamilton. This has a special interest, for the Duke was a young man tra- velling in Italy at the time with his tutor, "John Moore, M.D. whose portrait is also given, as well as his son, who afterwards became General Sir John Moore, the hero of Corunna. There is a bull dog in the picture, regarding which a rather incredible tale is related. Among the historical portraits not to be sold are some specially important ones. There is the Earl of Darnley, by Zucchero Charles the Fifth, by Velas- quez Charles the First, by Vandyke Napoleon the First, by David. There is also a very fine fall length of William Fielding, first Earl of Denbigh, by Van- dyke, his daughter was the first Duchess of Hamilton. In the Great Hall there are five statues, cast in bronze from the originals, of the Apollo Belvedere, Diana, the Gladiator, Antinous, and a Hercules. They were made by order of Francis I., and were bought in Paris by the Duke Alexander to place in the hall of the new part he had added to the Palace These are to be sold. Among historical h Qacen EuzaWs cradle, and two chairs which have the "ij"" 'Queen Mary and Cardial Wolsey attached to them. In the Charter Knom is presented the gun with which Hamilton, of Bothwellhaugb, shot the Regent Murray at Linlithgow and in the same room is a gold ring with a sapphire which was sent to the Hamilton of that time by Mary Queen of Scots, the night before her execution. It is preserved in a silver box which had been used to carry love letters and love tokens between Queen Mary and Lord Darnley. These curious relics of the past are not to appear at Christie and Manson s. There are an innumerable number of cabinets and boxes of rare workmanship, many of them with his- torical associations, which the published catalogue alone can detail, and which will draw large crowds to see them when on view in London next June. The grandfather of the present Duke made large additions to the Palace, and improved the grounds around it. It was he who married Beckferd s daughter, and he evidently had the instincts of a constructor and a collector. He has left ample evidence of this in the perfect condition of everything. He must have desired that the Palace of Hamilton would be a monument of the greatness of his family that would go down to posterity with all its richness and splen- dour At a vast cost he constructed a magnificent mausoleum, it is 120 feet high, and is one of the sights of the place. The bodies of his ancestors, thirteen in number, were removed to its vaults; and in an ancient Egyptian Earcophagus of Syenite marble covered with hieroglyphics, he himself reposes.

WOMEN as INSPECTORS of FACTORIES and WORKSHOPS* In London, on Saturday afternoon, a «onference convened by the Women's Protective an .j League, was held at tho Westmmscer ^lace il^el, to consider the advisability of appomtinent of women as inspectors or sub-inspectors and workshops in which girls and ployed, and which are now inspected only by men Lord Shaftesbury occupying the chair. Mrs. Paterson. the secretary, read a report, on the wotkint of the French system of inspectrices, a.I-el which Miss A. Heather Iiigg addressed the meeting. She said it was only common fairness to women tnat they should be allowed to inspect those workshops and factories where members of their own sex were employed. She was sure it would conduce much to the welfare and benefit of those inspected. In con. clusion, she moved a resolution to the effect that it was not desirable that the inspection of factories and workshops where women were employed should be eutirely in the hands of men, and that competent women should be at once appointed to such posts. Mr. Hodgson Pratt, in seconding the motion, said that the inherent power of minute observation in women would be extremely useful to them were they made inspectrices, and this habit of close scrutiny would cause them to discover and expose many abuses which up to the present men had overlooked or paid no attention to. After a few words from Miss Whyte (Society of Women employed in Bookbinding), Miss Wilkinson (Upholstresses U iion) further supported the motion. One of her chief arguments for female inspection of workshops was that under the present system of male inspection employes were afraid, from motives of modesty, to complain to the authorities, especially in cases of bad sanitary arrangements, which for her own part she could say were only too frequent in London. Mr. F. D. Mocatta said he thought the appoint- ment of women as inspectrices would be a most de- sirable thing.. The resolution was carried and a committee was appointed to prepare a memorial and to be a deputa- tion to the Home Secretary on the subject of the con- ference.