The Aberystwith Observer

NURSERY SONG FOR THE NEW BABY. 0 siiircber, my darling, thy sire is a Prince Whom Mannas beheld skating not quite five hours since. And Grandpapa Christian is off to the fray With Germans, who'd Sisal his nice duchy away. But slumber, my darling, the English are true, And they'll help him for love of Slamioa and of you, And the Channel fleet's coming with powder and shot, .And Germans must ran, or they'll catch it all hot. [Punch. [Punch.

HE JAPANESE DIFFICULTY. ??e been received that after I°n? i. over three days, the agents of uk have agreed to make immediate pay- e ^demnity, and have promised inAnting xa active search for the murderers of ^ds°Omd to S5S them, ffftttn discovered, P^ishment, in presence of one or more

the OVERLAND MAIL" pnncip^i subject in the iwtvs from India, Overland mail, is the hostilities .e out tribes on the Punjaub frontier. The c' qas been very severe, and the serious the wectnd received by General Chansr- iH the fighting on the 20th November, aild jgtjuent resignation of the command^ is con- *-ai°r General Garvock is the gallant gene- lessor. it js sai(j there are signs that federacy 0f the hill tribes is disheartened, rg from Japan is interesting. A i formed of the two parties hostile to fareighers «rho were for the forcible and and bP were for the gradual ejection of foreigners, r policy is to be adopted in the mam, with a iS of the former when opportunity affords, .tter of chief interest from China is the rela- J-ajor Gordon and Captain Sherard Osbora ohinese Government. ollowing telegram has since been received at la Craice:— V i-, B)><nvr, Dec. 2$. ^e8ram from Lahore, dated DecefmlVet- §i, t tne Gui(ie corps and a contingent at tfc'e Bonair icn were detached for the purpose 'ci destroying \ve returned to Umbeylah. The 6'riginal object of ? thus 1,6611 in the destruction "> ol the Hindustanee ftm&tics. The force, there- return to the PlaiRaS and after the exae«on oi the Judoon amlOthmanzy tribes, f° 'J™ Ine Peshawur district and bor«*»t is quiet, ine erfectly tranquil.

ifE WAR IN NEW ZEALAND. f in New Zealand, far from being a mere treak, as some supposed at the firrc^ is a. very serious affair. It is supposed that majority of the natives of the northern I ire so disaffected to our rol., that any marked sSaChieved by the Waikatoes now in arms would !J ^°.r nniverasl rising, and introduce a gte for dominion which would be on both sides « .1 extermination.

•Hiscalittttflits littelligeute. home, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL. 'VERB "WINTER IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE vmter which, up to the 2nd of January, ty-as 4y ttuld in the south of France, set in tv¥fch V'pty on that day. The wind, blowing- from »?y degrees covered Burgundy, tbe Lvonnais, u. °f the Rhone with snoW-. A despatch it« ."V presents a magnificent spectacle W.J J white mantle Snow has not yet iip t- ,0ntpelier, but on the night of the 2nd f 1VY .8 were transformed by a sharp frost f ^,?Y°e» and remained, when the dewnoch uuckness very uncommon in that country. ,st was accompanied by a piercing north J" so BAD AS THEY APPEAR !—The Dublin sometimes take advantage of strangers, and if »In COQnng by a railway train does not happeft sor.?^3^6, no ladies are in the case, he viil of them" engaged," for then they expect I' .il1agle fare, perhaps—6d. At ather times, excuse, they demand more than their fare y are asked to take a long drive, for which jn demand only & single fare, the horse is ill, 1, or has lost a shoe. Yet on the whole, they E an honest set of fellows, for during last VPOT trrendensd to the police 2651., the amount'o? ^ind in their vehicles, or of sovereigns and half, given in mistake for shillings and six- They also surrendered a large quantity of property, the owners of which demanded the 11 °nly 33 cases out of 847. WITK TAILS !—It is renorted itt »ho sn nca" that a tribe exists only three feet t shirTr°u?^ their town—as Englacd is inveBt- o also"1 wa,ll3» these are the mt Ind smlths and manufacturers of all ies lonpa? blades having inflexible tails about r,ticks ri, ,bef°re sitting down to work they with id ofTn^koles ground. There, then, ia .1 to rr°ttiise for tbe speculative Barnum, who Factur H^ 100,000 dollar? for a real or ecl specimen of this cawdated human com- y. Swn r?IM SOMETHING BETTER TO DO !—A » statesman was accustomed to fish ecomP!,C ar 8P°t near the bridge of Zena, and <ar to t>° Dluc^1 attached to the place that he could icj rv .0 any one else occupy it. One morning fe day3 11 occupied, the next day the Hassres i £ T the in+ statesman made inquiries tes- jvernnip^truder, and ascertained that be had been *rged. tL c^er^' but he had recently been I, emplo ° after the dork was reinstated ision of and the statesman again took nis fishing place. •^matf-Alj PHA-NCES -—The following €H?e bg advert^m0n^a^ chances in the market, and ap- 'low I8ements in the Manchester JCfoaminer:— send"™ 150l. a year, desires a steady, kind &c., tofltere follows the address °1ng lad a8ent], where her carte can be seen. <lispoajff' a^-e ^0, with a moderate income, of a re- *ith a viPto V18 desir°u8 to correspond with a gentle- ia, p0S4. x™ to matrimony.—Address, enclosing carte, trsdeary. Bolton- fetic about 30, wants a wife—a healthy and by hoiioo ,?aPable of superintending a town and ftttcrt r? 'alternately required; honourable intentions Ms of matrimonial agent, who has real A r' Address> &c- METHOD OP WEARING A PIGTAIL i— whr> 6 Sseterdall, Norway, are a peculiar •?? prominent characteristics appear to be itld Idleness. In this district superstition, quite ^or^' ha.s its strongest hold. These 3 oYnf a p1^ h.an^iQ front» and in fighting, « his T?ataDt? .caa catch hold of this app^g- Kih t^ei^J^our one hand, he gouges out his «• r)r^„5 have heard that a somewhat Is 0 £ ^tlce.obtained in some of tbe Southern habits Notwithstanding these barba- rmjjjl- Qe peasant is not without his ted of es' an(l we are told that he is bold, open- r,3 Jj^ghtforward, and hospitable. Some fe by M??8 °btain among these people, and mar- iVs for»; ■ c^on ?re by no means rare, the parents ixon to vi^111^ their daughter as soon as their op- TI aer choice has been rendered useless. frorn^TH^x:AKE IN FRANCE.—A communica- PlQake Yl^non a^ates that repeated shocks of •e viliWere ^elt on two successive days last week tluse a<fe °^j I'agnes, near the Fountain of inhabit ,veral houses were so much shaken that flation a? i ?rer? °hliged to remove. The whole 'feqij0 °, 18 vUlage have become so terrified by ilwa recurrence of earthquake-shocks, which th .a^ompanied by a loud subterranean i- .at they are beginning to think seriously o £ onlIlg the place altogether. VING FOR ■a-ppcarances-—How Government and the poorer class of professional mon their families in Austria is a mystery {savs x"bkiim 0nce We^). The Austriaaco/imisis «uilitaiy a P°or and every one knows that t 0n^Tf .?»y ia far from munifeoent. Yet the Jhe cantairT ^ceeP8 UP an appearance. ftOi. on his 200^. is obbgea to make a show w i • V?F™er Pmches and screws to the utmost at^Jr hicwige among the clouds, t,c., on C tifPi'-neVG^ the world know what '^Cebt Y'r upon. The latter MiC v -l06810 Jews, who always help o Neither condition is to be envied. «lt of ^?fES OF Lord Eims's DEATH.—The fiEWha/«ri'WT*T ^s^ation of the late r8t^ha?l] £ *^hat h*dbeen suspected from ^eof rnri- „ death w#3 not attributable to any 1 la a It, was found that the heart eneratinn» tl.af'i called professionally "fatty andbecoml'had muscular ^cle VSdfSS7and d^ated. The right fsz* ™-VA8 £ these vital organs ?n the tked „ ^strange that they had not ^r°" £ B°ouVn e °* their existence' for they Jyc^at°eVed fataluader anycil<nsta £ ces S ;J«Y ^^REIGN" REMEDY !—WE »IUVI-}LF ely eXp^r^»nct recital of cases by » Practitioner .agUe8 ^twtd in the treatment of persons affected 'Jati0>. intermittent fever, and dealing suffer from the vicinity of the e of the Lancet). He testified to th« as an antiperiodic, substituting •s Vet fi n The culture of quinine is by no '*se a co^iv established on so large a basis as to r)(Jrr,„ iU^d supply in the quantities in which ilhe }8 n n(led for use all over th« world. For *ry one -5 king of medicines; and while eards it as themost reliable and invaluable and otiium6 tho maQy who think that with eui- is enormous,yan^nt>!eat a11 diseases. The i the rapidity with T e8peciaUy lf w? «has come into its ty^er S°n .°P ^.found its way for thefir»f ^to nteenth r.™tnrv • and in time late in the ie into the Pharmacopoeia v.^nce. it won its en- rrr ua„j 1 narmacojnjeia by curing Louis YTV then for him as a secret rempri^ i ^ensT^^ conditions 48,000 livres 2 OOO^irrAa and ^e title ofchevalieV'ST r -aot thenetweent Trench and English physicians ■nt pri^pfete or intimate, and so this mag- »nly a ,Was obtained for Fallot s remedy, which in \,Vlnous tincture of quinine commonly em- -nto th nEland* Louis XIV. ordered its admis- -Rocai6 armacopceia* I aen are MISSION WOMEN.—The mission j /ther cK10^ a. fnbstitute for, but an addition to, '-oi cann0^ritable _agencies at work. Their own ./it may u told in a short statement such as this, ,ery forjtl e stated generally that they administer to rahds, u ff human suffering.. Lonely, helpless lf d, wretchedness, from which they have u lUCeVf aV"emPt to escape, and women oldren, ^e degraded are ahke objects of their care >theMtfJho might o^erwi,e Jw ?rown u" rought by this agency to baptism, and I r • within reach of Christian influence. The success of the experiment, as first made in five or six parishes only, was so great, that a demand for its extension thread rapidly among the clergy of the most populous and destitute districts, and in May last forty-eight mission women were at work in forty-seven dis'tfriets, nine more were added by August, and there are now before the ladies' manages many urgent requests for the means of hegin*fog work in other districts. Alms- giving can- it is admitted, do but little for the pe*- ta&rsefrt baiief of distress, but it will be s6&^ encou- "Wgetnent to those willing to aid in tbis work to learn that through the agency cf these mission women in the year ending April, 1863, upwards of 1,217?. was saVed by the p'oor themselves, and returned to thepi in the teal)e of clothing, blankets, and other pcmfSrcs nrCViously unknown to them. The .s^A'iilgs are made by a class below those wko cdhuribute to provident societies, and it Is c&vioas that, besides adding to the comforts of tMn class, they must tend to create in thefca of frugality and independence. VALUE OF ADVERTISING !-In a c-PAe tfied. in the Lord Mayor's Court, a short t'>% ago, "Treloar v. The London Chatham" pp<i D,)Ver Railway Company," the plaintiff, who tt the well-known cocoa-nut fibre manufacture, Recovered 9,3051, compensation for the loss of his house and business at 42, Ludgate-hill, London. One part of plaintiff's claim was a ^sum oS SOO^. put as "loss of profit onadvertisinRi'. In. sup- port of that claim the pladntifr —d, and he said I look upon ftWfceV Upended in advertising as capital in- vested in case' I have expended 5.000J. in advertising the b*ffiicss which I was the first to introduce; the oldct advertisement, the more surely comes the^rettrn^ ,It was only the other day that a gentiema., irptb. Canada brought me an advertisement wfereft hs aad cuti out of a paper seven years old ■; w. SS^>t ft, and found my shopbyitameMS. To answer thfo, it was urged for the company t..at an adveHiwiiient might die out from staleness, and that it was a very good opportunity for plaintiff to issue a fresh advertiSeTO'eiit with the words "Prize- medal boider" Inserted. His lordship remarked that no«fcttbl advertising was of the very highest im- pottftn'ce to business, and the plaintiff w;as evid'eht^y V)? opinion that he had derived coiS.sf&ta ole benefit from following it up. It.\|rai3 ihaeed stated in the evi- dence that plaintm cchsiaered lie had made 10 per cent. prpfit annum on the 5,000?. expended that meaW; tnat plaintiff had put 5001. of his present pro- mts as arising out of the consequences of his adver- tising so that it was, as would be seen, o^ Whniaer- able importance to trades K5»w.y that persons should consider well tht frtWlo mode to be adopted, for the plaintiff it case had evidently reduced the matter a science. I?READ BY WEIGHT.—The fancy bread question was decided against the Hampshire bakers, .last; at the Hants Epiphany sessions hpMftfc Winchester. According to law all breall, 'except French or fancy bread, must be trcM hy weight. The Hampshire bakers sgll r^isly and cottage loaves as fancy bread, and raireham baker was recently convicted and fetfecl by the magistrates there for refusing to weigh, at the desire of a customer, a crusty loaf. The baker appealed to the sessions, and the bakers in the county entered into a subscription to support the appe&L /Thb result was the confirmation of ths tOnVfcti'dn of the Fareham magistrates. The matteir will now be taken to the Court of qtvftnla Bench. ART k-N —The "Reader" concludes a retroK^t of art in 1863 with the following sentence:- X careful review of what has been done in art would pro- bably lead us to the conclusion that, while English artista, as a body, have at this time attained a higher o5 ercsl- lence than has hitherto been reached, Vfs tliiisi ctul admit that, of works that will live £ *rd rctoembered, we have produced but one hero t^Vre, while Reynolds, Wilkie, and Turner in tbel* 'dty filled the land with their glory. A I>ANUROUS LUNATIC. — An attempt at mttfier was made in Carlisle, last week, by a man Yiamed Moffat, a tailor. He was sitting with hh family at dinner, in the middle of the days 'Ap- parently yielding to some uneontrillaWs impulse, ne seized a knife and rushed at kfe ti'Ather-in-law, an old woman some 8Q years age, who resides with him. Fortunately, 'hti tvus prevented from wounding her by the ififcctteVition of his two sons, one of whom was severely cut in attempting to wrest the knife from his father's hands. When the man's reason returned, anf, he was told what had occurred, he said it W3 !S!e a dream to him. The unhappy m1!n Udôù a. previous occasion been confined i!1 a iVinatic asylum, and it is supposed that hit) jtiirii Had again become deranged by the circumstftiitfe that last week his wife died suddenly, and a tumour (which turned out to be groundless) t&a.t she had been poisoned having reached the coroner, an inquest was held upon the body. The mac, vr&;b removed to the county lunatic asylum* A FRENCH GIANT AT BST&AST.—M. J. J. Brice, perhaps the most w £ <Js3al man of the present day, has held tba i'rst of a series of levees in the Corn Ex- change vsays a Belfast paper). His prodigious dimen- o.Ons are such that those who were then present eouM hardly give expression to their opinion. nm ^'r'ents are peasants, and his father's h^fg*1: only five feet eight inches, and hie motinaS^s five feet one inch. At the age of thirtee?* h"i was equal to the height of his father, and ntoce the age of eighteen he has been ex- hibiting himself in public, having visited the principal towns of France and Great Britain. He was received at the French Court, when the Emperor NapoleoapV-te- sented him with a massive gold ring which his no W t/e&- £ He is none of your deformed or tnissbapefe ¥6'6iieWrs, but a colossal, well-built man.. ttSB tfii'g Will encircle two or three fingers ol ttifiV.'&ry individual. The two or three fingerscî tJn. ttifiV.'&ry individual. The hand of a goodly-si^ed fta&h, when placed close to his, is like achild's 53a. '<?6of\5arison but the best way to judge of his ess.cfrm'o'tta size is to stand close to him and look tip tit hito smiling down upon you from above. The following are the giant's measurements, as taken by Frank T. Buckland. M.A., assistant surgeon o* til'o 2nd Life Guards. We can certify tht-t Vtb Keight is fully as represented:— Circumference of the !KSE&, 2R. 3in. length of arm bone (humerus), 1ft. O^in. ■; tangth of fore arm (radius), 1ft. 51in. circumferenw'o? forearm, 1ft. 4in. round the biceps, Ift. 3in.; circntiiierence of middle finger, 3Jin.; breadth of hand, &HR.; length of thigh bone (femur), 2ft. 61in. length of leg bone (tibia), 2ft. lin.; length of foot, 1ft. 4in.; round th" chest, 4ft. 6in. across the shoulders, 1ft. lliin height, !Mt.; length of outstretched arms, 8ft. lin. weight, n*e*iiy SO stone. ITALIAN SUPERSTITION.—Through the EFFECTS of the cold I (says a Paris correspondent) to.d&y SMr & curious outbreak of superstition. An Italian Servant broke a looking-glass and toft into agonies of grief, which was the mcfe inspected as it was sup- posed to arise iron regret at the damage and di- lapidations shs had caused but it soon appeared that the r .J, of any injury to her employers was entire- out of her mind. In Italy to break a looking' ^riss is to "die within the twelvemonths" at least to lose your nearest relation. T tttll to console the grieving iconoclast by teJ-Usg her that, but for finan- cial reasons, I sh<?v.ld hot fear to smash every glass in the house$"but she declined being comforted, even thc'Jtgh I told her that in my country, though we respected a glass, cracking a bottle was rather, .Con- sidered the right thing to do at this smvot. [This superstition is known in England unfortunately, is not yet extinct.—Ee.] THE NUMBERS ENTITLED TO VOTE. — The New York W'orld has furnished a table showing the number '0£ votes that will be requisite, under the Pre- std,ent>8 proclamation, to enable the "rebel" Stato to return to the Union—the proclamation requiring it, registration of but one-tenth of the number of voters -l afio — U.I .J.VVV Vote tn i860. No. required. Alabama » bO,357 9,036 Arkansas » 54,053 Florida 14,847 1,435 Cteorsla 106,305 10,637 Louisiana '5^ 4,050 Mississippi tl9,120. 6,012 Tennessee •. 145,333 14,534 North Carolina 96,230 ? *$3; Tex.. 62.986 ti.298 "Virginia and South Carolina,it sajrs, "are not in- cluded in this list, berattSe the former is not mentioned in the proclamatbn, and the latter never casts Presi- dential votws.^ MAD FOR A DANCER !—Brussels at the present moment (says the Independance) is in raptures f>. German female dancer. In classic daRtiing lier per- formance is nothing extraordinary, but she has created for herself a marked st'p^siority in the Mabille style, and far exceeds Wigolboche in her gymnastic move- ments. Sba in moreover young, about 20, very pretty, and livss in good style. She is said to be morgana- tically a princess, and her house is inaccessible to the numerous admirers of her person and her i talent. BUTCHERS AT VIKNNA.—A arrangement exists regarding bntchtW sk<>ps (says a writer m Once a Week). One BaSgfet feiUiost begin and end the subject by Baying, Thvro are no butchers' shops in Vienna," since ycra may wander the length and breadth of tl>? city without discovering any. But go at ewly ffiatn- iug to the market-places in the oldest quartets, aMd you see an assemblage of little Stalls, or toioVefcbfr shops, each decorated by & fringe df. 'o^&l, tinA Sur- rounded by cooks and baws-fra^.s "bfe^aihihg. Go to the same place at nooiy,. aftd shops, offal, seller, and customers nave v-snii-fecl into thin air. This strange metamorphosis JaSSses from a stringent police prohibi- tion against &tiy meat being sold after twelve o'clock; and. woe bt to the prodigal son, therefore, who returns to mfe bosom of his family at unheard-of-hour?, fctidiy expecting a chop! For love nor momaya I- dinners to be had. LORD BROUGHAM A. FRENCH POINT OF VIEW.—The folloyrfTifjr paragraph has appeared in a paper :— TJ They Tedworth to the London papers that Ittrd 18 seriously ill. Lord Brougham, as wo a« k naturalised Frenchman but yet, according Eu?iis7i !> he has not forfeited his rights as* subject or ms rank as a peer. Lord Brough«e» S bhe oif tfie great inM-, hi^ J 8 Agt3 has impal'i'ed his bocly nOT- he ^d- At «^ty & age he as if horsp^f a*fcer h^ing passed \he day on drtnwV*^ 2,5i.l?,ead ttvl'<i fe'e twenty letters, rlQk two bottles of 'Bo(rae»M. BUS^NTS^ITU?E LONDON TRAFFIC.—ON every enter the 5j.°4nd°n,. upwards of 700,000 pewoun oaain in th^X, y.lts various approaches, and K&Ve it twelve hours to a spectator at the rate ttf rl of those en feting the 'M tr part, o! Lon- proceeded on foot, and 171,000 in vehicles, making a total of 706.000 persons. The number of vehicles as. certained at the same time to enter the City every cW i"nf°rr hourstJwas 5?>765 > wh,^h' j £ d.rawn up -I occupy a length of about 260 miles, reaching from London to York, and extending T,l o beyond the latter place. Thf closeness with which the vehicles follow each other in the streets may be inferred from the fact, that between ten and eleven, a.111., on Wednesday, the 10th November, 186_, it was ascertained that the total Church, in both directions, was 1,255; of which ^48 wefe omnibuses, 584 cabs, and 282 fa "rays,vSas, and waggons, besides 41 trucks and barrows, The numbers and proportions of vehicles passing the same place between four and five, p.m., on the same day, were ascertained to be as nearly as possible the same. A REPORTER'S TROUBLES !—A correspondent on the staff of it London daily piper sd^s It feel to my lot, to report for boiiHg-nlght at a theatre across the water. I got t6 the theatre at .haltoast six; almost every, seat ia the house was occupied.. The seats reserved for the press had been taken possession of by roughs f,"ho. scrambled up into the boxes from the pit. __The repre- sentatives of the press had consequently to shift how they could. I never saw a hoiise so packed. The pepple overflowed from, all parts, and seemed to clihg to the ^alls and panels like, flies. A foar-acfc piece was played first, but not a einKo word was .heard. The audience yelled ftnv whistled and sung, and beat time, with, their, feet 0.11 through. two hourp passed amid the most hideous noisp 1 ever heard. Quiet,, however, was restored the moment the curtain rose upon the pantomime, and the densely-packed audience, every one of them undergoing a Turkish bath, never moved until the last spark ot red fire had burned out at midnight. IS was evidently real enjoyment to them. To i*e it was most exquisite misery; I could have wished that my editor had sent me to brave the dangers of the battle- field at Chattanooga instead of the Surrey Theatre on boxing- night. The pantomime was gorgeous, that I must admit. Such splendid scenery and wonderful fairy effects were pro- bably never seen before. SUICIDE THROUS^; ttpVE !—An iiiquest M?5 beell held oA.the bod^rii Mr. Stewart, jun., who shot him- fetlf at Bridgenorth. Mr. Wills, the Uncle of deceased, deposed that his nephew, who was an undergraduate of Pembroke College, Oxford, had been spending his vacation with his parents at Stourbridge. For some weeks he had been labouring under a depression of spirits, o\Vlng. to his attachment to a young lady, which was not approved of by his friends, in conse- quence of his being only 18 years df AgiD, From the testitriony of other witnesses it appeared that deceased went to A gunsmith's shop on Tuesday morning, and procured a double-barrelled rifled pistol, with some powder, caps, and four or five bullets. About eleven o'clock the same morning he was found lying on his back near Hoard's Park-pool quite dead. A card, with his name and Oxford .address, was fotlnd upBn him; and on the other side Hf it fchfc& ttaS wHheh i— ietV wijr oi avoiding a dilemma-vide corpus—au reiMir. There being sufficient evidence to show that deceased was not sane when he committed the act, the jury re- turned a verdict to that effect. A STEAMSHIP INCIDENT.—On THE^IRIVSI df THK screw-;stqa.inet; J?.tft&ft8iSi Liverpool, a lady and gen- (her nephew) proceeded out in the tender Arran Castle, to meet a friend," believed to be in the Etna (says a Cork paper). Having reached the vessel, a search was made for the "friend," who was discovered, and, against will and strength, was placed in the tender. No sootier had the trio met than ths fieWes^ disfiissicri begiri, tile licty and Weiid" losing trleir best endeavours to abuse each other. In fact, the gentleman was no other than a husband absconding with some l,500i., and the lady his anxious wife, who had travelled from their mutual home in London-" not for him," she said, with warmth, but for her money." They were a pair of self-confessed bigamists! AN ARTILLERY DUST!—Charleston includes tiltire Stotthd tiii ifrhfcli Sk'ells inay iali harmlessly than iiiost American towns (says the Times). Roads, streets, gardens, and open spaces make up a large portion of its area, and it is easy to conceive that out of any number of shots only a few would have any effect. But the artillery the Federals have mounted must be of the most powerful description Tfelf. n'eir^GE battery is little lie*,t fhaii litb &ueh from tne city; tne lies t' fife chesses the whole harbour from Morris Eland. The ruins of Fort Sumter rise from the sea about midway. But even when the works were perfect, the guns of the fort had not range enough to prevent the Federals from constructing the batteries on the island. Nor can the other defensive works of the Con- federates silence them. Thb ftiepb nan Be conic a,n artillery csn^jc^, berried 'on at aistances at which, tM n'cw, lb would have been ridiculous to open any Hre at all. The besiegers cannot make any approaches, or open trenches, or dig mines. The four or five miles of sea are always between them and the threatened city. If they would shorten the distance, it can only be done by the co-operation of a fleet, and all the floating batteries, monitor# and SrofecWd's Mvfe e in the SINGULAR FREAK OF A YOUNG FOREIGN LADY. —A reward of 2Ol. is offered for intelligence respecting a foreign lady of superior education, 23 years of age, middle stature, intelligent features, pale complexion, light brown hair, and dark blue eye?," who has mys- teriously disappeared from, hte*.horisb' f!hp passed through Calais oti My Co England. After ieav- jjif tttnioh she was seen for the last time at the Great Western Railway terminus, with a black bag and a mahogany case, the latter having a coronet en- graved on a brass plate. She was habited in male at- tire, as a young artist, wearing a hat and a grey suit under an Inverness eat>$, Wr/ 1lltE UP !—The Duke of Brunswick Is one of the celebrities of Paris, He is now over sixty years of age, but so well "made up" and artificially preserved, that at a' casual glance he would not be taken for more than forty. He wears a wig made of black floss silk, and his beard is kept carefully coloured of a r^ven htlje, His face^is ,d^jlj covered w £ th & tWmpoXitidn y/hich fills ujp the cra^ItS attd tor&kl'efe. He 'd'rensks fotc the niost scrupulous ■nfe&tn'esl, itfd hlfe great delight in life is having his diatnonds set and reset in new forms. Too BAD !—A marriage took place last week in Paris, and everything went on swimmingly till after the marriage dinner, when soiiie miockicvou.H relative informed the happy bridegroom that his, fair enq Ji?4 a cork leg. He indignaqtjy ppt^M to the iataer, who said it slab 1u'c'6 true, But hoped it would not Mr*! 'obstacle to their mutual happiness. "It monsieur," was the reply; and the unhappy, betrayed husband left his wife at once, in spite of all entreaty, and went immediately to his notary to commence legal proceedings for a separation. SENTENCE OF A CHILD TO PEWAE, ^ETVIFPIJS, —At the West Kent tMiaA' ter E&ssI'dns, held at Maid- etone-, last Vr'e'ik,^ girl 13 years tif age,_iiamed. EmmA Gliisstiry, Was indicted f<)!r robbing her mistress^ Isabella Collington, Residing at Gre'enwicli. It appeared that th'e youthfiil ^risqh'et h^d, ifefc'ed ias seWsnt to thb prdSeciitrit &b6iit three i^eelts but, 6wing to hetiin- trti'thMneSb ahd ailatoriness when sent out on errands, Sne had been compelled to discharge her. Three days afterwards the father of the prisoner called upon the prosecutrix and handed to her a gold watch and chain, a porte-monnaie, a pair of boots, two pairs-of cuffs', .an d a pair of stockings, which Wehti^ed &3 her pro- perty, and wM"h bee A found by the stepmother of t!b pi'isoner concealed under her bed. The jury, upon this evidence before them, returned a verdict of guilty. There had been no previous offence committed by the prisoner, who, to tbe surprise of every one in court, was sentenced to four years' pen^l servitude A FRIGHTENED —A nerculean diver nam-t W'Ka was employed at Port Royal in clean- ing the bottoms of the Federal ironclads. One day. while he was employed scraping the hull of one of the monitors, a negro from the up-river plantations came alongside with a boatload of water-melons. While busy selling his melons the diver came lip. atid tBjjted himself on the side ef tb,9 biat. The hegrrt stated at the extjra^rdifc&ry 4jp^earan'ce thus suddenly comiidg cut of tUe water Witi\ alarmed wonder; but when the diVer seized dn'e '6f tbe best meldns in the b«idt, And disappeared under the \V^et,, tne glirglin^ of th^ atr from the helmit miking with the muffled laughter, the fright of thti negro reached a climax. Hastily seizing ht3 bars, without waiting to be paid for his melons, he put off at his best speed, and was not seen in that neighbourhood again. FLOGGING T A G-:>ROOTEH IN PRISON. — On Wedns##- last the new act of Parliament for flogging trotters was first put in force in Horsemonger-lane faol. At the Kingston winter assizes a man named 'rederick Cox was convicted of garotting an old gentleman at Guildford, and sentenced to fiVe yfeats' penal servitude^ and In addition to tfecfeiVe t^ehty-fii'e lashes with the cat-o>jtlihe-tails ih tHe coilnty gaol. The pUnishmfettt Waft 'diily inflicted, aftet wjii-'h the eohvifct tety'oVea to Millbahk Prisoii. While the pi^nifshiiieht was being inflicted by one of the turnkeys, a man-of-war's man, the prisoner yelled in a frightful manner. TAXES ON EVERYTHING.—By advices from New York we learn that the assessors from all parts of the country held by the National Government hafe, tfefn again in ssssfen toi ffbiltiSe! trio Secretary or the tiie Finance Committees of the two Hcucros of Congress on the necessary changes in the internal Revenue Bill, to make it as productive as originally estimated. The proposed amendments are numerous and these gentlemen further advise, in order to secure uniformity of practice and construction, that the bill shall be entirely rewritten and codified Some of the ptopdsed t&tSs will strike En^lishitibn Who hat old ehbtigii, to rteifiettpei: tjie tJirdt^on of th'e ^ats ;cf ^"a^ol'ocH ac vtry curious, not to say harsh. ri-cn nåHry, ctrsWs, castings, forging, rivets, rolled ctjpper, ingots, pigs and bars, soft soap, all^ manufac- tures of leather, all oils, all mater^ 'UBCU in ship- building, the clothes made at your tailor's, the repairs to the same clothes which you have made if vVf^r prices force you to be economic^ th'5 t'eXtn with .yf^igh the dentist Ms tne glp.tE.at ^in&inpi mtnre has mpjde, tljfc CSi'e^ ajjay/ator ifo tyi'h tVhich tSe confettibner rata miseries or an American summer, bricks, cement, books (except Bibles), umbrella stretchers, crinoline, and root beer, are collected together into an ■ omnibus ad valorem bill, which calls on all citizens of the Republic to pay tax for their good government on everything they use or wear except the aif and stiti. Ughfcef hwren> v Air £ n^R?:S^ing ^iTu^pr'iqN !,t-tA French, femily we're si^mait .dw,^ wfcfp Eudd^niy k ctag, pursued jfr^ice J^apoleoip-'c hounds, jumped through the Wndow nli; as Paterfamilias was helping the soup. Txie mistress called out, The devil! the devil!" and gathered her children to her bosom. The master shut the deer up, and closed the door. When one of the huntsmen arrived he found forty hungry hounds out- side the door, the weary, hunted animal in th$back p»rlov.r>, tbs man of the no'tise in & fufy, fchfe Children ill a panic, and the lady iri A fit. The denouement is not Stated. Dtfo ;—The St. Paul (Minnesota) Pion'i'Cr" states that the mail is carried troth that place a distance of three hundred ahd fifty miles, by dog traing, and if one set of dogs get footsore, when their turn comes the mkilhas to lay over. I saw the first 'ddg ihkil train leave here on last mail day. It consisted tt- three middling-sized dogs. They look more like wolves than dogs. They had regular harness, very fancifully ornamented, and buckskin saddles, gorgeously worked with beads. The dogs are driven in tandem style. They go from forty to fifty miles per day, the half-breed driver trotting behind most of the way. MINERS MASSACRED.—A party of miners, with their wives and children, were recently massacred on the Upper Missouri by Indians (says an American paper). The miners, anticipating trouble, were well armed, and, in addition to small arms, had a small cannon. At the mouth of Heart River a party of VTanktonnais Sioux came along the bank, and beckoned them to come to the shore. They responded by firing the cannon three times, the Indians returning tne fire vigorously. The continuous fire of the cannon caused the boat to spring a leak, and but for that Annate circumstance, they might have escaped. The Indians were driven back from the shore, but/ renewed the attack, nnd dnrinrr <!•«' -MI f!?ht thu boat leaked so tlyv, .v.'■ it^ They were then overpowered and murdered. Mr. Field's wife was taken prisoner, but the Indians quarrelling as to who should have her for his wife, the controversy was. ended by shooting her. Two off the fchildfrfefi were killed and the third was taken to the Sioux camp, where it cried itself to death. The dnfortunate victims had between eighteen and twenty thousand dollars with tbertt in gold dust and money, which fell into the hands of the Indians, who are using it in itiakiiig l^rge purchases of ammunition. While oiir informants Wei-e at Foft Berthold two parties of Indians—Rees and Gros Ventres-went down to the scene of the massacre and brought one thousand five hundred dollars in gold dust, which they scraped out of, the sand on the bar where the final struggle took place. The, bcidies were but very little decomposed, arid they piled them together and left thfeih. All of the bodies wefe scalped, Alia thds6 who had heavy whiskers were further mutilated by those being torn off. The bodies were then left lying on the sandbar, where they fell, and were stllllving there when the second party left Fort Berthold. The Indians acknowledged that the miners fought desperately and admit that they killed thirty-six and wounded tfn*+v. five. THE DBATlI LOTTERY IN DOWNING-STREET.— The murderer Chatles has closed his account with hitman justice (says the Liverpool Albion). He Is hung and btiried. The murderer Townley's accouut is still opfen. He is installed for the present—a State patient -in the chief lunatic asylum of the kingdom.. But he talked nuisance; and had friends and money to certify the fact, and to send the certificate, by special messenger, to the Hotoe-office, or anywhere else, however distant, where Secretaries of State might be seeking relaxation from the cares of Whitehall. Charles had not these requisites. THEY DO NOT LIKE THE LOTTERY !— The pro- spectus for disposing of the Great Eastern by a lottery, to be drawn at Frankfort, the shares to be sold in England; has treated great surprise in Frankfort, espe- cially d,s tne ^pjilicatloiis fot shateswefe tobe directed i" the cäre of the I rankfort tonsitl at tiveTpool. At the sitting of the Senate on the 5th inst. the autho- risation to draw the lottery was refused, and explana- tion will be demanded from the consul on account of his connection with it, by which people might be led to believe that, the. government of Frankfort have Something to db With the matter, or are disposed to countenance it."—" the lottery business already car- ried on there," it is said, "is bad enotigh, and our authorities do not wish to have that place made the head-quarters for foreign schemers." As MAD AS A HATTER !"—Although an in- quiry respecting, this simile appeared in Notes and mllI Ks fstr, backus J vine, 1$(K), it has not hitherto elicited a reply. The p"hrass Has viavf jtgain come up in that amusing volume, Captain Gronow's Ifetol- lections and Anecdotes On the subject of politics, my dear Alvanley, He is as mad as a hatter." One is at a loss to understand why a hat- ter should be made the type of insanity rather than a tailor or a shoemaker; but may not the phrase in question be thus explained ? The French compare an incapable or weak- minded person to an oyster-" He reasons like an oyster" (ftiltfrty. We woilld .suggest, therefore, that, through simi- larity of sound, the French huitrc may, In tha case before ns, have given occasion to the English "hatter." from "11 raisonne comme une huitrc" may have come out As mad as a hotter." [We have our opinidn dn the above phrase, v^hich is, that ih the jMrtiy, dayg of the high-priced b'eavers, HattferS pfiriied.ddd wSgfe^ ana tfere itivafiaply dfttnk and noisy all the forepart of the week, \Vorlting lifee slaves during the last days. Hence came the phrases, "Mad as a hatter," "Works like a hatter," and ''Drunk as a hatter."—ED.] A DISGUSTING JOB!-An undertaker was re- cently despatched from New York by the relatives of u'ecbasb'd soldibis tB ihfeif tef^iaih'! fto^i Ijhg graves at Port Hudson (saysan American paper). lie returned with nineteen bodies, enclosed in metallic coffins. One body he recognised by the long dark hair. At one spot he opened four graves before finding the body he searched for. He was enabled to recognise it as the right one by the* rubber overcoat which was mapped arotind the &ad of the )de £ ej*sed' atid,Which bork EiS naTne. The boay was placed ih three ctackef boxes—the interfering ends of each being broken out. The bodies were all, of course, shockingly decomposed, and the work of disinterment was one of horror. Many of the bodies were uu joffined others were in rough boards, a few in coffins, others in cracker boxes, and one in a gun box. After opening the grave, the con- Hitibn Bf the. bodies f/as siieb; especially j&i Bcamefc Cdttiej wh^rt> thb gtateinlled w?tn water," that £ afiv £ s had to be slipped under them, and they Carefullf raised on it, in- order that they should not fall to pieces. Captain Filkins nobly stood the ordeal. He opened every coffin and eve^ box; he cut from twenty-eight of the dead locks of hair for the relatives, and then plpsed to .all) eyes feinajiis., All were buried in their clothes, and were wrapped in the soldief 3 shf c'Mj tifeit blankets. A POETICAL CURRENCY.—The following are de scriptions of some of the new American bank bills:— Five dollars Vignette, Columbus discovering America, on the lower leffc end. Bight end, Columbus introducing America to Ulit^pe, A^ia, %nd Africa—shipping andoceaa in l^ackc;round jttie countj-jps..represent^, by,^emal^,pit^res. Cth^r fide vfgnbtts, laadliig cf Columbus; ends ctca? mented by scroll and lathework, containing in one oval national eagle and shield Tvith "U.S., and in another, the State arms of—say Ohio, or wherever the bank is situated to which the bill has been furnished. Ten dollars: Vignette, Franklin drawing lightning from the clouds. Allegorical representation of the Genius of America, a female figure upon an eagle iu the clouds, grasping a thunderbolt Other aide 1 Vignette, De Soto discovering 3iis*Usibn\, Twenty dollars vignette, Battle of Lexington. Al- legorical representation of Loyalty, figure of Liberty in foreground, bearing national ensign; farmers, artisans, &c., rallying round the flag. Other side Baptism of Pocahontas. Fifty dollars: Vignette, Washington crossing the Delaware. Allegorical representative, Prayer for Victory. other side: Embarkation of the Pilgrims. One hundred dollars! Vignette, Pattleo<'Lake Erie. Alio gBritial .tSpffiSbntat!c!n;iaint&n^nf,e ,of. I,ib'gl-ty,.ana wa- tianalii:5. Other side: Declaration cf Independence..• Five hundred dollars and 1,000 dollars: ot decided; biit the intention is to illustrate them by incidents of the present war. FELL ISLANDS !(—The island called l'Etang iane, Mear the eastern,, coast of Qorsica, is ex- clusiVely composed 01 oystcf-shslls rnired_ vp with the remains of certain other molluscs which are iiot edible (says Galignani). There is a tradition in the country, according to which the island at the tirtie of the Romans,carried w, ai, brisk .trade .with, the Cori- tiuent picMe*i oThtetPi and Hll shfeits Wfer^ thrown into the sea at that spot. Whether this be true or not, certain it is that in Denmark and other parts of the shores of the Baltic there are similar ac- cumulations of sea shells, all considered to be the i work of human hands; nay, Professors Worsae and Steenstrup are clearly of opinion that they date from fcbA ftfst hihaHtatfts df Shirstf*, th^y.tals^to have been contemporary with the great mammalia, such as the Elephas primigenins, which many, geolo- gists still persist in considering as much anterior to the human race. DRIFTING TO WAR.—A war between England and Germany is a calamity so vast, and yet so gro- ttedtik tHat fetfcn bolitital it habitually oiit of their thoiiglits (says the Spectator). There 13 not the faintest hostility between the races, their W, interests nowhere clash, their institutions tend always to become almost identical, their history has been iitalked ditly long and successful alliances, their harmony on all ^reat ppints Is the ^ne stable guarantee for the good order of Europe. A "^rxnaii fj&ily, still speaking German in private, sits on th^ British throne j a,British princess, will c't tiieleading German Slate; every relation, public and private, tends to permanent amity, and yet it is towards war with Germany that we seem to be drifting fast. Every incident of the week has made war itself more probable and almost every one has drawn England deeper into the fray. Before onf, next^nijjnber issues? hostilities thd# have fcHnnheilced Dfetween iJenmarK ana thb Diet; gitn the ftill Understanding that England is about to ecoiiie one of the active belligerents. ivi44t TRUMPS,Bray relates of a Devonshire pliySici^ii, nflppi'y iifiiiied wl}^) was a desperate lover of whist, that one evening, in iKs midst of a deal, he fell °** his chair in a fainting fit. Consternation seized on the company. Was he alive or dead? What was t° be done? Every possible assistance was given Hartshorn was almost poured down his throat by kind female friend, while another Jeelingljr sing5" bfid df th(? ^oqtor'B nose with burning feathers. All were in a breathless of suspense for his safety. At length be showed signs of life and retaining the last fond ideas which possessed him at the moment he fell into the fit, to the joy of the whole company he exclaimed, as he opened his eyes, What ia trumps ?" PROPOSED INTERNATIONAL MUSICAL CONTEST. —A pl-piect I t" teeir started. whiSh has for its objett the making still b~ttfer abqiiaiiiteci #ith Siicfa other .c'f the artisans of England and Prance. The visit, or tlie Orpheonists rather more than three years ago was of the utmost nossible service in ths removal of misconcep- tions and prejudices. It WÖUid nave ucOtt more effectual had the arrangements for the reception of the french m^i^iM besn better; The present plan is larger, jc it8,6c$pe ihan ihje ni«fre. %ihgihg tftef erf a band.of trained singers, and TriuBicians., li$p^c- posed to bring tne artisans of England ahd franco together in friendly rivalry in that most humanising of arts—music. The arrangements are being made in France by M. E. Delaporte, the conductor of the Orpheonists, and in England by Mr. Enderby tTaekson, the manager of the Crystal Palace brass Bapd.ccntestS. Two French composers of the highest rejiov/iji have, pflnsVpted. to compost suitabls pieces for thejevent, qad jUtogethei' acrosl the Ctsinnel, uhS project has been inostWarinly taken hp. In England the arrangements are also progressing most rapidly and satisfactorily; and it may be most confidently hoped that early in the summer we shall have one of the most interesting musical reunions that has ever taken place. PERPETUAL MOTION !— A Vermont Yankee t-laiins to have Invented a self-propelling wheel, or perpettial motion. A correspondent of the Boston Jduriial thus describes it :— It is a siihple wheel, runs On gttdgeons, and Is independent of any outside spring, weight, or power as a propeller. On the same axle on which the metal wheel Is fixed is a band wheel, On which a band runs over a small pulley that drives a small circular saw. Set it on a table and re- move the brake, and it will start itself and run with great velocity, driving the saw. It is the simplest thing in the world, though I cannot intelligibly describe it; but it is at once understood by the beholder. It will not, nay cannot stop without a brake, as it is so fixed by means of balls and arms, that the descending side of the wheel is perpetually further from the centre of motion than the opposite as- cending. A PERSECUTED JOINT-STOCK BANK — In 1826 the statute was passed which permitted the for- mation of joint-stock banks (says a writer in Once a Week). Previously they weiv said to be incompatible with the privileges of the grand monopoly in Thread. needle-street. The encouragement afforded by the act in question was slight. Lancaster inaugurated the new enterprise, and Huddersfield followed but not until 1833 did the movement receive any marked impure. In 1836 a mania in its favour prevailed, as remarkable as the lethargy with which it began. The first quar- ter of this year produced forty. 1834 is celebrated for giving birth to the London and Westminster. It was the largest partnership in England, exclusive. of course, of certain chartered companies like the Bank of England itself. The reception it met with was a^V.bii'g hut cordial. First it was politely denied entrance to the clearing-house. Then the Bank of England downright refused it the convenience of a drawing account; and other persecutions followed sufficient to furnish materials for a complete history of little-mindedness and prejudice. But the act of 1844 came in time to rescue our first London joint-stock bank from these indignities before the struggle against them had done any substantial harm. It was emanci- pation and its beneficial effects are attested by the abundance of this class of banks and their prosperity, The 50,000^. of paid-up capital with which this enor- mous trading concern commenced has been since in- creased to one million.- THE LATE VISCOUNT VALENTIA.—In recording the death of Viscount Valentia, the Ayr Advertiser says:— The announcement will call up many old reminiscences connected witf^ the earlier life of Lord Valentia, who, as Arthur Annesley, Esq., spent many years as a resident amongst uswUhhis family in Wellington-square, Ayr. Eccentric, liking practical jokes, tall, handsome, athletic, fond of field sports, and particularly of fox-hunting, he introduced "fast life into our quiet locality. The pace being rather fast, he afterwards retired into the Abbey, in Edinburgh, and many were his stirring adventures when, venturing beyond the «acred precincts on a Sunday, his hilarity led him to forget and1)efore Monday was a fact. He was full of life Mondav~$F* 0n one occasion> returning by coach on a ft rminip ten miles from Edinburgh, he discovered He tried to mSeofflcers as his fellow-passengers outside, failed L then ton^^P^ at one of the sta§es> but steeple-chase, which lasted^H?Aa never got within a field of him, 'a. jf ii several miles irom Edinburgh. He count of the adventure to the Advertiser ^c" Old Fox not easily caught." h tltle REAL VETERANS.—The repofrt presets to Congress at Washington from the Department 01 Interior mentions that ten soldiers of the Revolu- tionary War, pensioned off at its close 80 years ago, still survive and receive the pensions granted to them at that remote date, when the American Union was formed and recognised. They sat by its cradle." RUNNING IT TOO FiNE !—The "Boston Tra- veller'' describes an accident last month upon the Eastern Railroad. A gentleman driving a lady had to go ever a lever crossing at Chelsea, and "ran it too fine." The horse had just got across the rails, and seems to have escaped being hurt, but the chaise was caught by the locomotive, and both lady and gentleman were killed instantaneously. EFFECTS OF FREE TRADE IN FRANCE !—I hope the day will not come for the obnoxious eoithet to be habitual on yaiii aide of the Channel(says a Paris corres- pondent) and that chivalrous Gaul, whose soul is far above shopkeeping, will never be spoken of as La ixrfide France. French trade is indeed faff from being ruined by English competition. Manufacturers admit this, and the Protectionists, who predicted ruin and cfesotetion, are almost dumb. I have just heard of an American Cottp--ny in want of rails instructing its agents to give a large ofSCr to the manufacturer who should supply the best article at the lowest price. The agents tried some houses in England, and then in France, and finally gave the order to a long-estal- blished and well-known firm in the department of the Moselle, where they found what they wanted, at least as good, and certainly cheaper than in Englaud. The head of the establishment is M. Wendel, one of the richest ironmasters, and until now one of the most ardent and1 I dare say, sincere Protectionists in France. He has beaten the English manufacturers in open Competition. StATE ot P AUFERISM.-The monthly return of the Poor Law Board ehoWs that the number of per- sons in receipt of parish relief in England and Wales at the end of November was 13'56 percent, less than at the same period of 1862. In the North-Western division the decrease was 45*65 per cent.—from 296,9% to 161,431; but in November, 1860, the nåitlliet v^3 ccly 75,788 HIGH TOWNS,—A# American paper boasts of the city of Quito 9,520 feet aboire' fbs level of the sea; the city of Mexico, 7,400 the city of Micitlfaniha, 11,850; also the following places, situated between the two chains of Andes, in Upper Peru, at some 350 rrtiW distance from the Pacific:—City of Puno, 12,830 feet above tl^e se»; town of Potosi, 13,350; mines of Potosi, 16,000 Titidca I/ake, 12,760 house of Titiaca, 14,402. A SUBTERRANEAN HUNT.—An E^RATFRDIFCARY battue has just taken place in the sewers of Paris. Taking advantage of the frost, which drives this par- ticular game into covert, the owner invited a Christmas party to' partake of the sport of rat killing. All the great sewet.s were driven in one direction till millions df fafe, £ hich foW|ht among themselves like tigers as they were htinted along. Were collected in the large drain by the bridge of Asni#,tes. i-Vorty dogs were then let down into the sewers, and after 8 tight which lasted 45 hours, and in which four dogs Were killed and so'rfee blinded, no less than 110,000 rats were des- patched; A NEW POWER.—-AH S^periment took place on Monday at the Crystal Palate lit the exhibition department of a new propelling machine, fot V"L--h patents have been taken for Russia and Poland. The inventor is M. Casimir Noel, of Meaux, in France. The object of the apparatus is to facilitate the trans- port of paSpfiger{? and goods. It is worked by a com- bination ox double-actmr; levers, which are set in motion by the displacement of WI) Itted weight. A barrow loaded with a weight of 6001b. is easily mc^ed by a child of ten years of age, which under other cir- cumstances a powerful man could net move. Further experiments wil take place to prove the practicability c't tpe invention. CATCHING Tiiftl TRIPPJITG !—The Morning Star" is always on the look-out lot ^he lapses the Times may make; and on Tuesday pointea biit the following as being published by a contemporary, with the remark that It is possible that there may still be some persons to whom the following specimen of the criticism of the 'leading' journal may be startling and instructivej It ?s only doing$i. ikibts During those twelve years, justice tc iSy, thuzttie jVres^nt M. Thiers has nnder- politics of the i rench nation tafkei and brotigfrt to a con- have been formed entirely on cltisicW ti g?ganti £ enterprise his "History of the Consulate -the "History dt the C.on- and the Empire;" probably sulate and the Empirell-d most immoral, the most noble contribution to the litera- ?Hti-&Pcial, find the least ture of France, and an impe- verdcioiiswork'I'Hteverissued rishable monument to his own from, the hand of d, jft'eUt genius.—Times, Dec. 29, 1863. historian.—TimeS, AfarfcH 19, i&n., fdirfcMM iif —J'ricjsiy. tbe 1st of January (says a Ilorencfc leitef), £ £ 4, .will be ever memorable in the municipal annals of Fldrent'e, from its having witnessed the first appearance of a gteat English institution in the City of Dante—the appear- ance, namely, of policemen. The glory of the gen- darm", as a conservator of public order, is departed, rVd.h'?3 t-lac'S is supplied by a facsimile, as perfect as could "be obtained, cf thfe' fflafestic, Wue-coated, ca- poted, batoned personage tvh'6 £ np realms of Queen Victoria upholds the majesty of too I;M. The municipality of Florence have, I am informed, hsa no little difficulty in finding 68 officials (such I hear is the present number) all gifted with that grave ma- iesty rf deportment, to the possession of which fo- Sei^nefs Sfe \^o'nt tc>, ascribe the moral influence of X99. Many c'afia?d^6s\Ifztfe' been exiled, but few haveibeen chosen for the higap'afii. Yhef'e is, unfor- ,e tunately, a great difficulty in getting fl'spteCt^Me men of the labouring classes, whether in town or coAYrfi'• to undertake any species of municipal duty that re- calls atid st!f»crests the popular odium long attaching to the ''sbirti" of the faMen governments. It is hoped thj?t thi? prejtidise tit ay now be gradually overcome by the eneota&le cf sw? £ t ^nd practical justice embodied Sthe ''policeman." The clre^ stalk along streets and quays with a calm conscIou'sn&Jff <n frowsr each moving like Talus, the iron man of SperiBef- a stern, solemn, perambulating fate 1 AN ADVERTISING PUFF !—A gentleman, about tliiriy fbsLts cf « £ -) and possessed of 5,0001. a year, with splendid town aid tfernntrv residences, would like an introduction to a lady (ii'oSey nr't wanted) about his own age, with a view to matrimony. The cause of his remaining single up to this time was triS ^•effi&ture change in the colour of his hair, which gave fdm the appea~ £ ffi- £ of .extreme age; but having re- cently had it dyed a beaJtiftrl bfown colour, he no longer hesitates, but offers himseli &01 fortune to the acceptance of any lady disposed to enter iiitu eet en- gagement for life.-Inquire at the hairdresser's. IMPORTANT DISTINCTION !—What is the differ- ence a cott^spondent and a co-respondent ?— The one, presumedly, 26*3 »rltej) and the other, pre- sumedly, does wrong.— Melbourhe Pitneht. WEATHER PREDICTIONS.—The prediction's respect to the weather to be found in the old French almanaeks are sometimes very curious. That accord- ing as the year commences on a Sunday, or a Mon- day:'6r.a Tuesday, the winter will be severe or mild, the spring fjne of ccla, thff sansmer hot or rainy, the aututnh wet 6i dry; vHM ,vHH b'e dear or cheap, the crops abundants of bttcL foettarV will prevail or disappear, According to other' ^fcdi'ctioVs of the game period, the weather which prevails at the begin- ning of the year indicates that of certain montilS ot the same year. Thus the weather on the 1st of January indicates that of the month of August, the ^n'f of Jan nary predicts that of September, the 3rd that of Octcb'ef, tire 4t-h that of November, the 5th that of December: AN INCIDENT IN A MENA&EAIM—An alarming incident occurred a few days back an Batty's menagerie at Berlin. One of the keepers, notwith- standing previous warnings, had approached too near the lions' cage, when one of those animals thrust out his paw through the bars and seized the man by the Sfnt in a moment the other lions sprang forward and attSmptSd aiso to obtain a hold on the man. Fortunately the proprietor of the menagerie was pre- sent, and, rushing into the cage with a whip, he struck the animal still holding the keeper, and forced it to let go. The man's wounds were immediately dressed, and are not dangerous. SHOCKING OCCURRENCE.—In London, a child has met its death from burning, under the follow- ing painful circumstances:— Nine days ago Mrs. Bowden, the wife of a labourer, was confined of a male child by a gentleman from St. Bartho- lomew's Hospital. Not being able to hire a nurse, one was sent to her from the Union; but the mother apparently getting better, she was taken away on Friday last. All that night the mother sat up by the fire and burnt the child, tne father being in bed. There was also some injury to its head When the discovery was made, she said some one told her to bind it up tight and also to keep it warm. It was then seen that the poor creature was out of her mind, and she was at once removed to the Union, pending an examina- tion. A DRUNKARD FROZEN TO DEATH.—Another melancholy instance of the result of intemperance oc- curred at Bishop Stortford on Friday, which led to a wife and mother being frozen to death. The un- fortunate deceased was named James, and was about 50 years of age. On the preceding day she had indulged to excess, and after putting the younger members of her family to bed, left home about 10 o'clock, with the intention of getting more liquor. During her absence her husband came home, and after making inquiries he became somewhat alarmed, which led him to make search throughout the locality; but being unable to trace hiswife, he concluded that she h £ to the house of some of her relatives. About J o clock 011 the following morning, however, the unfortunate woman was found dead at the bcttoiii Gf a c alk pit, m afieldubontSOOynrd^rom her how*, wi h Wr- >- s l.. S v ■ J. a surgeon, was quickly in attendance, and pronounced '1 that death Was btfitigh" about by exposure to the severe frost of the preceding night. The unfortunate weman may be said to have been scarcely ever sober for the Jaist 15 years While her husband, on the other hand, is on6 of the most industrious and clever mechanics in the town, and for nearly 20 years has filled the responsible' post of foreman to, Messrs. Summers and Sworder.. A RAP FOR A RAPPER.—Me. Home, the spirit- monger, has set up at Rome as a seulptor. He may succeed there, but certainly he never cut a pretty figure here.-Punch. MISERABLE CHILDHOOD.—In an ACCOUNT of a Children's Hospital lately opened in Edinburgh, thb author of John Halifax, Gentleman," in GCMl' Words, give? some curious specimens of child life in this second half of the. 19th century in "modern Athens." This is one 01 them :— Here was a boy who had been fotthd tying an straw in a dark cellar which had literacy wothing ih it but this one heap of straw. The parents were in the habit' of going out for the day, and locking up the child there without food or fire or clothes. He was brought in a mere bundle cf" rags, quite paralysed, and lay for a week on one of t!be hospitalbeds without stirring tfr spiking, till they almost thought he was deaf and dumb. Ji!t last he did mutter out One word, and it was "whisky He afterwards tried, in his wretthed, faint voice, to begin singing a tvhisky song. Tie toM the nurse he had hardly tasted anytMng but whisky since he was born. Somehow his wretched Mother found him out and came to see him. Immediately after sTib left, the miserable little creature was caught hiding its widened face and half-paralysed hands under the bedclothes, trying to undo the cork of a small bottle filled with whisky But the child recovered, learned to feed on and enjoy other food than drams, and has left the hospital for a future of-God Knows what Still the life has been saved so far. IFAGOOD HEWS FOR THE JEWS.—The new Greek Bo\Ct ^enera* Petmoses.—Punch. in the is something ingenious them are macf^re f toys. The greater part of Saxony. The stonchard stone^ found near Cobourg, m small cubical fragment1 broken with a hammer into are ground at one time in a about lOu or 150 of these ']I somewhat resemblin- a flour mill The lower stone, has several concentric and circular gh remains at rest, stone is of the same diameter as the > *he upper to revolve by water or other power. Mifi-ad is made of water are directed into the furrows of th&reams stone. The pressure of the water on the little piESr rolls them over in all directions, and in about one quarter of an hour the whole of the rough fragments are reduced to nearly accurate spheres. THE ATTITUDE of FRANCE.—The Spectator," in a clever article on this subject, says :— There is something exceedingly noteworthy, and not alto- gfe'tnt'r pleasant, in the attitude which French policy has for the monieni Assumed. Her professions are all pacific, while her actions all tend to war. If it were possible to believe such a charge against a sjan so astute and so experienced, we should say that the Era £ tt?or was yielding himself, his policy, and his permanent interests; to the guidance of temper. He is visibly dissolving a partnership of the last importance to Europe because his partner insists on a vote. Ifve? since the reception of Earl Russell's despatch rejecting the plfofjcsal for Congress with needless but characteristic decision, tM objsct of the French court seems to have been simply to punisfi Crest Britain for venturing to hold an opinion not in accordSftes with that of the Tuileries. A marked slight was, it is said, passed on Earl Cowley at the reception on New Yearns Day, and if a ru- mour can be trusted, the Emperor fcomplains bitterly of the course and opinions of the English representative. The papers have been instructed to lcciure the selfish" and isolated" islanders who won't plunge into war till they see their way to peace Drouyn de Lhuys, in proposing a con- ference of the Continent, charges England with thwarting the greater design; and the Emperor himself, when writing to the Duke of Augustenburg, departs from his habitual re- ticence to accuse the British ministry of overthrowing his project If this were all, however, politicians would have little right to complain, for one of the permanent features of political life is the personal rivalry of the great European statesmen, their exceeding dislike to be visibly defeated by each other. They can bear with popular or national move- ments without much personal soreness, but a checkmate from their own caste tries their tempers as much as if they were rival wits talking for reputation at dinner. LroAL DISTINCTION. Q. What is the difference between attorney and counsel ?—A. One is a lawyer, and ths other a jawyer.—Punch. NARROW ESCAPE OP THE EARL AND COUNTESS OF CAWDOR.—An accident occurred to the Earl a>d Countess of Cawdor, on Thursday last, while disport- hsg on a lake in Stackpole Court, Pembrokeshire. The nobis earl was driving the Countess of Cawdor oa a sledge, wh:e11 the ice suddenly gave way at a con- siderable distance from the shore, and both were immersed in the water. Happily, the catastrophe was observed by his lordship's sons—both expert swimmers — his lordship's brother, the Hon. Henry Campbell, Sir Robert Brownrigg, and Mr. Dixon, his lordship's butler, to whom great praise is due. The earl and countess were both in the water for some time, and when extricated her ladyship was in a state of insensibility. Accounts since received state that the earl and countess are recovering from their im- mersion.

EPITOME OF NEWS. BRITISH AND FOREIGN. Ths Emperor and Empress of the French were present on jfcnday nightj at the Italian Theatre, Paris, to witness the re-apjuesranee of Mdlle. Patti in the Son- nambula. A pilot boat, of the Messrs, Scott, of Queenstown, brought a valuable prize into that harbour on Saturday evening—the ship Sarah Maria, laden with iron from Liverpool to a foreign port, which was found drifting help- lessly at sea with only one man and a little boy in her-a salvage crew put on board by a vessel that fell in with her after her own crew had deserted her. Mr. ifeltrie an auctioneer at Sligo, was selling goods on a loft on Thursday, surrounded by about 50 people, and while he was with uplifted hammer crying Going, going, gone!" the loft gave way with a crash, and the whole party were gone!" the loft gave way with a crash, and the whole party were precipitated upon an earthen floor, a distance of about 12ft. No one was killed, but Mr. Burke had his shoulder-blade broken. On Saturday afternoon a young man and a boy were drowned in the reservoir at Edgbaston, Birmingham. The ice Sad becoMe unsafe not only by the rise in the temperature, bUt by reason at the engine having been at work in the course of the day fy^mpifjg water into the reservoir. In the first instance the ice gavi way, and the young man soon passed below the surface into tlie water the boy with one or two others rushed to his assistance, and he too became immersed in the water. Both werfc got ont too late. A most extraordinary accident happened at Bradley Colliery, near Dudley, which resulted in a mo»t lamentable loss of life. Six men were descending the shaft In a skip," yiiitts fiorse belonging to the colliery, straying too near the mouth at tfs shaft, fell into it. In his fall he overturned the skip, and t&w whole of the poor fellows were dashed to pieces. The Chatham authorities say that the recalled Channel fleet will rendezvous ia the Downs, and will after- wards be stationed at one of the eastern ports, in readiness at the call of the Government. Vegetable ivory, in contact with concentrated suipSwitf acid, takes a splendid red colour, almost equal to magenta. At first it is pink, but gradually becomes deeper, until it attaint It tlzrpte when the acid has been allowed to act for twelve heart. A fire occurred last Week in the Belfast Lough, a very pretty piece of pleasure grotmd, formed by the mud scraped out of the channel, and milch frequented as a healthful promenade by the people of the town. It is called the Queen's Island. A EtfcVenient has been set on foot for the purpose of providing a testimonial for" Talhairn," who is well known throughottt the Principality as the Burns of Wales," whose health teas failed him, for his services to Welsh literature. The testimonial is to be one of a sub- stantial character, in the form of an annuity. Last week sixty-four persons died in London at the agi; ol *0 years and upwards, and a pensioner is registered as having d*e4 in Newton-street, Shoreditch, on the 2&th December, at flic age of 100 years. At Edmond's, late Wombwell's Royal Windsor Castle Menagerie, Hackney, a Bactrian or double-humped camel gave birth last week to a very fine young one, fffiieh, together with the mother, are doing well. This is tne 6';JJ instance on record of a camel being born in ENglanf. The bazaaftfef Defui and tJmritsir look to see if we are to be beaten 111 tftte Hill tribes, just as all India looked to Delhi in 1857 and thus what was at first a trifling frontier war, such as we hate fought 20 times since the annexation of the Punjab, has become a matter of Imperial I inJffrest.—Letter from India. A corespondent says, that at the funeral of Thackeray there' were many actors, some even of the humblest kind, and amcsg them was Mackney, the nigger melodist, whose comical &fM for once wore a rueful expression. At a meeting of the London Volunteer Corps, Colonel M'Murdo stated that there had been a decrease of 4 00# efficient" volunteers as compared with the previous yea*. The falling off was, however, only apparent, as the tt/tci •caatly improved. There had been an increase in the force'of i^iW men. Dr. Andrew Reed wrote the following epitaph for himself" I sprang from the people; I have lived for the people-the most for the most unhappy; and the people, when they shall know it, will net allow me to die out of their loving remembrance." The star of fashion in Chicago is a Canadian half- breed. She is said to be surpassingly beautiful, and is the petted and idolised wife of a rich man, who took her when a Htt!e -Mid from her mother's lodge, had her educated in a convent, gnid for a time set all Chicago wild with his lovely foreign' bride. All the footmen at Osborne have changed their sombre suits to scarlet liveries. The pages and dressers in immediate attendance on the Queen continue to wear black. The Montreal papers give an account of the marriage of Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Abinger, of the Scots Fusilier Guards, to Miss Blla Magruder, daughter of Commodore Magruder, late of the United States Navy, and niece of Major-General J. B. Magruder, commanding Confederate forces in Texas. The marriage was celebrated at Christ Church Cathedral, Montreal. The decision of the Court of Exchequer, on the application for a new trial in the Alexandra case, was given on Monday. The (Thief Baron and Mr. Baron Bramwell were against a new trial; Barons Channell and Pigotfc were in favour of it. The court was thus equally divided. «n order that an appeal might lie, Baron Pigott, as the junior baron, withdrew his judgment. The rulefo^ nal being therefore discharged, the Attorney-General ga e notice of appeal to the Exchequer Chamber. A wreath is exhibited at a tkUu„!i *5 Christmas week (says an American« composed of the hair of one hundred 'atJhft town nnnp of whom is under seventy years 01 age, while ten of S?em are over ntaetar, and one is a centenarian. The lady who made it is fifty-nine, and has been four years about it. In the workroom of a joiner, who shot himself dead at- rarminchain. aIeW aS°> was found a coffin lined with flannel which iie had prepared for himself. Upon the coffin was pinned a sheet of paper, upon which waswritten:- TeU hour worthy Coroner that I Died by a gunshot wound Inflicted by my own hand to get out of my Misery and the Extortionate Good for Nothing Docktors." Among the visitors to the Queen at Osborne has been Professor Max Muller. A rival to Niagara is said to have been discovered in the Valley of the Snake, or Lewis Fork, of the Columbia. In the London fifSce of the Electric Telegraph" Com- pany alone, there are a dozen machines and operators for Liverpool work only. The fact appears to be established that an American house in Ohin.1 supplied Prince Satsuma of Japan with • •r-nce f:nall arms. The late Mr. Thackeray, before his de ath, settled 300J. a year on each of his two daughters. Be i eaves behind a considerable amount of property besides. Joseph Lane, an alleged deserter from the Federal army, was shot at Morm Island, Charleston, on 1 he 18th ult. He denied his guilt, and at the last 'moment exclaimed We will meet in heaven. I die an Slng^ishman Margaret Godfrey, an abandoned won: lan, under- sentence of one month's Imprisonmeivt, escap ed from the Sheffield prison on Tuesday last, but m doing so injured her spine, and was re-arrested in the inf Irmary, to which, it is supposed, she had been carried by her paramours. Some enterprising ladieat in New York are deter- mined to-give a death-blow to crinoline, but wisely see tbt some equally witching attraetio:n must be substituted. Their notion is very short dresses, a la" buy-avbroom girl," dis- closing much of the leg, and a very high ankle lbtwm. some- I thing in, the style of a Balmoral. It is said that the English life insurance companies, fcav.e respectfully declined the proposal of the French life- iimr.Mce companies to take a share (80,0001.) in the large; instmnce propoat d on the life of her Majesty the Empress. It is said that strychnine has been administered ti; • some of tftebrigands near Carignano by a very zealous friends of Italy. It is only correct to state that the zealous indi vidual was arrested fo.1' his pains by an ungrateful country. The farmers of the Wolds of the East Riding of Yorkshire appear to be .leading a very anxious life just now. Since the incendiary fires stopped, burglaries have begun. A wolf recently maM a raid through three villages in Galicia, and before the animal was killed it had Minded a number of perso ns. The' Earl of Stamford a nd W arrington has been celebrating hilS birthday at Bra. 19ate, .Lancashire, one of too means of celebration being a gallle btik'ue. In four days the. ncble earl and Ifts party shot 8,79, t head of game. He;' Majesty has expressed a strong opinion against any important change being made again, in the unifonn of the Royal Natjr. Alston, a breatesman, of Preston, wat run over and killed at Penrith Station, on Wednesday, as ht' was unloading some telegraph poles. The Count de Paris, who is now at Seville, is engaged to be married to the eldest daughter c f the Duke of Montpensier, the Infanta Isabel. The Dumbarton Herald says that the increat-e in the population of that town during the past twelve ye. irs has been at the rate of 100 per cent. The Danish army in the field now numbers 40,500 men. A prospectus has been issued of the Interactional Race-sourse Society, with a capital of 50,0002., in ahanas of. 102., for She purpose of buying or renting lands upon lIhe Uón- tinent, or in England, suitable for race and steepirie2jase. pes. [What next ?] by a coraersons have been killed and a number injuwfi In additioP the Northern Railway of France. which every yeai the fawe grand balls at the Tuileries, Paris, there will be, tsucli powerful aid to the commerce of private apartments of bMonday, a more select ball in the select fetes will be a fancy-ffrwpress. The third of those It is stated that Captain N8S. off the Malacca, at Portsmouth, be. who recently paid allotted for officers to fly the pend.anv 4he period usually will probably be selected to commandtno^ commission,. Research, lately launcned at Pembroke. '-cased ship- "Matrimony.—A gentleman, aged 27, with an income of ZOOl., wishes to correspond with an amiable well-educated young lady, with a view to matrimony for- tune no object.—Please address (enclosing c.irte de visiter Bachelor,Post-office,Over Darwen."—Advertiscm"nt m"Man- chester Examiner." A New York journal announces that the value of the prizes captured by the Federal navy since th'e com- mencement of the rebellion amounts to 100,000,000 dollars, of which one-half has been distributed among the captors, and the other half placed to the credit of the fund for the relief of disabled seamen. The proprietor of an almanack at Yarmouth, having: offered a prize for the best local conundrum, tke judges have selected the following from about one hundred sent in :— What is the slight difference between a fashionable lady's dress and the trade of Yarmouth ?—The one is extended by her hoops, and the other by her rings [herrings]." The heir-apparent of Italy is badly off in his selec- tion of a wife, being limited to three princesses, all of them German. It is taken for granted, of course, that Prince Humbert will not be permitted to marry either a Protestant or a princess of the house of Austria; and it is taken for granted that no Austrian princess would be permitted to marry him. During a shooting match at Brighton, a young man named Oats struck a dog, which had seized a bird, with the butt-end of his gun. The charge exploded, and killed Oats. It is said that, among other forms of atoning for the murder of Mr. Richardson, in Japan, a handsome mausoleum. with a suitable inscription, has been proposed by Prince Satsuma, to be erected on the spot where the outrage tc«k place. Dr. Cresswell, charged with manslaughter at St.. Catherine's (says a New York paper), has been admitted to. bail in the sum of twelve hundred dollars. He claims to be a brother of the late Judge Cresswell, of the English Divorce Court. The New York Herald mentions the arrest of "Lieutenant Rooks, of the British army," as he was about to sail to Bermuda. The lieutenant had in his possession, "a large number of unstamped letters and several inflamma- tory pieces of poetry." A controversy has been going 011 in the Times on the arbitrary powers exercised by railway companies in the con- struction of new lines, over the owners of houses and land. A correspondent of the New York Herald, writing from Ilavanna, states that the French minister, Vicomte do Saligny, became desperately enamoured of a lady, named Donna Dolores, at Mexico, and so neglected his duties that his recal was sent out. The minister demurred, and it was not until he was threatened, in a letter from the Emperor, with forcible removal, that he submitted to return. The New York Times asserts that the account of the King and Heenan light, which appeared in the Time was written by Mr. Thomas Hughes, author of School Days at Rugby," Tom Brown at Oxford," Ac., who reported the fight between Heenan and Sayers for the same paper four years ago. [We have our doubts.—Kn.] A fisherman belonging to Arnside met with a very melancholy fate in Morecambe Bay last week. He had been shooting wild fowl, when he was overtaken by the darkness and the rapidly rising tide. His shouts startled the fisher- men on shore, who went out in their boats to save him, but. the tide covered and swept him away, though the attempted rescuers were able to hold a conversation with him. Mr. Lafone, of Liverpool, who suspended payment in March, 1858, with mercantile liabilities for 240,5-11)l, but who undertook, upon receiving a letter of licence, to pay ultimately 20s. in the pound, with interest at 5 per cent., has already accomplished that ooject, and fully justified the confidence reposed in him. Commodore Validerbilt and his lady recently- celebrated their golden wedding at New York, and received presents from their twelve children. The commodore pre sented Mrs. Vanderbilt a miniature propellor of pure gold, twenty Inches long and five wide, with exquisitely wrought, revolving towers, which filled the room with fairy music whenever the delicate machinery was set in motion. Notice has been drawn to the gradual subsidence of the scale of human measurement in the Imperial service. At the beginning of this century the French recruit was required to stand five feet two in height; at the Restoration the figure fell to five feet nothing while the latest propor- tion forced on military acceptance is four feet eight. The account that went the round of the daily papers as to the sparring trick King played on his landlord; at Hassock's Gate, letting him aim at King's head, and then jumping on one side, is declared to be a canard—by the land- lord himself. While Colonel Fremantle was at Shelbyville he saw Bishop Elliott, of Georgia, baptise General Bragg. The bishop took the general's hand in Ilis own (the latter kneeling in front of the font), and said "Braxton, if thou hast not already been baptised, I baptise thee," &c. Immediately afterwards he confirmed General Bragg, who then shook hands with General Polk, the officers of their respective staffs, and myself, who were the only spectators. An immense quantity of smokeless coal (30,000 to 40,000 tons monthly) is being shipped from Cardiff to Nassau and contiguous ports for the use of blockade runners, to whom smoke is an abomination, as pointing out their where abouts.At sea. A flower-stand, the gift of the ladies of Victoria to the Princess Alexandra, has arrived by the last mail. The stand is a very handsome one, and bears the inscription:- "To her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales, from the I Ladies of Victoria, 14th of March, 1863."

THE MARKETS. MARK LANE, MONDAY. Fresh up to Mark-lane to-day the arrivals of wheat both from Essex and Kent were very moderate, but the condition, of the produce was for the most part good. The circum- stance that large quantities of foreign, chiefly Dantzic, wheat have recently gone direct to the millers, combined with the sudden change of the weather, produced a slow sale for all kinds of English wheat. Most transactions were at the rates current on Monday last; but factors would have been compelled to accept less money in some instances had they shown any disposition to force sales. The supply of foreign wheat on the stands was by no means extensive. In all de- scriptions, a limited business was transacted. Holders were, however, firm, and no change took place in price, corn- pared with this day se'nnight. There was less activity in the demand for cargoes of grain afloat. Wheat, how- ever, supported the advance of Is to 2s per quarter realised during the latter part of last week. With barley the market was less extensively supplied. Good and fine malting qualities ruled firm, at quite previous cur- rencies. In other descriptions, sales progressed slowly, yet no change took place in the currencies. Malt changed hands to a moderate extent at late rates. The supply of oats on sale was very large. For most qualities there was. however, a fair average inquiry, and all good and fine pro- duce steadily supported previous quotations. The supply of beans on sale was tolerably large. On the whole the trade ruled steady, at last Monday's currency. The supply of peas, which was but moderate, were steady m price, and all qualities were in moderate request. The supply of barrel flour on offer was small, and previous quotations were well supported. Country marks, as well as French and Spanish qualities, were in fair average demand, at full currencies. Prices BRITISH, s. S. WHEAT ..Essex, Kent, and Suffolk,white, per qr. 43 to 50 BVRT/KY ..Malting 29 to 31 OATS Essex and Suffolk 18 to 23 BEANS Mazagan, uew 29 to 32 Tick and Harrow 30. to 34 PEAS English, white 36 to 3s '31 to Ditto, gray to 32: FLOUK English, town (per sack) Ditto, 2nd 32 to 36 SF.KTi Canary per qr 06 to 64 Can-away per to Rape per qr. (52 to li5 Hempseed — to 42 METROPOLITAN CATTLE MARKET, MONDAY. For the time of yearthe supply of foreign stock on offer in to-day's market was tolerably good. Sales progressed slowly, at depressed currencies. The arrivals of beasts fresh up from our grazing districts, as well as from Scotland, were 011 the increase, and their general quality was prime. The beef trade was inactive at, compared with Thursday, a decline in the quotations ot 4d per 81b. Compared with Monday last, the fall was 2d per 81b. The top figure for the best Scots, and crosses was 5s per 81b. Although the show of sheep was only moderate, the mutton trade, owing to large arrivalr. of meat up to Newgate and Leadenhall, was somewhat heavy.. Prime small Downs changed hands on rather lower terms, and all heavy breeds of sheep gave way fully 2d per 81b. The extreme value of Downs was 6s. per 81b. Calves met a slow sale; nevertheless, prime veal was 2d per 81b dearer than Monday last. The pork trade was heavy, and prices were not supported. HOPS. We have to report a good demand for all kinds of hops, both English and foreign, at our quotations. The supplies on offer are very moderate. Last week's import amounted to 106 bales from Boulogne, 162 from Antwerp, 57 from Ostend, 97 from Dunkirk, 41 from Hamburg, 93 from Bremen, and 6 from Calais. Mid and East Kents, 1058 to 190s Weald of Kents, MOs to 135s; Sussex, 105s to 120s Bavarian, 105s to 168s Belgian, 70s to 78s; Amerionn, 105s to 126s per •cwt. POTATOES. The arrivals of potatoes by water carriage have fallen off; but the receipts by railway have been moderately large. In nearly all descriptions a fair average business is doing, and prices rule firm. Yorkshire Regents, 80s to 90s ditto Flukes, 95s to 110s; ditto Rocks, 60s to 70s Scotch Regents, 55s to 80s; ditto Rocks, 50s to 60s; Kent and Essex Regents, 60s to 80s per ton. WOOL. Although business in home-grown wool has not materially increased since we last wrote, rather more firmness has been apparent in the trade, and previous quotations have been well supported. In colonial wool, by private contract, the transactions have been far from numerous, but at full prices. There were no imports into London last week,