The Aberystwith Observer

DUELS OF GERMAN STUDENTS. Everybody has heard of the celebrated and senseless student fights of Germany, and more than one writer has described them, among whom may be mentioned Mr. Wil- liam Howitt, whose recital was very graphic; but no writer as yet has so minutely described these tights as Mr. Henry Mayhew, the author of "Labour and the London Poor," in whose recent work entitled "German Life and Manners as seen in Saxony at the Present Day" we have found the following. The full description of the scene is too lengthy for our purpose, but omitting the first fight, we begin to record that— In about ten minutes after the first fight, another couple of lads were ready, "got up" for the next en- counter while the Arminians about us said, Now you'll see some bloody work." These two youths could not have been more than eighteen years old each; and directly the order to "Let loose was given, blood was drawn in the very first bout. Immediately the wound was felt, the one receiving it cried Halt!" and the doctor came for- ward and examined the gash. It consisted of a long slash across the cheek of the Westphalian boy, which seemed at first like the wheal left by the stroke of a whipcord lash. In a few seconds the blood began to flow from it in long crimson lines, trickling down the side of the boy's face, and dripping into his stock and shirt until they were nearly saturated with it. The doctor, however, bathed the wound with the stable sponge, and pronounced it of no moment. I knew our boy would give it him finely," said the Arminian at our elbow. "He deserves all he'll get. for he thrashed a Fink the other day with a stick — the coward! —and he will have to leave the university for that directly the matter is brought before the senate." (To say the truth, this Westphalian lad did not seem to be the most pleasant-natured youth in tbe world.) Our boy," continued the gossiping Armi- niap, knows how to give the deep fourth cut beauti- fully, and you'll see he'll make a beef-steak of the other's face before the fifteen minutes are over." In another second, the blades of the two lads were whistling in the air once more but in less than a minute after, the cry of Halt!" was again raised, and the Ar mini ins round about us said exultingly to one another, "He's got it nicely this time, just over the •yebrow! It's as pretty a cut as ever I saw in my life!" and the words were hardly uttered before the blood came streaming forth, running down the wounded man's nose, and trickling on tohi-) shirt until the front of it was nearly as red as a sailor's flannel one. Despite this, after the wound had been once more inspected and washed as before, orders were given for the two to g" "Ictosc" again; and then, after another minute's slashing, the VVestphalian received a third wound from the Arminian, the tip of whose blade was now like a bit of crimson tinsel-foil with the gore of the other.. And so it went on every other minute-a fresh gash and a fresh stoppage; until the Wostplialian boy's face seemed positively as red as a skinned sheep's-head, and on the floor where he stood there was a pool of blood as if a pig had just been slaughtered on the spot, and which rendered it difficult for the wounded man, as he stood in it, to prevent slipping about while he fought. Still the boys fought on even though the lads about us said thr Westphalian would want 110 end of needles to sew up his hide—for it is the custom with the students to speak of the wounds inflicted as being so many needles long, acc irding to the number of bits of silk that are required to bo inserted in order to draw the flesh together. Despite this hacking of the Weatphalian's face by the Arminian boy (everyone of whose deep 'fourth" cuts told with fearful force on the cheeks of his adver- sary), the two continued fighting for the full quarter of an hour. Nor would the wounded man ask the other if he had had h's satisfaction at the end of the customary ten minutes. And whi!e the fight went on, the Arminims round about us were wondering how the other could lose so much blood without being led off—an event which they seemed to look forward to with the highest pride. Nor were tht-y the less de- lighted with the idea that their boy, although he had cut the Weatphalian's face almost to mincemeat, had not so much as a scratch upon hs own. After this came the third and last pair of boys to have their faces hacked about in a similar manner. It is idle now to continue the disgusting details of such silly and barbarous affrays. Suffice it that this Arminion boy fought hfthanded, which, of course, was a great disadvantage to his antagonist. Neverthe- less, both suffered alike in the contest, several heavy blows being giving on both sides, and the Arminian receiving, towards the end of the encounter, a cut on his nose that nearly divided the nostrils. Still, they both kept on to the end of the appointed quarter of an hour. At the end of the entertainment," the other Armi- nims took us into the room appropriated to the dress- ing of their boy's wounds, and there we found the lad who had taken part in the last encounter perched on a stool, and in front of him the doctor, with one of those ugly, crooked needles in one hand, and the tip of the poor lad's slit nose in the other, as he proceeded to drive the triangular instrument slowly through the flesh-while the wounded youth did not so much as wink his eyes with the pain of the not-particularly- dexterous operation. As this was going on, another student sat at the piano before-mentioned, and played on the old cracked instrument Weber's Invitation to the Dance." The nose of the boy having been duly sewn up, the doctor proceeded to dress the tip of it with strips of linen. and then to brush them over with the collodion of which we have before spoken—an operation which brought the tears into the lad's eyes, owing to the biting of the ether into the raw flesh of the wound.

AN ARCHBISHOP LYING IN STATE. The following account of how the lying-in-state of a Ca- tholic archbishop is conducted in America, we take from the New York Times, as we believe it will interest our readers :— The remains of Archbishop Hughes were laid in State on Tuesday at St. Patrick's Cathedral. During the entire day, from five in the morning until the doors were closed at eight o'clock in the evening, the streets and avenues \»<viY:»g 'to the cathedral were Vlironged with pilgrims to the shrine of his grace, the late Archbishop of New York. On entering the church the visitors were required to pass up the centre aisle, passing the corpse, thence around in front of the altar, and so out by the side aisle. In the centre aisle, near the altar, is the c-tafalque, a platform covered with black cloth and crape, sur- mounted by a canopy of black and white cloth, the whole illuminated by six wax tapers. Upon this the body is laid, being, as yet, uncomned. The corpse is dressed in the robes of office worn by the deceased in life. The under-garment is the dal- matiqac-a long, white robe of lawn; over this the cope and stole of red velvet, embroidered with gold and silver. On his head is placed the mitre of gold, red velvet, and white satin upon his wrists are the maniples of velvet, embroidered in gold. By the side of the body, at the right, is placed the golden crosier on the left, a massivo golden cross, and on his breast is the pectoral cross of silver. At his feet are two beautiful crosses, made of running pine and white ja- ponicas. The face of the deceased appears as calm and life-like as if enjoying the repose of sleep, instead of death. In approaching the corpse many of the visitors knelt and said a short prayer others, more ardent in their devotion, strove to touch some portion of the body or vestments; others kissed the drapery of the catafalque, or even tried to kiss the cross or clothing of the late and beloved bishop. Many had little crosses of wood or brass or silver, that they sought to consecrate by bringing in contact with some of the surroundings of the revered remains. The body will be exposed again to-day, and the funeral will take place to-morrow morning at ten o'cloelc^at St. Patrick's Cathedral. It is estimated by those officiating at the church that up- wards of 20,000 came to view the remains yesterday, and it is expected that many more will go to-day.

BEEF, CHURCHES, ORGANS, ETC., FOR EVER! In the Equity Court, before Vice-Chancellor Sir R. T. Kindersley, the cause." Watson v. Hanbury," has been de- cided. It was a suit instituted by the trustees undercertain deeds executed in 1767 by the Rev. William Hanbury, the then rector of Church Langton, in the county of Leicester:— By these deeds, which are of an extraordinary character, Mr. Langton assigned the rents of an estate to trustees with directions that they should accumulate until they amounted to the sum of 1,5001. Then he directed that this sum should again accumulate, and that, as it did so, sums should be taken out of it each to become the seed of a separate accumulation, and these funds he directed should be severally applied to supply ing beef for ever" to the poor of Church Langton and of several surrounding parishes; to the rebuilding of churches, so as t6 provide "churches for ever," to the buying of organs for those churches and paying the salary of the organists, so as to provide "organs for ever," and to carry out a variety of other objects. He also directed that when the funds for these obj ects were provided for, the originalfund should accumulate until it amounted to a sufficient sum to found a "grand temple of religion and virtue," with a museum, library, reading-room, and printing-press, pr and having professors of the various sciences, and also a professor of poetry, whose special duty it should be to write satirical verses lampooning the trustees who did not carry out his wishes. It need hardly be said that these grand projects have not been carried out; but the trustees have, from time to time, laid out the funds in the purchase of land, or invested them in mortgages, aud at the present time the income amounts to about 1,0001. a yeat. Under these cir- cumstances, the trustees filed a bill to obtain the direction of the court as to the disposition of the funds, and the cbief clerk accordingly prepared a scheme of a much less extensive character, of course, than that of the founder, and the main features of which are to pro- vide free-schools for boys and girls residing in Church Langton, West Langton, East Langton, Thorp Langton, and Jur Langton; that the trustees expend 251. a. year in the purchase of beef for distribution among the poor of these five parishes, and 301. a year for pro- curing medical relief that 501. a year be applied for the salary of an organist officiating in the church of Church Langton that 3,0001, be expended in the re- building and enlargement of the parish church of Church Langton; 1,0001. in the rebuilding and en- larging the parish church of Jur Langton, and 1 0001: in rebuilding and enlarging the parish church of Thorp Langton, and that the balance, if any, of the proceeds to be invested. The Vice-Chancellor made an order confirming the scheme and directing the trustees to account.

ADVENTURES of a FEDERAL RECRUIT. A writer in All the Year Round, under the above title, has given a capital relation of his experiences as a recruit and a deserter. At first, according to hi3 own account, he was diusged, imprisoned, ordered to put on the United States uniform, and kept without food for many days in a filthy cell for refusal; but at length starvation compelled him to com- ply with the last order, and he was marched off to a wild Irish camp. From this point we follow his narrative, as under 1 was sent for to the tent of the adjutant-general, and required to swear allegiance to the United States government. This I refused to do, asserting that I was a subject of Great Britain. I was, however, con- j fronted by men who swore that I had been regularly enlisted into the United States service, and bad signed a paper to that effect. The paper was produced. There was no writing of mine on it, nor was it my name that was attached but the name by which I was known in the regiment, and in which, in spite of my protestations, I had been entered on the rolls, was there. These men swore, also, that I had acknow- ledged having voted at the last election, and that I was consequently a citizen. Six dreary weeks passed by-weeks spent in dream- ing of home in that England I never expected to see again. I wandered round the camp day after day in search of the most likely point for escape, and the search generally ended in attention to a spot where the lines of the camp extended to within about fifty yards of a, thick wood. Even here I should have to run the fifty yards in sight of the guard; and should tht-y, in their hurry to fire, miss m", I must then risk meeting the out-pickets, made alert by the sound of firing. About this time I was sent for to the tent of the paymaster, who, much to my surprise, handed me one hundred dollars, which he told me was part of my bounty. I knew too well how much I should need money, to have any scruple about taking it, though I was informed that, after this, if I did not take the oath of allegiance within a week, I should be sent to Fort Lafayette as a disloyal traitor, and that I should, in addition, be tried for defrauding the State. However, I deliberately took the dollars for I was fully resolved to make my escape or die. One day, while wandering round the camp, I saw in a dust-hole, behind an officer's tent, an old and ragged pair of trousers. These, with some difficulty, I ma- naged to secure under my over-coat, and watching an opportunity when the tent was empty, I put them on under my uniform. I had also obtained an old red flannel shirt, and these would enable me to throw off the regimentals when necessary, and appear in some sort as a civilian. My first step was to sham a violently sprained ankle. Having deceived the surgeon, who was a very incom- petent man, I was relieved from duty. Limping about the camp for a day or two, I occasionally heard it said that I was foxing," which was not far wrong. Then, when I had made the few possible arrangements, I chose for my great venture a fine day about two hours before dark, when most of the officers would be on parade with their regiments, and when I knew that men of my own company were on guard at the spot where I hoped to break the lines. Having supplied myself with a bottle of whisky and some cigars, I made towards the spot I had chosen, and found, to my agreeable surprise, that one of the men of my own company there on guard was a Scotchman, who had felt as little at home as I did in such a camp. The whisky was produced, and so were the cigars, which the soldiers on guard shared, of course secretly, and without attracting the attention of the officers; for speaking to the sentinels on duty was an offence very severely punished. I was convinced that none of the guard had the least suspicion of my purpose, and it must have been much to their surprise that when I had passed one of them, as if to carry the whisky- bottle to another, I suddenly dropped it, and ran for the wood, right through their lines. In a few bounds I reached the wood, and, dashing through the bush up a short hill, found myself, on reaching the top, almost face to face with the lieu- tenant-colonel of my own regiment. He stood a little below me, revolver in hand, but I had come so suddenly upon him, that before he had time to cock a single barrel, and while he was fumbling to do so, I by a sudden spring, as I rushed down hill, by throwing my whole weight upon him, dashed him headlong to the ground. Rolling several yards down the hill beyond him, I sprang to my feet, and was out of sight in the thick bushes before he recovered himself. Taking, as I judged, the direction from the camp, I ran as well as I could through the bush for some twenty minutes, or half an hour, and believed that I was a mile or two from the camp, when unexpectedly hear- ing a cry of Halt!" I turned sharp off to my right, and found myself on the edge of an open space of the wood next to the camp, in full view of, and close to, a com- pany of the guard, with an officer, who, on seeing me, at once gave orders to fire. All this time I was running through thick reedy grass, and making for the dense brush on the other side of the small clearing, when, just as I had almost reached it, General Corcoran and his staff, who had heard the firing, galloped up, and a smart fusilade was opened upon me from their revolvers. I was beginning to congratulate myself on still keeping a whole skin, and was on the point of entering the thick bush, when General Corcoran, enraged at the possibility of my getting off untouched, leaped his horse over the fence which stood between us, and rode to within fifteen or twenty yards of me. I, on hearing him, almost involuntarily turned round and faced him just as he took deliberate aim at me. He fired and I fell. I did not exactly think that I had been hit; I did not know what it was. I had been standing, when he fired, up to my waist in thick grass, and when I fell I rolled completely out of sight, into a dry watercourse which ran from the wood. I heard the general remark that he had settled that coon, anj how," and he ordered his aide-de-camp to go and see whether I was dead, or only wounded. While he spoke, I was scrambling as rapidly as I could up the dry watercourse, and before they had dis- mounted and come to the spot I had crept some fifty yards into the thick underwood, and was again oft as fast as I could run. I threw off nay uniform, raid stood, dressed in all old ragged and dirty pair of wlnt once had been black pan- taloons, and an old red shirt; civilian dresp, it is true, but of a bort to make me look like a suspicious cha- racter, who could not get pfi' the isUw.'J without giving a very clear account of himself. Still I had now a letter chance than I couid possibly have had in uniform. U p to this time. in the excitement of flight, I had scarcely known that I had been struck by the shot when I rolled over, but I now saw that my shoe was torn acd bloody. The wound did not yet giva me in- convenience, and I paid no further attention to it, but walking rapidly on, kept as well as I could in the same direction. I was soon clear of the wood, and talcing the road that I believed to be the way to the New York Ferry, rapidly marched on. I walked for some two hours, and on coming to a small village, asked the distance to the Ferry, when, to my utter consternation, I found that I had been walking directly from it, and that I was within a mile of the Jersey Ferry at Port Richmond. I knew it was im- possible for me to get across, for at that point the'eap- ;ain of my own company was on duty, and would of :ourse know me directly. Nevertheless, I kept on ;owards the village, when suddenly a. man, in the United States uniform, sprang from the shadow of a hedge and laid his hand on my shoulder. I thought it must be an officer on patrol duty, and seized him by the throat. When he with some difficulty managed to make me believe him, I found that he was one of the soldiers on guard at the time of my escape, who, during the confusion, had managed to make his escape too. But he had come away without any preparation, was entirely without m6ntey, and was in uniform his chance, therefore, was desperate. I dared not refuse to throw in my chance with his, for he, being reckless, might have given himself up to the nearest guard, and screened himself by informing against me. We therefore marched on together, I feeling my hope of escape much diminished. So we passed through the village of Port Richmond but some mischievous boys raised the cry of Deserters and we ran at once.

A SKETCH IN SCOTLAND. Since the immortal meeting of the Brick Lane Temperance Society, at which the Messrs. Weller and the Reverend the Shepherd attended (after refection elsewhere), and the latter, in response to the chair. man's fat smile and invitation to address the meeting, declined, on the ground that the meeting was drunk, we have seen nothing so good as this, which we take from the Dundee Courier On Sunday last, the minister of a large congregation in Dundee was interrupted in the course of his forenoon sermon by the repeated couching of his auditors. Pausing in the midst of his observations, he addressed his congrega- tion to the following effect:—" You go about the streets at tha New Year time—you get drunk, and get cold, then you come here and cough, cough like a park of artillery. I think I must give you a vacation of six weeks, that you may have time to get sober, and to regain your health again." This lenitive application did good, for the congrega- gation sat quiet, and coughed no more than they would have dared to do had they been in presence of the Queen, or any other great person, instead of being in a mere church. But one seat-holder, though he held his seat, could not hold his tongue, and declared that the con°regation was insulted. We suspect that the minis* ter ki ew best. In fact, had the incident occurred anywhere but in Scotland, where every man is prover. bially sober, we should have been sure that the minis. ter knew best. Hurrah, for the toddy of Bonnie Dundee !—Punch.

SKETCHES FROM AFRICA. We take the following extracts from a very interesting book, by Jlr. \V. Winwood Reade, entitled "Savage Africa":— TAKEN FOB A CANNIBAL. I resolved to exercise a little finesse in the investiga- tion of this matter, and after I had passed the villages which had been previously visited by white men, I called a veteran cannibal to me, and questioned him aboir. the people beyond the mountains to the east. Did they eat men Oh, yes, they all ate men. And he ate men himself." As he volunteered this statement, he burst into aloud roar of laughter, in which we all joined very h#a.tily. I asked him if man was good.—He replied, with a rapturous gesture, that it was "like monkey, all fat." I then wished to learn the class of persons he had been in the habit of discussing. He said only prisoners of war that some of his friends were in the habit of ea ing witches condemned to death, but that, for his part, he did not think them wholesome. The best of it was, that he thought I was a cannibal too a belief which is universal among the Bush-tribes of Western Africa., and of which the slave-trade has betn the cause. I remember that when I was in the Camma country, a Bakeli slave who had been brought down from the far interior, and who nad never seen a white man before, sqmtted before me a long time, with his great rouud prominent eyes on my face, and his mouth wide open. At last he heaved a gasp of wonder, cry- ing, "And are these the men that eat us?" My vtterau now asked me why we took the trouble to smd such a long way for people to eat. Were the black men nicer than white men to eat? My answer vas dictated by a motive of policy. I Eaid that the floih of th." white man was a deadly poison, and so, not being able to eat one another, we were obliged to send to thM country. I asked him if it was true th .t the Fans ate their own relatives when they died. Upon this he affected great horror, and said that they could not do such a thing as that. # Nevertheless, the ev dence of all the neighbouring tribes is unanimous upon this point; which, it I cannot positively assert, I certainly cannot disprove. HUNTING THE TURTLE. Two mortal hours, and 'nothing had been seen. Clouds encircled and threatened to obscure the moon. My joints became horribly cramped, and when I looked at .the dark water as we passed, I could not believe that it was possible to see a turtle where I could sef only the reflections of the stars. The two men continued to paddle on without saying j). word; and Abauhi remained as at'entive as ever, his eyes lowered and his spear upraised. Suddenly that spear was hurled into the water. Tbe men uttered a yell. Something large and black dashed through the air. Abauhi seized paddle, and the canoe heemed to fly. Before ua was a cloud of white foam. I hallooed till I was hoarse, and danced about, forgetting that I might upset the canoe, ami that I could not swim. Fox-hunting, sir, was a mere shadow of it. Imagine the first whimper, the view-holloa, and the who-hoop compressed into one sensation The foam ahead I believt-d to be the turtle itsetf but it was the staff of the spear. This requires explanation. The point 0; the spear, which is small and with an almost impercep- tible barb, is tied by a string to the butt. When the turtle is struck, the barb remains in its flesh, and the staff, separated from it, but retained by the strings, floats on th- surface, prevents the turtle from diving, and marks its course. As soon as he had caught the staff, Abauhi drew the turtle towards the surface, playing him like a salmon. The second spear was thrown again the turtle sprang we had another "burst," but a very short one. The reptile was distressed," and with a yo hee yo (borrowed from English sailors) was hauled into the canoe, when Abauhi welcotl,ed him by patting him on the head and si-itting ùo ."n his mouth. This, he told me, was play," and showed me a scar on his arm which some turtle had intlicted in a sportive retribution. We drew cover for an hour longer without a find, and returned to Corisco. The turtle lying at the bottom of the boat uttered the most extraordinary sounds, all of which caricatured humanity. Sometim » it was that kind of wheezing sound peculiar to old women and sheep sometimes a harsh, dry, consump- tive cough; sometimes that deep-drawn, gasping, true- tative sigh, with which boozey bachelors relate the romances of their youth. THE DANGERS OF AMATEUR DOCTORING. He was very frequently ill, and after I had seen his method of treatment I cluld only wonder that he re mained alive. It was the most ludicrous and painful sight which I have ever witnessed. He had given himseif a colic with some medicinal poison, and was lyiiifcf on the after-lockera with" The Seamen's Medical Guide, or Companion to the Medicine Chest," before him. At first he cou- not find colic, which happened in that book to be (. f an h. But he was not to be baulked; he tu'^ and treated himself for that. SooaJu :1e turning over thr. leaves, in castx"«s|)e] £ the part ot»_his fancy, he fell upon ckolic, a^ued ta diarrbPrefllie8t 0ie prescription mixed. Fin £ /-afterwards, w)li?t>uted of an ,ho.ur> he adopted *1 and imiu^^t strike on du.ing two days. ling no relief witfiiu 1 r a sepul- chral voic^h^ geCond treatment. This wefflBt'ie medi- cine-bookv' A.t short intervals we would heal^nld be, Stewar j, froQ1 below, Steward, bringme tl-n » 0r StewM aUd my eye-glass." Then it wou. ;ue to-day I think I'll take a little so-and-so, IItl; w.i» 1 .1.d, I'll try a plasssof such-and-such a medic»i»«j "HC" Sometimes it was castor-oil, sometimes ic quinine, sometime* laudanum, or ether, or tinc- ture of myrrh, or antibilious pills (eight to a dose), and once it was croton-oil: an experiment which he did not deem requisite to repeat. I was surprised to see him come on deck again; the mate^ ever, assured me of viV~* v L^ayjniy iiis patients bad not Buch strong "physical" constitutions. One evening when we were at sea. a sailor came to him and said that he was teased with a spitting of blood. "Inever heard of such a thing," growled the captain, and looking upon the wan aoil alusllS KafMrfT. "Have you got pains any- where The man replied that he had pains in the head. "Well, if you have pains in the head, that shows it comes from the head and turning to me, he explained that the bleeding came down from the head into the mouth by channels. "Ah!" thought I to myself, "there is only one channel you know much about." What t was he gave the sailor I cannot pre. tend to say, but 1 know that the poor fellow soon after- wards went over the side in company with a white sheet and a cannon-ball. I do not think that such cases can be caFed excep- tional in the smaller class of trading vessels. Place powerful drugs in ignorant hands, and what can you expect ? A sailor kills more people eren than a surgeon. I have heard of a half-drowned man being rolled along the deck on a barrel till ad sigus of life had departed and of another, in a fit of apoplexy, being carri<»d below head foremost, in obedience to the slz-iot injunctions of the officer in command. I have known captains who believed that quinine would cure everything, from bronchitis to Guinea-worm, aslong as it was used on the West coast of Africa. I have known others who have denounced it as "a —— pip.o<> of quackery," and who gave calomel (always poison in cases of malarious fever) to their j>»Ments, at the period when strong broths and were required to restore their strength. LOVE IN AFRICA. As I wa." scaled in my house, the door opened, and a bs-.i^tiful girl entered, accompanied by Oshupu. She was ta 1 and finely mould-id, her hands and feet exquisitely sma 1; her complexion of that deep, warm, bronze colour, which is as different from the animal blackness of the Coast negro, as it is from the sickly yellow of the Hindoos. Her eyes were large, and tilled with a soft and melancholy expression. She came gracefully towards me, and, holding out her hand, murmured in a soft voice, "Mholo." This young lady was an emblem of hospitality. She told me, through Oshupu, that the king, her father, had ordered > er to attend upon me in person (for that i* the highest honour that can be paid to a guest); and, having asked me if I waspleastd with the arrangements of the house, she smiled and went out. We spent hours every day in each other's company. At first she was full of timidity for she had never seen a white man before but this she disguised, lest she should hurt 11 y feelings, and I could read it only in her fluttering eyes and in her poor little heart, which used to throb so loudly when we were alone. Is is impossible to imagine a more delicious study than this little savage afforded me. I found her as chaste, as coquettish, and as full of innocent mischief as a girl of sixteen would have been in England. In a little while 1 found myself becoming fond of her. At dayb-eak every morning she presented me with a cup of tea, which Oshupu had taught her to make, and with cakes made of ground-nuts and plaintatns pounced together. When I came back from the forest, worn out and dispirited, Ananga was there to receive me, and to bathe my wearied feet. She would bring me my dinner, which she had cooked with her own hands, like the daughters of the ancient Patriarchs. She would stand by me all the while for she would let no one wait on me but her and, by devouring me with her looks, would anticipate &11 my wants. When I had finished my dinner, we would sit side by side, and I would look at my r,ce in her eyes—the only mirror which I possessed. But though one can exchange gleams of eloquence with the eyes, it is difficult to sustain a lengthened conversation. We soon tried to invent some method of conveying tangible ideas. She would point to something and pronounce its name in Mpong-we. I would say it after her if incorrectly, she would laugh, and clap her hands, and repeat it with emphasis. If I pronounced it rightly, she would utter a long sonorous Y-0-0 1" the affirma- tive of pleasure.

FREEDOM BEFORE FOOD. In the form ot a novel, a traveller has recorded his impres- sions of American life, calling the book Dan to Beersheba or Northern and Southern Friends." A few correct names are given, but mostly pseudonymes are chosen, because, as the aforesaid traveller is discontented and sarcastic, he feels the ingratitude would be too great to malign those In whose house one has slept. "8 give below a touch of his sarcasm on the recent emancipation proclamation and the freedom obtained by flight:— It is the principal interest of my life," said the Professor, "or was till a short time since," he added, with a graceful recognition of PriscuWs presence and claims. The great African race, the race endued with the finest instincts, the most delicate suscepti- bilities, the loftiest aspirations, and the warmest affections of the whole human family. To see them restored to their rights and their place among the kindred of the earth has always been the great object ofmvlif" We have been passing the winter at the South," Sybil observed we have not been at home more than a month." Ah t1-,e African in the false and artificial condi- tion of slavery is not the same being as in his native state of freedom: yet even there, were you not struck by the elevation of character, the deep religious feeling, they manifest ?" "I don't think we could have come in contact with the best specimens," said Cocky, drily "though, indeed, one sometimes does them great injustice; for there was a well-fed, lazy fellow of a coachman be. longing to a friend of ours, who seemed quite sunk in ignoble content, but he roused himself and ran away soon after we left." "The noble natural yearning for freedom had been awaked, no doubt; and, Heaven be praised, there Me hundreds waiting with arms open to welcome the It brother, and hands outstretched to bestow life's j t greatest boon upon him. I would prefer to say thou- 1 sands, for 1 hen we should have thousands of fugitives, 1 instead of a solitary one from time to time." £ Then you advocate their running away ?" 1 Undoubtedly, undoubtedly; let them be true to t the noble instinct of freedom indeed, I am the Pre- I sident of the Society for the Encouragement of < Fugitives from Labour. I would prefer to see every ] slave in the Southern States escape than that they I should be emancipated, for it gives a finer opportunity ] for developing their higher nature. What we strive I for is always far more valued than what is given with- f out labour and without price." But what do you propose to do with them after i they have escaped, even provided the law did not oblige them to be sent back 1" "Nothing, madam, nothing1. Have we not given 1 them liberty, the greatest gift of God and the inalien- able right of every man ? What more could we do for them ? No, our task is at end we have made them free men we have no higher, and consequently no further obligation." Nevertheless, they are neither fowls of the air nor yet lilies of the field," said Cocky. ".What did you remark ?" the Professor asked. Oh, merely that there were minor considerations such as food and raiment." We have satisfied the great hunger of the souL Besides," interposed Priscilla, who prided herself upon being, with all her attainments and accomplish- ments, a thoroughly practical woman, every free j man's natural instinct prompts him to provide the j necessaries of life for himself and as soon as these 1 poor creatures are restored to their natural condition, they will spontaneously adapt themselves to it as aquarious bipeds do to water." # One of the articles of food used by the African in his noble, natural condition is human flesh, I believe and as to clothes Cocky began but Miss Priscilla, who. like all Boston blues, was a great piude, looked so horrified at the possible termination of his sentence, that Sybil came to the rescue and rose to go.

NOT A BAD IDEA OF KING WILLIAM. Says the King to the Kaiser, I think 'twould be wiser, Since soldiers are stronger than sermons, To leave off entreating, And take to brow-beating Our large bitch of small (cousin) Germans. With the bit in their muzzle, O'er this vexed Duchy-puzzle, So long and so loudly they've wrangled, That Europe feels gravelled How a skein so sore ravelled Is e'er to be got disentangled. Diplomacy tumbled, Till through it has tumbled, And the knot all its pains keeps defying: So at litnt, to save labou-, They've snatched up the sabre To cut it, instead of untying. Now, though swords, my de*r Kaiser, (Drawn with sense for adviser) May lead to short-cuts out of trouble, Still a blade in its swing Is a dangerous thing, And its edges are apt to cut double. So, as you, Coz, and I, Must hive hands in the pie, And the pear of delay gets no riper, Leave small Germans the word play, And we'll take the sword-play, As 'tis we must, at last, pay the piper. Our schlcegers we'll flourish, And Vaterland nourish With the froth and the wind she delights in But we'll take deuc'd good care, Though the sword may be b*re, Its polish shan't suffer true fights m. If Bismark-Sci cenhausen, My Prussia can cozen, Surely, we, King and Kaiser together, AU Deutschland can gammon, Its will clap a dam on, And conjure this storm to fair weather.

LITIGATION BETWIXT FATHER AND SON. In the Rolls Court, before the Master of the Rolls, the cause of Walrond v. the Earl of Rosslyn and Walrond" has come on for hearing, and was a suit ill which the plaintiff, the eldest son of ilr. Bethell Walrond, of Dulford-house, in the county of Devon, sought relief against his father and the trustees of his marriage settlement in respect of certain alleged breaches of trust committed in the sale of portions of the settled estates, which had been sold by the trustees and the defendant Walrond, as to part, upon the represen- tation by him that part of such lands had been by mistake included in the settlement deed, and as to other parts upon the BriatoLand Exeter Railway coming through the estates. The plaintiff charged his father with having retained the sale moneys of both these properties for his own benefit, and sought to make him repay them to the surviving trustee, Lord Rosslyn, to hold upon the trusts of the settlement. The bill further prayed that if the defendant, the father, might be restrained ndipom committing waste, spoil, and destruction upon the ithi'ed estates, it being alleged that the father, while the r iff was yet only about 18 years of age, endeavoured uade him to join in barring the entail of the ? fAtes, and raising a large sum of money which 8ettipdS«^nt desirtd should be put at his own disposal. una ueieud. first agreed to the proposition of the The son at vequently appeared to have altered his father, but subs.feby exceedingly irritated his father, mind, and there his name taken off the books of who in 1861 had A)rd, and gave him notice that Christ Church, Oxi. *jear the house again. The he need not come *-t^d the father by contract- son W further vmy a yQ la(j of rng an engagement to who Jhap £ ned \ohe family and position m Devo. v^ T £ Tlon how. personally displeasing to the fathv: -^ooial views into ever, proceeded to carry his m.trin., fatjjer had practice, whereupon it was alleged tEl", which proceeded to put into execution certain thre^ the he had made, to t he effect that he would estates of every stick of timber, and let them be a barren wa-tte when they came to the son. According to the plaintiff's allegations, he had sold and cut down almoot the whole of the wood on the es'ate, whether mature or immature, and swept away all brushwood and saplings. The strictly ornamental timber, 1houiQ marked for sale, had been preserved by an injv-n obtained ex parte at an early period af ^lt, and now a continuance of the prote<^f:^Uj Court of Chancery was sought for ft" remainder of the timber and young wood, an(1 jiUnages for what had been cut improperly. jjjg jTviiour reserved his judgment till a future d.'1Y'

SKETCHES FROM SCHLESWIG. The correspondent of the Times has been travelling In Schleswig-, and has given in hisoommunication to that journal a very good account of the Scbleswig-Holstein dispute from the German point of view. With this subject we do not intend hereto interfere, but we select a few items of interest from the correspondent's latest lettet Desire to see the country induced me to set out in an open carriage. But the winter had set in with unprecedented severity. Such frightful cold, the people say, has not been experienced in these parts for 25 years. The thermometer, even in the sun, falls down to 10 deg Reaumur below the freezing point; and just as we left Kiel we met a keen, cruel, cutting north-east wind, which tried our powers of endurance to the utmost—a cruel, killing wind, searching you through and through with its very first blast, running through your cloaks, wrappings, and furs, piercing through skin, flesh, ribs, and lungs, till it reaches your poor heart, where it lies »hrinking and quivering in its warm inner chamber, and squeezes it up—crumples it up like Mr Cobden's famous sheet of paper. After a first day's hard-bought experience, we were fain to give up our open phaeton and creep into one of the country's clo'e conveyances, where in less than two minutes a thick icy crust shut out the world from us. THE FARMHOUSES AND GENTLEMEN'S SEATS. There was not much to regret in the look of the country we were compelled to give np. No sooner had we turned our back upon the somewhat hilly and well-timbered little bay of Kiel than the land spread flat and bare before us, not, indeed, a dead level, but a slightly undulated surface, cut up into broad fields, encompassed with bristling hazel hedges, bleak, lonely, monotonous. There was no snow on the ground, but only a sprinkling of accumulated frost, giving the landscape a chill, hoary aspect. Now and then, but at large intervals, we came to a farmhouse, a square house with square outbuildings, enclosing a square court, house,. and premises covered with tall, slanting roofs, one-third house, two-thirds roof, the roofs mostly thatch overgrown with moss, the only green objects that broke through the Ameness of that dreary white waste. Now and then, again, a patch of woodland announced the approach of a gentleman'^ seat, and as we drove in sight of the mansion, the loftiness of the beech-trees, unmatched in tht world, jaade us regret the niggardly husbandry which has so mercilessly stripped the broad acres far and wide. CUTTING THE ICY. Great efforts were made to keep open the water com- munication along the Schlei, between its mouth and Schleswig. More than 2,000 Danish thalera have been spent in cutting open the ice, and a steamer is constantly at work cruising to and fro to prevent the water from freezing. As we came to the ferry at Cappeln on Saturday night, it was with the greatest difficulty, and not without some danger, that the small boat to which we trusted ourselves could force its way through the masses of ice everywhere encumbering the narrow channel which was still open for its traffic, and the steamer, which we could see at a little distance, had been for more than two hours frozen in. The water in our wake curdled and thickened visibly as soon as it was allowed to be still, and our impression and that of all about us was that men would have to give up the struggle with the strength of the wintry elements; but even yesterday morning there came fresh orders from Copenhagen to stir up the workmen, who were slackening in their endeavours, and urging them to keep open the channel of the Schlei at any cost. THE HOME OF THE ANOELS" I had a pa.rticul ir curiosity to see the district of the Angeln, extending from the long line of the Schlei to the Bay of Flensburg, to become acquainted with a people whose ancestors claim kindred with those Angles of Great Britain whom good Pope Gregory converted into angels eo many centuries ago. My companion, a H^lsteiner, hadlolig lived in this part of Schleswig, and was well-known to high and low. Wherever we showed ourselves—at the baron's ball or at the old nobleman's court, at the farm or the mill- the hearty welcome of German hospitality awaited I never in so short a trip made so many friends, the only drawback to our mutual satisfaction being on their part that I would not drink and smoke enough to qualify for their company—on my part that I was made to drink andamoke so much more than was good for me. NOT ASHAMED OF THEIB RACE. The people of Schleswig, they say, do not look wpot hemselves as a pure German race. Nay, they admit hat in remote epochs the Scandinavian element might je said to be in the ascendant, and that the time may lave been in which Danish was the prevailing lan- guage. In the constant contact and friction between ¡he two races, Scandinavian and German, however, ¡hey say, the larger, stronger, more highly civilised md expansive nationality has so trodden down the jther, that fully two-thirds of the Duchy are now purely German, and only in the northern districts, ilong a line which may be drawn from Tondern to a nile or so south of Flensburg, a few Danish families or small tribes are to be found, not mixed with, but umply dovetailed into, the German communities. These Danish clusters are sprinkled here and there even in the Angeln territory, and spots were pointed out to me where the two nations lived side by side,—separate, yet side by side the Danes, for instance, occupying the upper and the Germans the lower part of the same village. DIVERSE ASPECT OF NORTHMEN AND GERMANS. The Schleswigers, as I said, put forward no preten- sions to purity of blood. Looking at their outward appearance, it would be difficult to come to any sa- tisfactory conclusion. In one house, especially among the higher classes, you are met with the blue eye, the long face, the light eyebrows, the tall and slim forms of the Northmen. In another, more usually among the peasantry, you have the round face, the high cheek- bones, the thick-set frame of the sturdy Teuton. But the Germans set great store by their language, and contend that up to to 1818 their language and culture were peacefully but irresistibly driving the Danes to the frontier of Jutland. Up to 1848, however, the two nations lived peaceably together, hardly dreaming that difference of descent or idiom could constitute in- compatibility of temper or interfere with good neigh- bourhood. The struggle of that and the ensuing: year, however, arrayed the nationalities against one another, and afrer the peace of 1851-2 the Germans accuse not only the Danish Government, but even the people, of a deliberate design to force back the tide of civilisation by denationalising the superior, and thereby morally prevailing race. FREEDOM OF SPEECH.' The freedom of speech and even audacity of the Germans is something transcending all belief. I have heard them heartily curbing the Danes in the very hearing of Danish soldiers—a fact which does, perhaps, no less honour to the forbearing nature of the oppressors than to the desperate spirit of the oppressed.

EXTRAORDINARY SCENE at a. SALE! The furniture and stock-in-trade of a well-known dealer in second-hand clothes in Newcastle were dis- trained the other day for rent, and a respectable auc- tioneer made his appearance to conduct the sale, when the mistress of the house thus addressed him, in presence of a crowd of Castle Garth tailors who had flocked thither to buy:— Now. Mr. you are come to take my few things, and to rifle this house, which has been a place where souls have been ¡¡aved-a house of prayer-a Bethel, where God has met his chosen ones." Well, Mrs. R. I'm very sorry. It's an unpleasant thinlt for me. I'd rather not have been here this morning." II I have one request to make, then, and tbat is, that hefore you commence we shall all kneel down and ask the Divine blessing on what you are about to do. It is a good oppor- tunity there have never been so many precious souls in this room before." II 0 dear, no; there's nobody here has time^for anything of the sort. You really must excuse us." No, but I'll not excuse you." So the lady went down on her knees. The auc- tioneer and the tailors took off their hats as reverently as they could. Poor Mrs. R- poured forth a torrent of supplications, fervently and eloquen^y, and emphatically to the point. Her involuntary hearers were'awe-struck. When she rose from her knees all the auctioneer said waa,— I hope, gentlemen, none of you, after this, will bid against Mrs. R-fùr anything she may want to buy in for herself." And neither did they; for—proclaim it were Mam- mon may presume to reign supreme—she was allowed to buy everything in at her own price, and that, more- over, as sne afterwards observed to a friend, in faith," for she had not half-a-orown in her pocket.

THE LAST OF THE LUTHERS! Strange, Indeed, are the turns of Fortune's wheel. Now she brings up a hero and a world compelloragain, of the same blood, she evokes a pig-driver. For instance, is there anything more romantic in fiction thau the history and de- cline of the Luther family ? The Alpha of the house was the Baron Yon der Helde; the Omega is the Mohra swine- herd by day and the village watchman by night." The fol- lowing, taken from "German Life and Manners," is Mr. Mayhew's account of how he became acquainted with the aforesaid swineherd: On arriving at the Barbarian Blackamoor," in the Lutheran- village, we needed somebody to carry our portmanteaus and carpet-bags from the tavern to the schoolmaster s; and on inquiry of the landlord, we were introduced to a clown in a light indigo-blue smack acd a drab slouch hat, who had been brought to us from the neighbouring tap-room, and whom we soon found to be no less a person than the last of the Luthers" himself. For the ma.n had scarcely &id "good-day" to us, before he apprised us of the fact —a piece of ostentation which might have been par. donable had it proceeded from any sense of his great ancestor's qualities; but which was far from admirable, seeing that it arose merely from an idea of the worth of the name in the matter of "drink-money." The swineherd, indeed, had found there was a certain market-value set upon the name of Luther by visitors to the town and, therefore, was particularly alert in communicating the information ta strangers, as to his being the ultimate member of the tribe in that village, in the hope of extracting an extra groschen or two from the reverence of the tourists, and transmuting the coins into corn-brandy-wine—for the fellow as- suredly had a greater love of schnapps than martyr- dom.

If the swineherd had no love of martyrdom, Master Mayhew seems to have had no reverence, as will be perceived by the following :— Now, I say, Luther, what in heaveixa^ you up to?" our son would cry. You'r. a pretty fellow to carry boxes! you'll be.hashing all my photographic che- -Jou don't take care"—for either the schnapps Jle "nad taken, or the boxes be had on his shoulders, ) seemed more tnau he could carry. The next minute, as the swineherd lagged behind under the weight of the load, the cry would be, Here Luther! Luther Come along, old slow-coach. There's not much progress about you now, whatever there might have been about your ancestor in the Middle Ages." And so it went on, now "Luther this," and then "Luther thatuntil the commands seemed like the incongruities t.f some strange travestie penued by the finger of Old Time himself. Luther who, in the olden time, had cast off the heavy burdens of bis day, now willing to bear as many as he could hobble along under, for a few groschens. Luther who had braved the burning of his body at the stake, now craving only to have his throat burned with brandy-wine every quarter of an hour through the day. Luthtr who had destroyed the bull of his holiness the Pope at Wittenberg, now sitting down quietly to attend the boor's awine at Mohra. Could there be a drop of the same blood in two such utterly dissimilar natures ? Or is it circumstances that make men, after all, rather than heritage or organism ?

THE "ALABAMA" AGAIN! By the arrival of the Cape mail we learn that two vessels had arrived in Table Bay at the end of De- cember with news of the Alabama. Captain Cato, of the Beautiful Star, reported that in passing the Straits of Sunda, on the 25th of October last, he was informed that the Alabama had passed Angier a day or two before. She had 25 men sick, and did not report any captures. Captain Sedgwick, of the Latona, from Singapore, reported that he had heard of the Alahanla being in the China Seas, and on the night of the 6th of November, off the Java Heads, saw a fine vessel of about 500 tons, with all sails set, on fire, and a bark- rigged steamer near her, which he supposed to be the Alabama. A private letter thus describes the latter occurrence:— On the night of the 6th November, about 150 miles W.S.W. of Java Heads, I was called about 11 o'clock by the third officer to look at a ship on fire. I jumped out and hurried on deck. It was rather a dirty, rainy sort of a night, and we were under easy sail-royals, mizentopgallant sail and main- sail stowed and right ahead almost was seen a bright glare. The Latona was close hauled, so as to make a little to wind- ward of it, and under the impression that she was one of the cotton ships from China, which had accidentally caught fire, we burnt blue lights, to let her know assistance was at hand. As we got nearer we could see her plainer—a fine topsail yard bark, royals hauled up, but not stowed, and the main yard backed; in fact, properly hove to, as any other ship would be for a boat to board her. She was on fire fore and aft, masts all standing, and seemingly not a soul aboard her, and no boats in sight, it was one of the finest sights I have seen at sea. It was, as I have said, rather a dirlynight, and though, as we were close to the unfortunate bark, it was as light as day, all outside the halo of her light was doubly dim and black. Out of this darkness came a long, low craft, which we soon found out to be a steamer, but we could not distinguish her colours. She passed close between us and the bark. We guessed what she vas at once, more especially as we heard in Singapore that she had been at the Cape, and was probably going towards the China Seas. The comments of our crew were rather curious, greatly in favour of the Southerners but it was a source of lamentation the burn- ing of the bark's fine white cotton canvas, enough to make jumpers and trousers for all hands for some years! We expected a visit from the Alabama, but she did not come near us, so we kept away on our course. On our arrival here the lieutenant of the United States steamer Mohican came aboard and got an extract from our log, and two days after that she left, bound eastward, on a cruise. It will take a much smarter craft than she is to catch the Alabama.

A TOUCHING STORY. Mr. Cockcroft, the deputy-coroner for South Northumber- laud, held an inquest in the town-hall of North Shields, on Monday afternoon, on the bodies of Elizabeth Dawson, the wife of a sailor residing in a tenement in that town, and their little son, John George Dawson, aged 4 years, who had met their death under the following circumstances :— The husband had been kept on shore two years suffering from rheumatism, but having recovered from his long and painful illness, he set sail on board a col- lier vessel, with the fleet, on Thursday last, upon a coal voyage to London. The poor woman, who had to a large extent kept the family by employing herself as a laundress during her husband's illness, was thus left alone with her boy. The little lad was taken unwell on Saturday evening, and his mother had pro- cured some medicine from a chemist for him. After administering a portion to him, Mrs. Dawson and the child had retired to rest about midnight on Saturday. Probably feeling lonely, and being anxious about the boy, she had left a candle burning in a candlestick upon a chair close to the bed. They had thus fallen asleep. While they were reposing, the candle had set fire to the mattress of the bed, which had not, however, burst into ablaze, but smouldered and burnt, and producing a dense smoke in a close apartment, it had very speedily suffocated the sleepers. About half-past 11 o'clock on Sunday morning, the deceased woman's sister, having become anxious, as she had not heard how the sick child was, sent her little daughter to inquire. The child, upon coming to her aunt's door, asked through the keyhole if Johnny had taken his medicine, but receiving no answer to the inquiry, and perceiving smoke coming from under the door, she gave the alarm, and the neighbours effected an entrance into the house by a window. The room where the woman and child lay was full of smoke, and upon going to the bedside, it was found that the mat- tress was on fire and that the poor things were lying quite dead, and being gradually roasted by the slow tire burning in the mattress. The mattress was speedily thrown into the street, and the fire ex- tinguished. Neither the curtains of the bed nor the wooawork were burnt. The jury returned a verdict of "Accidental death."

CANDEL4BM FOR IIIS NIZAM. A curious and very magnificent specimen of the style of Oriental luxury in which the great native chiefs of India indulge in their palaces is now being exhibited in the Dudley Gallery of the Egyptian-hall, London. It is a gigantic candelabrum of the most costly design and elaborate execution—a specimen of one of five which were last year ordered in this country for the Nizam of the Deccan's palace at Secunderabad. The fact of such an order being given in England instead of Paris is a fresh proof of the great stimulus which was given last year to English trade by the International Exhibition, and to no trade more than the manufacture wf English cut and engraved glass, which at Kensington last year carried off the honours from competitor.. in all parts of the world. Two conspicuous objects in this class were the great glass candelabra exhibited by Messrs. Defries under the East Dome, -«nd which were lighted with gas as darkness came oil. On the last public day of the Exhibition an order came from India for five of these at 3,oool. each, and for two of the con- cave prismatic mirrors similar to those manufactured by the same firm for the Sultan's new palace on the Bosphorus at 2,5OOl. each—a single order for 20,000?. The mirrors and four of the candelabra have been sent; the fifth is now on view at the Dudley Gallery, as stated above. Its weight is no IeS3 than three tons, its height is 22 feet, its diameter at the head is 10 feet, and its 20 arms carry no less than 154 lights. In all there are upwards of 4,000 pieces of crystal and coloured glass used in the erection of this fragile structure, some of which are among the largest ever manufactured, such as the bowl under the arms, which is big enougli to bathe in, being more than a foot deep and four feet wide, and aU of which are either cut or enpaved in every form of design 'which can be executed by the wheel. As a matter of course, a great deal of coloured.%lass is introduced to suit Oriental taste, and at the wish of the Nizam each candelabrum has been surmounted with a copy of the Imperial Crown of England, also in colours. The whole work would, no doubt, have better suited English notions of beauty had it been executed in bright crystal glass only, but such sim- plicity was found to be at variance with Oriental tastes, and coloured glass had to be partly introduced. The tints, however, have been well managed and harmo- nised skilfully.

WAR NEWS FROM NEW YORK. The burden of the present letter from "Manhattan" is war. It is fully as caustic as any we have had previously through the London Standard from New York, but is of more interest than some of late, as it enters rather fullv into the question of the Union and how to revive it.' We re- produce the most interesting portioasot the letter for our readers ;— FAR FROM THE END OF THE WAR. It is gravely announced by the journals in the con- fidence of the Administration that it has positive evidence that the Confederate Government will soon evacuate Iticbmond, and that already the arsenals, (See., have been taken to Columbia, South Caroliua, Many persons believe it. It is also announced that Meade will advance to the rebel capital this month, I am inclined to believe that he will start, but I have no faith that he will proceed many miles on his road before he will meet General Lee and his army of veterans. Then will come a great battle and that, of course, will be doubtful. The chances of buch a battle, or of its results, if I was inclined to, bet, would be decidedly in favour of Lee. He has his divisions in hand; Meade has not. Lee has self-reliance; Meade has not, for he knows that he is a perfect igno- ramus, so far as properly handling large bodies of men is concerned. He has to fight, because he is ordered from Washington to go ahead. I may be mistaken, but when I see our forces falling off—when I see our perfect confidence and lack of preparation—it appears to me that the opening campaigns will give some bril- liant and some decided victories to the South. We are far from the end of the war. We cannot tell when that will end. There will never be disunion for any length of time. Eventually there will be a compro- mise that will satisfy tnis generation of men of both aides. A WASHINGTON NEEDED FOR THE SOUTH Slavery seems to be going to the wall. I sup- pose that will be destroyed. It might yet be saved. If the South had a brilliant general, who would dash into Washington, proclaim that he was on his way to New York, offer a new Union wherein the Southern property was to be respected, and a truce to be held until a. ne w election was held, as a guarantee that a Southern man should bo elected President, the South would save slavery, and renew their power, for the Democratic party would be captured by such a pro- gramme, but a separation for ever is utterly impossi- ble. It is a dream. It can never be realised. I so wrote you years aso. I have witnessed the awful spilling of blood, loss of life, and all the horrors of civil war, and yet have seen no change in the stern determination of the North. It is fiercer than ever. Unless the Southern leaders can so act as to carry with them the Democratic millions north, west, and east, they will fail in savincr themselves or slavery. The North is in favour of tbe Union, and, though the majority would be willing to compromise and let the South govern, and save slavery, yet they will see the Southern people butchered like sheep before they will consent to even the talk of a separation. HOW TO BRING THE SOUTH TO THEIR SENSES To the astonishment of every one, 38,000 prisoners have been placed in the hands of General Butler. It is stated that he has a plan that will bring the Southern Government to its senses, and ensure better treatment to our prisoners in Richmond and prisons South. From Butler's well-known cruel but decided character, we can easily conjecture what his treatment will be. God have mercy upon the prisoners. If what I have heard probable should happen, it will make one howl of agony South, or they will treat our prisoners better. Butler will have them stripped naked (the thermo- meter yesterday was 5 degrees below zero, and has been 45), chained, and placed in 38 pens, where a spring of water is found. He will feed them on her- rings—one a day full allowance. In a week or so the deaths will amount to 800 a day, and keep reducing until the prisoners are dead. In less than a wtek, I think, even grim Jeff Davis will cave, and treat our prisoners in a luxurious manner, giving them feather beds to sleep on, and ice cream in addition to the regular dinner. Butler's plan may be harsher than this, but I cannot see how he can adopt a more cruel method. THE PRESIDENT'S LATEST JOKE ON ANOTHER METHOD Those most in the confidence of the President say that there will be no battle allowed at present—that Mr. Lincoln does not want the war cloaed until slavery is utterly broken up, and that to the last hour of his administration—March, 1865—he will keep the troops back while slavery is being crushed out in the States. He wishes the slaves to be armed as fast as they come in, and thus raise up a vast and overwhelming army of negroes in the rebel States. He is a funny joker. A few days ago a person gave him a plan for capturing Richmond. It was, to have the prisoners rise, and overpower the garrison in Richmond, and then have General Butler to co-operate with them. The Presi- dent replied 1- I have great confidence in General Butler, but I am not so sure about Richmond. Your plan reminds me of a story told of a lot of Methodist ministers who were the trustees of a Western college. It so happened that the college was connected with a neighbouring town by a bridge, and that this bridge was subject to be carried away byfreshets. Atlasttheyhelda special session, to receive the plans of a noted bridge builder, a good mechanic, but "ather a profane man. Can you build this bridge," asked a reverend gentleman. "Build it," bluntly replied the mechanic, "I could build a bridge to h This horrified the trustees, and after the bridge builder had retired, the minister who had recommended him thought proper to apologise. I feel confident," said he, that our energetic friend could build a safe bridge to Hades, although I am not so sure of the abutment on the other side. And so with your plan. I have great confidence in General Butler, but douht the strength of the Unionists in Richmond. The President must have spent his early years in getting up-jokes and storiep. He is a wonderful man in that regard. He is the first Presidential joker this country has ever had, out of 16 Presidents. HOW TO RAISE TROOPS The news to-day is this. A bill has been introduced into Congress authorising the President to raise one million of troops. The idea is this. We started to raise 300,000, and only got as far as 30,000. Now, if we start for a million, we may get 10 per cent. of them, or 100,000. If the plan succeeds, then a new bill will be passed by Congress authorising the President to raise ten millions of troops. This will give us one million. Seriously, the only enlistments now that seem to give general satisfaction are the negro enlist- ments. All are in favour of them. The Democrats hope that every darky in the city will not only be sent off, but that he will be killed in battle or die of disease. FREMONT IN FAVOUR. We havenews in circulation to-day in Wall-street to the effect that the President will recal Fremont to the army. His friends have given assurances that if this is done, the name of Fremont will bring 50,000 young men more into the field. If carried out, they will fill graves. I do not believe Fremont could raise 50 men. He is as great an ignoramus in war matters as is M'Clellau, and we shall need generals that are really so before nel t June.

The following items are of a more peaceful character than the foregoing:— Again, snow is a foot deep in our streets, and falling in quantities yet. I think we are going to have a depth of snow such as we have not reached for twenty years. Yester- day was one 01 the coldest of the season, but it did not deter 200,000 people from going to the cathedral, where reposed in state the late archbishop. The day previous 100,000 saw him arrayed in the gorgeous dress of his high station. He was carried to a special vault under the catnedral, dressed as for a great ceremony. All the public offices were closed, all the officials, high and low, were at the funeral. As early as before daybreak poor Catholics came from miles and re- mained eight hours in the cold, though they could not get a view except of the steeples and towers of the cathedral. The religion of this city is Roman Catholic. It has been made so by the genius and energy of Archbishop Hughes. This funeral has for a time suspended all our anxiety about the war. Beecher has had an auction of seats at his church. The premiums amounted to 25,000 dols. Last year it was 5,000 dols. The difference in popularity between a Presbyterian parson who has achieved a London reputation and one who has not is 20,000 dols. per anuum, full 75 per cent. To an actor the difference is not so great. As for Forrest, he never drew any better houses after he had a success in London than he had before he went. Thackeray, the author, is dead." These are the few words just received by telegraph from Halifax. His death will grieve many persons in this land who knew him by his books, and many who knew him personally. I believe he had visited us twice. Complimentary resolutions, as well as regret, will be passed by the Chamber of Commerce and by the New York Historical Sodaty. The atafco ot Massachusetts, or rather the Assembly of the old state, has elected Mr. Grimes, a nfgro, as its chaplain. This is characteristic.

ADVICE TO FEDERAL AMERICA. You've now got a navy of iron, And to man it your Yankee lads, But you haven't yet taken Charleston With your navy of iron-clads. 'Tis defied by Secessia's power And your bluster we take at our ease: The Eagle won't frighten the Lion Whilst a Semmes can sweep your seas. You Yankees, whose sires left our fathers, Your brothers forsake you to-day, Your menacing overgrown Union In vapour is passing away Let those that shall rise from its ashes, More wise than itself was before. Shake hands with the miscalled old tyrant, And trade with John Bull at his door— And where in the wide world's the nation That you'll harm with your Iron Ducks ? You can scarce hold your owu seas and harbours With your Ironsides and Ktokuki. Don't talk of your navy of iron, But fling your brag to the breeze Give ear to the counsels of Europe And commerce restore on the seas.

At this point space compels us to summarise the account. Here the two tried to cross the ferry, but nothing could induce t:,c boatmen to comply, until one, more compassionate than the rest, took them, would accept only the regular fare, and afterwards put them on the right road. At a statiou whence they took tiekets for New York the author was pitied as a wounded warrior, and the soldier in uniform mistaken for his guard. In New York the soldier left him, and the author having shared with him his money, went out, got disguised by a barber and tailor, and started for Canada. In the train he met with an officer on his track, who very innocently showed the now well-dressed author his description, aud in great glee explained how he must trap him, but nevertheleig left without any suspicion. The author's account is now resumed:- Onward I sped, travelling night and day, by land and water, until I reached a small village at the top of Lake Champlain. The steamer arriving there on Sun- day morning, I could get no further, as in America trains do not run on Sunday. I was compelled, sorely against my will, to stop twenty-four hours near the Canadian frontier, but still within the United States territory. In this village lived the United States provost-marshal and staff, who were in charge of the frontier, and whose duty it was to examine every one passing through for Canada. I went to the principal hotel (which was not a very grand onel, and quartered myself there, among numerous guests, of whom soma had been my fellow-travellers, and some were regular boarders. Among the boarders was one old gentleman, who made himself peculiarly agreeable, and with whom I soon got into a lively controversy. We spent nearly all the day (it was snowing heavily outside) in debate over political and international subjects: I taking an essentially English view of everything, and showing myself to be in every respect thoroughly English. During the discussion I was startled by the accidental discovery that I, a deserter, particularly wanted by the authorities, was actually in warm controversy with the provost-marshal himself, whose duty it was to stop me. After we had breakfasted together, I proceeded to the depot, where, on going to take my place in the cars, I found the provost-marshal already busy, papers in hand, diligently inspecting all the passengers. But he never once suspected me; and we parted with a hearty shake of the hand and a joke over our yester- day's dispute. Arrived at the frontier, I was exceedingly nervous during the Customs examination in fact, now that my last chance of failure was attained, I found myself trembling violently. But this delay was at length over; we moved OD, and I soon had the satisfaction of Eeeing Canada.

SIR ROWLAND HILL to the RESCUE A correspondent has communioated the following to a London paperi I fear that the Post-office authorities cannot be aware of the extent to which fraud both can be and I believe is carried on under the present very imperfect system of stamps and stamping. Having received a begging letter franked with a suspiciously-united stamp, I mentioned my surmises to a friend, who in- formed me that another friend of his received a similar one under equally suspicious circumstances and fur. thermore, as a proof of the extreme facility with which this fraud can be effected, furnished me with the en- closed proofs, which I transmit for your inspection. The separate stamps being two from which, without the slightest difficulty, he removed the post-mark; and the other being corresponding sections of used stamps, which with equal readiness can be conjoined, and he knows from success in one instance (not attempted foe the purpose of cheating the revenue, but simply from curiosity) can be rendered available. He calculates, from observation of such only as have ordinarily passed j through his hands, that from 20 to 25 per cent, could | be re-employed.

The editor of the journal to whom this letter was addressed says:- We have examined the stamps enclosed by our cor- respondent, and we can fully endorse his warning to the Post-office authorities. It is clearly time that some improved method of stamping the stamp should be adopted, as under the present system the Post-office revenue must suffer seriously. We have heard of stamps being sold to servants at sixpence per dozen, and the remunerative prices offered by collectors of old stamps certainly favour a suspicion of the objects to which they are devoted. A mere glance at a few stamps that have been used will show that in the majority of cases, a large portion of the stamp escapes any postmark, and this being removed and joined on to a portion of another stamp, which has similarly escaped the hands of the Post-office clerks, makes up a perfect stamp, which will defy any but the closest and most careful inspection.

SPIRIT-MEDIUMS AMONG THE NEW ZEALANDERS! Solomon has said: There is nothing new under the sun. The spirit-rappers have merely revived an old belief, but wa were not prepared for the following from "Old New Zea- land," so much in the style of the spirit-rapping of Europe and the New World :— We were all seated on the rush-strewn floor—about thirty persons. The door was shut; the fire had burnt down, leaving nothing but glowing charcoal, and the room was oppressively hot. The light was little better than darkness and the part of the room in which the tohunga [priest] sat was now in perfect darkness. Suddenly, without the slightest warning, a voice came out of the darkness: "Sa.lutation I-salutation to you all !—salutation !—salutation to you, my tribe I- family, I salute you !—friends, I salute you !—friend, my pakeha friend, I salute you." The high-handed, daring imposture was successful; our feelings were taken by storm. A cry expressive of affection and despair, such as was not good to hear, came from the sister of the dead chief, a fine, stately, and really handsome woman of about five-and-twenty. She was rushing, with both arms extended, into the dark, in the direction from whence the voice came but was instantly seized round the waist and restrained by her brother by main force, till, moaning and fainting, she lay still on the ground. At the same instant another female voice was heard from a young girl, who was held by the wrists by two young men her brothers: Is it you ?—is it you '—truht I" is it you !—aue aue they hold me, they restrain me wonder not that I have followed you; they restrain me, they watch me but I go to you. The sun shall not rise, the sun rihall not rise, aue aue!" Here she fell insensible on the rush-floor, and with the sister was carried out. The spirit spoice again Speak to me, the tribe -speak to me, the fa.mily I-speak to me, the pakeha The. pakeha," however, was not at the moment in- clined for conversation. At last the brother spoke, and asked, How is it with you ?—is it well with you in that country ?" The answer came (the voice all through it is to be re- membered, was not the voice of the tohuwja [priest], but a strange melancholy sound, like the sound of the wind blowing into a hollow vessel); It is well with me my place is a good place." The brother spoke again: Have you seen-, and ?" (I forget the names mentioned).— Yes they are all with me. A woman's voice now from another part of the room auxiously cried out: Have you seen my sister?"— "Yes, I have seen her." Tell her my love is great towards her, and never will cease." Yes, I will telL" Here the woman burst into tears, and the pakeha felt a strange swell. ing of the chest, which he could in no way account fOI, The spirit spoke again Give niv large tame pig to the priest" (the pakeha was disenchanted at once), »' and my double gun." Here the brother interrupted: "Your gun is a manatumja I shall keep it." He is also disenchanted, thought I, but I was mistaken he believed, but wished to keep the gun his brother had carried so long. An idea nowstruckmethatI could expose the impos- turewithout showing palpable disbelief. "We cannot find your book," said I; "where have you concealed it ?" The answer instantly came, "I concealed it between the tainihu of my house and the thatch, straight over you as you go in at the door." Here tho brother rushed out all was silence till his return. In five minutes he came 'backwith the book in his band I was beaten, but made another effort. "What have you written in tha.t book ?" said I.—"A great many things." "Tell me some of them."—"You are seeking for information; what do you want to know ? I will tell you." Then suddenly: Farewell, O tribe! farewell, my family, I go Here a general and impressive cry of "farewell" arose from every one in t$f§<house. Farewell," again cried the spirit from de_e[v.beneath the ground "Farewell," again c-rne mOapiig through the distant darkness of the night. "Farewell!" I was for a moment stunned. The deception was perfect. There was a dead silence—at last. "A ventriloquist," said I—^or—or—perhaps the devil." i >