The Aberystwith Observer

SlisttKaittros lirfriitgcmc, HOME, FOREIGN. AND COLONIAL, THIRTY SHOTS IN A MINUT*—jx > neYf rifle, superior to any of those recently invented," says the Nell) p¡'c,ss of Vienna, <( submitted to the Emperor f rands Joseph on his arrival at Pesth. The inventor lHd Hungarian-M. Mersits de Roob. This weapon, !t. breech-loader, is said to be of very simple construc- tion. It is charged by two motions, so that 30 shots can be fired in a minute. The envelope of the car- touche costs only l.j kreiizers (4 centimes) instead of 8, the price of those recently adopted for the Austrian army." SEVERAL INDUCEMENTS.—The prospectus of the Credit Foncier of America, of which Mr. George n-1?. 18 ^res, ent» offers inducements to investors which are rather beyond the scope of ordinary com- mercial speculation, but which may perhaps have their attractions for some of that gentleman's Irish admirers. me advantage of holding a share in this great enter- prise are summed up as follows :— ^'rst,—It is worth fifty dollars to a young man to be asso- ciated with such a powerful company Second,—By buying 111 Columbus, you lJUrchase the reference right to be in- terested in the next town mapped out by the Credit Foncier and, as we dip; through the mountains, that town may be a sold mine. Third,—Owning 5,000 feet of land 1,700 miles off by rail extends one's geographical knowledge, and suggests that Massachusetts, South Carolina. and Virginia do not compose the entire American Republic. A RUSSIAN NIGHT FETE.—The St. Petersburg journals contain accounts of a brilliant night fete given 1>11 the Neva by the Skating Club of that city on the 14th. The large space reserved for the recreation was enclosed with masts bearing torches and united by festoons of coloured lamps. A pavilion for the Emperor had been erected facing the entrance, and on each side was a platform for mllitary. bands,. which played alternately throughout the evening. Five jets of electric light illuminated the scene and caused pyramids of ice placed at each end to sparkle like diamonds. His Majesty arrived at"about eleven and was received with a display of fireworks, while the music played the national hymn. The pyramids of ice were at the same moment lit up with coloured fire, and rockets were discharged in the air. The buffet was well supplied with refreshments and stimulants, which were by no means unnecessary, as the ther- mometer marked 15 deg. Reaumer (nearly 2 deg. below zero Fahr.). THE LAST STATE BALL.—The last State ball took place last night (says the Paris correspondent of the Morning Star, writing on Feb. 20). To give an idea of the crowd is simply impossible, but the ball- room was kept the whole evening clear for dancing, to the great rejoicing of those addicted to Terpsichorean pursuits, and much to the disgust of the rest of the guests, who evidently considered themselves aggrieved because they could not inconvenience their younger brethren as has hitherto been allowed. However, last night the chamberlains and vice-chamberlains, and other deputies in mulberry coats and much gold embroidery, were inexorable. Her Majesty's dress was of tulle, shot with gold, the upper part of the cor- dage fastened with a band of emeralds and diamonds. A crescent and aigrette of the same stones formed her coiffure, which was pronounced the most becoming worn this season by the Empress. Princess Metter- nich's dress was picturesque and peculiar, evidently suggested by Nattier's portraits of the Court beauties of Louis XV.'s time—the skirt of lace over white satin, the upper dress a tunic of green satin, furred with sable, the sable crossing the skirt and bodice, where it appeared to be fastened by a magnificent emerald and diamond clasp. Several English uni- forms were remarked. WIFE MURDER BY A STREET SINGER.—A street singer named Callot was tried a few days ago by the Court of Assizes of Paris for the murder of his wife. The accused, a one-legged man, was of a violent and drunken- character, and was accustomed to ill-use the woman in a- brutal manner, besides spending in drink all her earnings. On the evening of the 1st of January, on returning home, she remarked to a neighbour that she had only earned one franc during the day, anu was afraid her husband would beat her. She was not mistaken, as, during a great part of the night the persons who slept in the adjoining rooms could hear the man repeatedly strike her with his crutch, and throwing her out of bed OR the floor. Such scenes being, however, habitual, no attention was paid. to the quarrel. On the following morning the man called in one of the neighbours, and showed nun the woman lying on the bed in a dying state, and she 02xpired shortly after. A medical examination proved that the immediate cause of death was strangulation, the body also being covered with bruises. The man was sentenced to fifteen years' hard labour. The BIRMINGHAM MURDER.—On Friday, at the Public-office, Birmingham, before Mr. Kynnersly ^stipendiary) .and,other magistrates, Thomas Beesley, alias Marlow; Joseph Beesley, William Beesley, Thorns Bee, alias Grayson; and Elizabeth Bee were again brought up on remand charged with being con- cerned m the murder of Miss Mary Millbourne, on the 21st of January. As before, Mr. Elers, of the Mid- land Circuit, prosecuted. Further evidence, incul- pating the prisoners, having been adduced, William Beesfley, Thomas Beesley, and Louis Bee were com- mitted for trial at the Aisizes on the charge of mur- der all the prisoners were committed on the charge of feloniously breaking into the house of the deceased and stealing money. THE CHEAPENING MANIA !—The following is from the Court Journal:— A correspondent Bays the other day Lady was seen K1 ™u"on afc a co-operative store, and tak- we know nor hnt teh«.n Icarriage How true this may bo we Know not, but this week we ourselves saw in Kin^-RtrAPf ^r gK 6D,iatltle(l her daughter in the carl cheapening a pair of very suspicious-lookin* fowls from a dirty street hawker, who stood on tino ofJrJ ACTION FOR ^IBEL.—An action for libel, in which Mr. George Potter, of the Beehive, was the plaintiff, and Mr. Pollard, of the Herts Guardvan, the defendant, was tried in the Court of Queen''a^Jfih on Friday. An article in the Herts Guardian made Mr. Potter responsible for the misery now prevailing at the East lid of London. Mr. Potter denied that he had in any way interested himself m the wage disputes of that district. Mr. '5T ,"e defence, urged that the article was bot a fair criticism in a matter of public interesty:and the jury returned a verdict for the -defendant. Has AMERICA A Quarrel WITH ENGLAND ? —rtie New York Trihun e of February 7, in an editorial arti«i« entitled Have we a quarrel with England ? answers that question in the negative. It says, Eng- land's recognition of belligerent rights' is mere moon- shine. It says further, we have as yet seen no evidence of wanton interference with peaceable Americans. The arrest of Mr. Train was invited and sought. Train is a Plere adventurer, who lives on a Cheap Jack reputa- tioq, and his arrest is money in his pocket. He wouldn't have missed it for a good deal of money. We would have done the same thing during the rebellion. If any Englishman had landed in New York as Train did at Cork-an envoy to the rebels, and their loud. .mouthed fnond-he would have been in Fort Lafayette in two hours. J DISTURBED AT SUPPER !—The other night the Paris police made a descent on the abandoned noar- rietfof La Villette, and arrested ten vagrants just as they were feasting on a monster harlequin, or stew composed of fragments of victuals of all kinds. Bach hadbrought his quota of fish, poultry, meat, vegetables, &c., all of which had been cooked together in an im- mense earthen pot, around which they were all squatting down. They appeared to feel keenly the aggravation of their misfortune in being interrupted just at the commencement of their repast, and the more so that a request for the police to wait a little until they had finished could not bo acceded to. During the two preceding nights fifty-five other indi- viduals, without homes or any avowable means of existence, were also removed to prison from the same haunt. REWARDING THE BRAVE.—The United States Consul at Liverpool has been instructed by his Govern- ment to pay to John Williams, a pilot at Duffryn, and James M'Cartney, one of the crew of the Liverpool steam-tug Reliance, the sum of 100 dols. each as a re- ward for their noble conduct on the occasion of the wreck' of the American ship F. J. Southard, near Duffryn, on the 5th of December last, when at great peul to themselves they managed to get the end of a line ashore and establish communication with the vessel, and thus were mainly instrumental in saving the lives of the crew. A -GAMBLING OFFER. A communication from Geneva says :— Now that the term for closing the gambling-saloons at Wiesbaden and Homburg has been fixed by the Prussian 1 government, the proprietors of those establishments are looktng out for new quarters in which to pursue their lucra- tive profession. It is said that they have already, with that object, made a brilliant offer to the municipality of Geneva. They propose, in return for the privilege of building'a gam- i V.1(g tlonse in Geneva, to pay the whole of the municipal e if' conJplete the construction of the quay on the lake, and i street >n the lower part of the town. The ] hnt Counell has not as yet given a reply to this j offer, but there is no doubt that it will be declined. BmQVERMQ his SCALP !—The Momteur re- ] lates a curious case of an Englishman, who, after being ] iiit by a b ocked ^own, and then stabbed by j an Indian i "ear (Jmaka, was scalped and left tor; dead on the ground. The Ked Indian, in 1 galloping away, lost his trophy; the Englishman, < recovering the use of his senses, got hold of his scalp 1 again, and is still alive, ine operation of scalpin" in so -painful that it is scarcely possible for a man° to > survive it. Nevertheless, when this is the case the 1 wound heals rapidty but. the head is horrible to'see and the patient must make up Ills mind to wear a wig for the rest of his days. "Cl'T IT SnORT !—A great deal of gossip has 4 been occasioned in a village near Bristol, inconsequence of :ftn amusing episode that occurred in a 1' °f warship in the neighbourhood the other Sunday evening. It appears that the minister of the chapel ) was holding forth to a respectable congregation, and being rather long in his sermon some of his hearers began to get impatient, when, to the great surprise of all present, an elderly matron sitting in the body of the chapel called out in a clear shrill voice, "Cut it snort, Mr. it only wants five minutes to eight." xrea difficulty was experienced by those present in ri8lble.faculties in subjection, while the .effect on the oratorical powers of the preacher was inagieal^ m fact it proved to be "quite a settler," for he unwed y gave out the Doxology, and the meeting was brought to a speedy termination. A. MELANCHOLY WARNING !-The London Scotsman says that the sanguine promises of plenty of work ana high wages in America held out to mem- bers of the beottisli Ironmoulders' Society a few months ago have not been realized. Three members of the union who went to the United States last November in the hope of finding plenty of work have sent home ;v melancholy warning to their comrades 'i? which tliey. ''• that they have been ten weeks in Pennsylvania, and "Imve not yet found an hour's W«T Th«y complain in vay severe tt.-rnss of the of 1,0111 Scottish and English societies for withholding information relating to trade in America." The members at home," they say, "have been con- tinually kept in the dark. All kinds of work are equally scarce we see nothing but starvation before us, and hundreds of our fellow-moulders who have come here, as we did, are in a like, or even worse, condition." The president of aulronmoulders Union in Philadelphia corroborates the statement of the unfortunate Scottish emigrants. of' the fourths of the entire labouring population of the States are now out of work, he says, and theie seems to be no prospect of better. LEGAL PATRONAGE.—The legal Lord Derby's third Government is represented by the following nominations: In Englan Plvmcerv the offic*. oKS and once to the post of CmetJ'ust1 Vice-Chan- Sol^/JcLaceUor a^a»«to a.rt cellor, and of Judges in the Queen s Bench, Common Pleas and Bankruptcy Court. In Scotland-Once to the post of Lord Justice-General, and once to that of Lord Justice-Clerk. The offices of Queen's Advocate and of Attorney and Solicitor-General for England and Ireland and of Lord-Advocate and Solicitor- General for Scotland have been filled and refilled twenty times. Thirteen of Lord Derby's Parlia- mentary supporters have been rewarded with seats on the Bench, and there is a chance of the 14th now taking the vacant place in the Court of Queen's Bench. The fortunate thirteen are Sir W. Bovill, Sir Hugh Cairns, Sir F. Kelly, Sir II. Malins, Sir John Rolt, Sir C. Selwyn, and Messrs. Chatterton, George, Miller, Morris, Patton, W alsh, and Whiteside. The only instances in which professional standing has been recognised as being superior to party fidelity were in the cases of Sir llobert Pliillimore and Sir Travers Twiss. THE END OF THE OLD FLEET PRISON.—On Friday, by instructions of the directors of the London, Chatham," and Dover Railway Company, the materials of several houses and other property at the corner of Ludgate-hill and Farringdon-street, in London, in- cluding the boundary wall of the old Fleet prison, were disposed of by auction, in order to carry out the long- contemplated improvements in that locality, and in a few days not a vestige will remain of that celebrated place of incarceration for unfortunate debtors. The prison was burnt in the great fire of 1666 built anew, and again destroyed in the riots of 1780; rebuilt, and finally pulled down in April, 1844, when the site was purchased by the Corporation of the city of London tor £ 29,000. MAKING ALL USEFUL — A German vine- grower in California certainly must have the credit of discovering a new method of ridding a vineyard of various evils infesting it, and at the same time enrich- ing the soil. He writes to a local paper, with regard to the hares that visit his vines I poison with strychnine, and in tha morning, when I find the dead hares, I bury them under the vines for manure. And the next night the cayotes comes and digs up the hares and eats them, and they get poisoned and die, and I buries them under some other vines. And the next night the skunks come and dig up the cayotes and eats them, and they get poisoned and die, and I buries them all, to manure the grape vines. A SELF-SACBIFICS !-On Wednesday in last week died Agnes Elizabeth, daughter of Colonel Jones, of Fahan, near Londonderry, aged :54, lady superin- tendent of the Nightingale nurses and probationers at the Liverpool Workhouse Hospital. She died at the hospital from typhus fever, brought on by her exer- tions and anxiety in nursing the sick. She was remarkable for her ability and self-sacrificing Christian spirit. LORD H. SEYMOUR'S WILL.-I. London, on Saturday, a number of solicitors connected with the London charities attended before Mr. Marshall, the Chief Clerk at the Rolls Chambers, to make claims to share in the large bequest of Lord Henry Seymour to the London charities. # Out of 172 claims by hospital and other institutions only thirty-one were admitted by the Master of the Rolls under the term hospice mentioned in the will. The hospitals had appealed to the Lords Justices, and their Lordships held that all places where patients were admitted to reside would come within the denomination of hos- pice." The case was sent back to the Rolls for the certificate to be varied, and the first sitting took place on the present occasion. Some cases were re- served for further consideration. _Mr. Greatorex appeared for the charities admitted in the first sche- .The Chief Clerk gave directions on the matter to facilitate the distribution. There would be no ap- peal to the House of Lords. ,4^MC^t INCREDIBLE !—An inquest has been held by Dr. Lankester on the body of an infant found in the canal m the Regent's Park, London. The doctor who examined the body said that it was very much buwit. Round the neck a piece of cord had been tied tigntiy. The right arm had been chopped off at the elbow; the left arm at the shoulder. The lungs and all the internal organs were thoroughly cooked as if the child had been put in an oven and baked. The jury returned a verdict of Wilful murder" against some person or persons unknown. A boy who picked up the body and who was really the cause of the in- quiry being held, said that when he pulled the parcel in which it was contained out of the water he called to a man who came and looked at the child, and said, Oh, that's nothing, you may as well throw it back. I pulled one out a few weeks ago and got nothing for it." The boy declined to take this advice, and gave the parcel to a policeman. A RIDDLE.-All old man having three sons, made his will thus One-half to eldest, one-third to second, one-ninth to youngest son (g, A 1-9.) He died possessed of nothing but seventeen fine healthy camels. The sons failed to manage the division in the terms of the will; they went, therefore, to the Cadi, who promised to settle the matter. After consideration, he propounded a scheme of distribution which more than satisfied each claimant, and disposed of the whole estate. What did he do ? AN UNFRIENDLY DIAGNOSIS.—Canon Girdle- stone in a recent sermon in Bristol Cathedral said :— Ritualist customs and priests are nothing more nor less thau the external symptoms of a deep-seated disease. You may call it typhus fever, smallpox, chicken-pox, or what you like. What would you say of a medical man who merely tried to get rid of an eruption on the surface when he knew that the disease was within? If he were a skilful man he would go to the root of the disease which produced these eruptions. So with Ritualism—we must not be content till we get rid of the disease. I do not believe that much will come eut of the Ritual Commission; it is exceedingly mild. The Legislature must deal with the matter in a substantial manner. THE POOR POSTMAN !-A correspondent sends the following :-If the writers of letters knew the trouble that they give these worthy labourers they would be more careful in addressing their correspond- ents. The following is a verbatim copy of an address on a letter sent through the Leeds post-office last week :—" Mary Hibson, Crompton." After passing into the hands of several letter-carriers, and none of them being able to give a clue to the place intended by the writer, a wide-awake clerk wrote on it Try Arm- ley," which was accordingly done, when it turned out to be for "Miss Maria Ibberson, Crompton-street, Armley." A SINGULAR DUEL !—A singular duel took place at the Bois de Vincennes a few days ago. A young lady had two lovers, both equally eligible. She inclined to Charles if Henry could be got out of the way. The gentlemen quarrelled; a duel was ar- ranged. Charles fired his pistol, and so did Henry- the first in his life. Charles fell, motionless. Henry seeing the terrible consequences of his fire, and a prey to the feelings akin to a murderer, fled to Brussels. Hardly had he left the field when Charles rose up, laughing heartily. The seconds, aware of the state of affairs, charged the pistols with a piece of old linen. Charles hurried to his Juliet, related the story, and, the other dear charmer being away, the young lady bestowed her hand upon her deliverer, and they were united on Saturday last. A LITTLE MISTAKE !—A dirty old London thief made an unfortunate mistake the other day. She stole a dress from inside a pawnbroker's in Whitecross Street, and straightway offered it in pledge at another shop, belonging to the same pro- prietor, in the same street. The son of the pawn- broker missed the gown almost as soon as it was taken, and, judging that it would be "spouted again, directly went to the shop just in time to catch the thief offering the garment. Finding herself thus trapped, she pleaded to be let off, saying that if it had not been for the mistake she had made in going to the wrong shop, they would neither have got her nor the property." The pawnbroker did not take this view of it and the issue of a brief conference with the magistrate as to the case is that the prisoner has been provided with furnished apartments in the House of Correction for two months. A RESULT OF COMMERCIAL DEPRESSION.— The financial collapse of 1866 is having deeper effects than has been imagined (remarks the Globe). the public has been made acquainted with several great failures following close upon it, but the cases of hundreds who have suffered severely will, perhaps, never come to light. A striking fact, however, in con- nexion with Her Majesty's Customs clearly proves how great the devastation has been among private individuals in consequence of that panic. In the In- land Revenue Department at Somerset House, as the public are aware, is kept a register of all those persons paying duty on carriages and horses, and at this office notice has been received, since the 31st of December last, that 1,600 private persons intend to discontinue keeping their carriages, and claim, therefore, to be exempt from duty in the financial year 1868-9. This will cause a notable deduction in the balance which the Chancellor of the Exchequer will next have to exhibit. The loss to the revenue by these withdrawals will not be less than jS10,000 per annum. COST OF PAINTING A CEILTNG.-Among the most sumptuous residences in Paris is the hotel of the Countess de Paiva, in the Champs Elys^es. The most celebrated artists have been employed in the execution of the embellishments the ceiling of the grand draw- ing room, painted by Paul Baudry, being one of the finest, specimens of modern decorative art. The ceil- °f a boudoir, executed by Mr. Thirion, a Great n—?Sf-:Rome> ^aa j118'' given rise a su^ bef°re the Oivil Tribunal. The artist claimed a balance of £ 40 on a sum of £ 120, which he maintained was the price agreed on for the work. The countess of Paiva, on, the contrary, affirmed that the contract was for £80, which sum has already been paid. The court, in the absence ot any document to show the terms of the engagement, nommated M. Perignon, an artist, an ex- pert, to examine the work and report to the Tribunal, which would then nx the amount of the remuneration. A LONG-LIVED FAMILY. -Eighty-one years- ago, when the United states began to frame their Con- stitution, and the first convict colonists left England for New South Wales, three Penzance boys and a girl followed their father to his grave. All are yet alive and well, and mav be seen in our streets (says the Cornish Telegraph). Susan I ren is James, 89; Henry, 86 and John, 84. For fifty years Husan was in the tin refinery, and Henryin the tanyard of Messrs. T. Bolitho & Sons. The mother and father of these four died comparatively young, but their Mjanlmot ler lived to be 111, and reaped at the age of 101. the family of John Uren, the youngest of this vigorous quaternity, consisted of seven boys and two girls the eldest 60, the youngest 40—all living and in good "health. Two sons, William and Joseph, fought throughout the recent American struggle-Joseph for the South and William for the North, endured many hardships, but gave up soldiering with unimpaired energy, and one is now engaged in saving life, instead of destroying it, for he is at work on the Wolf Rock Lighthouse. The family are tall and spare. We need not point out the changes its older members have wit- nessed in European, English, and local history since the French Revolution, the days of Pitt, Fox, and Burke, and the time when Wesley stirred the half- civilized tinners of Cornwall. A FATAL MISTAKE !—The inquest on the body of the young man who threw himself from the Crystal Palace tower the other night (reported in the papers last week) was held before Mr. Carter, the coroner for East Surrey, on Friday. The name of the deceased was Edward Thomas Lea. He was only seventeen years of age. The circumstances which led to the suicide were very distressing. The deceased youth was a draper's assistant, and had been for some time out of a situation. At length he got one, and entered upon his duties, but on inquiry being made of the person whom he named for reference, a former employer, hereceived such a bad character that he was told he coiild not remain. This weighed upon his mind, and there was no doubt led him to destroy himself. Upon inquiry being made it was found that there had been two young men in the employ of the person who gave the character named Lea, and it was of the other, and not of the deceased, that he intended to speak. There was no doubt that the latter had borne an irreproachable character. The jury found that he was temporarily insane. On the part of the Crystal Palace authorities it was stated that no per- son would be allowed to ascend the towers till a rail- ing had been erected which would effectually prevent persons throwing themselves down. MR. DICKENS AND PRESIDENT JOHNSON.— The New York Tribune reports Mr. Dickens's recep- tion by the President. At eleven o'clock on the 7th inst. Mr. Dickens called at the Executive Mansion to pay his respects to President Johnson. The Presi- dent received Mr. Dickens with great cordiality. He expressed his thanks to Mr. Dickens for his courtesy in inviting the President and family to his readings, and regretted that he had not been able to attend him- self. Mr. Dickens replied that he would have felt highly honoured to have the Chief Magistrate of the nation present, and regretted that the public business was so pressing as to prevent his attendance. After a very pleasant conversation, in which the President paid Mr. Dickens a graceful compliment, the latter withdrew, highly gratified with his call. UNFORTUNATE EMPEROR I-It appears that the misfortunes of the Emperor Maximilian were not destined to terminate at Queretaro. The Figaro (a Paris paper) asserta that he was put into a coffin that was too small, and that the Emperor of Austria had ordered a magnificent wreath of immortelles from a celebrated house in Paris, which he intended to have laid himself on his brother's coffin. The wreath, properly packed, and duly despatched by the Eastern Railroad, not only never reached its destination, but is nowhere to be found, whereupon a trial is to ensue, the Emperor refusing to pay for a couronne which never arrived at Vienna. A CHANCE FOR THE THIEVES. The muni- cipality of the city of Paris," says the Presse, has just determined, for reasons of economy, to have every other gas lamp in the streets of the capital extinguished after midnight. The measure is to come into operation next month. The saving is incontestable, but the police, when informed of the intention, have made some just observations as to the difficulties which the arrangements will introduce into their surveil- lance. GAMBLING IN PARIS.-One of the topics of the day is the heavy gambling which takes place nightly at a certain fashionable cercle, or club, fre- quented by the (saya the Paris corres- pondent of the Standard). Well may these ingenuous youths be golden, for no baser metal could possibly enable them to pay their debts of honour. The average gain and losses in one night, the Nain Jaune tells us, are never less than £ 20,000 sterling. No money is placed on the tables, but each player signs an I Ö U for 100, 200, or 1,000 louis, in exchange for which he receives counters, the value of each varying from lOOf. to 10,000f., and he may renew his supply (of course giving his bond) as often as he pleases during the evening. The game over, the transaction is settled in hard cash at the special office of the cercle, over which a cashier presides. Every player is obliged to cash his I O U's within a fortnight. The favourite game is baccarat-whist is voted slow. For a wonder dice are not popular. Of course there are a few very large fortunes in France, but as a rule men with a couple of thousand a year are not very numerous even among the frequenters of these fashionable hells. The puzzle to the public is how in the world this sort of thing can go on year after year without some gigantic smash. A PRINTER'S ERROR !-The following extraor- dinary printer's error appeared the other day in the columns of a London daily. TheEarl of Shaftesbury, it will be remembered, prosecuted his land steward for certain alleged inaccuracies in his accounts, and the man became bankrupt through inability to pay the costs of these proceedings. He applied the other day for his order of discharge, and the application was op- posed on behalf of Lord Shaftesbury. At the end of the report of the case there came the following startling announcement:—"The cruelty was proved, and the Court pronounced a decree of judicial sepam- tion." AN UNLUCKY PAUSE !-Most readers must have observed this phenomenon among the thousand and one vagaries of talk, that it will sometimes cease in one moment and without the slightest warning, a very tempest of voices dropping suddenly, and a dead silence supervening and this sometimes at the very moment when some unhappy person is in the act of delivering himself of a phrase or sentiment which is not in the least calculated for publicity. As an in- stance of this the writer (in Comhill Magazine) may mention that he was once present when a. sudden pause of this kind took place without warning inst when a certain young man was in the act of informing the lady who was seated beside him that the ex-nrl* sion of her countenance indicated a strong muZl capacity. And yet there is music in your fare "bp was saying just at the moment when the accom™^ ment of voices ceased. The words were uttered by the young gentleman in a loud key, in 0Xr tW they might be audible to his partner above the gene- ral ain, and were consequently heard bv evervbodv of th?F' 1° + ?XTREr conffusion of the speaker and or the lady to whom the sentence was addressed. A PRISONER TURNING THE KEY ON HIS GAOLER.—A laughable incident has occurred in Poole gaol. On Monday morning, while Mr. Whitehill, the governor was visiting the prisoners, he had occa- sion to go to the further end of the cell of a man named Allen, incarcerated for housebreaking, when the prisoner, seizing the opportunity, sprana- forward and succeeded in reaching the right riCT tlSZj before his captor, on whom he at once turned the key. Allen lost no time in endeavouring to run away, but had not proceeded many yards along a (lark passage ere he found himself in the unwelcome embrace of a policeman. The result of his escapade is that the visaing justices have ordered him a bread and water diet for seven days. THE SINGULARITY IN THE CALENDAR.-It has been remarked that in 1868 there are five Saturdays in I ebruary. By a rough guess as it would seem, it has been added that this has not taken place for a s^ore of vears. Exactly 28 years, amounting to a solar cycle, have elapsed since the same thing occurred. During that period each day of the week has enjoyed the honour of appearing five times in February in its own leap year. The calendar of the present century con- tains 24 leap years, which may be arranged in seven i8a«neair ^rUa/y ^«LS^ays in 1824, 1852, 1880; five Mondays in 1808, 1836, 1864 1892 • fiv* Tuesdays in 1820, 1848, 1876 five Wednesdays in 1804, 1832, 1860, 1888 five Thursdays in 1816 1844 1872 five Fridays in 1828, 1856, 1884 five Saturdays in 1812, 1840, 1868,1896. e ^aturdayB WILLS AND SUCCESSIONS.—A Parliamentary return shows that in the financial year 1866-67 duty was paid in the United Kingdom on 42,173 probates of wills, letters of administration, and testamentary in- ventories. 1 he number of deaths in the year may be would raa ST ,111^700^' but more than ^]f n, J„^FohaMe be deaths of minors. It would appear, about ?ne ln ei°'ht of the adults dying must Sfc™ pe™0™1 property worth at least £ 100-tlie CI ,W7^ o^o6 auty commences; and as the tax pro- uced £ 1,73.868, the duty would average more than 1 or each caso. But this is the gross sum pro- at T:? Probably be understood as pai<? on an estimate of the property before deducting for debts A stricter test is supplied by the legacy duty imid Legacy and succession duty was paid in the year on £ 74WfrqT°UntlUlg t0 £ L0fi'27V124' duty on and succession duty on £ 31,893 431. Legacy duty is not paid on property bequeathed by husband to wife, or the converse but atill the amount of property paying legacy duty in the year exceeded an average of JE100 for every death, reckoning the deaths of men, women, and children. FATAL ACCIDENT AT A FIRE.-On Monday, between two and three o'clock a.m., a great portion of the woollen mill of Messrs. Jonathan Crawford and Sons, East-street, Leeds, was on fire from some cause which as yet has not been ascertained. The Corpora- tion Fire Brigade, with Mr. Wetherell, chief constable, at their head, were soon in attendance, and the flames Were confined to that portion of the building in which they had broken out. About four o'clock the roof fell in, but it was not until eight o'clock that the fire- engines ceased playing. In a short time after one of the outer walls fell, and a portion which then remained in a dangerous state was pulled down purposely. The workmen little thought that they were adding to a pile of ruins that had already fallen upon and killed one of their fellow-workmen. About eleven o'clock it became known that a man named James Stockdale was mis- sing, and after a search his lifeless and mutilated body was found among the ruins. He had been absent from work a fortnight through illness. The damage done at the mill is estimated at more than £1,000, but Messrs. Crawford are insured. WAGES AND No WAGES.—Messrs. Pontifex and Wood, of Farringdon Works, Shoe Lane, London write as follows to a London contemporary It may interest the contributors to the fund for the relief of tho disti ess in the E ixt of Loudon to learn that 30 car- penters employed temporarily by us at our works at Mill- wall, upon tlie ngreed wages of 5s. Cd. per day, to which we offered to add an additional Is. on Saturdays as an induce- ment to them not to require a half-holiday on that day, but to work till four o'clock in common with our regular hands have this day struck work. Tliey gave us no previous notice of their intention, but simply intimated that they will not resume work unless they are paid 8d. per hour and have the Saturday half-holiday. Some of these men were unable to come to work until we had advanced them money to enable them to get their tools out of pawn. AN-EXCITING CHASE !—It is not often we read of a chase after burglars over housetops, yet an ex- citing run of this kind took place at Bristol early last Saturday morning, and though the thieves showed all the cunning of the fox, they were caught at last. A smart police-constable learning that some thieves were on the roof of the premises ( f Messrs. Payne and inompson, dealers in Birmingham goods, proceeded, with another officer, to follow, first stationing some fellow-constaVilt s below. He spied the two burglars crouching in the shade of a chimney stack, but getting at them was another matter, for they had eight or ten ) yards' start. They took different directions, and after a breakneck scamper over the roofs of about a dozen houses, and a drop of a dozen feet, one of the thieves forced an entrance into a warehouse, where he was captured. How to dispose of his prisoner was the next consideration for the policeman. He could not take him out by the ordinary entrance to the ware- house. for the premises were locked up, hnd he did not think it prudent, to retrace his steps over the house-tops. The officer was a man of expedients. He sent for the fire-escape, and, putting his man m the bag, they both glided to the ground. The other thief was captured in an adjoining house. The thieves had taken about J625 in money and three watches. AFTER A FRENCH DEBATE.—Though the Eng- lish House of Commons presents occasionally an ex- citing scene during debate, the orators can scarcely be said to work themselves up to that pitch of fervour which distinguishes some members of the French Corps Legislatif. These gentlemen get so hot and excited that, on finishing their speeches, they rush off to wash and change in the dressing-rooms. The following good anecdote apropos of this is told of M. Rouher :— One day last week he had been making a lollg and ex- hausting speech, and at its close he went off to his private dressing room, and found that his valet had left no change for him he then tried the dressing-rooms of the other ministers, but all "blank," till he came to the Interior," where he found clothes for the exterior, for- getting that they wore those of little M. Pinard, who, though a giant in debate, is very "limited" in the, f' Pinard's turn came to speak, and, having got into a ieauui state of perspiration himself, he, too, needed a cnan^e, and went off to seek it. Imagine his horror on c'scovrtring that 11. Uouher, wlio is something of a giant, had pis^t ioicea his flannel waistcoat and torn his shirt in two Report does not say how they finally arranged matters. RABBITS VERSUS SHEEP.—At a recent meeting of the Staindrop Farmers' Club a paper was read on the comparative appetites of sheep and rabbits. two hoggett sheep and twelve full-grown rabbits had been put up, and fed for six weeks on oats, cut clover, bran, and roots. At the end of that time it was found that nine rabbits in captivity ate as much as two sheep, and of course, when free, they destroy much more than they consume. Some estimate may thus be formed of the injury done to tenant farmers by rabbits. A farm on which nine hundred rabbits are shot yearly is taxed far more heavily than if its tenant had to maintain a flock of 200 of his landlord's sheep, The sheep, too, would be useful in fertilizing the land, whilst rabbits are of no use at all in that capacity. A BRUTAL ACT.-At Bolton, on Monday, Richard Barrow was charged with wilfully scalding his wife and two children. The prisoner is a boatman, and the occurrence took place at Blackrod, near >V igan. Barrow entered the cabin of the boat late on Satur- day evening in a state of intoxication, his wife and children being then in bed. His wife reproached him with his conduct, on which he deliberately took a kettle off the fire, and poured its boiling contents upon them. The wife was badly scalded on one side of her face and arms. The youngest cluld, a baby only twelve months old, lies in a very dangerous con- dition, and as its life is depaired of, the magistrate re- manded the prisoner for a few days, to await the result of the injuries. SINGULAR CONDITIONS IN A WILL.-The fol- lowing is an extract from the will of Stephen Girard, the founder of the Girard College, Philadelphia There are, however, some restrictions which I consider it my duty to prescribe, and to be, amongst conditions on which my bequest for said college is to he en- joyed. 2. I enjoin and requtre that no eccle- siastic, missionary, or minister, of any sect whatever, shall ever hold or exercise any station or duty whatever in the said college. Nor shall any such person ever be admitted for any purpose, or as a visitor, within the plemlses, appro- priated to the purposes of the said college, in making this restriction I do not mean to cast any n,. uP°i' any sect or person whatever; but, as there w >.ncn a diversity of a. opinion amongst them, I desire to keep the tender minds of the orphans, who are to derive advantage from this bequest, free from the excitement which clashing doctrines and sectarian controversy are so apt to produce. My desire Is that all the instructors and teachers in the college shall take pains to instil into the minds of the scholars the purest principles of morality, so that, on their entrance into active life, they may from inclination and habit evince benevolence towards their fellow-creatures, and a l°ve J™"}> sobriety, and industry, adopting at the sametim6 sucn religious tenets as their natural reason may enable them to prefer. A DESCENDANT OF THE M'IANS OF GLENCOE —On Monday, at the High Court of Justiciary at Edinburgh, Anthony M'Intyre was charged with ob- taining money from two ladies in Edinburgh on false pretences, alleging that he was an Irish clergyman, and that he was collecting money for his church. At the close of the evidence the prisoner made a long speech. In his defence he stated, amid the laughter of the audience, that he was descended from the M'lans of Glencoe that he had been esteemed a very pious child that his conversion was like that of Saul of Tarsus; that lie was at one time connected with the Moravian Church and he concluded by asking the court to say to him, as Christ said on one occasion Go in peace and sin no more." The jury, however, returned a verdict of guilty, and the prisoner was sen- tenced to- seven years' penal servitude, there being three previous convictions recorded against him.

AN EXTRAORDINARY ATTEMPT TO MURDER A MERCHANT. One of the most extraordinary and daring attempts at murder and robbery that has ever come under the cognizance of the police of Liverpool (and such offences are by no means rare in that town) was com- mitted on Monday morning. About half-past eleven o'clock, Mr. Adoiphe Kusel, a wine merchant, who hag an office in Tower-buildings, Water-street, was alone there, his clerks happening to be all out on business at the time, when two persons entered. One of them appeared to be a woman, and the other, seem- ingly a middle-aged man, had a large beard and moustache. The latter holding in his hand an adver- tisement cut from a newspaper, made an inquiry of Mr. Kusel concerning some wines he had on sale, saying he wished to sample them. Mr. Kusel was going into the outer office to show the wines, when his interrogator jumped upon his- back, and began beating him in a furious manner upon the head with a life preserver or loaded cane. The other person then joined his com- panion in the attack upon the helpless merchant, and the latter was felled to the ground, the two beating him savagely. His cries of "Murder!" were heard by Mr. Hopps, a merchant, who occupies adjoining rooms, and he and his clerks rushed to the assistance of Mr. Kusel. They found, however, that the door of his office was locked, the ruffians having turned the key when they entered. The door was forced open with an adze, and they found Mr. Kusel upon the floor covered with blood and most seriously injured. Near him were standing his assailants, who treated the matter in a very cool off-hand manner. They were of course de- tained, and the police sent for. Mr. Kusel was taken to the nearest hospital, where it was found that he was fearfully cut about the head and face, his right arm broken, and other severe injuries. On the-pris- oners being examined, the supposed female turned out to be a young fellow named John Wilson, a clerk in the establishment of Mr. Wood, confectioner, Bold- street, who had obtained leave of absence for an hour or two, and borrowed his "get up" from a girl of his acquaintance. The man with the moustache and beard (which were false) was David Harris a clerk in the office of Mr. R. S. Williams, attorney, Moornelds. They are beardless boys, neither of them seeming more than eighteen or nineteen years of age. Mr. Kusel was known to keep large sums of money in the safe in his office, and the object of the young miscreants in attacking him no doubt was, if not to murder him to maim him to such an extent that he would be unable to prevent them robbing the place. «18 expected that there must have been some collusion between the would-be thieves and some one on the premises, as the young men had obtained a key of the office door, and it is singular that they should have made their appear- ance when the whole of the clerks were absent.

A TRAGEDY AT RIO JANEIRO. The following particulars of a dreadful tragedy wln ag which has just been enacted at Brazil are from the Anglo-Brazilian Times :— Some seven months ago a family onied (!uYz' transferred their residence from Montevideo to Bio, and with them came a man of 33 years of age named Heitor Monetta, who, having become enamoured of the eldest daughter, Genoveva, deter- mined to cast his lot with them, and was betrothed to the object of his affections soon after his arrival here. Ac- cording to his tale, upon the strength of these intimate relations existing between them, the father of the Cuyiis family borrowed at various times what money he possessed and from that time ho says a coldness was manifested to him by the parents, which finally induced him to leave his residence in their house and remove to an hotel. Becoming more and more annoyed at the increasing coolness of their connexion, he at last determined to bring the matter to a crisis, and he wrote a note to the young lady, asking her to come to see him in a neighbour's house, the answer to which was that she could not, and did not wish to see him. He waited half an hour and then departed, leaving a note for the girl. Apparently, however, his anxiety overpowered' him, and lie went to the Cuyás' house. There in the kitchen he found the mother, and on demanding whether the marriage was or was not to take place he asserts that she began to abuse him. He then appealed to the girl, who was sitting in the parleur, but she remained silent, and the mother, still more angry at the appeal, gave him a slap in the face. Furious at his reception he hurried to his hotel, and, taking a revolver from his trunk, returned to the Cuyis' house, where, finding the mother reposing on a sofa, he beat her upon the face with his lists and then shot her in the shoulder. At her cries Genoveva rushed 111, and was received with two shots which laid her dying. He then proceeded towards the stairs, bat, returning, shot a younger sister in the lungs and another in the stomach, and ran into the street (Rozaria.) Pursued by the public hue ana crv he directed his course to ltio Direita, but as he still corned the revolver in his hand nl) one ventured to stay him, and he was lost in the night- fall. For several days no trace oi mm could be obtained, but at length an intercepted letter revealed that he was staying at the Hotel d'ltnlia at the Botanic-gardens. <)n tj,e afternoon of the 10th a party of police, disguised as excursionists, drove to the hotel and managed to examine the house and grounds without being suspected, but without finding Monetta. Seventy more men were sent on from Rio during the night, and by three a m. the grounas and house were surrounded. At three the house was entered and, after searching the rooms in vain, he was discovered on the roof, from which after being summeued, he came down and surrendered quietly, and was taken to the city. Of the victims to his fury, Genoveva died on the day succeeding the catastrophe, but the other three, although severely injured, it is believed will recover. Another daughter, who was fortunately out of the house at the fatal hour, thus escaped, but the father, who was likewise absent, was so overcome by the shock of the misfortune which had fallen on him that he died during the night of the 8th from an attack of cerebral congestion.

SUICIDES BY CHILDREN. On Monday night Dr. Lankester held an inquest at the Empress of Russia lavern, Owen's -row, Islington, London, upon the body of a boy named Victor Verbeyst, aged thirteen years, who came to his death by hanging. Mr. Joseph Verbeyst, the father of the deceased, said he was a Belgian, and had been in London only a few years. His son was a very good boy, and on Wednesday last Was working by his side at his business of a pocket-book maker. He inquired of him when he should be allowed to go to school again, to which witness replied as soon as he could spare him. He went out of the workshop, and witness saw no more of him until he was called to open the door of the water closet, wherein he (deceased) was supposed to have fallen asleep. He discovered him hanging by a cord. He was in a sitting position, quite dead. The cord was fastened to the handle of the door. Deceased had been reading some of the cheap literature of the day—" The Boys of England," and other similar publications—and his (witness's) impression was that he had been experimenting'' and had killed himself accidentally. He could never keep his son from the books he had spoken of. He was not very passionate, but slightly so. The Coroner said he had known many cases where children had been killed through experi- menting at hanging. Dr. Goddard, who was called to the deceased, said he tried every proper remedy to restore him, but without avail. He spoke against the theory of death being the result of an accident. The jury returned a verdict of Suicide while in a state of unsound mind," supposed through the reading of a certain class of literature.

JOUR NEW AMBASSADOR AND PRESI- DENT JOHNSON. The American papers contain verbatim reports of the speech of Mr. Thornton on his presentation to the President, and of Mr. Johnson's reply. Mr. Thorn- ton was accompanied by Mr. Ford, of the British Legation, both gentlemen being in full court dress. Mr. Thornton made the following address on the oc- casion :— Sir,—I have the honour to deliver into your Excellency's hands a letter addressed to you by her Majesty Queen Vic- toria, accrediting me as her Majesty's 11 iuister to your Ex- cellency. I have also received her Majesty's orders to assure your Excellency of her sincere friendship, and of the deep interest she takes in the welfare and prosperity of the nation over which you se worthily preside. Her Majesty's Government and the English nation are deeply grateful lor the warm sympathy shown by the people of the United States on the occasion of the death of my lamented pre- decessor. Allow me to assure your Excellency that I shall do my best to take his place in their affections, and to strengthen the relations of cordial friendship which happily subsist, and which it is our earnest desire, and our duty as kinsmen, to maintain between the two countries. In this pleasing task I am confident that I may count upon the support and assistance of your Excellency, as well as of the distinguished statesmen who compose your cabinet and the legislature of this nation. The President replied to this address as follows :— Mr, Thornton-Your Queen enjoys lUore than any other sovereign the respect and sympathy of the American people. The people of the United States will believe that she is en- tirely sincere in the kindly message which, under her com- mand, you have delivered to me; and this belief will en. courage them to hope for a speedy and amicable adjustment of matters in difference between her Majesty's Govern- ment and the Government of the United States. Your late predecessor, Sir Frederick Bruce, without any dis- obedience to instructions, or any want of regard to llritish interests, won the respect and esteem of this Government and nation. Sir Frederick's sudden death revealed to ourselves the fact that the friendship we cherished for him had even acquired the intensity of fra- ternal affection. It will be a pleasing duty for me to extend to you the same consideration and confidence which he so eminently enjoyed. In regard to the political relations of the United States and Great Britain, only one thing seems to be necessary, which is that the statesmen and people of the two countries may carefully and constantly study to con- form their measures to the political logic which in every region where the English language is spoken so distinctly manifests itself in the measuring line of constitutional free- dom, and the rapid march of a common, irresistible and in- divisible civilization.

LUXURIES OR NECESSARIES? In the Court of Exchequer, before the Lord Chief Baron and a special jury, the cause of "Ortner and Another r. Callander" has been tried, and was an action to recover £ 13212s., the amount of a bill for jewellery and other articles. The defendant paid £ 613s. into court, and pleaded never in- debted as to the rest of the claim. He also pleaded infancy, The plaintiffs were Messrs. Ortner and Houle, jewellers, in St. Jameses-street, London, and the defendant was the youngest son of the late Mr. Cal- lander, of Preston Hall, near Edinburgh. He was born in November, 1845, and was for a short time in the 17th Lancers. In March, 18G4, he ordered certain goods of the plaintiffs, but before supplying them they communicated with his elder brother as to his means of paying. The brother said he should be much obliged to them if they would not at that time serve him, as he was a mere boy, though he looked older. The result was that the plaintiffs did not execute the order. In July following the defendant again called, and gave an order for a watch and chain, a dressing-case, a ring, and other trifling articles of jewellery. The plaintiffs referred a second time to the brother, who, it seemed, made no further objection to the goods being supplied, and intimated that the defendant had ob- tained a commission in the 17th Lancers. Accordingly, in that month, and in August and October, the de- fendant received the various articles, for the price of which he was now sued, he being at that time in his nineteenth year. The defendant admitted his liability for the smaller items in the plaintiffs' account—such, for instance, as those for solitaires or sleeve-links, studs, breast-pins, rings, and engraving his crest. The real contest was upon the following articles:—A plain gold hunting watch, £40; a strong gold vest guard, £20; a gold and blue enamelled cabinet locket (for attaching to a gentleman's watch chain and used for a miniature or hair), £14 14s. and an oak dressing case with silver fittings, £ 30. These, it was contended, were neces- saries for a young man of good family about to enter a crack cavalry regiment, and the evidence showed that the prices were reasonable. Mr. Denman, on the part of the defence, argued that they were not of that character, but luxuries, especially in the case of a youth like the defendant, whose income in 1864 did not exceed £340. The de- fendant's mother and elder brother were dead, and the latter having left an heir, who was an infant, the family property was in the hands of trustees. The defendant had got involved in pecuniary difficulties, and left the army, and was now, as the learned counsel said, no one knew where." His friends had thought it right to resist the claim, on the ground that the plaintiffs were not justified under the circumstances of supplying him with articles of this expensive descrip- tion on credit. Mr. Denman made some strong observations on the practice of tradesmen trusting mere boys with costly articles for the decoration of their persons, observing that under it the improvident and foolish were led into a species of extravagance which ultimately brought about their ruin. From the examination and cross-examination of the witnesses for the defence it appeared that there Were three sons and one daughter in the family, and that the family estates yielded a nominal rental of J69,000 a year, and an actual rental, after deducting the burdens and charges upon them, of only £3,000. The defen- dant's father kept several carriages and twenty ser- vants, and at his death he left a bond, under which his three youngest children were entitled to £26,000, chargeable on the estates but the bond had been challenged, and the matter was still in litigation. The defendant's mother had a jointure of £ 15,000 out of the estate, and before her death she lived in Ken- sington-square, London. On her decease the defen- dant was entitled to £1,000. His elder brother married into an English nobleman's family, and lived in Belgrave-square. The Lord Chief Baron, in summing up, said that the case was one of great importance, not only as concerned the parties, but as regarded society at large. They should do all they could to discourage a reckless system of credit, which might tend to bring about the absolute ruin of improvident young men, but on the other hand, they were bound to take care, where reasonable caution and discretion were exercised by a tradesman that he should not be defrauded of his fair and just claim by the plea of infancy. Having briefly recapitulated the facts, and commented upon the different items in the bill, his lordship said all these cases rested upon their own particular circumstances, and left the jury to say whether the articles were necessary or suitable for a young man under age, of the state and condition in life of the defendant. The jury, after having been absent from court for a short time, said they found a verdict for the plaintiffs, with the full amount of their claim, with the exception of the locket, for which £14 14s. was charged, adding, they were unanimfJusly of opinion that the plaintiffs had exercised every precaution in the conduct of their business, and they wished them to have interest.— Verdict for the plaintiffs; damages, £ 108 193.

TRIAL FOR PERJURY. At Carlisle assizes, Edward Coates has been indicted for perjury committed before justices at Penrith on the 19th of November last, on the hearing of an application for an affi- liation order. The case of the complainant—one Ann Thompson— was that a man named Winter, against whom she was seeking to obtain the order, was courting and visiting her shortly before Martinmas, 186(5, and was the father of her child. Winter called the prisoner as his witness to prove that Ann Thompson was at that time being courted by other men, and he swore that a few weeks before Martinmas he saw her late one night going to her father's house with a man named Greenhow, who had his arm round her waist that her sister, Jane Thompson, saw him also; and that he told this to two young men who were standing in the road. He shouted out to Greenhow, Halloo Joe," and he (Greenhow) "creeled" down behind Ann Thompson to escape observation. Ann Thompson, her sister, Greenbow, and the two young men were called to disprove this, and on this evidence of the prisoner the perjury was assigned. A great deal of amusement was created by the learned counsel for the prisoner, in the cross-examination of Jane Thompson, the sister, asking'her about her own courtships at that time. At first she stoutly denied any, but on having three separate letters put into her hand she admitted they were written by her, and she was asked to read them, which she did with great simplicity. The letters invited different young men of her acquaintance to come and see her at her father's house at that time late at night, when her father and mother were out. The reading of these letters with the quaintest simplicity by the witness excited great laughter. The defence was that it was clear several young men were about that time visiting both Ann Thompson and her sister late at night, and that it was probable the evidence of the prisoner was quite true as to the facts, but that he was mistaken as to the person whom he supposed to be Greenhow, who had endeavoured to escape observa- tion. If that were so, there was no wilful and corrupt perjury, and he ought to be acquitted. His lordship haviug summed up the evidence, the jury "Acquitted "the prisoner. On the conclusion of the case, Mr. Foster applied, under the statute of last session (30th and 31st of Victoria, cap. 35, sec. 5), for the costs of the prisoner's witnesses who had been examined before the justices and bound over to appear and give evidence at the trial. In the exercise of his discretion he had not called any of these witnesses, but he submitted that as they had been bound over to appear and their evidence bore upon the issue to be tried, they were, in the dis- cretion of his lordship, entitled to their costs. His lordship took time to consider the question.

A CURIOUS LAW-SUIT. On Monday morning the Master ot the Rolls had before him the case of Snow v. Milford, which was a suit instituted by three partners in a firm of bankers at Exeter to remove Mr. Alfred Milford, one of the partners, from the firm, ron the ground that he had committed adultery, and had thereby infringed one of the articles of partnership which provided that a partner should not do any act to the discredit or in- jury of such co-partnership." Mr. John Milford, the father of Mr. Alfred Milford, and one of the partner?, having refused to join in the suit, w; s made a co- defendant. The case was argued some weeks aao. His lordship ordered it to stand over for a time to enable the parties to make an arrangement. But an nrraiige- ment appearing to be impossible, the ca&e WBS net down on Monday morning for j udgment. Lord Romiily said the suit vas instituted to remove Mr. Alfred Millord from the partnership on the ground that he had com- mitted acts which made him unfit to he a member of the firm. What he had done, in fact was this—being a married man he had committed adultery with various persons in the city of Exeter, and his wife sued him in the Divorce Court for an absolute divorce. But cruelty was not proved adultery was proved, and a decree for separation was made. In the course of his judgment the judge of the Divorce Court made some very strong observations against the husband's con- duct. In his answer to the huit he admitted the truth of the allegations against him, and now the question was whether he should continue to be a member of the firm, If he should be excluded from the partnership, it could only be on the ground that he had broken some positive provision in the partnership articles or > some gtneral taw relating to the subject. He (Lord Romilly) was of opinion that, however reprehensible i was the conduct of a man who had committed adultery that was not a ground for removing him from a part- ner.-hip. This court was not a rensor morum. That I clause of the partnership articles which provided that none of the partners should do any act to the discredit or injury of the partnership was preceded and followed by provisions against acts which would injure the pecuniary credit of the partnership, and therefore that clause must lie construed as dealing with matters ejusdan generis. The case was a disagreeable one to him, and he was very anxious that some arrangement should have been made. because one partner in a firm might so conduct himself as to make a dissolution in- evitable. Lord Eldon frequently said that in trade partnerships, as in the partnership between husband and wife, mutual forbearance was essential. The court still hoped that an arrangement would be made. The bill must be dismissed, but without costs against the defendant Alfred Milford. The plaintiffs must pay the father's costs.

iiPl'i'OMifi or NEWS. iíRITISF ii-NJ a-G&elSN. Jeremiah Allen was put to the bar at the Central Criminal Court, in London, on Monday, charged on the coroner's inquisition with wilful murder, as implicated in the Clerkenwell explosion. No evidence being offered on the part of the crown, a verdict of not guilty was returned, and the prisoner was discharged. By the advice of the medical attendants, the stay of Prince Leopold at Osborne is to be prolonged, and the Queen has consequently deferred her departure for Windsor from the 28th instant to the 3rd of March. The report of the serious illness of Baron Channell is contradicted by the Solicitor's Journal. The learned Judge has just undergone successfully a slight medical operation, the effect of which will probably be to confirm him in better health than he has of late years enjoyed Samutl Hart, a lad thirteen years of age. was in charge of a horse and cart, the cart laden with stone at Bolton, on Saturday, and he went underneath to take the break off. Whilst in that situation the pin fastening the IJody of the cart cllme out, the cart went up, and the poor boy was crushed to death. An inquest has been held in Shoreditch, London, on the body of James Massey, aged 'fourteen months. On Saturday night the child had been put to bed, and a chair had beel) placed at the bedside to prevent it falling out. Subsequently the infant was discovered hanging by the neck between the rungs of the back of the chair, and quite dead. The jury returned a verdict of Accidental Death. The Committee of the Mechanics' Institute of Clonmel have refused the use of their hall to Mr. Train for his lectures, "in the absence of any definite information as to the object for which the hall may be required." The Waterford Town Hall has likewise been refused to Mr Train. The Rev. Gordon Calthrop, who is known as the most popular preacher among the Islington (London) clergy, preached a special sermon on Monday night to boys at Trinity Church, Islington. About 1,600 boys were present, and some thousand persons besides. It is understood that the publication of Lord Brougham's autobiography will be delayed, owing to some differences which have arisen between his lordship and the gentleman who is assisting him. Great regret is felt in military circles at the untimely end of Colonel Dunn, V.C., of the 33rd Regiment, who ac- cidentally shot -himself in Abyssinia. This gallant officer had seen much good service. At the last meeting of the conference of the Paris bar, this question was discussed:—"Can a person who directly aids another to commit suicide be indicted as accom- plice in an act of murder?" The point was decided in the negative. Lord Eldon has given j31,000 to the Society for the propagation of the Gospel. The Copenhagen papers state that her Royal High- ness the Princess of Wales has been invited to be present at the inauguration of a monument at Nice in memory of the late Czarewitch, but has been unable to accept the invita- tion. Bishop Williams, of the Catholic diocese of Massa- chusetts, has declined to allow the Catholic clergy in Wor- cester to say High Requiem Masses for the repose of the souls of Allen, Larkin, and O'Brien. One day last week 100 railway waggons left Anstruther and the adjoining stations laden with herrings, chiefly for the London market. The total quantity was nearly 3,900 crans, making altogether about 3,000,000 herriugs brought from the east coast of Scotland. Some Fenians last week visited Freshwater, in the Isle of Wight, and have attempted to administer the Fenian oath. Information was given to the police, and the detectives were placed on the track of the Fenians. A few days since the telegraph wires that communicate with the main land from the Isle of Wight were cut not far from the neighbour- hood of Freshwater. Mr. Charles Dickens recently sent 1,000 dols. to Mrs. Clemm, mother-in-law of Edgar A. Poe. The city of Brussels lately put up to competition the printing of 250,000 certificates for the new loan. The lowest estimate was £440, while three years ago the same work cost 11,120. The Church Times says "We are happy to state >>at KOIie of the late sisters of St. Mary's Priory, Hackney, WHO had seceded to the Roman communion, has already re- turned to the English Church!" Upwards of 5,000 pupils, eight per cent, of whom are females, are daily receiving music lessons in Boston. A Tyrolese sharpshooter has been condemned to eight months imprisonmentforhaying turned a crucifix into a target. The crucitlx had been hit twice, and the judges considered this an outrage upon religion, however thought- lessly free from intent and selecting an object at random. The English have invented a new crime, if they cannot flftvent a new sauce. On Monday a drunken sailor was sentenced at the Thames Police-court, in London, to seven days' imprisonment for an assault on a constable, and the case was reported in the newspapers under the heading of "Police-phobia." According to the South Australian Register Mr. rnderdown, of Adelaide, the exporter of Australian birds to Europe, has now in stock 35,000 pairs of shell parrots, 1,000 pairs ct cockatoo parrots, 7,000 pairs of zebra finches, besides white cockatoos, magpies, and Port Lincoln paITots-alto- gether nearly 100,000 birds. 9,000 birds are marked as sold. The 70,000 shell parrots are this year's (1867) birds. In an ancient Saxon law it is enacted Albeit as often as leap yeare dothe occure, the woman lioldeth pre- rogative over the menne in matter of courtship, love, and matrimonne; so that when the ladie proposeth it shall not be lawful for menne to say her nae, but shall receive her pro- pesall in all good courtisie." On Saturday evening, a married woman residing with her hushand in Warrington, committed a most atro- cious crime on her infant child. The woman, it appeared, became excited over something that the child had done, and taking up a basin of boiling water, she poured it down its breast, inflicting such serious injury that it is not expected to recover. She was taken Into custody. The Press of Vienna publishes a long list of the objects belonging to the Emperor Maximilian which have been distributed since his death amongst his relatives. The King of the Belgians obtained the Cross of Knight of the Order of Guadaloupe, which his deceased brother-in-law wore during the siege of Queretaro. The Count de Flandre received the Emperor's gold watch and chain; and the Queen of England a medallion containing a lock of the Empress Charlotte's hair. An Admiralty order has been received at Woolwich by Colonel Suther, commandant of the W oolwich division of Royal Marines, for a return of all men marked with the letter "D," or bearing an indifferent character, it is sup- posed for the purpose of making a considerable reduction in ) the division. All recruiting parties are also to be recalled, and no recruits are to be received until further orders. Squadrons of almost all the navies of the several nations have for some time past bean cruising in the Medi- terranean. After the American and the English, the Aus- trian squadron, from the Levant, has just left the Gneek waters, and cast anchor in the Bay of Saint Andre, which forms the southern portion of the roadstead of Trieste. The significant statement is made with regard to the depression of the American shipping interests, that on the 2\Jth of January there was not a single vessel of any descrip- tion in the port of New York loading for a British port. Scores of foreign vessels were up for freights. The Minister of the French Emperor's Household and Fine Arts has just submitted to the Council of State a decree fixing the retiring pension of Mdlle. Augustine Brohan, of the ThC&tre Fran?ais. The amount Is fixed at 6 4001. (£250) for twenty-seven years of consecutive services. The reports from Nice respecting the health of the King of Bavaria are by no means satisfactory. A first in- cision had been made in a tumonr which had arisen in his leg, but as the desired effect was not produced his medical attendants thought it advisable to proceed to a second. His Majesty is in a state of extreme debility. A conference, on the subject of national education, was held at the Glasgow City Hall, last Friday evening, the Lord Provost presiding. The whole of the resolutions, which affirmed the urgency of the national need of a liberal and comprehensive measure of education, at once compul- sory and strictly unsectanan, were carried though the one bearing upon the "conscience clause" gained but a narrow majority. ) It seems not unlikely that the expenses of the recent election at Manchester will come before a legal tri- bunal. Air. Alderman Bennett, it will he remembered, was the Conservative candidate who opposed Mr. Bright. He, hewever, refused to subscribe more than £100 towards the expenses, the remainder having tobe provided by his friends. The election cost £4,000, but £ .i,00o only has been received by the treasurer, and the creditors are beginning to be clamorous for payment. On Monday they held a meeting, and resolved to take proceedings f,,1' the recovery of the sums due to them. Some anxiety has prevailed in commercial circles this week with reference to the safety of the screw steamer Somerset shirt', from Melbourne for London, which has now been at sea elgnty-tive days, with £30,000 in gold. At Lloyd's on Monday twenty guineas premium were paid to effect fresh insurances. The Somersetshire is a new steamer, and the present is her first voyage home from Australia. Mr. G. F. Train toppled over completely on Saturday at Dublin. An afternoon "lecture" was announced, but when he came to deliver it he found an audience of only about 150 people in a room which holds 4,000. The per- formance was abandoned altogether. An evening lecture for" Ireland's working men," who were admitted at a re- duced price, was then resorted to, but the expectation of a crowd was not fulfilled. He declared his intention to visit Sligo and lecture for the benefit of Judge Keogh during the trial of Nagle. An orator in a recent speech satirised the present facility with which marriages are made, and divorces ob- tained, in a happy strain. He thinks the marriage service should read thus:—Clergyman: Will you take this stone mansion, this carriage and pair, these diamonds, for thy wedded husband ? Yes.—Will you take t,lis r liner's bill, this high chignon of foreign hair, tnese anectea accomplishments, and feeble constitution for thy Medued wife? Yes.—Then what man has joined ^ogether let the next best man run away with, so that the first Divorce ( ourt may tear them asunder. A man committed 8picide in Paris the other even- may tear them asunder. A man committed 8picide in Paris the other even- ing by throwing himself into the Seme from the Pont de la Concorde. He had left on the loot pavement a small parcel containing a blouse, cap, and neck-handkerchief, with a note bearing these words: My name is JS' I live in the Kue de Grenelle St. uermain.—The same day a seamstress named Maria » aged 18, jumped Into the river from the Quai de 1 hcole; she was, however, rescued by some watermen. A disappointment in love was the motive for, th18 attempt on her Ufe, The following laconic despatch was received at the >e«leral head-quarters during the late war in America:- "Averill, '2Sth December, 18C4.—My coamund 'o- b-H ration nos marched, climbed, slid, and swum S.50 miles MI.re tha 8th iust." The British Mcdicol Journal learns that the os. of cerebro-spinal meiogitus are becoming more W>H<?rou= In Dublin, and that they are to he found at "present both anion.' the civil and military population. > Twenty pounds was, in 1803, considered a fair week's receipt for valentines at a lirst.rate London shoo Five hundred pounds taken over the counter is now hel l t > he a fair, but not extraordinary, business in the seven da\ preceding, including the 14th. It is stated that the Mont Cenis Summit Railway j;.¡ expected to be opened for regular traffic on the 1st of M;>y next. The Wolrerinc, Captain T. Cochran, the vessel u board hkh Mr. Gordon was taken prisoner, aud afterwa:on u hung., and which subsequently went to the scene of tlv earthquake at Tortoia and rescued eighty ladies, has arri > ;i at Woolwich Dockyard, where she is the object of considei- able interest. The Empress Charlotte has addressed to the Pope u touching letter, imploring his prayers for the soul of her un- fortunate husband. The letter, which has a deep border i black, is written in very good Italian, and creates the in. pression that the Empress is no longer suffering from mental alienation, or at least that she has lucid moments. The proposition for an International Copyright re- ported by the Library Committeee of the American Consres* will, )t is believed, easily pass through both Houses. According to the average of recent wills an eminent London physician ought to die worth £ 29,500. When :I „,f?2'>er °* the profession has netted this figure he msv u in errand that his time is up, according to Cocker. i A young of HI, named Eugenie Marchal, tlw daughter of Iln lUnkeeper at La Rochere Haute saone bai i? £ iler lover Jules Dispot, a carpeuter, 24 years of a„e. He shot the young woman with a gun u • she was standing at her father's door. The charge stru her in the breast and she fell dead instantly. The cause d the crime is not stated In one of the Society Islands the Siamese twin- are parallelled. Two girls, infants as yet, are united at the hip, but are otherwise physically separate. The svmnath between them is said to be extraordinary. The K int ai"'1 Queen of the islands have adopted them, and lately relusiv to part with them long enough to carry them to one of tf villages to be photographed. In consequence of the recent assumption ei: Baronetcies by persons possessing neither right nor tiile tv the rank, it has been suggested that, in order to prevent the utter degradation of their dignity, the Baronets should unit? in a petition to the Queen, praying her Majesty to establis a tribunal, with full powers to investigate, prosecute, ai 'i enforce its decisions in all cases. A clergyman having been recently appointed to some parochial office, the guardians wrote to him to know what were his religious opinions—whether he inclinecf to High Church or Low Church. The reverend gentleman wrote, in reply, that he was just a little elevated Last year 1,001,545 acres in Ireland were devoted to the growth of potatoes in Great Britain, almost three tim«-s as large, and with more than four times the population, only 492,217 acres. A return just issued relative to the consumption of sugar in breweries shows that in London 24,597,552 Ibs. wer« consumed in the year ending September 30, 1867 14,719,71' lbs. in the English provinces 351,456 lbs. in Scotland an-.i 1,405,296 Ibs. iu Ireland. Public prayers are being offered up in Catalonia to solicit rain. Owing to the improvement in business, several of the works in Dundee are already put on full time. and tnr.) c are to be put on at once. This applies chiefly to jntf" spinning. The Indian Catholic Chronicle has republished, with, all the honours of a black cross and border, the "mortusii v Ca«' J™lch. asserts that Allen, Gould, and Larkin com- mitted the crime for which they were executed from thm* profound love of poor old Ireland and of the Fenian cause A special commission, with Lord Halifax as it-- chairman, is to be appointed to inquire into the question o: the assimilation of monetary systems. The Paris journals announce the death, in tht, Charenton Lunatic Asylum, of M. Charles Meryon, who had attained a certain reputation as an engraver. He of lau; years laboured under the hallucination of being .Tesus Chrii in custody of the Pharisees. He allowed himself to die < ° starvation Our obituary (observes the Western Trims) record* the death of Mr. 1'. P. Turner, a musician of local emmei,"e and one of the heirs-at-law of the great painter. The eay. chair of his old age was comfortably cushioned by the por tion of the artist's estate which came to him out of the co?s testation of the wilL Among the lecturers in New York this winter is a seceding Shaker, who gives humorous lectures on the way. of the disciples of Ann Lee. At Bristol, a young man absconded a month ago" with £750, the property of his employers. When arrestee the other day he had Is. 3d. upon him, and stated that h = had spent the rest of the money. Mr. John Stuart Mill has just published a pamphlet on Ireland. He proposes that a Parliamentary commlssio- should be formed, with compulsory powers to examine ever* farm let to a tenant in Ireland, and to change the prefer, variable rent for a fixed charge, which would henet forward be secured to the landlord by the State, the tenant, becoming, subject to this charge, the proprietor of the s.U During a severe storm that prevailed in Newfound- land for three days lately, it is reported that thirty neonk- have perished from the cold and in the snow acUa\ tbe superintendent of the Newfoundland Telegraph lin'r, nearly pp.rieherl. At the close of the American war a large quantity oi preserved fruits, vegetables, and meats, originally intended lor the Federal army, were left in the hands of the Con.- missariat. A bill has been passed, and approved by tin- President, to distribute them among the people of the South. Sanson, descendant of the celebrated executioner of the Reign of Terror, himself a worker of the guillotine has written to the Paris papers denying that he had any 111- tention of resuming his public duties. He retired III 1847 to enjoy as he states the peaceful obscurity of his caste; On Friday the protracted inquiry before the corout-r as to the deaths of two of the persons killed by the Tenia;, explosion at Clerkenwell was brought to a close by a verdie of wilful murder against the seven prisoners, and others uo. in custody. Allen was not included in the verdict: tin: jury stating they were divided in opinion as to his guilt. They also handed in a resolution to the effect that, in their opinion, sufficient precautions had not been taken hy the police at head-quarters to prevent the explosion. A farm tenant of the executors of the Earl of Moray sued them, in the scotch Court of Mission, for J.no. fin- injury done to his crops by game. The question was whe- ther, during the year 1S66, the Earl had upon the land an unreasonable and excessive stock of game, beyond whi*, existed thereon at the date of the plaintiffs entering 0..1 the tenancy. The jury found for the plaintiff for £ iy7. The Queen has made Dr. Jenner a baronet. Two ladies were walking in the Champs Elyseea in Paris the other day, when an old man approached them, an solicited them to buy a penny bouquet of Parma violet One of the ladies took the offered bouquet, and requested he companion to hand the man a napoleon. The "flower- merchant" stood petrified at such princely payment, ah. followed the ladies up to the gates of the Tuileries, where the guards, presenting arms, revealed his purchaser to be the Empress E8genie A labourer, named Egerton. employed at the CrNVt. wiw !16' has met with his death under the mo& circumstances. Deceased and a" fireman "trmr i inside of a boiler, when some one sudden' turned the steamupon them. The fireman escaped alinat unhurt, but Egerton was so badly scalded that his hair, pc: tions of his tiesh, and even his finger nails came off Tt steam tap is opened by a wheel, which can only be man, by using a lever, and the evidence at the inquest put u beyond a doubt that it must have been opened intentionally Great activity has lately prevailed in the gun fac- tory at Tophaneh, particularly m the making of gun car- riages and ammunition waggons, in which large nuipber workmen are employed. The models used were recentiv sent out from Woolwich Arsenal. The Alnchlr has. a la invited tenders from gunsmiths and engineers for the^ tfor! version of rifles into breech-loaders."—Levant Uerajti. ■* The Moscow journals announce the death in thp' city, from inflammation of the lungs, of the Czarina Georgia, Anna Paulowna, wife of the Orosarewitch "rnjiir, daughter-io-law of the last Czar of Georgia, (ieorge X nt, born Countess of Koutaissof. The deceased'was well known- for her great erudition and benevolence. She was acquainte-1 with all the remarkable personages of the 19th century « f. > a pleasing writer, and so excellent a composer that Meyer- beer, in speaking of her songs, said—"I shonld like to h»vi Eroduced them." She had resided for some years TieTofli" er death ln Moscow, where she was much esteemed.

THE MARKETS. MARK-LANE, MONDAT. There was only a limited supply of English wheat ou sale here to-day chiefly in poor condition. Good and fine sampler- moved off slowly, but at prices fully equal to Monday lasr. All other kinds were a dull inquiry, at late rates. Tho attendance of both town and country millers wassimMt. The show of foreign wheat was good. In most kind i sales progressed slowly, but no quotable change took place in prices. There was a fair inquiry for float- iog cargoes of grain, at the iate sdvlUJce in the quota- tions. Both English and foreign barley was In moderat request, at last week's currency. The show of samples « tolerably good. Malt, the supply of which was good, met n slow sale. Nevertheless, prices were supported. Pine oats were scarce and the turn dearer: inferior parcels "were in active. In beans very little waft doing, and late rates *vern barely supported. Peas commanded full prices, but the sui- for them was by no means active. We have no change t notice in the value of flour. Indian corn, owing to hrgp. airivals, was rather cheaper. Seeds and cakes coinmaiuie i very little attention at last week's prices. METROPOLITAN CATfLE MARKET, M< >N DAY. The supply ot foreign stock on offer here to-day was verv moderate, but in fair average condition. The demand ruled heavy, and the quotations were barely supported. Fresh u this morning the arrivals of beasts from our own graz'n'* districts were rather limited. From Scotland, howev.-r ih i receipts were good. For most breeds there was an iniprove.t demand, but no advance took place in the quotations. Tho best Heots and crosses sold at 4s. lod. per Sib Tlij |eil?r,a] quality of the supply was good. From Norfolk, nuneld, Essex, and Cambridgeshire we received abbi ■; 1.000 Scots, crosses, and shorthorns from other parts ot England, 350 various breeds from Scotland, 4-2 i Scots an crosses and from Ireland, 170 oxen, cows, A c. With mo. breeds of sheep we were scantily supplied. On the Whüh the sale for them ruled steady, and prices were well sup- ported. The best Downs and half-breds realised fully f>s. pe, Sib. The value of shorn sheep was 4s. 4d. per Sib. About; 800 were in the market. Lambs moved off slowly at frrau 30s. to 35s. each. The supply was on the increase. The sal<> for calves ruled steady, at very full prices, owing to tile' limited number brought forward. III pigs very little business was transacted, at late rates, viz., from 3s. 4J t I 4 s. 2d. per 81b. HOPS. We have no improvement to notice in this market Th > demand has been very quiet, and has been mostly confined to fine samples, which have ruled tolerably firm in pric.. The value of inferior sorts has had a droopng tendency, in the foreign markets only a moderate business has be"ll con. eluded, on former terms. The imports into London lest weel; consisted of 71 bales from Dunkirk, 102 from llainnurgb, 123 from Antwerp, 75from Rotterdam, Csfrou) Koniw:sber«, and 284 bales from Bremen. Mid and East Kentn, OJ! 5 71. 15s. Weald of Kent, 4llJs. to 6,. 6s. Sussex, 41 4,. to 51. 5s.; yarnhams, 7t. Os. to 91 0s. Yearlings, 4. 0s. tu 61. 0s. POTATOES Large supplies of potatoes are on sale. T ne trade has nilwi dull, at barely late rates, lhe imports ii,U) London las, week consisted of 425 bags 2G6 saci;s from Konloe-ne S fi-v, sacks and 742 bags from Dunkirk, 5GO barrels from IHviii^en 303 bags and 2 barrels from Rotterdam 60fl tons lrom Caan 348 Rouen, 98 Name,. 100 Honour, f"t PortbaU 5VSt Mai aud 65 tons ixom Havre, fluents i<>o, tn -W w' person* 1708': Rocks' 100s-. to. 130s. French lOOs' to' 103?! pel" tall. WOOL latent1686 heen of a very limited character,,at abolir a e ra^es. lor English wool there has been a fair deuiano, on toymer terms. The imports into London last week con- slsted of6,b6f. bales from Port Philip, 1,811 from the ( apt. 8,572 frbocrlrfielaide, 1,198 from Brisbane, 5,06^ from Gee- long, 4,GSOrom Melbourne, 1,047 from, Taganrog, 1,854 frou; Sydney, pad '272 from Launceston. Current prices <k English woolFleeces.—Southdown hoggets, Is. 2j, t Is. 2tti. half-breds, Is. 3d. to Is. 41 nent fleers*, is to Is. l^d.; Southdown eweeanowethett, la. l^d. to Is 2 id and Leicester ditto lL Id. fro Is. 2d. ner lb. Sorts: clotliing, Is 2d. to Is 5!d.: and combing, Is. 2 L to la, 6|d. per 1". I TALLOW. The market is rather firmer, and prices are well sup- ported. P.Y.C., on the spot, is quoted at 42s. 9<.1.; t )wn tallow, 41s. 3d. nett cash.