Papurau Newydd Cymru
Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru
7 erthygl ar y dudalen hon
©ttr Itanium (Joraspiibfiit.…
Itanium (Joraspiibfiit. I [We deem it ri^'it to state that v.-e do not at al: ^imes 'xientify ourselves with our correspondent's opinions.) In reference to the reconstructed Ministry, it will be I seen, ere Ion?, whether, as a Conservative organ asserts, the Government is one of the strongest th at has ruled over the country for many years—strong in parliamentary ability, in unity of purpose, and in public confidence. It is much to be regretted that Ministerial complica- tions had to be arranged at the critical moment when Government was about to announce its policy on Ireland, and that it 9hould have taken ten days to re- construct the Ministry but there seems to have been no help for it. Ireland will perhaps be the great touchstone of the strength of Ministers, and the whole country will watch with anxiety the course that is pursued. The Scotch and Irish Keform Bills will also be two other difficulties, but both put together are not I likely to be so critical as Irish legislation. One fact which will undoubtedly tend to strengthen the present Ministry is that the Opposition will make no effort to turn them out. It is universally understood that no great party battle will be fought, as so many are fought, with the object of changing the occupation of the Treasury benches. But on the other hand it seems also pretty generally understood, among the liberal party at least, that a Conservative Government will not long be possible when a new House of Commons is returned. If out verrons. Your readers will have seen that Lord Chelmsford delivered up the Great Seal, and that her Majesty was pleased to deliver it to the new Lord Chancellor. As the ideas relative to thin Great Seal are generally very vague, it may be interesting to state what it really is. It is really and truly a seal of monster proportions. It is formed of two silver concave saucers—I can think of no better word. On one of these is engraved in bas-relief the vera effigies of the Queen surrounded by the Cardinal Virtues on the other her Majesty being represented on horseback. When the Queen issues any royal mandate the Great Seal of England" is impressed with this double portrait, and the fact of this seal being attached makes the document of royal force irrespective of anything that that document may contain. This Great Seal— that is to say the two silver saucers which make the seal in wax—is always in the possession of the Lord Chancellor for the time being. His Lordship keeps it, at his private residence, in a box covered with morocco leather, on which the royal arms are richly emblazoned, the box being secured by a Bramah lock. It is said that according to old unrepealed laws the mere possession of this Great Seal of England constitutes the possessor the supreme Judge of the Court of Chancery, the Speaker of the House of Lords, and the keeper of the Queen's conscience and that sealed with this, whether by lawful authority or not, every document which can emanate from the Sovereign is rendered valid and irrevocable without the consent of the three estates of the realm. But this is perhaps a mere constitutional theory which would soon be disposed of were any burglar, for instance, to break into Lord Cairns's house and rob him of the box containing the two silver discs or saucers which constitute the Great Seal of England. It may be presumed that we shall now be spared any further speculations and gossip about Mr. Speke. He has been advised to have rest of mind and body and change of scene, and is going to the south of France to have both. That his mind was unhinged for a time there can be no doubt, for facts which have transpired, independently of his extraordinary wander- ings, prove it; but it is satisfactory to hear, on un- doubted authority, that some ill-natured rumours affecting his moral character are entirely without foundation. "Representative institutions," said the late Prince Consort, "are on their trial." The words have ever since been undergoing verification. With equal truth it may be said that trades' unions are now on their trial. And yet the men who are being judged by public opinion contain amongst them members of trade unions who seem to be endeavouring to secure their own condemnation. Here is » case in point. Some men had been taken away from the Isle of Dogs, where there is still a large amount of distress, by the Free Labour Association, to replace men who were on strike at Liverpool. These nominally free labourers were met by about 100 trades' unionists, brutally assaulted, knocked down, kicked, &c. And for what offence ? Because they dared to sell their own labour at their own price. The Association had nothing to do with reguktmg their pay. It always scrupulously avoids « £ the kind, and confines itself to action as a medium of wterv^^l wiployers and employed, where both parties acte* ,1vte^dicUtion ky trades' unions. In so far as it opposed to trades' unionism, "'1 sMir^vi^Ketrically merits of the two platforms," but content myself by noting as one of the signs of the times that this Free labour Association, frolll very small beginnings, is decidedly making headway. <> Within the last few years there have been several cases of gross cruelty to servant girls, children, &c. A case of the kind has just occurred, a servant girl' of thirteen years of age having been brutally treated by her mistress. For this the woman is sentenced to five year's penal servitude—a terrible sentence for a woman who has filled a respectable position. I do not say that this punishment, however, is too severe but cer- tainly if it is not, many other persons convicted of equally gross cruelty have got off very lightly. The time seems to have come for "making an example." Unhappy the criminal who happens to be convicted at this critical stage in the history of crime. Justice ought to be justice in the abstract as well as relatively, but human nature seems to be unequal to the main- tenance of a rigid standard that shall be uninfluenced by fears and passions and hence our judges now and then deteumine on "making an example." It is earnestly to be hoped that this heavy sentence will act as such. Mrs. Mary Ann Radcliffe may con- gratulate herself that she was not tried by a jury of matrons, with a specially severe matron for her judge. The death of a Welsh bard and antiquary, at the age of eighty, is announced. It is said that he had never been more than four miles from home, that he had never written a letter, and never received one. At such an age, and in such an age, the world can well spare such a man. How a man could have been an antiquary and a bard with such a limited field of experience it is not easy to conceive. Surely, he must have soon used up local objects of interest within his circle of twenty- four miles circumference, supposing he traversed it all, and his antiquarianism must have been to a great ex- tent founded on the researches of others. Strange that a poet and an author should have confined him- self to a locality in this style, as though he had been interne in the French style. And strange, too, that there should be so many, who, in this respect, are like him. Within even an omnibus ride of the great metropolis there are thousands of men and women who have never been to London. I have met with many such persons. For instance, a well-to-do man lived till near 70 within 14 miles of Hyde Park, and had never been to London till a few weeks before his death, when he came here en route for the seaside and this specimen of stagnant hdmanity was a market gar- dener, who had sent up his gooris to Covent Garden twice a week for more than half a century. As to labourers, and especially the wives of labourers, it is common enough, even in these railroad days, for them to live and die in the village in which they are born, and never even see a town within a dozen miles of them, or any other town. Such people are almost as much vegetables as human beings. Every profession and trade has its peculiar phrase- ology, but that of the stage is perhaps more curious than any. Some rather funny terms are used in some advertisements before me. Among people wanted are a heavy and juvenile gentleman." Whether it is one gentleman who must be both heavy and juvenile is not stated, nor how heavy or how juvenile the one or the two must be. To open March 10." Open what ? 1 Stars are invited to write," but only moveable stars of course. A walking lady, a walking gentle- man, and a few useful people" are also wanted. Well, it may be naturally supposed that an actress or actor must be able to walk, otherwise they would have to act, like marionettes, by machinery. The way in which the useful people are dragged in ;is a make-weight is rather suggestive, and conveys the idea that useful people are much less valued than ornamental people—an idea which derives force from such wants as these—must be young and good- looking;" "wanted a young and handsome accom- plished leading lady—send carte." But is it not sad that woman should thus sell her beauty to be gazed at at so much a head? Sober people who can dress í well off the stage are also required. Sobriety is very desirable of course, but why should a manager stipu- late that people should dress well off the stage? Perhaps, however- perhaps-he provides.them with the means of doing so if they are in other respects qualified. Talent of both sexes may write duffers need not^ apply The latter caution at all events is plain enough, but how can talent" apply ? A man or woman must have a very high opinion of himself or herself to look upon himself or her- self aforesaid as not only being talented, but talent embodied. A "second singing chambermaid" is also wanted. What is a singing chambermaid ? The character is not uncommon on the stage, but it certainly does not occur in every play, and what then is the singing chambermaid to do ? Is she to be left out in the cold, or is she to sing in some other part ? But what if there be no part requiring a song? No song, no supper perhaps. But here is something more mysterious still. A corner man" is wanted. And pray what is a corner man? Perhaps be is one of those very "useful people" who, when the manager finds himself in a corner, owing to the non-attendance of a heavy man, a juvenile gentleman, or a walking gentleman, can take any part. But I give it up. I have only been showing my ignorance, I know, but in these fast and clever times even ignorance is some- times refreshing.
Iltktllmtcinis Intelligent,I
Iltktllmtcinis Intelligent, I FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL. CHILD MURDER" EXTRAORDINARY. — The other morning (says a Sheffield paper) a man named Bailey found in a field near Monk Bretton what ap- peared to him in the grey dawn it was about six o'clock—and to the "active and intelligent local police-constable in broad daylight, the skeleton of a child. It was removed to a public-house near by "to await an inquest," and meanwhile information of the supposed murder was forwarded to Barnsley. Some doubts appear to have been felt as to the genuineness of the articles, and to solve these Mr. Wainwright, surgeon, was driven over to make an external and, if necessary, an internal examination. The doctor found the remains were those, not of of a child, but, in all probability, of a sheep or a dog. NOVELTY IN VALENTINES. — Many persons seem to consider Valentine's Day a good opportunity for annoying thoae of their acquaintances with whom they are not on the best of terms. The following were among the articles which parsed through the Post- offices as valentines:— A small tooth-comb, a pepper- box, a lady's muff, hundreds of lac simile babieB-one in a cradle-to the addreBBeB of many of which every conceivable kind of scurrilous and annoy- ing remark3 was appended. No less than twelve herrings were posted aB valentines but in these cases the object was defeated by an order from the Postmaster-General, which directed such packets to be stopped and destroyed. In one case a full-sized figure of the head of an ass, cut out on cardboard, was sent to a person, the face of the ass being well delineated on one side by paint, and on the other was the address, which ran as follows Dedicated to-, by a few of his friends, who appreciate his merits." THE USE OF USEFUL PEOPLE !—The news- papers are discussing the project of starting in Boston an asylum for useless young women. The advocates of equal rights insist on making it large enough to accommodate the useless young men also. There is only one objection to the scheme we (New York Times) have precisely such an institution already. What is the whole social system but an enormous asylum, in which the useful people take care of the useless? and that, by the way, is precisely where the greatest usefulness lies. WORK FOR KOYALTY.—It is pretty generally known now that one of the occupations of the late Prince Consort during the latter years of his life was the formation of a collection of engravings, photo- graphs, and other representations of the works of Raphael; both the genuine ones, and also those which have been ascribed to him. This work has been con- tinued by the Queen, and is now approaching such completeness as is possible for an undertaking of this kind. It will ultimately be bound in about fifty or sixty huge volumes, and at the present time a catalogue of the whole collection, which has been compiled by Mr. Roland, formerly librarian to his Royal Highness, and who has had the largest share in the labour of forming it, is being rapidly carried through the press. It is understood that though this work is in the first instance intended by her Majesty for distribution in the way of presents among her personal friends, foreign Sovereigns, and others who have aided in carrying out the Prince's plan, a special edition will afterwards be published for the use of amateurs and Raphael col- lectors. A SINGULAR BEQUEST.—The will of William Barnes, which has been proved in the London court, contains the following bequest:— I give and bequest unto the Chancellor of the Exchequer of Great Britain for the use of the nation all my estate and effects, whatsoever and wheresoever, both real and personal, after having paid all my lawful debts, and the three following legacies of £100, £50, and £40 to his servants free of duty, the executor receiving full compensation for his trouble. Should the Chancellor of the Exchequer refuse to accept the Bame, then it shall revert to the executor, the Rev. Thomas Snell. Independent minister, to be used by him as shall appear to be most in harmony with the mind of the testator as expressed by him. FINE WRITING !—Mr. J. W. Forney, clerk of the United States Senate, gives a description of a party lately given by a Senator of Michigan. The story fills two columns of the Philadelphia Press. Mr. Forney speaks of parlours decorated with exotics of chaste and highly original design." "Carriage after carriage," he says, "rolled up and deposited their contents." Miss Chandler is described as "a fair lunette, with golden locks, which were slightly powdered with silver." He speaks of a lady who wore a necklace with numerous pendents, earrings, brace- lets, and rings on her left breast was a bird composed of the same rare jewels, and on her left shoulder a square pin, fastened by a loop of green velvet, which exhibited the colours of the rainbow as the diamonds reflected the lights of the apartment." THE DISTRESS IN ALGERIA.—The Moniteur de VAlgerie publishes an article contradicting certain exaggerations relative to the distress prevailing in the colony. The writer admits that the natives have just j v&ssed through a period of severe trial. Never before j m Aigcrtfc. -were two years of drought known to follow each other, and neve* vw« consecutive invasions of Iu the districts in 7>«st from want of reso. flocks and herds their usual tlie Government, as has. been stated, opened work establishments, and the number of Arabs employed in them may be estimated at nearly 50,000. They succeed each other rather rapidly, because, as soon as they have saved a small amount,—that s, after a week or a fort- night's work,—they go back to their tents, and do not return return their stock of provisions is exhausted. Stimulated by the example of the Government, the communes and private individuals have also offered employment to the native popula- tion, and probably 15,000 additional men are thus engaged, some of whom earn from 3f. to 3f. 50c. a day. The able-bodied men being thus placed in a position to provide for themselves, the Administration has been enabled to reserve its assistance for the families deprived of their protectors, for widows, orphans, the old, and the infirm and to concentrate upon these its entire attention. NOTHING WANTED BUT THE MIND.—Mr. Pal- grave writes in Macmillan for March :— Mr. Buckle once told me that Talfourd possessed a letter of Charles Lamb s not published, however, in the Life -in which Lamb narrated some criticisms made upon Shak- speare by \V ords worth :—That "Shakspeare was a great poet, a very able genius, indeed that much of his merit, lay 111 his style, and a peculiar manner he had, which Wordsworth thought other people could imitate. in fact, that he could write like Shakspeare if he had a mind to it. So you see, Lamb ended, "he wants nothing but the mind." OH ALBERT-EDWARD !—The John Bull ex- presses its admiration of the Prince of Wales for his prowess in "taking five barred gates, timber, and walls as they come in the hunting field, and com- mends the Duke of Beaufort for having hospitably convened 300 ladies and gentlemen at a Lawn Meet at Badminton to witness the Prince's performances. But John Bull cannot refrain from giving expression to the general feeling of regret that the Duke should have selected Ash-Wednesday, of all days in the year, for "the meet of the season." "It is well known," says the John Bull, that the Duke of Beaufort is no Pllseyite; still, his Grace might have asked himself why there is service on Ash-Wednesday in the Chapel Royal, and why on that day large congregations at- tend in Evangelical churches. What must the peasantry going to church on the morning of the Great Lawn Meet—what must the clergy of the neigh- bouring country churches have felt when they saw the nobility and gentry of North Wiltshire, attired in their best, flocking in crowds, not to Divine service, but to admire the Prince of Wales 'taking five barred gates, timber, and walls as they come,' with the Bad- minton hounds ?" POACHING IN WALES.—The following extract from a letter in the Oswestry Advertiser is rather startling. The editor vouches for the truthfulness of the party communicating the information :— A most respectable farmer, from the neighbourhood of informed me that he was returning home one evening, not long ago, from the when near he was overtaken lJy a pang of poachers, who invited him to come with them. The poachers addressed him by name, and were- evidently well acquainted with him, though he did not know one of them, as they had so disguised them- selves as completely to baffle recognition. My correspon- dent goes on to say that a little lurther on "they were met by a much larger gang, coming from another direction. The road was quite crowded, and much trouble must have been taken to gather such a body of men together. The leader stood out of the crowd, and~cnlled the men by number, and they were evidently well drilled. Sixty-five answered to their numbers. They were well equipped with Are arms, and appeared fully resolute upon clearing the preserves of a neighbouring landlord." LOOKING VERY SUSPICIOUS !—Mr. Carr, of Gill Abbey, Cork, has received a threatening letter, re- quiring him, on pain of having his house blown up, to leave the locality. Last year the ground in the neigh- bourhood was the resort of Fenians, and it is thought they want it again for meeting and drilling in. A man named W hite purchased a load of manure a few days since from a person who resides in a lane near Gal- lows-green. On proceeding to remove it he found three revolvers, which were immediately laid hold of by some bystanders who evidently knew of their con- cealment. He attempted to recover the possession of them, but a crowd collected, and, fearing personal violence, he let them go. Revolvers seem to be rather freely distributed in Cork. A young lad named Murphy has been arrested by the police on suspicion, and on searching him a fine Colt's was found in his possession. He was committed for trial at the assizes. VERY INGENIOUS. The Illustrated London News describes the following method of making imita- tion Manilla straw hats with paper, which is exten- sively adopted in America :— A real Manilla straw hat is rubbed "over with bronze powder. It is then placed in an electro-plating bath and a thick deposit of copper is precipitated upon it. The straw is then burnt out, and a copper mould is left into which a pulp of Manilla straw paper is introduced. A hat of the exact snape of the pattern is thus formed; and when coloured sized, waterproofed, and finished, it can scarcely be distin- guished from the original. AN INDIAN PRINCE'S PRESENT.—An elegant drmkmg fountain, which has cost twelve hundred S^nraUT3,8. °P £ led 4in,?yde Park, in London, on ur> a nra-^fr' +L °* Canterbury offered l)ri nkinc^F\mi'r.(- P**Kfent of the Metropolitan KlrfP T Association made a neat speech the Duke of Cambridge who presided, offered some appropriate remarks, and, after a heartv draught of the pure element, declared the fountain open Lord Harris returning thanks, on behalf of the donor' But who was the giver of this princely gift? His name is to he read in old Lnglish characters" on a monu- mental brass on one of the sides of the fountain. He is the Maharajah Mirza Vizeram Geyaputty Rtj Munca >ooltan Bahadoor of Vizianagram, and Knight of the Star of India. Queen Victorias sceptre must indeed be a magic wand, thus to draw forth the sym. pathy of the Hindoo potentate, ever so many thou. ✓ sands of miles away (remarks a London contemporary), j Had the present emanated from the Maharajah j Dhuleep Sin^'h, it might have excited little surprise for his Highness has lived among us since a child, and has become an En>,li-<h country gentleman. But the Bahadoor of Vizianagram, in Hyde Park, takes us baok to the "Arabian Nights." For the rest, the gift of a fountain is most characteristically and charmingly Oriental, and we doubt not but that Mirza Sooltan's I, noble present will be gratefully appreciated by the in- habitants of the metropolis. EXTRAORDINARY RECOVERY OF SPEECH BY A DCMB MAN.—"Medicus," writing in the Dundee Advertiser, says:— A circumstance of such an unusual nature occurred yes. terday, the 25 th, that I cannot refrain from giving it publicity in your columns. A man, aged forty years, named David Connacher, residing in Perth-road, and who had been deaf and dumb for more than thirty-five years, was seized for the third time with paralysis. Erom the first there was no hope (If his recovery, and he died twenty hours after his seizure. The I circumstance I am about to refer to is as follows Nearly ten minutes before his death he rose up in bed and dis- tinctly Slid, clear and p'ain'y, "OMary, Mary, Mary!" You may imagine the effect these words produced on those sitting in the room, hearing one speak who had been so long a mute-one woman (his sister) fainted outright, others were panic-stricken at the unusual occurrence. Then he became conscious, and his spirit gently ebbed away. I never heard of a similar case of recovery of Epeech after so long a period I' of deprivation." CHARLES DICKENS AT WASHINGTON. — The Boston Commonwealth says that during Dickens' week's stay in Washington he walked all about the city, saw the evidence of growth and improvement since his former visit, twenty six years ago, called upon the President, dined with Senator Sumner, visited a number of his friends, and read four times to an audience of something over a thousand, including most of the chief men of the National Government. Of his qualities as a reader and actor it is needless to speak. He that does not see in Dickens a power of expression in his face alone superior to that which other men possess in face and speech cannot be taught any- thing like a respectable conception of the highest forms of nature as well as heart. The same scenes were presented here as in more northern cities during the readings. Hardened politicians, who never read a. word of Dickens in their lives, looked in calm con- tempt, wondering what men and women saw to move them to laughter or tears rich devotees of shoddy, clad in fine laces or broadcloth, gazed in stupid astonishment; and intelligent persons, whose chief possessions were their brains and education, enjoyed the treat to the utmost. THREATENED STRIKE OF COLLIERS.—The col- liery proprietors of West Lancashire recently decided to reduce the wages of colliers 15 per cent. The work- men's delegates met at Wigan, and afterwards an open-air meeting was held, at which about 10,000 I)ersons assembled. Mr. Pickard presided. The fol- owing resolutions were unanimously adopted:— That the men in the various collieries of Wigan district, in public meeting assembled, are willini to submit to a drop equal to the last advance (10 per cent.), and that only. That all the men who are now out remain out and be sup- ported until all the notices are expired, and it then be de- cided what course be pursued but in every case where the men are allowed to go to work, the master taking nothing off but the last advance, the men are to resume work. That, considering the cause af the present distress and reduction of wages is consequent on over-production of material, at the end of the notice being worked eut, we agree to adopt some form of restriction in the Wigan district, and to get all in Lancashire and elsewhere to do it. FALLING SHORT !—At Toulon an old sailor left some property to be given as a prize to the most virtuous girl in that town, which was to serve as her dowry, and that she should wed the most honest sailor. The Mayor was to find the virtuous girl, and the Ad- miral of the port the honest mariner. This year, however, the prizes have been duly awarded, but, on presentation, the Jack Tar did not come up to the young lady's expectations. So the matter remains. [Bye-the-bye, it is very curious the number of bequests that have been left to found prizes for virtuous girls.] LEGACY AND SUCCESSION DUTIES.—This branch of the Inland Revenue appears to be steadily increasing in productibility, having yielded £1.845,204 in 1857-8 j32,197,533 in 1858-9, £2,104,669 in 1859-60, £2,161.825 in 1860-1, £2,266.3;j() in 1861-2, JE2,374,436 in 18623, j32,251,581 in 1863-4, £2.337,994 in 1864-5, J62,604,332 in 1865-6, and j32,568,044 in 1866-7. England and Wales contribute more than four-fifths of the duties in question, having paid under this head £1,604,619 in 1857-8, £1,889,412 in 1858-9, £ 1,793,970 in 1859 60, £ 1,858,284 in 1860-1, £ 1,942,492 in 1861-2, £ 2,031,359 in 1862-3, £ 1,883,771 in 1863-4, £1,977,648 in 1864-5, £2,248,654 in 1865-6, and £2,174,589 in 1866-7. A LADY VIOLINIST.—A lady violinist has just presented herself at the popular concerts, and seems to have turned the heads of the Parisians, who declare her to be equal to Paginini. Her name is Madame Norman Neruda, born near Prague in 1840, and now in her twenty-eighth year. She is married to a Swede, was a pupil of Zangas, and studied at the Imperial Academy of Music at Vfenna. When only seven years old she gave her first public concert. She is young, blonde, elegant, and has a dignified air—and yet modest, if not shy, of her remarkable talent. Applause does not disconcert her. It is only after the brilliant execution of the most difficult morceaux that her cheeks show a blush as she makes her bow. SUDDEN ILLNESS OF THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. —A Paris correspondent, writing on Friday evening, in last week, says On Wednesday evening, at about five o'clock, the Emperor was suddenly seized with a violent asthmatic attack. His difficulty of breathing was so great that it was thought desirable to take him to an open window hoking on the Tuileries. The crisis passed off, and his Majesty is now in his usual health. ™ su+nr,"Uv Aveninc. the same correspondent The Emperor is not yet wen enough to go out. He has had frequent attacks of short breathing since the one I have already mentioned. Dr. Corvisart is in attendance, and the members óf" the" Medical Cabinet" vre ordered yesterday not to be absent a moment. PARRICIDE IN FRANCE.—A young man named Gendre, of Orcerette (Cantal), has just been tried for parricide. The crime had its origin in some family jealousy arising out of motives of interest. The father, a farmer, was in difficulties and wished his son to marry, in order to himself receive the dowry of the daughter-in-law, with which to pay some pressing debts; the accused, however, declined to comply with this arrangement, and declared' that he would not marry while his father was alive. The latter being irritated at this refusal, made a will leaving that portion of his property of which he had the disposal, according to the French law on successions, to his son- in-law. The son, in his turn, considered himself aggrieved, and lying in wait at night for his father, shot him dead. He is now condemned to hard labour for life. A SIMILIE.—"Have you ever read Coleridge's Ancient Mariner V asked Mr. Spurgeon on a recent occasion. I dare say you have thought it one of the strangest imaginations ever put together, especially that part where the old mariner represents the corpses of all the dead men rising up to manage the ship—dead men pulling the ropes, dead men steering, dead men spreading the sails. I thought what a strange idea that was. But do you know that I have lived to see that true I have seen it done. I have gone into churches and I have seen a dead man in the pulpit, and a dead man as a deacon, and a dead man holding the plate at the door, and dead men sitting to hear. You say 'Strange!' but I have. I have gone into societies and I have seen it all going on so regularly. These dead men, you know, never outstep the bounds of prudence—not they they have not life enough to do that, they always pull the rope orderly." A PUBLIC FUNCTIONARY'S FEELINGS.—A corres- pondent of the Court Journal writes:— A friend of mine, who happened to resemble a well-known public official, chanced to arrive a little while ago at a cer- tain town on the night before an execution. On reaching the hotel he was told that the sheriff was waiting for him at the gaol, and would be glad to see him at once. My friend at once saw the mistake that had been made, and kept up the illusion until the real hero appeared on the scene. The result was an invitation to breakfast given by the distinguished functionary, which my friend accepted. In the course of conversation it was mentioned that the host had performed about 270 times, and that he never felt any repugnance to his part except when executing the girl Thomas, who was hanged for the murder of her mistress at Bristol. He was then strongly inclined to "strike," so firmly did he feel convinced that the girl was unjustly executed. LORD DUNDREARY IN FRANCE.—A young lady assisted at a workman's feast, in the town of Lion-a pretty watering-place. She produced a portrait of that noble Jacques, Lord Dundreary, she had bought in Paris, and as well known here as in London. The municipal elections were to take place next day, and for the office of mayor was candidate Count De B rather an absentee landlord. One of the opposition party took the portrait of Sothern, printed a foolish address, and pasted the portrait underneath as that of Count De The peasantry next morning coming into Lion to vote, read the remarkable appeal to their suffrages, and point-blank declined giving their votes to the foolish Count. What is better still, the Count so enjoyed the humour of the idea, which he comprehended at a glance, tnat he refused to order the poster to be taken down. A BLACK COUNTRY LOVE-LETTER.—A corres- pondent at Walsall sends us (Birmingham Post) the following as a genuine production :—mi daerst anna Jdd your latter and wes glad to her from you and I shel com to you on sonday after cresmus day and than we can settal abaet baning merrad We can get merrad at ather Stoke hor Walsall it wil ba plasur tor to Av Aloving wife to com hom to at nite I vary glad to sey thet mi mother is a littla battar then she wes wen i rote to you ba for i shell ba vary glad to com to sa you agene i mena to gat merrad i nevar shell bar happey til i am so i concluda with may bast lov to you may darest anna. DUTIES ON WILLS AND BEQUESTS.—A Par- liamentary 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 inventories. The number ot deaths in the year may be taken as approaching 700,000, but more than half would probably be deaths of minors. It would appear, then, that about one in eight of the adults dying jnust have left personal property worth at least £ 100—the point at which the duty commences and as the tax produced -£).735,&68, the duty would average more than £41 for each case. But this is the "gross sum produced," and must probably be under- stood as paid on an estimate of the property before deducting for debts. A PUFF ADVERTISEMENT.—A grocer in Quebec advertises:— The peculiar delicacies of the far-off Ind, and the finely flavoured and humanising leaf of the still further Cathay the mote exciting, though not less delicious berry of Brazil, and the spices, sugars, and luscious fruits of the Antilles; the sl1¡rared condiments and the blood-enriching wines of the Mediterranean, and the salt-cured and brain-renewing fish of cur own stormy gulf. What he means to say is, that he sells tea, coffees, and codfish, cheap for cash. MELANCHOLY DEATH.—An inquest has been held at Portsmouth, on the body of Alfred Mann, aged 34 years, the captain of a schooner lying in the Camber, who met with his death by drowning under very melancholy circumstances. It appears that the deceased had been on shore, and was returning to his j vessel about eleven o'clock on Thursday evening. He j had to walk along a plank for the purpose of doing so, I when he unfortunately made a false step, and waa precipitated into the water. The splash was heard by I those on board, and although assistance was quickly rendered and the body soon recovered, all efforts to restore animation were unavailing, and death ensued in a very short time. The deceased was perfectly sober at the time, and it is conjectured that as the night was somewhat dark, and there is no lamp near the spot, the poor fellow, instead of stepping on to the plank, must have tumbled into the water, and that he was unable to save himself through being seized with cramp. The jury returned a verdict of "Accidental Death." THE LATE COLONEL DUNN, V.C. — The brother of Colonel Dunn has received from Abyssinia a copy of the proceedings of a court of inquest on the late Colonel Dunn, V.C., 33rd Regiment, who was accidentally shot by his own rifle. On the morning of the day of the accident the colonel, accompanied by the surgeon of his regiment and six beaters, went for a day's shooting to the pass of Senaftl In the after- noon, feeling fatigued, and having fallen considerably in the rear of his companions, he sat down on some stones, his rifle resting on his left shoulder. In getting out his brandy flask his rifle must have slipped and come in violent contact with a stone, as one of the hammers (perfect in the morning) was found to have had its top broken off. The opinion of the Court is expressed in these words :—" The Court, haying carefully considered all the evidence before it, is of opinion that the death of Colonel Dunn was purely accidental, caused by his own rifle exploding while he was in the act of using his brandy flask when sitting on a stone, out shooting." A PANEGYRIC ON LORD DERBY.—The Paris papers make mention of the change of Cabinet in England, and several are full of praise of Lord Derby. The Presse says :— Fortunately for Mr. Disraeli, Lord Derby, by resigning functions which his health does not permit him to perform, does not renounce'politics. He will continue to be the ad- viser, the guide, and the supporter of his former colleagues. He will interpose to smooth away differences, and will, in case of need, give the assistance of his powerful oratory. Withdrawn from the mélée, a stranger to the struggles of party, but still interested in the affairs and fortunes of his party, respected by all parties for the nobleness of his character and his great services, venerated by his Sovereign, and consulted by her, Lord Derby will occupy the exceptional situation in which the glory of a long career and of moral authority had already placed the Duke of Wellington and the Marquis of Lansdowne. Like them, he will be the depository of the traditions and wisdom of the past; A sort of arbiter, whose experience and sound judgment will be appealed to in all difficult circumstances, and whose voice, certain to be listened to, will never be raised but to pacify the public mind and prosecute the public good. How worthy of envy is such an incomparable situation and how magnifi- cent is such a crowning of an illustrious career! Lord Derby will be, by a sort of universal acclamation, the foremost citizen of a free country. JOHN MITCHELL ON FENIANISM. — John Mitchell has written a very remarkable letter to Mr. Martin, of Kilbroney, explaining his reasons for de- clining the leadership of the Fenian organisation. Fenianism in the United States is, he says, all in con- fusion and disarray, in consequence of the wrong basis on which it has been established by "that wretched Stephens." He exposes the delusion that the United States would permit hostile proceedings towards Eng- land, and ridicules the idea of attacking England while she is at peace. The trouble of the Fenians is not, he asserts, disunion- -it is just utter impotency. DEAFNESS AND LUNACY.—Some of the leading residents at Bishopston are making an effort to obtain the release from the County Lunatic Asylum, at Gloucester, ot Mr. W. Jones, printer, whose confine- ment there is said by them to be the result of a mis- take. Mr. Jones, they state, is of perfectly sound mind, but has the misfortune to be stone deaf. This defect prevented him from understanding what was said to him when he was taken a few days ago before a medical gentleman for examination and it is believed that this, coupled with his somewhat peculiar appear- ance, led to the order for his removal to the asylum being signed. Some correspondence upon the subject has passed, and Dr. Token, the superintendent of the asylum, while remarking that he had hardly seen suf- ficient of Mr. Jones to form a definite conclusion, states that he finds his reasoning powers are good. Several letters from Mr. Jones have been received by his friends during the time he has been in the asylum, and these letters all bear evidence, not only of intel- ligence, but of a well-balanced mind. Itjis intended to memorialise the Lunacy Commissioners in reference to this case, laying all the facts before them, and praying them to make an inquiry into it. SIR DAVID BREWSTER AND THE PEACE SOCIETY. —The Herald of Peace says that, unlike many much smaller men, who, while professing themselves friends of peace, think it necessary and becoming nevertheless to sneer at those who by organised and persevering effort are doing their utmost to promote that cause. Sir David cordially recognised and encouraged the Peace Society, acknowledged the value of its services, and publicly associated himself with it on more than one occasion. He did so especially and conspicuously when he became President of the great Peace Congress held at Exeter Hall in 1851. We remember well, when in company with Mr. Cobden, we waited upon him to ask his ac- ceptance of that office-the. modest, but ready and cordial spirit' in which he. responded to our request. Shortly after the Congress of T&51, Sir David wrote a long and elaborate article in the North British Review, giving a full history o| the rise and progress of the Peace movement. Evet after he retained a lively in- terest in the question. It is with some pride we remember that he wis a constant- reader of our little periodical, and every nov and then wrote to us, calling our attention to som^^ing which he had met with in the course of his readies, likely to interest us, as bear- ing on the subject of peace. GUN ACCIDENT.—An accident of a rather re- markable kind occurred at Bristol on Sunday after- aged four years and the other nine, in the house, and were playing together In one ol the rooms. The elder lad reached down his father's gun, not knowing that it was loaded. After he had played 'WitK ifa htcWltime the charge exploded, and wounded the child of four in the right side of the client. He was taken to Bristol Infirmary, where he still lies. RELIGION FOR SAILORS.—The River Mersey Missions for Seamen Society, at their annual meeting at Liverpool on Monday, reported that during the past year the chaplain visited 2,236 ships, held 676 services, and conversed with 29,000 men. On shore the Scripture readers paid 6,898 visits, conversed with 16,000 men, and distributed 20,000 tracts. The society was formed for bringing religion "home" to seamen, either on ship-board or on shore; the results are des- cribed as most satisfactory. THE VELOCIPEDE NUISANCE.—The Paris corres- pondent of the Daily Telegraph writes :— But there is another and a serious nuisance: horrible boys, and detestable men, go running about the streets and roads on machines which look like the ghosts of departed spiders. I think they call them "velocipedes." Their mission on this earth is to run between the horses drawing the chariots of dowagers, to their great alarm, and to the possible danger of the pedestrian on wheels. As a rule, locomotion is charm- ing, and PROPELLING yourself in an invalid chair—you yourself being quite well—is no doubt as exciting as fishing with a float; still, might not the disciples of this rapturous delight be kept in by-ways ? It is no business of mine, but I saw the ex-Princess of Nowhere—she has been here sometime—clutch her poor disinherited children to her breast as the infernal machine ran between the legs of her two bays; while Mademoiselle de L Affaire Manqufie was nearly a victim to the alarm of the two cream-coloured ponies which she bought at Naples of the Duca della Vita per Cariti, for a Duke's ranson. A DIAMOND RlNG CASE.—A curious case relative to the ownership of a diamond ring, which has occupied the Thames Police-court, in London, on several previous occasions, was brought to a close on Monday. A woman named Donovan, employed as a rag-sorter by a 1\1;. Cohen, found in the course of her daily labour a diamond ring; and the sorters being distinctly allowed to retain any articles of value they may find, she dealt with it as her property by taking it to a pawnbroker s. Here it was stopped, the police communicated with, and, the facts being made known, several claimants sprung up for the jewel. Mr. Cohen, the rag-merchant, was excluded by his own rules but Messrs. Smith and Early claimed it as having been purchased by a youth with the proceeds of a robbery from them, for which he was now in Newgate. A policeman, however, now stated that this youth had declared that the ring was never in his possession and the magistrate, finding that there was no proof of its ownership before him, ordered it, amidst the applause of a crowded court, to be given up to Mrs. Donovan, the finder. YOUTHFUL ATROCITY.—Archibald Harris, a mere youth, was on Monday committed for trial by the Liverpool magistrates on the charge of seriously stabbing Patrick Sinnott, nineteen years of age. On the night of Saturday week they were at a beerhouse in Back Bond-street, for the purpose of taking part in a raffle. Sinnott was "very drunk," and quarrelled with Harris, who stabbed him with a knife in the region of the heart, exclaiming when the wounded youth fell, Lie there, you and die." WAITING FOR A JURY.—The trial of Colonel Nagle, at Sligo, has been somewhat embarrassing to the prosecution, the prisoner having as a foreigner demanded to be tried by a jury composed partly of aliens, and the panel of aliens who had been summoned not having furnished a sufficient number. They were chiefly Prussian seamen, who, it may be presumed, did not understand English, so that the length of the trial might have been doubled by the necessary busi- ness of interpretation. Under these circumstances the trial has wisely been postponed until the next assizes. —The trial of another alien, "^Captain" Mackay, will excite no little interest in Cork. Notice has been served upon him in Kilmainham Gaol informing him that he will be tried at the assizes which are to com- mence on the 9th of March. His solicitor has com- municated to Mr. Adams in London the fact of his approaching trial and of his claim to be indicted before a jury composed one half of aliens. FIENDISH OUTRAGE BY BRIGANDS.—The Italia of Naples relates the following terrible act of bri- gandage :— Sataniello continues his raids. The return of spring seems to have re-animated his audacity and ferocity. On the after- noon of the 18th he entered, with hin band, the commune of Gioia, and pillaged the house of Angelo Trojana, carrying away with them the proprietor and one of his friends, Pasquate Dicchielo. On reaching a neighbouring wood the brigands stabbed the unfortunate Trojano with no fewer than thirty poignard thrusts, while one of the band at the same time cleaved open his head, breast, and back with an enormous hatchet. A GOOD TIME FOR CORN-GROWERS. — Mr. Mechi, one of the few farmers who do not grumble, admits that he has been doing a good trade at Tiptree of late, in consequence of the hieh price which he has been obtaining for his wheat. In 1865, when wheat averaged 48s. 2d. perqr., he made a profit of jb238. or 11 per cent. upon the capital engaged in 1866, with wheat averaging 46s. per qr., his profit rose to £268, or llf per cent., upon the capital engaged and in 1867, with wheat averaging 61s. Sd. per qr., his piofit ex- panded to £463, or 18 per cent., upon a capital of £2,57L This capital, it should be understood, is the tenant's capital, not the landlord's capital. A NEW EAU DE COLOGNE.—M. Oppenheim, principal of the wealthy banking-houRe of Cologne, has just received the title of baron from the Prussian government. A journal, in mentioning the fact, states that a few years back a member of the same firm, perhaps the one above referred to, was reading the visiting card of a confrere who had added the name of the town in which he was born, and then reduced his own fanily appellation to the limpls initial. 1 Here is another banker who has made himself a noble," he remarked with a smile "I shall soon be the only commoner in the business." Why not fol- low his example," observed a friend, "you have only to put on your card, 0 de Cologne."
ILL-TREATING A SERVANT GIRL.
ILL-TREATING A SERVANT GIRL. At the Central Criminal Court in London, Ann Radcliffe, a married woman, surrendered to her recog- nizances to answer an indictment charging her, in effect, with cruelly ill-using and doing grievous bodily harm to one Susan Russell. The case, from its great atrocity, excited much interest. The complainant, Sarah Russell, a little girl of 13, had been servant of all work to the prisoner and her husband, who reside in Gray's-inn-road, London. She was carried into court, and was allowed to sit while giving her evidence, which she did in an artless manner. She was thin and pa1e, and her manner and appearance were prepossessing. Her mother is dead, and before going into serVlCe she had lived with her father and step-mother. She went into the prisoner's service in August, 1866. She was their only servant, and there were three children, the t¡1ldest, a boy, being about 13, and at a boarding school when she first went. On Sunday, the 12th of January last, she said she was cleaning a grate in'a bedroom about two o'clock, and the prisoner entered the room. She was then kneeling, and the prisoner kicked her behind, being cross that she had not cleaned the stove before that time. The kick hurt her very much at the time, and she had felt pain ever since. Her master was in the room at the time, and sent her home at once, the eldest boy going with her. She continued to feel pain when she got home. That evening she was taken first to the police-station and then to a hospital, where she remained 11 days. She a iffered from a swelling in the groin. She had only a piece or dry bread that Sunday, and that she left because she could not eat it. On the previous Friday the prisoner boxed her ears and her master sent her down stairs. Her master went out, and after that she was cleaning some saucepans in the kitchen, when the prisoner poured srnie water in a teacup from a kettle on the hob and threw it over her neck, which it blistered, and also her bosom. On the following morning she was at work in the kitchen, and the prisoner asked about a piece of soap. She said she did not know where it was. Upon that the pri- soner struck her on the right side of the head with an iron bowl, causing it to bleed. Later in the day she asked again about the soap, and beat her with a long stick, while she was working in the back kitchen, on the right arm and about the back. The arm bled in consequence, and the stick was broken by ene of the blows. The blood fell from the arm on the floor, and the prisoner made her wash it up. On the next morning, which was Sunday, about eight o'clock, when she was cleaning knives, the prisoner took a cane from a hamper and beat her about the back with it. That same morning she made her scrub the arm which had bled with a scrubbiug brush and a pail of water, she standing over her while she did so. When she used to cry the prisoner would tell her she would beat her until she ceased. Before she kicked her on the Sunday she told her if she did not mind what she was about she would not be able to walk, and her father would have to come and carry her home She also said she would keep her there another week and serve her the same. While she was at the sink on one occasion the prisoner knocked her head against a walL She also gave her a black eye. In cross-examination the witness stated that the ill-treatment commenced in August last; that she had been sent home on account of the state of her clothes, and taken back by Mrs. Radcliffe at her step- mother's request. A severe cross-examination failed to shake the wit- ness's testimony in any material particular, but brought out that she had been able to walk, with assistance, to and from the court. Sarah Ann Bussell, the step-mother of the previous wit- ness, said the child was sent home to her, on the Sunday in question, by her mistress, accompanied by her eldest boy. Pieces bad been cut out of the child's arms and hands, espe- cially about the knuckles The arms were also very much swollen about the elbows, the eyes were blackened, and the biidce of the nose was much swollen. There was a large cut en the side of the head, and her bair was matted with blood. Her shoulders were more like liver than flesh, and a piece had been cut from the shoulders. Her stomach and other parts of her person were bruised, and witness could not lay half-a-crown between the bruises. There was a lump as large as witness's frst above her private parts, and her feet and ankles were discoloured with bruises. Witness gave her something to eat, but she could not raise her arm to her mouth. Witness took her to the police-station, and thence, on the advice of Inspector Potter, to the hospital. Police-inspector Potter said that when the girl was brought to the station she was very weak and ill, and unable to stand. He directed her to be taken to the hospital Mr. Alfred Lloyd Owen, house-surgeon to the Royal Free Hospital, Gray's inn-road, deposed that when the girl was brought there she was in a most exhausted condition, and was suffering much from pain. He had her removed to a ward and undressed, and examined her. Both her eyes were swollen and bruised, also her nose, and her face was much injured otherwise with small contusions. There was a small incised wound on the top of the head, which had bled, and there were stains of bloed about the hair and neck. Her neck and shoulders were very red and painful, m'lch swollen, and portions of the shoulders were denuded of skin, appa- rently from blisters. There was a small open wound on the right side of the chest. The rest of the chest, abdomen, and back were covered with small contused wounds, and it was true as the mother had said, that half-a-crown could not be placed without touching some of them. The private parts were injured and discoloured, and immediately above there was a considerable tumefaction or swelling, which extended to the grom on the light sIde, which was also discoloured. Her thighs, legs, and arms were considerably contused and also swollen, particularly the shins. Iu fact, the legs and arms were so much swollen that she presented the appear- ance of a dropsical patient. The skin was off the toes in some places from a scald or a burn of some kind. She remained an in-patient of the hospital about eleven or twelve days, and had since been an out-patient. She was yet in an exna'usted and weak state, consequent, he should say, on the injuries she had received. The wound on the head was not very serious it only extended to the scalp. There were small abrasions 011 the arms, of which he should scarcely have taken auy notice. III cross-examination witness saill the injury to the private parts could hardly have been done by a fall downstairs. It might have been caused by a fall on the Saturday. Evidence was given to show that the prisoner had been taken into custody on a warrant, and that the day before her surrender a reward had been offered and published for her apprehension. For the defence, James Coutts, who had been five years in the employment of the prisoner's husband, was called, and bore testimony to the kindness with which she had treated her own children, and he had never seen her ill-use the MHpeouMx. On the Friday before the prosecutrix left she pointing to her groin, she-told him she nacrnurc Herself, ana could not kneel down. On the Saturday again she com- phined to him tbat. she had fallen on a piece of grease. On the Tuesday evening previous to her leaving the girl's mother told him she had got a mistress more like a mother to har. -r Ttott-w&s when he had, at the request of the mis- tress, gone to tell the mother ttmi theglrl was to leave on the following Monday. Ht)" had hot said anything about that at the police-court. William Radcliffe, eleven years old, son of the defendant, said, on the day before the Sunday on which the prosecutrix went home, as she walked lame, he said to her" Susan, what's the matter with you?" She replied she had fallen downstairs on the Friday with a scuttle of coals and hurt herself. Shellac said to him, What will your mother do to keep me out of my mother's way, because I know she will murder me ?" He was at home all the Sunday, and was sure his mother was never upstairs in the bedroom that morning before the girl left. Ernest Radcliffe, brother of the last witness, said he went home with the girl on the Sunday, and on the door being opened her father struck her, and said he had got it for her upstairs." She entered the house crying, and witness left. Emma Chappell, sister of the prisoner, deposed that she was visiting there on the Sunday in question, and had arrived between eleven and twelve. From that time until the girl Susan left, her sister (the defendant) never left the kitchen. Mr. Radcliffe, her brother-in-law, sent the girl home. She had never seen her treat the girl unkindly. Witnesses were called, neighbours and others, who proved that the prisoner treated her servants with kindness. Mr. Ribton addressed the jury for the defence, dwelling especially upon the hardship of the existing state of the law, which precluded both the prisoner and her husband giving their version of the matter, and upon the mauifest exaggera- tion which had been imparted into the whole case for the prosecution, reminding him, he said, of a passage in Gibbon to the effect that calumny invariably exaggerated, but seldom or never invented. There might, he said, in this case be some substratum of truth on which such a superstructure had been reared; but he could not help thinking the prisoner would be the victim of an enormous amount of vindictiveness unles" the jury interposed to protect her. The Recorder, in summing up the case, told the jury that as there did not appear to have been a laceration of the skin in any way, though violent bruises had no doubt been in- flicted, thejr attention should be confined to the count in the indictment alleging the intent to be to do erievous bodily harm. They would have to consider whether the bruises were caused by the prisoner's own wilful act, and whether at the time she intended to do grievous bodily harm. The case w&Bof immense importance both to the prisoner and her family, and also to the public, who were concerned in seeing that persons of tender age were properly protected. The jury, after a few minutes' deliberation, returned a verdict of Guilty. The prisoner, on being asked if she had anything to say replied that the matter had been much exaggerated, and that she never injured any creature in her life. She had, on the other hand, repeatedly protected the complainant from her father s violence. She added she had three children, and asked for mercy on their account. The Recorder, in passing sentence, said it appeared the prosecutrix had been a long time in her service and was of an age which ought especially to have commended her to the protection of the prisoner, herself a mother and having young children of her own. She had for a long time been ill the habit of inflicting serious injuries upon her. He could not, therefore, regard the case as otherwise than a very heinous one. The cruelties to which the prosecutrix had been suhJected were not dane. in the ordinary ebullitions of temper, but with the obvious intent to do grievous bodily harm, and he should fail in his duty if he did not pass a commensurate sentence, which was that she be kept in penal servitude for the term of five years.
DEATH OF A "MONARCH RETIRED…
DEATH OF A "MONARCH RETIRED FROM BUSINESS." The death is announced of Louis 1., ex-King of Bavaria. The event has been for some time expected. King Louis had attained the great age of eighty-two years, aud had been lately in such precarious health that two of the Princes, his sons, had been summoned to his bedside. A ehequered and somewhat stormy existence came there to an end, and a slight sketch of which we give, taken from The Times:— Louis of Bavaria was one of the crowned beads of our own times of whom it could fairly be said that he was a King, and something besides. Shut out, ap- parently, at his birth from every prospect of the Throne, the son of a younger son of a younger branch of the House of Wittelsbach, Louis became Heredi- tary Prince of Bavaria in his nineteenth year, and began to reign on his thirty-ninth. He held the supreme power for a period of twenty-three years, and for a score more he has taken his place among the Monarchs retired from business." Destined as he was to become one of the. most prominent German Sovereigns of his age, Louis was by birth a French- man. His native place wasStrasburg, and his father, Maximilian Joseph, of Zwei-Briicken Birkenfeld, was in command of the Alsace Regiment. Louis XVI. of France, his godfather, bestowed on the infant a colonelcy, a large pension, and a splendid gift in diamonds, while the grenadiers in his father's regi- ment shaved off their moustaches to stuff the pillow of the child's cradle The young Prince was no more than three years old when the great convulsions of 1789 drove him with his father as a fugitive into Germany. The death without lineal descendants of Charles, Duke of Deux Ponts, in 1795, and that of the Elector Charles Theodore, in 1799, led to the elevation of Louis' father, Maximilian Joseph, who, in 1805, ex- changed the Electoral Cap for a Royal diadem as first King of Bavaria. The circumstances attendant upon his early life, and still more the hereditary am- bition of his House, induced Louis, no less than his father, to side with France against his liege lord the Emperor of Germany. The young Hereditary Prince commanded a Bavarian division under French Prmces and Marshals till, at the close of the year 1813, the patriotic movement which carried away all Geimany won even the House of Bavaria, which, disavowing its French alliance, joined against the common enemy just in time to save at the Congress of Vienna that Royal Crown which had been bestowed by the Con- j queror of Auiterlite. Upon coming to the Throne after his father's death t in 1825, Louis .showed himself in every respect an en- t lightened Sovereign. He sanctioned by his oath the J Constitution which had been adopted seven years before, removed the shackles of censorship at least for 1 non-political writings, introduced important reforms « in the administration, abolished the State lottery and all games of hazard, curtailed the public expenditure, i and mitigated the hardships of military service, light- ened the burdens of tolls, Customs, and Excise duties, transferred the University of Landshut to Munich, opened sohools and raised the schoolmasters'salaries, and made of his capital the German Athens, the seat of literature and art. He constructed the first German railway, launched the first steamer into German waters; he devised and completed the Main and Danube j Qghnal, joining the North Sea with the Black Sea and by a Commercial Convention with Wurtemberg he I laid the first basis of that German Customs' League which Prussia subsequently turned to her own advan- tage. In 1830, however, alarmed by revolutionary symptoms, he suddenly changed his whole policy, threw himself into the arms (If the Ultramontane and Reac- tionary parties, and established a petty reign of dark- ness and terror up to the time at which Lola Montes came to rule for a brief period over both him and his subjects, and involved the King and very nearly the Throne in her ruin. Loud as the revolutionary storms raged over Lurope in the early months of 1848, the strange romance of the old King and the dancing girl was heard above all the din huw the adventuress was introduced at Court as the King's "best friend;" how the rights of Bavarian citizenship, the Barony of Rosenthal, the County of Lansfeld, a newly-bunt palace, and a pen- sion of 20,000 florins were lavished upon her how the Queen was compelled to confer upon the dancer, with her own hand, the great cordon of a Chanoiness of the order of Theresa, instituted by her Majesty herself, and bearing her name how the Ministers rose and fell at a nod from the arrogant favourite and, finally, how, after coquetting with and betraying now this and now that party, she made herself obnoxious to all, and excited such an outburst of indignation that it was only at the cost of his dignity, and very nearly of his life, the King was abl-; to smuggle her across the border, whither he was soontoiollow her. Danced by the fatal charmer out of his court and his kingdom, King Louis regained in his retirement that public favour which he had forfeited on the Throne. He had been an artist before he was a King; and an artist he was both as a crowned and as a discrowned King. In the intervals of rest during his early campaigns, in the midst of administrative or Parliamentary labours as a Prince Hereditary, Louis had always been devoted to art. He went to Italy as to his real home and country he brought Italy home to his own German country. His talents were ap- preciative, not creative. He did not attempt to excel or even to rival the works of Italian art; he merely reproduced them. The Pitti Palace, the Loggia de Lanzi, obelisks, churches, basilicas, all Florence, Rome, and Ravenna, lose to a new life in Munich. Every ward in the city was like one of the courts at the Crystal Palace. The buildings outside were mere copies but the treasures within were genuine. The King was a good connoisseur and collector. Munich had its picture and sculpture galleries it had its schools of painting and statuary its Klenze, Oelmiiller, and Goertner, its Cornelius and Schwanthaler. The King's ambition rose with the consciousness of his achievements. It attempted the gigantic in the Bavaria and in the Walhalla. The activity and muniticence he displayed seemed out of all proportion with the duration of his reign and with the revenue of his kingdom. The amount of work was prodigious. Of its results time alone will enable us to judge. Real genius will not rise at a King s bidding Germany had her own type of the Beautiful; she need not have borrowed that of Greece or Italy. Quaint Nurem- berg and dingy Augsburg are a hundred times more interesting than classical Munich; But King Louis was a man after his own fashion a man of his own time. A way from Italy he was out of his own ele- ment. Lola Montes' insolence and his people's im- patience sent him back to Italy. Henceforth, Rome or Venice, the whole world of art, was open before him where to choose. He was a placable, amiable man, and soon reconciled himself with his subjects. He had his choice of the Royal residences in town and country, but he became a wanderer, and was to be seen at Rome, at Nice, at Paris, wherever the skies were bluest, wherever men made colours, or forms, or sounds, or dreams the real business of life. A courteous Prince, and sociable, sympathetic gentle- man a poet, too, in a small way, leaving behind three volumes of his juvenile pi(-ces; taking his diamond collar from his neck at Weimar, and putting it with his own hand round Goethe's neck he had a. gracious, winning, kingly way of his own, and, many as were his faults and his foibles, neither his son nor his grandson has supplanted him in the affections of the Bavarian people.
A BUCOLIC TRAGEDY.
A BUCOLIC TRAGEDY. A trial for the murder of a child from motives of vengeance has just taken place at Florence. A farmer, named ZachariaCosci, of Rocalbegna, had given orders to his shepherd, Andrea Casini, to whom he was related by marriage, to drive his flocks into the pasturages of Ercole Cosci, cousin of the first named. Ercole had frequently complained of those trespasses on his pro- perty, and had driven away the cattle. The offence was repeated on the 12th of ^January last, and on this occasion Ercole, finding Casini on his land, struck him a blow on the face which produced a slight contusion. The same day a son of Ercole. aged seven, who had been minding cattle in a field, disappeared, and was found the next day murdered and concealed behind a heap of leaves. Casini had been heard threatening vengeance against Ercole for the blow which he had received, and was arrested with his master Zacharia. The former declared that he alone was guilty, wishing had married. The evidence, however, showed that if Casini had committed the crime it had been instigated by Zacharia, who was on terms of enmity with the father of the victim. In consequence Zacharia Cosci was condemned to hard labour for life, and Casini to seven years' imprisonment.
A DISPUTED QUESTION AT OXFORD.
A DISPUTED QUESTION AT OXFORD. The great Sabbatarian, or Anti-Sabbatarian ques- tion has disturbed the tranquillity of Oxford Univer- sity. The Union, though known to the non-academic world as a debating society, is in reality an Under- graduates Club, which allows its rooms to be used for purposes of discussion on one evening in the week. Down to a comparatively recent date, the Oxford Union and its fellow-club on the Cam were closed on Sundays. Some years ago, however, the two societies so far modified the strictness with which they observed the Sunday, that they opened their rooms for some hours in the afternoon and evening. A minority of the students has always been in favour of entirely doing away with the restrictions, and from time to time efforts have been made to throw the club open during the same hours on Sundays as on week days but ihose efforts have invariably b-en defeated at both Universities by large majorities. A fresh attempt has just been made at Oxford to defeat the Sabbatarian party and in order to carry out the project a special meeting was convoked, in accordance with a requisition, supposed to be signed by a hundred and fifty members. It turned out, however, that, in the excess of their reforming zeal, the innovators had appended to the requisition the names of several gentlemen who had given them no distinct authority te do so. The cham- pions of the closing movement discovered the flaw. and turned the tables forthwith on their opponents. An indignation meeting was called, and a conciliatory compromise, which contented itself with expressing abstract disapproval of the practice of signing other people's names, was rejected by a large majority, in a house where upwards of three hundred members were present and it is now proposed to exclude the offend. ing parties from all the privileges of the society during the remainder of the term.
EPITOME OF NEWS
EPITOME OF NEWS BRITISH AND FOREIGN. Mr. Dickens is to sail for England on April 23, and on April 18 he is to receive a dinner from the journalists of New York. The ceremony of drumming out in the British army, is, in future, to be dispensed with. An insane spiritualist in Missouri having declared that he "could redeem all things on earth," one of his audience presented a Confederate note, and asked him if he could redeem that ? Silence ensued. A London savings bank, established by negroes, collapsed because the depositors withdrew all the funds to attend a circus A resolution to prohibit the marriage between blacks and whites has been defeated III the North Carolina Convention. The Town Council of Glasgow has resolved to peti- tion against the Reform Bill for Scotland. The other day a marriage took place at Foston, when the assembled friends, in the absence of flowers strewed the path of the bride with feathers. At the Dorsetshire markets last week the price of beef ruled high while the price of mutton was lower The weather was stated to be unfavourable to the turnip crop In that part of the country nitrate of soda was becoming a favourite manure. The use of nitrate of soda was increased 130 per cent. last year. The Somersetshire, from Melbourne, about which some anxiety has recently been felt, arrived on Tuesday, and brought £40,000 in gold. There was considerable disturbance on Monday night at Rochdale, arising from an announcement that the first of a series of lectures on Popery and Puseyism would be dtlivered. Tile magistrates apprehended a disturbance, and therefore wisely prohibited the meeting. The lecturers arrived at the hall and were somewhat roughly treated, and the town was in a state of great excitement. The introduction of first-class carriages on an Ame- rican railway (between Newhaven and New York) will doubtless become general iu the United States. The idea of republican equality in railway travelling is very pretty in the abstract; but it happens that an invidious distinction between classes is a necessary concomitant of civilisation. The railway cars in America under the present system are noisy, dirty, uncomfortable in every way; but the sleeping cars are admirably arranged, and might be imitated to ad- vantage on some of the continental lines. The following official order has been issued by the United States Government: Department of State, Washington, Feb. 18, 1868.—it is recommended to all citizens of the United States, native or naturalised, who have occasion to visit Ureat Britain or Ireland, to procure passports from this department while the Habeas Corpus remains suspended in the latter country. Citizens of the United States unjustly arrested are liable to be detained without prompt examination until they can procure and produce legal evidence of their citizenship.—VVM- H. SEWARD. A determined attempt was made to murder a po- liceman acd a man named Hills, in pvnsbury-square, in London, on Tuesday morning, by a man n^med 0 Hearn. At a quarter before three o'clock fas Hills was Pasall:g down Whitecross-street he heard the report of a PIstol. and im- mediately a lÙlot passed the side of his face. T*'o other shots were flred in rapid succession at oirti, but neither of them took effect. The prisoner, wl^r,^fas alMut fifteen yards behind Hills, walked away down'to vvnitecross-street. Police- constable Maley, having heard the lej ort r ui up t > the sp< t 1 and seized ho'd of the yiisoner- fte strugi. j desperately with him, and Hdls then camo up to the constant's assistance. I In tlie struggle the .risonfr out h s ii^HR (I IIKI over his left 3 shouldtr and tired two more snois. There were several f persons parsing »t the time. The whole t the chambers of 1 the revolver were discharged, and the prisoner by this time was properly secured. It was only by dodging about that the constable and the man mua escaped with their lives. < The leadership in o'qe House of Lords, vacated b) he retirement of Lord Der has devolved upon the Earl o Jalmesbury. Lord Radstock is attracting" someattentton m Part >y conducting rel gious services in wme of the English aristocracy now rt>ilieut; 1,1 11 y" The slaters' strike in Glasgow has en(i^ I'T nasters conceding the demand of the men,v" 1 lour. f At the Downpatrick Assizes, on Satm fohnston, a deputv lieutenant, and Grand Maste. 0 ;ounty of Down Orangemen, was sentenced to a n mprisonment for heading an Orange procession from ;own of Bangor into his own park. The question of education is exciting a good deal of ittention in the agricultural districts. Meetings of Chamber' sf Agriculture to consider the subject, have been held ill several places. The Bishop of Lincoln has caused a new edition of two little works to he issued for Lent. They are sntitledi Repentance, and The Sinfulness of Little Sins. Photographs of G. F. Train have begun to appeal in the booksellers' shop-windows. j According to some rumours the legal expenses 0 the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway during the pas' six months have amounted to £40.000 or £50,000. The Liverpool inhabitants are agitating for farthing local postage for letters written and deLvere* within the borough. A curious combination of "talent" is to be seeO and heard nightly at one of the London music-halls. person of gigantic stature, 7 feet 2 inches in height) comes forward and sings comic songs This geutlema* is fairly entitled to be called the greatest singer In tbt world." An Irish gentleman, of the name of Scraggs, oSerf to sell the real Shylock knife which both Edmund aDO Charles Kean used when they played in Th* Mereliant '1 Venice. At the Warwick Assizes, on Saturday, Charles King, a retired licensed victualler, and William Brecket bridge, an agent, were found guilty of obtaining plates fot the purpose of forging notes of the British Linen Coropan? Bank, Edinburgh, and were sentenced to eight years' servitude. Her Majesty the Queen has been graciously pleaseO to present to the library of the Hospital for Diseases of the Chest, Victoria Park, London, through Sir Wa..Tenner, copy of "Leaves from the Journal of Our Life in the High lands," in which is inscribed the Queen's autograph. A Western newspaper, commenting upon the apocryphal story of the removaJ of the jaw from a livinl person, and its replacement by a Parisian surgeon, expresse' a wish that somebody would remove Mr. Train's "jaw," an" forget to put it back.. "Mr. Speke has not been brained through the rCM" of a Hansom cab. or gone off to Oneida Creek under the iff fluence of Mr. Hepworth Dixon, or been murdered in Westminster slum and afterwards dissolved in a powerfuj acid, or fallen under the spell of a Pimlico syren. He h»| done the one thing which nobody dreamt of suspecting hji* of dning, and therefore he can expect no forgiveness. Examiner. The decline of marriage in England affords the Americans some trouble. They assign the reason to be tha. the rising generation ef Englishwomen are deliberately resolving to strike out the word obey from the marriftg6 sacrament." It is currently reported that the Empress Eugenie, with the Prince Imperial, will pay a visit to Rome ouring the holy week and the Easter days. The Prussian government has ordered a nine-inch breech-loading gun from Sir William Armstrong, the powers of which are to be tested side by side with Prussian cannoB of the same calibre, but different make. A 1,500-dollar diamond ring was recently found in a dead letter at Washington, and returned to the writer in England. It had been sent to Xew York, and was never called for. It is stated that there is no church living in the cTty of Winchester worth £ 200 a year, and this precludes curateS there from getting assistance from the recently established Curates' Augmentation Fund, because no assistance is given to a curate unless he receives £100 a year from his incum- bent; and no incumbent can afford to give his curate J6100 a year out of £2ÙO. Mr. Rigby and Mr. Walker, the two largest public. house proprietors in Liverpool, have, we (Liverpool AlbisnJ understand, commenced closing their houses on önndayS, the new regime commencing last Sunday.—This is a step W the right direction. The constables who so bravely captured CaptaiO Mackay have been presented with special rewards for their conduct. On Friday Colonel Wood, Inspector-General ot Constabulary, attended at Union Quay Police Station, Cork> and presented Head-Constable Geale with a silver medal> and Constables O'Brien and Mackay, who assisted in the arnst, received chevrons. According to a supplementary return published this week, the number of persons convicted in Lnnden between the 1st of January and 1st July, 1867. for the use of false weights and measures was, ill the Finsbury division, 58 in the Marylebone division, 20 in the St. Pancras division, 30 and in the Westminster, 111. The large majority of offenders in the Westminster district, are to be fout d among the licensed victuallers. The fines paid amount in the aggre- gate to £158 6s. A vessel arrived last week at Southampton witb 6,000 quarters of wheat from the Black S-a, the largest carge of wheat ever brought to Southampton in a single vessel. Egyptian wheat is now being imported into Southampton for the purpose of being ground into flour. Hitherto it has only been used for other purposes than for human tood, but bf means of a patented process to which it is now subjected, i1i can be adapted for the miller and baker, and converted into wholesome food. The general commanding at Vienna has addressed a circular to the chiefs of all the corps d'armte, censuring In strong terms the conduct of certain otticers who are noi ashamed to appear publicly in company of women of bad fame, the assumed names of whom are given in the documents. Two Austrian officers have been empowered to ac" company the British expedition to Abyssinia The death is announced of an eminent Welsh bard and antiquary, Morgan Owen,' at the age of eighty years. It is stated that he had never been more than four milee away from home; he had never written a letter to anyone during his .whole lite, neither had he ever received one himself. Military men of the sporting genus who have Canada to look forward to as a station will be glad to learn that game is rigidly preserved in those regions Sir Henry Smith has lately introduced a new bill into the Ontario let;1slatnre for the protection of wild ducki from batteries or sunken r r- snares. A regular season i« alsc appointed for the killing of deer, turkey, grouse, hare, geese, ducks, woodcocks, snipe, and also of Knglish pheasants; which, it seems, have been introduced there with success. George Francis Train continues to furnish letters to the New York World It is understood that that journal has gained largely in circulation since M r. Train became its "special correspondent. In eight columns the name of Tram appears, in one shape or another, 357 times. • wife of a private soldier, named Cullum, serving; jy? lst ■king's Royals, at Chatham garrison, has just g. ve» Dirtn to three children—two boys and a girl—at the quarters erected i<->r the married troops. The whole of the children, as well as the mother, are described as doing exceedingly well. Advices from New Zealand inform us that the gold flelos in Auckland are progressing very favourably. The yields do not appear to be in any case verv lar«e but the field is extensive, and what is known as a "goodpoor man's' work. Latterly gold has been found within twelve miles of the city of Wellington, among the hills by South Makara. The Pope has received from the Emperor Napoleon an autograph letter, thanking him for the" Blessed Hat and Sword," and declaring that he will employ the sword in defending him from all his enemies. Rumours of war are again rife in Paris, to which the departure of Prince Napoleon for Germany has have attained8 of imporDance that otherwise they would not At the Durham Assizes Timothv Stephenson has been indicted for the manslaughter of Wm. Harrison Bam- bridge, at Stockton, on the 9th of December. The deceased was the prisoner s apprentice, and on the day in question his master, being annoyed at something he had done in a moment of pnssion threw a pair ot pincers at the hov, which struck him on the head. The boy died some days atterwards from the effects of the blow. The prisoner was found guilty and sent to prison for three months. The New York and Newhaven Railway Company have introduced compartment cars upon their line, charging one dollar extra for travelling in one of these carriages be- tween New York and Boston. The partitions are so con- structed as to leave a 8lJace of about two feet between them and the top of the car, so that assistance could be obtained in case of an ero< ;ency. The carriages are warmed by heating tubes. E. a compartment is adorned with two magnificent mirrol s. Mr. Spurgeon is highly favoured by anonymous friends. A few days ago his secretary placed on his "table a letter which had been leit at the door of his residence, there being no answer." The letter contained notes to the value of £2,000, the anonymous donor stating that he wished .ei.000 to be devoted to the Orphanage, and £1.000 to the Pastors' College, two institutions that most people have heard something ot "The readiness of the Hebrew race in findinr specious answers to the complaints of those who deal with them, was never better exemplified than in an instance which lately came to my knowledge. An eating house keeper of that persuasion sells soup at a penny a basin. A customer having consumed his basinful, complained that he had not had his pennyworth—the soup was bad, and he had found in it a piece of worsted stocking. Isaac retorted, l Dye think we can put bits of silk stocking in soup at'a [ pen ny a basin V'—Once a Week. 1 At Sos, a small town in the Lot en Garonne, a countryman arrived with some wheat, or which he asked a larger price than that previously quoted. The crowd in- stantly set on him, some pricking him with needles and bodkins, and others trying to tear out his beard Two gendarmes, who constitute the whole of the public force at that point, succeeded, after great efforts, iu getting him away. The United Service Gazette states that on landing at the Island of Ascension the visitor is conironted by the following notice :—" The Island of Ascension bei; g the property of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, and bona fide part and parcel of H. M.S. Flora, persons are to bear ill mind when landing on auy part of the island that they place themselves under naval law. in the fame manner as though they had been on board the Flora herself." Lord Abercorn's Donegal estates comprise more than twenty thousand acres of line land, and he has directed leases of twenty-one years from the present date to be given to each tenant, at a valuation made seven years since. One tenant, disposing of his tenantry in a farm of fifty-one acres aud £21 annual rent, received for his interest £570; and another obtained for his title to a farm, the rental of which was £39, no less a sum than £850. The British Medical Journal, continuing its series of reports on the pieventible diseases of the industrial classes, aeacribes this week the deterioration of the health of men working among the dust of cereals and hemp. The f disease known as lung-rot," so common among grinders and stone-cutters, is attributed to the dry condition of the materials used by the workmen, by which the amount of I floating dust is determined to the bend ng position of the men when at work and to the inadequate means in wenk- shops lor the rapid removal of dust. This is not irremedi- able. At Exeter cathedral on Sunday the Very Rev. Dean Boyd preached a sermon in answer to "Ecce Homo." His text was St. Matthew iv. 3. The tempter came to Him." He argued that the Ecce llomo theory with reward to our Lord's temptation was designed to exalt the humanity of Christ at the expense 01 Hla divinity. He endeavourtd to show the utter groundlessness of the theory that the Saviour's temptation was not of an objective, but of a sub- jective f ..V1 th0 temptation was a historical reality, ana mat Ecce Homo" on tkis point did dishonour instead of honour to the humanity of Christ. The advertisement of a London "wine and spirit rnerctiant beirs this heading:—"The Prince of Wales is centre of attraction wherever he is found, but nowhere more 80 than at the new and elegant Prince of Wales taverti In the same journal, "the Victoria Park Ceme- tery Company thus point out the advantages of their grave- yard :—"The Victoria Park Cemetery comprises an im- portant art a of land in every respect adapted for the pur- pose of sepulture. A brick wall of considerable height, with a lofty-iron railing and massive entrance gates, afford ample protection from annoyance or disturbance The following story is current in Paris :—The principal m n sters of the Sultan give at Constantinople, from time to time, balls d VEuropeenne. Not many ml mils. a>:o Fuad Pacta a had a danc ng party at his sumptuous result iue. At those balls our own etiquette is strictly adhered t", with ,he sole exception that the Turk sh ladies remain in their ipartments, where they are v.s ted onl> by the air m-X. A jTiiung attache, very fond of practising the prei ept of Napoleon the Grtat, Nothing is impossible in this «• 1 d," »ave his arm to the witti of his chief and led htrtuthe jarem When he had reached the threshold be setmtd nclined to span it when Fuad Pacha, who was watching all ;he while, came and said to him, Pardon me, sir, you aro iccredited to the PorU. Yonr mission end* here."