The Illustrated Usk Observer and Raglan Herald

THE ARTS, LITERATURE, &c. ) --+-- THE Loan Collection of Works of Art, now at the | South Kensington Museum, will remain open in its J g present entirety until about the time when the Inter- national Exhibition closes. Shortly after this date, a certain number of the articles, such as the gold and silver plate belonging to the numerous corporate bodies contributing, will be returned. The extreme liberality of many private owners of large and valuable collections will, we understand, lead them to allow their treasures tD remain before the public for a somewhat longer period amongst these we may name Baron Rothschild and Mr. Magniac as having freely granted the required indulgence. MR. MATTHEW NOBLE has received instructions from the Albert Memorial Committee in Bath to execute a colossal bust of the late Prince Consort, which is to be placed in the new building to be added to the Bath United Hospital. THE old India-house in .Leadenhall-street, which had historical and literary interest, has almost wholly disap- peared. The rooms wheiein an empire was built up, and the affairs of a score of kingdoms carried oa, have been demolished. The sculptured pediment, at one time con- sidered a fine work of Art and worthy of mention in Histories of London, was, after great difficulty in finding a purchaser, sold for £10. DURING some recent excavations in the subterranean church of St. Clement, Rome, a wall covered with fres- coes was found, the colours of which are perfectly pre- served. The surface of the wall is divided into three compartments. In the upper one is represented St. Antonio, clad in rich sacerdotal robes the head of this figure had been destroyed when the upper church was built. In the second compartment, .beneath the last, is a head of the prophet Daniel, well preserved. The third division represents the lion-tamer. THE unveiling of the monument erected to the memory of the late Empress Maria Theresa took place recently at Vienna. Her Majesty is represented by a statae double the full-length height., holding in one hand the charter of the foundation of the Military Aca.demy. At the four corners of the momument are four symbolical figures of Justice, Religion, Wisdom, and Strength, having the I inscription, To the founder of the Academy the grateful pupils," 1862. THE real Austrian speaking machine has turned up in Paris, and is exhibiting on the Boulevard Magenta. It; •is the production of M. Farber, formerly a professor of mathematics, and represents a woman who is sitting down, and is constructed so as to have a larynx in exact imitation of the human organ of voice. The larynx is made of kidia-rubber, and the sounds emitted are either speaking or singing, the range is two octaves, and the sound is feminine, of varied expression and swell, and applicable to any airs, however difficult. I A VERY strange literary production has appeared at Leipsic. It is an epic poem, written in German verse by a Russian, Mr. Taporotf, in honour of the millenary anniversary of the existence of the Russian Empire, and to celebrate its grandeur and glory. The poetic stream rushes through two entire volumes, and, in spits of this, the author has but arrived at the year 1237 of grace. Well! at the end of the present eeatury the Other volumes may perhaps be expected. Mr. QUEEMSS.-KY, of Cambridge, who was a great admirer of the Grecian poets, has left directions in his will that his skin is to be tanned into a parchment, upon which is to be written the whole of the Iliad of Homer," which is then to be preseated to the British Museum. ABOUT eighteen months ago the Scottish Temperance League offered a prize of one hundred guineas for the best temperance tale. Upwards of eighty MSS. were received in reply, and the adjudication has just be completed. The successful tale is entitled, "Rwhel ) Noble's Experience, by Bruce Edwards, and will be published on theilst of December. Weu-nderstand that the successful competitor is a lady, resident in Glasgow. THE friends of Mr. Elihu Burritt will he glad to lea?n that he intends to visit England in the course of a few weeks, and to remain, perhaps, a twelvemonth. THE Life of I Bolingbroke," Secretary of State hrtke. xeign of Queen Anne, by Mr. Thomas Macknight, is promised next month. THE"Andria"of Terence (with-slight be acted in the dormitory of St. Peter's College, West- minster School, on the evenings of Thursday, December 11; Tuesday, ^December 16; and Thursday, December 18-the last two days with prologue and epilogue,

— THE THE departure of ber Majesty .Queen Victoria, from iiackea intanded to take place on the 18th Oct., but was suddenly -deferred in consequence ul a tbiagram announcing that the sea was dangerous to traverse. The next day her Majesty the Queen and his Majesty the: King of the Belgians attended Divine service at Lacken on Sunday morning. Their Royal Highnesses Princess Helena, Princess Louisa, Prince Arthur, and Prince Leopold were likewise present. Her Majesty wss attended by Lady Churchill and Lady Augusta Bruce. The service was performed by the Rev. Mr. Drury. Her Majesty made three attempts to leave Lacken; each time the baggage was put into the* train, and the employes were only waiting the command to proceed to Antwerp, when orders were given to take the baggage back to Lacken, in consequence of the dangerous state of the sea. Her Majesty the Queen, however,-embarked onSaturday last, and arrived at the Nore at six o'clock, having had -a fine passage frcm Flushing in the'Victoria and Albert. The Royal yacht was anchored there for the night. Her Majesty was accompanied by their Royal Highnesses the Princess Helena, Princess Losise, Prince Leopold, and Princess Beatrice. In attendance were -Lady' Churchill, Lady Augusta Bruce, Lieutenant-General the Hon. C. Grey, Colonel Sir -0. B. Phipps, K"C. B. and Dr. Jenner. Her Majesty proceeded to Woolwich the following morning, and disembarked there at one o'clock p.m. The Queen, with the Royal family and suite, arrived at Osborne on Sunday afternoon shortly after five o'clock. Divine service was performed by the Rev. G. Prother" soon afterwards. THE PRINCE OF WALES and the Prince and Princess of Prussia arrived at Marseilles on Tuesday evening, and passed the night on board the yacht Osborne. Their Royal Highnesses -left, on Wednesday morning, for Palermo. THE major-domo of the Prince of Prussia has pro- ceeded to Catania, to have the Castle ^prepared for the reception of the Prince and Princess, who will shortly leave Marseilles for that locality. PRINCE OF WALES'S MAJORITY.—This -event will be celebrated in Edinburgh by the presentation, by the Lord Advocate, M.P., in behalf of the aiibpCTibers; of a bust of the Prince of Wales to the High School, in re- membrance of the Prince having, while studying in Edinburgh, in 1859, delivered the Dux prises at the annual examination. In the evening there will be a dinner at which the Lord Provost will preside.

The Steam Plough. Mr. Sadler, of Ferrygate, East Lothian, invited a number of his friends to his farm to see the working of the steam plough, and in the course of the evening addressed them thus I have been asked very frequently, with reference to my steam plough, the question, 4 Will it pay?' Now that depends on a variety of circumstances. For example, very frequently when coming on' stones tha 'skifes' are broken, and as everyone of these costs 93. 6d., to replace a large number of breakages would become a very heavy charge on the working. Bat eventually, and especially when our lands get cleared of stones, I believe it will pay, and that handsomely. You know what the expense of horses is. True, you cannot dispense with them altogether; but what are left on the farm are easier kept, for the hard work is done by the engine. A question which I think has been very generally overlooked with regard to these steam ploughs, and which I think will give us here a great lift in working them economically, is the price of coals. In the south, in many cases I believe, they pay 23s. per ton for their coals. I have just contracted with Mr. Deans for his best Pentcaitland coal to be delivered on the farm at 9s. per ton. The introduction of steam must lead to the improvement of the labourer. No fewer of them are required, and as it is skilled labour it must be paid for accordingly. There is much to say on the question of expense but I mean to have no secrets; if Mr. Fowler puts an implement into my hands which does not pay, I cannot afford to work it, nor do I think the many owners of steam ploughs would con- tinue to do so. But what do you say to a farmer with his two 14-horse Fowlen ? I met such a gentleman lately, and a more hospitable and better man does not exist. I refer to Mr. Ruck, of Castle-hill, Gloucester- shire. You should go there and see a square mile, 640 acres, laid out into nine fields of 70 acres; and what a saving would it not be to us all if we had our steadings in the centres Of the farm, This is an important subject, ind one which deserves the attention of the factors whom [ see around me. In the Gloucester and Wilts counties there are so many Fowlers that people walk and drive there are so many Fowlers that people walk and drive past without so much as stopping to look at the work. rhe secret of steam-farming I should say is, s work when 1 iry, or when no horses can do the work;' that is the time when steam tells. If you want to see good crops (stemmed ] wheat) go to Bedford, and visit Mr. Pike of Steyington there you will see the effect of Howard. Talk of thrashing and rloughing with an engine. Mr. Pike tried taat, but said, 'I soon found it did not pay to fetch it from a large 60 acre and thresh out a stack, so I bought a second.' It is a great question with those agriculturists in the south whether the land should be ploughed or grubbed. Many of them prefer grubbing or smashing up,' and if this practice should succeed then the cultivator and not the plough will become the order of the day."

Flower Garden and Shrubberies. The weather is still favourable for executing alterations; and where these are in hand they should be prosecuted with the greatest possible dispatch. Planting, or the removal of large evergreens, cannot be finished too soon; for it is of the utmost "importance that the plants should be afforded some chance of making fresh roots before the trying winds of March set in. See to evm small plants being secured against wind for these are often greatly injured by being blown about after planting, which a small stake and" a few minutes' work would prevent. Get in a stock of briars for budding upon as soon as the leaf is down. Let the roots be well trim-Ded, cutting back closely the strong ones; for these, if left, will be of little use except to furnish an -endless supply of suckers. Choice things iu the parterre can no longer be depended on as to display; it is therefore desirable at this period to look over the massss and beds and see if there be any choice article of a tender character which it is desirable to secure for next year; such may be potted with balls and wintered in a cold pit. As the winter approaches, protection 'of some kind should be provided for plants and shrubs of tender character; almost any material is eligible, provided it will, in a considerable degree, throw off wet. Canopies for this purpose should ba so con- trived as to admit of one or two sides being opened at pleasure. If only one, it should bepJaced on the north or west side-certainly, not on the south; as the excite- ment occasioned by fits' of sanshine is apt to prove Very prejudicial. The covering, or canopy, should by no means be allowed to touch the plant; and the greater the space allowed between it and the plant the better will it afford protection. It is bad prac- tice to bundle the shoots together like a broom in ordar to make them occupy a more limited-space; such may save trouble and material, but is a most injurious proceeding. More inisry is occasioned by confined damp, in a majority of cases, than by lowness of tempe- rature. Iloodings of straw, so formed as to overlap the protecting material beneath, ara_ "very good and simple protectors, and, if rightly contrived, may be re- moved with as much facilitv for ventilation as the top of an ordinary handglass. Oil-cloth will make a gO'Jd protection also, formed into a kind of cone, on the sides of which a small flap or two may be made to open with- out admitting rain. Before the application of any top- covering, we would advise an inch or two of the surface soil sr-ound the collar to be removed, and replaced with some dry cinder siftings-tbenewer the better, or, where it can be had, cocoa-nut refuse, "This last should be piled as high up the stem as the plant will admit, taking care not to choke too maay of the lower leaves, and if the canopy'is so contrived ai to overlap this mound, the covering will be complete.—'Gardeners' Chronicle.

SIR ROBERT PEEL ON RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE. Sir Robert Peel, on Friday last, laid the first stone t f a new parish church in the neighbourhood of Dublir. In addressing the persons present, he touched on lecal matters, and spoko of the increased vitality -c.s.hibtted of I late years by the Established Church in Ireland, fisting appealed to the people in favour of toleration-and good- will, and pointed his exhortations by a reference to Belfast, and an emphatic rebuke of the protectants Of that town for their "recent abortive attempt". 'to revive "extreme opinions," he said—Now, I should I like to address a few words to "this assembly. 'Thrown as we are here in a country divided fey the strongest differences of-opinion, I can-eanceive nothing better calculated, nothing more likely to promote that feeling of Christian charity and forbearance one towards another, as well as towards those who differ from us on points of conscientious belief, than the-incalcatioa. of the dectrines of Divine tr-ath, and openiag and enlarging facilities to ali forsfcfee worship of G*hd in the cku'"ches and chapels of our land (applause).iTe-sre mmt OSEJU- tifuliy taught that "God ia no respecter of persons," but j that -in every nation he who serves Him and worketh 'righteousness is accepted with Him." Now, I cannot eonceive a more beaatiful lesson of Christian chanty ) than that toaches us. And I thitrk that it is infi- ¡ nitely better for -RS to do as w-o are here doing. doing our wsrk in the erection of this church, for in- ■•stanoe, quietly and earnestly, and instead of disputing. with those who may differ from us upon conscientious .grounds, which we are bound to respect, to-endeavour, by the gentle influence of our example, to awaken im others a sense of their own position, and thus, if possible, to bring back immortal souls to God (applause). I believe, in speaking* titnis, that I but give expression to the feelings and opinions of all here assembled; and I t think that your very presence hero is an earnest of ■your convictions, and carries with it & sanction of the words which I now utter. Look around this assembh7. Bee the groups which cluster round this .place. Is there not something, very attractive in such a gathering, very homely, very genial ? This is no party demon- stration; there is nothing here to exasperate.^ .If there were, I for ens would not be here. There is nothing here to leave behind it the bitter fruits of mutual animo- sity, or to eheek, as it were, the full flow of mutual; good-will one towards another. Now, I should like to make one observation, and only <sae, if :Iam permitted it. I speak as an earnest protestant, a man as firmly attached as anyone in this assembly-to the protectant institutions of isy country (applause) bat, at the same time, the experience of my life has taught me to respect and bear with the consaientious convictions of others. Nothing has pained me more, and not me only, but many good friends of the church, many friends of mine -and I am glz-d. to have this public opportunity of saying it—than the recent abortive attempts which have been made to stir up that spirit of intolerance amongst us, and to excite the public mind by appeals to extreme opinions, and in oae ir. stance, I regret to say, upon a plea which ievery moderate man in this country knows as well as I do to be utterly unfounded. Now, just contrast for one moment a gathering like this with .j' a. demonstration like that äo which I allude. We have our ieonstitutional right of meeting, and we will always avail ourselves of it.; but this is the moment, .above all oihers, when we shauld be tolerant towards those who differ from us, for at this moment we find that our own co-religionists are suffering in other countries the bitterness of persecution. This is the moment that we ouraelves oaght to show Christian charity and forbearance by our kindly bearing towards those who may .differ from us. I ask you, just for one moment to contrast the noisy demonstrations to which I refer with this peaceful family-like gathering. No possible benefit can result from such demonstrations. I allude particularly to what took place recently at Belfast. No possible benefit ean be gained by them. They don't do good to the cause of religion, they can't afford us one moment's comfort; and, "depend upon it, they don't: contribute one iota. to consolidate that faith and those principles which need no such extraneous aids to make them flourish in this land (cheers).

OF MEW8. Accollnts from Brussels state that the weather in Belgium has become much colder during the last few days. Birds of passage from the North begin to make their appearance, and several flocks of wild ducks have been already seen-on the banks of the Mensa. Mr. Gray, who was convicted of libel at the Cen- tral Criminal Court about six weeks ago, and fined 2.50, has been released. The fine was paid by the liberality of frMnds, An accident on the Thames occurred on Wednes- day through the capsizing of a small sailing boat off Rotherhithe, in which were a Mr. M'Lean, of Church- street, Poplar, and a Mr. Allen, of Manchester. Boats were immediately put off; Mr M'Lean was saved, but Mr. Alien sank and "as drowned. Last week, by command of Lord Willough'oy D'Eresbv, the Lord Great Chamberlain, notice was issued that, after Saturday, the 1st of November, the public would only ba admitted to view the House of Lords on the Saturday in coach week between the hours of ten and four. Charles G-riffin, the publisher, of Paternoster-row, formerly of Glasgow, has left a fortune of £ 25,000. A Mormon missionary, M. Bertrand, gives the following table of the state of polygamy among the Mormons: —Husbands with seven and more wives, 387;. husbands with five wives, 730; husbands with four wives, 1,100; husbands with more than one and less than four wives, 1.400; total, 3,617. So about three maybe taken as the correct thlsg per man. A fatal accident occurred on Sunday during a I bull-fight at St. Sever (Landes). A young man named Tilh, one of the toreadors, was so dreadfully gored in the chest that he expired in less than five minutes after. The spectators, struck with horror at witnessing the result of this cruel and dangerous sport, immediately evacuated the circus, and the performance ceased- The United Kingdom Alliance for the Sup- pression of the Liquor Traffic held their ninth annual meeting in the Manchester Free-trade Hall on Wed- nesday. The ball was crowded long before the meeting commenced, and a second meeting was improvised in another room, where the attendance was proportionately good. The yield of wheat in Iowa is estimated at 20 000,000 bushels this year. Oats will reach 10,000,000 bushels, hay 1,000,000 tons, and sorghum 3,000,000 gallons. Iowa will export this year 175,000 cattle and 900,000 hogs. There are 350,000 sheep in the State. The Prussian Government organ, Stern Zeitung, has been discontinued, the funds for subsidising it having been refused on the budget voting. Famine in Finland —Among silent and therefore unnoticed sufferings over Europe, a famine is known to be desolating remote Finland, where, out of a population of two millions, there is nearly half a million of people starving. Heavy Armstrong guns have this week been landed at Hobb's Point, Pembroke Dock, from Woolwich, for the fortifications just completed at East Hook Point, Milford Haven. They are now being removed to that im- portant battery, one of those intended for the protection of the dockyard and arsenal. The Cat" in the Austrian Army.-In the Austrian war budget, now under consideration, there is cne item in which rats and mice are especially interested, as a sum of 2,500f. is demanded for the feeding of cats to be kept in the victualling magazines of the army. A riot broke out a few days back at the prison of Kaisheim, in Bavaria. Complaints had been made by the auality of the food served out to them; they refused to work, and commenced breaking the doors and win- dows. It was found necessary to call in the troops, who fired on the rioters, wounding one, The others then suomittea.. Vienna journal states that more than I,u0u stray dogs, whose owners could not be discovered, were destroyed, in that city during September. It is affirmed that tha present Lord Mayor will be made a Baronet on the birthday of the Prince of Wales. The noble "way in which tho-Lord Mayor has. dispensed the hospitalities of the City during the present season to the numerous distinguished visitors to London assuredly deserves this recognition. Out of nine thousand operatives m the cotton trade at Wigan, only three hundred nave any employment at ali. I The collectionp, made at the Wesleyan chapels on behalf of the fund for the distressed in Lancashire have been on such a scale as to warrant the committee a, us first meeting in providing for the appropriation ot £ 10,000, bv deciding that one-half shall be distributed through ministers and local agencies of the connection, and the other half given to general relief committees. It is hoped that the amount raised will largely exceed I £ 10,000. [ A deputation from the Manchester Cotton Com- pany (Limited), consisting of Mr. Hugh Mason, chair- Mr. Mosley, and Mr. Hsy^wood, secretary introduced by Mr. Bazley, M P., had an interview on Saturday maD Mr. Mosley, and Mr. Hsy^wood, secretary introduced by Mr. Bazley, M P., had an interview on Saturday with Sir Charles Wood, on the subject of a pier at the Bay of Beitkul, and tho roads leading thence to the ,cotton fields of Dharwar. There are 114 original applications next term to he admitted attorneys, and more than 50 renewed appli- cations by persons who have served their articles of iclerkship. A young man named Voisembert, aged 27, the son of a farmer, residing at La Noue (Marne). gave himself up a few days since to the gendarmerie, after shooting a young woman in his father's service because she refused to marry him. The unfortunate girl died a few hours after having received the fatal wound. The advises received by the last mail inform us that, "at Bombay, piece goods are actually being packed for sale in Manchester, while from China they are being sent to Bombay, as if in mockery to so prodigiously over- stocked a depot." On Friday morning the whole of the mills and warehouses of Mr. Henry Wheeler, High Wycombe, ware burnt down. The fire originated in the shavingp- room about 3.45, and in two hours destroyed property valued at several thousand pounds. Sixty hands are thrown out of employment. The works were insured for £ 6,500. A new valise, invented by Sir F. Troubridge, and intended to supersede the knapsack now in use has been inspected and approved by his Royal Highness'the Duke of Cambridge, ana will be generally introduced into the service. Joe Balding, a coloured man, died in the Zanesville hio) infirmary last month, aged 121 years. He was a Virginian slave in the days of Washington. The investigation into the circumstances attend- ing [he Jute deplorable railway accident, near Winch- burgh, has resulted in Newton, the pointsman, and Davidson, the driver of the pilot-engine, being com- mitted for trial. Both Newton 3nd Davidson, it is stated, have been liberated on bail. A warning to plagiarists has just been given by the punishment inflicted 011 two authors in Prussia, convicted of having sold as original .a play which was merely a copy of one existing already. They were sentenced to two months' imprisonment and a fine of £15 each. -+-

Increase of the Episcopate.—It is not impro- bable that a strong effort will be made in the next, session of Parliament to obtain an increase of the Episcopate of the Church of England, under the auspices of a large number of the nobility and leading members of the Church. Their main object will be to obtain the erec- tion of Westminster into an episcopal see, a portion of the diocese of London being assigned to it, and also to obtain a bishopric of Southwark, at present included in the diocese of Winchester. A subdivision of the diocese of Lincoln, and the erection of a bishopric at Southwark where there is a collegiate church, will also be attempted.' Another part of the scheme will embrace the establish- ment of a bishopric of St. Albans, to be formed out of the diocese of Rochester. An explosion of gunpowder, attended with serious consequences, took place on Saturday, at Ballina- collig Powder-mills. The shock was distinctly. felt in the western part of the city, although the scene of the catastrophe is five miles distant. Two men were killed, and one slightly hurt. The explosion took place in the stove or drying-houae, one portion of which was utterly blown to pieces, When the accident occurred the powder-house was locked, and no person in it, and no one is able to account for the manner in which the ex- plosion took place.

o UR XvIISOEIX- ANY. I The Shakers—As is generally known, the Shaker, ;ake no part in politico, never voting nor holding offices ind especially oppose any resort to arms. But the I present war has aroused a martial spirit even among them, proving that human nature remains the same in their secluded villages as in localities more subject to escUe- ments, and more likely to be affected by the stirring I events of the day. Some twelve or fourteen of the young men of the Shaker community at Canterbury, New H.vnpahire, have enlisted for the war.-New York Home Journal. A Disquisition on Fleas.—1_ am a judge of fleas. I have given them my attention under various circumstances and in variou? countries. I have spent nights with hardy mountain fleas in Swiss chalets, with desperate freischutz wilcljager fleas in the Tyrol, with bold contrabandist fleas in the Spanish Pyrenees, with Arab fleas, restless and lawless, children of the desert, dwellers in tents. But none of these ever impressed me so much as the natives of the Val Savaranche. In the Marmot's Hole we were knee-deep in them. They crept up our trousers and down our necks until we were saturated with them. They lay in wait for us in. dark corners, and sprang upon us suddenly. They clung to us viciously, and bit us at supper and bit us at breakfast. Taey bit us sitting and bit us walking. On the mountain side, on the glacier—nay, even on the top of the Grivd", unaf- fected by the rarefaction of the air, unimpressed by the magnificence of the view, there they were, biting away as if they had not broken their fast for twenty-four hours. Ye gentlemen of England, who live at home at ease, how little do you think upon the danger of the fie as Peaks, Passes, and Glaciers. The Sussex Downs.—Sprinkled about their many thousand acres of bill and dale, extending fifty-three miles in length, with an average breadth of four miles and a half, are numerous old villages, nestling sometimes ei. at the bottom of great hollows, sometimes in quiet re- cesses with trees about them, fmd an ancient church, with grey flint walls and red-tiled roof, where tho curious may find good store of ancestral hrass, s. Old battle- fields, famous in history; remains of Britisn. and Roman camps; barrows where the bones of rival chiefs lie I crumbling; ruins of Saxon monasteries, Norman towers, and medissvb.1 crosses; quaint towns hiauen among the hills, with hostelries such ss Chaucer's pilgrims might have put Gp at" if they had gon: that way; priories con- verted into farm-houses, where the moat yet lingers, though the storfey days of civil war have passed; Eliza- bethan remains, with waiuscoted apartments; count- less drowsy, picturesque, out-of-the way spots, where you may fancy yourself a Rip VSll Winkle gone to sleep baCkwarJs, and waking _up in the far-off Past —stud the Downs in all directions, and add a hllmaninterest to inanimate, nature. At the Wanands, now cultivated ground, the Danes, under King Magnus, were defeated and their leader captured. The little village-of Beddingham is one of the places mentioned in King Alfred's will. Near Ringmer is a house where Gilbert White used to pass much of his t'me; and close by is the pine grove mentioned in the National History of Selborne. At Hurstmoneeux, on the Hastings road, ?s the old ruined castle of the Dacres, one of whom, in the reign of Henry the Eighth, was executed for IdlKng the servant of a neighbouring gentleman. In the vicinity of the little town of Lindfield is a great rock poised on a 7srnaller mass, like the rocking stones of Cornwall; and near Uckfield arc some -singular sand rocks, resembling those of Tun bridge Wells. The Devil's Dj ke, as all men know, is famous for a legend which ascribes its formation to the Prince off Darkness, who, irritated by the extra- ordinary piety o€ the people inhabiting the Downs and the Weald, began digging a vast trench to let the sea in, but was put to flight by an ancient lady exhibiting a candle in a sieve, which the foolish old gentleman mis- took for tbesun miraculously rising at midnight.—All he Year Pottmd. F"MI McoriieJas, a Century iiga.-rms expensive piece of ground, which would nOw-&-days be termed a "park,7' was very charmingly laid out ia 1:ûm.- large grass-plots,-or41 quarter! as they were called, intersected by broad igr&vet-waiks, and was much frequented by the <oitteens*f«r purposes of exercise and recrcation. The mid walk, which was of considerable length, with a row of wellrgrcwa elm-trees on either side, and seats for the -convenience of promenaders, w&s designated, owing to its-being tha Tesort of all the persons of fashion to be met -with at the end of the metropolis—the City Mall. And, if the-smartness of the company who freouented it j'wes "to--count for anything, it might ba fairly said to rival j the Mall -iu St.. James's park. On Sandajs aad f "iHfii&evjo Oity rraa bill "CVeri CT> ordinary -occasions it -was greatly frequented, and ex- 1 hibited much more variety of character than could ba found at the West-end. Here might be seen the citi- izen's wives and daughters, flaunting in all their finery, j and displaying their charms to the Moorfields maccaronis. j whese bats were cocked diagonally over the left eye, and who gave themselves quite as many airs as the coxcombs of :St. James's. But the City Mall was really very lively and amusing, and had soaierhingof a continental air. Booths and small shops, where fans, toys, trinkets, confectionery, and other light matters could be pur- chased, -were arranged under the trees, and there was generally some show or mountebank diversion to be witnessed on the "quarters." The central walk could be lighted, up at dusk by lamps swung from ropes at- tached to the trees os. either side. A grand termination to tke vista on the south was offered by Bethlehem Hospital, which, with its noble facade upwards of 500 feet in length, its three pavilions, high roof, and hand- some stone batestrades, looked like a palace, and Indeed had been builc on the model of the Tuileries, to the infinite annoyance of Louis XIV.-Ainswortk'l:" Lord í Mayor of .London." A Distinguished Miner.—At last everything I was procured but the cradles; and we were fearful that we should-have to send to Melbourne for them, when one evening, as all our party were lying in the tent smoking, dinner having, juet been finished, a man nearly seven feet high walked in. Throwing his huge body down on a hair-matting, he demanded, in the most authoritative manner whether there was a man of the name of Stretton belonging to that party. I answered, "Yes, there is; what do you want with, him ? He then told me that he had heard that I was in want of all the requisites for a digging-party, and that I might have his lot. Upon asking him,,of what-the lot (as he called it) consisted, he told us:: he then wound up by saying that he would give us his stationary tent into the bargain. The sum demanded was only eighteen pounds; and, all considering that we had a bargain, his "let" was purchased. No sooner was the bargain completed, than he turned round to me and said: "You have spirits here: I have not tasted any for three months give me Bome.11 "Certainly," said I on which he immediately stalked out of our tent, and hailed two of the most villanous-looking scoundrels that I have ever seen, and whom he introduced a3 his mates. They remained the evening,; and certainly our tall friend and his hideous allies made up that erening for the dearth of alcohol that they had so long suffered from. Will it be believed, that that tall ungainly-lcokfog brigand whom we had entertained was a very near relative of the late Lord D-n, and married to one of the prettiest women who had resided not one hundred miles from lenby, in Pembrokeshire. Subsequently, the tall man and I became great friends; he returned to England before me, and two years ago I had the pleasure to meet him in London, looking as gentlemanly as he had done to the contrary the first time we met.—Memoirs of a Chequered Life. A Russian Amusement.—On another occasion, when Prince Alexis Youriviteh went out to hunt, it was very cold, and there was a slight coating of ice on the Volga, what is called glass ice, so thin that it could be broken with a five-copeck piece. The huntsmen caught about one hundred and fifty hares in the fields, and made a halt on a hill on the other side of the monastery. The hill was very high, and stood up straight like a wall above the Volga. Tke Prince Alexis Youriviteh was in a lively mood, and wished to amuse himself, so he sat down on the edge of the cliff, astride on a barrel of sweet wine, took a ladle in his hand, and began to help him- self and those around him. When he felt a little ex- cited, he told his people to make holes in the ice, in this way: they were to plunge, head first, from the top of a hill through the ice, and, on soming up, were to break through it in another place. That was the favourite amusement of the late Prince Alexis Yourivitch. God grant him his heavenly kingdom," says the peasant who relates his story. On that day, however, no one could make a reisack (breach) to please him. Some," says the narrator, threw themselves stupidly on the ice, and fell on their bodies, which is not the thing. That is called floundering, and for that the back received fifteen stripes that it may know its place, and not put itself before the head again." Another never reached the ice at all, but struck against the side of the hill and put his neck out of joint; and three who succeeded in breaking through the ice never came up again; they "remained to take care of the carp." Prince Alexis was in a great rage. He screamed out-" I will flog you all to death! and then turned to some gentlemen of limited income who lived with him, and- told them to make reisach; but they were far more awkward than the peasants. One of them succeeded in breaking the ice, but he also remained with the carp. Then Prince Alexis Yourivitch wept and sobbed, it was so very provoking! II It is plain that my last days are at hand," he exclaimed; there is not one man who can make, a reisack. But where," he added, 13 Crop eared Iashka ? He was the man. He could rr-uke three reisacks one gffcer the other."—The Russians at Home, by Sutherland Edwards.

The Best Pickle for Crinolines.-The sum total of the facts ia comprised at this moment in the statement, that, of all preservatives of linen garments against flame, sulphate of ammonia is the cheapest and best. A solution containing 7 per cent. of crystallised salt, or six and two-tenths per cent. of anhydrous salt, is a perfect preservative. It does not offer'the resistance to the iron that other salts do, as only a comparative small proportion of it is used; neither does it change the colour or texture of the fabric upon which it is employed. A Man Run Over by an Excursion Train.-On Saturday night last a travelling porter employed by the Great Western Railway company was killed at the Leamington station of that line in a very shocking manner. The deceased, George Oldham, was engaged as guard to an excursion train returning from the International Exhibition to Bir- mingham, and stopped at Leamington to deposit pas- sengers and take in water. On the train leaving the station at ten o'clock be was talking to some passengers in the first carriage, and rode a few feet out of the station on the step of it, when, attempting to jump from that step to his "monkey-box," he fell between the tender and the passengers' carriage. Eleven carriages passed over him and his shrieks were heart-rending. He was lifted on to the platform and died almost instantly, the train having nearly separated the body in twain.. The (Iec-?3?nd had only been married three weeks. weeks.