The Illustrated Usk Observer and Raglan Herald

EPITOME OF NEWS. Owing to the warmth of the late summer many chestnut-trees in the Champs Elysjees and other quarters of Paris are now is bloom for the second time- Lady Fitzhardinge met with an accident last week, at Berkeley Castle, by slipping down one of the highly- polished oak stairs of the old baronial hall. Her ladyship is going on mpst favourably, although some weeks will elapse before she gets rid of the strain in her. foot. A clerk in a Liverpool house named Samuel E. Parker Hey, was sent to the bank the other day with £2,500, and has not since been heard of. The money was in bank notes. The police have issued a reward of £100. Hey is about twenty years of age, five feet eight inches high, and has light brown bear. Mr. Mason, the envoy from the Confederate States of America, left London at the latter end of last wet k by the mail train for Paris. Mr. Macfarlane remains for a few days to wind up some unimportant matters of a financial nature. John Buntin, a seaman belonging to the Lemnus of Liverpool, has been committed by the Liverpool magistrates upon the charge of murder. The victim, was a seaman on board the Lemnus, and the outrage took place at Buenos Ayres on the 9th of June last. A case of horse stealing for a lark," came before a London magistrate the other day. The prisoner was found riding a horse bare backed, and without bridle or halter, along the High-street, Lower Clapton, and when stopped by a policeman he assaulted the officer. It appeared, however, that he had really mounted the horse in a tipsy frolic, and the magis- trate, taking a very lenient view ot the circumstances, dischai ged the prisoner, whose real name did not appear. The Board of Trade telegrams were forwarded on Thursday morning to the various ports on the west and south coasts to hoist the drum signal, indicating that stormy winds may be expected from more than one quarter successively. A contemporary states that the Great Eastern steam vessel has been seized under an Admiralty warrant by the ewners of the Jane, which vessel was run down by her off the Irish coast. Immense fortunes, a contemporary asserts, have been made in Manchester by speculators in cotton goods since the opening of the American war. At the outset a merchant bought a million pieces of printed goods, and had them only for a day or so, when they became enhanced five shillings each in their selling worth. The enterprising speculator cleared thus a quarter of a million sterling by a single transaction. A few nights ago the Brothers, Capt. Grayburn, of Grimsby, laden with deals, in making her way up the Hum- fcter, caught the sands on Whitton Middle, and besides losing a great part of the cargo the captain's son, about two years of age, was drowned. It appears the captain succeeded for some time in keeping both the lad and his wife from being carried away by the tide, but in order to save the latter he was compelled to let go his hold of the former. The rectory of Scotton, near Kirton-on-Lindsey, Lincolnshire, has become vacant by the death of the Rev. Christopher Frederics, M.A., formerly of Trinity College, Cam- bridge, who has held the benefice fifty-three years. It is worth £725 a year, with a house, and is in the gift of Sir Richard Frederick, Bart. The deceased was the heir to the baronetcy. The late Mr. F. Hinde, M.A., Oxon, son of Mr. Hinde, formerly a solicitor of Liverpool, has bequeathed the sum of £ 1,000 to the Royal Infirmary in that town, free of legacy duty. An attempt to cultivate cotton has been made in the Jardin des Plantes at Clermont, in the department 'in Of the Puy de Dome, and has been attended with success. Several feet of ground were sown with cotton seed brought from America. The cotton plant has blossomed, and should the weather prove fine in autumn the director of the garden expect to gather a plentiful crop. It is said that their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales will visit his Grace the Duke of Beaufort at Badminton in the early part of November, and that apart- ments in the noble mansion are now being prepared for the reception of their Royal Highnesses. A lawn meet will take place upon the occasion. The Staffordshire horse nail makers who gave notice to their masters a short time ago for an additional 3d. per thousand on the wages they were then receiving, have now got their wishes gratified; all the masters (with one or two exceptions) of Coseley, Sedgley, and adjacent places, having on Friday consented to give them the extra 3d. This 3d. is not in reality a rise it is simply a return to the old price. It is understood that the present Lord Mayor of London will succeed to the valuable and honourable post of Governor of the Irish Society, vacant by the death of Alderman Humphery, it being generally conferred on the Lord Mayor in whose term of office it is vacated. The emoluments are con- siderable, being generally reckoned at £1,000 a year. Mrs. Gurney, who has been divorced from her husband, the member for King's Lynn, the Court Journal says, has married Mr. Taylor, the partntr of her flight, and is living ■wilh him at Harptree, near Hi is Vol, so that the reports that she had pensioned eft Taylor, and was living in strict retirement, are without foundation. Mr. Hail, an Englishman, was called to the French bar last week, being the second now practising in Paris. A knowledge of the English language has become necessary to barristers in Paris in consequence of the numerous commercial as well as criminal cases in which English interests are engaged. The consumers of French brandy will do well to see that they are not supplied with mangold wurtzel cognac. In Paris it is a general complaint that of late years it has been extremely difficult to obtain pure brandy of good quality, even at the greatly augmented rates that have prevailed. In the champion ploughing class, at the Woodstock agricultural meeting, three men competed, two of them the crack ploughmen of Howard's and Ransome's; one, a local ploughman, using Howard's plough. Excellent work was done by all, and the prize was awarded to Powell, ploughman to Ransome's and Sim's. The last accounts from Alexandria state that the inundation of the Nile is assuming alarming proportions, and has already caused serious damage. The total amount subscribed to the Hartley Relief Fund reached £ 33,231. After providing for every claim likely to be made, a surplus of £20,440 remained for distribution among the twelve inspection districts of England and Scotland- about £ 1,700 each-to be applied to the relief of suffering occa- sioned by colliery accidents. A Berlin artisan, has come into possession of a very interesting historical curiosity-the marriage ring of Luther. On the ring is an inscription bearing the name of Martin Luther and his wife, as well as the date of their marriage. The autho- rities of the Royal Musem entertain no doubt as to the genuine- ness of the relic. The demolition of the citadel of Messina has just been commenced in the presence of the authorities. The syndic dealt the first stroke with a hammer. The city was decked out with flags on the occasion, and Te Deum sung- in the cathedral. Professor Wilson (Christopher North) and Allan Ramsay are each to have a statue in Prince's-street Gardens, Edinburgh, where workmen are already preparing sites for the two memorials. The Mayor of Boulogne has presented the Viscountess de Renneville with a splendid diamond brooch, for the complimentary things she has written in the Gazette Rose about that watering-place. The puff direct has been well acknew- ledged.by the reward direct. The correspondent of a contemporary says, Who would not write for newspapers when such a perquisite as this is among the items ? 1 Sir,—You are invited to call and examine a new corpse-presen-er- Wilson's patent air-circulating -now in practical operation with a body.' The elections in the Ionian Islands have ter- minated, and the result has been generally ifl favour of the union with Greece. A nest of greenfinches, fledged and ready to fly, has just been found in a barley rick at Gusbery, in Dorset- shire. Such a circumstance, so late in the season, is very re- markable. Telegraphic dispatches of twenty words are now forwarded in Prussia up to a distance of forty-five miles for 9d.; for any distance between forty-five and 200 miles similar dispatches cost only Is. The National Gallery is now closed, for the annual vacation, until Monday, the 2nd of November, when it will be reopened to the public, the days of admission being I • -Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays; Thursdays and Fridays being set apart for the use of students. The "Gazette" formally announces that her Majesty has been pleased to appoint to the see of Gibraltar the Right Rev. Walter John Trower, D.D., late Dean of Exeter, and formerly Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway. Cardinal Wiseman has been suffering for the last few days from severe indisposition, and has been unable to leave his bed. As soon as he can be moved it will be necessary for him to leave town for change of air. The commencement of the sporting season has been marked in Essex by an affray between gamekeepers and -poachers, in which one of the former was shot, though not seriously hurt. The man who fired the gun is in custody, and is said to be an old offender. A quantity of buffalo beef was brought from America to Berlin at the beginning of the summer. The specu- lators are so well satisfied with the results of their experiment that they have just sent out orders for extensive consignments of this novel article of diet. A contract for a new Portuguese loan is understood to have been entered into by a London house, but the amount being moderate, a doubt seems to be entertained if any.portion of it will be offered for public subscription. A French physician, M. Graw, has found out the means of makiu g all medicines tasteless The juvenile world will subscribe for a monument. The voyage round the world, which has been for some time announced, will begin on the 5th of March. The staning-place is Trieste, the piice £ 500, and the trip will last eight months. In June last there were 58,441 thriving cinchona plants on the Neilgherry Hills in India. Chemical experiments have been made on the bark, which prove that the cinchona is now naturalised in India, and is superior to the cinchona intro- duced into Java by the Dutch. The Accounts nt- Generars-office will be open OD Thursday, the 15th; Friday, the 16th and Saturday, the 17th of October for the delivery out of any regular interest draughts which have become payable in respect of the October dividends, and of any other regular interest draughts which shall have become payable during the closing of the office. There are at present 14,886 parishes, in- clusive of the Scilly Islands, in England and Wales, maintaining, or liable to maintain, their own poor. Returns of pauperism are received weekly in respect of 14;681 of that number; 205 parishes, incorporated under Gilbert's Act, or still under the provisions of the 43rd Elizabeth, make no return of the number of paupers which they relieve. Some people's religious ideas are, to say the least of it, eccentric. A woman in Paris was recently detected in a robbery of some thousands of francs. All the lost money was recovered except 250 francs. The woman declared that she had spent 160 francs in necessaries, and had given the odd two napoleoos as hush money" to Our Lady of Bon-Secours." A few days ago, Samuel Perry, Esq., of Bawna, near Clonmel, was engaged in partridge shooting in the neigh- bourhood. when a fine covey of twelve rose at a distance of forty yards Mr. Perry fired, and in one single shot brought down no fewer than five birds. Another shot like this would leave the,c.ovey,easy to be counted. Letters from Cairo, of the 3rd September, report" Mr. Hartley Gisborne has been nominated by the Egyptian Government director of the projected telegraph line to Sudan, with a salary of L750 per annum. Mr. Gisborne has left for England, and is expected back on his return to his duties about the 15th inst."

SIR E. LANDSEER ON FAT CATTLE. The Staffordshire Agricultural Society held its annual meeting at Stafford last week. The lord-lieu- tenant, the Earl of Lichfield, presided; and addresses were delivered by the noble chairman, the Earl of Dartmouth, the Earl of Shrewsbury, the Earl of Harrowby, Viscount Ingestre, Viscount Sandon, and many other noblemen and gentlemen. Mr. Adderley, M.P., in the course of the proceedings, remarked that the two and twenty years during which he had repre- sented the county in Parliament had been a period which covered the growth of agricultural societies. The manufacturers having ceased to claim protection, called upon the agriculturists to throw away their crutches. The agriculturists pleaded the peculiar burdens they had to bear, and the peculiar circum- stances under which they had to bear them; but their crutches had been knocked from under them. Yet, at very short notice, they had lately had an application from Manchester for the use of those crutches; but the agriculturists having found, despite all obstacles, means of doing without them, were not disposed to permit their use to others. So great had been the progress of agriculturists, than they now almost made two blades of grass where only one grew before. But they had not done all that could be done, for there were about four millions of acres of land un- cultivated, and under those that were under cultiva- tion there lay a mine of wealth that had yet to be got. One reason why it had so long lain there was the want of a satisfactory agreement between landlord and tenant; and he (Mr. Adderley) thought that many tenants did not cultivate their farms in a manner that was profit- able either to themselves or their landlords. Many so cultivated the land that if they put their capital in the funds and sat down and smoked their pipes, they would do better than they were now doing. Mr. Beresford Hope afterwards proposed Arts, Manu- facture, and Commerce," which he described as three of the great civilisers of the world. Sir Edwin Land- seer stated that his first effort at drawing was a representation of a Devonshire bull, when he was nine or ten years of age. With respect to the animals which he had seen in the show-yard that day, he said they appeared to be a conglomeration of fat. Breeders and feeders of cattle seemed to disguise the bones of the animals. He thought it would be advisable to ex- hibit some animals in their original forms as God made them. If men regulated their own merits by'their fat, the greatest prize taker in the kingdom would have been Daniel Lambert.

TRIAL OF THE REPUTED NAN A SAHIB. The overland mail from India brings information respecting the trial of the man who was supposed to be Nana Sahib. He arrived at Cawnpore on the 22nd of August under an escort of Seiks, and the following details connected with his trial are taken from the Times of India whose correspondent dates from Cawn- pore, August 23 The man supposed to be the rebel Nana Dhoondia Punt was into this station a. prisoTiex yesterday morning, and is now lodged in the station gaol. He was brought in by Captain Carnell with a guard of three Seiks. His arrival caused considerable commo- tion in the city at first, for it was generally believed that the coming prisoner was veritably the Nana. But in a very few hours after he left the railway station that excitement had quite subsided. Hundreds of people, to whom the person of the Nana was well known, had seen the prisoner, and all declared that he was not the man. Among these are people who had been daily with the Nana, and some of them in constant attendance upon him at Bithoor and else- where for years before his flight. It might be ex- pected, of course; that such persons would-most of them-;deny his identity, even falsely; but the tacit evidence of an entire population, as expressed in the marked and speedy cessation of their anxiety about, or further interest in, the man, is matter of great im- portance. It is, nevertheless, still possible, however improbable, that circumstantial evidence, added to that of his blind companion, who has turned informer, may yet prove him -to be the Nana. Numbers of well- attested cases familiar to the phisiological student may serve to explain away difficulties arising from his non- recognition even by men who must necessarily remember well the features, complexion, voice, atti- tudes, and general contour of the arch-rebel as' they knew him before 1857 at Bithoor. But six anxious years of travel, flight, exposure, change of climate, of habits, and of diet, superadded to sickness, mortifica- cation, and despair—perhapsjevenremorse— cannot have failed to work considerable physical change in the Nana, wherever he may be now. Instances are not rare of the really honest repudiation, by affectionate wives and mothers, of their husbands and children, after long and distant voyages or travel. Cases are recorded where brothers and sisters, meeting after many years of adventure, have even married in perfect ignorance of each other's identity. It will be admitted, by the lawyer at least, that circumstances such as those which must have attended the life of the Nana since his flight would render his non-identification by witnesses who judge from his present appearance alone a matter of comparative, insignificance in the face of a chain of facts connecting the changed man with the person he has been suspected to be-those facts and circumstances accounting more or less for the change itself. Whether such evidence is forthcoming is to be seen. But to return to this prisoner more particu- larly. His appearance indisputably declares his high caste Maharatta origin. He is much darker than the Nana was, but not unlike what the fugitive life the Nana must have led would make, in six years, of a-formerly-delicately nurtured fair Maharatta Brahmin. These are my impressions, and they may, of course, be wrong. But his height does not correspond with the description of the Nana, nor does his apparent age. A careful study of the man, at the cutcherry yesterday, during his examina- tion, convinced me, not only that he knows this place, but that he was anxiously observant of faces around him, as if in search of persons whom he recognised, and who might perhaps recognise him. The same curious scrutiny on his part was observable as he passed through the station on his way from the railway to the gaol. He is no stranger to Cawnpore, but that does not prove him to be the Nana. Indeed, he admits that he was here and at Bithoor several years ago, when the Nana was there. It is worthy of note, that the personal appearance of the man is undergoing a slow and gradual, but plain change. I have seen three or four photographs of him taken at different periods, and though all bear some resemblance to him, not one is the likeness of the man as I saw him yesterday. He grows fairer, though more haggard than these photo- graphs represent him. May not the one be from his being less exposed, and the other from his imprison- ment and consciousness of the fearful position he occu- pies, if the Nana ? On the opening of the cutcherry, the magistrate (H. Monckton, Esq., C.S.) at once had the prisoner brought before him charged with being the rebel, Nana Dhoon- dia Punt. He denies that he is so, and declares that he is a Brahmin, who has been a faqueer nearly.all his life that his name is Appa Ram, son of Damoodhur, born in a village on the banks of an obscure river in the Deccan; and that while he was yet a child his father was murdered there. He says he had two brothers. On the death of his father, be (then twelve years old), with his brothers, adopted the vagabond life of a faqueer. His brothers, he says, he has neither seen nor heard of since they set out after their fa- ther's death. He states that a few years ago he visited the village where he was born, and was then recognised by three or four persons living there, whom he names but they are all dead now. (How does he know of their death?) The village itself, too, he declares has now ceased to exist, having been washed away, and entirely destroyed by an encroachment of the river; and its inhabitants are now undiscoverable, being, as he says, absorbed in the population of the surrounding country. (A rather suspicious and certainly unsatisfactory tale.) Dr. Cheke and Dr. Jones assisted the magistrate during the first day's proceedings, which bore solely on the point of his personal appearance. Dr. Cheke was for- merly civil surgeon of Cawnpore Dr. Jones is so now. In his office as civil surgeon Dr. Cheke attended pro- fessionally upon the Nana, but does not recognise the prisoner in any way. His person does not show the expected marks or traces said to have been left by surgical treatment for certain minor diseases. In fact, Dr. Cheke is very strongly of opinion that the prisoner is not the Nana. With the assistance of the medical officers above named, the magistrate drew up a most minute description of the prisoner's person, and with that the first day's proceedings closed, to be resumed the following morning. At present it is the belief of the authorities here that the prisoner is not the Nana,; that so far from there being, as yet, evidence against him proving him to have been a rebel of note, or even a rebel at all, there has not been produced against him evidence sufficient to justify, legally, his continued imprison- ment for any long period. The prisoner is confined in a separate ward of the gaol, apart from all other prisoners. Inside the gaol is an additional guard of twelve men, who are quartered in tents immediately adjoining the cell or room where the prisoner lies. The guard is under an European inspector, who re- mains on duty, in a room close by, night and day. In- side the prisoner's cell a sentinel walks on duty day and night, while one or two others are posted outside. The prisoner seldom speaks, but sits or lies on his rug for hours together, almost motionless, and seemingly quite at his ease. He eats nothing, refusing all solid food of every description, even from the highest caste men. He lives on milk alone, drinking one seer in the morn- ing, and one in the evening. During the day he is fettered only on the legs, but at night he is closely handcuffed. He seems to care nothing about the curiosity of people who go to see him as he lies in gaol, and appears, on the whole, to have little fear as to the result of the case. A telegram from Suez, dated Bombay, Sept. 9th, states that the Ajmere prisoner has finally proved not to be the Nana Sahib.

NAVAL SHAM. FIGHT AND FATAL 'V ACCIDENT. On Tuesday immense crowds came from all parts of the principality to Holyhead to witness the sham fight between the naval force of her Majesty's ship Majestic, commanded by Captain Ingoldsby, and the Anglesey and Carnarvonshire volunteers, under their respective officers. The scene of action was the beach at the new harbour. On the heights above batteries of heavy guns had been previously erected; also a large number of field pieces placed at different points. These guns were served mostly by the Anglesea artillerists under Major the Hon. W. O. Stanley and Captain Com- mandant Rigby, who introduced a novelty in war- fare—namely, a 24-pounder mounted on a railway truck drawn by a locomotive, which did good service. The action commenced about four o'clock by a salvo from the heavy guns of the frigate, after which the Goshawk tender drew close in and opened fire. This was answered from the forts on shore. The boats crowded with men were seen to advance, and, notwithstanding the apparent de- termined resistance, gained the beach and com- menced to attack the batteries. In the mean time the marines were landed at a point near Portha- fyllin, and commenced an attack on the left flank'of the volunteers. Though stubbornly resisted, they were obliged to. give way, when the naval forces took possession of the batteries, and, hauling down the flag, hoisted their own. Their triumph, how- ever was shortlived, for, reinforcements coming up, the volunteers gallantly made a second attack, and subsequently to a tremendous struggle regained the forts and drove the enemy into their boats. A struggle between naval and military forces is very exciting. There is much more dash in an onslaught by the blue-jackets than in the steady precision with which soldiers go to work, so that a combined attack of this nature imparts more pleasure than a sham-fight of far greater pretensions. On this occasion there were nearly five hundred volunteers, and the naval force was not much less inferior in point of numbers. There was, we regret to add, one serious drawback to the pleasure of the scene. One of the gunS" of the Majestic having hung, fire, a seaman rammed down the charge, when it ex- ploded, and the poor fellow was instantly killed, and his body terribly mutilated by the powder, tie wadding, and the ramrod. Another gunner who was assisting him was blown into the sea by the same explosion, and being probably dead before he reached the water, sank instantly. The proceedings of the day created great interest throughout the entire of North Wales, the Lord Bishop of Bangor, LordNewborough, Colonel Douglass, SirR. Buckley, Bart., and numerous members of the nobility and gentry of the county attending. In the evening all the volunteers were entertained at the Market- hall at a substantial dinner, a public ball closing the day. ♦

The official Danish paper, the Berlingske Tidende, has just proved, by a genealogical table, that the newly-elected King of the Greeks is a lineal de- scendant of the Emperors of the old Greek Empire. From Oxford to Rome.-At a meeting of the Roman Catholic nobility and gentry, held a few days ago, the question was vigorously discussed as to the advisability of sending the youth of their families to Oxford at the approaching term. The balance of opinion was in favour of the movement, and in conse- quence several Catholic families are about to send their sons to matriculate at Oxford. A Skeleton for the "Long Firm."—A singular transaction, by a leading member of the "long firm," has come to light. A box, about three-quarters of a yard long, two feet wide, and the same depth, ad- dressed J. D. Beck, Esq., 31, Faulkner-street, Man- chester, to remain till called for," was left on Monday by one of the railway vans, at the place in Faulkner- street, which is a carrier's office. The police were informed, and detective officers Buckley and Watson opened the box, which was found to contain the bones of a skeleton, carefully packed with hemp and cotton wool. The skeleton seemed to be that of a person about sixteen years old. The head was a very fine specimen. The whole skeleton is valued at £ 3 10s. Beck was taken to the detective office, and when interrogated by Mr. Maybury, the superintendent, he said that in the Lancet of Saturday week some one at a London hospital advertised a skeleton for sale, and Mr. Beck :sent up an order for the same. He states that he had a customer for it, and that he intended to make a good profit out of it. Mr. Beck was allowed to go; but the box and its contents were ordered to be returned to the place from whence it came. Lord Clyde's Bequest to General Vinoy.- In a codicil to his will, dated 23rd May last, the late Lord Clyde thus expresses himself, in reference to the above distinguished French General, now commanding the 1st Division of the Army of Paris :—" I give and bequeath to Lieutenant-General Vinoy, commanding a division in the French army, and my old and beloved comrade in the Crimea, the sum of five hundred pounds, as a token of my especial esteem and regard." During the Crimean campaign General Vinoy commanded a body of French troops placed near those commanded by Sir Colin Campbell at Balaclava. On several occa- sions difficult and perilous duties were confided to their united forces. The upshot was a warm and lasting friendship between the two generals, whose example contributed much to the establishment of that tho- rough good understanding, kindly feeling, and mutual admiration, which marked the intercourse of the Zouaves and Highlanders throughout the Crimean war. If we are not misinformed, a portrait of General Vinoy, painted expressly for Queen Victoria, now hangs in her Majesty's writing closet at Windsor Castle, as companion picture to that of his comrade in arms, Sir Colin Campbell. At the assault and cap- ture of the Malakoff, Gen. Vinoy greatly distinguished himself, and at this moment there is no officer in the French army more likely than Vinoy to obtain a marshal's truncheon.

DISCOVERY OF A BASE COIN MANU., FACTORY. One of the Liverpool detective police officers, accompanied by two other police officers, an Friday night made a descent upon a house in 14, Court, Charter-street, which has been used as a manu- factory for base coin. They visited the premises in consequence of some information which had been given them relative to property stolen in a different part of the town. On going into the house, the wife of the occupier (a man named Marr) ran upstairs, and called out, "The police are coming." The officers followed her, and burst open the first door they came to, when they discovered that Marr was in the act of coining base half- crown pieces, with the assistance of two women named Ann Leed and Ann M'Donald. Marr made a blow at Lees, the detective officer, but the latter pushed him against the fire-place, and kept him there until one of the other officers came up. Marr, however, after a desperate struggle, got away and ran into the cellar of the house, from which he passed into an adjoining building, and made his escape along the roofs of the houses. The police then took the women into custody, and also a person named Bridget Fagan, together with two men, named Thomas Brown and J. Carroll. When the officers searched the premises they discovered a complete apparatus for coining-galvanic batte- ries, liquid for electroplating, iron crucibles and spoons, together with some first-rate tools and partially molten metal. A quantity of base coin was also found in various rooms in the house. The prisoners were brought before the magistrates on Saturday, and were remanded in order that the police might perfect their investigations.

—♦ "Misfortunes Never Come Single."—Mr. C Date, who lost his wife and son and daughter a fort- night ago at Coniston, by eating poisonous fungi instead of mushrooms, had the misfortune to fall a great depth at the mines on Saturday, and was so severely injured that his life was despaired of for some days. We are, however, glad to say that he has now so far recovered as to be out of danger. Arrival of the Crown Prince and Princess of Prussia.-The Crown Prince of Prussia and the Princess Royal arrived at Dover on Thursday after- noon at three o'clock in the Admiralty steam-yacht Vivid, Master-Commander Allen, and proceeded direct to London to the Victoria station per special train on the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway. On arrival at Dover their Royal Highnesses were received by a guard of honour of the 78th Highlanders, and by General Sutton, commanding the garrison, Colonel Cuppage, Captain Trisscott, R.N., Admiralty Super- intendent, &c. At the station of the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway a guard of honour was drawn up of the 85th Regiment, and their Royal Highnesses were received and conducted to the special train by Mr. Forbes, the general manager of the company. The journey to Victoria station was performed in two hours, where the Royal carriages and fourgons were in waiting to convey the Prince and Princess to Bucking- ham Palace, en route to Edinburgh by the Great Northern Railway. Lord Charles Fitzroy and Count Bernstorff were in attendance on their Royal High- nesses from Dover to Victoria station.

WORKING MENS INSTITUTES AND CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES. Among the many social questions that have engaged public attention, one of the first, if not the very first, "n is the improvement of the condition of the working classes. The last fifty years have shown marked advancement in the position of those who constitute the sinew and wealth of the country. Fifty years since the working man or artisan could scarcely read or write. He could follow his vocation well enough, because he had been taught it, much in the same manner as a machine is made to work, viz., without reason. Since then tho working classes have made vast strides in education and self-culture, and they are altogether a different class. The institution and success of co-operative societies of workmen in Lan- cashire and elsewhere have shown not only to the workmen what they can accomplish for themselves, but also shown to employers that for the future capital cannot have everything its own way. That this increased knowledge and consequent feeling of in- dependence have not been attended with evil results has been more than manifested during the cotton famine in Lancashire. In former times there would probably have been rioting and bloodshed; whereas, in fast, we have witnessed patience and long-suffering wholly un- exampled. Such being some of the results that have ensued from improving the condition of the working classes, any efforts for further advancing the good cause ought to meet with universal support. Amongst many plans proposed we know at present none that offers such almost certainty of success as the establish- ment of working men's clubs. These institutions are founded with the idea of providing rational and cheap entertainment for the working men. Mr. Cnbitt, the builder, was among the first to start a club of this -kind, confined to his own workpeople; and the result has more than realised his most sanguine expectations. The men gladly resort to it. They greedily receive the rich stores of knowledge provided for them, and as a consequence, many of the lead- ing foremen, clerks of works, and confidential clerks owe their position to Cubitt's club. These clubs are, as a rule, self-supporting, although in the first instance they may require a little aid at starting. It is found, however, that a club of 200 members, paying 2d. per .week each, can readily walk alone. In such club the members can enjoy comfort- able, warm, and well-ventilated rooms, a good library, the principal daily and weekly papers chess, draughts, bagatelle, and other games of skill are provided and, above all, that which a workman thoroughly enjoys, there is a good skittle ground, where he may amuse himself as much as he pleases. These clubs supply at moderate price tea., coffee, &c. &c., everything except intoxicating drinks. Lord Brougham and others who have taken so great an interest in the improvement of the working classes started mechanics' institutes, which at first promised to succeed, but they gradually failed, principally we believe because the management was placed in the hands of men in a higher grade of society than the ordinary members. The working man felt to a. certain extent that he was patronised—that the men in authority rather lorded it over them and this being contrary to their feelings of independence, they one by one seceded, until these mechanics' institutes be- came sources of advantage to the middle classes of society alone, and not to the working men. Again, the lectures generally given were too learned and dry for the class who were supposed to be the hearers. These new working clubs propose to take warning from the mechanics' institutes, and to avoid the shoals upon which they were shipwrecked.—Observer.

CURTIS'S SCREW STEERING AP- PARATUS. What promises to be a very useful improvement to our naval and mercantile marine was tried on Satur- day on board her Majesty's gunboat Charger, in the presence of Admiral Sir Edward Belcher, Admiral Butikoff, of the Russian navy, Mr. G. F. Young, and several naval officers and gentlemen connected with the great steam navigation companies, and the mer- cantile shipping interest generally. The novelty is an improved mode of steering screw steamers, by making the screw perform the duty of steering as well as that of propelling the ship. This is accomplished by means of a universal or ball and socket joint, which is fixed at the end ofthélIlIiin shaft, tha screw being attached thereto and communicating with the ordinary steering gear by an upright shaft. The advantages which Mr. Curtis, the patentee claims for this invention are the following In turning the screw pushes the stern round-the ship revolving on the bows as a centre, engines going ahead. Going astern, the helm being hard over, the ship turns on her own centre. In turning against tha wind, engines going astern, the ship comes round as easily as in a calm. To keep the ship in her course the helm never varies more than three to five degrees. The ship may be steered in a tideway under whatever conditions of the stream. To apply the screw to existing ships it is merely necessary to lengthen the main shaft; the ship will be the stronger for the altera- tion, and, all vibration being removed, will last much longer. The speed of the vessel will be increased from one to two miles per hour." That this invention adds greatly to the facilities of .steering, the experiments of Saturday leave no doubt, and the rapidity with which the vessel was made to turn round, to alter her course, to turn upon her centre as a revolving ship, bringing her guns to bear when and where it might be desirable to do so, suggested the idea that an ordinary gun-boat fitted with this apparatus would be a formidable antagonist to the most powerful of the newly introduced cupola and revolving turret war vessels. There being no rudder, a certain amount of retarding force is avoided, and the propelling and steering power being always in the same. direction, an absolute and considerable gain of speed is the consequence. After the trial, which took place in Long-reach, and extended over some hours, the health of Mr. Curtis, the inventor, and success to the invention, was given by Mr. G. F. Young, and afterwards the health of Sir Edward Belcher, who had taken very great interest in directing and marking the results of the experiments. Sir Edward, in reply, said, that having known Mr. Curtis for some years as a scientific man who had given much' attention to the subject of marine improve- ments, and having been struck with the simplicity and novelty of the present invention, he had given Mr. Curtis a letter to the Admiralty, which he believed had induced the board to place the gunboat they were in at Mr. Curtis's disposal for the purpose of testing the efficiency of his plan. He (Sir Edward) was bound to admit that the result of the day's experiments had ex- ceeded his most sanguine expectations. He did not mean to say that the invention was as yet in all respects perfect, but if it were nursed by the Admi- ralty, as all such inventions required to be nursed, he anticipated for it the most complete success.

♦ An eminent Parsee merchant firm in the City of London has presented £2,000 to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, through its chairman, Thomas Baring, Esq., M.P., to enable it to form a life- boat establishment on the English coast, and perma- nently to keep it up. Their firm is now under dissolu- tion, and in order to show their gratitude to the people of this great metropolis, from whom they have received for many years every courtesy, they have presented this munificent amount to this benevolent institution. Sea-Sickness. A traveller recommends ice as a sure remedy as well as a prophylactic against sea- sickness. He states that he has tried it himself with success, and that if the stewards of steamers would keep a supply of lemon-water ices on board they would profit themselves and render a great service to their passengers. Emigration. One. of the most extraordinary phenomena of our time is the continued drain of the Irish population. During the seven months of this year ending July 31, the number of people that emi- grated from Ireland is 80,506 against 45,899 during the same period last year, showing an increase. of 34,607. The total number of persons who emigrated from Ireland since March, 1851, is given in these re- turns as 1,378,333. The Americans are warned by the Cincinnati Enquirer that the next generation must be expected to be short. It is considered to be the natural effect of prolonged war on human stature. The physical energies of the people suffer by the loss of tlaeir finest population to such a degree that the succeeding generation may be expected to fall short of the former standard stature. The British Government is about to spend £100,000 upon a fortified war harbour in the Island of Heligoland. A Bremen architect has drawn up the plan. Affairs in Syria are still unsatisfactory, and bands of Druses have appeared near Damascus, and have intercepted caravans of provisions and merchandise,