The Illustrated Usk Observer and Raglan Herald

THE ARTS, 'LITERATURE, &c. SIB, CHARLES LYELL'S address at Bath has been translated into German, and is a,ppeating piecemeal in the Cologne Gazette. MR. R. A. KINGLAKE, a promoter of fine arts in Somersetshire, has commissioned Mr. Pap worth to execute a bust of Captain Speke for the Shire-hall. The magistrates and gentry of the country cordially sympathise in the plan. AN energetic attempt is being made to obtain the erection of a statue of Shakespeare at Melbourne. A statue to Beranger is to be erected in Paris. TEKSA-COTTA is to be the material employed for a series of statues which are to be placed on the new Hungarian Academy at Pesth. Five of these works are by artists of Berlin, and represent Leibnitz, New- ton, Descartos, Galileo, and Raphael. ME.JFOLET has just shipped, for erection in Bombay, a full-length marble statae of the late Lord Elphin- stone, formerly governor of tha.t city. It will be placed in the Town-hall, as companion to Chantrey's Mount- stuart Elphinstone. A PILLAR, 12ft. high, lias been erected at Ha,Hen Hay, Howtown, Carlisle, in honour of Lord Brougham. It will be called the Brougham Pillar, but will scarcely exist as long as the memory of his lordship, who will be a pillar in the history of England as one of the greatest promoters of social reform. WE hear, says the Athenaeum, that Mr. Partridge, of Wellington, Salop, claims to have bought, in a parcel of waste paper, a couple of autographs of Shakspeare. They are said to occur in a copy of the Book of Common Prayer, black letter, date 1596. At the foot of one page appear the words "William Shakespeare," and on another page" W. Shakspear, 1600." The signatures are said to be in the ink of the period." If Mr. Partridge, says our contem- porary, has such a book in his possession, he would do well to send it to London for inspection, together with a careful history of its antecedents—if he can obtain it. A MEMORIAL tablet has just been affixed to the house at Marienbad at which Goethe used to stay, and where he wrote his enthusiastic love poems to his last love, the beautiful Ulrike von Levezow. Another tablet has been affixed to Rossini's house at Bologna, and the Lyceum-place of that town has been christened Rossini-place. THE Midland Scientific Association, one of the most active and successful of our provincial societies, acting under the presidency of Sir Oswald Mosley, have under- taken to clear out the floor of Thor's Cave, a fine cavern situated near Wotton, in Staffordshire, which nromises to be rich in glacial remains and in antiquities. This cave is on the property of the Duke of Devon- shire; and operations have already commenced. Facts of great importance in their bearings on the study of man are coming to light in this Saxon cave. FOR the last few days workmen have been em- ployed in preparing the necessary apparatus for warming with hot air the building known formerly as Wolsey's Chapel at Windsor Castle, but now called the Albert Memorial Chapel. During the excavations the workmen discovered a vault under the garden in front of the Deanery, measuring about thirty feet by twelve, and from the remains of a window in the end facing the road it is evident the roadway has been raised in that spot from six to eight feet. A CORRESPONDENT of the Bmlder says:—Mr. Jacob Bell, who died some five or six years ago, bequeathed a few fine pictures to the National Gallery, among which were The Maid and Magpie," by Sir Ed win Landseer, R.A.; The Derby Day," by W. P. Frith, R.A.; "The Horse Fair," by Mdlle. Rosa Bonheur. It was understood that the above were retained for the purpose of engraving. The engravings from them have long since been published, so that there appears no valid reason why they should not now appear in the national collection. The original "Horse Fair" was said to have been sold in the United States, and that the late Mr. Bell's picture was a reduction by the fair artist. But such a reduction has been ex- hibited at the Canterbury-hall and in the City. Re- cently I heard in Paris that Mdlie. Bonheur was now painting this subject for the National -Gallery. Per- haps I was misinformed. WE hear that the poet-laureate has already cleared £ 10,000 by the publication of Enoch Arden and other Poems." THE French Emperor's long-talked-of Life of Cssar" is still delayed for further revision, and also, it is hinted, in order to allow time for the Academy to be brought into the proper mood for receiving it and its author with applause. There is to be a large contingent (say the French papers) of savans and literary men at Compiegne this season. THE carefully-compiled pedigree of the late Mr. Thackeray has just been reprinted, with corrections (to the extent of fifty copies only), for those who take an especial interest in genealogical matters. The title of the pamphlet is, "The Ancestors and Descendants of the Rev. Thomas Thackeray, D.D., Master of Harrow." THE Metropolitan Board of Works .has given per- mission for the placing of the bronze memorial statue of Sir James Outrani upon the now Thames Way, when the embankment of the river shall be completed, so as to admit of the reception of the work. THE bronze statue of the late Father Mathew, by aoc Mr. Foley, will be placed upon its pedestal, and in- augurated before the citizens of Cork on the 10th of October, the anniversary of the birthday of the Apostle of Temperance." The site selected is at the north end of Patrick-street, near Patrick's Bridge. The figure appears in the dress commonly worn by Father Mathew, who is represented in the act of ad- ministering the "pledge," the right arm and hand extended in an attitude of benediction, while the left holds a temperance medal

f POLITICAL GOSSIP. RUMouR again points to Lord Wodehouse as the future Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. IT is now generally understood that Lord Palmer- ston will not be present at the opening of the Clifton Suspension Bridge. THE Edingburgh papers state that the Earl of Camperdown is fast recovering from his recent illness. THE Right Hon. Edward Horsman, M.P., and Sir John Ramsden gave the people of the Invereshie and Glenfeshie districts a grand ball, on the 14th ult., at Invereshie. THE Channel Fleet was at Naples the greater part of last week, and, in order to prevent the sailors dis- turbing the peace, the Italian government has con- sented to unarmed patrols from the ships perambulat- ing the lower portions of the city. IT is said that the Bank Charter Act of 1844, being quite inadequate to meet the present altered state of banking operations, will be the subject of Parliamen- tary discussion in the early part of next Session. THE Queen has been graciously pleased to appoint Captain Richard Francis Burton, now her Majesty's Consul at Fernando Po, to be her Majesty's Consul at Santos; and her Majesty has also been pleased to approve of Mr. B. Cramer as Consul at Belize for his Majesty the King of Prussia. IT is reported that M. Drouyn de Lhuys knew nothing of the change about to come over the Romish question until, at a cabinet council, the Emperor handed to his chief Foreign Office clerk the draft of the Convention, asking him to be so good as to have it regularly drawn out within tv/enty-four hours. THE people of Brixham believe they owe it to Lord Churston that the town has been made a free port of registry, thereby saving them the trouble of going to Dartmouth. To show their gratitude for the good deed, they are about to present his lordship with a silver claret jug. IT is said that John Mitchell, the Irish exile, and late editor of the Richmond Examiner, is now serving as a conscript private in an ambulance corps of the rebel army, after having given the life of one of his sons, and his own talents and influence, to the rebel- lion. A LETTER has been sent by the Queen's Remem- brancer, ordering Mr. Laing to give up all the treasure trove he has dug up in the course of his explorations at Keiss-a dull and mean proceeding, which must dis- gust every one who can appreciate the motives of Mr. Laing in his researches. It is just what was ex- pected. IT has been asserted that Parliament, after its spring dissolution next year, will not be able to meet again till November. This is an error. It is quite clear that the House of Commons will be able-and, of course, willing-to meet about the middle of May, after the new elections. JUDGING from present appearances, a contest for the ropresention of the county of Dumbarton in parliament at the general election next year seems probable. The present member, Mr. Smollett, has taken the field already, and it is said that he is to be opposed by Mr. James Stirling, of Cordale, well known in Dumbarton and Glasgow. It is also said by Mr. Stirling's friends that he has been asked to become a candidate for the city of Glasgow, but as yet no definite announcement has been made as to his intentions. THE Duke of Somerset, as First Lord of the Admi- ralty, accompanied by Rear-Admiral the Hon. James R. Drummond, C.B., Rear-Admiral Robinson, Captain Hall (private secretary to the duke), Mr. Alfred Buckley (the director of engineering and architectural works, &c.), has passed through Paris, en route for Marseilles and Malta. Her Majesty's steamer En- chantress awaited the duke's arrival at Marseilles to convey his grace and party to Malta for an official inspection of the contemplated new docks, &c. THE death of Mr. John Martin, the active election- eering agent of the Conservative party in Dublin, has evoked expressions of sympathy from men of all parties and creeds. In private life he was highly esteemed, and his untimely demise in the 39th year of his age is the more regretted as he has left a widow and youthful family totally unprovided for. His friends have recently held a meeting to raise a fund for the maintenance of the bereaved mourners, and we are happy to say a commencement was made by the subscrip- tion of nearly £ 400. It is to be hoped that the par- liamentary representatives -more particularly the so- called "Dublin six"—to secure whose election the deceased worked with something approaching to Her- culean energy-will not permit the occasion to pass without making a substantial recognition of the ser- vices he rendered. To neglect such a duty would be in the highest degree censurable. AT an agricultural dinner held at Walton the other night a little scene was enacted. Mr. G. W. P. Bentinck, M.P. for the county of Norfolk, in the course of a long speech, referred incidentally to the question of Parliamentary Reform. The vice-chair- man, Mr. P. Barton, did not quite like the hon. member to have everything his own way; so he pro- ceeded to indulge his audience with a vindication of the Reform Bill of 1832. The vice-chairman was called to order by the chairman, who insisted that the rule of the society prohibiting political discussions should be adhered to. A few works of explanation from Mr. Bentinck set matters right. The incident. however, serves to show how salutary is the regulation a slight transgression of which served to disturb the harmony of the banquet on this occasion.

SPORTS AND PASTIMES. DURING the last week in September, the Right Hon. Earl Manvers, and a distinguished party of sportsmen, have been shooting over a portion of his lordship's Holme Pierrepont estates, near Notting- ham. Game is very plentiful, but the birds are very wild on the wing, and extremely difficult to be got at. The following is the result of seven days' shooting -viz., 1,040 hares, 21St brace of birds, and 94 rabbits making a total of 1,561 head, being an average of 223 per day. The number of guns averaged four a day. AN extraordinary leap is recorded of a colt foal, five months old, the property of a gentleman in Lincolnshire, which was sent by the Great Northern Railway to London, and as the train was passing the Ponton station, at a somewhat reduced rate, the youngster was seen to leap through the aperture or window which is above the head of the horses in the boxes. On alighting, it rolled down an embankment which the train was passing over at the time. The person who saw the foal jump out went to see what had happened to it, and found it quietly grazing, not having received the slightest injury, and with scarcely a hair unruffled. IN consequence of a providential irregularity on the part of the Home Secretary, says a Perthshire corres- pondent, the rod fishing this season in the Tay must close on the 30th of September. By a by-law, which has not been properly confirmed, the commissioners, under the Salmon Fisheries Act, had fixed the 10th of October. To protract the rod fishing to the 10th of October would be a most destructive arrangement for the river, while it could not afford anything worthy of the name of sport to the angler. The fishing for a number of days past has been a perfect scandal. Owing, no doubt, in some measure, to the failure of the net fishing in the end of the season, the river is teeming with salmon, so much so that it is hardly possible, if the water be in any sort of ply, to escape hooking perfect shoals. Everybody is at it, and the baskets are quite fabulous. But what is it they are all killing ? Why, breeding fish, almost every one of them; most of them quite unfit for food, and very many of them positively repulsive to look at. There can surely be very little of either pleasure or profit in killing such animals, although it is no secret that boxes of them have been sent off to the south. We do not think it is a legitimate use of this rod fishing privilege to turn it into a mere piece of money-making, but however that may be, there certainly can be nothing said in justification of the wholesale destruc- ) tion of breeding fish. IN Mar Forest, says the Banffshire Chronicle, Lord Fife killed at the Derry two stags on Wednesday, one of them a fine royal head, and weighing 18 stones exactly, the other 16 stones. On Thursday his lord- ship killed three stags-the best a magnificent beast, weighing 18 stones 71b.; the next a royal stag, weighing 17 stones 21b.; and the third, also a good head, weighed 16 stones 61b. The Duke of Richmond's party were not in the forest all last week, mostly staying at Gordon Castle. At Balmaccaan, the Earl of Seafield and party have had good stalking, having brought down during the week no fewer than five stags, all in good condition. At Loch Errocht, during the week ending on Saturday last, Lord Henry Ben tinck brought down no fewer than 13 stags, one of them a superior royal. The Hon. George Skene Duff, on Monday I last, was out in the Altanower Forest, and had a most successful stalk, bringing down three splendid stags, weighing each from 15 to 16 stones, clean. On Wed- nesday, on Cairn Vaich, he brought down another stag of 16 stones, possessed of a very elegant head; while on Thursday the hon. gentleman was out deer-stalking J on Morven, killing one stag of upwards of 16 stones weight. On Friday and Saturday he had similar success, on the former day bringing down a fine stag in the woods next to Mar Lodge, and on the latter another on the Glenchristie hills, making a total for the week of seven stags. In the Corndavon Forest, Mr. Amherst, brother to Viscount Holmesdale, was out deer-stalking on Wednesday, bringing down two splendid stags, one of which had a very handsome royal head. On Monday last Viscount Holmesdale, M.P., had a most successful stalk, when one stag fell to his rifle. The head was indeed a very rare specimen of what is termed in the technical phraseology of deer- stalking the real Caberfeigh. A MAGNIFICENT salmon was caught at Montrose last week. Its dimensions were 63 inches in length and 29 in girth, and its weight 501b. THE late Duke of Cleveland's entire stud of horses will come to the hammer on Wednesday and Thursday, in the Second October Meeting, at Newmarket. MESSRS. TATTERSALL have received instructions to dispose of Lord Yarborough's stud of brood mares, hunters, and other horses, on the 20th instant, at Brocklesby, being the day after Lincoln races. WILD geese have already made their appearance in Gloucestershire, in the new grounds near Berkeley Castle. There is an old saying in this county that if these migratory birds appear before Wooton fair it will be a hard winter; under these circumstances, should the proverb be true, we may anticipate much cold. THE Sporting Gazette says that a project has been brought forward at Newmarket during the week to raise the sum demanded by Mr. I'Anson for his cele- brated horse, Blair Athol—< £ 8,000—by shares of £1,000 each, with the laudable intention of preventing his sale to the foreigners. Four or five names were put down, and we heartily hope the necessary amount will be subscribed to preserve such a horse to the country. THE usual harmony of the meetings of the Cork harriers, says the Court Journal, was on Friday dis- turbed by a fracas which occurred about half way on the hunt. Captain at present residing in Cork, was about to take a leap in some portion of the field, but, whether through accident or otherwise is net stated, was baulked by having his horse crossed by Mr. a gentleman residing within a few miles of Cork. Captain —— at once accused Mr. —— of hav- ing baulked his horse intentionally, on which, it is stated, that gentleman retorted that Captain —— waa a liar. The word immediately led to blows, and a most vigorous fight between the two gentlemen began, which was only terminated after some minutes by the interposition of some of the other gentlemen present. THE Hawick Advertiser tells us that Master Reynard paid a visit to Branxholm-park on Wednes- day, and made a clean sweep of the turkey roost. A search was made in the neighbouring fields to ascer- tain if the delinquent had left any remains of his booty, when no fewer than fourteen of the turkeys were found carefully secreted in different parts of a neighbouring field. The depredator is suspected to be the tailless fox known by the sobriquet of Stumpy," which has long levied contributions on the poultry yards of the district, and defied the Buccleuch hounds in many a hard run.

The Metrical System. Among the many subjects introduced into the various sections of the British Association during its meeting at Bath, there were several which could not fail to be of interest to the agricultural community. Take, for instance, the very important one of the uni- formity of weights and measures, upon whatever basis it may be established. The system advocated by Mr. Heywood in his report was that known as the decimal; although there are not a few who prefer the duo- decimal, as, in the former, the figure 10 is only divisible by 2 and 5, whereas, in the latter, the figure 12 could be divided by 2, 3, 4, 6, giving thus greater scope for subdivision, and'which has been partially carried out by the introduction into our coinage of the threepenny and fourpenny pieces. The recommenda- tion of the committee in the report, however, extends not only to the adoption of a decimal system of weights and measures, but also that, "in further- ance of this proposal, it is desirable, from its scientific capabilities, to adapt the metric sys- tem," the name metric being derived from the Greek word metroib a measure, the metre or measure being 3ft. 3|in. long; and to carry out this recommendation it is proposed that an authorised set of metric weights and measures should be obtained from Paris and in- troduced into this country. Of the great advantage to be derived from a uniform system of weights and measares there can be no doubt, and no one would be benefited by it more than the farmer, as the greatest confusion prevails at present from the diversity of measures. Thus corn is sold by the quarter, the Win- chester bushel, the Carlisle bushel, the cental, the windle, the coombe, besides an exceedingly provoking diversity of varying weights in pounds, having no common basis. So that on this score alone it would be highly desirable to have one fixed quantity as a measure. This would of course necessitate a new nomenclature-an objection, no doubt, to those used to the present measure, but a difficulty, after all, easily overcome. We think, nevertheless, that much may be said for the duodecimal system with the adoption of a uniform system of weights and measures but as our dealings are not confined,to this country, and as our trade is carried on in all parts of the world, any system would in the end be the best which embraced the largest area of co-operation.

Sewage. At the Bath meeting the subject of sewage was, of course, not forgotten, and all the hackneyed arguments in favour of what is called its utilisation were brought forward. Believing, as we do, says the Field, that the system of sewage is altogether wrong in principle, we cannot advocate its extension, and should greatly pre- fer a modified adoption of the French plan, or a trial at least made of the Rev. Mr. Moule's proposal of a series of earth closets. In small towns and villages this could be introduced without expense and with manifest advantage, for the manure thus derived would be in a contentrated form instead of being weakened and rendered practically worthless, as in the case of sewage, by the enormous amount of dilution necessary under the operation of a sewage plan. Where the sewage system has been in use, it might in some instances, as in our large towns, be impossible to effect any change, and in our metropolis especially the evil is so gigantic that it can never be reduced within practical limits; and so far its application would ap- pear to be beyond control. But it ought certainly not to be allowed that the system should be extended, and so all our streams and rivers become masses of im- purity and corruption the bare idea is revolting.

Gardening- Operations for the Week. Owing to the fine weather with which we are now favoured; bedding plants are still in considerable beauty; roses especially in many places are in fine bloom, the late rains having had a beneficial effect upon them, and dahlias are also very satisfactory. Endeavour, therefore, to keep all neat and clean, in order that not only flowers but the garden generally may appear attractive for as lengthened a period as possible.

Hardy Fruit and Kitchen Garden. If any transplanting or root pruning of fruit trees has to be done, let this be attended to as soon as the leaves are off, and see that those exposed to wind are securely staked before leaving them. Also get the ground prepared for fresh plantations. r CAULIFLOWERS.—Give plants of these under glass as much air as possible; indeed, the sashes should only be used to throw off wet; the plants will do all the better for birg kept hardy. CELERY.—Let all earthing up required by this crop be done on a dry day. LETTUCES.—Let any under glass be kept as open as circumstances will admit i. POTATOES.—At this time of the year it becomes an important consideration how to preserve potatoes for another season, especially those for seed. To this end three principles would seem to be of paramount im- Iz portance, viz., low temperature, dryness, and a freedom from fermentation; the latter being perhaps of greater import than all other considerations together. Where fruit-room shelves are likely to remain unoccupied by fruit, they might be given up to the prime seed potatoes for garden planting. The latter may be placed several layers thick, provided some tolerably dry material is sprinkled in alternate layers between them. No two potatoes should be in contact, if Chronicle.

THE BROTHERS DAVENPORT. A correspondent of the Times furnishes the follow- ing account of a seance, held a few days ago, given by the Brothers Davenport, two American spiritualists recently arrived in this country. Having arrived rather late, I missed some of the earlier experiments," which seem to have been extremely curious. I shall not state what I heard about them, as 1 do not choose to disseminate a knowledge of "spiritual" facts that do not fall within the sphere of my own. personal observation. The recorderof events connected with" spiritual" manifestations has this disadvantage, that the most extreme acridity in his narrative will scarcely preserve him from the suspicion of being a believer. When I entered the room devoted to the" manifesta- tions," I found it occupied by a number of persons who at- tentively listened to a strange discordant concert held within a wardrobe placed at the end farthest from the door. When the sounds had ceased the wardrobe was opened, and three compartments were discovered, two of which were occupied by the Brothers Davenport, bound hand and foot with strong cords, like the most dangerous malefactors. The centre compartment held the musical instruments, and on each side of this sat the corded brothers. The ostensible theory is that the Davenisorts, bound as they were, produced a combination of noises, compared to which the performance of the most obtrusive German band that ever awakened the wrath of a Babbage is the harmony of the spheres. The cords are examined, the wardrobe is closed, the instruments are replaced, and presently, through an aperture in the centre door, a trumpet is hurled with violence. The ward- robe is re-opened, and there are the Brothers Davenport corded as before. A change takes place in the manner of the performance. Hitherto the brothers have remained incarcerated in this box, while the audience are at liberty. They now leave the wardrobe and take their place in the middle of the room, where they are firmly bound to their chairs. The gentle- man who officiates as their lecturer or spokesman even offers to drop sealing-wax on the knots, and requests any one of the con.(ipn,ny to impress it with his own seal. On the evening of my visit this offer was not accepted, but the fault, if any, lay with the investigators. When the lights had been extinguished, and as we were all seated round the room with hands joined, at the request of the lecturer, a most extraordinary "manifestation" took place. The air was filled with the sound of instruments which we had seen laid upon a table, but which now seemed to be flying about the room, playing as they went, without the smallest respect to the heads of the visitors. Now a bell jingled close to your ear, now a guitar was struck immediately over your head, while every now and then a cold wind passed across the faces of the whole party. Sometimes a smart blow was administered, sometimes the knee was patted by a mys- terious hand, divers shrieks from the members of the com- pany indicating the side on which the more tangible manifestations had taken place. A candle having been lighted, the brothers were seen still bound to their chairs, white some of the instruments had dropped into the laps of the visitors. I myself had received a blow on the face from a floating guitar, which drew enough blood to ne- cessitate the employment of towel and sponge. A new experiment was now made. Darkness having re- gained its supremacy, one of the brothers expressed a desire to be relieved of his coat. Returning light showed him in his shirt sleeves, though his hands were still firmly bound behind his chair. It was now stated that he was prepared to put on the coat of any one of the company willing to loan that article of attire, and an assenting gentleman having been found, the coat, after a short interval of dark- ness, was worn in proper fashion by a person for whom it had not been designed by the tailor. Finally, the brothers desired a, release, and one of the company, certainly not an accomplice, requested that the rope might fall into his lap. During the interval of darkness a rushing sound as of swiftly-drawn cords was audible, and the ropes reached the required knees, after striking the face of the person in the next chair. Such are the chief phenomena, which are, of course, referred by the operators to spiritual agency. To sum up the essential characteristics of the exhibition, it is sufficient to state that the brothers, when not shut up in the ward- robe, are bound while the candles are alight, perform their miracles in the dark, and on the return of light are found to be bound as before. The investigators into the means operation have to ascertain whether the brothers are able to release themselves and resume their straitened condition during the intervals of darkness, and whether, even if this is practicable, they can, without assistance, produce the effects described.

HUMAN LONGEVITY. We glean the following curious facts from a work which has just appeared under the title, "De la Longevite Humaine*' by Dr. Guyetant, who has him- self reached the patriarchal age of 88 :— In 1777, average life in France did not exceed 23 years. In 1798, it rose to 26 year s 3 months; in 1836 to 33years at present it has reached the very high figure of 39, an increase of six years within a period of 28 years! This is evidently owing, first, to the great effects made of late to remeve insalubrious nuisances, to provide towns with a proper system of sewer- age, to drain marshes, &c., and then to the great progress made in medicine, and the abundance of wholesome food and every necessary comfort now at the command of all but the hopelessly indigent, who are of themselves the object of much greater solicitude than formerly. There exists intimate connection between the longevity of animals and the time of their gestation and subsequent growth. The gestation of the rabbit lasts thirty days, that of a man nine months, that of the elephant two years. The stag attains its full stature in the course of six years, and it lives about forty. In man the bones increase in length until twenty, and in thickness until forty. AT. Fleurens fixes the natural term of man's life at 100 vears. Death in man appears to be neither more nor less than ossification arrived at its extreme limit; accord- ingly some years ago a chemist maintained that life might be prolonged by taking lactic acid, the chief ingredient of butter-milk, which tends to dissolve bone. Dr. Guyetant lays it down as a general rule that those live long who do not do more than their strength permits, but yet regularly employ all the strength they have. Besides a physical, there has been an intellectual, progress. During the ten years ending with 1860 there ha.s been a diminution of 34 per cent. in the number of persons accused of crimes and delinquen- cies. Out of 62,425 persons condemned 646 only were under sixteen, but from sixteen to twenty the number was 9,026. From the age of forty-one the number of persons accused diminishes regularly as their age increases. In 1817 it was found that out of 1;000 conscripts there were 577 who could not read. From 1831 to 1835, the number of illegitimate conscripts per 1,000 was only 480; from 1841 to 1845 only -100; in 1851, only 350; and in 1859 not more tkan 200. This shows that elementsry instruction has advanced together with the general well-being of society. « ■

Taking it laterally.—A,blind man who does, or did, walk in the streets of Birmingham, asking for alms on the scriptural plea of the cup of cold water, some kind little girl brought him the water instead of a penny. Whereupon the Brummagem Bartimeus, with a sagacity which would make him invaluable as an officer or a member of any bazaar committee, asked, "Is it hard, my dearP" Yes, sir," was the timid reponse. Ah, then, I duen't drink it."

-r OUR MISCELLANY. --+- The Doctor and the Law., er.—"An attorney," said Sterne, "is the same thing to a barrister that an apothecary is to a physician—with this difference, that your attorney does not deal in scruples." A Bad Debt.-Good Queen Bess, when she visited Worcester, borrowed £ 200 of the Corporation, which still stands as a bad debt on the town books. Cannot the Chancellor of the Exchequer be sued ? Doubtless he would,-however, willingly pay before coercion. The Prince and the Misar.—I heard a storv to-day which is, of course, true; at any rate it is laughable, and that is something. A gentleman called lately on a well-known legitimist of the Faubourg, who 'g is badly distinguished for his wealth and avarice, and asked for a rmbscrintion to thp. nufite for 1,"hA TW. r!« Chambord. My friend," replied I'avare, I have no money, but I would give my blood for the prince." 'n You mistake, duke," was the reply, "the prince does not want to make a black pudding."—Paris Letter. A Canadian Interior.-He knocked at the door of the wayside dwelling; a cheerful voice said, Come in," and he entered a neat, large, square room. Two girls-almost as pretty as the one he had seen at the spring were spinning; one was spinning woollen rolls, the other cotton roping. In each case the mate- rial was reduced by machinery to a roll about as thick as the little finger of the spinner. The wheels occu- pied one side of the room, on another a man was making shoes, and at a front window a worn, faded, but lady-like woman with failing sight was xnending boys' clothes. It was a sad fact that the boys of this family were something of the nature of a'nuisance. The neighbours said the father did not like to give them his own trade, for he felt above it himself. Cer- tain it is, they were not trained to useful work, but were sometimes made to do "chores." Tbey were imprisoned in school in winter, and they "raised Cain" all the year round. They tore their pantaloons birds-nesting, they made "elbow room" by holes in their jackets, they went swimming in dark, deep pools in Black River, and they were anything but "a real blessing to mothers." In the country where openings alternate with forests, and a village has six dwellings, a traveller is a sort of irregular newspaper. Every- body is glad to see somebody, when somebody seldom comes along. There is life in the grasp of a, stranger's hand in the monotony of forest life. Paul was made to feel at home at once.—All the Year Bound. A Long Walk Concluded.—I set out on my last day's walk northward with a sense of satisfaction I could hardly describe. The scenery was beautiful in every direction. The road was perfect up to the last rod; as well kept as if it ran through a nobleman's park. The country most of the way was well culti- vated-oats being the principal crop. Here, almost within sight of the Orkneys, I heard the clatter of the reaping machine. It would seem strange to an American, who had not realised tho difference of the two climates, to see fields full of reapers on the very threshold of October, as I saw them on this last day's walk. I counted twelve women and two men in one field plying the sickle, all strongly built and good- looking, and well dressed withal. The sea was as still and as blue as a lake. A lark was soaring and warbling over it with as happy and hopeful a voice ag if it were singing over the greenest acres of an English meadow. When I had made half of the seventeen miles between Wick and John O'Groat's, I began to > look with the liveliest interest for the first glimpse of the Orkneys, but projecting and ridgy headlands inter- cepted the prospect. About three p.m., as tie road emerged from behind one of them, those famous islands burst suddenly into view! There they were! -in full sight, so near that their grain-fields and white cottages and all their distinguishing features seemed within half a mile's distance. This was the most interesting coup d'ceil that I ever caught in any country, Here, then, after weeks and months of travel on foot, I vTas at the end of my journey. Through all the days of this period I had faced north- ward, and here was the Ultima Thule, the' goal and termination of my tour. The road to the sea diverged from the main turnpike, which continued around the coast to Thurso. Followed this branch a couple of miles, when it ended at the door of a little, quiet, one- i storey inn on the very shore of the Pentlartd Firth. It was a moment of the liveliest enjoyment to me. When I left London, about the middle of July, I was slowly recovering- from a severe indisposition, and hardly expected to make more than a few miles of my projected walk. But I had gathered strength daily, and when I brought up at this little inn at the very jumping-off end of Scotland, I was fresher and more vigorous on foot than at any previous stage of the journey.—A Walk from London to John O'Groats. By JElihu Burritt. The Croquet Lawn.—"Between you and me. master, this crokey is the biggest humbug in creation." "Come, come, George, draw it mild! see what enjoy- ment the ladies have." Enjoyment, do you call it ? Well, I'm blessed! Why, there's the captain and the young ladies have been knocking the balls about, first red, then black, then yellow; and there they go on enjoying themselves, as you call it, with the balls all higgledy-piggledy, one among another, and rampaging over the lawn in all forms; and if there's such a thing as a leaf down, its George, will you sweep the lawn for ua ?' from morning to night." Well, well, George, don't get irascible; you know it saves you rolling." Ah, but look here—I've been all this blessed week, and have not done a single stroke but fad after the lawn and this everlasting cro'key." We confess that we share, in a certain degree, our faith- ful help's indignant outburst against the lawn's in- satiable demands upon his time and attention. It is almost incredible the extraordinary amount of time and labour that the lawn takes where croquet reigns supreme. Our own lawn is singularly situated in this respect: surrounded on all sides by large beech and other trees, we get a downfall of leaves pretty early in the autumn season; and really the amount of labour and time that the lawn has had over and above the other portions of the garden is scarcely to be believed, except by those who are similarly circumstanced. But, after all, how well it repays your outlay of attention for the constant morning sweeping" and rolling have so refined the grasses, cleansed and puri- fied the ground, levelled and consolidated it, that it is now so deliciously level and green that it is the princi- pal ornament of the garden. So let as advise ail gardeners, however the demands of the lawn- press upon them, not to begrudge the time and labour, for now that flowers are fading, and days getting short and gloomy, a sweet, clean, emerald green lawn is one of the prettiest objects of the garden; and to see the ladies of the house taking their fill of enjoyment on it at their favourite amusements, archery and croquet, is not the least pleasant of home scene., -a, least we can vouch for the opinion of one gardener in favour of these games; and though, when other things are urgently demanding you, and the lawn claims you. first, you are apt to get hot and indignant, and come out with such epithets as did our help on the occasion referred to—yet, take our advice to him, aad" draw it mild.The Field. Leatherbreeches.-Captain Dilger, or "Leather- breeches," as he is familiarly called, was, when the war broke out, an artillery officer in the Prussian service. A short time after the battle of Bull Run, an uncle of Dilger (a merchant of New York) wrote that the present was an opportune time to visit America. Dilger was desirous of studying war as carried on here, and procured leave of absence for a year. As soon as he arrived he joined the army of the P. tomac as an artillerist, and commanded a bat- tery. As his year drew to a close he managed to get his leave indefinitely extended, and has just been ordered to Cincinnati to be mustered out of the ser- vice, the term of his battery, the 1st Ohio Artillery, having expired. He came out with his battery with General Hooker, and by the name of Leather- breeches" became known to every officer and soldier in the army of the Cumberland. In all the battles which have occurred from Lookout Mountain to Peachtree Creek, Dilger has been on hand. He is the first to open fire upon the eve of a battle, and takes his guns nearly up to the skirmish line. So often 1ms he done this that some officer, a short time ago, pre- sented him with bayonets for his pieces. At one time, on the 20th of July, he took his smoothbores up to General Johnston's line of battle, and for half an hour poured a raking fire of grape and canister into the enemy in front of Hooker. He became the target for three rebel batteries. He fires by volley when he gets a good thing," and the acclamations 'c of the infantry drown the reverberations of the can- non's roar upon all such occasions. He is a fine-look- ing young man, speaks French, Italian, German, and Spanish fluently, and English with ease. He always wears close buckskin breeches, with top-boots, and stands by his guns in his shirt sleeves during battle.- New York Time;,

Flower Gardon and Plant Houses. Now is a good time for executing out-door altera- tions, and where these are in hand they should be prosecuted with the greatest possible dispatch. Plant- ing, 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 bad weather sets in. See to even 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. BEDDING PLANTS.—Cuttings of these should be carefully looked over to see that nothing has been omitted, and that a sufficient quantity of everything is in a promising state for making nice plants before winter; it should be borne in mind that things which are at all difficult to winter rooted after this season may be considerably thinned before spring, and also that they will not be sufficiently strong to furnish many cuttings for spring propagation consequently a larger Quantity than would have been necessary had the cuttings been put in earlier should be provided. But if there is a reserve stock of strong plants in pots, which is a safe practice where there is a large quantity of bedding things required, and_ proper convenience for growing them and propagating them in spring, these will furnish a large quantity of cuttings next March, which, as has been formerly stated, will.form equally good plants by turning-out time as cuttings put in now. In the case of such things as ageratums, heliotropes, and dwarf lobelias, it is useless wintering young stock, as these grow so freely in heat, and are so easily propagated from soft cuttings that a few good-sized old plants which require but little room or attention in winter will furnish a very large quantity of plants by bedding-out time. Attend to the potting of cuttings sufficiently rooted, and give every after attention to these in order to get them well estab- lished. CARNATIONS AND PIGOTEES.—If the stock of these is not already procured, defer increasing it till next spring. Late potted plants require much more care, and are more apt to get spotted and injured than those which are better established. DAHLIAS.—These must now be carefully attended to. Having been much checked by drought during the summer, should the weather continue propitious, i we may yet have a prolonged bloom. Draw a little earth round the crown of the roots, which will pre- vent damage by sudden frosts. PANSIES.—These may be struck from cuttings, choosing side shoots for the purpose; they will make good plants, either to send off, or to plant for next spring's blooming.