Papurau Newydd Cymru
Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru
13 erthygl ar y dudalen hon
THE COURT. --.)-.-
THE COURT. -)- AT the present moment there may be said to be no Court. The Queen has fairly started on her German tour. Her Majesty has,* as usual, been fortunate in her choice of weather; for, though we have had storms in England, it has been perfectly fine in Germany. Earl Granville is the minister in attend- ance. The Prince and Princess of Wales, after spending a few days at Marlborough-house, also started on the German tour. HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN, with the junior members of the Royal Family, are expected to arrive at Wind- sor Castle from Germany on Friday, the 15th of September. THEIR Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales will arrive in England at the same time. THE projected alliance between the Crown Prince Frederic of Denmark and Princess Louisa, only child of the Swedish sovereign, has been recently resumed on the occasion of the interchange of visits between Charles XV. and Christian IX. The Princess is in her seventeenth year. WE understand, says the Court Journal, there is still a prospect of the Prince and Princess of Wales visiting Dunrobin Castle this season. The Duke and Duehess of Sutherland are expected in a few days at the castle, where a brilliant company of visitors is ex- pected next month. THE Prince of Wales is, we believe, the first Prince of the Blood who has owned a yacht since the days of Charles II. George IV., William IV., and our gracious Queen Victoria have had what are termed Royal yachts, but they are more state vessels than pleasure vessels. It will be a gratifying sight to witness the Heir to the Throne on board the Dagmar, a cutter of six-and-thirty tons, accompanying the English fleet to Cherbourg. Every one loved the Sailor King," and the "Prince" will also be endeared to his future sub- jects by his love for manly pursuits.
POLITICAL GOSSIP. -----
POLITICAL GOSSIP. IT is said that Abd-el-Kader came to this country to invest money! THE date for the great swearing in of M.P.'s, it is thought, will be November. PRINCE HUMBERT, it is finally stated, is to be the representative of Italy at the French Exhibition. WONDERFUL exaggerations have gone forth as to the amount of me-neyspent by candidates at the late elections..£20,000 have been roundly put down for Mr. Smith, of Westminster, and Alderman Lusk, of Finsbury. A fourth part of the sum would in each case be more than the truth. IT is said that Mr. Blake, one of the members for the city of Waterford, is not likely to take his seat when the new Parliament meets. Mr. Blake, accord- ing to report, has inherited a large property by the death of a relative in Australia, and will probably re- Bide in future in the colony. THE letter from the Queen of Madagascar to the Emperor Napoleon has arrived, and is understood to be unsatisfactory. She does not distinctly promise the indemnity which France claims for the violation the treaty concluded with the late King Radama. PRESIDENT JOHNSON, it is said, has tendered to John Bright, through Admiral Goldsborough, of the European squadron, a steam-frigate, to convey him to America, should he decide to visit that country-thus recognising him as the nation's guest. This, it is said, was the intention of President Lincoln also. THE Saturday Review points out that the result of the recent elections must be very satisfactory to the peers. As nearly as possible one-third of the Lower House is composed of the relations and the nominees of members of the Upper-the triumph of every third member, in other words, has been a direct triumph to some peer, and in most cases to several peers. THERE is good reason to believe that next session will be remarkable for the determined efforts of the Liberation Society, who intend to go to work with renewed zeal and ardour for the abolition of church- rates. The society has resolved on raising £ 25,000 to extend its operations during the next five years, and money towards this amount is fast rolling in. The Liberation party in the House will also be somewhat stronger than last session. WE regret to learn that the state of Mr. Frederick Peel's health has compelled him definitively to resign his Secretaryship to the Treasury. No formal ap- pointment has yet taken place, but there is no doubt that the post will be conferred on Mr. Childers, at present Civil Lord of the Admiralty. SIR HENRY BULWER retires from the embassy at Constantinople, his health, we understand, requiring a change. The vacancy, we have reason to believe, will be filled by the appointment of Lord Lyons, whose conduct in the protection of British interests at Washington, during all the complications and diffi- culties of the American war, affords the most tangible proof of masterly ability and discretion. SEVERAL, interesting communications have been addressed to Mrs. Cobden by foreign commercial and other public bodies. Two of them are from Bordeaux, one from Italy, and the last from the Free-trade Society at Syra. The Italian letter is touching, both from the warmth of its expressions of sympathy, and the admirable para1 lei which is instituted between Cresar Beccaria and Richard Cobden. All of them show how profound was the grief which Mr. Cobden's death awakened in every civilised country, and how devoutly his memory is cherished. PUBLIC business and private affairs are going on quietly in Sweden, and the Sovereign of the country is engaged in the pleasant occupation of exchanging courtesies with his Royal neighbours. But still those things which conduce to the prosperity of a nation are not forgotten, and amongst other encouraging facts is the Exkibition of Arts and Manufactures, just held at Malmac—a notable place for woollen goods-and an agricultural show. Both have been under the direct patronage of the Crowns of Sweden and Den- mark. VISCOUNT and VISCOUNTESS PALMERSTON has just left town for his seat in the country. The noble Vis- count is in better health, and daily takes carriage drives. The Right Hon. Thomas Milner Gibson has left Cowes on a cruise in his yacht. The Right Hon. Sir Charles and Lady Mary Wood, and Miss Wood, have arrived at Homburg, where they purpose staying a few weeks. The Duke of Somerset, who arrived in town on Saturday from Portsmouth, left on Monday, accompanied by Lord Edward St. Maur, on his return to Portsmouth, and will embark for Cherbourg in the Enchantress. His Grace is expected to return to the Admiralty shortly. The Eight Hon. Sir George Grey left town Oil Saturday evening for Hallodon, Northumberland.
LITERATURE AND THE ARTS. ----
LITERATURE AND THE ARTS. THE restoration of the famous Eleanor's cross a Winchester was inaugurated last week. DAVID GRAY, the youngpoet of the Luggie, has had a monument erected to his memory-the result of voluntarv subscriptions sent from all classes-over his grave in the Auld Aisle burying-ground, Merkland, Kirkintilloch. The inscription, written by Lord Houghton, is as followsThis monument of affection, admiration, and regret is erected to David Gray, the Poet of Merkland, by friends from far and near, desirous that his grave should be remembered amid the scenes of his rare genius and early death, and by the Luggie, now numbered with the streams illustrious in Scot ish song. Born 29th January, 1838; died 3rd December, 1861." HER MAJESTY having expressed her willingness to throw open every part of Windsor Castle to the in- spection of antiquaries, the members of the Archaeo- logical Institute will hold their next year's Congress in London. Westminster Abbey and the Tower will occupy their chief attention; but many excursions can be easily made from London, that for Windsor being the most important. IT is understood TL&fc tho Royal Academy to the propositions of the Government. with u regard to the removal of the institution from Trafalgar- square to Burlington-house, has been delivered. It is rumoured that the Government suggested a consider- able increase in the number of members to the Royal Academy, and certain other modifications of the laws, such as those with which most of us are familiar, by means of the recent discussion of the whole subject. The questionable infusion of the "lay element was not, we are glad to hear, even proposed to the academicians. It is said that the answer of the acade- micians to the proposals in question declined the ad- vantages which were proffered, although they included liberty of choice of either the back or front portions of the site of Burlingtoa-houee, and that the members expressed themselves ready to make reforms of even more exfcpsire character than those which were sug- gested to them, but not exactly in the manner which 1 < seems to be desired. I THIRTEEN letters by Cardinal Richelieu have been found in an old cabinet sold recently by a broker of the Rue de Grenelle. They are to be published forth- with. "MRS. CAUDLE'S Curtain Lectures," under the title of Sous les Bideaux, are about to issue from the press, and will familiarise France with the humour of Douglas Jerrold. THE eloquent prayer at the opening of the Peace Jubilee at the Crystal Palace was written by the Rev. J. A. Emerton, of Hanwell. IT is stated on excellent authority that the sale of Enoch Arden up to the present time has produced to its author, Mr. Tennyson, the sum of £ 11,000. THE following new books have been issued during the past week :—"The President's Words, a Selection of Passages from the Speeches, Addresses, and Letters of Abraham Lincoln;" "The Life, Times, and Scien- tific Labours of the second Marquis of Worcester, to which is added a reprint of his Century of Inventions, 1663, with a Commentary thereon," by Henry Dircks; "Essays on the Invasion of Britain by Julius Csesar; the Invasion of Britain by Plautius, and by Claudius Csesar; the Early Military Policy of the Romans in Britain; the Battle of Hastings. With Correspond- ence." By George Biddell Airy, Esq., Astronomer Royal. (Collected and printed for private distribu- tion.) "The County of Surrey; its History, Anti- quities and Topography. With an Itinerary for the Tourist." (Cassell, Petter, and Galpin.) One of the best things in this volume, says the Athenaeum, is the excellent county map, which, of itself, is worth the cost of the book. As a guide, the volume is as good as far as it goes, and for "one and sixpence," it cannot be expootcd to go in every direction that every wayfarer would have it. One excellent feature is the brief account of the great families and individuals who have been resident in the county. This is, at least, suggestive, and it excites the curiosity, which it does not fully satisfy. Again, with regard to churches, something less might have been said of the exteriors, which all can see, and something more of the silent sleepers of note who lie within, and at whose tombs a traveller might desire to rest and meditate. There is a wonderful variety of beauty in this county, and stout young holiday-makers could not do better than walk this home-trip. The outlay would be insignificant, and the pleasure considerable. That is to say, the cost would be small, and the grati- fication great, if English hotel-keepers did not greet pedestrian tourists with such a du haut en bas air, and would only allow them to quaff ordinary Bordeaux at something less than extraordinary claret prices. We ought not to forget, either, the Hebrew and English Almanack for the Years 5626 and 5627 from the Creation." This work includes not merely the calendars for the two years above mentioned, but most interesting explanations of the origin of the various fasts and festivals observed by the Jewish people. The years 5626 and 5627 from the Creation correspond with the two years included between Sept. 21st, 1865, and Sept. 21st, 1867, the Jewish years commencing and terminating in the month of September. The Christian as well as the Jewish holidays are included in this work. In addition to the varied information given upon the above subjects, the editors have most opportunely presented in the almanack now issued an account of the system adopted by the Jewish community for ensuring the wholesomeness of their animal food. At the present time, when the existence of a formidable cattle plague" has been ascertained, the attention of the Christian community should be drawn to the subject. In each community a board is established, the number of the members varying according to the circumstances of the locality, those members, who are rabbis, attend merely to these matters which pertain to the Mosaic rules; but amongst the duties imposed upon the board is the important duty of inspecting all beasts slaughtered, and ascertaining that they are perfectly sound in health.
EISTEDDFOD AND WELSH MUSICAL…
EISTEDDFOD AND WELSH MUSICAL FESTIVAL. This annual gathering of Welsh bards took place this year at Flint. The president of the day on Wed- aesday was Edward Bate, Esq., and during the day a. prize of.£5 5s. and a medal were awarded to Mr. J. Roberts, Holywell, Slafurwr." A prize of .£1 Is. and a medal was awarded to Mr. Williams, Caerwys, for the best Welsh apron piece. A prize of 5s. and a medal was awarded to Mrs. Doctor Davies, Holywell, for the best Englyn (epigram) i'r Golomon (on the dove). A competition in pianoforte playing (females only), the Vesper Hymn, resulted in the prize, < £ 2 2s. and a medal, being divided between Miss Leech and Miss Davies. This was followed by a competition in singing any Welsh comic song, for which the prize (. £ 1 and a medal) was divided between David Davies and John Rowland Jones. The prize for the best essay (in English) on the "Evils arising from Popular Ignorance," was awarded to Myfanwy." The com- petition in playing on the harp (females only) resulted in deciding that the prize (-62 and a medal) be awarded to both Mrs. Davies and Miss Evans, Mold. The Denbigh string band took < £ 5 and a medal. The prize for the best translation into Welsh of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, £ 5 5s. and medal, awarded to Mr. Owen James, Carnarvon. The first prize for the patchwork quilt, .£1 Is. and medal, was awarded to Tersa." For the best composition of a trio, English and Welsh words, a prize of X2 and a medal was awarded to "Un hoff o Gymru." The next was a choral competition in singing, And the Glory of the Lord," the prize being £10 and a medal, competed for by choirs from Mold, Birkenhead, Holywell, and New- market-the prize was won by Birkenhead. The rifle contest opened at ten o'clock on the range of the 5th Flintshire Rifle Volunteer Corps. Thursday night's concert was an immense success, for not only was the monster pavilion densely crowded, but hundreds, probably thousands, were unable to gain admission, though many had travelled miles,' in every variety of nondescript vehicle, for the express purpose of hearing Sims Reeves, who has excited a perfect furore of enthusiasm amongst the honest Welshmen. As on the previous evening, the pavilion was lighted with candles and paraffin lamps, and it was somewhat of a novelty to see the great prince of teners" singing in a canvas tent, and holding in his hand a sweltering wax candle, the effect being considerably heightened when, responding to an encore in the popular national ballad of "The Maid of Llangollen," he stood between two volunteer candle bearers." There was again a very numerous attendance at the Eisteddfod meeting on Friday morning, the proceedings of which commenced with an address to the president of the day, Mr. P. Ellis Eyton, of Cornist, who replied in a lengthened ad- dress, in which he urged that the original object of the Eisteddfod was the education, not merely of the people, but the educators of the people also. In times past, when reading, writing, aijd printing were not known, traditions were carried from generation to generation, and history was recorded in the songs of the bards and in the music of the minstrels (hear, hear). It was then that the wandering minstrels went from house to house, supported by tite people, to whom they recited deeds of war, acts of courage, and tales of love (hear, hear). It was said that people then set up as bards who had no poetry in their souls, or as musicians without knowing a note of music, and the Eisteddfod was therefore instituted for the purpose of conferring degrees upon such bards and minstrels as might be found worthy of them, and of preventing the adoption of that profession by any but duly qualified persons. After the Saxon conquest they heard but little of the Eisteddfod for some time, and in the reign of Eliza- beth a Royal commission was issued by which many of the principal inhabitants of the principality were commanded to hold an Eisteddfod and congress of bards and minstrels at Caerwys, and. to confer degrees upon these who were deemed worthy of them. The Saxon invaders, he was happy to say, had left them the institution of the Eisteddfod, and the great Saxon invaders of the present day were the fashionable ladies who graced the assembly with their presence. It was a remarkable fact, that after the lapse of 600 years since the reign of Edward I., who built Flint Castle, their country, although having physically no line of absolute separation from England, yet maintained its nationality (hear, hear). They still preserved their language and their lays; the people still worshipped God in the language of their fathers, and Welsh music was still revered as much as it was in the time of Chadwallader (hear, hear). He was opposed to any attempt to destroy the nationality of the people, for next to the love of God and love of kindred came the love of country (hear, hear). He was by no means opposed to Welshmen learning the English language, but he maintained that they were in no sense worse men, but better, for retaining a knowledge of their own language. He concluded by urging that the future objects of the Eisteddfodan should be to encourage the cultivation of Welsh literature, and Welsh music, and adapting themselves to the altered circumstances of the times to encourage also the love of industrial art amongst the people by inviting exhibi- tions such as they had had upon that occasion.-The distribution of prizes was then proceeded with. For the volunteer prizes it was announced there were nearly 80 competitors. The first prize of .£10 and the Eisteddfod medal, was won by Corporal Cowap, of the 6th Cheshire V.R., who scored 23 points; the second prize of X5 and a medal was carried off by Private Daniel Morris, of the 4th Carnarvonshire V.R. (Port Madox), who made 22 points; the 3rd prize of X3 and a medal was won by Sergeant John- son, of the 6th Cheshire V.R., who m&de 21 points; and a 4th prize of X2 was awarded to Sergeant Pres- cott, also of the 6th Cheshire V.R., who also made 21 points. Each competitor fired five shots at a 200 yards' range, Hythe position, Wimbledon targets (1864), and with the long Enfield Government rifle. There was only one competitor for the prize for the best English History of the County of Flint, and his composition was declared to be unworthy of a prize. A Carnarvon policeman, named Robert Stephen, ob- tained a prize of X3 and a medal for a glee to Welsh and English words. A prize of £ 20 and the bardic chair of Powys was offered for the best ode or poem on "Flint Castle and its Memorable Events," but none of the compositions were deemed worthy of the prize, and it was therefore resolved to re-open the competition. The proceedings of the Eisteddfod were brought to a close by a concert, for which there was again an excellent programme, including several of Sims Reeves' most popular songs.
Lines to my Umbrella.
Lines to my Umbrella. Ah! what is that companion dumb That autumn, winter, spring, or sum. Mer I should always have ? My um- Berella But, ah too oft when showers come, What is't, as Yankees say, at hum" That I have left behind ? My um. Berella What does too oft a loan become To friends whose honesty is numb ? (Friendship meets no return) My um- Berella Henceforth then, foul or fair, by gum Whether or no they hoist the drum I'll never part from thee, my um. Berella! Henceforth, too, I'll my latest erumb, My latest drop, my fortune's sum, Give to my friend-but not my um- Berella.
A Lyric for the Lazy.
A Lyric for the Lazy. Oh! the merry summer time! Oh! the sunny season! Oh! (all call out "oh!" in rhyme) Oh for any reason! Let the minutes glide away, Never toil and bother, What you would have done to-day, Do on any other. Loiter, lounge, and dream, and sleep, Don't be in a hurry; Let your maxim be to keep Cool, and never worry. Let another take your post, Let your work be undone Let us stroll about the coast, Let your house in London. Let alone all babbling tongues, Let repose your dress coat, Let fresh air inflate your lungs, Let—let out your wsistcoat. Under cliffs lie down and sleep, Life's all hurry scurry; But August is the month to keep Cool, and never worry.
A Lady on Foreign Ways.
A Lady on Foreign Ways. DEAR MR. PUNCH, I have always thought that foreigners have a o manners, and though it may suit some persons to ive among them, and fawn upon them, and praise hem up, I stick to my belief, and it is strengthened every day. In the papers it says that whenever the Emperor of Austria has finished a sentence of his address to his nobility (nice nobility !) they all bawl out Hoch! What should we say if at every stop in a speech by the Queen or the Prince of Wales, our Parliament folk were to cry out for Beo- ? Yet that is as much the national drink here as hock is of the Austrians. Despising such vulgarity, of which none but foreigners could be guilty, I am, sir, your disgusted servant, Camden-town. MARTHA GRUNDY.
;Victory to the Classics.
Victory to the Classics. (A Holiday Hint.) See here, girls," said their brother Tom, home rom school. Twenty-nine pounds was given at a ale for a single hegg of the great Auk." "You might say egg, Tom," said Ethel. And you might say hawk, Tom, said Alice. Eggs is eggs," said Tom,: with an effort, "but it ain't a hawk." Eggs are eggs, Tom," said Ethel. Ain't, vulgar for is not, Tom, said Alice. Bother," said Tom. You great stupids, I don't mean hawk, as in Horkney and Shetland Isles, North Sea, but auk as in awkward, like you. "And that's what papa pays five-and-twenty pounds a quarter for," said Ethel. "And just look at his nails, and his arms on the table," said Alice. „-nrr, • v CCL < Shut up," said Tom. Which of you can say fifty lines of Horace P" (Begins at Humano capiti cervicem, and never stops until the girls have run out of the room.)
Answers to Correspondents.
Answers to Correspondents. TRACY.-We are much obliged for a sight of your drawings. You have oopied good models carefully, but we regret to add that, though, of course, sketching is drawing, it can hardly be said that drawing s VERSE THAN EVER.—We have reoeived the seven thousand lines of your epic to be continued." They are of no use in an unfinished state, but if you bring your lines to a close we have no doubt we can make use of them as close-lines. A QUERY.—The seat of memory is in the ear, while faith resides in the eye. A*6 you unacquainted with the passages-"Seeing is believing," and "Let 'earin' remember."
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OUTBREAK OF VIRTUE.-The Monthyon prizes, for Virtue, have been adjudged. There are twenty good women, and five good men in France. A farmer was told that he would be disappointed with Staffa, for there was not food for a dozen sheep on it. I counted fourteen," he said, and so I was agreeably disap- pointed." So is M. Dupin. A WORD ABOUT OYSTEBS.—We rejoice to see that Mr. Frank Buckland is devoting his serious attention to the cultivation of oysters in the mouth of the Thames. We trust that his beneyolent exertions will be duly rewarded by a large transference of oysters from the mouth of the Thames to our own.. SEASONABLE.—What sort of ak?tn would a resident of Cornhill probably prefer? A Git's Bath. A QUESTION FOR THE ZOOLOGICAL SoCIETY.-Ia there any reason why a vestryman who apes the pubhc orator in speaking may not be regard0" as a sort of tak, tb. a morning paper:THE BABON DE happy to hear that Government has „n ?^aed the long-contested claims of this gentleman Jay con- ferring on his only daughter, Augusta, a grant of £ 1,000,a year." We arQWpy bear .^oo. Pam has shown, in thus shelling out, that like ^andor 3 celebrated sea-shell, he "Remembers hia Augusta Bode." -»
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Gentle Physicians.—The Female lege of Pennsylvania, now m the sixteenth yewm.us existence, has just graduated a class of twen 7 ee students; and judging from the success t;ba*otner lady physicians have had in America, there is little doubt that they will find enough to do. The delphia North American says there are some or eight regular female physicians in that city, daily practice is equal to that of the average of male J physicians.
.BELIQUES OF BERNARD PALISSY.
BELIQUES OF BERNARD PALISSY. A most remarkable discovery has just been made under the gallery of the Louvre, in the Place du Car- rousel, where it is being rebuilt. It is one of the ovens in which Bernard de Palissy baked his celebrated pottery. The Debats says:— Some vitrified bricks first led Mr. Berty to think that he had to do with a potter's oven, and it struck him it might possibly be that of Bernard Palissy, the prince of potters. He prevailed upon the architect of the palace, M. Lefuel, to have the excavation con- tinued on purpose outside the line that had been traced, and soon they came upon carneaux (openings in the vault of ovens) and upon fragments of gazettes (cases used to put the pottery into the oven); then, fur- ther on, they found large pieces of moulds of figures and of various objects and plants, evidently modelled on the natural substances, and which at first ap- peared singularly strange, and even inexplicable, to any one not thoroughly acquainted with Palissy and his ways. Thus, one of these moulds seemeS; a fantastical bust, a sort of monster, composed— even to the features of the face and the two eyes- entirely of shells. Others were moulds of human limbs, on which the very hairs of the body were to be dis- cerned; others showed strange costumes and coarse striped stuffs. These seemingly enigmatical relics, as fresh as if they had been placed there only the day before, clearly told their own tale and origin. In the eyes of a connoisseur such moulds could be none other than those of the Termes conceived and executed by Bernard Pallisy for the grotto he constructed in the garden of the Tnileries, towards 1570, by order of the Queen mother, Catherine de Medicis. In a manuscript memoir of the illustrious artist, found in a broker's shop at La Rochelle by M. Beniamin Fillon, and pub- lished by him only four years ago, we find the follow- ing :—" As to the Termes which shall be seated on the rock of the fountains, there should be another, which would be all formed of various maritime shells— namely, the two eyes of two shells, the nose, mouth chin, forehead, cheeks, the whole of shells, as well as all the residue of the body. Item, I would make three or four of them attired, and with their heads dressed in strange manners, which dress and coiffure should be of divers linens, cloths, or striped substances, approaching nature so nearly that no man could tell the difference. And, if it pleased the Queen-mother, I would make certain figures from life, imitating nature so closely that even the little hairs of the beards and eyebrows, of the same size as on the human body, should be observed." Certainly nothing could correspond more closely than this description (written in the quaint old French of that day) with the objects just found. M. Read hastened with the news of the discovery to M. Riocreux, of the Sevres porcelain manufactory, and that gentle- man taken to the spot, was at once convinced. A dozen great moulds were found, without reekoning small fragments, and two days later three or four pieces of enamelled earthenware. It was here, there- fore, that Maitre Bernard des Tuileries, as he is called on the cover of a eopy of his admirable book, dated 1563, and preserved in the Imperial Library, lived and worked before he was cast, in 1590, into the Bastille on account of his religious opinions, after having miracu- lously escaped the massacre of St. Bartholomew's eve. According to the Abbe de Lestoile, his contemporary, he died in misery in that far-farmed but mute witness of the crimes of the French monarchy.
OUR MISCELLANY.
OUR MISCELLANY. A Duel at the Grecian.—In 1710-11, Addison, starting the Spectator, tells us his own grave face was well known at the Grecian; and in No. 49 (April, 1711), this great observer describes the spleen and inward laughter with which he views at the Grecian the young Templars come in, about eight a.m., either dressed for Westminster, and with the pre-occupied air of assumed business, or in gay cap, slippers, and parti-coloured dressing-gowns, rising early to publish their laziness, and being displaced by busier men to- wards noon. Dr. King relates a story of two hot blooded young gentlemen quarrelling one evening at this coffee-house about the accent of a Greek word. Stepping out into Devereux-court, they fought, and one of them, being run through the body, died on the spot. -Thornbury's Haunted London. Liberty of the Press in the Sixteenth Century. Some old manuscripts in the Biblio- thequo Imptfriale Include a decree signed by Charles IX., on the 10th September, 1563, which gives an excellent idea of the situation of the press at Lyons in the sixteenth century. It is as follows: It is forbidden to publish or print any work, or writing, in rhyme or in prose, without the previous authorisation of our lord the king, under pain of being hanged or strangled." Another clause says: "Three times avoey year violt olxall Ue iwade in tlie sliops and printing- houses of the printers and booksellers of Lyons by two trustworthy persons belonging to the Church, one representing the ar3hbishop and the other the chapter of the said city, and they shall be accompanied by the senechal of Lyons." An Industrious Squaw.—Milton took the op- portunity, afforded by the visit of an Indian and his squaw, to engage the latter for general washing and house-cleaning. Although it was night when they arrived, the woman set to work immediately, diligently melting snow at a roaring fire for hours. And when about midnight she had obtained a sufficient supply of water, proceeded to scrub blankets and clothes. Milton expostulated, and suggested she should retire to rest, but in vain. The splashing and scrubbing still went on without cessation, and sleep was impos- sible. At length Milton, driven to desperation, jumped out of bed, threw away all the water, and put out the fire. The squaw thereupon retired to rest in much astonishment, and for a time all was still. Presently, however, when she imagined Milton had fallen asleep, she quietly got up, and recommenced her labours..The unhappy retainer of her services was fairly beaten, and compelled to resign himself to his fate, venting many maledictions on the untimely industry of his servant.-The North-West Passage by Land. An Arabian Laughing Plant.-For the first time I met with a narcotic plant very common further south, and gifted with curious qualities. Its seeds, in which the deleterious principle seems chiefly to reside, when pounded and administered in asmalldose, produce effects much like those ascribed to Sir Humphrey Davy's laughing gas; the patient dances, sings, and performs a thousand extravagances, till after an hour of great excitement to himself, and amusement to the bystanders, he falls asleep, and on awaking has lost all memory of what he did or said while under the in- fluence of the drug. To put a pinch of this powder into the coffee of some unsuspecting individual is a not uncommon joke, nor did I hear that it was ever followed by serious consequences, though an over quantity might perhaps be dangerous. I myself tried it on two individuals, but in proportions, if not absolutely homoeopathic, still sufficiently minute to keep on the safe side of risk, and witnessed its operation, laughable enough, but very harmless. The plant that bears these berries hardly attains in Kaseem the height of six inches above the ground, but in Oman I have seen bushes of it three or four feet in growth, and wide- spreading. The stems are woody, and of a yellow tinge when barked; the leaf of a dark green colour, and pinnated, with about twenty leaflets on either side; the stalks smooth and shining; the flowers are yellow, and grow in tufts, the anthers numerous the fruit is a capsule, stuffed with a greenish padding, in which lie embedded two or three black seeds, in size and shape much like French beans their taste sweetish, but with a peculiar opiate flavour; the smell heavy, and almost sickly.—Palgrave's Central and Eastern Arabia. Destructive Lightning.-Though the number of persons killed by a single flash of lightning may have been greater, there are, probably, not many in- stances on record of its having covered so great an area as in a family at Eastbourne. The coachman and butler were outside the house. The former was struck dead, and the latter was so much affected by the shock that, without being hardly conscious of what he was doing, he went into the house. Here he found his master insensible, and, as it turned out, very much hurt on the left side. In the pantry he found the footman lying dead on the floor; and a further examination of the house showed that the lightning had been through all parts of it. Everywhere the windows were broken, looking-glasses shattered, articles of furniture torn to splinters, cornices and ceilings cracked, bell wires melted, and so forth. The owner's daughter had a wonderful escape. The electric stream entered into the room where she was dressing, and splintered the bed she had just left, besides doing other damage. It is evident that this I was not a case of a small stream passing from one me object to another, inasmuch as the coachman was struck dead outside the building. But, large as the urea was over which this extended, it was not equal DO that at Reichenbach, which town was fired in so many places that the inhabitants had the greatest 3ifficulty in escaping into the country, without being ible to save any part of their goods; even a regiment af cavalry quartered in the town were unable to save stny portion of their baggage.—All the Year Round. The Origin ot the Art of Cooking.—The art of cooking is as univei jal as fire itself among the human race; but there are found, even among savages, several different processes that come under the gene- ral term, and a view of the distribution of these pro- cesses over the world may throw some light on the early development of human culture. Roasting or broiling by direct exposure to the fire seems the one method universally known to mankind, but the use of some kind of oven is also very general. The Andaman islanders keep fire continually smouldering in hollow trees, so that they have only to clear away the ashes at any time to cook their little pigs and fish. In Africa, the natives take pos- session of a great ant-hill, destroy the ants, and clear out the inside, leaving only the clay walls standing, which they make red hot with a fire, so as to bake joints of rhinoceros within. But these are un- usual expedients, and a much commoner form of savage oven is a mere pit in the ground. In the most elaborate kind of this cooking in underground ovens, hot stones are put in with the food, as in the familiar South- Sea Island practice, which is too well known to need description. The Malagasy plan seems to be the same, but the Polynesians and their connections have by no means a monopoly of the art, which is practised with little or no difference in other parts of the world. The Guanches of the Canary Islands buried meat in a hole in the ground, and lighted a fire over it, and a similar practice is still sometimes found in the island of Sardin a, while among the Bedouins, and in places in North and South America, the process comes even closer to that used in the South Seal!Tylor's Be- searches into the Earlv History of Mankind. The Maids of Merry England.—Mr. Ruskin, who is allowed to be a judge of such matters, sayS that the present style of female dress is the most graceful and artistic ever worn. I quite agree with him, and I think it has had almost a magical effect in bringing out and setting off the beauty of the maids of merry England. There are no plain girls now-ft* days. Positive ugliness is altogether banished from the land. All the girls are pretty. Walking in the streets, or driving in the park, or sitting in a box at the opera, one is kept in a state of continual admira- tion by the number of pretty girls that meet the eye on every hand. All this female beauty has of course existed at any time; but I venture to think that it is only lately that it has been shown off to the fullest advantage. In these days of economics and art train- ing we know how to make the most and the best ot things. Mark what a mine of beauty has been dis" covered in red hair. How many years is it since red hair was contemptuously denominated "carrots?" To be carroty was to be a fright, and an allusion to a carroty girl, in a song or a play, was sure to raise a laugh ot derision. But now carrots are the fashion, the rage. The girl with the ruddy looks, instead of plastering her hair down, to look like polished slabs of Peterhead granite, combs it out and lets the sun into it, straightway it is a fleece of gold. Golden locks-tbst is to say, the ridiculed "carrots" of another period are now the admiration of all the men, and the envy ot all the women. It is no secret. I believe that many women are in the habit of bleaching their dark hair in order to impart to it a tinge of the fashionable and ad- mired red. I am informed, too-and I can add mY personal testimony to the fact, that red-haired girls who have been on the shelf until they are no longer young, are now going off in the matrimonial market like wildfire.—All the Year Round. Sportsmen of the Old Time.—Things were done very differently in the past century by the old- fashioned squire: his twenty or thirty couples ot hounds, and six or seven horses, which afforded more real sport than these flashy establishments of out time. We have got now into very luxurious and ex' pensive habits moderation and economy being altogether pooh-poohed. We must hunt four or fhre, or even six days a week—many would hunt on Sunday if they could. The master in a crack country^ must keep his seventy or eighty couples of hounds in his kennel, and fifty or sixty horses in his stable—and of the right stamp, too. His men must be well mounted 5 and if the under-whip's horse be a little groggy on his fore-legs, he is at once denounced a screw, and the in1* pertinent inquiry reaches the master's ears," How can Jack be expected to do his work on such rips those? Then as to the appointments and dress of the staff, everything must be in tip-t-D fashion and triiB, even tn 4-1.0 Ho at join's neckcloth. This is the age for carrying all these things into absurd extremes. We do not, of course, find fault with the neat and appropriate equipments of man and horse, agreeing with the old adage, "that what is worth doing at al is worth doing well." I like to see huntsmen and whips turn out well shaved, well washed, and well dressed at the place of meeting; but looking like workmen, in their woollen cords and mahogany-topped boots, as the lamented Will Goodall, of Belvoir, ap- peared, when I saw him for the last time trotting away with his black and tans from the kennel door. Will Goodall," I asked before he mounted, "Will yoU give me your receipt for boot-top stuff?" "Will" ingly, sir; it is simple enough, and don't require writing down: just dip your sponge into the copper, and wash them well over; it gives them a good polish of the right colour." Ah, poot Will! he was one of the right sort himself, in kennel and out, for a huntsman, although his rivals over the border would indulge sometimes the joke at his expense -a very far-fetched one—" that when running a fot late at night in the Home Wood, he hung up lamps in the long drive, that he might see how to holloa him over." In his estimation, white leathers and tops looked wishy-washy upon men of business; and I alU quite of his opinion. They may do very well for gentlemen who have sufficient stock in hand of such articles, to indulge in a clean pair every day they go out hunting, but huntsmen and whips have not much time to devote to this pipeclaying work.—Scrutator's Lessons on Hunting. The Cholera: How to Prevent Contagion- -In the first place, the sanitary condition of the neighbourhood in which they reside should bo imme- diately attended to. This is properly the work of the local authorities, but it can be rendered thoroughly effective only by the earnest co-operation of the various inhabitants. These should see that no filth or decaying matter is allowed to accumulate or remain near their houses; that dust-heaps be removed as often as possible; that all the house drains are repeatedly flushed; and that the various water-closets and sewers are kept disinfected by the use of chloride of lime. In the second place, the interiors of the houses should be kept as clean as possible. The ceilings and walls should occasionally be well washed with quick" lime water. Soap and water only should be used for wood-work, a solution composed of two ounces of chloride of lime dissolved in a gallon of water being afterwards applied where the wood is old. The walls of cellars, stables, or outhouses, &o., should be thoroughly limewashed, and the floors kept free of all offensive matter. No decaying refuse should be allowed to remain in cupboards or closets. The stairs, passages, and floors should be also well washed at least once a week. Old paper-hangings should be taken down from the walls, which should then be limewashed andre-papered. Ventilation should be attended to, espe* cially in bedrooms, the windows of which should remain open as much as possible during fine weather, care being taken that the various articles of bedding—sheets j blankets, &c., are thoroughly exposed to the air. Overcrowding should be avoided; where it cannot be prevented, the rooms should be efficiently ventilated. There can never be too much fresh air in a dwelling or workshop. Personal cleanliness is likewise indis- pensable. Bathing should be frequently resorted to. Where this cannot be done, the body should be well sponged at least once a week. Blacksmiths, dyers, and others, whose trades are none of the cleanest, should have a good wash daily. Articles of wearing b apparel should be kept as clean as possible, especially the various porbions of underclothing, which must be repeatedly changed and cleansed. Water used for drinking purposes should be free from all impurities* This is a precaution which cannot be too strongly insisted upon. The cisterns, butts, and other reser- voirs in which water thus used is contained should be repeatedly cleansed. The habitual use of alcoholic liquors should be discouraged. Unwholesome food, especially diseased meat, should never be partaken o upon any account. Too much raw fruit is dangerous^ All utensils used in the preparation or cooking °i J700 should be kept scrupulously clean.—Cassell s trated Family Paper.