The Illustrated Usk Observer and Raglan Herald

THE COTTBT, THE Queen has been taking a tour through Germany. HER MAJESTY has reached Rosenau, where she is to remain until the 30th of September. The inauguration of the statue to Prince Albert is fixed for the 26th inst. On the 6th, Prince Albert of England *as formally recognised as heir to the Duchy of Saxe- voburg. IT is now arranged that the return of the Court Jo this country from Germany may be expected on 'he 8th of September. Her Majesty, after staying Windsor Castle a day or two, will leave for Gotland. .JTHEIR Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales are expected to arrive at Birk Hall, the seat of his liayal Highness in Scotland, on the 2nd or 4th of September. General Knollys has already gone ^hither to prepare for the reception of their .Royal ipghnesses. Before leaving Scotland the Prince and princess will honour the Duke and Duchess of Rox- ourghe at Floors Castle with a visit, and also the %Ke and Duchess of Sutherland at Dunrobin Castle. THE programme for the unveiling of the statue of the Prince Consort at Coburg has been arranged, the ceremony, it is said, will take place at °ur o'clock on the afternoon of the 26th inst. The Monument is not yet quite completed. The pedestal has been made at Weisenstadt, in Bavaria, and the statue of the Prince has been cast by Lenz Herold in |<urnberg, and both will be shortly brought to their "Dal resting-place. A LETTER from Baden-Baden states that the King Of Prussia is daily expected there, and somewhat later a Meeting of Sovereigns of German Secondary States ^11 take place at BadeE. THE accident to King William of Prussia during the Oharnois-hunting expedition was caused as follows :— Is Majesty had just shot a chamois, and the man oconpied in loading was handing another gun to his ^ajesty, when the latter, turning round suddenly, truck his cheek just below the eye against the stock, ttis Majesty is short-sighted. -.J

j POLITICAL. GOSSIP. J'ARLI.HMENT was formally prorogued by the Lord 9hancellor until the 1st of November. The following ust of Scotch peers which had been elected as repres- entatives of the Upper House was handed in pro Earl of Morton, Earl of **ome,Earl of Haddington, Earl of Selkirk, Earl of rkney, Viscount Stratfiallan, LordSaltoun,Lord Gray, T° Lord Colville of Culross, Lord Rollo, i;ord Polwarth, Earl of Airlie, Earl of Caithness, ^arl of Leven and Meiville, THE Earl of Leicester has issued an address in ex- planation of the course which he pursued with refer- ee to the West Norfolk election. His lordship ays, Immediately after the meeting of the Liberal B^ty of West Norfolk, held in London, at which Sir Willoughby Jones was unanimously selected to be the aecond candidate, I wrote to my agent to inform him this resolution; I urged on him the necessity of fjj-Qmpt and vigorous action from Holkham. I was aTe more decided in my expression to him, inasmuch rumours were prevalent in the county, not only that I was indifferent to Liberal opinions, but that I 6?en secretly desired the success of the Conservative farty; I counselled, not dictation, not coercion in any but the adoption in common with my tenantry Whose political sympathies as a body are strongly J* avowedly with the Liberal cause) of every legiti- to achieve the return of Mr. Gurdon yxx Sir Willoughby Jones. In a letter written hastily «the eve of my departure I could not, and did not, into details; my views were firmly and de- expressed; but the execution of them was left lIr. Shellabear's discretion. Zeal in carrying out Instructions which were only indicated, and not given detail, and the heat and fervour generated in an motion, the battle of which had to be fought in the J?ae of a few days, led him to issue the circular Uh^as so much scandal, the impolicy and no one now sees more dearly than IT is said that Lord Wensleydulu is the very high J3icial authority who, interfered and persuaded Sir Y^orge Grey to grant a respite in the case of Charlotte *&8or. :e, P:a.INCE JOSEPH BONAPARTE is seriously ill at j. °Oie. He is suffering under one of those periodical which so often prove incurable in that city. -PRINCE ROMAN CZARTORYSKI, who had been sen- tenced to a year's honourable imprisonment for his ahare in the Polish movement, has had his sentence; QOlDmuted to one of six weeks. t) any rate, if the Emperor of Mexico is not to longf, h6 tftlroa oft»o to naalio tjko looo^i uoo o £ Kio and has sent over a shipload of orders of all Sorts and degrees to decorate his friends and those *hom he admires. Of course, cher Rossini comes in for a great cordon as big as that used by-never mind \IIh". NEW Conservative club is proposed in London, ihe three clubs of the party—the Carlton, the Junior lj4rlton and the Conservative—are all full, and so v^ny names are up for election, especially at the ^uior Carlton, that it is confidently expected that a large number may be attracted to the proposed 69t&blishment. THE Order of Knighthood was on Monday conferred ?? John Howley, Esq., Q.C., at the Viceregal-lodge, by j**8 Excellency the Lord Lieutenant, in recognition of long, efficient, and valuable services as chairman the pounty Tiperary. This is the first occasion on Jhich his Excellency the Lord Lieutenant has exercised he Viceregal prerogative. THE Duke of Augustenburg, who some time ago Signed his commission as a Major in the Prussian arity, has been unable to obtain as yet the necessary Confirmation at the hands of the king. The duke, it is believed, is meditating the acceptance of an Austrian I Commission, could he once obtain his final dismissal. ?(tuated as he is, an Austrian commission would afford personal protection, while a Prussian one is tanta- mount to personal danger.

THE ARTS, LITERATURE, &e. j -A- BUST in white marble of the late Sir Joseph Pax M.P., has been placed in the Crystal Palace, on the floor, olose to the great orchestra. T Taunton, Massachusetts, is exhibited a model ^aiature locomotive made of gold and silver, with a ^by for a head-light, and costing $4,000. Its wheels Ð.re driven by clockwork. ONE of our most important national monuments has a narrow escape. It was intended to hold a con- 6*683 of archaeologists at Stonehenge, dig under the ^tar- stone, and raise the fallen trilithon. Sir Edmund ■Itrobus, however, the owner, has, we are told, wisely hia face against the proposal. A PORTRAIT of Richard Cobden, painted in Paris G. Fagnani, at the time of the French Treaty of Oommerce, has lately been added to the collection of {he National Portrait Gallery. Portraits of this dis- tinguished man painted) from the life are very few and attainable. The picture by Fagnani is a Implicate of one that was executed for the American in Government at Washington- THE proprietors of the Netvcastle Chronicle grace- IIIIY commence its centenary by erecting a memorial "jadow in one of the churches of that town in honour of one of its earliest and most able contributors, whose j^cnument had fallen into decay. The window is of ki-fie lights, depicting Faith, Hope, and Charity. I THE French Exhibition of the Fine Arts as applied j° Manufactures opened last week in the large building jj1 t'ae Champs Elyeees, but the arrangements were so tluflaished, so few objects were in place, and so much ptasins yet to be done, that several days must elapse ^sfoie the toup-d'adl will be appreciable. As to the aluable works of art lent for the occasion by the MM. Rothschild, Baron Plichon, and other connoisseurs, "ttr8,16 no^ eTCn P^3,06, Windsor CASTLE is to be thrown open in every Part fo: the inspection of antiquarians at the next Pasting of the Archaeological Society. No doubt the iSue of "heir researches will prove highly interesting, tio a *un(^ °- material to engage their atten- j. THE Ita lUan Government has just declared itself in ke important question of literary and ar.tistic repro- „ Actions. Amongst other advantages, it accords to oieign authors and composers a claim to ten per cent, „tt the gross receipts of the representations of their works. MR. THOMAS CARLTLE is at present on a visit at orsonce, the residence of Henry Inglis, Esq. He is search of relaxation and rest, his Life of Frederick; the Great" having involved the investigation of years, I and well-nigh the health of the illustrious author. ONE of the many rumours at present in circulation 1 about Abd-el-Xader is to the effect that the Arab j chieftain has written a novel, which will be published I in Paris during the author's stay there. It is further | said that the distinguished visitor is an excellent j story-teller, and has such a vivid imagination, that | a lively and certainly a. fresh book may be looked j forward to by readers. j A LETTER from Modena announces the discovery of I an autograph MS. of Ariosto in the archives of the | city. It is bound in vellum, and consists of nineteen leaves, stamped with the ducal seal of Este. It is a sort of cash-book kept by him, beginning from the year 1522, and ending on the 15th of May, 1525, when he was appointed Governor of the Garfagnana. DIARY of a Travel to Greece is the description of a journey to that classical country made by a veteran of classical philology, Professor Welker, of the University at Bonn. The contents of the work are not exclusively addressed to Greek scholars, but to all those who are somewhat acquainted with the country, its literature, and its monuments, and take a lively interest in classical subjects.

THE FRENCH AND ENGLISH FLEETS AT CHERBOURG. The programme of festivities connected with the visit of the English fleet to Cherbourg was brought to a close on Thursday. Of the French fleet little was to be seen, for the very excellent reason that there was not much of it there, the Magenta and the Solferino, which are to the French what the Achilles and the Warrior are to us, doing almost the entire duty of representing the French iron-clads. Visits of congratulation were exchanged between the officers cf the ships of the respective squadrons; the fleet was illuminated, though the display was by no means equal to that which was made when the Queen visited Cherbourg in 1859, and when, by the way, an Admiralty steamer arrived in full steam to announce to her Majesty the important faet of the successful laying of the Atlantic cable, and to bring to her the congratulatory message of the President on the too short-lived success of the great work. There were also games and sports of great variety for the visitors, and abundant objects of in- terest were afforded by the dockyards and naval establishments to those who availed themselves of the courteous facility granted for the occasion by the naval authorities of Cherbourg. Of the banquets, the most important was that given by M. le Marquis de Chasseloug-Laubat, Naval and Colonial Minister, to the Lords of the English Admiralty, and the chiefs of the squadron. It was limited to eighty covers, and followed by few and short speeches. There were, in fact, only four toasts, namely, "The Queen of Eng- land," "The Emperor of the French." "The Navy of England," and The Navv of J France." Some accidents have occurred to mar the general pleasure, and the upsetting of a 1 boat on Wednesday by an English excursion steamer left a disagreeable uncertainty about the number of persons who were thrown into the water afid got out again. It is reported that four lives were lost. The French iron-clads present, the Magenta and Solferino, 1 are the only two-decked armour-clads in the world. Unlike the small, narrow portholes in our armour- clads, the Magenta, in common with other French r ships, has the old wide, square openings in her side as large as ever, and these occur so close together, and in such numbers, as to quite realise the old American saying of a box of guns," as applied to their own over-gunned frigates. But in the truest sense of the word is the Magenta only a box of guns, inasmuch as only on a part of the broadside and along the water-line is she plated with 5-inch armour, six of what seem gun portholes on each side aft, -■ and four on each side forward, being only cabins, with neither guns nor armour. This, how- ever, it may be said is like the Warrior, which has "1 only her broadside plated with armour. But the Warrior has transverse bulkheads of armour plating, which protect her at stem and stern as well as on the broadside; while the Magenta is not only without these on her lower deck, but actually—and this is scarcely credible—without water-tight doors in the doorways made m her iiiw-a*tshiD bulk heads on the main deck. There are two smooth-bore pieces of the 1850 pattern, 50-pounder solid shot guns, mounted under her forecastle, to fire on each side of her stem when the bulkwarks are let down, as in the Achilles and Minotaur. All the masts are of wrought iron, and very light, giving a spread of canvas which would be invaluable to her when under sail. On the upper deck is a "rifle tower" of iron, formed by four belts of armour one above the other, and each about four feet high, making the whole structure rise to a height of nearly 14 feet from the <- deck. It is elliptical in form, and the plates are backed s Witn as rnuuli aoUdvfcy as behind tHe armnnr of the broadside-i. e., with about three feet of oak. On the c main deck of the ship are mounted twenty-four three- c grooved rifled breech-loading guns-twelve on each side. These pieces in their mode of rifling in no res- s peot differ from the French gun tried last year at s Shoeburyneas, and the powers of which, both in accu- s racy and penetration, were proved to be so inferior to „ either the Armstrong or Whitworth ordnance. The breeoh-loading apparatus is of the roughest and, appa- f rently, of the most inefficient kind. It consists merely i of a screw plug in the breech. A half-turn with a lever handle locks or unlocks it. When unlocked the screw f plug draws out from the rear of the gun on to a rest, both rest and plug being sufficiently clear of the v breech opening to allow of easy loading by the arm. The rest has a quarter-circle motion on a brass seating fixed on the right and a little below the chamber of the s piece. From the peculiar conformation of the raised screws, and the plug also, its fouling and jamming II during rapid firing would be a matter of almost abso- 1: lute certainty. This main deck battery of rifled guns t is protected at each end by a powerful athwartship armour-plated bulk-head, in which, however, there are literally open doors. On the lower deck, how- 1 ever, where, as being nearest the water-line, such c a protection is most urgently needed, strange to f say, there is nothing of the kind. This lower deck mounts 26 guns, 13 on a side-five of which, forward, -are rifled, and eight of which, aft, are the common smooth-bore of the old pattern of 1859. t The calibre of all in this battery appears to be 50- pounders, 81b. being the full powder charges used. s All told, therefore, the Magenta only mounts 52 guns. It is not too much to say that their united a discharge would be absolutely harmless against the f five-inch iron-plating and teak backing of our own s iron frigates. t The Grand Ball. c After all. the visiting was over on Thursday, the ■, festivities at Cherbourg were brought to a close by a ball at the Hotel de Ville. The night was not one that would be chosen on ordinary occasions for a ball to naval officers, for the weather was squally with 8 showers of rain, and the visitor in full uniform who has to undergo a two-miles' pull in an open r boat under such conditions has but small f chance of appearing to advantage. Buts never- theless, nearly everybody went. To an English a naval officer what is the worst of weather to the I best of balls to which he ia invited ? So the boats were passing all night long between the fleet and tke shore, the dim lights in which just sufficed to show the brilliant uniforms of the naval and military guests, and the gleam of the orders with which so ] many were decorated. Among the most ramarkable of c the celebrities who went from the Urgent was Dr. John t Urquhart, a gentleman who was assistant-surgeon at c the bombardment of Copenhagen, who was in the r action off the Bay of Cadiz, an assistant-surgeon at Trafalgar, a surgeon in 1810—just 55 years ago. This „ veteran wore the uniform which was the regulation more than half a century since—before the captains, ] or, indeed, most of the admirals, of the present day a were born. It is needlesa to say with what marked respect and deference the French officers received <; this relic of what we may almost call a past age. t The Hotel de Ville was brilliantly illuminated. It T consists of three fine saloons—the first the municipal i hall proper the second, built since Cherbourg has ex- s panded into its present importance, and called the Emperor's saloon; the third, named the Queen's, as having been used on the occasion of her Majesty's visit, and as containing a magnificent picture of that g event. All the halls and staircases leading to those 1 rooms were profusely decorated with banks of flowers, j mirrors, evergreens, and clastets of lights, while the saloons themselves were in keeping with their beauti- l fui approaches.- Everywhere were displayed splendid ) trophies of arms—stars, shields, and devices made up c of weapons only—pistols, swords, muskets, and bayo- I nets. Conspicuous for its merit, where all was good, ;c was a wonderful representation of the Imperial Eagle, t made entirely of bayonets and sabre-blades. It j I was difficult, even with the most careful examination, I to understand how so perfect an effigy of the king of birds could have been constructed out of such inflexi- j ble materials. Of course, nothing was done till the J Duke of Somerset and the Lords of the Admiralty I arrived, with Admiral Dacres, the Admiral of the j squadron, Lord de Grey and Ripon, lady Clarence I Paget, Lord and Lady Wilton, and a few other distin- I guished visitors from the yachts. From the thronged j state of the rooms, the whole entertainment partook j more of the nature of a stately conversazione than a j ball. The supper was on a profuse scale of hospitality, though certainly not more than half the visitors par- took of it, for most of the officers, English and French, were anxious to get on board early, not knowing a what hour the following day the fleet would sail. For- tunately the night was still and calm, and all wer enabled to reach their ships with an ease and speed that was almost luxurious as compared with the stormy passages of previous days.

A Bad Night of it. By a, Contributor who (with his wife and babe) has ac- cepted an invitation to spend a day or two at a friend's place in the country. What, about to leave town ? Yes, we've got to go down to the Thompsons' at Weybridge, in Surrey, For a week at the least, and the wind's in the'east, and I'm ill and I'm wheezy, and Weybridge is breezy, and awfully slow, and I don't want to go, but my wife did it all in a hurry; But Thompson is rich, and a bachelor, which is im- portant to me, for his brother, you see, married Polly's mamma (he may swear at his star, for her ma is a dame whom I podgy call), So Jack Thompson's her aunt-no, her uncle. I can't in such weather as this, when you steam and you hiss like an engine, be genealogical And I'm thinking with dread of that awful spare bed; for you can't sleep a, wink, but you lie and you think, when you're stopping in rooms that are new to you, And to ask you to go to a place you don't know, and lay down your poor head in an unexplored bed, when the weather is hot and unpleasant, is not what a good sort of fellow would do to you. You kick and you plunge, and you roll and you lunge, and you shake off the bed-clothes that cover you, With a terrible tickling, torturing, trickling, tingling feeling all over you; You curse and you swear at the garments you wear, and you do all you can to get colder; And then sick of despairing, and cursing and swear- ing, the sleeves you are wearing you roll away up to the shoulder; Then the moon, which you know half-an-hour ago seemed the veriest ghost of a crescent, Is blazing away, turning night into day, and quite round, and extremely unpleasant; So you make up your mind just to draw down the blind, as a step that may lead to your snoring, And you jump out of bed, and you damage your head, and you hollo with,dread as you find that you tread on a terrible tack in the flooring; And you look at the clock, and you see with a shock that the night has all gone, and you're far on to dawn, and you're ready to weep, for you've not had a sleep all the while, and it now will be soon light. Then you rattle the shins of your tottering pins (they're as feeble as lath) on the edge of the bath, which, you then are aware, is the only thing there which is not lighted up by the moonlight. Once again into bed, but this time with your head where your feet ought to rest, and your quick- throbbing chest all exposed to such air as there may be; But that move no sleep charms, and you fling out your arms till a faint little shriek (shrill enough, though it's weak), from a fat little dot in a neighbouring cot, proclaims you've assaulted the baby, Which awakens your spouse, and you then count five thousand to send you to sleep, but a vigil you keep for a half-hour's rout, for she ups and lets out in a way that would frighten a Gorgon; Bat still you go through "eighty-one, eighty-two, eighty-three, eighty-four," and so through many more, while she's talking away till it's far into day, for her mouth's an unwearying organ. So now you will know why I don't want to go to the Thompsons' at Weybridge, in Surrey; For old Thompson's a beast, and the wind's in the east, and I'm ill and I'm wheezy, and Weybridge is breezy and awfully slow, and I don't want to go, but my wife did it all in a hurry.

A Seasonable Petition. To the Sportsmen of Great Britain, whether Lords or Commoners, in or out of Parliament, anywhere as- sembled, The Humble Petition of the Grouse and other Game, now under sentence of death for purposes of sporting, Showeth, That your petitioners are about to be pur- sued by your honourable selves, and hunted, caught, shot, wounded and otherwise maltreated, to afford you some amusement. That your petitioners have, from their birth, been fed and taken care of with a view to this maltreat- ment; and, nurtured as they are, unhappily it is not in their power to escape it. That your petitioners have heard from their grand- fathers and grandmothers, who happen to have sur- vived, or from their parents, aunts, or uncles, with whom they now reside, what tortures these their relatives have received in former seasons, through being hunted by bad sportsmen, and fired at by bad shots. That your petitioners have friends who have been mangled, maimed, and mutilated, instead of being bagged, and who have suffered frightful anguish and the loss of limb or eyesight, by the clumsy way in which they have aforetime been attacked. That such agonies have specially been suffered in battues, where, in the fuss and fluster of what is called a "flush," guns have been let off without suf- ficient aim, and volleys have been fired at so many birds together, that some of them are certain to be wounded by stray shot. Your petitioners would therefore humbly pray that battue shooting be in future discontinued, as being barbarous and cruel beyond the common run of sport. And your petitioners would further pray that, as far as may be possible, all bad shots be excluded from all future shooting parties, and that sportsmen be in- structed how to j udge thsir distance rightly, and to hold their weapons straight, before they be permitted to come into the field. And your petitioners wou-ld further pray that loaders be appointed to load for all unskilful sports- mee, and, to prevent such mutilatie)n and mangling as aforesaid, that these loaders be directed to put no shot in the guns. And your petitioners would also pray that, inas- much as what is sport to you is death to them in most cases, care should be humanely taken to make that death quite certain, and, where your petitioners are picked up before dying, they be put out of their misery ere being put into the bag. And your petitioners will ever pray, &c. (Here follow the footmarks.) A CASE OF CONSCIENCE—The Chance }!0 Exchequer begs to acknowledge the receipt of the en- closed conundrum, in liquidation of unpaid contribu- tions to the imperial revenue:—Why is the collector of income duty like a carpenter P Because he is a nailer with his tin- tax. A BYE- LAW. Guard: "Smoking not allowed, gents." Swell: "O! ah! What's the fine?" Guard "A shilling, ready money, to the guard, sir. Forty shillings to the company, payable by instalments, and at your own convenience." SOMETHING IN THE C.C.C.! LINE. I say, Sam.%o, where you get de shirt studs F" "In do shop, to be sure." Yab, you just told me you hadn't no money." Dat's right." How you get dem, den ? Wel] I saw on a card in de window Cdllar Studs,' so I went in and collar'd dem." — -♦ Attempt to Upset a Hallway Train.—On Sunday the eight p.m. train from Reading, on the Beading and Reigate branch of the youth-Eastern Bail way, had reached a spot between the Earley and Wokingham Stations, when tie driver perceived a rail lying dfreci ly across the down line. He arrived at the latter station just in time to warn the driver of the down train, which was about to start thence, and the metal was consequently removed without stoing any icischief. It is supposed to have been placed there by two boys, who were seen sitting on a railway bridge near-the spot.

FRIGHTFUL MURDERS IN AMERICA. The Hartford Times gives the following account of a dreadful tragedy which was perpetrated at Oakland, near Manchester, Connecticut, on the night of the 31st of July, the victims being a woman named Stark- weather, and her daughter Ella (aged fourteen years):—The mother's face was cut in two from a powerful blow from the axe, which divided the nose crosswise, and out open the face entirely across, crash- ing through the bones of the upper jaw and cheeks. Over the right eye was another gash from the axe, sinking through the skull and into the brain; and there was another which cut open the side and back of the head, and also a great gash near the right temple. Besides these wounds there were sthers made by a butcher's knife-one through the lower part of the chin, the blade penetrating deep into the throat; one deep into the right breast; and another deep one in the left breast. Ella, the daughter, presented a still more shocking Bight. Her right eye was entirely gone. The axe had cut a terrible gash across the brow, eye, and cheek, evidently at one blow, letting out all of the eye, breaking in the skull, and cleaving down to the cheek bone. Above the right eye, near the top of the forehead, was another fearful gash from the axe, sinking into the brain; and she was stabbed through the bosam with the butcher's knife. The first information of the murders was given by the son, Albert Starkweather, at four o'clock. He came to Mr. H. White's, a neighbour, rattling or rather falling heavilly against the back door, and arousing the in- mates with this call, Get up get up! come over to our house I don't know but our folks are all killed, and the house is on fire Mr. White ran over, followed by Albert, and found his (Albert's) room full of smoke and the bed on fire. He took the bed out and put it out of the window. Then he went upstairs, though the smoke was so thick he was nearly suffocated. Albert did not follow him, but paced hurriedly up and down the lower rooms, sobbing and crying. On getting into the chamber, Mr. White found the bed all in a blaze, and the bedroom covered with blood. He lifted up Ella and found her still alive, though bathed in blood, and presenting a shocking sight. As he lifted her a bloody axe slipt off upon the floor. Mr. White took it, and lifting the window, placed the axe under it to let out the smoke, while he next got Airs. Stark- weather off the burniQg bed, and finding her dead, placed her on the floor while he rolled up the bed and threw it out of the window. The dying Eiia he carried in his arms to a back window in the aojoiniug room, in order to give her fresh air, but the poor girl died in a few minutes. The son has been taken into custody.

OUR MISCELLANY. Billy Bray.-The enrolling officer of Salisbury district, Maryland, was very active and thorough in the performance of his duty. One day he went to the house of a countryman, and finding none of the male members of the family at home, made iuquiries of an old woman about the number and age of the males" of the family. After naming several, the old lady stopped. Is there no one else P asked the offioer. "No," replied the woman; "none except Billy Bray." "Billy Bray where is he ? He was at the barn a moment ago," said the old ladv. Out went the officer but could not find the man. 'Coming back, the worthy officer questioned the old lady as to the age of Billy, and went away after enrolling his name among those to be drafted. The time of the drafting oame; among those on whom the lot fell was Billy Bray. No one knew him. Where did he live ? The officer who enrolled him was called on to produce him; and, lo and behold! Billy Bray was a Jackass- and stands now on the list of drafted men as forming one of the quota of Maryland. John Clare's Courtship.-The shades of even- ing were sinking fast, when John Clare reached Bridge Casterton, on his way to Walkherd Cottage. He was just in view of the smiling little garden in front of the house, when a figure, but two well known, crossed his path. It was Patty. She wanted to speak, and she wanted to fly; her lips moved, but she did not utter a word. Clare, too, was lost for a minute, in mute em- barrassment but, recovering himself, he rushed towards her. and with fervent passion pressed her to his heart. Patty was too much a child of nature not to respond to this burst of affection, and for some minutes the lovers held each other in sweet embrace. They might have prolonged their embrace for hours, but were disturbed by calls from the neighbouring lodge. The anxious parent within heard words, and sounds, and stifled kisses, and doubting whether they came from the shoemaker, sent forth shrill cries for Martha to come in without delay. But darkness made Patty bold; she assured her mother that there was "nobody," accompanying the word by another kiss. Then, with loving caress, she wound herself from Clare's arms, flying up the narrow path to the oottage.-Life of JoTvn Clare. His 'Wife's Cousin. — A country gentleman ¡ lately arrived at Boston, and immediately repaired to the house of a relative, a lady who had married a mer- chant. The parties were glad to see him, and invited him to make taeir house hia home, as he declared his him to make their house his home, as he declared his intention of remaining in the city only a day or two. The husband of the lady, anxious to show his atten- tion to a relative and friend of his wife. took the gen- tleman's horse to a livery stable in Hanover-street. Finally his visit became a visitation, and the merchant found, after the lapse of eleven days, besides lodging and boarding the gentleman, a pretty considerable bill had run up at the livery stable. Accordingly he went to the man who kept the livery stable, and told him when the gentleman took his horse he would pay the bill. "Very well," said the stable keeper, "I under- stand you." Accordingly, in a short time the country gentleman went to the stable and ordered his horse to be got ready. The bill, of course, was presented to him. "Oh," said the gentleman, Mr. ——, my rela- tive, will pay this." Very good," said the stable keeper, please get an order from Mr. it will be the same as money." The horse was put up again, and down went the country gentleman to Long Wharf, which the merchant kppt. "Well," said he, I am going now." Are you ? said the gentleman. Well, good bye, sir." Well, about my horse; the man said the bill must be paU for his keeping." "Well, I suppose that is all right, sir." "Yes—well, but you know I'm your wife's cousin." "Yes," said the merchant, "I know you are," but your horse is not.American Joe Miller. Marriage Six Hundred Years Ago,—Among the national manuscripts now published in fac simile taken by photozincography at the Ordna, ce Survey- office, Southampton, by order of the.Government, is a return to a writ of inquiry into the truth and circum- stancer3 of an assertion made by one William de ■Stanley, that a marriage had been contracted, be- tween him and Joan (aged twenty), eldest, daughter of Philip de Baunville, deceased, chief forester of the Roya,l forest of Wirral, "per verba cle prmenti," which words were spoken in the presence of wit- nesses; a.nd the return to the writ gives the following curious account of the betrothal and the circum. L stances under which it was made. The jurors say that on the Sunday after the feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist, two years ago, which would be on the 27th of September, 1282, Philip de Baunville, with his wife and family, was at a. banquet given by Master John de Stanley, on which occasion Joan, sus- pecting that her father intended to marry her to her step-mother's son, and not being herself at, all desirous of such a maLch, took means to avoid it by repairing with William de Stanley to Astbury Church, wher marriage was contracted between them by the utter ance of the following mutual promise, be saying, if Joan, I plight thee my troth to take and hold thee as my lawful wife unto my life's end," ai d she reply- ing, "I, Joan, take thee, William, as my lawful husband." The witnesses to this verbal contract were Adam de Hoton and Dawe (Davy) de Copeland. In another inquisition, post-mortem, in 1254, the question beirg, who was heir of William de Cardunville, a tenant in chief of the king, it was proved that he married a woman named Alice, and lived with her sixteen years, and had by her a son named Richard; but about a year before the death of De Cardunville a woman named Joan, by whom he had a son, also named Richard many years previously, appeared and sued him in the Ecclesi- astical Court as her husband, by virtue of a promise made to her by him, upon proof of which judgment was* given in her favour, and the other woman, who had been his wife for sixteen years, was divorced. The jury, however, doubting whether Joan's son Richard is really heir to the prejudice of Alice's son Richard, Joan, unlike Alice, never having been "solemnly espoused at the church door," return, in default of both, Robert de Cardunville, their father's brother, as his heir. A New Business.-Jast look what is open to me in this line-" I Families in the country anxious that their sons should be well lands in the society of the metropolis, are requested to apply to the Honour- able Spiffington Goldtip. Invitations to the most fashionable parties obtained at a reasonable amount, Charges moderate for introductions to clubs. No charge whatever for introductions to noblemen.' Or in this line—'To debutantes and others in want of chaperonage.—Young ladies whose mothers axe in. valids, or are from some cause considered objectionable by society, or who have only step-mothers, or who are orphans with unkind or evangelical relations, or who are unexpectedly at the last moment deprived of their natural protectors, on applying to the undersigned will be provided with suitable chaperons. The undersigned begs to notify that his stock of chaperons will bear the strictest examination as to character, and have all at one time or other moved in the highest circles of society. No debutante or young lady whose birth and antecedents do not entitle her to the same privilege need apply. Spiffington Goldtip.' Then the pendant to this would be:—' To married women, or widows without daughters.—Married women or widows without daughters, who have either dropped out of society or are in danger of dropping oat, in consequence of there being no special reason why they should be kept in, and who are capable of undertaking the duties of chaperon, are requested to apply to the Honourable Spiffington Goldtip. The Honourable S. G. has a large stock of debutantes, and other young ladies in want of chaperons, always on hand. The strictest references given and required.—Blackwood* Cure of Consumption,- A communication by M. Fuster was brought before the Academy of Sciences, at its sitting on the 12th of Jane, regarding a new mode of curing pulmonary consumption, which the author bad found to be of extraordinary efficiency even in extreme cases. It consists in the use of raw beef or mutton, associated with small doses of very dilute- alcohol; the former appears to have a reconstituent action, and tbe latter a direct action, on the hematose. It is the combination of these two means which effect the cure, and which the author claims as his discovery. The raw meat is reduced to a pulp in a mortar, and then passed through a sieve to free it from tendinous matters. It is administered in the form of small balls rolled in sugar, or the pulp is sugared and given in spoonfuls, to the amount of from one-quarter to three- quarters of a pound daily; and a quarter of a pound well diffused through a pound and a quarter of water, sweetened with sugar, is to be used as a drink by the patient. The alcholic drink consists of about one quarter of a pound of alcohol at 20 deg. Beaume, diluted with three-quarters of a pound of sweetened water, and is administered by spoonfuls from hour to hour; the quantities given, and the intervals between the doses being regulated by the susceptibility of the patient.-Scientijic Review. Wolves in France.—"You must know, mon. sieur," began my guide, that I lived with my wife and our two children in a cottage not far from the great forest, on a piece of waste ground somewhere about half way between the town and a little village called Verney, yonder to the right, a lonely situation, but convenient for my occupation of tree-felling and wood-cutting. Well, I was out at work on the day when what I am going to relate took place. My wife, however, told me all about it in the evening when I went home—what am I saying ? home, I had none- when, after seeking her long, I found her in the house of one of my neighbours and friends in Verney. No, when after my day's toil I returned to the spot where our cottage had stood, and where I expected, as usual, to see my wife oome to the door to meet me, giving me a glimpse of the bright cheery fire as she opened it to let me in, all was gone, and in place of all that should have comforted me, my wife's warm greeting, and the glad voices of the little ones welcoming my approach, I found a desolate hearth-a ruin. I had not been gone long that morning, my wife afterwards told me, when, having laid the baby, a boy of a year old, in his little cot to sleep, she went out into the back part of the house to look for our eldest child, Marie, a little girl of three years of age. On returning to the kitchen she saw the door, which she supposes could not have been securely fastened, burst open, and a large wolf rush in. She having heard that these animals are easily frightened by fire, immediately plucking a flaming brand from the hearth, ran with it towards the beast, but too late to prevent his reaching the cradle, from which he seized our poor little sleep- ing Jacques, and flew with him out, and off into the wood. My poor, trembling wife instantly followed, calling loudly to our dogs, which, bounding to her side, axid at once comprehending the situation, made quickly off in pursuit of the wolf. The dear child must have proved too heavy for the thief, running rapidly, as he was, to escape from Rollo, for he soon dropped him, to my wife's great relief and joy. Rollo oame up with, and after a sharp struggle killed the wolf. My wifer as soon as she summoned up courage to look at the little one, picked him up, all bleeding and screaming- as he was, but, thank God, not seriously injured. She was soon joined by some people who had been at work in a field near, and was receiving their congratulations on Jacques' narrow escape, when the attention of the whole party wa,s aroused by the loud and pitiful shining and kowling of our dog Rollo, as if he were in great distress. Turning quickly towards the cottage behind her, frem whence these unusual sounds were proceeding, my wife, to her unspeakable horror, perceived that our dwelling was on fire, and that the forked flames were reaching high above the lofty trees standing around it. Almost fainting with alarm, for she recollected that little Marie had been at play in the washhouse when she had herself rushed out of the kitchen to follow the wolf, she gave the baby- to one of the bystanders, and. assisted by one of the women, made as much haste as hsr trembling limbs would allow her to reach the cottage. She could not get far into tbe house the front way, for she was driven back nearly suffocated by the flames; but she had entered far enough to hear the frantic piercing- shrieks of poor Marie, calling to her mother and to Rollo to come and help her. She was evidently ttill in the washhoase leading from the kitchen, where my wife had left her. Staggering round to tbo back of the cottage, my wife sought to get entrance that way; the fia,mes and smoke which were pouring from the windows blinded her, so that she could not find the door. A crash! Good heavens had the whole build- ing falien in ? and was all hope of rescue at an end ? This portentous sound was followed by exultant barks from Rollo. It was then nothing so dreadful tha,t had happened—no; he had himself, by repeatedly spring- mg against it, burst open the door, and was dragging out the terriaed little girl by her skirts. She waa'not in the least burnt, but the fright she had scarcely yet recovered from. My wife remembers in her alarm at seeing-the wolf run out, with the baby, that she bad- dropped the burning log cf ^ocd upon the kitchen floor, which, being a boarded one. must have ignitedat oree: and in consequence the cottage itself, whi>h was roofed with thatch, must have been shortly in flames. Nothinf could he done to save aEy portion' of our far- niture. and before liÎ:?h\ our home was in ashes."— Once a Weeh.