The North Wales Express

CORN. LIVERPOOL, Tuesday.—The market closes upon a less active demand. Wheat is Id per cental better on last Friday's quotations. Indian com loses the temporary advance of 6d per quarter, and remains at 22s 6d per quartet for new mixed American. Flour very firm at Friday's quotations. Beans and peas rather easier, with a slow demand. LONDON, Friday.—Very little business was dene in any article owing to the brilliant weather, and prices were unaltered. Seed market still quiet.- Arrivals: British wheat, He quarters; barley, 420 quarters; oats, 150 quarters; flour, 3,060 sacks. Foreign wheat, 29,260 quarters; barley, 6,200 quarters; oats, 27,340 quarters; maize, 26,400 quarters: flour, 3,069 sacks and 12,960 barrels. BIRMINGHAM, Thursday.—There was a small attendance, and a very little doing. Millers would only buy at reduced prices which were not generally accepted. Old American held for a shilling per quarter advance which stopped business.

CATTLE. SALFORD, Tuesday.—The supply of cattle was larger than last week, and the quality tolerably good. A fair trade was done, at the full rates of last market day. There were 200 Canadian beasts of choice quality and fair condition, which found buyers at about 7|d per lb. Sheep and lambs were not so plentiful. The trade in sheep ruled 'brisk, at slightly advanced rates; choice lambs were scarce, and commanded more money. Tne demand for calves was only moderate.—Quota- tions Beef, 6d to Sid per lb mutton, 7^-d to lOd; 4 veal, 8d to 9d lamb, 9d to lOfd. 4 LIVERPOOL, Monday.—The stock on offer con- sisted of 2,319 beasts and 11,292 sheep and lambs, included in which were 800 American cattle and 1,000 American sheep. A fair trade for good beef at raher morcjjmoney. Sheep 'and lambs were in fair demand. More country buyers.—Quotations: —Best beasts, 8d to 85d per lb; second ditto, 7td 2 4 to 7fd per Ib; sheep and lambs, 9-Ld to 9|d; American cattle, 7{d to 7 ,;d. 4 f

PROVISION. LONDON, MONDAY.—The arrivals last week from Ireland were 235 firkins of butter and 359 barrels of bacon, and from foreign ports 20,734 packages of butter, and 3541 bales of bacon.

BUTTER. CORK, WEDNESDAY.—Ordinary Firsts, 102s, seconds, 95s thirds, 88s; fourths, 80s; fifths; 67s; sixths, 43s. Mild cured: Superfine, 119s firsts, 104s; seconds, 97s thirds, 92s. There were 1617 firkins in market.

DEAD MEAT. LONDON, MONDAY.—Good supplies on offer, and trade moderately active at about previous rates; Beef, 3s Od to 4s 6d; mutton, 3s 8d to 5s 4d. veal, 5s 4d to 5s 9d; large pork, 3s 4dto 4s Od; small ditto, 4s 4d to 5s Od per stone.

WOOL. LONDON, MONDAY.—There is a fair amount of business passing in English wool,, but prices are scarcely so firm as they were, the recent advance in the quotations being with difficulty supported. Manufacturers regard prices as too high compared with the rates current for manufactured goods. The market for Colonial wool has been steady, without material altera- tion being apparent. The public sales will be commenced on August 20. i

COAL. LONDON, FRIDAY.—Business has been brisk, with a ready sale at an advance of Is. per ton. Hastings Hartley, 15s. 9d.; Wallsend: Hartle- pool. 17s. 9d. South Hetton, 17s. 6d.; Tunstall, 15s. 9d. Hartlepool, 16s. 6d. South Hartlepool, 17s 6d.; Thornley, 17s. 9d.; Ships at market, 13 sold, all; contracts, gas, &c., 19-61; unsold, 4, at sea, 15.

DISTRICT MARKETS. ABERYSTWYTH, MONDAY. The prices at this market were as follows:- Wheat (new,) 7s 6d to Os Od per bushel; Wheat (old,) 7s Od to 8s Od per bushel; Barley, 4s 9d to 5s 6d bushel; Oats, 3s 9d to 4s 6d; Beans, Os Od to Os Od; Potatoes, 5s Od to Os Od per cwt. Beef, 10d to OOd per lb; Pork, 8d to Od per lb Mutton, 10d to OOd per lb Lamb, Is Od to Os Od per lb Ducks, 4s Od tp Os Od per couple; Geese, Os Od to Os Od.per couple; Fowls, 2s 6d to Os Od per couple Eggs for a shilling, 20; Fresh butter, Is 2d to Is 4d per lb Chees, 4d per lb. BANGOR, FRIDAY. Prices: Wheat, 41s Od to 45s Od per quarter; barley, 31s Od to 36s Od oats, 26s Od to 29s; oats meal, 37s Od to 38s Od per 240 lb. Potatoes, 3s 6d to 4s 0 per cwt. Fresh butter, 16d to 18d per lb; Beef, 9d to lid per lb mutton, lOd to lid veal/ 7d to 8d; bacon, 7d to 9d; best home-cured hams, lid to 12d. CARNARVON, SATURDAY. The following is a list of to.day's prices :—Beef, 7d to 10d per lb; mutton, 10d to lid; veal, 8d to lOd; pork, 8d to 9d; bacon, 7d to 9d. Cheese, 7d to 9d per lb. Fresh butter, 18d to 22d per Ib; pot ditto, 14d. Fowls (dead), 2s Od to Os Oil each; ditto alive, 14d to 15d; ducks, 3s to 3s 6d geese,' Os Od to Os. Eggs, 18 for Is. Pota- toes, 7s to. 7s 3d per cwt. Wheat, 40sto 45s0dperqr; barley, 32s to 36s Od; oats, 27s Od to 29s oatmeal, 35s Od to 38s Od per 240 lbs. CONWAY, SATURDAY. Wheat, 14s 6d" to 15s Od per hobbet; barley, lls Od to 13s Od per hobbet; oats, 10s d to 11s Od per hobbet; beans, 00s Od to 00s Od per hobbet; oatmeal, 36s Od to 38s Od per 240 lbs. DENBIGH, WEDNESDAY. The quotations at to-day's market were as fol- lows :—Wheat, 16s Od to 18s 6d per hobbet; bar- ley, lis Od to 14s Od; oats, 7s Od to 8s Od. Fresh buttei, 16d to 18d per lb ditto pot, 13d to 14d. LLANRWST, TUESDAY. The prices at this market were as follows;- Wheat, (old,) 16s Od to 17s 6d per hob; Wheat 00s Od to 00s Od per hob Barley, 13s Od to 14s 6d per hob; Oats, 8s 6d to 9s Od per hob; Beans, 00s Od to ODs Od per hob Oatmeal, 23s Od to 24s Od per 252 lbs. Potatoes, 14s Od to 15s Od per hob. Fresh butter, 22d to 23d per lb. Beef, 8d to lid per lb; Pork, 00s Od to OOs Od per lb Veal, 7d to 8d per lb; Mutton, 10d to Is Od per lb Lamb, lOd to 12d per lb Ducks, 5s to 5s 6d per couple; Geese, Os Od to 08 Od per couple Fowls, 4s 6d 5s Od to per couple Eggs for a shilling, 11. OSWESTRY, WEDNESDAY. The following were the quotations: Wheat, 6s 6d to 6s 10d per bushel; barley (malting), 6s 6dto 6s 9d; oats, 3s 3d to 4s 3d; butter, 15d to 17d per lb; eggs, 12 to 13 for a shilling; fowls, 3s 6d to 4s Od per couple; ducks, 4s 6d to 5s Od per couple geese, Os Od to Os Od each turkeys, 10s Od to 00s Od each potatoes, 12 lbs to 13 lbs for a shilling. PWLLHELI.—WEDNESDAY. The following were the quotations :-Barley, 20s per 220 lbs oats, 28s per 315 lbs; oatmeal, 33s per 240 lbs; Indian corn, 17s per 240 lbs. Fresh butter, Is lid per lb; pot ditto, Is 4d to Is 5tl per lb. Beef, 9d to Is 2d per lb mutton, lid to Is 2d per lb; veal, 8d to lid per lb; ducks, 2s each fowls., Is 9d each, eggs, 6s Od per 120 potatoes, 16s per hobbet. WREXHAM, THURSDAY. The prices at this market were as follows:- White wheat, 6s 9d to 7s 3d per measure red do, 7s 3d to 7s 6d per bushel of 75 lbs. Potatoes, 7s Od to 8s Od per 120 lbs. Fresh butter, 16d to 17d per lb. Beef, 9d to 10d per lb; mutton, lOd to lid; veal, 7d to 8d. Fowls, 3s 6d to 4s 6d per6ouple.

COMPOSITIONS OF THE CARNARVON EISTEDDFOD, 1877. TRANSLATION OF DR. EDWARDS' HAMILTON AND MILL. Among the preceding essays may be found some remarks under the heading, Why and Where- fore," which were written before the author had any opportunity of reading the principal works on philosophy, and which are, consequently, now regarded by him as very imperfect. Nevertheless, their chief aim being to show the inability of the human mind to comprehend itself, as well as to foster a weak and humble spirit, it, is hoped that they will prove beneficial to some of the readers, especially the young men, who are too apt to imagine that they know all, if they have studied one or two of the most elementary bosks in any branch of knowledge. There is no better incentive to learn than a consciousness of ignorance, and there is no surer proof that one has learnt well, than a still deeper consciousness of ignorance. With respect to the contents of the article alluded to, we trust that they are pretty correct as far as they go; but we fed that it is necessary to add to them, if no other object were attained thereby, than to show that there is something more in philosophy than is admitted by the most popular authors of the present day. And though it is not our intention to confiue ourselves altogether to the systems of Hamilton and Mill, and the points wherein they differ, we natifrally couple our remarks with their names as the principal philosophers of the age, who are looked up to, and followed by a large class of thinkers. Sir William Hamilton was born in Glasgow in 1788. He obtained a first-class at Oxford in 1810. In 1820 was a candidate for the chair of Moral Philosophy in the University of Edinbugh, but the choice fell upon John Wilson, who afterwards became so well-known through his connection with Blackwood's Magazine. There was no comparison in philosophical ability between Wilson and Hamilton but at the same time, though political reasons possibly turned the scales, the choice was perhaps a wise one, for studies concerning the faculties of the mind were more congenial to Hamilton than those upon the nature of morality and Wilson, though not a profound thinker, had a peculiar talent to clothe moral subjects with beauty, and to create enthusiasm in the minds of the young men who listened to his lectures. Hamilton himself often formed one of his audience, and it is said that he frequently and readily admitted that Wilson was better suited to that post. Having been unsuccessful in his candidature for the chair of Moral Philosophy, he was elected, in the following year, to the chair of Universal History; but he did not attain to much celebrity in this office; firstly, because he did not lecture upon his favourite subjects, and secondly, because none could do justice to a subject so extensive. When Mr Jowett was lately giving evidence respecting the University of Oxford, before a committee of the House of Commons, he was asked by Mr Ewart, if they had a professor of universal history, and his reply was, "No, and I think he would be an alarming personage." But in the year 1836, Hamilton's turn came, and he was appointed the Professor of Logic, and all felt that the right man was in the right place. Prior to this he had contributed some essays to the Edinburgh Review, .which had attracted the notice of the ablest thinkers in France and Germany. Cousin said of him, that he was the greatest critic of the age. He excelled perhaps more as a critic than as an original thinker. He lias made a few contributions of his own; but we are not aware that he has, in this respect, established a new epoch; whilst he stands high above all before him, in a thorough and profound acquaintance with every author that has written upon the mind since the days of Plato and Aristotle. Others, undoubtedly, have searched more deeply into the writings of some particular writers; but in the combination of depth and universality, we know of none to be compared with Hamilton. Most of our readers are aware that Mr Mill lately published a book against Hamilton, and were ij not for that, we should scarcely have thought of coupling the two names in this article. Mill, like Hamilton, is of Scottish pedigree, a spn of James Mill, an author not unknown in his day,ha.ving been educated, first in the grammar school at Montrose, and afterwards in the University of Edinburgh. The son, John Stuart Mill, with whom we have to do at present, was born in the year 1806. He does not seem to have received college education, having whilst very young obtained a situation in the office of the East India Company, where lie was gradu- ally promoted, like his father before him, to a high office. He, like Hamilton, became known through his contributions to the quarterly magazines, sometimes to the Edinburgh, but mostly to the Westminster which was more in accord with his principles. In 1843 the first edition of his work on Logic was published. He was for some years the editor of the Westminster Review, and he also pub- lished a book on Political Economy. He published a small treatise too, on Liberty, which attracted much notice. In 1865 he published his" Exami- nation of Sir William Hamilton's Philosophy, and of the Principal Philosophical questions discussed in his Writings." Tn the last election (1868) he was returned a Member of Parliament for West- minster, and though not a fluent speaker, lie has secured the esteem and the attention of the House of Commons, which rarely falls to the lot of those who bad distinguished themselves as writers. He is always found in the foremost rank of the Liberals, and with some questions, he is so advanced that few are willing to follow him. We are almost inclined to believe that Mr Mill excelled in politics rather than in philosophy. But whatever he takes in hand, he writes in language so flowing, and expresses his thoughts so clearly, that he is one of the most perspicuous writers, which goes far to render him popular. But the language of Hamilton is equally clear and perspicuous; and if it is more difficult to under- stand Hamilton, we know not how to account for that otherwise than by saying that Hamilton is a more profound thinker. Sensational philosophers have a great advantage to secure popularity, for by omitting the deepest traits of human nature, they afford the weakest-minded readers the pleasure of being able to say, If this is philosophy, I must be a philosopher, for there is nought in this that I do not perfectly understand. Another reason for the popularity of these writers is the materialistic tendency of Englishmen, who, though a Coleridge appears now and then reminding them of the existence of another world, are soon tired of gazing upon the spiritual, falling back upon what is subject to the laws of time and space. Whatsoever the cause may be, the fact remains that the person regarded by many of the newspapers of this kingdom as peculiarly the philosopher and the profound thinker of the day is John Stuart Mill; and when the writer of these remarks ventured in a public meeting not long ago to classify him with the superficial philosophers, he was taken to task very severely by two newspapers published in England, which seemed to feel that he had taken away their idol. That he is an able man, is un- questionable; but that he is a profound philosopher we cannot admit, until it is proved that Plato and Aristotle were superficial philosophers. At the same time we attribute much of the blame to the nature of the system in which he was taught; and it is right that we should add, there are evident signs that he himself felt at times the necessity for a more profound system. At any rate, on some occasions, he has shown marks of respect to more profound authors, such as Plato and Coleridge; and in this readiness to acknowledge the merit of those who differ from him, it must be admitted lie surpasses Sir William Hamilton, who has spoken far too disparagingly of Luther, Archbishop of Whately and of Julius Hare. Very likely, he meant it not, and his apparent haughtiness ought perhaps to be attributed to his blunt, straight- forward, and unequivocal mode of expressing him- self. They who speak the most blandly are not always the most gentle. Far be it from us to suggest blandiloquence as a characteristic of Mr Mill; our object is merely to defend Sir William Hamilton without attempting to disparage anybody else. Still, it would undoubtedly have been better if Sir William had taken more care in applying his words, bearing in mind that people might differ from him in opinion without being guilty of any moral wrong. One might think that this failing is peculiarly characteristic of philosophers and theologians, and possibly the philosophical and theological spirit of the Welsh is the reason that they are so apt to condemn one another, and to speak in bitter terms of one another. But there must be some ulterior cause to this cause, and what that may be we know not unless it consists in the fact that philosophers and theologians mix less than the generality with persons of opposite views. Mr Mill has had this advantage, and t h effect is perceptible in his writings. He might with advan- tage have omitted some words in his attack upon Sir William Hamilton; but on the whole, he writes in a temperate spirit, and shows as much respect to Sir William as might reasonably be expected. If Sir William Hamilton were still alive, Mr Mill would certainly have been roughly handled by him. He would have been stripped of every right to the name of philosopher, and would have been buried beneath a heap of testimonies culled from all manner of authors, ancient and modern. Others have partially done this service, though not with the same ability, especially Dr. McCosh, Dr. Cavins, and Mr Mansel. The first two seem to us to be more correct in their notions than Mr Mansel, as they do not so slavishly follow Hamilton, and consequently speak from a more independent point of view. Nevertheless, Mr Mansel is probably more conversant in all the branches of philosophy, and he certainly has proved that Mr Mill en- deavoured to argue in several places without understanding the subject he was treating. Besides these oppositions, there are signs of a rebellion against Mr Mill from another quarter: for we are told that the ablest young men of the Universities are farther from Mr Mill than Mr Mansel himself; and instead of being gratified with Hamilton's views, they rank themselves under the banner of Plato or of Berkeley; a still further proof of the truth of the saying that the world progresses, not in a straight line, but in perpetual revolutions. We cannot enter minutely into these controversies, neither do we side with one party more than the other, but we propose to advance a few general remarks upon some of the principal subjects. < (To be continued.)

AN ESTIMATE OF CANNING. At the outset of his career a calm observer would have been disposed to predict its certain failure. Everything was against him; except that he had already made some powerful friends. He was heavily weighted for the race he had set himself to run. No feature of his character, therefore, strikes us more than his persistency; that fixity of pur- pose which no obstacles could turn aside, and no discouragements weaken. By his political oppo- nents he was frequently called an adventurer;" and in his celebrated speech at Liverpool he accepted the designation, though not with the meaning attached to it by his enemies. He was an adventurer, he said, in being one of the people in presenting himself before the public only with the claims of character, unaccredited by patrician patronage or party recommendation. "If," he said, to depend directly upon the people, as their representative in Parliament; if, as a servant of the Crown, to lean on no other support than that of public confidence-if that be to be an adven- turer, I plead guilty to the charge,-and I would -not exchange that situation, to whatever taunts it may expose me, for all the advantages which might be derived from an ancestry of a hundred genera- tions." But in another sense, and a sense nearer to that implied by the voice of faction, he was an adventurer. From the beginning of his career he aspired, not to place but to power. He resolved that his intellectual endowments should yield him a splendid return. Like a politician of our own day, who in not a few points resembles him, he was determined that the world should hear him; and that his should be the highest position in the empire to which a subject could attain. It was no ignoble ambition, for he was fully conscious of the responsibilities which such a position involves, and his keen vision saw the capabilities of boundless well-doing which such a position confers. To some it would have seemed a hopeless ambition, when all the chances against them, all the bars of circumstance and accident, were calmly weighed. But every strong mind is aware of its strength, and Canning knew that he had the strength, as well as the patience and the energy which deal with the most, formidable obstacles as the waves deal with straws. The truth is, that Canning, though sprung from the people, had no real sym- pathy with them, and little knowledge of them. He is not the first, certainly not the only, man of culture who has evinced a disposition to govern with the strong hand. No doubt he wished the people to be happy and contented; but they were to take their happiness and contentment as their rulers thought fit, and not to indulge in criticisms on the blessed constitution which had enabled Canning to attain to political power. It is a fact that nowhere in his speeches will be found any large and liberal utterances; any of those elevated thoughts and broad views of political liberty which lent so precious a radiance to the speeches of Burke and Fox. They are bright with splendid invective, with flashes of airy wit, with gleams of playful fancy but they all come from the head, not from the heart. They are deficient in earnest- ness, in enthusiasm they are the speeches of an able politician, but not of a statesman of the first rank.—" English Party Leaders and English Parties" by W. H. Davenport Evans.

SAVAGE MODES OF PRAYER. The Sioux Indians abusing their Great Spirit for sending them storms, or the Kamschadals cursing Kuta for having created the mountains so high and the streams so rapid, expose a state of thought relating to the gods which is most difficult to reconcile with the savage's habitual dread of them, but which is too well authenticated to admit of doubt. Franklin saw a Cree hunter tie offerings (a cotton handkerchief, looking-glass, tin pin, some ribbon, and tobacco) to the value of twenty skins round the image of Kepoochikan, at the same time praying him in a rapid monotonous tone to be propitious, explaining to him the value of his presents, and strongly cautioning hin* against ingratitude. If all the prayers and presents made to&their god by the Tahitans to save their chiefs from dying proved in vain, his image was inexor- ably banished from the temple and destroyed. The Ostiaks of Siberia, if things went badly with them would pull down from their place of honour in the hut and in every way maltreat the idols they generally honoured so much; the idols, whose mouths were always most diligently smeared with fish fat, and within whose reach a constant supply of snuff lay always ready. The Chinese are said to do the same by their household gods, if for a long time they are deaf to their prayers, and so do the Cinghalese, so that the practice is more than an impulsive manifestation of merely local feeling. That such feelings occasionally crop out in civilised Catholic countries is matter of more surprise but it is an authentic historical fact that the good people of Castelbrance in Portugal were once so angry with St. Anthony for letting the Spaniards plunder their town, contrary to his agreement,that they broke many of his statutes in pieces, and, taking the head off one tliey specially revered, substituted for "it the head of St. Francis. The Neapolitan fishermen are said to this day to throw their saints overboard if they do not help them in a storm and, if occasion calls for it, the image of the Virgin or St. Januarius, worn in Neapolitan caps, are in danger of being trodden under foot and destroyed. And once during a famine the latter saint received very clear intimation that unless corn came by a certain time he would forfeit his saintship. It is, perhaps, a refinement of thought when a present becomes an advisable accompaniment to a simple pefition but the prin- ciple of exchange once entered into, the relations between man and the supernatural lead logically from the offering of fruits and flowers to the sacri- fice of animals and of men. Some Algonlcin Indians, mistaking once a missionary for a god, and petitioning his mercy, begged him to let the earth yield them corn, the rivers fisii, and to pre- vent sickness from slaying and hunger from tor- menting them. Their request they backed with the offer of a pipe. The whole of the savage's philosophy of sacrifice is contained in this ridicu- lous incident. Prescott coming with some Indians to a lake they were to cross, saw his companions light their pipes and smoke by way of invoking the winds to be calm.. And the Hurons offered a similar prayer with tobacco to a local god, saying, Oki, thou who livest on this spot, we offer thee tobacco. Help us, save us from shipwreck. Defend us from our enemies. Give us good trade, and bring us safe back to our village. Magazine.

MR TOOLE'S TALE OF A GOOSE. At the annual dinner of the Royal General Theatrical Fund, Mr Toole told the following story: I was playing Bob Cratchett in "The Christmas Carol" at the Adelphi, under Mr Web- ster's management, and every night at eight, for forty nights, I had to carve a goose and a* plum pudding. Mr Webster generously provided a real goose and a real plum pudding, which were served smoking hot for Mrs Cratchett and the seven little Cratchetts, of course including Tiny Tim. The children always had enormous portions given them, and they all ate heartily every night; but what really troubled me was the conduct of the little girl who pla.ed Tiny Tim. That child's appetite appalled me. I could not help noticing the extra- ordinary rapidity with which she consumed what I gave her and she looked so wan, and thin, and so pitiful, that her face used to positively haunt me. I used to say to myself before I began, Well, Tiny Tim shall have enough this time, at all events," and I'd pile her plate more and more each evening, until I remember she had on .one occasion nearly half the bird, and potatoes, and seasoning, and apple sauce, until I hardly knew how she could carry it away to the fireplace, in accordance with the story, fai less eat it.' To my amazement she cleared her plate as quickly and was as eager as ever, pushing forward for plum pudding with the others. I grew alarmed, and spoke to Mrs Alfred Mellon, who was playing Mrs Cratchett, respecting this strange phenomenon. I don't like it," I said. "I can't conceive where a poor, little, delicate thing like that puts the food." Besides, although I like the children to enjoy a treat—and how they kept on enjoying it for forty nights was a mystery—I got into a condition that if 1 dined at a friend's house and a goose was on the table, I regarded it as a personal affront. But I said, re- ferring to Tiny Tim, I don't like greediness. It is additionally repulsive," I said, "in a refined- looking, delicate little thing like this. Besides, it destroys the sentiment; and when I, as Bob, ought to feel almost pathetic, I'm always wondering where the goose and pudding are, or whether any- thing serious in the way of a fit will happen to Tiny Tim before the audience, in consequence of her unnatural gorging." Mrs Mellon laughed at me at first; but eventually we decided to watch Tiny Tim together. Well, gentlemen, we watched as well as we could, and the moment Tiny Tim was seated and began to eat we observed a curious shuffling movement at the stage fireplace, and everything I had given her, goose and potatoes, and apple sauce, disappeared behind the sham fire, the child pretending to eat as heartily as ever lrom the empty plate. When the performance was over, Mrs Mellon and myself asked the little gitl what became of the food she did not eat, and after a little hesitation, frightened lest she should get into trouble, which we assured her should not happen, she confessed that her little sisters-I should mention that they were the children of one of the scene-shifters—waited on the other side of the stage fireplace, and the whole family enjoyed a hearty supper every night out of the plentiful portions to which I, as Bob, had assisted Tiny Tim. When I told the story to Charles Dickens, he replied, Toole, you ought to give that child the entire goose."

THE FASHIONS. The brilliant weather during the last month has been the cause of a sudden demand on the taste and energies of our leading modistes. The order of the day is, of course, for seaside and country toilettes, and great variety, both of make and material, has been displayed in their arrangement. There is no radical change in the faeons of the toilettes, the robes princesses lose the plainness of their lines under elegant scarf draperies, tuniques, tabliers, traines, super-posees, or are accompanied by plastrons and panncaux. The long polonaises show but very little of the under- skirt, which is either simulated by a portion re- presenting the edge of the skirt, sewn in under the polonaise border; or, if the overdress admits of being worn with two or three different skirts, these are made separate from it, in which case they are made up on a fusse jupe of some inexpensive material of the same colour. Waist bands are very fashionably worn. not only with round bodices, but with Princesse dresses and polonaises. Some of the buckles used to fasten them are very ela- borate, and give great scope for aitisti c design. Chatelaines, with pendants, are also worn with these bands, and form a very elegant addition. All bodices are made to open in some way in the front, either cut square or en coeur, or merely turned back when required. The bonnets are small, some of the most fashionable being trimmed very high, and there is a decided tendency to wear them rather backwarder than of late, to display more of the hair. The hats, on the contrary, are large, and worn forward.

ROBBERY OF 400 POUNDS IN MANCHESTER. An extraordinary case of extensive robbery, and the discovery, after the lapse of a considerable time, of the perpetrators of it, was partly investi- gated by the Manchester magistrates at the City Police Court on Tuesdav. John Glover, residing at 16, Newton's-court, Bennett-street, and Wm. Macbeth, 44, Tomlinson street, Oldham road, operative confectioners and bakers; and William Forrest, provision dealer, 34, Cross-street, Swan- street, were brought up in custody, charged, Glover and Macbeth with breaking into the dwelling-house of Mr Thomas Cunningham, manufacturing con- fectioner, of 13, Mason-street, Swan-street, and stealing therefrom JE400 in gold, a diamond ring of the value of £ 5, and two purses; and Forrest with receiving the money and goods knowing them to have been stolen. It appeared from the state- ment made by the prosecutor (Mr Cunningham) that about nine o'clock on the night of the 25th of May last he locked up his house and went out. He returned home about eleven o'clock, and was surprised to find that the house had been broken into, and a cashbox containing £ 400 in gold, a diamond ring, 5s. in silver, and two purses stolen from a bedroom. Information of the robbery was given to the police, who, however, failed to obtain any information to guide them to the discovery of the thieves. On Sunday morning the neighbours of the prisoner Forrest were startled by an alterca- tion which was being warmly carried on in his house between himself and the other two prisoners, and it was ascertained that the cause of the quarrel was the divisien of something" which they had amongst them. Police-constable Coates, of the B division, was called to the house, and on making inquiries he ascertained that the cause of the quarrel among the prisoners was with reference to the division of the X400 which had been stolen from Mr Cunningham's house in May. He at once took the prisoners into custody, and charged them with committing the robbery. Macbeth admitted that he and Glover had taken the money and the other things. He said they hid the money in the cellar under the house No. 92, Oldham-road, but the police have not been able as yet to recover any portion of it. Macbeth and Glover had been in the employ of the prosecutor for some time, and on the night of the robbery the former concealed 1 in the house, and admitted Glover after Mr (Junuingham had gone out. Forrest seems to have got to know where tlit. money was concealed, and took it from the cellar. He afterwards gave the other two prisoners £10 to go to the Manchester races, whilst he himself went to Liverpool and lived there "like a lord for two months. Glover went to Ireland and remained there until a few- days ago, when he returned to Manchester to obtain additional supplies. The prisoners were remanded until Wednesday.

THE MOXMOUTirSHlHE TRAGEDY. The return 01 Joseph Garcia, charered with the horrible tragedy at Llangibby, was watched for with great interest by the townsfolk and others of Usk. There was a crowd of persons round the doors of the gaol, and the imprecations on the prisoner were terrible. When the cab which con- veyed the prisoner from Monmouth drove up to the prison there was such a large crowd of eager gazers that. it could hardly approach the gates, and when it was successful it got completely wedged in with persons who threatened to lynch the prisoner without "judge or jury." Many were the eager eyes auxioiw to get a glance at the prisoner, ancfc quite as willing and strong arms were thereto des- patch him. The authorities quickly observed that. it would be quite impossible to take him to the gaol in the usual way through the smaller gate. They, therefore, very wisely determined to open the massive gates, and then drive the cab into the yard. This was done as speedily as the crowd- would permit, and after some slight difficulty, the cab containing the prisoner was driven into the yard, fand the gates closed, keeping the crowd on one side and the prisoner -and his warders on the other. Mis Wat-kins, who was murdered with her family, always felt a great dread of tramps from the day she went to live at the house in which the horrible deed was perpetrated. Whenever she had occasion to go a distance from home she hurried back again. But about a fortnight before the murder her dread was greatly increased in consequence of a dreain, and which she related to some of her nearest neighbours. Having occasion to visit Usk the very day of the tragedy, she was hurrying home in the afternoon, and meeting a woman who was a par- ticular friend of hers, she said, "I feel awfully uneasy there are so many old tramps about; and about a fortnight ago I dreamed that an old black foreign bull killed all my children." Little thought the poor woman at-the time that she, her husband, and her three children would fall by the hand .of the assassin. A great number of strangers are daily visiting the scene of the tragedy, which still seems to have a great attraction for those of morbid temperament. Nothing is done, however, and the house is securely locked, while the visitors stroll about the garden and view the place which is now brought so horribly before the notice of the public of not only Monmouthshire, but throughout the c mntry. It is further stated that tramps take advantage of the tragedy, and our authority states that a few days since a lad named Green was met by a couple of tramps at Llancargo, about a mile and a half from l;ck, on the Abergavenny road, who de- manded money of him. He replied, "I have no money." One of the tramps then took out a knife and threatened him, and having satisfied themselves that he had no money they let him go. On the same road, a few days later, when near Beech-hill gate, a young girl named Parsons was met by a tramp, who asked her for money, and on receiving the reply that she had none, the wretch demanded that all her pockets should be emptied before him. Again, on the Chepstow road, about a mile from Usk, a tramn called at the house of Patrick Cole- man, and asked for a drink. Coleman, afraid the fellow would follow him into the house, said he had no drink in the house. The tramp, with a signifi- cant shake of the head. said, "I may pay you & visit when you are a-leep." Is it not time that- something "should be done with regard to such pests r and no doubt the policeof the county ought to stop such proceedings. One or two convictions would, no doubt, stop this in the future.

UNPARDONABLE ABSEXCE.—Getting home on a cold foggy night, and finding that your fire has "gone out." A man called on a dilatory debtor, and said If you'll pay me the amount of your bill imme- diately you will oblige me; if not, I shall have to oblige you." Walter Savage Landor, it is said, entering a ball-room, saw therein a young lady who pleased his eyes. He cried The prettiest girl in the room; I'll marry her." And marry her he did, straightway. ALMOST EVERYTHING.—A fast youth asked at a city restaurant, What have you got ?" Almost everything," was the reply.—" Almost everything? Well, give me a plate of that."—"Certainly. One plate of hash," yelled the waiter. The small American boat Nautilus left Mullion Cove, Cornwall, for Havre on Tuesday morning, the wind being south, moderate, and the weather hazy. Why didn't you put on a clean collar before you left home?" called out an impertinent young fop to an omnibus-driver—Cause your mother hadn't sent home my washing," was the extin- guishing reply. A NOVELTY.—A machine has been invented, after a study of ten years, for making seamless paper boxes. It rolls them from the pulp, and will make six hundred an hour, no matter whether they are large or small, round or square. A Turkish pasha's dinner is a colossal repast. It is served in thirty courses, and lasts five or six hours. The Jews have begun to take Palestine. Ten years ago the Hebrows were confined to their own quarters in Jerusalem, the poorest and worst, but they now inhabit all parts of the city, having doubled in population, and are always ready to rent every house that is to be Jet. The late Lord Dudley once, upon a Vienna lady's remarking impudently to him "lvliativretchedly bad French you all speak in London ?" answered, promptly, It is true, madame. We have not en- joyed the advantage of having the French twice in our capital." A boy in a Sunday-school proposed a question to be answered the following Sunday: "How many letters does the Bible contain?" The answer was three millions, five hundred and thirty thousand, three hundred and thirty-three. The superintendent says to James: Is that right?" —"No, sir," was the prompt reply.—" Will von J plerise tell me how many there are, then :— "Twenty-six, sir." ACTs.-A country curate, in a letter to BlackwoocTa Magazine, says, that on one occasion he baptized a child named "Acts." Afterward in tl.e vestry he asked the good woman what made, her choose such a name. Her answer was this: Why, sir, we be religious people; we've got four on'em already, and they be called Matthew, Mark, Luke, and "J John, and so my husband thought he'd compliment the apostles a bit." DISAPPEARANCE OF THE OLD MAIDS.—There is growing up in England a large class of women, says the Woman's Journal, of America, who do not ( marry, who do not wish to marry, and who appar- ently wish not to marry. They deliberately devote. themselves to literature, to teaching, to spaje trade,. generally an artistic one, at any rate to some occu- pation that gives a livelihood and tends to culture, and this they choose for life. The marrying instinct- seems dead, or rather never to have been born.in ,,1; them. They do not seem to bp- thought of as out X?' of place but on the contrary they .move into fit.'t •< places in the great social organise, easily and. naturally, and are accepted without remark. 4 £ 4 late article m one of the loaxlmg papers of <mr3j> country remarked that almost an entire change <? taken place in this country in. current, jspecQh co1& 4 Q cerning married women who are past thirty rrBifafPoQ y whereas, twenty years ago, and always befor were called "old maids,y and the phrase term of reproach, now it is rarely if ever us$el. £ ja'V the reproach which used to be cast upoii,' persons has almost entirely 'passed j^ay.