Pontypool Free Press and Herald of the Hills

foitbon Corosjjmiiifnt. [We deem it right to state that we da not at all times identify •wselves with our Correspondent's opinions.] Seven years ago'abeut this very nations of Europe were looking on with intense interest at the shifting panorama. of sanguinary scenes being enacted between the line of the Vosges mountains and the river Moselle. France and Germany, after more than half a century of peace, had closed in what was regarded as a life-and-death conflict, in which the say- ing of Brennua—Fee metis (" Woe to the vanquished") would certainly receive an illustration of its truth. The disaster of Woeåli on the 6th August had been followed by the retreat of the Emperor Napoleon upon the fortress of Metz, whither he was closely followed by the victorious German armies. On the 14th was foughtthe battle of Courcelles; on the 16th Vionville; on the 18th Gravelotte and with the last-mentioned the issue of the campaign was no longer doubtful. Gravelotte was indeed, and must remain, one of the worst scenes of carnage of the present century. It was only by an awful sacrifice of human life that the Germans won it; and it has been computed that in the final charge 9,000 Teutons were rendered hors de combat in about a quarter of an hour. Armed with the Chassepot long-range rifle, the French did not stay to take aim at the dense masses of the advancing enemy; they simply pointed the weapon in the direction of their foes, and fired as rapidly as its mechanism would allow. The terrible execution which can be wrought by a long-range breech loader has again been exemplified in the present war. Those graphic descriptions of the battle of Plevna show forth fpromineDtly the enormous advan- tage possessed by the Turks in being furnished with the arm known as the Martini-Henry. It lays low an enemy at a distance of a thousand yards, while the rifle supplied to the Russian soldiers will not carry OlVer six hundred yards. And as the Turks, behind entrenchments, are about the best fighting soldiers in the world, one can easily account for the extraordinary carnage amongst the Muscovites, who advanced to attack them over an open plain. The Turks, with the benefit of four hundred yards longer range, with their foes fully before them, and with shelter for themselves, prepared tfor civilized nations such a arrative as must have reminded many of the readers of the slaughter which characterised the Franco-Ger- man War. The Turk has shown that it is easier to talk of driving him out of Europe than to do it. As the month of August wanes away, and people leave London in large numbers, the special attractions provided for what is called the season grow gradually fewer. For instance, the Royal Aoademy, which is opened on the first Monday in May, closeB in the second week of August, by which time, as the fashionable newspapers inform their readers, the town is empty. If by "the town" is meant a few West-end squares, the assertion would be sufficiently correct; but there is a mighty population beyond these, in which the most acute observer would witness no perceptible diminution. The tide of the vast tramo over London Bridge is still in full now ita hum is as loud all ever in the neighbourhood of the Bank of England, the Royal Exchange, and the Mansion House; and away it continues to roll over Holborn Viaduct and down Ludgate Hill, taking no heed of the month, or of the fact that a few thousands of persons, more or less, may happea to be in the metro- polis. The Grosvenor Gallery, a new institution of its kind, and which has been a great attraction to many,[is also closed for the time; but it has proved such a success that an autumn exhibition is talked of, and Sir Coutts Lindsay, the proprietor, has issued invitations to his artistic friends to send in their con- tributions. After the autumnal show of pictures at the Grosvenor, there will be another brief recess, to be followed by a winter exhibition at the same place. To those who prefer a different type of art from that which is to be studied at the National Gallery, Buoh places as the Grosvenor possess much interest. It may well be said that the soeial progress of a people is in no way better exemplified than in their monetary transactions. No one doubts that the working classes of this country have very much increased their savings, as the investments in the Post-office savings banks, and building and other societies abundantly testify. The information afforded in a paper recently laid before Parliament is an ample evidence of the growth •f thrift amongst the working classes. It dealt with the increased total of the amount transmitted in small sums through the ageney of the Post-office order system, which, as every order has to be advised, seems to be worked at a loss. Instead, however, of raising the price of the commission on the orders, the intro- duction of postal rates for the payment of little sums was recommended. For all practical purposes these would be equal to a banker's cheque drawn upon the Government, and would constitute an easy and safe mode of transmission. They would have the security of the postmaster of the town whence the note was issued, and the name of ths office at which the money waa obtainable. They could also be crossed and paid into banks as ordinary cheques. The Government introduced a measure fulfilling thndition8, but it wae withdrawn because there was 1;.0 time for its dis- cussion. It will probably make ita reappearance next year. The calling into existence of the postal ratfc is II recommended by a Committee representing both sides of the House of Commons, anrl there can be little ) aoubt that it will prora a beneficial reform. Although the National Artilfery competition at Shoeburyness does not attract so numerous an attend- ance of spectators as that of the National Rifle Association at Wimbledon, there can be no doubt that in its bearing upon the question of the defencas of the country, it is of equal if not of paramount importance. In case of invasion a sea-girt island would have to rely upon its artillery in the first instance, the rifle would be the last desperate resort when the artillery had been silenced, and the foe had landed. How a people can fight when their country is invaded, the Tusks have lately shown; still it would be better if an enemy could be kept out altogether, than to pour a rain of rifle bullets into his ranks from hedgerow and coppice, from forest and farm. Perfection in the use of artillery lire is therefore of primary consequence. One of our poets has laid it down that:— Englishmen ought to be taught to defend Their homes from the foe while they welcome the friend." When a foreign guest iands upon our shores we receive him with salvoes of cannon, and if an enemy attempted to land, it world be to the cannon and not to the rifle that we should in the first place look for the guardian- ship of the honour, the interests, and the security of the nation. The marriage of the Lady Mayoress of London (Miss Ada Louisa White, the second and eldest un- married daughter of the Lord Mayor), in St. Paul's Cathedral has incidentally brought to light a fact of which very few persons are aware—that 119 years had elapsed since a wedding was celebrated in that great national church. Looking at the number of marriages which are solemnized in Westminster Abbey, this is a circumstance for which it seems difficult to account. The previous occasion was in 1758, the year of Lord Nelson's birth, and eleven years before either Wellington or Napoleon saw the light, for both were born in 1769. The conclusion of the reign of George II., the whole of the reigns of George III., George IV., William IV., and forty years of the rule of Queen Victoria passed away with- ant a bridal party assembling in St. Paul's Cathedral. What changes has the stately building looked down upon in that long course of 120 years? Kings, Ministries, and Parliaments have passed away we have been at war with almostevery nation on theearth; the Cathedral has found a grave within its walls for the two greatest naval and military commanders— Nelson and Wellington—which the country ever produced; the American colonies have become a mighty people; and the sound of the Cathedral bell is now sent out over a community whose progress is one of the marvels of the age, and one of the strongest testimonies to the wealth and power of the empire. Those who have made physical geography a study describe it as one of the most pleasant of recreations; and when study can be accompanied by travel, it is rendered doubly interesting. The laws which govern the process of evaporation and the "supply of moisture to the land; the causes which send some rivers into the ocean with great velocity, and prevent others from ever reaching their destination at all; and the variable action of the tides in different parts of the earth, have engaged the attention of many a learned mind. Teurists in Switzerland have, for instance, gazed upon the Lake of Geneva, and have seen that ita waters are actually divided into two parts by a stream of a dif- ferent colour which passes directly through the lake. That ia the River Rhone, which, entering the lake at one end, leaveø it at the other, and flows onwards to wash the fertile plains of France, the swift- ness of its current enabling it to force its way through the lake without being absorbed, and to preserve an independent existence until it reaches the coasts of the Mediterranean. A more remarkable illustration of the strength of abody of fresh wateris found in the case of the river La Plata, which falls into the Atlantic on the south-east coast of America. It rushes down from mountains with such impetuosity that it keeps its in- dividuality for twenty miles after it has joined the ocean-that is to say it is sufficiently strong to dam back the waves, and t. divide them by a volume of fresh water throughout the whole of that distance. These are cases in which, as the Psalmist has said, rivers run into the sea." But that all" rivers do not find their way there, admits of no doubt what- ever. The Thames, fer example, never reaches the sea at all. Sixty miles frem its mouth, it is met the tide which is sent up from the German Ocean, and no one who has looked at the comparatively little stream fit Teddington, can imagine that there can be a drop of fresh water left at Gravesend, where the Thames has become an arm of the sea, a mile wide. The water which pours over Teddington weir could not, in the distance between that and Gravesend, increase to such a volume it is the sea, to all intents and purposes. Long before the ebb tide can get in any degree near the German Ocean, it is met by another tide coming up and is therefore pushed back again evaporation and absorption into the bed of the river quite account for the preservation of a uniform quantity of water except in cases of heavy floods, when the sea, pushing back the land water, forces it over the banks, as after the fashion of last winter and its predecessor. A singular-looking erection in Parliament-square, or L as it is called, Westminster Palace Gardens, has made its appearance within the past few days, and has ex- cited much attention. It is a scaffolding which repre- sents a model of Cleopatra's Needle, the great monolithic obelisk which Dr. ErasmuB Wilson is bringing from Egypt. The stone is therefore put in dummy to ascertain the opinion of the public respect- ing the suitability of the site, which seems an excellent one. When the improvements in Parliament-street are completed, and the whole thoroughfare is opened up, Cleopatra's Needle will be visible from Trafalgar- square. It will also be in a direct line with the thoroughfare which leads from Victoria-street to the Palace of Westminster. It will be within a stone's throw of the venerable Abbey, upon which the shadows of 800 years look down, and which it exceeds in age by five and twenty centuries. And it will be a perpetual reminder to members of Parliament, who will see it every day, that a civilization of which the Egyptians were quite as proud aa we are of ours, perished and decayed. This monument has witnessed the departure of 3,300 years and upon it might well be inscribed-" Si.c transit gloria mwncU (" The world's glory fleeth &,way. ') Seldom do the three taps of the yeoman uslfer of the Black Rod come with more welcome to the door of the House of Commons than on the day of the pro- rogation of Parliament. The heated debates, the stormy scenes, the ministerial explanations, the oppo- sition criticisms, lead up to but one conclusion. Black Rod blandly says Mr. Speaker, I am required by the Lords Commissioners representing her Majesty to command the immediate attendance of this honour- able House in the House of Peers." Not another sentence can then be spoken. The Speaker, preceded by the Serjeant-at-Arms, bearing the mace, advances to the bar of their Lordships' House, and, the Royal message being read, he returns, with the members who have accompanied him, to their own Chamber, and the work of the legislative year is done. No more defiance from one side, or triumph for the other; the angry cries upon the rigàt, or the ringing cheers upon the left, will be no longer heard. For six months to come the representatives of the people will be scattered to the four cardinal points, and- the Palpee of Westminster will be left to the British artisan, from whose attentions, indeed, it seems to be but seldom free.

LOSS OF A MAIL STEAMER. Advices from Panama of the 2nd instant, atate that the Pacific Steam Navigation Company's steamer Eton was lost on July 15, seventy miles north of Valparaiso. n 18 estimated that 160 persons were on board of her, 4J of whom had reached the shore up to July 18. Twenty others took refuge on a rock, and the British war ship Amethyst went to their assistance, but the bad weather prevented the rescue from being accom- plished. The survivors on the rock, after experiencing terrible suffering from exposure and want of food, threw themselves into the sea to end their misery. Only three of them were saved, and it is believed that altogether upwards of 100 perished.

VISIT OF THE QUEEN TO THE THUNDERER. On Saturday afternoon the Thunderer turret-ship, which has been lying for some days in the Roads in in company with the Lord Warden, as a guard-ship, got up steam and left her moorings for the purpose of proceeding up the Solent "to Osborne Bay, where she dropped her anchor, and in anticipation of a visit from her Majesty, who drove down from Osborne House for the purpose. Her Majesty arrived at the Royal pier soon after three o'clock, and entered the large ship's boat, and was rowed to the Thunderer, where she was received by Captain Wilson, Commander Lord Charles Beresford. and the other officers of the ship, and the Lord Warden fired a Royal salute. Her Majesty, who was here joined by the Prince of Wales, was conducted over the whole of this vast ship, which she minutely examined and expressed her great satisfaction with all the arrangements. After spending about an hour on board, her Majesty re- turned to Osborne. In the morning the Prince of Wales went on board the Thunderer, when some torpedo practice was gone through of course with blank charges. Each torpedo was charged with about lOOWbs. of gunpowder, and when the discharge took place a mountain of water was projected high into the air, preceded by a rumbling noise like distant thunder, and so Bevere was the ex- plosion that hardly a ve"et, lying in any part of the roadstead but felt a shaking or lifting up as if from the affect of an earthquake, showing the terrible effects of this newly-invented and deadly instrument of war- fare. The Prince of Wales expressed his satisfaction at the skill with which the operations had been con- ducted, which were quite a novelty to those persons who had witnessed them.

GREAT FIRE IN RUSSIA. On Sunday, the 6th instant, a tremendous confla- gration occurred at Samara, 'one of the largest cities situated on the Volga. The best part of the town, consisting of the Government quarter and the houses of the principal citizens, was entirely destroyed, as wore also many barges laden with grain and tallow. Among the pubGc buildings burnt down was the newly-constructed hospital of the Red Cross Society, wftich contained a great number of sick and wounded soldiers from Asia Minor. No lives are said to have been lost, but several thousand people are reported to be without food or shelter. This is the third Russian town which has beea destroyed by fire during the present summer.

THE COLORADO BEETLE. One day last week another correspondent from Liver- pool forwarded to the Privy Council Office a live specimen of the Colorado beetle, which hte Grace the Duke of Richmond and Gordon directed to be destroyed -and preserved in spirits of wine. From information received at the Privy Council Office it is certain that the intrusive creature has arrived in this country, though up to the present only a very few have been seen and those at ports where American vessels unload. The Privy Council count upon the voluntary service of individuals as well as on that of officials to detect and destroy the beetle and warn penons against transmitting any alive.

Pea-fowl are reported to be persistent enemies of the Colorado beetle, and have been turned to account in Ohio to protect petatoes from the doryphore, which they find and devour with alacrity. It is something to learn that pea-fowl are capable of earning their living; hitherto they have been costly, noisy, and hungry, though very aristrocratio dependAnte.Tke Gardener's Magazine.

The Affriculttqpil G-oifJIJU publishes an article with reference to the Colorado beetle accompanied by a coloured plate exhibiting the beetle in its various stages. It gives at the same time a risumi from the pen of Mr. Andrew Murray of its history, its habitq, and the proper mode of dealing with it. About the end of October the perfect beetles, it is stated, descend into the ground, to pass the winter, so that littl6 need be feared from them this year in England. For getting rid of them an arsenical poison known as Scheele's green is recommended, but whether in powder or in liquid the poison must be used sparingly or it would kill -the foliage of the potato. When applied in liquid it ought to be mixed in the proportion of three table- spoonfuls to eight gallons of water.

The Berlin correspondent of The Times says that Professor Gerstaecker, one of the zoologists directing the anti-Colorado measures near Cologne, having dis- covered that the beetle when depositing its eggs pro- ceeds in a regular curve, the dangerous insect can be traced and destroyed with greater certainty. At the Berlin Agricultural Museum numerous Colorado 416 ^eing carefully nursed and tended, to afford naturalists an opportunity of studying the habits and customs of the unwelcome stranger.

Land and Water says: "There is one point we wish to call attention to—it is the preparing for the dreaded invasion of the Colorado beetle by a studied preserva- tion of its enemies. These enemies are, without doubt, rooks. We wish to persuade the owners of rookeries that by sparing the young rooks next spring they would double the defensive force in the country against the expected invasion. Spare the rook and you will stamp out the beetle. The rook is the true beetle crusher.

There has been severe fighting with the Indians in America. Two officers were killed, General Gibbon and four officers were wounded, and from 80 to 100 men were killed and wounded.

The Bucharest Correspondent of the Standard writes :— I hear from one of the most eminent public personages here that he had an interview three days ago with the Grand Duke Nicholas, who announced without reserve that there wAs no probability of a resumption of operations for twenty days. His Imperial Highness admitted that the troops were somewhat demoralised, and while every disposi- tion had been made and they were ready to repulse any Turkish attack, he should not resume offensive operations until he had received a reinforcement of 100,000 men, which would bring up the force on the right bank of the Danube to 250,000 men. Then he will be able to attack with a certainty of success, and with time to conclude the campaign vic- toriously during the ensuing autumn. This admission con- firms my suggestion some time since that the Russians have never had on the Danube so large a force as they have been credited with." Two thousand workmen are employed on the fortifications of Gallipoli carrying out the plans laid down in 1365. Krupp guns are constantly being sent thither. A telegram from Constantinople states that Mr, Layard has been authorised by Lord Derby to send to England all destitute British subjects desirous of leaving Turkey. A mass meeting was held at Presburg on Sunday, in the presence of General Klapka, at which a resolution was adopted that the Ottoman Empire having granted a Consti- tution to its people, it was desirable that that Empire should be maintained. A story of Count Moltke's opinion. on the Russian pros- pects in the present struggle is circulating in Germany. The great strategist was recently asked by a German nobleman of high rank what course he thought the war would take, and if he did not predict the early and complete subjugation of Turkey. Certainly," replied the Field-Marshal, the Russians will be victorious, only their leader must not lack the four G's which every General requires." "What four G's?" 11 GeZd, geduld. genie, und gliick," replied Von Moltke (money, patience, genius, and good luck).-Time.f Correspondent. The Special Correspondent of a foreign daily Journal, writing to me from Sioinitza, says the difficulties in the way of despatching war news increase every day. As there is no field-telegraph, everything has to be forwarded by special messenger to Bucharest. All letters are read, and those un- favourable to Russia are suppressed. The Correspondent of one of the most important daily papers has not got off a despatch tor ten days, although messages of similar tenour have been accepted for The Times. The sub-special (sic) of another English paper, whose sympathies are avowedly anti- Sclavonic, was stopped and relieved of his despatches, be- cause the wiring of intelligence from over the Austrian frontier was interpreted as primA facie evidence of hostility to somebody! No correspondent, although treated with the utmost courtesy, can go to any particular point without a special permission to that effect, generously granted several hours, and often several days, after the interest attaching to that particular point has ceased to exist". — WhitehaM Review. Telegraphing from Sistova, the Daily News correspondent says :—" Between the bridge and Sistova, the correspondent of the Agence Havas was last night assailed by a Russian soldier, who felled him with a bludgeon, filled his mouth with sand, and attempted to rob him. HA was rescued by four marines, who apprehended the soldier. The corre- spondent is lying in the hospital at Simnit7.a. The soldier was punctually shot here at noon to-day." Rumours of the impending resignation of Prince Gortseha- koff reach us. It would, however, be wrong to suppose that this is owing to the reverses of the Russian army. The real cause Is the ascendency of General Ignatieff in the councils of the Emperor. GortSchakoff is the man of mo- derate views. He knows that Europe would not suffer Russia to accomplish,the plans of the Panslavist party. This party, however, means to incite to war against Turkey all the peoples of the East. The spokesmen are Tcherkaesky and Ignatieff, who are trying to convince the Czar against his will, and are therein warmly supported by the Czare- wjteh. Prince Gortschakofl is said to be highly displeased with this turn of events, and on that ground his resignation is expected.- WhitchaU Review. A correspondent of the RtpuMique Franeaiee, writing from -Nicopolis, states that nothing can equal the insolence of the Bulgarians in that town. The Turkish inhabitants of Nicopolis have, he says, suffered much at the hands of the Cossacks but worse things were in store for them when the Cossacks were succeeded by the Bulgarians. The houses of the Turks were literally wrecked, and the household goods destroyed. In coming out of the Shipka Pass, one of the Horse Artil- lery guns fell sideways oyer a precipice about 140ft. deep. Curiously enough, it was caught by a tree which hung up the string of animals, while the gun thundered down to the bottom. Not a single man or horse was hurt, except a slight flesh wound to one of the horses. The whole were re- covered, and the gun marched in next day, but a good deal of repair to carriage, &c., has since been required."—Times' Correspondent. A Military Correspondent of The Times with the Turkish army writes :—" During a halt of five minutes, when some obstruction occurred, a sweet and soft sound was heard, like the low singing of a perfect choir. It was the Plastouny, the ragged men from the Kouban, some of whom had get together in fropt of the rest, and were singing what seemed to be the most plaintive dirge I had ever heard, quite ex- ceeding in that respect the Highland 'Lochaber no More.' And the burden of the song of these Kouban men in rags was My little cuckoo, where would you fly if I let you go r The. cuckoo answers, I will fly where you toil me; but if I might I would go the Caucasus, which I may see never more." The Pesth Correspondent of the Col-ogne Gazette, reporting upon the hundreds of meetings held in Hungary dnring the past week, both in favour of and against the Turks, states that the pro-Turkish demonstrations were, without excep- tion, a perfect success, whereas the anti-Turkish turned out as complete a failure. The pro-Turkish meetings were held by Maygars, the anti-Turkish by the various Slavonic mationalities.

AN INCIDENT OF THE WAR. The Correspondent of the The Times, writing from Kezanlik, gives the following incident: Count Roniker, one of the kindest and best of men, was killed this morning by some of the roving bands of Turks who remain close to the town. He left the service more than 20 years ago, but entered it again to make this crusade of the 19th century, though he had everything that could make peace delightful—abundant means, a pleasant home, a wifo and children. He rode out with his Cossacks, intending to go to the bivourac at Shipka, but it seems that they took a road too much to the left, and knew not that they were in the wrong direction till a volley from some bushes, suc- ceeded by a second, brought him and a Cossack to the ground. The Cossacks charged and killed about ten of the Turks, but could not save their commander, who, with several bullets in his thigh and an artery cut, soon bled to death. For some time paast he had been under the impression that he should be killed, and paid Prince Wittgenstein a little debt of ten francs, saying that one must not have debts when one's life is in play day by day. Russians officers say that his dog. which has come all the way from Tirnova, howled during the past night ffhd oould not be repressed. To me hik loss Is greater than I ean say, for with frank sim- plicity he took me by the hand on the top of the Balkans and told me that a corner in his tent and such food as he had was always at my disposal. Though I have not profited by his kindness, the memory of it remains, and I followed his body to the grave to-day with a sad heart. About the same time as Count Rouiker went out this morning, I rode with Prince Zerteljieff to the bivouac at Shipka, and it seems almost as if we had done him a wrong in taking the right path. If his widow and orphans could hear what is said of him here, they would at least have the consolation of know- ing that he was beloved by all.

EXECUTION AT CHESTER. On Monday morning, at eight o'clock, Harry Leigh weaver, of Macclesfield, was hanged within ther precincts of Chester Castle, for the murder of Alice Ann Hatton, eight years of age at Button, near Macclesfield, on the 31st of March. It will be remembered that the child's corpse was found floating in the canal at Sutton. She had been sent by her mother to the mill for her wages, and it was clearly proved that on her way home she was met by the prisoner, who led her to the canal side and robbed her, then threw her into the water and, as he states in his confession, left her to drown. Since his condemnation he has been very penitent, and thoroughly resigned to his fate. The precession from the cell started a few minutes after eight o'clock, the prisoner walking^ very firltfly, tyad placing himself under the drop without a tremor. Marwood adjusted the rope, stepped behind the culprit, polled a lever, and the wretched man, who was given a drop of seven feet, died almost instantaneously.

JEWISH MARRIAGES. In London, on Saturday, the Rev. Zedek Kohn preached, by the desire of the United Synagogue, to the Cutler-street congregation on the new regulation aa to marriages issued by the United Synagogue with the sanction of the Chief RabbL The sermon was delivered in the archaic German, mixed with Hebrew expressions, which is ealled Judisch-Deutsch, and is the language of the Jewish immigrants to this country from Russia and Posen, whose ancestors at an early period left their homes in Germany for the tolerant rule of the Polish Kings. The United Synagogue are seek- ing to make known to the poorest J e the fact that in this country the marriages which tre valid by Jewish law are not so valid by the law of the land, a circumstanceexem plified by the jiidjjmentof Sir Richard Mallins in a recent caae. To facilitate marriage, the Jewish law (like the Roman law) permits marriage by consent without a ceremony, or marriage by token, as giving a ring or a coin in addition to the more regular marriage by a rabbi or other person before wit- nesses. Marriages which were valid by Jewish law were for long held good in this country; but under the Marriage Acts special provision have now been made for registering the marriages of Jews by the certified secretaries and registrars of Synagogues. The Council of the United Syna- gogue have, however, received evidence that in ignor- ance of the English law many marriages have been performed among poor foreign Jews recently settled in this country by unlicensed persons, without legal lm notice or registration. They are now impressing upon the poor the fact of the invalidity of such marriages, and they have authorized their officers to solemnize and register marriages at a fee of half a guinea, which may in cases of poverty be entirely remitted. A series of addresses in the minor synagogues are being de- livered to make these facts generally known.

EPITOME OF NEWS. BRITISH AND FOREIGN. • A volunteer belonging to the Hawick Rifle Corps, has been killed by a bullet while acting as marker. The latest news from the famine districts in China is, the Celestial Empire says, most disheartening. A vessel which has just reached Shanghai reports that for some 200 miles along the river there is every appearance of another famine the locusts literally cover the ground and appear in clouds as thick as a steamer's smoke. The armour-plated ship Temeraire has been fitted with an electric light apparatus similar to that on board the Alexandra. By means of this light the presence of torpedo Boats or other vessels can be easily seen, as a bright light is shown for miles round. Sixty thousand pounds is the sum that poor war. crushed "Paris has allotted for the prizes to be awarded to exhibitors at the French Exhibition of 1878.-The World. The New York papers publish news from Galves- ton, stating that Mexican marauders had broken into the gaol at Rio Grande City, shot the judge and gaoler, and released two prisoners. They afterwards recrossed the Eio Grande, escaping die pursuit of the Federal troops. William Rogers, an old army pensioner, has just died in one of Lawrence Sherriffe's almshouses, Rugby. Deceased, who was formerly a private in the 73rd Regiment of Foot, went through the Peninsular War, and at Waterloo received severe wounds. Amongst the curiosities of advertising may be noted th e following, which, at stated, intervals, appears in the daily "newspapers To the People of Goul 1ll the final Babylon, that is in this great City, London. Awake! mark well (ltev, xviii., verse 4 Jer. li., verse ti), and other prophecy regarding her, Her cup is nearly fulL" The Commissioners of Lunacy in Scotland, in their report for last year, call attention to the fact that the in- crease in the admissions both of private and pauper patients into establishments during 1875 and 1876 has been unusually great. The admissions for 1876 show an increase of 31 per cent. on those of 1858, while the increase of population has been little more than 16 per cent. A fatal accident occurred last Saturday on the Great Western Railway at Newport, when a guard named Perkins was killed. The deceased had got out of his van, and was knocked down by a passing train, sustaining injuries which resulted in death in less than an hour. The deceased had been in the service of the company for upwards of twenty years. Bishop von Ketteler, speaking one day of the im- portance of the Press, said. "I believe if St. Paul were living he would edit a newspaper." The Bishop himself has contributed largely to the press but I very much doubt if the Saint in question, with all his good qualities, would, if he were now alive, select journalism as a profession.—White- hall Review. At the fete of th sauveteurs of Havre, held in that town last week, a medal was presented by the British Con- sul to Joseph Certain, an employé of the maritime port of the harbour, for his gallantry in assisting to save the Bishop of Gibraltar, when the latter, with his family, were precipi- tated into the water while landing from the Honfleur boat. From the report read by the president of the society it appears that this latter now numbers 800 members, and that during the last twelve months it has been instrumental in saving eighty lives. '"Sir Henry Thompson has hit on a new method of spending his holiday. Me has had constructed a house-boat, charmingly fitted and furnished and in it, accompanied by his accomplished daughter, he is about to start on a sketch- ing tour on the Thames."— The World. Some experiments have been made off Eastham in the Mersey with the apparatus Invented by an American officer, Colonel Sholl, for fishing up torpedoes, and stated to have been successfully used in the James river during the late war. The apparatus has been tried at Soutbport on land, and the experiments on water are said to have been suggested by the Admiralty officials. The principle is to fire from two mortars shot attached by a line of hooks, which acts as a drag for torpedoes, the discharged shot being connected with the mortars by lines. The dummy torpedoes were all fished up on Thursday. Mr. Michael Andrews, Secretary of the Flax Supply Association of Ireland, has published from returns just received from the Registrar-General a statement regarding the comparative acreage under flax in Ireland in 1876 and 1877. Last year the total acreage was 132,938, this year it is 123,362, showing a decrease in 1877 of 9,576 acres, as com- pared with 1876, or upwards of 7 per cent. I lately informed my readers that the eldest son of the Prince of Wales is destined for the Army. I now under- stand that the Prince favours the idea of his son adopting the example set by his soldier-uncle, the Duke of Con- naught, and entering the service at the bottom of the ladder. It is accordingly expected that the young Prince, on com- pletinghis education, will be appointed for duty to II. regi- ment, continuing in a subordinate position until he has obtained a full insight into the working of the regimental system. If this course is pursued, it will, I am sure, be approved not by the Army only, but by the country at large. Whitehall Review. Expert lady swimmers give lessons in swimming at most of the fashionable seaside resorts of France. A franc is charged for a lesson, and in six lessons a persons can be- come proficient if she will only leave off grasping her guide, monitor and friend around the neck, whenever she feels her feet going from under her. In speaking of the hop crop the Maidstone Journal says that it must of necessity be a late hop picking, and this means always an unsatisfactory hop picking. From what can be seen of the various districts, it seems probable that the hops will not have all been picked by the first week in October. The restoration of Strasburg Cathedral is reported to be making satisfactory progress, and to be now approach- in completion. Fourteen statues of German emperors and kings, from King Pepin down to the Emperor Henry IY., are to be added to the sculptural embellishments. Lord Russell has requested his name to be added to the list at noblemen and gentlemen who have expressed their opinion that the National Society should send an equal number of ambulances to the Russian and Turkish armies. An appeal for funds in support of Jewish and Bul. garian fugitives who have been driven from their homes to Adrianople has been made by the Adrianople British Com- mittee. Upwards of twelve th,ous3Ild of thes-e fugitives have anived at that town, and any subscriptions which should be sent to the Committee through the Imperial Ottoman Bank win be distributed to aU in need, irrespective of creed. Among the subscriptions already reeejVed is one of £500 from Baron de Rothschild. Surgical science has won a great triumph. Dr. BOlll1a1ont, the French aurist, hab done for deaf persons what oculists have long, done for persons blinded by cataract. A girl suffering from obstinate deafness had her tympanum trephined by means of a trocar, and an accompanying can- nala, provided with small wings, which could be pushed about ad libitum was left in the tympanum. The patient was then enabled to hear perfectly well. This is one of the greatest of modern surgical triumphs. Court Journal. On Monday a mad dog ran into a school at Chelms- ford while the children were assembled, and was not driven out until it had bitten four of the scholars, three boys and a girl, wno were immediately taken home and attended by doctors. The animal was pursued for some distance, and ultimately killed It had been fighting with several other dogs in the town, some of which have been destroyed. The local magistrates have issued an order requiring all dogs to he kept under proper control. Colonel Valentine Baker has now received the rank of Siva. or General of Brigade in the Turkish service, and has, consequently, the tItle of Pasha. He will be under the orders of the Minister of Police, and will be charged with the reorganisation of the gendarmerie or mounted police. His contract with the Porte was signed on the 10th. Baker Pasha will receive 200 liras a month (about £2,000 a year), and his engagement is for three years, commencing from the 23rd ult. B e will have several English officers under him as inspectors of districts and for other purposes. In London, on Monday evening, Bishopsgate-street was the scene of an exciting- incident. A medical man en- tered a house to visit a patient, leaving his horse and phaeton outside in charge of his coachman, and had scarcely left when a horse attached to aliglltvan came galloping furiously from the direction of the Bank of England, and before the driver, who had evidently lost control over the animal, was able to prevent it the shaft of the van entered the chest of the doctor's horse. In the struggle that ensued both horses And vehicles, together with their occupants, were dashed on to the pavement, causing a deal of alarm. Finally the' animals swerved into the road, where the injured horse fell dead. The passenger traffic was very great at the time but, beyond the death of the horse, there is no other casualty to record. The official agricultural statistics for Ireland for the year show an increase of land under crops of all heads to the extent of 58,684 acres. The increase under wheat is 23,619 acres: under barley, -5,109 acres: cabbage, 9,839 acres; vetches and rape, 4,561 acres; and under meadow and clover, 6-1,040 acres. The crops in which there is a decrease are oats, 15,468 acres potatoes, 9,194 acres; turnips, 8,436 acres; other green crops, 1,738 acres; and flax, 9,576 acres. As regards live stock, there is an Increase of 18,578 horses and mules, 1,577 asses, 42,957 pigs and a decrease in cattle of 121,413, in sheep of 19,979, and in poultry 68,974. .i! Her Majesty has conferred upon Captain Tyler late chief inspector of railways, the honour of knighthood in recognition of the eminent services* rendered by him during the many years he held that appointment. In a speech at the dinner of the college alumni on the Pacific coast of San Francisco, Major-General McDowell said You, gentlemen, are those who make wars we oi the army fight to make peace." We are enabled ,te state that all the statements to the effect that Midhat Pasha had asked permission of the Sultan to return to Constantinople are totally devoid of foundation.— Whitehall Review. Mr. H. Gibson, Clerk of the Peaca for Essex, writes to The Times:—" I am directed by a committee of Justices to call your attention to the fact that the close time under the Wild-fowl Preservation Act, 1876, as varied for this county by the Secretary of State's order, will run from the 15th of March to the 1st of August in each year. The declared value of wheat imported in the last seven months was £17,329,444, and in the like period of 1876, £14,H77,161. The Boston Joiurn&l of Chemistry says :—Good authorities condemn the use of the poisonous Paris-green for the destruction of potato bugs, and suggest carbolate of lime instead. They say that the latter is equally fatal to the bugs, while it is harmless in other respects. Farmers will do well to give it a trial. The preliminary programme ?f the annual meeting of the Social Science Association is now complete. The special questions to be discussed have been selected and will be taken on three days of the congress, the two re- maining days being devoted to papers on other subjects coming within the scope of the various departments. The congress will be presided over by the Earl 01 Aberdeen, who will inaugurate the proceedings with an address. A suite of apartments for the sons of the Prince of Wales and their tutors and attendants has been prepared at Devonport Dockyard, at a cost of £2,421, exclusive of furni- ture, to be fitted on board the Britannia, cadet ship at Dart- mouth. Thev are to be completed and furnished by Sep- tember 2, and will occupy nearly the whole of the vessel's poop. A large gathering of the South Yorkshire miners took place at Barnsley on Monday, when resolutions were adopted in favour of household suffrage and trades unions, and regretting the recent recommendations of the Select Committee on the law of compensation for injury to work- men. Mr. William Lovett, almost the last of the Char- tists, was buried on Monday at Highgate Cemetery. After a short service. Mr. G. J. Holyoake briefly addressed the mourners, bearing high testimony to the independence, integrity, and purity of Mr. Lovett s life. The deceased was in his 78th year, having been born in 1800. Large number of whales have been daily seen off the shores of Caithness during the last ten days. Another indication of the presence of herrings on this coast ts the sight of enormous numbers of sea-fowl. At a meeting of Lancashire and Yorkshire butcher? held at Hudderstield, on Monday, it was resolved to appoint a deputation to the Government, asking that the recom- mendations of the Cattle Plague Commission with regard to the importation of Foreign cattle should not be carried out, The Pope has sent a long and affectionate letter to Prince Aipadeus, in which he rejoices with him that Divine Providence has seen fit to preserve him from the serious peril to which he was recently exp6sed, and expresll6s hill hope that the Prince's life may long be spared for the good of his children and of his country. A meeting was held in London, on Monday, at the Westminster Palace Hotel, to make arrangements for a public demonstration against the conduct of Russia in the present war. Mr. R. Dawson, and afterwards Lord Stratheden and Campbell, presided. A resolution was carried to hold another meeting in Exeter Hall with a similar object, and also to call oùEnglish statesmen to inter- fere for the prevention of further useless bloodshed and for the protection of British interestl. A cpmmitte was ap- pointed to carry out the project. A pilgrimage of 4,200 people left Paris on Wednes- day night in last week, for Notre d'Auray. The Cardinal Archishop of Paris had preceded 'hem on Wednes- day afternoon. A return has been published showite that the receipts for naval prize, bounty, salvage, and oll:ter moneys, exclusive of the slave and tonnage bounty, between April 1, 1876, and March 31, 1877, was £70,484 Is. Id., an) the ex- penditure £15,482 4s. 7d., leaving a balance of £55,W,16s. 6d, The following vessels were despatched by the Agent General for New Zealand during the month of Jutj:— The Waitangi, from Plymouth to Canterbury, with 158 emigrants; the James Nicol Fleming, from the Clyde Otago, with 248; the Wairoa, from Plymouth to Wel- lington, with 199; and the Otaki, from the same port to Auckland, with 213 emigrants, making a total of 918 emi- grants for the month.—Five vessels will be deupatchedi during the present month from Plymouth and the Clyde, to be followed by others during the months of September, October, and November. The Philadelphia correspondent ef a London dbn- temporary telegraphs a report that the Turkish agents in New York are clandestinely recruiting troops for Turkey, offering them a free passage with three months' advance pay. No regular recruiting office is established, nor is any- thing done which the Government here can object to. Men who served in the American war are preferred, and officers engaging to serve are allowed to hold the rank which they acquired in the United States. The Dean of Banger, preaching on Sunday in the cathedral of that city, warned the nation against the spirit of indifference which was rampant in the present day, and predicted that if the country persisted in worshipping God's creatures in preference to the Creator himself, a time of drought would again inevitably come. Private letters from Russia describe the spread of A dangerous feeling, a bitter animosity towards the Czar and the Grand Dukes, at whose door the people are inclined to lay the recent military disasters. It the Grand Dukes had let the generals alone, folk say, in whispers that gradually grow louder, there would have been no battle of Plevna.— Mayfair. There was quite an interesting episode in one of the New York courts the other day. Just as a suit for breach of promise of marriage was about to be commenced it was announced that the parties had become reconciled, and the presiding judge exercised an agreeable part of his functions by performing the marriage ceremony. A blue book of 382 pages has been issued relating to the slave trade. The dates of the despatches range from the latter part of the year 1875 to the end of 1876. A large number of the despatches are occupied with the reports of of the seizure and condemnation of Zanibar Slave vessels- There is also a despatch from Lord Derby, dated October 84, 1876, calling the attention of the United States Government, to the proceedings of Mr. Stanley in Central Africa, as appearing to be little calculated to promote civilsBtion there, or win the the good will of the natives tribes towards day travellers who have that object in view." A companion to the Colorado beetle has manifested itself isi an anonymous insect just discovered in Hungary, Istria, and other Austrian provinces. Its special weakness is for maize. Nearly five hundred fields of maize are said to have been attacked by the enemy. It attacks the crown of the root of the maize plant, whereupon the plant turns yellow, sickens, and bears no fruit.—Mayfair. American papers state that advices which reached San Francisco on the 26th of July by the steamer City of New York, from Australia, contain an extract from the Fiji Times of June 15, which says news has been received that the American flag has been hoisted at Samoa and allegiance formally tendered to the United States. Earl Russell celebrates on Saturday his 85th birth- day. It is 64 years since he first entered Parliament as member for Tavistuck, and 31 since he assumed his first premiership.— Mayfair. T'n Chancell6r ef the Exchequer acknowledges in 1 he Times: (as Conscience Money), the receipt of a £ 10-note from S. M. J. and the First half ofa £ 5-note from X," for Income-tax. An inquest has been held at Chelmsford on the body of Bartlett Sanders. The deceased's father deposed to the youth falling down in a fit and biting and groaning, and Mrs. Berry deposed that the deceased had shownher a wound on his thumb, which he said had been bitten by a dog. Dr. Nicholls stated that the symptoms exhibited were like those of epileptic convulsions, but they would would not yield in the ordinary way to chloroform. There were no evidence shown by the post mortem examination to account for death, which he was sure was caused by acute hydrophobia. A verdict to that effect was returned. There has been a large increase in fresh or slightly salted beef imported. This year the value was £921,490, and lust year in the same period £141,336. The health of Dean Stanley, who is now in Scot- laud, has been in an alarming state, but last night it was stated that he had almost entirely recovered.—Monday's Tunes. Mi. Randolph Mackenzie and Mr. Benyon, Chob- ham, Surrey, arrived at Glenmuick, Ballater, on Sunday morning, having travelled the entire distance from London, each carrying in a knapsack for himself his own light change of clothes. By the route they selected the distance is 520 miles, which they accomplished in 19 days. I see there were 3,200 French officers killed or pen- sioned off on account of wounds in the war with Germany seven years ago. That is about half the number of officers on full pay in the whole British army.—The WOT. It was recently stated by a Berlin paper that the French Government had resolved to proclaun a state of siege at the period of the elections. Two of the French Clerical papers speak in favour of the measure. The Defense says it is natural that the Government should be forced to meet by a state of siege the fierce and unconstl- tutional war waged against it hy the Radicals. The Universe says that the stage of siege is necessary in order at the electors may be able to vote freely. The New York Correspondent of the Daily News telegraphs that the movement among the working men of Ohio for the establishment of a new political party is taking formidable proportions. A convention of delegates from various States in which the Socialist element prevails has assembled at Cincinnati, and preparations are making for a larger convention to he held shortly. Rumours of an impending general strike among the locomotive engineers had created a great deal of uneasiness, but they had been contradicted. About a thousand Artillery Volunteers arrived at Shoeburyness on Saturday and Sunday from Scotland, Lan- cashire, Northumberland, Yorkshire, Shropshire, Worces- tershire Lincolnshire, Kent, &c. On Sunday morning they attended Divine service in the,large mess tent, where the garrison chaplain preached the sermon. On Tuesday, Mr. Carter held an inquiry at the "JoIJy Gardeners," Mortlak\1, touching the death of Richard Michael Bonner, 16 years of age. It appeared from the evij dence that three weeks ago deceased was scratched by a puppy, five months old. On Wednesday in last week he com- plained of illness. Medical aid was called, and deceased then foamed at the mouth and beeame very violent. Death ensued two days afterwards from hydrophobia. Verdict, Death from Hydrophobia." The Mark Lane Express of Monday night remarks upon the recent "abnormal" weather as being very unfavourable to the growth of fine wheat. In some districts in the home counties, where a good yield might have been expected, the plant is thin OIl the ground, and the ears show signs of blight and mildew. Harvest operations will be protracted, and the result "scarcely encouraging." Barley has certainly benefited from the rain, but potatoos have somewhat suffered. A person was recently sent to a bank for the pur- pose of drawing money. Two men stood near the place where he was counting over the amount he had received, some six hundred pounds. On of the men remarked to him, You've dropped a five-pound note," pointing to a paper on the floor. "All right, sir," was the reply; "I'll just put nîJ" foot on it for the present," which he did, and continued counting his money. It was not till f?e sharpers learned that they were trying their game on a smart fellow that they informed him that the five-pound note was dropped by one of them. Any thoughtless person would have stooped for the note, and in probability have lost the best part of the six hundred pounds,-Court Journal. It seems now to be generally admitted that the late strikes nmong the stokers and brakesmen on the American "ail ways owed their riotous and destructive charac- ter to an element outside the immediate circle of the dis alt'ected classes. Knots of violent Socialists in the disturbed centres, having no direct connection with the pending labour dispute, seized the opportunity of applying a match to the combustible materials made ready to their hand, in the hope that the movement might develop into a universal war between capital and labour throughout the States.—Daily Telegraph. In London, on Monday, at the Mansion-house, Mr. Greshsun, the Chief Clerk of the Court, addressing the pre- siding magistrate, who happened to be :Mr, Alderman Finnis, said it was his pleasing duty to be able to inform him that there was not a single charge nor a summons of any kind for hearing; and, that being so, he had to present him with a pair of white kid gloves on the occasion, in accordance with a time-honoured usage there. Mr. Alderman Finnis, in reply, said he was very glad to hear the announcement, indi- cating as it did, a growing respect for the Sunday, and con- trasting favourably with the time when he had the honour to fill the office of Lord Mayor He also bore testimony, from his personal knowledge of the country round Wan- stead, in which he resided, to the vasily improved be- haviour there of the working classes who resorted thither in immense numbers every Sunday for fresh air and re- creation.

A correspondent of the Seotsman at Ottawa writes —Despite the swarms of Colorado beetle with which the Dominion has been visited this summer, the potato crop bids fair to be one of the largest and best ever known. Great exertions have been put forth to keep down the ravages of the scourge, both by handpicking the beetle and by a liberal use of Paris green, the only known weventive of its ravages. By these means the insect Has be"fcn kept within bouAds, and it is--expected that within another year it will, like the currant worm which was so terribly destruc- tive a few years ago, be entirely under control. The weather is now excessively warm, and maize and other grains are fast assuming the golden hue of harvest. The long drought of the spring had a very bad effect on the grass lands, and as a consequenca the hay crop is light and scant. Cattle are being raised in extra quantities this year with a view to shipment, the meat trade proving so successful a venture. Grazing will ere long be the staple object of the Ontario farmer, and the cultivation of cereals will be left for the westernmost countries of the Dominion, which, from their long distance from the seaboard, cannot success- fully enter into the cattle trade.

AMERICAN HUMOUR. A Kansas city woman fainted away in a crowd. One of them yelled out, Oh! what an enormous foot!" and the lady immediately came to and tried to kick him. A stranger arrived in St. Louis last Monday, took a look at the city, and shot himself. In his pockets were found thirty five cents and a stub of a lead pencil, which caused the coroner's jury to return a verdict Chicago editor —couldn't stand prosperity." Josh Billings writing on war says, "The greatest mistake enny woman kan make iz just az soon az her husband' haz been elekted captain 0Y a malisha company, to appear in biz nu uniform Artemus Ward once lent money. He thus recounts the transaction A gentlemanly friend of mine came to me one day with tears in his eyes. I said, "Why these weeps?" He said he had a mortgage on his farm, and wanted to borrow £200. I lent him the money, and he went away. Some time afterwards he returned with more tears He said he must leave me for ever. I ventured to remind him of the 4200 he borrowed. He was much cut up. r, thought I would not be hard upon him--so told him I would throw off iClOO. He brightened, shook my hand and said, Old friend, I won't allow you to outdo me in liberality— I'll throw off the other hundred." And thus he discharged the debt. A pious hen crawled into a Methodist church in Jefferson City, Mo., the other Sunday, and laid an egg in the contribution box. While the minister was making an earnest appeal to his congregation for foreign missions the hen suddenly left her nest, and, presenting herself in the chancel, cackled most energetically. The deacons discovered the egg when they went forward to get the box.-San Francisco Newsletter.

IIFOALLAIWOITS utclligtlttt. HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL. ADVICE TO PARENTS.—" Tram up a child in the way he should go," says the proverb but it is as well, if you want to do the thing properly, to travel, in the first instance, by that train yoursell -Jiidv. THE POPE'S MEMOIRS. —Pius IX. is approaching the completion of his Memoirs," on which he has been engaged for more than forty years. In pre- paring this work, which is being executed on an elaborate scale, his Holiness has had no aid except from Father Dresciani, one of the most learned of the Jesuits. The Pope has now handed over his auto- biographical notes and accessory documents to Father Dresciana, who has put them in order for the press. Among the manuscripts to be used in the preparation of the Memoirs is the correspondence of the Pope with Charles Albert King Victor Emmanuel, Napo- leon III., and Count de Cavour. By a special codicil to his testament his Holiness orders that the Memoirs shall not be published until ten years have elapsed after his death. DEATH FROM HYDROPHOBIA. — On Monday, at Raven den, near Bedford, the county coroner, Mr. Whyley, held an inquest on the body of a child named Arthur Carter, aged two years and nine months, the son of a labourer. The child was bitten on the arm on the 7th July by a mad dog, which was killed at Claphill, 15 miles from where it bit the boy. The child was at once taken to the surgery of Dr. Coombs, Bedford, where the wound was dressed and cauterised. It apparently healed, but on Thursday last the boy became feverish and restless. On Friday convulsions set in and grew in frequency and intensity until Saturday night, when the child died. The jury found that death was caused by hydrophobia. ITALIAN PASSPORTS.—The following notice has been issued by the Foreign Office In consequence of certain recent cases of arrest of unoffending British subjects in Italy by Carabinieri or officers of the Italian police, British subjects intending to "proceed to Italy, ornowbeingthere, are strongly recommended, as a matter of precaution, and in order more readily to prove their nationality or identity, to provide them- selves with passports, either at this office before pro- ceeding abroad, or, if already abroad, at on of her Majesty's legations or consulates. It is further re- conunended that the owners of such passports should, whilst in Italy, observe the further precaution of car- rying them about their persons." THÈ ARMADl SERMON.-In London on Sunday, at the Church of St. Mary-le-Bow, Cheapside, the Rev. Marshall H. Tine, the rector, preached the annual sermon of thanksgiving for th-a destruction of the Spanish Armada, in accordance with a bequest pro- vided in the will of Mr. Chapman, who died in 1611. The rev. gentleman took for his text the 133rd and ISitlTverses of the 119th Psalm. Projected by a great power, he said, the object of the Armada was not so much conquest as to crush out the Protestantism which had just been planted in England but England, though feebly prepared, bestirred herself, and from her heroic Queen down to the meanest subject there was none wanting for her defence. He concluded by urging his hearers never to forget what was acknowledged in bygone days, that this victory was a ruling event and direct interposition oi God for the Protestant faith and for England, and should England again be plunged in war he felt sure that the prayers of the people would again be answered, and God would aseure the victory. THOSE EXCURSIONISTS AGAIN.—Scene—The top of the cliffs at Ramsgate. Time—The Bank Holiday.— Snooks (intently regarding a party of Bank Holiday- ites on the sands, having al-fresco dinner). I say, Tooks, just look at those people—from this distance they seem to be meca specks !—Tooks (who is a native of those parts). So they are, old man and for any good they will do to this place, according to my opinion, very queer specs they are !—Judy. THE AMEER OF AFGHANISTAN AND THE WAR.— The Temps publishes the following telegram from Bombay :— A Tufkish Envoy hasarriyed at Cabul, charged, it is said, by the Sultan to ask the Ameer, Shere-Ali, to ally himself with Turkey against Russia, and that thi's Envoy has been received by the Ameer with great honours. The population have also re- ceived the Turkish Envoy with much enthusiasm." The Temps adds, on the other hand, that a telegram from Bucharest, dated August 9, states that the Ameer of Cabul, inclining^ to popular feeling, has proclaimed a holy war against the English. If the latter statement be true it will not be the populace who have decided the Ameer to declare war against England, but rather the Russian agents, who have for some time been intriguing at Cabul against Eng- land, and it was their influence which caused the negotiations entered into by Sir Lewis Pelly to fall through. MEAT FROM THE DESERT.—The Foreign Office has just brought together a most v-aluable series of sta- tistics and reports on the cattle-producing resources of each of the great countries where our ehief consuls are, who have, as a rule, pointed out most ably what coidd be the centres of our food. supplies in future. As a matter of course, in carrying out such a duty, some mistakes were inevitable, and such a one, we think, was committed when Consul Perceval was called to report on the cattle that could be supplied to England from the Desert. His reply was of necessity very brief, for he had nothing to say. Still, as brevity is the soul of wit, his answer, short as it was, must have made the Foreign Office officials smile. It was as follows: Consul Perceval to the Earl of Derby-Port Said, May 20, 181M.—My Lord,—With reference to the Foreign Office circular of the 19th ult., I have the honour to inform your lordship that, the whole of my district being desert, there are no oxen, cattle, or sheep thereon.—I have, &c., CHARLES G. G. PERCE- VAL. "Meat -and Provision Trades' Peviov. A TOTING TIME !—The evening of Sunday week was a trying time for young clergy men, anxious to give the proper emphasis when reading the lessons for the day. After carefuJ-inquiry among a number of church-going friends in different parts of the metropolis, I find that no less than seventeen clergymen laid the emphasis on the last word in the 27th verse of the 13th chapter of the First Book of Kings: 'And he spake unto his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass," and they saddled him.— Mayfair. THE LONDON B^OE-GOAT SCHOOL.-The house- holders of the borough of Newbury, like those of the town of Reading and Twickenham, enjoy the privilege oi sending a certain number of boys to' Christ's Hospital, under the will of John West, those children who are next of kin to the founder having the prefer- ence. In Newbury the next of kin are numerous, and it never happens that an outsider is presented by the vestry for admission to the school. One of the boys sent from Newbury having recently completed his term, an election hm been held there to supply the. vacancy, the proceedings being conducted by the rector, churchwar dens and overseers. The candidates were Francis Richens Bravant, son of the sub librarian of the literary institution, and Thomas Purdue, son of a carpenter, both candidates claiming consanguinity. The poll opened at mid-day, and the result of the voting was as follows —Bravant, 543; Purdue, 117. Bravant will therefore be presented to the Governors of Christ's Hospital for admission. HE NATIONAL DEFENCES —From a statement laid 1 before Parliament, showing the expenditure actually recorded to the end of March this year of money taken from the consolidated I und for the expenses of fortifi- cations, it appears that, including payments for land, clearance works, professional charges, and for the defence works themselves, the following amounts have been spent at some of our principal ports Portsmouth, £ 3,009,900; Plymouth, 21 74 044 Pembroke, £ 305,766; Portland, 2455.694; Gravesend, 2320 515 Chatham, 2273,983; Sheerness, 2360,208 Dover, 2293,844; Cork, £ 191,341. The sum of £ 392,510 6s. 5d. was spent in providing and fixing iron shields, and with incidental expenses, works, experiments, surveys, and legal and incidental charges, the total amount expended has been £.7,297,32198. 7d. LOOKING A-HEAD I-Under the head of "Parisian On Dits," the Court Journal gives the following :— D-- wanted to get rid of his nephew, who cost him a lot of money every year. All the offers he had made him about getting married had been declined under the pretext that the girls were either too young, or too old, or too bad-tempered, etc. In despair, D went to a matrimonial agent in order to have a large choice. He was of course quite welcomed by the- agent, who showed him his register and photographs of some of his clients. The surprise of the dear uncle is impossible to describe when he discovered his own wife's likeness. Nearly out of his mind, he goes home and sternly de- mands an explanation. I can't deny the fact," the wife said gently, but it was last year, my dear, when you had been given up by FIT the doctors." Hem I SHAM WARFARE.—A remarkable invention (so a correspondent informs u is about to be patented by an eminent firework firm for the use of any future autumn manoeuvres. In stage language it may be described as an application of "property ammunition t, the purposes of war, and it seeks to establish a per- fect analogy between tactics and fencing. By means of this discovery two opposing forces will be enabled to pink one another at the present ranges with "practicable" bullets, cannon balls, and shells, which, bursting harmlessly, d la soap-bubbles, as they strike, will determine the exact amount of the casualties. It is thought that if rival cavalrymen and their steeds were only encased in buckram armour inflated with air, so tftat they might impact without injury in the charge, nothing more could be desired, as the invention retains all the old fire, noise, and amoke, and is, of cour, e, applicable to "minor tactics. "-Army and Navy Gazette. THE PLACE WHERE THE SUN JUMPS A DAL- Chatham Island, lying off the coast of New Zealand, in the South Pacific Ocean, is peculiarly situated, as it is one of the few inhabitable points of the globe where the day of the week changes. It is just on the line of demarcation between dates. There high twelve on Sunday, or Sunday noon, ceases, and tn- stantly Monday meridian begins. Sunday comes into a man's house on the east side, and becomes Monday by the time it passes out the western door. A man sits down to his noonday dinner on Sunday, and it is Monday noon before he finishes it. There Saturday is Sunday and Sunday is Monday, and Monday be- comes suddenly transferred into Tuesday. BREEB OF HORSES IN FRANCE.—The Patrie says:- The question of the exportation of horses from France greatly excited the public two years ago. The con- stantly increasing number of animals leaving the country caused some uneasiness, in connection with the mounting of the cavalry. The Minister of Agri- culture and Commerce desired to collect full informa- tion on the subject, in order to calm the fears which at first seemed quite natural.. A report which has just been addressed to him shows that, during the five years comprised between 1865 and 1869, the average of importations was 14,438 horses, and the exportations 9,565. If now, leaving aside 1870, we take the period 1871-76, we find that the averages were, imports 14,972, and exports 18,191. Those figures evidently prove that the exportation has increased during the last few years. This augmentation corresponds precisely with the moment when ideas of prohibition began to? be entertained, in presence of the cofhbined1 purchases of Germany and England; but the report says that no reason for alarm exists, for breeding has; received in France an impulse, and those exports, howeyer-large, far from causing any perturbation in the market, on the contrary, give a useful encouragement to pro- duction in the principal centres by procuring remunera- tive prices. A JOURNALIST'S LABOURS.—A French journalist has made* the following very interesting computation of a journalist's travauxforcSs(says Mayfair). Hesaysthat a journalist, who writes daily 200 lines, attains 6,000 lines per month, 72,000 lines per annum, and in thirty years, 2,160,000 lines. As 6,000 lines make a respectable volume, the journalist thus furnishes 12 volumes in the year, and 360 volumes during a career of 30 years. If you reckon 86 letters per Hne, he traces in his 2,160,000 lines no less than 108 million letters. Assuming that 10 lines are one metre long, he has covered with his prose a space of 216,000 metres, or 54 leagues. RINGS AND RING-BONES.—A correspondent from a neighbouring station sends us the following (says the Himalaya Chronicle):—A gentleman here, who owns a valuable race-horse called Saturn, telegraphed to a vet. named Poison to come and look at Saturn's ring bones. The telegraph man, however, appears to have understood more abomt astronomy than horses, and telegraphed to Mr. Pogson, the astronomer at Madras, Look at Saturn's rings," and he, as a matter of course, began to study the planet Saturn through his telescopes, and has given the result of his observations, which is now going the round of the press. SCOTCH AND IRISH PEERAGE.—A return has been issued of the present state of the Irish and Scotch Peerage, showing what Peerages have become extinct since the union of those countries with England, and what extinet Peerages are now represented by inferior titles; the number of Scotch and Irish Peers without seats in Parliament; and the roll of English, United Kingdom, Scotch, and Irish Peerages at the respec- tive dates of union and at the present time also the number of Irish Peerages created since the union; and the number of British Peerages conferred on Irish and Seotch Peers and the years in which they were granted. HOLY BASIh-Dr. George Birdwood writes in the Academy :—" The most sacred plant in the whole indigenous mcReria medica of India is the Tulsi or Holy Basil (Ocymum sanctum), sacred to Krishna, and called after the nymph Tulasi, beloved of Krishna, and turned by him into this graceful and most fragrant plant. She is, indeed, the Hindu Daphne. The plant is also sacred to Vishnu, whose followers wear necklaces and carry rosaries (used for counting the number of recitations of their deity's name), made of its stalks and roots. For its double sanctity it is reared in every Hindu house, where it is daily watered and worshipped by all the members of the household. No doubt also it was on account of its virtues in disinfecting and vivifying malarious air that it first became inseparable from Hindu houses in India as the protecting spirit or Lar of the ftimily. In the sDeocan viHages the fair Brahiminee mother may be seen early every morning, after having first ground the corn for the day's bread, and performed her simple toilet, walking with glad steps and waving hands round and round the pot of Holy Basil, planted on the four-horned altar built up before each house, invoking the blessings of Heaven on her husband and her children—praying that is, for less carbonic acid, and ever more and more oxygen. The scene always carries one back in mind to the life of ancient Greece, which so often is found to still live in India, and is a perfect study at once in religion, in science, and in art." LANDLORDS AND TENANTS.—The Spectator had an unpleasant article the other day on the relations of landlord and tenant (says the Court Journal), Our contemporary says that tenants cannot be found for large farms without a considerable abatement of rent. The rise of wages, though first felt by the farmer, could not fail to be brought home to the landlord before long, and as prices are virtually fixed by free trade, rents will have to be adjusted to the steady and lower range which will hereafter rule the market. The world's price for wheat will be England's price, and soon for meat also but there is no reason why lands should go out of cultivation as some pretend to believe. The Spectator thinks that landlords will have to break up large farms, and he oonsiders that things are better in Devonshire than in the Midland and Eastern Coun- ties because the farms are smaller here. For a true practical knowledge of thrift the Devonshire small farmer may be backed against creation, and "the more there be of that sort," as they would say, the better for the State. They reared large families in habits of never-tiring work, and sent into the towns the best of domestic servants and the steadiest of working men when the family had to turn out into the world. A BRAVE OFFICER.—A Military Correspondent of The Times writes :—While at Aplakovna a story was told me by Prince Nicholai which deserves to be recorded* The day before a young officer in his regi- ment was ordered to go to Selvi and destroy the tele- graph there with half a squadron of- Hussars. He found the telegraph office under charge of about 150 Turkish Infantry, whom he at once ordered to lay down their arms. On the contrary, they began to fire when he rode at them, pistol in hand, with threatening gestures, and by sheer force of command caused them to do as he bade them, as if they had been quelled mutineers. He ordered them to move away from their arms, and they did so. He then destroyed the wires and took possession of the instrument, and, as he carried it away, told the Turk- ish soldiers that if they behaved ill or took their arms before he was distant he would return and destroy them. They obeyed to the letter. CASTE AND CIVILISATION.—Caste and civilisation have lately come into conflict on the Punjab frontier, at the municipal station of Edwardesabad, so named after the great and good Sir Herbert Edwardes. To meet a "water famine "the town well was fitted up with new gear, made chiefly of indiarubber. The parched Hindoos flocked to the fountain, but refused to touch the water. Even their Mahomedan neigh- bours began to dread it, although caste is nothing to them. As day after day passed, and the terrible frontier heat increased, the municipal com- mittee held a solemn conclave on the subject. It was soon discovered that the indiarubber bands and vessels were made of elephant's skin, and were there- fore defiling. Repeated popular lessons on the sub- ject failed to convince the Hindoos that the substance exuded from their own trees, and was merely a pre- pared vegetable. At last a compromise was arrived at. The question of science was referred to Benares, the holy city, and to the most learned Brahminican pundit there. When last I heard of the case, the thirsty Hindoos still awaited a reply, but the annual monsoon had begun to deluge them, and tiiey still in- clined to the elephant's leather theory!—Mayfair. THE LAVOISIER MEDAL.—The Chemical News say- that the Lavoisier Medal of the Société d'Encourages ment pour l'Industrie Nationalehas just been given to an Englishman, Mr. Walter Weldon, F.R.S.E. In presenting it, M.Dumas congratulated Mr. Weldon upon having cheapened every sheet of paper and every yard of calico made in the world and at the meeting at which the presentation teok place Professor Lamy stated that whereas at the date of the introduction of Mr. Weldon's invention, seven or eight years ago, the total bleaching powder made in the world was only about 55,000 tons per annum—it was now over 150,000 tons per annum and that of this vast quantity fully 90 per cent. is made by the Weldon process. The Lavoisier Medal had been awarded only once before, namely, in 1870, to Mr. Henri Sainte-Claire Deville. The only other recipients of this Society's Great Medal," which bears different effigies according to the class of service for which it is given, are Ferdinand de Lesseps, Boussingault, Jacques, Siegfried, Henri Giffard, and Sir. Charles Wheatstone. MARRIAGES IN ST. CATHEDRAL.—With re- ference to the marriage of the Lady Mayoress (Miss Ada Louisa White) in St. Paul's Cathedral, it is worthy of note that from the 7th of February, 1758, until the present occasion no marriage had been cele- brated in St. Paul s—that is, in other words, for 119 years the marriage service had never been heard within the Metropolitan Cathedral. The cause is a somewhat strange one. Readers of history will remember that a traffic in clandestine marriages towards the close of the 17th century was continued in defiance of the law and heavy pecuniary penalties, to the great scandal of the Church, until put an end to by Lord Hardwicke's Act in 1753. That Act closed all marriages in extra- parochial places, on and after the 2oth of March, 1754, and as St. Paul'snever had any parish or district assigned to it, marriages ceased to be celebrated there. The ancient marriage register book at St. Paul's shows that the public kept marrying in the Cathedral under the ordinary marriage licenses until the very last moment for two ordinary marriages are entered as having been solemnized there on the 23rd of March, 1754, or some eighteen hours before it was closed for all general marriages. Two marriages, however, occurred in the Cathedral in 1756 and 1758, but under special licences from the Archbishop of Canterbury, the bride and bridegroom in each case being persons from distant counties, but of no special historical note. To enable Mr. Price and the Lady Mayoress to .be married there, a special licence had, of course, to be obtained through the Archbishop of Canterbury's Faculty Office. FOOD FBOIfI AMERICA AND THE STRIKES.—The late strikes oh the several American railways have had a very damaging influence on the importation of food to England. Last week there was a perceptible falling off in many of the articles of food brought from America to England, particularly in bacon and hams, many of the steamers which usually arrive with large quantities having come to hand with nominal consign- ments. There was only one quantity of American beef landed, consisting of 515 quarters, but there was not a single arrival of mutton. The strikes have; greatly affected the transmission of the latter; also as private information received in Liverpool states. that large quantities which had been placed on the railways were unable to reach their destination. This is evident from the fact that the steamer Montana, of the Guiun line, whose fleet regularly bring large consignments of fresh meat, arrived at Liverpool without any at all. In live cattle the numbers have also diminished, as only 324 were landed during the week. There were, however. 212 sheep brought from Quebec, as well as 42 fine Canadian horses. The National line steamer Egypt. arriving from New York, had on board 1.837 packages of fresh butter, and the Inman steamer City of Richmond, from the same place, also landed a large quantity of the same article, comprising, 1,884 tubs, 733 packages, and 106 firkins, all of which were kept in the refrigerator during the voyage. FRUIT CROPS.—The fruit crops of 1877 are the least satisfactory of any. Having already discussed the pro- bable causes of the scarcity, our principle business now is to record that the scarcity is a fact, but the fact is not by any means so dreadful in its nature as the papers represent it. Of wall fruits the crop is lament- ably small, of plums and pears and cherries there are few the Morello cherry crop is good, the apple crop is really large in many places, and the crop of nuts now ripening is heavy in places. We cannot, in reason, boast of our fruit crops, but bush fruits are abundant; strawberries failed only on the hottest soils, while on heavy soils the produce was enormous apples are plentiful in certain localities, though not universally distributed, and nuts are unusually fruitful. Ihus the review is chequered, but it is not so gloomy as the "gentlemen writers" would have us believe. In fact, the croaker in the fruit garden is not at a premium. He may, indeed, croak loud amongst peaches and plums and pears, but in. other departments he is in the predicament of his friends in the corn field, the potato field, the turnip field, and the vegetable garden, at a. discount, and must either hang himself on a goose- berry tree or, tell the doctor he is seriously jaundiced, which, perhaps, the doctor will discover for himself, if encouraged in the pursuit of useful knowledge.—The Gardener's Magazine. A MEMORIAL CATHEDRAL.—Mrs. A. T. Stewart, the widow of the rieh merchant of New York, is about to erect a Cathedral at Garden City, Long Island, in memory of her husband, which is to be 150ft. in length and 96ft. wide. -The spire will be 197ft. high. and below the organ and robing room, a mortuary chapel and crypt will be prepared for Mr. Stewart's remains. There will be 13 bells. Ten thousand persons were present at the laying of the corner stone of the Cathedral and nearly every clergyman of the diocese. IMPORTATION OF DEAD MEAT.—A Parliamentary return just issued shows that the total quantity of dead meat imported into the United Kingdom in the three months ended June 30, 1877, was 456,717 cwt., of the value of £1,122,062. Of the total quantity, 371,408 cwt. came from the United States, 47,175 cwt. being preserved meat, and 32,104 cwt. of preserved meat came from Australia. From other countries the quantities imported were :—Canada, 12,382 cwt. Germany, 9,586 cwt. (chiefly salted pork) Holland, 8,921 cwt. (chiefly fresh mutton); France, 6,737 cwt. (chiefly preserved meat); Denmark, 5,966 cwt. (chiefly salted pork) Belgium, 5,313 cwt. (chiefly preserved meat); Uruguay, 3,696 cwt. (preserved meat); and other countries, 604 cwt. The total quantities of the different kinds of meat imported are classified as fol- lows Salted beef, 65,239 cwt. fresh or slightly salted beef, 183,293 cwt. salted pork, 93,556 cwt. fresh pork, 418 cwt. salted or fresh meat not other- wise enumerated, principally fresh mutton, 20,651 cwt. meat preserved otherwise than by salting, 93,57Qcwt. How IT IS DONE.—There are said to be in circula- tion certain new counterfeit £100 notes, which, we are instructed, may easily be detected by their peculiar 'feel. Most people would not object to detect a few genuine ones by the same means.—Judy. A RESPITE.- On Saturday afternoon the Home Secretary telegraphed to Major Leggett, Governor of Kirkdale Gaol, that a respite had been granted to the criminal Sophia Martha Todd, confined in that prison under sentence of death. She wasN convicted at the late Assizes at Liverpool on the charge of murdering a child entrusted to her care. This child was found mummified in her box nearly two years after the murder. After her conviction the woman persisted in her tatement that the child died from convulsions. A memorial on her behalf was got up and presented to Mr. Cross, who on Saturday morning telegraphed for Dr. Cormack, the doctor in the case. It was after an interview with Dr. Cormack and Mr. Justice Hawkins that the Home Secretary determined to spare Todd's life. The woman received the news of her respite with hysterical sobs. A FOSTER MOTHER.—The Rev. Charles Goward writes to The Times—" In looking through Coleridge's Table Talk I came at p. 171, upon the accompany- ing record which may not be uninteresting to your readers at this time :—August 16, 1832.—Christ's Hos- pital-Bowyer.—The discipline at Christ's Hospital in my time was ultra-Spartan all domestic ties were to be put aside. Boy I remember Bowyer saying to me once when I was crying, the first day of my return after the holidays—"Boy! the school is your father Boy 1 the school is your mother! Boy the school is your brother! the school is your sister! the school is your first cousin, your second cousin, and all the rest of yonr relations! Let's have no more crying!" No tongue can express good Mrs. Bowyer. Val Le Grice and I were once going to be flogged for some domestic misdeed, and Bowyet was thundering away at us by way of prologue, when Mrs. B. looked in and said, Flog them soundly, Sir, I beg This saved us. Bowyer was so nettled at the interruption, that he growled out, Away, woman! away and we were let off."