The Brecon Reporter and South Wales General Advertiser

_-= THE COURT. THE Court was hold at Osberne during the past week. The Qaeen took frequent drives and walks in the neighbourhood, and her Majesty, attended by the Princesses, appeared at Ryde the other day, and waited on the jetty to receive tho Prince and Princess of Wale", who were on board the Royal yacht. The "Queen wore a white flannel dress and jacket, both trimmed with crape. The Princesses had dresses of the same material, but relieved with blue silk in. .stead of crape. While waiting the arrival of the yacht, her Mcjeaty observed a lady in the crowd whose costume showed that although she had lost her legal protector, she was not wholly insensible to the value of personal appearance. Her Majesty sent for her, inquired her name and the particulars of her bereave- ment, and having conversed most graciously for a few minutes, presented the youthful widow with her bouquet. Alas for the fair recipient, the flowers were Hot immortelle! THE Queen, accompanied by Princess Louise, Prince Leopold, Princess Beatrice, and the Princess of Leinin- gen, embarked on Saturday afternoon on board the Eeyal yacht Alberta, Captain his Serene Highness the Prince of Lsiningen, and steamed down the Solent to- wards Hurst Castle. In attenddance were Lady Waterpark, Lady Augusta Stanley, and Major-General Soymom. HER MAJESTY, their Highnesses the Duke of Edin- burgh, Princess Louise, and Princess Beatrice, attended Divine Service on Sunday morning at Whippingham Churoh. The Rev. George Prothero officiated. ON Thursday afternoon their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales, attended by Lieutenant- General Knollys, Major Teesdale, and suite, and ac- companied by the infant princes, Albert Victor and George, left town on a visit to York. Their Royal Highnesses drove to the Great Northern terminus at Kine's-cross, where they were received by Major Amsinck and Mr. Faber, directors of the company; Mr. Seymour Clarke, general manager; the Marquis of Hartington, Lord Royston. and other gentlemen. Mr. Cockehott, the superintendent of the line, and Mr. Vizier, the station-master, were also in attendance. A large number of spectators witnessed the departure of the Prince and Princess, who left King's-cross in a special train at one o'clock, under the charge of Mr. Cockshott, and proceeded, vid Peterborough, Gran- tham, Newark, and Doncaster to York, which was reaohed about half-past five o'clock. Their Royal Highnesses remained the guests of the Archbishop of York at Biahopthorpe for a couple of days, and after- wards proceeded to Abergeldie, in order that 'the Prince may enjoy the sport of deerstalk- ing. The Prince and Princess are expected to reside at Abergeldie till about the end of Sep- tember. His Eoyal Highness will keep his birthday at Sandringham. | I'he horses of the Prince and Princess of Wales, with six carriages, were dis- patched on Wednesday from Euston-square for Scot- land. The great event of the week in commemoration with the Royal visit was the volunteers of the North of England, who, to the number of 20,000, were reo viewed on Knavosmire by the Duke of Cambridge, in the presence of the Prince and Princess of Wales, ALTHOUGH the State Apartments of Windsor Castle are closed to the public on Wednesdays and Saturdays, the Royal mews may be inspected every day in the week except Sundays, from one till three o'clock, but when the Queen is at Windsor the time of exhibition is from one to half-past two o'clock.

POLITICAL GOSSIP. THE following is said to have been the brief dialogue between Baron Eieaaoli and Prince Napoleon The ,Prime Minister—Monseigneur, either the Tyrol and Istria, or my resignation. The Prince—Monsieur le Baron, either the signature of the armistice, or Italy abandoned by France and Prussia." The armistice was signed. THE projeot of the Prussian Government relative to the convocation of a German Parliament takes for basis the electoral law of 1849, recognising universal suffrage. Every citizen of the North of Germany, 25 years of age, will be an elector. The Cabmet ot Berlin intends to apply the electoral law throughout the whole extent of the Prussian monarchy and all the parts actually occupied by the Prussian troops. As to the allied States, they will be invited to proceed immediately to the elections by the application of the same measure, liberty being left to the sovereigns either to promulgate it directly or in concert with their Chambers. THE French representatives abroad have been told to inform the various Governments that they are to be sure not to forget the 1st April, not with the view we attach to it in England, but that it will be the day upon which the Paris Exhibition will open. The feeling is that time is out of joint for civilisation, and war is on the card. Few countries, few merchants, and manufacturers, and inventors would like to entrust their precious wares to a country which to-morrow ,ma.y be at war, and, though no one can expect it from honourable France, those wares might tempt like the gold of Frankfort has tempted the weak Prussian. Mb. BASS, senior M.P., it appears, has been danger. ously ill- The hon. member, who is at his shooting box, Glen Tulchan, Grantown, last week fell into the Spey while playing a large fish, and caught a severe cold, which he neglected, and unfortunately it turned into acute bronchitis. On Sunday night he was seized with a most alarming fainting attack, which lasted for two hours, and during which he was in a condition of complete conöpse and rigidity; out he is flow progressing rapidly towards recovery. PRUSSIA, when aggrandised by the annexations, will Comprise a territory of 6,333 square mdes, and a Population of 23,600,000 inhabitants. This is, of bourse, not taking into consideration the recent demands of France for hush money,' m the shape of territory for her silence at Prussia's fillibustering. THE Pall Mall Gazette has the following :-The tranquillity of India is considered assured by the pre- sence in the country of not fewer than 80,000 British troops, required less to keep the peoples in subjection than to restrain native auxiliaries from possible mutiny. Suppose Lord Cranborne were to arm our own men there with breech-loading rifles? The new weapon ia so efficient, that then our Indian army anight safely be reduced by an eighth at least, and an eighth is 10,000 men. J IN an address presented by the grand jury of the ounty of Donegal to Lord Abercorn, they recognise in her Majesty s choice of their chief governor a high compliment to the p,enple of the province of Ulster, and express their belief that a more judicious or satis- factory choice could not have been mada. The Lord- lieutenant, in his reply^trusta that the friendly rela- tions existing between him and the gentry of Donegal for 30 years may be taken as a guarantee for the im- partial and even. handed administratioil of the Govern- ment of Ireland under his oharge. He feels assured that his duties will be lightened by the support and co-operation of the nobility, gentry, and people of the kingdom "in maintaining the law and m aiding him in devising and carrying out such measures as shall conduce to the welfare of all classes of her Majesty's A! SINGULAR notice has been given by Mr. Eearden, namely, that he will introduce a Bill next year for the dissolution of the union between England and Ireland, and at the same time to appoint a Royal Prince to permanently reside in Ireland as Viceroy. WE learn that the entrance-fee for original members of the New Reform Club is fixed at X 10 10s., to be raised subsequently to .£26 5s. The yearly subscrip- tion will be X7 7ft!. The committee of the Civil Ser- vice Club have resolved to include in the sphere of membership all magistrates, deputy-lieutenants, high- sheriffs, and ex-high-sheriffs of counties. This will give them a very wide field of selection. IN connection with the festivities at Inverary we may state, says a local contemporary, as a bit of gossip in Parliament, that it is expected, if not arranged, that the sitting member for Argyllshire, Mr. Finlay, will resign the seat in favour of the Marquis of Lorn. THE Lord Chancellor of Ireland has declared that the right of Victor Albert George Earl of Jersey and "V iacount Grandison to vote as such Viscount Grandi- son at the election of Representative Peers for Ireland has been established to his satisfaction. A BRITISH Peerage, the Barony of Bayning, created in 1797, has just become extinct by the death of the Rev. Lord Bayning without male heirs. The last Peerage to become extinot was the Barony of Glenelg, a little more than three months ago. IN consequence of the elevation of Colonel the Hon. Douglas Pennant to the Upper House as Lord Penrhyn, the representation of Carnarvonshire has become vacant. We have every reason to believe that the Hon. George Douglas Pennant, eldest Bon of Lord Penrhyn, will be returned for that county without opposition. The hon. gentleman has just arrived from Norway, where ho has been on a fishing ex- cursion.

| THE ARTS, LITE EAT D EE, &o. THE most important of the papers read before the Arcb geological Institute at the last cor-gareea will be collected and published in a volume by Mr. Murray. WE understand that Lieutenant-General Sydney Cotton, K.C.B., is about to publish a. work entitled Fifty-three Years in Harness in the Rift" Strictures on our Military Occupation of the Indian Empire Its Past, Present, and Future," which, coming from the pen of an officer of so much experience in Indian affairs, will doubtless prove highly interesting. THE Athenceum says the literature of joint-stock companies is becoming an important portion of the history of finance. The last work of this class speaks of a company whose share register is a fraud. Out of the 40,000 shares, not more than 12,000 are held by bond fide holders who pay their calls." Among these non-payers are reckoned the solicitor to the company and his clerks, who are said to hold nearly 3,000 shares among them. The pamphlet which furnishes this statement is one of the many which will be valu- able to those who are making collections of works having reference to the history of money panics. IT is expected that the statue of Sir Rowland Hill will be completed in little more than a year from the present time. EARL PERCY has presented to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution a fine portrait of the late Duke of Northumberland, who had been its President for many years. A BEAUTIFUL altar tomb in white marble was last week placed in the churchyard in Sandringham- park by order of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales in memory of the late rector. The inscription is in letters of solid lead, and is as follows M. S. George Browne Moxon, 39 years rector of Sandringham and Babingley, died 28th of January, 1866, in the 72nd year of his age. Albertus Edouardus P. In memo- riam posuit." The work is very excellently executed. A NEAT and beautiful memorial to the memory of Lord Palmerston has just been placed in the" states- men's corner of Westminster Abbey, and being, as it is, directly over the grave of the late Premier, it will serve to point out to the present and future gene- I rations the exact spot where his remains are deposited. The memorial consists of a massive slab of beautifully- polished granite, neatly and effectively ornamented round the borders with flower-work. his about eight feet long by three wide, and in the centre a large cross has been cut into the slab. The only inscription is the plain and simple one of "Henry John, Viscount Palmerston. Oct. 18, 1865." No preparation has yet been made in the Abbey for the statue which is to be erected to the memory of Lord Palmerston, but it is expected that it will be placed there in the latter end of this, or the early part of next year. The present memorial can be Been any day after Divine service, the space where it is situated being kept clear for that purpose THE private view of the pictures and works of art won in 1866 by prize-holders in the Art Union of Lon- don, took place on Saturday at the Gallery of the Water-Colour Institute, Pall-mall. The exhibition includes several works of considerable merit. Among these are Mr. Beavis's vigorously-painted picture of horBes Drawing Timber in Pioardy," which was in the Royal Academy; a small water-colour" Winter- bourne, Bonchurch, Isle of Wight," by Mr. Birket Foster; and Deborah Sitting in Judgment," by Mr. H. Warren. This painting has been won by a prize- holder in New Zealand. There are altogether 109 oil and 150 water-colour paintings in the Exhibition, with a marble bust of Hebe, a pair of bas-reliefs in fictile ivory, and a vase in repousse work with Cupid and Psyche in relief, by Mr. J. Barkentin. A reduce.,1 copy is also exhibited of "A Wood Nymph," by Mr. C. B Birch, from the marble original for which this artist received the society's premium of S600 in 1864. It is intended to give a number of porcelain copies of this fine work as prizes in the current year's diàh-ibution. WHAT shall we do with Tom R by Dr. R. K. Brewer, of Leeds, is a remarkable book, and 110 one can read it without being convinced that, it is the production of a practical man, thoroughly in love with his work; and all parents who are deliberating about the education of their children would receive assistance from consulting its pages. The book is divided into three parts The first, questions of every day occur- rence, such as, "At what age eball Tom go to school F The second, topics often overlooked, such as: "The most important era in life;" and the third, and most interesting, "Hints" upon various points, such as the treatment of Indian boys, and invalids; the payment ofechool bills, &e.

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. Passing of the Extradition Bill. In April last our chief magistrate, Sir Thomas c Henry, being in Paris, attended Lord Cowley to a I conference at the Ministry of Justice, at which both M. Droujn de I'Huys and M. Baroehe were present; and it was then, after four months' discussion, at last found out that the only grievance the Imperial Go- vernment really had to allege was the indignity offered by the treaty to the French magistrates in requiring them "to submit the depositions which they have taken to the examination of an inferior officer." The second section of the Extradition Act provides that copies of the depositions on which the warrant of arrest was issued in Franca may bo taken in evidence in England, if certified under the hand of the person issuing such warra.nt, and attested upon- the oath of the I)arty producing them, to be true copzes of ihe original depositions." Sir Thoma3 Henry italicises these last words, which he declares have created the only real difficulty that exists to the satisfactory working of the treaty. Generally the parly pro- ducing the depositions" is a common policeman, and rather than submit to the slight of having the authen. tioity of documents which they have certified with their own hands sworn to by such a per--on, tho French judges refuse to produce the depositions at all. The bill now before Parliament has been drawn by Sir Thomas Henry to apply balm to the sorely wounded pride of the judges, by allowing their official certifi- cates to be received here in evidence; and the only remark it suggests is, that if the French Government is sincere, it showed a great want of tact and con- sideration in hastily denouncing the treaty, and initi- ating a discussion likely to excite the suspicions of the English Parliament, and that, if insincere, a clause making the Home Secretary's countersignature neces- sary would remove any cause for distrust.—Spectator. Banking and Currency. It is perfectly true that the crisis ha.a been esseL- tially one of banking, and that no system of currency would have prevented the evil. As Sir Stafford North- cote pointedly observed, there is a run upon England, as there is sometimes a run upon a bank. The Minis- terial letter which authorised the extension of the Bank issues was thought on the Continent to repre- sent a suspension of cash payments, and Lord Claren- don's circular seems to have confirmed the delusion which it was intended to remove. A want of credit arising from pure misconception is not likely to be permanent, and it seems scarcely possible tbat the abundance of money in Paris should not overflow to London. It is, however, rash to prophesy the end of embarrassments which have hitherto baffled the most sagacious financial theorists. It is certain that the Bank and the holders of foreign capital are to a certain extent reasoning or acting in a circle, for ten per cent, produces want of confidence, which in its turn renders it necessary to ten per cent. The Government is perhaps not to be blamed for promising a Committee on Currency in the next session, and it is extremely unlikely that the fulfilment of the pledge will be rendered unnecessary by the production of any Minis- terial measure. It is impossible to make traders or financiers prudent by Act of Parliament, and a scheme for enlarging the paper currency would be remote from the root of the evil. Saturday Review. Further Suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act. Lord Wodehouse got credit for good sense whether justly or not is another question. His exploits in the House of Lords on Monday will unquestionably lead to grave doubts as to his possession of that estimable quality, the reputation of which procured for him an earl's coronet, and no end of fulsome piaise. Taking Mr. Froude's view of the case, it may be charitably hoped that it is the Circean power of Ireland which has been again operating upon a rational English nobleman, as it did in other days upon Lord-Deputy Grey. The time of Lord KImberley s call to agitation is unhappily not favourable to this hypothesis, and the fact that the odious, hypocritical, and unmanly cry is uttered in concert with Mr. Gladstone s and Lord EusselFs appeals to the roughianism of England, shows that the only magic, which, can be supposed to have effected those facfemaries N, wounded vanity and the promptings of the most vulgar ambition. Lord Kimberley has been expelled from office: if he can get back, what matter even though his path lie through the embers of an insurrection. Another Fenian conspiracy—another round of agrarian out-; rage—would not, in the eyea of this heartless coxcomb, be too dear a. price to pay far his restoration to his viceregal wranglership. Take them at their worst, the Fenians had the merit of discarding ecclesiastical leadership in politics, and denouncing with a violent j honesty the hy pocrisy and self-seeking of demagogues. During the Fenian excitement the agitators were dumb, They feared a collision with the people, who despised them. The people despise them still, and they dare not challenge an expression of public opinion either on land tenure or the Church question. Lord Kimberley, in turning his back upon Ireland, has shot these Parth an darts into Irish society. The contempt of every honourable man will, we trust, dilute the venom of his ignoble weapons.-Dublin Evening Mail. The Reform Meeting in Guildhall. The meeting in Guildhall had this great advantage over its predeeessors-t"t it was possible for a large part of the audience to hear. At the beginning of the meeting the hall was filled, and an outdoor meeting was made up of those who could not got in or were unprovided with tickets. Even when the meeting began to thin the hall was about three-fourths filled. Yet several of the speakers made themselves heard, even at the further end, and the people having their attentions fixed were, of course, orderly and patient. The experiment proves, if proof were needed, that it is more reasonable to hold political gatherings in places of moderate size and to make the limit of the human voice the limit of a public meeting. Even the Guildhall, indeed, is too large for effeotive speaking, and some of the speakers were scarcely audible half- way down the hall. We trash that the League, if it continue its agitation during the autumn, will profit by the lesson of the last fortnight, and spare us any more monster demonstrations. Mr. Beales and his friends have proved that many thousand people can be brought together to hear popular speakers, or to show their sympathy with the cause of Reform. So far they have achieved something in favour of their cause; but the more reflecting members of the League must be conscious that the oratory addressed to these great assemblages has not been of a high order, and even the speakers must feel that they could do them- selves more jnstice if they were discussing the merits of a definite Reform scheme, instead of shouting out generalities at the top of their voices to an indiscrimi- nate multitude. Out-door meetings have a disquieting effect on the neighbourhood where they are held; it is impossible to make sure that they will not be the means of bringing together numbers of persons who care less for Eeform than for riot and mischief. While the Leaguers are thus uncertain as to princi- ples, it can hardly be expected that they should be very accurate in the details of what has passed during the Session now coming to a close. That Mr. Glad- stone's Reform Bill was a most imperfect measure, and introduced in a manner which provoked almost universal distrust in the Commons, is well understood by everyone who has made himself acquainted with recent politics; but all the League and Working Men's Association are based on the supposition that the majority of the House of Commons, composed of Tories and Liberal renegades, have absolutely deolared against Reform in any shape. The same wildness of state- ment and violence of denunciation run through most of the speeches, but such language can have no real influence. We think the audience themselves will feel surprised this morning at the difference between the speeches as they heard them and cheered them last night and as they read them printed in the newspapers. When the loud voice, and the energetic manner, and the sympathetic crowd are gone, and when nothing remains but the naked words, then comes the test of public speaking: Speeches that do not bear reporting can have but little effect in this country, and the audience may judge for themselves whether these speeches of last night, which were so animated and suc- cessful, really add much to our knowledge either of Reform or of the working class. The only argumentative speech of the evening was that of Mr. G. Potter, who cited the industrial associations of the artisans to prove that they are capable of intelligent combination, and have that stake in the country which the Conservatives affect to consider so important. This was legitimate reasoning, and we cannot but regret that it stood isolated amid the declamation of the eveuing.-Tlie, Times.

THE BBMP DISEASE. A supplement to the London Gazette, published on Saturday, contains an Order in Council, dated the 10th last., which recites certain provision of the Act 12th Victoria, entitled an "Aot to prevent spreading of Contagious Disorders in Sheep, Cattle, or other Ani- mals," and also the provisions of the subsequent Acts to continue and amend the same, which said Acts pro- vide that a penalty not exceeding X20 shall be inflicted for any violation thereof. And the order farther says that whereas a contagious or infectious disease, de- scribed as sheoppox, or variola ovina, now prevails in a certain part of the United Kingdom, it is expedient to take measures for preventing the disorder from spreading, and therefore the Lords of the Privy Coun- cil ordain the following orders and regulations :-1. It shall not be lawful to remove any sheep or lambs from the parishes of Great Oakley and Beaumont, in Essex, or to drive or conduct any sheep or lambs through or by way of such parishes. 2. That no skin, wool, horns, or hoofs of any sheep or lambs shall be moved out of said parishes without a certificate from some person authorised by two or more justices of Essex that such akin, &c., did not belong to any sheep or lambs affected by said disorder, or on a farm or premises where.said disorder prevails. 3. All sheep and lambs dying of such dis- ease shall forthwith be buried by the person in whose possession such sheep or lambs may be, with their skins and wool, in pits not less than five feet in depth, and the carcases shall be oovered with quicklime. 4. All sheds and places whatever, and all railway trucks or other vehicles which have been occupied by diseased sheep or lambs, shall be thoroughly cleansed with water and purified with chloride of lime by the persons in possession of such sheds, vehicles, &c. 5. Every person in possession of any sheep or lambs In which such disease shall manifest itself shall forth- with give notice in writing to the chief constable or superintendent of police in the county or borough in which such sheep or lambs may be. 6. This order to continue in force till revoked. This supplement also contains an Order in Council, dated 11th of August, 1866, reciting that the disease commonly called cattle disease has now ceased amongst the cattle in Scotland, and it is therefore expedient to suspend the orders heretofore made so far as they relate to the movements of cattle and other animals and the sale of cattle within Scotland. The Lords of the Council therefore order as follows:—1. This order shall apply to Scotland only, subject to the limitation hereinafter expressed. 2. That from the 13th of August instant, and. subject to the further orders of the Lords of the Council, all the said orders heretofore made shall be suspended, pro. vided that nothing herein contained shall prevent any local authority in Scotland, or the officer and officers appointed thereby, from granting fat stock or store stock licences, under the order of the 11th of April, 1866, for the removal of cattle from Scotland to England or elsewhere beyond Scotland. 3. Notwith- standing anything to the contrary contained in any Order of Council, it shall from the 13th instant, subject to the further order of the Lords of the said Council, be lawful to introduce cattle and other animals by land from England into Scotland, provided the person introducing them has obtained a licence for the purpose from the local authorities of Berwickshire, Roxburgh, or Dumfries, into whichsoever of severa counties said animals have been first introduced, or from some officer appointed by said local authority; and any person obtaining such or(Rer shall fulfil all the conditions contained therein. 4. If the cattle plague shall break out in any district of Scotland after the 13th inst., the olerk of the local authority shall forthwith summon a meeting of said local authority, wno shall at once slaughter the animals affected by said cattle plague, and declare the place which is or has been infected subject to the con- ditions of the 26th and 27th sections of the order of 11th April, 1866. 5. Nothing in this order shall affect the regulations now in force under any Order iin Council respecting cattle brought by sea from any place whatever into any town or place in Scotland; nor shall it affeot the prosecution for any offenoe against any Order of Council before the said 13th -inst. 6. This order shall be construed in like manner as the order oc 11th April, 1866, and any violation of this pre sent order shall be subject to the penalties incurred under said order of 11th April, 1866.

EXTRACTS FROM "PUNCH" & "FUN." OLE DAN WALPOLE. AIR-" Ole Dan Tucker." I came to town de oder night, I hear a noisa, I saw a sight, Da roughs dey all out for a lark, A rioting and rowing in Hyde-park. Out ob de way, Ole Diin Walpole, Oat ob de way, Ole Dan Walpole, Out ob de way, Ole Dan Walpole, x ou am t got de brains for de place in your small poie. I went across dat park alona, I wouldn't ha' done it if I'd known, De roughs were forty-five to one, Day stole my watch, and away I run. Oat ob de way, &o. A lady chanoed to go dat way, De brutal mob dey made her pay, Dey hit her all about de bones Till she dropped half dead upon de stones. Out ob de way, &a. Dis child him pay him rate and tax, Am dis de why he got dese whaeka ? Oh, in that Park I'd like to see Massa Walpole wallopped instead of me, Oat ob de way, Ole Dan Walpole, Out ob de way, Ole Dan Walpole (bis), You'd cry out "Police" when dey break your small pole. SHE WORE A TALL SPOON BONNET. (To a well-hnown air.) She wore a tall spoon bonnet The day when first we met, Beneath it fell, in clusters, Long curls of deepest jet. Her skirts were of the widest, Her crinoline of steel, Her hose were chequered red and mauva, And lofty was her heel. I saw her but a moment, Yet methinks I see her now,: With that spooniest of bonnets High towering o'er her brow. A pork-pie hat so ti*y, When next we met she wore, A fall of scantiest measure Hung tightly down before. Her hair was like the niggers', Yet still of raven hue, And o'er it, pennant-like, behind, Streamed out a ribbon blue. r saw her up at Higfegate, And methinks I see her now, As she wheeled a p'rambulator Adown the leaf-strewn brow. And once again I saw her, No pork-pie hat was there, A Leghorn bloomer shaded Her face so plump and fair. And, oh, her hair, once raven, Was now of carrot-red, And tied up in a knob behind As lprge as was her head. I saw her crinolineless, In tiger-striped attire, A-playing croquet with a gent Who called her his SOPHIAT." AFTER THE BENEFIT. Mr. Punch. Help yourself, Mr. Buckstone. Mr. Buckstone. Sir, I usually do. Mr. P. It is well. Now, my dear Buckstone, one word about one word in your speech. Why did you begin by saying that you had "concluded to close 2 Mr. B. So I had, sir. Mr. P. Why, concluded ? Mr. B. The word is sanctioned by Webster. Mr. P. Mr. Webster is an admirable manager and a personal friend of mine, but what have you to do with the Adelphi ? Mr. B. Bother, I mean Webster, the American die- fcionary-man. Mr. P. You supposed yourself to be American ? Mo-. B. Certainly, Our American Cousin. Mr. P. I am answered. As guardian of the British language, I was bound to ascertain your meaning. Take another cigar. lJIlr. B. I will. (Does). NATURAL HISTORY. [rhe following letter has been, we suppose, inadver- tently addressed to us instead of the editor of Lxnd and Water.] Sir,-Will you grant me space to record a curious fact ? Observing that the French beans in my garden were rather backward, I introduced them to some sticks in their native tongue (supplied by my son who has begun the language this quarter). Surprising to tell, they have flourished ever since.—Yours, &c., NATURAL. P.S.—Will Mr. Buckland inform me whether Ihe harvest of the sea" is meant by the Mown of the tide ?" OUR LIBRARY TABLE. We have been permitted to glance at an unpublished collection of anecdotes which a learned society ia about to give to the world. The narratives are in every instance authenticated by the name and address of the writer, not necessarily for publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. We trust that we are not betraying confidence in printing a few extracts from this treasury of the wit of all ages :— A JOKE ABOUT HOUSE RADISH, "Sheridan was once dining with Charles II. at Cre. morne. The merry monarch had not wherewithal to pay for more than a simple biftek aux pommes de terre frites. l'fackins: said his Majesty, 'beef is better than nothing-, tough though it ba.' True, sire,' said the wag, with a roguish twinkle in his eye, but I'll trouble you to pass the mustard.' The king did not forget to repeat the jest at court that evening-" A PUN ON A WHBEET. "Vvhen Queen Elizabeth landed at Margate from the Grand Armada, which in those days plied between fferne- bay and Teddington, she observed a vessel trying to beat up Channel with clewed scuppers and three reefs in lierfore- taffrail. 'I trow,' said the virgin queen to Sir Luke Smithett, who was splicing the main brace of his speaking trumpet, 'that I wonder if she will do it." I That, your Majesty,' answered the gallant knight, 'depends on the weather'—a reply which procured for him the immediuta reputation of a wag." We have but one more quotation to make:— A BON-MOT OF THEODORE HOOK. Good morning, Hook,' said the weli-known Smith oil meeting the famous wit in Piccadilly. Yes,' said the ex- governor of Mauritius, but it was wet yesterday.' Smith laughed and carried the jest to Carlton-house." A SEASONABLE RENDERING. (Persico odi, &c.—HOE.) I dislike all yeur racket and fuss- Greenwich dinners, routs, balls, and the rest, And for rose shows I don't care a cuss "— They may go, one and all, and be blest But I like what is simple and nice- This hot weather to lounge at my ease, To drink cider-cup (plenty of ice), .• And to smoke my pipe under the trees. A PETITION TO MR. GATHOBNE HARDY. Pity the sorrows of a Guard-i.an, Whose stumbling steps have borne him to your door; Te keep his rates down this his simple plan- Don't grant relief." Then why his efforts floor 2 TARGET-PRACTICE. (By an Unsuccessful Rifleman.) As the gamester at Epsom 'a by pea under thimbia done, So is the marksman most steady, yet nimble, done Brown by the wind, light, and weather at Wimbledon.

A BLACK OFFENCE.-We understand that the Jamaica Council have determined to prosecute any persons who are found black-berrying. THE HEALTH OF THE METROPOLIS.—Much illness may be looked for about the time of harvest, which is invariably a sickle-y season. AN ENGINEERING PUZZLE.—When is a crab not a crab ?-When it's a hoister. WHY is a long-haired hired horse like a lunatic F Because it's a mane-y hack. WHY did not Sir John Thwaites lay the first etona I of the Southern Embankment ?—Because he got Tite.

The Railway News saysMr. Hawkshawcontinues to be fully ocoupied with his investigations in tha Channel, with a view to the selection of the site for the tunnel between England and France. These pre- liminary examinations will not be completed for some weeks yet. In the mean time he is inundated with all kinds of impractible suggestions from all kinds of peo- ple. The most original idea, perhaps, is that sug- gested by one writer, of sinking an iron tube for the trains to pass through, the tube itself to be suspended by buoys in the Channel.