The Brecon Reporter and South Wales General Advertiser

THE QUEEN AN THE ALBERT ORPHAN V-YLIJM, On Saturday afternoon the c- rt-moiiy of laying the founda- tion stone of a diniritr hall -MI FW the Albert Orphan A-y'um for Destitute Ch l<lr«s. sunate at Collingwood Court, near Bagshot, Surrey, was j.e'-i>>rmed by the Queen, in the presence of a larste and fa-h assembly. The Princess Alice, Princess LnU'se, Print, L'uis of Hesse, and Prince Arthur, accompanied the Queen. The approaches to the ii.*ylutn, which is situate on an eminence, were tastefully decorated with flags, ftuvria, and evergreens, and at the entrance to the grounds two triumphal arches were erected, on which were inscribed the word '"Welcome," and a third about the centre of he, braving the title of the "Albert Orphan Asylum," surmou fed by a crown and the monogram of Her Majesty. Ou the southern side of the main building of the asylum, over the spot where the ceremony of the day was to tak, place, a magnificent dais, covered by a spacious marquee, capable of seat- ing some 200 persons arm a second marquee afford- ing accommodation to an equal number invited to the dejeuner, had also "been erected. The grand ap- proach to the dais was from the main building, in which a suite of rooms had been magnificently fitted up in the Louis XIV. style as refreshment, sitting, and rvtiring rooms. The decorations of the dais were carried out by Mr. Seatou but the magnificently carved and gilt chair, in which her Majesty sat during the ceremony of presenting the purses, was provided by Mr. Harris, an active member of the committee. A trowel, bearing an appropriate inscription, was handed to the Queen, and also an address, in which the hir-tory of the foundation of the institution as a memorial of the late Prince Consort was related. Her Majesty, who stood during the whole time the address was being read, was apparentlv much moved at those portions which referred to the memory of the late Prince Consort, and at its conclusion proceeded to perform the ceremony of laying the foundation stone. Having inspected the case containing the coins of the realm and other usual emblems, she deposited it in the cavity of the sfo>>e, and then proceeded to spread the mortar in a manner which appeared to afford the two royal princesses much amuse- ment, as they repeatedly smiled at each other through- y out the process. The stone was then lowered, and the asvlum was declared to be open. A prayer and benediction bv the Bishop of Winchester followed. Her Majesty and the royal princesses then seated themse'ves on the dais, and in front of the Queen was placed a table, on which some 300 or 400 ladies, the first batch being beautiiully-attired, and graceful little girls, deposited purses in aid of the funds of the in- stitution. Each purse contained at least five guineas, and the presentation continued for a space of nearly twenty minutes. At last the pile became so great that many of them began to fall, and the supervision of Mr. Toole. who 'acted as master of the ceremonies, was called into requisition to re-arrange them on the table. It was computed that something like from 1,5001. to 2,0001. was thus collected in aid of the charity. At the conclusion of this portion of the ceremony the children and assembled company sang the National Anthem, accompanied by the band, during which her Majesty bowed frequently, and then retired, amidst loud and enthusiastic cheering, to the grounds, where the Queen had undertaken to perform another ceremony, viz., that of planting a fine specimen of the" W ellingtonia gigantea." This done, the Queen and her companions left the grounds, and a dejeuner afterwards took place.

THE MURDER NEAR MAIDSTONE. On Thursday afternoon in last week, Henry Roots, an agricultural labourer, was again brought up in custody at the magistrates' office, Mailing, Kent, charged with violating and murdering a woman unknown, a hawker of laces, &c. It will be recollected that on the 14th of June a labourer named George Glover was passing through a wood near Stoney-bridge, Trotterscliffe parish, on the road from Sevenoaks to Maidstone, when he found the body of a woman, much decomposed. The prisoner, who was the last man seen in her company, was apprehended on suspicion of having murdered her. There was, however, no direct evidence to implicate him, and he was discharged. He went on his liberation, with a number of persons, to a publichouse, where a quarrel took place, and Ellen Collins, a married woman, said if she had told all she knew he would have been committed. She was examined on Thursday, and said she had seen the prisoner at the place where the body was found in the act of assaulting the deceased, and heard the latter screaming "Murder." She was so much frightened that she did not interfere. The reason she did not disclose the facts before was that she went to meet a man named Thomas Brooker, and did not wish her husband to know it. Several witnesses were called, who deposed to seeing the prisoner and the deceased in company at various •times during the evening. Mr. Pope, surgeon, said he was of opinion that the de- ceased had'died from strangulation by a shawl tied round her throat. The shawl, bonnet, and box carried by the deceased, were produced and identified as having been on her person on the evening in question. The prisoner, who had nothing to say in reply to the charge, was committed for trial.

THE FRENCH EXHIBITION. At length the Exhibition is complete. There is scarcely a day in which there are less than 40,000 or 50,000 people present (says the correspondent of The Times.) Sometimes the numbers amount up to thrice as many. And this, although the great mass of the French working population have not yet begun to find their way to the Champ de Mars. The workmen of Paris crowd into it, but not as yet those of the pro- vinces. After twelve o'clock there is little chance of seeing pictures or machinery with comfort. After eleven o'clock it is not easy to pick one's way along the pavement that surrounds the building. After the breakfast hour, however, the French restaurants are well-nigh deserted..There is a period of the day when they are absolutely empty, and then they begin to fill again as the dinner hour app roaches. The restaurants, which are most constantly crowded, are the Russian and American. These are constantly crowded, because if people cannot eat at all hours they are ever ready to drink. The American drinks are the most popular in the Champ de Mars and be it remembered that these are not always alcoholic. In the restaurant of Messrs. Dows and Guild one gets a great variety of American dainties—solid and liquid—buttheir beverage which is in most request is very mild. It consists merely of soda-water, with a spoonful of iced cream added to it, and flavoured with whatever syrup may be desired—vanilla, strawberry,lemon,orany other. Ladies are greatly addicted to this compound, which has the fault, however, of being a little too saccharine. Near at hand is the Russian restaurant for those who like tea. You get an infusion of the overland tea, poured into a nice little tumbler, and flavoured, in the Russian fashion, with a slice of lemon. It is a mighty ques- tion in the Exhibition whether the dusty visitor who wants some slight refreshment will turn to the right and try the iced drinks of the United States, or to the I left and imbibe the hot tea of the Muscovite and, where the path divides, there is a crowd of people lounging about, like the ass which in reported to have lingered long between the two bundles of hay. ,=-

THE SCOTCH SCHOOLS. The Scotch are a truly wonderful people, both for their merits and-or their demerits, their follies (re- marks the Pall Mall Gazette). They denounce the reading of prayers from a book in their churches they utterly repudiate the use of organs; they con- vert the doorsteps trodden upon by a, great criminal into much-valued relics but for all that, they teach several thousand Popish children in their Presbyterian Door schools, and never attempt to convert them. There are about 12,000 little Roman Catholics at some school or other in Scotland, the large majority of them being at Presbyterian schools; and, wonderful to relate, the Catholic inspector himself has declared that he has never known any attempt at proselvtism in any of the schools in question. 'This fact is as satisfactory as it is surprising, and it may be com- mended to the serious attention of the English bishops, archdeacons, and parochial clergv who attack the con- science clause as inflicting so grievous* a wound upon their own hyper-sensitive conscience. If it is found practicable to instruct in the mysteries of multiplica- tion a room full of small boys or girls, one half of whom are taught on Sundays to abhor the other half either as idolaters or heretics, there can be little difficulty in associating Anglicans, Roman Catholics, and Dissenters for the same purpose under the wing of the more tolerant and comprehensive English Estab- lishment. The truth of the matter, however we take to be this—the Scotch care more for education than we do in England, and like a practical people, having once set their minds upon a thing, they soon dispose of all imaginary difficulties that in the way of their getting what they wish.

-¿¡: THE PEOPLE OF NORTH-WESTERN INDIA. The census of the north-western provinces of India, taken on the 10th of January, 1.865, reveals the fact that only 86 females are born to every 100 males, and this is true ,of Southern Asia generally. Mr. Plow- den finds the cause chiefly in this, that the warmer a country is and the older a husband is, as compared with his wife, the greater the number of male births. It is an important religious fact that there are in the province only 4t millions of Mussulmans, or one- 4 seventh of the whole population. There seems, says the analyst, to be no mock modesty among the 23 who described themselves as professional thieves, or among 321 pimps, 2,251 enunchs, and 2(j,806 prostitutes. Some 35 returned themselves as "sturdy beggars," and 974 as "bad characters." In the list we find 479,015 ordinary beggars, 29 pro- fessed mourners, 111 almstakers, 28 pedigree makers, 226 "flatterers for gain," 1 "vagabond," 18 "ear piercers," 51 "makers of caste marks," wrestlers, charmers, informers, fortune tellers, jesters, mimics, hangmen, and gravediggers.

A COOL LOT OF BRIGANDS! The Levant Herald tells the following story :If we have been silent for some weeks past as to Lefteri and his band, it has not been for want of an adventure to relate, but for prudential reasons which now no longer stand in the way of the following short nar- rative :—About ten p. m. on the 30th ult., the brigand, accompanied by fifteen of his band, knocked at the door of Dr. Sarell, an Englishman, at his chiflik of Yalova, on the mainland of Asia Minor, beyond the Prince's Islands. A precautionary glance from an upper window rendered query needless as to who the visitors were, and as the house was wholly defenceless —the proprietor, his wife, and children, a lady visitor, and one man and three women servants, being the only inmates—the door was opened and the band ad- mitted. Lefteri entered first, and after a very neigh- bourly salutation, came to business at once by saying that himself and his friends had dropped in for supper and 1,0001. Dr. Sarell made them welcome to the supper, but expressed his regret that he kept his cash in town. The robber said that was unfortunate, as he should in that case be forced to ask the doctor to ac- company them to the mountains till a messenger could be sent to the Ottoman Bank. As they had, however, already had a rather long evening's walk, they would, with Mrs. Sarell's permission, take some refreshment before starting, and in the meantime the ladies might have no fear of any obtrusive compliments on the part of his companions. Supper was then served, and both solids and liquids being apparently satisfactory, the result showed how even robbers may be mollified by good cheer. A brief search of the house having shown that there was no cash-box on the premises, Lefteá-as a civility, he said, to the ladies—reduced his demand to 500 £ and offered to take the doctor's note of hand for the amount, payable in thirty days. His own watch keep- ing bad time, he also begged his host to favour him with a couple of valuable gold repeaters worn by the doctor and his wife. As it was impossible to chaffer with so polite a visitor, the watches were delivered over and the promissory note signed, and, after profuse apologies for the lateness of the call, the brigand and his men took themselves off about 3 a.m. The affair has since been the subject of communications between Lord Lyons and Fuad Pasha, and we have reason to believe that the Porte will take up the bill, reserving its right of action over against the payee." Clearly, no other course would be possible, unless the Govern- ment is prepared to admit to the world that its new grant of the right of property to foreigners is a delusion and a snare-as it would be, if foreign settlers are to be exposed to pillage of this kind. In this particular case, however, it is clear that faith must be kept with the brigand, or Yalova will for the future be untenable by anything short of a military colony.

A SAD STATE OF THINGS IN AMERICA. The New York correspondent of the Standard gives the following particulars of atrocious crimes which have recently been perpetrated in that city :— I can say without fear of contradiction, that there is no other country in the world where the white skin predominate s in which so great a contempt for human life exists and there is no other country where all laws, human, and Divine, are so persistently violated. In this city and the neighbouring city of Brooklyn thirteen murders have been committed since Sunday morning last. Two of these principal crimes were of the sort described in the newspapers as terrible double tragedies." The other Sunday one W. A. King shot his mistress and then shot himself. The story of this crime is worth relating. King was a native of Massachusetts he had been educated in strict conformity with the Puritan principles of a genuine New England family. His father, a wealthy man, furnished him with 11,000 dols. and sent him to New York to make his fortune. This should have been a sufficient beginning for any young Yankee. King established himself in business here. This done, he turned his attention to the dissipations of the town. He visited" concert saloons." In one of these he saw a woman of the class described in New York slang as pretty waiter girl." He took her from the concert-room and made her his mistress, installing her in apartments in one of those houses where "board is furnished for the lady only." He took the money that he had invested in business and squandered it on his "girl." In a "fashionable" boarding-house the eleven thousand dollars did not last long. When the money disappeared King applied to his friends. They refused to assist him. Then he resolved on making a final sensation." He wrote a note to a cousin in this he explained his contemplated deed. Then he visited his "lady" induced her to take chloroform, shot her through the head, and ended the affair by killing himself. He had placed in a pocket a note in which he announced that "God would forgive" him for the deed. "I have tried to take care of the girl I love; to have her live a life of shame I cannot do," he added. It is unnecessary to comment on this case. It is only one of a thousand that have not reached their ending. In the metropolis of the New World it is cheaper to have an "arrangement" than to marry, it is cheaper to die than to live. Spend when you have money when you have no money die. lhat is the motto of the great class of which King was a member. Such deeds as that of King are examples, and that particular example has been already improved. One Thursday night Henry Bundy shot his wife and then killed himself. He had no money he had wasted his means in dissipation. He had persecuted and beaten his, wife, stolen her clothing and pawned it, made her life a hell. Luckily, he did not kill her outright. He selected a public street as the scene of his exploit, calling his wife from her room for no other apparent purpose than to kill her on the highway. A man has been arrested in Albany, charged with an attempt to commit murder. He had originally sought to obtain a warrant of a person whom he accused of "inso- lence towards his wife. Failing in that, he threatened to kill this "insolent" person. When remonstrated with for harbouring such designs, he exclaimed Isn't that the law? Can't a man shoot a man that insults his wife?" This inquiry was not an absurd one. It is the law. Public opinion justifies the assassination of—I will not say the seducer—but the insulter of women. The mere plea of "injured honour" is enough, in the majority of cases, to secure for the assassin the applause of juries and the congratulatory smiles of judges. People may ask—to what is this demoralisation of American society due ? Probably, to no single cause. The war bred disregard for human life, extravagance in expenditure, a, contempt for the restraints of law. But the war ended two years ago, and matters are worse now than they were then. How much of our troubles are due to the horrible transformations that have been worked in our churches, how much to the triumph of the o d feral instincts gratified in the con- quest of the South, how much to the growing love display and bounce, I will not venture to say. Not a little is certainly due to our foolish system of elections. The mob create, why blame the mob for desiring to destroy? The papers have printed accounts of the ex- ploits of a family residing in Oneida county, in this state. The members of this family (Loomis the name) have for several years set all laws at defiance. They have been guilty of numerous murders, forgeries, and robberies. The daughters of substantial farmers have been kidnapped, by them, and made the victims of the most brutal outrages. Arrested dozens of times, every one of them has been able to escape punishment either by menacing and browbeating juries, or by threatening judges with political opposition. Last winter their crimes became so numerous and appalling, that the people put Judge Lynch's system in operation. The houses and barns of the Loomises were burned; two of the men of the femdy were killed. Yet I perceive that these desperadoes are again becoming aggressive. All these things have happened in the country, and certainly the town is not much worse. But the town is terribly bad. New York is more immoral than Paris. Not a week passes that balls of the cyprians do not take place, the performances at which are so horribly indecent that one cannot even hint at their character. Something milder was the pic-nic of courtesans, at Elm Park. More than 4,000 abandoned women, raked from the stews of New York and Brooklyn, participated in this orgy. All classes of ceux dames were represented. The unfortu- nates" draggled in with their vile companions, the lorettes descended from their carriages. All the roues, gamblers, pimps, and flash thieves in New York were there. More than 300 couples of these wretches participated in one cotillon. Fifty blazing bars were open. "Champagne" and whiskey swashed everywhere over the "loud and gorgeous dresses of the Anonymas. As the day wore into night the performances of the drunken rabble passed all bounds. The scene cannot be described. The police were there and pre- vented any general riot, though miscellaneous affrays were constantly occurring. One man was fatally stabbed. This pic-nic was conducted by a regularly-organised association styled "Societas Cyprianorum," the members of which are all keepers of brothels.

FASHIONS FOR JULY. (From Le Follet.) As a very favourite costume of ths present season, we must mention the thin white dresses worn over skirts of coloured silk. Nothing can be more elegant, as the coloured lining breaks the monotony of the white without detracting from its charm. For very young ladies, the underskirt is made generally of batiste, in which case the skirt should be lightly trimmed-an insertion of black or white lace is quite sufficient the same trimming is placed on the high body, in such a manner as to resemble a low square body with a high guimpe. This toilette a l'Italienne is very pretty, and need not be at all expensive. A very elegant costume was made with two skirts of embroidered muslin over a skirt of maize silk, the upper skirt raised by a scarf of maize silk. A. small jacket of muslin with manches religieuse, the whole trimmed with a rich guipure. Another in the same style, worn for slight mourning, was of white muslin over black silk, the front trimmed with three rows of papillon bows of black ribbon, surrounded with rosettes of guipure, forming the tablier. Also, for half mourning, a peplum of white muslin over a skirt of black silk trimmed all round the bottom with rosettes of white guipure and centres of black silk. The sash, of white muslin over black, was edged with guipure. The skirts are also trimmed witbpbouillonn6s from the waist the whole length of the skirt; these are placed sometimes simply up each breadth, with a narrow lace each side, or the same trimming may be so placed as to form a train in each case, however, the buillonne should be lined with a ribbon the same colour as the under skirt. For more useful dresses batiste is much used, trimmed either with broderie russe or bright- coloured braid. The small jackets are made to match. A very elegant dress of silver-gray silk was raised at each side under an olive leaf made of bronzed silver. Under-skirt of the same, simply trimmed round the edge with a bouillon of the same coloured satin. Half high body, with plain long sleeves. This charming toilette was completed by a mantelet Marie Antoinette," forming a small pointed fichu at the back, crossing in front with ends falling over the skirt; this mantelet was trimmed all round with a bouillon of the same coloured satin. The bonnet was of fancy straw trimmed with olive leaves to match those on the dress, and a scarf of gray tulle tied, at the back. A very pretty dress was made of white chaly over a blue silk skirt, raised at each side by a blue silk scarf drawing all the plaits quite to the back. Straight jacket of chaly, without sleeves, completed by a high body of blue silk, with plain sleeves. Tunic of Cham- bery gauze with wide stripes, mauve and white, trimmed with a flounce of rich lace. Under-skirt of mauve poult de sole, trimmed at the bottom with a plaited flounce of Chambery gauze edged with lace. Paletot to match, with Grecque sleeves, and long tight sleeves of mauve silk. Fancy straw bonnet, trimmed with a bouillonne of mauve tulle, with daisies set in so as not to touch each other. Short dress of poil de chevre, white ground, with fine lines of blue cut in scallops, which are bound with blue silk, and edged with guipure. Under- skirt of blue silk, trimmed with straps of guipure put on crossways, and finished by a band of the same along each end. Paletot without sleeves, cut in scal- lops to match the dress, and bound with blue silk edged with guipure. Chemisettee of guipure, with long sleeves, made of alternate rows of guipure and blue ribbon. Round bonnet of rice straw, trimmed with a bouquet of seringa and honeysuckle, and two long guides of blue velvet. Brochees silks are worn, but embroidered silks are more in favour, either in black embroidery on coloured grounds, or coloured embroidery on black silk. For the robe princesse," each breadth should be embroidered in a separate pattern; but this is of necessity a very expensive style of dress, and will be confined to the few. Black sashes are extremely fashionable, and are worn with any summer dresses even with those of plain white muslin. Tulle is much used as a trimming for toilettes de ville. The following is a model that may serve very well for slight mourning. Short skirt of silver-gray poult de sole over one of violet silk, trimmed all round at equal distances with large rosettes of tulle of both colours, one on the other, with amethyst buttons in the centre. The casaque very short in front, fitting to the figure, ending at the back in two small jacket ends sur- mounted by a rosette of tulle. Fanchon of white tulle, trimmed with white lilac and brides of tulle. Jupe fourreau of blue silk, open at the side over a skirt of white alpaca. Small basquine of blue silk, very short, and ending with a short skirt behind under a scarf of blue silk tied at the back. Short tunic, with high body of black silk striped with gold colour, raised at the sides over a skirt to match, which is trimmed with a plaiting of plain silk worked with j et. The tunic is open up the front, and laced together with a plait of black and gold, fixed at each side under bows of the same and aiguillettes of jet. The sleeves are also laced up the back of the arm in the same manner. As chapeaux deville, the "Fanchon" and the "Du Barry," with scarf of tulle or barbes of lace, are much worn. The Spanish mantilla is also gaining favour, and seems likely to be very generally worn. They are of different sizes, some forming only a small mantelet, and crossing in front like a fichu whilst others are quite large, enveloping the whole figure. One was arranged so as to form a hood, with a bandeau of jet across the forehead and bouquet of cherries over the left temple another, worked over all with jet, was raised by a bandeau of gold and white camellia whilst a third, still more Andalusian, was simply raised by a rose at the side, and fastened over the chest with another. A Fanchon" of white straw was trimmed with a scarf of green tulle at the back, draped across the chignon, and forming long barbes over the narrow strings of green ribbon; the front trimmed with a delicate wreath of jessamine reaching on to the strings. Round bonnet of black crinoline, trimmed with a j et fringe; at the side abouquet of roses with green leaves, and others of jet. Long guides of black velvet, The chapeau mouche of white tulle, worked with crystal and edged with white satin; flies of different colours placed on the front, and on the bow of white satin ribbon placed at the side. Bridges of tulle edged with satin. The Marie Louise" of black straw; on the summit a flat bow of blue satin, with coquilles of the same satin in front, with guides of the same. Brides of black lace, and small bouquets of anemonies with gold centres placed across the front. The Parisien" is also much worn, made of crape-white, blue, pink, maize, or lilac. It is the form fanchon the crape is buillonne with tulle of the same colour, and the front is trimmed with small flowers, such as lilies of the valley, daisies, myosotis, wild roses &c. placed on the crape and covered with tulle. The part of the bonnet resting on the chignon is trimmed with a bow of narrow ribbon the same colour as the crape, and a violette of tulle illusion. A very pretty fringe, formed of small balls of beads of silk the same colour as the trimming, is much used instead of those of crystal or jet, and makes a pleasing change.

TRADE LAWS IN THE OLDEN TIME. It would be curious, as well as profitable, did time allow of it, to set down here some of the many curiosi- ties of trade, and the regulations which governed it, that are to be found in the records of the public com- panies^ of England; but a few extracts must suffice, (remarks Gassell's Magazine). It appears from the Liber Albus," the volume containing a collection of the rules appertaining to ancient trade in London, that in the time of Edward I. carpenters, tilers, masons, plasterers, and daubers received an equal wage, according to the following scale :—between Michaelmas and Martinmas (Nov. 11) they had 4d. a day, or else ld. and their table," at the option of the employer between Martinmas and the Purification (Feb. 2) 3d., or Id. and their keep between the Purification and Easter 4d., or and their keep and between Easter and Michaelmas, 5d., or 2d. and their keep. Satur- days and vigils were paid for as whole days, though the men worked till four o'clock only, and on Sundays and feast days they were "to take nothing." Under workmen in these crafts had 2d. a day between Michaelmas and Easter, and 3d. a day between Easter and Michaelmas in discharge of all demands. A bye-law of London declared that if any person paid a workman more than these prices he should pay a fine of 40s. to the City, and the workman should be liable to forty days' imprisonment. When the pestilence known as the Black Death," in 1848-1851, had made labour scarce, and should therefore have raised the price of it, a law was passed in the Oity that every workman and labourer shall do his work just as he used (i. e., on the same terms as) "before the pestilence;" and that "labourers and workmen who will not work shall r be arrested and imprisoned." Proclamations ( f Ed- ward III. directed that saddlers, skinners, and tan- ners shall be chastised for charging excessively and that fishmongers, poulterers, and other journeymen shall take no more than they used to take." Prices for manufactured articles were also fixed from time to time, thus restraining in some measure the capital with the labour employed by it, the restrictions in this case being wholly in favour of the consumer and it is just possible that in the then condition of trade, in view of the difficulty there was in the way of com- munication with other places, and the consequent im- possibility of healthy competition being introduced, it might have been as well to check by otherwise un- warrantable restraints the avarice and greed of the few from making unfair gain out of the need of the many.

GREAT FIRE IN LONDON. On Sunday morning last, between three and four o'clock, a serious fire broke out in the extensive pre- mises of Messrs. Myers and Sons, builders, near Westminster Bridge, London. The premises, which were five stories high, occupied almost the entire of the west side of Guildford street, and were connected with the principal works of Messrs. Myers on the east side by a bridge thrown across the street. The upper floors of the building were used for the india-rubber works, while the lower portion was used by Messrs. Myers- as joiners' workshops, store-rooms for joinery work, and for the machine department of their business. In the rear and at the side of the building were extensive and numerous stacks of timber, some of a very rare and costly description. The origin of the fire is at present only conjecture. The loss of property cannot yet be ascertained, but it will amount to, it is said, from 50,0001. to 100,0001. The whole of the valuable machinery in use by Messrs. Myers has been destroyed, together with an immense quantity of finished joinery work in the store-rooms. Amongst this latter was a large quantity of costly work just prepared for the fitting up of the Guildhall for the reception of the Belgian Volunteers and the Sultan, and on which a large body of workmen have been occupied for some weeks past. About 100 of the joiners have also lost the whole of their tools, the total value of which was about 2,0001. The above factory was destroyed by fire just seven- teen years since, and partially destroyed about five years back.

THE EPIDEMIC IN DUBLIN. The following is an abstract of a communication to the Epidemiological Society by Dr. Mapother, medical officer of health for Dublin, giving complete details of the epidemic which, it will be seen, are on the whole of a character to re- assure the public mind:— The author first detailed the history of the outbreak from March 18, 1866, to the present date, and stated that 63 cases had been recorded in the Dublin district, and about 13 over the rest of Ireland, as it had appeared in Tullamore, Birr, Mitchelstown, Rathcoole, and Clondalkin. The topography of the disease was illustrated by maps. In Dublin the greatest mortality, namely, 15, had occurred in April. In Chelsea the disease had destroyed one life, As "febris scorbutica4 the malady had probably been known for centuries. If it be determined that the disease be essentially a lesion of the vaso-motor and cerebro-spinal systems, Dr. Mapother suggested the term "neuro-purpuric fever." He described two types, the more grave being a lesion of the vaso-motor system, the milder being scarcely different from sporadic cerebro-spinal arachnitis. The first was indicated by chillness, vomit- ing (owing to stimulation of the vagus nerve), con- stipation but in one case melsena had been seen by him, and especially purple blotches of dissolved hsematin in and under the skin, averaging in size that of a pea. Thermometric observations had shown that the heat of surface differed slightly from that of health. He detailed One case in which a healthy woman, aged fifty- nine, had sunk in twenty hours. Prostration and extensive appearance of blotches, with some stupor, were early perceived. In this case there was the dietetic peculiarity that she would never eat vege- tables. In these sudden cases congestion of the cere- bro-spinal membranes and lungs with tarry blood was the only post-mortem condition. To illustrate the second form of the disease, a case from the report of the surgeon of the 52nd Regiment was quoted, in which the symptoms and morbid appearances were those of inflammation of the cerebro-spinal membranes. Death occurred on the fifteenth day. Violent cerebro-spinal pain, increased sensitiveness and tetanoid contrac- tions, in some instances greater than that of tetanus, had characterised other cases. Paralysis, defective nutrition, and low inflammation in the eye tunics had been frequent during recovery. In such cases the cerebro-spinal membranes had shown every trace of inflammatory action. The most rapidly fatal case of the first form had destroyed life in 4i hours from perfect health but in 41 cases the average duration was 42 hours. The mortality had exceeded 50 per cent. Of 41 cases, 6, 6, 6 and 8 had occurred in the quinquennial periods from 5 to 20, which proneness the dominant action of the sympathetic and the abun- dance of fibrin from the removal of temporary organs would explain. Twenty-one of the deaths were in females, 20 in males. No rank of life was exempt, and the only cases in which contagiousness could be believed in were two in which the sanitary circum- stances were of the worst kind. The promoting causes of purple fever and cholera are similar, for all the towns in which the former had appeared had suffered last year from cholera. If the morbid poison of purple fever was that of typhus, the lesser contagiousness would be due to the rapid death, for it is during the eliminative stages that the latter most readily spread. Mental anxiety, such as wakefulness. that among the troops who pursued the Fenian rebels, the regrets of recruits, and the anxiety of soldiers in the American war appeared to have been exciting causes. The unparalleled coldness and prevailing east wind of March, April, and May promoted the disease. Fever had been notably less, but measles was most prevalent and fata1. For the past eighteen months" purples" had been most fatal to pigs, and Dr. Mapother detailed many of the phenomena of the epidemic to show its analogy to the human malady. It had been prevalent in 1846, when the former attack of cerebro-spinal disease was present. Having alluded to other zymotic diseases now rife among cattle, he expressed regret that there were no facilities for the study of epizootics. Previous epidemics of cerebro-spinal a,rachni1is were then con- trasted those in 1839 in French garrisons, in the Dublin Workhouse in 1846, and in Dantzic in 1865, being shown to be purely cerebro-spinal,' whereas the outbreaks in the United States were, just as in the present Irish disease, of two forms, malignant pur- puric and cerebro-spinal. With regard to the nature of the disease Dr. Mapother urged that all the pheno- mena of the rapid blood poisoning form might be ex- plianed by depression or arrest of the vaso-motor nerves which especially abound in and under the arach- noid, and superior activity of this system in children might explain their great proclivity. That want of vegetable food, the cause of scurvy, may be a main promoting cause of this disease would appear from its occurrence during the potato famine, and now, when that most antiscorbutic food was so high-priced that the poor fed on bread and Indian meal principally. Purpura and scurvy were more frequent now than for many years. The spring and early summer months were the prevailing periods of the present and former epidemics, and then the potato was scarce and bad. The rich were occasionally victims to the disease, but among them the habit of abstaining from fresh vege- tables was not infrequent. Typhus implanted upon a scrobutic person would kill at once, and Dr. Mapother thought that the appearance of purple blotches in the present and not in the epidemics of meningitis in other countries may be due to dietetic peculiarities. To aid recovery vaso-motor stimulants, such as ergot, belladonna, or cantharides, were worth trial, as were also stimulants and digestible nutrients like solution of beef in dilute hydrochloric acid. Although he re- garded the disease as slightly, if at all, communicable, he had directed disinfection and isolation, but if the dietetic point he had touched on were proven by his further investigations the disease would be one of tho most preventible which we encounter.

A STUBBORN BARREL ORGAN! The Shelby (Indiana) Courier says "Organs in the churches have become very fashionable of late. I almost every church you go into you will find one th,ese instruments. A friend of ours, who lives in a neighbouring village, related to us, the other day, an amusing incident which occurred in their church. He said, to be in fashion, they must have an organ. The congregation could not afford to pay an organist, so they got a self-acting organ, a compact instrument, well suited to the purpose, and constructed to play forty tunes. The sexton had instructions hew to set it going and how to stop it; but, unfortunately, he forgot the latter part of his business and after sing- ing the first four verses of a hymn before the sermon, the organ could not be stopped, and continued playing two verses more just as the clergyman completed the words 'Let us pray,' the organ again clicked and started another tune. The sexton and others continued their exertions to find the spring, but no one could put a stop to it; so they got four of the stoutest men in the church to shoulder the perverse instrument, and they carried it down the aisle of the church, playing away, into the churchyard, where it continued clicking and playing until the whole forty tunes were finished.'

THE COLOUR DIFFICULTY IN AMERICA. A man whose father was white and whose mother was of a colour between black and mulatto, having one-fourth white blood," has just brought a suit in the Lavenworth District Court against the judges of elec- tion, for refusing to receive his vote at the general election there, held in November last (says the New York Times). The question presented was this-Is a man possessed of less than one-half of negro blood a "white male person," as described in the state con- stitution? Judge Brewer delivered an elaborate opinion on the question, admitting that by common consent the class to which the plaintiff belonged had heretofore been deemed excluded from the constitu- tional provision, and had nowhere within the state been allowed to vote. He argued, however, that when the question was raised to which of two races a person. belongs who has the blood of each, he is properly ad- judged to belong to that race whose blood prepon- derates in him.^ He accordingly rendered the decision that the plaintiff's vote was improperly rejected, and ordered that judgment be rendered in his favour, with nominal damages for one cent. This decision pos- sesses interest at this time in several Northern States, where analogous questions are under discussion. No such question can hereafter arise in any Southern State.

THE EGYPTIANS LEARNING AGRICULTURE.- It seems that the Egyptians are to be considerably civilised by means of the Paris Exhibition. It is stated that his Majesty Ismail has decided that all his chief functionaries are to visit it to improve their minds. He has also given orders that forty Arab chiefs shall come to Paris on the same errand he will place a steam corvette at their disposal for the journey from Egypt to France; and while they remain in Paris he will not only supply them with lodgings, but with a sum of from forty to sixty francs each per day according to their rank. Their attention is to be particularly directed to the agricultural machines and other matters relating to the cultivation of the earth, so abundantly exhibited in the Champ de Mars, which perhaps may result in an improved system of agricul- ture in their own country. CURIOUS IRISH CUSTOM.—The old Pagan fire- worship still survives in Ireland, though nominally in honour of St. J ohn. On Sunday night bonfires wer' observed throughout nearly every county in the pro vince of Leinster. In Kilkenny, fires blazed on ever" hillside at intervals of about a mile. There were v(f many in the Queen's County, also in Kildare il Wexford. The people assemble and dance roundle fires, children jump through the flames, and in forer times live coals were carried into the corn fields tore- vent blight. Of course, the people are not consJus that this midsummer celebration is a remnant <^he worship of BaaL It is believed by many tha round towers were intended for signal fires con- nection with this worship.

THE VICEROY OF EGYPT, A correspondent, in a letter to The Times, makes the fol- lowing ohservations From my card, which I enclose, you will see that I am an Arab. I rely therefore on your sense of justice to publish the following lines-an Arab speaking the mind of the Arabs in the interest of England. I called on Abdel K ider when he visited England, and was truly surprised to hear from his own lips, in Arabic, that he could not stay any longer in this country, giving me to understand that he expected a better treatment than he had met with. I spent two hours in the room of his secrelary-a Christian of Damascus—and I shall only repeat one of his remarks, Do not," said be, defend this people we came to see them, and they allow us to live in a Khan." Ever since Abdel Kader's visit I never spoke with an Arab who did not complain very bitterly of that reception. Now. England is to be visited by the first Arab Prince, Kadiawi Messer." Will the English Govern- ment allow him to live at the house of his own agent and at his own expense ? Was the Prince of Wales thus treated in Egypt ? Lord Derby is spoken of as the first gentleman in England. Does he allow the visitors at Knowsley to live at their own expense ? It is not my intention to speak of England's interest in the East. Egypt is not an out-of-the-way place it is the high way to India Surely her ruler ought to be well received, and lodged in one of England's Palaces.