The Brecon County Times Neath Gazette and General Advertiser for the Counties of Brecon Carmarthen Radnor Monmouth Glamorgan Cardigan Montgomery Hereford

> J A POLITICAL GOSSIP. SIR ROBERT PHILLIMORE has accepted the office of Judge of the Admiralty. SIR JAMES FERGCSSON has been appointed Under- Secretary at the Home-office, and he will be succeeded, in all probability, by Lord Clinton at the India Board. THE Germans residing in China have sent to Count de BismaTck, as a maTk of their admiration, a silver-gilt cup weighing six pounds, of elegant workmanship. THE National Reform Union have determined to hold a large conference in Manchester immediately after the Reform Bill has passed the House of Lords, and also a grand banquet during the autumn, which the leading Liberals of both Houses of Parliament will be invited to attend. THE paragraph which has been going the round of the papers, that Roupell, the ex-M.P., is at Dartmouth convict infirmary" in a hopeless state and past recovery," is said to be erroneous, as he still remains at Portland, and although in delicate health, he is able to pursue his usual occupation, that of a bookbinder, and appears to be in tolerably good spirits. His conduct is said to be most exemplary. AN Italian correspondent sends a coky of verses which was found posted on Pasquino's statue at the time of the unfortunate Maximilian's visit to Rome, on his way to Mexico in 1864 :— t Massimiliano—non ti fidare l> Torna sollecito-a Miramare. 7 II trono fradicia-dei Montezuma. E nappo Francese-colmo di spuma. II timeo Danaos-chi non recorda Sotto la clamide-trova la corda." Which, translated into English, would be Maximilian, beware hurry back to Miramar. The rotten throne of the Montezumas is a French goblet filled with froth. He who forgets the limeo Danaos beneath the purple will find the halter." SOME remark is called for by the reporting of some of the quotations on Tuesday night's debate in the House of Lords. Earl Russell compared Lord Derby to Achi- tophel, in Dryden's celebrated political poem II Pleased with the danger when the waves went high, He sought the storms but for a calm unfit, Would steer too nigh the Sands to boast his wit." A correspondent has it- He steered through Nilua' Sands to show his wit." Did the reporter think that the poet said he would steer through the sands of the Nile ? or that Nilus' Sands was a dangerous creek ? THE Queen has been pleased to appoint the Hon. Roden Berkeley Wriothesley Noel to be one of the Grooms of the Privy Chamber in Ordinary to her Majesty, in the room of Colonel John Home Purves, deceased. Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cam- bridge has been pleased to appoint Major-General Lord Frederick Paulet, C.B., to be Comptroller of the House- hold and Equerry to her Royal Highness, in the room of Colonel John Home Purves, deceased. THE Queen of Hanover has been repeatedly invited to leave the Chateau of Marienburg and the country, or to accept the following conditions :—First, to discharge the persons of her suite and her domestic servants, and to accept a household chosen by the Prussian Government; secondly, to hoist the Royal Prussian flag on the chateau; and thirdly, to allow a detachment of Prussian troops to mount guard at the palace. Her Majesty vainly remonstrated, and showed that she was residing in her own house; the King of Prussia at length in- timated, by a formal order from Ems, that the Queen must leave the country and her chateau if she refused to accept the conditions. Three days were given her for consideration. In consequence, the Queen and the youthful Princess Mary left Marienburg on Wednesday morning for Vienna, by way of Cassel. IN consequence of the large number of candidates waiting for admission to the Carlton and Conservative Clubs, it was thought desirable to establish a new club, and at a meeting held in the year 1864 at the Carlton Club-house a committee was appointed to carry out that object. Several offers of properties in Pall-mall, St. James's-street, Regent-street, and Piccadilly were made in answer to advertisements, and eventually a site in Pall-mall was decided upon, on account of its elegibility with reference to the Houses of Parliament, and from the fact of its being entirely freehold. Considerable difficulty and delay was experienced in purchasing the interests of the several tenants, but that was accom- plished in the course of last year, when the new club- house was commenced by Messrs. Lucas Brothers, who had obtained the contract in a limited competition. There will be two frontages, one in Pall-mall and the other in St. James's-square. The club now consists of 1,500 members, exclusive of peers, members of Parlia- ment, and members of the Carlton Club, who were entitled to be immediately balloted for, making to- gether a total of 1,680, and they at present temporarily occupy the premises in Regent-stieet belonging to the late Parthenon Club. The new club-house was designed by Mr. Davis Brandon, architect, under whose able direction the works are being executed. The cost of the building will be about £ 40,000, exclusive of decora- tion and furniture. «

WEST GLOUCESTER ELECTION.—At the close of the poll the numbers stood as follows Berkeley (Liberal), 3,558 Somerset conservative), 3,649.

FACTS AND FACETIIE. THE nursemaids in Sheffield now quiet cross children by saying-" Broadhead's coming." WHY are compositors like cucumbers? Because they are reared in "frames." WHY does a compositor resemble an actor ? Be- cause he's often "on the boards." AN Irish absentee is said to have sent this com- forting message to his steward:—" Tell the tenants that no threats to shoot you will terrify me." A RECENT matrimonial advertisement in a New York paper was for a husband "having a Roman nose with some religious tendencies." THE Friend of India says that owing to the heat, half the engine-drivers on the East India Railway are sick. "The other day," it adds, "a train was stopped at Hooghly with the stoker dead and the driver dying." SOME Irishman exclaimed at a party where Theodore Hook shone the star of the evening, Oh, Master Theodore, but you're the hook that nobody can bate." ANYBODY who supposes that locking a girl in a back room will prevent her from knowing what love means, might as well undertake to keep strawberries from blushing in June, by whispering in their ears about the snow we had last winter. "DID you present your account to the de- fendant ?" inquired a lawyer of a client. I did, your honour." "And what did he say?" "He told me to go to the devil." "And what did you do then?" <' Why then I came to you/' A GENTLEMAN, having occasion to call on an author, found him at home in his writing chamber. He remarked the great heat of the apartment, and said it was as hot as an oven." So it ought to be," replied the author, for it is here I make my bread." inly dear Murphy," said an Irishman to his friend, why did you betray the secret I told you ?" Is it betraying you call it ? Sure, when I found I wasn't able to keep it myself, didn't I do well to tell it to somebody that could ?"* AN old Irish officer, after a battle, ordered the dead and the dying to be buried pell-mell. Being told that some were alive and might be saved, Oh, bedad," said he, if you were to pay any attention to what they say, not one of them would allow that he was dead." GOOD, BUT NOT FOR EATING.—A wealthy bishop congratulated a poor priest on the good air which he breathed in his parish, to which the latter replied, Yes, my lord, the air would be good enough if I could only live on it." A YEAR or two ago, a northern paper, a cen- tury old, was reprinted and it fell into the hands of a couple, who, seeing in it an advertisement for a man and his wife as butler and housekeeper, applied for the situa- tions, and were quite grieved to find they were a little too late. ONE of the theatres has the following announce- ment placarded outside You are requested not to bring children who, from their age, are incapable of appreciating the talent of the artists." Some very old Paris boys cannot appreciate their talents. THE New Orleans Crescent states that a mag- nificent century plant is in full bloom at the Lake-house, lake end of the new shell road. Parties who find it in- convenient to visit this natural curiosity now will have. another opportunity of seeing it afforded them in the summer of 1967. AND ye have taken the teetotal pledge, have ye ?" said somebody to an Irishman. Indade I have, and am not ashamed of it aither." "And did not Paul tell Timothy to take a little wine for his stomach's sake ?" So he did but my name is not Timothy, and there's nothing the matter with my stomach." WE extract the following epitaph of one John Randal, a publican, from a new work lately published, called Tracts and Stories of Scottish People Here old John Randal lies, who, telling of his tale, Lived threescore years and ten, such virtue was in ale. Ale was his meat, ale was his drink, ale did his heart revive; And if he could have drunk his ale, he still had been alive." WE extract the following from the Sunday r Times :-To Correspondents Extra.—(The poet Words- worth (!) has somewhere said A thing of beauty is of (sic) joy for ever.Times.) 0 Young readers, instead of ransacking the Bard For a line (I assure you) uncommonly hard, Consult, if you long to elicit the where, An erudite echo in Printing-house-square." Our readers will remember that the line is the first of Keats s Endymion A thing of beauty is a joy for ever." MR. GEORGE WAKEMAN suggests to us, AcM) York Round Table, a method whereby the ambitious young poets whose effusions make such heavy demands on the patience of reviewers may gratify their passion for authorship without the torture of words and distor- tion of sense usually consequent upon those efforts. As an illustration of his plan, he takes the subject which Dr. Franklin once made that of a humorous poem, and sends us these "LINES, ON PAPETI. — y u —- ■ y y 1» NOVEL CAUSES FOR DIVORCE.—A distressed complainant in St. Louis reports that the first chill her affections received was on the wedding tour, when she caught cold and was not allowed to have a fire at the hotel on account of the expense. Her next shock was from a tough beefsteak seasoned with lard. The deadly stab was the husband's refusal to furnish her with a feather bed. A killing blow was his unkindness to her sisters but the unkindest cut" was his reticence at the dinner-table he did not help her to mutton chops, failed to pass the potatoes, neglected to furnish her plate with vegetables, and left her to help herself. These insufferable indignities preyed upon her health and wrecked her peace of mind, and she now appeals to the courts for redress.—Cosmopolitan. i THE following was recently copicci irom uuu v the high pew doors on leaving the church at Llandilo, Carmarthenshire Could King David but for once To Llandilo Church repair, And hear his psalms thus warbled forth, Gracious how he would swear And could St. Paul just pop in, From higher scenes abstracted, And hear his Gospel thus explained By George, he'd run distracted." AN officer of very small stature, but very hasty temper, was one day vehemently scolding at the first soldier of his company, a man of uncommon size. The soldier for some time endured patiently and even uncon- cernedly the storm of vituperation rising up to him from his diminutive chief. Finding, however, that instead of abating the rage of his officer it went on increasing, he quietly said to his next man, John, go and fetch him a stool; I believe he wants to give me a box on the ear." You fancy, perhaps, as you have been told so often, that a wife's rule should be over her husband's house, not his mind. No the true rule is just the reverse of that. A true wife, in her husband's house, is his servant; it is in his heart that she is queen. What- ever of best he can conceive, it is her part to be what- ever of highest he can hope, it is hers to promise all that is dark in him she must make pure all that is failing in him she must strengthen into truth; from her, through all the world's clamour, he must win his praise; in her, through all the world's warfare, he must find his peace. A PARTS correspondent, alluding to the display of decorations at the Exhibition, says I remember once assisting at a grand pageant further north, and my next neighbour was an unmistakable Briton of muni- cipal or parochial type, and he wore on his breast a gold or gilt 'medal, which was about the size of an ordinary saucer. The natives, curious in these things, eyed my friend's decoration with a curiosity mixed with awe. Generals, and colonels, and captains, and Court officials, and rum-looking ecclesiastics passed up and down, and as we magnify all things which we don't understand, they took it into their heads that my insular friend must be some extraordinary swell, perhaps the Prime Minister of England, or at least the Archbishop of Canterl ury. Whenever they had a chance they poked a sly question at me, but I could give them no information. I knew nothing about the medal, except that it was not the Order of the Garter, and didn't hail from Waterloo or the Crimea. When it was all over, my friend and self adjourned for refreshment, and, in the confidence of the mutual glass I ventured to ask a solution of the mystery. Well,' said my friend, 'the fact is, I am twice Grand Master of the Cordwainers' Company, and they gave me this medal to commemorate so remarkable an event. When I came here I was told I should get no respect unless I was decorated, and so I hung my medal round my neck for want of a better order.' A LADY PLEADER.—What singular circum- stances there are in real life, far outdoing, sometimes, what are pictured in novels What are the pictures of the Circumlocution Office given by Mr. Dickens in comparison with what really occur ? Every year since 1854 the newspaper reader may have seen, once, twice, or thrice annually the name of Miss Fray, who was applying to the superior court for mandamuses, for docu- ments, and orders, &c., calling upon certain persons, trustees, and others, who had deprived herself and mother of property which they ought to possess. Counsel at first were employed, and the counsel became tired of delay and were carried away by the stranger party to give up her case. Miss Fray, however, with a pluck and per- severance which one of the other sex may envy, renewed her applications in person, sometimes to be rebuked, sometimes even to be derided. At length she was as well known to the Barons of the Exchequer, to the Justices of the Common Pleas, and to the Master of the Rolls, as the most leading counsel. By degrees, instead of being snubbed she was respected though not a barrister or Q.C., she was yet admitted within the Bar, and allowed to wear a silk gown, and at last, after years of weariness, the Master of the Rolls has given a decree in her favour to re-convey to her a portion of the property she is. seeking, and which will eventually decide the settlement of larger estates. This property is principally situated in or near to Wales, and her friends and neighbours in Radnorshire and Shropshire have welcomed this decision, and at Llanverwaterdine she was recently received with an ovation which must have been highly flattering to her, after so many years of toil and labour.

HINTS UPON GARDENING. FORCING HOùSES.- Vineries from which the crop has been gathered must not be permitted to relapse into a state of untidiness and disorder;. on the contrary, keep the whole scrupulously clean. Give abundance of air by night, as well as by day, and in every other possible way encourage the wood to ripen and the buds to establish themselves for a successful issue in the ensuing season. See that no young, recently-planted vines suffer from want of water at the root. Do not pinch the secondary shoots or laterals in, too closely, under the mistaken idea that by so doing the main shoot will the more quickly occupy the space allotted to it. Pinching back shoots, i.e., summer pruning, should not be too rashly performed or without due consideration. We pinch back shoots upon trees of proper maturity, for the purpose of directing the sap into other channels in which it is likely to form fruit buds, and to assist the tree- in carrying its crop to greater perfection than it other- wise would do. It will therefore be apparent that to lop off rudely at the base any portions of a plant struggling to establish itself must tend to derange the nicely adjusted reciprocity that should exist between roots and branches; by thus pinching young trees in, the remaining parts become glutted with crude, ill-elaborated sap, and the consequence is the foundation of lasting disease is fairly established. Do not pinch any such back therefore, but depend upon winter pruning in,preference. These remarks apply equally well to all freshly-planted young trees. Should the nights continue cold, as of late, it will be advisable to keep gentle fires-going in the fig-house, as this assists very greatly to forward the trees, more especially at their ripening-off period. A little air along the front of the house at night, with frequent syringings just before the fruit has finished finally swelling, will likewise prove very beneficial. Continue to sprinkle pine-pits, &c., upon fine sunny afternoons, and by every other proper means keep up a moist growing atmosphere. See that the bottom-heat does not fall below 85 or 90 deg. at any time during this, the active season of growth. HARDY FRUIT GARDEN.—This will be found a good time for budding fruit trees in general, and especially any rare sorts of apples, pears, &e., which have little wood formed suitable for grafting. Every individual bud upon young shoots of the current season's growth, sufficiently well ripened, will be found available for the purpose. Proceed with the operation in a manner like that advised lately in this calendar for roses. When very young shoots are budded upon be careful, in tying them in, not to place the ligature too tightly around them; on the contrary, allow sufficient room for the bud to swell and grow properly. KITCHEN GARDEN.—Make now a sowing of peas of the following, or other similar kinds, namely, champion of Paris, an excellent marrow, which turns in quickly, and is well adapted for autumn use, Sangster's No. 1, &c. Make another sowing of cabbage for a spring supply. Sowings should also be made forthwith of lettuce for early winter use, for which purpose none is better than the old black-seeded brown cos, when true. A small sowing of endive should also be made for a simi- lar purpose. Generally these are sown between rows of celery recently planted out, a position which suits them admirably when well above ground thin them out to the necessary distance apart. Get all celery plants placed in their winter quarters without further delay, continuing frequently to water them should the weather prove dry. Give asparagus beds another liberal surface-salting if done in rainy weather all the better. Hoe the beds well, afterwards moving the ground freely between the rows with the same implement. Those who like to have young potatoes late should make a sowing of old sets at once in a warm situation, such as a south border do not plant doo deeply, and give them a good width apart in the rows. Plant early sorts. To. matoes will not require frequent attention fasten them firmly to the wall, and prune away all superfluous shoots immediately a crop of fruit has been secured.— Gardener's Chronicle.

FIRE AT THE MANSION-HOUSE.—About half- past seven o'clock on Saturday evening the Brigade engines were called to a fire breaking out at the Mansion- house. It arose through an escape of gas from the main gaspipes in the streets percolating into the kitchen under the Egyptian-hall. Some of the domestics ob- serving a strong smell of gas pervading the place got a light to discover from whence it proceeded, when an explosion took place, blowing up the hearthstone in the Egyptian-hall, doing some damage to the decorations, and seLting fire to the wood lining of the floor. The firemen, by cutting away, soon succeeded in getting the fire under before any further damage was done.

AGRICULTURE. --+- CAUTION TO ENGLISH POULTRY-KEEPERS. In an article upon the poultry at the Paris Exhibition, the Times made some remarks in reference to the com- parative merits of French and English poultry, to which we have thought it our duty to draw attention, as calcu- lated to do considerable harm, if passed unnoticed, and none the less because to a certain extent the remarks are just. The Times expressed a most sweeping condemnation of English poultry breeders and exhibitors, because by them "the animals are prized in proportion to their approach to certain standards of form and coloration (what a grand word !) whilst in France," it said, H they were esteemed solely in reference to their economic value as table birds, and as abundant layers of eggs of large size." In speaking more particularly of the French breeds, it again remarked that the small- ness of the bone is a point on which the French rearers justly pride themselves, whilst, 'by some strange in- fatuation,' we do just the reverse;" and, finally, it affirms that, as table fowls, the only English breed that can compete with these (La Fleche, Houdan, and Crevecoeur) is the coloured Dorking, and this has the disadvantage of being rather delicate in constitution—an vil which is common to it and La Fleche, and, though to a smaller degree, the Crevecoeur, but from which the Houdan is exempt." Now, as we have not the slightest doubt that the high price of butchers' meat will induce (as indeed it should) many of our readers to attempt ladressing the domestic balance-sheet by keeping poultry, and as the tendency of such remarks is to make the inexperienced suppose that keeping the French breeds and discarding all English notions of pure breeds is the sure highway to success-a supposition which will lead to certain loss and disgust-some caution will not be out of place. That we may not be accused of speaking from prejudice, we will fall back upon "The Practical Poultry Keeper" of Mr. L. Wright—confessedly the highest and most practical authority on poultry which has ever yet appeared-not copied more or less from other works, as is usually the case, but full throughout of instruction, the fruit of experience. It is not, how- ever, on these accounts solely we should choose it for reference, but because Mr. Wright himself has laid far more stress than any previous writer upon those very practical points which the Times professes to advocate, and has given the best practical estimate ever published of the French breeds, as was noted the other day by the Saturday Review, in a carefully written article on the same subject. Thus, we find Mr. Wright remarking, with the Times, that our poultry shows have to some extent, by the character of the judging, hindered the improvement of many breeds," and, again, "that the French have taught us a lesson of some value in this respect," having within a comparatively recent period produced by crossing and selection four new varieties, which, though inferior in some points, are all eminently valuable as table fowls." This, he remarks is really useful and scientific breeding brought to bear upon one definite object, and we do trust," he adds, the result will prove suggestive with regard to others," proceeding himself to point out, in his able and scientific essay upon poultry breeding, the means by which he considers first-class fowls might in a few years be pro- duced, of which the cock should weigh 201bs, and the hens 151bs. each. But when we come to the French breeds in detail, we find that the much-vaunted Crevecoeur is very deli- cate in this country," and not to be recommended for general purposes, whilst the eggs, though large, are not numerous, and often barren. The same may be said of La Fleche and the Houdan alone Mr. Wright con- siders well adapted to the English climate. Of the merits of this breed he speaks most emphatically, but they are already well appreciated, and the breed is being multiplied as fast as stock can be obtained though even they cannot be kept everywhere, as the hen refuses to incubate. But it will at once be obvious that first-class quality on the table is not the only thing to be considered in determining the value of a race of fowls. It is indeed the only thing to the opulent or the epicure but in a country like England there are thousands to whom it is of far more importance to ascertain the comparative amount of meat a fowl will yield-not meat of the very choicest quality, perhaps, but good palatable,, useful meat nevertheless. From this point of view we have -breeds with which the French bear no Comparison. There is the Brahma, for instance, which Mr. Wright considers the most useful fowl "all round of any, being a first-class layer, only a moderato eater, of the very largest size, and the hardiest of all races known, whilst it is well adapted to confinement. The cockerels of this breed will weigh 41bs. at three months old, costing thus about four- pence per pound, and the meat is good and juicy. Then there is the Hamburgh, which, though small for the table, yields, in a good run, more weight of eggs for the same amount of food than any fowl in the world. So, again, Mr. Wright most justly enforces the neces- sity of long-continued careful breeding before any strain of fowls can be depended on to maintain its qualities. We would impress upon all our readers that the much- vaunted French breeds have been mainly brought to perfection by good feeding through many generations, a process which would make English barn-door fowls similarly valuable, with the additional advantage of the fine French climate. But they have little intrinsic merit as breeds, and hence it follows, as has been proved again and again by the disgusted pro- prietors, that under a somewhat poorer regimen and our colder and more variable climate, all but the Houdan degenerate, dwindle away, and eventually perish whilst the hardy Brahma or Cochin will thrive and grow fat. The Houdan Mr. Wright strongly recommends, when other hens can be kept to hatch the eggs. In fine, we would remark that a race qf fowls well adapted for a uniformly dry and warm climate, like that of France, may be utterly wanting in that stamina required for such an atmosphere as we have in England We need not only a fowl whose flesh is white and deli- cate, but which can stand our wet and cold, which can be reared in spite of them without loss, whose large growth will make meat at a cheap rate, and which will return an ample supply of eggs. For these objects we need a good proportion of that very bone which the Times so despises, just as the Scotchman in his northern home has more bone than his southern neighbour. In all these respects scarcely any fowl will equal the Bialima, whilst if finer quality of flesh be desired, a cross with a large Houdan or Dorking cock, as Mr. Wright recom. mends, will produce immense fov.MS for the table of quite unexceptional quality. It will be seen that we do not object to the Tirac £ opinions in themselves, but to the unquali- fied manner in which they are expressed: We have referred to Mr. Wright's work as fa? the best with which we are acquainted; and we would recommend its perusal to all who may be con- templating the keepiNg. of poultry for the first time. It is published by Messrs. Cassell and Co. at five shillings. With this in their hands, and either Brahma, Houdans, or good common fowls to stock their yards, they will go on and prosper but let them eschew Creve- coeurs and La Fleche until they have more experience and a first-rate dry Bun for them. And though our breeders and shows have their faults and mistakes, which no one has so ably opposed as Mr. Wright himself, it is still no slight service to have maintained in their purity the different races to which our tight little island owes its possession—despite bad climate-of the finest fowls in the world.

THE PARIS EXHIBITION.—The select committee appointed to consider and report on the advisability of purchasing articles at the Paris Exhibition for the bene- fit of British schools of science and art, have just issued their report. They advise that such objects be brought as will be useful to the manufacturing industry of the country. The committee think that the sum spent should not, under any circumstances, exceed X25,000, and that no object should be purchased except such as shall be recommended by a commission, consisting of gentlemen distinguished for their artistic and scientific attainments. THE VISIT OF THE SULTAN.—At the London Court of Common Council holden on Monday morning, the answer given by the Sultan to the Address presented to him by the Corporation was read, and ordered to be entered on the journals of the court. A communication was also read from Baron Brunnow, the Russian Am- bassador, acknowledging, through the Chancellor of the Empire of Russia, Prince Gortschakoff, the receipt of the Address from the Corporation presented to him con- gratulating his Majesty on his escape from an assassin and expressing the satisfaction of his Majesty at the ex- pressions contained in that Address, which, he said, were not only satisfactory to his Majesty personally, but no doubt would also be so to the whole Russian Empire. A communication was also heard before the court from Colonel Gregoire, the commander of the Belgian Volun. teers, expressing the great satisfaction entertained by the officers and men belonging to the Belgian Volunteers, at the magnificent and hospitable reception afforded to them by the Corporation. All the communications were ordered to be entered upon the journals of the court,

OUR MISCELLANY. THE OLD BOATMEN."—Something of the same sort is pretty sure to follow our new political re- formation. An electric condition of the air quickens into a very troublesome activity all the lower forms of animal life and speculators, and nostrum mongers, and men of one idea are always excited by a thundery state of the political and social atmosphere. Societies for the revision of the Prayer-book, and anti-state church so- cieties, and liberation societies, and the like, feel that their time is come, and begin buzzing about amidst the largtr and more highly animated organisations which they so pertinaciously infest, and stinging or irritating all whom they can reach. Any one who has noted the degree to which the scarcely visible insects which haunt the gem-like islands of the Lake of Killarney can at such time madden the old boatmen, whose tawny skins look utterly midge-proof, can in some degree understand the annoyance which these congeneric swarms are ready to inflict, in such paroxysms of their vitality, on tle de- fenders of our great institutions.—Quarterly Review. THE SOLDIF.R.-In a garrison town, such as Portsmouth, the troops were at this time overworked, as regarded their duties. It was usual for a soldier to be on guard alternate days, when he had to carry his ration of raw meat, bread, coffee, and sugar, in his knapsack, and cook it in the guard-room. The system was preg- nant with inconvenience to the men whose turn it was to be off duty, inasmuch as, soldier-like, they gave their allowance of meat, or nearly so, to their com- rades on duty, and had well-nigh to fast themselves. The allowance of fuel and light for the soldier was then not so liberal as now and in winter it not unfrequently happened that he had to make up deficiencies out of his scanty pay. He was also over- drilled. Before and after breakfast, after dinner, and very often, for some trifling fault, at a late hour of the evening, he was at drill; and his intermediate time, until bed-time, was almost fully occupied in cleaning his dress and accoutrements for the morrow's parades. Now- a-day, the soldier is almost wholly relieved from these vexatious privations and inconveniences has three good meals daily, and, comparatively, has greater comforts in almost every respect. It will readily be seen, then, that his pay and pension in those days were not so dispropor- tionate as at present, and this circumstance ought to have had due weight in fixing the rate of pension in con- nection with the projected army Reform, which oversight has inflicted a real grievance upon our soldiers.—Once a Week. AN INDIAN BOY IN THE HUDSON'S BAY TERRITORIES.—I secured the services of a little Indian boy, who accompanied me on my trapping excursions, which I forthwith resumed. My new juvenile companion, Misquapamayoo, or The thing one catches a glimpse of "-for this was his name and its meaning in, the Cree language—proved one of the jolliest, merriest little fellows possible, and as active and clever as he was agreeable. His large black eyes, set in a full round face, twinkled with fun, and he would lie down and hold his sides with laughter at my very poorest jokes with most gratifying appreciation. He possessed a strong sense of the ridiculous, and a very slight mistake or failure was quite sufficient to arouse his mirth. As I. knew but little of the Cree language, and the boy nothing of English, puzzles were frequent. I displayed, moreover, on some points, an ignorance of woodcraft, which to an Indian seemed very absurd, and Misquapamayoo spent a. very merry time on our first excursion together. But although he was thus lively and laughter-loving when the occasion permitted it, such as in camp or in the hut, the- moment he slung on his pack and placed his gun on his shoulder t « pilot us through the woods, his manner changed completely. He seemed to pass from a child of thirteen to a man on the instant. The Indian hunter never lightens the tedium of the way by song or whistle, but walks stealthily along without word or sound, lest he should disturb the game for which he is unceasingly on the watch. So the little Misquapamayoo marched on in front of me, dignified, grave, and silent, as became as Indian hunter, his keen restless eyes scanning every mark in the snow, and noting every broken twig or mis- placed leaf with as clear an understanding of their sig- nificance as La Ronde himselt-Dr. Cheadle, in "Blackwoodi s Magazine. A CJIIOST."—I stood for some seconds—they seemed hours-in a sort of terrible nightmare. Just then the neighbouring chimes sounded a quarter-past 12, and restored my oozing courage. "After all," I said valiantly to myself, I am in the middle of Lon- don, within hail of a policeman, within hearing of a cab. Why should I be alarmed ? I have only a woman- ("Is it only a woman?" whispered Supernatural Terror.) to deal with. I will enter the arbour." I was about to enter, when something fell with a rustling noise at her feet. Something white. I stepped forward and picked it up. As I did so, the figure moved slightly. I was about to hand her the paper. The shawl had fallen from her face, and at that moment a passing breeze stirred the foliage, causing a bright gleam of moonlight to shine upon her features. I uttered a cry of terror; and no wonder, for there stood, pale, melan- choly, and wan, with staring, lack-lustre eyes, the image of my sweetheart of 13 years ago-Annie Taylor I Crumpling up the paper in my hand, and thrusting it into my pocket, I hurried away from the arbour, passed noiselessly out of the gate, and proceeded towards Henderson's studio in Upper Minden-street, not a stone's throw from Fontenoy-square. "What have I seen ?" I muttered to myself as I strode along. "A spirit ? It cannot be. I touched the skirt of her dress as I raised the letter, and the letter itself "-here I felt it with my hand—"is palpable and material enough." "My conscience, Ludlam," exclaimed Alick, who was dimly perceptible through a cloud of tobacco-smoke,. "you look like a ghost! Whittlebury's gone; he couldn't stay, but he told me all about that affair. I was right, Alick two years ago the poor woman died." "Heaven and earth I exclaimed, "then what have I seen to-night?" "Ludlam, man, are you ill?" "Alick Henderson," I said, solemnly, "if Annie Taylor be dead, I have just seen her spirit standing in th& arbour of Fontenoy-square. Come with me at once, you shall see her also.—From The Phantom of Fontenoy-squareby. Arthur Locker, in" CasseJXs Magazine., INDIAN MODES OF. SALMON FISHING.-At the cascades on the Columbia, and on the Fraser river, the method of taking salmon is with scoop nets. The salmon keep close to the shore, to avoid the more rapid current, and to take advantage of the eddies to rest in during their upward: run. The Indian builds,.or rather hangs, a stage over the water, and lies upon it, armed with a net like a shrimping net, about four feet in diameter, fastened to the end of a long pola. He passes his net down the current, and allows it to be swept on, as far as his arms can reach, then he hands it out and plunges it in again up the stream as far as possible. In this. way I have seen a savage take from 35 to 40 salmon an hour. They usually fish immediately after sunrise, or late in the evening. At the north of the Fraser river and on Puget Sound, the Indians employ long poles, with sharp gaff- hooks at the end of them, then paddling about in canoes, thus hook ia large numbers of salmon. Higher up the streams, at the salmon falls or leaps, the Indians use wicker baskets, flat on one side and bellied out on the other these they hang in places where they well know the salmon leap usually against the face of a rock, the flat side of the basket being towards the rock. These baskets are hung before the river begins to flood from the melting snow, for the Columbia rises at least thirty-five feet above its autumn and winter level. As soon as the, water has risen sufficiently for the fish to leap the falls, at. it they go, and in leaping often fall back into the basket, I have seen from 250 to 300 salmon taken from out one basket two or three times a flay. I have likewise seen over a hundred salmon in the air at one time, and often six or eight tumble into a basket together. Two Indians go naked into this hugs pannier, each carrying in his hand a heavy wooden club, and utterly reckless of the water dashing over them, and scrambling about amongst the struggling fish, they seize one after the other by the gills, give each salmon a crack on the head with a club, then fling it out upon the rocks, whereon the squaws are waiting the women pounce upon the stunned fish, lug them away, cut off their heads, split them open, take out the backbone, and then hang them upon long poles to dry, keeping a small fire always smouldering underneath the poles to partially smoke the drying fish. Salmon cured in this way I have known to keep two years per- fectly sound.-A Home in the Wilderness.

A NEW MODE OF TREATING A PATIENT.- Dr. Marchant, of Charenton, treating of the importance of insufflation in cases of asphyxia, recommends the persons present to introduce a new tobacco pipe into one of the nostrils, then pinch them close, and also shut the mouth by laying the palm. of the hand upon it, so as to prevent the air from escaping and lastly, to make one of the bystanders take the bowl of the tobacco pipe into his mouth, and slowly blow into it till his breath is exhausted. The patient's chest will be seen to heave the operator should then stop and press it down again a with his hands, and thus continue alternately blowing and pressing till the heart begiua to throb, and natural respiration is restored.

I THE ARTS, LITERATURE, &c. I A COMMITTEE of the House of Commons has reported in favour of a grant for the purchase at the Paris Exhi- bition of objects of art and science, especially of such as illustrate modern scientific inventions and discoveries, and the application of art to manufactures. THE first gold medal given by her Majesty the Queen, j to be competed for annually by the students of the Female School of Art, 43, Queen-square, has been awarded to Miss Alice Manly, for three groups of flowers painted in tempora from nature. The adjudicators were Mr. Westmacott, R.A., Mr. Cope, R.A., and Miss Mutrie. Miss Manly is also this year the successful competitor for a nation silver medal given by the Science and Art Department. A SELECTION of paintings, the works of ancient masters and deceased British artists, collected from various galleries, is now on view at the Dudley- gallery, Egyptain-hall. There are between 200 and 300 specimens of a course of graduated merit and credibility, but great care has evidently been taken to form a good exhibition. There is a large Scriptural piece by Sir William Ross that will surpse those who know only the miniatures of that eminent artist; a fine example of Hilton, and a copy from Wilkie by Bird, of Bristol. Amongst the examples of the Italian school will be noticed a Head of Christ," which a note in the catalogue gives good reason for ascribing to Leonardo da Vinci. In fact, English and foreign modern and ancient art are represented here with impartiality, and the connoisseur who visits the gallery will find his time to have been well occupied in examining the numerous works brought under his notice. THE Institute of Painters in water colours is now open, and amongst the many beautiful works exhibited, we may mention Henry Tidey's, whose bold style is admirably adapted to the medium in which he works. He sends, besides smaller pictures, four large compo- sitions, which he entitles respectively Spring," "Summer," "Autumn," and "Winter." A graceful female figure conveys in each case his meaning; and, in some instances, he has expressed his idea with fine poetic feeling. "Autumn" represents a noble Indian woman of some North American tribe standing in the midst of appropriate scenery, with drooping head and pensive air, as if conscious that the autumn of her nation was near. Mr. Tidey has carried out this conceptiou in the manner of a true artist. Winter," on the other hand, represents a heroic woman in dishevelled hair and defiant attitude, standing in the midst of a tumultuous and darkling sky. In all instances the artists makes chiaro- oscuro do its full share of work, and he is particularly happy in the simple design and arrangements of his di play. Edward H. Corbould is one of the strong ones of the institute, and he never exhibits without making himself felt. His Contest for the Large Diamond is from Tennyson's "Elaine," whither the artist has so frequently gone for inspiration. The sympathy between him and everything chivalric is patent to every one and, per- haps, he is the happiest illustrator of the matchless Idylls" who has yet appeared. We could scarcely imagine greater fire in rendering than we have here, or a better appreciation of what is required in bodying forth the doughty struggle of armed heroes :— .9 And Lancelot bode a little, 'till he saw Which were the weaker then he hurl'd into it, Against the stronger little need to speak Of Lancelot in his glory King, duke, earl, Count, baron-whom he smote he overthrew." The drawings of the new honorary memb'rs, Louis Gallait, Henriette Browne, and Rosa Bonheur have, as a matter of course, attracted much and deserved attention. They are water-colour studies—in some instances we might almcst call them replicas of famous works in oil. We have only space to name the subject of the drawings. Madlle. Henriette Browne sends a finished study of The Sister Making up the Medicine, which forms so charming an episode in the large work called Sisters of Mercy," and sometimes "The Sick Child." Madlle. Rosa Bonheur sends a water-colour replica of her well-known painting of "The Highland Lake," in which we see a large boat crowded with sheep, being rowed across the water by two sturdy boatmen, while an old plaided highlander, the shepherd, sits in the rudderless stem. We would call especial attention to the clever individual- isation of the faces of the sheep, and to the highland calmness of the whole scene. In M. Louis Gallait's case we have only to mention that his two contributions are the water-colour representations of those intensely-dra- matic works of his, called respectfully "The Warrant of Execution Read to Counts Egmont and Horne," and The Oath of Vargas." The power in these pictures is immense. THE chief feature in new books during the first week in August was the publishing of The Early Years of the Prince Consort," compiled under the direction of her Majesty the Queen, by Lieutenant-General the Hon. C. Grey. One touch of nature makes the whole world kin." Assuredly, no person will lay down this most interesting volume without feeling that this tender memoir of the late Prince Consort, prepared under the special supervision of the Queen, affords abundant illus- tration of the truth of this well-known saying. For years past the people of England have regarded her Majesty and the members of her family with feelings of personal attachment and affection. They have sought to participate in her joys and sorrows, while they have, at the snmo lime, awarded to her the willing homage of devoted loyalty. The noble example which her Majesty has placed before the eyes of the nation in all that relates to her social life has been of inestimable value, and the Queen, touched by the sentiments of affectionate loyalty and devoted sympathy which have ever been shown towards her, has, in return, taken the nation into her confidence, i and has unbosomed to her people the story of her first [ and early love, and told with feelings of womanly ten- derness many things concerning the late Prince Consort, all of which testify to the private worth and sterling goodness of his Royal Highness. The touching memoir and tribute of undying affection to the Prince Consort was originally intended only for the members of the Royal Family, but her Majesty feared that imper- fect copies of it might get into circulation, and, acting on the judicious advice offered, the Queen resolved to adopt the nation as members of her family, trusting that "the free and unreserved ex- pression of her feelings will command the sym- pathy and good opinion of every one whose sympathy and good opinion is to be desired and that there is not one word coming from the Prince himself which will not tend to a better and higher appre- ciation of his character." The volume, however, does much more than this, for while placing before us tlfe many estimable qualities of the Prince, it discloses traits of nobleness, tenderness, and womanly virtues on the part of the Queen which will attach her, if possible, still more to the hearts and affections of her loving subjects, who will henceforth regard her not merely as a Queen, but as a noble woman, a fond and devoted wife and mother. It is in these characters that the Queen, in the midst of her deep sorrows, wishes to be seen by her people, and in drawing aside for awhile the veil that had concealed the sanctities of early love and of the domestic household her Majesty has again judged rightly and wel in the course which she has taken.

SPORTS AND PASTIMES. A CRICKET match has just been played at Constanti- nople between "Europe" and "Asia." Europe won, with five wickets to go down. IT is now definitively arranged that Mdlle. Tietjens will proceed to St. Petersburg, where she is engaged to sing during the ensuing winter at a salary of 30,000f. per month. DEER-STALKING has commenced in Mar Forest. The season was opened by Colonel Farquharson, of Inver- cauld, who on Monday last went out on the hill to the west of the mansion, and succeeded in bringing down two splendid stags, carrying full antlers. THE festivities in celebration of "Election Saturday," at Eton, took place on Saturday. There will be no speeches in the upper school this year, but the proces- sion of boats to Old Surley," and spread on the green and fireworks in the evening, were kept up as usual. IF men do not fly within the next half-century, it will be no fault of the energetic measures of the Aeronautical Society. Five schemes were brought before the meeting of that society, over which the Duke of Argyll presided at a recent meeting; three of these were on paper only, but the other two assumed the more tangible form of models. It does not, however, appear that any plan has so far been put to the test as to enable its promoter to flutter about his garden and light on the wall tops. THE great competitive match between the military bands at the Paris Exhibition has ended by Austria taking the grand prize. Prussia, Garde de Paris, first prize Bavaria, Russia, Guides, second prize Baden, Holland, third prize Belgium, Spain, fourth. It was remarked that the band of the Guides played very indifferently, and did not merit the prize awarded to it. The Austrian band, which performed the overture of Oberon, which commences piano, was greatly distressed at the cries of" Plus haut I" which issued from parts of the building. PENN'S YACHT.—The yacht of Mr. John Penn, which, it is stated, has been transferred to the Sultan of Tur- key, has been fitted up in a magnificent manner at Dept- ford dockyard, and now remains in the basin at that establishment to await his Imperial Majesty's pleasure. The state saloon greatly exceeds in elegance that of the j Queen's Yacht. Among the furniture is a crimson silk covered large square sofa. The seat and back is a foot thick, with compressed air, feathers, and articles of the softest material. The seats of other sofas, chairs, &c., are stuffed in the same manner. The backs of the chairs are inlaid with pearls. The pillars and claws of the tables are elaborately carved and gilt, and the tops inlaid with pearls, &c., the whole being from Turkish designs. THE keeper of a gentleman who, during the last six weeks, lost upwards of 3,000 young pheasants, from no apparent disease, has at last discovered the cause of the evil, which is as follows :-The young pheasants had been placed in a meadow in which a large number 1of sheep had preceded them; whilst there trie sheep had shed a quantity of their wool, and the pheasants had swallowed it. The keeper writes I have opened 40 or 50 young birds, and found the gizzards quite full of wool, and the passage stopped up so that no food could pass. After the birds are (lend they turn quite black. I never had a better lot of young birds, and now I have lost nearly all of them." THE prospects of sportsmen for the ensuing 12th have not been so gloomy in the district of Perthshire for a long series of years. The disease which proved so deadly among grouse on other moors of the county has also made sad havoc among the birds on all the extensive moors in this and the adjoining parishes. The malady seems to have been most destructive on the moors of Lochearnside, Glenartney, and the other shooting grounds stretching towards Balquhidder and Callander, and in some places very few birds have been left At Innergeldie, Dunira, Strowan, and other places, the distemper has scarcely been so destructive, but on an average gamekeepers calculate that the mortality will range from 70 to SO per cent. It appears from the reports we have recently received that the young broods of grouse on the various moors present a very irregular appearance in regard to number and size. In some instances the broods number from six to eight birds o each, and are strong on the wing, but many broods have been recently seen with only two and three birds each, and from their small size cannot be long hatched. On the extensive moors of Drummond Castle and other places there will be no shooting this season, and several of the proprietors have wisely resolved, owing to the mortality among grouse, to give a jubilee to the few remaining birds. The prospects of sport in the low country, however, have seldom been so encouraging. All descriptions of game are abundant and in the best condi- tion. Partridges especially are unusually numerous, but among the coveys, which number from & to 12 birds each, there are some very late and small birds. In the ( preserve, pheasants and capercailzie have bred well, and the numerous young broods are large and well grown.