The Cardiff Times

FRANCE AND CHíSA. EXCITEMENT AT CANTON. ^n- [xiEUTErl's TELEGRAM. J t.ARlS, Saturday.—The Petit Journal publishes a letter from M. Dupuis, the explorer, offering Admiral Courbet to plsce himi3df at the heal1 Qf a body of 200 cr 300 sharpshooters, with the assistance of Whom he would undertake to drive away the mountain bands from the Tonquin fron- tier and the Mussulmans from the Chinese pro- vinces of Y unnan and Quang Si. SAIGON, Saturday.—M. Tricou will leave here lo-day for France. PARIS, Tuesday.—To-day's Petit Journal states that orders have been telegraphed to Admiral Courbet n >t to make a.n attack upon Bacninh before receiving further instructions. [CENTRAL NEWS TELEGRAM.] PARI", Monday.—I learn that in the recent interview between M. Waddington and Lord Grinville the former declared that the French fio\eminent could not arrest its military action in Tonquin before the complete execution of its plan, the o' ject of which is the possession of the Red "River Delta. M. Wadding-ton added that the usages of Chinese diplomacy rendered all negotiations well nigh useless, and that the French Government had decided not to recommence thsna until its military plan had been completely executed. As soon as that had been done the representative of France at Pekin would receive instructions to make overtures to Isun- giiyameu. M. Waddington, in reporting the con- versation to his Government, stated that Lord Granville had approved of the views of the French Government, a.nd had declared that England, although solicited to do so by China, was totally indispo-e l to interfere in the matter. PARTS. Tuesday Afternoon.—M. Ferry having written to the Chinese Legatiou here requesting to be informed if the letter, purporting to be ■«rrltt?-n by the Marquis Tseng, and recently published in the Deutsche Revue, was authentic, the Chinese Charge d'Affaires has replied that the letter was simply a private reply to inquiries for information upon various points, and that the marquis never thought it would be published, or interpreted as an offence to the French Goycra- "ilieiit! The iiiaiquis, liovvevef, "Siunies the full responsibility of the views expressed in the letter in question, but disclaims any responsibility for the use to which it was put by the editor of the Merne.

LEGAL TRIBUNALS IN TUNISIA. [cESXSit NEWS TELEGRAM.] P.ias. Monday.—The Ministry of Justice have decided t appoint three principal magistrates in Tunisia as courts of first instance. Tins decision folio Wo directly from the suppression of the con- sular jurisdiction. There will also be a court of appenl to sis at Tunis. It is believed that at the death of the present Bey,Tunisia will be placed on jprc'vi-.ely the same footing as Algeria is to France.

CU-'KAT FIRKIN CANADA. fciiNVIAL XilY."3 TELEGRAM. | Mo .vteeal, Tuesday Afternoon.—The St. Lawrence su .ar reSuery, one of the largest es. tablishments of the kild in Canada, has been al- jjlQst totally destroyed by lire. The damage is artiiOTFTSD AT U-JI LAG tLaa æo,Oí1t doitars, 0 1

EXPLOSIONS IN AMERICA. ELEVEN PERSONS KILLED. (REUTER'S TELEGRAM.) NEW YORK, Friday.—An explosion occurred to-day in the mixing-house of some dynamite works near Allentown, Pennsylvania. Three of the men engaged in the building were killed, and three more were injured. The Philadelphia correspondent of the Times telegraphs :—" The gunpowder mills near Scran- ton, Pennsylvania, were destroyed by a series of explosions last night. Eight persons were killed, one, at a distance of half a mile away, being struck by a missile.

THE SULTAN AND HIS MINISTERS. [CENTRAL NEWS TELEGBAM.j CONSTANTINOPLE, Tuesday.—Since the posting or some inflammatory placards, three weeks ago, the Sultan has been uneasy and distrustful, and rumours have been afloat of ministarial changes. The Vakil to-day publishes an extraordinary article, evidently inspired, denouncing the Minis- ters for thwarting the benevolent intentions of his Majesty, and demanding their punishment. This article has produced an immense sensation here.

FRANCE AND SPAIN. [CENTRAL NEWS TELEGRAM, j PARIS, Wednesday.—The Spanish Republicans residing in Franca, and especially those in Pans, are finding themselves the objects of an active watchfulness on the part of the secret police. One of tlstera remarked to me that this supervision was a fruitless one, as the moment had not yet arrived for them to act, and, moreover, they were well a wars that the French Government, chiefly owing to fears of diplomatic complications, was very far from being disposed to look upon them with any favour. It is believed that Zonlla will shortly publish a manuscript addressed to the Spanish people.

DEATH OF A COUSIN OF Mi*. GLADSTONE. [CENTRAL NEWRF TELEGRAM.] NEW YORK, Wednesday Morniug.—The death is announced at Oil City of Mr James Briden, stated to be a cousin of the English Premier, Mr Gladstone,

THE MOSCOW NOTABLES. [LLEUIEIL's TELEGRA.M,] MOSCDW,Tuesday,—The Moscow Notables' Con- vention met to-day for the first time since the coronation of the Czar. The Governor-General, in his speech, expressed the hope that in the future, as in the past, the nobility would support and protect all that was good and useful to the court and the country.

SPAIN. [RECTER'S TELEGRAM.] LI sBON, Tuesday.—Progressist journals criticise the interpretation placed by the Cabinet and the majority of the Chamber of Deputies and the House of Peers upon the existing constitutional charter regarding the future constitutiona.1 period. This interpretation states that future Cortes are not to be really constituted, but merely an ordinary legislature, to which deputies would come furnished with special or constituent powers to reform certain articles of the constitution to be specially designated beforehand. Progressists maintain that the right of interpreting the charter belongs solely to future deputies.

FIRE AT DEVON PORT DOCK- YARD. An investigation was made, on Tuesday, at Devonport dockyard, by the Admiral Superin- tendant, concerning the tire discovered early that morning in a large block of buildings. A hose was promptly attached to the hydrant, which extinguished the fire without an alarm being made outside the yard. Some oil had been spilt, and sawdust had been used to wipe it up, and the fire originated in this sawdust. Whether this spontaneously ignited, or whether, as the investigation shewed as possible, burning cinders had been, accidentally put in the bucket, remains an open question. Had the fire not been so promptly discovered, it would have been very serious.

MR BRADLAUGH AND HIS SEAT. Mr Bradlaugh, addressing a large meeting at Stratford Town-nail, near London, on Monday night, ou the subject of his parliamentary posi- tion, said no one could prevent him from exer- cising his right to take the oath immediately after the Queen's Speech had beern read. Whether he would do so or not was known only to himself. The House might punish him in three ways for doing so: by imprisonment, expulsion, and exclusion. Tiie first would do him no harm the House would not expel him, for they did not think they could win his seat; and if he were excluded be should apply to the Government for the Stewardship of the Chiltern Hundreds, He would go to the table of the House every day so long as Parliament sat, and leave to tho world the ex- ample of an assembly which claimed to make laws but which trampled on them. It was not a question of religion or irreligion. His constituents elected him to Parliament to make laws, not to a Convocation to make creeds. Resolutions in Mr Bradlaugh's favour were passed unanimously.

SIR STAFFORD NORTHCOTE ON "NOTHING." Sir Stafford K o¡.thcote on Saturday evening opened the spring session of the Exeter Literary Society by delivering an address before members and their friends at a conversazione at the Vic- toria Hall. Taking Nothing'' for his subject, he directed attention to many subjects that might suggest what could be usefully dealt with by members in lectures and discussions. If they were disposed to go into politics they might dis- cuss the nature and the meaning of Nihilism, which < proposed to destroy everything, to make a clear sweep of everything, and leave what was to be put in its place to be decided afterwards. I Nothing" would also suggest the melan- choly condition of those who had no- thing. It might indeed be a sort of text for those who desired to call attention to j the condition and circumstances of the extremely poor. Speaking to the progress made by such institutions as thein,- he referred to the address by the late Prince Consort at the opening of the Birmingham Suburban Institute. He had re- cently paid a visit to that institution, and had seen its great expansion since the seeds were sown by the late Prince Consort, and he trusted that such institutions would continue to expand in their efforts to do good, and to extend beyond the cities in which they were established.

SIR CHARLES'DILKI^ ON FORT IIC OMIN G LEGISLATION. Sir Charles Dilke, addressing a crowded meet- ing at Kensington, on Tuesday night, expressed doubt whether the redistribution on therrunerical basis after the extension of the franchise would involve any decrease in the number of Irish mem- bers. But in any case redistribution should not be attempted in detail until shortly after the new electoral registers had been made out. In ail pro- bability the new government of London would be constituted within a year. The Lords would have enough to do in throwing out the Franchise Bill, as Lord Salisbury had promised, and would surely not venture also to reject tiie metropolitan measure. The Torieswere evidently trusting to the condition of Soudan to help them in talking out the Local Government Bill but the Ministry had got con- fidence ill the advice of Colonel Gordon, whose employment, although only finally resolved upon last week, was recommended ma.ny months ago to the late Egyptian Government. If the Conserva- tive opposition carried out their threat to force a dissolution by rejecting all Government bills, the result would be a triumph of Radical opinions such as the country had not yet seen. Radicalism was destructive only of what was defective in the state, and their principles in the forthcoming measures of domestic legislation would be those of constructive Liberalism.

THE STATE OF IRELAND. The Londonderry correspondent of the Central News telegraphs The pe..ple of Derrybeg, County Donegal, the birthplace of O'Donnell, have just made a great demonstration in honour of the memory of Carey's assassin. An immense number of persons attended mass for the repose of his soul, and subsequently an empty coftiu was conveyed in the procession and buried in the burying-ground of the O'Donnell family, the people kneeling and praying round the open grave in the manner customary at a real funeral. At the bonclusion of these proceedings £ 55 was subscribed towards defraying the cost of a monu- ment to O'Donnell, and resolutions were passed thanking Victor Hugo and the American people for their (sympathy. The Rathkeale Branch of the Irish National have passed resoiiifcions cxpr^ sirs^" their aohorrence at tho determination to suppress fox hunting. The house of a farmer named Madden, at Bruff, County Limerick, wps jUagl:.ed on Monday night, and all the windows smashed. _The Nsvi-s Porfcl*»; di- graphs on Tuesday evening: At Carrick-on-Suir this afternoon a mob, numbering several hundred persons, attempted to prevent the burial of the remains of a woman who had, it was stated, committed suicide. A large force of constabulary ejected the disturbers froth the graveyurd, and toe corpse was safely buried. A number of police remain in charge cf the graveyard, owing to threats to disinter the corpse, and at the time of telegraphing about 1.000 persons had assembled, and had assumed a threatening attitude towards the police. On Monday, in the Queen's Bench, Dublin, an application was made to have admitted to bail the six prisoners charged with being connected with the Mayo murder conspiracy. The court refused the application with regard to five of the men, and granted it iiiouc case. The venue of the trial of Andrew Matthews, Witliam Gibson, and George Richardson, who are charged with having attempted to burn a Land League hut in Tyrone, has been changed to Dublin. Jeremiah Mtirphy, a farmer, was found dead on Monday, at Rossmc.re Cross, West Cork, under circumstances which leave little doubt of foul play. The body was lying on the roadside, at.d the head was so battered in as to render »deatifiea&ou difficult.

SHIPPING DISASTERS. I LOSS OF A STEAMER AND 119 LI YES. [RBXJTER'S TELEGRAMS.] BOSTON, Saturday.—The steamship City of Columbus, bound from this part to Savannah, with 81 passengers (one-third of whom were women and children) and a crew of 45 men, struck on a ledge early yesterday morning, off Gay Head, the most westerly point of Martha's Vine- yard Island, on the coast of Massachusetts. Or those on board 104- persons perished, including 55 first-class and 15 steerage passengers, and 34 of the officers and crew. The remaining 22 persons were saved by the Revenue steamer Dexter, and landed at New Bedford. When the vessel struck the passengers rushed on dock, and were nearly all washed overboard, A heavy gale prevailed at the time, and the boats which were launched were consequently swamped, those who were saved being rescued from the rig- ging. The vessel has now broken up. Among the passengers drowned is Mlasigi, Turkish Con- sul General at Boston. EVENING.—According to later intelligence, 116 lives were lost in the wreck of the City of Colum- bus, The passengers were mainly people from the eastern states going south. All those who were saved were full grown men. Several of those rescued from the rigging alive have since died. Several others were rescued bv boats from Gay Head, one of whom has died. Directly the vessel struck she was backed about twice her length, when she filled forward and listed to port, then settled down aft, and righted. The sea then began to break over the deck, the stern being entirely submerged. Many of the passen- gers and crew were then washed overboard, Those who were rescued remained in the rigging for some hours. The wreck is one and a half mile from the shore. The captain was the last saved, and it is stated that ho has gone out of his mind. One of the survivors says that the pilot who was with him in the rigging told him that he fixed the course of the steamer, fastened the wheel, and being very cold went to the smoke stack to warm himself. He stayed theve twenty minuted, and ou returning found that tho vessel had veered round, When ho learned that lie was among the rocks he put her right on shore, Many of those who took to the rigging dropped off one by one exhausted by the cold before relief arrived. The cabin of the vessel, n which many remained, was soon washed away, all its occupants being drowned. Out of IS women who were on board, not one reachcd the rigging, being swept off before they succeeded in doing so. The steamer went under in about 10 I minutes after striking. All the survivors describe the scene as terrible. Besides the revenue steamer Dexter, the only other attempts I made to rescue were by two boats from Gay Head. NEW YORK, Saturday.—The Anchor Line steamer Devonia, and the Inman Line steamer City of Chicago grounded on going out of the Lower Day here, but are expected to float with the next tide.

— iu. CABINET COUNCIL. LONDON, Tuesday Evening.—The Press Asso- ciation says that the first of the final senes of Cabinet Councils which immediately precede the parliamentary session was held in Downing- street on Tuesday afternoon, all the members being present except Earl Spencer. As Mr Gladstone did not leave Hawarden until Tuesday morning, the meeting, owing to his late arrival, was not held until 3 o'clock. It was continued until a quarter to seven. There is reason to believe that one of the first subjects considered was the steps rendered necessary by the condition of the boudan. The despatch of Col. Gordon on Friday to Khartoum by the members specially charged with responsibility in this matter, was approved by their colleagues, and telegraphic communica- tions were submitted by the Foreign Secretary from Sir Evelyn Baring as to the course which will probably be adopted by the special commissioner. The powers entrusted to Colonel Gordon were ex- plained and discussed, but neither these nor the apparent suddenness of the mission excited sur- I prise, since the employment of that officer is not a recent idea, but was suggested several months ago. In connection with this point it may be explained, on high authority that whilst Colonel Gordon is, in a military sense, under the nominal orders of General Stephenson, this condition does not, in fact, restrict his freedom of action, as his mission is not a military one, but is rather of a diplomatory and administrative character. In that capacity he will consult and co-operate with Sir Evelyn Baring, at the same time recommend- ing such military measures, if any, as he may think necessary. It is believed that the Transvaal deputation's last letter on the question of a new frontier was also discussed, and a decision probably come to. Some progress was made in the planning and revision of the principal measures of domestic legislation already announced. Although the de- liberations of the Cabinet concluded at a quarter to seven o'clock, when the Home Secretary, Lord Hartington, and Lord Nor^-hbrook left Do wiring- street, several other members remained some- what later in consultation with the Prime Minister.

DEATH OF EAUfJ GKOSYENOPv Victor Alexander, Earl Grosvenor, son and hoir of the Duke of Westminster, expired on Tuesday morning at Ids residence, Saighton Towers, Chester, shortly after mid night. The noble earl was 30 years of age. In1874- ho married Lady Slbell Mary Lutnley, daughter of the Earl oi Scarborough, and sister of the Countess of Zet- land. There are several children of the marriage, Lord Belgrave, aged four, being now the heir to the Westminster estate. On inquiry at Saighton Towers on Tuesday morning a correspondent was informed that Earl I- Grosvenor passed quietly away, without recover- ing consciousness, at half-past twelve. Among the members of the family gathered at the bedside were Countess Grosvenor, the Duke and Duchess of Westminster, and Lords Henry and Arthur I Grosvenor, brothers of deceased. The Marchioness Ormonde arrived at Chester from Ireland by mail at 2 o'clock on Tuesdav morning, and was informed of her brother's death. The Marchioness, who had intended proceeding straight to Saighton Towers, then went on to Eaton Hall. Messages of con- dolence have been received from the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of Albany, and other members of the Royal Family. At Chester the sad event was marked by tolling the passing bell at the cathedral. The flag at the Town-hall was hoisted half-mast high, and the shops of the leading tradesmen were closed. Victor Alexander. Earl Grosvenor (her Majesty the Que-en sponsor), was born 28th April, 1653, and married 3rd November, 18/4, Lady Siball Mary Luuiley, youngest daughter of Richard George, tenth Earl of Scarborough, and has a son and two daughters—Hugh Richard Arthur, Vis- count Belgrave, born 19th March, 1S7S; Lady I Constance Sibell, and Lady Lattice. Lord Grosvenor was not a very prononnced politician, although on several occasions when the Right Hon. J. G. Dodson and the Hon. Beilby Lavviey were contesting the representation of Chester against Mr Raikes and Mr Sandys, Earl Grosvenor appeared at meetings of the sup- porters of the Liberal candidates in the Music- hall, and briefly addressed them. Ha certainly took no active share in the management or control of the local political organisations. The noble earl was passionately fond of mechanical engi- neering. He was frequently to be found in the railway workshops at Crswe Station, and oftener still ciriviog the "Wild Irishman," between London and Holyhead. There is not a driver ou the noitheiu section of the London and North- Western Railway to whom Lord Grosvenor's figure was unfamiliar. When at ::5aightou Towers Lord Grosvenor lived the life of a retired country gentleman. The Press AS8oci:Ü;on Chester correspondent telegraphs that the lung disease which L proved fatal to Earl Groovenoi, was terribly rapid in its aetion, as it was so late as Thursday last, and not Wednesday that his lordship dined with his brothers. So sudden and unexpected was the de- velopment that his father and sister did not arrive until Monday. On Monday the patient was in high fever, wis.li only a brief interval of con- sciousness, just before the Duke and Duchess of Westminster arrived. So brief was the recovery that his lordship relapsed into delirium before his children could be brought into the room. Imme- diately before death the Earl opened his eye?, but there was 110 strength for speech or other move- ment. The servants were admitted to take a. last look in life of their master. The Countess Gros- venor remained till the last. The funeral will take place on Friday in the family vault in Ecclestoa Churchyard. As a necessary consequence of the painful event, the rejoicings in connection with, the contemplated vi-5'.t of their'R-va! Hit/hues--?-: tiie Otike and -J • • to Eaton Hall have been ahai1doned, The no- bility of Cheshire and North Wales have been invited to most the Dake and Duchess of Albany on Thursday evening. Messages of condolence j with the Countess Grosvenor and with the Duke and Duchess of Westminster and family on their bereavement have been received from her Majesty the Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of Albany, the Pre- mier, &<■. The death of Earl Grosvenor having necessitated all atleration of the arrangements in connection with the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Albany to Liverpool next Saturday to distribute certsti- cates awarded by the Liverpool Council of Educa- tion, the mayor has telegraphed to the Duk3 of Albanj', placing the residence of- tho judges at his disposal. Thou- Royal Highnesses, however, had in the meantime accepted the invitation of Lord Seftou to stay at Cro:.te:b.

THE medical profession arc now ordering Cad- Dury'a Cocoa Essence in thousands of ca.>es, because it contains morc l\U¡;riii01UI Iud flesh-forming elements than any other beverage, and is preferable to the thick- starchy c >coa ordinarily soul. When YOU ask for Cad. bufy's Cocja, Essence be sure that you" get it, as shop- keepers often push imibtions for th.) sako of the extra profits. Makers to the Queen. Tari; 90, Faubourg St. If on 111-11

CHINESE GORDON S POLICY FOR THE SOUDAN. 8 BY HIS RECENT INTERVIEWER. It is exactly a fortnight since the present writer, seated on a couch covered with a leopard's skut in the drawing-room of a quiet Southampton residence) received a friendly greeting from General Gordon, who had not been twenty-four hours in the country after his return from Jerusalenl, Up to that moment he had not been consulted by any one as to the crisis in the Soudan, Months before, when he was last in England, although the War Office was full of anxiety about the defence of Khar- toum, no official had ever taken the trouble to ascertain the views of the English officer of Engineers, who had reigned for years autocrat in the capital of the Soudan, When the crisis which began with the slaughter of Colonel Hicks was deepening, until a terrible catastrophe impended over the garrison of Khartoum, it was not owing to any prompting of the English Government that General Gordon happened to be within two hours' journey of London. The Cabinet had decided the previous week to support Sir Evelyn Baring in demanding the abandonment of the Soudan, and it Was only the happy accident that the King of the Belgians had summoned General Gordon from his retirement in Pales- tine to carve out an anti-slavery empire on the headwaters of the Congo which brought him this month within call. To men like General Gordon there is no such thing as accident. Ail things were pre- ordained before time began, and kings and peasants are mere instruments in the hands of the Higher Power, which cannot err. Even to those who take less lofty views of human destiny, strange indeed was the combination of unexpected coincidences by which it has come to pass that the officer who a week since was all but deprived of his commission in tho English army for taking service with the International Associates of the Congo should to-day be speeding southward as fast as the mail packet can carry him to act as the supreme representative of British power in the equatorial Empire of Egypt, Since Mordecai the Jew was led in triumph through the stroel.s of Shushan, there has surely but seldom been so sudden an alternation in human fortunes. but yesterday not a Minister Wou d even do him the honour of asking his counsel. To-day he is the master of the situation, the virtual Sovereign of the Soudan, the man upon whose success or upon who-^e failure the fortunes of the Ministry may dop?n 1. Great the "Inngi i->, it ]" v" '>'•>• ) 1 GENERAL GORDON AS GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF THE SOUDAN, I8JQ. bugntly built, somewnat oelow tiie average height, General Gordon's most remarkable characteristic at first sight is a child-like simplicity of speech and manners. Notwithstanding his fifty years, his face is almost boyish in its youthfulness, his step is as light and his movements as lithe as tiie leopard. Although he is still excitable and vehement, those who know him best say that lie has under much firmer control those volcanic fires which blazed out with fiercest fury in his younger days; as, for instance, when he hunted Li Hung- Chang, revolver in hand, from house to house, day after day, in order to slay the man who had dishonoured and massacred the prisoners whom he had pledged his word to save. But there is that in his face at times even now that contrasts strangely with the sweetness of his smile or the radiance which lights up his face when discoursing on his favourite author, and the choice texts of the "Imitation," which for the present seems to have super- seded his old favourite. "Watson on Contentment." "This," said he, holding a small CdPY of the Imitation in his hand, is my book. And although I never shall be able to attain to a hundredth part of the perfection of that saint, I strive towards it—the ideal is here." General Gordon carries with him the saintly ideal of the cloister into the rough realities of the camp. His selfless humility and absolute abnegation was broken only now and then by a morbid horror of-publicity or praise. In Gordon the tenderness of a woman, the gentleness of a child, the teady sympathy with all the sor- rows and sufferings of others, are combined with an iron will and a certain hardness" which is in- dispensable to a ruler of men. "I have a conviction," he wrote on first entering the Soudan, "that. God willing, I shall do much in this country. The main point is to be just and straightforward, to hear no one or no one's sayings, to avoid all tergiversation or twisting, even if you lose °by it. and to .be hard to all if they do not obey you." This capacity of hardness has been put to severe proof. He has shot and hanged without mercy both in China and in Africa, and if need should arise he will shout and hang again, with imperturbable resolution. The incident in his Chinese campaign, where he sum- marily executed a mutineer in the presence of the regiment, reads abnost like a reproduction of one of the most striking scenes in Cromwell's history, when he shot dead the mutinous Leveller who refused to obey an order. In the Soudan he was to slave-dealers, pashas, and other evil-doers an incarnate terror. On his fleet camel, accompanied only by a single guide, he sped from province to province, like an angel of wrath descending like a thunderbolt upon all who withstood his will. Yet even while the rage of the Berserker flashed in his eye, infinite compassion for the weak, the helpless, and the oppressed trembled in his voice. Again and again he refers in his letters in tones of pity and affection to the poor people of the Soudan. 0 In General Gordon's eyes, as every one is aware who has read Mr Berkeley Hill's edition of his letters from Central Africa, the blacks of the Soudan are immediately superior in every wny to the Egyptian Government. All the misery in those parts, he used to declare, is dU3 to these Arab and Circassian pashas and authorities. I would not stay a day for these wretched creatures, but 1 would give my life for these poor blacks." The people who annexed the Soudan, he maintained, stood in quite as much need of civilization as those they attempt to civilize. He was convinced that the Egyptians were absolutely unfit to acquire the country. The soldiers are nothing but a set of pillagers, and are about as likely to civilize those parts as they are to civilize the moon. Though it tells against me in my operations, I am glad in my heart that they are afraid of the natives." Nor was this all an idle sentiment. A year or two later, when he was appointed Governor-General of the whole of the Soudan he wrote The government of Egypt in these far-oil counir'es Is nothing else but one of brigandage of ths very worst description. It is s J bad that all hope of aaieliora'ing it is hopeless so I do the only thing possible—that is, vacate them One thing is certain—that the Egyptian should never be allowed out of his own country. I have withdrawn from more than half the country which we heid at the equator, and 300 miles will separate us from Mtesa. The policy of the abandonment of the further Soudan which the Government has despatched him to carry out is but a development of his own policy, and needs no further justification than the letter written by him as Governor General of the Soudan in 1879. In the conversa.tion at Southampton General Gordon made no direct reference to the possibility of his own return to the country. A friend, however, who had urged very strongly upon him the importance of his revisitiug the scene of his former authority, did not think that he was irrevocably opposed to the idea. The garrison at Khartoum must te relieved, but ho w could we relieve it ? I u Baker could not get there with an army. General Gordon remarked that if lie were sent lie would go there alone. He believed that he would have no difficulty in making his way without a single atten- dant through the Bishareen Arabs, to whom he was well known, and when he was once in Khartoum he did not believe he would have much difficulty in organising all ever-victorious army" out of the tribes which would enable him to hold Khartoum until the forces of the Mahdi split to pieces. He entirely scouted the idea that the Mahdi was the leader of a great religious movement. He has personal friends in the Mahdi's camp. One of the revolted chiefs owes to General Gordon the lives of two of his sons others have seen him strike terror into the hearts of the pashas against whom they are in revolt. All the natives know his inflexible justice. "Your brother," he wrote to his sister from Khartoum seven years ago, "is much feared and, I think, respected, but not overmuch liked. The people in the Soudan tremble before your brother." Personal popularity, it will be seen, he does not pretend to claim. But he was just, upright, inflexible, and an especial terror to evildoers of the kind against whom the Mahdi has risen in revolt. I GENERAL GORDONS ?RorosEi> CHANGIIS IN THE SOVRAN. The policy which General Gordon would pursue in the Soudan, if he were left absolutely free, may best be described as a gre&t scheme for the restitution of native automony. As Mr Gladstone de- manded Home Rule fur Bulgaria, so Geueral Gordon advocates Home Rule for the various races in- habiting the Soudan. In the far south in the equatorial regions—and it should not be forgotten that when he first entered Egyptian service his title was His Excellency General Colonel Gordon, tha Governor-General of the'Equator "—he would pursue the same course that lie followed when last in office in the Soudan. He would withdraw the authority of Egypt from the tribes, which cnriouslv realize in the heart of Africa the political ideal of the Parisian communalists. As for the future of the new and limited Soudan, General Gordon would apply the bag-and-baggage policy in a very thorough fashion. No Turk or Circassian—and nearly all the Egyptian oiffcials .are either Turks or Circassians-should be allowed to remain in the Soudan. It is the conviction that he may be able to do some good iu that way to the poor people of the Soudan that induced him to postpone his mag- nificent project of cutting up the slave trade by the roots at the headwaters of the Congo until he had re-established decent government on the headwaters of the Nile, General Gordon is the nat,ural tri- bune of the oppressed. If we could imagine a Socialist revolution in this country, General Gordon is an ideal sword ready fashioned to the hand of a democratic revolt of despair. "V{ ere it not for the knowledge that I have that God is Governor-General." said General Gordon, I could not get on at all." E"en those who are most mournfully convinced that there is no God, and that humanity wanders orphaned through a fatherless world, must wish that this unfaltering confidence in the Divine guidance may once more be justified by success, and. that the shrouded Power tnat cannot err" may find in General Gordon the instrument fo;: achieving successfully the great work heha> oa hand in tha Soudan. We are indebted to the Pail- Mail GazMc for the above abridged article, portrait, and map.

CHARGE OF THROWING VITRIOL OVER A WIFE. At the Marlb >rougl> street policc-court, 2-:1 Tuesday, George Ballard, 33, abootmakev, of 56, Berwick-street, was brought up by Js. Brewster, one of tile warrant officers of the court, (m a charge of assaulting his wife.—The prosecutrix said that on the previous morning, as she was going along Bolsover-street to the Portland-road Station, to go to her work, she saw the prisoner, her hus- band, and, being afraid of him in consequence of his threats, crossed the street. The prisoner fol- lowed her, and made some remark, having his hand in his pocket at the time. She became afraid he had a knife, and was hastening away, when he threw something at her, she believed from a bottle, and some fluid went on her face and some on her hands and dress. She screamed, when several persons gathered round her, and she went homo, and afterwards went to the hospital. —Mr Newton asked tho prosecutrix^whether thn pv^pn«r had fver done anything' of^fhe l^nd" oeioiv.. i .iO pro.-j-2Ca .iiX ,.id prisoner isaci been very unkind to her always.—Mr E. H, Freehand, hou-c surgeon of the Middlesex Hospital, stated that lie found superficial wounds Hospital, stated that lie found superficial wounds on the prosecutux fi light hand, a discolouration near her eye, and marks on her clothing, evi- dently caused by sulphuric acid.—James. ster, one of the warrant officers of life court, stated that he apprehended the prisoner at 56, Berwick-street, and, on telling him of the charge, j he said h cvvant ;d to see his wife, and on the way to the station he cried.—Tiie prisoner now said Iris home had been broken up through a woman setting his wife against him, and in consequence be stayed away from home, -Sum;) other wit- nesses having been called, one, Ada Povey, stating that the prisoner had also threatened her, Mr Newton ordered a remand for a week.

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EXCITING SCENE AT LIVERPOOL. CONVICTS ATTEMPTING TO ESCAPE. A somewhat novel though exciting scene was witnessed in Lime-street Railway Station, Liver- pool, on Monday morning, which fortunately terminated without any serious result. Shortly before ten o'clock the Walton Prison van, contain- ing a number of notorious convicts in charge of two warders, arrived at the north end of the sta- tion, its occupants about to leave for MDIbank, when immediately ur-on the doors of the van being opened, some tea or twelve convicts rushed wildly out, and made strenuous efforts to get amongst the crowd of persons who had assembled to witness their departure. There were about eig-ht constables present at the time, who were assisted by Detectives Wilde, Baxter, Bryson, Logan, Ferguson, and Macdonalc], After a short struggle the men were captured, but not before a constable and a detective had received slight injuries]_ JThe £ o:y;!<^s jjad either to be dragged 'Sroamed into the train, sever. officials of the station giving assistance to tha police,

THE ALLEGED DYNAMITE CQN'JPJIIACY, The trial of Wooif and on the 1 charge of conspiring -to blow up the G erman Em- bassy, was resumed at the Old Bailey on Satur- day. Mr Justice Hawkins having summed up, the jury retired at 20 minutes to 1 to consider their verdict, and after deliberating for all hour and a half, they returned into court, when the judge gave some further explanations which they required. They pgain withdrew, and shortly after six came back, stating they were unable to agree-they were eleven to one. Justice Hawkins said he had no alternative but to discharge them. The jury wore accordingly discharged, and the case stands over for trial at the next sessions.

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LOCAL BILLS IN PARLIAMENT BARRY DOCK AND RAILWAYS. WLSTsn:sTE[!, Tuesday.—This bill, postponed iron: yesterday, came to-day before Mr Robinsoni one of the examihers of private bills, for proof of compliance with the standing orders of the House Of Commons, Mr Cripps, for Messrs Dyson and Co., the parliamentary agehts for the bill, ap- peared to submit proofs of compliance and Mr William Bell appeared for Mr Abbott G. Laker, and others in support of a petition alleging non- compliance with the standing orders of the House. Formal pioof having been submitted and ac- cepted with reference to those formal matters of procedure about which there was no dispute. Mr Bell directed the examiner's attention to the book of reference accompanying the plans, and complained that certain property, in the parish of Llantrissant. to be taken for tha pro- posed railway works was not distinguished by any number or means of reference on the deposited plans. Mr Cripps replied that it was not a separate, property from that which surrounded it, and consequently a separate number was not neces- sary. It was in the same occupation. Mr Robinson disallowed this objection. Another objection of the same kind drew from the examiner the remark how absurd." A third objection by Mr Bell that a number 59 on a property in the deposited plans had no corresponding number on the book of reference was met by Mr Cripps with tho remark that the "59" pointed out was not "53 "at all, but a pond. The Examiner said he had not takon a magnify- ing glass to it, and ho hoped they would never come to that with plans, but it seemed very clear to his eyes as 59." Mr Cripps replied that he had taken a glass to it, and it was undoubtedly a pond. Ü The Examiner, having consented to use the glass, at last remarked that it might be a pond, or well, but they had better have a witness on the subject. Mr Littlewood, surveyor, said the number represented a well about 18 inches in diameter. The Examiner remarked ironically that this was indeed a very important property for which to demand a number in the book of reference. Without calling on Mr Cripps for a reply, he repelled the objection. A fourth objection was made, that in the book of reference a stream was described as existing where there was no stream. Mr James Bell, the surveyor who prepared the plans for the bill, said these plans were nearly identical with those of last year's bill, except that hs Iliad carefully revised them. In November there was undoubtedly running water in a ditch. Tilr Littlewood said there was no_streaua in December. Mr James Bell, cross-examined, admitted that he had lessened the scale of this year's plans. This was to make them more handy. He would not admit that in altering the scale errors were liable to creep into the plans. He exercised great care in preparing them, and devoted special care to the survey at this point. The property marked 60 on the plans was partly arable and partly pas- ture, and was divided by a ditch with water in it. It was at the time much more rainy that it had been latterly. The Examiner said he would not sustain the allegation. Mr Bed next alleged that a property described as 61 B in the book of reference (a blacksmith's torge and shed) was not marked in the plan with a corresponding number. Mr Cripps said there were two 61's in the plan, and one of these marked the forge and shed. The B had been left out by mistake. The Examiner asked if the occupier, Thomas John, had been properly served, and at the proper time. Mr T. Stimson Rooke having replied in the affirmative, The Examiner said he thought the mistake very trivial, and would not sustain the allegation, Mr Bell's next allegation was that a fence dividing two properties in the parish of Pentyrch was wrongly shown on the plans. Instead of being 16 feet in one direction it was 16 feet in another. The Examiner said these were very paltry ob- jections to the plans. He thought the memori- alists had better-amend their memorial by striking out all this sort of thing. It would save a deal of time. The next allegation was that a fence delineated on the plans, as existing on a property in the parish of Ystradyfodwg had no existence what- ever. Three witnesses who had surveyed the ground were called, and stated that there was no fence or ditch at the point indicated. The ground was all rough, and lay on the side of a hill. Mr Cripps said it was not alleged that the state of things described in the memorial existed on the 30th November. What was spoken of here was what was observed since that date. The Examiner said it was* impossible to have the tenants of all these properties up to prove what was the state of thinga Oil the 30th Novem- ber. The Surveyor who examined the ground for the promoters was called, and stated that at the date he went over it there was a ditch. The weather had since that time been much drier. Tiie Examiner held that the allegation was not sustained. Another allegation was that iu the parish of Llanwonno there was a coa,ch-howe adjoining a butcher's shop, and this was not delineated on the deposited plans. The objection was not sustained. Another objection to the plans, that no en- closure described as adjacent to a publio-house in the parish of Llantrissant had no existence, was also disallowed. Mr Bell, for the memorialists, having aban- doned one or two other allegations respecting very trivial omissions from the plans, was rallied in a jocular fashion about it by the Examiner. A number of allegations of non-compliance with the standing orders were based on the cir- cumstance that properties fully and correctly stated in the book of reference were uot shown on the plans. Mr Cripps raised the objection to the allega- tions that these did not state at what particular spots on the plans the properties ought to have been. The Examiner said there was no doubt that the plans and the book of reference ousdit to be made j closely to correspond, but he would have to ex-' amine into precedents to settle the question which had baeu raised before him. The Examiner, after a consultation with Mr IVere, his colleague, said that the allegations ought to have stated where the houses were situa- ted, and where they should have been shown on the plans. The allegations were therefore dis- allowed. A number of allegations next came up for con- sideration with respect to errors in levels. Mr 'ripps objected to these allegations on the ground that they did not specify that the levels were erroneous on the 30th of November. The new railway was to pass through a valley so busy that alterations were constantly being made, and consequently a plan, which was quite right on the 50th of November, might now be a little wrong in some particulars. The petitioners' surveys had been made at a much later date. The Examiner considered he ought to hear the allegations on their merits, and after asking the agent for the I- ^titioners to drop all but the roally important allegations on their petition, he called the opposing engineers before him with their plans, and examined into the alleged dis- crepancies in the levels of the ground over which tbe new railway is to pass. Mr Cripps elicited from the petitioners' sur- veyors and engineers that the ground in the Hhoisdda Valley, over which the proposed rail- way is to pass, was rough mountain land. The Examiner stated that that being so, he should not dream of sustaining any allegation of inaccuracy in the levels, unless it was shewn to be of undoubted importance. Mr Bell said his engineering witness88 would, before the next..sitting, go over the allegation and strike out all that referred to inaccuracy in the levels where the ground was unusually steep. The Examiner hoped that they would see their way to eliminate a great many more allegations than those that referred merely to the sections. The hearing was then adjourned. This bill again came before Mr Robinson, one of the examiners of the House of Commons into Standing Order Proofs, on Wednesday, the i memorialists contending that the Standing Orders of Parliament had not been complied with. Mr William Bell, parliamentary agent, appeared for the memorialists, aad Mr Cripps for the pro- moters. Mr Littlewood, engineer for tho memorialists, gave evidence to shew the difference between his figures and those of the promoters' engineer as to the levels. Mr Cripps having asked witness what was the difference between the gradients in six feet, which caupcd a laugh, The Examiner remarked that it was a peifectly proper question, but it shewed the absurdity of making such objections. Mr Cripps remarked that he did not wish to ask any unnecessary questions, but he only wanted to show the absurdity of all the objections whiih had been and would be raised. The Examiner refused to allow the objection, and several other small objections. Upon further examination as to gradients, The Examiner said it was perfectly obvious that if all the figures were based on the same table, and in the mode which had been pursued, the allcgati ons could not be sustained. Mr Bed! I understand you do not propose to take the scale of heights ? The Examiner Certainly not. If you can get your heights scale aud then, as calculated, to correspond, I shall be glad to hear you. I will not decide what I consider an unfair or a small objection. (To Mr Cripps) I presume proper care was taken in levelling ? Mr Cripps It ha; all been most thoroughly done twice over. I would almost venture to con- tend that it will not do for Mr Bell to back up his allegations by g, series of observations now. I try t;? ipjre Ms calculations fit his allegations, I flunk that .should be sufficient. It was suggested that an adjournment should take place, in order that tho memorialists' en- gineer.; should 1)3 able to correct their figures. Mr Cripp: did not see why his clients, who hid been put to very great expense already, should be subjected to further unnecessary expense. Mr Bell remarked that he was obliged to tho Examiner for skipping half a dozen points at once. The Examiner I do not see why you should be obliged. You cannot sustain tiie allegations because they are wrong. What are the other alle- gations in your memorial ? Mr Bell There are many others. The Examiner said he only wanted to save time, and he thought the best plan would be for Mr Ben to select the errors he sought to establish. Mr Cripps remarked that he was of opinion time would be saved by taking the allegations in their order. The Examiner said whoever examined the de- posited plans Oil behalf of the memorialists must have possessed a very powerful magnifying glass to have discovered so many small errors on the plans. Another objection was that the plans had noL been drawn to a proper scale. The Examiner said that the mistake had arisen owing to the wrong scale being placed at the top 81 the plan, and disallowed the objection. Another ground of non-compliance alleged was that the plans and sections deposited vyii/h to; j clerk of the local board of Ystradyfodwg wero hi ¡ correct. Mr Cripps submitted that it was essential, on 1 stated the works proposed required the pro- moters to deposit the sections in question, tho works in this instance being an interference with a public carriage road; and, further, it was necessary to allege the alteration of the level or in the rate of inclination. In this case the petitioners did not allege that any public road was being touched at all. The allegation woo; that the cross sections were erroneous and defee- tive, and on a smaller horizontal and vortical scale than that prescribed by the standing orders. It hud already been submitted that that was not thv. case. The Examiner overruled Mr Cripps' object:on, and said that evidently there had been a mistake in this instance. This was the only legitimate means of information open to the public, and it was wrong. Mr Cripps observed that it was hardily likely that anyone but an engineer would examine t'lo^o sections, and an engineer would at OlLC sje how matters stood. In the result the Examiner held that he could not entertain the allegation on account of an in- accuracy in the memorial. Not one of the 109 allegations in the memorial against the bill being sustained, The Examiner declared that the standing orders of Parliament had been complied with, CARDIFE CORPORATION. The bill which the Corporation of Cardiff arc promoting in order to enable tlv?m. to obtain a supply of water from the River Tafi Fawr, in Brecoushire, to contribute £ 10,000 for the site and buildings of the new University College, and to carry ont certain borough improvements, came before Mr Robinson, one of the examiners of the House of Commons, on Tuesday. It was shown to his satisfaction that the standing order; ür the House had been complied with in regard to this bill, and this fact will be duly reported by him. GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY (No. 1) BILL, In the House of Commons on Tuesday this bill came before Mr Erere, one of the examiners of Standing Orders Proofs, and at this preliminary stage there was no opposition. Messrs Sherwood and Co., the agents for the promoters, gave the necessary evidence that the bill had complied with the rules of Parliament, and the standing order stage was passed. The bill, among other objects, seeks to empower the company to make new rail- ways and junction in Monmouthshire, at St Woollos and Aberystruth to take over the Cole- ford Railway and North Somerset Railway Com- pany to enter into new agreements with other companies, and to raise £4-50,000 of new capital with the usual borrowing powers. LONDON AND NORTH-WESTERN HAlLWAY BILL. On Tuesday, 111 the House of Commons, this bill came before Mr Erere, one of the Examiners of Standing Order proofs, and at this stage there was no opposition. The necessary proofs were given by the agents for the promoters, and the Examiner declared that the standing orders of Parliament had been duly complied with. The bill, amongst various other objects, seeks to enable the company to obtain further power in connec- tion with the Great Western and other com- panies, and to make a railway 2 miles 5 furlongs 4- chains in length, commencing at Swansea by a junction with the company's railway fiomPon- tardulais to Swansea at a point 270 yards north- east of the bridge, carrying that railway over the public road at the Mumbles-road Station, and terminating at Oystermouth, about 90 yards north-west of the Mumbles Lifeboat-house, GOLDEN VALLEY RAILWAY. The bill which this company is seeking to have passed in order to enable them to construct a new line, 14 miles in length, through the Monnow Valley, m order to join the Wve Variey Kail way, occupied some time on Wednes- day, before Mr Frere, one of the Examiners of the House of Commons, in consequence of petitions having been lodged, the Wye Valley and the Great Western Railway Companies allegmg-non compliance with the standing orders by reason of certain misdescrip- tions of lines and property affected by the bill. It was found after inquiry that the standing orders had not been complied with, and this fact will be reported to the House of Commons, who will refer the matter to their standing orders com- mittee to decide whether the orders should be suspended in this case. TAEE VALE RAILWAY. The bill which the Tafi Vale Company is pro- moting in order to enable them to make another railway, joining their east branch line with their main line, came, on Wednesday, before Mr Erere, one of the examiners of private bills. It was proved to his satisfaction that all the standing orders with reference to private bills had been observed in this case, and this will be accordingly reported to the House of Commons. EHONDDA AND BRISTOL CHANNEL RAILWAY. This bill was, on Wednesday, before Mr Robinson, one of the examiners of the House of Commons, for the purpose of enquiring into the standing order proofs. It was opposed by 13 memorialists, who alleged non-compliance with the standing orders of Parliament. The following petitiops were appeared upon,viz. LordTredegur, (two), Rhvmney Railway Company, Messrs G. L. Eox, and A. R. M. iiockwood, W. H. Wake- field & Co., Mr Chas. H. Williams, Messrs J. and R. Williams, the Principal and Fellows of Jesus College, Oxford Mr G. T. Piummer, Messrs R. T. and R. Bassett, the Taff Vale Railway Company, the Great Western Colliery Company, aud Mr J. W. Insole and others. A large number of witnesses were called to prove that the promoters had given them no notice of the proposed ruil way, and in cross-examination it was elicited that some of the witnesses lived as far vs fonr miles away from the route of the rail- way. Several of the allegations were sustained, The case was not concluded at the end of the day. CENTRAL WALES AND 'CARMARTHEN JUNCTION RAILWAY. The bill promoted by this company, with the object of securing running powers over the Great Western, Milford, and Milford Haven Railways, between their line and Johnston and New Mil- ford, also came before Mr Frere ou Wednesday, Proof was submitted that the standing orders of the House of Commons, with reference to private bills, had been strictly complied with. PONTYPRIDD AND OGMORE RAILWAY. The petition for this bill, and the memorial lodged against it alleging non-compliance with the standing orders, were drawn for consideration by the examiners of the House of Commons on Wednesday, but there was no appearance, and it is consequently understood that the bill will not be proceeded with. TREEERIG VALLEY RAILWAY BILL This bill came on Wednesday as an opposed measure, before Mr Robimon, one of the com- missioners of the House of Commons intostandiug- order proofs. The only petitions against the bill were Frederick Hanfield and others, and their contention was that although the river Ely on the banks of which the proposed railwnv wiH run, had a board of conservators constituted by Act of Parliament, under the Salmon FisherW Act, 1861 and 1876, and the Freshwater Fisheries Act, 1873; nevertheless no copy of the pbllS and sections, or of either the plans or sections, wis on or before the 30ta November last deposited the office of the said conservators, as required bv Standing Orders. Having heard Mr Correv I n behalf o: the petitioners against the measm- fi 1 examiner refused to sustain tho objection X cided that the standing orders had beJn with. Tins will be reported to tho Hole S course. UL

£ » E LONDON ANI) PLTF>YI V CIAL BANK, LIMITED". The half-yearly general mer-tim-of i l>; u. i was held yesterday, at the Cannon^r^H M Cannon-street, London, EC Mr Phi. "M Lewis, M.P., in the cli^ ^:iTar:1 directors stated:- ius re^rt me The gross profits for the lialf ve?- ™ ■ vision for bad and doubtful Tn.ui'nS pro- £ -39,891 lis 1,1. ine diS.oAT«c„™m0„te°« ■' & m per cent, per annum free of income tax • £ 3 to the reserve fund, beim: the in if vIoJ- .r/? i5s received in October on the new 3 X)t. rf^0s mvidend tiie f;uid in invested £ 3 000 in fi.Aw.\ln ?vil;eh frc-ehohl and leasehold premises account to rebate on bills; £ 10,494 ]s q.i f 0d Bup^e half-year The CKAIKJIAN having explained other portions cn the accounts m reply to questions, said th- oi rectors did not at present feel themse vS uS- hed m increasing tne dividend. He wa« or1«F the largest shareholders, and would be ontv too glad to do so if he could. la the oer FENS pn.e v.mch would psy the investor only £ 4 Hs w. o ,]J3c > w'as because they had a Wlllch the shareholders might well ltd priti t!1 regat|d t0 ti'e new premises, they ari-Po"i?.- nCW branch Cardiff in cons I J oamense increase of business there, lreviously, although their premises were position, they were in- 'nc°nveiiiont "in point of v<d; i 'Uie' They had rebuilt the premises as an advertisement for the .k, OeoiUes being suitable for the transaction of a amount of business. In writing off large s, from bantc premises account they had only MoptedthesMne course as had been pursued by all other banking institutions. declared*^01' WaS a^°'c'(' anc* ^1C dividend re!-iring directors and auditors were re- jected, and the usual votes of thanks concluded tue procsectings,

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COLUMN FOR GIRLS AND BOYS. BY MAGGIE SYMINGTON. Between the dark and the daylight, When the night is beginning to lower, Conies a pause in the day's occupation, That is known as the Children's Hour. Lonrt felloic. A STALE JUllE—THJi DICTIONARY A STOiiY BOOK- ORANGES—HEI;StJLf:S ANI) THE UOJ.DiCN APPLES —Tun EVENING AND THE SIOllNiNG STAn —TUE GARDEN OF THE HEdPElUDES—TUE GATE OF THE WEST—A IJTTLS INTEKLOCUTOil.— INSTINCT A Nil INTELLIGENCE—THE BRH AS A MATHEMATICIAN—THE STOny OF BUZZ, V'L'ZZ. FUZZ, AND MUZZ.—AOHOSTIO COMPETITION—A FRENCH LETTER— FKIC.VCM PiUZii Oii'l'ER— i'Uli TiiE CiiiLDitKN s I'itE ii A GAME. Did you ever hear a very st.de old joke which nmv again crops up in newspaoers and maga- zines tor there is nothing new under the sun. .> oa icaow ftoouG somebody vviio said that tho Dictionary would be a very interesting book to lead n iy \vdie not .so disconnected ? ISuWj to me the Dictionary is one of the most interesting books tnat ever was penned ami if you wiil only learn to read what is under the Ion? strings of'word* you wiil iind it so also. But, oil what long faces you would pull if I talked about telling you stories from the Dictionary When i bagin to tell them, as I mean to do some day, I shtiil not let you k;:ow where I got ioeni from until yuu are fauly interested. I or our chat to-aay we will choose something' that you v/ill think interesting as well as 1, Oranges for instance What can be nicer ? dust beginu:ng to be seasonable, and getting' sweeter and sweeter every day some scholars think that the golden apples which Hercules gathered in the garden ot the Mesperides were oranges, but I am not going to puzzle your poor, little heads by even trying to tell you their reasons fur thinking so besides, they are just as likely to be wrong as ligho, for scholars do nuS a^ree inoic than doctors do. You know the dear, old, luvthical story of THE GOLDEN APPLES. do you no ? e will just refresh our memory with it. There were three celebrated nymphs, called Hes- penaes, because their mother's name was liet-pens, and their father's Hesperus. I may as well remark beiore we go anv further, that the planet Venus is also called Hesperus when she is an evening star, and follows the setting sun when she is seen in the west. I am sure vou know that when she appears in the eastern morningskv, and precedes the sun, she is called Phosphorus, or Luciter. The garden of the golden apples was in the west, somewhere in the direction of the setti»°- sun, and the three Hesperides were set to guard the apples. Besides the nymphs, there was a dread- ful dragon there also. The great hero of mythi- cal story, whose name you know as well as you do mine, I mean Hercules, slew the dragon, and managed to pluck three of the apples in spite of the vigilance of the nymphs. Now, we have in our minds a nice little mixture of Her- cules, oranges, the golden apples, and the evening star, and I daresay you are wondering whether they can have any connection at all with the dic- tionary It is a puzzle at present, but as soon as we beg-in to go backward, like the story of the old woman and the pig, then we get the thread of tho whole. You remember that when the rat began to gnaw the rope, and the rope began to hang the butcher, &c., &c., we could see the force of ail that had gone before. So when I tell you that iu Piedmont oranges are called portof'ialloUi, and in another country pOí"ogltal, and that Portugal, the most westerly kingdom that there is, produces the finest oranges, you will lay hold of the con- necting thought. Now, if yon get a proper dic- tionary, that will tell you that Portugal means the gate of the west, and this brings us to the re- gion of the setting sun, where was the garden of the Hesperides. A very little person has asked me a very big question, and this comes next for consideration. Do animals have teachers and governesses to tell them how to do the things they do or do they know without being taught ? I foresee that I must mind what I am about in attempting to an- swer this question, or the propounder of it will be down upon me. It reminds me of that other question with which we have most of us been caught—Which would you rather—look a greater stupid than you are ? or be a greater stujiid than you look ? Well, I do not think that 1 can do better than shelter myself behind a general an- swer, and reply to my interlocutor by saying that opinions differ. Some very clever men sup- pose that all the brute creation are nothing better than vitalised machines, moved by a sort of clock work, g-uided by a something called instinct in place of the reason and intelligence which govern and control the actions of men. So far so good out theoo same clever man do not satisfactorily explam what instinct i" and if, in action, it close; v resembles intelligence in man, it seems to me that tae best conclusion to come to is that it is really ana truly intelligence with a little difference. Some ouher equally ciever men are beginning to think that animals may ootam their knowledge by in- heritance, and also by experience. There has been a great deal of what the Americans would call high talk" of late about the honey-bee mak- ing all her cells in the form of a hexagon she has been called a wonderful little geometrician, and the mathematical exactness of the angles of her cclls has set big minds wondering how she could possibly make them so correctly without being taught. Well, the high talk" did some good, because it made other ciever people with brains watch the insect at work, when lo and be- hold it was proved that she was not such a rnathematrieiau after all that the cells she made were cylindrical; and that it was by pressure they were, turned in hexagons. This was the end of thai storm in a teapot. If you want to tind out wuether insects or animals have intelligence, or are wholly directed by a faculty so mysterious tuao nooouy knows anything about it, learn all you can about their doings and habits, by hearing, reading, and observation, aud then form your own opinions. Now what conclusion would you draw from the lollowing little anecdote, which is perfectly true ? r 0'6 uame wa* Buzz, once got caught in a spider s web, A two legged creature whose mind was idumined by the light of reason in place of blind instinct, saw the poor bee struggling in the rnesues of the web of the cruel old spider, and re- leased it and laid it in front the hive. This happened just as another bee, wlio^e name was VVuzz, was coming forth. Seeing 15-uzz lying there helpiess, W-uzz went up to him and exchanged a few passes of the antenna. I believe that Wuzz said, I say, old fellow, what's the matter with you au<j then, 1 daresay Buzz told him all aoout it, and showed him the threads that still bound him. l: Here's a pretty go," said Wuzz, I must get assistance if you are to be set free its more than I can manage by myself." DB: he goes back into the hive. Presently he re- turns with two more bees, I expect their names were Puzz and Muzz, any way those names will do for us. Do you suppose they set to work at once ? No. They first of allexammad poor Buzz's position then they consulted with each other t'S to the best plan to be pursued for his release. Evi- dently they conversed by means ot their antenna;, for these are brought into mutual contact conti- nually, I dare say they had quite a hot argu- ment, Wuzz advocating one plan, Fuzz another, and Ivluzz a third. Initially all ""ere agreed, and they set to work. In a little time uiizz was irecd from all the spidery entangl'?nir<nts, then they all entered the hive together. as ic^ nothing !>u:; instinct that made Wuzz acquainted with Buzz's trouble, and resolve to help inm I have my opinion, what is youis ? ANSWER. TO PRIZE ACHOSriC NO. 3. y—o n t i t—i- 1 'i A L— o — n — T L— o — n — T tl — a —• t — 11 li— ■u: v-atrf I i i :C r.I i — You all of yon ih) Fathers, who saiteu a.n-y Vi.a. u. a ;>y.v country, in the id.ay.0;:r.y there what most tncj soag.st, i. reedum to \wi- shipGod." I have received quite correct answers trom Mad- cap, H., W. H. Wilson, Mahdi, Madcap, D. Ire- land, Margaret E. Williams, M. L G., Azalia, Ruby Freeman, Edith O. Williams, \Villiara \y. Blackburn, Charles Albert Walpole, Johanues, Maggie Whitemau, Harry Spurr^ H. Maclenuan, Rob Roy, Downie, Edwin Smytne, Lmnia Liu- nell, Pearl, Master Pritchard, Oiyne Oiowden, Jeanie 1', W. Duvno (will you write your name more clearly next time.'), O.R. J., p, Beatrice Bach, Mamma's Pet, Agnes \Vhite._ Wrong in one or more ligUtS—ilx.ee, A. W. Mackintosh, Ida Gertrude Lentlcy, James Ab- bott, E. C. Jeffs, Albert Abbott, lUorence Ross, Freddy F. Bootham, Ivichard T. Fnnders, Mabel Arrowsmith, Edward Christie, George Holborn, Robert Jordan, V. Asiiton, Hobarfc Slade, Nobody's Pet, Lucy 1-rost, Lmma b»ne, Edith Stanleigh, Daisy, Room Hood, litn Bobbin II Marshall. Further answers to Acrostic No ?' re: eeived from Richard F,Flmders (quite cOTrec\T. Emma Lmneii (wrong in light 2). orrecö I have not been able to find room for the answer to the Test Acrostic until now. As several corres- pondents are anxious to see it, I give u 1 Sir Walter Scott Wuverley Novels » orro — nr I n di V'(en) W a v v A r t h u — p1 L — ay of the Last Miustre — L T a 1 £ E 1 T £ EXIGME FilANCAISE. (A On volt en l'uir u-ne maison Qui prat passer pour lab-, rinthe Oil ceux qui chemiiient ;s.ns craint3 Sonte arretes cn trahissu. C'est une faiale prison. Ua lieu de gene et de tontraiute, Oil leur pauvre vie e-t■ tteinte Par un nionstre fjiein depoisaii. Sa malice est ingenieuse, Et de Vulcan la main fauietiss Dresse 'ties pieces moin subtiis. Son art de IJátir est txfreaie, Et sa luaniere et s<.s outils Se rC:1C(lntrent tons Ci1 aii-isiuie. ANSWER TO THE FRENCH ENIGMA. Ma Chere tant2 Maggie,— Mes soidats sont les lettrc3 de l'alphabet des quelle* je suis la premieie, c'est U i dire, le capilaine. Ot-ez la lettre A do mot Parget. c'e?t Pris qui reste. Alors, saus mai, Paris serait nrs VUEl tout.—W. COURTCNAY r Answered correctly in French by Romeo and C. K. J. A. A! Conseih | T. D. Now, my little French scholars, I am going to I give you a puzzle just to keep you employed while 1 am considering a new *.et of acrostics. I will send a copy of Casseli's "Little Folks Illuminating Book," of texts in out-line and colour, bound in cloth, to the boy or girl who sends me the best translation of ths verses and fjtd.;tiull to tL(: cn:g111:1. All competitor. be unuer 15 years of ago. Papers for competi^ to 00 posted to me on or before February tth. THE LETTER-BON. j ^ic following littie letter lias been lying in tM oux for a week or two. I am sorrv to sav I oveH looked it :— -My Dear Aunt Maggi;,—Allow me to thank ylo very much for the Album of Days, I assure you 1:11 very pleased with it, My sister wi.dies me to IW you for your IdlHI expression with regard to b*r-i UETFSIE o. DEACON.—Polebrook Ha:1. j-iJ LvVf ar Maggie,—Yen wid be pleased to be* ulia^ I have conectcd ten shillings for the Board TICK** Children's free Winner Fund, and sent it to treasurer, Mr Allen, as a New Year's Gift.— LITTLE .RIEIUH FREDDY F. LOOTIIAS-J bravo, Freddy! lam quite delighted to iM of such a response to my appeal, and I hope tW many other littb boys and girls will be stimulate oy your example to go and do likewise. ] 1' :e. My little friend" who calls herself Alicfi lias done very well indeed, and is quite correct tiie distinction she makes, but in puzzles oJJ must not be too particular, or the cat would n iet out of the bag- at cnce. j Mary Crowd en's letter lias been sent to Poll/' and I am sure she will answer it us soon as 1 give nor an opportunity. Gertie Ash bee's puzzles shall have a place the Hour" if possible. J^ar Aunt Maggie,—I do so enjoy reading Hour," and I hope you will always go on talking^ us. Wc often play at a came called Ap'orea'a*' which some of my little cousins u%ht like to kno1 about. The one who begins the play says that lie' she has apprenticed her son to a erocer, jewel# milliner, or any tradesman, aad lie mentions t" initial letter of the iirst thing he sold or made others must try to gue-?3 what she means. If no. the p'ayers can KUess, they give it up, and a ter tell'8 tiieui she may apprentice her son again. But if one' tne piayers guises c jr. ectlv she takes her turn apprentice her sou. M.-OUiVs J'lX AUNT MAGGIB. A-ire<iS ail comnr mications to IVUNC MAGUIE (Symington), Heacham, Nor foik. THE TIMBER TRADE. The Timber Traces'' Journal says :—On p'nei* before our readers, as customary, a synopsis? tiie timber trade dnne during the past veur, it' scarcely needful for us to add any explanations' our own, as the subject is almost exhausted bv & various reports, some of them full aud com file" which wo have he;e to submit, not only from United Kingdom, but from other parts of$ world also, and ivhieh will constitute in t-W tiie distinction she makes, but in puzzles oJJ must not be too particular, or the cat would n iet out of the bag- at cnce. j Mary Crowd en's letter lias been sent to Poll/' and I am sure she will answer it us soon as 1 give nor an opportunity. Gertie Ash bee's puzzles shall have a place the Hour" if possible. J^ar Aunt Maggie,—I do so enjoy reading Hour," and I hope you will always go on talking^ us. Wc often play at a came called Ap'orea'a*' which some of my little cousins u%ht like to kno1 about. The one who begins the play says that lie' she has apprenticed her son to a erocer, jewel# milliner, or any tradesman, aad lie mentions t" initial letter of the iirst thing he sold or made others must try to gue-?3 what she means. If no. the p'ayers can KUess, they give it up, and a ter tell'8 tiieui she may apprentice her son again. But if one' tne piayers guises c jr. ectlv she takes her turn apprentice her sou. M.-OUiVs J'lX AUNT MAGGIB. A-ire<iS ail comnr mications to IVUNC MAGUIE (Symington), Heacham, Nor foik.

THE TIMBER TRADE. The Timber Traces'' Journal says :—On p'nei* before our readers, as customary, a synopsis? tiie timber trade dnne during the past veur, it' scarcely needful for us to add any explanations' our own, as the subject is almost exhausted bv & various reports, some of them full aud com file" which wo have he;e to submit, not only from United Kingdom, but from other parts of$ world also, and ivhieh will constitute in t-W entirety an epit une of those which h»* appeared in our column-; from the sevefi localities, as the season ran its course. these are added others from places of trade, which have no occasion to senders com if" mentions very often, but only at intervals, n<| and then, to let us know what progress the tr** is making in their neighbourhood. There however, some broad facts apt to be a little oV<* looked, that come 111 appropriately at this per*1* especially such as affect the questions of slippy and the fluctuations of prices in the because by many tiiese are unknown, and others, who perhaps noticed them when'they t<* place, they are liable to be forgotten. It has been recently shown in this Journal tW the importation of wood goods last year WM; largest since 1877, aud Neiy nearly equivalent* that production the figures were as follow.?, £ elusive of staves aud furniture wood. For I6' the import amounted to— Load- Value. I 6,652,561 £ 18,969,686 I In Icoo M56,2 £ o £ 16,C07,28i> j Difference 195,123 £ 2,962,401 I T; V.. r I -I Grtf xl we uiy \:uue oi a iOUU <>I UUJJU'j timber, hard and soft, at 60s, ex ship, one v:? another, we shall allow quite enough and at t't rate the cost of 195,123 loads would be £ 538,3^ which, being deducted from the aforesaid ditf* enee of valuation between 1877 and 1863, le** £ ^,374-,032 as the difference of value between quantity imported last year, and the same qu^ tity in 1877. These are remarkable figuff5 According to experienced authorities, fore* timber was by this time to be at famine pric* yet our importation m 1883 cost us less £ 2,374,032 than the same quantity did in 1877. in order that our readers may be able to iuw the character of the Cardiff timber trade as a4 pared with that of other ports, we give the P lowing table Account of the largest and local imports of h'-f lowing table :— Account of the largest and local imports of h'-f antl S;LV1I timber for the twelve months en- iing 1W ldo3, compared with the same period of 1282 :— iz months ending i>ec. li mo:>n 3ist, 1S?3. end.a.f^ Port. Ilc-wn Sawn Total. "Totajj J.oads. Loads. Hn. A MI. TL.i.A*^ London 206,15o.. 1,249,90?.. 1,-156,063.. 1.366," 'Liverpool 181,701.. 600,461.. 632,162.. 640,* llull 92.144.. 582,437.. 474,581.. 456,f Cardiff 87,035.. 341,665.. 335, Hartlepool.Vc 167,655.. 327,925.. ?29.j Grimsby 136.226.. 240,229.. 269. Greenock 1 51,123.. 167,795.. 138, Newport, I bO, Minut-i'land ,141,559.. 23.836,. 165,495 121 Newcastle 70,210.. 90,199.. 160,409 184; Grangemouth 45/54.. 136,166.. 149,840.. 134, Bristol 2-350.. 105,565.. 125,925.. 116, Ola-it'nv 8.670., 92,695.. 101.36-V. 76. Dublin 20,088.. 76.910.. 96,998.. Gloucester 431.. 6,696.. 7,127.. b, ■Swansea 69,836.. 23,018.. 89,904.. 16.' I'oriMwstouimess 81,407.. 7,'31.. 88 638 77<j Leith 11,335.. 75,477.. 85,Pd3.. zA Belfast 14.274.. 63.0-58.. 3',342 W. Barrow-in-Fness 13.62. 68,669.. 82 291 lX,\ •Shields-(South).. 41,229.. £ 6,002.. 67,231.. Aberystwith 605.. 4,197.. 4,802.. 9. Bridgwater 323.. 9,618.. 9,96.. ll.i Cardigan 171.. 069.. 840.. J.5 l.lanellv 4.20).. 3.015.. 7,215.. 6.J Miiford" 7,211.. 3,382.. 10,593.. Iv*

PAINFUL SUICIDE OF AI YOUNG WOMAN IN DUBLIN. | The Dublin coroner, oa Tuesday afternf^ held an inquest on a young woman named who poisoned herself at her lodgings on Suudj! under circumstances which attracted much attfjj tion. The court was crowded, and cousj^ appeared on behalf of a young man named WOT whose name had been mentioned with deceased. The decease i some weeks back toy lodgings along with Wade, representing th^ selves as married people, but afterwards the lUy absented himself, and the deceased told the l»!Jjj; lady if he deserted her she should destroy herse^ OimSunday last she received a letter from which, though coached in endearing tei'i^ intimated that the intimacy between them n1 cease, it appearing that Wade's mother was ptfi sing him to break oil the connection. Deceas^ after reading the letter, cried bitteriy, and h. on the landlady found her lying across the quite dead, a bottle of prussic acid having- f. from her hands. A brothor of the deceased, being questioned by the coroner, admitted ty ahe-had a child five years ago. but lie had j virtuous life until she left her home with Wa»! who had been following her about. Wade hi self was examined, and he deposed that he to* the deceased from the streets, and grew fond 1 her, but she was always threatening to d- herself, complaining that he was not with enough. In this letter on Sunday he enclosed post-office order. The jury found a verdict tb deceased committed suicide in a state of tempore' insanity.

THE DYNAMITE US AT WOU* AGAIN. THE PPJNCE AND PRINCESS 01 WALES IN DANGER. The Pod says :—We understand shortly before the special train which contai^ the Prl nee of \lss and the party going to n A dc it- th •child's, at Haltou, started £ r«J Eustou-iquare on Tuesday last, a platelayer l covered in the Primrose-hill tunn?! lour or ii packages ot dynamite. Special precautions taken against any similar outrage ou the Print'13 return on Friday. > The Press Association states that tho rai'v. authorities are reticent respecting the discovejj of dynamite in Primrose Hill tunnel, but general impression ser-ms to be that there was*J intention to injure the train in which the Pri«2 of Wales travelled fram Eusfcon to Hatton. is pointed out that even if the train had pas^ over the package an_ explosion could not ha^ ensued, on account of the manner in which wj dynamite was enveloped, being simply contain^ in paper bags; Moreover, the quantity foa^J was very small, and furthermore, it is belief that the dynamite had been exposed some dvf before it^ was picked up. All attempts, the'^ fore, to fix the time when it was deposited mli, be purely conjectural. The generally accept, theory to account for the presence of tha cyi's mite on the tine is that it was thrown there b1 some person anxious ta get rid of it.

AGRICULTURE AND THE GRAn; TRADE. FI-AOH MOXDAY'S MARK-LAVE EXPRESS."] Mild open weather has continued, and tf country wears a very verdaut appearance, wheat crop looking exceedingly well. Prepay, tions for sowing pulse are now being pushed M(l ward, and an early seed lime for spring f-v*'• seems probable. Farmers' deliveries of wb^ have been more liberal duriug the week to so^ provincial markets, but the weather has W5 against the condition of samples, and values a<^ f jirices have further declined. In London. Monday last English wheat was quoted a shili'* lower a similar reduction has been very geuei^j Since Monday values in Loudon have ri further depreciation, and each market-day appe*. to necessitate concessions from previous rates V CQptiug for choice samples in perfect conditi" [ With regard to malting barleys, values still te^ upward, and grinding sorts have acquired steiw. ness and even firmness for the better description^ ) but trade has become very slow. Malt, too, very quiet. For oats, beans, and peas, there h:l^ been no quotable changes but beans and have become weaker in values. Trade for wheats oh stands in London has been wretched; du'l ih.vr.ghout the week, and, with the except, o! a ifw choice descriptions, in meagre supt^ Quotations have continued to decline. In L''v pool trade has besn da 11.

THE PKFMATE~6XLRIYLIGIO^ ..1.-t.J '1-1..L" {.J..L4 -_JI EDUCATION. Speaking at a meeting of the Canterbury Diocesan Education bociety, held in the library of Lambeth Palace on Tuesday, the Archbishop of Canterbury said the formation of relig^J'-e education was nothing less than vital to the well- being of the Church. Nothing was worthy to be called education that ignored religious instruction. Much as they valued all knowledge, and the Church of England bar! ever shown herself ready to value science, knowledge, and progress, they were sure that science was not real science, that knowledge was not real knowledge, and that pro- gress was not real progress, which did not take into account that religious instruction should be the background for everything that coaldba taught. His Grace added that, despite the coin- netltiou of board sc' d- the number of national schools had nearb C!c.¡:,>,1CJ sincT 1S70, and tha number of voluntary schools and subsgripdons thereto had also greauy increased, "YO'\>