The Cardiff Times

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I WELSH GLEANINGS. j » By Lloffwr. !J The Government and Wales. tt ^though a variety of topics of the utmost im- **tance—such as Home Rule for Ireland, the d Question, Welsh Intermediate Education, | 6 Proposed Welsh University, the crisis in the | trade, and many others—are demanding it .,6 '^mediate attention of the Welsh public, .,ere yet remains one subject, which exceeds i *«em all in popular interest, though perhaps not 4 L**™' importance. This question is the t r^^stablishment of the Church in Wales. It R "frequently been said that the people of this can grasp only one first-class" political ^tioa at a time this is hardly applicable, ^PorhapSj to the Welsh newspapers; but the ,'118 Predominant subject for this week, at any ??*• is the attitude of Mr Gladstone to Welsh tablisbtnent. Their views are fairly unani- and ooincide with the attitude adopted ? South Wales Daily News leader of the 19th r*4. The GenecU is quite passionate It is I after passing Home Rule that we shall ■ the fate of Disestablishment. That is Mr d "LdOtc)nels answer to the letter or petition of j I R e Welsh members. Is it an answer at all ? i "o thanks to Mr Gladstone for telling us then. j will have to say, of course, without being ft by anybody. Why was Mr Gladstone's not published ? The sky is on the l> e dark and threatening." Tarian i Qweithiwr, in its Parliamentary s cannot conceive what our representa- K t*88.can Rain by suppressing the letter and their electors in the dark. If it is true, *he London correspondent of the South Wales tyt News says, and it is difficult to believe able and so watchful a journalist has misled, that Mr Gladstone has refused to ^knowledge the position conceded to D;s- ?^bhshment in the Newcastle Programme, then It is a serious matter. It is the duty of our ^Presentatives to insist that the programme ould be carried out, otherwise another ■deration will pass away before this great in- justice is redressed." The Golenad also "cannot So Understand why so much care was taken to Mr Gladstone's reply a secret. The Prime p'nister himself has no desire to suppress it, he told Mr Griffith-Boscawen in the House on night that there was nothing in it. «ere is really no reason to fear that its pubhca- °Q Would give disappointment, for it is perfectly to the blindest even that Mr Gladstone is with his Irish Bill that he is not likely to touch anything else just now." The Cymraeg thinks that the uneasy feelings jJ'iob prevailed in Wales will now be smoothed the passing of the ninth clause in the Home fj^'e Bill; for otherwise, were the Irish members he excluded from the Imperial Parliament, would be no prospect of passing Disestablishment Bill. Now it is p a more secure position, since 80 members will be retained. It is a pity there- that Mr Gladstone's reply was not published, SO that Wales might understand that the day of ff^'sation of its aspirations had come to pass." Should Wales wait?" is the heading of the lo"we's leading article. |feGladstone/' it >8 obviously not ready to bind himself to follow Newcastle programme, nor are English "ibetals." The Daily Chronicle would give pre- ^enoe to local government for London, the "•tty News to parish oouncils. Truth to one man vote.' The brave and loyal old nation must until everybody else has been satisfied. But vjtioe will come to her. What she wants now is to ask resolutely for her political rights, to wait patiently for them." The Baner Wefofg not to censure or to praise the Welsh J^bera for withholding the letter. Perhaps jJ«y are waiting for a more favourable reply from Gladstone. It is known that he has given under pressure before. He bent under the *?hds of the Irish, but not without compulsion. hope he will bend under the hands of Welsh- without driving them to extreme measures, the days of trouble are not far off." The 2^ and the Sercn likewise discuss Mr Glad- reply.; but the Gwyliedydd is too en- with the Cardiff Conference to discuss f^'tics this week, and Eynon's political notes ^e conspicuous by their absence from the Celt. t! Welsh Intermediate Education. he delay that has occurred in giving practioal to the Welsh Intermediate Education Act hegmnijjg to create uneasiness in the Welsh The Act has been in force now for four not only has not a solitary school been j/^°ted a8 yet, but the schemes for many counties Dot been even adopted. The GenecU this 'ejoioes that the first meeting of governors f the Carnarvonshire scheme was to be held w "We have waited long enough. The ^Possibility for the delay rests on the shoulders Charity Commissioners. Many other will have to wait still longer. But ^^arvonshire has had the train on the rails, and <*thing is now ready to start. But the engine Oh l?°* 6° inch without steam; and the now is to get sufficient steam to drive the This steam is money, which forms the of education' as well as the 'sinews of *ha ■ have freely promised subscriptions: has now come for them to be paid." The and other papers publish a report of the 10n of the Carnarvonshire governing body. Cymru and "Cymru'r Plant/' I^Tpymru is peculiarly delightful reading for this ^•"th. Our expectation that the editor's illness be injurious to its production is agreeably n The editor (Mr Owen Edwards) is responsible for the selection of articles, ■°Ugh the proof-sheets were corrected by others. miss the monthly contribution on Welsih 'atory, as Mr Edwards was too ill to correct the *^of8 of this; but otherwise the number main- • its usual high standard. The place of ^ftour is given to the Folk Lore of Glam- J ^an»" contributed by a practised hand who has sub?1**1 year8 of bis life to the study of this jJJJect. The collection of Glamorganshire ^b3 is interesting, but they are not alto- ^ha °°n^ned to that county. In the article on "Jesuits in Wales" the editor's speech I Jul **yeth him: full justice is done to the wonder- Hqmv'be incomparable disinterested devotion, in<^rtTr!itable courage of the metlabers of Many Welshmen belonged ■»H *n<i Mr Edwards writes: u Not we, pur little sect may have Jbeen to pray for Wales, and to long to see it Tudur Aled was the best of the Welsh bards, though he belonged to the liy 0,SCRn order. And in laying down their J0se ^or their faith, the Wel«h Jesuits, like the Eva»« an<i David Lewis, believed that ififc d a"so for their country." Of the remain- (by art'oles t!ie sketches of Llargeitho School Samuel, M.A.), ot the .to Jjlij- A- Jones (by the Rev. Griffith JJ^l ^-A.), and of "Michael Jones y boti (by Mr W. Jenkin Thoma-8, M.A.) deserve of th striking character of the precursor 'tar national movement, the morning J0n 'be Welsh revival, is well drawn. Michael an ardent and consistent patriot in out of season before it was fashionable "elah patriot, and when his efforts to ^e^8h language and Welsh nationality flieQ with scorn even from his own country- The k H? has lived to see the turn of the tide, to the chapter is apt:— ^amryw feib Cymru Fydd 0 n oedd ei chenhadyqd." Jiojj ^11|«U'r Plant, "which is a sort of miniature edi- ° Cymru,"is now specially meant to supply iexv Welsh primary teachers under the Wra e> It differs from the many children's an<j Zines in Wales in being Wiore educational scholarly. The editor appeals to ,sfh°°>PQasters for help and for hints. Mr is obviously bent on giving ^Udr eC'1Ve an^ a rational education to the He regards them not from B*Wapoint of » poiitioiao, viewing their language and national characteristics as a curse to the empire, but from the view of the true educa- tionist, having regard to their minds and their souls. Let Welsh parents see that their children are educated according to this admirable code, in spite of teacher and in spite of inspector, if need be."

THE LITERATURE OF MARGIN AND FLY-LEAF. BY JOHN HOBSON MATTHEWS. All through the two last centuries, when writing-paper was very costly, owing to the heavy taxes imposed upon it, the blank spaces in printed books were utilised by our ancestors for all kinds of brief memoranda and we can scarcely open a book of that period without light- ing upon some such jotting, be it epigram, recipe or family record. Some years ago it occurred to the writer to form a collection of the stray literary reliques, and he now offers ttp the reader a selection of the most typical and interesting of them. Foremost among the types of the memoranda found on the fly-leaves of old books are the records of births, deaths, and marriages. These were usually entered in Bibles and Prayer-books, but urn not uncommon in the larger volumes of secular works. Thus, in a copy of Stowe's "Chronicle" (black-letter) I found quite a genealo- gical record of this kind, the entries of some of the deaths beingaocompanied by touching,homely little rhymes, such as :— God rest my Father soule God ease my Mother's griefe God send me Heaven at last, For here is small releife. In an old Welsh Bible ot the date 1727 there is a similar series of .genealogical events, as for 6Xd>IYlpl6 • Mary, the Daughter of Edward Hulls, was Born the 2 day of november, 1745," followed by the straightforward intimation that Mary Hulls is the Right owner of this Book." Quite a large class of fly-leaf inscriptions is that which compnscs the manifold and highly interest- ing notices of ownership, which we rarely fail to find in books of the 17th and 18th centuries. I have given one brief example already, but these memoranda are usually more elaborate and in rhvme. Here is a capital instance from a book which belonged to a bluff Cornishman Hie liber pertinet, Deney it if yon can, Ad Johannes Frowd, an honest Man In quadam regione He is to be found, Si non morietur, If not laid in tlie Ground. This last belongs to a separate class of duoglot ownership rhymes, another example of which was communicated to Notes and Queries a year or two ago Iste liber pertinet: beare it well in mind, Ad me Jacobum Weaver, so curteous and so kinde; Apena sempiterna Jesus Christ me bringe Ad vitam eterna.m To life lastiuge. (1582.) A slightly different type of ownership rhyme is supplied by the old Welsh Bible above referred to. It occurs on the first fly-leaf, and reads thus: Thomas Thomas his Hand and Pen God give him Grace to wnte agen. (1772.) We all remember the terse and vigorous exherta. tion of our school bookss Steal not this book for fear of shame, For in it is the owner's name- the concluding lines of which are rather too profane for publication. Variants of this rhyme were in use in the last century, but as a general rule the old dietiches commence with the owner's name," as in the case of Thomas Thomas cited above. Here is an example from the pen of our friend Mary Hulls in the Welsh Bible:— Mavy Hulls her book, The Lord of Heaven on her look. This is written along an outer margin. "Notes and Queries "haspreserved twoexcellent classical declarations of ownership from books of the 17th century:- Hie liber est mens, testis est Deus meus, and— Huius si cupis dominum cognoscere libri, Circumflecte oculos, nomen et habebis ibi. Recipes for dishes and medicines are frequently met with on margin and fly-leaf. Here is a specimen from the Welsh Bible; it was written in the first half of the 18th century 2 peni- worth of oxocratia, 2 of pereshellsa, 2 of dryapolnm, 2 pi dragon's blood." It is not stated what particular ailment this mysterious compound was supposed to cure. Occasionally one might light upon memoranda jotted by «ome thrifty housewife for the guidance of a friend as servant on his wtiy to market. Here is iih instance, and it is etorious to note that in this case the baok is an Elzevir oopy of St, Augustine's Meditations" :— Thos. Griffin, facter. MrsBoyseto pay for her 15s 6d at the moone in Cornehill. A darke lanterne, mace, nutmegs, drumes." I And this, from the same book, in handwriting of about the year 1640 :— My brother Hemy Griffin to be taken on friday or Saturday next to Lane the carrier of Hereford at the King's heade in the old ex. change." Just as we often wonder why, until 50 years ago, it never occurred to Welshmen to inscribe tombstones in their own language, so one may well feel surprised that, even in such a book as a Welsh Bible or Prayer-book, it is exceedingly seldom that one meets with old fly-leaf writings in the Welsh tongue. Such a rare instance does occur in the old Welsh Bible of 1727, to which I have,made frequent reference above, but it only dates back to about the year 1770. It con- sists of two versea, of which the first appears to be an epitaph, and runs thus :— Yn iach i bawb o'r byd ynawr, Mi af ar ol fy Mhrynwr mawr Mae'r Jesu'n galw arnafi, Rhaid i mi fynd a'ch gadael chwi. The other is headed, Verse of a Hymn on the Bible." and begins as follows 0 fewn i gloriau hwn Ma.edwfD feddwl DdRW- It is signed '« Thoa. Thomas." It would be easy to compile a, volume of these casual jottings, which, written in crabbed characters and faded ink, so plentifully bedizen the fly-leaves and margins of our old calf-bound books, but the examples I have quoted must suffice for the nonc3. I should be pleased if any. one will produce additional specimena of the ciass of inscriptions which I have termed ownership rhymes."

THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA. Of the shape of the bottom of the sea we can form only an approximate or general idea. The places covered by the ocean are protected from the destructive agencies which are the principal means by which the rest of the earth has been given its present relief. The force of the currents is least at great depths. The wind does not act, and. of course, the rivers, and the glacier, and the rainfall, are equally inoperative at the bottom of the sea. The bed is, however, sinking in certain places and rising in others, so that, to a certain moderate degree, we can premise what like the covered" portion may be or what like it actually is. But for the great depths only the sounding-lead is available as an interrogator. This cord tells the number of fathoms through which "Mink* before land is reached, and the material bro^l up on /the tallow of the lead," or m the more effective apparatus which, for scientific purples, h« dis- placed that primitive instrument, affords a tangible indication of the geoJog'cal constituents of the bottom. From researches conducted m this fashion, we are able to say that, in general terms, there are elevated plains, bills, and valleys, deep glens, and sharp ridges beneath the ocean, just as there are above it, though the differences of levels are, for the most part, united by gentle slopes. The i-es bottom is, how- ever, not a repetition of the dry land, so far as its configuration is concerned. Near the coast the land under the ocean is generally, for some dis- tance at least, similar to that which borders it. If, as on the west coast of England, the shore is high, or, as on the ejtst, a pjain, then it will Dp Continued With the same character for qonie dis- tance but to sea. But once the depths of ocean are reached, the variation is less. so little, indeed, that were the observer to be placed at the bottom of the.sea, the country around him. its gentle undulations, without abrupt changes, would appear almost like a level plain.

OBJECTION OVERRULED. JACK MA KBIT "Hew can we marry? I'm only worth five hundred^ pounds, acd that would'nt buy your clothes. MAY SPENDIT "Ob, yes, it would, Jack, for nearly five years."

He Come, you are surely not going to marry J that old mummy Goldberg It's a case of May and December. —She (poor but patrician); Excuse merit's a oaet of most and Pecember,

[ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.] HOLIDAY HAUNTS. 2.—CYCLING IN NORMANDY. If all good Americans go to Paris when they die, all good cyclists ought to go to France while they live. It is the land of perfect roads, cf ex- eel lent dinners, of gay cafes. You may count upon fine sport all day, upon something more, and much better, to eat than a chop or a steak when your machine is put up for the night, upon a far pleasanter pleca than the English inn coffee- room to spend the hour between dinner and bed. time. All France is the cyclists' Paradise; Normandy is the special corner reserved for the English wheelman's delight. It is so near, and so easily reached it comes within the possibility of an Easter or Whitsuntide holiday. It can be entered by Dieppe, the port of all others to be preferred by the man who travels with his wheel. The custom-house officials there are men of ^common- sense, and this is a consideration since the French custom house is a strange and unaccountable in- stitution. I do not pretend to explain the exact law that regulates the duty upon cycles, and, indeed, it matters little; an arrangement has been made by the Cyclists' Touring Club here, accord- ing to which, nominally, the presentation of your member's ticket will act like a charm and admit your cycle free, but I would advise no one to rely upon it too implicitly. My experience is that, whether you are compelled to leave a deposit or not (the deposit to be returned if you go out of the country within six months), depends wholly upon the temper of the officials with whom you come in contact on the frontier. At Calais, for example, sometimes I have been forced to pay sometimes I have not. But I think the chances are, if you remember that aFrench man, even if he be a Customs officer, likes to be treated with common civility, and you learn enough French to be able to assure him that you are on pleasure, not on commerce, bent, you will be allowed to pass at no heavier cost than a bow and a smile. However, at Dieppe you can land with an entirely easy conscience no money will be asked of you, because there it has long since been realised that the object of the Englishman who arrives with the wheel is to enjoy the roads, not to injure the trade of France. Once the custom-house ordeal is over, only pleasure lies before the cyclist. The real difficulty is to decide what road to take, which route to follow. The country is charming, with its stretches of woodland, its shady orchards, its lines of tall poplars, and its old chateaux and farms, each enclosed in a square of trees. It is looking its best, perhaps, in the spring when the apple trees are in blossom. Normandy is the land of the apple, as you know at once from the cider that is set before you at the table d'hSte, instead of the wine of the central and southern pro- vinces. From Dieppe, or from Havre, to Rouen, you pass orchard after orchard, at their loveliest when covered with the "flowery frost of May'" On the whole, this is the journey I would recom- mend to the cyclist who has never before been in Normandy, and who has but a short holiday to spend there. Outside of Dieppe, there are hills, but they are not very terrible, and for every climb th&ra is a ooast. They give the touch of variety which the cyclist loves and the peasant cannot understand. It is an easy day's rnn from Dieppe to Rouen, and you stop to lunch at the village of Totes, where there is an inn with a most marvellous old kitchen; the landlady may overcharge you, but the rafters and the firo place and the brass and copper-hung walls are worth a little extra. Thau Rouen, there are few finer towns in France if you cycle into it from the north, true your first impression is of an endless suburb, straggling on either side a badly-paved street, wherO a little one-horse tram crawls drearily along. "ButTihe tb^Vh itself, as "everybody knows now-a-days, has kept many of its old streets and timbered houses, it has its cathedral, its Church of St. Ouen, its Hotel de Ville, and, above all, it has the Seine winding through it, and inspiration to Puvis de Chavannes and many an artist who has looked down upon towered city and storied stream from the great hill on its southern out- skirts. From Rouen, another day's journey will take you over the hills and by the river to Les Andelys, the two little villages by the Seine, to Vernon, and so to Mantes, the town that Daubigny once painted, as he saw it iu the evening with its beautiful church towers rising above the. roofs against the sunset. There is no prettier two days' ride to be had, the country through, than this. And here, if time presses, you can do one of two things. "5?ou can leave Normandy altogether indeed, at Mantes, you are well over the borderland; and you can follow the road to Paris, now keeping by the riverside, now leaving it for many miles, now wheeling for hours through the cool forest of St. Germain. It is an unrivalled day's journey and from Paris you can train it back to Dieppe. This is one alternative. The other is to wheel homeward from Mantes through some of the other Norman towns Evereux, Pont Audmer, Caudebec, to Havre or Dieppe, as the case' may be. But the touiest with a fortnight or a month at his disposal, must go further westward if hewould learn how inexhaustibleis the provinceinto which he has travelled. He may skirt the coast, by Honfleur and Trouville and Deauville, and the many watering-places to which French fashion crowds in the summer time. And a day would not be too much to spend in one at least-Trou. ville by preference—watching the- gay French life, the bathers, in their pretty, brilliant costumes, the men and women, the children and nurses, the feasants and fishermen, whom the French comic draughtmen is never tired of caricaturing. If you have ever cared for your Mars in the prmted reproduction, you will enjoy him here in the original. From gay to grave you go, when you leave Trouville for Caen, with its two ancient abbeys—Abbaye a-ux DAmes and Abbaye aux Hommes; no meeting there m the old days of the two sexes on equal ground. Next comes Bayeux, of tapestry fame, a place to linger in for many a pleasant hour. And then fol- lows the most perfect portion of all this perfect journey. If ycu are adventurous, you may go as far north as Cherbourg, always within easy reach of the sea, wheeling in and out of queer little towns, long since dead or forgotten, hke Valognes^ifor example, silent and deserted, the grass- CrQw;ng in its streets. But, even if you do penetrateainto this far northern region, you will probably come back by way of St. Lo, and then, riding through Coutanoes and Granville and Avranchfis on the western coast, always breathing the fresh; keen sea air, you will tinally reach Mont St. Michel, the abbey-crowned rock fortress rising from the waters of the bay of the same name. It is the Cornish St. Michael's Mount on a larger scale and glorified a marvel of nature and art—of wild cliffs and stately architecture. Of late years, it has become a trifle tourist-haunted, perhaps, and the restorer has been at work. But even Cook and the modern Vandal combined cannot qmte destroy its charm. If you are notbreaki ng records, as is the way with most wheelmen, you could not do better than break your journey at Mont St. Miohel, aM spend a week. or aV least two or three days, with Madame Poulard, who will give you as clean a bedroom. as well-cooked a dinner, and as decent a bottle of ordinary wine as you oonld *ek for, »v«n if you be the most exacting of men. rs' <- .f If you have started out alone the coasts as I suggest, then you can complete the most delight- ful ciroular tour by riding from St. Michel, across country, by Vire and Falaise and Argentau and Evreux to Mantes, and theu through the valley of the S^iae by the route I have already mapped out; going-this way you have the advantage of riding down, instead of up, stream. I have been over all this ground myself, not in one straight-away ride, but in the course of several cycling tours. The main road, that is the Route NalioiM.lt, is almost always good, and the by- roads are fair enouerh to make it well worth while to follow them at times, provided you are riding some sort of a bicycle and that your wheels are pneumatio-tyred. Normandy is full of lovely old farmhouses, standing far from the highway? and only to be seen by the cyclist who will brave occasional discomfort or the man on a walking tour. I knew an architect who oycled through the entire country by the Rentes Vicwales aud Comm.vma.les, as the by-roads are called, simply to study the old domestic architecture. Indeed, it is one of the great charms of Normally that it has so muoh t6 offer to the cyclist who travels for some- thing besides mere pleasure >n the cycling. For the architect, it is inexhaustible; there is scarce a town or village without its beautiful cathedral, church, and houses, survivals of days when men knew how to build;, for the art?st. too, the motives are without etfd and-for the Kmateur photographer, the only drawback would be that his kodak would keep him so busy he would never have time to get anywhere The cost of the journey (that all-important matter) is not great. Blr towns, like Rouen, and fashionable watering resorts, like Trouville or Etretat, are comparatively expensive, and yet cheapness itself compared to places of the same tand ÍJJ, finely d- In the smaller towns and villages you can live for next to nothing. But, taking the dear with the cheap, you would pro- bably average from seven to nine francs (between six and Mght shillings) a day. Nor would this necessitate economising. It would include the elaborate dinners and breakfasts of the French table d'hote—the countless courses upon which the French commercial traveller grows fat and greasy. A room would be a couple of francs coffeo in the morning about seventy-five cen- times breakfast at noon, two francs and a-half; and dinner, three francs. In small places the charges would be even less. In the tiniest village, where there is no table d'hote, you may Ibe sure of an excellent omelette and drinkable coffee; m every caié or brasserie along your route you will find the French syrups which, whether taken with water or selzar, make one of the best cycling drinks in the world. The expense of the journey may be still further lessened if you are, as you ought to be, a mem- ber of the Cyclists' Touring Club, and you avail yourself of the concessions recently granted to that organisation by the Touring Club de France. According to this, by paying one shilling and sevenpence halfpenny, that is two francs, you can obtain temporary membership in the T.C.F. for three months, and it will entitle you to the benefit of the hotel tariffs arranged by that institution in France. In the large towns especially this would prove no small economy. You will also have the privilege of buying the official handbook at a reduced rate. When I consider all these advantages, to me the only wonder is that all cyclists do not, at every holiday season, pack their flannels, put a guide-book and a good map in their pockets, get out their machines, pump up their tyres, and set sail, without delay, for Dieppe.

HOW I LEARNT RIDING IN A MILITARY SCHOOL. After listening for some time to the instructions I received—that which most impressed me most being a recommendation to sit on a place where my tail would be if I had one—I was beginning to feel almost comfortable, when Tr-rot rang out across the school and a minute afterwards, with my hat over my eyes, my feet out of the stirrups, I began to realise what the inhabitants of Peru feel when there are earthquakes about. Oh, the misery of that first trot How slippery was the saddle, and how absurdly inadequate for safety and comfort. Up and down I was jogged. Now on the horse's neck, and the next second almost under his belly. Did I essay to steady myself by a furtive clutch at the pommel, my manoeuvre was immediately detected by the eagle-eyed instructor. Leave your saddle alone, Mr J-— he would call out. And again, as my writhings brought my knees up almost to my chin—" Those spurs were not given you to bang on with drop your heels and sit well upright. Left turn and as this com- mand was obeyed by the horses with the precision of clockwork, I was shot over my charger's right shoulder on to the tan, where for a second or two I performed acrobatic feats on my head. On re- suming my perpendiular, I proceeded to look for my steed, who had trotted calmly round with the others till he heard the Halt The next time you wish to dismount, sir," remarked the instructor, you must bring yoor horse up to this end of the school." As I climbed back into the saddle I tried to mumble out some- thing about the unexpectedness of the turn," but it was not heeded. The remainder of that day's lesson was simply a repetition of what had gone before. I fell off every time a command was shouted, and the nature of my fall was only varied by that of the command. Sometimes I slid over the horse's shoulder, and sometimes I shot over his head—this latter happened every time Halt was called. It didn't seem to dis- turb the horse in the least. If I fell off in his way be just turned sufficiently aside to avoid trampling on me, and continued his journey. If he had any sense of humour he must have lea.nt up against the side of the school and laughed. Apparently all the humour had taken out of him, or else it was concentrated in the preliminary bite with which he had welcomed me. At the end of that first lesson I had no fear left in me. I felt mad—very mad and I made a vow that on the morrow I would not fall off. It is needless to say that that solemn oath was entirely wasted, for I fell off more than ever.

THE SURRENDER AT SEDAN. At 5 p.m. (September 1st, 1870), the heads of all the German columns pushed forwards, and commenced to bombard Sedan with field pieces. It is a small town of 15,000 inhabitants, without detached forts, and powerless to resist artillery. The whole French army being now pent up within its walls, a scene of indescribable confusion arose. Shells fell and exploded upon houses and in the streets; and the shrieKs and groans of the wounded, the execrations of the infuriated soldiers, the cries of the miserable inhabitants, the helpless clamour and hubbub that reigned everywhere, combined to form a picture such as only a Virgil or a Dante could paint. Wimp- tfen desired to resign his command into the Emperor's hands but to this Napoleon naturally would not consent. However, the Emperor him- self caused a flag of truce to be hoisted over the gates of Sedan. To this it had come and the son of France, as the first military Power in Europe, set on that fatal day. The Emperor desired to surrender his own person into the hands of the King ofPrussta, and sent to the latter, by General Reille, who accompanied the German envoy on his return, a letter thus 6J;- pressed Sire, my Brother,—Not having been abletodtonthe midst of my troops, nothing remains for me but to place my sword in the hands of your Majesty." The King sent a courteous reply, inwhich heprayedtheEtuperorto nominate an offioer of rank to negotiate with the officer whom he had named on his side General Moltke, for thecapitulation of the French Army Wimpffen undertook the sad and humiliating duty, and met Moltke at the Prussian head- quarters, m the village of Donchery. The Frenchman tried hard to obtain terms that fell short of unconditional surrender. But the logic of facts was against him, and Moltke, calm as fate and cold as the grave unfolded tohiinwith pitiless accuracy the full horror of his situation. The teims ot surrender were settled at six o'clock on the morningof the 2nd September, and, being ratified by the King, soon afterwards came into force. The French Army became prisoners of war and all arms and material of war, whether belonging to the Army or to the fortress were to be handed over by a French to a German commission the officers were to retain their freedom, their arms,-and their personal property on giving their word of honour not to serve against Germany during the continuance of the war. There were many officers, however, who preferred the nobler part of sharing captivity with the men rather than renounce the right of bearing arms against Germany so long as the wa.t lasted. The wild excitement, rage, and grief that seized upon the soldiers, when they knew that they were to surrender their arms and go into captivity, surpass the power of description. By batches of about 10,000 at a time, they were transported, during several days, by rail, to Saarbiick and thence to various parts of Germany.

KILLED BY A DINNER. Perhaps you have beard of the cook who killed him&elf because the fish did not arrive in time for dinner! His name was Vatel; and when Louis XIV. oametovisit his master, tbe Prince de Oonde, the poor man was so distracted lest everything 'should not go off properly that he really lost his wits. There was a large supper, party the night the, king arrived V but; 90 many more people came than had been expected, that there was not enough meat to go round. nutmeg fiearing of bis distress, went to him and said kindly: "All is going well, Vatel; the king's supper could not have been better." Vatel shook his head drearily, as he replied: "YOQ are goodness itself, my lord, but I cannot forget that the roast failed at two tables." The next morn- ing Fatel was up at daybreak; he had not slept all night, and his head seemed on fire. The question now was, would he able to procure enough fish for dinner ? He had sent messengers to a dozen seaports, bidding them ride for their lives would they be back in time ? Anxiously he awaited their return, and at length a sleepy scullion came to tell him that the fish had come. Vatel hurried out. Waa that all ? Two suiali packages and he with hundreds to feed Yes, that was all," the man assured him; and there Was no more to come." Probably he meant that was all that could be got at one place j but Vatel took it to mean that no more fish was coming at alL II I can never survive this disgrace," he said to one of the other household omoera and later on, when he was missed, and they went to his room, there. they found the unfortunate head. cook dead. And the worst of it was that long before dinner-time fish came pouring m from all quarters, enough and to spare. Poor Vatel!

Mrs Q'Toole tflr^ J^olan's first husband was kilt by a bfasht and she got foive thousand dots. her second was kilt in the Army and she got ten dols. a mont\—Mrs Regan: She wor in great luck.—Mrs O'Toole: No, she wor not; her second dhrank up the foive thousand dols., and whin slie married the third, the pinsion was stopped. But she made the new man insure his loife for ten thousand dols., and, she says she shall go on doubling her bets Hill .be breaks the bâDk.

Making up Feeding Rattons." When, as now, there is difficulty in finding material to make up feeding rations in the cus- tomary method, any plan suggested should not be lightly put aside Without consideration, and carried into practice, if at all possible. The French Minister of Agriculture has endeavoured to help the farmers of hit country out of a dilemma by tabulating a series of equivalent rations which can be provided at the normal price of bay, and which may take its place. Of course, some of the articles he suggests are not open to British farmers, but others are, and therefore his suggestions—made on the authority of agricultural scientists—may be found useful in this country. First of all, he takes 22% lb«. °f hay as"the ration for a horse weighing about 1,100 lbs., not in work, and then he snggests that rations as stated below could be given insteadNo. 1— 1314 lbs. of hay. 5% lbs. of oats. No. 2-13% lbs. cut wheat straw, 9 lbs. oats. No. 3-8 lbs. of green leaves of crees (such as poplar, ash, acacia, mulberry, oak, hornbeam, lime, elm), 2% HM. cut wheat straw, 3% lbs. of oat, 2% lbs. of wheat. No. 4-18 lbs. green leaves, 2% tbs. cut straw, 2U lbs. oats, 2% lbs. barley. In the case of a horse workiBg"tcn hours a day, and which in the ordinary way is allowed a ration of 15* Jbs., of hay and 11V* lbs. of oats, he substitutes the followingNo. 1—13% lbs. of wheat straw (partly cut), 17 lbs. of oats. No. 2— 13% lbs. of straw ,{partly cut), 6% lbs. of oats, 4% lbs. barley, 4%: Ibs. wheat. No. 3-18 lbs. green leaves, 2% lbs, wheat bran, 6* lbs. barley. For cattle, which site fed from 20 lbs. to 23 Ibs. of hay in a ration, Heiuggeats the undermentioned equivalents :-No. It- 18 ibs. oat straw, 5% lbs. Colza cake. No. 2 16 Ibs. of dried leaves (all kinds above stated), IhB. oat straw. No. 3: 3% lbs. oat straw, 28tbs green leaves. For dairy cows, producing 660 gallons of milk per year, and which are fed usually with a hay ration of 34 lbs., the following are suggested to take its placeNo, 1: IZ-74 lbs. oat straw, 4% lbs. oats, 41,4lba. wheat bran, 2% lbs. linseed cake, 2% lbs. Colza- pake. No. 2: 15% Ibs. oat straw, 2l/i lbs. oats, 4% lbs. wheat bran, 2% lbs. linseed cake, 4% tbs. Coprah cake. No. 3: 22% lbs. green leaves, 11% Ibs. oat straw. 5% lbs. wheat bran, .3^ lbs. linseed cake. No. 4: 34 lbs. green leaves, 3% lbs,, linseed cake, 214 lbs. Colza cake, lbs. Coprah cake, 6% lbs, wheat bran. -Farm, Field, and fireside. Fruit Gardert. Thin the young shoots on pyramid apples and pears, but leave all' leaders unshorfcened. This will give sufficient outlets for growth, and pievent the spurs throwing out a lot of soft spray in the event of rain coming copiously. It must be con- stantly borne in mind that apples on the Paradise and pears on the quince stock must be heavily mulched and watered. These do not strike deep down into the earth, and in a very dry time, if not properly nourished in the way indicated, they will not succeed. Many iwpe been the mistakes made in planting pears on the quince. On dry gravelly soils it cannot do well, even when heavily mulched and properly nourished. The fruit is gritty and uneatable. Spare time may be profitably used now in grabbing up old worn-out fruit trees. There is scarocly a garden or orchard which has been long, planted that does not con- tain worn-out trees and unsuitable varieties. Fruit-growing in t4 future must have more intelligence brought Ifc bear upon it. The right kinds must be planted Mid tba planting must be property done. Tho t results are always obtained when the land between the trees is properly cultivated and cared for. The fruit is much finer from such trees than from the old- neglected trees on grass. In purchasing straw- berry plants for making new beds, obtain them from some grower who makes a speciality of such work, even if the plants cost a little more. Good strong plants of most of the leading sorts can be bought for 5s per 100, and. when pains are taken in selection, and the best runners only, are saved, the profit at that price is not very great. Vegetable, Garden. Those having the convenience for growing cucumbers in well-heated houses for autumn and winter use may sow telegraph or Lockie's perfec- tion within the next fortnight, and get the plants strong before planting out. In small houses they may be grown in boxes over the hot-water pipes. Sow cabbages for spring use in late districts at once, or not later than the 22nd of July. In early districts 1st of August will be time enough. There are plenty of good varieties of early cabbages, nearly every large seed-house has a variety of its own selection, but there is ilothing better than Ellam'd early, with Enfield Market to come a little later. Protect the seeds from birds either by covering the seed-bed with netting or by dressing the the seeds with red lead. Red lead is a sure protection from both birds and mice. It is also easily applied. First damp the seeds slightly with water and then sprinkle the lead over theoi, stirring them about with a stick till each seed has taken on a coat of lead. Wash the hands after sowing, as red lead is poisonous. The best radishes for sowing now are the white and red turnip-rooted varieties. Sow in cool ground and keep moist shade with mats, and all the seeds will germinate. Sow brown cos and torn thumb cabbage lettuces for autumn use. The green curled endive is the best for sowing now. Sow chervil for winter flavouring. The prickly spinach sown now generally comes in useful for autumn gathering. If there is likely to be any scarcIty of parsley, sow at once for winter use. The red globe turnip is the best for present sowmg. Turnips, spinach, etc., may be sown as the potatoes are lifted. Keep tomatoes thin of growth now. Flower Garden. Violets intended for winter and spring bloom- ing must have abundant supplies of water, or the red spider wilt seriously damage the foliage, and the flowers will be few and small. If possible, mulch between the plants with a little short manure; it will be all the better for this pur- pose if well broken up and passed through a coarse sieve. It is never wise to grudge a little trouble if success is wanted. Two of the most useful violets are the Czar for outdoor gathering, and Marie Louise for planting in frames in September for blooming in winter. Amid the efforts which are necessary to keep the summer flowers in a presentable condition in a season like the present we must not forget things that will flower in spring. Primulas, auriculas, polyanthuses, hepaticas, and daises must be kept' moving by frequent soakings of water, or they will perish from drought; even when planted on shady borders tha scorching atmosphere has reached them, and where not watered damage has been done by heat and fnnuals within the next two or three weeks only the hardiest things wiJl be a complete success, and the number of these is limited. Forget-me-nots there must be, and seeds should be sown on ground which has been well moistened in some shady situation. Silene compacta, Limanthes Douglasi, Saponaria calabrica, and the different varieties of candy- tufts are very suitabl-a for sowing now. When carnation cuttings die off, it is usually through damp; but when dibbled in pots filled with very sharp sand (road-grit will do), all that is necessary to secure rooting is to keep the sand moist, and the cuttings in a close frame sbaded.-Cottage Qardbring. The Weather and the Crops. It has been a favourable week for farmers in pastoral counties, but is is doubtful if the greater area of wheat and barley-gr^^Qg land has derived much advantage from the weather change. The news from the fens is favourable, and a good wheat crop nas already been secured in some of-the leading districts but in the Isle of Thanet—another torwaxu district—the crop is vary light, not 28 bushels to the acre where 34 is the average, and straw only 20 inches in height. With regard to trade, the price of English wheat remains stationary at about 25s to 30s for red wheat and 28a to 32s for white. The foreign wheat has not been subjected to much alteration from a week ago, the markets naturally resting upon the harvest reports. The spring corn trade shows an advance in the value of English barley and oats, but imported descriptions are rather unsettled in price. OiVt of 30 markets, 14 are weaker for barley against six firm, seven weak for oats against 20 firm, 10 weak for pulse against 18 firm, and 12dnll or oneaper for tqaize against 10 in fellow favoure

Parliamentary History of Monmouthshire. rw. R. WILLIAMS, SOLICITOB, TALVBONT.] The Parliament of 1628 was dissolved the following March, and no fresh House was after- wards summoned till April, 1640. No return can be found for this county for that date, though one authority gives the names of Wm. Morgan, of Tymawr (?), sheriff 1637, and Walter Rumsey, who was born at Llanover, 1584, became a gentleman commoner of Gloucester Hall, Oxford, 1600, and was called to the bar at Gray's Inn, of which society he afterwards became a bencher and Lent reader. He was made a justice of the Great Sessions for the counties of Breck- nock, Glamorgan, and Radnor, 1635, and chief justice, 1637, Hut was removed 1647, by Cromwell. He died 1660. So eminent was he in his profes- sion that he was styled the "Picklock of the Law." But Parliament was dissolved within a month afterward?, and a fresh one called to meet the following November, which became the historic Long Parliament." 1MO.-October, Hon. William Herbert, of Wilton, and Sir Charles Williams, Knt. of Llangibby (previously elected in 1621). The former gentleman was the fifth son of Philip, Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery, KG., Lord Chamberlain of the King's Household, and Chancellor of Oxford University, a noble- man of great influenoe and dignity, and was in October, 1640, elected for this county, and also for the Boroughs of Downton (Wilts), and New Woodstock (Oxon.) when he preferred to repre- sent the county. He died s.p. about September, 1646, qusere member for Cardiff March to May, 1640. His eldest brother Philip, Lord Herbert of Cardiff and Sherland, was M.P. for Wiltshire, March to May, 1640, and for Cardiff, October, 1640-50, and another brother, the Hon. James Herbert, was returned for Wilts, 1646. 1642.—March, Henry Herbert, of Colebrooke, vice Sir Charles Williams, deceased. He was the eldest son of William Herbers, of Coldbrook (see 1626), and married Mary, dau. of James Rud- yard, of London. He was again returned for the county 1654. 1646. -Hon. John Herbert, of Wilton, vice his brother, Hon. William Herbert, deceased. He was the seventh son of the above-mentioned Philip, Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery, and afterwards sat for Wilton in 1659. It very rarely has happened that four brothers have sat in the I House of Commons. 1653.—No names given for this Assembly, which was nominated by Oliver Cromwell and a council of officers, and was summoned to meet at Westminster, July, 1653, by letters under the hand of the Lord General Cromwell, quaere if Col. Philip Jones was a member. 1654.—In this Parliament several knights were ordered to be returned for each county, but not many burgesses. Thus, while some counties chose from two to five members, eight repre- sented Cornwall, eleven sat for Somerset, Devon, and Kent, ten for Norfolk, six for Dorset, and fourteen for Yorkshire, which was divided into three Ridings, Monmouthshire was allowed to send three members, who were Richard Lord Cromwell, the Hon. Colonel Philip Jones, and Henry Herbert, Esq. (see 1642), but on the other hand no member was summoned for the Borongh of Monmouth. According to Burke, the family of the Protector, which arose in Wales, and was deemed illustrious by the genealogists of the Principality, bore the surname of Cromwell, by assumption only, its patronymic, Williams, having been abandoned at the special desire of King Henry VIIL Sir Richard Williams, eldest son of Morgan Williams (of ancient Welsh de- scent), by his wife, a sister of Thomas Cromwell, the celebtated Earl of Essex, assumed at the desire of Henry VIII. the surname of bis uncle, Cromwell, and through the influence of that once powerful relative, who was created Earl of Essex, and made Lord High Chamberlain of England, him- self and his family obtained wealth and station. Sir Richard Cromwell served the office of sheriff for the counties of Cambridge and Huntingdon in 1541, and was member for the latter shire as Ricardus Crumwell Miles, 1542." His eldest son Sir Henry Cromwell, of Hinchinbrooke, was four times Sheriff of Cambridge and Huntingdon, and was also M.P. County Huntingdon, 1563 (when he was described as Henry CrumweU, alias Williams), his eldest son Sir Oliver Cromwell was M.P. County Huntingdon, 1588—1601, and again 1604—11 and 1624--5, and his four sons were cavalier officers in the Royal Army during the Civil Wars, in opposition to their cousin. Sir Oliver's brother, Robert, settled in the town of Huntingdon and became a brewer there, and also represented that borough in Parliament. He died in 1617, leaving one son, the notorious Oliver Cromwell, who was born 1699, elected for Huntingdon 1626, Cambridge, March and October, 1640, and who was declared Lord Protector of England, December, 1653. He died at Whitehall, 1658, leaving two sons, Richard and Henry. The latter was sometime Lord-Deputy of Ireland, and Richard Cromwell, who married Dorothy, daughter of Richard Major, of Hursley, Hants, being the Protector's eldest sur- viving son (for his elder brother was killed in battle, 1648), was naturally brought into prominence at that time, and but for his total incapacity for such a position might have fairly established himself as monarch of England. In 1654 he was elected both for Hampshire and Co. of Mon., when he made his choice to represent the former and in 1656 he was chosen for Hampshire and Cambridge Uni- versity (being styled Lord Richard Cromwell), when he elected to represent the University. In 1658 he succeeded his father as Protector, bnt his character was far too genial to fit him for the post of an usurper, and in less than two years' time he gladly made way for the restoration of King Charles II. He lived in peaceful retire- ment of a country life to a great age. Colonel Philip Jones was the eldes son of David Johns, was born 1613, and married Jane, second dau. of William Price, of Gellibir (Genealogies of Glamorgan). He became a zealous adherent of Oliver Cromwell during the Civil Wars in Wales, and was Governor of Swansea and Cardiff, and was one of His Highness the Lord Protector's Council." In 1654 he was chosen both for Glamorgan and co. Mon., and made his election to represent the former, and being in 1656 ats j chosen both for Brecknock- shire aud Glamorgan, he made a similar choice. He was also one of "Cromwell's House of Lords," under the title of Lord Jones. Colonel Jones, who purchased the estate of Fonmon from the Earl of Bolingbroke, died in September, 1674, and his grandson Robert Jones, of Foninon, was M.P. Glamorgan 1710-1715. 1654, Nov.—Thomas Morgan, of Machen, and Thomas Hughes, of Moynescourt, vice Richard Lord Cromwell, elected for Co. Southampton, and Colonel Jones elected for Glamorgan. Mr Hughes was the son of William Hughes (High Sheriff, 1619), and married Isabsl Godwin. He feftkm^ed to ti^Wanfefe tils' Hetb^rt family. Mr Morgan was the eldest son of Sir William Morgan, Knt., M.P., 1623, was born 1588 or 1590, married (1) Rachel, daughter of Robert Hopton, and widow of David Kenteys, and (2) Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Windham, of Sandhills. He was Sheriff of County Monmouth, 1661, and died May, 1664, or October, 1666. 1656, September.—Major-General J ames Berrey. No return has been found for this date, but in the following November Nathaniel Waterhouse, Esq., of Westminster, was returned in the room of Major-General Berry, who, being chosen thrice over for Co. Hereford, Worcester, and Mon- mouth, elected to serve for Co. Worcester. Berry was one of the Parliament officers, and Water- house was elected for Monmouth Borough Jan., 1659. 1659.—William Mergan, of Tredegar, and John Nicholas (qurere also M.P. 1656). The former was the eldest son of the member for 1654, and married (1) November, 1661, Blanche, daughter of William Morgan, of Dderw, Co. Brecknock, King's Attorney and judsre for South Wales she died 1673, and he married (2) Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress of Edward Lewis, of Van and Bourstall, and widow of Sir Fraucis Darrell; he died in London April, 1680 (Clark's Genealogies.) ( To be continued.)

If we are an. working for the same great end, how little does it matter that one should use a tool, and another a pen, and another a micro- scope I Of how much less importance is it whether we are chiefly busy with our hands or with our brain than whether we are trying to benefit mankind or caring nothing about it! Any man may be infatuated with his profes- sion, but the aeronaut bears the distinction of being perfectly carried away, with itlt

Songs for the People. Andrew Fletcher, el Salteun, in a letter to the Marquis of Montrose. wrote :—" I knew a very wise man that believed that if a man were permitted to make all the ballads he need not care who should make the laws of the nation."

SHADOWS. Lonely o'er the dying ember I the past recall. And remember in December April buds and August skies, As the shadows fall and rise, As the shadows rise and fall. Quicker now they lift and flicker On the dreary wall; Aye, and quicker still and thicker Throng the fitful fantasies, As the shadows fall and rise. As the shadows rise and fall. Dimmer now they shoot and shimmer On the dreary wall, Dimmer, dimmer, still they glimmer Till the light in darkness dies, And the other shadows rise, And the other shadows fall. SEBASTIAN EVAKS.

CONTENTMENT—A FABLE. All in a land not far to seek I saw a. crowd one day; With anxious eyes and ea^er haste They rushed upon their way. Some tore their clothes 'mid brambles sharp, Some waded through the streams; While others climbed the steepest hills Beneath the noonday gleams. They peered and searched 'neath ev'ry stone, Behind each bush and tree, I marvelled much that young and old Showed such activity. So, mixing with the flurried crew, I sought their loss to guess; When one informed me, 'twixt his puflh, He'd lost his Happiness." I heard them ask a farmer stout To help them find the Fay. I' faith!" said he. I haven't^ time; I've got to cart my hay." They asked his wife—she'd got her house His daughters—they'd the cows; His sons—their time was futly ta'eu Wi' horses and wi' ploughs. I watched the seekers disappear Behind the hill-tops grey Then, sitting by the farmer's nre I found the missing Fay. The moral he who runs may read; You who content desire Just sow your corn and cart your hay; Youli find it by your fire. J. M. K.

The Household. Personalities. Keep clear of personalities in general conversa. tion. Talk of things, objects, thoughts. The smallest minds occupy themselves with person- alities. Personalities must sometimes be talked because we have to lesfcn and find out men's characteristics for legitimate objects but it is to be with confidential persons. Do not needlessly report ill of others. There are times when we are compelled to say: "I do not think Bouncer a true and honest man but when there is no need to express an opinion let poor Bouncer swagger away. Others will take his measure, no doubt, and save yon the trouble of analysing him and instructing them. And as far as possible dwell on the good side of human beings. There are houses where a constant pro- cess of deprecating, assigning motives, and cutting up character goes forward. They are not pleasant places. One who is healthy does not wish to dine at a dissecting table. There is evil enough in man. But it is not the mission of every young man and woman to detail and report it all. Keep the atmosphere as pure as possible, and fragrant with gentleness and charity. After Illness. In scarlet fever it is necessary that the child should be kept in bed after the fever has expended itself for at least a week, and gradually reintro- duced into the ordinary modes of life. Cases of permanent deafness, painful rheumatic diseases, or serious kidney troubles may follow a bad getting-up." The system is very much weakeued after a severe illness, and the action of the heart is so weak that a slight exertion may be very dangerous. This is why we hear so frequently of heart failures following a severe illness. It is very difficult to keep a little child in bed when it begins to feel better after sickness, but it is posi- tively necessary to do so. No mother can afford to be lax in her methods in the sick room, when the life or the entire future health of her child may be in the balanc?.—Farm and Home. Hints. BoititD ONIONS AND WBITR SAUCE.—Two pounds of Spanish onions, a teaspoouful of salt. For the sauce, one ounce of butter, one ounce of floor, half-a-pmt of water, half-a-pint of milk. Peel the onions carefully, holding them on a fork while you peel them, then they will not affect the eyes. Put them into boiling water, and boil ten minutes, drain off this water, and cover them again with fresh boiling water, and let them boil gently until tender. Drain them off, and pour over them a sauce made thus :—Melt the butter in a little saucepan, stir H1 the flour until it is smooth, add the water a little at a time, stirring all the while, then add the milk, still stirring until it boils. Season to taste with salt and pepper, pour over the onions and serve up. BAKTm TOMATOES.—Steam and scald four large red tomatoes; cut with a sharp knife into very thin slices; sprinkle in a pudding-dish a layer of bread crumbs, over this a layer of tomatoes, then a sprinkling of. salt and pepper, several bits of butter, and a few pieces of chopped onion Continue this until the top shows a layer of tomato; now beat two eggs briskly, with a seasoning of salt, and pour over the tomatoes. Lastly, spread with butter and a quarter of an inch of bread crumbs. Bake 25 minutes. PAKOAKKS.—Two cupfuls of prepared flour, three figgs, one galtspoonful of salt, milk to make a thin batter. Beat the egrgs light, add salt, two cups of milk, then the whites and flour alter- nately with milk until the batter is of the right consistence. Run a teaspoon ful of lard over the bottom of a hot fryinapan, pour in a large ladle- ful of batter, and fry quickly turn and fry on the other side, then roll the pancake up like a sheet of paper, lay upon a hot dish. put in more lard and fry another pancake. JioiLED POTATOES—Remove the skin of uni- form-sized potatoes with a sharp knife and let them stand in cold water for an hour. (Several hours will improve rather than injure them, especially during the late winter and spring.) To each quart of water allow an even tablespoonful of salt, and bring to a boil before putting in the potatoes. Cover closely and boil steadily but rather slowly until tender. Drain dry, remove the cover half way to allow the escape of steam, and plaoe the kettle on the back of the range. At the expiration of this time, if not ready to serve, cover closely with a folded napkin to retain the heat.

A BARONET WHO COULD NOT GET A WIFE. Among the regular visitors at Vauxhall Gardeng towards the close of the last century was the eccentric baronet, Sir John Dinely, so well known for his matrimonial advertisements. It was his feWbifc to attend ben on public Bight# twice "br three times every season, when he would parade up and down the most public parts; and it is said that whenever it was known that he was coming, the ladies would flock in shoals -to the gardens. He wore his wig fastened in a curious manner by a piece of stay-tape under his chin, and was always dressed in a cloak with long flowing folds, and a broad hat which looked as if it had started out of a picture by Vandyke. In spite, however, of his persistent efforts to gain a rich wife by advertise- ment, he died a bachelor, an mmato of the poor knights' quarters in Windsor Castle, in 1808. Here is one of his advertisements taken from the Ipswich Journal of August 21st, 1802 :—" To the angelic fair of the true English breed. Worthy notice. Sir John Dinely, of Windsor Castle, recommends himself and his ample fortune to any angelic beauty of a good breed, fit to become and willing to be the mother of a noble heir, and keep up the name of an ancient family ennobled by deeds of arms and an- oestral renown. Ladies at a certain period of life need not apply. Fortune favours the beld. b.uch ladies as this advertisement may induce to apply or send their agents (but no servants or matrons), niay direct to me at the Castle, Windsor. Happiness and pleasure are agreeable objects, and should be regarded as well as honour. The lady who shall thus become my wife will be a baroness [query, baronetess], and rank ac- cordingly as Lady Dinely, of Windsor. Good- will and favour to all ladies of Great Britain pull no caps on bis account, buJ favour him with your smiles, and psens of pleasure await your steps." It should be added, that though his ample fortune" was moonshine, his title was genuine, and not a sham.

PLAINTIVE.—Gentleman: Waiter, I can't oat this steak it's as hard as iron.—Ancient Waiter (imploringly): Ob, sir, do make an effort to eat It! I ave to eat for my dinner what the customers leave, an my teeth are awful bad I

Welsh Tit-Bits, Neu Wreichion Oddiar yr Eingion. [BT CADRAWD] The Ancient British Kings. Xn.—Cybylyn ab Gwrgant was Kinge of all Brittaine (B.C. 356), and his Queene Marcia made the most part of the laws, which is as it used to be in this land of Brittaine. He buylded a cittie at the side of the sea, and called bitt Caer Byris, and now in English it is called Dorchester. XIII.-Bely, Mawr (BiO. 53), the sone of Managan, was Kinge of all Brittaine, and he had three sones, viz., Llud, Cad wall on, and Nynian and this Llud renewed the cittie of London, and called hitt aftere his owne name Ludstou, in British Caer Lludd, and now bye translation of speache hitt is called London. XIV. Cadwallawn ab Bely (B.C. 47), brother unto Llud, wus Kinge of all Brittain, and he I fought with Julius Cesar, Emperoure of Rome, and this Cadwallawn made the great feast in London, wherein were killed XX thousand of oxen and other fatted beasts, and XL thousand of sheep, and LX. thousand of geese and capons, and two times so much of all manner of other fowls, bothe wylde and tame, and this wus one of the 3 most greatest feast which ever was made in Greatt Britain. XV. Cynfelyn ab Tenenfau (B.C. 4) was the right Kinge of all Brittain, and in his time was our Saviour Lorde Jesus Christ borne of our most Blessed ladie St. Mary the Virgine. XVI. Gwairyd ab Cynfelyn (A.D. 17) ab Tenenfan, ab Lludd, alias LInd. in the English tongue, was King of all Brittain, and in his tyme was our Lord Jestis Christ Christened whene he was 30 years oulde, ana also in this Kmg'e tyme our Saviour suffered death upon the tree crosse whene he was somewhat about 32 yea res of age This kinge married Gwenwissa in the Brittish tongue and in Latin Gennissa, the daughter of Cesar Emperor of Rome, and buylded a cittie at the side of the rivere of Sevarne, where chey were married, and that cittie in the Brittish tongue is called Caerloyne, and nowe in English Gloucester. XVII. Lies ab Cael ab Meirig ab Guzryd (A.D. 181) was a wise and godlie kinge, and said that he would that his end should be better than his begininge, and he caused the rest of the kmgdome of Brittayne to be cristened, they which had not received the Christiane faith before of Josepheof Aramathia, or of hisdesciples, and this kinge sent them to the Pope or Bishopp of Rome, for two preachers, whose names in the Bri tish tongue were Dy fan and Fagan, and in Latene Dunianus and Faganus, who instructed the Brittonesin the Catholicke faith, and from thence until nowe of late the Brittones continue alto- gethete with one accord in the same faith without anye alteration or changinge of religion for the space of 1,400 years or thereabout. XVIII.-Coel Godeboy (larH Caerloyw) (A.D. 265). Cool Godeboy was Kinge of all Brittain, hee fought with Asclepiodotus Kinge of Brittaine, and according to some authors Emperoure of Romp, and he made two citties or townes (viz.) Caerffawydd, and Caer Fyddau, m the Brittish tongue, and in English Hereford, and Sissesher (Chichester), and be had a daughter called Elen, and she married Constance Emperoure of Rome, and in her right was Kinge cf Great Brittain, and she was the mothere of Constanantyne the Great, the first Christian Emperoure, and she founde the Holy Cross, on the which our Lord and Saviour Jesns Christ suffered death, for the redemption of all mankind. XIX.—Macsen (A.D. 384), a Britton born in Rome, was King of all Brittaine and Einperoure of all Rome, and he ma. Elen da. to Euda.f ab Caradoc ab Ryne ab Flyr Slediaeth, Freuin Porydain, and this Macsen bnylded 3 citties (viz.) Caer Sallawg, Caer Vethyn, and Caer Alync—in the English tongue Serousbufl*, Caer- narfon, and Harford west-and hee conquered Armoiica in France, called hitt Little Brittaine, and gave it to Conau Meriadoc to holde under the Kinge of Great Brittaine, and this Macsen bye the said Elen had 3 sones (that is to say) Peblig, Constantine, and Owen. This Peblig was canonized a Saint, and Con- stantine was a Prince of Brittaine, and Owen knighted in the warres, and of this Owen are counted to descendo the head and principal stock of all B-, ittanie. And at this tyme were sent froine Great Brittaine to inhabit Little Brittaine one hundred thousand of ploughmen and labourers, and of knights, esquires, and gents, twenty thousand of maidens of the lower sort or degree, eleven thousand virgines of the higher sort or degree, which eleven thousand maidens landed at Colen in Almayne, and were there martyred m the behalf or quarrel of the Catholic faith, and they are called the eleven thousand martyrs. The Book of Baglan. (THE REWPEURA FAMILY.) Thomas and Rees, and Rinallt and Roland, were the sones of Thomas Lewis; ab Thomas ab Llewelyn Y chan, ab Llewelyn ab Gwilym ab Dafydd ab Gwilym ab Ieuan ab Dafydd ab Kisillt ab Gwefri ab Einon ab Cadwgan; the mother of the said brothers was Elizabeth, the da. of Sir Edward Stradlinge; the mother of Thomas Lewis the elder was the da. of Sir Walter Bwleit, and she married the second tymte Edinond Evans, and had issue bye hyme three sones, viz., William, Thomas, and John Evans. The mother of Lewis ab Thomas was the da. of Sir Thomas Morgan the elder, of Pen- coed, Knight; the mother of Thomas ab Llewelyn Ychan, was the da. of R?cs ab Jenkin, of Glyn Nedd. MACHEN. Thomas, sone of Roland, sone to Thomas, sone to John Miles, sone to Jevan, sone to Llewelyn, sone to Morgan, sone to Llewelyn, sone to Jvor, sone to Llewelyn ab Bledri. The mother of Thomas was Blanche, the da. of Wm. John Thomas, of Treowen, Esq. Her mother was the da. of Sir Walter Herbert, of Raglan, and her mother was the da. of Morris, of Penvagwyr, and her mother again was the da. of Philip Thomas ab Gwilym, of Abergavenny and Llan- santfraid, Esq., bye the daughter of Thomas Blethyn, of Hen Hyp, Esq. In last week's "Tit Bits" the compositor changed Ticm Sion Catti to Turn Lion Cattle. Had poor Twm been alive to see this violence he would not rest until he had been even with the printer's devil. Dyfnwal Moelnwd should read Dyfnwal Moelmud."

A HINT. FAIR WIDOW "Talking of conundrums, Mr Bhored, here's a good one. Why is the letter D hke a wedding-ring ?" BHORKD Give it up. I am an awful duffer at riddles." WIDOW Why, because we can't be wed without it See ?"

A Kind Suggestion. You should change the name of this town," said Mr Morris Parke, as he paid his bill at a Saratoga hotel. What's the matter with Saratoga asked the clerk. Instead of Saratoga it should be called Sweet Home. Then the unities would be preserved, for it is certainly the dearest spot on earth.

The standard of good sjkeaking is to express oneself just as one would in earnest conversation with a friend. This we should all do if left to ourselves, and if early pains were not taken to substitute an artificial method for that which is natural. Hence the necessity of studying Nature, and avoiding all affectation, or the verv approach to it. Be youtpelf. Beware of imagining that you must read in a different way and with a dif- ferent two from that of ordinary speaking.

GOSSIPS' CORNER. There are 5,000 women printers in England. Lord and Lady Braseey have gone to Normaa* hurst. Battle. Persons bearing the same surname are for. bidden to marry in China. The average weight of the male infant at birth is 7lb; of the female, 6^4lb. In all countries more marriages take place in June than in any other month. Greek sculptors often used eyes of glass Oft crystal in the faces of their statues. The young Earl of Dudley holds probably the largest hfe insurance ever effected, the amount being £1,200,000. The Postmaster-General has been pleased to confer on Mr W. W. Richmond Powell the ap- pointment of Surveyor in the Post Office, in suc- cession to the iate Mr G. A. Fuller. Salt, for table use, should have mixed with it a small quantity of cornflour before putting it into either salt-cellar or salt-shaker. This will prevent the tendency it has to form into solid lumps. The superstitions of the Italians are well known. Mascagni carries about with him t whole hosts of amulets of ivory, coral, and other materials, including a special collection of aa- roasted chestnuts warranted to turn off the evil eye. Mr Tyler has been commissioned by tht Benchers of Lincoln's Inn to execute a statuette in silver of the Dnke of York in hIs robes or Bencher of that society. The statuette is intended as a wedding present to the duke from his brothec Benchers. A greater veteran in years even than the Prim' Minister is the present Bishop of Chichester, nw in his 91st year. Last week he delivered ir Chichester Cathedral a charge—sound and prao tical to a degree—which occupied nearly thret hours in delivery. Major Bythway, whose bon mot at Bisley ftfttl the winning of the Queen's Prize by Sergt. W. S. Davies appears to have captivated all the PreIII. men, is a well-known brewer at Llanelly* A knowledge of this fact gives piquancy to the major's observations on teetotalism. One of the latest of the provincial monthlies it called the "Tcmperance and Anti.teetotal Re- view." It has been established to protest against the excesses of teetotalism," and a large portion of the space of the second number which has Juat appeared is taken up with an analysis of argn<- ments for and against the Veto Bill. In an address to tbe clergy of his diocese, tht Bishop of Manchester quotes Charles U.)s saying to one of his chaplains, Doctor, I think yot. should have made your sermon shorter to-day." which produced the reply, "Your Majesty, 1 had not time." The bishop is of opinion that careful preparation will lead to shorter sermone. Driving is one of the Duchess of York'* greatest delights, and few of her presents have given her more pleasure than the smart little cart which she had already put to use several timet before she left White Lodge. During their honey- moon the Duke and Duchess of York have sprat many hours daily driving about tbe neighbour* hood of Sandringham. Five years ago a friend of Guy de Maupassant said to him, My dear Maupassant, there i« thi^ about you, that admiration is not ginte, for one can love you as much as one admires yon." Love me always." replied de Maupassant, ".fell cease to admire me"; and, pointing first'to'hi* heart, then to his head, he said gravely, That remains this is going." In HeIdelberg some little time ago a. Russian tedy had the misfortune to lose her jewels, which were valued at nearly £40,000. Information con- cerning her loss was published in several news, papers, and it is now stated that they were stoles by a woman, a cook, in service at Handschuhst heirn. Some of them were found in her posseMioBt and she is now in the custody of the police. The life of the Rev. Thomas Pelham Dale, who at one time wa' rector of St. Vedast, Foster-lane^ is now being written by Miss Helen Pelham Dale. Some letters from Wesley, in fao-simile, and from Pusey and Liddon, will form an attrac- tion of tbe book, and there will also be repro. ductions of a few paintings by the deceased. Mt Dale, it will be remembered, was imprisoned is Holloway for Ritualistic practices. The Maories who recently assembled in Parli*. ment in the Waikato district were much annoyed on hearing that their King" Jawhtao had accepted the sum of 6s on account of the pen- sion conferred on him by the Government. They considered that the King had seriously com- promised his position by accepting this money, and they raised the amount by subscription and handed it back to Mr Cadman, the native minister. Canon Jelf is to be the first Warden of thr College of Clergy which is about to be established at Blackheath. The college is to consist at clergymen, married and unmarried, willing tt devote the whole otttheir time to special work iff the Diocese of Rochester. The college is undef tbe direction of the bishop it is also proposed to admit both clergy and laity who can only pro, mise to give part of their time to work in the diocese. Those clergy who are unmarried witf live in the community. It is not often nowadays that one hears at clergymen giving up lucrative positions for conscience sake. Such, however, is the case with the Rev. R. P. Durnford, late rector of Locking., Wautagc. who has just been received into th* Catholic Church by Rev. Father Hayes, at the Jesuit Church, Farm-street. The living ct Lockinge is valued at j6450, with a rectory. M, Durnford is a man of about forty years, and it married, but has no family. It is understood Mr Durnford intends to take to literary work. Even a dun will cite Scripture tor his puiN pose." Some firms in Cleveland, U.S.A., cently sent out tbe bills in envelopes with a wide mourning band on them, and in one corner beat* ing three texts of Scripture-namely, "Let Uf, walk honestly," Rom. xiii., 13 Owe no au. anything," Rom. xiii., 8 Many days and year* shall ye be troubled," Isaiah xxxii., 10. Thif novel proceeding was the result of an attempt t(" evade tbe law forbidding requests for payment of debts to be sent on postcards or in envelops > bearing outward evidence of the contents. 'I'1t; attempt was unsuccessful. The Infanta Eulalie is now in possession of her new glass dress. The fabric from which Ü, is fashioned contains over 2,000 miles of crys", thread. To the casual observer it looks simple a pure white satin dress of unusual sheen an( weight. It is plainly made, with no furbelowt of any kind. 'ihere is a row of glass fringe around the bottom and four bows of the same material falling gracefully from the middle 04 the skirt to the hem. It is demi train, and thf waist is cut deoollette, with soft glass ruchinf about the bust and arms. It is indescribably fascinating, and must be seen to be appreciated. When Mr Andrew Carnegie, tbe well-knowi millionaire, is in Scotland, he is followed abaW by begging letters from all quarters. Wereht to grant all the applications for money he would not be able to buy his own dinner. Letter toim chanty oaeooMxttons, »irrn 4MM ministers for donations towards the schemes of their congregations, and letters from impecimioui persons of all descriptions, await him at Jtfi breakfast. "My furniture is about to be sold, off," writes one man, "could you kindly obligf me with the loan of jBlOO I will see that you do not lose by your generosity." Says another petitioner, Unless you can send me at once £5( I shall be bankrupt." By long experience'Mt Carnegie can tell from the outside of the envelope what the writer wants, and these petitions find their way into his waste-papor basket like snow* flakes.

A SATURDAY SERMON. Liberty is commensurate with and inseparable from British soil. British law preolaims events the stranger and the sojourner, the moment 1M, sets bis foot upon British earth, that the ground on which he treads is holy, and consecrated br the genius of universal emancipation! No matter m what language his doom may have been pro- nounced; no matter what complexion, incom. patible with freedom, an Indian or African Bua may have burnt upon him no matter in what disastrous battle his liberty may have been clover down; no matter with what solemnities he may have been devoted upon the altar of slavery-tbt first moment he touches the saored soil ot Britain, the altar and the god sink together in tbe dust; his soul walks abroad in her own majesty, his body swells beyond the measure of his chains, that burst from around him, and hi. stands redeemed, regenerated, and disenthralled by the irreetible genius of universal emanoip^. Qwbm&X