Pontypool Free Press and Herald of the Hills

£tr1JF1Jlitan (Soss'tp. 1JY OTTR OWN CORRESPONDENT. fThe remarks under this head are to be regarded as the ex- pression of independent opinion, from the pen of a gentleman in whom we have the greatest confidence, but for which we nevertheless do not hold ourselves responsible.] With the Irish Church Bill in committee, much of the public interest in the whole question has revived, and speculation is rife not only as to the progress of the measure in the House of Commons, but as to the course which their lordships of the Upper House will pursue. The probabilities now are that the Commons will ratify the main features of the measure, and that the real tug of war will come in the House of Lords, and opinions are much divided as to the result of the contest. Not being a prophet, I am content to wait and watch, caring nothing for the confident prophecies that are just now so common. Will the Queen visit Ireland in the autumn ? is a question now frequently asked; and here again the prophets are self-confident. The rumour that her Majesty will do so has not been, as far as I have noticed, contradicted, but then such rumours very seldom are. Let us hope at all events that the Queen will pay a visit to the Emerald Isle. The Irish have some cause to complain perhaps that, say for the last hundred years, royalty has not much honoured hem in this way, and it cannot be doubted that if the Queen choose to sojourn in the green isle she will be received with as hearty a loyalty and as enthusiastic a love as was ever manifested towards her. If the Bill to amend the Adulteration Act of 1860 be passed, the public will have some better guarantee against the adulteration of articles of food and drink as well as drugs, and perhaps the provisions of the new bill are as stringent as can at present be endured by a nation of shopkeepers. But still, in my humble opinion, the measure does not go far enough. It im- poses a penalty, it is true, of JE50 for adulterating, and £20 for knowingly selling adulterated articles of food or drink, or drugs, and if this penalty be enforced it will prove "amoral and a caution." But will it be enforced ? That remains to be seen. I fear the bill is not sufficiently compulsory. Analysts are to be appointed, to whom inspectors of nuisances may sub- mit articles to be analysed, and who are to make quarterly reports to the local authorities. But quis custodiet ipsos custodes ? Who is to guarantee and enforce prosecution. Purchasers are to be entitled" on payment to the inspector of a small sum, to have any article analysed." True, but then we have public analysts already, and purchasers are now "entitled" to do what the new measure proposes; but they don't do it, and it is not to be expected that they will. Most people look for good effects from this bill, should it become an Act, from the heavy penalties. For my own part, I should prefer smaller penalties, with proper provision for inspection, analysis, and prosecu- tion at the public, not private expense. The evil, how- ever, is so great that any well considered attempt to check it deserves public support. A notice of motion has been given to call the atten- tion of the House of Commons to the frauds of Mr. Higgs, clerk to the Great Central Gas Company, and for the purpose of showing that such frauds as these ultimately fall on the public, who have to pay an extra price for gas. How far this may be the case will be for Mr. Goldney to show, but it is certain that, considering the immense consumption of gas in London, we pay much too dearly for it. I notice that in Shef- field gas has been reduced to per 1,000, and even to 2s. 9d., "an allowance being made on taking a quantity," and that in Swansea the price has been reduced from 3s. 6d. to 3s. 3d. Why then should we pay 4s. ? The consumption of gas is every day extend- ing in the metropolis, and in all but poor and small houses builders are now in the habit of fitting up new dwellings with gas pipes, leaving the finishing touch to the incoming tenant. But gas would be still more extensively used were it not so unnecessarily dear. It is a fact worth consideration that the Fire Insurance offices prefer gas to any other mode of lighting, as the risk of "the devouring element" is considerably less. Ir. Edmnnd Yates, who formerly held an important position in the General Post Office, is engaged, it is said, in obtaining statistics and information from pro- vincial newspaper proprietors in reference to the re- duction of for printed matter passing through the post. This looks as though Government were in- clined to the view taken some little time since by Mr. Graves, M.P. There are not many proposed reforms perhaps in relation to which there is so decided a balance ol" argument in favour of reform as on this subject The Jnly arguments against it are first those very objections which were originally made to the introduction of the penny postage system. The re- daction ot postage on newspapers would be a great boon to ne wspaper proprietors and a benefit to society generally, and would do no harm to any one, while ultimately the G. P. O. itself would be the gainer. We have had a Velocipedal display by several en- thusiasts, who had been previously discussing the merits and demerits of the velocipedes at the Society of Inventors. The crowded neighbourhood of the Strand and Charing Cross was chosen for this unwonted display, but then it should be added that it was past ten o'clock at night, when the traffic has con- siderably diminished. The bicycle, however, has not yet been, as it were, acclimatised in London, and perhaps never will be, on account of the throng of vehicles in the road, and the police prohibit- ing them on the pavement. But they will now come into vogue, perhaps, in the suburbs of the metropolis, where they are even now occasionally seen. A French gentleman has stated that he did the distance between Rouen and Paris, ninety miles in one day, without much fatigue. This is capital. But something more definite and better still has been recorded. Mr. Booth, who claims to be the champion of skating, may, for the moment, claim the honours of velocipede champion —till he is beaten. He has done the journey from London to Brighton, fifty-two miles, in seven hours and a-half, or at the rate of seven miles an hour. Such facts as these will perhaps lead to velocipede races—and possibly broken necks. The smokers on railways have gained another triumph by the permission to enjoy the weed on the Metropolitan Railway, though it was generally thought that the exception of this line from the general regulation to provide smoking carriages was a wholesome one. It would seem, however, that the smokers are more powerful than Parliament or rail- way companies, for smoking was just as common on this line as on others, and the compulsory establish- ment of smoking carriages will help the railway authorities to preserve the other carriages free from smoke. After all, however, in spite of the Act of Parliament and bye-laws, the matter still rests to a great extent as it was before, and mutual forbearance occasionally does more than legislation, while the reverse of this virtue frequently proves too powerful for any regulations whatever. Although the step which the Government has taken in sending out some unemployed dockyard men, with their wives and families, will go but a little way to- wards meeting the requirements either of Canada or the home country, that step is in the right direction, and will not tend to damp private efforts. Indeed, it has been shown that out of 300 emigrants sent by Government to Canada in a Government vessel, no less than ninety have been assisted by the Woolwich Relief Committee. It would be well if private efforts were better supported than they are by the public. We should gain largely by it in the long run. The Picture Exhibitions are now attracting crowds of lovers of art cognoscenti, idlers, loungers, artists, swells, and "girls of the period." Many, no doubt, take intense delight in the beautiful paintings that are so numerous as each exhibition comes round, and many perhaps know little about art, and care less, but only go to these exhibitions because it is the correct thing for fashionable people to do. What a thrill of delight must the previously unknown artist feel when he reads the enthusiastic encomiums of the art-critics, or hears the admiring remarks of the visitors as they crowd round his painting. But what of the unfortu- nate artist whose painting is rejected by the Royal Academy committee? We may form some idea of his feelings by the remark made by Dr. Lankester, the coroner, at an inquest just held. He had held two or three inquests on artists, he said, whose minds had given way under anxiety and excitement while waiting the decision of the committee of the Royal Academy. This inquest, by the way, was held on an unhappy Frenchman, who had devoted himself incessantly to the painting of a great picture, and who had literally starved himself to finish it, dying, poor fellow from t-heer privation, just when the painting on which he had set his heart was on the eve of completion. Many a painting, perhaps, on which fashionable loungers gaze at this time of the year has a sad story connected with it, besides the story told on the canvas. The prices occasionally given for even rough un- finished sketches, by great masters, are wonderful. ome of the late Mr. Turner's productions, left to his friend and biographer, Mr. Ruskin, have just been old. A painting of the Slave Ship" brought t'2,042. A mere sketch—just the commencement of a < rawing which, when finished, would have represented the Bass Rock, brought £R4 an unfinished drawing of Margate Pier, fetched JB73 10s. a part of a sea piece i .rought £67 and a little sketch, said to have taken Turner only three minutes, brought £5 15s. These are enormous prices, but then it is the fashion to admire extravagantly the works of Turner. There was, per- haps, far more in either of two sketches by the late John Leech, which sold for five guineas and for six and a-half guineas. It is said that steps are being taken for establishing a betting exchange at Edinburgh. So much the worse for Edinburgh. We have nearly (not quite) got rid of the nuisance of betting men al fresco, but the evil of betting is rife as ever, and there are several clubs in London almost wholly supported by bookmakers and betting men. The modern Athens would do well to prevent, if possible, any such a demoralising institu- tion as a betting exchange. The banquet recently given to Mr. Charles Dickens, and some remarks made by speakers on that occasion, have given rise to considerable discussion as to the alleged scarcity of official rewards for literary men on the one hand, and as to their vast power and influence on the other. As illustrating this latter point, reference may be made to the enormous influence of the self- exiled Victor Hugo. It is said that simultaneously with the publication of his novel L'Homme qui Rit" in Paris, will be published in various parts of the world, two translations in English, one in German, four in Spanish, two in Portuguese, one in Russian, one in Polish, one in Dutch, two 'in Greek, one in Hungarian, one in Swedish, androne in Czechian; besides which the English translation for America has already appeared. Here then will be at the same time offered to almost the whole reading world (curious that Italian should be omitted) the last novel of one of the most distinguished European writers. Can any states- matfin the world boast of such influence as this ? It is very doubtful. The simultaneous publication of a novel in a dozen languages, and this in distant parts of the world, is indeed a notable fact, at once proving the power of the novelist for good or evil, or both, and that under whatever form of government men in different nations may be ruled, there is still throughout the world a republic of letters. I have heard that this work of M. Hugo's is the finest he has ever written and that is saying a good deal, but it is earnestly to be hoped that its moral tone may be more healthy than some of his previous books.

A DISPUTED WILL. In the Court of Probate the cause of "Blakeman v. Blakeman" has been heard. The testator, John Blakeman, was an innkeeper at Stafford. He bad made several wills, leaving his property, which con- sisted of his inn and some land and cottages, to his wife. He was addicted to drinking, and when he was not sober he was very violent. In September, 1868, he assaulted his wife, and she took out a summons ag-ainst him, and had him put into gaol for a few days. When he was released he was very angry with her, and began to drink again. He then signed an agree- ment conveying all his property to his father, and he also made a will in favour of his father and brother, and leaving nothing to his wife. When he re- covered from the effects of his drunkenness, he repudiated the agreement, alleging that he did not know what he was doing when he executed it, and he instructed his solicitor, Mr. Hand, to take proceed- ings to have it set aside. At the same time he executed another will, leaving everything to his wife, with whom he was then living on affectionate terms. He continued sober until the day of his death, which occutred on the 14th of December, 1868. On that day he suddenly and without any provocation struck his wife on the head with a hammer, and nothing more was seen of him until his body was found upon a line of railway in a mutilated state, a train having passed over him and killed him. An inquest was held, and a verdict of temporary insanity was returned. The plaintiff, who was his widow, propounded the will made in her favour on the 13th of November, 1868 The defendant, who was his brother, alleged that he was of unsound mind when that will was .made, and propounded the previous will of the 2nd of Oetober, 1868. Mr. Hand, the solicitor who prepared the will of the 13th of November, and his two clerks who attested it, and the medical attendant of the deceased, were examined, and proved that he was perfectly sober and rational at the time when the will was prepared and executed. Some witnesses were called on the other side for the purpose uf showing that his mind was af- fected by excessive drinking. His lordship was of opinion that the testator was of sound mind on the 13th of November, 1868, and that there was no reasonable ground for the opposition. He therefore pronounced for the will propounded by the plaintiff, and condemned the defendant in costs.

"A FRES BREAKFAST TABLE." In pursuance of an announcement headed as above, a public meeting was held in the Vestry-hall, St. Pancras, London, on Saturday night, for the purpose of petitioning Parliament in favour of further redac- tions of expenditure, in order to secure the repeal of taxes affecting trade, industry, and employment. Ir. Serjeant Simon, M.P., was in the chair. He said the excse and customs duties amounted to £42,000,000, making more than two-thirds of the national revenue levied on the industry of the people. Indirect taxation rested upon a wrong basis, and was a cheat upon the masses, and he imiste4f<tbatît would be much better for consumer to pa.y his taxes in one lump sum than by the present system of giving them in driblets to the tradesmen. Dr. Walter Smith proposed the following resolution :— That this meeting, while expressing it3 satisfaction that a saving of £2,261,000 has been effected in the estimates for the present year, (It sires to urge upon Parliament the necessity of a more complete and thorough revision of the national expenditure in every department, in order to secure further reductions therein that the results of previous relaxations of the tariff amply warrant further progress in the liberation of commerce frem fiscal imposts alld that the repea1 of the duties upon tea, ceffee, and sugar would relieve the tax- payers from a large portion of their burthens, would promote the extension of trade, manufactures, and employment, and would benefit every section of the community. Mr. Noble, in seconding the resolution, said that the strength of the landlord element in the House of Com- mons was a great injury to the working man, for while the land contributed one-third of the national revenue 160 years ago, only the sixty-second part of the revenue was obtained from that source at present. The resolution was unanimously agreed to. Several gentlemen addressed the meeting, and a petition embodying the spirit of the resolution was adopted.

THE LAST WONDERFUL NUGGET. The Australian correspondent of The Times writes:— Had we not become long ago dulled to anything in the nature of a surprise coming to us from the gold fields, we should have extracted a little more dis- cussion about our last wonder in gold. Until recently Ballarat could boast of having produced the largest lump of gold (some 13710. weight) on record, but now that is thrown quite into the shade by a mass of 2101b. weight, troy, unearthed by two miners, named John Deason and Richard Oates (poor Cornish men), about three weeks back. It was found only about two inches beneath the surface, and at one of our earlier goldfields in the Donolly district, which has been well dug over for many years past. The lucky finders of the prize at once transferred it from its native bed to a dray—it was described as a tolerably heavy lift for two men— and took it off to the local branch of the London Chartered Bank, by whose manager it was bought for the sum of £9,600. The men were offered £9,000 for it at a venture before weighing, but the result proved their sagacity in declining even that apparently hand- some sum. It has been melted down (losing only 7 dwts. in the process) and probably it goes to England in the mail steamer which carries this letter. Some natural regret has been expressed here that only a rough drawing (but no model) has been taken of this the greatest curiosity which our goldfields have ever yet yielded. At the same time it is very curious to observe how very little surprise has been expressed at the discovery itself. Apparently we have been talking about tons of gold until we have become comparatively insensible to mere hundred-weights.

WILL THEY FIGHT A DUEL? The Paris public are taking great interest in a most virulent polemic which is raging between M. Anatole de la Forge and M. Emile de Girardin, whose paper, the Liberte, published, the other evening, the following epistle :— Sir,—Before replying in the Sitcle to your insults, 1 wish to know whether you still intend sheltering yourself behind the pretext of Carrel's death, so as never to give satisfaction, weapons in hand, to honest people whom you insult in your paper. After having read your article of this evening, I have a right to challenge you, and to request you to make known to me what your intentions are.—ANATOLE DE LA FORGE. To this letter M. de Girardin replies in the following terms :— Bullets or swords have never been arguments, and never solved any controversy. Y uu pOSgeSS the same weapon as I do, and I have the same as JOU have make use of yours as I do of mine. If you choose to fight this duel with a pen, I willingly consent that seconds should be appointed on beth sides, to decide which of J ou or I shall have wounded each other most severely, and in such a manner as to put an end to the encounter. Do you prefer that we should both take a ream of paper, a bottle of ink, a box of pens, and that the fight should only end when the pens, ink, and paper are ex- hausted ? Let us choose

A REMARKABLE CASE. At the Mansion House, in London, a respectably- dressed young man, named Sydney Thomas Webb, a clerk in the office of the Provincial Banking Corpora- tion, Edgware-road, has been charged before the Lord Mayor with being concerned, with another man, in forging and uttering a cheque for £397 10s., with in- tent to defraud. It may, perhaps, be recollected by newspaper readers that, a few weeks ago, a young man, who gave the name of William Walker, was apprehended in the act of uttering a cheque for £327 10s., purporting to be signed by Messrs. Neumann, Sons, and Co., of Lon- don, at the bank of Barnetts, Hoares, and Co. On the previous day he had obtained the pass-book of that firm, and a cheque-book, by means of a forged order, and when arrested he had in his possession two other requests for cheque-books, addressed to different banks, and purporting to be signed by customers of those banks. He was examined before the Lord Mayor, and then committed for trial at the Central Criminal Court, where, at the last session, he was convicted of uttering the cheque, knowing it to be forged, and sen- tenced to seven years' penal servitude. After his con- viction he gave information which led to the appre- hension of the prisoner. Walker, whose real name wag Thomas Hohrlay, was brought up from Newgate, and examined at considerable length for the prosecution. He said: I know the prisoner Sydney Thomas Webb, and have known him three or four years. I was for- merly with a Mr. Herring, a grocer at Birmingham, and the prisoner was at that time a clerk in the ghm Town and District Bank. We lodged together with a Mr. Davies. In July, 1867, I was convicted of forgery at the Warwick Assiies, and sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment. Webb knew all about that. After I came out in July, 1868. we associated together again, and the prisoner frequently visited me at my lodgings. In August, 1868, I obtained a situation at Liverpool with .\11', Deer, a grocer. In the t-nd of December I left that situation, and shortly afterwards came to London. When I arrived I knew the prisoner was living in Harrow-road, and I called upon him there. I went to reside at a coffee-house in the Strand, where the prisoner came t" see me. About two months afterwards I removed to another coffee-house in Westminster-bridge-road. The prisoner also cameto see me there. We went to music-halls, and places of that kind. About the time I was staying at Tilley's I made the acquaintance of a young woman named M'\VilIiams, and we went to live as mw and wife at the houseof a Irs. Dawson, in Waterloo-road. We went by the name of Mr. and Mrs. Thompson. The prisoner visite me there repeatedly, and re- mained all night on two occasions-sleeping on the sofa. The second occasion was 011 Thursday, 18th J arch, He left me on the morning of the 19th about eight o'clock. I have never seen him to speak to since that morning. Mr. Mullens (solicitor to the Bankers' Protection Associa- tion What was the object of your coming to London ? Witness The prisoner wrote me some letters, which I de- stroyed, and said he wanted me to present cheques at the London banks. I had presented forged cheques at a bank in Birmingham. As soon as I came to London we talkea about presenticg the cheques. He was going to make use of crossed cheques which passed through the bank at which he was engaged. I recollect Wednesday, March 17. At seven o'clock on that evening I met the prisoner in Trafalgar- square. I had been accustomed to meet him there often. We went to Gatti's l\1ùsic-haIl, Villiers-street, Strand. The prisoner there showed me half a sheet of blue paper with the signature Neumann, Sons, and Co. at the bottom, on the right hand. At the same time he produced a cheque for £ 10, and told me that the signature on the blue paper was a tracing from that on the cheque. We then went to Waterloo- road, and at my lodgings the prisoner handed me a piece of paper on which was written, Please give the bearer a cheque-book, and if our pass-book, is made up, let him have that also," I copied this form on the piece of paper containing Messrs. Xeumann's signature. The prisoner produced another piece of paper with the address of Neumann, Sons, ani Co. upon I was to present the order next dy at Messrs Barnett and Hoare's bank. I did so, and received the pass-book produced, and a cheque- book contaiNing 240 chequ s, similar to the one produced I took them home and put them into my portmanteau, which was kept in my bedroom. On that day (Thursday) I met the prisoner at seven c'clock, and he came with me to my lolIg- ings. We ca-t up the pass-book, and there was a balance or £ 838. The prisner produced three cheques one of them was for £ 500, signed by Lindo and Davis, and another for a small amount, signed by Harris, Blackman, and Sons. These two cheques were drawn respectively on the Irnperal Bank and Robarts, Lubbock, and co., and had been paid into the Provincial Banking Corporation that afternoon. The prisoner alw produced two haif sheets of white note paper, one con- taining the signature of Lindo and Davis, and the other the signature of Harris, Blackman, and Sons. I filled them up in the same way that I had tilled up the paper with }Iessrs. Neumann's signature, requesting a eheque-book and the pass-book, if made up. lie gave me the addresses of the firms. For that purpose he had obtained the loan of a Direc- tory, leaving two sovereigns as security for it3 return. We then went to Drury-lane Theatre, and came back about twelve o'clock, and the prisoner stayed all night with me, as I have already mentioned. We got lip at six next morning, and tilled up a cheque for £ 76. The signature of Messrs. Neumann appended to it was a tracing from the £ 10 cheque. I tilled up the cheque. Another cheque for £ 397 10s. was then made ont, and was copied from one of twelve cheques which were in the pass-book. The vrisoner said he had taken the three cheques from the case of a fellow-clerk named Ribbles, and that he must be off and replace them before Kibbles arrived at the bank. I made an appointment to meet him that night at Wellington-street, Strand. I left fouiteen sovereigns in a purse ill my portmanteau. I pre- sented the cheque ior £ 397 lOs" and was taken into custody. When I was examined at the Mansionhûuse I was defended by an attorney, wh0 had called on me in the prison. I had had no previous communication with him Emi1y )I"VilIiams said she was a single woman, and made the acquOLintance of the last witness, whom she only knew as Thompson, about the beginning of March last She after- wards went to live with him at lodgilJgs in the Waterloo- road. She knew the prisoner as Mr. Sidney, and he was in the hahit of calling there almost every evening, and oeca- sionally sleeping there. On Sunday, the 14th of March, he was there aU day, writillg with Thompson, in H room hy themselves. They were again together writing on Wednesday, March 17J and she saw the banker's pass-book now produced. On the following night, the priso!1.er slept there, and left abollt half-past seven in the morning. She was told he was in a bank Hear to ParidiHgton Station, taat he had come from Worcester, and that he had been in a bank at Birmingham Between ten and eleven o'clock on the morning of Friday, the 19th I arch, Thompson went out, and she had never seen him again until now. On that Friday evening Sidney called at the lodgings and toid her she would not see Air. Thompson again. He did not assign any reason, hut said she mght see him in the course of years, He asked her for Thompwn's portmanteau. She refused at first, but consented afterwards, he having said there were papers and books in it which he wanted. He would not tell her what they were, but said they would not dø Thompson any good, and might do her a good deal of harm He also said he would very likely have to give up his situation at the bank. lIe tried to open the port- manteau with a knife, but could not, and broke it open with a poker. He took a blank cheque-book out of it and other papers, which he tied up in a parcel and took away, saying he would throw them into the Thams He went away ahout eleven o'clock that night, and called twice afterwards, saying, on one occasion, he had heard of )lr .Thompson, but had not seen him, and that he (the prisoner) had had to pay for the information he had obtained about him, She did not see him again. After he left she found the banker's pass. book, and gave it to lr. Scott, the detective officer. At this stage, on the request of Mr. Mullens, the solicitor for the prosecution, the Lord Mayor adjourned the examination, and ordered the witness, Emily M'Williams to be bound over, in her own recognisances to the amount of £ 50, for her appearance.

A LOST WILL. In the Court of Probate the following cause of Snowden v. Snowden and others," has been heard:- The testator in this case wa3 Henry Snowden, formerly a baker and grocer at Nottingham, and he died on the 12th of Septem er, 1867. Be had saved a little money in his bUSI- ness, which was invested in treehold property, upon the rents of which he and his wife lived. He made a will in July, 1843, and a codicil in June, 1846, by which he left the whole of his property to his wife for life, and then to his only daughter, and then to his nephews and nieces. His daughter died in 1856; but he did not alter this disposition of hi property, and he frequently referred to his will and said that he was satisfied with its provisions. The will and codroil were kept ina drawer in his bedroom, of which he had the key, and after his death they could not be found. Evidence was given shöwing that during his last illness he was frequently delirious, and it was submitted that if the will was destroyed by him it waa at a time when he did not know what he was about. It was also proved that tbe will and codicil were duly executed, and that they were in the same terms as the draughts propounded by the plaintiff. The Court accordingly pronouncerl for the will and codicil as contained in the draughts propounded by the plaintiff.

A SCENE FROM LONDON LIFE. On Saturday afternoon a shucking murdu '.ook place in Fleet-lane, Farringdon-road. A woman named Tallion, has been for some time past on intimate terms with a man named Tillett, a coal porter. On Satur- day morning a son of the woman, about nine or ten years of age, was released from Holloway Prison, where he had undergone a sentence of seven days' im- prisonment for stealing cigars. The release of the boy was made a matter of congratulation and of drunken- ness to his friends. From the prison the party pro- ceeded to Tallion's residence, and a bottle of gin and three pots of beer were sent for. The friendil did not depart till two o'clock, leaving the woman and the man Tillett alone. Soon after, the neighbours were alarmed by hearing screams, and when a police-con- stable entered the room he found the woman lying on the bed, with her throat cut from ear to ear. The man was also on the bed. He was quite dead, there being a gash iD the throat. The bed-clothes were soaked with blood. Medical assistance was a once sent for, but life in both instances wail found to be ex- tinct. A razor was found on the floor, by which it is supposed the man murdered the woman and then destroyed his own life. It is supPoEed that Tillett murdered the woman in a fit of jealousy. An, inquest bas heen held, when the jury returned a verdict of "wilful murder against Tidett as to the death of the woman, andfdo de se as to his own."

SEVEN TIMES MARRIED AND FIVE DIVORCED! The Cleveland (Ohio) Herald relates the following inci- dents in married life — There is now living in this city a woman, who, eight years ago, was married to her first husband. He en- listed in the Union army in 1861, and was killed at the first battle of Bull Run. Within a week after she heard the news of hi" death she united her fortunes with another man, who lost his life ere the honeymoon was over, in a street brawl in this city. Returning from the funeral, she accepted the proposal of a third, and the next day was legally married to him. But it appears that husband No. 3 was not the man to suit her ideas, and she soon after filed a bill in the Court of Comm0o Pleas for a divorce, which was granted her. A few months elapsed and No. 4 pledged himself to love, protect, and care for er. This marriage also proved unhappy for both parties, and again the courts interfered and dissolved the tie which bound them to- gether. In May, 1867, No.5 was smitten with her charms, and, afttr the short courtship, a priest slipped the marriage noose over his head, and he became lord and master of ber household effects. Two months they lived in peace, but at the end of that time the wife became jealous of another woman in tre neighbourhood, and she ag-ain resorted to the courts to sever the nuptial knot, which was done. In Octvber of the same year, No. 6 presented himself, and a quick marriage followed. For some reason they failed to agree, the husband insisting that he was the head of the household, and the wife denying it, so they sepa- rated, and a bill in the chancery part of the Common Pleas Court again released ber of her troublesome partner. In February, 1868, she again Bought to try the bliss of married life, and united her fortunes with No. 7. This time they lived together jmt a year, when they concluded they had had enough of each other and separated. The wife again applied for a divorce, and it was granted her, and she is now anxiously waiting for No. 8. In 1867 her daughter, by adoption, who was a sprightly girl of fifteen summer;>, possessing the mother's ideas of matrimony, mariied a brother of her mother's husband, thus mixing up the relation question fearfully. This marriage proved an unhappy one also, and taking ber mother's advice she got rid of her incumbrance by procuring a divorce. On the same day on which her mother married the second time, she was also married to her second husband, and in two months after the court interfered at her request, and left her a grass widow at the interesting age of sweet seventeen.

AN ARTIST'S DEATH. An inqueft has been held in St. Pancras, London, respect- ing the death of Isidore Magnes, a French artist, aged 59 years, who was found dead III bed in his rooms in Charlotte- street, Fitzroy-sfJ.uare. M. Antonio Van Bever, also an artist, said he had known the deceased for fifteen years. Ha once held a bigh position, and being anxious to make a name in the world he five years ago commenced a large picture, which he hoped, when completed, to have in the gal- lery at Versailles, and with that view he sent eo photo- graph of it to the French Emperor. He also had an idea of sending it to the English Royal Academy. He had named the picture-a crayon drawing, which he intended to bring out in oi1-" LyEntente Cordiale an Episode of the Crimean War," and the price be had fixed on it was £ 2,000. He laboured on this picture, neglectiD other work which would have paid him well, and gradually sank lower and lower into poverty. His friends assisted him, but being absorned in his great work., he did not heed their advice, and they left him. He was, however, assisted by the French Ambassador, and on Saturday week he (witness) saw deceased, who was much depressed in spirits, as he expected the brokers to be put in poss88sion for rent. He said his troubles were so great that he fe8red his brain would g-ive way. The witness gwe him a ",hilling, for which he appeared very thankfuL On Monday the witness called upon him, but received no answer to his knock. He went again on Tuesday, IInd entered the deceased's bedroom and found àim dead. Dr. George Ross said that when called in to the de- ceased he had been dead at least two days. The room was in a filthily dirty condition, and the picture re- ferred to-certainly a very fine one—was in that room. The post-mortem examination showed that the brain I was entirely gone from the effect of decomposition. The cause of death WPS fatty degeneration of the I heart, the latter probably having ceased its action through the mental excitement of the deceased. M. Van Bever sa:d that he had forgotten to men- tion that on Saturday he told the deceased that he (witness) had sent in a picture to the Royal Academy which appeared very materially to affect his mind, as he from some cause did not wish him to do so. The coroner, learning from M. Van Bever that he would not know for a fortnight whether his picture had been accepted, remarked that he had held two or three inquests on artists whose minds had given way under anxiety and excitement while awaiting the decision of the committee of the Royal Aca< iemv. The servant at the house in Charlotte-street, said that the principal food of the deceased was a loaf of bread and a pint of milk daily. On Sunday week, in order that he should not go without food, she lent him a little money. He said, Thank you. God bless you!" He owed six weeks' rent, at 15s. a week. The jury returned a verdict of "Death from fatty degeneration of the heart, accelerated by want and anxiety of mind."

Under the head of An Unfinished Picture" the Daily Telegraph has the following In speaking of the last and uncompleted work of poor M. Isidore Magnes, it is equally impossible to withhold a melan- choly admiration from that true and brave spirit of art which raised the starving painter above all \ulgar worldly cares, and at the same time to deny the sound, practical reasoning of those utilitarians who are, perhaps, RY good f rtune, the social majority, and who will be disposed io vote it a sad pity that so clever a man did not economlse his talents, and make atones a n'ime ano a living. In Chariotte-stre t. square, one of those thoroughfares much affected by artists, who woo the north light m first floors that are marxed as painting-rooms by the peculiar enlargement at the top of the middle window, lived and laboured the high souled French gentleman whom one knows not whether to pity or to envy. The studio is crowded with signs of hi- industry, the floor strewn with the materials of his art. Almost the whole of Gne side of the bi room s occupied by a vast com- position in black and white, representing many months of patient toil. the only reward of which was the sustaining hope and ambition that never left Isidore Magnes when his sheif was barest and his pocket was most deplorably empty. Weeks more of such gay and gallant fighting against fate were necessary for the completion of the loved labo'.ir. But death from heart disease, Accelerated by want and anxiety of mind," stopped the weary hánd and gave a grim enforcement to Professor Ganditth's favourite proverb, Art is lone: and life is short!" So there is the great crayon drawing of L'Entente Cordiale," for some shortcomings in which the sternest critic may make charitable allowances. The scene is the old battle-ground of the Crimea the foreground figures, grouped on the left hand, in front of a wine-shed, which is inscribed "Caffe des Quatre fait la Force," are a Highlander and a Zmave playing cards on a drum, a saucy vivandière interesting herself in the game, and an Italian and a Turk looking on. A plump white dog, the pet of some British corps apparently—for he is not a French poodle, nor an Italian greyhoun i, nor one of those wolfish animals that prowl in the streets of Pera, but a self-governed, jolly-looking, free and independent puppy- pricks up his ears at the sound of hoois approaching. Sure enough, on the other side of the ¡;icture, and in middle distance, is a cavalcade, at the head of which may be recognised the 1)nke of Cambridge and General Cranrobert. The artist had thus far kept to pretty much the same limitation of subject that bounds the inven- ti ve efforts of lr. Jones Barker; but the eye wandering sky- ward perceives a deviation into allegory. Fame with her trumpet fioats above a misty cloud of heads that might pos- sibly have developed into posthumous portraiture, under the hand of M. Magnes, if he had continued to exist. It was certainly his intention to finish this chalk drawing to the minutest point 01 detail before transferring the design to oil-colours and it is said tkat, having reached a stage of his work sufficiently advanced to afford some indication of its character and promise, he had had photographs taken, and had sent one to the Bmperor of the French. Dealing gently as well as honestly with the merits of the picture, we hazard a consolatory reflection that M. Magnes has been spfared the disappointment which must hue attended his ambitious project of exhibiting his work in the Royal Academy, and of selling it for two thousand pounds. Poor fellow! He had unquestionable ability of the productive but not over-imaginative kind, as other pictures and drawings of his show-notably an equestrian portrait group in coloured crayons of the Prince and Princess of Wales in Hytle Park. But this great historical vagary, L'Entente ,CordMe," is out of drawing in fifty places. Some of the simplest objects, accessary to the design, seem to be wrong deliberately and of malice prepense. Vertical lines, or lines that should be ver- tical, are sloped as a child would slope them who had begun learning to write before learning to draw, and whose nearest approach to perpendicular is a slanting" down- s-troke." Enough! The picture is not to be finished. Awful is it to read on its cold untinted surface the tale of poverty, and long endurance of all the ills covered by that gaunt word Shall one sit in judgment on the work of M. Magpes as if it had really found its way to the staircase of the exhibi- tion in Trafalgar-squire, and could be seen high up in the gloom of the vestibule by help of an opera gll\Ss? Where the drawing now stands against the wall of a death thamber that was to the last a work-room, it seems to bid a mute and proud defiance to technical cavillings.

THE LATE MR. DRUCE, Q.C. The following letter to The Times, suggested by the lament- able death of Mr. Druce, who our readers will remember was killed by a fall from his horse last week, we have pleasure in publishing, as a souvenir to the memory of one who, by perseverance and industry, had risen to an honour- able position in his profession :— Will you permit me to record in your columns an earnest tribute of affectionate regret to the memory of my former pupil and constant friend, Mr. George Druce, Q.C., who by a lamentable accident has been cut off in the prime of a prosperous and useful life ? A short notice of him from me will, I hope, be grateful to the afflicted parents who survive him, to his numer- ous relatives, and hi, his large circle of friends. When I became Head Master of Shrewsbury School, in 1836, I found George Druce in the first remove of the fifth form, with the present Archbishop of Yerk, Colonel R. Phayre, and others who have taken distin- guished rank in public life. At the examination he did not succeed in filling one of the vacancies in the s:xth form. On the next occasion he came in at the head of the candidates, and from that time rose with- out any drawback to the second place in the school, the first being held by the late Head Master of King Edward's School, Birmingham, Dr. E. H. Gifford. Mr. G. Druce proceeded in 1839 to St. Peter's College, Cambridge, where he was most fortunate in having the tuition and friendship of two excellent and able men — Dr. Cookson, now Master of the College, and Arch- deacon Freeman, then its classical tutor. To the former gentleman he owed the valuable advice and assistance which enabled him to take the mathematical rank of Senior Optime while the latter generously resigned his own Fellowship before the necessary time that the college might not, by its rule of superannua- tion, lose the advantages of having Mr. Druce among its Fellows. Mr. George Druce, besides two Porson prizes, gained a place as the senior bracket of the Classical Tripos with his schoolfellow Mr. Gifford, as well as the second Chancellor's medal. I wish to state, for the example and encouragement of young men, what I believe and have often declared to be the cause of Mr. G. Druce's rapid and decided success. He always had a clear and full conception of his immediate purpose to that purpose he directed all the powers of a strong will and a strong mind. Thus. he knew what he wanted and he achieved it. He was a capital batter at cricket and a capital fives- player. These games gave him all the exercise and recreation he wanted, so he left boating alone. It was the same in more important matters. A place in the sixth form, a place near the head of the school, school prizes. University distinction, a Senior Optime's rank, a Fellowship, legal knowledge, skill, and practce-all these were in their turn his object, and he gained all by the application of sound abilities to the work re- quired. In his profession he certainly had the great advantage of legal connexions—that iI", of a good start; but everybody knows that without the personal merits of ability and energy this advantage would not have raised him to the highest grade of practice at the Chancery Bar. To his industry, zeal, and skill, as a a junior counsel I can offer my own grateful testimony; for he discharged that office for me fifteen years ago with entire success. The remembrance of this obliga- tion adds keenness to the sorrow with which I regard the loss of one whose private and public character were equally entitled to my cordial esteem and admiration. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, Cambridge, April 16. B. H. KENNEDY.

On Monday, the inquest on the body of Mr. Druce was held at the residence of the deceased gentleman, Denmark-hill, Camberwell. Mr. Wilkins, of the "Clayton Arm," Kenning- ton oval, said that last Wednesday morning, he saw the de- ceased gentleman riding on a brown horse round the Oval The horse was galloping at a great pace, as fast as ever witness saw a horse going on a racecourse. The deceased was trying to restrain the animal by pulling him in. For a moment witness lost sight of the horse and rider, but both re-appeared again in that time. The animal went round the Oval four times The fourth time, while the horse was opposite witness, the gentleman took his r;ght foot out of the stirrup iron, and then drew his right leg over the horse's head. The deceased then fell backwards on to the ground, and the back of his head struck the road- way. The deceased had previously lost hi3 hat, and the horse was going at full speed. No person spoke to the deceased or advised him to throw himself off. The deceased had a small stick in his hand when the horse ran away. Witness could not tell what caused the horse to run away. The horse stopped when the deceased fell. Further evidence showed that Mr. Druce was in the habit of riding to town evry morning. Mr. Bean, surgeon, said that the deceased died from" concussion on the bram." The coroner having summed up, the jury returned a ver- dict of "Accidental death."

THE DEMI.MONDE IN LONDON. The Pall Mall Gazette says:— Until very recently there was no such thing as a demi-monde in London, using the term in its imperfect meaning, as understood here. The wretched woman went down rapidly from one stage to another without being encouraged or systematized sufficiently to form a regular set—having establishments and holding recep- tions such as distinguish a corresponding class in Paris. But within a very brief period—not much more than a year, perhaps—there has been a change among us. Previous to that time, indeed, moralists in the press complained of the frank terms which young men of fashion held with such women in places of public resort. This familiarity is now so much on the increase (as any one who watches what goes on in the Ladies' Mile can perceive) that it calls for some remonstrance. For- merly Aspauia and her associates were passed with a nod, or only spoken to by men who were indifferent to notice because they were themselves unknown, or, at any rate, if they recognised such women they were cautious where it was done. At present the vellww- chignoned denizens of St. John's-wood and Pimiico draw up their carriages or horses close to the rails, and are chatted with as candidly as if they had come from some dovecot in the country, watched over by a virtuous mother. The audacity of these reunions is unprecedented. A notion seems to prevail that the loose women of our own day are undistinguish- able from the women of virtue. The superstition is preposterous. In the Park, at least, there is no difficulty in distinguishing the carriage that anybody may pay for, or in guessing the occupation of the dashing equestrienne who salutes half-a-dozen men at once wich her whip or with a wink, and who sometimes varies the monotony of a safe seat by holding her hands behind her back while gracefully swerving over to listen to the compliments of a walking admirer. 01 course the men who talk with these women of the high- way are perfectly aware of what they are about, and a London lady tempered in the atmosphere of one or two seasons learns discretion enough not to ask relevant questions when she meets in a ball-room the same gentleman she has observed tete-d-tete with Aspasia in the Row. If things go on, however, as they seem likely to, this sort of reserve will be tested with un- usual severity in the months of May and June. The manner in which what again, for want of a more con- I venient phrase, we must call the demi-monde class haa been ireshly developed among us is not unknown. There are certain perfumers' shops at the West-end notorious for enterprises not immediately connected with bloom for the lips and glitter for the eyes. It was from one of these establishments that a well- known photograph and its original were, so to speak, floated. Here loungers turn in, and are invited to balls, for which cards are given them. Thence spring intimacies of which we say no more than that the acknowledgment of them should be suspended before virtuous women in the Park. The ladies have a remedy in their hands which they deliberately abandon when they pretend blindness to what is as obvious as the Duke's statue at the Corner.

Utisctllaiicous InltUiQtim, HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL. DEATH OF A WATERLOO VETERAN.—Moses Dyer, who enlisted in the 2nd battalion 30th Regiment about the year 1801, died at Tetsworth, Oxfordshire, last Saturday, having served in Spain and Portugal, and received the war medal, with clasps for Badajoz, Cuidad Rodrigo, &c., also amedal for Waterloo, where he was severely wounded in the ribs. He had 80m- pleted his eighty sixth year all but one month; a widow, and children, and grandchildren survive him the former being without any means of support, and having reached an advanced age, the benevolent may feel disposed to contribute even a trifle for her benefit. The eldest son of Moses Dyer was in the 86th Regi- ment in eleven engagements during the Indian mutiny, and from the effects of the campaign suddenly dropped dead on board ship on the return passage to England. AN AMERICAN GRACE DARLING.—The New York Times says:— In 1838, the happily-named Grace Darling, in England, made herself immortal by her heroism in rescuing the people wrecked in the Forfarshire coastillg steamer. Rhode Island has a similar heroine in I iss Ida Lewis, daughter of the keeper of the Lime Rock Light-house, who by day or night, in storm or breeze, springs alone into her boat to save lite or do other service of peril. She is said to have saved the lives of a dozen persons-two of whom. soldiers, she rescued a few days ago All honour to courageous Ida As we cannot give her an obelisk or a statue, we give her a paragraph. The heroism of Grace Darling and Ida Lewis is the purest and finest in the world. DUEL BETWEEN A LADY AND A GENTLEMAN.—A Paris correspondent writes :— I have another duel to report, this time between alady and gentleman. M. D'Anrtevilly, theatrical critic of the Nain Jaune, having saià something which dipleased Made- moisdle Duverger, an actress at the Galté. that lady ealled him out, and the duel came off on Sunday afternoon at st. Germaine. Mademoiselle Duverger chose pistols, and at the first shot succeeded in carrying off one of the locks of hair which adorned her opponent's head. Her seconds—two actresses fr >m the same theatrethen declared honour satis- fied, and the party wound up the day by a dinner at the Pavilion Henri IV. This duel will, no doubt, be followed by others of a similar nature, and I shall not be at all surprised to see halt the actresses in Paris calling out their unfortunate critics, who both in the name of hononr and gallantry, will be obliged to accept the challenges of their fair adversaries. Really the gentle sex are going to nice lengths in Paris I wbnder what their Chinese visitors think of them ? GOOD TO HAVE A GIAINT'S STRENGTH, BUT." &C.—At the Marylebone police-court in London, a tall, powerful-looking man, a labourer, was charged with being guilty of the following extraordinary con- duct John Emery, the prosecutor, said: I carry on business as a boot and shoe manufacturer, at 416, Eustou-road. On Saturday evening, the prisoner came into my shop, and said he wanted to be fitted with a pair of boots. I turned round to reach some from a shelf, when he caught me by the waist and threw me up to the ceiling. You may imagine I was very much surprised, and more so when he picked me up and threw me through the glas door and broke the glass (laughter). Be was ullder the influence of drink, and told me he did not want to hurt me, but merely to show me his strength (loud laughter).—The Magis- trate Is he a powerful man ?—Complainant (a short, thick- set man); "He must be, as I am rather heavy, "-Prisoner; I had no intention to hurt him, I only wanted to try my strength.—The Magistrate asked prisoner what he had to say as regarded his strange conduct.—Prisoner: I did not mean to do any harm.—The Magistrate (to prosecutor): Did he throw you to the ceiling ?-Prosecutor: My head just touched it.—Prisoner: I only wanted to show him how easily I could lift him.—The Magistrate said he must pay a fine of 10s. and 5s. damage for breaking glass in the door. The amount was paid. His UNCLE !—Oar friend, Louis Napoleon, now of the Tuileries, formerly of Ham, of Dieppe, and of Church-street, Marylebone, has again drawn attention to his great ancestor, whose name he has so kindly usurped, and whose glory he aspires to share. Napo- Iron I. made him "from nothing what he is," that i, raÍBed him-from an obscure plotter to a snocessful a8- sassin,—we beg pardon, Emperor. "To render homage to the memory of great men is to recognise one of the most triking manifestations of the Divine Will." Nothing is more wonderful in this great man than the easy assurance with which he drags in the name of the Deity into his letters and speeches. Napoleon I. was sent by Heaven, so is a pestilence of the two; we prefer the latter. It is astounding that a man, who, to do him justice, at craft and cunning is facileprinccps" should be so fond of parading his connexion with one of the greatest scourges of man- kind that ever lived, of whom he is such an excellent reproduction, save in courage and talent. Poor Louis all your life through, in your poverty and in your splendour, your best friend has been your Uncle! — Tomahawk. THE FRENCH FRONTIER FORTRESSES —A letter in the Journal de Liège, dated from Longwy, says :— We hear much of the conveyance of troops, arms, and munitions of war by the Eastern Railway. I can speak as to the fortress of Longwy. The effective strength of the garrison has never been so small-only two companies of Infantry and about a score each of artilleiy and cavalry. But on the other hand the magazines are crammed with stores. The old stock of powder has been renewed, and nary 6,000 kilogrammes of fresh powder have been received within a month, the old guns have been replaced by rifled cannon on the newest system, the loopholes for musketry, closed for many years, have been reopened, and the number of guns, which was five in each bastion, has been increased. Vat stores of freshly-made biscuit have been accumulated, and the works on the ramparts are being pushed on with the greatest activity. With Metz and ,the other frontier for- tresses it is the same. BUSH FIRES IN AUSTRALIA.—The usual scourge of the Australian summer—bush fires-has this season caused a great extent of damage beyond that reported last month. At Colac, a very large ex- tent of country, principally pastural, has been swept; many destructive fires ha.ve raged along the coast between Cape Otway and Port Fairy and a large number of farmers at and near Bullarook had their places utterly devastated. In many cases the fences and the whole produce of the year's harvest were con- sumed, and the unfortunate landholders deprived of everything they possessed. ANOTHER FRRNCR DUEL -The Paris corre- spondent of the Morning Star writes :— Two press men went out yesterday, and had the opportunity so much to he ambitioned in this land of duels, of distinguish- ing themselves on the field. M. Meyer, contributor to the Paris, and M. Carl des Perifires, contributor to the Nain Jaune, shot at each other, once without any result; on re- commencing, however, M. Meyer was fortunate enough to have a 8alllodged in his right hip. M. Meyer is likely to re, cover, and is therefore fairly entitled to the aureo'a of glory which society in Paris bestows on duellists. M. de Perières will naturally have his share of fame, but the wounded is the more favoured of fortune, for he enjoys the double advantage of having proved a hero and of being more or less a martyr That this insane practice should be tolerated in this age of progress is truly marvellous. FINE SATIRE I-Alphonse Karr relates an anecdote which shows that priests occasionally have some remarkable penitents. A priest recently demanded of a domestic servant whether she had fasted as the Holy Church enjoined. She replied, It is impossible reverend father, for I am very poor. To fast now- adays is to eat oysters and prawns, carps and lettuce, truffles, fresh peas and beans, and asparagus, and to drink champagne and consta.nce. It is only rich people, like my master, who can afford to fsst;" MISERABLE DEATH OF A WOMAN.—On Satur- day information was given at the Chester police-office of the disappearance of Emma Bennett, who had not been seen by any of her neighbours for the past three weeks. A detective at once proceeded to where she lived, in a row of houses near the Gorse Stacks, and broke a pane of the window, and on gaining admission was almost overpowered by the stench. The furniture was in no ways disarranged, but the only food he could find was a few bits of mouldy bread, some dripping, a little jam, and a small bottle of port wine, apparently untouched. He proceeded upstairs, and on going into the bedroom was shocked to find Miss Bennett dead, iu a half-recumbent position. The body was in an advanced stage of decomposition, and reduced almost to a skeleton. Apparently she had covered herself with her own clothes to keep herself warm in bed, and in the window were two bits of mouldy bread within reach of the deceased. The deceased had formerly got a good living as an upholstress, but for the last few years had not been able to work at her trade. She was sixty-two years of age, and never married. In her habits she was very penurious; for although she had saved a little money, she was unwilling to draw any to procure for herself proper nourishment, and the only money found in the house was 3s. An inquest was held on Saturday, when an open verdict was returned. The police took charge of the house, and commenced a search for the bank book of the de- ceased. PUFF DIRECT'.—A French dramatist devised a singular method of alluring the public to the repre- sentation of his pieces. On the day for which any of them was announced, he set out in the morning, went through all the streets and squares of Paris, stopping at those places where the play bills were usually posted, and when five or six persons had been collected, he would cry in a vehement tone, "Faith, the Pansians will be treated with an excellent piece to-night I'll be there for one." THE TAX UPON MALE SERVANTS.—A cor- respondent writes:— As a small country trader, I venture to address a word to the Right Honourable the Chancellor of the Exchequer through the medium of your journal upon the question of the tax prepared upon malo servants. I, in common with thousands of other small traders, keep a boy to go on errands and do other small matters connected with my business. I hire him for the above special purpose but the indoor servant—I mean the "maid"—gets hold of the boy and induces him to clean the windows, knives, &c., for her, through which I have at present to pay for a" male servant," under eighteen years, a tax of 10s. 6d. per annum. I would ask the Chancellor to set this matter right, as it is a greati hardship upon us small traders. 1 CARDINAL CCJLLEN ON PROSELYTISM.—Cardina Cullen closes a letter to the clergy of his diocese, com- plaining of alleged proselytism at a Protestant deaf and dumb institution near Dublin, with the exhorta- tion, Let us, reverend brethren, redouble our exer- tions, until there shall not be throughout the length and breadth of Ireland a single deaf mute for whom we shall not have procured the blessing of a Catholic education so that the saving influence of the Catholic faith may sanctify, and the tenderness of Catholic charity may assuage, the sorrows a.nd sufferings of the poorest among an afflicted class of our bnthren." SCOPE FOR'THE IMAGINATION --Great d,^ iti faction has been expressed by the shareholders in the Great Central Gas Company at the uncertainty and ignorance in which they are kept with regard to the extent, and other particulars, of the astounding frauds committed by Benjamin Higgs. Soon after the first news of these losses transpired, their amount was put down hy common report at or £50,000 then £100,000, and even £150,000 were named and within the last few days, alarmed shareholders have written to the London press asking, in almost frantic tones, if there can possibly be truth in a report which ha3 been put into circulation, that the extent of the depreda- tions reaches from £150,000 to £200,000. The matter presents the widest possible scope for the exercise ft the imagination, for it is an extraordinary fact that all attempts, whether on the part of the proprietors or the press, to obtain information from the Company's officials have been met by the most studied reticence and reserve. THEIR EARNEST DESIRE !—The Weekly Regis- ter says that a considerable number" of Anglican clergymen have determined to attend the forthcoming General" Council at Rome, in order "to lay their difficulties before the assembled prelates of the Uni- versal Church." Their earnest desire, it seems, is to be united to Rome, but their chief difficulty is that they have perfect faith in the validity of their orders, and believe thac it would he sacrilege either to submit to re-ordination or to revert to the position of laj ien. A special committee has been appointed at Rome to deal with the subject of Anglican orders, and our con- temporary has no doubt ttiat the reverend pilgrims will have all their doubts set at rest. As the ultimate re- sult of this mission to Rome, the Register anticipates that there will be "an accession to the Church of some of the best and most pious Anglican clergy, and many amongst the laity will follow their example." BLUE ETES.—Baer, an eminent German physi- cian and oculist, says that blue eyes are capable of supporting a much longer and more violent tension than black ones. The strength and duration of the sight depehd on the different colour of the eyes, and that depends upon a greater or less degree of clear- ness of the pupil, as the defects of the sight depend on a colour more or less dark. It results that in this point of view blue eyes are infinitely better than black. The former, therefore, possess in a more eminent de- gree than the latter the perfections adapted to their functions. The same author has also remarked that black eyes are more subject to cataracts and he also observes, that out of twenty persons with black eyes you find not one that is perfectly satisfied with them. In this particular, then, it must be admitted, that blue eyes are better adapted to their purpose than black ones. THE PERVERTS OF MAHOMEDANISM.—In the heart of Black Town there was enacted on March 15th an extraordinary scene by certain of the Mahomedan population of Madras. From the mosque on the second line beach there proceeded by torch-light a numerous cavalcade of the disciples of the Arabian prophet, ac- companied by music which was not of the most melodi- ous description. Dancing girls in fantastic attitudes formed a portion of the motley spectacle. At the van of the procession there was about a dozen respectable- looking conveyances, and in the foremost of these fat in Moslem garb, the five European perverts to Ma- homedanism of whom the public have already heard. he whole tamaaha of Monday evening was apparently got up to celebrate this unwonted accession to Mahome- danism from the Christian fold. A CORIOUS POINT.—A curious case connected with the obligations of the marriage tie is at present pending in the law courts of the Northwest. When the Queen-mother of Oudh went to England to appeal to the Queen in person against the annexation, she had with her (says the Indian Daily News) as her prime minister one Masihooddeen, a Mahomedan noble. This man had two wives in this country, but when he reached England he contracted another marriage with one, probably of that class of ill.taught, ill-trained Englishwomen, who have no more objection to Maho- medanism, for the sake of wealth or rank, then to go to the Feejee islands, if required, to be matched. They were married according to Mahomedan forms, but the lady was soon left behind in England, and he returned. She has followed him, and as he asserts she was divorced before he left England, she claims her dowry according to Mahomedan law. The case was brought up in the Benares Courts, and decided in the lady's favour but an appeal has been made to the High Court at Allahabad. A DERKLICT.—The commander of the British ship Middlesex, of London, from Calcutta to London, writes as follows :— I have the honour to inform you that on the 2nd of April, when in lat 37 59V. Ion. chron. 30 50 W., I passed within a few yards of a waterlogged vessel about 500 tons—all her masts gone, and nothing but bowsprit standing. She had a monkey poop, most of which was washed away, together with a portion of maindeck. She was American built, and had only a small fiddle head forward I had a strong beeeze from s-iuth-west, with considerable sea at the time I fell in with her, and was prepared to lower my boat, hut when I had thoroughly satisfied myself that I could obtain no infor- mation oy going alongside, I stood on for the Ctiannel. Her paint was nearly all washed off, and she was covered with barnacles, no sign of a name appearing. I am of opinion that she was a Boston-built barque, and had been flo;1ting about in that state for month. Certainly no living creature could have lived there for many weeks past, as the sea W8S making a clean breach over her. Had I passed her in the night and in thick weather, I should without doubt have re- ported her as one of the "Vigios" about here (misplaced) on the chart especially as the position is so near Coustante Reefe and Ferrtiros Rock. EMIGRATION FROM IRFLAND.—The Cork Herald in writing on the subject of emigration, says :— The annual tide of emigration from our shores may now be said to have fully set in. In one feature especially-the class of persons that go to compose its great bulk- it is dlfferellt from its predecessors of previous years. The crowds of emigrants that throng weekly into Queenstown are in dress, appearance, and education, of a class muh superior to any that we have yet seen leave our port Nearly all the emi- grants are proceeding t,) the Western States of the Gleat Republic, anJ at least half of them have had their passages prepaid in America by their friends. Those who embark at Queenstown may be classified as follows:—Fifty per cent. are single young men thiny-three per cent, single young women ten per cent. children and seven per cent. married persons of botn sexes. THE EMPRESS EUGENIE'S VOW.—It is reported in P tris that their Majesties' voyage to Ajaccio in commemoration cf the first centenary of Napoleon the First's birth will only be the first stage of the journey of the Empress to the East. It appears that some months before the birth of the Prince Imperial, the Empress Eugenie made a vow that if an heir to the crown were born she would thank Providence for the blessing within the enceinte of the Garden of Olives before he attained his fifteenth year. Tnat given time will expire in two years, and the Empress is most anxious to fulfil her vow. The inauguration of the Isthmus of Suez by her Majesty on her return will complete the programme. THE LARGEST BIBLE IN THE "WORLD.—The late Mr. John Gray Bell, of Manchester, an untiring print-collector and book-hunter, devoted many years to the illustration of the Bible by inserting in folio edition above a thousand original drawings and photographs, and nearly ten thousand engravings, with 360 specimen-leaves of old and rare editions of the Bible. The result was sixty-three handsomely-bound folio volumes with double the number of illustrations contained in the famous Bowyer Bible of forty-five columns. This big Bible is now on sale. FRIGHTFUL BREACHES OF ETIQUETTE !—A Paris paper gives the following details of the visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales to the Sultan, and which are furnished by its correspondent at Constanti- nople :— The Sultan offered his arm to the Princess. Since the foundation of the Ottoman Empire such an enormity had never been perpetrated (exclaims the correspondent) as that the Commander of the Faithful should touch a Christian princess! Noticing the above, another correspondent writes :— I certainly can testify that at the ceremony of the distribu tion of prizes at the Palds d'Industrie, during the Great Exhi- bition, when the Empress, looking more beautiful than usual, in white satin and diamonds, descended from the dais to walk round the hall, the Sultan, though next to her, ab- stained frolR offering her hí arm. and to her evidentsurp1Íse took the Prince Imperial by the hand. Their Royal Bigh- nesa's visit has been the cause of another friahtful breach of decorum. After the dinner given by the Sultan to the Prince and Princess, the Sultan drank Queen Victoria's health, raising a g1asl of champagne to his lipe, 'Tie true he did not drink the liquor of the intidel; still there is no telling, say the sages, whither such scandalous derelictions of duty may lead. ADVENTURES OF A FRENCH PRISONER. A ruffian, who was recently confined in gaol in Besancon, contrived to saw through his prison bars, whence he escaped to the outer walls, which he scaled like a cat, and let himself down plump into the street below. The sentry on guard sighted him, and shot at him but the Chassepot, which did such wonders at Rome, was ineffectual with a real criminal. The ruffian rushed along the Seine, with the hue and cry after him, till he arrived at a parapet overlooking a fearful abyss 100 feet deep. A policeman came up with him, a fierce struggle ensued, and the ruffian hurled him like a feather into the yawning chasm. A second trit d a. fall with him, but he was also tossed down upon the rocks below. By this time the troops arrived, and as he did not like the look of them, he bounded with a yell mid air, and fell a mangled corpse beside his two victims, one of whom was found still breathing, with both legs and several ribs broken. THE BUFFALOES' LUXURY The buffaloes found in the telegraph poles of the overland line a new source of delight on the treeless prairie the novelty of having something to scratch against. But it was expensive scratching for the telegraph company, and there, in- deed, was the rub, lor the bisonR shook down miles of wire daily. A hrght hiea struck somebody to send to St. Louis and Chicago for all the bradawls that could be purchased, and these were driven into the poles, with a view to wound the animals and check their rull- bing propensity. Never was a greater mistake. The buffaloes were delighted. For the first time they came to the scratch sure of a sensation in their thick hides that thrilled them from horn to tail. They would go fifteen miles to find a bradawl. They fought battles round the poles containing them, and the victor would proudly climb the mountainous heap of rump and lump of the falle", and scratch himself into bliss until the bradawl broke or pole came down. There has been no demand for bradawls from the Kansas region since the first invoiee. PREPARATIONS FOR WAR IN RUSSIA.—The Russian correspondent of the Tablet writes:— Our military men assure us that the summer will not pass away without a campaign. They profess to have certain infermation that the French artillery was never at any time so formidably complete in all its departments. The Govern- ment seems to share with the officers the expectation of war. Great activity reigns in the arsenals that of St. Petersburg alone has cast, bored, and grooved more than 450 four- pounders and over 150 nine-pounders, on the new system, at the rate of two a day; and 100 heavy guns have been rifled. H ELYINGSCUD" IN THE STREETS OF LONDON.— Great excitement was created in the Edgware-road, the other evening, by the appearance of a horse and jockey in full racing costume galloping madly towards the Marble Arch. A hue and cry was at once raised at such a novel sight, but all attempts ttl stop the horse were unavailing until the park was reached, when, the horse getting exhausted, the jockey managed to pull him up. On inquiry it seems that the jockey and hone were to have taken part in Mr. Bouoicault's dramaof Flying Scud," that was being performed at the Alfred Theatre, but just before going on the stage the horse trod on a bag of torpedoes, used to imitate the cracking of whips, and the loud bang of these torpe- does so alarmed the animal that he bolted out of a side door, leaving, for the first time of his many perform- '>" the race to he won by a dummy, and the curtain t rail on an inglorious tableau Fortunately no one was injured. PRINCB PATRICK'S WELCOME IN IRELAND.— The enthusiastic reception given to the Prince in the S >uth of Ireland has proved a most agreeable surprise (writes the correspondent of The Time*). His Royal Highness has been amply rewarded fur the conndei.ce which he reposed in the generous feeling of the people. They have welcomed him with heartiness as the first pledge of their Sovereign's personal interest in this country, and with hope that his vi-sit will be followed at no distant day by one from the Qneen hrslf. Apart, however, from any such expectations, the Prince has come among them with special claims upon their affections, which they have not been low to recognise. A young Prince of modest yet manly bear- ing is sure to find a place in the heart of the Irish peasants, and if besides he bears an Irish name he ha* a ready passport to their favour. The name of th." patron saint has exercised an irresistible charm. The people of Tipperary at once boldly detached it from the others, acknowledging his Royal Highness only as Prince Patrick. The only demonstration of dis- loyalty which have at all marred the enjoyment of the Prince have proceeded from the weather, which did it« utmost to play iuto the hands of the Feniaufl, A POST-OFFICE ECCENTRICITY.—A gentlemrfi2; residing at Brighton, writes to the London papers :— "Would it be heliéverl that in thi" year of grace 1869 a letter from Balcombe to Brighton, distant sixteen miles by rail, must tirst go up to London ? i.e., in other words, a letter posted last evening JoLt a village ixteen miles from here must make a round of eighty miles, and take exactly twenty-four hours to reach its desti- nation A STRANGE STORY.—On Friday night a police- constable in Leeds was accosted by a girl about nine years of age, who asked where she couid sleep for the night, and stated that all the money she had was 2Ad, The officer took her to the Town Hall, and on the way she told him that a mistress under whom she had served paid her fare to Leeds from a place at a dis- tance, and that her mistress had discharged her be. cause she was going into another house. The child waa detained till the morning, when she wag questioned as to where she came from, andhowshe had purchased some new clothing in which she was rathr smartly dressed. Her jacket, she said, her mistress had bought, and it cost 4s. 6d. her boots. 5s. a pair of gloves, 5d. a new hat, Is. lOd. stockings, 6ri.; brooch, 6d. veil, 5d. and a doll, which she was affectionately nursing, Is. She had also paid 2s. 8d. for her fare from Stockton. In her pocket was totind a pawnticket, bearing the date of April 16, and thi ticket showed that she had pledged a watch for JE1 Is. 6d. at Middlesborowgh. Being questioned further, thegirl made various contradictory statements. Everything that was not new in her drees was exces- sively filthy, and her person was in a shockingly foul state. On Saturday morning the keeper of the hall applied to the magistrates to remand the prisoner for a wee, so that inquirieil as to her antecedents ujight be made. She appeared in the dock with her doll caretully bestowed in her arms. SIR. WILLIAM SWORD.—The case of "Douglas v. Douglas," involving the right to possess the sword of the late Sir Wm. Douglas, came un for hearing in the Court of Exchequer last week. The action was tried some time ago* before Mr. Baron Cleasby, at the Guildhall sittings, and resulted in a verdict for the plaintiff, with £31 damages. Tne plaintiff was the second bon of Sir William Douglas, who died many years ago; and the defendant is the widow of the plaintiff's elder brother. The action was brought to recover possession of a sword which was presented to Sir William by the regiment in which he had longest served, and which upon his decease was left to his eldest son. About two years previous to the latter's death, which took placin Australia, he wrote to the defendant-his wife—she being in England, directing that, in the event of his death, the sword was to be delivered up to the plaintiff. However, upon his death taking place, the widow refused to sur- render the sword, and hence the present action. Mr. Prentice, Q. C., moved, in pursuance of leave reserved at the trial, to enter the verdict for the defendant, upon the ground that the correspondence which had passed did not transfer the property to the plaintiff.— Rule nisi granted. ROYAL "TIPS."—Among the items in the civil estimates is one for some £;,500 for gifts and presents made by Prince Alfred while touring in Australia in the Galatea. We (Spectator) suppose the prince was considered to be in some way "on deputation," representing royalty at the antipodes but still, is not the precise work for which he receives his dotation ? If not, why do we pay him ? more especially as he enjoys, or ought to enjoy, his share as heir pre- sumptive of the Ceburg Principality. People who like monarchy must pay for it, of course, but the decorous way of paying is by salaries, not "tips." PASTE DIAMONDS.—The more valuable an article is the more it. is counterfeited, and the greater the per- fection to which falsification is carried.- The diamond has been so successfully imitated that he must be an expert indeed who can tell the false from the true. It by no means follows that because a man deals in jewels his honesty must be of the first water, and the fact of a purchaser having paid for a diamond is not always proof that he has obtained one. There are known tests of genuineness, it is true, but they are chiefly optical, and require apparatus and skill to make them. A method which anyone can apply, or easily get ap- plied, has been a desideratum but the want, exists no longer. If you have a doubtful stone, put it, or cause it to be put, into a leaden or platinum cup, with some powdered fluor spar, and a little oil of vitriol warm the vessel over Borne lighted charcoal, in a fire-place, or wherever there is a strong draught, to carry away the nox ous vapours that will be copiously evolved. When these vapours have ceased rising let the whole cool, and then stir the mixture with a glas rod to fih out the diamond. If you find it intact it is a genuine sfone but if it is false it will be corroded by the hydrofluoric acid that has been generated around it. A small paste diamond would disappear altogether under the treat- ment. They who profit by this recipe have to thank Signor Massimo Levi, an Italian chemist.—Once a Week. DRINKERS AND NON-DRINKERS IN AMERTCA- An American finds that in the United States of every 300 men 122 do not drink at all, 100 drink moderately, 50 are occasional drinkers, 25 drink periodically, (" spreeing,") and 3 are habitual inebriates. To every 178 who drink 3 are confirmed inebriates, 25 are periodical and 50 ephemeral drinkers. There is one confirmed inebriate to every 59! men. Of 700 women, 6UO never drink. 30 taste wine occasionally, 17 taste ardent spirits, 36 drink beer regularly, 14 drmk spirits periodically, and 3 are habitual inebriates. There is, he declares, 1 female inebriate to every 33women, for though fewer women drink than men, most of those who do drink become habitual intemperates. AT LAST !—The History ef the Pnnces of Condé," by the Duke of Aumale, was published in Paris on Monday. This book, it will be recollected, was arbitrarily seized by the French Government in 1863, and as arbitrarily given up a month or so ago, after the author had unavailingly appealed to the law for redress for fully five years. The Duke has now added a preface, dated Palermo, March 20, 1869. in which he very briefly refers to the circumstances which have delayed the production of the work as being too well known to need explanation, and thanks his legal advocates for the talent and perseverance with which they have secured the triumph of the right. PROPOSED BALLOON VOYAGK ACROSS THE AT- LANTIC.—The following paragraph is from the New York Tribune. It remains to be seen whether there are any daring spirits that will accept the offer :— Mons. Chevalier, the distinguished aeronaut, who lately arrived in New York for the purpole of making a balloon voyage to Europe, has leased Landman's Park, Sixty-seventh- street, where he will make several ascents during the next two months, prior to his final departure on his ureal Transatlantic voyage, which will be on the 31st of July, lore than 100 applications have been received by M. Chevalier from persolls desirous to accompany Urn on hill perilous trip. The price fixed fer the passage is 250 dols., and not all who offer themselves at that price will be accepted by the professor as compagnons du voyage, as he wishes to take with him only persons as are capable, through mental and physical qualifications, of asfistiu^ him in his scientific observ3tionø, for the sake of which, chiefly, tne daring project is undertaken. DISCHARGED CONVICTS.—A Parliamentary re- turn has been moved for, ordered, and issued, stating the number of "convicts discharged from or retained in convict prisons in or to this country in the years 1865, 1866, 1867, and 1868 and t he totals for the four years are given as follows On Royal pardon, 28 on commutation of sentence, 11 on medical grounds, 9 on completion of sentence, 676; on licence, 5,117. In the four years one life sentence was remitted within five years from its commencement, and one within ten years 28 within 15 years, sevlin within 20 years, none above 36 years from the commencement of a life sen- tence. The four years supply 25 life sentences in convict prisons now of five standing," 17 ditto of ten years, two ditto of 15 years, and one (186) of 20 years' standing. The discharges on licence are dis- tinguished in the return as those before and those after the periods fixed by the circulars of June, 1857, and August, 1864. Military convicts are not included. HAVi: YOU SEEN A SWALLOW YET?—At first a very small detachment shows itself, as if of an array throwing out its vedettes; and then continually in- creasing numbers appear, till the occupation of the country by the whole is established. vVe reflect a little, and we ask how this can be. They have no mariner's compass to guide them over the sea, yet their course is certain, per mare, per terras. For un- questionably the same birds find their way to the same resorts through successive years. Are the earliest visitors sent forward to reconnoitre—to spy the land, and the condition of the insect commissariat, and do any of the scouts return with the necessary intelligence to guide the main body ? Who is their leader, who their pilot? I have occasionally observed an absence for a day or two of several or all the first comers, and then the arrival of the usual hundreds or thousands that skirr the country round. —Leisure Hour. A LiFf/s SAD STORY !—The widow of a. man who, whatever his personal character, was once the head of the House of Wellesley, deserves more notice than the few lines in the daily papers, which announced the death of Helen, Countess of Mornington. Her story is sad and pitiful. She was the daughter of Colonel Patterson, and granddaughtei of a Scottish house of large property in Renfrewshire Her first husband was Captain Bligh, of the Coldstream Guards. Early left a widow, in 1828 when little more than thirty years of age she married the Hon. William Pole Tylney-Long-Wellesley, then the only son of Lord Maryborough, who already gained the reputation of having broken one wife's heart, and squandered the great part of the fine property which had come to him by marriage from the Tylnevs and the Longs. In course of time Mr. Long-Wellesley became Earl of Mornington, and head of the house of Wellesley and when, some ten years ago, that nobleman died, a pen- sioner on the charity of his relatives, in an obscure lodging house near Marylebone-lane, his poor wife had once, if not more than once, appeared at a metropolitan police court as a suppliant for public charity. Of late years nothing had been heard of her till the notification of her death the other day. She |had Attained her seventy-fifth year.