Flintshire Observer Mining Journal and General Advertiser for the Counties of Flint Denbigh

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE. AMERICA. The season for active operations on a grand scale may now be considered as at an end in America, the nexl; three months frost and rain and mud will render the movements of large armies all but P sible, and although there may be plenty of d. ■>[ fighting, the present results of the year s camp gns > will not be materially altered.

THE JAPANESE DIFFICULTY. Intelligence has been received that after long dis- cussions, extending over three days, the agents of Prince Satsumg, have agreed to make immediate pay- ment of the indemnity, and have promised in writing not to relax in active search for the murderers of Mr. Richardson, and to subject them, when discovered, to capital punishment, in presence of one or more British officers.

THE OVERLAND MAIL. The principal subject in the news from India, orought by the Overland mail, is the hostilities with the hill tribes on the Punjaub frontier. The fighting has been very severe, and the serious nature of the wound received by General Cham- berlain, in the fighting on the 20th November, and his consequent resignation of the command, is con- firmed. Major General Garvock is the gallant gene- ral's successor. It is said that there are signs that the confederacy of the hill tribes is disheartened.— The news from Japan is interesting. A combination had been formed of the two parties hostile to foreigners —those who were for the forcible and immediate and those who were for the gradual ejection of foreigners. The latter policy is to be adopted in the main, with a sprinkling of the former when opportunity affords. -^The matter of chief interest from China is the rela- tions of Major Gordon and Captain Sherard Osborn with the Chinese Government. The following telegram has since been received at the India Office, — '->■ 'BOSSST, Dec. W.i An official telegram from Lahore, dated December 24, states that the Guide corps and a contingent of the Bonair tribe, which were detached for the purpose of destroying Mulka, have returned to Umbeylah. The original object of the expedition has thus been accomplished in the destruction of the seat of the Hindustanee fanatics. The force, there- fore, will return to the plains, and after the exaction of hostage^ from the Judoon and Othmanzy tribes, will go into quarters. The Peshawur district and border is quiet. The Punjab is perfectly tranquil.

THE WAR IN NEW ZEALAND. The waf in New Zealand, far from being a mere local outbreak, as some supposed at the first, is becoming a very serious affair. It is supposed that the gieat majority of the natives of the northern island are so iisaffected to our rule that any marked auccess achieved by the Waikatoes now in arms would be the signal for universal rising, and introduce a strugglefor dominion which would be On both sides a war of extermination.

I UtisHlIantotts tdligtnte. J HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL. BLACKSMITHS WITH TAILS !-It is reported in f Caairal Africa" that a tribe exists only three feet I high, whommound their town—as England is invest- ing her ships—with iron walls. Beyond these are the > Alabiru, also clever smiths and manufacturers of all r the finest Indian blades having inflexible tails about six inches long, before sitting down to work they with sharp sticks dig holes in the ground. There, then, is the land of promise for the speculative Barnum, who is said to have offered 100,000 dollars for a real or manufactured specimen of this caudated human com- i modity. [ FINDING HIM SOMETHING BETTER TO DO!-A r well-known French statesman was accustomed to fish in one particular spot near the bridge of Zena, and 1 had become so much attached to the place that he could a not bear to have any one else occupy it. One morning he found the place occupied, the next day the same, and the day after. The statesman made inquiries res- r pecting the intruder, and ascertained that he had been a Government clerk, but he had recently been discharged. Two days after the clerk was reinstated m his employment, and the statesman again took Possession of his fishing place. t NEW METHOD OF WEARING A PIGTAIL!- The people of Saeterdall, Norway, are a peculiar race, whose prominent characteristics appear to be e dirt and idleness. In this district superstition, quite t a feature of Norway, has its strongest hold. These People wear a pigtail hanging in front, and in fighting, e if one_of the combatants can catch hold of this append- a £ °f his neighbour with one hand, he gouges out his a eye with the other. We have heard that a somewhat similar practice obtained in some of the Southern i if? P. America. Notwithstanding these barba- e habits, the Saetersdall peasant is not without his f;0™. qualities, and we are told that he is bold, open- e nearted, straightforward, and hospitable. Some 1 cimoug customs obtain among these people, and mar- t by abduction are by no means rare, the parents a rv^'f^8 *or8iving their daughter as soon as their op- position to her choice has been rendered useless. AN BARTHQUAKE IN FRANCE.—A communica- «arthr^0n? Avignon states that repeated shocks of at tho were felt on two successive days last week Va,iol«.v^aj>e °f Lagnes, near the Fountain of a Several houses were so much shaken that y were obliged to remove. The whole fi?jP fram^P village have become so terrified by ftlro,. recurrence of earthquake-shocks, which are 'ways accompanied by a loud subterranean 8 J?ey are beginning to think seriously of abandoning the place altogether. | APPEARANCES.—How Government c erica, pincers, and the poorer class of professional men •" maintain their families in Austria' is a mystery (says a writer in Once a Week). The Austrian com/mis is y proverbially a poor devil, and every one knows that e the military pay is far from munificent. Yet the f clerk on his 801. per annum keeps up an appearance. « on his 2001. is obliged to make a show The former pinches and screws to the utmost n a sevB^i. i menage among the clouds, i.e., on if he and v; "troy,/never letting the world know what *eta int^ ^lve look smart upon. The latter e the milifatiV ?oes the Jews, who always help e memmtary. Neither condition is to be envied. remit* OF LORD ELGIN'S DEATH.—The Lord Elcrf« u examination of the late S the fir8i £ 5i!l2Si?r(^e(li!r been suspected from »f disease of death was not attributable to any ° was in a sta??8? iiWi" 0UQd that the heart degeneratW>of*wa- *professionally "fatty cl«raeterinl~>l l18*™ t h.a<i.tlo8t itsmuscular and become weak and dilated. The rio-ht ^leJ?ra8 family affected. There was id«o f vanced disease of the kidneys. The changes in the t structuw of these vital organs had been long in pro- t is strange that they had not earlilr eiven marked evidence of their existence, for they S I XR THV E,NTITLED TO VOTE. — The J ^vA*8 *y™Wwd a table showing the d sidSl^»r W e reVU8ite, under the Pre- t0JL*nable the "rebel" States retrfaw;^ H16. Umon—the proclamation requiring a f iQ jggQ but one-tenth of the number of voters « Alabama Vot«„ln i860. No. required. 90,867 9,036 « • 64'053 • 5,406 fe. P TglW1 • 69,120 6,912 • 145,338 14 534 Texas CMollna 96,230 9,623 h „ V 62,986 6.298 eluded in this liat ^becaii^M?3#" ifc 8ays' not in- 5 sr&zsrxss&st f FLOGGING A GAROTTER IN PRISON On, e Wednesday last the new act of Parliament for flogging garotters was first put in force in Horsemonger-larilr 6 f?° j -t tiie Kingston winter assizes a man named -Frederick Cox was convicted of garotting an old I gatitlemaa at Guildford, and sentenced to five yers fan?. Be.r,T?tude, and in addition to receive twenty-five eB ^th the cat-o'-nine-tails in the county gaol, conviS^m8^en^ w^8 inflicted, after which the removed to Millbank Prison. While the e a Ulan nt by one of the turnkeys, i ttuSnJ^ maD' prisoner yelled in a frightful ^ork^fjf i0N EVERYTHING.—By advices from New c countrv t7?t ^S8e88°r8 from all parts of the again the National Government have been J^asurv to counsel the Secretary of the y Hotjseg nf r? Finance Committees of the two a Eternal the necessary changes in the t* originalwen?.e to make it as productive are nUtoeronn .estl™ated. The proposed amendments J to BecniJ these gentlemen further advise, in f, that the bill ai^" £ rmty °f practice and construction, 11 "Ofiae of th« J. entirely rewritten and codified. T wbo are n0f Pr°P0Se" taxes will strike Englishmen ft the wars of 'Nr„Jr enouSh to remember the taxation of j» -*r°n nails. >leon as very curious, not to say harsh, b p^PP^r, ingots. forging, rivets, rolled it tures of leathir fi ^ft soap, all manufac- 8 building «.e i'.? all materials used in ship- a the clothes made at your tailor's, the repaid ajw■————UJ—mc to the same olothes which you have made if war prices force you to be economical the teeth with which the dentist fills the gap that unkind nature has made, the cream and water ice with which the confectioner softens the miseries of an American summer, bricks, cement, books (except Bibles), umbrella stretchers, crinoline, and root beer, ara collected together into an omnibus ad valorem, bill, which calls on all citizens of the Republic to pay tax for their good government on everything they use or wear except the air and sun- light of heaven. SEPTENNIAL AVERAGES.—Mr. Willich writes as follows to the Times As many of your readers may feel anxioua to Joiow.the result of the corn average a for the seven years to Christinas 1863, published by authority in the London Gazette of this evening, namely, wheat 6s. 31d., barley 4s. 5id., oats 2s. lljd., per imperial bushel, I beg to state, for their.informltion, that each 1002. of tithe-rent charge will, for the year 1864, amount to 1032. 3s. 101d., or about 4 per cent. less than last year's value. BREAD BY WEIGHT.—The fancy bread question was decided against the Hampshire bakers, last week, at the Rants Epiphany sessions held at Winchester. According to law all bread, except French or fancy bread, must be sold by weight. The Hampshire bakers sell crusty and cottage loaves as fancy bread, and a Fareham baker was recently convicted and fined by the magistrates there for refusing to weigh, at the desire of a customer, a crusty loaf. The baker appealed to the sessions, and the bakers in the county entered into a subscription to support the appeal. The result was the confirmation of the conviction of the Fareham magistrates. The matter will now be taken to the Court of Queen's Bench. A REPORTER'S TROUBLES !-A correspondent on the staff of a London daily paper says It feel to my lot to report for boxing-night at a theatre across the water. I got to the theatre at half-past six; almost every seat in the house was occupied. The seats reserved for the press had been taken possession of by roughs who scrambled up into the boxes from the pit. repre- sentatives of the press had consequ ently to shift how they could. I never saw a house so packed. The people overflowed from all parts, and seemed to cling to the walls and panels like flies. A four-act piece was played first, but pot a singlo word was heard. The audience yelled and witbrtled and sting, and beat time with their feet all through. Two hours passed amid the most hideous noise I ever heard. Quiet, however, was restored the moment the curtain rose upon the pantomime, and the densel&packed audience, every one of them undergoing a Turkish bath, never moved until the last spark of red Are had burned out at midnight. It was evidently real enjoyment to them! To me it was most exquisite misery; I could have wished that my editor had sent me to brave the dangers of the battle- field at Chattanooga instead of the Surrey Theatre on boxing- night. The pantomime was gorgeous, that I must admit. Such splendid scenery and wonderful fairy effects were pro- bably never seen before. Too BAD !—A marriage took place last week in Paris, and everything went on swimmingly till after the marriage dinner, when some mischievous relative informed the happy bridegroom that his fair one had a cork leg. He indignantly appealed to the father, who said it was, alas! too true, but hoped it would not prove an obstacle to their mutual happiness. "It will, monsieur," was the reply; and the unhappy, betrayed husband left his wife at once, in spite of all entreaty, and went immediately to his notary to commence legal proceedings for a separation. A DANGEROUS LUNATIC. An attempt at murder was made in Carlisle, last week, by a man named Moffat, a tailor. He was sitting with his family at dinner, in the middle of the day, when, ap- parently yielding to some uncontrollable impulse, he seized a knife and rushed at his mother-in-law, an old woman some 80 years of age, who resides with him. Fortunately, he was prevented from wounding her by the intervention of his two sons, one of whom was severely cut in attempting to wrest the knife from his father's hands. When the man's reason returned, and he was told what had occurred, he said it was like a dream to him. The unhappy man had on a previous occasion been confined in a lunatic asylum, and it is supposed that his mind had again become deranged by the circumstance that last week his wife died suddenly. Mid a rum<mr (which turned' out to be groundless) that she had been poisoned having reached the coroner, an inquest was held upon the body. The man was removed to the county lunatic asylum. ART IN 1863.-The "Reader" concludes a retrospect of art in 1863 with the following sentence:— A careful review of what has been done in art would pro- bably lead us to the cpnclusion that, while English artists, as a body, have at this time attained a higher level of excel- lence than has hitherto been reached, we must still admit that, of works that will live and be remembered, we have produeed but one here and there, while Reynolds, Wilkie, and Turner in their day filled the land with their glory. AN INTERESTING SITUATION !—A French family were sitting at dinner, when suddenly a stag, pursued by Prince Napoleon's hounds, jumped through the window just as Paterfamilias was helping the soup. The mistress called out, The devil! the devil!" and gathered her children to her bosom. The master sliut the deer up, and closed the door. When one of the huntsmen arrived he found forty hungry hounds out- side the door, the weary, hunted animal in the back parlour, the man of the house in a fury, the children in a panic, and the lady in a fit. The denouement is not stated. DOG TRAINS I-The St. Paul (Minnesota) Pioneer" states that the mail is carried from that place a distance of three hundred and fifty miles, by dog trains, and if one set of dogs get footsore, when their turn comes the mail has to lay over. I saw the first dog mail train leave here on last mail day. It consisted of three middling-sized dogs. They look more like wolves than dogs. They had regular harness, very fancifully ornamented, and buckskin saddles, gorgeously worked with beads. The dogs are driven in tandem style. They go from forty to fifty miles per day, the half-breed driver trotting behind most of the way. THE DEATH LOTTERY IN DOWNING-STREET.- The murderer Charles has closed his account with human justice (says the Liverpool Albion). He is hung and buried. The murderer Townley's accouut is still open. He is installed for the present-a State patient —in the chief lunatic asylum of the kingdom.- But he talked nuisance, and had friends and money to certify the fact, and to send the certificate, by special messenger, to the Home-office, or anywhere else, however distant, where Secretaries of State might be seeking relaxation from the cares of Whitehall. Charles had not these requisites. THEY DO NOT LIKE THE LOTTERY !— The pro- spectus for disposing of the Great Eastern by a lottery, to be drawn at Frankfort, the shares to be sold in England, has created great surprise in Frankfort, espe- cially as the applications for shares were to be directed to the care of the Frankfort consul at Liverpool. At the sitting of the Senate on the 5th inst. the autho- risation to draw the lottery was refused, and explana- tion will be demanded from the consul on account of his connection with it, by which people might be led to believe that the government of Frankfort have something to do with the matter, or are disposed to countenance The lottery business already car- ried on there," it is said, is bad enough, and our authorities do not wish to have that place made the head-quarters for foreign schemers." Boys' MARBLES.—There is something ingenious in the manufacture of these toys. The greater part of them are made of a hard stone found near Cobourg, in Saxony. The stone is first broken with a bommer into small cubical fragments, and about 100 or 150 of these are ground at one time in a mill somewhat resembling a flour milL The lower stone, which remains at rest, has several concentric and circular grooves; the upper stone is of the same diameter as the lower, and is made to revolve by water or other power. Minute streams of water are directed into the furrews of the lower stone. The pressure of the water on the little pieces rolls them over in all directions, and in about one quarter of an hour the whole of the rough fragments are reduced to nearly accurate spheres. AN ADVERTISING PUFF !-A gentleman, about thirty years of age, and possessed of 5,0001. a year, with splendid town and country residences, would like an introduction to a lady (money not wanted) about his own age, with a view to matrimony. The cause of his remaining single up to this time was the Eremature change in the colour of his hair, which gave him the appearance of extreme age; but having re- cently had it dyed a beautiful brown colour, he no longer hesitates, but offers himself and fortune to the acceptance of any lady disposed to enter into an en- gagement for life.—Inquire at the hairdresser's. IMPORTANT DISTINCTION What is the differ- ence between a correspondent and a co-respondent ?— The one, presumedly, does write; and the other pre- sumedly, does wrong.-Melbourne Punch. MINERS MASSACRED.—A party of miners, with their wives and children, were recently massacred on the Upper Missouri by Indians (says an American paper). The miners, anticipating trouble, were well armed, and, in addition to small arms, had a small cannon. At the mouth of Heart River a party of Yanktonnais Sioux came along the bank, and beckoned them to come to the shore. They responded by firing the cannon three times, the Indians returning the fire vigorously. The continuous fire of the cannon caused the boat to spring a leak, and but for that unfortunate circumstance, thev might have escaped. The Indians were driven back from the shore, but renewed the attack, and during the second fight the boat leaked so badly that it sank in shallow water. They were then overpowered and murdered. Mr. Field's wife was taken prisoner, but the Indians quarrelling as to who should have her for his wife. the controversy was ended by shooting her. Two oflthe children were killed and the third was taken to the Sioux camp, where it cried itself to death. The j unfortunate victims had between eighteen and twenty thousand doUars with them in gold dust and money, which fell into the hands of the Indians, who are using it in making large purchases of ammunition, While our informants were at Fort Berthold two I parties of Indims-Refet4 and Gros Ventres—went down to the scene of the'massacre and brought one thousand five hundred dollars in gold dust, which they scraped out of the sand on the bar where the final struggle took place. The bodies were but very little decomposed, and they piled them together and left them. All of the bodies were scalped, and those who had heavy whiskers were further mutilated by those being torn off. The bodies were then left lying on the sandbar, where they fell, and were still lying there when the second party left Fort Berthold. The Indians acknowledged that the miners fought desperately, and admit that they killed thirty-six and wounded thirty- five. EXTRAORDINARY ElAPEMENT. One day last week Mrs. Goodwin, of Noble county, Ohio (says an; American paper (started from her home to go to Pennsylvania to .visit some relatives who reside in Greene county, inthat State, leaving her husband and two small children, aged respectively about five and seven years, and a hired girl, at home "to Keep house." Her himhanri amply provided her with funds to pay her way before her departure. About the same time Mr. Taylor, who resides in the same neighbour- hood, and who was able to rejoice in the possession of a handsome wife and two intelligent little pledges of affection," started West "on business," but somehow or other he took the wrong road, and arrived in Wheeling about the same time with Mrs. Goodwin. Arriving just before meal time, after a hastily pre- pared toilet, they passed to the dining-room and were seated near the head of the table—Mrs. Goodwin im- mediately opposite her husband, and Mr. Taylor im- mediately opposite his wife. It seems that a day or two after Mrs. Goodwin left home, Mr. Goodwin took it into his head to attempt to seduce Mrs. Taylor from her sacred allegiance to her lord," and induce her to elope with him in her husband's absence, in which it seems he had but little trouble in succeed- ing, neither of them ever dreaming that their com- panions had done just the same thing. The scene that ensued after the mutual recognition at the Wheeling dinner-table was neither tragic nor ridiculous, as might be imagined; but, like philosophical people who found themselves in a very bad spell" would do, they quietly, and, as if moved by some secret understand- ing, withdrew to a private room, where they arranged that each man should take his own wife, and go back to their homes and children, and try and live wiser and better men and women in the future. LORD BROUGHAM FROM A FRENCH POINT OF VIEW.-The following extraordinary paragraph has appeared in a Paris paper :— They write from Tedworth to the London papers that Lord Brougham is seriously ill. Lord Brougham, as we all know, is a naturalised Frenchman; but yet, according to English law, he has not forfeited his rights as a British subject or his rank as a peer. Lord Brougham is one of the great influ- ences ef England. Age has neither impaired his body nor his mind. At eighty years of age he supports fatigue as if he were a youth, and, after having passed all the day on horseback, he will read two volumes, write twenty letters, and drink two bottles of Bordeaux. A FRENCH GIANT AT BELFAST.—M. J. J. Brice, perhaps the most colossal man of the present day, has held the first of a series of levees in the Corn Ex- change (says a Belfast paper). His prodigious dimen- sions are such that those who were then present could hardly give expression to their opinion. His parents are peasants, and his father's height only five feet eight inches, and his mother's five feet one inch. At the age of thirteen he was equal to the height trf- his father, and since the age of eighteen he has been ex- hibiting himself in public, having visited the principal towns of France ana Great Britain. He was received at the French'Court, when the Emperor Napoleon pre- sented him with amassive goldring which he now wears. He is none of your deformed or misshapen monsters, but a colossal, well-built man. His ring will encircle two or three fingers of an ordinary individual. The hand of a goodly-sized man, when placed close to his, is likeachild's in comparison but the best way to judge of his enormous size is to stand close to him and look up at him smiling down upon you from above. The following are the giant's measurements, as taken by Frank T. Buckland, M.A., assistant Burgeon of the 2nd Life Guards. We can certify that the height is fully as represented Circumference of the head, 2ft. Sin.; length of arm bone (humerus), 1ft. 9Jin. length of fore arm (radius), lit. 5Jin.; circumference of forearm, 1ft. 4in.; round the biceps, lft! 3in.; circumference of middle finger, 3Hn.; breadth of hand, 5tin.; length of thigh bone (femur), 2ft. 6iin. length of leg bone (tibia), 2ft. lin.; length of foot, lft. 4in.; round the chest, 4ft. 6in. across the shoulders, lft. illin. height, 8ft.; length of outstretched arms, 8ft. lin.; weight, nearly 30 stone. ITALIAN SUPERSTITION.—Through the effects of the cold I (says a Paris 'correspondent) to-day saw a curious outbreak of superstition. An Italian servant broke a looking-glass and went off into agonies of grief, which was the more respected as it was sup- posed to arise from regret at the damage and di- lapidations" she had caused but it soon appeared that the idea of any injury to her employees was entirely out of her mmd. In Italy to break a looking- glass is to die within the twelvemonth," 'Or at least to lose your nearest relation. I tried to console the grieving iconoclast by telling her that, but for finan- cial reasons, I should net fear to smash every glass in the house but she declined being comforted, even though I tola her that in my country, though we respected a glass, cracking a bottle was rather con- sidered the right thing to do at this season. [This superstition is known in England, and, unfortunately, is not yet extinct. —ED. ] MAD FOR A DANCER !—Brussels at the present moment (says the Independance) is in raptures with a German female dancer. In classic dancing her per- formance is nothing extraordinary, but she has created for herself a marked superiority in the Mabille style, and far exceeds Rigolbocbe in her gymnastic move- ments. She is moreover young, about 20, very pretty, and lives in good style. She is said to be morgana- tically a princess, and her house is inaccessible to the numerous admirers of her person and her eccentric talent. BUTCHERS AT VIENNA.—A curious arrangement exists regarding butchers' shops (says a writer in Once a Week). One might almost begin and end the.subject by saying, There are no butchers' shop3 in Vienna," since you may wander the length and breadth of the city without discovering any. But go at early morn- ing to the market-places in the oldest quarters, and you see an assemblage of little stalls, or moveable shops, each decorated by a fringe of offal, and sur- rounded by cooks and haus-fraus bargaining. Go to the same place at noon, and shops, offal, seller, and customers have vanished into tnin air. This strange metamorphosis arises from a stringent police prohibi- tion against any meat being sold after twelve o'clock; and woe be to the prodigal son, therefore, who returns to the bosom of his family at unheard-of-hours, fondly expecting a chop! For love nor money are impromptu dinners to be had. WHAT IS TRUMPS ?—Mrs. Bray relates of a Devonshire physician, happily named Vial, who was a desperate lover of whist, that one evening, in the midst of a deal, he fell off his chair in a fainting fit. Consternation seized on the company. Was he alive or dead? What was to be done? Every 'possiblp assistance was given Hartshorn was almost poured down his throat by one kind female friend, while another feelingly singed the end of the doctor's nose with burning feathers. All were in a breathless agony of suspense for his safety. At length he showed signs of life and retaining the last fond ideas which possessed him at the moment he fell into the fit, to the joy of the whole company he exclaimed, as he opened his eyes, What is trumps ?" MAGNITUDE OF LONDON TRAFFIC.—On every business day in London, upwards of 700,000 persons enter the City by its various approaches, and leave it again in the evening for their homes, at the West-end, in the suburbs, or in the country. Seven hundred thousand persons represent a population equal to the whole inhabitants of South Wales, or of the city of Manchester. Drawn up in line, two deep, standing close together, they would occupy an extent of over 120 miles; and ranged six deep, they would take more than twelve hours to march past a spectator at the rate of 110 paces a minute. Of the 700,000 persons and up. wards entering and leaving the City daily (exclusive of those entering the West-end and other parts of Lon- don), it was ascertained by the officers of the City police, in the month of May, 1860, that an average of 535,000 proceeded on foot, and 17L000 in vehicles, making a total of 706,000 persons. The number of vehicles as- certained at the same time to enter the City every twenty-four hours was 57,765 which, if drawn up close in line, would occupy a length of about 260 miles, reaching from London to York, and extending m more than fifty miles beyond the latter place. The closeness with which the vehicles follow each other in the streets may be inferred from the fact that- bet ween ten and eleven, a.m., on Wednesday 1 oil, November, 1862, it was ascertained fhat the total number passing Bow Church, in both directions, was 1,255; of which 348 were omnibuses, 584 cabs, and 282 carts, drays, vans, and waggons, besides 41 trucks and barrows. The numbers and proportions of vehicles passing the same place between four and five, p.m., on the same day, were ascertained to be as nearly as possible the same. DRIFTING TO WAR.—A war between England and Germany is a calamity so vast, and yet so gro- tesque, that even political dreamers strike it habitually out of their thoughts (says the Spectator). There is not the faintest hostility between the races, their interests nowhere clash, their institutions tend always to become almost identical, their history has been marked only by long and successful alliances, their harmony on all great points is the one stable guarantee for the good order of Europe. A German family, still speaking German in private, sits on the British throne a British Princess will be the queen of the leading German State; every relation, public and private, tends to permanent amity, and yet it is towards war with Germany that we seem to be drifting fast. Every incident of the week has made war itself more probable and almost every one has drawn England deeper into the fray. Before our next number issues, hostilities may have commenced between Denmark and the Diet, with the full understanding that England is about to become one of the active belligerents. SINGULAR FREAK OF A YOUNG FOREIGN LADY. —A reward of 201. is offered for intelligence respecting a "foreign lady of superior education, 23 years of age, middle stature, intelligent features, pale complexion, light brown hair, and dark blue eyes," who has mys- teriously disappeared from her home. She passed through Calais, on her way to England. After leav- ing London she was seen for the last time at the Great Western Railway terminus, with a black bag t4pUJ. a mahogany case, the latter having a coronet en- graved On a brass plate. She was habited in male at- tire, as a young artist, wearing a hat and a grey suit under an Inverness cape. As MAD AS A HATTER !"—Although an in- quiry respecting this simile appeared in Notes and quiry respecting this simile appeared in Notes and Queries as far back as June, I860, it has not hitherto elicited a reply. The phrase has now again come up, in that amusing volume, Captain Gronow's Recol- in that amusing volume, Captain Gronow's Recol- lections and Anecdotes On the subject of politics, my dear Alvanley, He is as mad as a hatter." One is at a loss to understand why a hat- ter should be made the type of insanity rather than a tailor or a shoemaker; but may not the phrase in question be thus explained ? The French compare an incapable or weak- minded person to an oyster- He reasons like an oyster" (huitre). We would suggest, therefore, that, through simi- larity of sound, the French huitre may, in the case before us, have given occasion to the English "hatter." From "11 raisonne comme une huitre" may have come out As mad as a hatter." [We have our opinion on the above phrase, which is, that in the palmy days of the high-priced beavers, hatters earned good wages and were invariably drunk and noisy all the forepart of the week, working like slaves during the last days. Hence came the phrases "Mad as a hatter," "Works like a hatter," and "Drunk as a hatter."—ED.] AN ARTILLERY DUEL !—Charleston includes ,more ground on which shells may fall harmlessly than "&ost American towns (says the Times). Roads, streets, gardens, and open spaces make up a large portion.of its'area, and it is easy to conceive tnat out of any number of shots only a few would have any effect. But the artillery the Federals have mounted must be of the most powerful description. Their nearest battery is little less than five miles from the city; the line of fire crosses the whole harbour from Morris Island. The rmns of Fort Sumter rise from the sea about midway. But even when the works were perfect, the guns of the fort had not range enough to prevent the Federals from constructing the batteries on the island. Nor can the other defensive works of the Con- federates silence them. The whole siege has become an artillery conflict, carried on at distances at which, till now, it would have been ridiculous to open any fire at all. The besiegers eannot make any approaches, or open trenches, or dig mines. The four or five miles of sea are always between them and the threatened city. If they would shorten the distance, it can only be done by the co-operation of a fleet, and all the floating batteries, monitors, and ironclads have failed in the trial. WELL MADE UP !-The Duke of Brunswick is one of the celebrities of Paris, He is now over sixty years of age, but so well made up" and artificially preserved, that at a casual glance he would not be taken for more than forty. He wears a wig made of black floss silk, and his beard is kept carefully coloured of a raven hue. His face is daily covered with a composition which fills up the cracks and wrinkles. He dresses with the most scrupulous neatness, and his great delight in life is having his diamonds set and reset in new forms. A DISGUSTING JOB!-An undertaker was re- cently despatched from New York by the relatives of deceased soldiers to recover their remains from the graves at Port Hudson (says an American paper). He returned with nineteen bodies, enclosed in metallic coffins. One body he recognised by the long dark hair. At one spot he opened four graves before finding the body he searched for. He was enabled to recognise it as the right one by the rubber overcoat which was wrapped around the head of the deceased, and which bore his name. The body was placed in three cracker boxes-the interfering ends of each being broken out. The bodies were all, of course, shockingly decomposed, and the work of disinterment was one of-horror. Many of the bodies were unjoffined others were in rough boards, a few in coffins, others in cracker boxes, and one in a gun box. After opening the grave, the con- dition of the bodies was such, especially at Bonnet Carrie, where the graves filled with water, that canvas had to be slipped under them, and they carefully raised on it, in order that they should not fall to pieces. Captain Filkins nobly stood the ordeaL He opened every coffin and every box; he cut from twenty-eight of the dead locks of hair for the relatives, and then closed to all eyes the remains. All were buried in their elsffies, and were'wrapped in the soldier's shroud, their blankets. A STEAMSHIP INCIDENT.—On the arrival of the screw-steamer Etna from Liverpool, a lady and gen- tleman (her nephew) proceeded out in the tender Arran Castle, to meet a friend," believed to be in the Etna (says a Cork paper). Having reached the vessel, a search was made for the "friend," who was discovered, and, against will and strength, was placed in the tender- No sooner had the trio met than the fiercest discussion began, the lady and "friend" using their best endeavours to abuse each other. In fact, the gentleman was no other than a husband absconding with some 1,5001., and the lady his anxious wife, who had travelled from their mutual home in London—"not for him," she said, with warmth, but for her money." They were a pair of self-confessed bigamists! THE EXACT TRUTH."—Mr. Reuter's telegram from Paris, dated the 7th instant, giving an account of the arrest of "four foreigners of suspicious appear- ance, coming from England," and at whose residence "a great quantity of English gunpowder had been found," was, it seems, nothing more or less than a tolerably exact" translation of a paragraph con- spicuously inserted in the semi-official French journaT La Patrie. Our veracious French contemporary (re marks the Daily News), no doubt with no motive more malignant than that of emphasising a piece of "latest news," prefaced its account of the arrest of "four foreigners," &c., with the following characteristic words, Void l'exacte verite. It now turns out that the four foreigners," &c., did not come from England, but from Italian Switzerland; not from London, but from Lugano and that all the rest of the paragraph in La Patrie was equally truthful and exact. Let us hope that the "exact truth" was supplied in this in. stance to that accommodating journal by the Prefec- ture of Police. We would, however, suggest to Mr. Reuttr the propriety of exercising a little more caution in adopting "the exact truth" from La Patrie, and presenting it to the English public without acknow- ledging the unadulterated souree from which he takes it. A FRIGHTENED NEGRO.—A herculean diver named Waters was employed at Port Royal in clean- ing the bottoms of the Federal ironclads. One day, while he was employed scraping the hull of one of the monitors, a negro from the up-river plantations came alongside with a boatload of water-melons. While busy selling his melons the diver came up, and rested himself on the side of the boat. The negro stared at the extraordinary appearance thus suddenly coming out of the water with alarmed wonder; but when the diver seized one of the best melons in the boat, and disappeared under the water, the gurgling of the air from the helmit mixing with the muffled laughter, the fright of the negro reached a climax. Hastily seizing his oars, without waiting to be paid for his melons, he put off at his best speed, and was not seen in that neighbourhood again. SENTENCE OF A CHILD TO PENAL SERVITUDE, -At the West Kent quarter sessions, held at Maid- stone, last week, a girl 13 years of age, named Emma Glassory, was indicted for robbing her mistress, Isabella Collington, residing at Greenwich. It appeared that the youthful prisoner had acted as servant to the prosecutrix about three weeks but, owing to her un- truthfulness and dilatoriness when sent out on errands, she had been compelled to discharge her. Three days afterwards the father of the prisoner called upon the prosecutrix and handed to her a gold watch and chain, a porte-monnaie, a pair'of boots, two pairs of cuffs, and a pair of stockings, which she identified as her pro- perty, and which had been found by the stepmother of the prisoner concealed under her bed. The jury, upon this evidence before them, returned a verdict of guilty. There had been no previous offence committed by the prisoner, who, to the surprise of every one in court, was sentenced to four years' penal servitude VALUE OF ADVERTISING !-In a case tried in the Lord Mayor's Court, a short time ago, Treloar v. The London Chatham, Aand Dover Railway Company," the plaintiff, who is the well-known cocoa-nut fibre manufacturer, recovered 9,3051. compensation for the loss of his house and business at 42, Ludgate-hill, London. One part of plaintiff's claim was a sum of 50QJ. put as "loss of profit on advertising." In sup- port of that claim the plaintiff was called, and he "Ad I look upon money expended in advertising as capital in- vested in my case I have expended 6,0002. in advertising the business which I was the first to introduce; the older the advertisement, the more surely comes the return; it was only the other day that a gentleman from Canada brought me ail advertisement which he had cut out of a paper seven years old he had kept it, and found my shop by its means. To answer this, it was urged for the company that an advertisement might die out from staleness, and that it was a very good opportunity for plaintiff to issue a fresh advertisement with the words Prize- medal holder" inserted. His lordship remarked that no dou-bt advertising was of the very highest im- portance to business, and the plaintiff was evidently .6 1 of opinion that he had derived considerable benefit from following it up. It was indeed stated in the evi- dence that plaintiff considered he had made 10 per cent. profit per annum on the 5,000Z. expended that meant that plaintiff bad put 5001. of his present pro- fits as arising out of the consequences of his adver- tising; so 'that it was, as would be seen, of consider- able importance to trades generally that persons should consider well the whole mode to be adopted, for the plaintiff in this case had evidently reduced the matter to a science. SUICIBE THROUGH LOVE !-Animluest has been "e^d on the body of Mr. Stewart, jun., who shot him- self at Bndgenorth. Mr. Wills, the uncle qf deceased, deposed that his nephew, who was an uncfergTaduate of Pembroke College, Oxford, had been spending his vacation with his parents at Stourbridge. For some weeks he had been labouring under a depression of spirits, owing to his attachment to a young lady, which was not approved of by his friends, in conse- quence of his being only 18 years of age. From the testimony of other witnesses it appeared that deceased went to a gunsmith's shop on Tuesday morning, and procured a double-barrelled rifled pistol, with some powder, caps, and four or five bullets. About eleven o clock the same morning he was found lying on his back near Hoard's Park-pool quite dead. A card, with his name and Oxford address, was found upon him, and on the other side of it there was written A new way of avoiding a dilemma-vide corpus-au revoir. There being sufficient evidence to show that deceased was not sane when he committed the act, the jury re- turned a verdict to that effect. PERPETUAL MOTION 1- A Vermont Yankee claims to have invented a self-propelling wheel, or perpetual motion. A correspondent of the Boston Journal thus describes it It is a simple wheel, runs on gudgeons, and is independent of any outside spring, -weight, or power as a propeller. On the same axle on which the metal wheel is fixed is a band wheel, on which a band runs over a small pulley that drives a small circular saw. Set it on a table and re- move the brake, and it will start itself and run with great velocity, driving the saw. It is the simplest thing in the world, though I cannot intelligibly describe it; but it is at once understood by the beholder. It will not, nay cannot, stop without a brake, as it is so fixed by means of balls and arms, that the descending side of the wheel is perpetually further from the centre of motion than the opposite as- cending. MYSTERIOUS POISONING CASE.—The circum- stances attending the death of a young lady named Amelia Huband, the niece of the Rev. J. Vernon, curate of Humbleton, near Droitwich, who expired suddenly after a short illness on the 7th of October, and was buried under a certificate from a surgeon that death arose from bilious cholera will be remem- bered by our readers. In consequence, however, of rumours that got abroad after the funeral, the coroner of the district, Mr. Hughes, ordered the body to be disinterred, and being opened by a surgeon (Mr. Budd, of Worcester), it was discovered that she had been poisoned, a large quantity of arsenic being found in the stomach and intestines. It was also discovered that she was six months gone with child. At the inquest Mrs. Parker, the aunt of the deceased, stated her utter ignorance of the condition of her niece. She had been told that Miss Huband had given clandestine meetings to a young man in the village named Cole, but on charging her with it, the deceased resolutely denied it. Cole, however, on being examined by the coroner, admitted that he had been intimate with the deceased, and it turned out that he and the deceased had frequent meetings in the kitchen and back premises of the rectory, with the connivance of the servants. A large packet of arsenic was found in a cupboard at the rectory, but Mrs. Vernon and the servants denied all knowledge of how it got there. The inquiry terminated in a verdict that deceased had died from the effects of poison, but that there was no evidence to show how it was administered. The matter has thus remained until this week, when, in consequence of other rumours set afloat, the magis- trates of the district held a meeting, and on Thursday and the next day held a preliminary investigation into the affair at Droitwich. The Right Hon. Sir J. S. Pakington was in the chair, and six or eight magis- trates of the district were present. It was determined for the present to keep the inquiry private, but it is expected to result in a more public investigation.

THE MARKETS. MARK LANE, MONDAY. Fresh up to Mark-lane to-day the arrivals of wheat both from Essex and Kent were very moderate, but the condition of the produce was for the most part good. The circum- stance that large quantities of foreign, chiefly Dantzic, wheat have recently gone direct to the millers, combined with the sudden change of the weathe r, produced a slow sale for all kinds of English wheat. Most transactions were at the rates current on Monday last; but factors would have been compelled to accept less money in some instances had they shown any disposition to force sales. The supply of foreign wheat on the stands was by no means extensive. In all de- scriptions, a limited business was transacted. Holders were, however, firm, add no change took place in price, com- pared with this day se'nnight. There was less activity in the demand for cargoes of grain afloat. Wheat, how- ever, supported the advance of Is to 2s per quarter realised during the latter part of last week. With barley the market was less extensively supplied. Good and fihe malting qualities ruled firm, at quite previous cur- rencies. In other descriptions, sales progressed slowly, yet no change took place in the currencies. Malt changed hands to a moderate extent at late rates. The supply of oats on sale was very large. For most qualities there was, however, a fair average inquiry, and all good and fine pro- duce steadily supported previous quotations. The supply of beans on sale was tolerably large. On the whole the trade ruled steady, at last Monday's currency. The supply of peas, which was but moderate, were steady in price, and all qualities were in moderate request The supply of barrel flour on offer was small, and previous quotations were well supported. Country marks, as well as French and Spanish qualities, were in fair average demand, at full currencies. METROPOLITAN CATTLE MARKET, MONDAY. For the time of year the supply of foreign stock on offer in to-day's market was tolerably good. Sales progressed slowly, at depressed currencies. The arrivals of beasts fresh up from oun grazing districts, as well as from Scetland, were on the increase, and their general quality was prime. The beef trade was inactive at, compared with Thursday, a decline in the quotations of 4d per 81b. Compared with Monday last, the fall was 2d per 81b. The top figure for the best Scots and crosses was 5s per 81b. Although the show of sheep was only moderate, the mutton trade, owing to large arrivals of meat up to Newgate and Xeadenhall, was somewhat heavy. Prime small Downs changed hands on rather lower terms, and all heavy breeds of sheep gave way fully 2d per 8lb. The extreme value of Downs was 6s. per SIb. Calves met a slow sale; nevertheless, prim e veal was 2d per 81b dearer than Monday last. The pork trade was heavy, and prices were not supported. HOPS. We have to report a good demand for all kinds of hops, both English and foreign, at our quotations. The supplies on offer are very moderate. Last week's import amounted to 106 bales from Boulogne, 162; from Antwerp, 57 from Ostend, 97 from Dunkirk, 41 from Haniburg, 93 from Bremen, and 6 from Calais. Mid and East Kents, 105s to 1908; Weald of Kents, 100s to 135s; Sussex, 105s to 120s Bavarian, 105s to 168s Belgian, 70s to 7 8s; American, 105s to 126s per cwt. POTATOES. The arrivals of potatoes by water carriage have fallen off: but the receipts by railway have been moderately large. In nearly all descriptions a fair average business is doing, and prices rule firm. Yorkshire Regents, 80s to 90s ditto Flukes. 95s to 110s; ditto Rocks, 60s to 70s Scotch Regents, 55s to 80s; ditto Rocks, 50s to 60s; Kent and Essex Regents, 60s to 80s per ton. WOOL. Although business in home-grown wool has not materially increased since we last wrote, rather more firmness has been apparent in the trade, and previous quotations have been well supported. In colonial wool, by private contract, the transactions have been far from numerous, but at full prices. There were no imports into London last week.