The Welshman

'*• THOMAS CA::PI;I.L AND HKKSCIIKL. I wish you had been with me the day before yesterdav, when von would have joined me, I arii Sure, deeply, in admiring a great, simple, good old man—Dr. Ilerschel. Do not think me nlin, or at least put up with my va- nity, in saying that I almost flatter mvself I have made him my friend. I have got an invitation, and a pressing one, to go to his house and the lady who introduced me to him says he spoke of me as if he would really be happy to see me. I spent all Sunday with him and his family. His son is a prodigy in science, and fond of poetry, but very unassuming. Now. for the old astronomer himself. His simplicity, his kindness, his anecdotes, his readiness to explain, and make perfectly perspicuous too, his own sublime con- ceptions of the universe, are indescribably charming. He is seventy-six, but fresh and stout; and there he sat, nearest the door, at his friend's house, alternately smiling at a joke, or contentedly sitting without share or notice in th" conversation. Any train of conversation he follows implicitly anything you ask he labours with a sort of boyish earnestness to explain. I was anxious to get from him as many particulars as I could about his interview with Buonaparte. The latter, it was re- ported, had astonished him by his astronomical know- ledge. "No." he said "the Frst Consul did surprise me bv his quickness and versatility on all subjects but in science he seemed to know little more than any well- educated gentleman and of astronomy, much less, for instance, than our own king. His general air, he said, was something like atiecnng to know more than he did know." He was high, and tried to be great with Her- schel, I suppose without success; and "I remarked," said the Astronomer, his hypocrisy in concluding the conversation on astronomy by observing how all these glorious views gave proofs of an Almighty wisdom." I I asked him if he thought the system of Laplace to be quite certain, with regard to the total security of the planetary system, from the effects of gravitation losing its present balance? He said, No he thought by no means that the universe was secured from the chance of sudden losses of parts. He was convinced that there had existed a planet between Mars and Jupiter, in our own system, of which the little Asteroids, or planetkins, lately discovered, are indubitably fragments; and "re- member," said he, "that though they have discovered only four of those parts, there will ix; thousands—per- haps thirty thousand n,,o, yet discovered." This planet he believed to have been lost by explosion. With great kindness and patience, he referred me, in the course of my attempts to talk with him. to a theorem in Newton's "Principles of Natural Philosophy," in which the time that the light takes to travel from the sun is proved with a simplicity which requires but a few steps in reasoning. In talking of some inconceivably distant bodies, he introduced the mention of this plain theorem, to remind me that the progress of light could be mea- sured in the one case as w"l1 as the other. Then, speak- ing of himself, he said, with a modesty of manner which quite overcame me, when taken together with the great- ness of the assPftinn-" I have looked further into spucp than ever any human bein.fi did before ma. I have ob- served stars, of which the light, it can be proved, must take two millions of years to reach this earth." I really and unfeignedly felt at the moment as if I had been con- versing with a supernatural intelligence. Nay, more," said he, if those distant bodies had ceased to exist two millions of years ago, we should still see them, as th? light would travel after the body was gone." These were Herchel's words and if you had heard him speak them you would not think he was apt to tell more than truth. After leaving Herschel I felt elevated and overcome and have, in writing to you, made only this memorandum of some of the must interesting moments of my life ('(llllpbell' 8 Life. THE CHURCH — ITS INTERIOR SYMBOLS IMPRESSIVE.— The interior of the sanctuary is not without its em- phatic types of holy teaching, too. The Bible and the Prayer-book (its devout associate on the sacred desk) lie side by side, as if in emblem of the Lord whose word it is, and of the Church, his bride, whose mystic marriage angels cclebrate. In such close sympathy and contact the Bible protects -and guarantees the truth and purity of the Prayer-book, as the Lord his Church and the eonstaat palpable presence of that divine witness—not hidden like the tables in the ark, but open, manifest, and striking the eye and falling on the ear of the whole body of wot-shippers-sectirps a ready, immediate, and final appeal in matters of faith, alike to them who minis- ter and to them who are ministered unto. Similarly im- pressive is the position of the inscribed tablets of the Creed and the Commandments, associated with the Lord's Prayer in this brief beauteous litany of Jesus: a kind of written emblem of his intercessional office seems to sanction and link together the other formularies of obedience and faith, as if to teach us there was no acceptable observance of Decalogue or Creed without the intervention of the Prayer of the Lord, as that the intercession of the blessed Mediator enables the Church to obey or to believe, and hence she writes them on her walls, and there they stand, like a Deuteronomy of the Church, as if an echo of revelation and of ages caught and petrified en her tables of stone, in memory alike of Sinai and Calvary. The font at her entrance doors speaks of them who, in holy baptism, became as little children" of another birth and a new creation, by which they enter into the kingdom of Heaven; and the sacra- mental altar at the chancel end, in type commemorates the precious sacrifice of his flesh and blood, which is His Church's nieat indeed, and drink indeed." The time would fail us to elaborate the symbolic teaching of the Church's choir and instruments of music, in her mighty organ, fitted alike to peal the thunders that accompanied the giving of the law and the softer music of the angels that proclaimed the morning of the Gospel. Her scat- tered monuments of the dead yet clinging to her columns, as if her aisles were still a sanctuary of refuge from the pursuit of death, who smote, but could not separate, her children from their mother ;-her plaintive architecture, as if in her mere materia)s she would not be conformed to this world, but in her cruciform dimensions would alway bear in her body the marks of the Lord Jesus — her priest's apparel, separating in Their hour of ministra- tion the sacerdotal order from the congregation, as the congregation should he separated from the world j- i even her subordinate officers, in the sacred lowlihood of their functions extending and accepting the services of those humble souls who had rather be as doorkeepers in the house of their God, than dwell in the tents of wick- edness. And is it all pious ifction this doctrine of the symbols? It would be, if they were suffered to eclipse or to materialise the teaching of the Church, or to su- persede, in any degree, the direct preaching of the living Word but so long as they retain their posture, as the handmaids of the ordinances of the Lord, as virgins that be her fellows, they shall accompany the bride, the King's daughter, who, though she be all-glorious within, disdains neither the raiment of needlework, nor the clothing of wrought gold. The fitness and probable impressiveness of such an order of ecclesiastical appara- tus is not of necessity a poetical fancy they are not in- frequently productive of actual effect An illustrative instance was related to me by a living dignitary of the Church:—A man of notoriously depraved and infamous character, who had frequently committed burglaries, and had become the more hardened from his escape of con- viction, at length resolved to add the guilt of sacrilege to felony hy the robbery of his parish church. Tiie night arrived that was to put his plan into execution, and found him secreted, till the dark, and still, and coward hourofthemidnight.inoneof its aisles. As he lay there, the glimmering rav from the lantern he had lighted to aid him in searching for his plunder fell upon the table of the commandments, on the p-eci?e spot where it was written-" Thou sha1t not steal!" The bardv burglar trembled as he read it, and superstition, which ignorance or knavery usually substitutes for re- ligion, smote upon what conscience he had left: he struggled with the feeling, but his bravado yielded to its influence, and he slunk away from the edifice as empty- handed, but more heavy-hearted, than he came. Ashamed of his weakness, as he thought it, on the next night he returned, and effected an entrance into the church, and as if drawn by some irresistible impulse that fascinated him to the spot, his eye again fixed upon the words- c. Thou shalt riot steal lie uttered a hideous oath of contempt, and swore aloud, as if in defiance of whoever might be in hearing, that "lie worn) steal;" and the tablet seemed to speak in answer, as if to clarr him to do .so, Tholl shalt not steal!" and the miserable ruthan again wavered in his purpose, and finally overcome by the anguish of his fast illrH"1sing terror, he sobbed aloud, 0 God, forgive me, and I wont—I wontand a second time he returned to his own dwelling." But this ti-ne the arrow hadrxed in a sure place that sentence seemed to haunt him day and night—it. dogged his foot- steps, and whispered in his ears the doom involved in the interdict, "Thou shalt not steal;" and unable longer to support the constant agony of remorse, lie confessed himself to the minister of the parish, was directed where nd how to seek and pray for pardon and mercy, and that n.an eventually b'-cau.e a penitent, earnest Christian, to the end of a life that henceforth realised the teaching of F "1 — Let him t h. t st ie, ,,1, a I 110 more but rather ■ 1 • *K i tI,jn,T jvltirh it of ?''?/' t.c.vrvstu- i f-d jnrAihn. j venison HIGHLAND NOTIONS OF HER MAJESTY. The u'ter extinction of all preconceived notions of royalty in rlie minds of some of the ancient Highland matrons and men, by the visit to Invercauld, was in- tensely amusing. Forlorn jinks, between the eihtecllth and nineteenth centuries, had all their great ideas utterly routed and put to flight. Intensely old and ve- nerable ladies, in caps and plaids —whose fathers mus- tered on Balmoral haugh to fight for Charles Stuart — were utterly put out ot all calculations hy thc ilp- pearance of the Queen and the Prince. A plain gentle- manly man, in a dark surtout, and a dark hat, without any gold or diamonds glistening on his belt—because twIt he had none-and wearing nothing that would not have become a parish minister, could not be a Prince. The Queen, in their minds, had always carried a Gol- conda of diamonds on her brow, and appeared publicly under ornaments of gold and silver like an oriental princess of the ancients; so that when a lady in a plain white bonnet and a tartan shawl was declared to be their Queen, thev were all indignant at the cheat which was, as thev believed, attempted to be palmed on them, for they would not have considered the bonnet and shawl good enough for a Queen's sCll11ery-maid-and, finally, one reasoning matron put the matter down by exclaim- ing, Hoo can she be the Queen, wha's nae sae braw's the lady o'lnnercaul ?" At last their convictions and doubts were overcome, and they were assured that the monarch's claims were not to be invalidated by reason of the white bonnet: and the royal Stuart shawl was rather in their favour. The blessings of old ladies, bowed with eild, and patriarchs, with their gray straggling hair, whose ancestors lifted the sword against her predeces- sors. were exhausted in favour of the sweet lady" of the land-a greater personage by unimaginable degrees than the lady of Invercauld," and she had been the greatest in their esteem hit,iortc).- Ial't's Magazine. HOOK'S EARLY LIFE. Hook's father was an eminent musical composer. His brother, who was eighteen years senior to him, entered the church before Theodore was of an age to go to school, and his mother died when he was about fourteen years of age. On his mother's death, he easily per- suaded his father to allow him to rpmain at home. Sur- rounded bv a musical atmosphere from childhood, gifted with a rich, sweet, and powerful voice, lie soon became distingnis hed as an exce llent player on the piano- forte, and a singer both of pathetic and comic songs. He had long possessed his wondrous taJcn t ofimprorisatiun be- fore he became conscious of its value. Wllile yet a child, and still unknown to fame. He lisped in numbers, for the numbers came." One evening, when he was about sixteen, intending to hoax his father, he sun, to his own accompaniment, two ballads, one grave and one gay, I, t licpretendod to have received frum a rival composer. The father pointed out some grave errors in the score, but expressed great admi- ration of the verses; they had, probablv, little point or meaning, but they were smooth, easy, and flowing, as, indeed, were Hook's improvisations, under whatever circumstances produced. llook told his secret; he was taken into a kind of partnership with his father, to whose music he wrote songs and thus in boyhood he at once jwrnped into a kind of precocious independence. He had free admission to all the theatres, both before and behind the curtain. His puns and repartees became celebrated in the dramatic circles, and the actresses vied with each other in seeking the attentions of the lively Theodore. The Rev. Mr. Hook saw the danger of such a life he remonstrated successfully with the father, and took Theodore to Oxford, intending to have him edu- cated for the bar. No one is admitted to the University of Oxford \10 does not sign the thirty-nine articles. It is said that a country squire, when asked by the vice- chancellor "Will you subscribe to the thirty-nine ar- ticles ?" replied, With all my heart, sir-hov much ?" Hook had heard this story, which greatly tickled his fancy, and suggested to him that part of the ceremony of matriculation might furnish material for frolic. When asked Are you ready to sign the thirty-nine articles ,II he irreverently replied, "Quite ready, sir, or forty if you please The otfended functionary closed the book, and was with difficulty induced to pass over the irre- verent jest by the earnest entreaties of the elder brother. But Hook had seen enough of Oxford: he quitted it with a secret determination never to return, and, has- tening back to London, resolved to become a writer for the stage. His first drama, "The Soldier's Return," had a great run. The incidents were taken from the French, and much of the dialogue was borrowed from the same source; still there were quips and points which bore the impress of the Theodorian mint, such as when a landlord being asked by a traveller, Are you the master of this house ?" replies, Yes, sir, my wife has been dead these three weeks. "-Bai-hct t;i's Life oj lIook. HOOK'S IMPUDENCE. The hoax of getting himself and friend invited to dinner, by the retired merchant on the banks of the Thames, whose conservatory, as pretended surveyors, they threatened to remove, in order to cut an imaginary canal, was one which Hook loved to tell, but which he varied so often that it was difficult to discover the facts Oil which it was really founded. Mr. Barham's version of this piece of consummate impudence is that which we believe most nearly approximates to truth. Hook did go to a stranger's house, where he accidentally dis- covered that a large dinner-party was given exerted his wondrous conversational powers so as to charm the whole company, before his host could interfere to ask an explanation was invited to dinner; kept the table in a roar; had a friend to call for him; and wound up the fun of the evening by going- to the piano-forte, and ftin of t?e bv (-roinpr improvising a song, in which he related the whole plot to his astonished auditory. The last verse, which, by the way, is not a little mangled in the Quarterly, was— I am very much pleased with your fare, Your dinner's as prime as your cook," My friend's Mr. Terry, the player, And I'm Mr. Theodore Hook." PAUL PRY. j Theodore's great allv at this time was Mr. Thomas Hill of all literary reminiscences—the Hull of Gilbert Gurtiey"-tlic Paul Pry of Poole's clever comedy,aia the contributor of all manner of absurdities in Natural History to the Black Days of the Morning Chronicle." Hill was to Hook what the whetstone is to the razor he was as proud of being the butt as others are of being the jester. He died some six or seven years ago, at the age of eighty-three but twenty years before that it had been the fashion to treat him as a Methusalem. James Smith asserted that the register of his birth had been burned in the great fire of London Hook averred that he was one of the Little Ilills mentioned as skipping in the Psalms and George Colman gravely inquired whether h? had been at all sea-sick when a companion of Noah in the ark Paul Pry" was not an exag- gerated picture of Mr. Hill's inquisitiveness, and of his jumping to the strangest conclusions on the most con- jectnral evidence. He felt verv hittcrlv the exposure of his harmless peculiarities on the stage, and spoke of Poole with not unnatural bitterness but, strange to say, he was delighted with his delineation in Gilbert Gurney;" aiid, (;ii more than one occasion after the pub- lication of the novel, asseverated the truth of many of the wildest adventures in which he had borne a part.— Ib ill. THE ATMOSPHERE. I The atmosphere rises above its with its cathedral dome arching towards the heaven of which it is the most fa- miliar synonvme and symbol. It floats around us like that grand object which the apostle John saw in his vision—" a sea of glass like unto crystal." So massive is it that, when it begins to stir, it tosses about great ships like playthings, and sweeps cities and forests like snow flakes to destruction before it. And yet it is so mobile that we have lived years in it before we can be persuaded it exists at all, and the great bulk of mankind never realises the truth that they are bathed in an ocean of air. Its weight is so enormous that iron shivers'before it like glass, yet a soap-ball sails through it with im- punity, and the tiniest insect waves in its wings. It ministers lavishly to all the senses. We touch it not, but it touches us: its warm south wind brings back colour to the pale face of the invalid its cool west winds refresh the fevered brow and makes the blood mantle in our cheeks even its north blasts brace into new vigour the hardened children of our rugged clime. The eve is indebted to it for all the magnificence of sun- rise. the full brightness of mid-day, the chastened radiance of the gloaming, and the clouds that cradle near the set- ting sun. But for it the rainbow would want its tri- umphal arch, and the winds would not send their fleecy messengers on errands round the heavens. The cold ether would not shed its snow feathers on the earth, nor would drops of dew gather on the flowers. The kindly rain would never fili-lail, storm, nor fog diversify the sky. Our naked globe would turn its tanned unshad- dowed forehead to the sun, and one dreary, monotonous blaze of light and heat dazzle and bum up all things. Were there no atmosphere, the evening sun would in a moment set, and without warning plunge the earth in darkness. But the air keeps in her hand a sheaf of his rays, and lets them slip but slowly through her fingers; so that the shadows of evening gather by degrees, and the flowers have time to bow their heads, and each crea- ture space to find a place of rest and nestle to repose. In the morning, the garish sun would at one bound burst from the bosom of night and blaze above the horizon but the air watches for his coming, and sends at first but one little ray to announce his approach, then another, and by and by a handful—and so gently draws aside the curtain of night, and slowly lets the light fall on the face of the sleeping earth, till her ts eye- lids open, and, like man, she goeth forth again to her labour until the evening.-Quartcrly Review. SINGULAR BRAVERY IN A WOMAX. Four Montenegrins and their sister, aged twenty-one, going on a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Dasilio, were waylaid by seven Turks in a rocky defile, so narrow that they could only thread it one by one and hardly had they entered, between the precipices that bordered it on either side, when an unexpected discharge of fire-arms killed one brother, and desperately wounded another. To retrace their steps was impossible, without meeting certain and shameful death, since to turn their backs would give their enemy the opportunity of destroying them at pleasure. The two who were unhurt therpfore advanced, and returned the fire, killing two Turks, while the wounded one, supporting himself against the rock, fired also, and mortally injured two other, but was killed himself in the act. His sister, taking his gun, loaded and fired again simultaneously with her two brothers, but at the same instant one of them dropped down dead. The two surviving Turks then rushed furiously at the only remaining Montenegrin, who, however, laid open the skull of one of them with his yatagaa, before recei- his own death-blow. The hapless sister, who had all the time kept up a constant fire, stood for an instant irresolute when suddenly assuming an air of terror and supplication, she entreated for luerey, but the Turk enraged at the death of his companions, was brutal enough to take advantage of the unhappy girl's seeming agonv, and only promised her life at the price of her honour. Hesitating at first, she pretended to listen to the villain's proposal, but no sooner did she see him thrown off his guard, than she buried in his body the knife she carried at her girdle. Although mortally wounded. the Turk endeavoured to make the most of his failing strength, and plucking the dagger from his side, staggered towards the courageous girl, who, driven to despair, threw herself on her relentless foe, and with superhuman energy, hurled him down the neighbouring precipice, at the very ruofnent when some shepherds, attracted lv the continued firing, arrh'-d just too late for pMt j — ?MH'.ff.' y j -?- I MAIL-COACH TRAVELLING. Our acquaintance, Major Arthur Peudennis, arrived in due time at Fairoaks, after a dreary night passed ill the iiiail-roicii, a stotit fellow-passenger, swelling preternaturally with great-coats, had crowded him into a corner, and kept him awake by snoring indecently where a widow ladv, opposite, had not only shut out the fresh air by clo>ing ail the windows in the vehicle, but had filled the interior with fUInes of Jamaica rum and water, which she sucked perpetually from a bottle in her i-eticule where,wheneverliecaughtabrief moment of sleep, the twanging of the horn at the turnpike-gates, or the scuffling of his huge neighbour wedging him closer and closer, or the play of the widow's feet on his own tender toes, speedily woke up the poor gelltleman to the horrors and realities of lifo-a life which has passed away now and become impossible and only lives in fond memories. Eight miles an hour, for twenty or fivc- and-twenty hours, a tight mail coach, a hard seat, a gouty tendency, a perpetual change of coachmen grumbling because you did not fee them enough, a fellow-passenger partial to spirits-and-water-who has not borne with these evils in the jolly old times ? and how could people travel under such difficulties ? And yet they did, and were merry too. Next the widow, and by the side of the Major's servant on the roof, were a couple of scholboys going home for the midsummer holidays, and Major Pendennis wondered to see them sup at the inn at Bag- shot, where they took in a cargo of ham, eggs, pic, pickles, tea, coffee, and boiled beef, which surprised the poor Major, sipping a cup of very feeble tea, and thinking with a tender dejection that Lord Steyne's dinner was coming off that very moment. The ingenuous ardour of the boys, however, amused the Major, who was very goor1-natured and he became the more interested when he found that the one who travelled inside with him, was a lord's son, whose noble father Pendennis, of course, had met in the world of fashion, which he frequented. The little lord slept all night through, in spite of the sneezing, and the horn-blowing, and the widow; and he looked as fresh as paint (and, indeed, pronounced himself to be so) when the Major, with a yellow face, a bristly beard, a wig out of curl, and strong rheumatic griefs shooting through various limbs of his uneasy body, de- scended at the little lodge-gate at Fairoaks, where the porteress and gardener's wife reverentially greeted him and, still more respectfully, Mr. Morgan, his man.— Thackeray's Pendennis. THE ADULTERATIONS OF ARDENT SPIRITS. The first intention is to increase the quantity, and this is effected by water. Thus is necessitated, in order to conceal the first fraud, a second and far more terrible kind. With what pain do I record the guilty catalogue --(titof turpentine, Guinea and Cayenne pppper, cherry laurel water, spirit of Almond cake, sulphuric acid, lime water, alum, acetate of lead, carbonate of potash, grains of paradise. The mcr:'st tyro in chemistry knows that several of these substances are among the most virulent poisons knmnl to science. Home-made wines of the worst kind, by a little ingenuity, are converted into either port or sherry; and this is not, as might be sup- posed, a mere jeu d'esprit, but a most notorious and painful truth. If a deep-coloured wine is wanted, it is made by adding a deep-coloured dye and every other vinous attribute is stimulated in the same way, even to communicating what is termed by those who know when the wine behaves itself aright," the bouquet. To such an extent has scientific ingenuity come to the help of the adulterers, that what would otherwise appear alto- gether all impossibility is easily effected in the course of a few hours all the flavour which without art it would take years to produce is perfectly accomplished by the addition of suitable ingredients. If I were to make a rough estimate, I should be disposed to say that, if the figures 3,000 represented the amount of wine consumed in Great Britain, 1,000 would about represent the quantity actually imported, the remaining 2,000 being manufactured at home. Occasionally ingredients of a highly poisonous kind arc found in wine; nor is it to be wondered at, when we find such a lamentable ignorance of the properties of bodies as is exhibited in the direc- tions given in receipt books for making wines. Thus a popular treatise recommends the introduction of lead into wine, for a particular purpose and the inevitable result would be, that all who partook of it would suffer more or less from the poisonous effects of this substance in a solution, even in small quantities. At the com- mencement of the last century, so persuaded are the authorities in Germany of the deadly effects of this poison in wine, that, finding that laws of extreme se- verity were ineffectual in putting an end to the practice, they determined to make an example of one individual as a terror to the rest; and him they beheaded. Other dealers, who had been persuaded by him to make the same deadly experiment, were heavily fined, and the poisonous wine was thrown away. It is not long since that some wine was seized at Paris, at the Halle aux Vins, which was supposed to contain some poisonous substance, and it was ordered to be thrown into the Seine. Soon afterwards dead fish in great quantities appeared on the surface of the stream-a sufficient evi- dence of the existence of a strong poison in the fluid. Would that the same vigilant board which watches over the health of the Parisian population, and whose duty it is to scrutinise all articles of food exposed for sale, had its parallel in our own land I'lic Church of England Magazine. AX OLD WELSH HYRPER. I became first acquainted with Mr. Campbell in con- sequence of his cousin, Capt. Hobert Campbell, having married a lady of Montgomeryshire. Shortly after- wards he asked me to dine with him at the Club. An hour before dinner while we took a walk together, he asked me many questions about. Wales, Welsh litera- ture, character of the people, &-c.—observing that he had long intended to visit the Principality. You have told me,'said he, 'about the early bards, heroes, and examples of heroism in the old British; can you give me some anecdote of a modern IVelshiiiaii-of the pea- santry for instance ? After a little consideration I told him the following,—an incident that occurred between twenty and thirty years ago:-Iri Towyn, Merioneth- shire, dwelt Griffith Owcn, a very humble individual, but an excellent performer on the triple-stringed, or old Welsh harp. He was respected by every one, and had seen more than eighty winters but sorrow was in store for him. The partner of his long life was seized with mortal illness, and within a few days carried to the grave. But this was only the beginning of Owen's grief: his son was suddenly taken ill, and very shortly after became a raving maniac. Now in Wales, from time immemorial, the people have been in the habit of re- cording their private feelings, matters of history, or events of any kind, by what they call triads, or using the number three; and this will explain what follows. Very late, one clear, cold, frosty, night a gentleman was crossing Towyn Heath, where there is a beautifully romantic sea shore, with natural terrace extending for miles. lie saw before him some object moving, and on coming nearer heard a low groan and, to his great surprise, there stood tottering with age the venerable figure of Griffith Owen. He was leaning upon his staff his plaid hanging loose about him, and his white hair streaming in the wind. Grilritli said the gentleman, what can have brought you, at such an hour, to this dreary place ?' The old man instinctively replied, in a Welsh triad, My wife is dead, my son is mad, and my harp is unstrung In an instant the words shot through Campbell's heart. It came home to him like an electric shock. lie could not, he said, disguise his weakness—but, what I venture to call his pure nature-he cried like a child I was at the moment totally ignorant of the circumstances which so deeply affected him. But, when he had re- gained his composure, he told me these words were the literal expression of his own sad fate. I need not add how greatly shocked and grieved I was to find, that, in trying to entertain him I had unconsciously inflicted acute pain. But from this hour he was my friend. Campbell's Letters and Life."

I THE CALIFORNIA GOLD REGION. I The Washington Official Journal publishes a most interesting despatch from the American quartermaster resident in Francisco it bears date Sept. 18, and is by far.-the most authentic account yet received. The writer, Ir. Folsom, fully confirms the prcyious statements as regards the quantities of gold. Mr. Folsonbeginswithaconcisc narrative of events which first. led to the discovery of the mincs, and then goes on to describe the general hegira which followed. The climate of California, about the gold regions, Mr. Folsom says, is insufferahly warm in the summer time. When he was there, in the beginning of July, everything was literally parched up, after a drought which had then continued for near three months, and had five months more to run to the rainy season. Considering the origin of the gold the writer says — As no one, as yet, has found the gold in its native matrix, a question often suggests itself as to its origin. I believe the coarse gold is found near the spots where it originally lay in its native bed, and that much of the fine gold has been swept down from the mountains by tor- rents of water. Almost all the rocks in Upper California are imperfectly organised, being soft and friable, and incapable of resisting the action of the weather. In the process of time, the mountains have gradually crumhled away into fine dust, and the gold has been liberated. The coarse gold, from its massiveness and great specific gravity, was not removed from the mountain sides, whereas the fine gold was swept off to the plains below. lie then expresses his belief that the gold region extends throughout a region of country more than 600 miles in extent, and probably extends into Oregon. On the most southerly tributary of the American fork, 10 miles from the main stream, I saw where Messrs. Neilly and Crowley got, with six men in six days 10i 1 bs. of gold, avoirdupois weight. In the bottom of a dry ravine of the same stream, Messrs. Daly and M'Cooms removed, with a party of Indians and white men, 17,090 dols. in two days, and within 200 yards of the main stream. From another dry ravine, within a few rods of the last-mentioned, it is said that 30,000 dols. were collected in three days. Mr. C. S. Lyman, a clergyman, unaccustomed to labour, informs me that he got -30 dols. for about five hours' work each day. M. Vaca, a New Mexican, who resides about 39 miles from Sutter's, told me he, with four other men, got lllbs. of gold, avoirdu- pois weight, in seven days. I saw the gold. Major Cooper, late of Missouri, with two men and one boy, got 1,000 dols. in two days. Mr. Sinclair had been engaged in digging gold about five weeks, with a party of Indians, numbering about 40, sometimes more and sometimes less. He gave his Indians meat, sugar, coffee, flour and rice, and they ate three times a day. They were mostly wild Indians, and worked altogether with pans. In five weeks, after paying all his Indians, and the current expenses of the party, he had 17,000 dols., or upwards of 90 lbs., troy weight, of gold dust. The gold was shown. Mr. Norris and one companion took from a dry ravine, not far from those already mentioned, 3,000 dols. in two days, and the dirt was packed on horses more than 200 yards to the water. Mr. Aaron Angland got from his own labour, in 20 consecutive days after his arrival at the mines, 2,'200 dols. But I might go on stating facts like these until I should tire your patience. The concluding remarks of lHr. Folsom express apprehensions which arc probably but too well founded: It is impossible to foretcl what will be the ultimate result of this sudden development of wealth. It is suffi- ciently obvious, however, that the country will be prematurely filled by a restless, exciteable, adventurous, and reckless population and that extended agricultural or mechanical improvements are at an end for some years to come. Gambling and all sorts of thoughtless profu- sion begin to prevail. Tijt present excitement will attract vast numbers of the' idle, vicious, and dissolute. Refugees from justice from the United States, as well as other countries, will flock to California, among the better disposed population, and will find shelter among the almost inaccessible fastnesses of the mountains, where such mines of wealth are now opened. These regions are of vast extent, and arc remote from the regular set- tlements, and from the operation of the laws. In the solitary recesses of the Sierra Nevada are little clusters of men with nothing but trees for their covering, and no protection but their own vigilance and strength. Many of these people are known to possess very large amounts of gold (sometimes as much as 20,000 dollars) wrapped in their blankets, where there is no eye to see and no agent to pursue the guilty. It is not strange, when the temptation is so great, that the rubber and the assassin should be abroad among the mountains ? Many robberies and some murders are known already to have occurred; but little attention is excited by these events, where all men are in the eager pursuit of wealth. No one can conjecture the extent of these outrages, for living wit- nesses are not at hand, and dead men tell no tales." The strong and firm hand of government must be promptly extended to save the country from the most revolting acts of violence. "A FEW DAYS IN THE DIGGINS." I Landed at St. Francisco, aftar a 'tarnal tossin of five months. This is coming thro' the small end of the Horn, I reckon, and there ought to be pretty considerable some on the ether side, to make up for leavin' my dry goods store and family fixins in Broadway. Traded with a Down-Easter, who is makin' tracks for the settlements, with 300,000 dollars in his carpet-bag, for a spade, pick, scoop, and lVahin' trough-givill' 800 dollars for the plunder, and glad to get it, as Increase Niles Flint, of Salem, Mass., went 750, and he is a 'tarnal old hoss at a deal. Swopped my traps and blankets, a quarter-cask of pickled pork, and a demijohn of peach brandy, which I had laid in, for six pounds ginooine gold. Pretty con- siderable smart tradin. Toted my tools to Hiram K. Doughboy's boarding shanty, and settled with him for blankets and board at 30 dollars per annum. Catawampus prices here, that's a fact; but everybody's gMt more dust than he knows what to do with. Off to the diagins with a party mighty small pota- toes most of 'em all sorts and colours, and everlastin I ragged-Bay-statesmen, Back-woodsmen, Buckeyes from Ohio, llosses from Kentuck, Cape Cod Whalers, St. Francisco Indians, Leperos from Santa Cruz, Texan Volunteers, Philadelphia Quakers, a Latter-day Saint, six Irish Sympathizers, twelve Yankees, as many Britishers, a squad of Deserters, a Blackfoot Guide, a Methodist Parson, and a Mormon Elder. A 'tarnal nigger tried to join us, but got cow-hided. Struck diggins, and sot to serious washin' parson began to ask a blessin' but seein' Silas T. Forks, of Orangeburgh, N. Ca., helpin' himself, parson cut it short off, and we went to work, like niggers at cane hoin', agreein' to dig in company, and share profits. Cotched the Quaker sunnin' himself, and takin' kink out of his back with a Ilavannah. Convened a meetin, cow-hided Quaker, and at it again. Gold lyin' about like earth- nuts, and riddlin' through the water like hail-storm in a sherry-cobbler. Sounded the conch for grub,and found nobody got anything, but that'cute old coon, Zerubbabel W. Pea- body, of Staten Island, who had brought a bag of biscuit and some meat fixins. The varmint wouldn't sell a notion under an ounce of dust, and sacked the whole bilin. To work again totted up at sundown, and found we'd averaged 28 dollars per man. Got back to shanty; but before that darned Hiram K. Doughboy would let me inside the door, forced to pay down 30 dollars for day's board and lodgin'. So wound up two dollars worse than in the mornin'. Calcilated to camp out in future, cut Hiram, and work on my own hook, havin' realised that Socialism ain't no go in gold diggin'. Asked Hiram why he didn't go out with his bowic knife and washing pail. Hiram sniggered, and said he warn't greedy, and preferred helpin' folks in his shanty. Hiram usen't to be such a concarned fool. Started alone—having swopped the gold I got from Down Easter yesterday for one blanket, half quarter- cask of pork, and half-demijohn of brandy. Must convene that I've lost o0 per cent. by bargains; but a cargo of new diggers ha.Yl,ng just come in from Panama, great demand for such fixins, and forced to give what that old flint of a Dowu-Kaster chose to ask. lie's made some considerable some by his trade, that's a fact, and I doubt if he could have done better at the diggins. Made a great day-havin' sacked 40 dollars at least. Got sorter lost, and found, when I tracked back to the tree where I'd catehed my plunder, that those 'tarnal Ingines had absquatulated with blanket, pork, and brandy. Luckily I've got my tools. Spent the night under a cotton tree mighty sharp set in the mornin', having eat nothing' s ince yesterday at 12. Struck the trail of Zerubbabel \V. Peabody, and traded with him for some bread and pork doin's for which the everlastin' old skinflint made me come down cruel, cleanin' me out of all I'd raised yesterday. Zerubbabel says lie ain't digging,' but goin' about with a provision and liquor store. It's amazin' how long-headed men like Zerubbabel can be such darned idiots. I've got out of the track of the settlement, and into a prime diggin'—all to myself—where the lumps of gold run as big as pigeons' eggs, and lie as thick as hailstones in Broadway, after a come-down in the fall. But I'm darned weak for want of grub, and so rheumatic with campiii' out that it's quite a caution. Two days without seein' foyd—gold gets more abundant than ever. [Extract from the _St. PJ:ancisc:'tr:] I Yesterday some Indians from the up diggins came to the settlement with a man whom they had found lying insensible further up the St. Sacramento than any of our diggers have yet penetrated. He had a bag by his side, which contained £ 18,000 in dust and lumps of the pre- ciotis metal; but the Indians exacted most of it for bringing him back to the settlement. He was fearfully emaciated and in another twelve hours the adven- turous treasure-seeker must have perished of hunger.— Punch.

TAKE EACH HAND IN FRIENDSHIP. I 'Tls an honest love to love tiie land Our mother's s'ep hath made, For love each haunt, with truthful hand, In light enduring hath array'd But, loving thus our native isle, Have we no share to siive another, And casting off our c:uthlv 1Jik, In everv stranger own a brother ? Let's take each hand in friendship ever, For why should colour, clime, or name, Opinion, creed, or ianaruage, sever Warm hearts that beat with life the same 1 -The black-man toiliji, 'mong the canes, He hears the doctrine that ve tell The red-skin o'er the western plains, He listens to your words as well: And much they wonder at the kind, Unselfish precepts that ye ive- But marvel more to know ancl find So different's the way ye live. Then take each hand in friendship ever— For why shon1r1 colour, clime, or name, Opinion, creed, or language, sever Warm hearts that beat with life the same! The wild man feels his simple life, Though full of wronrr and much transgression, Is with the love ye preach more rife Than yours, with all your loud profession. He sees, in sa vagenc",s, refined, Ye bear strong anguish through the earth, To orercome and crush your kind. And much he doubts your preaching's worth. Come, take each hand in friendship ever— For why should colour, clime, or name, Opinion, creed, or language, sever Warm hearts that beat with life the same The faithful heart has love for all, AmI Good i" yet bllt in it vouth- Who would not aid to break the thrall That binds it from immortal Truth ? To aid with deeds that will not fling Poor Truth about a wav-worn rover, But throning her in hearts, will bring More happiness the wide world over! Then take each hand in friendship ever — For why should colour, clime, or name, Opinion, creed, or language, sever Warm hearts that beat with life the same 1 Fr.E»F.SICK ENOCH.

WI-IIST.—Punch's recent question-" Will Loui s Na- poleon lead up to the king, or play the deuce has created a sensation all over the world; and rather than keep the whole waiting for an answer, Punch will give one himself. Louis Napoleoll will not lead up to the king, but if he should get out all the knaves with the assistance of a few trumps, he may perhaps make the honour he has now in his hands. If, on the contrary, he tries to win by tricks, the elder hands will probably get the game by the honours falling to their share in another deal of the cards. His best suit to rely upon at present is hearts; while his opponents are rather strong in clubs. But much will depend on the next game that is played; "for there's the rub." It has been since suggested to us by an ingenious Liverpool friend, that Prince Louis Napoleon may not only adopt both the courses suggested in our original query, but also that before the game is up, he will have to Cut for Deal"-iii a fishing boat.-Pullch. A CLERGYMAN OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND HOL- benevolent pastor, residing in Belfast, (whose name is withheld by his desire), was ap- plied to by a poor woman of his parish, who had been atilictedfor four years with an awfully bad leg, with six- teen wounds, and so extremely painful that s he could not. place her foot on the ground. Feeling for her po- verty and sufferings, this humane gentleman presented her with a supply of Holloway's Ointment which soundlv healed her leg in about five weeks, although she had bcen in the Dublin Hopital for seven months, and had consulted sever.il other medical men in Belfast with-

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE. From the (Atlas.) FRANCE. In France, 8: in England a lso, a disposition is evidenced to blink the real question lately at issue between the Pre- sident of the Republic and his Ministry in their late dispute. Adhering to the opinion we expressed last week,we still regard that affair as a strnggle for power a view which is confirmed by the opening and eondu- ding passages of Napoleon's letter to M. de Mallcville, since made public by an unaccountable breach of con- fidence. The uppermost feeling in the President's mind when penning that epistle, in tone so characteristic of his race, was indignatio'n at his having been kept in ignorance of telegraphic despatches on subjects as to which he is made responsible by the constitution for the acts of his Administration. He might ivc,"I, also, feel annoyed at finding his wishes and recommendations disregarded in the appointment of officers of state. Whence the necessity of procuring, or of giving, the free suffrages of more than five millions of Frenchmen for the nephew of the Emperor, if, as he expresses it in his letter, he is to be converted into the mere fattening hog of the Abbe Sieyes' favourite constitution ? In the press, however, both of France and England, and even in the French Chamber, a totally different turn is given to this affair. An attempt is made to convict the President of a petulant effort to secure the papers relative to the Boulogne and Strasbourg affairs. As was truly observed by M. Dupont, it does not follow that .Napoleon had not a constitutional right to refer to those papers. At all events, it docs not appear that any great detriment to the state could have accrued from his being allowed to have them. Perhaps, how- ever, some individuals might have been compromised. Perhaps the President might have discovered that some of those who are now covering him with flattery were then engaged in conspiracy to render him ridiculous to France. If so, one can better understand why, even in tlie-Assc,mblv, the real question should have been passed by, and the whole discussion made to turn upon a mere personal question. M. de Malleville's explanation of his motive for resigning is not very intelligible. Declar- ing most emphatically that reparation had been made by the President to his wounded amour pmpre, he ne- vertheless resigned, because confidence in him had been, to a certain extent, impaired." We will venture to say that no English statesman would have persevered in resigning tinder such circumstances, on such grounds. But it is this personal sensitiveness of French public mel)-this disposition to exalt the personal over the official-thlt constitutes one of the great drawbacks to to the success of the system of constitutional govern- ment in France. It is satisfactory to find, however, from the declara- tions of all parties, that there is no misunderstanding in the Cabinet on the question of its general policy. A subsequent discussion in the Chamber, moreover, eli- cited from the new Minister for Foreign Affairs that he is a supporter of peace as ,regards the foreign rela- tions of France, and a decided enemy to war. This policy preserved abroad (and it will be no easy task, if we rightly understand the feelings of Prussia, Austria, and Russia towards the Republic), France will have nothing to fear' for some time to come. Napoleon's prestige will carry him on for some time by its own impetus. Whatever may be the intrigues of the various parties, they are at present postponed to a common desire for internal peace. Notwithstanding- the industrious efforts of those pro- fessional alarmists, the correspondents of the London doily papers, to impress the English public with a belief in the utter instability of affairs in France, the French themselves appear to entertain no such apprehensions. On the contrary, there are everywhere symptoms of a general disposition to "settle down," and make the most of the tranquillity purchased. All parties in France are pacifically disposed, and trade is reviving. The Bourse, in spite of occasional fluctuations occasioned by false alarms, is in the main steady and an encouraging fact is, that the deposits last week in the savings banks of Paris amounted to 126,000 francs, while the sums withdrawn were 26,.500 francs only. PARIS, THURSDAY.—The President has determined that the list of candidates for the Vice-Presidency shall be MM. Odillon Barrot, Abbatucci, and Bonlav de la Meurthe. M. Odillon Barrot will undoubtedly be chosen by the Assembly. M. Dufaure, it is said, will succeed M. Odillon Barrot as Minister of Justice. M. do Remusat refuses to join any Cabinet of which MM. Mole and Thiers are not members. PRUSSIA. In Prussia, the election movement (though conducted under military surveillance) absorbs, for the time, all other questions. It appears that the Democratic party, who constituted the late opposition, have abstained almost entirely from taking part in the struggle while the Ministerialists and Conservatives are in a high state of activity, universally organising their forces. Both Chambers being elective under the new Constitution, it is remarked that the aristocrats and landowners, as a class, are seeking entrance into the Lower Chamber, while the Democrats show an equal desire to be elected to the Upper. This would arS-lie a general want of con- fidence, at the very outset, in the theory of the constitu- tion. The King has proceeded voluntarily to redeem another of his pledges, by issuing decrees granting open courts, and trial by jury, with oral testimony, in place of the old judicial tribunals and forms of pro- ceeding, which were worse than a mockery of justice. These changes, however, apply only to criminal, press, I and-political prosecutions. AUSTRIA. Austria still enjoys the forced calm consequent on the late re-actionary coups d'etat. Vienna groans under the state of siege, prolonged, to all appearance, not so much on account of any internal necessity, as to await the issue of the civil war in Hungary. Of the progress of that war land the fortunes of either party, the accounts are still most imperfect and contradictory. According to the bulletins of each party, the other has been beaten or has run away. The immense force, however, at the disposal of the Imperial generals, together with the aggressive nationalities who arc opposed to the Magyar population in Hungary itself, would seem to leave no doubt as to what will be the ultimate result of the struggle although there is good reason to suppose hat the Hungarians have already displayed their wonted valour, and that they will give their assailants more trouble before they can be subdued. ITALY. The issue of Italian affairs is still in abeyance. The Roman revolutionary party have gone the length of dissolving the Chamber and calling a Constituent As- sembly while, on the other hand, the Pope, more occupied with the religious ceremonials of Christmas than with politics, protests against all usurped authority in his capital. There is still talk of Austrian and Nea- politan intervention, not interfered with by France, to restore the Pope to his temporal throne. AMERICA. The anti-slavery movement is gaining ground in ,,?, i n,nq groun d in America. If the liio words" of Mr. Calhoun and the representatives of the Southern States are to be believed, even the integrity of the Union itself is threatened by this dispute—a result predicted for the States by old Cobbett many years ago. In the House of Representa- tives, the slavers have been defeated, by 9S to 87 votes, on a resolution condemning, in the strongest language, the existence of slavery in the district of Colombia. The Committee on Territories" having also reported in favour of granting to California a free territorial or- ganisation, was also tantamount to a blow to the pro- slavery cause, California and New Mexico having declared against slavery within their limits. The South" is in high dudgeon at these acts of the general repre- sentative body and Mr. Calhoun and his friends talk of resistance—even of separation. The Model Republic broken up because one-half of it insisted on maintaining the institution of slavery, would be a splendid and pointed historical antithesis, too instructive to be lost to mankind. The California gold-finding mania still rages.

CHLOROFORM AND JETIIER IN AMERICA.—The committee of the American Medical Association have just issued a very satisfactory report, with reference to the use (in moderation) of these pain-benumbing agents in midwifery cases. It appears that they have now been used in America in at least two thousand of such cases and, as far as the committee were able to learn without a single fatal, and very few unpleasant results. The committee corresponded extensively with physicians in various parts of the country, and found an entire unanimity of opinion among those who had tried these agents, as to their favourable effects in shortening as well as relieving the sufferings of their patients. We believe that all practitioners who have used chloroform only to the extent of assuaging pain (and always stop- ping short of producing insensibility), will give their unqualified support to this employment of it. THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN NEW YORK.—The New York correspondent of the Daily News writes as follows The episcopal church continues to give to- kens of further movements towards Rome. An order of young females, to be called the Sisters of Charity, is organised, to be under priestly direction, and to visit the sick. An order of young priests is also established, who take secret vows of celibacy for 10 years, and ab- solute obedience to their head. Auricular confession is openly recommended in some quarters, and a demand of tenths is actually made in one or two parishes. The sooner these persons exhibit themselves in their true colours the better. There is not a doubt that as soon as the laity understand what is going on there will be a regular battle in the ch urch. Bishop Doane, of New Jersey, one of the leading prelates of the Oxford school in this country, is at present dangerously ill. He was the son of a house carpenter in this city, was educated at Union College, and was a class-mate of Bishop Potter, of Pennsylvania, who bore off the highest honours. The former was a young man of imagination and considera- ble pretension. Potter was also of low parentage, but a man of judgment and possessing an exact mind. Doane became a poet Potter a logician. The former wears a cross like the Roman Catholic prelates but the latter is unpretending, and is thinking of every thing but his personal appearance. The one is high church,' the other is a Protestant of the old English school. These two persons represent their classes of admirers." TIlE OLIJEQ VOTER IN AMERICA.—Mr. Hughes, a revolutionary soldier, in the 107th year of his age was taken to the poll in Rockbridge County, Virginia, at the late election, by a friend in a carriage drawn by four dun horses. AN EXPENSIVE UNDERTAKING.—The Chapel-hill pits, belonging to the British Iron Company, are at length freed from the enormous quantities of water-the accumulation of years—which have so long flooded them, and coal has at last been found. The water, two years ago, when operations were first commenced, was 84 yards deep, and the expense attending its draining is estimated at no less a sum than £ 10,000. This includes the erection of engines, stacks, and whimseys, and the losses occasioned by breakages, &c. The pits have been previously worked, but it is known that an excellent, mine still remains to compensate the enormous outlay in arriving at the treasure.— Worcester Chronicle. IRELAND.—WRIT OF ERROR.—In the Court of Queen's Bench on Thursday the Lord Chief-Justice stated that judgment wot\1 not be pronounced in the case of the Qneen versus O'Brien, Meagher, &c., until Tuesday next, in consequence of the indisposition of Mr. Justice Moore. An order was made to bring up the prisoners on that day. The prisoners Goswatz, English, and others, who were convicted for illegally drilling and training, will also be brought up on Tuesday to assign errors. Mi). DUFFY'S TRIAL.—At the sitting of the Com- mission Court on the same day, the Attorney-General called on the judges for final judgment. Mr. Butt offered to go to trial if the Attorney-General would give no evidence, or enter a noli prosequi on the bad counts. The Attorney-General, however, refused, and the Court appointed Saturday to hear arguments as to what the proper form of judgment should be. PAUPER EIIGRATIOl\On Wednesday two hundred young, healthy, and comely young women sailed from the Liffy in the Duke of Cornwall steamer, for Plymouth, from whence they will be conveyed as free settlers to South Australia. MR. J. O'CONNELL AND THE STATE PRISONERS.— The following remarkable document appears in the Freeman's JOlll"nal:Richmond Bridewell, Jan. 12, 1849.—Sir,—Having lately seen in the newspapers two lcttcrs bearing your signature, in the first of which you misrepresent and insult the state prisoners, who have now no opportunity of replying to your aspersions, and in the second of which you profess to claim for them merciful consideration, we cannot refrain from telling you, that though perfectly contented to pass over the former in silence, we cannot tolerate with the same equanimity your affectation of pity. WTe, therefore, sincerely deprecate any intervention on your part in regard to the penalties which it may be our lot to suffer for having endeavoured to sene our countrv.- We remain, sir, your obedient servants, WILLIAM SMITH O'BRIEN, TIIOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER, TERENCE BEL- LEW M'MANUS, PATRICK O'DONOHUE.—John O'Con- nell, Esq., M.P." THE RUINED CITY.—Dublin never was so full— shops and all places of public amusement have been rarely if ever better frequented. In the day time pedrs- trians and equestrians promenade or gallop through the streets, and hundreds of carriages, with gay occupants, rattle along; at night, sounds of harmony from viol, harp, and piano, are heard from houses ill all quarters; and rounds of re-unions and Christmas festivities indi- cate the misery of the people who move in the higher grades of society. There was a clearing out sale, the other day, of Henry and Co.'s stock of wines, when 1:2,000 dozen of champagne, claret, port, and sherry, were sold at admirable prices, chiefly to private pur- chasers. How trumpet-tongued does this fact speak of the ruin esoltion, and bankruptcy of Dublin, under I the administration of the Earl of Clarendon '—DK&?'M World. DEATH BEFORE BIRTH.—The Anglo-Cslt, an Irish paper, says that Mrs Walsh,of Roscommon, whose life was attempted by an assassin a short time since, was on Wednesday last delivered of a child, still-born, whose body contained threc slugs DEATH OF AGITATION. —Lately died in Ireland, after several years of profitable business, during which he accumulated a handsome fortune in the most stirring times of his unfortunate country, the celebrated disturber of the peace, called Agitation. The deceased led a most active life, and there was scarcely a village in Ire- land where he was not known. He had an immense number of followers, who lived on the spoil he collected on his route. Tiiis monster—for he had but very few attributes of a reasoning being-was noted for his enormous appetite, which was truly insatiable. The more he had, the more he wanted; and the thousands upon thousands he cleared from his distressed country was the only relief it ever received from his hands. Where he found happiness, he left discontcnt,-and shrieks and fires and tumultuous assemblages and utter misery followed his steps everywhere. He was literally a trader in the destitution of his countrymen—a whole- sale dealer in rags. The monster is now dead. His effects are sold off—his race is almost extinct—his one or two disciples have lately abjured, in shame and po- verty, his abandoned cause—Agitation is now no more he died without a struggle, sincerely unregrettcd by every one. His timely decease bequeathes to Ireland the hope that she may enjoy (at last) a Happy New Year.-J>unch, DESTRUCTION OF A WHOLE FAMILY.—PENKRIDGE, Friday Night.—The greatest possible excitement, pre- vails at the present time throughout this usually quiet village, inconsequence of a discovery having been made of a truly appalling character. Last night, Mr. W. Ward, the coroner, held an inquest at the Boar Tavern, where evidence to the following effect was given :—A family, consisting of an aged man with his wife, of the name of Creswell, and two sons, the eldest an idiot, and the youngest about nineteen, resided in a cottage, near the turnpike road. On Tuesday morning last, a brick- layer, who had been engaged the preceding day setting a stove in the kitchen, went to the cottage to remove his toob. Upon going there, he was rather astonished at not finùing any member of the family up. He, how- ever, waited at the door for nearly an hour, when he commenced knocking, but not receiving an answer, he got a ladder, and made to the bedroom-window, and on looking through, he saw the inmates lying in bed. He called to them, but no one answered him, he therefore forced an entrance, when he found the mother lying in the bed quite dead; her husband was at her side pofectly insensibl¡>, In another bed he found the idiot boy lying quite unconscious, and in an adjoining bed room he found the youngest son dead and cold. Medical aid was instantly sent for, but the husband, who was eighty years of age, died during the evening without being able to relate anything respecting this very mysterious affair. The idiot has recovered, but no account can be obtained from him as to the probable cause of the deaths. The deceased persons it is sup- posed died of suffocation. COMMITTAL OF AN. ATTORNEY FOR BIGAMY.— Quite a sensation has been created in Worcester, in consequence of the apprehension and committal of a Mr. Pyke for trial on a charge of bigamy, in having mar- ried Miss Eleanor Moss in the lifetime of a former wife, whose maiden name was Howlett. The second wife in this case was the eldest daughter of a nursery- man, at Malvern, and was one of the belles of Worces- ter. The whole of the parties are very respectably con nected, The accused originally lived at Newport, in Monmouthshire, of which place his father is still an alderman, He afterwards practised as a solicitor in the county of Norfolk, where he became acquainted with Miss Emma Howlett, of Marsham, to whom he was married in 1824. He lived with her till 1838, when he was tried for forgery, and sentenced to 15 years' trans- portation. In consequence of ill health, however, the sentence was commutEd to two years' imprisonment. On his liberation he left Norwich, and had no further communication with his wife. He afterwards ob- tained a situation at Stourbridge, in Worcestershire, and, becoming acquainted with Miss Moss, he married her in 1844. Their marriaoe was celebrated in first- rate style, but soon after he was chargcd with em- bezzlement. He lived two years with Miss Moss, and then, becoTrlin embarrassed in circumstances, he dis- appeared, Jeaving his new wife to hift for herself. He afterwards sent for her to London, and again deserted her. Nothing further was heard of him for some time, until at length his residence was divulged in the most singular manner. A sister of Miss Moss was visiting in Liverpool,whenthe prisoner made application for lodging in the very house in which Miss Moss's sister was slaying. He was at once recognised, and inquiries being made, it was found that be was occupying a con- fidential situation with Messrs. Lowndes, solicitors, of Liverpool, who placed implicit confidence in him. The deputy chief constable of the Worcester consta- bulary was despatched to Liverpool, and apprehended the prisoner, whom he found sitting at his wine, and liling in style with a lady. When informed of the charge against him he appearpd astounded, hut mafle no denial, and quietly submitted to the officer. On being brought before the Worcester magistrates, the two marriages were satisf3ctory proved, and he was fully committed for trial at the March Assizes. He scems deeply affected by his situation. There are no children by the first marriage, but the second wife has one child. CALM JUSTICE, ON HER JUDGMENT SEAT.—PRES- TO QUARTER SESSIONS.—Mary Richardson, 30, was charged with stealing, at Chorley, a half-crown from a labouring man named Thomas Norris. The prosecutor was drinking at a public-house: the prisoner and two other women came in, and he treated them. After a time he went out to a stone seat in front of the house, being somewhat" fresh." Before going out he had a half-crown in his left-hand pocket—of this he was cer- tain. Whilst on the stone he felt a hand put into the pocket where the half-crown was, and immediately after missed the half-crown. The prisoner was the only per- son near him at the time, and she was on his left side. He took the woman into the public-house, but she de- nied the theft; he gave her into custody. A quarter of an hour afterwards the half-crown was found in a pas- sage at the end of the house, about two yards from the stone. The prosecutor was unable to say with certainty whether hehad been down the passage; he thought he had not. The jury returned a verdict of Not Guilty, whereupon the" chairman, Mr. T. Batty Addison, said to the jury Why, this wonnn has been convicted before, and imprisoned in Lancaster for two years. A set of stupid fellows like you cannot see the evidence. (Great sensation.) You (to the prisoner) have haù a wise jury; when you are tried again you may hope to have sneh another. You set of stupid how can you think of giving such a verdict when you are upon your oaths? (Increased sensation.) Is there one man atJ1()nst you that is not as sure that she stole that half-crown as you are that you are sitting in that box ? (Suppressed expressions of disapprobation on the part of the bar.) A juror I beg your pardon we consider that the man cannot swear to her hand in his pocket. Why, he says he turned round. Chairman Well, don't argue you are not fit. (Sensation.) You cannot pretend to have any doubt about the matter it was your duty to have given your verdict according to your oath. (Dis- approbation.) The Vicar: I beg to say that these ob- senations don't proceed from the whole bench, (Hear, hear from the gentleman of the bar, and general ap- plause.) The Chairman (greatly agitated, addressing the audience): Silence Who is it that dares — ? The rev. Magistrate again rose, and observed I beg to say that I am, sir, as well as you, a member of the court;" after which he resumed his seat, and the ex- hibition terminated. Titi; GREAT EST SPELL OP LIFE —Heading the Fonelic y«z, — Punch. TRURO ELECTION. —CLOSE OF THE POLL.- The voting for a representative proceeded from ten 0 on Wednesday morning, with considerable spirit un towards noon, when it became languid, Mr. kept a-head. The numbers when the poll c l ose d f 11 ke¡H a-head. The numbers when the poll c10ed at 01 o'clock were—for Mr. Willyams, Liberal, 240 Smith, Tory, 224 majority 16 for Willyams. A GOOD SIGN .-The walls are placarded in Man' Chester for powerloom weavers. The triills bein- fully employed, any further extension of machinery \Vlt absorb all hands accustomed to such employment,8 full wages so that there is an all but certainty thtt good wages and chea p provisions will be the lot of the working classes for some time to come. Caleb Bartlett, the Sandford sheep-stealer, died the county gaol, Taunton, on Thursday week, aged I He was under sentence of 10 years' transportation. t There will be four eclipses in the year 1849, two ø the sun and two of the moon. The eclipses of the sull will take place on the 22nd of February, and on the 17th of August, but both will be invisible at Greenwicb. The moon will be partially eclipsed on the 8th Marcb, and again on the 2nd September. The former will visible and the latter invisible in this country, as it end sixteen minutes before the rising of the planet. THE CIIIEF POOR-LAW COMMISSIONER.—At tbr sitting of the Bail Court, on Monday morning, 1\1r. Baines, Q. C., took the usual oaths, on his appointment to the office of Chief Commissioners of the Poor-law. THE JUNE INSUPC;I:NT,It appears that about 1,000 of the insurgents of June have been set at liberty, There still remain in confinement 2,GOO, of whom 1,70' are, it is said, to be transported to Africa. It is said that Mr. Pierce Butler, despairing of sue- cess in his suit against his wife, has made a propositioo for a compromise. The terms are understood to be, that the parties are to live apart; Mr. Butler to provide his wife a suitable allowance, and allow at least one o* the children to live with her.— Boston Evening TraP script.

I LONDON MARKETS, MONDAY, JAN. 15. COR); MARKET, MARK-LANE, JAN. 1-5.—The stipp'/ of English wheat by land carriag8 samples this mornin" although rather exceeding that of last week, was stIll, small, and the stands were cleared at the prices of thia; day se'nnight: free foreign met a moderate sale, a0". bonded was in better demand, but without leading to anY great extent of business or improvement in prices. Baf ley of all descriptions finds buyers on the terms of last week. Beans must be noted Is. per quarter cheaper, and white peas 2s. per quarter cheaper. The oat trade is- slow at our quotations. The top price of flour has been reduced 2s. per sack. LONDON AVERAGES. ?s.d.! ?.s. ?; Wheat.. 321oqrs. 2 7 2 Rve 61 qrs. 1 7 "drat.}.Jqrs,2 -IHe. _6qrs. 1 Zl B:nlpy ..12): 1 9 6 Beans 50o 1 7 Oats 2737 1 6 6 Pe;is 551 1 7 2 AVERAGE PRICE OF SIX WEEKS. Week ending Jan. 5.—Imperial — General Weekly- Average.—Wheat, 43s. lOd.; Barley, 30s. 8d. Oats, 179 Od. Rye, 2Gs. 4d.; Beans, 32s. 4d.; Peas, 37s. 9d. Aggregate Average of six weeks which governed Duty -Wheat, 47s. 9d.; Barley, Sis. 4:1.; Oats, 18s. 7d,: Rye, 28s. 10d. Beans, 34s. 4s. Peas, 38s. 3d. Fi ,OUII MARKET.—Flour has hung very heavily o hand and though the millers have not altered the nomi- nal top price, household Flour has been easier to buy- Foreign, whether French or America, has also beeH offered at rather reduced terms without exciting attention- BREAD.—The prices of Wheaten Bread in the metrO- polis are from 71d. to Sd.; of household ditto, -5jd. to 7d, per 4lbs. loaf. PROVISION MARKET.—The arrivals last week froto Ireland were 19,-ilO firkiu3 of Butter, and 3,600 bales Bacon and from foreign ports 1,130 casks of Butter. 1';c have little or no alteration to notice in the Irish Butter market since this day se'nnight; the business transacted during the week was to a moderate extent, at our late quotations. In the Bacon market there was but a limited amount of business transacted, several vessels having arrived with a fair supply. The market ruled very quiet, and prices range from 52s. to 57s. landed. BUTTER MARKET.—Our trade continues in a very inanimate state, although our best samples, from their increased scarcity, are more sought after. Stale and middling Butters are as unsaleable as ever, and price fat such is quite nominal :-Dorset, fine, 92s. to 94s. pet cwt. Do., summer-made and middling, 60s. to 80s. do.; Devon, 60s. to 80s. do.; Fresh, 8s. to 13s. per dozen. SEED MARKET.—There was little doing in the seed market. Quotations of clover are perfectly nominal at present, and it is difficult to fix a correct value on many of the other articles contained in our list of prices. Hop: The market continues low far fine sampleSt which are fully supported, and with the exception of bags, for other sorts there is not much doing. TALLOW.—Our market to-day is heavy for all descrip' tions of Tallow-owinz, chiefly, to the large stock on liaiid-and prices are 6d. per cwt. lower than on Monday last. P. Y. C., on the spot, is quoted at 41s. 6d. to 41s. 3d. per cwt. Scarcely any business is doing for forward delivery. Rough fat, 2s. 5d. per 81bs. ToW1 Tallow, 42s. to 43s. 6d. per cwt., net cash. SMITIIFIELD CATTI.E M AEKET.—With home-fed beasts we were very scantily supplied this morning, the result, doubtless, of the low prices lately obtained here for tha? description of stock, and which have bducerl many "f 1 the leading graziers to refrain from forwarding thei? stock at the present moment, and their quality exhibited a material faDing off. Although the attendance 0 buyers was not to say large, the beef trade was firm, at an advance in the quotations realised on Monday last ol quite 2d. per 81bs. A few very superior Scots sold at 4s. 4d., but the more general figure for beef was 4s. 2d. per Slbs. The bullock droves from the north of England contained about 1,000 short-horns. From Norfclk, Su'* folk, &c. we have received about 1,000 Scots, short-hornst &c. and from other parts of England, 500 Herefords. runts. Devons, &c. The Scotch steamer did not arrive in time for the market, prior to the close of which a f? clearance of the stock had beeneffpcted. Therewas? considerable falling off in the numbers of sheep, there being a deficiency of about 5,000 head compared with last week's supply—hence the mutton trade was firm, at fully, but at nothing quotable beyond, the currencies paid on this day se'nnight. The primest old Downs sold freely at from 4s. 8d. to 3s. lOd. per Slbs. Calves, though in short supply, moved off slowly, at last week's quotai tions. Prime small pigs sold steadily, other kinds 0 pigs slowly at late rates. Per Slbs. to sink the offal.—Coarse ani inferior beastS 3s. 2d. to 3s. 6d., second quality do. 3s. 8d. to 4s. 2d i prime large oxen 4s. 4d. to 4s. 6d., prime Scots, &c.. 4s. 6d. to 4s. 8r1., coarse and inferior sheep, 3s. Gd. to 3s. lOd., second quality do. 4s. Od. to 4s. Gd, prime coarse woolled sheep ,1s. 8d. to os. Od., prime South Downf .5s. 2d. to -is. 4d., large coarse calves, 4s. Gd. to 5s. Od., prime small ditto os. Od. to os. 4d., large hogs 4s. Od. to 4s. 6d., neat small porkers 4s. 8d. to -5s. Od., suckling calves 17s. to 20s., and quarter-old-store pigs 16s. to 21s. each. Total supplies: Beasts 2,97-3, sheep 22,600, calves 81, pigs 315. Foreign: Beasts, 41, sheep 317OF calves 63.

WEEKLY CALENDAR. THE CHANGES.—New Moon on Wednesday, the 24th at 3m. past 10 morning. HIGH W ATElt AT THE FOLLOWING PLACES FOIT THE ENSUING WEEK. | Carmar- Cardigan j Tenby i DAYS. then Bar J an? and 'th' L?nelly. Bristol. [ Milford. j W1.UT" t, J.\?. J H. M. j H. M. H. M. H 9. Saturday.20. 3 19 ? 11 2 5ti4 ? Sunday .2l| 4 3 4 -53 3 38 5 23 Monday,22;! 4 47 5 3, 4 23 6 ,1 Tuesday .23 | o ? 1 6 21 -5 6 6 51 Wed. 24!! 6 12 7 2 3 47 7 32 Thursday ..2.)? 6 49 7 39 6 24? 8 9 Friday .26,'j 7 2-3 S IS 6 41 0

LONDON GAZETTE. BANKRUPTS.—( Friday, Jan. 12.)—G. de White. Th rogmorton-street, commission agent and dealer in railway shares.—J. Pilgrim, now or late of Bethnal- green," and Back-lane-ioad, Shadwell. publican. — T- Maycack, Bletchuigton, Oxfordshire, brick and tile mj" ker.-L. J. Hart, Great Yarmouth, woollen draper.—J- J. Curtis, Erith, hotel keeper.—J. de Bernardy, Ilaiiovev, street, Hanover-quare, victualler.—J. Bishop, Worces- ter, carpenter and cabinet maker.—F. Thompkins, Sid- ney-street, Fulham-roarl, bill brokcr and monev scrivener. -W. Blacknell, Plumstead, Kent, baker.—T Williams, Birmingham, surgeon and at)otl)ocirv.-J. E. Clarke. Bury St. Edmund's, draper.-G, Price, Wolverhampton* printer, stationer, and paper dealer.—J. Spikins, late of Dartmouth-row, but now of Regent-street, Westniinster, carpenter and builder.—P. Whitehead, Bradford, York- shire, corn miller. BANKRUPTS—( Tuesday, Jan. 16.)—^ • Broady, com- i. mission agent, Halken-street Belgrave-square.-L,Cong- don, painter, Spring-street, Paddington.— C. J. Knapping cattle dealer, Eastwood, Essex. —T. C. Dixon, oilman. Gravcsend.—J. Coles, baker, Launton, Oxfofllhirc.-E. W. Hunt, victualler, ^ewgate-market.—Z Leigh, te:\ merchant, Manchester.—H. Kemp, discount agent. Threadneedle-street, City. — It. W. Huntev,bakev, Praed" street, Paddington. — W. Childerhouse, jun., builder, Montpelier-place, Montpelier-square, Brompton.— Thornley, grocer, Ripley, Derbyshire.—William Parrott, stone mason, Leicester.—J. Jackson, farmer, Clifford.. Herefordshire. — II. R. Betibow, veterinary surgeon* f, Malvern Wells, Worcestershire. D. Boit, sliarcbroker, Bristol.—J. Menhenitt, builder, I'Iyniouth.-R. Lodg(, miner, Starbottom, West Riding of Yorkshire.—J. Set' ¡ jeant, grocer, Worksop, Nottinghamshire.—W. Garrettt bookseller, Newcastle-upon-Tyne,—W. A. Massey, woo turner, Liverpool. 1.

I ADVERTISEMENTS AND ORDERS RECElVEP BY THE FOLLOWING AGENTS:— LONDON: Messrs. Barker and White, 31, I* lect-strcct LoNi)ox: 'N f r. 0 Messrs. Newton and Co., Warwick-square; Mr. Reynell, 42, Chancery-lane Mr. Deacon, 3, NValbrollc near the Mansion House Mr. Hammond, 27, Lortl-. barcl-strcet; W. Dawson and Son, 74, Cannon-strcc • • Mr. C Mitchell, Red Lion Court, Fieet-street M • G. H. Street, 11, Serle-street. London. THIS PAPER, IS REGULARLY FILED by all the abO\"d agents, and also at Peel's Coffee-House, No. 17_7 a 178, Fleet-street; Deacon's Coffee-House, Walbroo and the Auction Mart. Printed and Pui))?hed in Guildhall S quare, in the I-'?'?by t St. f?tfr, in the County ni' the Rorou?h of (', armarthell. bY [ the Proprietor, JOSKPH ofi,ictoll rerritee ill Carmarthen aforesaid. 1'RID AY. -1 ANUAllY D, 1849. I