The Aberdare Times

AN IMPERIAL CHAMBERLAIN'S COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE. The particulars of a trial in Paris last week are reported in which M. Lachaud appeared on bebalf of the Countess de Tolna, nee de Vilna, to ask for a separation a mensa et thoro from her husband, Count Sigismond Festetits de Tolna, one of the Emperor of Austria's chamberlains. From the statement of coun- sel, it appeared that the parties were married at the mayoralty of the 9th Arrondissenoent m Pans, on July 30,1864. The lady was then only 19 years old— the husband 42. She had nothing—he had a large fortune, besides his rank and position at the Austrian court already mentioned. He fell in love with her suddenly at an evening party at which he met her with her mother, Madame Laure Godefroy, sometimes calling herself Godefroy de Vilna. The circumstances of the courtship and subsequent marriage are amply explained in the following correspondence which was read in court. Shortly after the evening party at which he lost his heart, the Emperor of Austria's chamberlain wrote to the mother of the young lady the following letter:— I desire to marry a young virtuous orphaD, whose father and mother were of noble birth, whether belonging to the old or new nobility. I should like to know whether she is in good health, and whether she does not object to sm king? What are her ordinary occupations? Is she too religious? How many relatives has she ? Has she any in Paris, and in what position are they? Does 3he like pleasure tours? Dies she understand housekeeping ? Is she g ntle, good tempered, economical, and regardless of frivolous luxury ? I have lost both father and mother; I have a great many relations, but my wife will be qu te independent of my bmily, whom I only visit in turn every five or six years. My father was of Huneamn origin. My mother, nee Countess Sermage, belonged to a French family which came from Lorraine. I reside at Boulogae-sur-Seiue, Rue Neuve d'Aguesseau, No. 1. On a separate sheet of paper he enumerated as fol- lows what he called his ordinary occupations :— Ever since 1847 I have been in the habit of travelling for pleasure and instruction in various parts of the world. I am much occupied with literary pursuits—I am proprietor and director of a non-political journal (Le Pelerin). Iam a good Christian, I give away a great deal in charity, but I never suffer anyone to dictate to me what I am to give, Having passed my early youth in the cavalry I fancy I have main- tained the tastes of an officer and gentleman, but I neither drink, play, nor hunt. I never was in debt—I never kept mistresses, I like public amusements better than drawing- room life, I am fond of concerts, theatres, races, excursions, and voyages, I play the piano and the organ. I intend to live in Paris or the neighbourhood, and shall have a good establishment. As to the management of the household, I shall arrange with my wife tor our mutual convenience. I shall receive none but our Common friends. I care little for high society and sumptuous living, although my position as a chamberlain makes it necessary that I should sometimes pay visits to ministers, ambassadors, and great personages. I am altogether devoted to the French Emperor. When I travel I take no servant with me. I smoke a great deal, and I could not give up this habit, which has become a neces- sity, as it was for my father before me, and nobody has ever yet blamed me for it. The greater part of my fortune is lodged in the Bqnk of France I owe no man anything. COUNT SIGISMOND FESTETITS DE TOLNA, Chamberlain to the Emperor of Austria. The mamma immediately answered this letter in the following terms:— Monsieur le Comte,—If you have not changed your mind, and desire to become more intimately acquainted with my daughter, you may come to see us either in Paris, or, better still, at Saint Germain, where I have a cottage. But before things go further, it is most essential that you should satisfy me that no obstacle exists to the marriage you propose either on the score of birth or fortune. I believe you to be too much a gentleman to desire uselessly to trouble the virgin heart of a young girl. My notary must have shown you my letter of the 13th. You will have seen that my daughter has nothing at present, and that I cannot yet tell what ex. pectations she may have for the future. Her father has hitherto taken care of her, he is a man of honour, and not likely to fail in his duty. As to myself, my means are limited, it is true; but I am perfectly independent. I have, on the ground of my narrow income, lived habitually away from Paris, where masters are very expensive, without being better than those which I have always contrived to find for my daughter. I have received the number of your news- paper which you were good enough to send me. Allow me to say that I think the philosophy of proverbs remarkably well handled. Receive, M. Ie Comte, &c., Metz, 20th June, 1864. LAURE GODEFROY. A few days later, Mdlle. Laure de Vilna wrote this letter to the candidate for her hand :— July 9,186i. I have long desired to write to you. Mamma now allows me. I am happy tl) tell you that my views of life are al- together conformable to yours. You like travel, so do I I should like to go on with my drawing and music, which are my greatest resource. Literature will bave great charms for me when I shall be able to follow it more seriously. You smoke we will smoke as much as ever you like. I am glad that youwill receive our common friends, it would have been very painful to me to give up the people whom I have known from my infancy. I should he very glad to learn how to ride and swim. At present I have but very slight notions of either of those exercises. I like the Emperor as you do; he pOS8esses my entire admiration. As to the management of a household I have little experience indeed, but I have no doubt that with your valuable advice T shall soon be able to do all you could wish; you are good, and therefore indulgent. I have, ala?! no marriage portion to bring) ou but the sweet hope of rendering you happy and my youth and beauty. [fhe latter words, which ciash terribly with the assumed character of the timid, blushing maiden, were, M. Lachaud stated parenthetically, in a different handwriting from the rest of the letter, aad were added by the mother.] And now that serious matters are disposed of, win you do us the favour to come to dinner on Tuesday ? Mamma expects you and I wish you particularly to come. We shall be most de- Hghted to see you between us at our table. Till then I trust in God and you. LAURE DE VILNA. The dinner was speedily followed b., a marriage. The honeymoon was passed in travelling', and, during great part of the winter of 1864 and 1865 they lived in Algeria. While there Count Sigismond de Tolna wrote several letters to his mother-in-law complaining of the coldness of his wife. She put paint on her face to pre- vent him from kissing her, and the moment she went to bed fell asleep directly, without thinking of either God or her husband." On one occasion the husband sent a doctor into his wife's bedroom to examine her while she was asleep, and he obtained a medical certi- ficate to the effect that the poverty of her blood pre- vented the expansion of her affections. Nevertheless a child was born of the union at the husband's house at Eoulogne-sur-Seine in 1865. But quarrels continued, and M. Lachaud alleged that the Count not only systematically ill used his wife, but even beat her. On these grounds she demanded a separation, an alimen- tary pension of l,000f., and that the mother might have the custody of the child. M. Jules Favre, for the defence, alleged that the mother and daughter both belonged to the demi monde, and that the too susceptible Austrian chamberlain had been completely taken in by them. He hinted at a suit for separation about to be brought by the hus- band on very tangible grounds. The court not feeling itself able in the present state of the evidence to decide between the parties, ordered an inquiry, and in the meantime the husband is decrsed to pay 400f. a month alimony, the wife having the custody of the child.

FREE SUNDAY AT THE CRYSTAL PALACE. Last Sunday being the day set apart by the direc- tors of the Palace for the free Sanday to the officers and leading members of the metropolitan trades' societies and other working class organizations, they largely ava led themselves of the privilege. About 8,000 tickets had been placed at the dis- posal of the Committee of the Sunday League, under the superintendence of whose secretary, Mr. Morrell, they were apportioned out to the various societies ac- cording to numbers. The doors of the Palace were opened at half-past 1 o'clock, and, undeterred by the wet morning, by 4 o'clock the whole of the ticket holders had assembled at the Palace, the great majority of whom were accompanied by their children, for the admission of whom tickets were not required. Altogether, at the above hour, at least 10,000 persons were present, all highly appreciating the liberality of the directors. During the afternoon a selection of sacred music was performed on the large organ by Mr. James Coward. At 5 o'clock, Mr. Baxter Langley addressed a large audience from the front of the orchestra, explaining the principles and objects of the Sunday League, and the advantages that would result in an educational sense from the opening of the Crystal Palace and the national Museums on the Sunday afternoon. Mr. Mcrrell, the secretary of the Sunday League, also addressed the meeting, and stated that another free Sunday would be given on Sunday next for the shareholders and their friends, on which day any persons who had not used their tickets for this day, owing to the threatening state of the weather, would be admitted. After his address the company dispersed over the Palace and ground?. At eight o'clock the Palace was closed, and the company departed with the same order and propriety that had characterized the whole proceedings. Mr. Bowly, the, general manager of the Palace, expressed to the committee his great satisfaction at the respec- tability and good conduct of the persons assembled, who were all of the artisan class.

LET US LEARN OUR LESSON. Remarking upon the state of England's army and navy, and their respective grievances, The Times re- marks :— It would be a dark day for England if the events which we have been watching during the last few months were allowed to pass over without teaching us any lesson. We have seen an example, unprecedented in history, of the swift disasters which overtake a nation when it depends exclu- sively upen the valour of its troops, and neglects those means of protection which modern discoveries afford to all who choose to use them. Courage is a great quality, but it may be relied upon too f..r; the recent war in Europe is not the only one of our time which proves that a people may be brave, and yet lose everything if it is inferior to its enemy either in numbers or the appliances of warfare In both these essentials England is now inferior to the ether great Powers of the world. There are those among us woo assert that this is no actual disadvantage because we ought never to go to war again, and that our "mission should be made more and more one of peace But the party which reasons thus is, happily for us all, not vet predominant in England. We know that we cannot by our own mere will maintain peace that an unexpected day mav come when war or the abandonment of our position amone nations would be the alternatives between whioh we had to choose, and when we must either protect what we have or turn our heads away and let it be taken from us. wo have fought for our position many a time before now, and we shall have some day to fight for it again. War is one of the commonest accidents in the world and we ought alwavs to be ready for it. To ba found at a disadvantage is tobe humbled and overthrown. We cannot afford to rely upon the past. Other nations move on, and if we stand still we may have a catastrophe of our own to lament, In- stead of an opportunity to profit by the catastrophe of ^ThaMhe Navy is relatively to the navies of other nations weaker than ever it ha* been before cannot, we frar, be doubted, and the conrlidon of our Army is not such as to justify that over-confidence which our insular position, at once an advantage and an evil, is apt to engender What we could do upon a critical emergency, such as that wmcti befell the Northern States uf America iti 1861, it is impossible to predict; but we know that at present we have but a small Army. and that it is not kept up to its proper strength without difficulty In an exigency which threatened our very existence we should probably be equal even to the trf- meiidous efforts which so recently saved the American Union, bnt we ought, not to repose our trust upon the strength we might be able to put forth in a desperate moment „v'e„*rJ* Principle o' trusting cliitfly to the last cannot be Wind1? ^ich nat'0QS c*n adopt, wl. h safe v. We to Sat ,hat u is sometimes a hard task even b 8 en to fill up the gaps which are caused by the retm meut of other* who have served their tjm„ The cla-s which chiefly supplus the Army begins to think that they can use their lives to better purpose than in the service of the Queen. In the manufacturing districts labour is better paid than of old. and the pay of the soldier does not tempt men as it did. But both the agricultural and the manufac- turing classes have been misled by many misrepresentations. There can be no question, for instance, that the life of a soldier is very preferable to that of the average agricultural labourer. He is fairly paid; he wants for nothing if he is sober and steady, he has the opportunity of raising himself above his fellows; and when he has served his time he receives a pension, and finds himself sought after for numerous occupations in civil life which turns his pension into a respectable competence. On the other hand. the agricultural labourer has no means of saving money, and when he is past work there is only the hospital or the workhouse before him. He has led a laboiious life, inter- spersed with few pleasures and many cares, and he can scarcely ever rise above the position in which he started. The very appearance .of the old sold'er and the old agri- cultural labourer will show which has had the best time in the world. 00 thd score of simple gaio there is no reason why the Army should be unpopular with the classes which have hitherto formed its b'1ckbnne But we grant that every reasonable inducement ought to be held out to them, and that every unnecessary obstacle ought to be removed.

IpsdlmteoiK Ittftlligattt, HOME. FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL. A GLOOMY STATE COUNCIL.—According to the Tagesbericht of Vienna, the fete-day of the Emperor of Austria was a gloomy affair. The Emperor Francis Joseph appeared exceedingly downcast; in the after- noon he summoned all the councillors of the Crown, and, with tears in his eyes, addressed them in the following terms:— This is my fete-day. Such occasions remind a man, even the highest placed, that he has made another step towards the tomb, and that he ought in future to do his best, accord- ing to his knowledge and his conscience. If my people have desires which are not yet realized, I will stretch out my hand to aid them. I do not wish my paternal intentions to be doubted. Speak frankly, gentlemen. What is the opinion which predominates among the populations ? The Ministers remained silent, with the exception of one, who replied :— Sire, to speak frankly, public opinion is In despair. The same Minister afterwards explained to His Majesty the wishes and fears which had taken root in the mind of the public. The Emperor dismissed his council with these words:— All that state of things must change, and soon the people shall fete my birthday gaily. SCIENTIFIC BLUNDERING.—The other evening, at the Nottingham soiree, the philosophers and their gayer companions had a narrow escape. A breech- loading rifle was being exhibited. To show the method of loading, cartridges filled with coal-dust were em- ployed. A gentleman, after loading one of the rifles, pulled the trigger; an explosion followed, and a bullet from the gun made its unpleasant passage through the room—without injury save to one coat-sleeve. The explanation of what might have led to a frightful catastrophe may be philosophical, but is not satisfac- tory it does not enlighten us. We are simply told that a cartridge actually used for firing, and contain- ing powder, shot, and percussion cap," had "got among them (the coal-dust cartridges) by some means or other." Just so. THE CROPS IN AMERICA.—The advices from America regarding the harvest seem to indicate a deficient wheat crop, but an unusually abundant yield of Indian corn, which for home purposes in that country is the most important staple. A few weeks back the reports of the growing wheat were disastrous from most of the Western States, from the effect of protracted rain, but the subsequent accounts have been less discouraging. In California there is unusual abundance, and a probability is asserted of a surplus of 850,000 quarters for exportation. The crop of Indian corn this year. will, it is said, be the largest ever pro- duced in the United States. In 1840 the total crop was 47,000,000 quarters, in 1860 it was 104,000,000 quarters, and this season it is estimated at 130,000,000. EXTRAORDINARY BRANDY DRINKING.—On Fri- day an inquest was I eld in Ratcliff, London, on the body of Mrs. Wildey, aged 42 years, the wife of a publican. Deceased had for years been of intemperate habits, and the husband stated that during the last three weeks she was not an hour sober, neither night nor day, and had taken no solid food for the last fort- night. He got in a cask of extra good brandy, on ac- count of the cholera visitation, and she used to drink it neat out of pewter pots, or of pint ttfinblers. He removed the cask from the bar, but nothing could keep her from drinking the brandy. She drank raw brandy perpetually. On Wednesday evening last abe took a tumbler of brandy, and subsequently a quartern, after which she was discovered in the club room dead. The jury returned a verdict "That the deceased was found dead in a certain club room from the effects of drink- ing excessive quantities of brandy." FENIANISM IN AMERICA.—The "New York Herald" of the 22nd August gives publicity to the following:— The two wings of the Fenian Brotherhood were busily engaged at their respective headquarters in this city yester- day. Mr Srephens received a personal nport from two yonng Irishmen who had just arrived from the old country, where they had been confined in Mount joy Prison. They report tne organisation to have become stronger than ever since the suspension of the Habeas Corpus. Colonel Roberts is deeply engaged in correspondence relative to the ap. proaching congress in Troy. STATURE OF AMERICAN SOLDIERS.—An Ameri- can gentleman. Dr. Gonld, having examined the re- turns relating to a million of Federal soldiers and sailors engaged in the recent civil war, states that the time at which men born in America reach their maximum height appears to be as late as 28 years of age, but that the age for maximum stature comes earliest in States where the height is found to be the greatest. The men of foreign birth he found consider- ably shorter than men of American nativity but the stature seems to depend more on the place in which men are reared than on that in which they are born. The highest stature found in the books was 6ft. lOin. Several hundred men were above 6fc. 4in. but these tall men did not wear so well as the shorter by a great deal. The Iowa men gave the greatest average height —namely, 69 inches. JEWISH AGRICULTURISTS.—Formerly Jews were altogether excluded from the interior of Russia. The reigning Emperor has greatly modified his restrictions, facilitating Jewish immigration. The consequence was a considerable influx of Jews into the Government of Kieff, most of whom devote themselves to agricul- ture. The Gazette of the provinces states that 355 Jewish farmers have settled on the Crown domains, consisting of 2,729 males and 2,620 females, all of whom carry on agriculture. Moreover, 41 Jewish families in the same year bought farms of their own. These families consist of 762 males and 764 females.— Jewish Chronicle. NEW RELATIONS BETWEEN AUSTRIA AND ITALY. —The Memorial Diplomatique contains the, follow- ing :— A letter fiom Verona confirms the happy symptoms of reconciliation which are manifested between Austria and Italy. On the 19th, Colonel Tromboni, orderly officer to King Victor Emmannel, expired at the military hospital at Verona, from the wounds which he had received on the sanguinary day of Custozza. The military authorities organised a funeral, calculated to render to the deceased all the honours due to his rank. Two battalions of infantry in full aniform, with their colours and band, escorted the funeral car, around which marched Austrian non. commie- sioned officers of hussars carrying lighted torches. Austrian officfrs of all arms followed to Hie cemetery. The Verona Gazette, the day after the ceremony, contained a very eulogistic article on the Italian colonel, who, since 1848, in combatting against Austria, had received no less than twenty- three wounds. We also find in the Nazione of Florence a letter written by an officer ef the Garibaldian volunteers, dated from Pre in Val di Ledro, in which is related a circum- stance very honourable for the Austrian army, to the humanity of which the writer eagerly renders justice. Colonel Chiassi, who commanded a Garibaldian corps, had fallen struck by an Austrian ball. Five of his companions, in the number of whom was the writer of the letter, at once threw down their arms to be able to raise and remove to the ambulance their chief, mortally wounded. About twenty paces off was a detachment of Austrian Chasseurs; the officer who commanded it, seeing this act of devotedness on the part of the Italian soldiers towards their leader, stopped the firing, not wishing to wound brave men in the back. The young Garibaldian officer was so much moved that he says" If I knew the name of that worthy Austrian officer, I would go and seek him even to the most distant parts of Austria in order to clasp his hand." STATISTICS OF INSANITY.—Madness is most prevalent in the north-west of Europe, and constantly decreases towards the soutn-east. That the influence of climate in producing this remarkable progression is very great cannot be doubted. Cold, wet, and fog, conduce more to idiotcy than great heat. The only land which rivals Norway and Scotland in the amount of insanity is Switzerland, with its Alpine range and relatively cold climate. As to the influence of race upon insanity there is one madman out of every 550 of the Celtic German races; one madman out of every 1,192 of the Latin races; one madman out of every 1,643 Sclavonians and Tartars. The disproportion to the disadvantage of the Germanic races is enormous, and it cannot be argued that it is due to the fact that the Sclavonians for the most part live in a primitive state without any mental cultivation or strain upon the in- tellect. For that would not account for the difference between the Celto-Germanic races and the Latin races. And it is not true that superior intellectual culture and activity conduce to insanity, for the Rhe- nish Province is far more intellectually active and cultivated than Pomerania., and has far less insanity. As to the influence of religion upon madmen. Mr. Hausner tells us that there is one madman out of every 491 Protestants, one madman out of every 1,088 Catho- lics, one madman out of 1,795 Orthodox Greeks, and he says that the influence of religion upon madmen, in- dependently either of Church or race, is proved by the fact that, taking Germans of the same race and climate there are far fewer madmen among the Catholics (Bavarians, Rhinelanders, and Austrians) than among the Protestants. Insanity is 37 times more prevalent in the Canton Lucerne than in the Azores; 18 times more prevalent in Norway than in Servia; 5 times more prevalent in Great Britain than in Italy.— The Tablet. WHAT AMERICAN WOMEN CAN DO.—Among the strangers in Philadelphia at this moment are two ladies from Martinsburg, West Virginia (says an American paper). Recently they were purchasing a seed drill, a mowing machine, and other agricultural implements, whose cost in the aggregate was about 800 dols. Their home was very close to the theatre of the late war. Between the two contending armies their houses and barns were burnt, their horses and cattle driven off, their only brother con- scripted into the Southern army, and themselves left utterly destitute aud homeless. Any one who, seeing a young lady such as we have seen, had been told that she had personally ploughed and planted many acres of land, would have laughed to scorn the party so informing him. Such, however, is literally the case. We learnt the facts from a gentleman residing in the vicinity. The smoking ruins of the farm upon which these youne people resided had scarcely cooled when the neighbours clubbed together, built them a log- house and extemporized a sort of barn. Horses were loaned to them, and the girls with their own hands ploughed the ground and seeded it with corn. The crop grew apace, and with their own hands they har- vested it. They sold it to great advantage. They had owned forty-seven negro slaves. Some of these went into the Union army, others deserted the locality. The girls were left alone to baffle with the vicissitudes of the war. Our informant, whose respectability is beyond a question, says that these girls produced by their own work in the field more decided and produc- tive results than were accomplished by the entire gang of slaves. They toiled for three years, and they now have a comfortable home and most substantial barns upon their property, while improvements have been made upon it to an extent that makea it of considerable more value than before the torch of conflicting armies reduced its building to ashes. One of the young ladies has since married, but the others still do duty as their own overseers," and they themselves have purchased and directed the shipment of the agricultural imple- ments to which we have above referred. The wonder to the dealer was that a lady, delicately gloved and < attired as though she had never overstepped the bounds of the boudoir, should descant experimentally and intelligently upon the respective merits of the different reaping machines, and upon the comparative values of the different patents for threshing out the cereals. These young ladies were educated in Phila- delphia, and are well known to many of our best people. THE HISTORY OF A RACEHORSE.—The "Illus- trated London News give a curious account of the vicissitudes of the life of The Cure," a famous racing sire. "The Cure" began his career well, winning the Champagne Stakes, but afterwards went down in the world until he found himself at Lord Airlie's breeding establishment in Scotland, where, as he was not thought much of as a sire, an attempt was made to turn him into a hunter. But he declined to rise at his leaps, and after he had broken a groom's leg he was eventually disposed of, lame, for 7s. 6d., to a doctor. Thi t gentleman managed to get him sound again, and rode him for several years as a hack in his practise, occasionally racing him a little with tolerable success. But some of his stock had in the meantime come out," and were running pretty well, Lamb- ton" especially; and so "The Cure" was sold again for 501, and some contingencies to go back to England, where he was actually placed second to "Voldgeur" for the 100 Sovereign Prize for thorough-bred srallions at the Cleveland Show. This seven-and-sixpenny horse was eventually let to the Royal Stud at Hampton Court, where one of his yearlings actually fetched 1,000 guineas. The Cure is now in his 27th year, and his star is asrain on the decline. He fetched at the hammer 20 guineas last week at York. THEY ARE TO BE PHUSSIANS NOW !—At Wiesba- den, there has been an actual riot; some of the inhabi- tants, chiefly women, it is said, assaulted many Prus- sian soldiers, and it was some time before the police could restore order. The Nassau soldiers did not in- terfere, or else the disturbance would probably have risen to a high pitch; they are reputed to have con- tented themselves by standing on the outskirts of the crowds which collected round the places where some unresisting and astonished Prussian was being beaten and abused by a Nassau virago, and to have feebly attempted to check the disorder by repeating contin- ually, It's all settled that we are to be Prussians; it can't be helped. What's the good of making a row about it ?" RATHER SIGNIFICANT!—Count Bismarck made rather a remarkable speech in the Prussian Chamber of Deputies on Saturday. The Chamber was dis- cussing the Indemnity Bill, which was opposed by several members. Count Bismarck endeavoured to show that there was very little real difference between the objects of the majority of the House and those of the Government. The most important questions now were those relating to foreign policy. The Austrian official press and the South German people were, he said, friendly to Prussia; but, on the other hand, there was scarcely a single European Power which had willingly aided in the establishment of the new unity of Germany. Then came a significant passage. The task of Prussia was not yet finished; its accom- plishment would require the combined exertions of the entire nation." At first sight it would seem that Count Bismarck is a little sore at the attitude of the European Powers in respect to Prussia. What he means, we take it, is that the reorganisation of Ger- many is purely the act of Germany herself, and that she must not hold back until it is completed. OUR CUSTOM.—We must; be valuable cus- tomers in the world's markets. Among the goods im- ported into this country from abroad in the first half of the year 1866 we find the following: among the articles received :—Raw cotton of the value of 47,348,7562.—an amount unprecedented, and, indeed, never equalled in an entire year until 1863; wool, 8,500.6452.—an amount never equalled in a whole year until 1856; silk (raw and thrown), 2,876 006i. silk manufactures of Europe, 4,238,4762.; metals. 2,073,728?.: wood, 1,990,4182. oil, 1.692,8652. flax, 1,442,1072. hemp and jute, 1,411,9412. hides, 1,327.7952. indigo, 1,323,0122.; seeds (flax and linseed), 1,250,0052. The orders we have given for provisions have been liberal enough. In the half-year we have imported corn and flour of the value of 13,465,9942 tea, 5,784.7nl.; raw sugar, 5,067,735! butter, 2,479,5971. wine, 2,580.7462.; coffee, 1,41)5 7522. bacon, 1,182,8082. spirits, 1,010,3142. The Board of Trade tables do not state the value of the animals imported in the half-year, but in number there were 81,934 oxen, cows, and calves, and 411,720 sheep. ARISTOCRATIC PRIDE.—In the attack of the Prussians on Oweicim, Galicia, a surgeon, while en- gaged in attending on the battle-field to some wounded Austrians, was taken prisoner by the enemy, the Prussians having been compelled to retire. Dr. Fried- lander-this was the name of the captured surgeon— might have withdrawn with the Prussian troops had his feeling heart allowed of his leaving the greviously wounded Austrian soldiers without medical aid. Lately an Austrian officer, a Count Lippe, was brought as a prisoner of war to Posen. It was agreed that he should be exchanged for toe captured kind-hearted surgeon, who, we forgot to say, happens to be a Jew. When Count Lippe heard of this he drew back, saying that he did not want to be exchanged for a Jew! Indeed not ? dryly remarked the commander, and simply ordered him back to the casemate. We may add that the capture of Dr. Friedlander under the circumstances described was the immediate cause of Austria's accession to the Geneva Convention for as- sistance to the wounded upon the field. A WAIF.—A correspondent of the" Scots- man writes from New Pitshgo as follows :— A bottle containing the following despatch was picked up on Sunday last by one of the gardeners at Slains Castle, near the Ward of Cruden, Aherdeenshire Ship City of New York Sailed the 6th of December with a cargo of cotton, bound for Granton. Went out of her course on the 13th of January Boats aU lost. Ship going down. God have mercy on our souls.—GEORGE ADAMS, carpenter." THE FURNITURE OF A PRISONER'S CELL.—In the gaol of a northern county, considered one of the best-managed institutions of its kind in Ireland, a gentleman is at present undergoing a sentence of twelve months' imprisonment, passed on him at the Spring Assizes of this year. A correspondent informs us that on Saturday last three of the Board of Superintendence entered his cell, and were greatly amazed and scanda- lized on discovering therein a variety of luxuries not included m the scale of dietary laid down forprisont-rs, and approved by the Lord-Lieutenant. "They found," says our correspondent, cases of preserved meats, a considerable quantity of "John Miller" and best "Coleraine," and an extensive supply of the weed," with three pipes to assi-t in its consumption. There was also the nucleus of a compact library, con- sisting principally of novels, among which those with the peculiar binding indicative of suspicious French works of fiction predominated. In fact, the cell con- tained almost everything calculated to wile away the tedium of prison life, not forgetting money, wherewith the prisoner might provide for any wants which his anxious friends had overlooked. Before separating, the Board of Superintendence despatched a letter to the Castle, demanding an inquiry into this strange affair, and it is now looked for with considerable inter- est. It is feared that this discovery may not only nip in the bud a memorial lately sent off praying for a commutation of the sentence, and which was supposed to give tokens of bearing the desired fruit, but possibly entail a further term of imprisonment on the occupant of the cell, whose conduct in being in possession of the contraband of the prison, I am told, amounts to a mis. demeanour.—Northern Whig. STEAM AND SAILING VESSELS.—Of the 164,469 emigrants that went to the United States and British North America last year, it appears from the 26th general report of the Emigration Commissioners that 120 923, or 73J per cent., proceeded in steam vessels, and 43,546 in sailing vessels. The proportion of those who went in steam veseels was much larger than in any previous year, and as the average price of passage in those vessels was from 30 to 50 percent, higher than in sailing vessels, the extent to which they were resorted to is a proof, the Commissioners state, that there was no pecuniary distress among the emigrants. The resort to steam vessels is now so general that from the Clyde there were no sailing vessels carrying emi- grants last year. nor from Liverpool were there any such vessels to British North America. The mortality, as far as the Emigration Commissioners have returns, amounted in steam vessels to '04 per cent, in sailing ships to '19 per cent. JUSTICES' JUSTICE IN SCOTLAND.—A short time since, a partner in one of the largest ship- building firms on the Clyde, was sent to prison by Bailie Grey for fifteen days without the Ope tion of a fine. The charge against him was false- hood, fraud, and wilful imposition," the facts being that when tipsy he had gone into an hotel and ordered some l'quor, which he had not the money to pay for with him. The friends of Mr. Rankin, immediately on becoming apprised of his position, took steps to have the case reheard. There is a clause in the new Police Act which gives power to a magistrate to re- consider a decision and mitigate a sentence. It is a provision of great importance, more especially to poor- persons, who, considering themselves aggrieved by a sentence, have it in their power, in a simple and inex- pensive form, to have their case reconsidered without being driven to the expense of going to the High Court of Justiciary. The clause is as follows :— It shall be lawful for the magistrate who has tried any case and pronounced sentence against any person accused of a police offence, if he see fit, to inquire suosequently in op-m cot1rt into any circnmstance3 which were not known, or were not brought forward, or were not duly considered at 'he trial, and, with the concurrence of any other m"gis- trate, to mo ifY or mitigate the severity of mch sentence. Under this clause Mr. Rankin was brought from prison, and after it had been shown that Mr. Rankin was by repute an honourable man, and always paid for drink obtained at hotels, if not at the time, after- wards, the magistrates, one of whom was Baillie Grey, who convicted him, decided to reduce the sentence to twenty-four hours' imprisonment, so that Mr. Rankin was immediately set at liberty. NEW YORK STATE INEBRIATE ASYLUM.—Up to 1864 there had been 7,245 applications for places in this institution at Binghampton, from every State in the Union, and from Europe, Mexico, and the British Provinces, 520 of whom were opium eaters. There were 39 clergymen, 8 judges, 197 lawyers, 226 phy- sicians, 340 merchants, 680 mechanics, 466 farmers, 240 gentlemen, and 805 women. One of the opium eaters, a lawyer, who had filled a highly responsible office, in one year drank 3,200 bottles of M'Munn's preparation of opium. In one day he drank twenty bottles, equal to ten thousand drops of laudanum. Patients at this asylum are received for not less than a year, are watched, controlled, and medically treated. The expectationns that at least 70 per cent. will be radically cured. The astounding fact was stated at the recent Temperance Convention at Saratoga, that the names of 1,300 rich men's daughters are on the list of applicants for admission to this asylum. SFITTLITSG IT AMICABLY.—A letter addressed by the Emperor of the French to King Victor Emmanuel leaves no doubt as to the mode of proceeding to be adopted in carrying out the treaty regulating the cession of Venetia to Italy. The instrument to be em- ployed is the Emperor's favourite one of a plebiscite, and the Venetians by means of universal suffrage are to express their wishes to *be united to the Italian kingdom. In his letter the Emperor says he accepted the cession of the province from Austria to avoid use- less bloodshed, and that with the intention of "re. storing it to itself," in order that Italy might be free and mistress of her own destinies; and his Majesty claims credit for having once more used the influence jf France in favour of humanity and the independence of peoples. The transfer of the fortresses and territory will be made in the first instance to a French com- missioner. who will then" arrange with the Venetian authorities for letting them into possession. Not a hint is thrown out, however darkly, respecting com- pensations but pains are taken to impress upon Italy the extent of the obligations under which lies to her Imperial ally, and the nature of the service he had rendered her, and we are at liberty to conclude or not, as we please, that the debt of gratitude thus created may hereafter require some sort of acknowledgment. At all events, the question is left entirely open, there there being no repudiation of an intention to advance future claims. In the meantime the negociations of peace between Austria and Italy are making rapid and satisfactory progress, and we may hope to hear of the final arrangements being settled in the course of a week or ten days. A REFLECTION.—The correspondent of "The Times writes :— Berlin is very empty; the usual garrison and the crowds of officers who generally fill the streets are all away at the seat of war. Over many doors are painted up the. red crosses which mark that within subscriptions are received for the military hospitals and wounded. At the doors of the public offices and at those of several shops and hotels, little padlocked boxes painted with the black and white stripes of the Prussian colours, and labelled Fur die Verwundete, invite the alms of those who loiter or who pass by. Here and there a convalescent soldier is seen, with bh hand ban- daged up or his arm in a sling: and one parsed up the Linden this afternoon jerking himsflf along slowly on a pair of unaccustomed crutches, for he had lost one leg. Preparations are, however, being made for the triumphal entry of the army, which is expected to take place ahollt the middle of next month, when the lamentations of the maimed and the wailings of widows and orphan children will be drowned in the clash of military bands, and the applnuse of the crowd. Would not the money that this festival will cost be better expended on the families of those who have oied, and on the men who have been rendered unable to work for their livelihood, in fighting the buttles which have given so much glory and so many broad miles to Prussia? Military pensions are very low. Widows with helpless children and disabled men who can labour no longer for bread can hardly regard one day's acclamation3 from an excited populace as a compensation for a life-long misery. FLOGGING AND BRANDING IN THE ARMY.—It appears from a parliamentary return just issued that the number of men floerged in the army and militia of Great Britain and Ireland in 1863 was 518; the num- ber of lashes inflicted 23,668. The number of prisoners flogged in 1864 was 528. and of lashes inflicted 25,638. The number of persons flogared in 1865 was 441; and of lashes inflicted 21,561. The number of men marked with the letter D in 1863 was 1,136; with B C, 115. In 1864 there were marked with the letter D, 1,438 marked with B C in 1864 cannot be rendered." The number of men marked in 1865 with the letter D was 1,502; with the letters B C, 90. THE TRAFFIC OF LONDON.—The Metropolitan Railway is for its length probably the most expensive ever built, and it was confidently predicted during the time of its construction that the shareholders could expect nothing but ruinous loss. Yet there is no line in the kingdom which pays higher dividends, nor whose shares stand at a higher premium. When this line was opened there was a perfect panic among the omnibus proprietors working the Bayswater-road, in the belief that their occupation was gone, yet they are actually earning a penny per mile per day more than before the railway opened, and this m the face of thousands who hourly use the Underground line. In truth, it is only when attempts are made to provide for the exigencies of the metropolitan passenger traffic that its almost boundless nature comes to be appre- ciated. BEEF GOING TO WASTE.—Stock raising is becoming an important feature in Texas. Some sec- tions are said to be overrun with cattle, nearly wild, belonging to any one who has the facilities for catching and branding them. This laxity of ownership, how- ever, is fast being superseded by the arrivals of large numbers of emigrants, who are settling in those sec- tions. The favour with which the prepared South American be..f has been received in Europe haq sug- gested the practicability of similar enterprises in Texas. —New York Times. A PRINCELY APPETITE.—Sir John Eliot, born in 1737, was much patronised by George IV. when Prince of Wales. In a letter from Dr. Lort to Bishop Percy, dated March 26, 1786, the illness of the heir apparent is mentioned, and he is represented as very ill:—" Even in much danger, and only saved by bleeding and blistering, which it is hoped will make him more cautious of eating and drinking in future. Sir John Eliot told the Queen that he had been preaching as much to the Prince against intemperance as any bishop could have done. The Queen replied, And probably with like success. A capital remark, worthy of being remembered as showing her Majesty's estimate of her favourite son's sins, and affording proof that she, when occasion offered, was not the stupid snuffy old woman she was not unfrequently called.— Notes and Queries. FIRES IN NEW YORK.—Fire-Marshal Baker reports that in the half year ending with May, 1866, there were 228 fires in New York, 46 of them icendiary. There were 37 deaths caused by the fires or accom- panying circumstances. The alleged losses reached 3,936,407 dols., a very large loss from a generally pre- ventible cause. The amount made good by insurance corrjpanys was 3,034,270 dols. A paid Fire Depart- ment has now been in existence for nearly a year, has worked well, and is rapidly improving. The Fire- Marshal, finding an increasing number of fires at the great manufactories scattered through the city, has adopted the plan of visiting and examining these establishments periodically, and he has to state that the suggestions he has made after inspection has been in every instance adopted, though often involving some I expense and inconvenience. He deprecates the pre- valent system of skylights with a great open depth below them they prove chimneys for the flames if a fire breaks out, and the building is almost sure to be destroyed. THE EMPRESS ECTGENIE AND MADAME COR- NUAU.—The general council of the Somme, presided over by the Duke di Vicence, has voted the following address to the Empress of the French :— Madame,-The members of this council are happy to inaugurate their session by joining fully in the sentiments of gratitude to your Majesty already expressed by the popula- tion of Amiens. You have proved by your noble conduct that in France the men do not alone eDj >y the privilege of courage. The members of the general council of the Somme will always preserve, with the populations, the religious reminiscences of your august charity, and will unite it in their hearts to the sentiments of devotedness which they have vowed to the Emperor and the imperial dynasty. The inhabitants of Amiens, wishing to testify to Madame Cornuau, wife of the Prefect, their sense of her devotedness during the prevalence of the cholera in that city, had opened a subscription to present her with a medal which should form a suitable pendant to that given by the Empress. The ceremony of pre. sentation took place in presence of a concourse of about 45,000 persons. In the Rue des Rabuissons, in front of the prefecture, a large tent had been erected for the ceremony, and the local authorities were all present, as well as the principal inhabitants of the place. Mdlle. Mathilde Boulanger, a young woman saved from the epidemic by the personal care of Madame Cornuau, was selected to present the medal, and read an address, to which Madame Cornuau was unable to reply except by tears, so much was she over- come by the gratitude and affection manifested by the people. Repeated shouts of Vive Madame Cor- nuau arose from the vast multitude, coupled with that of Vive l'Imperatrice THE MARRIAGE OF THE KING OF THE GREEKS. —The Morning Post last Friday made the mysterious announcement that there is reason to believe that a marriage is not unlikely to be arranged on the part of the King of the Greeks calculated to add very materially to his position as a European sovereign," but that "it is understood that the arrangement must be dependent upon certain conditions of a nature to promote the position of the Greek Government in the eyes of the world." We believe (remarks the Pall Mall Gazette) that this paragraph refers to a report that the King of the Greeks has offered himself as a suitor to Princess Louise, relying in support of his claims not only on the family ties already uniting the Royal houses of England and Denmark, but on the national sympathies existing between England and Greece. There is also talk of Mr. Gladstone, who is about to visit Rome, extending his journey to Athens, at the re- quest of Her Majesty, with a view to ascertain the position of affairs in Greece and the prospects of the young sovereign. ELOPEMENT IN CONSTANTINOPLE.—The Levant Herald of 22nd August says :— What locally passes for "high life" has received the novel sensation of an elopement during the week. On Saturday afternoon last, a three-pair caique shot in the mid. Bosphorus to the shore above Yenikeut, and from a quiet point of the promenade between the latter village and Therapia shipped a lady whose hasty embarkation and nervous but earnest greeting to a solitary passenger in the skiff showed that her presence was not an accident. Im- pelled with extra vigour by her three lusty rowers the boat wa3 soon again out of the near-shore track, and heading rapidly down towards Tophaneh. The lovers—for such, of course, they were—were M. Callergls, secretary to the Hellenic Legation, and Madlle. Tinghir, daughter of M. Pusek Tinghir, a member of the well-known family of Armenian bankers. Landing at the artillery wharf, they proceeded to the Hotel de Byzaace, where the ceremony at a Greek marriage was, it is said, performed later in the evening, A letter left behind by the bdy-too late, of course, to permit stoppage in transitu-apprised her family of the intended adventure, and on the morrow, when further opposition was useless, another, despatched by the unromantic channel of the local post, disclosed the refuge of the runaways. UPON HIS HONOUR !—The French papers vouch for a curious fact. A French sporting man had his pocket-book stolen at Caen last year. He seized a man near him—an Englishman—and accused him of the theft. The man stammered out a denial that made the case against him clearer, and the Frenchman grew violent, upon which the Englishman said, It is true I took it, but the pocket-book, is now far away in the hands of an accomplice if you will trust me, upon my honour' 1 will return it." The idea of a thief pledging his honour was something so funny that the Frenchman was tickled with the idea, and said, "Let it be so, upon your honour." The Englishman lifted his hat and went his way. The story was often told and laughed at, but this week, what was the sports- man's astonishment to receive a letter inclosing 1. 500£ with the remark that it was the money which the Englishman at Caen promised to return upon his honour! It is to be hoped that Frenchmen will always for the future trust the honour of an English pickpockft in such cases. ° A SUGGESTION.—A duel which has just taken place m Pans has excited some such merriment as was occasioned a few years ago m England, when a cock pheasant disturbed the belligerents. In the present case a naval officer went from Brest to Strasbourg pit himself against an artilleryman a couple of^ine? tective shots were exchanged, when the seconds inter- fered and declared that honour was safe. The naval officer returned to Brest without a scratch or a scalp to show for his five hundred leagues, and now it is asked if it would not have been more simple to have employed the post. office-to have written, for instance I send a bullet to your address at Strasbourg, and await your projectile by return," and the gunner would probably have acknowledged the receipt with thanks. It must be confessed that very few duels in France come to a serious termination—a fact which encourages these hostile meetings. In the time of Louis XIV. a colonel soon put down duelling in his regiment by insisting that only one of the com- batants should survive.

EPITOME OF NEWS. I, BRITISH AND FORBIGiv. A Russian squadron has arrived at Cherbourg from Madeira. Prince Alexis Alexandrowirch, son of the Em- peror of Russia, is on board one of the frigates. In consequence of apprehensions of a renewal of the Fenian raids upon Canadian territory, reinforcements will be at once sent out to that colony. The Lords of the Admiralty have caused to be issued a new form of seaman's parchment certificate which is to be adopted ia the navy in lieu of the form now in existence, and it is to be brought into use on the 1st of October next. On Saturday morning a bottle tightly corked was found on the shore at Woolwich Arsenal, containing a leaf of a pocket-hook on which was written—"August 20th, collier ship Mary Ann in a sinking state. God have mercy on our soles —T. SMITH, boatswain." Charivari (the French Punch), has a caricature of a Prussian general sitting on a marble bench in a public garden smoking a cigar. A pretty little girl whom he has been noticing gays to him: "General, my papa likes you very much." "What is your papa's business, my dear?" "He makes wooden legs." In reply to an invitation to attend a meeting of the Manhood Suffrage Association to be held at Leeds, on Wed- nesday, Mr. Bright writes that he is compelled to keep away from almost all the meetings to which he is invited. He ex- pressed a hope that in the West Riding of Yorkshire steps will be taken to hold a great gathering similar to the one at Bimii'gham. The treaty of peace between Austria and Prussia contains an article stipulating that neither Austrian nor Prussian officials shall be punished for having incurred the displeasure of their Governments by their attitude during the war. A meeting was held last evening to consider the propriety of raising i fund to present a testimonial to Mr. Edmond Beales on account of his removal from the office of revising barris-er by the Lord Chief Justice. The meeting was held in the lower St. Martin's Hall, and was most numerously attended. A committee was formed to receive subscriptions. An "international exhibition of hops and beer" is to take place at Dijon in France, the centre of the Burgundy vineyards, in the middle of October, gold and silver medals, and other rewards, being offered as prizes, which will also be given for meritorious instruments and apparatus, as well as for papers on the subject, England, the favourite abode of "John Barleycorn," will surely take high honours in this competition. On Monday some thousands of Foresters belonging to the South Eastern districts held their annual fete at the Crystal Palace. The South-Eastern members of the order. although they take part in the annual festival of the general body have, for many years past. had a special fete of their own. Many of those who attended on Monday wore the "vestments" of the order, while the connexion of others with office was simply indicated by a broad green ribbon across the shoulder. On Saturday afternoon, two young men, Hugh Thompson, a bookkeeper, and James Sheales, a pawnbroker, and a boy, were drowned in Belfast Lough. They were out sailing in a yacht, of which they were the only occupants, and which was capsized in a squall. The accident occurred near Grey Point, about two miles from Bangor. On Sunday night, durinsr a very heavy gale from the westward, the schooner Margcvret Elizabeth, bound from Par to Runcorn, went ashore on the West Hoyle bank, out- side the entrance to the Mersey, and became a total wreck. Fortunately the signals of distress were noticed by the Point of Ayr life boat, which put off to the assistance of the dis- tressed crew, and ultimately succeeded in rescuing them. On Monday afternoon, a serious accident occurred on the Thames, between the Cherry Garden Pier and Lon- don Bridge. One of the Woolwich and Watermen Company's steamers ran into a small boat containing two men. The boat was completely stove in, and the men thrown into the river. One of them disappeared immediately, and the o!her drifted with the tide under one of the paddle-wheels of the steamer. Neither were afterwards seen. Last Monday the unwounded prisoners who had been captured during the late campaign were exchanged at Oderburg. The Prussians liberated 523 Austrian officers and 35,03s non-commissioned officers and men, but this is not the total muster-roll of the Austrian prisoners who fell into the hands of the ent-my, for 13,000 wounded who cannot yet be removed still remain in Prussian hospitals. Austria gives back about 450 Prussian unwounded non-commissioned officers and men, and about 120 wounded are unable to be moved. There were also seven Prussian officers liberated On the same day about 5,000 prisoners, who had been taken from the Bavarian and Hesse Cassel troops were re- leased. Churchill, county Donegal, has been visited by a dreadful thunderstorm. The crops suffered severely. The flax crop has been swept out of the dams and off the spread- field, and carried away by the flood in all directions Whole fields of potatoes and corn, auu even large trees, have been totally carried away. Hocks have been rent in pieces, and some of them a ton weight were whirled along by the torrents. The following letter has been addressed by Madame Rattazzi to the editor of the Siecle:—" Sir,—I have just learned that a hook has been published in Brussels entitled 'Les Marriages d'une Espagnole,' and signed MR. I am informed that some persons have been pleased to attribute to me its authorship. Now I declare that I am not only not the author, but that I have not read it or even seen its cover. Be good enough to insert this denial in one of your early numbers, and receive with my thanks in anticipation the assurance of my high consideration, MARY RATTAZI If an argument were wanted in favour of swimming matches, which we are glad to find are becoming every day more popuiarin this country, take the following siati- tics :— In 1864, the latest year for which returns have been issued, the number of deaths from external causes was 17,018 The number of persons returned as accidentally drowned-we must assume, however, in fairness, a small proportion of suicides-in that year rose to 2,714, or nearly one-seventh. Saturday was the last day for the overseers to deliver t" the clerks of the peace the lists of objections, and for the next fortnight the objections will appear on the doors of churches in the same manner as lists of claimants. Dr. Butler, Roman Catholic bishop (Limerick), has ordered Sunday, the 9th of September, to be set apart as a day of special prayer for the Pope throughout his diocese. This step is in obedience to a letter addressed by Cardinal Culien (his first official act as cardinal) to all the "Bishops of Ireland," requesting them to make a "demonstration throughout the entire country, as a dignified protest of Catholic Ireland against the machinations of the enemies of the Church." On Saturday afternoon an open. air demonstration in favour of politicalTeform took place at Bristol. A pro- cession and bands of masic malched throngh the principal streets of the city, and a meeting, at which it is said there were nearly teB thousand persons present, was held upon Brandon-hill. Mr. Handel Cossham presided, and Mr. Edmond Beales and Mr. Charles Bradlaugh were present as a deputation from the National Reform League. The house of Dr. Pritchard, in Sauchieball-street, Glasgow, in which the inutders for which he was hung were committed, has been converted into a shop, and, after reo maining untenanted for eighteen months has been taken by a musicseller. At Eccleston, a labourer, named Burns, who was a troubltsnme lodger, received notice to leave from his land- hoy. This so exasperated him that he swore he would roast her, and he lifted her bodily on the fire Fortunately some neighbours' attention was attracted by the woman's screams, and they released her. The peor woman, who is sixty years of age, was severely burned. The Mayor of Halifax, at a recent dinner of the Halifax licensed victuallers, stated that an application had been made to him a few days ago by an Irishman for a testi- monial of character. The Mayor told him that he had never seen him before. The Irishman promptly answered, Faith, your worship, and that is the very reason I come to you. I have never been summoned before you or fined, and you never have had any trouble with me The "immigration" from America into Ireland con- tinues, three steamers which arrived at Qutenstown from the United States last week having brought about one hun- dred and twenty steerage passengers, allreturlling emigrants —persons who had sailed for America within the year, and had been disappointed in finding employment there at the wages they had been led to expect. A communication from Dalenheim, in the Courrier du Ball Rhin states that, during a thunderstorm which burst a few days back over that place, the electric fluid killed in- stantautously M. Francois Metter, deputy-mayor, his son Edouard, and a female servant named Hermann. They all, in company with another son of M. Metter, aged 14, had taken refuge under the tree. This last named was also struck and much lnj tired, but was able to creep home and announce the afiiicting intelligence. The Moniteur of Friday says that ths Emperor Napoleon took a ride on horseoack in the park of St. Cloud. The Constitutionnel has It a "long" ride; but the adjective is evioently the product of extra zeal on the part of the semi- official print, as there is no doubt ths Emperor is far from Delng well. It is paid that the ex-Queen of Naples has been selling some of her jewels, and that certain pearls valued at 30,000 crowns have been parted with for 18,000. Honour has been satisfied without blood, but by a birch. Two young gentlemen quarrelled and resolved to fight in the Bois d6 Boulogne. They got by an excessive degree of impertinence two gentlemen of double their age to accompany them as friends, but the two gentlemen put their heads together, and on the field of battle that was to be they set to and gave the principals the correction ignoble due to infants of tender years, and sent them home crying to their parents. It is sad to see the number of so-called educated men who, travelling by railway, voyaging by steamboat, con- sulting the for the time ot sun-rise or full-moon have not the most elementary knowledge of a steam-engine' a barometer, or a quadrant; and who will listen with a half confessed faith to the most idle predictionsas to weather or cometic influences, while they are in a state of gross ignorance as to the cause of the trade-winds or the form of a comet's path."— Spectator. The report of the medical-officer of Pentonville Prison has just appeared, and contains a reference to the case of Victor Townley, who committed suicide on the 12th February last. The comment of this official is worthy of attention :—"During the whole period ot his imprisonment here previous to his suicide he had never shown any indica- tion of mental affection." It appears that the Queen and Royal family, on arrival at Balmoral, had "stolen a march upon the people about the castle, as no one was present to receive her Majesty and suite. The Royal party came fully an hour earlier than was calculated upon. In an article referring to the departure of Sir H. Storks, the Morning JOttrnal says:—"From even the most distant places crowos of people of all classes came to see for the last time, and to say ■ God speed' to the Governor whose public and private virtues they so loved and revered The old island militiamen, who had not been called out far years, volunteered to form his escort. The coloured r> newspaper, which is generally remarkable f^ thTlnnu h care with which it is edited and comnilpH ™ y one of the most wonderful anting P This 8UPPlies to the subject of a recent ^68^6 know' ^d refers "For the safety of societv it £ !™tl0n- £ or murder> thus:- tended to him (the i>™I J?-posa,)le mercy can be ex- tlie province of m this world; beyond that italic are our nCr, » ^Urnal'st d""s not extend.' These wanes are our own "-Birmingham Daily Post. state 6 Th! w -Naples is positively in a melancholy call Nazime has received a letter, which says "To "y their ri^ht uames, four-fifths of our retail eaiers are ou the eve of bankruptcy." Naples has no longer any credit—that is the great misfortune. Foreign traders oanKers^ and commercial agents of all kinds refuse to hear oi it The retail shopkeepers in the chief commercial quar- ters have closed their establishments. Count de Montalembert, the French politican and author is dying As an acknowledgment of his great ser- vices to the Church of Rome, the Pope has granted to his daughter, a young recluse at the Sacre Coeur, permission to quit her convent during one day in the week, in order to attend her father's deathbed. The Moscow Gazette, which found the origin of the last insurrection in Poland in the excessive amount of liberty granted to the Poles, accounts in a similar manner for the recent rising in Siberia. "Such," it says, "is the return for the oeciee of the 1st of April, commuting the punishment of all the Poles exiled to Siberia. Those con- demned to six years' hard labour were put iu the category of cuionists the punishment of the colonists Wt's cemmu'ed to thtt. of 'forced residence;' those sentenced to 'forced xesid. nee' received permission to travel freely through- out Siberia. The terms of the decree were commu- nicated to the Poles in the month of Mav, and they have already profited by their improved posUion Ac- cording to a letter from Irkutsk, published by this paper under date of July 15th, the Poles had revolted in the towns of Karnsk, Balagansk, and at the convict establishment of Oussolie sixty versts (forty miles) from Irkutsk. Irkutsk itself, which is full of Polish residents, and where many of the offimals are Polish, was in a state of great agitation, and every street in tbe city Was guarded by Cossacks on horse- j back and on foot. Sir A. C. Weldon's sister, a young lady, lost her life while driving in the neighbourhood of ITountrat'i, owinsc to the animal attached to a phaeton in wh;ch s'i« was staled runnintr away with and finnily upsetting the vehicle. She survived the injuries s-he thus received but a few hours. A Florence letter has the following;—"All sorts of rumours aTe current here, aud among them that <vf a marriage between Prince Humbeit and an Austrian Arch- duchess, the Tren'in, and perhaps other province?, oeingthe dower "f the future Qieen of Italy. Finally, and further, that the Pope, reconciled to the House of Sav y through the thUnence of Austria, would himself officiate at the union." Spain, after for a moment affording hopes of revi- val and improvement, has again sunk into such a wretched state of degradation that few take an interest in her."— Times Correspondent. In India, a Parsee Matrimonial Court has been es- tablished, and the first sitting is to be held on the 11th in it. A new ocean telegraph company, known as the American Atlantic Cable Company," has been organised in New York. The par value of the shares is fixed at loo dols subscribers are to pay 20 per cent. at time of purchase, 20 per cent. in 60 days, and 20 per cent, in 60 days thereafter. The capital stock of the company is placed at 10,000,000 dollars. There have been several large catches of pilchards on the Cornish coast during the pist week, and the prices have ranged from Is. 7d. to 2s. 6d per scoro of 120. Many tons have been sent out of the county, and London has had a liberal supply, not large enough, however, to meet the demand. Along with the marriage of the King of the Greeks rumour has been fu l of a pr< j ;ct of an alliance hetwe-n the Prince Imperial of Francs and the Prineesi Cnrirlorte of pm-sia, daughter of the Crown Prince. When we find that the age of the gentleman is undfr eleven, while the lady hag only just entered uoon her seventh year, we do not require any v"y special official information to enable us to charac- terise the statement as at least premature."—Sunday Gazette. Mr. A. T. Stewart has contracted for the window- glass for his new house in New York at 50,000 dollars. The Mayor of Biarritz considers economy and prudence things to be spoken disparagingly of for he says five persons were not drowned as repor'ed, but. four persons were, who were bathing without machines, "victims of economy and prudence." "Heliotrope.—Write. Faithful and true.—30th August.-Advertisement in London "Ttmet." A lady, whose name has not transpired, has pre- sented the Metropolitan Free Drinking Fountains Asso- ciation with 1,000 £ An Indian Prince, the Maharj-j t+i of Vizianagram, has also promised a donation of 1,r00i., provided a decent fountain with a decent supply of water can be put up in one of the metropolitan parks. It is said that a chemist has extracted from coal a substance chemically undistinguishable fr m sugar He has named it," phenoze" We presume at his ma»sion you are asked by the honourable lady-chemist, "Will you take cream and coal in your tea? Fancy theface of some unlearned un- dergraduate at the usual feeling getting uppermost in his mind that he is being quizzed- Worse still, any gentleman with a port-wine nose being asked by the lady, Phenoze, Mr. Portwine?" An advertisement from the treasurer of the Shoe- black Brigade acknowledges the gift of two scarlet coats and two pairs of cords from a gentleman who has given up hunting.' The similarity of the costumes never struck us befQre.Court Journal. The Daily Telegraph has been writing about the Great Fire of London." and suggests that another such grand destruction would be very wrlcome just now. What a place for a thorough-going, healthy, unsparing bonfire is what any sensible man must exclaim as he traverses the City of London, and visits those parishes which have clus- tered in their squalor about its wonderful wealth-and activity. The Earl of Craven, wno lately died at Scarborough, was one of the knights at the Eglinton Tournament, and appeared there in a suit of armour which his ancestor wore at the battle of Agincourt. Robert Henderson, ma*e of the schooner Madley Anne of Sunderland, from Hambugh to Devonport, rtports that, on the 25th inst, wh"n twenty-two miles ESE from Texel, the master, John M'Kay, jumped overboard and was drowned. A boat picked up the body, and they buried it at sea. To the honour of Admiral Tegethoff, the Austrian victor, who was obliged, heing attacked hy two TtRlian iron- clads at a time, to sink the crew of the Re d'l talia. he pro- poses that a steamer bearing a white flag should be per- mitted to move about freely during any naval action in order to pick up the victims who would otherwise perish from a similar cause. The following paragraphs, intended to have been printed separately, were by some blunder so arraJlged that they read cons -cutively in a Paris journal:—"Dr "'ias been appointed head physician to the Hospital de la Cnarite. —Orders have been issued by the authorities for the imme- diate extension of the cemetery of Mount Parnasse; the works are being executed with the utmost dispatch." "The poor Elector of Hesse, whose ideas of his own greatness were in an inverse ratio to the extent of .his domin- ions, appears to have yielded to the advice of a favourite old Minister cunningly sent to him by Count Bismarck. The Elector, now that the sacrifice is made, and that his sovereignty has passed into the hands of Prussia, will be set at liberty it is his intention to take up his abode in Swit- zerland, amongst whose glaciers Prince Napoleon wearied of politics, is wandering in search of distinction." Pads corres- pondence of the Gloke. "A strange rumour reaches this country from Rome. Iu TE° that a conspiracy to poison the Emperor of the French at Vichy was discovered before his MaJ sty left that place The pohon was to have been administered in So potion which the Emperor was accustomed to orink after his batb. It is asserted that a man, named Valentine, was to have carried this design into effect but when it was dis- covered, through a warnirg leter s^nt by one of the con. spirators iu Rome to thp Emperor, VI11entine put an end to his ex stence."—Court Journal. In London, the cholera relief fund amounted, last week, to over 16 or01. Of this fund the local committees have expended 5,000 £ in actual relief, and have set aside 5,0001. for the maintenance of children made orphans by the visitation. The Italian Attorney-General has commenced a prosecution against the Unita Italiana, for publishing Maz- zini's letter declaring the amnesty. The Gazette contains a new order in Council prohi- biting from the 3rd September, 1866, the removal of cattle or other animals from any port or place in England or Wales to any port or place in Scotland. A Toledo gentleman had a servant girl in his employ who dreamed that No. 6,391 was eoing to draw a prize in O'Brien's Chicago gift enterprise. Sie a»ked him to write a letter in which she would enclose the money for that ticket. He did so. When the lottery was drawn he discovered by the papers that 6,391 had drawn 10,000dols. in greenbacks. Saying nothing of this, he proposed marriage to the girl, was accepted, and immsdiately married. Then he informed her, °i ?e ,luck 6,391; but was surprised at being told that she had afterwards concluded not to buy any tickst In the lottery. The Berlin Volkszeitung states that, at the lowest calculation, the victims of the late short and bloody war are reckoned at no less than 20,000 to 24,000 killed on the sp«t, or since died from their wounds, to which may probably be added an equal number of both parties who have died from illness-chiefly the cholera. A writer to The Times complains of the great waste of money on the forts and breakwaters of A1 ierney The only purpose hitherto served In the construction of the north breakwater, at a cost of a million sterling, has been to seriously diminish the natural harbour of St. Ann's, and to increase the dangers of the coast. A missionary, just returned from endeavourinsr to convert some cannibal brethren in the wilds of New Zealand, says he remonstrated with an intelligent native upon the impropriety of the act Every word and argument he pre- ferred seemed to tell with due effect, and he had clearly roaie a convert, and, clinching his argument, he said, Above all things it is nasty." "011, no, no nasty, master, no nasty; taste a bit—it very nice. I should like some now The missionary thought it was time not to proceed with the argument. A French illustrated journal gives a sketch of the Emperor Napoleon III. as he appeared at Chalons this year. The Emperor did not go there. A French paper has been established which givef premiums to its readers, but only such as need it—-namely, baby-linen, &c., for the newly-born. It is a joke, of course, but the joke has brought a good many subscribers for the joke of the thing on their side. The work of retrenchment has begun in Austria. As might be expected, her ftoances are in no very satisfactory state. A large portion of the Imperial retinue has been dif missed, considerable reductions are to be made in the sala- ries of the chief Court functionaries, and the amount fixed the Court next year has been ordered by the Emperor to be reduced from 7,i00,000fl. to 5,000,00011. A banquet in honour of the American Embassy ha' been given at St. Petersburg bv the Russian Emperor, at which his Majesty drank "to the prosperity and consolida- 1 tion of the United States." f The Unitarian Herald publishes statistics of the Sun- day schools of that denomination, from which it appear* that the Unitarians have 171 such schools in England and Wales, and 21,030 scholars on the books. >| M. Bertall, the well-known Parisian artist, was other day made tbe happy father of three girls at one birth- The Gazette des Etrangers announces that mother and cWl. drenare doing well; that the latter weigh nine kilogrammes altogether, each being about the same size; that they are so alike that it would be impossible to dittinguisb them but for a silver plate on the arm of each, inscribed with her name; and that the women of the flower market have sent a depn* tation to present three bouquets to the infants. The Berlin correspondent of Tne Times devoted his letter the other morning to a review of Auerbach's neW novel, which, he says, is being devoured by the reading 1'jand has ha<1 a more rapid success than any work ot its kind ever published in that country. But the novel baS been published more than a year, and was reviewed sow0 time since in two English journals, as well as in the North British Review. If this is what they call a rapid success ill Germany, of course there is an end of ic; and when the cor- respondent adds that the book contrasts life at a petty ctfurt with existence in a homely peasant's cottage, he forget' iHfh nn6|?f ^erb.ac!ls tf10rals is the superiority of the court tillage intolerable meanness of the Arcadia11 Beecher crawled through a thirl y M nhmiilt„ piPe of his new church organ the other day, on f J 'lorle of his A°ck. He came out puffing and thi a ^ust and sweat, and exclaimed, as he touched tne noor, 'I want no man to tell me anything about thi' or#an. [ know all about. I have beon through York Musical Pioneer. A man named Sullivan was murdered in Rosemary/ lane, London, on Saturday night. He had beeo quarrelling a man named Timothy Murphy, who was heard vowing would kill him. Both men lived in the same house, and lat6 in the evening of Saturday met in the passage of the hottf8- There was a struggle, in the course of which Sullivan ,va stabbed to the heart, and died almost immediately. JdnT" phy is in custody. The gossips on the Continent have got up a storf now of a close alliance pending between France, Italy, and Austria, the object of which is assumed to be the curbing of Prussia. There are grave reasons for doubting whethet any such alliance ia even meditated. Italy and Austria not yet come to love one another very warmly, and 'J not much probability that Italy would readily turn agains* Prussia^, which has helped her to all she has got in the war. The rumours are kept up doubtless for alarmist put" poses. -tn c,°nsequence of the high prices paid in London* there is a positive milk and butter famine in the grazing di«t icts within fifty or sixty miles from the metro* polls. The farmers find that they can make more money sending their milk to London than by converting it inJ butter, to be sold to mi idle-men at 13d. or 14(1. a pound < and that they can turn their grass to better account by sheep farming than by dairiy farming. The poor suffer severe1? from this state of things. Tile difficulty—always great-^?J inducing the farmers to sell them even skim miik for theI children is new greater than eVtr. An extraordinary attempt to murder an agoed Wjf was made Ilear Birmingham on Saturday morning. woman named Jones went to the house of Mr Dickinson Sturge, at Eii^baston, and asked to see Stm-ge She wa?. shown into a room, and while there Clark, an old l*dy wto was staying with the fainiiy, en*6' the room. Jones, after a few words had been elschai'gf^ rushed upon Mrs. Clark and stabbed h**r in the throat > a carving-knife. The shrinks of t e wounded woman broOgo .1: help, and the would he murderess was got aw»y. St»e a| evidently insane. Mrs Claris is in a precarious conditio11 M ■A. suit of a singular so;t has just been heard bfef°^ II the Civil tribunal of the Seine. M. Belvnl, bass singer at > m Grand Ooera, applied to be released from accept ng the Pg of thf Grand Inquisitor, which M.. Perrin, the dir ctor, '1 ,> attributed to iiini In M. Verdi's new opera of "D >n C*r*~ on the ground that it is only a secondary one. The dant's reply is that although the part is short, it is illlPOJt 0(16 and in every respect, save length, a first-class off, and ° & which could not be confided to a second-rate artist. Court, before giving judgment, charged M. Ambroise Th'< son, of the Institute, to examine as expert, the soore ot J. I opera, to determine whether the part of the Grand j sitor constituted that of a first ba& or not.