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IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.
IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. 0F l0RDS' May 8. ^0 Agricultural Holdings vocotiand) BUI wan considered in Committee, after a declara- tion from Lord Huntly that the general feeling in Scotland M p =». ths,BiU w°uld be a dead letter, to which the Duke w™ i"i and Gor<1on replied that in his opinion the Bill vl Jit vpr,°J6 a very useful one> inasmuch as in the case of Yearly holdings it would entitle the tenants to obtain com- pensation for unexhausted improvements. The several viauses were then gone through, and the House resumed. On the Report of the Irish Peerage Bill, Lord Inchiquin proposed an amendment increasing the number of repreten- tative peers from twenty-eight to thirty, and providing that no new election should take place until there were three acancies, when peers might exercise three votes, with liberty *o S've them all to one candidate or to distribute them. The Pjotion was opposed by Lords Courtown and Dunsany, and sup- posed by the Duke of Argyll, Lord O'Hagan, and Lord Gran- ri • 'v Lord Chancellor objected that, if it were the mode of electing representative peers 1» H £ he ProPosal should apply to Scotland as well as Ire- as t^e constituency was exceedingly small there tias 'he danger of sacrificing fitness and peculiar qualiflca- thrr the minority principle were adopted. Eventually Qe House divided and rejected the amendment by 66 to 64 "Iter which their lordships adjourned. In the HOUSE OF COMMONS, the Committee on the Mer- "j^^ShippiDg Bill resumed the consideration of the New Mr. Plimsoll moved a Clause whieh proposed to enact that When a British reeistered ship has become unclassed it shall be deemed unseaworthy, and shall be surveyed by the Board A'ade before being allowed to go to sea again. The argu- ments urged in its favour by Mr. Plimsoll, Mr. Forster and others were in the main a repetition of the arguments on the wwapulsory survey of ships disposed of some time ago. On the other hand, Sir C. Adderley, Mr. Norwood, Mr. A. eel, Mr. Corry, Mr. Henley, and others pointed out that ^classification did not imply unseaworthiness; that the .&r<* Trade could not follow the varying fortunes of a r?lP w>th so much minuteness and that the Clause would j £ »ce too much power in the hands of the Registering Slie On a division the Clause was negatived by 235 to 116. A Clause moved by Mr. E. Smith, providing that a pas- lenger certificate by the Board of Trade should render a «>? survey under the Passenger Acts unnecessary, was ccepted by the Government; antd Sir C. Adderley promised to consider a Clause requiring passenger and emigrant ships ^ry lifebuoys, rescue Ughts, and distress signal lights. A proposal by Mr. G-orst to introduce new Clauses into the dealing with Desertion and other offences, modifying the penalties, &c gave rise to a long conversation. Sir C. C-aeney pointed out that the question of discipline had advisedly omitted from the BUI. Mr Rathbone and th«?r »hipowners urged the necessity of inquiring into "We matters, and suggested a Committee. In the end Mr. 0l *« Promised that the Government would deal with the question of discipline in the Merchant Service next Session, hereupon Mr. Gorot withdrew hia Clause .Two more Clauses were moved by Mr. Plimsoll, one relat- wsi 2 e P°wer? duties of Consuls at foreign ports, Tr»H Wa* ne8atived, and another requiring the Board of shi t° survey the provisions and medicines of any British ship sailing outwards. Sir C. Adderley objected, on the part Of the Board of Trade, to having a duty thrown on the Depart- ment which it could not adequately perform. In the dis- tm!?* on the Clause» A. Egerton took the oppor- tai! y*of anawerinK Mr. Plimsoil's charges as to the "naound stores. The instructions of the Ad- hiir«'ty. he said, forbidding the sale of any stores unfit for w:™an i»»d were precise, and he was informed that they ali»arried out at least in the Home Dockyards. Eventu- ^fHie Clause was negatived by 114 to 67, and shortly after Wiikt the Committee, which has been sitting for ten »nt« since March 23, concluded, jjn moving that the Bill be reprinted, Sir C. Adderley twrT..0C0al,,on10 remark that, with the exception of the Bill Clauies as to deck loads and foreign ships, the been Pasaed through Committee unaltered with the •wjption of a verbal amendment or two. SavL^i"0*Jn0'l0n for goinS into Committee of Supply on the of iV ,t ates' M1"- Brassey directed attention to the cost «hlJ» and exPr€sa'ng approval of the work on these current financial year, urged that the present T>0ij a nttmg opportunity for reviewing our shipbuilding pnr the resources of the mercantile marine for naval ths .p16 hon. member submitted a resolution to commfe? that 8Uch in1iiry should be held by Royal i2n- The motlon waa seconded by Mr. Hanbury- Admi; Go,°hen called upon the First Lord of the definiTt° declare plainly whether he had or had not a and po'icy respecting the construction of ironclad ships, at)nrV^erv«i that, if he had none, then it would be well to 8atrui*j ? Uo>'aI commission, and have an inquiry. Mr. Partiorn that Mr. Goschen or Mr. Childers had any r P°'icy> or had arrived at their conclusions by any "ceas superior to that followed by Mr. Hunt. ins de?ed any man to lay down a definite shipbuild- e future, and denied that there had been any tothan. *P« y pur*ued any previous Administration 'or discoveries were being made daily which fiis shi^r»5r modlfy the construction of our ironclad ships, of th« J. J1 din £ P°licy was to keep pace with the inventions hi* *?, keeP ahead of all other Powers. During W wl w,$ho, nnmber of effective Ironclads CncWi, fr?m, 14 t0 20- and 'our new cJa8g for the nrotlction of Wn' two of the Shannon '*fle tot thef 0^>nclads he believed to be the best in the presenTsfcite down*^ knowledge. No new Ironclad was to be laid this year, because our chief deficiency was in If Tou'ed 'hips for the protection of commerce. tjthere were a war to-morrow, he had not a Bingle » rmoured ship ready for commission not already *it>i f3111"8'011" These new ships would be armed cUd« ?ed40e8' and would he useful auxiliaries to the Iron- c°uld nnf the m°tlon, Mr. Hunt said that, though he he wnni^ assent to the appointment of a Royal Commission, lS7i „ ap.RolBt a Committee, such as that appointed in tion'in °ns'der whether it was desirable to make any varia- Mr n Pe stliP3 la'd down in the last few years. haviD'ff made some observations, and Mr. Braisey ^ittee ni a i1™ his moti°n, the House went into Com- andit "V^PP'y, and a vote of £ 210,230 for the Coastguard ya* aval Reserve was agreed tx i°ttrnert°^er business was disposed of, and the House ad- u at a quarter past one o'clock.
JOTTINGS ABOUT NEW GUINEA.
JOTTINGS ABOUT NEW GUINEA. At th ?? Mond^d'nar^ meeting of the Royal Geographical Society, liversitv ?,Veninfr> which was held in the hall of the London f°D, K Cn ^^ington-house, Piccadilly, Sir Henry Rawlin- 1'ig par>BT.«'' he President, occupied the chair. The follow- i^'esbv i?ere read The Country and Natives of Port > &tives ar,iv!.w JGuinea'" by Mr- O C. Stone, and "The l>'A°bertl° 01 •River' New Guinea," by Mr. i^uUe,n8, Proceeded to read Mr. Stone's paper, ^turn.! e8Cn^,4 0ft Moresby as a locality of great c11ti» ,caPabilities, being suited for coffee and cotton *r°dn af-lori* Tropical fruit grew wild, and by the in- action of terrace irrigation rice might be succesa- 8rowi9* "The people were light-Bkinned, docile, J> lndustrious; in short, very good specimens of the the n race' with' however> the qualification that w«re slightly addicted to cannibalism. The a6(j took a strong lead in any public disturbance, than i?'6 mu more capable of making a hard bargain ot* 6 men' The climate was not very favourable. »v, an^e custom existed in cases of death of going an<I ™^Brnmg by painting the faces with plumbago, °&eg f u08 wearing aimlets composed of the v^Usem J ^eParted. Dancing was a favourite 11 cnvT?11.' it was carried on with great decorum. ^Rhf u ,on» Mr- Stone thought that the locality 6 colonized by Europeans. ?? to ^erti'a paper gave somewhat similar details *Uyer 06 country in the neighbourhood of the Fly j^ullens next read a few noteB of his own, in c'irgj0ri e. described the details of his venturesome ex- *SceHt n/tu'parts of central New Guinea, his 'he Ellengowan Mountain, and the magnifi- h*?VV'^a* was obtained from the top, which was 6 Uei hu°Ve Bea level. Gum trees abounded in ^onrhood, and the men seemed well-formed °ld ^^Higent; the chief of one of the villages was an D> who looked very kingly in his appearance, °Wed a certain amount of civilised courtesy. At in fl88 kangaroos were very numerous, and ran ♦iP.t^arRriV°k8 ,a^ approach. In other places there t eiist a dense vegetation, and more inland l1^adi.*68'* ^ar8e trees were visible. The Bird of rVl Waa ^reflriently met with it possessed a most Stj. Tr ^^age, and the woods re-echoed with its song. Mtjj Kawlinson expressed the great pleasure J^a^ « j0^ had listened to the two papers just JiNo tli We.n' on observe that some yearB ago, k ta»,a ?ubject of New Guinea was first brought on S{ some doubt as to any great interest by the Geographical Society in the sub- if he must confess that at that time he looked k. 74 it r'fcht fllI- a piace de resistance which the Society t°' ^isci ac^ upon when in need of some matter J*o ye,!18819D' fro™ his experience of the last tLrs' he felt reassured. From the map before 1 ellows would see that they had merely 0« ed the outskirts, as might be done with the Hiriof11 oranKe- It was generally agreed that k^t-on gradually pierce into the interior. A l • Vof ° 'nture was needed, and he hoped that would be the coming explorer, and would >,rQ8.elf iito the large and comparatively un- Jfjr n ne.810n8 of New Guinea—in fact, be the Society's h, ch ^uture Cameron. It was an exploration j °u'd be attended with many difficulties and Jh tlJ^Ils:er. and he would advise him not to rush into WiCceS8 • central regions with a vague idea of J*- A'aR failure would be worse than no attempt at P'Ou0 *he colonization of New Guinea, this was a Would be better discussed by the Colonial rather than by this Society, which was W?Uld a ^eoSraphical Society. The Royal Medal e 'preaenteti to Lieutenant Cameron, and the r Medal to Mr. John Forest, in consideration Weg £ ornQation which he has obtained with regard Australia and his journey up the Murchi- \'er.
^ BOARD OF TRADE RETURNS.…
BOARD OF TRADE RETURNS. H been^ Trade returns for the month of April tri Us 188ned, and show that the total value of the £ 15,430,177, against £ 20,221,830 for the Hi month of 1875, being a decrease of lh r'o°r Per cent. The total imports were tl> IQ &050.490, against £ 30,327,214 for the same V e*f>ort °* showing an increase of 15^ per cent. In tjfJiWujf.8' cotton yarn has decreased 14% per cent. J y and 19J per cent, in value cotton piece Per e<5reaaed 18J per cent, in quantity and in vaiue' linen yarn decreased 48 tiA pip ln quantity and 42 per cent, in value and goods decreased 29 per cent, in quan- VI inov 37^ Per cent- in value woollen uf811 Per cent' in quantity, but V^aediiu Per cent- value woollen cloths ti^e Vv,nil) Per cent, in quantity and 20^ per cent, in Six '"ted stuffs decreased 25] per cent, in quan- Cfi ^er. cent. in value iron and steel decreased °oal funit" quantity and 31 per cent, in value; aa^tv > i mariufactured increased 20^ per cent. „ ♦ but deoreased 4 per cent, in value. In the corr Q Waa Valued at £ 1'813>243 a8ainst £ 1'892'788 e of 4esP°nding month of last year, being a de- &LC- »n n^ceut. Raw cotton increased 71| per rj*,B Ila a t,ity and 58 per cent. in value; flax the ^afge iuthe quantity, but increased 'l\ per iw^tyand iJ1! raw silk increased 17 per cent, in fcet* °ent i Per cent, in value and wool increased vki,? qy^tity and 21 f per cent, in value, ^t entertea decreased 1C| per cent,, and the 6e ^crfin»Jj home consumption 13 per cent. 12 per cent, in the total value.
[No title]
advertisement appeared recently in a W 0t a Brst-p^I". 4 ,111 uat have been written by a philo- i^*th^GVercoat If the party who took a fancy all riahf influenced by the inclemency of the W *0 Wono*. If by commercial considerations, I Nv hear ,or lta return." l'J,ly a oalUjo^.y^u^ton lady who appeared in com- w'e&rt°ul(l shed other evening. She supposed every- t°jer goodness and economy but y°Ur huBband^e/dol^gl"G°°d graclous
LAMPS: WHY AND WHEN THEY EXPLODE.
LAMPS: WHY AND WHEN THEY EXPLODE. We extract from the Scientific American the following useful hints on the dangers of petroleum lamps All explosions of petroleum lamps are caused by the vapour or gas that collects in the space above the oil. When full of oil, of course a lamp contains no gas, but immediately on lighting the lamp consumption of oil begins, soon leaving a space for gas, which com- mences to form as the lamp warms up, and after burn- iug a short tine, sufficient gas will aecumulate to form an explosion. The gas in a lamp will expbde only when ignited. In this respect it is like gunpowder. Cheap or inferior oil is always most dangerous. # The flame is communicated to the gas in the follow. ing manner: The wick tube in all lamp burners is made larger than the wick which is to pass through it. It would not do to have the wick work tightly in the burner on the contrary, it is essential that it move up and down with perfect ease. In this way it is un- avoidable that space in the tube is left along the sides of the wick sufficient for the flame from the burner to pass down into the lamp and explode the gas. Many things may occur to cause the flame to pass down the wick and explode the lamp :-1. A lamp may be standing on a table or mantel, and a slight puff of air from the open window, or the sudden opening of a door, cause an explosion. 2. A lamp may be taken up quickly from a table or mantel, and instantly exploded. 3. A lamp is taken into an entry where there is a draught, or out of doors, and an explosion ensues. 4. A lighted lamp is taken up a flight of stairs, or is raised quickly to place it on the mantel, resulting in an explosion. In all these cases the mischief is done by the air movement-either by suddenly checking the draught, or forcing air down the chimney against the flame. 5. Blowing down the chimney to extinguish the light is a frequent cause of explosion. 6. Lamp explosions have been caused by using a chimney broken off at the top, or one that has a piece broken out, whereby the draught is variable and the flame unsteady. 7. Sometimes a thoughtless person puts a small-sized wick in a large burner, thus leaving considerable space along the edges of the wick. 8. An old burner, with its air-draughts clogged up, which rightfully should be thrown away, is sometimes con- tinued in use, and the final result is an explosion.
CONGREGATIONAL TOTAL ABSTINENCE…
CONGREGATIONAL TOTAL ABSTI- NENCE ASSOCIATION. The second annual meeting of the above association was held in London on Monday evening in the City Temple, Holborn Viaduct, Mr. Michael Young in the chair. The report, which was read by the Rev. Lionel Bevan, the honorary secretary, stated that the council confidently expressed a hope that the influence exerted by the society had already led to the serious consideration on the part of the churches of the subject of total abstinence from intoxicating drink. Local societies had been formed, which, in some cases, had been affiliated to the chief association. Arrange- ments had also been made for holding conferences in various parts of the metropolis, and with a view to the further development of the work an effort had been made to obtain a minister in each county to act as corresponding member. The financial statement showed a good balance in hand. The chairman said that the work of the association afforded good grounds for encouragement and hope. The war being waged on all sides against the national vice of intemperance was a just and necessary one; and if the Congregational Church had not been the first in the field it would, he trusted, be second to none in the fight. At one time temperance reform ap- peared to be an almost hopeless struggle, but its claims were now more generally recognised, not only by men of the world, but by the Christian Church. Mr. Thomas Carlyle in one of his cynical moods had broadly stated that the population of the United Kingdom consisted of so many millions, "mostly fools." In such a category total abstainers were most assuredly placed by gentle and simple alike when the signing of the pledge betrayed a weakness of mind, or pronounced that foolishness was found in their hearts. But they had outlived many of the caricatures then drawn of them, and though they wera still frequently charged with being men of one idea," the conviction was nevertheless rapidly gaining ground that the idea was the right one. If any one wished to study the physiology of the subject in its newest phase, he could not fiad a better text-book than the Cantor lectures recently delivered by Dr. Richardson before the Society of Arts. If science could bear such a testi- mony, what should be the place of religion in the matter ? Mr. Bright had challenged the Churches to prepare the way for effectual action. If they," said he, will move and fpsak, a great reform might be effected, but without a revival amongst them I fear not much can be done." In that, as in many other movements, the Society of Friends had led the ?ray^ Church of England had followed next, lie held in his hand a copy of a memorial signed by upwards of 7,000 clergymen of the Church of England which was to be presented on Thursday to the Arch- bishops and Bishops, appeal ng to them to support measures for restricting the trade in intoxicating liquors. His own views on the subject would leadhim to extirpate the whole system, root and branch. Nu- merous other addresses were delivered, after which the proceedings were closed in the usual manner.
A LECTURE ON CRUSTACEA.
A LECTURE ON CRUSTACEA. Mr. Henry Woodward, F.R.S., of the British Museum, in lecturing at the Royal Institution on Saturday afternoon on crustacea, pointed out an in- teresting discovery bearing upon the Darwinian theory of evolution, the result of his studies on the group to which Pterygotus, Eurypterus, and the king crabs be- long. He has arrived at the conclusion that from this group of old water-breathing crustacea the air-breath- ing scorpions have sprung. The change finds an analogue in the metamorphoses which certain in. sects, crustacea, and batrachia undergo in develop- ment-e U, the larva and pupa of the dragon-fly are both active water-breathing aquatic animals, the adult is an air-breathing flying insect; with some of the land crabs the young pass their larval state in the sea, while the adults are terrestrial, and are easily drowned by continued immersion; and it is commonly known that the frog and toad, as well as other batrachians, breathe by gill in their larval or "tadpole" state, and by lungs when adult. We must look to the larval stages of existing crustacea to find the nearest representatives of extinct forms. As an illustration, Mr. Woodward mentioned that the king crabs of the coal period nearly resemble the larva of the existing king crab as it leaves the egg. We thus see, he argued, that the stages of development of the individuals of to day are a reflection of the life his- tory of the class in past geological time. The earliest embryolic stages are, moreover, those which naturally foreshadow the earliest and simplest adult forms. In other words, all the immense variety of forms in the crustacean group is but the expression of the sum of the stages passed through by the highest individual in arriving at perfection. Viewed as a whole, the crus- tacea probably present to us the best zoological illustra- tion of a class constructed on a common type retaining its general characteristics, but capable of endless modi- fications of its parts, so as to suit the extreme require- ments of every separate species, and it is doubtless, to this plasticity of structure, enabling the species to occupy such diverse positions, and to subsist on such varied aliment, that the crustacea owe their preserva- tion through the lapse of geological ages represented by the long series of deposits from the Cambrian to the present day.
PEEL'S FIRST LESSONS IN ORATORY.
PEEL'S FIRST LESSONS IN ORATORY. There were always great hopes of Peel among us all, masters and scholars," writes Byron, who was his schoolfellow, and he has not disappointed them." But not many knew, when the brilliant orator first startled the public, how long and how thoroughly he had been trained. His was no chance success. The foundations had been laid deep and firm. While Peel was yet a child of tender years, not more than two or three, as we learn from the Memoirs of the Dean of York-his father, having been knighted, and finding himself rising daily in wealth and con- sequence, and Relieving that money, in those days, could always command for a respectable man a seat in Parliament, determined to bring up his son expressly for the House of Commons. To this end the father would set his child on the table, and say, Now Robin, make a speech, and I will give you this cherry "-or whatever the prize might be. What few words the little fellow could produce were applauded, and applause, stimulating exertion, produced such effect that before Robin was ten years old he could readily address a pro- miscuous company with a considerable degree of elo- quence. As he grew up his father took him every Sunday into his private room, and made him repeat, as well as he could, the sermon which had been preached on that day. Little progress was made at first, and little was expected; but by steady perseverance the habit of attention and retention grew powerful, and at length the sermon was repeated almost verbatim. When, at a distant day from that, the statesman, remembering accurately the speech of an opponent, answered, with- out notes, hia arguments in correct succession, it was little known how the power of so doing had been originally acquired at Drayton Church.
; ANTIQUARIES AT THE TOWER…
ANTIQUARIES AT THE TOWER OF LONDON. The Committee of the London and Middlesex Archseilogical Society issued invitations to members and their friends for a private inspection of the curiosi- ties and antiquities of the Tower of London on Friday afternoon in last week. Accordingly, at about half-past three o'clock some 250 or 300 ladies and gentlemen had assembled at the meeting-place, Tower Wharf, in response. The Right Hon. Lord Talbot de Malahide, president of the society, was announced to lead the party, and papers were to be read or descriptions given of the various points of interest by learned members of the society. Thus the Rev. Thomas Hugo, M.A., F.S.A., was announced to describe the White Tower;" Mr. Alfred White, F.S.A., "St. John's Chapel;" Mr. Charles Bayley, F.S.A., the Beauchamp Tower;" Mr. George Lambert, F.S.A,, the "Traitor's Gate," the "Bloody Tower," and the Undercroft of the Wakefield Tower;" Professor Ten- nant, F.G.S the Jewels and St. Peter's Church by Mr. G. H. Birch. At the outset an apology was made for Lord Talbot de Malahide. who was unable to be present. The Rev. Thomas Hugo thereupon assumed the direction of affairs and strove energetically to get so large a party into working" order. With ladies and gentlemen who bad come to see and enjoy, archaeo- logical interest was, however, at a discount, and from the first, when it was announced that the company would be divided into parties, which would be led by gentlemen with wands, mounted with tickets, number- ing the party, difficulty was experienced. The original 250 or 300 had increased by the time a move was made into about 450, and it was hinted that the out- side public had got mixed up with the "members and friends," and this was exceedingly likely, as the tickets were not asked for nor required to be produced. The Rev. Mr. Hugo did his best to maintain order, and the first party reached Traitor's Gate and the Bloody Tower satisfactorily. But then the second party trod upon their heels, and presently some 200 ladies and gentlemen were making, as one party, for the White i lower. Mere, by some mischance, through taking a wrong turning in one of the narrow passages of the old fortress, the company of 200 found themselves in one of the store rooms, dodging their way in and out among boxes of ammunition and piles of bayonets and rifles. After that the leadersbi) WM abandoned, and for about an hour ladies sat in gronp3 on the old guns in the parade yard watching the drilling of recruits or the boys playing footfall. Some went off under the care of a beefeater," and saw what was to be seen as one of the public," but later on, when time had thinned the company a great deal, parties were made up, and headed by some of the gentlemen who had undertaken to lead at first, paid hurried visits to some of the pointa of interest.
THE "TEMERAIRE."
THE "TEMERAIRE." (From the Pall Mall Gazette.) The launch of the new ironclad the Temeraire raises a question of great interest at the present moment in regard to naval construction. This question is whether it is possible, in view of the rapidly increasing power of artillery, to dispense to any large extent with armour protection. From our point of view it may be said that the Temtraire not only raises this question but answers it; for in her construction her gun-power has been increased, and this increase has been obtained by a sacrifice of armour. Unfortunately, although a con- siderable number of ships have been built on the bar- bette" system in France, and are now afloat in the French navy, we have no experience what their value would be in actual war. The advantage of the bar- bette system lies in the opportunity it gives for the use of heavy guns, and its meaning is that it carries these guns exposed. Such a system as this is unquestionably at variance with the principles which have guided our constructors in building ironclads for the British navy. Whether our guns are carried on a broadside or in a turret, the constructive principle has bsen equally maintained of covering them up in one way er another, and in giving them the greatest possible amount of pro- tection. Therefore the decision in the construction of the Temeraire to carry two guns on her upper deck, ex- posed so far as the breech and muzzle are concerned, but protected by a barbette tower, or fixed turret, in the lower parts, may be regarded as a decision on the part of the Admiralty to abandon armour- plating where they think it can be safely dia- pensed with. Although the disadvantages of such a system are obvious-as for instance, the dropping of shells inside this tower, and the consequent disable- ment of the gun or the gunners-it has advantages which are important. There is greater freedom for using the gun and for observation. Then, as regards the men themselves, French officers maintain that they will fight better when they can see what they are about than in a close structure like a turret. The French constructors have objected to the use of turrets because of their confinement and because they deny their im- penetrability. Their position is that guns must always be superior to armour, and that the destruction of a turret would be fatal to any ship; and acting on these views they have adopted, to a very large extent indeed, the barbette system of battery. # Important, however, as is this question of compara- tive safety, which nothing but a naval action can decide, there is the more important question, from a constructive point of view, of the necessity of arming our sea-going, ocean ironclads with the heaviest possi- ble guns, and building them of the smallest possible size consistently with speed. For service at Bea speed and artillery are of the first importance; and so long as it was possible to protect guns efficiently with armour, it was perfectly correct to employ armour freely, as it was employed in the Sultan, Hercules, Audacious,' or Monarch. But, since these vessels were built, the progress in the construction of ordnance has com- pletely outstripped the views which those ships repre- sent. The guns they carry are completely eclipsed by the artillery which is now being made; and the armour which effectively protected their batteries is now useless. The object, therefore, which constructed had in view in building those ships of covering the whole vessel as far as was possible with thick armour has now to be abandoned, and make way for the contrary object of ascertaining how armour can be most economically used with effect. In the In- flexible a practical example of this apparently retro- grade effort was given by confining the thickest armour to the centre of the ship, and leaving the ends un- armoured, except for the horizontal deck armour, which forms such an important feature in her con- struction. And, as iron plating gets thicker, it will have to be applied still more sparingly, until patches of iron only will 'constitute the armour protection of a man-of-war. In the Tlmlraire, then, while the hull is completely covered with armour, and the lower or main deck battery and engines are effec- tively protected, the two guns which are mounted en barbette on the upper deck, in the same way as in vessels built on the turret principle, are deprived of the protection which the ordinary revolving turret gives but the ship is at the same time relieved of a serious burden. Considering the enortnaus importance, both in regard to cost and handincse, of reducing the s'ze and increasing the artillery power of ironclads, the experiment exemplified in the construction of the Temeraire is valuable; and in herself she is an in- teresting if not an important addition to the ironclad fleet of the British navy.
KING VICTOR EMMANUEL "AT HOME."
KING VICTOR EMMANUEL "AT HOME." The Correspondent of the Daily News (writing from Rome) thus describes Victor Emmanuel ia one of his sportiug exhibitions In the wild Aosta valley, where the affluents of the Dora Baltea thread the ravine of Savaranche, or wind round the base of the Pic di Cogne, the Re Galantuomo holds his hunting court. It is an evening in July, and his Majesty commences a moonlight flitting from Ivrea._ Attended by a general of division, the head of his private cabinet, the minister |of his household, his body physician, and two officers in ordinary, he drives swiftly up the valley of the Dora till he reaches Ford Bard, famed for the intrepid stand made in 1800 by its garrison of four hundred Austrians against Napoleon's army. There the cortbge change horses, and, resuming its nocturnal flight, again pulls up at Chatillan, where another relay of beasts of burden awa'ts it. With accelerated speed it pushes on to the Castle of Sarro, and the sun, now high in the heavens, discloses its quality and composi- tion to the wayside groups of peasantry, who waken the mountain echoes with joyous "Evvivas" for the return among them of their King. There the Royal party sits down to breakfast, for thither-head. quarters as it is of his Majesty's hunting operationx- many a convoy of waggons, horses, and sumpter- mules, have already preceded it laden with all the requisites of the chase. Valsavaranche and Cogne are the King's favourite sporting grounds. At the latter, on the ruins of the ancient castle built by permission of Tommaso I.. and on the place were used to stand the barracks of the Royal Carabineers and the meteorological observatory of Carrel, has lately been erected the Casina, or hunting box, for his Majesty and suite, with livery stables for thirty-two horses confronting it. From Valsavaranche, again, the scene of sport is reached in two hours' ascent by a carriage-drive which zig-zags northwards and is overshadowed all the way by a noble pine-forest. Its castle is an imposing structure of two blocks, one serving for house accommodation and the other (behind it) for livery stables. A wall sur- rounds the entire edifice, and the courtyard within the precincts is enlivened by a handsome fountain. Besides these two sporting grounds others are im- provised acccording to circumstances, and, at Lauson especially, tents are pitched and run up on the heights which command the ice-fields. In the midst of the perennial snow and under these scanty shielings the King and his retinue often camp out, defying the glacier cold with the aid of the good cheer within. The great kitchen is at once in full swing, and the mountain appetites of the party give ceaseless employment to the white-aproned myrmidons of the head cook, that privileged person who precedes the King. Nor are these movable feasts" unaccompanied by graver functions. Every Sunday mass is solem- nised by the Royal Chaplain. An altar is expedi- tiously reared on the still Sabbath morning, and the King and his entire suite assist reverentially at the performance. The cares that link with empire are also attended to. From Sarro, telegraphic wires are laid to whatever hunting ground his Majesty may select; and two hours are daily devoted to corres- pondence with the Ministry, and the despatch of urgent affairs. The telegraphic operations concluded, his Majesty is waited on by the head of his private cabinet, who presents to him petitions) and decrees for signature^ So that business goes hand in hand with pleasure in these remote Piedmontese glens and glaciers-the gamekeeper being not more occupied than the telegraphist, and neither of them than the mounted express who gallops with and for letters to Sarro, where another relieves him for Aosta. At Cogne and at Valsavaranche there is a station of Carabineers and gamekeepers; and when the King's arrival is expected all becomes animation and activity. The place his Majesty has fixed upon for the first battue has been intimated to the head gamekeeper, and he has already sent on the levellers, and road- makers to repair the familiar approaches, or to con- struct new ones. The batteurs, who get ten lire a day when on duty, and five lire when off it, are reinforced in number till sometimes as many as from eighty to a hundred are on the move. Before daybreak they have invested, as by a mighty chain, all the peaks command- ing a ravine, or all the extension of a glacier. About that time the steinbok—the most singular and suburb quadruped that roams the mountains—has finished his repast low down in the forest, and, unconscious of his fate, he joins this or that group of his kinsmen as they ascend, leisurely with the sun, to the hill-tops to enjoy the warmth of the first solar rays, and to indulge in a little siesta. But while he mounts the steep the batteurs descend, swarming down precipices and skim- ming over glaciers, and closing in and in upon the herd. Then the panic-stricken steinbok sees he is surrounded. and there is nothing for it but to fall back. And back back, he accordingly falls-tbe batteurs making on him with accelerated speed, till he comes to the ground where the King and his party are waiting for him. He turns round and scents his Royal foe, who lies a few yards off in ambush, and, as if to try a desperate sally and save himself and his affrighted friends, he rears on his hind-legs and inclines his head down and forward, to butt with his horns. But crack goes the King's rifle and the noble animal falls head foremost and sidelong on the ground. His companions, terror stricken at the report, scatter in all directions, with their beautiful heads thrown slightly back, and their nostrils distended, taking mar- vellous springs, and clearing several yards at a bound. But all in vain. "Few, few shall part where many meet!' The males of their number are keenly and quickly marked down, and drop one by one mortally wounded. The porteurs who carry the King's guns cannot hand them to his Majesty fast enough, till the battue is at an end, and shouts of triumph make the rocks and glaciers ring again. The quarry is collected in a heap in the centre of an open space, and the King aasiets at the process of numbering the slain with a zest which only the genuine sportsman can appreciate-examining their bodies, marking the seat of their wounds, taking measurements, and passing observations. Then comes the disembowelling ceremony, and his Majesty selects the animals which he wishes retained for the use of the sporting station, and those which he means to giva away as presents. From the former he has T« ^orns Bawn °ff» which he designs for trophies. If the battue turns out successful, none is so jubilant as the King; if poorly, none feels so acutely the failure. The average of stelnboks killed ranges from twenty-five to thirty of chamois about twice the number. Of wounded steinboks few save themselves by fligbt; for the steinbok, in such a predicament, loses all heart, and scenes incapable of escape. The chamois, on the other hand, even with a volley of bullets "secreted about his person," can yet run like the wind, till he reaches some remote corner where he drops down and dies. So eiida a Royal battuc, after which the King and his retinue fiad their way ltisure y back to the hunting box—the Kin? appa- rently taking a peculiar pleasure in guiding his horse along the brink of giddy precipices and yawning gulfs. Early rising is de rigucur on these hunting days, for in order to meec the batteurs who have started for the scene of action over night, and have commenced form- ing their fatal ring long before sunrise, the Royal party must be at its post considerably before dawn. It set-i out, headed by the brigadier of the Carabineers, who opens the already prepared "approach;" then comes his Majesty, followed by an equerry, a couple of pro- fessional huntsmen, his porteurs (or carriers of his game), and one or more packs of hounds. The chosen spot of ambush once reached, the signal to let fly is awaited in breathless silence. On rainy mornings there is no battue, but the in- defatigable King is not to be denied his sport. He starts alone, rifle in hand, and with his two affectionate and inseparable pointers, and scours the valleys or beats the woods in quest of game—pheasants, part- rides, and such like; and never fails to return with a bag full of silent and bloodstained witnesses to his unerring aim. Popular everywhere, the King is always enthusiasti- cally received by the simple inhabitants of those peaks and valleys. Sometimes a banquet is held in his honour in the middle of some remote hunting ground; and last year a superb calf, garnished with ribbons and varigated with leaves, was presented to him, and ac- cepted with a hearty welcome, which redoubled the value of the gift in its donor's eyes. No figure, it may truly be said, is so characteristic of the wild and picturesque Aosta valley as that of this latest repre- sentative of the fighting house of Savoy." Strong as a buffalo and nimble as the steinbok, with his stride of Ajax and his eye of Mars, the Re Galantuemo is hailed by the honest Piedmontese mountaineer as the genius loci, typifying as he does all the virtues prized and all the failings palliated on the southern slopes of the Alps.
THE HEALTH OF THE ARMY.
THE HEALTH OF THE ARMY. The Army Medical Department Report for 1874 has just been published. It states that the average strength of the troops serving in the United Kingdom during the 52 weeks ending the 25th of December, 1874. calculated from the weekly returns of sick was 86,837; the admissions into hospital in this number were 73,004; the deaths in hospital, and those which occurred out of hospital, were 735; throughout the year the average number of men always in hospital was 3,351. The proportions per 1,000 of the strength re- presented by these numbers are of admissions 840'7; and of constantly sick, 38'59. In addition! however, 84 deaths occurred among men detached from their regiments; the average number of men so detached is given in the Adjutant-General's Returns as 6,361. The average strength of the force serving in the United Kingdom was, therefore, 93,198. and the total number of deaths 819, being in the rate of 8'79 per 1,000 of the strength. The rate of admissions is 81 5, and that of deaths is '53, per 1,000 men in excess of the corresponding rates of the previous year; both are also in excess of those of the average of the five preceding years. The report states certain considera. tions bearing on the subject of the less favourable health of the force in 1874 than in the previous year, and remarks that the matter is complicated by the fact that causes tending in opposite directions influenced the number of admissions into hospital in 1874. The fall in the rate of admissions for venereal diseases, which followed the promulgation of the Royal War- rant of October, 1873, continued throughout 1874. The increase in the rate of admissions for all diseases together was, therefore, in spite of the operation of a cause tending to lower the rate. Until nearly the end of the first quarter of ths year the weekly rates of ad- missions were sometimes higher, sometimes lower than those of the corresponding weeks in 1873, but the average for the period of 11 weeks was nearly the same in both cases, being 15 "51 per 1,000 against 15 60. In the last week but OL. of the quarter, however, an in- crease in the rate began, and with one exception continued uninterruptedly until the end of the year. During this period the rate of admissions averaged about one-eighth higher than that of the cor- responding period in 1873. The suddenness of the rise resembled that due to epidemic disease, but no im- portant epidemic broke out then, or during the year, nor does ths steady maintenance of the rise duringnine months show the influence of sickness in this form it points rather to the operation of some sustained agencies, for it seems probable that more than one con- tributed to the result. During the year 1874 a radical change in the previous system of hospital management and medical attendance on sick soldiers was made by the substitution of station for regimental hospitals, and it is therefore necessary to estimate what effect this may have had on the amount of sickness. As the rise vr u rat? °f admissio118 began in the last week in March and the new system was nowhere established -before the month of May, and then only at one station, and as the systsm was not generally in force until the last quarter of the year (and in Ireland not until December), the Report considers it clear that the change does not account for even a considerable part of the greatly increased number of admissions into hospital, though it is the case that for some time after the establishment of station hospitals a temporary increase in the number of ad- missions occurred at certain stations. The higher proportion of sickness, and of mortality among the troops serving in the United Kingdom in 1874 than in 1873 must chiefly be ascribed to the unfavourable causes affecting the health of the general population in Eogland in 1874, as shown in a higher death-rate. From the Returns of the Registrar-General it appears that in 1873 the proportion of deaths was 21 "2 per 1,000 of the population, while in 1874 the propor- -|Wr,nSn excess in the latter year of 1*1 per 1,000; and it is a fair assumption that an in- creased amount of sickness accompanied the greater mortality of 1874. Among the troops in the United Kingdom, the admissions were proportionately greater in every class, < and also in every separate group, of diseases than m 1873, excepting in two, for the un- conformity of which in one instance there is an ob- vious explanation and not only were the admissions from sickness more numerous, but those caused by accidents were greatly in excess-in a smaller strength they were 1,401 more in number, and the deaths fol- lowing them were 17 more than in 1873. The Report 5b n0 d°io £ ,the rate of admissions and of deaths m the year 1874 was also somewhat raised by ffRet«adCoUfmbflfnCe ft ntiany invalids from abroad, instead of being sent to Netley, joined their depdtsj and the records of their admissions and deaths were not always kept distinct from those of the other soldiers. In many instances, probably, their illnesses were « f °f the United Kingdom, the ItfrihntedTn th« ^ons and deaths were at home than were due mortXv Hn! f and also that the rateS of understated. ° SemCe &t 8tations ab™ad were a little
CARROUSEL OF BICYCLISTS.
CARROUSEL OF BICYCLISTS. wa1VTomnte°Ath^etroPol"an bicycle clubs in uniform T^Uonol?TE.ATVOYEFs"teh;NN°ZLteHampt?nHC0Urt' iented and thn J sixteen associations were repre- pre.ent^ machinfi«a0r4d,Vnaly number of *07 persons were Btreet the entire nnrt-„ j6r a Yery pretty defile in the main WHTCHXTHAD'^ .v„. „o„ »hlch °° °i eo»pass the velocipedists i Tm,b 6 Bhor,tly aiter three o'clock? now dropping in by twos and threes now sweeping noise- Iin to them unt^ ^e entire place was given tlf« trvnUn'tr J °u ga':es bad been advertised as full Rt-rpno+h 80 many different clubs in rconnnilJ f 80 connoisseurB unattached had • n S that the main street was soon occupied well nigh from end to end. There were joyous sbouts of greeting as friendly faces were recognised, pea s of young laughter rang out, hand grips were given rom the summit of the slender machines, com- parisons were formed, experiences narrated, and to com- sidfl tbf resemblance to an opening day at the covert Bide, the music of a hunting horn rose merrily at in- tervals over the hum of gossip. One commander, of a nautical turn of mind, eschewed brass instruments, and ordered about his men with a boatswain's whistle. As the riders alighted they placed their bicycles one one against another until the bright steel playthings extended under the shadow of the trees by the road- side exactly like so many rows of piled arms; and then looking trim and dapper in their neat uniforms the owners moved to and fro to examine the steeds of their rivals, or adjourned to the taverns to dis- cuss adventures on the macadam over modest bumpers of shandygaff. At five o'clock, at which hour the entire force was to have set off for a grand pr-menade in Indian file, to be fol- lowed by a collective run two deep, there was no sign of a start. At length it was decided that the clubs should take rank by order of seniority, but the diffi- culty was to determine which were the senior clubs. There are kind inquiries after Mr. Lowe; the news spreads that the Prince Imperial has joined the West Kent Club, whose headquarters are nearest to Chisle- hurst, and a cheer of salutation 13 raised as two stal- wart lads, in buckskin breeches, ride in at a great pace. These are Messrs. Turner and Buck, and they have come up all the way from Portsmouth, having done their sixty-four miles since morning. Now there is a movement in the impatient throng; the chieftains come out from their caucUE-It has been settled that the Pickwicks are to go first, whereat the shade of Dickens must be gratified, and a call which pre- sumably is bicycle for boot and saddle" is sounded. The spsctators form a lane in the middle of the thoroughfare with a skill that is surprising to outsiders the gentlemen of the Bicycle Brigade vault into their saddles and the defile commences all advancing gently one after another at intervals of about five paces with marvellous steadiness and pre- cision. The panorama as they shift across the line of view is really worth waiting for. It is much harder to keep balance on a machine travelling slowly than on one going quickly, the base surface being less but not a single mistake is made. On they pass with a stealthy gliding motion, each man important in the feeling that the honour of his club or the credit of the pastime is in his keeping. Two years ago there were forty here to day there are more than ten times as many, no fewer than four hundred and seven bicyclists executing this novel march-past in the streetof Hampton. Of these, eighty-six belong to no club • the clubbist8 are three hundred and eighty-one thus' dis- tributed :—London, 78 Pickwick, if; Surrey 31 • Temple. 30; North Wandsworth, 16; Wanderers 16 • North Surrey, 14; Ramblers, 14; St. George's'14- A.B.C., 12; Middlesex. 12; bouth London Harriers 12; Kent, 10; West Kent, 8; Sutton Nondescripts, 7 and the Wimbledon Stragglers, 14 strong, who made their debut with their honorary captain, Isidore, a curly-headed boy of twelve summers, at their head. The dresses do not vary so much as the lover of con. trasts in colour would desire, nor are the colours gaudy I they are usually of a blue serge or quiet grey tweed, with knickerbockers and stockings to match, but they are very serviceable. The head gear is the great distin- guishing feature some wear straw hats, trimmed with scarlet and white; some foraging caps, with a shell. shaped badge in front; and others a sort of helmet peaked fore and aft. When they had left Hampton, they formed in twos, worked up speed, and proceeded by Hampton to Teddingtr.n, where they created a sensation, and whirled back into Bushey Park. In symmetric column, and with an even speed, they bore down almost to the water's edge, and then, at a warn- ing Bignal they filed off to the right and left, made the circuit of the pond one by one, and joined at the other side in couples as before, with an exactitude to be emulated by many a corps de ballet. The manoeuvre was pretty and prettily executed, and was hailed with loud expressions of approval. After this dbplay the bicycle brigade returned to the Lion Gates, without one sarious injury on the list of casualties, and the remain- der of the evening was devoted to a series of club dinners in all the inna of the village.
MAY.
MAY. Now, April, the fitful (whose showers Resemble a girl's dewy tears), Has vanished, and lo decked with flowers, Its blushing successor appears And though no poetic invention Assists in adorning his lay, Permit your admirer to mention, You're welcome, Miss May I Your coming has often been greeted By lyrics which ever will live. (Some poets, whom fortune has cheated, Have little but lyrics to give.) I'm aware, dear, that I'm not a poet, And haven't of genius a ray, But I'm partial to you and you know it, You rosy-lipped May I Young lovers are fond of the May time, For strc lis then th) weather allows; And, happy as schoolboys in playtime, They trustfully whisper their vows. The season seems shedding a glow on Their hopes—so with little delay, They talk of their future and so on- And glory in May Fair month, for the favours you grant us, The sunshine and rose-buds you bring, We thank you-in fact, you enchant us- We love you, 0 siren of spring Like a maiden, true hearted and tender, You cheer us along on our way No wonder such homage we reader, And welcome you, May —From Fun.
THE PLAGUE.
THE PLAGUE. The British Medical Journal publishes the following recent information April 5.—The plague is still increasing at Hillah and Bagdad, though it has not, up to the present apparently, spread to any other town. The following are the latest official returns :-At Hillah, from the 20th to the 26th of March, 76 persons were attacked, and there were 34 deaths. The greatest number of cases in one day at Hillah was registered on the 26th, when 20 persons were attacked, and the greatest number of deaths occurred on the 23rd, when 12 persons died. At Bagdad, from the 21st to the 27fi of March inclusive, there were 119 cases and 45 deaths; the maximum of cases (30) was attained on the 26th, and the maximum of deaths (10 per day) on the 23rd and 27th ult. April 12.—The latest telegrams to the Constantinople Sanitary Board indicate an increase in the number of plague cases in Mesopotamia, as well as an extension of the area in- fected. The following are the returns :-At Hillah, in the space of five days (from the 27th to the 31st of March inclusive), there were 66 new cases and 42 deaths. At Bagdad, from the 28th of March to the 1st of April, there were 145 new cases and 75 deaths. The plague in that city has now crossed from the right banks of the Tigris to the left bank which had been previously free from the contagion. The epidemic bad likewise made its appearance at Meshed or Nedjef Ali where, from the 25th to the 29.h of March there oc- curred five fatal cases, and also at Kut-el-Hamra. A severe quarantine, we are assured, has been established at Kournah, at the confluence of the Euphrates and Tigris, under the superintendence of Dr. Colmar and it is aleo stated that the Persian Government has ordered that arrivals from Mesopotamia shall undergo a quarantine of 15 days before entering the Shah's territory."
[No title]
A digest of the symptoms of plague, as observed in this country in the 17th century, and in Western Europe in the 18th. would serve for a description of the disease as mani- fasted in its recent appearances. If we take the symptoms as observed in Mesopotamia last year by Surgeon Major Colvill, we have as follows, remarks the Lancet The person attacked first appears absent, and if away from home, say in the bazaar, he rushes away towards his house, speaking to no one, and entering his dwelling^ mechanically, so to speak, drops upon his bed as if in despair, or as if wandering in his mind. Then fever sets in, and the patient becomes stupid, his eyes become red and turbid, his looks are those of a drunken man; or he is delirious, and if asked a question he answers only by a groan. His tongue is swollen, generally blackish-brown, and fissured, some- times white or yellow. There are invariably sordes about the teeth and gums, and the thirst is intense. There is little vomiting, but occasionally the patient vomits blood towards the end. The breathing is hur- ried, and the pulse, during the stage of feverishness, very rapid. When the fever leaves, the patient bursts into a profuse perspiration, and becomes sen. sible, though very weak. Carbuncles were observed in 1874, but not in 1875, and were looked upon as a good sign. In fatal cases death occurred from the second to the seventh day. If a case survived the twelfth day it was considered to have escaped. The mortality during the first half of the outbreak was from 93 to 95 per cent. of those attacked. Dnring the latter half of the outbreak the greater number of the attacked escaped. The earliest cases of plague observed on the Euphrates in 1874 were almost all marked by black vomit, headache, fever, and swellings, varying in colour from pale red to black, and after death black spots (petechise) were observed on the skin. A
JOAN OF ARC FETE.
JOAN OF ARC FETE. The Correspondent of the Standard thus describes the Joan of Arc ffite at Orleans :— The visit of Marshal MacMahon to Orleans proved somewhat of a disappointment to enterprising corres- pondents. When a man like Marshal MacMahon, combining high military rank with the chief dignity of the State, was announced to pay an official visit to this famous old city, connected as it is with ancient victories and recent defeats, on the 447th anniversary of the expulsion of the English from Fort St. Loup by La Pucelle, it was only reasonable to suppose that the occasion would be one of no common interest. At least it was supposed that there would be a demonstration of a patriotic and political character, with something of the Jeanne d'Arc feeling about it the extrusion of the foreigner from the national soil—in a word, that under the cover of cele- brating the past very meaning allusions would be made to the present, and possibly to the future. Those ex- pectations were utterly disappointed. The natives of Orleans and the surrounding districts are not of a de- monstrative character. They remind one in their de- meanour of that thrifty person who fed his flock on the Grampian Hills, and to increase their store seems the height of their ambition. Though Orleans and the country in the midst of which it lies occupy the very heart of the site of the fighting on the Loire, the natives do not appear to have suffered from the invasion, and certainly do not shaw that resentment which is perceptible in other parts of the country. The Marshal was received by the Orleanais cordially, but without anything like enthu- siasm. He is one of the largest landowners in the de- partment of Loiret, and that he should visit its chief town on the occasion of the concours regional, which is held there every seven years, was regarded very much as a matter of course. This concours regional, an agri- cultural show, is the great attraction. The Jeanne d'Arc ftte is annual, and the townspeople seem to regard it with that feeling which familiarity sometimes Degets. in short, we went down to witness a political demonstration, and beheld a cattle show and festivities chiefly connected with agriculture. The Marshal, attended by General de Cisaey and the Minister of Agriculture and Commerce, travelled down to Orleans yesterday by the ordinary express. General Bataille, who commands the 10th Army Corps, the Prefect of the Department, and the Mayor and Municipal Council were present. There were no military or police to keep the way, and as the train was well filled people who had no claim to rub elbows with officials got en- tangled with them. A brass band kept performiog with great power of lungs, and outside a battery of artillery was firing a salute. Nothing daunted, the Mayor plunged into a speech, and when he had got half way through it the brass band which belonged to the traditional Pompiers was silenced. There was a great 1mh from behind by passengers anxious to get out and a good deal of confusion and crushing, but the most perfect good humour prevailed. There were no shouts of any kind on the part cf the crowd. The wind was high, and as watering the streets is an idea that does not appear to have commended itself to the Orleanais mind, whirling clouds of du»t cut the recep- tion very short. I think I need hardly go through a minute detail of the official receptions that followed. After a hurried breakfast at the Prefecture the Marshal received all the authorities. Speeches were delivered in which stress was laid on the concours regional, and the slightest possible allusion to Jeanne d'Arc. Then there was a military carrousel, in which about 50 men of the 11th Hussars, who had come down from Fontainebleau for the purpose, displayed feats of horsemanship. In two instances the saddle girths gave way as the men were picking up large dolls' heads at the sword's point, and of oourse they came to grief. But the exbibition of horsemanship was creditable to the regiment, and the Marshal, who never shows better than in the saddle, must have been pleased at witnessing the im- provement in the riding of the cavalry. Afterwards he went round to the various manufactories in the city. Great crowds rushed after him as he drove about, and though there was no cheering or shouting of any kind, the feeling of sympathy was unmistakable. The people of Orleans regard the Marshal as one of themselves, but they do not seem capable of displaying enthusiasm. The Mar- shal visited the cattle show and awarded the prizes. Among the successful candidates I find some English names. In the prize lists for agricultural machinery a French exhibitor, M. Noblet, got a prize medal as a reward for his fcuccessful efforts to introduce into France the Yorkshire breed of porkers. After this heavy agricultural business, the Marshal went to the cathedral, where he was received by Monsignor Dupanloup. The cathedral itself, though only about 250 years old—it was rebuilt under Henry IV. -is worth going down to Orleans to see. It was sumptuously deoorated, and the service was most impressive. At seven this evening, as the setting sun is gilding the portals of this grand building, a histori- cal calvacade, clad in armour and bearing Joan of Arc's banner, with "Jesus—Maria" embroidered on t, is crossing the bridge from the south side of the Loire, and wending its way to the cathedral. On the in front a stand is erected, on which Marshal MacMahon has taken up a position. The banner is formally handed to the bishop, amid a flourish of trumpets. The crowd shouts, and thus the show ends. In the evening, when it grows dark, there are to be fireworks, but to reach you in time this telegram has to be dispatched by train to Paris, and must now break off.
SELECTED ANECDOTES.
SELECTED ANECDOTES. THE PETITION OF I. "-In 1759, Dr. Hill addressed %Pai^Pklet to p^vid Garrick, entitled The petition ? j J? behalf of herself and sisters in which he taxed the great tragedian with mispronouncing certain words containing that vowel, "furm"for "firm,"etc. Garrick replied to the doctor in the accompanying epigram J 6 If 'tis true, as you say, that I've injured a letter, I'll change my notes soon, and I hope for the better; May the just right of letters, as well as of men, Hereafter be fixed by the tongue and the pen Most devoutly I wish they may both have their due, And that I may be never mistaken for U." A WIDE-AWAKE MINISTER.—Lord North's good ^monr readiness were of admirable service to him when the invectives of his opponents would have dis- cjmfited a graver minister. He frequently indulged in a real or seeming slumber. On one occasion, an op- position debater, supposing him to be napping, ex- claimed • Even now, in these perils, the noble lord is asleep! I wish I was," suddenly interposed the weary minister. FICTION AND TEUTH.-Waller, the poet, who was bred at King's College, wrote a fine panegyric on Cromweil, when he assumed the protectorship. Upon the restoration of Charles, Waller wrote another in praise of him, and presented it to the king in person. After his majesty had read the poem, he told Waller that he wrote a better on Cromwell. "Please your majesty," said Waller, like a true courtier, we poets are always more happy in fiction than in truth." FRIENDLY COMPLIMENTS.—Two friends met after an absence of some years, daring which time the one had increased greatly in bulk, while the other had faded to a skeleton. # Says the stout gentleman, Why, Dick, you look as if you had not had a dinner since I saw you last. And you," replied the other, look as if you had done nothing but dine ever since." DIALOGUE IN THE WESTERN ISLANDS OF SCOTLAND. How long is this lock? It will be about twanty mile. — Twenty miles surely it cannot be so much ?" — Maybe it will be twelve."—"It does not really seem more than four."—" Indeed, I'm thinking you're right. Really, you seem to know nothing about the matter. Troth, I canna say I do." MAKING FREE.-Formerly, members of Parliament wu v Prmle8e of franking letters Bent by post. W hen this was so, a Bender on one occasion applied to the post. office to know why some of his franked letters had been charged. He was told that the name on the letter did not appear to be in his handwriting. It was not," he replied, "precisely the same; but the truth is, I happened to be a little tipsy when I franked them. Then, sir, will you be so good in future as to write drunk when you make free ? A COMPREHENSIVE APOLOGY.—Rowland Hill was greatly annoyed when there happened to be any noise in his chapel, to divert the attention of his hearers from what he was saying. On one occasion he was preaching to one of the most crowded congregations that ever assembled to hear him. In the middle of his discourse he was disturbed by a great commotion in one of the galleries and looking in that direction, he exclaimed, "What's the matter there? The devil seems to have got among you A plain country-look- ing man immediately started to his feet, and address- ing Mr. Hill in reply, said, "No, sir, it arn't the devil as is doing on it; it's a lady wots fainted and she's a fat un, air, as don't seem likely to come to again in a hurry." "Oh, that's it, is it?" observed Mr. Hill, drawing his hand across his face; "then I beg the ady's par on, and-the devil's, too." DISINTERESTED, VERY !—" I met," says Lord Eldon in hia Anecdote Book," a prelate, who was at that time bishop of a see not very richly endowed, coming out of hisf lajesty George the Third's closet at Buck- ingham House, as I was going into it. The King asked me if I did not very much like sincerity? I answered, Yes, sir.—' So does that prelate,' says the King, for he has just assured me that he is perfectly content with his present preferment; he should wish, indeed, he said, to have Salisbury instead of it, but he added that he so wished for no other reason whatever, but merely that he might have the honour of giving me a breakfast in my way to Weymouth. Can you,' he added, believe that, though a bishop says it ? I can't. RATHER UNNECESSARY.—One of Dr. Macknight'S parishioners, a humorous blacksmith, who thought that his pastor's writing of learned books was a sad waste of time, being asked if the doctor was at the manse, answered, "Na, na, he's gone to Edinbro' on a verra useless jjb." The doctor had gone off to the printer with his laborious and valuable work, The harmony of the Four Gospels." On being asked what this useless work might be which engaged his minister's time and attention ? the blacksmith replied, He's gane to mak' four men agree wha ne'er cast out." ONE GOOD TURN DESERVES ANOTHER.-A German poet, having written a gastronomic song upon the achievements of a celebrated pastry-cook, the latter thought he could not better testify his gratitude than by sending him one of the objects he had celebrated in verse. The poet was enchanted with the pastry-cook's work but, on finishing the last morsel, he recognised in the paper upon which it had been baked, the copy of his song. In a great rage he ran to the shop, and accused him of the crime of lessee poeticct. Ah, sir," replied the artist, not in the least disconcerted, why so angry ? I have only followed your example you have made a song upon my pastry, and I have made pastry upon your song T W^AJ/S A HA,T WITHOUT A HEAD ?" — Captain Innes of the G-uards (usually called Jock Innes by his contemporaries) was with others getting ready for Flusbing or some of those expeditions of the beginning of the great war. His commanding officer remon- strated about the badness of his hat and recommended a new one,—"Na! na bide a wee," said Jock; whare we're ga'in', faith there'll soon be mair hats nor heads." A LONG ILLNESS.—A clergyman in the country taking his text from the fourteenth verse of the third chapter of St. Matthew And Peter's wife's mother lay sick of a fever," preached three Sundays on the same subject. Saon after, two country fellows going across the churchyard, and, hearing the beU toll, one asked the other who it was for? "I can't exactly tell replied he; but it may be for Peter's wife's weejfca 8 been sick of a fever these three AN IMPOLITE REASON.—There is a story told of an Im- perial Highness waltzing thrice on the same evening with an English lady at the Court of Berlin. The lady flattered by his attentions, frankly expressed hergratifi- cation at the compliment. "I did not intend it as a compliment," was the answer. Then," said the lady, "your Highness must be very fond of dancing." I detest dancing," was the still unsatisfactory response. What, then, may I ask, can be your Im- perial Highness's motive for dancing?" "Madam," was the exalted personage's curt reply, I dance to perspire DR. PALEY'S THRIFTINESS.—Paley was careful of petty expenses, as is frequently the case with those who have had but narrow incomes in early life. He received a sufficiently handsome income as subdean, but he was stingy. A plentiful fall of snow took place during an evening party at the precentor's; two of Mr. Subdean s daughters were there; he showed great anxiety on account of the necessity that seemed to have arisen of sending them home in a sedan-chair. Taking the advice of several of the company, whether such necessity really and inevitably existed, he at last con- sulted the precentor, who, to put the matter in a right point of view, cried out, Let the girls have a chair doctor, it is only threepence apiece." MILD ENCOURAGEMENT. —A young counsel commenced his stammering speech with the remark, Tne unfor. tunate client who appears by me-" and then he came to a full stop beginning again, after an embarrassed pause, with a repetition of the remark, My unfor- tunate client- He did not find his fluency of speech quickened by the calm raillery of the judge, who inter- posed, in his softest tone, Pray go on, so far the court is quite with you." THE ELEVENTH COMMANDMENT. — Archbishop Usher, when crossing the Channel from Ireland to this country, was wrecked on some part of the coast of Wales. On this disastrous occasion, after having reached the shore, he made the best of his way to the house of a cleigyman, who resided not far from the spot on which he was cast. Without communicating his name or his exalted station, the archbishop intro- duced himself as a brother clergyman in distress, and stated the particulars of his misfortune. The Cam brian divine, suspecting his unknown visitor to be an imposter, gave him no very courteous reception, and having intimated his suspicions, said "I daresay you ?.arp.' me bow many commandments there are ?"— Tnere are eleven," replied the archbishop, very meekly.- "Repeat the eleventh," rejoined the other, and I will relieve your distress"—"Then you will put the commandment in practice." answered the primate A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another." SYDNEY SMITH SOPORIFIC.-A lady complaining to Sydney Smith that she could not sleep—"I can furnish you," he said, "with a perfect soporific. I have pub- lished two volumes of sermons; take them up to bed with you. I recommended them once to Blanco White and before the third page-he was just asleep!" DIDO.-Of this tragedy, the production of Joseph Reed, author of the "Register Office," Mr. Nicholls, in his "Literary Anecdotes," gives some curious par- ticulars. He also relates an anecdote of Johnson con- cerning it: It happened that I was in Bolt Court on the day that Henderson the justly celebrated actor, was first introduced to Dr. John-on and the conversa- tion" wTl 0D ?matlc subjects, Henderson asked ^°oco0,r opinion of "Dido" and its author. w/°h"TD' I n«ver did the man an injury, yet he would read his tragedy to me." LORD CHANCELLOR BROUGHAM.—Lord Brougham a a great horror of hearing the interminable speeches LORD CHANCELLOR BROUGHAM.—Lord Brougham had a great horror of hearing the interminable speeches which some of the junior counsel were in the habit of making, after he conceived everything had been said which could be said on the real merits of the case be. fore the Court by the gentlemen who preceded them. His hints to them to be brief on such occasions were sometimes extremely happy. On one occasion, after listening with the greatest attention to the speeches of two counsel on one side, from ten o'clock till half-past two, a third arose to address the Court on tke same side. His lordship was quite unprepared for this additional infliction, and exclaimed, "What! Mr. A., are you really going to speak on the same side 1" Yes, my lord, I mean to trespass on your lordship's attention for a short time." "Then," said his lord- ship, looking the orator significantly in the face and giving a sudden twitch of his nose, then, Mr. A., you had better cut your speech as short as possible, other- wise you must not be surprised if you see me dozing • for, really, this is more than human nature can endure." The youthful barrister took the hint; he kept closely to the point at issue-a thing rarely done by barristers-and condensed his arguments into a reasonable compare. l
COMMERCIAL TRAVELLERS AS JURYMEN.
COMMERCIAL TRAVELLERS AS JURYMEN. The Pall Mall Gazette remarks Among many o her classes of men engaged in r>Ufin<-ss to W; ihe duty imposed on them b) laev of servirig- on jurVp is productive of the m-st p>ious inconvenience c' IDa- yi»l travellers are much to be pitied Their grievances in this respect have been brought before the H ;ut; of Commons in the form of a pe:i'ion from the t-eer- *irv and late secretary of the Irish Commercial Travellers' Association, in which is pointed out the special in- justice" of and objections to the com;»-llirg cimjuer- cial travellers to serve on juries, as from their very vocation they are obli, ce i [ o hi c )astirjt:y ^riveli.ng at considerable distat ces from the j«ace of assize. The remuneration of the commercial travdi-r is, the eti- t oners urge, dependent upon Irs c >ntinno'-» <>.v. linj, and his position is frequently imperilled by his biine detained from his engikgciLtnrs by attendance on juries, which is thus made a special g'ievance t) him. Important contracts are, moreover, ht times dependent upon commercial travellers leiDg at great distances from the place of assiz?, and the important mercantile interests they represent are proportionately affected by their being compelled to remain at home for the purpose of attending as iUrJu. v^e Hots3 of Commons is therefore requested favour- ably to consider the claims of the Iiish comirercial travellers to exemption in fattrs from serving on juries. There cannot re a doubt that the pefcnt system of imprasiiafir as jarors men whose hesrts are far away fr(m the jury box ia the hour d tiial i, open to many objectors, and at EonB future day it will pos- sibly be discovered that there are many persons with no occupations of a private or public nature to disturb their thoughts who might with advantage to themselves and the public undertake the duty now performed with great unwillingness and often at serious lcsjLy the more actively employed.
SCHOOLS OF SEWING.
SCHOOLS OF SEWING. While the extravagance of female dress is still on the increase, a clever plan has been devised in Paris for counteracting some of its effects. It is announced that a benevolent lady has started in one of the principal streets a school where ladies of the highest social position can learn the art of making their own dresses. Instruction is given them in the art of cutting out first the patterns, and then the stuff itself, cf making up the materials, and, in fine, the whole mysteries, however intricate, of the dress- maker's art. It is of course impossible to say how far the young Parisiennes will avail themselves of the opportunity thus offered to cut down their expenses and employ their time. But of the success of the institution amongst a certain class of ladies of the very highest rank there can be no doubt at all. Its advantages are too obvious to be ignored by any one whose inclinations towards economy are not cramped by any false shame and if a similar oppor- tunity should ever be afforded in England it will be embraced with enthusiasm by a large number of amateur modistes. There is no reason why a lady of gentle birth should not make as good a cutter-out of dresses as her inferior in the social scale. On the contrary, in a matter which demands the exercise of so much taste she ought beyond question to excel. The dressmakers themselves, who thus see the secrets of their profession rudely thrown open to the world will naturally fight with all their strength against so monstrous an invasion of their privileges. They will do their best to stamp with lasting infamy any lady who shall demean herself to go to the new school. But unless we are much mistaken the common sense of the community will triumph over all their remonstrances. They will have to contend, not only against the more economical and industrious of the ladies, but against the whole tribe of husbands, who, however they may differ upon the subject of board schools or free univer- sities, will pretty unanimously vote for this particular phase of the higher education of Women.—Olobc.
WATER-CRESS.
WATER-CRESS. The British Medical Journal writes :-In the vege- table kingdom there are several substances that possess the double quality of food and medicine, and as such might be usefully employed in therapeutics. Among the vegetables that possess the valuable pro- perty referred to water-cress may be mentioned. According to an analysis by M. Chatin, Director of the School of Pharmacy of Paris, and present Presi- dent of the Academy of Medicine, water-cress con- tains 1. A sulpho-nitrogenous essential oil; 2. A bitter extract; 3. Iodine 4. Iron 5. Phosphates water, and some other salts. As medicine the water- cress has been vaunted for its efficacy in all cases in which the digestive organs are weak. in cachexia in scurvy. inscorfula, and lympbatism it has er, n betn prescribed as a cure for phthisis. The medical priuci- ples which it contains are more or less abundant accord- ing to the culture or maturity of the plant. Thus, when the plant is in flower they are in greater quantity in the plant than before that condition the bspential oil increases according to the quantity of the sun's rays it receives. The proper culture of the plant develops in it the bitter and tonic principles, and the phosphates will be found in proportion to the manure employed. Finally, the quantity of iron will depend upon the richness of the water in which the ere "a is planted. As food water-cress ought to be used in its green or un- cooked state, in the form of salad or without any seasoning. Water cress enters largely into the com- position of the 'sirop antiscorbutique' of the French Pharmacopoeia, which is commonly prescribed in scro. fulous and scorbutic affections.
THE MARKETS.
THE MARKETS. MARK-LANE. M ONDAY. The grain trade at Mark-lane has been dull and droopine English wheat came sparingly to hand, but the supply offering was amply sufficient for requirements. There was a thin attendance of millers, and transactions were restricted at barely late rates. With reference to foreign wheat, the market haa been fairly supplied. The demand was inactive, and had sales been forced less money would have had to be A moderate supply of barley was on the stands. n^ £ «™,?fWas ^m' at fal1 rates. Malt changed hands quietly on former terms. Oats were in moderate supply and slow request at late rates. Maize met a quiet Bale at Dre vious currencies. Beans and peas were inactive, at late rates. The flour mirket was dull and neglected. METROPOLITAN CATTLE MARKET.— MONDAY. The total imports of foreign stock Into London last week amounted to 24,971 head. In the corresponding week in 1875 we received 22,731 in 1874, 14,6?8 in 1873, 14,672 in 1872 13,243 in 1871, 18,416 and in 1870, 9,888 head. Transactions in the cattle trade have been conducted rather cautiously. Supplies have been quite up to the average, and the condi- tion has, on the whole, been good. With reference to beasts, there have been fair supplies from our own grazing districts. The demand has ruled inactive, with prices tending down- wards. The general top price for the best Scots and crosses has been 5s. 6d. to 5s. 8d. per 81b., anything above that being quite exceptional, whilst many transactions have been effected at a lower rate. From Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, and Cambridge- shire we received about 2,000 from other parts of England about 250 and from Scotland, 141 head. The foreign side of the marketwas well supplied with beasts, chiefly Banish and Dutch. There was a slow trade, at barely late rates. As regards sheep the supply was more liberal. Trade dull. Sales progressed heavily, and quotations were weaker. War best Downs and half-breds made 6s. 8d to 6s lod. per Sib Lambsjwere Arm at 9* to 10,. per 81b. Calves quiet. Pigs dulL At Deptford were 800 German beasts, and 250 sheep. Coarse and inferior beasts, 4s. to 6s. second qHality ditto 5s. to 5s. 4d. prime large oxen, 6s. 4d. to 5s. 6d. prime Scots' &c., 5s. 1.1. to 6s. 8d. coarse and Inferior sheep 4s 6d to 6s. second quality ditto, 5s. to 51. 6d. prime coarse woolled, 6s. 6d. to 63. Sd. prime Southdowns, 6s 8d to 61. 10 d large coarse calves, 5s. to 6s. lOd. prime small ditto, 6s. to 6s. 4d. large hogs, 4s. 4d. to 4s. lOd. small porkers, 5s. to 5s. 4d. and lambs, 9s. to 10s. per 81b. to sink the offal. METROPOLITAN MEAT MARKET.-MONDAY. There was a moderate supply of meat on offer, and trade was reported good for all descriptions except beef, the sale of which was slow, at somewhat reduced prices :-Inferior beef, 3s. to Ss. 61. middling ditto, 3s. lOd. to 4s. 2d. prime large ditte, 4s. 4d. to 6s. prime small ditto, 4s. 10d. to ,LTea 58 to 6s. inferior mutton, 3s. 4d. to 4s. mid- dling ditto, 4s. 4d. to 6s. 4d. prime ditto, 6s. 8d. to 6s. Sd. large pork, 4s. to 4s. 8d. and small ditto, 5s. to 5a. 8d. lambs, 4s. 4d. to 8s. 8d. per 81b. by the carcase. POTATOE3. The supply of potatoes this morning was less than usual Trade remained steady, and prices are as follows :-Kent regents, 130s. to 163s. Essex ditto, 110s. to isss Scotch 130s. to 170s rocks, 100s. to 110s. Victorias, 1303 to 180s. flukes, 160s. to 180s. and kidneys, 110s. to 130s. per ton. HOPS. A somewhat incroated amount of busifness has been trans- acted in hops during the past week. but no extensive ir ai- vidual sales are reported to have taken place. Fine hops remain scarce, and fully support previous quotati' ns. Middling and inferior hops are selling at late prices The market is well supplied with foreign hops which move off at previous cuirencies :—East Kent goldings. 1875, £ 5 12- to £ 7 7s. Mid Kent ditto, £3 5s. to £ 6 da. Wealii ( f Kent ditto, £25s. to jM 15s Sussex ditto, £ 3 to i5 fia. V.'fercest. r ditto, £ 4 15s to Lj; Farnhara ditto, £ 4 1O3 10 £ 7 7s, country ditto, £ 4 4s. £ 6 10s. yearlings lg?4 £ 1 m fr-Vr Bavarian, 1S76, £ 3 3s. to £ 6 6s Belgian ditto £ •? v, to £ Alsace ditto, jL3 103 to £4 10s. American ditto, L4 to £ 5 GAME AND POULTRY. 1iftnnTy to !0s. Sussex ditto, 4*. to 6s E^er 2ci to 4s o 2s. 9d. to 4s 9J Irish ditto, T« PI L Sd.; turkeys, 6s. to 15s. ditto hens, 4s to to in.' I t?' 9i- diMo Irish, 4!. to 6s goslings (it praiiiehem q' t 4SY duck:inP6> is to 6i American to 9« Q ?'J ARES' 38 YD- 10 4S- VUITE 2S- 9? Q < v. W1Ld rabblt8< 1'. 4d. tame ditto, 1%. to V, launches of venison, 60s. to Cis. each fore quarters ditto, 9 £ d. to Is. per lb. rrsu. Salmon, Is. Sd, to 2s. 51 trout, Is. 6-1. to os. Cd. eels 9d. to Is. hallibut, lid. to Is. 6d. sturgeon, 10,1. to 2s per 11) cod, £ 415s. cd. to £ 717s. fid. per score rrimned ditto 7s. 6<1. to 12*. each pickled ditto. Sis. 6d. to 45s. per barrel bloaters, 6s. 91. to 7s per hundred; kippers, 3s (id. to 5s. per box soles, Is. 3d to 4s. I0d. per p»ir whitins, 10s to } » per basket plaice, 6a. to Is. 61. each mack-rei YI. 6d. to 3s. 6d. red mullet, 3j. to 5s grey ditto 2« to 9* 0 J lo biters, 10s. to 30s. crabs, 10s.' 25s per dozen SEED. Mon,day' ^—There was a very limited supply of all CloverEeeds, and prices were irregular, holders being clearlrig their remaining stocks. Trefoil was m.°ney, with a limited sale. Tares were taken on to a very limited extent, at reduced rates for all descrir- ^re,^n Scarcely any Scotch are left, and few wautea. Canary seed droops in value, and was taken off in very small quantities under former t»rmi. Dutch Hemnseed wassteady in price and demand. White and brown Mustard- seed in ahort supply, but prices in favour cf the buyers English Rapeseed scarce and very detr. PRovisto-Ns. Sot "25 Vmt th«w1 w e?1tn pnces were generally well maintained H™ vefy sparingly for immediate consump- £ lower prices shortly best Dutch, 130s to on m"ket ruled slow, with little alteration to notice in prices. Butter, per cwt s. s. Cheese, per cwt s. s. 160 to 162 Cheshire 64 to 84 rrlesland 130 134 Dble. Gloucester 70 76 Jersey 102 124 Cheddar 7g Fresh, per doz. 15 17 American 50 64 Bacon, per cwt. Hams; York 104 no Wiltshire 82 84 Cumberland 104 110 Irish, green to.b. 80 86 Irish 93 HAY. WHITECHAPEL, Saturday, May 6 -There was a good sun- ply of hay and straw on sale. With a fair trade, prices remain firm as foilows; Prime Clover, 100s. to 150s. inferior 86s to 95s. Prime meadow hay, 90s. to 135s.; inferior 55s. to 75s. Straw, 35s. to 13s. per load.