The Aberystwith Observer

THE CRINOLINE CAMPAIGN. We still meet with various strictures against the monstro- sities of fashion as developed in immense displays of crino- line and hoops, but seldom meet with anything said in their favour. We accordingly extract the following :— A LADY'S DEFENCE OF CRINOLINE. A female correspondent of the Gateshead Observer defends the much-abused fashion of crinoline, and says :—" Now, as I suppose, none of the masculine satirists of hoops have ever had occasion to walk five or six miles in a. country lane up to the ankles in mud, and wearing in the feminine form of petticoats the quantity of apparel necessary to withstand the chilling effects of an east wind and drenching January sleet, I shall take the liberty of enlightening them on the utility of hoops in such a case. Supposing the unfor- tunate pedestrian to be dressed in the old-fashioned style—her long dress catching the mud from the heels of her boots, and plentifully bedaubing it over her stockings, while the falling moisture, gradually soaking through, sticks her load of drapery against limbs already almost exhausted with plunging and slipping in the 's mire—is this not a sufficient lack of comfort, to say nothing of attendant coughs and colds, to justify the adoption of fashions more ridiculous even than the hoop, which, while it gives room for a bulk of flannel beneath, permits the wearing of upper clothing thick enough to withstand the rain, and, keeping the weight of it at an equal distance, leaves the limbs to their native freedom in all weathers ? Then, too, when the neat of summer, and profuse perspiration soaking the '^r l lrJte-rferes with comfort and motion just as much as did the winter's storm, what could answer the pur- 2>oae or ventilation better than hoops? or what could possibly excuse the absence of petticoats, exposing the contour of the body to the licentious stare, so well as crinoline i& say nothing of the saving in the items of starch and irouing. ° EARL DE GREY ON CRINOLINE. Earl de Grey, in presiding at the recent conversazione of the Architectural Exhibition, after thankin" the ladies for coming to the meeting, said the ladies some- times might make mistakes. It might be rather in dress than address, it was more in the point of the petti- coat than of propriety, but he did not at all dispute their conduct, but he did not approve of their crinolines. He candidly confessed that he thought the creature was better than the crinoline and, old as he was, be thought the woman was a great deal better than the whalebone. He was talking of the matter as an architect—as an artist. He was as much attached to good foundations as any of the architects present- he knew what builders called good footings, and he did not like large feet. But he did not think a pyramid was a graceful shape. Therefore, he thought that sometimes a little consideration might produce a little advantage in that respect. He had been in the habit for many years of annually keeping 600 men to "attention for a long time, and then he found that he never uttered words which gave more satisfaction than those which he would now use, hoping the ladies would pardon him for anything he said respecting them-- Sit at ease, and talk."

THE TURK AND THE RUSSIAN. One of the most amusing of our acquaintances was the gentleman with whom i had the honour of sleeping on the billiard table. He was a long, sallow Pole, ob- servant and satirical, and full of ludicrous stories about his Turkish co-religionists. How far these tales were literally true-whether he ever allowed one to fall flat through a servile adherence to matter-of-fact—I do not undertake to say but, true or false, his stories were given with a mimicry and knowledge of Turkish man- ners that made them delightful to hear. At the risk of its falling flat at second hand I cannot resist telling one. A Turkish and a Russian officer, on some occasion of truce, had scratched up an acquaintance. As they sat together, the conversation turned on the comparative perfection of discipline and obedience to which their respective troops had been brought. To give a specimen, the Russian calls in his orderly: "Ivan," says he, "you will go to such-and-such a tobacconist; you will buy an oke of tobacco pay for it, and bring it home straight." Ivan salutes and goes. The Russian pulls out his watch. "Now Ivan is going to the tobacconist's; now he is there now he is pay- ing for the tobacco; now he is coming home; now he is on the stairs; now he is here—Ivan Ivan comes in salutes, and hands over the tobacco. Pek guzel," says the fat Turk, with a condescend- ing bow, benignly half shutting his eyes the while; "very nice, indeed. But my orderly will do as much— Mustafa Effendim!" says Mustafa, bursting into the room, and touching his chin and forehead in the curious double action salute of the Turkish soldier. He receives the same directions, word for word, and departs. His master hauls out a gigantic turnip of a watch, such as Turks delight in, and proceeds in imitation of the Russian, to tick off Mustafa's supposed performances. "Now he is going; now he is there now he is paying; now he is coming home; now he is here—Mustafa Effendim!" replies Mustafa, again bursting in. Where is the tobacco?" Papouchler boulmadim— haven't found my shoes yet.Blackwood.

CAMPAIGNING IN SECRET. During these exciting times the public must be t.repared not only for war, but for rumours of war, and those not only vaguti, but often false and contradictory. By way of reminder on this matter, the Times thus concludes an article on the diplomacy now in progress:— Our readers will perceive that we speak of the events now occurring in a tone more guarded than they have been accustomed to during the progress of the Crimean War and the Indian Mutiny. The fact is, that this campaigning of despotic Powers will be carried on in a different style from the expeditions in which a British force is engaged. Swift, secret, "'lent will be the movements of the antagonists. No letters will be allowed to be written from the camp, no one uncon. nected with military duties will be allowed to approach the lines. The action of the telegraph might frustrate the best-laid plans of generalship. The state of the troops, the position of corps, a movement in advance or retreat, might be flashed over Europe, and sent back to the enemy's commander in the space of a few hours. So the armies on either side are already shrouded in secrecy. It is impossible to obtain certain intelligence from the seat of war. At Turin they know nothing more than in London. They see a great commotion, troops coming in and going out, much galloping of officers, and so on, but whether the Auatrians have crossed or are going to cross, when the French are coming, how many they will be, and what will be the system of defence, they know as little as the Parisian or Londoner. The same ignorance prevails at Vienna, and even the numbers of the Austrian army of Italy are but vaguely known in the capital. To distinguish the probable from the absurd, to extract the small grain of truth from the heap of fiction, is no easy task. Of one thing alone we may be convinced,—that this will be a great and protracted struggle, and that all thought of peace has been laid aside by France and her new ally.

lltisalkiiemK InMipie. THE EFFECTS OF "A DROP OVER MUCH." r —A well-known and respected "pig dealer of Long Sutton attended, as usual, the Yeovil market the other day, and doubtless, having had a good market, had indulged somewhat too freely with "King Alcohol." But he finally arrived home safely and in season. On the following day it was discovered that he had lost the sum of 236I. from his pockets ,principally in bank notes. Search was immediately set on foot, and every inquiry made, but all to no purpose—the missing wealth could nowhere be found. Saturday was passed very perplexingly to the whole family, and on Sunday search was again made by the party, and some sieves hanging against the wall in the cellar were taken down, when, lo! to their astonishment, the missing purse and its contents came tumbling on the floor. With what pleasure the recovery of the lost treasure was regarded by the family may be better imagined than described. It appears that in the evening after the return from market the dealer, having an engagement at a neigh- bour's house, and in order to provide for the contingency of thirst by the way, bethought him to wet the other eye" from his own barrel, and then took the precaution of placing the money in the sieve for safe keeping, and straightway forgot the circumstance!—Pvlman's Nevis. A PHOTOGRAPHER'S STORY.—A photographist, in his recent visit to Algeria, describes the following incident:—"I was roused by something, and felt a pain in my head, and directly afterwards I received a blow on the head through the side of the tent, which made me think for a moment that I had been struck with an iron bar with claws at the end, which I carried with me in my waggon; but in an instant the idea flashed across my mind that it was a lion which was sniffing at me through the back of the tent. If I remained where I was without moving, there was the probability of the beast tearing up the tent and dragging me through. On the other hand, an attempt to move closer to the fire would probably be detected, and the lion has the same characteristics as the cat, and would doubtless have sprung upon me in that case, and have carried me off. While hesitating what to do, the animal, most likely from not being able any longer to feel anything through the wall of the tent, must have turned away, for after what was, in fact, but a few moments, but which seemed a very long time, there was a terrific shriek, followed by a low, deep growling, then a shot and a louder growl." The lion had attacked and killed another victim, and was himself soon after killed. THE RESPONSIBILITY OF JOURNALISTS.—'Very grave responsibility rests on those journalists who, at a critical moment, publish reports of alarming import- ance. If at such time they give way to the temptation —so natural in their profession—to publish the first news, without waiting to ascertain whether the facts stated be true or false if they suffer the fear of com- petition, or natural zeal and emulation to hurry them into statements which are unverified, and of which there has been no time to consider the accuracy, it is certain that they are violating one of the most import- ant duties of their important profession-that they are running a risk of causing great injury to persons of whom they never heard, and that even a single error of this kind may cause calamities which the labours of an industrious life would hardly be sufficient to repair, Those who publish such intelligence do so under no check of publicity. We can never know the care which they have taken, or the negligence they have committed. The greatest mistake may have been published after the maturest consideration, and the most important item of true information may have been blundered on by accident. But with the great calamities of the last few days before our eyes, we cannot but feel more than ever the great responiibility with which those who undertake to communicate intelligence to the pub- lic are charged, and the terrible consequences which might on similar occasions arise from a slight deficiency on their part in vigilance or accuracy. -Econ oinist. MODERN BATTLE,—A battle now with a hun- dred thousand determined soldiers on each side, would I be the most frightful butchery, within a short space of time, ever yet beheld. The morale of the be.,t troops will not support the sight of more than a certain pro- portion of their number put hors de combat. Those are good armies that continue an engagement until a quarter of their men are killed and wounded before either side gives way. They may be called famous armies, indeed, when they stand more than that. At Inkermann, if I remember well, nearly or quite one- half of the English troops engaged were slain or dis abled, and still the fight was maintained. But it is a case to which few parallels are to be found, and the Eng- 9- lish soldier is distinguished above all others for that particular courage, for the extraordinary tenacity and nerve which prevents his knowing when he is beaten, aud renders him so dangerous a foe. Probably modern improvements in weapons and ammunition will not cause much greater loss of life in battle than formerly, but the work will be done in a quarter of the time, and the beaten party will suffer more in retreat. -Blackwood. 'CUTF.NESS OF MR. HOUSFALL.—When in Staf- fordshire, a very short time ago, four seamen came to the door-at least four parties who represented them- selves as seamen—and said they were in a great state of distress, having been shipwrecked off Hull. I went to speak to them, as my sympathies are, and I hope they always will be, with seamen—(" Hear, hear!" and applause.) As soon as I saw them, I saw that one was a seaman; but, as we say in Lancashire, I sa.w with half an eye the other three were "hail fellows, well met," picked up on the road. I said, "I am very sorry to hear of your accident; what vessel were you wrecked m." They said the Elizabeth. I told the sea- ]r^n I? s where he was; I told the first of the other three men to go ten or fifteen yards to the right; the second ten or fifteen yards to the left: and the second to stand off iu the front. Well, they could not tell what I was after, and I went quietly up to one, and x said, iam very sorry to hear of the Elizabeth being lost j what wa.s the captain's name?1' Jones,1' was the reply. I went, to the next, told him I exceedingly regretted the accident, and asked the name of the cap- tain?" Captain Smith, sir."—(Cheers and laughter.) The third, on being asked said, Captain Brown, sir." I said, Come here, men. You are a pretty set of fellows here to go and sail in the ship Elizabeth, and you have three captains. You might well be lost, and deserved it too."—(Laughter and great cheering,)—Mr. Horsfall on the Hustings. SINGULAR AND THUg. A young Scotchman living in Pleasant Valley, four or five miles from the city, has been a long time engaged to a young lady in Scotland, at his old home. On the 6th of January he came down at the usual hour to breakfast, looking so serious as to attract the attention of the family with whom he boarded, and in answer to their inquiries he said that his betrothed Jane, in Scotland, had died that morning. Ridicule, nor reason, could remove the im- pression. He called their attention to the date, and said news would come to verify what he said. A few days since a letter was received, stating that the young lady died on the 6th of January at 10 o'clock A.M. She was dead at the early hour when he made the announce- ment, allowing for difference in time. We give the story as told us by a friend acquainted with the parties, and have no reason to doubt its truth. It is singular, yet there have been many such instances of clairvoyant presentiments.—Chicago Press. A CURIOSITY.-In an orchard at Kilmington, (says the Western Daily Express,) is an apple tree which has growing among its branches a black currant bush, now nearly a yard high. It is supposed that a currant seed must have been dropped there by a bird and taken root in the tree, which, although still a bear- ing tree, is somewhat decayed, having been planted by the present owner seventy years ago. REFLECTIONS ON A SKULL -Such of our readers (a fast-lessening band !) as were pupils of that remarkable man and first-rate teacher, Dr. John Barclay, must remember *ell his sudden bursts of this kind, made all the more memorable, that he dis- liked formal moralizing upon his favourite science. There was one occasion when he never failed to break out. It was when concluding his description of the bones of the skull. His old pupils knew what was coming, the new ones were set a wonderfng all saw some sup- pressed emotion working within him,-his language was more close and rapid; that homely, sensible, honest face, was eager with some unacknowledged central feeling, and after finishing the Sella Turcica, and the clinoid processes, he threw down the sphenoid bone, and the time being up, and his hand on the open door of that well-known arena in which he moved, he seemed as if leaving indeed, we believe he intended then to leave, when turning round upon the class, with a face serious almost to anger, and a voice trembling with feeling, he said, "Yes, gentlemen! there is a God, omnipotent, omnificent, and eternal," and vanished under the gallery into his room. Depend upon it, this single sentence made a deeper impression on his hearers than any more elaborate demonstration after the manner of Paley. The ardent old man did not linger among In particulars, but passed at once, and with a sort of pas- sionate fervour, to the full absolute assertion.-Locke and Sydenham. By John Brown, M.D. THE WRONG MAN IN THE'WRONG PLACE.—Con- siderable amusement has been afforded to the lieges during the past week from a case of wakening up the wrong man." A worthy preacher of the Gospel and a staunch teetotaller to boot, was taking his usual morning walk, when he was accosted by a decent far- mer in the vicinity with a cordiality which somewhat surprised him. After the usual salutations had passed, the farmer, who seemed at least half.seas over," in- quired with a knowing wink, Hoo are ye this mornin' ?" "Very well, I thank you," replied the preacher. Hae ye no a headache?" queried the other. No, 1 never felt better in my life," responded his reverence. Eh! man, but ye can stand a stiff tumbler!" A what?" said his astonished friend: a stiff tumbler?" Was it no you that drank me blin' i' the Croon last night ?" Me in the Crown! I never was in the Crown in my life." Explanations and apo- logies followed when it appeared that the farmer had met a party" barely known to himself, who had drunk him blind," and that, after the night's de- bauch, his sense and sight being still somewhat obfus- cated, he had lighted upon the wrong man."—Bor- der Advertiser. THE HAIR TRADE IN FRANCE.—The Paris cor- respondent of the Boston Traveller tells us that an im- mense trade is carried on in hair in Britany and the southern provinces of France, which supply the wig makers of the world. The purchasers of this article attend all the fairs, and carry with them not only money, but ribbons, pinchbeck pins, and other articles of feminine finery, sure to tangle girls' eyes. Red hair sells or more and brings more than any other hair; a head that gives frequent crops of this colour is the source of. a fortune to the lucky possessor. The market value of hair is as follows :-Red, black, brown, and blonde. The hair is purchased from the itinerants by wholesale dealers, who clean it; when cleaned it is worth ten francs a pound, and when it is ready to be used on wigs it is worth between forty and eighty francs a pound. Germany supplies the world with blonde hair. London alone buys 10,000 pounds of hair annually. FRIGHTFUL OUTRAGE IN WESTMEATH.-Our readers will not have forgotten that about a. year and three months since a, respectable farmer named Edward Kelly was murdered in the immediate neighbourhood of his own dwelling, near Kilbeggan. The most active measures were immediately taken by the authorities for the apprehension of the assassins. An extra force of police was quartered within a few hundred yards of the murdered man's house, and a stipendiary magistrate was sent to reside in the town of Kilbeggan, for the special purpose of protecting Kelly's widow, who has since given up the land to the owner. The farm was subsequently let to a Mr. Jessop, of Tyrrellspass, who, relying oh the protection of the pÔlioe, removed to the house previously occupied by Edward Kelly. Here he has since resided, never leaving home without being armed, and almost invariably escorted by a policelnin. On Saturday Mr. Jessop attended the market of Kil- beggan, and unfortunately returned on his way home without his usual escort. When he had arrived near his own house, and within a quarter of a mile of the temporary police barrack, he was fired at by a man stationed behind a wall by the road-side. The shot took effect in his abdomen; but he had time to observe the man who wounded him, and to return his fire before he fell insensible. Little hopes of his recovery were entertained. This is the fourth Riband outrage which has occurred in the neighbourhood within a few weeks. CuitiotfsLY Lost ASD CURIOUSLY FOUND. — About five years ago a gentlefflali Residing in the neigh- bourhood of Newcastle long a valuable signet ring in his pigstye. The ring, being an heirloom, was highly prized, and the strictest search was made, but in vain, for its recovery. The contents of the stye were sold as manure, and the land on which it was used has-since been ploughed. Well, a few days ago a number of girls were gathering the quickens," when one of them came upon the identical ring lost five years before, and which during that long period had been reposing peacefully in the earth. The mother of the girl took it to a jeweller at Carlisle, who recognised the crest; and retained the ring. Its owner was communicated with, and had the satisfaction of recovering the ring so long lost. A SWINDLING COUNTESS. —A dashing lorette, calling herself Countess Deliard, but whose real name is Genoux, has been tried by the Tribunal of Correc- tional Police for swindling. A female named Nicollet, who follows the singular calling of letting out cashmere shawls on hire, at so much a day, to the ladies of the demi-monde of x^aris^ stated that the soi-disaut co«n- tees some time ago hired from her a shawl for three days for 45f. in advance, and disappeared without returning it. The woman complained to the police, and the young female was arrested. What did you do with the shawl ?" asked the president of the prisoner. To oblige a fnend who was in distress I pawned it for 500f. r7, V1 you do with the pawn- broker's ticket. I sold it for 500f. to a Jew. In addition to the taking of the shawl, it was stated that she had cheated a waiter of the Cafe Anglais out of 20f. One day she gave a grand breakfast to some friends at the caffi, and when the bill was presented said that she had forgotten her purse she, however, sent the waiter to her lodgings for 100f., and her ser- vant immediately gave the money. The next day. in passing, she called in at the cafe, and asked the waiter for 20f. to pay for a cab; the man, not doubting her solvency, gave the sum, but he never saw her more. The woman, who, it was stated is the wife of a re- spectable man m the country, was condemned to two years imprisonment and 50f. fine. WHO WILL PAY THE PIPER !-France will be the first to feel the pinch (ably remarks a clever London weekly). Her people's interests have opposed them vehemently to the war, but latterly the working classes have been moved to utter cries of sympathy with Italy. The same mouths, when they want bread will shape themselves to other sounds. Thousands will be thrown out of bread. Already an embargo is laid on the vessels employed in the deep sea fisheries. Their crews are wanted for the war. This outs off an important supply of food, and source of wealth, at the same time that it deprives a large number of hardy seamen of their employment, or forces them into the navy. But this is only one instance out of many of what our neighbours have to suffer, and of the greater miseries in store for them. We have seen how soon France sickened of the Russian war, and it was but a skirmish compared with the struggle upon which she has now entered, or. we should rather say, has been dragged by her unscrupulous ruler. The crime carries the penalty with it in ruinous commercial and financial embarrass- ments. How ENGLAND MAY BE INVEIGLED.—The laws that regulate the conduct of neutrals towards belli- gerents are extremely complicated, especially in relation to the carriage of war materiel. It is more than likely that, some day, in the Mediterranean, one of our ships will be boarded by a ship of one of the belligerents, on charge of having amis, ammunition, or war stores for the use of the enemy. The suspicion may prove to be unfounded, but it will suffice to set us in flam*. Forth- with the Ministry of the hour will be charged by the Opposition with neglecting the honour of the country if they do not resent the insult. Oppositions never care for consequences they would plunge into war, or anything else, if thereby they could eject the party holding office and put themselves in their places. A year will not elapse without some such misadventure giving occasion for a quarrel and plunging us into the struggle.—Law Times. I1SIR JAMES GRAHAM KETURNED.—" You would like to be in the new Parliament, Jemmy!" cried a voice at Carlisle on the nomination-day. Sir James Graham, to whom the remark was addressed, replied that his desirbs had decidedly taken that direction, and the good folks of the borough have accordingly indulged their very old acquaintance by placing him well at the 1 head of the poll. They have even brought his nephew in too—the "grandson of the late Mr. Wyberg,"—so that Carlisle has now a brace of Liberal members, and Lord Derby at least one awkward customer for his at- tentions this day month. Sir James has made his mind up for mischief; that is quite plain. On foreign politics, on domestic politics, on the Admiralty, on the Reform Bill, he struck right and left, till not a chink of Ministerial policy was left unprobed, and such was the popularity either of himself or his principles that all his confidence was justified and the election triumph- antly won.-Times.

TRUTHFULNESS OF THE POOR. Mr. S. Mill, unquestionably a very courageous, as well as a very able writer, has declared it in a recent publication that in Great Britain, the higher classes, for the most part, speak the truth, while the lower classes, almost without exception, have frequently re- course to falsehood. I think (says a writer in Fraser) Mr. Mill must have been unfortunate in his experience of the poor. I have seen much of them, and I have found among them much honesty and truthfulness, along with great kindness of heart. They have little to give away in the form of money, but will cheerfully give their time and strength |in the service of a sick neighbour. I have known a shepherd, who had come in from the hills in the twilight of a cold December afternoon, weary and worn out, find that the little child of a poor widow in the next cottage had been suddenly taken ill, and, without sitting down, take his stick and walk through the dark to the town, nine miles off, to fetch the doctor. And when I told the fine fellow how much I respected his manly kindness, I found that he was quite unaware that he had done anything remark- able-" it was just what ony neibour wad do for anither!" I could mention scores of similar cases. And as for truthfulness, I have known men and women among the peasantry, both of England and Scotland, whom I would have trusted with untold gold-or even what the Highland laird thought a more searching test of recti- tude-with unmeasured whisky. Still, I must sorrow- fully admit that I have found in many people a strong tendency, when they had done anything wrong, to justify themselves by falsehood. It is not impossible that over-severe masters and mistresses, by undue scolding administered for faults of no great moment, foster this unhappy tendency. It is not, however, of one class more than another, hat the quaint old mini- ster of a parish in Lancashire was speaking, when one Sunday morning he read in text the verse in the Psalms, I said in my haste all men are liars," and began his sermon by thoughtfully saying "Aye, David, ye said it in your haste, did you ? If ye had lived in this parish, ye might have said it at your leisure!"

SKETCHES OF RUSSIAN CHARACTER. Besides the occasional dinner-guests, there were two others, who frequently visited Krasnoe-Celo, but never made their appearance on Sunday receptions, or on occasions of ceremony. One of these was a Tartar prince, poor, noble, and proud—a man of handsome exterior, a perfect Malech Adel as to looks—of stately mien and lofty intellect, but around whom hung a gloom so oppressive, and, moreover, so contagious, we were generally glad when dinner terminated, that we might forget, in lively converse among ourselves, or in music, the care which was ours by sympathy alone. The history of the Prince was a melancholy one. His wife, a beautiful and accomplished woman, had eloped with one whom he had esteemed as a friend for many years, leaving him with five boys, the eldest about eight years old, to mourn, first her infamy, and then her death; for a fortnightaftershelefther husband's roof, she met with her death by a singular accident. The poor Prince reflected on himself for this double misery. He attributed her fall to his own jealousy, and his con- tinued surveillance of her, and tormented himself per- petually with some supposed new reason which had influenced her in taking such a step. Two years had already elapsed since her death, but both ihe and his little boys still wore deep mourning. Happily, the little fellows never knew their mother's shame; but, as their father never lost sight of them for an instant, the gloom to which he was a prey overshadowed the boys, and the two eldest, who usually accompanied him, pale, pensive, noble-lookirig little creatures, looked on with their large gazelle-like eyes at Aleen's gambols, as if such indulgence were forbidden to them. All invita- tions to join her in play were rejected with a quiet, gentle refusal, and no inducement could prevail on them to leave their father's side, where they usually stood, the arms of the elder entwining the younger, and one of the widower's round both. Poor man! the picture was a most melancholy one, whoever was to blame. A BLUNT AND HONEST HORSE DEALER. The other occasional guest at Krasnoe-Celo was of a totally different stamp. A rough, jocular, plain-spoken Russian jockey and horse-dealer, a man well known in all the country round for his probity, and one, moreover, who finds a hearty welcome at the tables of the first noblemen in the Government. His conversation, which was generally replete with anecdotes of horses, was in- tensely interesting, for, being a natural admirer of all horse-kind, he never felt so much at his ease as when on this, his favourite topic. He is now nearly seventy years of age, but talks of what he is to do as if he were a boy. For the last thirty years he has driven his own race-horses at both capitals. Many anecdotes are cir- culated, among his admirers, of his characteristic virtues, and. the following is one particularly illustrative £ a Principle he had adopted from early life; namely. asking at once the value of his horses and never takmg less. One morning early a miserable-looking old man, accompanied by another of the same type, but evidently the servant of the former, drova up to the house of the horse-dealer, and requested to be shown some of his finest horses for harness. The dealer pro- duced his very best, and, after looking, and debating. and looking again, the old man selected a set of four fine bays, and demanded their price. Thirty thou- sand rubles," returned the dealer. I will give you twenty-five thousand," said the tatterdemalion. I ask at once the only price I can take for them," said the horse-dealer, with a low bow. Upon which the ragged pair turned round and walked out, returning, however, as the custom is, in a few minutes after, to inquire what would be the lowest price. I have asked the only price I mean to take," persisted the dealer, flushing with displeasure, "namely, thirty thousand rubles." Ach then good bye to ye-thirty thousand rubles that I shall certainly not give," muttered the old man, and awav he went once more. AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR-A MISERLY NOBLEMAN. Weeks elapsed; when, on the horse-dealer's taking possession of a new residence in Moscow, it was thrown open to all his friends and acquaintance. According to a very old custom upon such an occasion, any one who can scrape up the most remote bowing acquaint- ance claims to be recognized, and repairs to this in- augurative ceremony, where refreshments are provided on a wholesale scale. To the surprise of the hero of the feast, whom should he behold, pushing his way towards him through the well-packed crowd, but the shabby old customer in rags, followed by his ragged [attendant Drawing him on one side in a quiet corner, he put to him once more the momentous question:—"What is the very lowest you will take for the horses ? "Forty thousand rubles," returned the dealer, with his charac- teristic nonchalance. Bring the knife," said the old man, with a desperate effort through his closed teeth "and make haste," he continued, addressing his ser- vant, fearful that the dealer might pop on another ten thousand ere he could return. More than once, while he was gone, the dealer revolved in his mind the mean- ing of this singular request of the old man to his at- tendant but, dreading little danger of violence, surrounded as he was by friends, he waited with some curiosity the denouement. At length the tattered foot- man returned, and the surprise of the horse-dealer was by no means trifling, to see the formidable knife he carried applied to the side of the old man, where, after cutting a network of stitches that covered the lining of a patched undercoat, a loifg slit Was exposed to1 view, whence protruded a thick book of paper notes, out of which he counted down the forty thousand rubles, much to the surprise of the dealer, who imagined he would have made an energetic appeal in order to avoid payment of the last ten thousand, which had been added to the price of the bays since his last visit. This extraordinary customer proved to be a nobleman of high rank, and wealthy as a Crcesus but, knowing liow his countrymen drove bargains, he always donued the garb and air of po verty to get an article as cheap as he could.

A CHINA DINNER. Our hosts (Albert Smith is the narrator) with great courtesy and welcome. Our first^ passed in looking about the rooms, at the appointments, lanterns, flower-baskets, &c. table was round, and laid out for a dozen, vwtli te cloth over it. Each guest had a large sauctr a smaller one with soy; another with a little ln xt> and a porcelain spuon also two chopsticks Ihen we went out on to the terrace, which commanded^ the ship- ping in the harbour, and here we weie ntroduccd to the lady professional singers. Ibese *^orov''n girls, with their hair wonderfully and elabenately dressed, and a smaller one, about 11, with her head almost cropped, except a comical, perpendicular fringe over the top, where our English girls wear a plait. J hey stared at us with their dull leaden faces, but all made no attempt to return our salutation, and then burst into a roar of We now came back to the dining-room, where had arrived an orchestra of five performers—the men-ser- vants of the compradors. The women played harsh stringed instruments, and the men the most screeching fiddles I ever imagined. They sang a song, with an accompaniment, which Rosario told me was a sort of "Mourir pour la Patrie"of the last revolution. It lasted many minutes, and appeared very like what I heard, at Singapore. The dinner then began. We had, in succession, sharks' fins, a stew of goose, tendons of deer, bird's-nest soup, turtle, ham (very good), fowls and quails, made up like faggots, fish sounds, small puddings of pork fat, as at the eating-house, a soup of rose leaves, with a strong twang of garlic, and many unknown things. There were 16 courses. The women sat down with 1$ but did not eat anything; they had dined before, but they kept filling out little glasses with wine and sat!1' shoo perpetually. We ate as much as we could, for politeness, but soon knocked up. Then we broke «P for another concert and smoke on the terrace. In 811 hour another feast began, and they lighted all the laII' terns. The meal was a prolonged dessert of preset and cakes, with fruit. The women sang at interval and Rosario accompanied them on the drum. THOO we had speeches with three-times-three. Then M1' Sutherland proposed The ladies," and on this beig explained to Tye-you, our prima donna, she returned a few words in a really graceful and unassuming manner, observing that she and her friends felt complimented at being permitted to meet so many English mandarins-

AN AMERICAN OPINION OF THE IRISH.AND THE ENGLISH. Let's liquor, Ly," said the tall one: what do yo" ambition ? Shall it be whisky, ale, rum, brandy, 90 or what not; for they haint no compounds here 110 mint juleps, cocktails, sherry cobblers, gum tickle^ phlegm cutters, chain lightning, or sudden deatj'' Simples is what they go on they don't excel f drinks; they have no skill in manufacturing liquid^ The Irish can't eat nothing but taters, and dri^ nothing but whisky, and talk of nothing but pries'8 and patriots, ructions and repeals. They don't nothing like anybody else. Their coat tails are long that they drag on the ground, like a Nantuck6; cow, which is so cussed poor that she can't hold it up/ and their trousers are so short that they don't below their knees, with two long strings from them that are never tied, and three that never felt an eyelet hole and wear that have no roofs on 'em. The pigs are fed? the house, and the children beg on the They won't catch fish, for fear they would to use them in Lent or raise more corn they eat, for fear they would have to pay S1^ 0Ii ^eir cars sideways, like a gal on a S'j* saddle^ and never look ahead; so they see but one of a thing, and always act and fight on one side-the 1 is no two ways about them. And yet hang me, if don't like them, take them by the large, better than tb: English, who are as heavy and stupid as the porter tbft guzzle all day -who hold their chins so everlastin' hiSrj they don't see other folks' toes they are for ever treadin' on—who are as proud as Lucifer, and ape 10 humility; as rich as Croesus and as mean as a Jeta I talking from one year's end to another of educating^: poor, and wishing the devil had flown away with y' Faustus before he ever invented types; praising us ever, and lamenting Columbus hadn't gone to bottom of the sea, instead of discovering Ameri?9! talking of Reform from July to eternity, and as folks if they don't hope they may get it.—Zw" University Magazine.

SOCIETY AT THE MAURITIUS. To the European, ignorant of the types and costing of the different Oriental races, nothing can be striking than the appearance of the Mauritians. first impression of surprise and wonder speedily '«re?S off, and the mind becomes accustomed to the diverslt| of language, colour, and race. But on first landing; at all of an imaginative character, ho may o°aO0fj himself in the capital of the Caliphs, and with all the witchery of Eastern romance. So powering is the feeling of novelty, that if a mute to sign to him to follow, he would follow as a matter course; and if after being conducted through bubbling with fountains, and loaded with golden he found himself in a^bathroom floored with marble, J would resign himself without resistance to the hands. the attendants, ready to untwist every joint of his1 in the process of shampooing. He sees faces TG13rerj0< familiar to his imagination in childhood by the cha ing pages of the Arabian Nights, or such as the j masters have given to the heroes and the p atrial0^b a still more wonderful volume. He sees Arabs and the shore of the Red Sea, whose dress, features, language have undergone little change from the of forty centuries—who retain, in the midst of life, something of the freedom of the desert-Mid v»V cherish the reminiscences of their former nomad surrounding themselves with the horses of their na^L land. He sees haughty Mohammedans, deaceod^-u of a race who conquered India before the ol flag was ever unfurled on its shores — men reg, stature, muscular in build, with regular featiff lofty brows, bull-like necks, and flowing beards- sees Indians from the burning plains ofg"preS' weak and effeminate in frame, soft^and .^eir dark, sion, fawning and servile in address, with *Q JorJ1ea curling locks, longer and glossier than those that the heads of the Roman youth during the reig 1 sfcjal later Emperors. He sees Chinamen from the Empire, attracted to the abode of the barbarism sacra fames auri—a grotesque-looking race, witu i faces, wide mouths, flattened noses, high cheek-boi* and curious eyes, shaped like button-holes, wea1^, trousers of the same portentous size as Peter the Be strong, with each leg large enough to contain the body, and abjuring long locks, save a single one °n^ crown of the head, plaited and pendulous, or t round the head according to the taste of the wearer- sees dark descendants of Ham, of all types and .;cg& tries inhabited by that servile race; ex-appre fast sinking into the grave, often halt and mained, bearing in their deeripid, toil-worn stronger argument against slavery than ever issue the eloquent lips of Wilberforce or Brougham; j. I negroes, the offspring of slaves, plump, shiny, a? JLm humoured, but devoid of ambition, foresight, hoB m and truth; Malagashes, of two different nations,. one agreeing in physical organisation with their At brethren, except.that the skull is smaller and the w, thinner—the other a fine, bold, athletic race, wit" J plexions as' light as the Spaniards of the south, little of the usual negro characteristics in their fea jgJ, —faithful, affectionate, and grateful if kindly tr^ but turbulent, passionate, and revengeful^ when 0I?ort, ing under a sense of injury; Mozambiques, s -fl broad-chested, and muscular, with features expr of coarse sensuality and indifference to everything; the gratification of their immediate wants; an?goJ# and there an Abyssinian, tall, erect, and han' with aquiline features, approaching nearer to the 0f pean type than those of any other of the dark ra Africa.. o8 d Besides the Hindus, he sees other stray specinj the Asiatic races Lascar saamen, with roup and cotton petticoats, resembling in shape a er's kilt, worn over the trousers Batavians, d$0 but muscular, with features a compromise betw Hindu and the Chinese Armenians, with bushy 0l beards and olive complexions, wearing^ conical jege, sheep, skin, with the wool worn outside irtxdv*' differing little, but still discernible, from the and Parsees, from Bombay, fair, sleek, and int^V^pfl with flowing robes of snowy white, and reclining rather than worn on the back of the J' j$0 a fine race, the mercantile aristocracy of India a East. Europe also has added its contingent & i the motley assembly; bronzed Frenchmer1' s(lcr^o0 J forest of hair about; their faces, and a frequf1 Lan V' their lips stray specimens of Itali m andf^^gh i»erj triots, exiles for their country's good pvchaUn.6? chants, principally "old salters," that have ng wit? the log-book for the ledger, tropical TrunQ^^Jj.g aji<* many oddities aiid much warmth of heart; °'nac;0u8y soldiers, looking wan and dissipated, °«en c jj# killing themselves with hard liviu^' t \es$\ how soon the goal is reached^ tmprefA the heads of civil 4«Partn^^tance, having an with a sense of their own imP greater wisdom tnan «^ o £ the & up0n tbj with more orl«*J African blood in. their veius~a distinct class, asortof ™*mDerio, equally removed the oure black and white population, with whom neither marry nor are given in marriage. Such is the picture presented to the eye by the m and motley population of Mauritius—a picture un in itself, such^as no other country in the \v.or iV'ed supply. Mm is a great problem being gradually s by the intermixture of these races, differing90 j in every respect, and what language or ifc emerge from the seething mass it is ddfi „ of say. \Y.* are certain that the future laD?Urr0a<reS» Mauritius ,will puzzln the philogifts of and that it ,vi!l require more than the lingual fflents of an Admirable Crichton, or oE the Itau dinal (Mezzofanti) who spoke twenty-four l;in £ L'i £ trace its component parts to the sources from vrhic were derived. Jn after ages it may afford arV ,jye<J ment in proof of all languages having been cl<-juCl) from one stamm-sprache, or mother tongue, uias as it will be found to have taxed almost all in its own composition. But who the coming of Mauritius may be, we cannot tell; we onjy that, from elements so diverse there may not forth a Frankenstein. One thing is certain, that are Asiatics, the Africans, and the people of colour, increasing so rapidly as to make the white -^reIVcnljiJ>' pulation comparatively insignificant in point ot » bers and as a large proportion of the latter are bouring under conditions unfavourable to the tion of the human race, it is not improbable tha.» the course of time, they may die out, or be abso iii the coloured population. The latter are rapidly creasing in numbers and wealth, while the descendants of the original settlers have, in nW« cases, sunk into poverty.—Creoles and Coolies, of Years in Mauritius.

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