The Aberystwith Observer

TT* -= THE CLEVER MR. BEECHER AND HIS CHURCH! Tito religious system of America is the voluntary system that system, as might be expected, receives its most signal developments at great centres of the population, and the one example which eclipses all others is that of Mr. Henry Ward Beecher's church, at Brooklyn, New York. A public meeting and a long discussion have thrown a blaze of light on the affairs of this establishment, and the latest numbers of the American jourmls disclose the interest with which the subject is viewed. We had better relate the story, which will, doubtless, interest our readers:— Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, was founded and established by a species of commercial subscription. The building was raised by voluntary contributions, but as soon as it was completed the pews were offered for sale, and the original subscribers were reimbursed out of the purchase money. The purchasers of the pews received acknowledgments in the form of scrip, and the holders of this scrip now represent the pro- prietors of the church. It ought to be a handsome edifice, for the debt upon it at this moment is nearly 10,000i., so that its cost must have amounted to that sum at the least. The pastor of this church ia the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, whose recent visit to England a short time ago our readers will remember. When he was first engaged for the ministration it was at the modest salary of 300i. a year, but this remune- ration was gradually increased until in 1863 it reached the sum of 1,500l. All this while, too, it was the prosperity of the church itself which was reflected in that of the minister. The practice in the estab- lishment was to put the pews up to public auction at the beginning of every year, the sale being conducted in the building itself, and the pastor offi- ciating as auctioneer on the occasion. After the lettings which took place last month it was found that the total income of the church from pew-rents would be about 6,500i. for the year, so that there was a net revenue of 5,000i. for the general purposes of the establishment, independently of the minister's salary. Under such circumstances it was not very remarkable that a motion should be made for increasing this salary still further. At a meeting of the "Society," it was proposed to give Mr. Beecher in future 2,000i. a year, and the first amendment offered to the proposal was to make the sum, not 2,0001., but 3,0001., or, in other words, to double the clergyman's income at once. But these motions were not received with universal favour, and a debate ensued which produced some very curious arguments. The proposition for increasing Mr. Beecher's remune- ration was not at first based upon the obvious principle of commercial justice. It was simply urged upon the meeting that the expenses of living in New York had been doubled of late by the condition of the currency, and that 3,000?., therefore, did not in reality represent a larger income than 1,5001. had done twelve months before. Then it was said that Mr. Beecher's style of housekeeping was peculiarly costly, that he was lavish in his hospitality and his charities, and that the proposed increase would but form what we should call so much table-money," naturally forth- coming from the congregation for their minister's use. It was even added that the recent exertions of the reverend gentleman in this country had entitled him to additional consideration; but this argument was silenced by the natural reply that the obligations ineprred on that head should be liquidated by the State, and not by the church. The opponents of the increase, however, took the singular ground of object- ing to Mr. Beecher's private methods of finance. They declared his habits to be such that it could not make the slightest difference to him whether he received an income of 2,000?., 3,0001;, or 4,000?. a. year; that he "had no faculty for taking care of money," and never, according to his own confession, knew where it went to or what he did with it." Then they re- marked that he had other sources of income, and availed himself very liberally of the opportunities which they furnished. His congregation did not mono- polise his exertions. He was editor of a newspaper and a public lecturer, his services in the latter capacity being in great demand, and producing him handsome returns. Taking all these points into con- sideration, together with the debt of the church and the scale of its expenses, the dissentients maintained that it was not desirable to raise the salary of the pastor above the existing amount. How opinions might have been divided on the question we cannot say, for a compromise was found which united all voices. In the uncertain condition of the national finances it was thought hazardous to commit the society to a large annual obligation, but a sum of 1,000?. was voted to Mr. Beecher as a donation or bonus, in addition to his ordinary salary of 1,5OOl. for the year 1864, and with that resolution, unanimously adopted, the meeting dispersed.

The Times, in remarking upon this as an exemplifi- cation of the voluntary system," says :— We thiak Mr. Beecher deserved the gift; indeed, we d. not see how, if he had himself p-essed the demand, it could possibly have been refused. The voluntary system is as good on one side of a bargain aa the other. PI)mouth Church was a speculation to which certain subscribers con- tributed capital, while some minister or other was to find that talcnt for ministration which would render the capital productive. We need not exclude higher motives front the transaction. Very probably the original^ subscribers desired to see a church built for religious service, and advanced to see a church built for religious service, and advanced their money for that object above all; but at any rate, as things have actually turned out, the establishment has a secular as well as a spiritual character, and repreten's not only a place of worship, but a speculation which is ing 6,50'>l a year on an original investmer.t of some 10,000!. Now, it is impossible to deny that this produce is due to the abilities of Mr. Beecher alone. It is his popularity which gives the sittings their value and creates the rental of the church Had he a church of his own, he oould put the whole income In his pocket. Not the least amusing part of the story indeed, Is the fact that he enriches the society in two capacities at once. Weare agsurcd that his talents as an auctioneer are even more extraordinary than his gifts as a preacher, and that he is never so effective even in his own pulpit as on the day when he conducts from that ele- vated position the sale of his pews. Not only would there be no eager bidders except for the anticipation of his eloquent addresses throughout t^e year, but these very biddsrs would fall off greatly in their oilers under any less dexterous management than his. This view of the case, indeed, does seem eventually to have im- pressed the meeting; for a speaker who avowed his oon- viction that putting money into Mr. Beecher's pocket was simply labour in vain, confessed that, "putting the matter in a commercial light," it was a fair question whether Mr. Beecher "was entitled to half the proftt3 or more." It is ..t ally rate ptein thrij: [1<J might have dnnanded them, for thelosa of hia «tsn'icis would probably be the loss of the chief part el the Society's income.

However, the upshot of the matter is, that under the voluntary system, a clergyman, by no means over- worked or shackled in his private recreations or pur- suite, receives as salary a sum exceeding the income of any dignitary of the English Church, excepting its bishops. The deans of our metropoiitan cathedrals do not get so much as Mr. Beecher obtains out of the pew-rents of his chapel. The example, no doubt, is exceptional. Still, though the case is an extreme sample, it is a sample only. There may be only one Beecher, but there must be many treading at greater or less distances in his footsteps. The voluntary system may not be the best for the congregation it is hardly likely to be so, unless we suppose truth to be the mi>st attractive of all topics; but it is certainly not a bad system for a clergyman who can establish a name for popular ministration.

SienHon Crrtspitotwr. rtff" if ir, it right to state that we do '.ot at all times fc-.esttifv imrse'.vas with or.r corresnonden oninions.1 Before these lines are read, the Session of 1864 will have commenced, and the Royal speech will be pretty generally under discussion. It is deeply to Le regretted that that speech will have been delivered by Royal commission, instead of being read in the clear, mjisical voice of her Majesty. We all look upon the Queen remaining in such strict seclusion as a national calamity. It may be, and doubtless is, quite true that no important State duty is neglected, but still we look to the Sovereign as having a right to give the influence of her exalted position to the country, in benefiting trade, and in otherwise making herself felt as a component part of the constitution. At present we hear of no public duties being performed y the Queen, who seems to be in the hands of the Ministry, and altogether removed from her people. The mere opening of Parliament by commission is nothing in itself; but it is to be hoped that the drawing-rooms and levees will not be held by com- mission, or postponed altogether. If they are, I believe the Queen will lose much of her deserved popularity. For the last week or so, the air has been filled with rumours (if the figure of speech may be allowed), as to ministerial dissensions, which at last have cul- minated into a report that Earl Russell had actually resigned. The ministerial press denies that there haa been any foundation for the rumour of dissensions, while the report of the Foreign Secretary's resigna- tion is emphatically contradicted by his name sub- sequently appearing aa attending a Cabinet Council. As far, however, aa I can ascertain, by putting this and that together, the Ministry are not wholly in accord in reference to the Dano-German question but whether there has been any such difference as to induce Earl Russell to tender his resignation, and whether, if so, he was prevailed upon to reconsider his determination, is more than I can say. Lord Derby's visit to the Queen, which at first gave some colour to the rumour, I believe to have been wholly unconnected with the alleged ministerial dissensions. A writer in the Times descants eloquently on the unmitigated nuisance of German bands, and he says we have put down street cries." This is a very silly mistake. There is n othing to prevent a costermonger calling out all day, and every day, at the height of his vocal powers, and even on Sunday the law or the police does not interfere with him. I should be the last person in the world to prevent a costermonger bawling out his wares, though it be a nuisance, inasmuch as thus he gets a living; but it is a little too bad that Sunday, which is in theory—and a happy theory it is—a day of rest, should be made hideous by the cries of costermongers and fruit- so tiers. The liberty here is all on one side, the liberty of the 'hard-worked artisan or clerk, who has a right to expect at least a little external quiet on the Sabbath, is quite set at nought. I hope next ses- sion some effort will ba made to lessen the amount of Sunday trading that is now carried on on Sunday inLomdon. Your readers may not care much about our Metro* poatan and City Police, so I will not bore them about it. But it is worthy of mark that the City Police, having had a tunic and leather leggings, Sir R. Mayne haa thought proper to follow the example with regard to the Metropolitan Police. The little fact is curious, after Sir Richard's attempt to amalgamate the two forces by depriving the City of its jurisdiction. We are slowly finding out the benefit of the Fraudu- lent Trade Marks Act, though, unhappily, the evil is too deeply rooted to be easily eradicated. I should like to see some such act applied to what I may call learned marks," or, in other words, to the letters after a man's name, which are supposed to indicate honours conferred by some university or corporate body. I see it advertised that "gentlemen requiring foreign degrees are advised to consult, by letter," &c. A very unfair system is here indicated. The value of a degree consists in its being conferred for eminence in literature, art, or science; and when these degrees are merely obtained by money from some foreign literary association—perhaps an obscure college—the value of such eo-called honours is absolately nil, except, un- fortunately, that degrees carry with them a money value in giving distinction to the possessor, who trades upon his purchased degree, to the detriment of those who have fairly obtained them. I cannot but think that any one who would purchase a degree would make an unfair use of it. Fashionable chronicles tell us that Viscount Courte- nay, the eldest son of the Earl of Devon, is shortly to "lead to the hymeneal altar" Mademoiselle de Rothschild. It is said that the lady will bring her husband no less than a million sterling. Why, it reads like a fairy tale. A million sterling! Why, it is a thousand fortunes combined. The young lady must have been born with a gold spoon in her mouth. Certainly she can never know her wealth. Money beyond an ample fortune (whatever that may be) must become a drug, utterly inapplicable to ordinary or extraordinary wants. What a happy thing it would be if the Rothschilds and some other of our millionaire families were to become suddenly imbued with communistic principles, and share their money with their poorer neighbours I Never, in the annals of the world, as far as my reading has extended, has there been a more awful calamity than that terrible holocaust at Santiago. More have been killed at once, but never so dramatically. It has been pointed out that in fact this dreadful event com- bines the horrors of most of the catastrophes which stand boldly out in the history of the world. I shall not seek further to comment on it; but it is to be hoped that this awful affair-told verbally, by letter and in print, as it will be, all over the world — will produce such an effect on the mindu of people generally, that in all future buildings there shall be better arrange- ments for exit, in case of sudden catastrophe. The blind ignorance of builders in this matter is extraordinary. I cannot call to mind one large public building in the United Kingdom which is well adapted to dis- gorge itself in the event of fire, the place falling in, or any such calamify. I remember well the night of that terrible rush from the Surrey Music Hall, when several were killed, for my life was then within an ace of being lost. Strange to say, the Metropolitan Taber- naole, which was built for the congregation of a gentle- man who was preaching on the night of thismemorable accident—strange to say, this monster place of worship is very deficient in exits. I mention this, because great fuss was made on this subject when the building was erected. I have particularly noticed the egress of the ] people, with a speculation on the probable result were they to have to rush out in case of fire, or the alarm of fire, which is almost as bad. I believe the casualties would be awful. And yet how difficult ia it for builders to act sensibly in this matter. Had there been half-a-dozen large exits from the Cathedral of La Compania, that terrible holocaust of women need never have happened. The terrible scene at the Agricultural Hall—the laceration of a man's arm by a lion kept for show and performance, ought to be a warning to the lovers of sensation performances. I called attention to the danger of these performances only last week, but little thought that so soon an illustration of these dangerous tricks would be offered. It is no use writing, or talking, or preaching against sensational mouute- bankism where they are found to pay they will be continued, and wherever they are offered, there more or less the public will flock. And it is a very difficult subject for legislation. If we stop rope-dancing on account of its danger, we must stop going up in a balloon; if we prevent a man playing with a lion, standing on a pole, dancing on a wire, or "swallowing" knives, where are we to stop ? I am glad to see that the anomalous htwruLttuJjto Miterary copyright will be "called over the coals" during the ensuing session by Mr. Black, whose name is down to introduce a motion for amending or con. solidating" it. As at present constituted, it works very indifferently, and in some branches of literature piracy may be carried on with impunity. For instance, I recollect a case in which a soi-disant doctor of Australia had the impudence and conscience to publish a book which was all but a reprint of Frank Fowler'3 Lights and Shadows." Poor Frank (since deceased) exposed the literary quack in the columns cf iheAthenccum, but this was all the punishment the offender incurred by his piracy. Ought not such a man to be punishable by law for publishing the work of another man under his own name ? Publishers, too, suffer 30 great deal by the anomalous working of the law in this respect, and so I expect to see the bill Mr. Elack i:3 about to introduce heartily supported out- of-doors. It is generally known that Mr. Thackeray left behind him an unfinished tale, which he intended to com- 1 nience publishing in t'he spring, in the pages of the Covnkill Magazine. I hear, from literary friends, that the work (so far as it has gone) is characterised by very little of that cynicism which the great maestro affected in his works, but is full of kindly and genial pictures and domestic love scenes. It is unfinished as a tale; but, as a part of a novel, it is remarkably complete, and something after the fashion in which Becky Sharp left Joseph Sedley to seek "fresh fields and pastures new." However, we shall know more cf it, and be able to judge for ourselves, soon, for it is to be published—fragmentary as it is—in the Corrhill Magazine of March. I hear that Mr. Dickens strongly discountenanced the idea of allowing the tale to be completed by other hands.

BEFORE AND AFTER THE CONFLA- GRATION AT SANTIAGO. The following has been received from a correspondent of the London rimes resident at Valparaiso, the best port in Chili, between 50 and CO miles from Santiago:— People in a country like England can form no idea of the extent to which religious zeal and fanaticism are carricd in the Spanish-American republics, and Chili, although, per- haps, the most enlightened in this respect, still retains un- repealed a clause in her Constitution prohibiting the exer- cise of any but the Cathplic religion. In Chili there are two Protestant places of worship, both in Valparaiso, and these are only suffered to exist by the authorities pretending to recognise them as private dwellings, and their entrance doors are numbered accordingly, like the remainder of the houses of the town. In Santiago, the capital, the Protes- tant population is too small probably to support a place of worship, but it is very doubtful whether in such a case it would be permitted to remain, as the capital swarms with a Catholic clergy entirely opposed to any such innova- tion, and whose ranks, being continually recruited from the inferior French, Spanish, and Italian priests, include some of the most bigoted and uncompromising examples of the priesthood. Men soured by disappointment in Europe, and having witnessed the gradual decay of their power and influence, come hither as to a last refuge, and seek to re- establish their waning power over the ignorant and super- stitious. Hence we find each vessel arriving from Catholic France bringing priests, monks, friars, or Sisters of Charity, and the numbers altogether of ecclesiastics in Santiago is at this time computed to be about 5,000 in a population of 200,000—one priest for every 40 souls. Santiago is to the Catholic priesthood literally a land "flowing with milk and honey." The church bells are ring- ing from morning to night; from the earliest dawn sometimes until midnight devotees are seen in their church dresses, passing with demure countenances along the streets. Ladies are not allowed here to wear their gayest clothes to do honour to that which ought to be and which we hope is the happiest and pleasantest day in England of the whole week. No. Religion here must be gloomy, sad, and grave, and therefore all the visitants of the churches must be at- tired in black from head to foot. Female vanity will never- theless peep out slily still in a silver or gold-mounted missal or a richly embroidered silk dress. Bonnets are prohibited, but a mantle is fastened over the head in a manner which conceals entirely the hair and leaves the face uncovered, which set thus in a black frame, looks wan and solemn enough, and unless the features are very regular, becomes by no means prepossessing. The men are by no means uni- form in their attendance at church, and it would almost seem as if only on their reaching a certain age they became sufficiently devoutto attend more than occasionally. The young men seem, on the other hand, to content themselves with surrounding the church doors to watch the congregation as it pours out after service at the fasTiionable places of wor- ship and if the male portion of the community do enter, they generally remain near the door, while the women spread their little church mats which they bring with them and kneel upon the paved floor in the centre or nave of the church. There are no seats in the churches, as in France, and the women remain kneeling, or perhaps rather squatting upon the ground, during the entire service, surrounded by the men, who stand In the side aisles, or near the door. The churches of Santiago are more remarkable for their number and size than for any architectural pretensions they possess. The generality of them are incomplete as respects towers, spires, or external decoration but they are almost all very spacious, and being without gallery accommodation, the whole of the congregation have to be provided with space upon the floor. The plans of these churches mostly correspond they are generally quadrangular, with a central nave and side aisles divided by rows of columns. At one end is the high altar, and at the opposite extremity is the principal entrance. Along each aide are other altars, and generally on one side is a second entrance to the church, in addition to which the priests have a small door near to the principal altar, leading into the sacristy. On extraordinary occasions these churches are thrown eompletely open, and the high altar is one blaze of light from multitudes of candles and lamps, while the choir—or rather the orchestra, for it is usually composed of the same band and chorus as the opera—perform the most elaborate music of the great com- posers to a mass of wondering and dazzled enthusiasts who cram the entire space within the walls while high mass is toeing performed, aad who listen afterwards to an exciting sensation sermon which is delivered by some ranting fanatic selected especially for the occasions It has become here the custom to hold some of the prin- cipal of these church festivals in the evenings, for the purpose, I presume, of adding to the effect of the illumina- tions, and the different churches compete with each ether whikh shall present the most brilliant and attractive display. Days previous to the especial occasion a notice will appear in the newspapers, which looks remarkably like a disguised advertisement, setting forth the preparations being made; and only recently one of these mentioned a church having received expressly for the occasion 12 magnificent candel- abra from ———, the eminent manufacturers of Paris, which would be displayed for the first time. To-day the fraternity of San Augustin, to-morrow that of San Miguel or San Antonio, hoists banners upon its towers, rattles its bells, lights its illuminations, and holds high festival. Crowds of willing admirers of these shows flock to the attraction like moths to a candle, and, alas, too like, the ignorant insect, uncon- ecious of the risk undergone and of the fate which they may chance to share yet mothers, wives, and daughters press gladly to the scene, taking their friends, children, nurses, and servants, and frequently their entire households, that none may miss the holy rapture they are taught from infancy to experience on such occasions, and hirry to enter the holy place in good time, so as to secure advantageous places at the show. Such particulars as the above being lii^iioned, I must now proceed to describe perhaps the most heartrending cata- strophe which ever befel in modern times a horror struck community. True as the narrative unfortunately is, the ter- rific nature of the disaster would seem only calculated to inspire incredulity; still the funeral pyre is net yet cold while I write, and the victims are as yet unburied to attest the reality of what otherwise it might be hoped would prove to be nothing but a hideous and ghastly dream. The night of the 8th of December has descended upon the capital of Chili, after a brilliant day. The stars have just begun to shine out brightly, but there is no moon. There is no want of light, however, in the Plaza of the Compania, the old Jesuit Church of Santiago, for from the lofty doors ef this, one of the lareest churches of the city, streams forth upon the surrounding crowd of those unable to and room within a blaze of light, which reaches across the small paved square, and falls upon the front of the Chamber of Re- presentatives on the opposite side. It has just struck 7, and those in attendance within the church are just completing the ignition of the 20,000 lights said to have been prepared for this particular occasion—the feast of the Holy Virgin. The church is said to be crammed to suffocation, an.1 it is of no use trying to obtain admission, for mny already de- sirous to attend have turned away disappointed from the doors. More than 2,500 people are in the church, however, chiefly women, who have been kneeling hours already, many of them, and these are all in the nave of the church, sur- rounded by a considerable number of men. The doors of the building are all wide open, and there is a crowd at each looking in upon the congregation and the lights which are burning in countless numbers at the other end of the chureb. In the midst of the high altar is the figure of the Virgin magnificently arrayed under her feet is an illuminated crescent, like that in the celebrated picture by Murillo in the Louvre. High up and all around, reaching up to the roof of the church, over which is a lofty dome, are myriads of sparkling lights already burning, and the attendants aid just occupied in lighting the camphine lamps which are to illuminate the crescent at the Virgin's feet. Hark I What is that cry of alarm within ? Why do these people at the doors surge backwards with excitement ? And why is there a movement of agitation in the church, in- creasing rapidly ? Fire I Yes, the camphine lamps at the Virgin's feet have ignited some drapery, and it is spreading, in spite of the frantic attempts to extinguish it. Once be- fore last year this is said to have occurred, but the fire was subdued. But now the light in the little square grows brighter every moment, the cries of alarm Increase until they swell into a shriek of terror from a thousand throats, each instant the blaze is brightening, and the flames are spreading like lightning up the tawdry gilded wooden ornaments of the altar to the wooden ceiling, dome, and roof above. The church Is burning, and from the doors pour out the terrified and shrieking crowd—out of all the doors, lofty and wide as they are, stream forth the crowd; but the shrieks grow louder within, and the fire now seems not only to be rising upward, but is falling down from above upon the floor; lamps filled with camphine are bursting, and their blazing contents are descending in showers of fire upon the wretched ladies and the poor children below. Now, indeed, the yells of horror, the shrieks of agony, and groans of despair are becoming every instant more deafening. Why do they not come out from the doors 1 Alas I even as the forked flames are bursting forth from the windows of the dome over the church, the greater part of the poor women have yet to be saved—and now they are, in their efforts to escape, falling down in a dreadful heap one over another in front of the doors, and are thus forming a living barricade, preventing those behind from escaping. Men from outside now rush in and make violent attempts to extricate them, but almost entirely in vain; for the heap is piling higher and higher until it becomes nearly six feet in height—a writhing, shriek- ing. entangled mass of women and children. The bystanders do all they can to help in this extremity, and among them Mr. Nelson, the United States' Minister, and Mr. Meiggs, the railway contractor, make themselves conspicuous by their noble exertions to save life; but there still remain many hundreds of women in the church, and the burning roof is beginning to fall in. The hair and dresses of those now being saved are found to be on fire; some are got out almost naked, and the people cover these with their coats; others 4he drawn out of the entangled mass with such force that their arms are dislocated, and some were drawn out of the church over the pile before the door by lassoes. At length the roof blazes from end to end of the church, and flames are seen rising from the crowd beyond the heap of prostrate women in front of the door, and now the flames burst from the very doors themselves, driving back the bystanders, and all becomes still within in a moment. Death I yes, the most horrible and agonising death, reigns supreme within the old church. Death to 2,000 women and children who but a short half-hour previously were gazing with reverential ecstasy upon the glittering spectacle pre- pared for them—upon the 20,000 torches which were to light their funeral pyro. Death also to many who had been with- drawn from the dread spot, only to linger in agony a short space under the doctor's hands. Death to the mothers and families of numbers of sorrowing relatives who were not present and were powerless to save them. How powerless is man in such a calamity so disastrous and fearful as this! Were none of the means at hand to check the ravages of the nre ? Yes there was water, but lnsuffl cient in quantity, for the city has no proper supply; there were flre-engines, but wretched and inferior machines, and badly served, for in Santiago there are no volunteer fire brigades as in Valparaiso, and therefore there was no prac- tised and efficient force of active helpers—nothing but the aid of a few willing hands and courageous hearts could be found to grapple with such terrific emergency, and hence, perhaps, so fearful a destruction of human lives. Who can picture the condition of the miserable city upon that ntght ? Scarcely a family but had lost some valued or darling member—one-fiftieth part of the female population burnt to death in less than a half hour all classes suffer- ing equally—ladies of the highest rank in society, the trades- man's wife, and the humblest domestic servant, aU perish- I ing absolutely in one another's arms. The sister of the Oorernor of the city is one of the victims, and III tne mi. of those who have perished are whole families; lacues with their daughters and their entire staff of female domestics. One gentleman of wealth, Don R. Ovalle, lost his wife and five daughters. Out of some households nine or ten females have perished; one schoolmistress with a numoer of her pupils and one or two instances are mentioned of entire families leaving home to attend the ceremony at the church and not one returning to again unclose their door. The day following, and immediately after the ruins had cooled, soldiers and police were set to work to remove the blackened, calcined remaiift of the victims from the ruins, where they were found in piles and masses. The soldiers say that at one part a vast number were butnt standing packed close together, so that when they withdrew one corpse the others fell: all these were charcoal down to the waists, and none could be recognised, except that some retained on the lower parts of their bodies a few shreds of clothing. Indeed scarcely any of the unhappy victims have been idontlfied, and patrician and plebeian were similarly removed in the carts of the police to the cemetery, and have been interred in one common grave: 1,500 blackened skulls were counted and acknowledged as received by the authorities of the burtalground for interment, and when, a day or so after the catastrophe, a visit was made to this place, 50 or GO men were found busy digging a huge trench to receive a ghastly pile of human remains which lay hard by covered over with boughs of trees, and which was 180ft. in length, 10ft. wido' and 5ft. high. No catastrophe of a similar nature haa ever, I think, equalled this of Santiago in its horrible results. Many a field of battle has been Was fatal, ani what, after all, is the carnage of a hard-fought field to this holocaust of fair women and innocent children offered up at the shrine of ignorance, idolatry, and superstition ? SnperstitIon I Yee, and superstition the most blasphemous and monstrous, for it will scarcely be believed that in the entrance porch of this very church there existed until the flre a letter-box, Into which the credulous and ignorant dupes of the priests were allowed to deposit letters ad- dressed to the Virgin Mary, beseeching the favours they desired from heaven. These communications were re- ceived by the priests, and if the favour besought was of trifling amount and the petitioner one of the faithful, some mysterious means were taken of oomplying with the desire as, for instance, a person in winter asked for fire- wood, and soon afterwards one morning-a cartload was dis- covered at the door but if, on the contrary, the matter desired was beyond the reach of the priesthood to confer, then the petitioner was enjoined to fast and pray, and to be more regular in attendance at church, so that the prayer might at some future time he granted. The originator of r this unholy deceit was, it is said, a priest of the name of Ugarte, who was the promoter of the celebration which has caused this calamity to fall upon the people of the city, and who, with the rest of the clergy, escaped at the commence- ment of the lire and'busied himself with saving the church utensils from the sacristy, instead of endeavouring to save the victims. The populace are raving sgainst the c!ergy for their in- diffarence on the occasion, and demand that the church shall be rased to the ground, so as to obliterate all trace of the ill-omened place. Never can the recollection, however, of this terrible night be effaced from tie people,—never will such a catastrophe, it is to be hoped, be again suffered but still the churches are lighted up and crowded, and the probability ia that even this severe lesson will fail to prove efficacious in check- ing the influence ot the wiliest class of the priesthood, or in diminishingthe superstition of the people.

Never were people so stirred by a calamity as by the one related above, never was stronger language used to relate it but all words, all ideas, are unavailing to give force to the feeling of sorrow for the loss of so many young, beautiful, and worshipping souls by such a death. Many leaders have been written on the sub- ject, but the Times, which has bad more than one, has given utterance to the best, and from the best of the best we select the following :— Never was there anything more hideous than the cata- strophe at Santiago. It not only exceeds all the horrors one has read of, but by a preternatural medley it combine* them all in one. There is the funeral pile of the Suttee and the ministering Brahmins; there is the auto da fe, with the stake, the chains, the fagots, and tre clergy; there are the tortu es of the Inquisition; there are the smeared and gnited shirts of the early Christian martyrs; there is the helpless crowd on the burning deck, with the fiery shower from the rigging; there are the horrors of the 'middle passage;" theie is the city overwhelmed with hot cinders or lava; there are the burnings of ballet-dancers and the ciushingg and suffocations of panle-strick n audiences; there is the mass of I elplees innocents waiting the flame flying from floor to floor and beam to beam in the factory; there is the death blast of the pit ortiM mine there are the "customs" of Daheaiey; there are the bloody wheels of Jugg«rnauth; thire are the sacrifices of virgins that drove the old Pagans into philosophy and atheism;—al these dreadful tices and frightful dramas seem purfornud together on one stage and in one act at Santiago. The building could hold no mor. a crowd still choked the only general entrance. The emblematic moon on which stood the colossal figure which was the object of that day's special worship, is it had b-en for the month before, contained the fatal store. The flame was applied; it shot upwards, side- wards, along the walls and ceiling. Then fell rain of fire and flakes of tire. Instantly an entangled mass of two thousand women were simply as the coals in a furnace, feeding one mighty flame, which rose to meet the draflly de- scending shower. A minute or two were enough for the hideous transformation, which, as in a dissolving view, changed all these blooming, gaily dressed women and girls into black, stiffened figures, each in its last agony. Michael Angelo could not paint this Dante could not write it nobody could preach it. The boldest of the rough artists who have covered the walls of seme foreign churches with sights to move the pity of surviving friends oould not come near thia scene.

AMERICAN ITEMS. The following are extracted from one of Manhat- tan's recent letters :— Jefferson Davis never made a better hit than when he wrote to the Pope of Rome the letter that is published to- day, with the reply of the Pope. It will make him a large capital with the Irish and German Catholics in this city. The idea of being addressed by the Pope as "Illutrious President" will stagger the faith of many a warm-hearted Irishman. W. J. Florence has played the Ticket-of-leave Man" at the Winter Gardens for 79 nights, and has cleared 40,000 dollars. It is generally understood that he intends to send the clever author of it, Mr. Tom Taylor, one-fourth of the earnings—a bill for 2,0002. sterling. This is the right idea. We are waking up from our pleasant dream that the rebels were in a state of starvation. It seems that it is not so. They have more and better food than the North, so far as necessary food is concerned, though not as many luxuries. We are sadly bothered now with the counterfeits of the old as well as the new postage cunency. There is a large quantity of it in circulation, and as soon as it gets defaced it cannot be distinguished from the genuine. Persons are daily arrested for passing it, and the next day are dis- charged. The boat from Ritter's Island (six miles from the oity) brought the bodies of five coloured dead men, who had been poisoned by their brothers, and then robbed after death. Negro soldiers fare almost as bad now as the coloured civi- lians did last summer, though Fred. Douglass said in his speech at the Cooper Institution that President Lineoln, in? a recent interview, said, "My friend Master Douglass, though I am slow, I am sure." George Francis Train has been in this city. He was on his way to Washington. Some time ago he delivered a lecture West, and announced that he was the best played out man in this country." His notoriety in England gave him a start here when he first came over, but this sort of fame comes to an end very soon in New York City. John Mitchell Is a remarkable instance of this. What a sensation he created when he first came among us He was idolised. He started a paper, and it had a great run for several months. He waa dismissed last week from the editOlial chair of the Richmond Inquirer. -Very likely he will come North in disgust. Should he do so, he would not be molested, as the Lincoln Government does not regard him as a dan- gerous man. Paper has advanced very greatly here within a few days. Three days ago all the leading paper dealers and rag im- porters held a contention with closed doors at the Astor House. The object of the meeting was to raise funds to operate in Washington among members of Congress, should there be any attempt made to take off the duty upon paper. With printing paper at 25 cents a pound it is wonderful how many of oar papers manage to get along and make both ends meet. Yet all journals now seem prosperous, and are coin- ing money. They are filled with advertisements-whether daily or weekly. The booksellers have a lively time of it. All advertise the various works of the late Mr. Thackeray. While he is mourned for, the dealers think it is a good time to sell his various works that are lying on their shelves. Notwithstanding the apparent prosperity of everybody and every thing in this city, there is great suffering among many. There are thousands in this city at this moment who are hungry, and many have died of starvation. It does not seem possible. Many have been frozen to death during the late severe weather. Henry Ward Beecher has been made financially happy by being presented with a cheque for 5,000 dols. He is exten- sively caricatured just now in the illustrated papers. Since the London Times announced its editor, the ex- ample has been followed by many American papers. They print now at the head of the editorial columns, editor." As a natural consequence, any one who feels ag- grieved can have ample redress, and a chance to challenge the editor if he is not civil. Mr. Cobden is praised without stint for overthrowing anonymous editorials, as they are called. Here the paper is nothing without the editor is known, and then it is regarded as merely the opinion of Greeley, Bennett, Raymond, &c. Recruiting in this city has been very slow for a few days past. There are two swindled, Government and the recruit. The runners cheat the recruit of two-thirds, and sometimes out of all his advance money. Again, money has been ob- tained from Government sufficient to pay entire regimints, and yet not one cent is paid, and the Government will have to lose it.

VISIT OF THE QUEEN TO THE ROYAL VICTORIA HOSPITAL. It will be remembered that one of the fir.t visits paid by her Majesty after her bereavement was to the large military hospital at Netley, which was opened for invalids last spring. She has again shown her care for the army and for this hospital, in which the late Prince Consort took a warm interest, by paying it a second visit. She steamed up from Osborne on Thurs- day in last week, and landed at the hospital about 12 o'clock. Prince Leopold accompanied her, and a suite of ladies attached to the Court. Every one was de- lighted to observe that the Queen feoked decidedly in better health than last May, although her face still gives evidence of her severe trial. She proved at once that she had not forgotten any of the incidents of her former visit, by desiring to see first the women's quarters, with which she was not pleased on that oc- casion. She found the rooms looking much more comfortable, and she subsequently inspected some rows of cottages which are now being built in the rear of the hospital, for the special accommodation of the wives and children of the sick men under treatment in the hospital. She was satisfied with these ar- rangements. She then visited the wards, a less laborious task than last year, as there are very few patients in the hospital; the invalids from the Lome station having now ceased to come, and the ships with the tropical invalids not arriving,till a month or two later. She said a few kind words to the men in bed, and then made particular inquiries of Dr. Anderson, the inspector-general, as to the health of the men to whom she had spoken last year. That officer was no little surprised to find that the Queen had a distinct re- collection of several cases, although her notice of them must have been almost momentary. She also entered the dining-hall, where the xpen who are able to leave their beds were at dinner,-tnd carefully in- spected the arrangements there. She then left the hospital, and went to the medical officers' mess-room- a fine large room, which has just been completed, and in which are placed her own portrait and that of the Prince Consort, presented by herself. She expressed her approval of everything, and desired that she might be informed when the invalids from the foreign station would arrive, so that it is hoped Netlev will be honoured by another visit. in- quired particularly whether there had been any effluvia from the mud during the summer, and when told there had been no annoyance of the kind, said she had never anticipated that there would be. She also made particular inquiries about the ventilation of the hos- pital and altogether evinced great consideration for the welfare of its inmates.

—————!——— PARALLELS TO THE HOLOCAUST AT SANTIAGO. The terrible calamity at Santiago, which has deprived some two thousand persons of life, has its parallel in the frightful accident—if accident it may be called—which oc- curred in St. Petersburg some twenty-five years ago; and it is curious to note that the latter occurred in a theatre, acd the one at Santiago in a church :— It was during the Maslinizza, or national Russian carnival, that the calamity occurred. In the Admiralty- square at St. Petersburg a very large temporary theatre had been erected, in which at intervals during the day and evening the company of some enterprising German "Richardson" performed a pantomime. So attractive was the entertainment, that the manager was rewarded with crammed houses. During one of the representations the harlequin, who belonged to the school of the Italian arlequino rather than to our silenbposturing "spangles," rushed forward shouting, Pire,,save yourselves." The announcement was-re- ceived as a good joke by the audience, and they laughed immoderately but in a little time it became apparent that the supposed jest was a terrible reality— flames burst out ou the stage, and spread with inconceivable rapidity. In a moment there was a rush to the doors, but, alas, they opened inwards, and the frightened crowds so frantically endeavouring to escape, were unknowingly using their utmost efforts to bring de- struction on themselves. While this fearful scene was going on in the theatre, the fire was discovered by those outside, and a workman who had helped to erect the building, called for an axe, saying that he would quickly extricate the audience. The axe was found, but, as the story goes, the police on duty declined to allow anything to be done until the arrival of their superior officers 1 Official routine was not, however, long permitted to stand in the way. Feelings of humanity got the better of a wretched police system; the officers were thrust aside, and a hole was made in one of the sides of the building. Unfortunately aid came too late, the fire had done its work, and the rescuers found only the corpses of a mass of human beings. The smoke had suffocated every one of the audience, and so sudden must death have come upon many, that it is reported "men, women, and children sat apparently still gazing at the stage, which was a sheet of flame!"

A correspondent of the Daily News in speaking of the burning of Kagosima (and which question has to come before Parliament), says:- In August last, in Japan, not a building with 2,000 beings in it, but a whole city of 170,0C0 souls was suddenly burnt to ashes within a ft w hours—a city of paper and bamboo, covering many square miles, filled with its women and children, the sick and the infirm, the blind, the halt, and the maimed. It burned like straw on many sides at once, reddening the ocean for leagues with its flames. It was fired without warning by bombshells, and red-hot shot rained incessantly during two days into its midst. In that vast con- flagration it is morally certain that not 2,000 only, but at least five times, perhaps ten or twenty times 2,000 helpless creatures must have perished. No brilliant pen has painted for us the hideous incidents of their last agonies, and the horrors of an infernal fire, before which that of Chill burns but pale and feebly. That death was dealt out to those in- nocent beings in Japan by English sailors—purposely, un- sparingly, and boastfully—not in war, not in necessity, not in self-preservation, but in order to strike terror into a harmless people whom we are bent upon forcing into trade.

TOWNLEY DECLARED TO BE SANE- AFTER ALL. The Visiting Justices of Derby have received an im- po. tant communication from Sir G. Grey, in which he says, that with the concurrence of the Lord Chancellor, he has appointed a commission to examine into the state of Townley's mind. He then proceeds:— While the letters—copies of which were Bent to you on the 23rd and 25th ult.— from the magistrates who signed the certificates of Townley's insanity leave no reason for doubting that they were convinced of his insanity at the time when the certificates were signed by them, the present report from four medical gentle- men, of great experience in mental diseases, appears to Sir George Grey conclusive as to Townley being of sound mind. A certificate to that effect, as required by the Act 3rd and 4th Victoria, cap. 54, has since been received by the Secretary of State. I am further to inform you that, taking all the circumstances of this case into consideration, Her Majesty's Government are of opinion that it would not be right that the capital sentence should now be carried into effect, but that it ought to be commuted to penal servitude for life. This course has therefore been taken, and the prisoner will be dealt with accordingly. I am to add that it is the intention of Her Majesty s Government to propose an amendment of the Act under which the certificates of insanity in this case were given.—I am, Gentlemen, your obedient servant, H. WADDINGTON. Bethelehfiu Hospital, Jan. 28. We, the undersigned, having been requested by secretary Sir George Grey to examine into the state of mind of George Victor Townley, a prisoner under sentence of death ia Bethlehem Hospital, and to report our opinion as to whether he is of unsound mind, report as follows :— "We have carefully considered the coplee of papers sup- plied to UI, and on the 26th and 27th days of this month we have had two lengthened interviews with the prisoner, and the conclusion at which we have unanimously arrived is that George Victor Townley is of sound mind. "Tile demeanour of the piisoaer during each Interview was calm and self-possessei, with Uu exception that at the commencement of the toootd tetervi w ha displayed and expressed annoyance at the repeated examinations to which he was being mbjecte*. Neither in mode of øpeeoh nor in look and eoaduct was there any sign of insanity ob- servable in him. "Hispiompt apprehension of the purport of our quel- tions, and the manner in which he rephed to them, indi- caM the possession of good intellectual capacity. The opinions which he avows that men, as the creatures of circumstance, are not justly responsible for their actions, are opinions at which he appears to have arrived by ordi- nary processes of reasoning. "That he knows that he is responsible for the commission of crime is made clear by his own words used to o»,—'I expected to be hanged because I killed her, and am not such a fool as not to know that the law hangs for murder. I did not think of it at the time, or I should not have done it.' We think that his statement that he killed Miss Good- win to repossess himself of her as his property was an after- thought adopted to justify his crime. He acknowledged to us that he had come to this opinion after the deed was done. The supposition that he killed Miss Goodwin under the influence of -the opinion that in so doing he was repossess- ing himself of her as his property is inconsistent with his own repeated statement to ns that, without forethought of any kind, he killed her under the influence of sudden im- pulse. "He explained to us that by kitting Miss Goodwin to re- possess himself of her as his property he simply meant that he took her out of the hands of his enemies, and plaoed her in a position where she would wait, and where he would rejoin her when he died. The prisoner endeavoured to represent the catastrophe to us as due to the influence of sudden impulse, but the details which we elicited from him show that he used threats of murder for some time before he struck the first blow. We think that his clear memory of the events attending the crime, and also the attempts which he has made to misrepre- sent the state of his mind and memory at the time of these events, are evidence of his sanity. We are of opinion that he does not entertain any de lusion on the subject of a conspiracy against him, but that he uses the term conspiracy to express the real opposition which he has met with from the members of Miss Godwin's family to his engagement with her, and also to express the feeJing that they are hostile to him. "We have considered the evidence of hereditary pre- disposition to insanity given in the papers supplied to us, and our opinion of the prisoner's state of mind hail not been altered thereby. We examined the apothecary and also the chief attend- ant of Bethlehem as to the.conduct of Townley since he has been in detention at the hospital—both of them have had him under daily and special observation—and they assure us that neither in conduct, manner, or conversation had they been able to observe in him aS»y of the peculiarities which they are in the habit of remarking among the insane. W. CHARLES HOOD, M.D., Visitor of Chancery Lunatics. "JOHN CHARLES BUCKNILL, M.D. Visitor of Chancery Lunatics. "JOHN MEYER, M.D., Medical Superintendent of the Criminal Lunatic Asylum. W. HELPS, M.D., Medical Superintendent of the Royal Bethlehem Hospital."

A PICTURE WITH A MYSTERY! An account of an attempted great hoax en the art public of Paris and elsewhere, is headed as above in the corres- pondence of the Court Journal from Paris: but we see no mystery about it, as will also be perceived by the reader, the whole affair being a bare-faced attempt to gull" the public;— A picture termed" The death of St. Joseph," and said to be by Raphael, arrived in Paris in the summer of 1862, and created a furore, not so much from its purporting to be a genuine Raphael, and some folks ready believing it to be such, but from another circum- stance, which always tells immensely with the public of Paris—the picture was to be seen gratis The exhi- bitors, too, had their share of popularity. They con- sisted of an abbe and his sister, of the modest name of Nicolle—both young, both good-looking, with the per- gonal appearance, tone, and manner of the meilleur monde. The story told by the abbe was most plausi. ble, and in itself sufficiently interesting to have war- ranted the demand of an entrance-fee. Thus he de- scribed with immense fluency of language his first meeting ^jth the picture in a by-lane of one of the suburbs of Rome, and his purchase of the treasure without the smallest idea of its real value, but simply from the pleasant effect it produced upon his senses. He was passing by a poor tenement where a sale was being carried on, and as he was in want of a few bits of furniture to complete his menage, he went in to bid for a chest of drawers which was just being put "P tor sale. The bed stood in a dark alcove, against which hung the marvellous picture, lighting up the gloom with its glorious refulgence, and casting light where all would else have been utter darkness. The abbe stood leaning against the chest of drawers, waiting for a fasckino to carry it home, and M he stood he mechanically kept his eye fixed upon the picture. By degrees its whole beauty became revealed to his astonished mind, and he was determined to be. come the possessor of this exquisite and evidently inspired work of art. It was put up for sale immedi- ately, at his request, and being the only bidder, it was knocked down to him for the trifling sum of twenty francs He brought the precious treasure home, hiding it beneath his cloak, and in the evening dis- played it to his sister, who, although as little of an artist as himself, was as deeply affected at the sight of its rare beauty as he had been in the morning. It was hung up in the abbe's bedroom, and served for con- templation and prayer, been looked upon with the greatest reverence by the whole household. une day the great marquis, 80 well known at Rome as the most erudite connoisseur and finest judge of painting in the whole world, happened to pay the abbe a visit. The latter was from home, and the marquis waited his return in the room where the picture was hung. Not a soul had ever seen it. When the abbe entered the apartment, he found the old marquis on his knees before it, in an ecstasy of rapture, and when the abbe drew near he started to his feet, seized him by the collar, and shaking him violently, exclaimed :— Where did you find this exquisite gem ? Why did you not warn me of its presence before I entered here ? You have risked my having an attack of apoplexy. As it is I am half paralysed, and can scarcely move with the amazement and delight which this magnificent sight has afforded me." After this, of course, the picture became the talk of Rome, and the Pope and the cardinals became eager to possess it, to increase the attraction afforded to foreigners to visit the Holy City. But the abbe, well advised, would not consent to part with his bargain under five millions of francsl and was forced to ab. scond in disguise, carrying his inestimable treasure, reframed, and sewn into the lining of his soutane as his only luggage, safe over the Papal frontier Arrived in Paris, he took a splendid apartment on the Boule- vard, exhibiting the picture, as we have said, for the benefit of all comers, rich and poor, artists and bourgeois, beggars and grand seigneurs, for the doors were left wide open, and no questions asked. The abbe possesses the gift of eloquence to an amazing degree; his story of the picture, and his rapturous ad- miration thereof, ended by becoming the most wondrous patter" ever executed off the stage. The five millions of francs not being forthcoming in Paris, the performance was taken to Brussels, where the game began all over again, and thus through every great capital in Europe. We heard no more of the picture until a few days ago, when, to our amazement, it was sold by public auction, along with several other true Raphaels," the whole lot being sold for l,620f. It is but just to say that The death of St. Joseph" brought l,240f. of the money. It was knocked down to an English gen- tleman, who, evidently half-ashamed of his bargain, walked sheepishly away with the treasure under his arm. Mauvais plaisans declare that when he drew the money for payment from his pocket, it became evident that he had come prepared to obtain the picture at any price."

THE BRUNSWICK DIAMONDS Last week the Court of Assizes of the Seine tried Henry Shaw, aged twenty-six, a native of Newcastle (England), lately a valet in the service of the Duke of Brunswick, for having, on the 8th December last, stolen from his master's residence diamonds and other precious stones to the value of 2,900, OOOf., beside a considerable sum in gold. The court was crowded with persons anxious to see the diamonds and their owner, but they were disappointed, for the duke was unable to attend, on account of indisposition, and the diamonds hsrve long since been restored to his keeping. It appeared from the evidence that the duke, who had been choosing diamonds to give them to his jeweller for mounting, haorened, on the 8th December, to leave the inner door of his iron safe unlocked, and merely closed the outer door. This fact, by some means or other, became known to the prisoner, who was temporarily acting in the confidential situation of valet, though originally engaged as a footman from a registry-office, having just before been ir; service at an hotel with 3f. per day wag-s. Tue duke went out about eight in the evening, after ordering the prisoner to sit up fur him. Instead of doing so, the prisoner immediately went out and purchased a number of locks, one of the keys of which he hied down to fit the lock of the sa.fe, secured his booty, and made off. On his return the duke was surprised to find th;^ Shaw had left the house, afie i requesting another servant to wait for his master. Suspecting something wrong, the duke went to the safe and found that the outer door had been opened, and part of his jewels and cash stolen. He at once gave notice to the police, and the prisoner was arrested at Boulogne, when ou the point of embarking for England, with most of the diamonds and the greater pait of the money still in his possession. The missing cash the prisoner had spent in a house of ill-fame, and had given l,400f. to one young woman. When interrogated by the court, the prisoner refused to defend himself, and was exceedingly free-and-easy in his replies. The president having said, Shaw, give us some explanations; the jury do not know why you are here." .The prisoner replied, Then Itt them acquit me." There is good reason to believe that the prisoner committed a serious robbery at Warsaw some time ago, but it was impos- sible to extract any information from him respect- ing his antecedents. He positively refused to state the name of the Woman to whom he had given the 1,400f., but at last said that he would do so, if the president would pledge his word of honour that she should not be molested. In answer to a remark on his extreme generosity towards her, he said, Oh, a man does not get hold of two millions every day!" M. Wieloglowski, the Duke of Brunswick's aide-de- camp, deposed that, though diamonds to the value of 2,900,000f. had been recovered, others to the value of more than 130,000f. were still missing. The prisoner, on being asked what he had done with them, said that he supposed he had lost them in the house where he passed the night after the robbery, as he had them loose in his pocket, and had dropped a quantity in the bedroom there, and left them, thinking he had enough and to fpare. M. Lachaud was the prisoner's eounsel, tut his client would not allow him to plead. The jury at once found the prisoner guilty, and the court sentenced him to twenty years' hard labour.

A HOAX AT NEWCASTLE. While the dawn on Friday morning was still young, when the life of two great towns was just arousing itself for the day, and when all around breathed of peace between man and man, a sight presented itself to the hundreds of workmen passing along the old Tyne Bridge which was sufficient to make the stoutest heart quail and the hottest blood to grow cold. Through the mists gradually disappearing from around the High Level Bridge was seen danglmg from the outer edge of the carriage way of that great monument of engineering genius the form of a man, with features appearing from even that distance to be blackened and distorted from their semblance to anything human. Strangely in contrast to the horror-stricken faces and the consternation displayed by those on the lower bridge were such feeling as were shown in the counte- nances and the actions of the smaller moving crowd on the higher one. Nothing unusual distracting them, men were un- conscious of the scene on which the eyes of their brethren below were fixed. For so situated was the figure, swaying gently in the morning breeze, that to these it was quite impossible to discern it, the rope by which it was suspended being several feet in length, and pendent far beneath their own path. It was not to be expected that mortal man could look on such a spectacle unmoved, and accordingly they did move— towards the Gateshead borough police-station. The police were told of what had been seen and they at once, in all haste, accompanied by their excited infor- mants—set out along the bridge and soon arrived at the spot—the first river arch on the Gateshead side of the nver-to which one end of the rope was attached. The body, clad in a mechanic's costume of white cotton jacket, cloth trouseis, glazed cap, and boots, was hauled up, but immediately it was seen that the sole (of one of the boots] had departed. And it was found also that to the policemen and their companions, and those who still surveyed the scene from below, had been done what it was very necessary to do to the boots—they had been sold (soled). The supposed victim of self-murder, or of the violence of desperate thieves, turned out to be scarcely worthy of notice— to be, in fact, a man of straw." To speak plainly, it was an effigy stuffed with straw, and covered with the habiliments above described. The visages of those around relaxed into smiles and then bursts of laughter arosejas the police carried their precious charge to one of the cells of the station, where it waS placed, seated bolt upright, on the only seat it contained. One little episode in the course of events added to the general laughter caused by the eclaircisaement. A woman—a true Gatesider—»aw the police bringing along the "body." She saw the dress it wore, and followed it into the police-station, having come to the conclusion that she could throw light upon the iden- tity of what she really believed to be a corpse. She approached the door of the cell, but would not enter it, saying ahe wadn't mind if he was lying doon, but she cuddent as lang as he was'sittin* up that way." She looked for a few minutes longer, and then she said, "AVm sure it's him; it's the varry poor fellow aw saw sittin' in the Goat last neet drinking with a huzzy." She left with the impression that she had materially aided justice, and the other spectators left with feel- ings that may be imagined.

A FATHER'S RIGHTS OVER HIS CHILD. In the Court of Queen's Bench the cause of "Re Alice Willet" has been decided, and was a very peculiar case, exemplifying the power of a father over his child. Last term a rule nisi for a habeas corpus, actionable at chambers, was granted, when the father produced the child, and made a return that the child was legally in his custody. Mr. Justice Shoe, upon that, remitted the case to the full court. Mr. Kempe noW moved that the child, who was eleven years of age, should be given up to the mother. Mr. Padget, who appeared for the father, said the return to the writ was that the child, who was eleven years of age, was in the custody of the father, and that he claimed to retain her as her natural and legal guardian. Mr. Kempe admitted that in the first instance no doubt the father was entitled to the custody of the child, but he apprehended that where it was shown the father was an improper person to have her custody, the court would take the child from him and give her to the mother. Mr. Justice Blackburn said there were cases where, under such circumstances, the court would not assist the father in getting the custody of his child. He was not aware the court had gone so far as to take the child from the father and give it to some one else. Mr. Kempe said he could not give his lordship a case in point. Up till recently the mother had the custody of the child. At the father's request the child. was allowed to visit him, and he still retained her. He was an immoral character and an habitual drunkard, and the mother was anxious to get the child back. Mr. Justice Blackburn said that might be 1;0, but the court must first see what-tegal right they had to take the child away from the father. It was not de- sirable to enter into family quarrels if they would not assist the case. Mr. Kempe said he could not show a stronger case than that the court had refused to restore to the father a child out of his custody. Mr. Justice Blackburn then asked the learned coun- sel to state the utmost the affidavits would show against the father in this case. Mr. Kempe said there wereaffidavitsonbothsidesand cross accusations. The affidavits showed that the father was an immoral character; that he was a pauper, whilst the mother was well off; and, instead of having the child put to school and educated, as the mother would do, he had put her to service. Mr. Justice Blackburn said it was sufficient far the interference of Chancery, but not the Court of Queen's Bench. The remedy was very simple, for the mother bad only to settle 10Z. on the child to give the Court of Chancery full power over the latter. The im- morality of the father, unless he was contaminating the child, was not a reason for the interference of this court. In the case of Hakewell v. Hakewell," in the Court of Common Pleas, Mr. Justice Cress well, in pivifg judgment, said he did not remember a case where a court of common law had interfered with the right of a father to the custody of his children, and no dictum that goes to such an extent. Where the court was asked to restore a child to the father they would not do it if it appeared to them that the father was seeking to abuse the custody, eithor to the injury of the child by cruelty, or exposing it to contamination. All the suggestions in the affidavits not before the court fell short of the exposure of the child to con- tamination, or her being treated with cruelty. The legal right was in the father, and the child must re- main with him. Rule discharged, without costs.

A NiBLE PARENT WANTED FOR A CARPENTER'S SON. A most extraordinary trial is about to come on before the Civil Tribunal in Paris, and the Paris correspondent of the Court Journal alludes to it after the following very romantic m £ tnner:— In the trial about to come on we have the widow of a nobleman of the highest connections and the most conspicuous position, whose virtue none would ever have presumed to attack—whose conduct none would have dreamed of suspecting. This lady, whose family chateau is situated on the banks of the Loire, was in her youth considered one of the greatest beauties and richest partis in France. She was married at Rome to a nobleman of the highest lineage and most splendid fortune. Some little gossip had oertainiy arisen at the time of her journey to Rome with her mother and her stay at Lyons through indisposition, but on the occa- sion of the marriage the rumour had blown over, and nothing more was remembered. But vengeance—like love-is long-sighted and per- severing. A certain admirer, who had waited many, many years with the hope that at the death of the infirm and aged husband the lady—still brilliant and beautiful—would consent to "crown his flame," as the phrase used to go when they were both young, became so exasperated at the lady's refusal to accept him, that he resolved to find out the truth of the rumour which now returned to bis mind with all the fierceness of a smouldering fire which is suddenly blown ujuinto a flame. He took the trouble to pro- ceed to Lyons, and spent there more than three months in the examination of the registers of the dif- ferent mair/es and parish churches. He found at length record of a certain carpenter's wife who had received a child from a strange lady, and had declared it instantly, in conformity with the law, on presenting it for register. The residence of this woman was, of course, indicated, and, after a lapse of five-and-twenty years, by an excess of good luck for the searcher, she was found still to inhabit Lyons. Astthe disappointed lover entered the carpenter's shop, a taH, strapping youth was working bravely with hammer and saw, singing gaily at his work, and evidently pleased with the result. The woman of the house came forward at the summons of the stranger, and the divulging of the whole story was not long. A lady, passing through Lyons, had been confined at the hotel; the doctor in attendance had sent for a wet- Durae; the woman had presented herself; the lady's mother had made all the arrangements: the child had been left with her; a handsome sum had been paid down, and an annual stipend had been agreed upon. The lady had then departed for Rome. The income was paid for three years only. At the end of that time it had ceased, and the child had been left upon her hands. But the misfortune had proved a blessing, for after the foster-father's death he had proved the sole stay and support of the poor woman, and their little household had prospered by his indus- try. With what savage glee did the informer reveal to the young man the story of his birth :—with what grim delight did he accompany him 170 the lawyer to give his testimony, and proffer his demand for one quarter ef the inheritance which the French law, wise and benign, allows to the illegitimate child .Tho mother herself was well nigh struck senseless with dismay on receiving the summons by the huissier, which compels her to show cause why she refuses ali- mony to her son She was fain to pause in the midst of her career of lace, jewels, velvet, and crinoline, to reflect what had best be done to save her money, as it was now too late to save her reputation. She started instantly for Lyons, went straight to the young man, proposed an arrangement which was ac- cepted, and has just returned triumphant and defiant, owning her hatred to the offspring of her shame, and declaring hec determination never to disclose his paternity. The name is too lofty, too glorious, in this generation. That carpenter's adopted foundling might upset the world were he to think proper to proclaim the parentage to which he has a right. This was all that was known till within the last few days, when lo in the midst of her arrogant security, comes the announcement that the son, still well advised, resigns the arrangement taken personally with his mother, and has placed the business in the hands of his lawyers The most improbable tales are afloat, the most absurd speculations exist concerning the revelations which are to be made upon the trial. There is no great man in Europe to whom the paternity of this Lyons carpenter is not attributed, and the par- ticulars of the. proceedings are looked for with tho greatest interest.

ROYAL RELATIONSHIPS and FOREIGN POLITICS. Mr. Bright, in his recent speech at Birmingham, referred to the complications in foreign politics which arose from our Royal marriages. Without prejudging the question how far the action of our Government with reference to foreign States is, or can be, influenced by the family ties of the Sovereign, we may point out some of those connections, some of which are less known than others :— The Prince of Wales, as every one knows, is mar- ried to the daughter of the King of Denmark, one of the parties to this German contest. His eldest sister, the Princess Royal, is married to the Prince Royal of Prussia, one of the parties opposed to the King of Denmark. His second sister, the Princess Alice, ia married to the Prince Louis of Hesse-Darmstadt, whose mother is a Princess of Prussia, and whose brother is an officer in tbi) Prussian army. These are direct relationships; but there areoithers scarcely less so with whieh the public are not so well acquainted. Prince Frederick of Augustenburg—the Duke of Augmtenburg, as he is generally called here, although that title properly belongs to his father, is a very close connection of our Royal Family, and is much better known to the Court than to the people of these realms. It will be remembered that when the mother of Queen Victoria. married his Royal Highness the Duke of Kent she was a widow. She was first married, in the year 1803, to the Prince Emich Charles of Leinin- gen, whe died 4th July, 1814. By this marriage the Duchess of Kent had one son, born 1804, and one daughter, born 1807, who were consequently half- brother and half-sister of the Queen. The Queen's half-brother, Charles, Prince of Leinin- fen, died 1856, and was succeeded by his son, Prince Irnest of Leiningen, nephew of the Queen, who is a captain in the Royal Navy of Great Britain. The half sister of the Queen, the Princess Anne Feodorovna of Leiningen, married in 1828 Ernest Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. He died in 1860, leaving a widow and five children, the latter nephews and nieces of the Queen. Of these children, the third son. Prince Yictpr of Hohenlohe, who took the name of Count de Gleichen" on his marriage with a daughter of Admiral Sir George Seymour, ia a captain in our Royal Navy. His next sister, the Princess Adelaide Victoria of Hohenlohe (born 1835), married in 1856 Frederick Christian Augustus, Prince Hereditary of Schleswig-Holsttin-Sonderbourg Augustenburg, the Pretender to the sovereignty of the imaginary State of Schleawig-Holatein, who is by his marriage the Queen's nephew. Besideathese relationships of oar Royal Family with the contending parties, there are others less imme- diate. The King Leopold of Belgium is the Queen's uncle. His eldest son and heir, the Duke de Brabant, is married to an Archduchess of Austria, and ht daughter, the Princess Charlolte, is married to the Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, brother of the Emperor of Austria, another party to the contest. Besides these connections, the Duchess of Cambridge, who was a Princess of Hesse Cassel, is an aunt of the Queen of Denmark, who was afro a Princess of Hesse Cassel. Every party to the Dano-Gennanie- contest may therefore be said to be more or lees immediately con- nected with the Royal Familyof Great Britain.

AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS. A Suffolk vicar has written a letter on Mr. Brlght's recent speech at Birmingham, in which the vicar asks:— Why, at Birmingham, In the midst of mechanical opera- tives, did Mr. Bright think fit to make the subject of the condition of the agricultural labourer the principal point of of his speech ? What would he have thought if a candidate for a county were to address his constituents upon the wrongs which the cotton operatives at any time may have endured from their lords the millowners? And wo think we have heard rumours of such doings. Would not the orator have blazed up in virtuous indignation at the imper- tinence, to say the least, of such an attempt to meddle in what, if it were not for some sinister purpose, he could have little concern ? So in Mr. Bright's late speech we are at a loss to imagine why he should have chosen this topic for the information or improvement of his then hearers; but Mr. Bright is too honest to leave us long in doubt, but instead of saying that the condition of the agricultural labourer was the principal point of his speech, he ought to have declared, as he himself proves to be the fact, that it was employed only as the means to the beloved end of his life — the advancement of democracy, and the inflated praise of what is now being proved the paradise of fools—the United States of America. If Mr. Bright is sincere in his admiration of the state of things on the other side of the Atlantic, it may be said Why does he not set the example he so urgently gives to those around him, and go there Again, it may be remarked, he says nothing about the emigration 01 operatives to this laud of promise: it is only the poor agricultural labourers be would deport. Is it possible that he. the disinterested adviser, can be influenced by the prospect that in such a case his eloquence might stop his own miHs ? Of course the insinuation is groundless against such integrity as belongs to him. The fearful truths, however, upon which he has grounded his observations are such as must arouse the minds of all thinking men to the subject, and stir up all who love their country, and who bless Providence for placing their lot in «uch-pleasant places, to consider and endeavour to remove from among us what gives such a topic for demagogues and haters of our country to enlarge upon, to the overthrow of all we cherish. Despite the glowing language with which he painted the easy transformation of the poor English agricultural la- bourer into the well-to-do American proprietor of a farm "of at least 150 acres," I hope the good sense of Englishmen will preserve them from the trap, and that they will under- stand that one who can so vilify hi* own country can have but little true sympathy with a class \Yhi8h, as it is the moat numerous, so is it the most important one of the community.

RAILWAY TRAINS LOST IN A SNOWDRIFT! We take the following account of the perils of railway travelling during a snowstorm in America, from the Chicago Times:— At 6 o'clock on the morning of New Year's-day a train on the Michigan Central Railroad plunged into an immense drift, which lay directly across its way. The powerful locomotive pushed ahead right royally at first, scattering the snow in glittering clouds upon each side, as ea-ily as a ship would part the foam. Further and still further into the drift and slower and still slower went the engine. It laboured and struggled as if loth to give up the contest, but finally stopped. The engineer then sought to back the locomotive but the powerful engine was now within the grasp of a giant, in whose hands its strength was but that of a child. The train, still seven miles from Chicago, was imprisoned in the snow. There were over a hundred passengers, many of them women and children, with but & short supply of wood. One by one out Into the blinding storm went those who were able, and digging down through the snowdrifts, tore up the fences near the road, and brought them as fuel to the cars. The boards were broken up, and the fast cooling stoves soon gave out a generous heat. The wind, as it rushed along, drew the flames up through the kindling pine, until stove and pipes were heated red. Then a new peril broke upon the passengers. The roof of the car took fire from the heated pipe, and as the wind caught the flames they roared and crackled and curled downwards towards the passengers, as if in mockery of their misery. With great exertions the flames were quelled, but the car was no longer tenable, and all the passengers were huddled together in the other. It WM now nearly 2 o'clock in the afternoon, and apprehensions of a horrible death had begun to seize upon them, when a train on the Michigan Southern line arrived at a crossing 400 yards off, andwao stopped. The work of transferring the passengers was imme- diately commenced. The distance between the two trains was filled with a drift nearly ten feet in depth, and to make the passage from one t. the other was a work of great labour and difficulty. The storm was at its height and the cold so intense that the faces of the women and children were frozen almost as soon as they came in contact with the Piind, turning white as instantly as if they had been plunged in boiling water. Scarcely any one made the passage from one train to the other without being badly frostbitten many quite seriously. This newly-arrived train was already 16 hours behind its time. Some wedding-cake, the only food in it, was confiscated to the necessities of the occasion. This train, with its double load, after starting afreeh, waa soon effectually buried in a drift, the wheels clogged with snow, and the engine frozen up. Another night was coming, on. Two strong men were now started for the town, and reached it after great toil and danger. They made their way to the Fremont-house, which was full of guests,. and told their story. The alarm was given, and sleighs started with provisions and blankets, but only two succeeded in getting as far as the train. After unloading, they started at 8 o'clock for Chicago, with several of the passengers. The drivers, however, after travelling a short time, became con- scious that they were lost. No one could tell in what direction to go. They were in the midst of an illimit- able labyrinth of snow-drifts running in every direction, and some of them of great depth. In the gloom the presence of a drift could not be known until the horses were plunging and struggling up to their sides. Both sleighs were turned over several tImes, and frequently both the men and ladies were compelled to get out into the deep snow-drifts and extricate the horses. Finally, one of the sleighs broke down, and the men were compelled to trudge along through the snow, waist deep in places, and lead the horses dragging the broken sleigh. On, on, on they went, one snow- drift succeeding another, as billow succeeds billow upon the ocean, and still no sign or trace of the loat city." About half-past 10 o'clock a light was seen in the distance, towards which the herses were immediately headed. Arriving, they found it to proceed from the residence of a hospitable German, who made them comfortable for the night. Awaking in the morning, they found themselves just half a mile from the train. Happily, the beacon light which ha.d been kept burning by the passengers who wereloft in the train served to indicate^its locality to the agent of the railroad, who succeeded in reaching it with some more provisions and blankets about 10 o'clock that night, after having blundered around among the drifts for several hours. With these ad- vantage" the passengers on the train managed to pass a tolerable night, considering theprospects before them when evening set in. Early in the morning theywete brought up to the city in sleighs, some of them severely frost-bitten, but no life waa lost.