The Aberystwith Observer

The Times has the following leader on the case :— If one wanted an extreme example of human perversity, it would be supplied by a trial which has just been held in the Court of Queen's Bench—" Comtesse D'Alteyrac v. Lord Willoughby de Bresby." It is characteristic of some per- sons to be insensible to the soandalous nature of their con- duct, to be unable to perceive that there are certain exposures which are more fatal than a whole life of folly and excess. Such people are uncontrollable until it is too late they only draw back and pay a tribute to decency after they have Irretrievably damaged themselves. Lord Willoughby de Eresby, the defendant in this action, belongs to one of the most illustrious families of the English nobility. His title Is among the oldest in the peerage; it is one of those ancient baronies by writ of summons which the possessors often prefer to higher but newer dignities. He is one of the two hereditary Great Chamberlains of England. Born to a large fortune, the only son of estimable and indulgent parents, he has had every advantage that fortune can bestow. Yet in mature age we find him dragging a noble name in the dirt, and through the medium of a court of law publishing to the world not only the errors of his life, but that moral obliquity and insensibility to shame which lead a man to do the meanest actions. In the year 1847 the defendant, then the Hon. Alberic Drummond Willoughby. formed an intimacy with a French lady, the Comtesse d' Alteyrao, and she lived with him as his wife in Paris or in England for no less than seventeen years—that is until December, 1864. In February, 1S48, a daughter was born, who was acknowledged by Mr. Wil- loughby, and was always called Miss Willoaghby up to the time of her marriage. In December, 1864, the Countess, who had always been called Mrs. Willoughby, went to Paris to see her daughter, who was at school, and some time after the late Lord Willoughby, the de- fendant's father, died. From pecuniary motives the new Lord desired to separate from his companion. By means of an intermediary he offered her £1,500 or £2,000 a year. According to her counsel, at the trial, she left Caen Lodge, the defendant's residence, and went to Paris on the understanding that these terms were to be earned out But she has since received only £ 800, and the de- fendant, moreover, took possession of and sold the furniture and other effects, which, as she alleges, belonged to het. Thus Lord Willoughby, after living with this lady for up- wards of seventeen years, forsakes his companion, evades the payment of an annuity which had been promised to her, and even takes possession of the furniture and effects which perhaps legally, but at any rate in honour and equity, be- longed to ber. Tnis, however, is not all. The lady, left without means, brings an action to recover the value of the property to which she thought herself entitled. Most men, if they "had done a shabby thing under the impulse of weariness or dis- like, would take care to remedy it before the matter became known to the world. If their own good feeling or their own prudence were insufficient to prompt them rightly, they would listen to the advice of friends, who would tell them that they were about to wash their dirty linen very publiciy indeed. A peer 01 the realm must choose his associates and advisers very badly If he has no one to dissuade him from coming into court to resist a claim from a deserted woman, who had at any rate been his partner during the whole of his early manhood, and who was the mother of his child. Lord Willoughby not only does this, but he gives instructions to take every advantage. Even the reception of the judg- ment of the French Court which separated the Countess from her husband was objected to by Mr. Hawkins on the ground that there was no proof of the seal of the Court, nor of the record or proceedings on which the iu de- ment was granted. This was too much for the Chief Justice, who said he had never heard such unworthy objections, and reminded the learned counsel that he represented a public character. On this Mr. Hawkins assured his Lordship that he was entirely without discretion in the matter, and that he was bound by his instructions to admit nothing. In fact, the defendant had pleaded that the Ceuntess, being- a married woman, had no right to sue in her own name. To live in adultery with a married woman, and then publicly to allege her marriage as a bar to her claim, surpasses almost anything that can be conceived of meanness. It was not until the Chief Justice interposed with an emphasis and viva- city seldom witnessed in a court of justice that the scandalous scene came to a close. The defendant's counsel had been even forced to cross-examine the plaintiff as to the paternity of the daughter who during her whole life had been recognized by the defendant as his own child. A compromise was proposed by Mr. Hawkins, but it could not be accepted without Lord Willoughby's signature, for Mr. Coleridge said he knew "his Lordship had given his attorney written instructions to allow no terms to be entered jnto." But the Chief Justice declared that the case ought to out of court, "for there seemed to be no com- the defendant of the plaintiffs misconduct, and g together fer fifteen years (they had come to Ji;,>ln 18*9) a man with no grounds for such complaint, had no right to turn a woman adrift upon the streets. _bo thepartiesi agreed to adjourn the trial, that the defendant, who^wasinithecountry, might be communicated with. OnMonday Mr. Hawkins announced Lord Willoughby's consent to a compromise, on the basis that the whole matter should be refesred te a man of honour to be named by the Judge, this gentlenan being at Uberty to fix not only the terms on which the claims in this action were te be satisfied but also the terms upen which the separation of the parties was to continue, and the allowance which ought to be made by the defendant. Well might the Chief Justice regret that this satisfactory termination had not been arrived at earlier Lord Wil. loughby has gained nothing pecuniarily by his sharp practice and the technical objections which the ingenuity of his law., yers devised. He will have, in the end, to give a decent support to his former companion, and he had better haye- done it at once. Ou the other hand, it will be a long time before those who have read this ugly case will forget it; and in these days such cases are read by millions. Lord Willoughby de Eresby, Lord Great Chamberlain, had a character and dignity to lose, at least among those who did not know him. They, the great body of the public, are now aware to what so highly placed a person can descend. His conduct not onlv affixes a stigma on himself, but, however unjustly, reflects discredit on the office he bears and the order to which he belongs.

THE POPULARITY OF MR. TRAIN. The Cork Examiner prints the address presentedto KR. Train by some of the ladies of the city. The hdies (who it seems were young ladies") made the MLOWIRI" remarks YOU claim our highest admira- ton and warmest thanks for your zeal in propagating vith your abilities the cause of Irish nationality ill America but a feeling even higher than this has, with an irresistible impulse, urged us to this step, and that feeling is that you have been imprisoned for Ireland I In you we wish to mark how warmly and how deeply enshrined in the hearts of the women of Cork—as well as those of the rest of Ireland—are the names and characters of those heroes and martyrs of Irish nationality who, for the past two years, have been hanged on the gallows and sent in hundreds to the dungeons of England—men who have sacrificed all that to life had entwined them for the grand principles of liberty and republicanism; and in coupling your name with theirs we feel we pay you the highest compliment it is possible for any man to receive from the women or from the men of Ireland. In conclusion, we beg you will accept this address, and the accom- panying slight souvenirs." The address was signed "Miss B. Buckley, Miss M. O'Connor, Miss M. Dennehy, and Miss S. Hussey." Miss Buckley, the youngest member of the deputation, whom M:R\ F • „ had placed standing on a table by his side, HA S first embraced and kissed her with much the great satisfaction of the audience, then P„A ■««- wreath, which was one of the souvenirs, • Train's head and covered it up with the S fOR THE (another souvenir »). Both weregather small forahe wearer. After the cheers which followed P Uoah.d subsided, Mr. ^»»„^«rdnouipSea twfSSd "i I am suv. prised that Ireland does not appreciate me. The makers of this cap never calculated, I am afraid, that they had to fit a twenty-four inch head. But allow me to say that I value highly this compliment coming from you, ladies of Cork. Irishmen, Americans, let me say to this young lady Lovely in form, peerless in debate, Who follows you, Miss, takes the Train too late.

At Mr. Train's third lecture in Cork he was pre- sented with a pair of green silk garters and the fol- lowing address :— To G. F. TRAIN, ESQ. ON BEINS PBEBBNTED WITH A PAIR OF SHAMROCK GARTERS. We have no gems to offer, They'd worthless be to thee, Who sways the mighty multitude Of hearts so bold and free. Old Ireland's sons that nightly throng To worship at thy shrine, Are gems more pure than e er were got, From out Golconda's mine. Thy twenty-four inch head last eve, Was crowned with the victor's wreath'; And the sweet delectable Drisheen Was given thee to eat. And we, a few unworthy twigs, Of the great tree-womankind- Present to thee these Garters, Thine own fair hose to bind.

MR. TRAIN'! PROTEST. Mr. George Francis Train, a. native-born American citizen," has addressed the following protest to the Right Hon. Gathorne Hardy, Secretary Home De- partment, or Major-General Sir Thomas Larcom, Dublin :— Police Barracks, Qneenstown, Jan. 18,1868, PROTEST. As American citizens under our Naturalisation Laws of 1801 are not acknowledged to be American citizens by British law, I beg to state that I am a native-born American citizen; that while on my way on important business to Paris I landed, with Thomas C. Durrant, the Vice-President of the Union Pacific Railroad, from the Scotia, at Queens town, to take the special mail express, via Dublin, to Liverpool and London that I was arrested on the tugboat, and passed the night on the 1l0or of the police-barracks; that I spoke no word, wrote no letter, made no observations to anyone, had no intention of interfering with the laws therefore I hereby protest in the name of the American people-as the American Government are powerless to protect their citizens ■—against this outrage, the offence being words spoken in America or on the high seas, and of having Irish-American newspapers in my trunk, together with other late papers and copies of my speeches made five or six years ago in London. I deny the right at all times of the Government of Great Britain arresting or detaining American citizens for words spoken in America, and hereby hold the British Government responsible for this unwarrantable delay. My only object in passing through Ireland was to ascertain the position of my concession for street railways in Cork and DuDun. Against these acts of arrest and detention I hereby solemnly and publicly protest. GEORGEFRAXCII TRAIN. Witness E. G. EASTMAN, U.S. Consul

A WIFE'S AFFECTIONATE CONFESSION! A Nantes paper reports an extraordinary instance of conjugal devotedness. A farmer was found hanged y his fireside. Suspicion fell upon his wife she was arrested and when questioned by the magistrate, made the following affectionate confession :— Well, in faith, there's not much to be told. Going home last night I found my husband by the side of the fireplace trying to hang himself; the rope was already round his throat. As he had already told everyone that he was de- termined to hang himselt I endeavoured very naturally to. assist him, by passing the other end of the repe over a rafter, and pulling as hard as I could, until he was sus- pended in the air. Judge: You confess, then, that you strangled your husband ? Yes, a little, but not quite, because he pulled the rope also. Besides I knew the poor man was tired of his life. I was well aware I should be arrested but before you send me to prison I beg you will let me attend my poor husband's funeral. The same authority adds:— It is needless to say that the des;re expressed by this ex- cellent wife and fervent Christian was fully appreciated by th^court, but not complied with.

DREADFUL SUFFERINGS OF SHIP- WRECKED SEAMEN. The Gibraltar Chronicle of January 20 has the fol- lowing distressing narrative. The British barque, Minnie Gordon, vrMchwtivei1 at this port yesterday, from New York, brought the master and two seamen of tfee United States schooner Moses » This vessel was water-lom?ed in a gal?, ana on trie 18th o! Decem- ber was fallen in with 8Ur" vivors of her craw were taken *^e weck inthe last stage of debility from exposure and bmine. By the humane and judicious exertions of Mr. Leslie, the master of the Minnie Gordon, their lives were preserved, but they still stand in need of medical treatment, and for this purpose, it is sup- posed, they will be received into the civil hospital of this city. The dreadful tale of their sufferings, and of the hor- rible necessity to which they were driven by the agony of famine, is thus given by Captain LeslieDec. 18, lat. 38.10 N., long. — W., scudding off S.E. by E., under double- reefed topsails foresail, reefed mainsail, and fore topmast staysail, wind W.N. W., blowing hard, and heavy sea run- ning. As daylight broke I saw bearing N.N.E. from me something which looked like two spar buoys, standing at an angle of 60 degrees, just as far as the eye could reach. Supposing it to be a vessel in distress—although past it and to leeward of it-immediately hauled by the wind on port tack. As day. broke clearer could make out with the glass that it was a vessel waterlogged, and on her beam ends; then determined to go elose enough to ascertain if there were any of the crew still on the wreak. At 8.30 a. m. could, with the glass, make out what appeared two men upon the port quarter. On approaching nearer saw three men waving a piece of white canvas stood close up under the lee of the wreck and hove to, got out large boat, in doing which stove one side of her. J&r. Miller, chief officer, and three seamen started for the wreck; after great exertion and a hard pull succeeded in getting the captain and two remaining men in the boat, and got safely back to the barque, hoisted in the boat, and proceeded on the voyage, taking the weak, famished men into the oabin (where there was a stove), giving them dry clothing and some stimulants and small quantities of water often repeated, they having had nothing to eat or drink for seven days and nights, with the exception of when the mate died two days previously they all cut some of his raw flesh and ate it, the cook having died before the mate and his body washed over- board. They were complete skeletons, the captain being Jn the worst condition, his cheeks were sunk in till they appeared to touch each other their feet and legs, as high as their knees, were completely paralysed and dead frosn long exposure and submersion in cold water, and from want of exeTciie, as they had just enough of the wreck above water to hold oh to. They could not possibly have survived that day through had not Providence kindly sent me to their assistance. I gave them food by degrees, with small doses of brandy and water, and rubbed their feet with soap liniment; then put them to sleep in the warm cabin. On awaking, the captain gave me the following account of the loss of his vessel, stating that two days previous to my falling in with him, a brig, westward bound, name unknown to him, saw them and stood towards them till quite near (weather moderate at the time), when he put up helm and ran away from them. The schooner was the Motes Waring, of New York, from Brunswick (Georgia), bound to New York, with cargo of yellow pine flooring, encountered a heavy gale on December 11, when 60 miles S.E. of Absecam, shortly after which sprung a leak and was unable with both pumps going to keep her free; she settled so deep, and, becom- ing unmanageable, they cut the gripes which held the deck load, and had no sooner accomplished this than she fell over on her beam ends, and the heavy sea running at the time over her washing away deck load, cabin on deck, and all water and provision, leaving them perfectly destitute of everything but the clothing they stood in. Their sufferings must have been very great, so much so, that they found themselves obliged to cut up the mate's body, who had unfortunately succumbed before them on the fifth day. I did everything in my power to make them comfortable, and finally suc- ceeded in bringing them to life.

DREADFUL ACCIDENT ON THE CAMBRIAN RAILWAY. Early on Saturday morning a shocking accident happened near CaersWB, 8t^ion on the Cambrian Railway. After passing N railway, making straight for Llanidloes, crosses {^deviousi course of the Severn at three points, one bridge £ afci, a second at Caersws, and a third at I'ontdolgoch. past the floods have been gathering fr°m„ totes itaI2„w,es,i of this portion of the line (where the Sever manv of th *}nd on Friday the river was full to overflowing. y he low-lying fields in the vicinity being under tjl ?f JYever> a circum- stance of regular occurrence at this time oi: the year, and the bridge being built with a full j" felt bv th*na gency, no apprehension of danger .lt About six o'clock in the morning the mail tr:* j™ConB1 £ 2?lry left Welshpool on its journey south. 1he fa aLout half a dozen cattle trucks, a c0n°7allbft fo^t»* two passenger carriages, and two H e merninK at nately happened that from the early hour of.t cju. which this train runs there were no passenger er riages, the only persons in the train being the en^m Pattie the stoker, a goods guard, a passenger guard, an<l iw drovers. When, a few minutes after seven o'clock, tne u» reached Caersws, it was still dark and raining in torrent, with a wind blowing very high. On approaching the river the driver slackened speed and proceeded at a cautious pace, IJnt nc sooner had the full weight of the engine rested on J n ?e than the structure swayed to and fro, and finally jell in with a loud crash, the engine and tender disappearing Tate,r- Two cattle trucks which led the train iollowed the tender, and next came a van loaded with flour, but in failing over the rear coupling chain of the van broke, and the van, standing for a moment upright on the immersed trucks, proved an obstacle sufficient to stop the slowly ad- vancing train, which stood still with a truck partly hanging <over the brink of the river. As soon as ^eco^ered from the shock occasioned toy the sudden stoppage of the train, the guards and drovers, who were n: the rear ran up to the broken bridge to ascer- tain the fate of the >T,A' and At first they could see nothing of them, but as daylight came on they were able to distinguish the form of the driver, apparently standing upright in the water, with his head so near the top that the current left portions ot ins face occasionally visible above the surface. On further mvestig aion it appeared that in falling through the gap in the 1mage the CJIgiJJC had rolled over on He side, crushing the stoker inte the bed of the river, whilst the tender, falling upon the engine, had fixed the driver in the peculiar position described, just as he WTn,*n tlle 1101 oI jumping off. The four men left umhurt were, of course, helpless in the mce ot sueh a disaster, and, whilst the passenger guard re- sH»in#a in charge 01 the mails, the other guard vofyotewed to run back to Moet-lane .Tnnctlon to telegraph to Oswestry for assistance. This he did, but it was ten o'clock before an engine arrived on the scene of the accident; and the two poor fellows in the river being long past all human aid, the attention of the officials was directed towards the forward- in tr of the mails. A conveyance being obtained, the Dags were sent round by the highway to Pontdolgoch statwn, but here another calamity made itself knf)i^a3eto etahe down of the bridge at Caersws hav'ested to tne officials o the railway the possibility of of tlw bnag being insecure, the Pontdolgoch bridge, which hadfomirred and Neatly adding to the difficulty of raising tmder and trucks from the bed of the river. The^ accident, resulting as it has done in the shocking death of the poor men on the engine, is lamentable enough, but from the state of the bridges it is clear chat one or other of Ji," mnBt have given way on the passage of a train at some time in the course of Saturday, and if it had been an ordi- nary passenger train, on this the market-day of the district, a loss of life would have occurred which it is painful even to contemplate.

A TRAGEDY WITH A SPICE OF THE COMIC! A tremendous story comes from Southern Ohio. A Mr. Winans, when in a great state of passion, fell down senseless, and the doctor announced that he had died from bursting a bloodvessel. The funeral took place, and the body was placed temporarily in a vault. The next night a ghost was seen in the cemetery. A number of persons armed.themselves with shot guns, proceeded to the cemetery, and commenced a cautious inspection. They had not long to wait, for there, flitting among the tombs, was a white object plainly to be seen. With trembling hands they raised their guns and fired, and the ghost fell between a couple of graves. They cautiously approached the object, and turned a lantern upon it. Their feelings can be better imagined than described when they found that the ghost was the lately deceased Mr. Winans. Mr. Winans' coffin had tbeen broken open, and was lying upon the floor, and the coffin of a deceased lady, that had been placed upon it, was likewise thrown down from the shelf and standing on end, also partly broken open, displaying its ghostly inmate. The vault door, which was rather a weak affair, had been forced open by the resurrected man. The party then went to Mr. winans' house, and here |they found that his wounds were not serious, and that he had recovered hi* senses. were not serious, and that he had recovered hi* senses.

STATIONS OF THE BRITISH ARMY. (Corrected for February.) (From the Army and Navy Gaeette.) 1st Life Guards, Hyde-park. 22nd Kew Brunswick; Chat- 2nd ditto, Windsor. ^aJn- Royal Horse Guards, Regent's- 2nd bat., Newcastle-on-Tne. park. 23rd, Bengal; Walmer. 1st Dragoon Guards, Alderst. 2nd bat Newport, S. Wales. 2nd, Bengal; Canterbury. 24j;h. Malta; Sheffield. 3rd, BoxiDay; Canterbury. « Burmah Shef- 4th, Aldershot. £ 5th, Colchester. 26th, Glasgow, 6th, Dublin.fnd bat., Bengal; Preston. 7th, Shorncllffa. 26th, Abyssinia; Preston. 1st Dragoons, Longford. 27th, Dover. 2nd Dtuidalk. 28th, Belfast. 3rd Hussars, Hounslow. 29th, Canada; Chatham. 4th, Bombay; Canterbury. 30th, Canada; Chatham. 5th Lancers, Bengal; Canter- 81st, Malta; Chatham. bury. 32nd, Mauritius; Colohester. 6th Dragoons, York. SSrd, Abyssinia ;*fce«eld. 7th Hussars, Bengal; Canter- 34th, ^ortamouth. burv 35th, Portsmouth. 8th, Manchester. |^h, Bengal; Pembrekedo.k. 9th Lancers, Cahir. £ 7th, Bengal; Pembroke dock. 10th Hussars, Newbridg#. |*th, Bengal, Gosport 11th, Bembay Canterbury. 89 th, Dublin 12th Lancers, Dublin. ^th, Aldershot. 13th Hussars, Canada Can- «st, Ben*al; Colohester. terhnrv Stirling. 14th ditto, Edinburgh. 16th ditto, Norwich. „ 16th Lancers, Madras; Can- «th, Abyssmia; Chatham. terbury flenstal; Pembroke. 17th ditto', Brighton. ^th, Nora Scotia; Pembroke. 18th Hussars, Madras; Can- 43th, £ ermoy. terburv 49th, Bombay Colchester. 19th ditto, Bengal; esuter. 50th, Sydney, N. a Wales; bury. Chatham. 20th ditto, Bengal; Canter- 51st, Aldershot. bury 62nd, Limerick. 21st ditto, Bengal; Canter- 53rd, Canada Shorncliffe. bury 54th, Aldershot. Military Train •— 55th, Bengal; Sheffield. Woolwich, Troops 13, 14, 60th, Curragh. 16, is, is, 20, and 24. 67th, Manchester. Ditto, Chatham, 23. 68th, Bengal; Pembroke. Ditto, Kensington and Re- 69th, Ceylon; Gosport. gent's-park, 3. 00th, Canada; Winchester. Ditto, Portsmouth, 19. 2nd bat., Benml Win- Ditto, Hilsea, 22. Chester. Ditto, Dublin, 2, B. and 11. 3rl1 bat., Madras Winehsr. Ditto, Aldershot, 1, 5, 7 9, 4thbat., Canada; Winehsr. 10, 17, and 21. 61st, Bermuda Gosport. Ditto, Carragh, 4 and 0. 62nd, Buttevant. Ditto, Shorncliffe, 12. «3rd, Dublin. Grenadier Guards 1st bat. 64th, Malta; Parkhurst. Windsor 65th, ivmsale. 2nd bat., Chelsea barracks. 66th, Jersey. ^rackf' WelUngt°n ^S&HSSSS Coldstream Guards, 1st bat., 69th, Canada; Preston Tower 70th, Ashton. 2nd bat.; Dublin. 71st Ffmoy. Soots Fusilier Guards, 1st bat., 72nd, Manchester. Chelsea 73rd, China Shorncliffe. 2nd bat., Wellington bar- 74th, Gibraltar; Fort George, racks. 75th, Gibraltar; Shorncliffe. 1st Foot, Madras; Chatham. 76th, Madras; Shorncliffe. 2nd bat., Bombay: Chathm. 77th, Bengal; Gosport. 2nd, Bombay; Chatham. 78th, Canada; Aberdeen. 2nd bat., Athlone. 79th, Bengal; Aberdeen Srd, Bengal; Shorncliffe. 80th, Aldershot. 2nd bat., Dublin. lIst, Cork. 4th, Abyssinia; Parkhurst. 82nd, Bengal; Chatham. 2nd bat., Nova Scotia; Park- 83rd, Gibraltar; Colchester, hurst. 84th, Jamaica Colchester. 5th, Bengal; Shorncliffe. 85th, Bombay Shorncliffe. 2nd bat., Dover. 86th, Cape for Mauritius; Gos- 6th, Bombay; Sheffield. port. 2nd bat., Edinburgh. 87th, Gibraltar Walmer. 7th, Bengal; Walmer. 88th, Bengal; Parkhurst. 2nd bat., Bury. 89th, Dublin. 8th, Malta; Chatham. 90th, Bengal; Preston. 2nd bat., Malta; Chatham. 91st, Bengal; Fort George. 9th, Cape; Pembroke. 92nd, Bombay; Aberdeen. 2nd Dat., Japan Pembroke. 93rd, Bengal; Aberdeen. 10th, Cape; Chatham. 94th, Bengal; Colchester. 2nd bat., Madras; Chatham. 95th, Bombay Pembroke. 11 th, Bengal; Parkhurst. 96th, Bombay; Colchester- 2nd bat., Cape; Parkhurst. 97th, Portsmouth. 12th, Devonport. 98th, Aldershot. 2nd bat., Bengal; Gosport. 99th, Cape, Preston. 13th, Gibraltar Shorncliffe. w»w w Pnrtland 101 st, Bengal; Walmer. 14?h Maltk Chatham 102nd, Madras Shorncliffe In'd bat f Melbourne Chm. 103rd, Bengal Shorncliffe. ififch N" Brunswick* Chathm. 104th, Bengal# Walmer.^ 2nd bat Gibraltar; Chthm. 105th, Bengal; Shorncliffe. lethfcanwia; Colchirter. M. gwj; B"tod0* M" !S 3SSi: oSSw 17th Kilkenny lC»th, Bombay; Chatham. 2nd bat.,Canada;Chatham. Rifle Brigade, Canada; Win- 182ndCbatter*New Zealand; 2nd bat., Devonport. Colchester „ hat Bengal; Winchstr. 192nd^bat*' Bumah^SheffleM. 1st West India Kegt., Sierra "&W85; Shorncliffe "gtL; Preston. S&Z 2nd bat., Madras; Preston. 4th, Barbadoes.

ACTION for LIBEL AGAINST a LADY. The cause of "Topham v. Lyle" haabeen tried in London, and was an action for libel The defendant plaaded not guilty. The circumstances of the case were somewhat ,t peculiar. The plaintiff, Joseph Topham, was a farmer in Cornwall, and the defendant was. the daughter of Mr. John Lyle, senior, a gentleman sixty-nine years of age, who was tenant for life, subject to certain mort- gages, of the estate on which the plaintiff Is farm was situate. Formerly Mr. Lyle's son was tenant of the farm at a rental of £ 750, but he got into difficulties, and had to go abroad, and in consequence his father mortgaged the estate, first to a clergyman named Hamilton, for £ 6,000 and next to a solicitor named Woodrooffe, far £ 400! Ultimately it beoame necessary to get a tenant for the farm, and the plaintiff, who had for nineteen years farmed between 600 and 700 acres near St. Neot's, in Huntingdonshire, offered to take it. Some difficulty arose as to the plaintiff rent. ing the mansion house on the estate which was occupied by Mr. Lyle and his daughters, but in May, 1^67, he became tenant of the farm alone. In August follow- ing the defendant wrote a letter to Mr. Hamilton, giving what was the result of her inquiries in Hunting- donshire respecting the character of the plaintiff; and that was the libel complained of. Her statements were, in substance, to this effect He has no cauital of his own, and has not always been able to pay his labourers. During the last few years he has had a difficulty in carrying the farm on, and for some time put h. £ b £ n obW » ttoa,h hi. COM » « ™ it from the field to pay his harvest expmIM. He has no sheep or cattle of his own, and other ? ^have been sent to eat the grass. He hw n° cre(ht m his o^ neighbourhood, and it is thought that if he paiaeve^ one he would not be worth £100. His father is a respectable tradesman, but by no means rich. His chsraoter ill very bad he is a great swearer, and very immoral, so uch so that his wife left her house last year in consequence of his improper conduct, they had a governess who remained with them until circumstances compelled her ^parture, and the present governess was the cause of the desperate stop his wife took. He has always been very wild and profligate, and is supposed to be borrowing money now. This letter was sent by Mr. Hamilton to Mr. Woodrooffe, who acted as receiver of the estate for him, and eventually came to the knowledge of the plaintiff. The contents, it was also said, got circulated in Huntingdonshire, and the plaintiff was therefore compelled to bring the action for the vindication of his character. Mr. Topham, the plaintiff, who said-he was a married man with seven children, swore that the whole of the allegations in the letter were totally devoid of founda- tion. He added that he was still on the farm, but Mr Lyle had not yet granted him a lease. Mrs. Topham deposed that the statements concerning her and the governess were entirely false. Miss Elizabeth Measures, who had been nursery governess in the family since 1861, gave equally positive evidence against the truth of the aspersions on her character. Cole, on the part of the defence, not only did not attempt to justify the accusations in question, but admitted that they were untrue. He relied entirely upon the letter being a privileged communication, the result ot inquiries which the defendant personally and bona fade made at the request of her father for the pro- tection or his interests as well as the interests of the familYi alJ4 contended that if it had been published to the world it was entirely owing to the acts of the plaintiff himself. Mr. Baron Martin suggested that the parties should come to an arrangement. Mr. Keane said he had made what he thought a fair offer, but it had not been accepted. An i.*l "2 Sly Lvl'e, « beinK ->"»> « X, Ser father, 1 that such information was true. Upon cross-examination she said she went to Huntingdonshire on one day and returned the next, and had never been there before or since. on y saw three persons. At first she objected to state their 1 llawOi, but on being told by the judge that if (jot per. ) sisted in the objection she nri*ttake the consequences, she gave them, stating one of the parties was a parish clerk, another the landlady of a public-house, and the third an attorney. She had seen Mrs. Topham with her children and governess at the parish church in Cornwall on Sunday—that was within six weeks before writing the letter. She believed Mrs. Topham was then living with her husband on the farm, but she had no personal knowledge of the fact. She never tested the truth of the information she received, and did not wish to make herself any personal accusa- tions against the plaintiff. Mr. Baron Martin, in summing up, held as a matter of law that the occasion was one which would justify such a letter, and render it a privileged communica. tion, and left the jury to say whether it was written honestly, and with a bona fide intention of conveying what the defendant had heard, and really believed to be true. If they thought it was so written, the defen- dant would be entitled to their verdict; but if they should be of a different opinion, they would find for the plaintiff. The jury found a verdict for the defendant.

AN APPLICATION TO DISSOLVE A MARRIAGE. At the Divorce Court, in London, the cause of Edwards 11. Edwards and Theobald," has been heard, and was a husband's petition for dissolution of marriage on the ground of adultery. The respondent pleaded a denial of the charge, and charged the petitioner with desertion and wilful separa- tion and adultery. The petitioner, Henry Saunders Edwards, is the son ef a sail and canvas maker at Bridport. When he was about nineteen or twenty years of age he came to London on a visit to his uncle, the father of the respondent. The petitioner and the respondent became intimate, and the re- sult waa that her father discovered that she was with child, and insisted that the petitioner should marry her, although he did not expect him to keep her. The mairiage took place in London, but there was no subsequent cohabitation between the husband and wife, and he inunediately enlisted in a cavalry regiment, in which he served for about eighteen months, when his father purchased his discharge. He has since lived with his father at Bridport, assisting him in his busi- ness, and receiving a small salary. For the Jast seven or eight years his salary has been £140 a year. The respondent was delivered of a child about a month after the marriage. It appeared that she afterwards gained her livelihood by teaching, and in 1849 and In 1850 she had a situation as governess in Norfolk. She there made the acquaintance of a farmer in the neighbourhood, named Theobald. Her mistress discovered that she was carrying on an improper intercourse with Theobald, and dismissed her. She after wards obtained a situation as governess at Bridport, but her husband did not visit her or hold any communication with her, and she lost her situation and beeame chargeable to the parish. Her husband's father then made her an allow- ance of 6s. a week. In 1853 she disappeared from Bridport. and her husband and his family lIaw no more of her, and were unable to discover what had become of her, as her family refused to give any information about her until a short time before this suit was instituted. She was then traced to Godalming, where she was found to be living with Theobald as his wife. The inquiries appeared to have been set on foot in consequence of the petitioner having become engaged to be married to a lady of some property at Brid- port. Some witnesses were called on behalf of the respondent for the purpose of proving that the petitioner had com- mitted several acts of adultery during his residence at Brid- port. One of them gave evidence of the fact which she was called to prove, but was unable to state any circumstances tending to corroborate her evidence. The others positively denied that they were aware of any impropriety in the conduct of the petitioner. They were severely cross-examined with regard to statements which it was suggested they had made to the clerk of the petitioner's solicitor, inconsistent with their present evidence, but they distinctly denied ever having made such statements, and on the clerk being called to contradict them, he was unable to say that they had made the statements suggested. The witnesses also said they had not been examined at Bridport before they were brought to London, and that they had never made the statements which they were called to prove, and some of them com- plained that they had not been paid their expenses. Hia Lordship said he thought these witnesses had been shamefully treated, and he ordered their expenses to be paid. The respondent's father was also examined, and stated that there waa never any understanding that there should be a permanent separation between his daughter and the petitioner. He denied that he had insisted on the marriage and agreed that the petitioner should not be required to maintain his wife, and said that the petitioner had con- sented voluntary to the marriage without any pressure on his part. At the conclusion of the evidence the Court ad- journed.

A CAB STRIKE IN LIVERPOOL. As the clocks struck twelve on Friday night in last week, the whole of the Liverpool cabs—except those specially engaged for the evening—"struck work, and formed a. procession through some of the principal streets. As the night was wet and stormy, gentlemen out later than midnight were awkwardly placed, and amongst the stories current on Saturday was one of a gentleman in full evening costume who paid i.10 for the drive out to BainhilL On Saturday all the cab- stands were deserted, though a certain number plied from the various railway stations, though they refused all fares to them. The day, though stormy, was dry, and the strike did not cause much inconvenience, but the omnibuses were of course much more crowded than usual—especially in the middle of the day, when they are generally nearly empty. The strike being general, and there being no necessity for picketting and other methods of intimidation, the cabbies enjoyed their unwonted liberty by driving about the chief thoroughfares in 4-horse drags, waggonettes, shandies, and other vehicles, waving handkerchiefs and hurrah. ing, so that the unfortunate horses were not much the better for the first day's "strike." The grievance which has caused the Liverpool cab strike was a new bye-law of the Car Committee, that car- owners should charge what they liked, provided they publish their rate of fare per mile outside the vehicle, as is done in Manchester. On Saturday only one man took out a license under the new regulations.

A SLEEPY BRIDE. The New Orleans Crescent gets the following from one of the Sisters of Charity at An hospital in that city:— Sister Mary condescended to be our guide through the building, and enlivened the tour with an account of a singular marriage that took place during the morning in the chapel. Some time ago the newspapers announced that a young man had attempted to com- mit suicide in town by shooting himself. He was taken to the Hotel Dieu, and it was feared the wound was mortal; but, with the care he received, he was out of danger in a few days. The cause of his attempt to destroy himself then became known. He was in love. His inamorata had promised three times to marry him, and disappointed him every time. The last was too much, an<l a bullet aimed at the heart was to end his misery. The cruel lady visited him at the hospital, and there she pleged herself to him again. The ceremony was to have taken place at eight o'clock yesterday morning. The lady again failed. The ex- pectant groom was in a wretched state of mind till he received a message from her that she had overslept her- self, and would be with him at eleven o'clock. At that hour she was there, and the ceremony took place in the chapel. "Only think," said sister Mary, "of a bride sending word that she had overalept herself!"

Train announced his arrest to the Nffw York WQ1'ld by the cable in the following crack-brained style;- Queenstown, January 18, 9.45 a.m.—Have just been arrested by the British Government. Was seized upon the Scotia immediately upon arrival out. Have told the Derby Cabinet that the American ultimatum is—Payment of Ala- bama claims and release of American citizens, or war.— GEORGE FRANCIS TRAIN. His arrest, and the complications it may possibly cause, have been most industriously used by the speculators, and stiffened the gold premium one per cent.

As Mr. Train has suddenly become a great man, a martyr to the cause of human freedom, it is not out of place to relate an anecdote that shows something of his character (writes a correspondent). Last year (the story goes) Mr, Train and his wife "happened to be" in Australia. Mrs. Train became, as the Germans say, of good hope." The husband convinced himself in some way that Providence was about to bless mm with a son. As an American father-to-be, his nrst thought concerning the future of his expected heir was a thought of the Presidency. But a horrid fact presented itself. Only native-born Americans are eligible to candidacy for the executive office, Tram is a man of action. He took passage for himself and wife in a steamer bound to San Francisco, x1 ortune was, for the time, with the anxious pair, and the Iraon family was not enlarged until after the arnval of the steamer upon the Californian coast. But heaven did not smile as Train had hoped, for the eagerly awaited "episode" (as the late A. Ward used to say) took the shape of a girl. „ Mr. Train is a man of wealth he can probably lay claim with justice to 3,000,000 dols. He pro- fesses to own 5,000 "lots" in the "future metro- polis"—Omaha, Nebraska-and these he values at 6,000 dols. each.

BURNT TO DEATH! The following sad accident occurred at Doncaster early on Sunday morning:— Miss Weeks, a highly respectable lady of indepen- dent means, residing at 27, Hall-gate, retired to rest about midnight on Saturday. Although more than seventy years of age, she was in the habit of sleeping alone, and her maid left her about half-past twelve nearly ready for bed. It was her habit to read a por- tion of Scriptures, or a prayer, before getting rnto bed, and for this purpose she had removed the canale from the washstand to the bidet by the side of the bed. How she set herself on fire, however, it is impossible to say, but soon after half-past one the servants were alarmed by the ringing of her bell. One of them im- mediately went, and found the room in flames. She rushed back to give the alarm to her fellow-servant, and then both went into the street and called out "Fire!" Mr. Walker, surgeon dentist, who resides next door, was attracted by their cries, and, partially dressed, went immediately to their assistance. They were in such a state of agitation, however, that he could scarcely make out the full extent of the calamity but proceeding upstairs he found the bedroom on the nrst floor on fire. Knowing it was Miss Weeks s room, he groped his way in, but he was driven back by the smoke and heat, for everything appeared in a red glow. He then procured water from downstairs and threw it into the room, having previously called out in the street "Fire fire Policeman Cooper fortu- nately heard the cry, and at once went to his assist- ance. With much courage and presence of mrnd the officer entered the room, closing the door after him. in order to find Miss Weeics, and he found her crouched in the cornar of the room, on the far side of the bed. He carried her out on to the landing, and it was found she was still alive, although dreadfully burnt. Dr. Scholfield who lives nearly opposite, and who had been in constant attendance on the unfortunate lady, had in the meantime been and was there to render every assistance. Nonmedical skilL however, was of avail, and the poor lady expired about half-past five the same morDin^*

MURDER AND OUTRAGE IN DUM- FRIESSHIRE" Amurd«r, bearing a horrible committed at Alton, has startled the oounty of Dumfries. The following Is the outline of the case. It appears that on last Saturday afternoon, between three and four o'clock, a young named Smith, who earns a living by jobbing ahd labournm^_about the country, was observed by a woman, named Patterson, to take into a wood near to Cunimertreea, a village between Annan and Dumfriel, a young girl, about 14 years of age. The woman, as it turned out, had been observed by the ruffian, for some tune afterwards he entered her house at Longford.cottages and felled her to the ground. While down he attacked her with his knife and inflicted five stabs about her neck. Her cries alarmed three young men who were passing, and who rushed in to her assistance. The ruffian had meanwhile escaped. On the poor woman recovering she related what she had seen near the wood. Infor- mation was given at the nearest police-station, and on the party going to the wood they »aw a horrible sight. The girl with whom the villain hat* been seen was found to have been robbed and j^^after another atrocious crime had been committed. The murderer had hanged her up to a tree and then cut down her body. Pursuit was at once commenced, and Smith was apprehended on Sunday. lIe had gone to a farm- house, where blood was observed on his clothes, and in his pocket was found a leather shoelace tied in a noose. There is little doubt that he is the murderer. The atrocious affair has created the utmost horror. Another account states {that the poor little girl is the daughter of a shoemaker at Cummertrees, named Scott, and that she was going to Annan to purchase groceries that she stopped for shelterat a cottage on the road, and the supposed murdererz Robert Smith, a farm labourer, aged twenty, known In the neighbour- hood, arranged to accompany her. The man and girl left the cottage together at noon, and the latter was never seen alive again. It was three in the afternoon before Smith returned to the cottage and made the murderous attack upon the woman, with the design, as it is supposed, of preventing her from giving evi- dence against him.

THE REV. B. SPEKE-THE MISSING CLERGYMAN. A gentleman, dating from Morley's Hotel, Trafal- gar Square, London, writes to The Times In order that your readers may be made acquainted with all the facts connected with the disappearance of the Rev. B. Speke, I trust you will favour me by inserting the follow- ing particulars. Mr. Speke left Somersetshire on Wednesday, the 8th of January, by the train from Chard Station (London and South- Western Railway) at eleven o'clock, taking a return ticket, and telling his groom to be waiting at the station the follow- ing evening. The object of his journey to London was to be present at the marriage of his most intimate friend the next day. The train was rather late into London, and he took a four-wheeled cab and drove to 79, Eccleston-square, the house of his brother-in-law, where he the cab, and where he remained about ten minutes talking to the root- man, who had been brought up in hiaP^8^1' Speke then went out, saying to theeerv&nt that he was'going to buy anew hat, and afterwards on business into Westminster. He went to a hatter's in Warwick-street, chose a hat, and told the hatter to send it to Eccleston-squ^e not later than 0.45, as he was going out to dtaner at seven 0 clock. Mr. Speke then left the shop at about 6.30, and all trace of him from there ceases. His intention to return to EcGleston-sq*iarY8 mo.st, clear. He told the servant of his dinner engagement, and he had made an appointment with a young man whom he had apprenticed in London to call and see about 6'30. In perfect health, of an evenly-balanced mInd, high religious character, and of a singularly cheerful aid amiable disposi- tion, he was about the last man that one would have imagined could come to harm, physical# or morally; and being the only member of hi3 family with his parents, and knowing how heavily recent Dereavements have pressed upon them, it Is incredible tb1\thahe should not have communicated with his family if be d the power to dolO. The hat he was wearing was picked up atbabout 7 30 p.m. on the 8th of January in the Bird cage-wa^oy a respectable workman, who took it home, intending to WbQar it, and who, some days after, hearing the paragraph a out the missing Mr. Speke read, and seeing the same naifem me hat, handed it over to the police. I only hope if any persons read this letter who can throw the slightest light upon this mystery they will &t once com- municate with me. Any coachman or cabman who drove along the Birdcage-walk between six seven o'clock that evening; any persons who two or three people assembled there, or in the parts oi Westminster ad- jacent any persons who observed two or more dragging or apparently helping another man; in faf1* who saw any- thing suspicious that evening, and who wia communicate with me, may possibly give the clue W"Ch will solve this distressing problem On Saturday rumours of a JDoøt extraordinary character were circulated in London m reference to the Rev. Mr. Speke, the brother of the explorer and discoverer of the source of. the Nile, and for whose restoration a reward & the "tat instance of £300, and now £500 has beeo offered. They were to the effect that his body had been discovered by the police in a house in piinlieo, the occupants of which had left in a very sudden and mysterious manner some few days ago. On instituting inquiries as to the truth of this allegation at Scotland-yard, however. the information was that no such circumstance had been telegraphed from the station of the B division in the immediate vicinity of the locality indicated, which the acting inspector would be bound to do under the police regulations the moment such a circumstance had taken place. This report may therefore be looked upon as without foundation. The same inquiries, however, led to information from another quarter. During the afternoon a telegram was received from the K division that the body of a gentleman found drowned in a small river running through a place called Stapleford, near Ongar, Essex, was then lying at a public-house called the Rabbits, at the former place, awaiting a coroner's inquest. Inspector Langley, of the detective police, who has been entrusted with the charge of the case, went down the other night to ascertain particulars, and see if the body could be identified,

THE" PECULIAR PEOPLE" AND VACCINATION. M.D., formerly of Essex," makes the following statement as to the peculiar treatment of their sick by the Peculiar People: A whole family were attacked with small-pox through in- fection from a daughter who had returned from service with the disease upon her. Immediately on hearing of this case I had all the unvaccinated children and adults in the neigh- bourhood vaccinated; ar>*l having learnt that none of the infected family had been vaccinated, I endeavoured to per- suade them to have it done, but was met with a Arm refusal The disease spread from one to another, until the whole family (I think six or seven), except the mother and grand- mother, were laid down. Wo ,™e<llpal aid was sought for until the baby was dying, wnen the maternal affection proved too strong for this pseuao-religious principle, and I was called in, but too late. ■ine aeath of the infant alarmed the wife for the safety of ner nusband, who was then in great danger, and he also was brought under treatment, just in time, by God's blessing,, to be saved from the fate of the infant. I may add that tne non-interference principle having broken down under this severe test, vaccination was submitted to by the two as yet exempt, and both escaped the disease.

The Peculiar People are not alone in resisting vaccination. The Sheffield Board of Guardians having appointed an official to prosecute in cases of default under the Vaccination Act of last session, an indignation meeting has been held in the town, and was attended, it is said, by two town councillors, and about 100 other people. Mr. Isaac Ironside, a gentle- man who has written a great deal on foreign affairs, trades' unions, and many other subjects, said that his investigation into the subject had "convinced him of the folly, absurdity, and deadly mischief of vaccina- tion." lie promised to resist the Act himself, advised his fellow townsmen to follow his example, and moved, that this meeting pledges itself to use its utmost en- deavour to defeat a law so vicious and repugnant to the principles which are held dear by all true Englishmen." This resolution was carried unanimously. A herbalist named Fox "regarded small-pox as a blessing to those who suffered it, and it was because of the ignorance of medical men that vaccination was persisted in. Children said to die of small-pox were oftener killed with medicine, and if there was not a medical man in the world" (herbalists, we presume, excepted), "the world would be happier and healthier ana better than at present." Another speaker asked himself, "Ami an Englishman ? Do I live in England? Are we to submit to a man being appointed to come into our f families to ascertain whether our children hare the mark of the beast on them ? And he "felt sure that his countrymen would never submit to this as long as they had pokers on their hearths." The new official in Sheffield will clearly have no sinecure.

A LITTLE MISTAKE CORRECTED! A paragraph went the round of the papers some weeks ago to the effect that the eland exhibited at the Smithfield Club Cattle Show, in London, was slaugh- tered by a well-known firm of butchers, and that its sirloin was eaten with due appreciation by the distin- guished connoisseurs in beef, alive and dead, who at- tended the club dinner. As the eland was alive on the day of the dinner and still engaged at the Cattle Show exciting the wonderment of the gaping crowds who thronged his den, a formal contradiction of the blunder was hardly needed. Mr. Lewis, manager of the Salisbury Hotel, at which the club dinner took j place, writes to a contemporary an explanation ot how the mistake occurred. He says the butcher alluded to "sent a messenger here on the day of the Farmers' Club dinner to ask me if I would take a piece of the 'Highland buffalo,' lately exhibited at the Smithfield Club Cattle Show. But the due and proper study of the letter 'h' not having formed part of the mes- senger's education, he said the joint in question was part of the .Eland buffalo; and, upon being closely questioned, gave his solemn assurance that it was part of 4 h\m as was in the show* The butcher's lad, who must have been a wag, succeeded in selling the manager, who admits that at the dinner he informed the chairman that the joint before him was part of the now celebrated eland. Of course, the guests, who had seen the animal alive that afternoon, enjoyed the joke.

THE END OF A DISMAL LIFE! An inquiry has been held in London, relative to the Buicide of a Hindoo, whose name is unknown. The deceased for years past was continually to be seen about the City of London handing tracts to the passers-by in hopes of getting alms. Where he lived, or how, not even the police knew. It was supposed that he had no lodging, and that he used to sleep in stable-yards or under arches. He never said a word to any one either in English or Hin- dustani he contented himself with a salaam and an indiscribable grimace by way of thanks to whoever gave him a halfpenny for the sight ef his tracts. He appeared not to have a single acquaintance anywhere. His apparent age was 45 years. A fortnight ago he, no doubt, got tired of his dismal mode of life, and he Hang himself in the roadway before an omnibus. The hones, however, stepped over him, and the wheels of the omnibus passed en either side of his body, so that he was picked op quite uninjured. While walking down Bishopsgate Immediately after this Mlure in the attempt to commit suicide a woman, struck by his dis- consolate appearance, offered him some meat, which he (possibly from some religious scruples) refused. That was the last time—so far as can be ascertained—that anybody saw him alive. On Monday last, a man In the employ of a van proprietor, went Into a dark part of his master's stable to get a sack. When he put out his hand he felt the cold face of a corpse. He rushed out and gave an alarm. When as- sistance came the body of the deceased was found in a kneeling posture on the ground, a rope fastened around his neck and tied to a beam of the roof. There was no money or any other property found upon him. The Coroner said that the mystery of the deceased's existence and name would now never be disclosed. There was little doubt that he had committed suicide in despair at his folom condition, but there was no evidence of the fact. The Jury returned a verdiot of Found Dead from Hanging.

SERVANTS' FEES. The following remarks on the dissatisfaction often ex- pressed by gamekeepers with the fees tendered to them through the courtesy of sporting gentlemen are from Once a Week The extent of which the habit of feeing keepers has gone may be instanced by a story from one of the sporting reviews. We know the nobleman in question, who acted with much promptitude and good sense but for obvious reasons we forbear to mention his name. Lord G—— went down to enjoy a moderate day's gunning some distance from his quarters. At the close of the day he tendered two sovereigns as his honorarium to the head keeper. Thia gentleman informed the other gentleman that he never took anything less than paper—a very excellent lesson for all casual clergymen, physicians, literary men, and the lower classes in general, who would probably like to change places with the keeper for a time. Lord G- very properly transferred hia two sovereigns to an under-keeper, feeling that it was a duty incumbent on him to pay two sovereigns to his friend's servants somehow or other. This extortion is luckily not invariable. We, in company with eight or ten other gentlemen, some of them wealthy enough, have gwen two sovereigns, with great satisfaction, for four days' cover shooting, in which the results were over 1,000 head each day, and have received in return a very civil acknowledg- ment. But that is in a house where the organization is invariably good, and where the master places his guests. There will then be no high payments for hot corners, and the poor man will not have the satis- faction of hearing a young millionaire let off his gun 30 times to his once. The disposition of guns in a cover ought not to be at the disposal of a servant, to whom the temptation of £51 in lieu of one, may be too great to be overcome. There are always extremes, true virtue lying as the mean between them. There are "screws who cannot understand that a moderate ac- knowledgment is encouraging to a good servant, and has become a rule in good society. There are also in- considerate spendthrifts who think of nothing but a servants'-hall popularity, to be bought at any price. And there are a few who are so far moral cowards as to fear to make a stand when they know themselves to be right. The proper adaptation of such customs wants nothing but consideration. That a fee is ex- pected—nay, demanded, in the case of sporting servants one common instance may show. In the lifetime of a celebrated sporting baronet, after the covers had been shot, a regular bill for ammunition was placed on the dressing-table of each guest, signed by the keeper, and leaving a space opposite his own name to be filled up by the sum proposed to be given. It is so in some houses in Scotland at the present time. Regarding a day's or week's shooting as a matter of business, It seems as fair a mode of levying a tax as any; theugh, perhaps, long purses would get the best of the [moor and dogs the following season. This danger, however, may be avoided by the practice adopted in certain houses of having a box for the ser- vants' fees you can put in what you will—much or little. What is really wanted is little moderation on the part of the donors, and an understanding among the retainers of great houses that a man may be a gentleman, and deserving of attention, although not possessed of a dukedom and one hundred thousand a year. As to the neat-handed Phillises, with their cherry-coloured ribands, and the ever-ready buttons who open the doors and hand the viands in middle- clasa life, he would be a curmudgeon indeed who would curtail their Christmas-boxes. No man fears to give them too much lest he should spoil the market, and the fee must be small indeed which would insult their dignity. That is another part of the subject which needs no discussion.

WHAT IS THE LIMIT OF HUMAN LIFE? A fortnight ago the death of a man at ClAydon, in Suffolk, at the age of 106, was noticed in the papers. A medical correspondent, evidently well acquainted with the facts, says that the correct reference should be to what could only by a misnomer in this instance be de- scribed as "the weaker sex, "inasmuch as the vener- able centenarian was a "person named Mrs. Morfew, who had been baptised at Claydon Church on the 28th of November, 1761, her exact age at that date not being known. She acted as midwife at the Barham Union for a great many years, and her services in a aimilar capacity had been invoked at the birth of many of the presentoldest inhabitants of Claydon. This remarkable specimen of hale old age was accustomed, up to within a month of her death, to walk alone, without the aid of a stick, on Sunday mornings to Claydon Church and back, a distance of more than a mile and a half; and her faculties were retained perfect almost to the last, her eyesight being so good that she never wore spectacles. She herself told thtf correspondent, in reference to her mode of life, that she had never tasted beer, and except for illness (of which, thank God, I have had very little) never spirits, and then only the smallest quantity of brandy." We are informed that a son of Mrs. Morfew is over seventy years of age, and haa lately married his third wife.

"DOING" THE DUBLIN DETECTIVES. The Daily Express mentions the following instance of a clever stratagem successfully resorted to in order to elude the vigilance of the Dublin detectives I- A telegram from the police of Holyhead transmitted the intelligence that a suspicious-looking person was on board one of the mail steamers. His appearance was minutely described, and it was stated that he had two revolvers in his possession. An ordinary observer who saw him going on board would have supposed that he, of all men, was not likely to be a dangerous rebel, as he hobbled along with great difficulty upon a pair of crutches and a wooden leg. The police, however, whose sympathies are not easily excited, evidently looked upon him as a Fenian veteran who had been in active service, and so they telegraphed to the force in Dublin to be on the look-out for the invalid. The G men were alive to the importance of the intended capture, and when the steamer came alongside the pier at Kingstown the approach of the cripple was eagerly awaited. The file of passengers passed out, but still no sign of the expected visitor. At length the detec- tives began to get impatient, and thought it desirable to search the vessel lest he should be attempting to hide himself. They proceeded to the cabin, and there discovered that the stranger had drawn the stumps and left them to wonder how such a marvellous cure had been effected during the voyage. They expected to find a Fenian and two revolvers they only found two crutches and a wooden leg.

A MYSTERIOUS CASE. On Monday the acting coroner for Bristol, Mr. Was- brough, resumed an inquiry touching the death of auttie boy, Thomas Blackmore, whose body was found in the River Froome, Bristol, on Tuesday, the 28th ult., and whoso father, Wm. Blackmore, a mason s labourer, is in custody on suspicion of hawing caused his death. The evidence, which occupied several hours, is up to the present point entirely circumstantial. It is proved that the father had been in the habit of behaving with some harshness towards the boy, and according to the evidence of a sister of his he had often said he should like to give him a ride down the river, and that he had been heard conversing with a man about taking the boy to Bath or somewhere and leaving him. On the 27th the boy (who was somewhat mischievously in- clined) pulled some lead off the window of the tavern at which the father lodged, and the father was spoken to by the servant about it. He was angry with the child, and on giving him some bread and bacon, said It was the last he should ever eat in his house. Some time afterwards he said he would take the child to the union (where he had been before), and they left the house together, and in the evening the father returned alone. On being asked if he had put the boy in, as he had threatened, he said No," that they refused to receive him unless he went in himself. He further stated that he went to see a sister of his, and told the boy to stay outside for him, and.that when he came out to look for him he was gone, He aloo made other statements about having inquired for the child at the police stations. It has been ascertained that he did not go to the union, and indeed he is shown to have admitted as much to a neighbour, and the evidence traces him on to a piece of ground overhanging a river, near to where the body was found, which ground was private property, and enclosed with palings. It is further believed that had a child fallen in at the spot indicated, he would have caught at the bank, whereas there are no traces of dirt under his nails, and there are indications of the body having been thrown out into the stream which was running fast at the time. Beyond this, it is shown that many of his statements were false, and it is, moreover, considered suspicious that he presented him- self to see the body, soon after it was found, and he then stated that two boys had told him that his son whilst playing on the wall near the pump fell into the water. The inquiry, which creates the greatest interest, was adjourned to a future day.

ASSASSINATION OF A GENTLEMAN BY BRIGANDS. A letter from Mignano gives us particulars of an event which has caused a great sensation in the whole Terra di Lavoro, namely, the capture and murder of M. Ignazio Caldieri, a rich landed proprietor of Conca, by the band of Domenico Fuoco. He was seized in his house when quite alone by upwards of thirty bri- gands, all well armed. On the first news of the occur- rence all the disposable forces in the neighbourhood were put in motion, whilst the brigands threw them- selves into the mountains of Cesima. In the morning of the 23rd the National Guard of Conca first came up with the marauders, and, being reinforced by a de. tachment from Taverna San Felice, drove them, after a sharp fusillade, to fly by the only outlet open to them, opposite to Taverna de Conca. The sound of musketry was heard by a company at Presenzano, which immediately crossed the mountain in order to place the band between two fires. Then it was that the unfortunate Caldieri was stabbed to death with blows of a poniard, after which the brigands effected their escape. By the side of the corpse was that of a well-dressed bandit, the secretary of Fuoco, killed by a ball through the neck. On his person was a magni- ficent carbine, a revolver, and other weapons.

COMTESSE D'ALTEYRAC v. LORD WILLOUGHBY D'ERESBY. In the Court of Queen's Bench the above cause has been tried, and was an action to recover the value of certain furniture, china, plate, &c., of the plaintiff, converted by the defendant to his own use. The amount claimed in the declaration was £20,000, The defendant pleaded Not Guilty," and that the plaintiff was not possessed as alleged. Mr. Coleridge, in opening the cue, stated that the plaintlfl was the wife of an officer in the French navy, who had been for many years separated from her husband. She made the acquaintance of the defendant, who was then the Hon. Alberie Drummond Willoughby, at Paris in 1847, and from that time until December, 1864, she lived with him as his wife, in and near London, and also at Paris and other places on the Continent. In February, 1848, a daughter was born, who, until her marriage recently, has always gone by the name of Miss Willoughby. In the year 1848 the Count D'Alteyrac obtained a judgment of separation from his wife, the effect of which, as the learned counsel averred, was to give the plaintiff entire control over the personal property of which she became possessed. She brought over to England about £ 1,600 of her own, and a large quantity of furniture and plate. During the residence of the plaintiff and defendant at Caen-lodge, Twickenham, the ilatter engaged himself to be married upon the death of plaintiff's husband, and, until the separation, the daughter was not aware that her parents had not been married. In 1852 Mr. Willoughby, being at the time very ill, wrote a letter to his father, asking him, In case of his death, to provide Madame D'Alteyrac with an income for life in return for the kindness and attention she had shown him. In that letter he acknowledged that all the furniture belonged to her. In 1862 a will was executed by the defendant, by which the house in which they were living, and all the furniture, horses, &< were left in trust for the benefit of the plaintiff for life, and for the daughter afterwards. An inventory was then drawn up of all the contents of the house, including that which was brought by the plaintiff from France, and was her own pro- perty, and that which had been purchased by the defendant. This inventory was examined and checked by the defendant; it included among other things a list of plate, weighing as much as 1,660 ounces, all of which, with very few exceptions, was marked with the crest or cipher of Madame D'Alteyrac. In December, 1864, up to which time the parties to this action had lived together upon most affectionate terms, the plaintiff went over to Paris to fetch the daughtwfrom school. After her departure a correspondence commenced, which ended in a consideration as to the terms upon which a separation should take place. From the time the plaintiff left England hi December, 1864, she has never seen the de- fendant, for at her return, at the end of January, 1865, the defendant's mother had just died, and before the end of the next month, his father, Lord Willoughby D'Eresby, also died, and the defendant succeeded to the title. It seemed that bv his father's will the defendant came into a large part of his property only en condition that he should give up all connexion with the plaintiff to the satisfaction of certain trustees named in the will. Soon after this Colonel Dudley Carlton proposed to Madame D'Alteyrac an arrangement on behalf of the defendant, by which she was to receive £1,500 and £2,000 a year; and upon the understanding that these terms were to be carried out, the plaintiff left Caen-lodge and went to Paris, one has since received only £300, and the defendant has taken possession of and sold the furniture and other ettects in the house at Twickenham, which, as the plaintiff alleged, all belonged to her. To the defendant's only answer is a denial of the plaintiffs right to the articles she claims, with the assertion of a technical objection that, being a married woman, she has no right to sue in a court of law in her own name. The learned counsel concluded by an eloquent appeal to the jury to give his client reparation for the injuries she had received, for he was happy to say that the defence raised was bad in law, as it was mean and dis- honourable. Madame D'Alteyrac was called, and examined by Mr. Philbric.—She said she was the wife of the Count D'Alteyrac, who was formerly the captain of a frigate In the French navy. In 1847, when she was living apart from her husband, she made the acquaintance of Mr. Willoughby in Paris, and commenced living with him in June of that year. In February, 1848, a daughter was born, and in 1849 they reo moved to England. She travelled with the defendant in Germany and Switzerland, and she was known by the name of Mrs. Willoughby and the daughter was called Miss Willoughby. The plaintiff brought with her to England about £1,600, and a considerable quantity of furniture, which Jifr own Property; a large part of this money was spent in fitting out and obtaining the lease of a house In Vincent- street, Ovington-squara. While living there the defendant wrote the letter to hia father which was mentioned in the opening speech, and which the plaintiff had ever since kept in her possession. At the recommendation ef the de- fendant's medical advisers they removed in 1852 to Caen- lodge, Twickenham, and conveyed there all the furniture which was in their previous residence. The will mentioned, which was produced and read, was executed on the 16th of March, 1862, about which time an inventory of all the articles In the house was drawn up by the plaintiff with the assistance of a Major Chambre, who was staying at Caen-lodge, and was approved by the defendant. At the end of 1864, on account of the defendant's Intimacy with the plaintiffs lady's maid, some disagreement took place between Mr. Willoughby and Madame D'Alteyrac. This, however, did not last long, and the usual affectionate terms were resumed before the latter left for Paris to fetch her daughter, In December of that year. In consequence of letters which she received, and of the conduct of the defendant in ad- vertising in the French newspapers that he would not be responsible for the plaintiff's debts, she wrote to the defend- ant, saying that perhaps they had better separate. Mr. Williamson, clerk to the defendant's attorney, came over to Paris and offered some terms, which were not aocepted. Afterwards, on her return to Caen-lodge, at the end of January, the plaintiff agreed to accept the terms proposed to her by Colonel Dudley Carlton, and she accordingly went over to Paris, leaving her furniture, plate, china, and other property in the house at Twickenham, none of which has she since been able to recover. In 1852, while living in Vincent-street, proceedings were taken by the Count d'Alteyrac in the Tribunal of First Instance of the Seine, and a judgment of separation from his wife was granted. Mr. Coleridge tendered a copy of the judgment with the seal of the French court. Mr. Hawkins objected to its reception. The Lord Chief Justice: Had you better risk it, Mr, Coleridge Y-Mr. Coleridge: I tender it. The Lord Chief Justice: If necessary I will adjourn the case for proof.—Mr. Hawkins: I object to Its reception. The Lord Chief Justice Are you really going to take such an objection, Mr. Hawkins ?—Mr. Hawkins: I must. It is not proved to be properly sealed. The Lord Chief Justice: I will certainly not allow justice to be defeated on such a point. If necessary I will adjourn the case for proof. Mr. Philbrick said if the document purported to be sealed with the seal of a foreign court it was sufficient The Lord Chief Justice: It Is sealed. Will that not do —Mr. Hawkins: Besides that the yroceediDgs on which it is said to be founded are not set forth. The Lord Chief Justice I must again put it to you, Mr. Hawkins, representing, as you do, a nobleman holding a public position, If you intend to persist in your objection to the reception of this evidence. I do not remember to have heard an objection so utterly and entirely unworthy of being made as this. (Slight applause.)—Mr. Hawkins: I hope your lordship does not think I have taken the objection my- self. The Lord Chief Justice: Quite so.—Mr. Hawkins: My instructions are to conduct the case with the greatest strictness. The Lord Chief Justice: I am not casting a shadow of blame on you personally, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Hawkins said he wished a discretion had been vested in him, because if so he would exercise It. Mr. Coleridge said he would not press the reception of the judgment just then. The plaintiff, in cross-examination by Mr. Hawkins, said: I was married in 18S6. My daughter was born on 20th February, 1848, when I was living in Paris. I first became acquainted with the defendant in January, 1847 my daugh- ter was not two years old when my acquaintance commenced with the defendant. Mr. Hawkins: Do you mean to say she is his daughter? Plaintiff If Lord Willoughby were here I would ask him. I say yes. The child was not baptised until Lord Willoughby consented to her being brought up a Catholic. She was baptised at Isleworth when she was 11 years old. She was not baptised as "father unknown." I think my husband was travelling in America when I first became acquainted with Lord Willoughby. My husband had been away from me two years. I left my husband's family, with whom I had been residing, in February, 1847, to reside In Paris, at my husband's request. I brought £1,600 with me to London, which was spent on the house, &c., and I paid £200 besides to Parflt for the defendant's tailor's bill, and between £6,000 and £7,000, the remainder of my property, was settled upon our daughter. My daughter is now married. Half of the plate was purchased by the defendant and presented to me. In his illness I watched him day and night. It was feared the defendant would go mad, and then it was he gave me the letter to his father for a provision in case of his decease. Money had to be raised on mortgage with which to purchase Caen-lodge. I never said to Williamson that I wished to have the propertv in Caen-lodge made over to me. I never mentioned It to him, h's influence with the defend- ant. I that on the defendant's death I should receive ^o favour or affection from his family. I Cli aU the famUv always received Wn/ness i l^ft Caen-lod^B H !6v ant 8aw me in my carriage when the most affecting » dau8hter> ancl we parted on and Lord ^S-JI was 8ufferin8 from bronchitis, fnserted ihi „^g W Wlshed me t0 8° to Paris. Williamson thl £ advertisements that I was not to be trusted in sh-oii^ nf h pap?P' *1 the defendant's request. I was de- tiw! i separating, because I felt that I had not been eated as a wife and a lady ought to have been, in conse- quence of his familiarity with Lucy Wood, my lady's-maid. ,110' tell Williamson that I did not care about the defendant, and that all I wanted was the maintenance. I was too fond of the defendant to say that. I mentioned no sum that I should require on separation with which to pay my debts. I said I thought he ought to pay every one, as I had had the management of the house as his wife. I never said I was indebted £2,000. I have nearly paid every one 1 owe money to in Paris, between jE500 and £600. My per- sonal debts in England and Paris cannot be more than &1.000. Before the conclusion of the cross-examination an attempt was made to compromise the action upon the terms pro- posed by Colonel Carlton, but Mr. Coleridge refused to ac- cept anything less than Lord Willoughby d'Eresby s signa- ture to such a compromise; for, as he said, he knew his Lordship had given his attorney written instructions to allow no terms to be entered into. The Lord Chief Justice remarked that this was a matter which he thought ought to be arranged at the earliest possible moment, or put into the hands of some men of honour who should have full power to determine all disDutei between the parties He considered it a case of great public scandal, and when one considered the telationshin between the plaintiff and defendant, the action assumed an unplea- •ant and unworthy aspect. It ought to be settled eut of S?Uthe nfatotW-s8 m?H^ no complaint by the defendant of the piainturs misconduct, and after living together for right to turu a woman adrift UpoIl the stveets. It was then arranged to receive the evidence concer :,ii:g the French law in case it might be required, and aitenvarus to adjourn for a few days, in order that Lord Yv illough'iv. «lo was absent from London, might confirm the terms propused by his counsel. M. Ernest Le Beau was examined, through an in* .nireter, by Mr. Coleridge. He said he was formerly mayor ot Cr.iais and member of the Council General of the department of Calais. He had been thirty-seven years an advocate, an0. was a member of the Council of Advocates. lie rirodueofi and read Article 1,449 of the Code Civile of France, which is as follows :— "LafemrM separic, soitde corps et de bien#, soil de bic/ny. seulemerrt, en reprend la libra administration. El'c disposer de ion nwbilier et I'ali&ner. Elle 'M pent all&ncr [: immeubles sans le consentement du mari, ou sans eta autorisee en justice d son re/us." The witness further said that by the law of France a "woman separated from her husband can, with regard to persona) property, take proceedings without any authority from her husband or the law. She Is, in fact, a single woman. The copy of the judgment of separation produced was sufficient by the law of France to prove the legal separation. M. Auguste Petit and the Chevalier de Rosas, advocates oi the French Bar, concurred in the opinions expressed by M Le Beau. The court was then adjourned.

On Monday morning the case was again brought before the court, when Mr. Coleridge, (after a con- ference with Mr. Hawkins), said There is one matter in connection with the settlement of this case which must have the sanction of your lordship. (The terms agreed to between the parties were then handed up.) The Lord Chief Justice (having read the document): You both wish it?—Mr. Hawkins Yes, I desire it. The Lord Chief Justice: I would rather you named some one yourself, but if you prefer it I will name a gentleman. Mr. Coleridge: We both prefer that your lordship should name the party. Mr. Hawkins: of oourse it is impossible for your lordship to do so at this moment. The Lord Chief Justice: Ko, it is necessary before I do that I should communicate with the party. Mr. Hawkins: Before this ease closes, I wish to say a word on behalf of Lord Willoughby D'Eresby. My friend's case has been opened to the Jury and the plaintiff has been examined. Now I need hardly say that Lord Willoughby would not have defended this case if he had not taken a different view of it to that which has been presented by the plaintiff. His lordship has never been unwilling to make an allowance to the Countess sufficient for her future main- tenance, but the terms have been so large which the Countess and her friends aske4, that it was impossible for the noble defendant to accede to them. The case, however, is now terminated, Lord Willoughby having done that which from the first, it appeared to me, he should have done—viz., to refer it to some gentleman of honour to say what as a matter of honour and regardless of law should be done between the parties. Lord Willoughby's case has not been presented to the jury. I have abstained from saying one syllable disrespectful of the lady. I have only endeavoured to conduct the case in accordance with my instructions. The Lord Chief Justice: The termination is satisfactory; I only wish it had been done sooner. The parties then withdrew, having first signed the terms of reference.

THE MARKETS. MARK-LANE, Monday. There was only a limited quantity of wheat on sale here to-day Coastwise and by land carriage, and the bulk of it was In very middling tondltfon. Good and fine samples were in fair request, at prices eqnal to Monday last: but inferior parcels were very" dull, and rather lower to sell. The show of foreign wheat was good. On the whole, about an average business was transacted in most kinds, at last week's cur rancy. Floating cargoes of grain were inactive, but not cheaper. The supply of both English and foreign barley was rather limited. Most descriptions were in moderate request, at late rates. Malt was held at very full prices, but the mand for it was by no means active. The supply v&s seasonably good. Oats were the turn dearer, although the inquiry for them was by no means active. The imports of fereton were on a limited scale. Beans moved off slowly but at very full prices. In peas oalya limited business was passing, at late rates. The flour trade was steady, at full quotations. Maiae was held at quite last week's quotations. Seeds, generally, were a slow Inquiry. In the value of cukes no chaage took place. MKTBOPOLITAN CATrLE MARKET, MuNIUi. There was only a limited supply of foreign stock on sule here to-aay- Ane demand, however, ruled heavy, aud the 500piD8 tendency. Fresh up from our £ districts the arrival of beasts was moderately f^4^ftio^Pme condition. The supplies from Irelaud ruleil were rather limited. For all breeds the demand MoruiI^Vy; at/declinem 1u°tations, compared with «t°.na ,Llast' of 2d. per 81b The best Scots and crosses sold at 4s. lOd. per 81b. From Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, and Cam- oridgeshire we received about 1,600 Scots and crosses; from other parts of England, 700 various breeds from Scotland, 332 Scots and crosses and from Ireland, 170 cows, lieiicrs, &c. Notwithstanding that the supply of sheep was limited, sales progressed heavily, in prices, however, no quotable change took place, the top figure for Downs and haif-breds being 5s. per 81b. There were a few lambs on offer at late rates, namely, from 35s. to37s. per head. The few calves iu the market changed hands slowly, at last week's currency, namely, from 4s. 4d. to 51. 6d. per 81b. In pigs—the supply of which was good—very little was passing, on former terms. The highest prioe was 4s. 2d. per Sib. POTATOES. Full average supplies of potatoes are on sale at these markets the demand, on the whole, has been moderately active, at our quotations. The imports into London last week consisted of 52 bags and 199 sacks from Boulogne, 3 baskets from Amsterdam, 1,136 sacks from Dunkirk, 4 casks and 2 bags from Rotterdam, 60 tons from Rouen, 90 tons from Havre, and 17 tons and 4 sacks from Caen. Regents 120s. to 170s.; Flukes, 130s. to 170s. Rocks, 110s to no". French, 90s. to 100s. per ton. HOPS. No material alteration has taken place in this markpt The demand has been only moderate, and prices in soma instances were barely maintained. On the Co there has been a fair consumptive inquiry and in the American markets a moderate quantity has been disnosed cf The imports into London last week consists ™ >! i ? Antwerp, 13 from Boulogne, 289 from Tw J-0? bHe/ffrolU Hamburgh, 571 from Bremen 13VT^ from Rotterdam. Mid and' ifpi v ? t 1 oi. 0s.; Weald of Kents M nf t ^ents, 61. 15 s to to 61 15s. • Farnhnmo o?' k" ? to 7s- Sussex, Oi. Os. to 7L 0s.; Belgians 3/' is. t Vii08' Bavarians, 41. log. to 01.15s. 15s. to 41 15s.; yearlings, a ios. WOOL. Bu.sinØ8i1.ill colonial wool, slnee our last report, has been olaveryltmited character, at nominal prices. The next series of public sales are announced to commence on the j!7tn inst. The quantity already received comprises 34,004 bales, consisting of 6,390 from New South Wales and Queens- land, 2,988 from Victoria, 2.1S7 from South Australia 566 t 2,1 ew Zeaiand. and 21,864 from the Cape of Good Hope. In English wool very few transactions have taken place on former terms. The import into London last week consisted of 2,467 bales from Sydney, and 717 bales from Port Alfred. Current prices of Bngllah woolFleeces.— Southdown hog- gets, is. 2d. to la 2fd.; half-breds, Is. 2}d. to Is. 3Jd Kant fleeces, Is. Id. to la ljd.; Southdown ewes and wethers. Is.Id. to la ltf.; Leicester ditto la. Id. to Is. 2<L per lh. torts: olothlng, is, 2d, to la 6id.; ceubtog, la 01. to is, aid pec 10.