The Aberystwith Observer

gliscellamiras Intelligence, j HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL. THE SCOTTISH MARRIAGE REGISTERS. èf The local registrar at Clyne, in Sutherland, reports Iohë Registrar-General of Scotland that, owing to the failure of the herring fishery, and to the very light har- vest, no marriages were celebrated in this district during the quarter ending 30th September last. Also, at Fetlar, in hbe$an;d4 no; tBjarria^es were. registered during ther threfe nfonths, and in -thia- district ihe herring fisihery proved a complete failure. At Eyemouth, in Berwick, j there was only one marriage recorded during the quar- ] ter, the reason assigned for this being the depressed 1 state of the fi^e £ £ ^adgr. the*. Highlands, the failure of the herring fishery, however, does not always account for a bad return of marriages, for at Tyree, an insular district in Argyle, where no marriages were recorded during the quarter, the registrar states that the number of marriages registered affords no just criterion of the members who go to the hymeneal altar, at all events in his district, for, after the certi- ficate of the proclamation of bans has been obtained, a good many happy couples prefer taking a trip by steamer to the low country to get married, rnther than stand the turmoil, revelry, and bustle of a real High- land marriage. "And," adds the registrar, "con- sidering all things, the public morals gain more than they lose by the change." THE HORSE AND THE RIDER.—An old Irish farmer once rode from Athlone to Dublin, some sixty odd Irish miles, in one day, on the same wretched horse. He never halted to feed his beast, nor gave her corn or water during the journey but stopping at his last stage, Maynooth, Jhe tossed off a glass of whisky for his own refreshment, saying, as he remounted, ".Let us see if ye won't go after that 7" RETIRING TO PRIVATE LIFE.—Two French noble- men, one a distinguished general and the other a lieu- tenant in the army, and both young, have retired to very private life indeed—the motive for which is unknown (says the Cowrt Journal.) They have entered the monastery of Chartreuse de Grenoble, situated in the depth of a forest. The rules of the order are more severe than those of La Trappe—Brother, we must die," is the only salutation and conversation each day. The climate is rigorous—the only meal partaken of, and in the evening, is a few ounces of bread and a little wine—even in illness the most grave, no alteration is made in the dietary. The members wearno linen; but, instead, hair shirts. During the night they get up to prayers, and for two hours are engaged thereat, prostrating themselves on their faces on the cold flags; and those "brothers who have been just received, were of the grand-monde-men on town Madness is said to be greatly on the increase in France. —Court Journal. BARTER.—The Cheyenne (Wyoming) Argus has the following paragraph in a prominent place in the paper :—" Coal and weed wanted at this office, to be paid for in advertisements, subscriptions, and printing." THE WONDERS OF SEED.—Is there upon earth a machine, is there a palace, is there even a city, which contains so much that is wonderful as is enclosed in a single seed—one grain of corn, one little brown apple- seed, one 3mallseed of a tree picked up, perhaps, by a little sparrow for her little ones, the smallest of a poppy or blue-bell, or even one of the seeds that are so small that they float about in the air invisible to our eyes? Ah there is a world of marvel and brilliant beauties hidden in each of these. About a hundred and fifty years ago the celebrated Linnaeus, who has been called "the Father of Botany," reckoned about 8,000 different kinds of plants, and he then thought that the whole number existing could not much exceed 10,000. But a hundred years after him M. de Candolle, of Geneva, described about 40,000 kind of plants, and he supposed it possible the number might even amount to 100,000. Well, have these 100,000 kinds of plants ever failed to bear the right kind of seeds ? Have they ever deceived us ? Has a seed of poppy grown up into a sunflower ? Has a sycamore-tree ever sprung from an acorn, or a beech- tree from a chestnut ? A little bird may carry away the small seed of the sycamore in its beak to feed its nestlings, and on the way may drop it on the ground. The tiny seed may spring up and grow where it fell unnoticed, and sixty years after it may become a mag- nificent tree, under which the flocks of the valleys and their shepherds may rest in the shade.—Hibberd's Gardener's Magazine. TRIAL FOR POISONING IN SWITZERLAND.—The Geneva journals announced a trial destined to create a great sensation in Switzerland. The accused, a nurse named Jeanneret, is charged with poisoning not fewer than nine different persons, whom she had within the space of six months been engaged to attend. The substances used were belladonna and atrophine, an extract of the same and to obtain them she simulated a partial blindess, for which they are em- ployed as a remedy. The woman appears to have had a monomania of crime, as she neither robbed her victims nor derived any benefit from their death she is even said to have nursed them with great tenderness. She was at length detected by a French painter named B whose wife she had attended. Mdme. B after showing symptoms of poisoning, recovered; when the accused, finding that she was suspected, absconded, kihe was, however, subsequently traced and arrested so unexpectedly that she had not time to conceal the poisons she had in her possession, and all of which are in the hands of justice. CHARMIJWJ GOOD FOR A SCALD !—The child of a Devonshire labourer died from scalds caused by its turning over a saucepan. At the inquest the following strange evidence was given by Ann Manley, a wit- ness :—" I am the wife of James Manley, labourer. I met Sarah Sheppard about nine o'clock on Thursday coming on the road with the child in her arms, wrapt in the tail of her frock. She said her child was scalded; then I charmed it as I charmed it before, when a stone hopped out of the fire last Honiton fair, and scalded its eye. I charmed it in the road. I charmed it by saying to myself, 'There was two angels, one of them bring fire and the other frost; in frost out fire, &c.' I repeat this three times; this is good for a scald. I can't say it's good for anything else. Old John Spar- way told me this charm many years ago a man may tell a woman the charm, or a woman may tell a man, but if a woman tells a woman or a man a man, I con- sider it won't do any good at all." MORMON POLICY.—The Mormons have resolved on non-commercial intercourse with the Gentiles, and the establishment of trade co-operative societies among themselves. The reasons for this exclusiveness are presented substantially in the following fashion :—It is the avowed design of the Gentile portion of the com- munity, when the railroad is finished, to outnumber and outvote the Mormon portion, and thus control the local and general politics of the territory. This, the Mormons account, would be tantamount to a renewal of the troubles of Missouri and Illiaois, twenty-five and thirty years ago, and, in fact, would presage another Mormon exodus. In order to prevent, if possible, any such tragic consummation, and to retain a foothold in the valleys of the Great Basin, which they proved capable of self-sustaining settlement, the Mormons have determined that they will sustain only their own people in this territory, withdrawing their usual cus- tom from the Gentile merchants, and bestowing the whole upon the Mormon merchants. The policy of such a measure had been urged many times previously, but never so generally nor so strenuously as of late, nor as there ever been manifest so decided nor so general a disposition to accept and to act upon such a policy as of late. MR. ROEBUCK'S FAREWELL ADDRESS.—Mr. Roebuck has issued a farewell address to his late con- stituents at Sheffield, in which, after thanking his sup- porters for their exertions on his behalf, he says :— We must all accept the decision of the electors as the faith- ful expression of the present opinions of the majority of the electors. It cannot be expected that we should acquiesce in the wisdom or the justice of this decision. Whether time is to reverse this decree, time must show for me it is a final one. I am too old to wait for the decisions of time, though I am confident that when calm reflection takes the place of excitement and prejudice, it will be acknowledged that I have been always a faithful servant, and that my services deserved a different return. I make no complaint, I make no accusations. The future must decide between me and the newly-made constituency of Sheffield. A subscription has been started in Sheffield for a testimonial tc Mr. Roebuck, and already over a thou- sand pounds has been promised, and this amount, it is suppostd, will be greatly increased. BOTH ON THE SAME ERRAND.—A very interest- ing incident is related of the jour des morts, the day when all Paris goes to pay its annual tribute of respect to the memory of the dead. In one of the most secluded alleys of the eastern cemetery a young lady, clad in black, was kneeling upon a tomb with a wreath of immortelles in her hand. In the morning she had waited anxiously the departure of her husband in order to attire herself in a black dress, wrap a large cloak round her, and go to the cemetery. The tomb on which she was kneeling contained the inscription, Alfred X born 1840, died 1862. Not far from her, on another tomb, was a middle-aged gentleman of some fifty years. The grief of the young lady was silent, but her neighbour loudly wept. The former got up to leave, and in doing so her cloak brushed against the gentleman. He turned round and looked up it was the lady's husband She was young and had been poor, but with a reputation above all suspicion; he was rich, had taken compassion on her destitute cir- cumstances, and had married her. The encounter was awkward. To the question respecting her mission at the cemetery, the inscription on the tomb, "Alfred X born 1840, died 1862," was the sole answer. Cross-examination elicited the facts that Alfred X had been the lady's lover, but had died before she had seen her husband. But what tomb," she inquired in turn, "were you visiting?" This was a poser, The inscription above the grave which the gentleman j' had come to visit was "Blanche." He was precisely in the same case as the lady. The two quitted the cemetery, agreeing to come there that day next year. ,I GALLANT TO THE LAST !—Mr. Bernal Osborne I was never in greater form than at the official de- claration of his defeat on Wednesday. Was there ever a scene witnessed on any political stage like the following ?— "I think" said Mr. Osborne, "you have chosen a good man in Colonel Wright. I do know that if he had Hher principles you could not have had a better representative. I don't like his principles but he has something about him I like: I like his wife, (loud cheers and laughter.) And from the moment when I saw two of the handsomest, two of the best, and two of the most winning ladies of Great Britain coming into this town—1 mean Lady Clifton and Mrs. Wright—(loud cheers)- I wrote to my wife saying Jt was all UP' with me. (More laughter and cheers.) Gen- tlemen, I have heard something of bribery at an election, and Mrs. Wright (turning to tha? lady), I accuse you of having won the people with the witchery of your smiles, and 1 ac- cuse Lady Clifton of having made her husband what he is by her winning ways." (Loud and prolonged cheers' in which Mr. Osborne stooped and kissed Mrs. Wright's hand.) A NEW OFFICE.—Everybody is marching with the times. At a pastoral conference held the other day at Vienna, it was proposed and resolved, in the face of the constant attacks upon the Church and the clergy in the Press (partly Jewish, partly infidel), to appoint a priest, a ready writer, whose business it shall be especially to watch over these attacks, and either to refute them by special contributions of his own in the Press itself, or to bring the offenders, in the legal manner of the country, before the lay tribunal; h e must be possessed of the legal knowledge requisite for the carrying on of the proceedings on the part of the Church. The new Defensor in publicis litteris CIeri" was at once found in the person of the proposer himself, and he was appointed on the spot. ILLINOIS LAW.—In the last week of October a man indicted for murder in Henry county, Illinois, plettdM "Gtulty" by the advice his counsel. It was avowed fhat this course was adopted with a view to take advantage of a law passed last Session, which provides that the jury, in convicting for a crime pun- ishable with death, are to determine whether the pri- soner shall suffer death or not, and that no person shall be seifcencedfto death by any Gourt unless the jury Tshall so find m their verdict. THE LATE MARQUIS OF HASTINGS.—BelTs Life states that by his will the Marquis of Hastings left all his colliery property, his house in Grosvenor-square, Craven-lodge at-Melton Mowbray, and all his plate, jewellery, and fuFniture of i&very description to be con- verted into money, and the proceeds to be invested for the benefit of the Marchioness for her life but in case she should marry again, then to be divided among the children of his sister, Lady Marsham. The settle- ment of the Marchioness, which amounts to £2,000 per annum, is secured on the Rowallan estate. The Earl, it is said, is likely to be disposed ef by private contract. The remainder of his horses will shortly go to the hammer at Tattersall's. LANGUAGE OF TREES.—Poetry finds in trees no little of its sustenance. From the most ancient poets downwards, all verses that have immortality in them abound more or less with allusions to trees, finding in them either images for the events—both glad and sorrowful—of human life, or emblems, in their higher nature, of what pertains to the heart and mind. The Language of Flowers" would be incomplete did it not include the "Language of Trees," since trees are adapted, by their original and inalienable constitution, to serve as metaphors for almost anything great and good, and wise and beautiful, in human nature. Hence the countless citations of trees in Holy Writ, wherein the cedar and the fir, the vine and the olive, the palm and the fig, are a portion of the ordinary vocabulary— not mentioned arbitrarily, or as a sportive act of the fancy, but on account of their being the absolute re- presentatives and pictured forms in the temporal world of the high and sacred realities that belong to the invisible and eternal. — HibbercFs Gardener's Magazine. COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PASSENGER AND GUARD.—Steps have been already taken by the South Eastern Company to carry into effect the requirements of the act of last session to provide communication between passenger, guard, and driver. There are now four express trains fitted with the electrical communi- cation designed by Mr. Walker, the electrician to the company. The carriages fitted with this apparatus are not permitted to work regularly in other trains, and at the end of each journey the electric couplings are taken off the carriages and carefully placed in boxes provided for them. Since the trains so fitted have been running, there has not been a single instance of the communication having been used. CONSUMPTION AND DYSPEPSIA.—At a late sitting of the Imperial Academy of Medicine, Dr. Marotte read a paper in which he advocated the use of neutral acetate of potash in gastro-intestinal affections, such as mucus fevers, dyspepsia, &c. It ought, he said, to be prescribed in the shape of a solution in distilled water of a given strength, to be afterwards diluted as occasion might require. As it has a disagreeable taste, it should be administered in separate doses four or five times a day rather than as a continuous drink. At the same sitting, Dr. Herard read a report on the therapeutic effect of arsenic in consumption, as described by Dr. Moutard-Martin. It appears that its efficacy was recognised by the ancients, and has been formally confirmed by some modern practitioners. Dr. Moutard shows that nearly all his patients subjected to the arsenical treatment experience considerable relief after a few days. In the course of three weeks they begin to lose their extreme leanness. The happy effects of this substance are chiefly perceptible in a kind of con- sumption unaccompanied by fever or very serious digestive disturbances. One of the first phenomena, observed after a while, is a return of appetite. The author of the report it, moreover, as his opinion that arsenic exercises a direct action on the lungs. NEW OATH FOR MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT.— The following is the new oath of allegiance provided by the Act of last Session—31st and 32nd of Victoria, cap. 72—to be taken by the members of the new Par- liament :—" I (giving the name) do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to her Majesty Queen Victoria, her heirs and successors, according to law so help me God." THE WAR-OFFICE.—Sir John Pakington (says the Broad Arrow) has very unwisely subjected him- self to a mild rebuke. It seems that a clerk in the War-office had taken the opportunity of a political meeting to denounce the administration and organisa- tion of the office, and he was foolishly asked to explain his conduct. It is stated that he took advantage of the opening, and in effect declared himself ready to use still stronger language, and even to resign his appoint- ment and submit the whole circumstances to parlia- ment. It is to be hoped the matter will drop here, for though there are limits within which it is unjustifiable for an official to throw dirt on his department, yet it is difficult to fix those limits, and it is wiser to pass without notice the inflated utterances of a minor official than to attempt to put him down at the risk of making a martyr of him for it must not be forgotten that if a man has duties as a clerk, he has rights as a citizen, and it is difficult to fix the line where the duties end and the rights begin. MARRIED FREE OF EXPENSE !If the abolition of the Concordat has done nothing else in Austria, it has made marriage cheap. In Gratz a man wanted to marry his deceased wife's sister, which canonically is not permitted, except on payment of 300 florins, the dispensation tax. This was considered too high a sum by the young couple, and they expressed their inten- tion, since the church dignitary would not abate his price, of being married by the registrar. Whereupon the usual public notice was affixed at the town-house. This, however, was too much for the bishop of the diocese. He not only sent a vehement letter to the magistrate, demanding the instant removal of this "placard of notification," but, which was more to the point, declared himself ready to marry the stub- born couple himself, free of expense. The magistrate replied that he was very happy to hear it, and that under those circumstances, he would, provided the parties consented, order the removal of the obnoxious document which he had caused to be written and affixed in obedience to the established laws of the country. And so they were married free of expense under the auspices of the Church. REMARKABLE ELECTION COINCIDENCE.—It is a singular coincidence that, ninety-four years ago, the two Liberal candidates for the representation of Bed- ford were Samuel Whitbread and John Howard, the philanthropist. The former was elected, but John Howard, a man whose name will endure as long as the English language is spoken, was rejected, principally on account of his nonconformity. At the present elec- tion for the borough of Bedford, the two Liberal can- didates were again a Whitbread and a Howard. This time, however, both were successful, and Mr. Howard was at the head of the poll, a fact which has more than local importance, as it indicates the growth of public opinion on the question of nonconformity. Mr. Howard, a Nonconformist, received nearly twice as many votes as the highest unsuccessful candidate, who is an influential local Conservative. THE FENIAN MARTYRS."—As Sunday last was the anniversary of the execution of Allen, Larkin, and O'Brien at Manchester, for the muifder of Police- constable Brett, in Dublin, a number of those by whom these men have been elevated to the dignity of political martyrs took an opportunity of publicly ex- pressing their feelings by visiting a Memorial Cross erected near the O'Connell Monument to the memory of these men. The names of Allen, Larkin, and O'Brien are printed on the cross; and that of Michael Barrett, who was hanged in London for his part in the Clerkenwell tragedy, was lately added to them. The cross was decorated with green leaves, and small pieces of silk, green or black, bearing the words, The Man- chester Martyrs," or the letters R. I. P. and adorned with harps and shamrocks. For some hours a number of persons visited this cross, and by raised hats, and sometimes by prayers, testified their feelings. There was nothing like a procession; and. owing, doubtless, to the constant bad weather, the number of visitors was not large. MISS RYE's EMIGRANTS.—Advices from America inform us that Miss Rye had arrived in Toronto with a second batch of female emigrants from Great Britain, on November 6. There were 73 in all, and their ages varied from 16 to 30. The passage out had been very stormy; but the girls all looked well, and by the 9th only a few were left without situations. The Home in which they were lodged was in fact besieged with applicants for them as soon as their arrival became known. General servants were most in demand. For these there were 70 more situations vacant than Miss Rye was able to fill up. Farm and dairy servants were also much wanted. The Toronto Globe, after mentioning these facts, says that whether Miss Rye discontinues her emigration efforts or not, the great demand for her last batch or girls, and the rapidity with which they were engaged, forms a sufficient answer to the "malevolent diatribes" which have been in- dulged in against her. TAKING IT CALMLY !—The indefatigable Bishop of Orleans—the Bossuet of the 19th century, as he is sometimes called—has published A Letter on the Future Ecumenical Council. The last paragraph of his first chapter is to this effect:— You have been told that the Pope desires to break with modern society, to condemn it, to proscribe it, and to spread among it profound trouble. And yet never have the evils under which you suffer, Christian peoples, more painfully moved the head of the Church never has he uttered from the depths of his soul words more sympathetic for your perils and your sorrows. And—the whole world has remarked it—though despoiled of three-fourths of his little State, reduced to Rome and its scanty territory, placed between the dangers of yesterday and those of the morrow, sus- pended, as it were, over the abyss—the Pope does not seem to be concerned at it. It is not his menaced throne that he seeks to defend; he utters not a sentence, not a word on such great interests. No; in the Bull ot Convocation the temporal Prince forgets himself, and is silent; and it is the Pontiff only who speaks to the world. WHAT MIGHT BE DONE !—Dr. Acland says, in his address to the British Medical Association, Chemistry, which used to be chiefly analytical, has now become enthusiastically synthetical." Ther £ "*are virtually no limits to the substances which can be made. Berthelot makes a calculation of the number of combinations with acids of certain alcohols. He says If you give each a name, allowing a line for the name, then printed one hundred lines in a page, and made volumes of a thousand pages, and placed a million volumes in a library, you would need fourteen thousand libraries for your catalogue.'r He, therefore, properly calls such bodies infinite, instancing the synethical construction of the alcohol and aldehyde series, of the organic acids, of the Amides, of the urea, and, the millions of possible bodies which loom in the future—certain to be made, waiting to be made, the possessors of qualities suspected, but unknown.

LOSS OF THE SHIP "BOGOTA." The Board of Trade have received information of the total destruction by fire of the ship Bogota, of Liver- pool bound for Penang, from Greenock, with a cargo of £1,500 kegs of gunpowder, 195 tons of coals, and a large assortment of cases and bale goods, wines, bar iron, &c. The captain, in his report of the disaster, gives the following particulars :— Nothing occurred worth mentioning until the 1st of Sep- tember, when in lat. 30 53, long. 25 50 W., it blew a terrific gale from the S.E., when sail was reduced to close-reefed top-sail3 and main-try-sail. On September 7 we had squally weather with much rain, and chain and forked lightening playing round the ship's mastil and deck. This weatlwr lasted until the 9th of September. I examined the hold morning and evening to see that th cargo was all rIght. On the 10th and 11th of September we had a strong breeze from S.W. All plain sail set. On the 11th of September, at 4.30, Pell, the chief officer, reported to me that there was smoke coming up the chain locker hatch. I immediately went into the hold and discovered that the ship was on 11.re. We took the main hatch off at once and commenced throwing the powder overboard, several of the hands employed throwing water on the coals. The sm6ke was ccming up by the mainmast and stanchions in clouds. The fire was increasing fast, and the men could not stop in the hold any longer. I therefore battened the hatches down and stopped all ventilation. The ship was in lat 36 S., long. 12 W., the Island of Tristan d'Acunha, bearing south, distant about sixty miles, the wind W.S.W. I therefore hauled the ship to the wind on the starboard tack to try and fetch the island. During the night it blew a terrific gale, and I had to reduce sail to close reefed top-sails and reefed foresail. The sea was running like a mountain, and we could not get into the cabin fore-castle for heat and smoke. September 12th, at 5"30 a.m., the island of Tristan d'Acunha was in sight ahead. I carried all the sail the ship would bear to try and fetch the island, but I saw that we were going to leeward fast, so I got the long boat and pinnace all ready for getting out. At noon the hatches began to lift, and the deck gettuig hot I expected to see the ship blown up every moment. I therefore got the boats in the tackles over the sides. The longboat got her stern post knocked away in gettmg her out. We got some biscuit and water in the boats. The wind was now moderating, but the sea was running so high that I did not expect the boats would live. At 1-30 p.m., the after hatch bunt up. We now rushed into the boats, the chief officer, Mr. Robinson, took charge of the longboat; I took the pinnace. We had great trouble in getting clear of the ship, she rolled so heavily. On September 13, at 4 a, m., the pinnace, which I was in, reached the shore. I got two of my ribs broken on landing. At 1.30 p.m., the longboat got to the shore; she got knocked to pieces with the surf on landing but all hands were saved. We were now about six miles from the settlement, where we had to remain for f°ur. The surf came in so heavily that I expected we should be washed off the beach. However, on the 16th of September the surf went down, and I took the pinnace and four men, and pulled to the settlement, where we were received with the greatest kindness by the oldest inhabitant of the island, Mr. Green, who immediately sent his boat for the remainder of the crew. On the 24th of September a vessel hove in sight. I went on beard and found she was the whalmgbng called the Highland Mary, Captain French, and hailing from Sag harbour. At my request Cap- tain French consented to take us to Cape-town, although he was bound for New Zealand. We left the island on the 25th of September. On the 26th, at 5 p.m., when 120 miles to the east of Tristan d Acunha, we fell in with the shell of the Bogota. Captain drench lowered one of his boats and went on board. The vessel was literally blown to pieces. Her be- tween- ieck beams were blown out. two or three of the deck beams still remained. There was not a particle of anything left, the chain cables and bar iron were melted into a solid lump, and a few cinders were still burning. We stopped by the Bogota all that night, and next day scuttled her. We were treated with the greatest kindness dmring the time we were oh board the Highland Mary. On the morning of the itb of October, when off the Cape of Good Hope, we fell In with the City of Dublin steamer from Capetown, bound for London. I went en board and stated my case to Captain Eynon, who very kindly took us oft the brig and gave us a passage to London.

REMEMBRANCES OF ROSSINI. A correspondent gives us Rossini's own account of his withdrawal from public life :— Some fourteen or fifteen years ago I went to see Rossini at his house in Florence, where he was then residing. In the course of conversation he inquired what there was new in Paris, whence I had lately come, and I mentioned a piece by Scribe (the Bataiile des Dames," I think it was) as the latest novelty. "Now," said Rossini, "there is a thing I cannot understand. Why on earth should Scribe go on at his age writing for the stage ? What has he to gain ? Money he does not want, any increase of fame he can hardly expect, and if he got it, what difference could it make to him ? His position in life is fixed. But with some people it seems to be a rage. They cannot leave off writing. For my own part I have always steadily resisted the entreaties with which for more than twenty years I have been assailed to tempt the stage once more. I know very well that I can do nothing better, if as good as I have done already. When I had written the Barbiere," the Gazza," Semiramide," and Guillaume Tell," to say nothing of a crowd of other operas, I felt that my best powers had been exerted. After reaching his prime a man does not expect to grow taller or stronger. He may grow fatter—" mais pour ma part je ne me soucie pas qua ma musique prenne du ventre." "But you began composing very early in life, you know," said his wife; "what age were you when you wrote the "Barbiere," twenty-three, was it not?" "Yes. I do not pretend to fix the age at which a writer should cease to publish. All I say is that when you have reached your greatest height your must necessarily decline, so I think it better to leave off at the top. I write still. I shall do so de temps en temps, I dare say, as long as I live but there is no reason why I should expose myself to the caprice of a public whose praise I do not care for, and whose blame might annoy me." Talking of his age on this same evening, he told me that he was born only eight weeks after the death of Mozart (1792). Now you speak of Mozart, maestro," said I, "I must read you what my brother, an accomplished musician, says in a letter I received yesterday. He is in an out-of- the-way place in India, where he hears no music, and has no instrument, and he consoles himself by studying the scores of "Don Giovanna" and Guillaume Tell and can hardly make up his mind which to place highest." Rossini shook his head. "11 a tort. line faut pas dire cela." And on my making a deprecatory gesture, he continued, laying his hand on mine, "Non je vous Ie dis trfes serieusement et en Conscience. Je n'ai jamais etc h. la hauteur de Mozart. When young composers come to me for counsel I always give them this: Take every opportunity of studying Mozart. He has excelled in every kind of music in his works you will find every sort of effect, and always produced by the most legitimate means." I never heard him speak so emphatically. In general there was so much of persiflage concealed under his pretended I'ehhotnie that the simple and unsuspecting might easily be taken in but on this subject he was unmistakably in earnest. The will of the great maestro, among other bequests, has two of special interest. One is to the effect that the testator, in recognition of the hospitality which he found on the soil of France, desires to take his eternal repose there; consequently, he prescribes that his body I shall be interred at Pere Lachaise, there to remain. The second disposition bequeaths to the Institute of France a capital necessary to yid two prizes of 3,000f. each r one to be annually awarded to the author of the best libretto of an opera, and the other to the composer who shall have produced the best musical score for such a work. However, he stipulates expressly that the reward to be given to the musician shall only be granted to a "melodist."

The following account of the funeral of Rossini is fur- nished by a Paris correspondent A cold, damp, gloomy day did not check the ardour of the crowds who flocked to Rossini's funeral. Among the envied holders ef tickets for the interior of the Trinity church many ladies were seen shivering in the precincts for two hours before the doors opened. The general public, who had no hope of getting into or even of approaching very near the church, took a far greater interest in-the ceremony than, I could have imagined, and it required a very large military and ¡ police forca to. clear the way for the funeral procession trom the Madeleine to the Trinity, and to prevent the populace from blocking up the approaches to the latter church. On the foot pavement of the Chaussed d'Antin, and in those parts of the Hue St. Lazare and the Rue de Clichy-which afford even a distant view of the Trinity, closely packed crowds of the humbler classes stood patiently within the limits assigned to them, and not only waited long to see the coffin carried into the church, but kept their standing ground till it came out again two hours later. A few minutes after the opening of the doors, not a seat (unreserved for great personages, the friends of the family, or the artistes engaged) was left vacant, and those who came so late as half an hour earlier than the hour mentioned in the invitation (twelve o'clock) were glad to find standing room. All the fami- liar faces of the haMtuis of the French and Italian Operas were there. The Institute of France came in a body in their academic dress. Chevalier Nigra, with all the attaches of the Italian legation, appeared in uniform. No regulations were made about toilettes, and most properly, for had mourning been insisted on, not a fourth of the ladies invited would have gone, and the church would not have been filled. In the Madeleine roses and green ribands in bonnets would have looked much out of keeping, but in the mild light of the Trinity they did not spoil the general effect. When the coffin appeared in the nave it was found to be completely covered with flowers, evergreens, and decorations. At the head was a velvet cushion, on which were laid the numerous orders of the deceased. At the foot was an immense bouquet of Parma violets sent from Nice. The intermediate space was filled up by large laurel wreaths, one of which was thickly interspersed with choice flowers. Just as the coffin was being carried from the entrance portal to the catafalque in front of the high altar, a handsome crown of gilt leaves was placed upon the cushion among the decorations. A guard of honour of the 51st Regiment lined the nave, the deceased being as a grand officer of the Legion of Honour, entitled to military honours in France. Although the majority of the spectators had come to see a spectacle, and although there was laughing and talking in groups, many had evidently solemn thoughts befitting the occasion. It seemed to me that all the pomp, pompa mors terret, was more sad and affecting in its contrast between dust and earthly vanity than the simplest pauper's funeraL The duet from Pergolese's Stabat by Alboni and Patti, was the gem of the musical mass.

SUNDAY EVENINGS FOR THE I PEOPLE." Judgment was given last week in the important case Baxter 11. Langley—a case that in one form or another has been before the courts and the public for a very long time. It turned on the question whether the pro- ceedings of what was known as the Sunday Evenings for the People were to be considered as religious ser- vices, or as entertainments or amusements. If the latter, Mr. Langley, who was the chief promoter of them. would have violated the Act of George III., and would have been liable to a penalty. Each Sunday Evening" was usually passed by the people that visited St. Martin's Hall in listening to a performance of sacred music, followed by an address on some social or scientific subject. The Lord Chief Justice thought such lectures and music could not be considered an entertainment within the meaning of the statute, and that, on the contrary, there was nothing to prove that they were not religious services—as they were alleged to be by the defendant —although they might not be in accordance with the religion of the State. He therefore gave judgment for the defendant, complimenting both parties at the same time on the circumstances under which they appeared before the court—the one attempting to stop by this action what he deemed the desecration of the Lord's Day," and the other spending his time and his money for what he considered the public benefit.

SUPERIOR BEINGS. The following article, from the Saturday Review, is de- scriptive of a great many" superior beings," who are superior only in their own imaginations for real superiority is always very reticent, and never brings itself into notice—in fact, it reveals itself in its very reticence; and if people were to try to be superior beings," rather than assume that they are such, invidious comparisons, much slander, and many reproaches, would give place either to silence or more gene- rous expressions :— Every now and then one comes across the path of a Superior Being—a being that seems to imagine itself made out of a different kind of clay from that which forms the coarser ruck of humanity, a.nd whoso pre- sence crushes us with a sense of our own inferiority, exasperating or humiliating according to the amount of natural pride bestowed upon us. The superior being is of either sex, and of all denominations; and its superiority comes from many causes, being due sometimes to a wider grasp of intellect, sometimes to a loftier standard of morals, some- times to better birth or a longer purse, and very often to the simple conceit of itself whioh simulates superiority, and believes in its own apery. The chief characteristics of the superior being is that exalted pity for inferiority which springs from the oonsciousness of excellence. In fact, one of the main elements of superiority consists in this sublime consciousness of private exaltation, and of the immense intervala that separates it from the grosser condition it surveys. Rivalry is essentially angry and contentious but confessed superiority can afford to be serene and compassionate. The little people who live in that meagre sphere of theirs, mental or social, with which not one point of its own extended circle comes in con- tact, are deserving of all pity, and are below anything like active displeasure. That they should be content with such a meagre sphere seems inconceivable to the superior being, as it contemplates its own enlarged horizon with the complacency that belongs to a dweller in vastness. Or it may be that its own world is narrow; and its superiority will then be that it is high, safe, and exclusive, while its pity will flow down for those poor wayfarers who wander afield in broad latitudes, and know nothing of the pleasure found in reserved places. In any case the region in which a superior being dwells is better than the region in which any other person dwells. Take a superior being who has made up a private account with truth, and who has, in his own mind at least, unlocked the gate of the great mysteries of Jifp, and got to the back of that eternal cui bono for ever confronting us. It does not in the least degree signify how the key is labelled it may be High Church or Low Church, Swedenborgianism or Positivism. The name has nothing to do with the thing; it is the contented certainty of having unlocked that great fate at which others are only hammering in vain which confers the superiority, and how the thing haa been done does not affect the result. Neither does it disturb the equanimity of the superior being when he meets with opposing superior beings who have also made up their private accounts with truth, but in Quite another handwriting and with a different sum total at the bottom of the page; who have also unlocked the gate of the great mysteries, but with a key of contradictory wards, while the gate itself is of another order of architecture altogether. But then nothing ever does disturb the equanimity of the superior being for as he is above all rivalry, so is he beyond all teaching. The meeting of two superior beings of hostile creeds is only like the meeting of the two blind kings in the story, each claiming the crown for his own, and both ignorant of the very ex- istence of a rival. It may be that the superior being has soared away into the cold region of spiritual negation, whence he regards the praying and praising multitudes who go to church and believe in Providence as grown people regard children who still believe in ghosts and fairies. Or it may be that he has plunged into the phosphorescent atmos- phere of mysticism and an all-pervading superstition and then an who hold by scientific law, and who think the test of common sense not absolutely valueless, are Sadducees who know nothing of the glorious liberty of the light, but who prefer to live in darkness, and make themselves agents of the great Lord of Lies. Sometimes the superior being goes in for the doctrine of love and impulse, as against reason or experience, holding the physiolcgist. and political economist as creatures absolutely devoid of feeling and sometimes his superiority is shown in the application of the hardest material laws to the most subtle and deli- cate manifestations of the mind. But on which side soever he ranks himself—as a spiritualist to whom reason and matter are stumbling-blocks and accursed, or as a materialist denying the existence of spiritual influences at allhe is equally secure of his own superiority and serene in his own conceit. That there should be two sides to any question never seems to strike him and that a man of another creed should have as much right as himself to a hearing and con- sideration is the one hard saying impossible for him to receive. With a light and airy manner of playful contempt—sometimes with a heavy and Johnsonian scorn that keeps no terms with an opponent—the superior being meets all your arguments or batters down all your objections sometimes, indeed, he will not condescend even o ftf as this, but when you ex- press your adverse opinion just lifts up his eyebrows with a good-humoured kind of surprise at your mental state, but lets you see that he thinks you too hopeless, and himself too superior, to waste powder and shot upon you. It is of the nature of things that there should be moles, and that there should be eagles so much the worse for the moles, who must be content to remain blind, not seeing things patent to the nobler vision. The superior being is sometimes a person who is above all the passions and weaknesses of ordinary men; a philosopher, or an etherialised woman dwelling on serene Olympian heights which no clouds obscure, and where no earth-fogs rise. The passions which shake the human soul, as tempests shake the forest trees, and warp men's lives according to the run of their own lines, are unknown to these Olympian personages, and they cannot understand their power. They look on these tempestuous souls with a curious analytical gaze according to the direction of the agony through which they pass, and wonder why they cannot keep as calm and quiet as they themselves are. They sit in scornful judgment on the mysterious impulses regulating human nature—regulating and disturbing —and think how perfect all things would be if only passions and instincts were cut out of the great plan, and men and women were left to the dominion of pure reason. But they do not take into their account the law of constitutional necessity, and they are utterly unable to strike anything like a balance between the good and evil wrought both by the tempests of souls and by those of nature. They only know that storms are in- convenient, and that for themselves they have no need for such convulsions to .clear off stagnant humours, nor are they made of elements which kindle and explode at the contact of such or such materials. And if they know nothing of all this, why then should others? If they can sit on Olympian heights serene above all passion, why should not the whole world sit with them, and fogs and fires be conditions unknown ? When this kind of superior being is a woman, there is some- thing pretty in the sublime assumption of her supremacy, and the sweeping range of her condem- nation. Sheltered from temptation and secure from danger, she looks out on life from the serene heights of her safe place, and wonders how men can fail and women fall before the power of trials of which she knows only the name. Her circulation is languid and her temperament phlegmatic, and therefore the burning desire of life which sends the strong into danger, perhaps into sin, is as much unknown to her as is the fever of the tropics is to a Laplander crouch- ing in his snow-hut; but she judges none the less positively because of her ignorance, and, as she looks into your quivering face with her untroubled eyes, lt-ts vou see plainly enough how she despises all the human frailties under which you or yours may have tripped and stumbled. Sometimes she rebukes yl lofiily. Your soul is sore with the consciousness of your sin, your heart is weak with the pain of life but the supe- rior being tells you that repentance cannot undo the evil that has been done, and that to feel pain is weak. The sufteriority which some women assume over men is very odd. It is like the grave rebuke of a child, not knowing what it is that it rebukes. When women take up their parable, and censure men for the wild or evil things they do, not understanding how or why it has come about that they have done them, and knowing as little of the inner causes as of the outer, they are in the position of superior beings talking unmitigated rub- bish. To be sure, it is very sweet and innocent rub- bish, and has a lofty air about it that redeems what else would be mere presumption but there is no more practical worth in what they say than there is in the child's rebuke when its doll will not stand upright on sawdust legs, or eat a crumb of cake with its waxen lips. This is one reason why women of the order of of superior beings have so little influence over men they judge without knowledge, and condemn without insight. If they could thoroughly fathom man's nature, so as to understand his difficulties, they, would then have moral power if their aims were higher than his, their principles more lofty, their practice more pure. As it is, they have next to none, and the very men who seem to yield to them most go only so far as to conceal what the superior being disapproves of; they do not change because of her greater weight of doctrine. Men show themselves as superior beings to women on another count—intellectually, rather than morally. While women rebuke men for their sins, men snub women for their follies the one wields the spiritual, the other the intellectual, weapon of castigation, and both hold themselves superior, beyond all possibility of rivaliy, according to the chance of sex. The mascu- line view of a subject always imposes itself on women as something unattainable by the feminine mind; and nine times out of ten brings them to a due sense of their own inferiority, save in the case of the superior being, to whom of course the masculine view counts for nothing against her own. But even when women do not accept a man's opinions, they instinctively recognise their greater value, their greater breadth and strength. Perhaps they cry out against their hardness, if he is a political economist and they are emotional; or against their lower morality if he goes in for universal charity and latitudinarianism, and they are enthusiasts with a clearly-defined faith, and a belief in its infallibility. There are wide tracts of difference between the two minds, not to be settled by the ipse dixit of even a superior being but in general the superiority of the man makes itself more felt than the superiority of the woman. While one talks, the other acts, and snubbing does more than condemnation.

A QUARREL AT A BALL! The London Review, quoting a writer in one of the Canadian papers, tells a story in which the officers of an English regiment, the 53rd, now stationed at Quebec, do not appear to advantage. It appears that, at a ball given in Quebec, a gentleman named Le Mesurier, who is himself responsible for the accuracy of the whol account, observed that an officer of the 53rd, Captain Elmhirst, continually jostled him during the evening. He was willing to believe this accidental until he heard the captain say, now for a charge," and immediately afterwards found himself thrown, along with the lady with whom he was dancing, against the grate. He afterwards learnt that the captain "had boasted of his splendid victory, and said that he intended to teach the young Canadian manners." He then called on Captain Elmhirst for an explanation, which the captain tinally gave, by ad- mitting that he had boasted of the incident in the ball-room as an intentional insult. Subsequently, after one or two efforts to induce the captain to apolo- gise, Mr. La Mesurier broke his cane over that officer's shoulders. He was at once called to account by half the mess for having insulted the regiment by caning one of its officers when in uniform, and ordere l to pub- lish all sorts of apologies, with the alternative of a trip across the border "—a duel in plain terms. This M. Le Mesurier declined, and still declines to do; he has explained to the colonel of the regiment that he had no intention of insulting the whole regiment; but that it is impossible for him to apologise for having caned the one insolent officer. There the matter at present rests.

DEATH OF MAZZINI. The Patri• of Monday evening announced to the world the death of Joseph Mazzini. The telegram simply recorded the fact, and does not state either the time of the great Italian's death or the place in which it occurred. The fol- J lowing biography is taken from thelatfist edition-of Men of the Time:"— Mazzini, Joseph, born June 28, 1808, at Genoa, where his father was a medical practitioner, and a I university professor of his science, was educated for the law at the same university, and, resolving to do what < he could to awaken his fellow-countrymen to his notions of political life, established the Genoa Indicator, < in which he discussed questions touching the future of 1 Italy. The Italian Governments, having been much troubled by Carbonarism, united in a league against < liberal ojunions, and although Mazzini did- sot sym- j pathise with the men who formed the secret societies, j he joined the Carbonari, for the-, reason assigned, in ] the following note to the last edition of his "works. ) I U'a. at that time unable to found any association of my own and in the (JuHtormri I fdund a body of men in whom—lu>wever inferior they were to the idea they represented—-thought and action, faith arid works, were identical. Here were men who, defying alike excom- munication and capital punishment, had the persistent energy ever to re-comnunce, and weave a fresh locb each time the old one was broken and this was enough to in- duce me to join my name and my labours to theirs." For his connection with the Carbonari, Mazzini was arrested, and after six months' imprisonment in the fortress of Savona, was tried and acquitted, but con- demned to exile. He took up his abode at Marseilles, where he became the founder of La Giovine Italia, and conducted the journal of that name, devoted to the cause of the unity and independence of Italy, and a repub- lican form of government. On the application of the Sardinian ambassador he was ordered to quit the French territory. For nearly twelve months he succeeded in evading the vigilance of the police, and brought out his journal, which was easily distributed from Marseilles into Italy, and went to Switzerland for the purpose of organising the expedition into Savoy, in 1833, which failed through the treachery of Ramorino, to whom the military com- mand had been given. Driven out of Switzerland, he repaired to London in 1837, where he supported him- self by his pen, and established a school and a journal, called the Apostolato Popolare, for Italian working men. In 1844 his name was brought prominently be- fore the English public, in consequence of the dis- closure of a practice of opening the letters of refugees in the London post-office by the Government, at the request of foreign ambassadors. After the French Revolution in February, 1848, Mazzini went to Paris, to concert measures with the Republican party there, and shortly afterwards, took up his abode at Milan, where he opposed the fusion of Lombardy with Piedmont. He remained at Milan until the ad- vance of the Austrians forced him to take refuge in the canton of Ticino, in Switzerland, whence, shortly after the expedition into the Val d Intelvi, he was again expelled. Rome having de- clared itself a republic, Mazzini was elected deputy to the Constituent Assembly for the town of Leghorn, where he landed, and was received with acclamations. After spending some time at Florence, in attempting to effect the fusion of Tuscany and Rome, he repaired to Rome, and from that moment became the leading spirit of the Roman Republic, having been, with Armelli and Saffi, appointed, March 30, 1849, a Triumvir, and received with his colleagues the full powers of the young state. He organised an army of 50,000 men, cast cannon, and prepared in every way to govern and defend the Republic, and for a time maintained the contest against General Oudinot and his army- A cessation of hostilities having been agreed upon, he protested against it, and resigned his post of Triumvir. Rather than execute the decree of the Assembly, he left Rome, and took up his residence in England, keeping up a correspondence with the Republican party in Italy. In 1857 he organised an expedition to revolutionise Naples, but the scheme proved abortive, and he re- turned to England. Although an advocate of Italian unity, he opposed the prsent settlement. In the be- ginning of 1864 an endeavour was made to implicate him in the attempt of fonr Italians to assassinate the French Emperor, and one of the criminals, on his trial, affirmed that Mazzini had. given him money and ex- plosive bombs. This led to considerable discussion in the House of Commons during the session. Amongst other works Mazzini has written "Italy, Austria, and the Pope," published in this country in 1845; "Royalty and Republicanism in Italy," in 1850; "Italian Question and the Republicans," in 1861 Duties of Man," in 1^62 Life and Writings," in 1864-6 and Address to Pope PiU3 IX." in 1865.

ELECTION SQUIBS EXTRAORDINARY. The Dundee Advertiser says It has been remarked that Mr. Bright, in his best oratorical efforts, draws deep draughts of inspiration from the Sacred Writings, using not only Scripture imagery-but often, as at Edinburgh recently—the exact words of the Bible. This is not to be wondered at in his case, for, although such language might be misapplied, or einployed in 0 a very injudicious manner, the great tribune of the people has never sought to introduce it in such a way. We cannot tell whether the example set by the member for Birmingham has directed attention to the Bible as a source from which to obtain materials for electioneering purposes, but it deserves to be noted that on Thursday the o .ly squ" we have seen in reference to the return of Mr. M'Combie, of Tillyfour, as the representative of West Aberdeenshire waa one which simply contained an extract from Scripture- not, however, from any of the canonical books. The quotation was as follows:- How can he get wisdom that holdeth the plough, and that glorieth in the goad that driveth oxen, and is occupied in their labours, and whose talk is of bullocks? He fnveth his mind to make furrows, and is diligent to give the kine fodder. He shall not be sought for in public counsel, nor sit high in the congregation he shall not sit on the judlle's seat, nor understand the sentence of judgment; he cannot declare justice and judgment, and shall not be found where parables are spoken.—Ecclesiasticus, xxxviii., 25-33 The placard containing this quotation was speedily answered by a handbill bearing the following passages "not from the Apocrypha Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.- Prov. xxii., 29.. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy cattle. The Lord shall cause thine enemies that arise up against thee to be smitten before thy face they shall come out against the one way, and shall flee before thee even ways.-Deut., xxviii., 7.

A FATAL PANTHER HUNT. The following is extracted from a letter dated Secunderabad, 7th October:- A sad incident occurred here on last Monday evening. Colonel Nightingale, commanding the Hyderabad cavalry contingent, was the greatest sportsman in the Decan, and, having caught a large panther in the trap, he had him brought in, and sent round a chit to say the animal would be speared near the residency at Bolarum that evening. At five o'clock, a large field having assembled, the panther was let out, and at once ran across the plain, followed by thirty spearmen, well mounted. I went there to look on. When the panther found that the horsemen were closing in on him, he got into some bushes and prepared to spring at the first horse that came near him. He did try it two or three times, and on the last occasion very nearly reached the horse's back. The horsemen now commenced riding round him in a large circle, rushing in when there was a chance of spearing him. Colonel Nightingale had tried several times unsuc- cessfully to do so, and suddenly became so very ill that he had to be lifted from his horse, and carried to the Resident's house, whither I accompanied him, being the only medical officer on the field. Two others were shortly afterwards in attendance, but from the first he was insensible and never rallied. He died in about two hours afterwards. We did all that could be done for him, but he never spoke again. He died from an attack of heat apoplexy. His wife was present, but he never recognised her. He was buried last niyht with military honours. The doctors in England told him he would die of apoplexy if he did not avoid exposure to the sun, and keep from great excitement, but he did neither one nor the other, as during his twenty-two years' service in this country he shot over 500 tigers, and no end of bears, panthers, &c. I f „ f „

EPITOME OF NEWS. BRITISH AND FOREIGN. There is a provision in the Act 26th Vict., c. 29, that all bills and claims on any candidate must be sent in to the election agents within one month of the declaration of the election," or the right to recover to be barred. The Quebec Morning Chronicle, of November 7, com- pletes one of its marriage announcements with the following 10 information: No cards! No cake" No wine 1 i 1 The Austrian Government has published a red book, in which the position of the empire and its relations with foreign powers are described, diplomatic documents being appended. Matrimony.—Wanted, to correspond with a lady, by a gentleman of position. Address, etc.—Advertisement in Manchester Examiner. In the opinions of the Produce Markets Review, Mr. Bright's "tree breakfast table" policy is "the only one which will place the sugar trade on a really proper footing." Seven Jews all Liberals-will have seats in the new Parliament. In addition to the five who formerly sat in the House of Commons, Mr. Jessel, Q. C., has been elected for Dover, and Air. Serjeant Simon for Dewsbury. In the Court of Session, on Friday in last week, juugnient was pronounced breaking the entail of the Hamil- ton estates. On Monday a number of men were charged at the Blackburn Police Court with a breach of the Combination Act, by ejecting from the mills in which they were employed another workman, who had offended them by taking the Liberal side at the late municipal election. The facts were not denied, but the magistrates decided that the offence did not come within the act under which the information was laid. The defendants, were therefore, discharged. According to the Pall Mall Gazette Mr. Macrorie the Bishop-designate for Natal, has abandoned the hope of being consecrated in England, and will leave early next month for the Cape, where he will be consecrated by the Bishop of Cape Town and his suffragans. The verdict of the cathedral cities of England gives a large balance in favour of the Liberal party. Thus, Canter- bury, Durham, Bath, Exeter, Glocester, Bristol, Lincoln, Rochester, Salisbury, Oxford, Carlisle, Ripon, Peterborough, and Hereford all send Liberals to parliament. London, York, Winchester, Worcester, Chester, Litchfield, Norwich, Man- chester, and Chichester each return one Conservative. In other words, the English cities return thirty-seven Liberals and nine Conservatives. A Parliamentary return shows that in the year 1865 there were 6,638 apprentices bound aid registered in British merchant ships In 1866 the number was 5,454; and in 1867 it was 5,"4. They are generally bound for three, four, or fire years, but some for longer periods. The Paris correspondent of the Court Journal says I that an American BaRk 11 is one of the Amusements at Compiigne, at which the Prince Imperial is always chosen croupier to secure the innocence of the game. Mr Jesse Greenwood, the landlord of the Wool- sorters'Arms," Halifax, has died of hydrophobia. This is the third case in Halifax within a few weeks. He was bitten on the mouth by his pointer dog eight weeks ago, and though he applied caustic to the part at the time, laet Wednesday he became ill, and died with all the marked symptoms of hrdro PfcoWa.f: It is clefinitely arranged that the Earl of Ellesmere Trt^ .mar"e<i on the 9th of the ensuing month to Lady Catherine Phipps, second daughter of the Marchiontss of N ormanby. The Massachusetts Homoeopathic Medical Society declare against the use of butter, which they aver "contains no element of food required hy the human ffitniiy," According to the Unita Italiana Mazzini is not in sudl a had sate as was recently represented. The advices it has received from Lugano state that his health is im- proving. 0 Some surprise has been expressed that Lord Hast- ings' remains should have been interred at Kensal-green, in- stead of his ancestral vault at Donington but the choice of the former place was made, it is said, from the lar- O chioncss's rooted aversion to ever seeing DoniJigton again. 111 A man killed himself in Chicago on the novel ground that his wife wished to get a divorce from him, and he wanted to spite her. Her Majesty's ship Nymph has, it is said, "this season," captured nine slave dhows on the east coast of Africa. Baroness James de Rothschild has sent 2,000fr. to the poor of the 8th arrondissement in Paris, and 3,000fr. to those of the 9th, on the occasion of her husband's death. The funeral of the man shot in Drogheda took place on Sunday, and was made the occasion of a great demonstra- tion. An immense number of people marched in proces- sion in military order, wearing crape and green ribbjus. The Wilts and Gloucester Standard publishes a complete list of the poll taken at the Cirencester election, at which the Hon. A. A. Rathurst was victorious over Ir. Inderwick. Not only are the names .md addresses of those who voted for either candidate published, but a list of the neutrals in the borough is also given. During the polling in the North City Ward, Dublin, a woman named Jessie Bruce presented herself to record her vote for Pim and Corrigan. It was found that her name was on the register, and after going through the form of voting she was borne away in triumph by an enthusiastic crowd of matrons and spinsters, who cheered her to the echo on her way home. i At Ashford, in East Kent, the names of thirty-five j women were on the register, but the chairman of the Liberal and ConservStive Gommittees had issued a joint'c rcular re- questing them not to vote. Several of the lit,lies, not ap- proving of this, went to the poll and recorded their votes. ) In Finsbury more than fifteen ladies registered their votes whilst perfect order prevailed. On Saturday Captain Vesey, of the 2nd Battalion of Coldstream Guards, whilst hunting with the Guards flying j pack of Draghounds, which met at Southall, met with an accident soon after starting. His horse fell on a fence, and on coming to the ground rolled on its rider, breaking the bone of his right leg immediately below the knee. ft A gentleman of wealth and position, and one who is » well known in Manchester, was recently asked by a Conser- vative deputation to offer himself as a candidate for that city, and to pay the expenses of the contest. I think," he replied, after a moment's reflection, I think, gentlemen, I can be beaten somewhere else for less money. Friday in last week was the fete-day of Queen Isabella, and on the occasion she received congratulatory de- spatches from the Emperor Napoleon and the Empress Eugenie, the Emperor of Austria, the Kinp of the Belgians, Count and Countess de Paris, the ex-King and Queen of Naples, and several high Spanish personages. Her Majesty also received on this occasion a great number of visits from persons of rank. At Armagh, Mr. Vance, speaking of Mr. Gladstone, said, I believe so. great is his ambition for power that, rather than be excluded from office, he would turn England into a republic, and become its first president." Two curious incidents have to be noted in connection with the Sunderland election. Two inmates of the work- house recorded their votes in favour of Mr. Thompson, the defeated candidate. The names of these paupers were on the register before they entered the workhouse, and of course as every vote counts the supporters of Mr. Thompson were determined not to lose them. At the same election two women, whose names have been left on the register, voted in favour of Mr. Gourley. The Queen, who, since the lamented death of the Prince Consort, has used plain note paper in her corres- pondence, has adopted a monogram consisting of the regal R under an imperial crown, with the legend Victoria across the letter. The Duke of Montpensier, who is still in Lisbon with his family, has again been requested by the Provisional Government not to return to Spain, on the ground that his presence would greatly add to the difficulties of their situa- tion, and these, it appears, are not trifling It is not true. as has been said, that the duke has received an order to that effect. There is no order, but merely a wish intimated. He can return to Spain if he thinks proper, and perhaps would be allowed to remain there in quiet. The Corporation of Dublin met on Saturday, and adopter a petition to Parliament praying for an amnesty for the political prisoners. On Saturday night, two labouring men, named Irvine and Graham, fought in Lark-lane, Liverpool. Graham insisted on fighting, and in the struggle was knocked down, falling on his head. Soon afterwards he became insensible, and died the next morning. Irvine was taken into custody. i A curious example of the uncertainty of pledges ) given by electors in small boroughs is furnished by the Carloto Sentinel, which publishes the names of 22 voters who signed a requisition to Mr. Rochfort pledging themselves to give their "undivided and unqualified support." Nine of them kept their promises, four abstained from voting, and nine voted against him. The marriage ring of Martin Luther is at present being repaired by a jeweller at Waldenbnrg, Saxony Je is of silver gilt, and bears the following inscription on the inner surface:—" D. Martino Luthero Catherina v. Bora 13. Junii, 1525." I The election of the sixteen representative peers of Scotland will take place in Holyrood House on the 10th De- cember next. With amusing quai,.tness the royal proclama- tion enjoins the magistrates of Edinburgh to take special care to preserve the peace thereof during the time of the said election, and to prevent all manners of riots, tumults, disorder, and violence whatsoever." This is a relic of the early post union days. Advices from Canada inform us that the Supreme Court has granted the writ of habeas corpus sued out in the case of Whelan, now lying under sentence of death for the murder of Mr. D'Arcy M'Gee. It is stated that Lord Stanley has consented to modification of the protocol settling the Alabama dispute. The commission of four will sit at Washington instead of London, as at first agreed upon. Among the favourite themes of popular song has been the gay life of a young recruit," The said gay life, &°wever, not unfrequently results in a shattered constitu- :„and this must have been the case with a good many of the young nlexx who were fired with martial ardour during militarv <rw3' of twenty thousand bold aspirants for er than six thousand eight hundred were rejected at the primary inspection as phvsically unfit! "Brum and Kate -Why BO cruel, dearest ? Your kind letter of the 26th ult. received safely. All's well Ever the same. Fulfil your promise as soon as possible Pray do not disappoint. "-Advertisement in the Tim.-s. Lady Emily Peel was safely delivered of a daughter I on Saturday afternoon, at the family residence in White- hall-gardens. Her ladyship and infant are doing well. A daring robbery was committed at the Victoria Station, Manchester, on Saturday night, when the mail-bag from Southport was stolen from the station. i The cultivation of rice in certain districts of Pied- mont has recently been extended owing to an improved I water supply, but the effect upon the public health is found I to be very injurious, intermittent fever having provailed in I several villages throughout the autumn. King Victor 1 Emmanuel has, in consequence, given orders that on hifl vast private estates no more rice shall be grown. "The will of Baron James de Rothschild," says the Patrie, was opened on Tuesday in last week at the Palais de Justice, in the presence of the family and witnesses. It bears the date of 1848, and is of great length. Part of it was read by the president, an4 the document handed over to the executors. Two codicils Of considerable extent are ap- pended to the testament, ana^ill be read on Sunday." King Charles XV. of S has recently refused to sign a death-warrant against a woman convicted by one of the tribunals ef poisoning. :Hie- Majesty declared, at the same time, that for the future no capital execution should take place in his kingdom, and that if the death penalty were not abolished by law, he desired it to cease in fact. Mr. Smith Child, of Staffordshire, and Mr. R. J. M Thetford, have been created baronets, baronets Sentlemen, it is understood, will also be made The arguments in the case of Wason v. Walter, which turns on the important question whether the reports of parliamentary proceedings which appear in the newspapers are privileged, was concluded on Saturday in the Court of Queen's Bench. The Lord Chief Justice said there could be no hesitation on the part of the judges in forming their opinion of what their judgment ought to be but, looking at the great importance of the question, thev thought it right that their judgment should be delivered in writing. The Whltworth nine-inch gun, bv which the un- precedented range of 10,300 yards was obtained at Shoebury- ness last Friday, was fired again on Saturday, when it beat even its previous performance, and with 33 degrees 5 minutes elevation, and a 601b charge, threw a 3101b shell to 11,127 yards, first graze, being about 1,000 y&rds farther than ever iron mass was hurled by any other gun. Mr. Gladstone has been beaten for the Chancellor ship of the University of Edinburgh His candidature was opposed by the nomination of Lord Justice General Intrlis and, after a three weeks poll the leaner of her Majesty's Opposition was beaten for the honourable distinction by two hundred and ten votes, the numbers being 1,780 for the Con- servative Lord Justice against 1,570 for Mr. Gladstone. In a letter addressed to the merchants, bankers, and others, of Lombard-street, Brother Ignatius denies the ac- cusation that he has insulted them by his preaching at St HeIdeclaresanth«T°^Sh-is adherence to ritualistic ceremonies'. Wnalnnrfir, I ls a true member of the Church of „i ,whieh he wishes to live and die, and that that r"ofK«i- „ Protestant, and does not call herself so, bull ^a ouc. Further, he says that although his friends have peen assaulted, and one, a clergyman, was laid up from in- juries he received in Lombard-street, he will not be bullied out of his convictions. A very serious riot took place at Sheepshed on Friday, during the polling for the North Leicestershire contest. The police were overpowered, and a detachment of the constabulary sent from Loughborough were very severely handled. The polling at Sheepshed was adjourned of the constabulary sent from Loughborough were very severely handled. The polling at Sheepshed was adjourned till Saturday, in consequence of the disturbance, but only eight votes were recorded during the wnole of the latter day. Mr. Bradlaugh, the defeated candidate for North- ampton, says Of the women who wept over my defeat my heart is at present too full to write" It is reported that Mdl] Nilsson has concluded an engagement wUh ^nconcert society upon the ex- traordmary terms; or £ 8,000 for two months, two concerts per week One fourtnof this sum to be paid in advance besides the expenses of herself and three companions 5 Tt te«iItrOufenrTM(irtiireSPeCting r'eneral Prim is spread. Jhe calfs on hhn 1 5a3 Yritten 111111 a le"er in which or at least for fhi 1Vlb™rlfor her restoration to the throne, Asturias establishment of her son, the Prince of the ttie formed ST7pronusln,fto let him he Mme Minister in same2. < Regeilt ln the latter Promising him ;.t the Pardon for the past;' and it Js added that Prim It" manifested a disposition to treat with her Majesty on tnoge bases."—Paris correspondence of the Globe. A Florence telegram states that the Pope has at length confirmed the sentence of death upon Tosmetti one of the men convicted of having participated in the attack on the Serristori Barracks in Rome in October, 18 >7. The Nazione asserts that the execution had been arranged to take place on the same day that Prince Humbert and the Princess Marguerite intended to pass through Rome on their way to Naples, consequently the Prince and Princess will proceed to Naples via Foegia, avoiding altogether the Roman terri- tory. A Inter telegram states that the exei ution ot Toanetti is suspended, and there is reason to believe that the sentence passed on him has since been commuted. Mr. John O'Neill, President of the Fenian Brother- I hood, has just issued a new address to the "people of Ireland." It is printed at length in the New York papers 'i Mr. O'Neill at the outset urges his countrymen to organise '1 their strength, and not to be deceived by the cry of justice III to Ireland" which is now raised. "In this cry," he says J'' "your interests, your rights, your verylivesaretobegambled 4i away at English polling-booths," W away at English polling-booths," W r

A Virginian paper recently stopped the press to acknowledge the gift of a can of oysters.

Mr. Sims Reeves has published a letter complaining of the orchestral pitch now used in this country, which is a semitone higher than that of most foreign orchestras. Mr. Reeves therein mentions his already expressed determina- tion not to sing for the Sacred Harmonic Society so long as the present pitch of the orchestra is maintained.—Musical Standard.