The Aberystwith Observer

A BLACK LIST Some noise has been made at Marseille. by a trial which has been called locally the Black-book affair." A certain society analogous to the English Trade Pro- tection Societies has been in the habit of publishing for circulation among its members-tailors and other tradesmen of the sort—a list of customers, distinguished as to their habits of paying by particular numbers. No. 4 signified that the person to whose name it was e appended was slow in his payments No. 5 indicated that money was only to be had with great diniculty and No. 6 denoted that the individual whom it designated would never pay at all. Some of the principal people in the city ascertained that their names w6Ire in the Black-book with high numbers attached to them, and took proceedings against the publishers for defamation of character. The names of the defendants are only indicated in the local journals by initials, but it is stated that they were found guilty, and M. L-, sen., was sent to prison for a month and fined 500 francs, while M. L —, jun., got a fortnight in prison and had to pay 300 francs. More- over, the copies of the Black List were ordered to be eized and destroyed. The complainants had demanded 500 francs each as compensation for their damaged reputations, ut the court refused this.

REMARKABLE ESCAPE OF RAILWAY PASSENGERS. The American papers g've the particulars of a singu- lar railway accident which occurred recently. On the night of the 22nd ult., the eastern-bound train of the Sioux City Railroad was thrown off by a broken rail near Farley, and the rear car, containing about thirty passengers, was precipitated over a forty-foot embank- ment. The growth of young timber checked the vio- lence of the fall, or fearful loss of life must have ensued. So great was the force with which the car was thrown from the train, that the rear platform of the car which preceded it was carried away. Both ends of the car thrown off were a week, and the scene within it beggars description. The capsizing of the car threw the passengers over and among each other in confusion. The stove was hurled from its place, and I one man was thrown upon it another had the mis- fortune to have it rolled over him. As soon as the passengers and attaches of the train could hasten to the rescue they did, expecting to find the dead and dying on every hand, but not one passenger was dangerously injured. The car was, however, fired by the stove.

ROMANCE OF ADVERTISING. (From The Times). Isaaos, Hounslow, has been very ill, and would be glad to hear from Eton." Rllgl.-Please call.—Pollaky, Private Inquiry-office, 13, Paddington-green." "D F.—Nothing can be done until the meeting of Parlia ment The whole affair, which is scarcely to be credited, must then be investigated, and no doubt justice ill be the reward of theinj "red party.-Private Inquiry-ottice, Devereux- court, Temple Established 1852. C. Nichuns." M" T't0^—3 o'clock on Thursday—at home." r „ Letters waiting for you at General Post-office, L., and at 32, Elliot-street." The Dog to the Cat.-The first time you pass, use yonr handkerchief, if all is wen for me, awl this unavoidable. You know what [ mean. If not, God help me." vonr ',uSvry°l\ ale not the only medical practitioner in iiprann has been hoaxe(l 'O' some unprincipled e\nn»?,rl a letter. purporting to be signed by me. The 8 Sll'y trick wi" be- 1 trU8t. an efficient remedy p j further annoyance.—Pollaky, Piivate Inqury-oflice, Paddmgton-green." Immense Income.—Railways most effectually super- seded at a vastly reduced cost of traffic. Auy ^pued can be attained with perfect safety. Co-opera ors, of position invited to assist in demonstrating these testified facts' direct," &c.

THE CASE OF MADAME RACHEL. The further proceeding in the case of Madame Rachel will, it is understood, be under the auspices of the Law Officers of the Crown. It can scarcely be expected that Mrs. Borrodaile should in.ur the ex- pense consequent on the argument of the writ of error in the Queen's Bench, and the Treasury has accord- mgly undertaken the responsibility. The next step is he assignment of error by Madame Rachel but wbether error will ever be assigned at all remains to be seen. As matters stand, Madame Rachel has the tn an? 18 said. that she has also the intention— offer 'PPeli.Per establishment in Bond-street, and again trm;?nr cnm,lnatillg Publi° the "dew distilled from imra ut usVv rOCk+ in th? desert of Sahara," which so the hie of the Central CrhnYnTo f 1"'ll^tlllent law remain still ,1 Vmi.nal Court will, in point of law, remain still undetermined, and she mav have again to take her trial. e

A SUPPOSED EARTHQUAKE. The following appeared in The Times of Tuesday :— mhmte' 1)eine by the clock 17 minutes after wasVl«m(l 7antg' Jle 1 was <1U etl>' reading a book, there di»wn o i th^fl^m' aS ,a v,ery heavy wdKht had been thrown reverberaMon^ n*nrofr Jhere immediately flowed a like the' m-ol'on amounting to a vibration something lejjort whb b Tt « somid °f a distant railway train. The suppose fiti nt rwli mistook for a thunder-clap, lasted, 1 A inn i seconds, and then gradually died away. thi<« hnnco ? a windmill, distant less tliaD 50u yards from that the whole mill shook, and that the second lllft^r1 ir* ''dressiug" jarred; also that lie felt a \lv W 8^?hter' shock. which I myself did not feel, now IW.hlch has risen from 28'82 on Tuesday, J?0- wind has been S. and S.W. the last m,y The thermometer reads 47 deg It is a calm morning, with a slight mist. Your obedient servant, isudey Tiearage, Suffolk, Jan. 9. WILLIAM H. Skwell J4 P-m.)—I headed this letter ''A Supposed !J ake, but there seems now to be no doubt about the f..of f1 any persons in this village, and many also, as I h™ informed, in the neighbouring borough of Eve obJ^J, it Several of the villagers here ran out of doo^ l! !? what had happened. Two ladies at the hall v> discover Perceived a slight undulatory motion as will U)!s.talrs around them An invalid in a farmh, i the objects bedridden for many years, was i16' wi,) has bee" felt the bed jar and vibrate ciuifp^HtF al»rmed by it. She had ever before experienced ,„i ent.ly from what she 8h« also heard the ornament- en.,tlle w.nd was strong, and the medicine bottles J chimneypiece rattle, the bedside. I have not glasses oil a small table by who, being out of doors however, met with any 'one occurrence. tbe tnne, noticed anything of the

but distinct"shuptllat we llave ex 'erienced a slight, to-day. About n i ,au eal'thquake in this neighbourhood the lire I telt a j j am., as I was sitting reading by accompanied quivering and shaking of the room, riaee dn\i,a lai'P runibling noise as of a ht-avy car- window t, I raP1,lly by> insomuch that I went to the Servanda i u wbat it w,tg, but saw notfiing. i>ne of my wwi, v. 0 *lear<l the unusual noise, and felt the table by Th Was landing, shake di&tinctly. ip shock has also been observed with more or less vio- ience in some of the adjacent villages (three or four miles distant from this town) e.g., Great b'inborougli, Old Newton 3« RatUesden, from which places I have seen pers ,ns who be,d.fthe sensation so unmistakably as to leave no ubt of its cause. ours obediently, HKNKi LEWIS. The Vicarage, Stowmarket, Jan. 9.

THE EXTRAORDINARY CONFESSION OF MURDER. William Sheward, the man charged with the murder ?oki8 wife Martha Sheward, on the 15th of June, ool, and who voluntarily surrendered himself to justice on Friday, the 1st inst., was brought up for examination at Norwich on Friday in last week. By vi V-i ° c^oc^; a large crowd had assembled in the y,ofi,tlle Guildhall in the hope of catching a nrfri ? j charged murderer, who, it was understood, would undergo his first examination at i that time the prisoner was brought to !nd.a regU\ar rush made by the public £ obtain admittance, but the limited space allotted to C0Urt P^y^ed but very few being Proh ki ^n80nel'.13 'lh,ort> stature, his height ha: y, noj: exceeding 5ft. 3iD.; pale, with grey air, and of very respectable appearance. Several affeof i UniM examination he became visibly he ml he aPPeared to be exceedingly weak, Ceedi^rgaCC°mm0<^ateC^ with a chair during the pro- J r!16 5°agistratesi present were the Mayor (chairman), 0hQ ^°hpB0°> W. J. U. Browne, J. M. Venning, R. namoerhn, J. Sultzer, H. Woodcock, R. Fitch, and Blake, Esqrs. The Town Clerk prosecuted, and Mr. Joseph Stanley beeli instructed by the prisoner's relatives) j. hed the case on his behalf. 1838 ^?Pears from inquiries made that previously to hjg i be ward resided in London, where he met with Prar, f.ceaS(;d wife, whose maiden name was Martha andw1S" was a native of Wymondham, Norfolk, li^ed considerably his senior. She appears to have •tyj. With Sheward as his housekeeper at Greenwich, re is believed they were married, but it exactly known in what year. In 1838 resided? f anc* wi^e came to Norwich, and believed hi w £ kJime f Ber-street, where it is White Lion-stre*t! Wwa if-, l f neXt rt'ln"vedv^0 sum T4o TIPYI- »'. re he failed for a considerable CrWich, an"tlienTer|tt0MUp^r ^cording to his confessionMf,rtl" s-at",1>lace' where' ^der investigation was l Cnme n<iW then a neighbour of She^^ A Person. who Sheward at the time conSi,?mt?berS mlssmZ f«vaiied in Norwich in consequence^ l,xc'f nieritf t Oman's remains This woman, alth^i? fau,dmg^f witv, a en* .junpflra« °u^ °n fnendly !lf)uiries eV\arl to bave made i'h„ ^ea> and never heard what nad become of b^r KiL Q!Xt heard of Sheward was that he resided £ where }Feet' near Feter Per Mountergate Church nionev le Curried on business as a pawnbroker, lending bourlL?>'°oda alld P^te. Whd. living inthis neigh, the 1 'itv, remarked that he began to drink. On sent wif ^ebruary, 1862, Sheward married his pre- and bv Wlth whom he had previously cohabited, marria^B.W 111 ^le ^acl two or three cli; 11 iren. Norwich t^3e ^egiatrai's c. fice in King-street, seems not t v,°Ut *our mon^ since, Sheward, who broking bu^in Veen very prosperous in his paWi- Mr. Boston 683 d^l)0Se(l of his stock principally to Norwich, andan0t^er Pawnl»roker, of Orford-hill, Tavern,at St. ^Tmoved to the "Key and Castle at present pesidino.art-?? at, Oak, where his family are and it was remarked w h°T <'r+twv°since, somewhat depressed tr i a l- Was A T n spuits. He had stated his in- and fi" i° fi'l01\(i011 in «r<!er to see tis sister, iourn ,le ?°nday after Christmas for his n ii.en i in question arrived he did "arl ?n the Plea that he did not feel well, but 28) f°U f?^owinn morning (Tuesday, December fort! P^^n.o a somewhat restless night, he started until <I,nat;t'r0P0lis. Nothing was heard of him by his wife receiv^f morninS of Sunday, January 3, when she tronhi a ^e^^er from him stating that he was in > the nature of which she would soon lsarn. Mature [of the "trouble" soon reached the poor woman, and she is now placed in a position of great embarrassment with six children, the eldest fourteen years and the youngest eight months old. Siuce the disappearance of the first Mrs. Sheward, in 1851, a. sum of about £ 400 has been bequeathed to her, and is now in the hands of Mr. Conn, a solicitor at Wymond- nam, Norfolk, the birthplace of the deceased woman. Inquiries were made of Sheward as to his first wife wli-n tilis legacy was left her, and he is said to have replied that he did not know where she was-1-that he believed she had gone to New Zealand, or Van Diemen's Land, or one of the Australian colonies. Reviewing all the circumstances which have since transpired, itseems strange that suspicions of foul play on the part of Sheward never arose. tv-n- Prisoneris described in the charge sheet as William r Sheward, of the Key and Castle public-house, St. Martin's at Oak, licensed victualler, and he waj charged on his own confession with feloniously killing and slaying Martha Sheward, his wife, at bt. Martin's at Palace, on the 15th of June, 18ol. Mr. Mandham having shortly opened the case, Inspector Davis, of the P division of the metropolitan police, was examined, and stated that on Friday, the 1st inst., he was on duty at the Walworth police-station. The pri- soner Citme into the office and made a statement, in conse- quence of which he was taken before the magi trate at the Lambeth police-court on the following day. He was again examined at the same court on Thursday, and witness after- wards brought th., prisoner i own to Norwich. Witness also brought' down with him the depositions made in the case at the Lambeth police-court. On the application of Mr. Mendham, the depositions were read. The prisoner began sobbing while they were being read. Witness, in continuation, said no inducement whatever was held out to the prisoner to lead him to make the con- fession. He asked the prisoner some questions as to how or where the body was found. He replied, Oh don't say any more, it is too horrible to talk about." He told me he had no food for two days, and that he could not eat. Witness offered him food; but he still said he could not eat. He drank, however, a cup of coffee. He appeared to be very much depressed in spirits. Mrs. Sarah Batson, wife of the postmaster at Hellcsdon, near Norwich, deposed that she was married on the 18th ol March, 1850. She and her husband went to live in a house in Tabernacle-street, St. Martin-at-Palace, Norwich. Her first child was born in this house in January. 1851 At the time she went to live in Tabernacle-street, the next house to her's was not occupied, and she did not know tnat it was occupied until after her confinement. It was occupied by a man and woman. She never spoke to the man, and did not recognise him in court. He was a "gim" little man-that is, an active, brisk-walking man The woman used to come into witness's house to buy things She was a light-cotn- plexioned woman, and wore her hair in curls it was almost golden-coloured hair. She was a very fair woman. Witness remembered the Whitsuntide of 1851. She could not, how- ever, tell the day of the month when it occurred. On re ference to an almanack witness found that Whit-Sunday occurred in 1851 on June 8. According to a local custom she made two custards for the V. hit Sunday, and part of one of these custards she took to the woman, "horn she never saw again. She saw the man go backwards and for- wards to the house after this, but she did not recollect ever seeing the man or woman again after a short time. She did not know the business of the man. After the next house to her's became unoccupied, after June or July, 18>2, it again became occupied, but only by some women, so far as she kne v. Witness never had any conversation with the man to whom she had been referring. 11_1- T o"'L _1 T isy the llench 1 shouM say the woman to whom I gave the custard was between 50 and 60 years of age. She was a middle-sized woman. I never heard any disputes between the man and the woman. Potter Batson, the husband of the last witness, gave con- firmatory evidence. He thought th woman who lived next him in June, 1851, was between 50 and 60 years of age. She wore her hair in curls, and was a neat dressing person. Witness could nut describe the man who lived with the woman; he never noticed h'm particularly. Witness kept a general shop, and the woman often came into it. lie never saw her after Whit Sunday, 1851 He remembered quite well some human flesh being found near Norwich in the summer of 1851 some was found on his father's farm on which he worked at Ilellesdon. It was found about th- latter end of June or in JIIly, 1851. He had often wondered where the old woman had gone to. He had never talked. however, about the matter, lie was first reminded of it on the previous Tuesday afternoon. He could not say what was the size of the wall who lived with the woman next him. Inspector l'eck, of the Norwich Police, said he occupied his piesent office in June, 1851, when kumau remains were found in the neighbourhood of Norwich. They wercbionght to the police-station about the latter end of June, lb51, not later than the 27th. Witness could not, however, fix the date from memory. There was an investigation Oil the subject )>e:<>re the magistrates Air. Nicholls, a surgeon, examined the remains. They were also examined by Mr. J'onald Dalrwnple, another surgeon, and by the late Mr. H- Ii. Norgate. a third surgeon. he remains were brought to the police-station by vari ms persons. The remains consisted of human hands, a foot, leg-bones, part of an artll, and a quantity of other bones. They were preserved in spirits of wine, and locked up. At this stage of the inquiry, the prisoner, who wore an air of hopeless, although subdued, depression, was remanded. The remains, to which reference has been repeatedly made, were buried many years since- in a vault in the guildhall, Norwich, and have not yet been disinterred. 1 he spot in which the jar containing them was de- posited is, however, well known.

A telegram from Norwich says that the remains of the woman were disinterred on Tuesday morning for further medical examination. The solicitor who is acting for the self-accused murderer, was present at the disinterment.

It appears to be now supposed that Sheward will retract his confession, and that he and his friends will endeavour to show that., when he made his statement, he was labouring under a kind of monomania. The confession of Sheward seems to be verified by the fajts which have been brdugilt to light, except in one particular, and that is certainly a ma- terial one. At the time of the murder Mrs. Sheward must have been approaching her s xtieth year, and the witnesses examined on Friday, befor,, the Norwich magistrates, referred to her as all old woman." But the medical gentlemen who examinee the remains found near Norwichiti June and July, 1»51, catne to the Conclusion that they were of a young woman. This wdl be seen by the annexed copy of an official placard issued at Norwich towards tne close of June, 1",1:- Seui-ral parts of a human body belonging to a sup- posed to have, been recent<y mn.iaered, and to be that oj a young woman, between the ages of 16 and 26 yuars, hairing been, within the last, few uays, found in the environs of Norwich, information is requested to be given to the chief cons'able at, the police-office. Guitdhatl, Norwich, if all females who have been recently musing, together any paiticulais which may lead to the detection of the person or persons who committed the sujrposed murder. The portions of the body already found comprise the right hand and foot mul s,-vrrol bones, with numeroUS pieces of skin and Jl^sti. Further search, is making for the head a n't remaining parts of the body.—II.-WOODCOCK, Mayor, Guildhall, Norwich, June 27 18.51. It is obviously most important that the discrepancy in the evidence here indicated should be explained away if possible, and that the best medical testimony on the subject should be obtained. The remains will be disinterred from the cellar or vault, in the -Norwich Guildhall, in which they have been to long btu-ied whether it will be possible to solve the question as to the age of the woman of whom they funned a part remains to be see, It will be remembered that it was stated a few days ago that a shirt much smeared with blood was found on :llouse- hold-heath, near Norwich, contemporaneously with the dis- covery of the remains this shirt was taken to the Norwich police-station, and was kept for some time, but after some months it was unfortunately destroyed, and no evidence ean be consequently produced as to whom it belonged. With refeience to the neglect of the local authorities to hold an inquest it may be remarked that a theory gained credence at the time that the remains had been distributed by some medical students and that they formed part of a corpse which had been experimented upon. I)r, Kankin, a medical gentleman now dead, who also looked at the remains, stoutly, however, opposed this conclusion at the time, as he thought thatthe bones, flesh, &c., had been carelessly hacked asunder, and had not been separated in a scientific manner. Of the medical gentleman who were officially con.-ulted by the magistrates in 1851, one (Mr. Norgate) is dead, but the two others, Mr. Nicho)a..and Dr, Dalrymple, are still living and residing in or near Norwich. Dr Dalrymple, it may be added, is now member for Bath.

ANOTHER COLLIERY ACCIDENT. The colliery accident of last week in the neighbour- hood of Wigan appears to have been attended with unprecedented and appalling incidents, which have resulted in the loss of seven lives, and the serious in- jury of some of the other miners. The" shaft pillars," or masses of coal left around the pit's bottom and sides for the sake of security, were discovered en Friday to be on fire, it is supposed, in consequence of the near proximity of the furnace. Eight men went down to extinguish the flames, and while waiting for water seven seated themselves close to the fire, the eighth leaving them to make some inquiry at a short dis- tance. On his return he found that the ventilation had been suddenly reversed for a few seconds, and then restored to its proper course, but in that brief space of time the flames had been blown with such fierceness upon his seven colleagues that they were almost all fatally injured. They were removed with- out delay to the surface, and before six o'clock on the following morning five had died. A still IHOJ e singular fatality followed. Two men were left in charge of the arrangements by which a strong jet of steam was driven down upon the flames, the mou lis of the shafts been stopped by platforms of wood. Something went wrong, and the place being dark, the men jumped, as they thought, upon one of these platforms, a distance of a couple of feet or so, but it had from some unknown and mysterious cause, disappeared, and their leap was into eternity. The bottom of the shaft is sixty or seventy yards below the place on fire, and nothing can be done to recover their remains till the tire is extinguished.

CONFESSION OF GUILT BY THE LEWES MURDERER. Every arrangement has been made for carrying out the sentence of the law on Monday, Jan. 19, at eight o'clock, on the young man, Martin .Brown, aged twenty-two, for the murder of David Baldey, at Kingston, near Lewes, on the 9th of October last. Calcraft will be the executioner. The convict eats, drinks, and sleeps as well as an ordinary person, and his unhappy position does not at present affect in the slightest degree his health, which is naturally very good. He listens with attention to the spiritual advice of the chaplain of the gaol, the lie v. Mr. Duke, and has of late employed much time in reading the Bible and other religious works, but he appears hitherto to have received but slight reli- gious education. Though quiet and respectful, he does not seem to entertain such a dt ep sense as nnght be wished of the awful position in which he is placed. Never since his confinement in the prison has he volun- teered a disavowal of his crime, and at length lie has made a full confession of his guilt and the circumstances connected with it. He repudiates the supposition that he murdered Baldey for the sake of securing the paltry sum of money that he took from him, and asserts that he had a stronger motive. What that motive was, together with the other circumstances now stated by for °|n1^ ^uman being to wh they were known, will r v.ious reasons and at the prisoner's own request be kept fr-ill the public until after the execution has bee at ""th" r^n ^on(lay affecting interviews took ",iL v c.? .ewes prison between the convict, his mother, ana lug SWeetheart. He does not seem to anticipate a leprieve.

SINGULAR DEATa: OF A PRISONER. An inquest has been held in the gaol of Newgate, London, respecting the death of Thomas Thomas, aged nineteen years. Ihe decease was a prisoner in New- gate waiting to be tnci on a c *e of having assaulted and robbed a gentleman at Forest-hill. Mr. Jonas, governor of Newgate, said that when the deceased was admitted into the gaol on the 17th Decem- ber, he was in perfect health..On Saturday last he complained of a stiff neck, and said that lie had brought it about by washing his handkerchief while he was in his cell and then fastening it round his neck while damp. He was left quite alone in his cell for two days after that, but on Tuesday he was removed to the in- I firmary. Dr. Gibson said that he ordered the removal of the deceased to the infirmary in consequence of noticing that the muscles of the deceased had become violen'ly convulsed. He died on Thursday from tetanus. The coroner said that the symptoms were very like those which occurred in eases of strychnine poisoning. The doctor said that he believed that the death had arisen from natural causes but he had made no post-mortem examination of the body. In the tropics tetanus was often produced by damp. Dr. Stillman, late surgeon in General Grant's army of the Potomac, said that he had known several cases of tetanus brought on by damp. Some of the soldiers, after a long march, used to lie down on the ground to sleep. In the morning they used to wake up suffering from tetanus, and die. The coroner said that the case was a most extraordi- nary one, and as the deceased was neither in the United States nor the tropics, th ^question was whether he might not have been poisoned. Mary Thomas, the deceased's wife, said that she had not given the deceased anything to take when she saw him in Newgate. On Monday, while her husband was in a dying state in the infirmary, she was not allowed to see him. He told her, when she saw him on Satur- day, that lie was innocent of the charge of robbery. H e was very depressed. The coroner addressed the jury, and said that the question was whether poison had been brought into he prison by any person knowing the deceased and given to him. The jury, after a long deliberation, requested that the inquest should be adjourned in order that a post- mortem examination might be made, and the contents of the stomach analysed.

"MISS ERIN" DELINEATED. The artist of the Weekly News has an illustration in last week's issue in which Miss Erin" is represented as a young lady seated at one side of a table, looking charmingly disconsolate. At the other side stand" Mr. Gladstone with a shamrock in his button-hole, smiling upon her, and desirous of pleasing her, but rather concerned to find that she does not look con- tented with the gifts which he is successively present- ing. On the table there are some pretty presents suitable for the season. One hand holds a toy Church labelled To let," in front of which is a parson in an attitude of vehement declamation, and beside it another lies prostrate. In his left hand he holds forth a little doll figure, and the meaning of the picture is explained below in the following dialogue ;— "Mr. Gladstone.—Eh? Well, my young friend, do not 100k Sf) unhappy. I am taking away this odions Church, as you caB it; al1d you can have your own one, that you have ftIwa}s been so fond of, But surely you said you would ùe delighted with the l'ortland Prison Key, and you said you valued this Tenant Ri^ht Charter more than all? Miss Erin.—Oh! yes; I shall, indeed, thank you for taking away that horrid Church; and the Key and the Charter I prize greatly yet still— Mr. Gladstone.—Yet still C.m it be possible such gifts will not make you fully contented? Well, if not, I have several other pretty things. W-outd you like a nice Judge? Here is one the like of which you have rarely seen— True, true but still— "Mr. Gladstone.—But still' Well, if ever there was a young lady $0 hard to please. [But I know what she is at; and if ai] fails, andthac she must have that too, why I sup- pose we must give it.] You evidently wish for something else What on earth can my young friend desire more— Porter Bright —Here it is, Sir." The porter is seen in the background bringing in a heavy trunk, labelled" llepeal of the Union."

THE LORD CHANCELLOR ON SABBATH OBSERVANCE. On Friday evening in last week a well-attended public meeting of working men resident, in the district of St. Margaret's and St. John's, Westminster, London, was held inSt. Margaret's Schoolroom, Totliill-street, for the purpose of forming a working men's branch of the Lord's Day Observance Society. The Right Hon. Lord Ilatherley (the Lord Chan- cellor) occupied the chair, and in the course of his remarks said— All classes were interested in keeping the Sabbath as a holy day and day of rest. It was painful to every I 'hnsti.in mar, to walk through the streets 01 the metropolis on tin: Sunday, and to see how it was profaned and desecrated by all sorts of unnecessary work and trading being transacted. We had certainly not yet realised a continental Sunday in t.ondon. hut unless some ellergetic steps were takell to stein the evil, that tillle might he not far dbtant Looking at the ques- tion in a low point of view, it was the especial duty and interest of working men to discourage all attempts to interfere with the seventh day as a day of rest, for once let the Parisian system come into vogue in this country, under which the scaffolds of public buildings were as erowded with workmen on Sundays as on any other day, and they would have to work seven days for the pay they now receive for six. That might not he the immediate, but it would be the ultimate effect, He advocated it better observance of the Sabbavh on higher and religions points Those who laboured on the Lord's-day ultimately took to making it what they called a day of recreation, but pursuing animal and sensual enjoyments, which too often degraded and brutalised them. He then proceeded to condemn all Sunday trading, the running of excursion trains, and various other modes by which Sunday was made a day ot business and pleasure, and concluded by expressing his earnest desirj that every man 111 ght have one lby in seven in which t,) love ami honour his God. A resolution was afterwards passed in accordance with the object of the meeting, and a committee was appointed to níake thè tJeceHsary arrangements for the furwatioll of the associatinn.

THE BOARD OF TRADE AND THE BOTTLE-NOSED WHALE. A curious question in practical natural history has been submitted to the Bight Hon. John Bright, M.P., President of the Board of Trade. Mr. Alexander Drew wishes to obtain parliamentary help to destroy the bot.tle-no:3ed whales and 1.,orpoiseR which inj llre and persecute ti,h of economic value to the public. There can lie no doubt that Mr. Drew has reason on his side. Bottle-nosed whales and porpoises are diffi- cult to capture, and when they are captured do not pay expenses with their oil or bone*. These "sea- vermin," therefore, have been allowed to get ahead the water wolves have not been destroyed, and the water sheep suffer accordingly. These predaceous cetacea not only eat vast numbers of valuable fish, tut they hunt t em about, and, what is worse, get into the nets, breaking and smashing them, and making great rents, which cost time and money to repair, besides allowing the fish to escape. The project of a company to destroy these cannot be entertained unless Mr. Drew can show how it is uto pay nay, what is more im- portant, he must demonstrate what means he proposes to employ in order to capture his enemies. Our own idea is that the bottle-nosed whales and porpoises are too active and wary to get into nets, which must be made exceedingly strong, and therefore difficult to manage. The only wxy to destroy them would be to shoot them, and a gunboat or two might well be placed at the service of the fishermen. A few good sportsmen 1 r experienced rifle shots on board would soon scare these pests of the water farm, and cause them to de- camp elsewhere.

The Times has the following leader on Mr. Drew's application :— The curious correspondence published between the Presi- dent of the Board of Trade and Mr. Alexander Drew, of Nairn, throws some amusing and not uninstructive light upon the sort of solicitations on the most out-of-the-way sub- jects, and from the least expected quarters, to which pro- minent members of the Government are exposed and its effect is perhaps heightened by the fact that the victim happens in this instance to be Mr. Bright. That gentleman's acceptance of office has deservedly excited such widespread and solid satisfaction that his most sensitive admirers need not resent being reminded that it has also provoked borne good-humoured merriment. Indeed, the laugh which the mere mention of "the Right Honourable John Bright" raised the other day in the House of Commons was itself an indirect compliment to plain John Bright. The incongruous is an essential element of humour, and the laugh was a spon- taneous, half-unconscious recognition of the apparent incon- gruity existing between all that had been hitherto associated peculiarly with Mr. Bl ight's altogether unique position and the familiar official trappings in which this individuality was suddenly merged. Besides, no candid observer for a moment doubts that Mr. Bright really had office forced upon him against his own personal inclinations that if he had consulted them he would have chosen quietly to "dwell among his own people" rather than expose himself to the responsibility and small worries of official life. He selected the Presidency of the Board of Trade partly because it seemed to him the least prominent and least onerous place that he could accept, and possibly dreamt of a comparatively sheltered and quiet haven of repose until "11'. Drew con- vinced him of his error, He now t1nds it is considered one of his official duties to "clear the seas of porpoises and bottle-nosed whales." If the notion of Mr. Bright as the Right Honourable is comically at variance with all we have hitherto associated with him, what are we to think of Mr. Bright, pn[{.1geti in a controversial correspondence upon such a subject f It appears to have occurred to Mr. Drew, of Nairn, that porpoise*, bottled-nosed whales, and" other pOllderou5 monsters" of the deep ought to he put down. Ilis reasons are not distinctly given, but, from incidental allusions in his letters, we gather that he objects to the" ponderons mon- sters" partly on phiLmthropic and partly on mora] grounds. As a philanthropist he regrets to see them" depriving our hardy fishermen of their living 1Jy devouring and de3troyillg the greatest quantity of fish as a moralist he severely con- demns them as pests and vermin which have been feasting in luxury while the poplùation have been to II certain extent fasting." Mr. Drew begs that Mr. Bright" will direct the attention of his great mind to the subject, and suggests that If a small royal bounty were given, a company might he started for the suppression of porpoises and bottle -nosed whales, which "he has no doubt whatever will pay. In reply, Mr. Bright thinks that Parliament is not likely to grant any sum of money for the purpose speeilied, but con- soles Mr. Drew by reminding him that as the sc :eme will pay, Parliamentary assistance is not needed. Mr Drew's re- joinder is worthy of remark, as it ominously sugge-ts and foreshadows the perils which threaten Mr. Brightin his new position. He has now for the first time to learn how hard it is for a minister to refuse an application, no matter how dexterously, without painfully sinking in the applicant's estimation. We have noticed Mr. Drew's gratifying homage to Mr. Blight's "great mind;" but this was paid before there occurred an unfortunate ctIlferellee of opinion he- tween them as to tlw proper means of IJ\1ttin:.r down bottle- nosed whales. He now only thinks Mr. Bright "takes a far too contracted view o a g eat national undertaking hut he evidently suspects that Mr. Bright does not know as much about c ttching porpoises as the President of the Board of Trade ought. Mr. Bright had suggested that if a sine'e fisherman succeeded, and the venture paid him, others would follow," and the pitiable ignorance displayed in this sug- gestion lays 111 ill open t, the r"I1"win¡r retort You wl,ul,1 not believe that it is a ditIkult pr,;1..IHH tu our fishermen how \0 catch a porpoise it will take a 101l¡:{ traillillg how to learn the art, and it will not do to depend upon single 1\sherÐ.1en. Joint-stock companies are wanted, and by pay- ing one, Government will give a stimulus "-)Ir. Drew unfor- tunately omits to state what st illmIns-to other com- panies. Besides, as the expenditure ..n the navy is abollt to he reduced, there will be surplus money tor this national undertaking" all ready to hand We may here, perhaps, veuture to enforce Mr. Drew's argument lJY suggesting, as it seems to have escaped him, that the Irish church is also to be 'disestablished, and t at Ireland, as an bland, is almost aF closely connected with porpoises and lu»ttle-nosed whales as the navy. We wish we c mid end our History or this re- markable correspontlence here, but, so far as it illustrates Mr. Bright's new position and official trammels, the most painful part of it has yet to be told. Not the least prominent of the associations which we COIl- nect at onco with Mr. Bright's name are his evntroversial triumphs as a correspondent. Whether it has boon due to his skill in logical retort, or in the choice of his ground, or to both, we scarcely know, but, while we cannot recall one Instance of a correspondence in which Mr. Bright has been distinctly worsted, we at ouce recall many in which he has not only overthrown the assailants who were rash enough to provoke him, but has conferred upon them something of the immortality bestowed by the Dunciad. It gives us, there- fore, a sort of shock to find him hurriedly retreating from this correspondence without even firing a Parthiötn epi- gram. Has office already tamed Mr. Bright, or is he borne down by a sense of his lamentable ignorance of how to catch porpoises ? Be his motive what it may, the President of the Board of Trade is obliged to leave Mr. Drew in triumphant possession of the field and beat a tame retreat by merely acknowledging the receipt of your letter of the 56th inst., transmiting printed copies of a correspondence between Mr. Loeli, M P., and yourself upon the bottle-nosed whale." However, Mr. Drew's is, after all, rather a barren victory; and if he is not content with it we can only advise him to apply next to the Home Office. If he can establish his case against the bottle-nosed whales as "pests and vermin," feeding luxuriously at the expense of th epoor fishermen, Mr. Bruce might feel bound to take it up. it would just now tit in most happily with the contemplated crusade against our own terrestrial criminal classes. There is, of course, this difficulty,—that if you start a Society for Suppress- ing Bottle-nosed Whales and Porpoises, there is no reason for stopping there Government is equally bound, for in- stance, to encourage a Society for the Suppression of Sharks. Indeed, to come nearer home there are numerous classes of animals, less dangerous, indued, hut decidedly more trouble- some, who live on man most "luxuriously." If Government would support Mr. Drew's company, this might "give a stimulus "to companies for the suppression of blue-bottles, fleas, and other luxurious feeders, and a grateful country might some day look back upon Mr. Alexander Drew, of Xairn, with the affectionate reverence which Ireland now bestows upon that great enemy ot all "pests and vermin," her patron, Saint Patrick.

ALLEGED CRUELTY by a SHIPMASTER. At the recent meeting of the Local Marine Board of the Port of London, all inquiry, ordered by the Board of Trade, was held into charges of cruelty and misconduct preferred a ainst Captain Hughes, the c •mmander of the Flying Cloud, during a voyage from Sydney to London. The pro- ceed ngs occupied nearly six hours, and a great body of evi- dence was taken :— The complainant made a long statement to the effect that last May he shipped as steward on board the vesssel at Sydney, and as she had to take passengers, he informed the captain what things he should require, and scarcely a quarter of what he had mentioned were supplied. He told the captain that he had not sufficient things to do his work, and asked for another candle for the pantry. The captain said there was sufficient light, and requested him to go on with his work. The captain's wife caught hold of his whiskers and said she would get him a good thrashing. The captain then used bad language, and before he (complainant) could reply as to whether he would go on with his work, the captain ordered the mate to handcuff him, which was done. He was taken into the storeroom and secured in a crouching position to a ring bolt in the deck. He was kept in that position for about twenty minutes, when the doctor ordered him to be released, and he was then secured to a railing in the room, where he remained all night, and on the following day about noon, the handcuffs were broken with a chisel, the key of the handcuffs having been lost. The purser who had charge of him, then got a padlock and fastenFd him again to the rail. In the afternoon he told the captain that it was impossible for him to do the work with the things he had, and the captain then swore at him and had him chained to a rail on the poop. In the eyening he was removed to the store, and secured to the rail for the night. He was only allowed biscuits and water. In the morning he was again taken on to the poop, and fastened as before. He suffered much from the cold. A passenger put a pair of gloves on his hands, and the captain desired the mate to take them off and throw them overboard. At night he was removed back to the store, and in the morning he was released to bale out the water in the room. He was again fastened up, and at noon he WaB taken to the engineer to have the handcuffs filed off, but that could not be done owing to his wrists having swollen, and the irons were broken by a chisel. He then went to his work and did it as well as he could. He added that he was subjected to the greatest abuse from the captain and his wife. He had brought an action against the captain in the County Court, and re- covered J630. He said that he saw the captain assault the purser. On the 3rd of August the captain s wife was confined, and he sent the hands up aloft to give three cheers. The doctor, the purser, and other witnesses were examined in 8uDport of the complaint, and It appeared that appeals had been made to the steward to induce him to go to work. Mr. Williams, for the eaptain, denied that the steward had been fastened up for the time he had stated. He had refused work upon the most trivial grounds, and the captain had been compelled to do what he had in order to make the man obedient to commands and to prevent insubordination. Captain Hughes was then examined, and he denied making use of bad language, or that his wife had done so. The steward refused to do his work, and he ordereil liim to be put in irons. When he heard that he had been secured to the ring-bolt, he had him re- moved He sent the mates to induce him to resume, and then he sent his (the steward's) wife to him, and he returned to duty. He added that he put complain- ant in irons because he believed the ship to be placed in peril by his conduct. The mates had since bone to sea. The court gave the following judgment:—The Board, having heard the evidence produced with reference to the charges of misconduct and cruelty preferred by Walter Leslie, steward of the ship, Flying Cloud, against Hugh Hughes, the master of that vessel, are of op-nion the steward was decidedly in fault when he refused tu perform his duty, but that the master was by no means justified in using such harsh means as to put him in irons for a lengthened period. In conse- quence, however, of the high testimonials in the captain's favour, the board returned him his certificate, and severely censured him. Mr. Self, the magistrate and legal adviser of the Board, said that while lie bowed to the decision of his colleagues, he could not refrain from remarking upon the improper lauguage which it was stated had been used by the captain, and he would add that, had he (the captain) come before him in another court, pro- bably he would have been more severely dealt with.

CONTINENTAL COMPETITION IN THE IRON TRADE. On the subject of continental competition for the supply of rails, the Journal des Travaux Publics, one of the bust practical journals in France, has the following notes — Belgium and France often obtain considerable orders from the Russian and Austrian railways. The plan adopted in Belgium is t) form a committee of iron- masters, who appoint one of their number to tender for any large contracts that may be offered. He proceeds to the spot, and works for the interest of all the makers of rails in Belgium the ironmasters decide upon the terms vrhich he may offer, and the orders are divided amongst them pro rata of their means of pro- duction. Payment being very often made by bills or guarantees, which individual firms could not accept without danger, a financial association supports the operations of the committee by these means the risk is divided amongst a large number of individuals, and when losses are made they are less heavy, from being divided." The same journal has the following :— The English railmakers formerly supplied the greater part of the steels ra Is required for the American railways; now the French houses seem to threaten formidable competition. MM. Petin-Gaudct et Cie. have, it is said, recently supplied 5,100 tons of steel rails to the New York Central Railway Company, and considerable quantities to other companies."

RITUALISM IN LONDON. At All Saints, Lambeth, last Sunday morning, the service abated in none of that elaborateness of ritual observance for which it has become noticeable among the most advanced ritualistic churches of the metro- polis. The movements of the vicar, the Rev. Dr. Lee, have additional significance attached to them from the fact that that gentleman is one of the committee ap- pointed at the meeting of Ritualists at Freemasons' Hall to consider the most becoming attitude to be a-sumed by the Ritualistic party, consequent on the late decision of the Privy Council in the case of the Rev. A. H. Mackonochie. On entering the church last Sunday morning, at the opening, the atmosphere was heavy with incense. The aitar was profusely decorated with flowers, as were also the various candelabra placed in the chancel, the altar-screen being enriched with festoons of foliage and notvers. Prayers having been said, and sermon preached by the Rev. Dr. Lee, the administration of the holy sacrament was proceeded with. A procession emerged from the vestry, headed by a youth clothed in a long scarlet tunic and embroidered surplice, bearing the processional cross, embellished with flowers, and followed by others—priest, deacons, acolytes. minis- trants, and choristers, numbering altogether thirty-one, carrying banners, crosses, staves, and other distinctive insignia, and wearing vestments of various colours, &c. The procession moved slowly down the side aisle and up the centre to tie cuancel, an acolyte in the meantime having lighted four large canùles on the altar. At the commencement of the Prayer of Consecration, the celebrant (the Rev. Dr. Lee) re- mained standing before the altar, with his back to the congregation. At the words" who in the same night that He wa,s betrayed," he laid his hands upon the paten without lifting it up, and bowed his body low down, so as to bring his head below the paten. At the words "do this in remembrance of Me, he took hold of the chalice containing the consecrated element, and elevated it above his head, so that the upper part of the cup was visible to the congregation kneeling behind, bending very low before it on replacing it upon the communion table. The service was intoned throughout, and at the con- clusion, on pronouncing the benediction, the celebrant turned and made the sign of the cross upon the audience with his finger, there being profuse bowings and crossings during the service. There were not moie than between forty and fifty adults present during the service, and an almost equal number of children, some of theUl very young. The galleries of the church (which is one of the most spacious and handsome structures in the district, the whole of the sittings being free) were entirely empty, and the manner in which the services were conducted" contrasted strangely with the meagreness of the con- gregation. There w ere no communicants from amen.; the congregation, the whole of whom, children and adults, remained during the administration.

A PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE OF CRIMINAL LAW! Here are two more instructive chapters of criminal biography :—In London last week William Summers, aged thirty, was convicted of an attempt at burglary, and a ferocious attack on the police, and sentenced to five years' penal servitude, r rom the age of seventeen he has, with the exception of 1857-8, never passed a single year without spending a portion of it in gaol. Since 1855 he has been eight times convicted and sentenced to terms of imprisonment amounting in all to at least eight years and three months. The official record of his interesting career is as follows :— Twelvemonths, Middlesex sessions, in 1855 two months, Marylebone, 1S56; three months, ditto, isr>6; one month, ditto, 1S59; three months, 18öO; tried at Middlesex ses- sions for felony, and acquitted three months, Marylehone, 1S61; six years' penal servitude, 1801 three months, 1S08 and on several other occasions, dates not known." John Bennett, age twenty, the accomplice of the former prisoner in his last offence, was sentenced to two years' imprisonment, with hard labour. His practical experience of the crnmnallaw began when he was eight years old, and is represented by the follow- ing entries :— One month, 1S56, at Westminster police-court; three rronths, in 1857, at the same; ol1e month, 185S, at the same; I three months, 1859, at the same; fourteen days, in lSGO, at the same; six months, at Middlesex sessions, 1860; twelve months, Middlesex sessions, 1862; three months, Westmin- ster, 1863; three months, ditto; four years, penal servitude, Middlesex sessions, 1863; three months, 1867, at Maryle- bone." That is to say, he has been eleven times convicted since 1856, and during those twelve years hall been regularly in gaol once a year at least, and sometimes twice.

I WHIPPING A SCHOOLBOY. 1 A despatch from Chattanooga, dated Decemùer 28, j furnishes the following ;— A tragic affair occurred on Salt Creek, forty mile8 below here, a few days since, the particulars of which are as follows :-It seems that 1\11'. Beaùe, a school teacher, attempted to whip a boy named Hutchison, who resisted and left school. A day or two afterwards young Hutchison, accompanied by his brother and a man named Smith, visited the schoolhouse, for the avowed purpose of chastising Beane, but not finding him there they proceeded to his residence. Beane saw them coming, and, anticipating their enand, armed himself, as also did :1\11'. Moore, who happened to be at the honse, On their arrival Hutchison said they intended giving him (Beane) a thrashing. Moore remonstrated, when Smith drew a pistol and shot him dead. This was a signal for all to produce pistols. Beane shot and instantly killed Cyrus Hutchison, brother of the schoolboy. He bad scarcely fired when Smith, who had instantly killed Moore, fired another barrel of his repeater at Beane, the ball struck, but failed to immediately disable him. Beane then turned OJ1 Smith and lodged three balls in his body, inflicting wounds which resulted mortally in a few minutes. Twenty minutes after the affray commenced Moore, Beane, Cyrus Hutchison, and Smith lay dead on the ground within a few feet of each other.

A BAD SPECULATION. A trial for passing three useless £ 5 bank notes took place at the Hants Quarter Sessions, last week, when John Benn, a horse dealer, fifty-four years old, was tried for obtaining a horse and £ 1 by false pretences, of Charles Richardson, an innkeeper at Weyhill. The prisoner purchased the prosecutor's horse for £ 14, and tendering him three pieces of paper, purport- ing to be £ 5 notes, which he said were good, asked for a sovereign change, which was given him with the horse. To prove that prisoner passed these notes knowing they were bad, a labourer living at Abbott's Ann was called, and deposed that he fell into a conversation wi th prisoner, and told him that he had at home some old notes, which he believed belonged to the Shaftesbury Bank, and formed part of some money which his wife's aunt left her. He had taken five of these notes to the bank at Andover, and they would not cash them. The pnsoner asked to see the notes, and on being showed them, asked the witness what he wanted for them. He replied he didn't know, and the prisoner said he would give hIm a sovereign for them" good or bad," upon which a bargain was struck. On the same day thé prisoner was proved to have tendered one of these notes to a man at Andover in payment for a horse. He endorsed his name on the back, and the acceptor on going to a bank in that town, and finding that the drawers had suspended payment some twenty years ago, returned it the prisoner, and received back from him his horse. This note was proved by the prisoner's own signature to be one of the three passed to the prosecuter in this case. A clerk from Messrs. \Villiams, Deacon, and Co., proved that both Messrs. Brodie and Brodie, and Brodie and King, the drawers of the notes suspended payment some twenty years ago. Tne prisoner was found guilty and sentenced to twelve months' hard labour.

"THE YOUNG MAN OF THE DAY." The following letter which appeared in the Daily Telegraph a few days since has naturally evoked numerous replies, and as the" fastness of our young men is now-a-days increasing, it may serve a good purpose to give a few of the many letters which have resulted from the somewhat terse epistle from" Tom's Father and whilst some of ti-le correspondents con. sider the sire culpable in not implanting diíferen t ideas in his son's mind, others exculpate themselves by censuring young ladies for making themselves un- approachaLle by their extravagant habits and their inability to discourse common sense :— Do you not think that the young mali of the present day is a very selfish fellow? If you don't, I do. You challenge me to the proof: You shall have it. There's ruy son Tom, just turned twenty. He is in a commercial house, and draws yearly £ 150. Lives at home, has the run of a good house, his own room, and two servants to answer his ring. Tom break- fasts, dines, and sometimes sups at home. Everything is done for him-even to his washing and now-a-days, with shirt collars, cuffs, and white pocket handkerchiefs, to get up nobby," the laundress's bill is a considerable item. Of course, you rationally conclude that the return for all this parental and maternal care is great ? X ot a ùit of it; not one farthing reaches the heads of the house from TOIll. To be si're, he provides himself with "t06gery" (clothes;, "tiles" (hats), and "crabs" (boots); and when he does this much for himself he thinks he does wel1. But Tom surely makes presents to his mother awl to his sisters? Oh, no he is too downy" for that Stop, I err: one Christmastime he presented to his mother pocket handkerchiefs worked ùy the nuns in some unknown nunnery, which he declared were invaluable (T think the price was 3s. Cd. for the lot; and his two biggest sisters got each a silver thimble and sometimes Tom's extreme generosity piompts him to launch out a "bob" to his younger brother to keep in his pocket when he IS at home from schoo] for the holidays. As for the £ 150 a-year, it all c-oes ou Tnm, and I am glad of course to tind that at the close of the year I am not called upon to "shell out" a "ftver" for the "snip's'' bill. A dear friend of mine had a bill presented him at the close of lSGS for three" full grown" hats his son Jack (between twenty aml twenty-one) had" stuck up" in six months. My wife, observing Rnd deploring Tom's habits, wonders what he does with his salary-what becomes of nearly £ 3 a week. Simple womau she forgets the habits of young men are [Jot nnw what they were two-an,tweuty years ago, when she glided from single blessednéss to married happiness and had to commence housekeeping on the same yearly sum her son now spends (squanders is nearer the mark on his iudividual wants. Tom must smoke choice cigars "do" his glass of sherry have a "spin" lit billiards; lounge at casinos, and peep into the music-halls to hear the last new- song or see the last new ballet. Besides, he must occa- sionally "do" a cab; omniùuses are very "slow" and a "bore," and Tnm cannot smoke a "weed" in such a con- veyance-a Hansom is the correct thing." Waiters, too, come in for a fair share of Tom's spare cash. 1t is uobhy" to toss a tanner to the waiter. These are a few of our Tmn's eccentricities. Hi, mother grumbles and argues with him, but he deelares that Jim, Dick, anil Harry do as he does. They draw the same" screw, spend It on themselves, and" shove" their legs under their governors' mahogany —that is, live at the expense of their parents. And yet iu society they are each and all considered highly respectable young men, punctual to a minute, honest to a fault, in bed at good time, and always bland and obliging. Tom's mother declares that wiien she was in her teens:-lIles! her, she was a darling then !-young men made friendly calls at her father's house, spent It few hours 11\ their society, took her to a stall at the theatre or for a quiet walk round the squares, or to see the shops; but now, alas how challged are the Toms, and Jacks, and Harrys True, the gills I have two-sweet seventeen and nineteen) some- times go to a 'box at the theatre but then they are accom- panied by their father or their mother; true, they walk out, but it is with those of their own sex; true, they go to parties, ùut it is only to mix "ith girls and old marned people. The young men are away enjoying themseives after thdr own seHish fashions-they are at theIr casinos, theIr music lulls, their billiard tables; places where sisters and" female friends (there are no sweethearts now-a-days) dare not ùe seen. Tom, and Dick, and Harry, are chalking the ends of their cues, and sucking their" weeds," and" doing" their sherries, whilst the girls, of whose welfare they should naturally be anxious, are doomed to the, forced security of the four walls of home, pining, pouting, fretting, and fidgeting, with no other compalllonshlp than those of their own sex, and What is butter to butter?" Need we wonder then that young women complain, as they do. of the utter selfishness of the young man of the day t X eed we wonder that grown-up people arrive at the same conclusion ? 1" ow Sir I think I have established my opening assertion -though a bold one-that the young man 01 the. present day is a ycry selfish fellow. Should he be so ? I think not. If he i? so inclined, should he be suffcred to lapse mto selfish- ness ? I think not. I should like to know 11 the experience of other parents with grown-up sons and daughters tallies with that of -1 OJI S I ATHEK. P.S. The words in inverted commas are my son Tom's- not mine.

The following are some of the replies to the above letter Will you allow me, with reference to the able letter frolll Tom's Father," in YOllr paper of to-day's date, to make the ùlushing statement, that the old gelJtleman m question, in my opinion, has no right to claim for his" pattern ChIld" the honour of being a representative of the" young men of the day." It appears our old friend has not been successful in bringing his son up to ùe a respectable member of society. I should suggest that if allout four or five years ago (Tom was tifteen then) his father had thought more aùout the suùject he writes about now J say" writes," not" thinks "), he wonld have ùeen spared experiencing what he does expe- rience, and the puùlic the knowledge of it. As it is, I should sooner advise poor old pa to weep secretly, and not to let the world at large know what a disagreeaùle snob" his Tom has grown up. Shortly before the letter alluded to closes, we find the remark, "Need we wonder, then, that young women complain, as they do, of the utter selfishness of the young man of the day ?" Those young women who complain at the selfishness of the" young man of the day" are worth quite as litlle as those members of the male sex whom they complain of; ùut in spite of aU the" bosh" we have read lately al)out the" girls of the period," and now, at the opening of the battle against the" young men of the day," I can safely say that the utterly gloomy and exagger- ated views only refer to certain exceptions which we meet with in both sexes- there arw thousands of respectable yonng fellows who work for and look with hope for the happllless of married life; and, thank God, they will find what they want, everyone of them. There is an equal number of girls who do not complain aùout seltishness ùecause they are not seltish themselves, who will make the lives of their husbands happy ones. Let old pa look out that Tom's "two biggest sisters" deserve respectable husbands, anù his sons-in-law will convince him that he was thoroughly mistnkell in considering his Tom" the young man of the day.I am, dir, yours, itc., A

Although the letter from "Tom's Father" in your im- pression of to-day contains much-tco much-truth, I ven- ture t» th nk that when he states that the joung man uf the present day selfishly lJeglect3 the socicty of youug ladies, h6 is going r,.ther too far. 1, as a clerk with a salary of £ 150 per annum. solely dependent upon my head and hands f"r my living, shuullt very 1\Juch like to see the f;¿ther-" Tom's," or anybo ly would let me take his daughter (to use his own words; for a quiet walk round ilie squares, ur to see the shops." 0, no; the young lady of the pr"sent day would, Oil lUY proposing to d.) 80, run upstairs, under prdencc uf putting OlJ her bonnet, and. ask her mother if I li .d any expectations. TI) "hort, ill common with all, ill my genteel poverty position, 1 am almost deharred from any- thing like intilnacy witii young ladies of birth and education 011 a par with my own.-1 am, sir, yours, &c., TOM'S FRIEND.

The author of the letter in YOllr impression of yesterday, signing himself Tom's Father," appears to me as much to blame as his sellisli" son. It is a father's duty to correct his son instead of aHowing him to 1'(0 on in his careless ex- travagancies. It the SOli does not profit by the warning, It is t'le father's duty-if he be a father-to resort to other ana more expedient methods. Many sons keep their own house-as the father did-on little more than..t.1::¡0 per annum why soouJd not this son do the same as his parent ? I say it is the father's fau]L-Hopll1g that other fathers who do not allow their sons" to shove their legs under their governor's mahogany" wiB agree WIth me here, I remain, Sir, yours, &c., CORRECTION.

Your correspondent Tom's Father has no doubt drawn a true picture of his own particular subject-he has given you one type, of perhaps a large class, of the juvenile males of the human family. 1!ardon..r;rIC for offering you another, no less true, though widely different from his. My son Joe is still what the law IS pleased to call an infant he earns a sabry of only a hundred guineas a yellr; he insists on pay- ing his mother for his board and washing, contumally makes his sisters handsome httle presents, finds his own "tHea, togs, and crabs," and gives sundry plum-puddings to divers poor old men and women, and ragged little boys and girls, at Christmas. It is true he does not suck cigars or indulge in caJJs, and he prefers the library of the London Institution to theatres and taverns. So I thirk you "ill agree with me that there is a marked difference, both menta] and moral, as well as physical, between youthful individuals of the genus homo.-¥ours, &c., JO FATHER.

Tom's Father has not only not given information respect- ing the senseless, selfish, and extravagant fops-which, with his son, are the exception because, to the intelligent and où- Sfrvant young men. they are too wen known, pitied, and contemned but I think he has compromised his duty as a parent by allowing such things as he complains of to exist openly in his home. Laxity of just discipline appears pro- minent l1l Tom's Father's complaÏ1Jt. I cannot conceive It possible that "Tom' would have he en so utterly regardless of parental rule to presume and can)" out his" downy" caprices, lf, wIth paternal love and practical admonition, his follies and undisciplined impulses had been daily challenged. The responsibilities of parents are terrilJly increased by the knowledge of the omissions anù commissions of their children and nothing can justify the) eJinquishing of that kind and powerful check (nlade stronger by love: which daily practice and precept unerringly work Follies and vices quail beore the kmd, firm word and look, amI though their influence may be stronger to chIldren of tender age. still infant- in Jaw) of "Tom's" age cannot resist it, neither would thev act at home or abroad like "the young men of the a,are "—T am, yours, tVc., E. C.

Having some considerable knowledge of the "young men of the day," through bemg a mother of several sons and acquainted with various families consisting of grown-up sons and daughters, I call confidently affirm that" rom's Father" lS perfectly correct in aB his statements. The young men of the day are selfish tu a degree, and not one in a dozen takes the slightest pleasure in any amusement in which ladies can participate. As to acting the gallant to their own sisters, that isa thing that Ilever so much as enters their heads-or, if it does, their engagements-business ones, of course-are too numerous and pressing to allow of their acting upon it. TIm" they ignore the obligations they are under for the many sisterly kindnesses, ay, and even sacrifices, received. What, then, are girls to do ? Brothers will not bore themselves with sisters' company, or introduce friends who perhaps would. Ladies cannot appear alone, consequently they are reduced to the little 50dety contained within the "four walls of home." With regard to marriage, the first and perhaps only thought on the gentleman's side is conceming the lady's money matters, her moral worth and good qualities being of no consideration in comparison. Who, then, pities the man who finds that he is less happy in the married state than he imagined he would he, and that if his wife brought him a small fortune, she can waste and spend a large one, and make her husband miserable?-I am, Sir, yours, ifcc., A .AI0THER OF A FAMILY.

Is Tom" to be censured for having £ 3 a week to spend in his own pleasures and fancies ? Certainly not. Tom's father, in order to teach him the value of money, should say, "Now, Tom, you must pay for what comforts and accommo- dation you have in my house. You must confonn to certain regulations and perform duties which you may some day wish to onforce in a house of your own." We educate our sons in matters which enable them to earn money, but we often forget to teach them how to save or invest a shilling, and I apprehend that from such neglect of parents thousands of extravagant spendthrifts perambulate our streets. If Torn" and all such had only half their £ lo0 a year to dis- burse ÏJ.1 "til.es, toggery, and crabs," they would learn to economise their funds and tanners to waiters, and doing the grand with the smoke and the Hansom, would occur only at increased intervals, as the depth of the puise would always be their intelligent guide to spending tJleir money. I know fathers who receive quarterly pdyments from sons ostensibly to assist in supporting their homes, but really to invest for them, and so lessen their means of contracting extravagant habits Of course such men as Tom" cannut marry witheut large "screws;" and as competition in labour, especially in Tom's sphere, is now as great as in manufactured goods, their chance of obtaining heavy screws are yery remote, and they are compelled to settle down as bachelors, with thanks to their parents for not in- culcating habits of economy, and teaching them when young the simple art of saving money. I am, Sir, yours obediently, TOTILA.

"Tom's Father" has been permitted, by your kind indul- gence, to air his domestic troubles in the columns of your popalar journal. Will you kindly grant me a small space to reply to him ? "Tom" seems to be a very sad dog, and is doubtless a source of much annoyance to his anxious parents. To judge by the expressions in inverted commas he is rather slangy. His music hall and casino proclivities denote him fast, and from his general behaviour one is very likely to set him down as a cad. I am very sorry for "Tom's Father," but I hope for the credit of poor humanity that he is not warranted in holding up his son as a sample of "the young man of the day." "Tom" is very selfish, indeed, in his pecuniary, domestic arrangements, but there I think paterfamilias is in no slight degree to blame. An fathers who cannot afford that thelr sons should squander all their earnings on themselves should come to a distinct understanding with the young man at hili first start in life that he should take a share adequate to his means and their relluirements in the household expenses. X othing is more pernicious to a youth in his early career than having the command of such means as will lead him into expensive habits, of which it is not afterwards easy to cure himself. Tom's Father" seems to leave Tom's" mother to do all the" grumbling and arguing but she, poor woman-if she is like nineteen mothers in the score-although she may feel herseli slighted by Tom's" neglect in the matter of those highly-valued moderately expensive little souvenirs, in the shape of Christmas and birthday gifts is only too willing to overlook the faults of her boy, and is scarcely the proper person to form the basis ot what ought to be a thoroughly business understanding. WTiy don't "Tom's Father" grumble and argue" himself ?--I enclose my card, and am A YOUNG MAN OF THE DAY.

The Jetter of "Tom's Father," this morning, gives also the picture of too many sons. My eldest, "Frank," 21, might shake hands with Tom" as his own !,>ortrait, with the exception of any generosity t<.> the maternal." Frank has two sisters, 17 and 10; but it is not the correct thing to escort them and myself to the Botanic or Zoo. That is the governor's department. As to introducing any male friend- oh no fellow does that to his sisters or mother-where girls are, it would be thought he wanted to get them married. So that, except at a ball, they are unattainable. We then get the conventional calJ, or in many cases card, and see them no more till the next is given. If they call 011 Frank, he sees them alone: and so rare is such an event that my youngest son, a child of seyen, came rUUlJillg 10 the drawing room one day with the astounding news that brother Frank had brought a live friend home. Yet lie follows but the custom or bad manners of the day. I can only think with a shudder of what one's grandchildren are to ùe when] see what one's sons are. AN OLD-FASHIONED :.10TTIT:1(.

I think" Tom's Father" has not S,) lllueh to complain of after all for the fault lies—I strongly "uspect-j¡Jore at the father's than the son's door. If "Tom's Father had incul- cated intn his son's mind when young- those principles of econolllY and gratitu1 e the absence of which he now laments, I venture to think" Tom" would in reality have hecome a respectable member of society and a dutiful son. lily" uld man," when I was younger, did this and though speaking of myself, I don't hesitite to say it now hears fruit. I draw Ii salary much less th III does" Tom," yet 1 shoul(! scorll to "shove my legs under my governor's mahogany" without paying for so doing. I also filld my" toggery" complete, and have, besides that, a little sum put hy against a rai1Jy day." I ùo not play billiards, rarely "cab it," and very seldom smoke; for my "sweetheart" tens me she cOlJsiders it a most diFgusting habit. I really pity" Tom's sisters; for if they are looking for the companionship of young men of their brother's stamp, they will find they will make most miserable husbands. But, sir, of this I feel convinced, that, if the "girls of the period" were to become more domesticated than they are, we should not have to wait long before we saw a good many of the" fast young men of the period reformed and becoming really and truly" young men of the period for I repudiate the sweep- ing allegations made hy Tom's Father," and counsel him in future to mourn in secret the omission of a duty rather than hlaze abroad the effects of such omission.—I am, Sir, yours, i-c. A YOUNG MAN OF THE PERIOD.

I consider Tom's Father has taken a very exceptional yiewof the" young men" of the present day. I have no doubt what he says in reference to his own son is perfectly correct, and for whose errors he himself is to blame; but, at the same time, that should not be the standard by whieh to judge all young men. Speaking for myself, my ii, come is considerably less than" Tom's yet I can always manage to keep up a respectable appearance and pay my way. Cer- tainly, I seldom indulge ill sherries 01; cigars, which I con- sider needless extravagance. When "Tom's Father alludes to "young men" as selfish, in not taking their sisters to theatres, &c., he should consider the habits and ideas of young women" of the present day. I know many girls who would "snub" any young fellow unless he was in a position to carry out their extravagant ideas-which very few are-and thus it debars young men from the pleasure of ladylike society, which any sensible fenow. would prefer to music-halls, casinos, dcc. for the entertalllment provided at such places is only in accordance with the" snobbish ideas of young men such as our friend" Tom" must be- that is, if we are to judge by the remarks of his respected parent, who, let us hope, will see the error of his ways in lowering every young man to the same level as his inesti- mable Tom."—I am, Sir, yours, &c., FAIRPLAT.

Being myself one of the ahused "young men of the day," under the inlpressi0n that an open confession is good, 1 fee] compelled tel acknowledge that Tom's Father" has ad- ministered a straight blow. I am III a wholesale firm in the City, and my income amounts to £ 250 a year, out of which —1 regret to own it-I do not save one shilling but there is certainly this to he said, that I have not the pleasure of putting my legs under the" governor's mahogany," for the simple reason that the old man wron't allow it. Tom's £ 150 is therefore, equal to my £ 250, smce It costs me over £ 100 a year for lodging, washing, and boarding. I live in the suburbs, my omnibus, therefore, costs me 6s. per week; the remainder of my £250 is got nd of much after the same man- ner as Tom's, namely, 11l choice cIgars-average price 6d. a-piece -Hans* ms, lÜluoring friends, and popping into music halls and casinos, and occasionally put a stray soy. or two upon a favourite racehorse. Then there are the hosiery, tailor's bootmaker's, and ether bills demanding payment every now and then, which (by the assistance of the governor have to be met. This is an unvarnished truth of how one man gets rid of a good income, and thousands of City clerks lead a similar life to mine; and the reason why these" young mea of the day" do not get married to "girls of the period is because they think as I do, that it will be only making bad worse.-I am, Sir, yours regretfully, ANTI TRUTH.

I certainly cannot agree with "Tom's Father," and fear he must have taken a somewhat distorted and overdrawn view of the case. Nevertheless, I am fain to admit that there are some such individuals as the precocious Tom juvenile swells, who roam the streets, having no better occupation by which to kill time, and boys of titled parentage with well- fined purses, ùut empty heads. To deny the fact that there are sucll young men would be absurd, but to the credit of young Englishmen be it said that they are considerably in the minority. Tom's Father complains most bitterly of there being no sweethearts now-a-days, but 1 would ask if that is the fault of the young men ? In far the greater number of cases I say decidedly it is not, but is owing to the young women-" the girls of the period "-whose lIotionil and habits are of such a description th3t sensible and educated men are compeJIed to keep at a fair distauce to avoid haying a mass of selltimental nonsense continually drummed mto their ears. Ot course, due allowance must be made for the frivolities of the weaker sex; but even the" fast., young man jannot but regard as foolish the ridiculous and extravagant manner in which the ladies dress their heads and bodies, nitre is, beyond a question of doubt, very great room for Improvement in both the young men and maidens of the P^ent day. llvit until the latter alter, or at least modify maiij of their wlnms and fancies, 1 imagme there. wI.ll 11 a laxity in lovers; for men prefer associating u UMuiials of their own class rather than listen to the small taU of Madame Kachel's dolls aud notwithstanding that they eOlJsider there is more enjoyment in siiioung a peaciluL pipe at the club or mnsic-ha]], to paying their all,l¡ cSccs to women whose thoughts and views are so oianietricaU> opposite to their own, 1 contend that "the young man ol the present day is not a seJtish fell')w. "-1 our", ó::c., P. Y. D.

I am very glad that "Tom's F<lther" has opened the subject of the young men of the day," because I am sure that ventllatlOn wIll prove that we are not so bad as painbed, and that even if we were, the remedy lies with papas and mammas. Take my case for an instance. I'm not "0 extra- vagant as Tom by a long way, and am in business in the City on my own account, and earning £ 150 to £ 200 a year now, with an increasing business, and should very well hke to have a good wife at home $0 cheer me on my road but- and this is our grievance-how lllany mammas would give me 0110 of their llaughters who was pretty, clever, and domesti- cated ? Yery few indeed. I should be passed by for some one never mind how suitable in other ways, who had a certain income to keep the d ughter in the style to which she has been accustomed. Let" Tom's Father and mother eonsult and try and let us have the Kame chancell of a good helpmate as they had, and they wil] strike at the root of the evil. Teach their daughters something useful, so that a manner of man like me can aspire t<3 the luxury of a wife then, although there alwap wiU be some like "Tom," they will very soon be very few mdeed.-I am, SIT, yours, Arc., CITY.

I entirely agree with "Tom's Father" that we "young men" are indifferent to the society of sisters and" female friends." ] must say the girls of the present day are much too conceited with themselves, they are too off-hand, and their" mammas are too monstrous in their behaviour. If a "gentleman" pays any attention to a "girl,"the "mamma" immediately thinks there is a chance to get her daughter off, and pays him such devoted" attention" that he directly "smells a rat," and eventually sheers off,' not caring to be drawn into a "match," Or if he should take one of lii- "female friends" a quiet walk round the squares, or to see the shops," the tact of being seen is immediately construed into something serious, and it is duvctly retailed from mouth to mouth that so and so must be engaged Now, surely a young man might be allowed to walk with a giri without being "spoony." It is really a serious tiling for a Inan of my age-not quite twenty-two-without great means, to be drawn into an engagement with no immediate prospect uf marriage. I can assure "Tom's Father" that, when I am in a position to enter comfortably into house- keeping, I sha]] at once look out for somebody's "big sister" and settle down, which is my most cherished wish. Now, Sir, I will give a brief sketch of myself. I have stated my age no matter my business—it happens to be a profession. I am "no fist" at billiards, and do not care to play. I pop into the theatres at "half-price" time. either alone or with a "chum. But I much prefer taking "female friends," and doing it" properly. Ilike to see the latest ballet" at the music-halls, and I think it quite necessary to do an occasional "bitter" at Joe's or elsewhere. I am not an inveterate smoker, but when 1 smoke I "do cig-ars." < abs I do not care for I am a member of a gymnasium, and therefore prefer walking. I am fond of athletics and manly sports but, above all, I prefer the society of tItL- ladies, either at home, at musical, quadrille, or croquet parties, or on a promenade. So that you see, Sir, although no doubt clas-ed under the head of The Young Man of the Day," still I may not be as selfish as "Tom's Father" would lead the world to under- stand.—I am, Sir, AN EDGISASTON YOUNG MAN.

CHARGE OF SWINDLING AN HOTEL KEEPER. On Monday, a man ;:ivin_' t! t' name of Woodhouse, was committed for trial fr-nn 1he Tonbridge Wells Police-court, on a charge of .swindling. The prisoner arrived at Mr. Carter's. Mount Ephraim Hotel, Ton- bridge Wells, on the 1st inst., with two Jarge and apparently well-filled bags. He remained at the hotel, faring sumptuously, and ranningup a heavy bill, until the following Sunday, when the landlord's suspicions were aroused, owing to the prisoner answering to the description that had been published of a man who had successfully swindled several London hotels. A police- officer was sent for, and the prisoner was asked to settle his account. He said he would atttend to it and went up to his room, and on coming down again he was taken into custody. He then said he had no money and admitted that he was the persün whose description had been published. It was discovered that he was wearing three coats, and had a pair of boots strapped round his body. The travelling bags had been filled with hay and large stones, which were fotrAd scattered about his bedroom. On being searched nothing but a dirty shirt, a necktie, and 7id in money, was found on him. He stated when arrested that he had been carrying on the same system of swindling for a long time, was perfectly wretched, and did not care what became of him. When before the magistrates he refused to give any account of himself, and said if the hay had been found in his bags he might be a hay dealer travelling with samples.

CUTTING DOWN THE ESTIMATES. The Commander-in-Chief, within the last ten days, received from the Secretary of State for War, Mr. Cardwell, a document setting forth a number of sweep- ing reductions which it was hoped his Royal Highness would approve of, and give his cordial aid to effect (says the Eastern Post). The receipt of this despatch, we are informed, caused no little consternation at the Horse Guards. The Royal Duke wrote back to the War Office to say that there was the best will in the world to aid the Ministry in carrying out their views of economy in the public service, but that it was found that the reductions in the military estimates proposed could not possibly be effected. 'I his official non pos- sum us was, however, overruled in a manner more in accordance with the style of the first than of the third Napoleon. Mr. Cardwell wrote, without a moment's delay, to inform his Royal Highness that not only could the required reductions be effected, but that they should be made by a. certain day, as the reduced esti- mates were to be ready in time for insertion in the budget. The Commander-in-Chief, seeing that his foe was relentless, surrendered at discretion. The re- ductions so imperiously demanded will be effected, and the military estimates for the ensuing year will be less by a million than they have been for several years past. During the week just ended, officers have been sent to Woolwich with orders thoroughly to investi- gate the arrangements existing there, with the view of ascertaining what employes can possibly be dispensed with. Sweeping reiorms will be effected in every branch of the service, and the taxpayers of the king. dom will no doubt reap the benefit.

TIME'S CHANGES! A complimentary banquet was given on the evening of the 29th of December, at "Delmonico's," in New York, to Professor Morse, the inventor of a system of electric telegraphy. Chief Justice Chase presided. Mr. Thornton, the British minister, Attorney-General Evarts, General M'Dowell, Goldwin Smith. ex-Go- vernor Curtin, of Pennsylvania, and Buckingham, of Connecticut, were present. After the first regular toast, "The President of the United States," Mr. Chase proposed the health of Queen Victoria in the following terms :— Amerians can only repay with gratitude the numerous proofs of consideration, honour, and respect with by various sovereign's and peoples of the o]d world have been bestowed upon our distinguished guest (alluding to Professor Morse\ But there is one sovereign avd one people to whom especially our thanks are due, I mean the great and good Queen of Great Britain and the great and magnanimous British people. As men of science their capitalists furnished the means of laying the Translantic cable, and British ships co- operated with the American ships in that enterprise. May they never meet in less friendly encounter. The toast was drunk amid much enthusiasm, when Mr. Thornton made the following response :— .\J r. President and Gentlemen,—1 thank you sincerely and most cordially for the kind manner in which the health of my beloved sovereign, and of other sovereigns and nations who appreciate the telegraphic enterprise of the United States, has been proposed and responded to by the dis- tinguished company here present, and more particularly for the kind sentiments which have been expressed by Mr. Chief •lustice Chase. I hope I may be allowed to avail myself of this opportunity to express my graat gratification at the sentiments of esteem and regard wiJkh I have observed haye been almost universally entertained towards her 31ajesty Queen Victoria by the press and people throughout the length and breadth of this great Jand. Applause. I am confident that there is no one in England who is more anxious ttian the Queen for the maintenance and improvement of that harmony and good understanding which ought to exist between the two nations—(applause;—and which is of such vital importallce to both of them; and none who would rejoice so much that all honour should be done to so great a benefactor to the human race as is the distinguished pro- fessor, to show our high appreciatiun of whose character we have assembled in tbis place. I am unwilling, however, to fall into what seems to me the error of talking too much abott peace. (Laughter and applause. A good deal has + been said upon the subject lately, both in this country and in Europe; more perhaps than is either absolutely necessary or altogether useful. (Applause.) leace is not to be produced by talking about it. Applause.) Statesmen ought, I should imagine, to endeavour to discover what is most likely to engage men's interests, and to oon- vince them that a state of peace is absolutely necessary to their well-being, and to their moral and material comfort. What can be more likely to effect this than a constant and complete intercourse between all nations and individuals in the world ? (Applause. But statesmen are not always scientific men, and it is to science we are indebted for the means of communication. Steam was the first olive branch offered to us by science. The voyage which my father made to this country in 1790 in a "fast" sailing vessel in 75 days—laughter;—is now easily accomplished in nine or ten days. There came a still more effective olive branch-this wonderful electric telegraph, whieh enables any man who happens to he \ithin reaeh of a wire to communicate instantaneously 1Iith his fellow-men all over the world. Should I have the good fortune to live to the gnod old age of the venerable professor, I still hope to see some such improvement as will enable us to carry on a viva voce conversation by means of the cable. (Laughter.) We shall then have merchants on this side of the water dis- cussing their affairs with those on the other, by means of the cable, at so much a minute. We shall hear perchanse of some love-stricken youth of London or Paris whispering soft nothings along the cable to olle of those bewitching sirens of Xew York- suppose it will be at so much an hour-{Jaughter)-she temlJting him all the while to throw himself upon the gulf which separates them. Laughter.; We shall then haye statesmen, aye, and in those days of progress, even stateswomen, secretly discussing international questions at so much a coùference-:1aughter) —and we, poor unhappy diplomatists, shall run a verv good chance of being exploded altogether. But I must not talsp up more of your time, which will be better employed by the friends and co-labourers of your distinguished guest, who can speak, and are anxious to speak probably, of the high qualities which adorn him. I cannot, however, sit down without expressing my great satisfaction at being able, through the kind invitation I have received, to contribute my mite of that admiration and esteem for Professor Morse which must be felt by all for so great a benefactor of his fellow-creatures and of posterity. Great applause.;

THE MARKETS. MARK-LANE. —M 0NDAY. Only moderate supplies of English wheat were on the stands this morning. The attendance of millers was limited, and the trade was heavy for both red and white parcels, at previous quotations. "Ith foreign wheat the market wis fairly supplied. In all descriptions sales progressed slowly, at about late rates, floating cargoes of wheat commanded but little attention. Maize and other articles afloat were quiet. Moderate supplies of barley were on offer The business doing was restricted," but no change took place m prices. Malt was dull, at late rat#«. For oats the show of which was liunted, the trade was firm, at fully »te rates. Beans were dull and drooping. The demand or peas was inactive, at previous quotation* in nour tne transactions were unimportant, at last Monday's currency. Linseed and rapeseed changed hands quietly, ]0 or agricultural seeds the market was inactive. Cakes were neglected. METROPOLITAN CATTLE MARKET.—MONDAY. 1 rom "ur own grazing districts an average number of beasts came to hand, and the condition of the animals was improved, owing to the favourable weather recently ex- peiienced. The demand was less active, and prices gave way 2d per 81b. 011 all lJ.ua]ities, the top price being 5s. 4fl. per 81b., though this quotation was exceeded for some few ehoioe Scots and crosses. From Norfolk Suffolk, Essex, and Cambridgeshire, we received about I'M) Scots, Ac. from other p rts of England, incl¡¡t!1IJg Lincolnshire 700 of various breeds from Scotland, 5-S ^cots anel and from Ireland, about ISO oxen, ,tc. There was good show of sheep in the pens, but the inquiry for all breeds was dull, and, although no quotable change took place, prices were rather easier. The extreme quotation for best Downs and lialf-breds was 5s. (id. per Sib. Prime small calves changed hands steadily at late rates, but large animals were neglected. The pig trade was quiet on former terms. nops. The demand has been steady for most descriptions and prices have been supported. Advices Lorn the Continent as well as from New York state the markets are dull at previous quotations. Mid and East Kents, '21. io< to 7l 15s Weald of Kents, 21. Os. to 41. 10s. Sussex. 21 Os to 41 0s'- Farnhams, 41. us, to 51. Ins. Coventry, 41. Os, to fit. Os. Bavarians, 21. 10s. to 4?. 5s. Belgians, 21. 0s. to »l. OS. l earlings, il. Os. to 41. Os. WOOL. The transactions in colonial wool by private ooutract have been Hn ited, but prices have ruled firm. In the English wool trade no change of importance has tak,en place. The market has contiiJUeLl 11rm, at full quo- tations. — Current prices of English w ool Fleeces. — Southdown hoggets, Is. 3d. to Is. 4d. hnlf-breds. Is. M. to Is. 5Jd.; Kent fleeces, Is. 4Jd. to Is. 6id. Southdown ewes and wethers. Is. 2Jd. to Is. a^d. Leicester ditto, Is 3d. to Is. 3td per lb. Sorts.—Clothing, Is. 2d. to Is. ?d. comb- ing, is. Od. to Is. Sid. per lb. POTATOES. Notwithstanding that the imports from the Continent are falling off. the supplies of potatoes are ample and fully equa Lo the demand. Sales progress slowly, at our quotations. English Regents, 60s. tc 131IS.; Flukes, lOlls. to 150s,; Scotch Regents üVII. to 1301.; Rocks, 00s. to bos., French lJ1f. to 30s. per too,