The Aberystwith Observer

ARMORIAL BEARINGS. C. W. Jarvis, a perfumer, carrying on business at Walthamstow, appeared in answer to a summons at the Ilford Petty Sessions, before Mr. Henry Ford Barclay (chairman), Mr. Andrew Johnston, M.P., and Mr. R. L. Drew, charging him with having used armorial bearings without a licence. Mr. Pearce, who con- ducted the prosecution on behalf of the Excise, said that the facts of the case were very simple, as the de- fendant had admitted using the crest, but said it was that of his employer, whose name he refused to give. Thedefendantsaidthatthese proceedingswere'the result of spite, owing to his appealing against his assessment to the Commissioners of Taxes at Stratford, upon which occasion the envelope in question had been sent. He was a clerk in the city, and also carried on the business of a perfumer at Walthamstow. Not having any en- velopes, he had gone to the office of a solicitor opposite and borrowed two, as he had often done. When he ad- dressed the envelopes he did not observe the crest upon them, nor had he any wish to break the law. A clerk in the employ of tluj solicitor said that he gave the defendant the two* envelopes with his employer's crest upon them, and that his employer held a licence to use it. The chairman said they had only one course to pursue, and that was to convict, but they would reduce the fine to the lowest in their power to inflict -viz., one-fourth of the full penalty, which was £ 20, They wished, however, it should be represented to the Commissioners that they believed the defendant had no intention to evade the law, and that they strongly felt that it was a case for still further mitigation.- Fined B5 and costs.

I. REJOICE, REJOICE, EACH LOYAL HEART!" What fear can there be of democrats when loyalty is melodious in the streets ? asks the Court Journal. It is many a year since any one recollects the street ballad-singers warbling anything beyond discontent, and to see a crowd listening to a song that breathes (albeit in rough language} the spirit of prayer, and is loyal in every word, is a wonder to commence 1872 with. The following is a portion of a string of verses now heard in most of the busy streets of the West End of London, and seem to find ready purchasers and admiring listeners:- Rejoice, rejoice, each loyal heart, Rejoice with heart and voice, Rejoice at the recovery Of England's hope and choice. For he who would not share the joys Must be a churlish knave, And deserves not to be classed among Old England's true and brave. To all countries let the news be borne, O'er mountain. IvUL Imd Afclfu uuti., He has saved the Prince of Wales. His noble father, Albert, Good precepts did lay down, Possessed of manly principles, That's rarely to be found. And Edward strove to copy The good his father done, And of a noble sire, He has proved a noble son.

EPITOME OF NEWS, BRITISH AND FOREIGN. Under the title of South Sea Bubbles," the young Earl of Pembroke will shortly publish an account of his ex- periences in the Southern Ocean. The Medical Times and Gazette states that that the mortality of Wolverhampton is now double the average mortality of the chief towns of England. t Mr. Shaw, the station-master of the London and North-Western Railway Station at Roade, near Northampton, was killed on Monday morning by the down express. The Sheffield School Board began its effective work on Monday by opening two schools capable of accom- modating 800 children. A special telegram from New York states that Mr. James Fisk, jun., has been assassinated by a person named Stokes, against whom he had brought an action for libel. The quantity of oranges which arrived in Paris for New Year's Day amounted to 254,000 cases. Some of the boxes contained no less than 320 aiia others 340, but taking the smallest number we find 81,280,000 in all, or about 40 for each inhabitant A new paper is announced called Woman, which is to be a weekly journal embodying female interests from a social, educational, domestic, and almost every other point of view. A poem on the subject of the Prince of Wales's illness, from the pen of the Poet Laureate, is expected to appear in February. At the marriage of an elderly female lately in church, the organist, out of compliment to the lady, on the entrance of the bridle party, played the well-known hymn, beginning- "This is the way I long have sought, And mourned because I found it not." The foot and mouth disease is satisfactorily de- creasing in Norfolk. The last weekly returns show a total of only 286 cases, while, when the disease was at its height, nearly 2,000 cases were reported weekly. Sheep scab Is also decreasing in Norfolk, only 20 cases having been reported last week. A railway collision took place on Monday morning at Attercliffe station. By some inadvertence the Sheffield train left the platform before the line was clear, and ran into some trucks. Several of the passengers were more or less hurt; an old woman had her ribs broken, and a young lady from Sheffield was much injured. A sad accident occurred at Thetford on Saturday night. Mr. Palmer, solicitor, who was recently a colour- sergeant in the Local Rifle Volunteer Corps, was showing his brother, aged 13 years, the action of a revolver, when one of the barrels exploded, and a shot entered the lad's left eye, causing death within an hour. The Portsmouth Town Council have been discuss- ing the expediency of taking steps to secure the holding of the Easter Monday Volunteer Review in the neighbourhood of that town. In the result the Mayor was instructed to communicate with the committee of Volunteer officers in London. An inquest has been held at the Bow Military Lunatic Asylum on the body of Robert Dixon, aged 29, a soldier, the deceased with other lunatics were at work in a field, when a madman named Salzman, also a soldier, suddenly attacked Dixon and fractured his skull with a spade. This was on the 26th of December, and the deceased expired on Friday last. The inquest was adjourned. Her Majesty the Empress of Germany has pre- sented to the Church of St. Thomas, at Strasburg, which is used by the Protestants of that city as a garrison church, a splendid gold crucifix and two gold candelabra in the purest Gothic style, together with a Bible richly ornamented with silver reposing on a silver desk. These presents were placed upon the altar at the Christmas services. The week of universal prayer, which it is usual to hold at the commencement of the new year, under the auspices of the Evangelical Alliance, was commenced in London, on Monday morning. The Rev. Gordon Calthrop, vicar of St. Augustine's, Highbury, presided, and having directed certain hymns to be sung and psalms to be read, suggested a prayer for the Prince of Wales. An earnest prayer for th e Prince followed, and it was announced that another meeting will be held this morning. The following did not win the prize gn-en by a Board of Education old gent to a school, for the best poem on December in the style of Gray's Elegy:- December's came, and now the breezes Howl among the lifelesa treesis; Now the boy with ragged trowses Shivering homeward drives the cowses; His boots are old, and torn his clothes is, The Board can new them if it chooses. The Gaulois relates a story which will probably be read with greater surprise in EnglaaA than it has been in Paris. It states that during the worst period of the illness of the Prince of Wales some merchants and medical men proposed to an insurance office to effect a policy upon the life of the Prince, and the transaction was arranged. The premium amounted to some hundreds of thousands of francs, but the amount paya ble in a fatal event would have reached millions. "Who knows?" adds the Qaulois, "perhaps all the English have done the same. That would explain their anxiety for news respecting the Prince's condition." In London, on Sunday evening, the Victoria Theatre, In the Waterloo-road, which has just been re-opened after its entire reconstruction internally and decoration, was for the first time appropriated to the purpose of a popular reli- gious service for the miMses, when the immense edifice was well filled by a large and attentive audience, consisting to some extent of the labouring population from the neigh- bourhood of the New Cut. The utmost decorum was ob- served throughout; and the services, which consisted of singing, prayer, and sermon, were of a highly interesting character. The service will be continued every Sunday evening during the winter. Twelve Swiss guides lost their lives on the Alps last year. A young man returning from a wake has been beaten to death in County Donegal in a very savage manner. AHoyal warrant, regulating the pay and allowances of lieutenants and sub-lieutenants, has been promulgated to the army. A movement has been started to establish a hospital in London for the treatment of diseases apart from the ordinary administration of alcoholic liquors." The Issy fort, near Paris, has been sold for JE440, being considered useless. This is considerably below the cost of the projectiles thrown on it. The German iournals state that the Deputy Owold, accused of outrages by gesture and menace to Prince de Bismarck, has been acquitted by the tribunal of Hanover. The Charivari (the French Punch) has a caricature representing Death with his scythe held as a whip, driving a hearse on which is inscribed the figures 1871. Beneath are the words, "The Accursed." London is a wonderful city. Every eight minutes. day and night, one person dies every five minutes, one ia bom 800,000 have been added to the population since 1851. It is a world in itself. The population of the United States, enumerated at the Census of 1870, is now reported by the superintendent of the Census 38.923,210. The coloure(l- population is 4,886,3bi; Indian, 383,712; Chinese, 63,254. Dean Stanley preached on Sunday afternoon in Old Greyfriars, one of the Scottish Established Churches in Edin- burgh. There was a crowded audience. The text was John xiii., 34. The search for Dr. Livingstone, which the British Government has refused to undertake or to assist has been entrusted by the New York Iltvald to a "special commis- sioner." Already a number of brilliant entertainments to the Prince of Wales have been proposed for the coming season, among them, naturally, the Corporation of London intends to do something magnificent. It is stated that more gold has arrived by South Eastern Railway packets at Folkestone from Boulogne, within the last three months, than has been conveyed by the boats for the previous ten years. A letter from Versailles says that the Commission appointed to examine the project for transporting trains on steamers across the Channel has reported favourably. It now remains for the English Government to decide upon the matter. A prosecution has been commenced against Genera Cremer, for shooting a grocer at Dijon, named Arbinet, as a Prussian spy. The area of California, which for many years has been estimated at 188,981 square miles, is found to be only about 153,000 square miles. The measurement includes San Francisco, San Diego, and Humboldt Bays, but not the Bay (or rather Gulf) of Monterey. The fire-swept region of the North and West has not, been abandoned. The axe is ringing in the charred and1 blackened pineries of Wisconsin and Michigan as it never rang before, and the whole region is instinct with energy and activity. The scorched trunks of trees are still valuable, but they must be used at once. Upwards of 250 distinct species of paper are manu- factured in Japan. Many kinds made in the distant pro- vinces are submitted to a distinct process in Yedo, and each kind has its distinctive name. Specimens of all these have been deposited, by the care of the Foreign Office, at the South Kensington Museum. There are two suits in the Arches Court for the ensuing term—one by Sir Robert Peel as to the allotment of seats in the parish of Tamworth, and the other in respect to a church-rate loan. The only other ecclesiastical case pend- ing for Judgment is "Sheppard v. Bennett, before the Judicial Committee. The ether Sunday, Mr. Spurgeon, in the course of his sermon, came down on the fashionable congregations who take no part in the praise of God, but leave it all to be done by a few voices, or by paid choirs. It is wretched it is horrible," said Mr. Spurgeon, to sit in a church where such a custom is observed." Small-pox has been prevalent in Plymouth and the adjoining town for some weeks past, and has very much increased of late in Plymouth, there having been 52 cases reported last week, besides others not brought under the notice of the sanitary inspector. In Devonport, however, the disease is fast abating. The Prince of Wales was on Saturday chosen Presi- dent of the Norfolk Agricultural Association for the ensuing year. At the meeting a letter from the Prince's private secretary, Mr. F. Knollys, was read, in which the Prince's consent to take the office was made contingent on the show of the society in June next being held at King's Lynn. This town, therefore, has accordingly been chosen as the place of exhibition. A well-informed gentleman, a Scotchman, engaged in business in London, informs us (Court Journal) that he is about to promulgate a scheme to present an estate to the Prince of Wales in lieu of Sandringham, which is not such a healthy place as it might be. He says that as much as a quarter of a million of money might easily be raised for this purpose, j With a view to ascertaining whether there is any connection between typhoid fever and sewage emanations, the Metropolitan Board of Works have requested all the metropolitan vestries to send in returns of the number of men and boys employed in flushing and other sewer work, and the number of any that may have been attacked with typhoid fever. A movement is on foot promoted chiefly by working men at the East End of London, but by no means confined to either locality or class, for a memorial in honour of'the Baroness Burdett Coutts. It is proposed that the memorial should take the form of a work of art-either a sculptured bust or figure. Dr. Goss, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Liverpool, in the course of a sermon preached last Sunday, referred to the late Hame Rule meeting in that town, saying that Home Rule might be very good in its proper place, but he would urge his flock to let Irshmeniachieve their own independence, or whatever it was they wanted, and not neglect tneir duties as British-citizens to attend meetings that led to no possible good to Irshmen in Liverpool. The Paris papers report numerous, injuries sus- tained by passengers in the streets from the falling of chimneys and slates during a fierce gale last Friday. One of the victims was the Comte de Laredan, who immediately after quitting his house in the Place Frachot, was killed by a chimney-pot which fell upon him. It is stated as a singular coincidence that the Count's father died in 1850 from the consequences of a similar accident. The doctrine of chance has been fully borne out by the Rothschilds of Paris. The firm possesses 144 houses ill different quarters of the city, and yet, strange to say, not one of them was touched by the Prussian shells or the Com- muuist petroleum. In gratitude for this extraordinary exemption, the Brothers Rothschild have resolved to remit to all their tenants who may have been injured by the siege the whole of the year's rent of 1870. ^urlou?, e'gn °K the times when we find Sir John PakingtoD, a Conservative statesman, requesting \on- conformists to make sacrifices,' and to < act with modera- tion and forbearance. If the request had been made onlv a very few years ago it would hare been taken asironicaf for the Dissenters had little political power, and their most ad- vanced hope was that the Church would moderate ts tre- mendous pretensions. "-Datfy Telegraph. mendous pretensions. Daily Telegraph. would1 amou™tattod^.a^hfre are 'steamers whose tonnage steam shipbuilding yards of Great" c.0Ilstruc*10n iI.l t'10 foreign account, a! tL F^Mhe fSnd the Snan ah °n trades have so increased during the past year that they em- ploy a much greater number of steamers than formerly There was a violent scene in the French Assembly last Saturday. A petition in favour of monarchy was pre- senced by a Legitimist member who suggested that whenever the word "Republic was used in the House it should be qualified by the term "provisional." There was great uproar at this, and much altercations between the Right and the Left. It was not until M. GrSvy had threatened to sus- pend the sitting that order was restored. A great demonstration was made- at Lausanne last Sunday in memory of the French soldiers who died in Genera; ^ourbaki was interned M»Ur, i" SSfVS being present at the ceremony. ouncu oi state In his charge to the grand jury at the Central Crimi- nal Couit, on .Monday, the Deputy Recorder drew attention to the number of cases for trial involving the loss of human life. In every instance the cause of these crimes seenied to have been drunkenness, and in all probability none of the offences would have been committed had not either the de- ceased person, the prisoner, or both, been at the time in a state of intoxication. It would be well if some law were passed which might have the effect of diminishing this evil. A sad occurrence has happened at the residence of the Earl of Romney, Mote-park, Kent His lord ship is in the habit of giving an annual ball to his ser- vants and their friends, and the event came off in t).» evening of Thursday, in last week. A iew !Ll 0 midnight a young woman named Annie Laura ZliLa the still-room maid, having just danced, sat down on a sofa saying that she felt unwell, and almost direct^ afterwards fell on her face OH the floor and expired. An inquest waa held on iriday evening, and a verdict of death from natural causes was returned. Lu m A gentleman was staying at a little French country inn, and there was a melancholy-looking owl, which hopped about the garden, and had only got one leg. Two or three days after his arrival he had some gibier <game) for dinner The "game"was very small, but he enioverlVt iZJil f and the next day he missed the owl from the garde™ Where has the owl gone to ? he inquired of the landlord Monsilu? had a little dish of gibier yesterday," was the answer to tho fTmv'dfnn^r?0'' ll* Why, did you kill the owl he D6Xt aSk6d- 1 km °W1' m'8ie- ■' We learn from the Cape papers that the formal annexation of the diamond fields to the British Crown tnnir place on the 17th November, and excited a good deal of enthusiasm among the diggers. The proceedings were verv short and simple. One of the Commissioners read the annex ation prodamation from a waggon, and the British flag was Wnl f°!r n8mu t of cheering which, it is said, was heal d for miles. Various entertainments were afterwards given to the officials and visitors by the residents in tha cf"Pa. aP<| in the evening Jthere was a grand Jinne* in ouo of the hotels, to which all the officials were invited. The secrets of the war are oozing out one by one in Paris, at the rate of a dozen per diem. The last ia that relating to the preparations actually going forward at th« time of the Emperor's downfall, in view of the coronation on which he had set his heart. This ceremony, for which designs had been already executed by more than one great artist, was to have taken place at Notre Dame. The Pone was to have ofhciated, and after the ceremony of crowning 1 Lmpress, the Prince Imperial was to have been anomted as Co-Regnant of the Emperor. Young women appear to be rapidly demonstrating Se!ru y master the higher branches of learninc Hi? Welch, President of the State Agricultural Collesre of Tnwa" says there are fifty young ladies in the institution and that but little trouble arises from their intercourse with'thp vouno- men. The intellectual capacity of the sexes aonears to b« about equal. The best chemist working fn KTalytica" labatory is a girl of seventeen. The girls do all the house- work, under the superintendence of a matron and a general housekeeper. withbettiM'3UA1 inc^dent has transpired in connection i « *'j i gentleman made a bet for £ 100 with a well- known firm of bookmakers, and, as he supposed, won it but ?hrn lni8i r the money he was told that he was mistaken, ana tnough he appealed to the stewards of the race-meeting concerned he failed to get his claim allowed. A short time since one of the members of the bookmaking firm in question died, an, it was found OH opening his will that he had directed his executors to pay halt the ZIOO from his assets and to obtain the balance from his surviving partner as the gentlemen to whom It had been refused was justly entitled to it."—Court Journal. The first of the special services in St. Paul's Cathe- dral for 1872 took place on Sunday evening under 'the dome and waa attended by a congregation overwhelming iii numbers. The sermon, which was both eloquent^d im- pressive, was preached by the Very Ilev. iho Deau of Tt fvenin rim ? C?Uld heard wiUl tolerable clearness tZVt u rw,n°te3t parts of the building. Those who w attended these special evening services can form bvth/nnL- 0f tlle grand and imposing effect produced by the lighting up of the dome, whence a flood of rich soft light is diffused over the vast space beneath and around. M. Vautrain, the Moderate Republican, has been returned for Paris. He obtained 121,158 votes/and his op- ponent, M. Victor Hugo, 03,423. The majority Is thus about 38,000. There was a very large number of abstentions A correspondent says that not the slightest excitement was anywhere manifested throughout the day The Paris Re- publicans had, however, been Unremitting in their activitv but M Vautrain's committee far eclipsed that of Victor Hugo In posting b"'3 ,an(I addresses. The Dibats regards the return of M. Vautrain with much favour as a victory gained by the party of order. The ConsUtution says the defeat of M. Victor Hugo was expected, and that it is neither surprised nor vexed at the result of the contest. at a11 events, a very respectable one, it adds, and la 20,000 higher than at the election of the 2nd July.

lltttarpdifatt (Sffssip. BT OtTB OWN COBKJaP^SDMf*. tThe remarks under this hesUl are tie be regarded as the es- ressien of independent epbtie., foe* titt yea *f a r-üemaa ,1 WIMKU we have tÀ2 greatest cod4. fit fer which vre evertheless de not held ourselves responsible. J On the 6th of February, if nothing unforeseen, &c., Mr. Gladstone will be able to say-though I don't uppose he will say—to his colleagues, Uprouse ye 'hen, my merry, merry men it is our opening lay." Parliament will then meet for the despatch of livers — you know the rest. People are now, naturally enough, looking forward to the rapidly approaching session. It has been the fashion of late to speak of such and such a session according to the leading event which characterised it. Thus we 'iear of a Parliamentary Reform session, an Irish Jhurch session, an Irish Land session, and so on. What will the next be called—a Sanitary session, or a Ballot session, or both, or what ? Ministers, on (lit, •iave set their hearts on carrying the Ballot, but at any rate a pitched battle between Lords and Commons is not beyond the bounds of probability. And it is said that in any case next session is to be a j anitary session, and that much of the time .)f Parliament will be devoted to that sanitary reform which is so much needed. Be it so But there are plenty of subjects besides these to demand all the wisdom of our legislative councillors. We are to have jills on Scotch education (Ireland must wait a session, ■t seems), on the regulation of mines, on the licensing system, on friendly and benefit societies, and on local taxation, to say nothing of a probable reform in the incidence and assessment of the income-tax. And, by- uhe way, we may at least hope for a greater reform in the reduction of that tax by 2d. in the pound. So that, altogether, there is every probability of the session of 72 being busy and exciting. Of course, they who ex- pect least are likely to be the least disappointed, but at present the probabilities are all in favour of hard parliamentary work. In one respect the coming ses- sion will be inaugurated under much happier auspices than, at one time, were probable. By the time her Majesty calls Parliament together the Prince of Wales, we may hope, will have completely recovered. Under such circumstances it would be a kindly and gracious act of the Queen to further recognise the love and loyalty of her people by opening Parliament in person. It might have been thought that we had heard enough and more than enough of the new social movement," but when we thought its ghost was laid it starts up again, and Mr. Scott Russell comes forward with his Utopian crotchets. Among his strange ideas are that Parliament shall grant powers to towns and villages to buy outlying lands, and that these lands are to be devoted to detached cottages in gardens, common land left free, play-grounds, gardens, town-hall, market-houses, &c. that wherever 500 or more people dwell on a square mile, they shall be required to organise themselves for self-government," shall choose a mayor, compel him to serve (!), and so on and that the State must look after the people's food, must keep open markets, regulated prices (I), &c. Such wild and vague ideas are not worth serious comment, and I can- not but think that it is a pity that an educated man, of the great social position and scientific repu- tation of Mr. Scott Russell, should advocate these extravagant ideas. A fact which incidentally shows how great is the commercial activity of the present time is the number of limited liability companies that were registered during 1871—no less than 700, or 161 more than during the preceding year. Of course many of these com- panies will come to nothing but grief. After spending some of the calls they will be aban- doned. It always has been so ever since limited liability came into vogue (the individual loss, by the way, being considerably less than under the old system), and perhaps always will be so. I think a full history of companies that have more or less signally failed since May, 1866-to go no farther back—would startle most people. But, making all allowance for existing and coming failures, the fact mentioned proves a great amount of commercial enter- prise—a fact which is also shown in many other ways. With such a number of companies in existence, the only danger is over-speculation. Telegraphic communication along the bed of the Atlantic has now been in operation for about five years, but its benefits have been almost exclusively confined to the rich or to enterprising commercial men, who never mind spending money if there is even a proba- bility of a fair return. As to the general piiblic of Eng- land and Amei^pa, submarine telegraphy has been out of the question. The price of ever so short a message was always very high—in fact enormous—and the rates are very high still, notwithstanding suc- cessive reductions. The charge is now £2 for ten .prorris. and 4s. per word additional but tneu. she llames and addresses of the sender IIond re- ceiver are counted Justtry a messageoor two on paper, my friend, on this system, and see how precious dear the system is. Therein ana that if we cannot waft a sigh from Indus to the Pole," we shall be able to telegraph to our relatives in America on reasonable terms. Meanwhile we are to have an improvement which will more immediately affect us. Telegraphic message cards are to be issued price one shilling. On these cards the sender of a message writes his own name and address, with his message, on one side, and on the other the name and address of the person for whom the message is intended the cards axe dropped into the post-office or in a pillar-post, and the messages will be sent off in the order in which they are received. This idea bids fair to be so convenient, if it be carried out, that it will tend to popularise the telegraphic system, and it may have a tendency to lower the price of telegrams, which we have so long been expecting. It is earnestly to be hoped that the sad death of Massarti, otherwise Jack Macarthy, the lion-tamer, may have the effect of drawing the attention of the Home Secretary and the Lord Chamberlain to the frightfully dangerous performances, in one of which poor Macarthy has met his death. A good deal has lately been said about the censorship of the Lord Chamberlain with regard to stage plays, and it is certainly a great anomaly that he should insist on striking out May Gladstone keep his temper if ever I cease to love," and yet permit perilous performances, where he might interdict them. Where the places of entertainment are under the jurisdiction of the magis- trates, I think we have a right to expect that these gentlemen will exert their authority to prevent a re- petition of life-risking for no good purpose. The dreadful death of this poor fellow has drawn attention to many other deaths in a similar way, as well as to many dreadfully severe accident*. An old tamer of lions who gives us his reminiscences on the subject has himself been torn over and oyer again, and this seems to be the fate of all lion-tamers, even if they escape being killed. The celebrated Van Amburgh was fear- fully scarred; and so was Crockett; and so was Maccomo and so were two ladies who severally called themselves Lion Queens, while one Helen Blight was killed by a tiger. Is it not time that this kind of thing was stopped ? Even so long as no accident" happens, A depraved and cruel taste is pandered to, and some- times, as we have lately seen, there is a fatal calamity which no one ean be surprised at. Some unknown hand," it seems, placed on the tomb of Charles Dickens, in Westminster Abbey, this Christmas, a wreath of holly, mistletoe, and laurel. That was a fitting tribute to the memory of the greatest novelist. Laurel, symptomatic of fame; holly and mistletoe in memory of the author of the "Christmas Carol." At that dreary time of the year called the festive season, and at this dreary time of the year too, no English writer has ever contributed more to the happiness of our firesides than has the im- mortal author whose mortal remains lie silently and t'oldly in the grave in the venerable Abbey. Apropos of the deceased novelist, what an immense success is Mr. Forster's Life It is now in its tenth edition. Ten editions in a few weeks But it is not surprising, considering the subject and the author. Sick children !—how sad to read of their sorrows and :ufferings, but how pleasant to read of kindly and jjudicious efforts to make them happy Having some 1 ime ago had a meditative ramble through the wards •>f the Hospital for Sick Children, in Great Ormond- atreet; having noticed the dear little children, some tvith wan, pale faces, apparently struck for death; others thin and feeble, but convalescent and progressing towards complete recovery; and all carefully tended $nd as happy as sick children could be—far happier, |>oor things than most of them would have been at J.ome having in my memory the peculiarly interesting features of this Children's Hospital, I can fancy I hear 'he merry peals of child laughter that the other evening rang through the building when the funny fffects of a magic lantern and comic shadows were pro- duced for these children's entertainment. I should not fie surprised if this innocent laughter were not better than medicine. At all events, when one reads of the children, some in their little cots, too ill to rise, and lathers making believe they are quite well, so that they laight be up and join the merry party of little Vght-seers, the homely remark of that learned theologian. Dr. Dwight, is apt to suggest itself, He that makes a little child innocently happy for half-an- k our is a fellow-worker with God."

A story is told in connection with the presentation £ a loyal address to Prince Frederick Charles by the German <csidents at St. Petersburg. The orator was in the midst of ■f florid compliment to the Prince as "having entered France with the resolution to conquer or to die," when the iTince interrupted him with a quiet request to "name his uthority for that statement, it being wholly untrue"—which jo disturbed the patriotic speaker that he broke down alto- gether.

SYMPATHY IN INDIA WITH THE PRINCE OF WALES. In Bombay (says the Times of India of the 13th ult.) the day of the eclipse will long be remembered in con- nection with the anxious thoughts of the whole com- munity concerning the fate of the Heir Apparent. Groups of all races and castes pressed round the doors of the newspaper offices, intently reading the various bulletins, and comparing the dates of one with the other. In the afternoon the Bench of Justices' meeting was adjourned very early. Towards sunset a large body of our Parsee citizens had crowded to their Fire Temple at Chowpatty, whence, after certain pro- pitiatory ceremonies, the white-turbaned Mobeds, with Sir Jamsetjee and other leaders of their Zoroastrian community, filed forth in solemn procession to the shore of Back Bay to bow before the departing object of itheir reverence and bend towards the great sea, which, as a natural symbol or medium, has its place in the mysteries of their traditional worship. At the Fire Temple in the Fort also, large numbers at- tended to recite or hear recited chants of supplica- tion. Hindus of various castes assembled by ap- pointment, and mingled together in large numbers at their temples in Girgaum and elsewhere, their priests holding forth to inspire faith in the Almighty Power by which the Prince might still be saved, and our Sovereign Lady spared another bitter bereavement. So the day wore on in expectancy, and closed with the truthful prayers of thousands of her Majesty's subjects in this distant land, as doubt- less also in the far East and on the Western Continent. We are inclined to think that the crisis is passed, and that the thankful hearts of millions of loyal subjects may now indulge in reasonable though moderate hope- fulness. Whatever be the issue of the Prince's illness, be it life or death, the event has e'oked a feeling on behalf of her Majesty and the Royal family, and also in favour of monarchical institutions, wider and deeper than could have been looked for by the most enthusiastic loyalist.

The Bombay Gazette says "it is a remarkable fact that all classes amongst the natives have exhibited the greatest concern and sympathy for his Royal Highness, and have been most eager to obtain the latest intel- ligence as to his condition." It is evident," it adds, "that the severe affliction laid upon the Prince has touched with sorrow the hearts of the people, and it is in such circumstances as the present that we can ap- preciate the true affection entertained for the Queen and her family, not only by all Britons, but also by our native fellow subjects."

MURDER IN BIRMINGHAM. The Birmingham News gives the following account of a murder which took place in that town on Sunday night In a small house, consisting of three rooms, one lower and two upper, No. 45, Adam-street, resided Mrs. Letitia Davies (a widow), her son, about four- teen years of age, and two male lodgers, Thomas Smith (the murdered man) and Francis Thomas (the murderer). The perpetrator of the cruel outrage is about 52, andapaperhangerbytrade his victim was about the same age, and a carpenter. During the afternoon some little difference arose between the parties relative to some boards belonging to Mrs. Davies, which had been lent by Thomas Smith to the prisoner for the purpose of his trade. Smith requested Thomas to return the boards, which he accordingly did. About six o'clock in the evening, Thomas was seen by the son of the widow to be searching in the under cupboard in the kitchen for something, but the boy did not see what it was. Between nine and ten o'clock Smith retired to bed, and some time afterwards Thomas went upstairs also. About half-past ten Mrs. Davies was in the garret, and heard several distinct blows struck, which sounded to her as if some one were breaking coal; and the boy, who was in the kitchen, also heard similar sounds. A few minutes afterwards Thomas came downstairs, and the boy observed that his face, hands, and clothing had blood upon them, and that he had left the marks of his blood-stained hands upon the door. Alarmed at th s spectacle he at once shouted to his mother, "Thomas has murdered the carpenter Hearing the shouts of the boy, aneighbour re-echoed the cry, and apolice-constable proceeded to the scene of the murder. On entering the bedroom where the tragedy had been enacted, a shocking sight presented itself. Smith lay on his left side in bed a ghastly spectacle. He had to all appear- ances been murdered in his sleep. The right ear and the parts contiguous were completely battered in, a large hole being visible; and so violent had been the force of the blows, that the floor, and even the ceiling, were bespattered with blood. There was also a pool of blood in the bed. The officer immediately sent for a surgeon, who on his arrival pronounced the man dead. The murderer had meanwhile disappeared, but about a quarter to twelve he encountered a man named Fitzmaurice, to whom he stated that he had killed a man. Fitzmaurice detained Thomas in friendly con- versation until a policeman came up, and then handed him over to the custody of the officer, who conveyed him to Duke-street police-station.

COUNTY COURT FEES. A correspondent, C. C. has sent th3 following letter to The Tim-it, which will doubtless be interesting to many of our readers :— Permit me to point out some important consequences which have followed the passing of the Act 30 and 31, Vict., cap. 142 (August 20, 1867). By section 5, if a plaintiff does not recover a sum exceeding JB20, in an action founded on contract, or S10 if founded on tort, in actions commenced in the Superior Courts, he is not entitled to costs of suit unless the Judge shall certify there was sufficient reason for bringing the action in the Superior Court, or unless the Court, or Judge at Chambers, shall allow costs. 1 Years. Summonses. Appearances. 1309 hl.'ffs ^7M9 1870 72,660 23,577 Thus, this Act, which, in the section cited, applies to actions of e20 on contract and JS10 in tort, in four years caused a diminution of 60,500 writs of summons and 14,833 appearances, or notices of defence in the Superior Courts. There is not yet any printed return for the year 1871. In all cases in the Superior Courts the employment of an attorney is necessary. It is otherwise in the County Courts. In 1866 there were 3,168 judgments entered upon Judges' orders on default of services, and in 1870 there were only 1,658. There were 30,040 judgments entered on affidavits of service in 1866, and 18,302 in 1870. In the Court of Exchequer in 1867 the number of bills taxed, exclusive of those taxed under the statute, were 8,930, and in 1870 the number was 4,010, or a differ- ence of nearly 5,000. There are no similar returns from the Courts of Queen's Bench or Common Pleas. The number of cases sent from the Superior Courts to be tried in County Courts in the year 1870 was 497. Few persons probably have an accurate idea of the protection afforded by the Act of 1867. Before it passed it was no uncommon thing on the execution of small orders for goods to send more than the quantity ordered, and to issue a writ from one of the Superior Courts if the money demanded were not paid. Pay- ments so demanded were frequently made through the terrors of the costs of a defence. It con- stantly occurs that plaintiffs for amounts reaching the highest sums that can be sued for (£50) enter their own cases in the County Courts and obtain judgments without any professional assistance. So, also, as defendants, most properly, are not re- quired to file pleas of defence, though attorneys very frequently and needlessly present them to the Court, they are able and do constantly defend themselves with- out professional assistance. Let the cost and charges of solicitor and client and fees on procedure of the Superior Courts be fairly contrasted with those in the County Courts and the cry respecting County Court charges will be found to be the lamentation of attorneys and not of suitors, though suitors in County Courts need a better system of taxation of costs than exists at present. The amount of money sued for in the County Courts in 1870 was jE2,644,763, and the amount of judgments was £ 1,321,233. The difference,-namely, £1,323,439, represents generally the amount of money paid to plaintiffs after the simple service of summonses on defendants. A summons when issued is served in any part of England and Wales. Its cost, including the entry of the plaint, is Is. in the pound. This sum is repayable by defen- dants to plaintiffs. It is sometimes whispered that some registrars aid their brethren by diverting suitors, in the higher class of cases, to private offices from the County Court offices. It is difficult to ascertain the fact, if true; and, if it were true, it ought certainly to be a punishable offence. It is not the administration of the law itself in the Superior Courts, respecting which not even a whisper of complaint is made, but the enormous costs of procedure which are complained of.

M EPISCOPACY AND PRESBYTERIANISM. Dean Stanley, in his concluding remarks In Old Greyfrlars Church, Edinburgh, on Sunday, said "The Solemn League and Covenant is dead and buried, but the new commandment, which bids us unite instead of dividing, and build up instead of destroying, is a league far more sacred and a covenant far more binding than any which your forefathers ever signed with their blood or followed to death or victory. The famous Confession of Faith which issued from the Jerusalem Chamber of West- minster in the 17th century, as an expression of the whole Church and nation of Great Britain-noble and inspiring though it be in some respects beyond all other confessions of Protestant Europe -is yet not for a moment to be compared with the uniting and sancti- fying force of the vast Christian English literature which in the 19th century has become the real bond and school of the nation, beyond the power of edu- cational or ecclesiastical agitations to exclude or to pervert. And, surely, it may be said that if there be any spot where, should a preacher be silent on this great theme, the very stones would immediately cry out, it is this venerable sanctuary. Of Greyfriars Church and churchyard, as of my own Abbey of Westminster. it may truly be said that It is a consecrated temple of reconciled ecclesiastical enmities. Here, as there, the silence of death breathes a lesson which the tumult of life hardly suffered to be heard. In the same ground with the martyrs of the Covenant lies the great advocate by whose counsels their blood was shed. Within the same hallowed bounds sleep the wise leaders of the Church of Scotland in the last century, whom the persecutors and the persecuted of an earlier age would alike have condemned. And not only is this lesson of larger, gentler, more discriminating justice forced upon us by the thought of that judgment-seat before which they all have passed, but the memory also of the deeds which have been wrought within these precincts impresses the same truth upon us. Here it was that Episcopalian ministers shed tears cf grateful sorrow over the grave of their Presby- terian benefactor, C'arstairs; here it was that Erskine, with generous candour, preached the funeral eulogy over his rival, William Robertson. On this spot, where a vast congregation of every age and rank pledged themselves to the death to extir- pate every form and shred of prelacy, the Scottish Church in these later days has had the courage to re- vive ancient forma of liturgical worship, and to wel- come the ministrations of Episcopal clergymen. These contrasts are themselves sufficient to remind us how transitory are the feuds which have in former days rent asunder the Churches of these islands- how eternal are the bonds which unite them when viewed in the light of history and before the judgment of a better world. And if the ghosts of these ancient disputes have been laid to sleep—never, we trust, to return-if the coming of a brighter age and the opening of a wider horizon has dawned from time to time on the teachers, famous in their generation, who have ministered within these walls-then I trust it will not have been altogether unsuitable, in this place and on this occasion, that a Scottish congregation should have heard from an English Churchman the best New Year's blessing, in the form of the sacred text—' A new commandment 1 give unto you, that ye love one another.

WOMANHOOD SUFFRAGE. At ft meeting of the Victoria Discussion Society, held at the Cavendish Rooms, London, on Monday evening, Dr. Brewer, M.P., in the chair, Mr. James T. Hoskins gave an address to a large and interested audience on the question of Female Suffrage. The speaker, after pointing out the inseparable connection between political power and the redress of social grievances, declared that the exclusion of women from the advantages of endowments. University de- grees and fellowships, and any of the learned pro- fessions, especially medicine, was opposed alike to the eternal law s of political economy, Christian morality, and common sense. He contended that courts of justice should have some discretionary power relative to the dis- puted custody of children; that in return for domestic ser- vices rendered by the wife to the husband, the latter should be compelled to provide for her maintenance in cases where the wife had no adequate fortune of her own; that there should be a thorough reform of the bastardy laws; that, partly with the view of pre- venting the terrible waste of infant life, the half-time system should be applied to all married women work- ing in factories, or engaged in agricultural labour. He then gave several reasons, social, moral, legal, and religious, for an alteration of the terms of the marriage contract, by the substitution of the word "assist" for the word "obey," at the same time avowing that he personally preferred a religious ceremony to a civil contract, and that he was decidedly opposed to any relaxation of the divorce law. He contended that these changes would be approved by St. Paul, had he lived in the latter part of the 19th century, for that God's government of the world was that of a steady, gradual, progressive revelation, and the Apostles were too wise and statesmanlike to advocate changes before the time was ripe. He then criticised Mr. Jacob Bright's Bill, urging that, though it would bl: a great step in advance, yet, inasmuch as hardly any intelligent married woman would be enfranchised under its operation, it tended rather to create invidious distinctions between those who had husbands, and those who had not. He would have preferred to confer political trusts upon all women of the upper and middle ranks only. How- ever, if public opinion could not (a thing not by any means unlikely) be diverted into this current of thought, he was in favour of a compromise. As had been suggested by many eminent people, let the vote emanate from the home, in accordance with the prin- ciples of household suffrage, husband or wife voting, the latter only in the absence of, or with the written permission of her husband, who would thus be, for political purposes, a sort of senior partner in the matrimonial firm.

"AND WHAT IS THE END OF IT ALL?" The Erie Scandal has come to a most impressive end. James Fisk, Junior, has been-in the brief words of the telegram-" fatally shot at the Grand Central Hotel in New York by a person against whom he had brought an action for libel (remarks the Daily Telegraph). A fate terribly sudden and disastrous has thus over- taken one whose character, exploits, and unenviable e notoriety have during the last few years been the uppermost theme in the thoughts of many thousands on both sides of the Atlantic. Most people will see in the circumstances of dramatic sur- prise and lawless violence that attend the event the fitting climax of a notorious career. Fisk was a young man, but he had compressed the energies of a long ordinary life*, time into three years of feverish gam- bling, aided by unscrupulous trickery and by calculated, deliberate corruption. With the revenues of a valuable railroad entirely in his own hands, issuing fresh stock whenever he chose, and pocketing the proceeds of the sales effected for him by his creatures, he lived a life of unbridled and law- less indulgence, which excited the envy of every profligate in one of the most profligate cities of the world, and caused the honest and the pure to bow their heads in shame. The freaks of showy and reckless debauchery which startled even the fastest spendthrifts in New York have been often quoted with astonishment and disgust, but never, we believe, exaggerated. On the contrary, the life of the man was probably lower and more immoral than the darkest outlines that rumour ever painted. But what the whole world knew was quite enough in all conscience. His rapid advance to fortune, and the use that he made of wealth, partly earned but mostly embezzled, were topics of glorification with Fisk himself, and with the crea- tures who ministered to his pleasurrs. The per- sonal splendour. of this nouveau riche distanced description and set rivalry at defiance. His business and his domestic arrangements, his palatial apart- ments, his Apician banquets, his Opera House, his in- comparable suppers, his gorgeous equipages, the permanent harem with which his opera troupe sup- plied him-all these accessories figured among the stock stories of New York; described sometimes with ill-suppressed envy, sometimes with unconcealed loath- ing, but never called in question by the hero of the scandalous tales. And what is the end of- it all ? A short life and a to sensual excesses—has been ended by the quick. com- plete agency of an assassin's bullet. Fisk, as we nave said, used the weapons of law whenever it suited his purpose; and indeed, so long as he could, he preferred to varnish over his brigandage with a thin coating of legal sanction. He was, therefore, never out of the Courts, either as plaintiff or as de- fendant and there is probably a touch of direct retri- bution in the murderous deed. At the same time, it is also probable that the outrage at the Grand Hotel only antedated by a few months at furthest'the fall of Fisk. His career, illustrated by the infamies of his private life, had become a scandal which honest and upright Americans could no longer telerate.

The Daily News also makes the following reflections upon the career of Fisk The murder of Mr. James Fisk, In New York, is the not inappropriate end of a career as strange as fiction itself has ventured to draw. No society in the world, except just that which at present exists in the United States, could have afforded a favouring scope for such a man. The absence of all the barriers of caste, the liberty allowed to every career, the almost limitless opportunities of money-making, and the lack of those distinctions of rank and dignity which would give even to selfish ambition some other object than mere money-making—these are the conditions which specially favoured the course of such a being as Fisk. Bold and un- scrupulous as a brigand, he had the cleverness and cunning of a police detective, and the boisterous animal spirits of a schoolboy. He was like no other famous adventurer in finance the world has known.. He was not liko Law or De Momy, because he was utterly unlettered and vulgar he was not like Hudson or Mirfis, for he took a buoyant and exuberant delight In the wild excitement of his gam- bling adventures, and the enterprises which would have made another man thoughtful and grave only rendered him more roystering and jovial. His energy and activity were positively irrepressible. These qualities could only find relief in incessant excitement and adventure of every kind. Coarse in manners and in tastes, full of strange oaths, reckless of speech, he had a rough, broad sort of humour which often was remarkably shrewd, pithy, and expressive. A man of undoubted ability, possessed of some- thing bearing a grotesque resemblance to genius, endowed certainly with a cool and calculating brain, he might easily have been taken by a stranger for a foolish buffoon or over- grown schoolboy. While he was gambling for millions, staking fortune after fortune on this or that cast of the financial dice he delighted in little vanities of which a waiting-maid would have been ashamed, and humours which sometimes brought with them suggestions of a lunatic asylum. He made him- self one of the sights of New York as he drove his open carriage with six or perhaps eight white horses slowly through the streets. He organized a regiment, and was proud to wear the uniform, and to be called Colonel; indeed, he turned out with his regiment duriDg the riot of last summer, and got wounded in the leg. He ran" a line of magni- ficent steamers from New York to Boston, and it used to gratify him to bedizen himself in the costume of a naval officer, and the more people laughed, the better he seemed to be pleased. He adorned with his own portrait or bust the palace-cars of the famous Erie line of railway. He became the proprietor of a huge theatre in an out-of-the-way part of the city, and he loved to play at Manager, and to sit nightly in the manager's box, in full evening costume, with diamonds glittering on his fat fingers and on the vast breastplate of snowy shirt which he displayed. His habits were—there is little scandal in saying it-openly and daringly profligate. He lost his life in consequence of a shameless quarrel and a law intrigue. He was probably under forty years of age when the bullet of his former associate put a premature stop to his career. He may be said to have lived and died like the Cavalier soldier in Scott's romance, "hoping nothing, believing nothing, and fearing nothing." A few years ago James Fisk was a travelling pedlar, as his father had been before him. He was born at Brattleborough, in Vermont, where the beautiful Connecticut river divides the broken and picturesque landscapes of the Green iloun- tain State from the yet finer scenery of New Hampshire. He hawked buttons and staylaces through the towns and vil- lages of New England, and was known fora voluble tongue, a pleasant, boyish, and rather handsome face, and a remarkable gift of making bargains. He pushed himself in the world, aud became a commercial traveller. At last, following his star he came to New Y'ork. He came there at a time when the two great powers, the two grand sources of influence and fields of adventure—the railways and the gold market—were be- ginning to tempt unscrupulous ambition. The rail- way corporations in the United States are the most powerful influence existing there so powerful that people talk of the necessity of some radical change in the conditions of their organisation, if the railway boards are not absolutely to govern the country. The fluctuations in the value of gold caused by the vicissitudes of the war, the impossibility of knowing with any certainty what might be the effect of this or that impending battle, had converted the Go'd Room of the Stock Exchange into a vast gambling hall, where men coolly played for sums tenfold as great as those which the most reckless gamesters of Baden- Baden will venture to stake. Into both these fields of enterprise the intrepid Fisk plunged forthwith. Fisk began to wallow in money. It does not appear that he cared much about the money when he had it. Many generous things are said to have been done by him. But he loved the excitement of getting the money, of winning it from other people, of spending it, and having his prodigal expenditure talked about. He had a faith worthy of Walpole himself in the power of bribery. He seems to have honestly believed) there was nothing any man or woman would not sell for a sufficient price. When he and his colleagues planned the famous Gold Conspiracy—one of the most daring and stupendous swindling enterprises on record-Fiak appears to have taken it for granted that he could buy the connivance of President Grant, and not to have believed, until the President's decisive action crushed his enterprise, that there could he official integrity above the temptation of money. The history of that enterprise is too well known to need recapitu- lation. Fisk bore the collapse, exposure, and danger with the same jovial effrontery which always cha- racterised him. He afterwards gave evidence before a Com- mittee of Congress, and explained his own share in the con- spiracy with a jaunty and good-humoured cynicism worthy of Robert Macaire. I knew," he coolly said, describing his own sensations when the tidings came that Government had resolved to interfere, that the time had come for every man to drag his corpse out the best way he could." Failure seemed to Fisk almost as capital a piece of pleasantry as success. The Gold Conspiracy over, Fisk schemed and swaggered, gambled and spent, just the same as before, always seeming to have limitless resources at his command. The carriage and the white horses were still as showy as ever the champagne flowed as freely; the diamonds t glittered not less brightly on the shirt-front of ) the amateur Manager. A weekly contemporary, speaking of Flak's career at the time of the Gold Conspiracy, asked whether there was anything that money could not enable a man to command in New York. There was one thing that no money and no apparent success could do for Mr. Fisk there-neither money nor success could open for him the doors of any decent house. It would have been as easy to procure for Bill Sykes an invitation to a small dinner party in Park-lane, as to induce any respectable merchant, banker, or journalist of New York to receive Mr. Fisk under his roof. Fisk was a social outlaw, and probably rather liked it, preferring his own congenial associates of both sexes to any manner of companionship which might have made him feel less at his ease. Of late his reign was obviously threatened with dis- aster. His position and his chances were bound up with those of Tammany, and in the fall of that noble institution he must have seen foreshadowed his own doom. But he was so young a man, so full of animal activity and mental energy and he nved in a country so inexhaustible in its fields of enterprise, that even had every one of his existing schemes collapsed beneath him, Fisk might have been ex- pected to come up fresh and smiling on the crest of some new enterprise. He narrowly escaped a violent death during the fury of the Gold Conspiracy, and only death could quell his restless and unscrupulous passion for excitement. Half his life he gave to money-making, half to pleasure, each pastime alike vulgar and lawless and the very manner of his end, and the low intrigues which led to it, have robbed death it- self of the dignity of a tragedy. It may be hoped that each succeeding day will tend to remove from American enter- prise the peculiar condition which allowed 01 such a career as that now closed by the bullet of an assassin—the career of a man who might have been a Catiline in Old R. >me, but was Colonel James Fisk in New York.

SCHOOLBOYS TO THE RESCUE! A Persecuted Parent" having had the temerity to write a letter to the Daily New, on the subject of Schoolboys and their Holidays (under the sarcastic title of Those Boys!") it has been replied to in the same journal by a perfect avalanche of letters, from amongst which we select the following :— "A PersecutedParent' justly describes the life of many assistant masters in large schools, 'they teach the boys in school, play with them out of school, and have them in their rooms in the evenings.' The'Parent'sneers at this excessive zeal, and advises them to take their work more easily, and so be able to get on with shorter holi- days. Will you allow an assistant-master to express his opinion that we can do far more good to the boys in the cricket-field and in our own rooms than in the class-room. We feel the almost utter uselessness of classics, mathema- tics, &c., in educating boys either to think or to act, and it is on this account that we devote our time and energies so much to improving them out of school. We do so cheerfully enough, but it is up-hill work, often cramping to the intellect, and irritating to the temper, and could scarcely be endured for more than nine months in the year. When I add that our remuneration is small compared with the expense of our own education and the honours we.have most of us gained at the Univer- sities, I scarcely think our three months' holidays are exces- sive, nor would they be too long for the boys if parents would see that they got the home education, which is as indispensable as that given in schools. Your correspondent seems to think that boys must spend their holidays either in running wild or in smashing furniture at home. If he would try and study their characters and cultivate sympathy with their feelings and thoughts, he would probably come to regard the society of his boys as a pleasure and not as a per- secution.—I am, etc. PEDAGOGUE."

"Your correspondent, who signs himself 'A Persecuted Parent,' seems never to have experienced holiday joys as a school-boy, aud when he complains of the occupation of the idle hands of his sons, his own conduct is plainly reprehensible not providing amusement, that those hands may be idle iiH longer. He says that masters like the holidays. 1 should V-' msrpresent state) I'll he bound ""A ""CItjad into contact with him. As for ithe holiaitencome suggestion, he says he has scarcely courage to whisper Vt*' and with reason; for a more execrable piece of villany never was perpetrated. When the holidays are of any length it is customary to set holiday tasks wherewith to drive away ennui, and what more can we desire? It is probable that I A Holiday Schoolmaster' would often be left to hold sweet commune with the bare desks and to enjoy the pleasures of solitude, while his intended pupils would, with good cause, steal the enjoyment which they so rich ly deserve after past mental exertions. Congratulating myself that your correspondent is no parent of mine I am, etc., A MERCHANT TAYLORS' SCHOOLBOY."

I have just beenlreading in your paper the letter of a Per- secuted Parent,' and thank you very much for sticking up for us boys in your article. Does the stern parient' who shuts up a number of high-spirited boys in a back parlour to spend their holidays expect for a moment that they will sit all day long twiddling their thumbs ? Just fancy, when we come home from a school (where we work hard, I can tell you) sending us to a 'holiday school,' as'he calls it, to work Poor deluded pater, does he think that schoolmasters can keep and instruct boys for nothing? He had better try teaching himself, and see how he likes it. Grumbling at school bills—grumbling at the holidays-I think he had better send his poor persecuted offsprings to a charity school; they don't have many holidays there. I wish he would come into a room with half-a-dozen of us, and pro- pose his friendly notion to us, some day. I think I can safely say that ten minutes afterwards his nearest relations wouldn't know him- Are you sure, Mr. Editor, that you have not made some rnstake in his signature ? I think it ought to be a persecuting Parent.' If he complains of us boys, I will show him how to remedy it. Let him give his troublesome off spin gs some good wholesome amuse- ments, buy them good and instructive books and toys. I am only a boy of fourteen myself, but I think that he would find my plan answer. Buy them those half-a-crown steamboats and engines, and let them find out what causes the loco- motion. Give them the huils of ships, and let them rig them. If you gave them this to do they wouldn't want to try their saws on your easy chair, Take them to places of instruction and amusement combined—there are plenty of such in London. But I think that if the poor old boy is so mean as to wish to take away boys holidays that he would also be too mean to give them rational amusements. Let our 'stern parient' remember that in times of mental idleness they need not be in physical idleness. While they are at school they learn Latin and Greek, but try and let them learn in the holidays the why and the wherefore of things. I am sorry I don't live near my "persecuted friend, for then I and my friends might have a personal interview with him, and just show him, by pulling his nose for him, our true esti- mation of him.—Hoping. Sir, you will publish this letter, I remain, your obedient servant, ONB OP 'THOSE BOYS.

"One would think from the letter of 'A Persecuted Parent, in your Impression of the 6th inst., that he had never been a boy himself, never been to school, never experienced the delightful feelings of returning home after a term at school. Fancy having to spend Christmas Dayjat school, which the Per- secuted Parent would have tJoysdo-what adull, sorrowfulday it would be, instead of a merry. Joyous one. If holiday schools were adopted, and brother Tom, who wants no holidays were sent to one, ten pounds, and a good deal more, I ex- pect, would have to be paid, a sum which the Persecuted Parent' doesn't feel inclined to pay for a private tutor, so why should he be desirous of schools, for which he would have to pay more ? If his wish were granted, his own sons would be the only ones who would have to un- dergo the dreadful ordeal, for a true British Paterfamilias would'nt think of destroying his boys' holidays. Again, if these measures were established, boys would begin to hate heartily anything bearing the semblance of a book, so that, instead of learning more, they would learn less and when they did get home, they would smash not only all the furniture, but everything that came within their reach. If this poor unhappy parent cannot endure the noise and rejoicings of a truly British boy, it would have been better for him had he remained in the bachelor state, and never stirred outside his house for fear of setting eyes on one of those creatures which he so much despises. It wouldn't do him any harm to be made to 'run the gauntlet' by every schoolboy in England, a ceremony which, in boys' meaning, consists in the victim having to run past the boys stationed in a row, and receiving a good kick.or punch with the fist from each as he passes.—I am, &c. "A SCHOOLBOY."

r have just been taking a squint at the letter headed 'Those Boys.' For my part I caunot see so much to com- plain of in the Christmas holidays. I wonder what your Persecuted Parent' would say if he was in my father's place. I would be sorry even to let him be there even for one day, lest he might commit suicide, or do something quite as bad. I will just give him an out-line of what my pater has to put up with. I am one of six boys four of us have just returned from school one of my brothers has taken a great fancy to a violin, which produces the most unearthly sounds, till at last our pater was obliged either to make him stop or else to have him taught; but he is as good-tempered a pater as ever I saw, and rather than spoil my brother's sport he had him taught. When he went back to school he ceased to play, and so forgot all his lessons; and now again this Christmas he has begun his soothing music, which nearly drives the pater wild. Then another of his brothers is always strumming on the concertina, another is for ever playing a penny whistle I myself think I am monstrous fine on the German flute; so when we begin our music altogether it is the most dis- cordant row one ever heard. I am afraid your Persecuted Parent' would be sick almost of life. Well, another time my pater was writing his sermon (for he is a clergyman), when he heard a deep, booming kind of noise coming every minute from below stairs. At first he thought it must be some new musical instrument. But again it came, so for curiosity he just went down, and there he saw two of us, each with a double-barrelled gun which he had given us, firing blank cartridges at a stuffed rook, which I, knowing something of the art of taxidermy, had stuffed. At first he stood dumb with astonishment, partly at the thing itself, and partly because we were on the ground-floor in a small room, with all doors and windows shut, blazing away as if we were having a sham fight; however, he took it very aood-temperedly (though, of course, he was angiy), and said that it was holiday time, so he would not say very much, which we had hardly a right to expect. Now I should like to know what your persecuted friend would say to that, when she blames her boys because they are a little boisterous, as is our nature. Our pater thinks there is no time so pleasant as when we are all of us at home, and when we go back to school he wears the most woe-begone face you ever saw; and as to coming home only once a year, he would not hear of such a thing; and then to think that every one would be satisfied with it I don't know of a single person who would be satisfied. Let your 'Persecuted Parent' note that sons were sent here to be taken care of, and not when they become noisy and tiresome, as is their nature, to complain of them and write letters In the paper about them. I wonder how much the boys themselves will respect their parents when they know that they are considered a bore when they come home. Home soon becomes a bore to them, and they find only too easy an outlet for their spirits in scenes and places where home and its associations are not much thought of. We hear a good deal of the young men of the period and their fast unsocial ways, unlike the good old simplicity in our great grandmothers' times. We Boys' notice a fierce round of articles aimed with ter- rible precision at our gushing, rushing spirits every time we come home. I know a boy who once said this to me My pater was awfully jolly when we were leaving home, and just as we put off he shouts out, "Well, boys, good-bye; now my holidays begin. The effect produced by this boy's pater might not be very flattering if he knew it. The said boy observed that he preferred school to home, not for its work, but from the security from constant 'jawing' from his persecuted pater. When such boys become,meii they will have but little sympathywiththe dear old song, Home, sweet home.'—I am, &c., ONE OF Six BOYS,"

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.' This eld saying a Persecuted Parent' does not seem tobelieve in, from the style of his letter. He must know very little of the nature of boys if he thinks by taking away their holidays and amusements he can make models of industry and perseverance. What, I ask, would our English boys become, if subjected to such treatment as this persecuting parent proposes? A boy would grow up a dull blockhead, sullen and ill-tempered, with no boyish spirit or energy about him. Does our friend remem- ber when he was a boy ? Would he like his plan of opera- tion to have been carried out then? I fancy not. Let a boy work, in fact make him work, whilst at school, and when holiday time comes round he will not only enjoy his holiday the more, but it will do him good both mentally and physically.-I am, &c., "ONB WHO STICKS UP FOR 'THOSB BOTS."

"As my husband and myself always look forward with un- feigned satisfaction to the re-assembling of our family (three of whom are boys) at home for the holidays, I feel much surprised at the tone of your correspondent. A Persecuted Parent's' letter and am convinced that there must be some fault on his part. Surely, Sir, we ought not to give our best attentions and best humours to strangers (from whom we frequently submit to be bored), whilst our own flesh and blood, in the form of boys, we leave to shift for themselves without resources, and then complain of their getting into mischief. I can only say that we find our intelligent boys the best of com- panions, and most grateful are they for being assisted and directed in their pursuits during the holidays; and their innocent hilarity goes far to dispel the atmosphere of care with which all thoughtful parents are more or less sur- rounded. I do not wish to lay claim to the term of 'gushing;' but I trust other mothers and fathers too will be able to bear like testimony with one who now encloses her card, and subscribes herself, MATERFAMILXAS."

THE DREADFUL DEATH AT A MENAGERIE. A correspondent of the Sheffield Independent gives the following harrowing details of the shocking death of Massarti, the lion-tamer, at Manders'Circus, last week A terrible scene occurred in Manders' Menagerie, at Bolton, about half-past ten o'clock on Wednesday night, Massarti, the lion-tamer, being attacked by the lions, as he was giving the last performance in their den, and so frightfully torn and lacerated that his death resulted a few minutes after he was extricated. The daring feats of Massarti caused no little sensation amongst those who flocked to witness the collection. This was doubtless attri- butable to some extent to the fact that Massarti had only one arm, his left arm having been torn off by a lion at the circus .of Messrs. Bell and Myers, in Liver- pool, nine or ten years ago. On the death of Mac- como, the African lion-tamer, in January last, he was, by his courageous conduct, elected to the position of lion-tamer by Mr. Manders, and he at once essayed to rival his predecessor in his exploits in the lions' den. Being comparatively new to the menagerie, Massarti had not yet been allowed to perform amongst the tigers, but from the very period of Maccomo's death he had entered the lions' cage, and put the animals through their performances. He had been bitten on two occasions whilst in Mr. Manders' service. The first time was whilst performing at Edinburgh, when one of the lions made a snap at his right arm, but only slightly grazed it. The next occasion was on the 1st inst., when one of the black-mane animals, known as the Asiatic lion, bit him slightly on the wrist and finger. Unlike his predecessor, Massarti frequently turned his back on the lions, and he had been repeatedly cautioned against the continuance of this dangerous practice. It is believed that utter disregard of this warning has been the cause of his death. At the time of the accident, the menagerie was moderately well filled with people, it being computed that about 500 persons were present. Massarti had concluded his descriptive lecture of the animals, and had entered the lions' den for the purpose of giving his final performance. In driving the animals from one end of the cage to the other, one of them ran accidentally against his legs, throwing him down. Massarti, how- ever, soon regained his feet, and drove the animals into the corner of the den. He then walked to the centre of the cage, and whilst stamping with his feet upon the floor to compel the lions to run past him, the African lion, which is conspicuous for the absence of the mane, crept stealthily out from the group, and sprung towards him, seizing him by the right hip, and throwing him on his side. For a mcment the spectators imagined it was part of the performance, but soon the agonised features of Massarti indicated that he was being attacked in reality. Immediately a scene of wild and terrible confusion ensued. Women screamed, and men ran for pikels, servers, brooms, or any weapons they could lay their hands upon. In the meantime, three other lions had leapt upon Massarti, who was vainly endeavouring to regain his feet. He was lying upon his side, his head partly laised, and his body resting upon the stump of his left arm, while with his right arm he was making desperate lunges amongst the now wild and infuriated animals with his sword. At length the Asiatic or ulLJl fracturing the bones in one or two Laixu.' .l the sword then dropped from his scrapers, and other weapons, and essayed to beat the lions off, Massarti encouraging them in their efforts as well as he was able. A slide was inserted between the bars of the cage, and after repeated blows, two of the lions were beaten off, and attempts were made to drive them behind the partition. This was a task, however, of considerable difficulty, for as one animal was compelled to relinquish his hold, another occupied its place, and from the thighs of poor Massarti piece after piece of flesh was torn away, saturating the floor of the den with blood. A butcher thrust at the lions with a pikel, forcing the prongs up to the hilt in the neck of one, and causing it to yell with pain and turn its attention to its own safety • another he endeavoured to stab in the heart, but the prongs glanced off at the shoulder bone while a third received sundry wounds about the face. One man in- serted a broom into the cage and another a ladder but the black-maned lion, with a single wrench tore the broom-head from off the handle, and leapt over the ladder with it. After some difficulty the revolver of Massarti was drawn out of the case, and fired at the noses of the lions but they only relinquished their hold for a moment. The conflict was renewed again and again, and several times Massarti was dragged up and down the cage, one lion seizing him by the head, the others by the legs. Eventually the irons were heated, and by their aid and the discharge of blank cartridge, four of the animals were driven behind the parti- tion. Massarti then lay in the centre of the cage, with the maneless lion, that had first attacked him still engaged in worrying him. A second partition was in- serted, but was found to be too large, and then one of the circus men directed the first slide to be drawn but a little, with the view of driving the fifth lion amongst the rest. More shots were fired, but it was not until the heated bars were applied to the nose of the savage animal that it loosed its hold of Massarti's body and ran behind the slide. Even then the conflict was not over. Before the partition could be closed, the lion ran partly out again, seized Massarti by the foot, and dragged him into the comer, where four of the animals again fell upon him with savage fury. A quarter of an hour elapsed from the time of the attack before Massarti could be extricated, and as the lions were then all caged in the corner near to the entrance, the door at the opposite end of the cage had to be broken open ere he could be lifted out. He was still conscious, and as he was being borne to the infirmary he exclaimed I'm done for.' He died in a quarter of an hour. An exa- mination of the body revealed the most frightful in- injuries. The scalp, from the crown to the neck, had been torn away all the flesh had been torn off both thighs, from the hips nearly to the knees; the right arm was fractured in two places, as well as badly lacerated and there were also serious injuries to the chest."

The remains of poor Macarthy were interred on Saturday morning, in the Roman Catholic portion of the cemetery at Bolton. Two or three thousand persons were present at the cemetery. According to the local papers some disgraceful scenes occurred, and the Rev. E. Carter, who conducted the burial service, was com- pelled to stop, his voice being inaudible amidst the uproar. Subsequently he had to "command the people to stand back, and to show a little decency for the dead; or if not for the dead, to have some respsct for themselves."

MR. SPURGEON ON SUNDAY-SCHOOL TEACHING. On Monday evening, Mr. Spurgeon addressed 3,000 Sunday-school teachers at the Metropolitan Tabernacle. After advising his hearers to work earnestly, Mr. Spurgeon went on to say that it used to be the custom in preaching sermons to make a practical conclusion, in order to catch sinners. He used to preach in that way himself, until he found that the sinners expected the conclusion, and got themselves ready for it. He now made a practical application instead, and brought it in where they least expected it, and caught them unawares. He thought that children in the same way composed them- selves on Sunday to get religious advice. But if they could only catch them when they were not looking for it-when they were at play, God's word would then sink into their hearts. That was the way the work should be done. He thought those people taught chil- dren best who were themselves most like children— not like in their folly, but in their simplicity. The children should have the love of the teacher. It was a great pity children were not well grounded in elementary doctrine, and in the principles of their faith but if that could not be done, they should at least have love—that love which Christ bore to his lambs when he carried them in his arms. How often were not people seen trying to teach children, as it were by moonlight, in a cold and repellant manner—teach- ing them at a distance, and carrying their lambs with a pair of tongs. Mr. Spurgeon concluded by exhorting his hearers to teach by love, and if rebukes were neces- sary, let them be done in a loving spirit. At the termination of the address, over 2,000 people partook of the Sacrament.

Mr. Gladstone's secretary has written to the pro- moters of the education meeting In Derry, acknowledging the receipt of the memorial, which, the promoters say, was signed by two thousand Roman Catholic clergy and laity in favour of denominational education. The memorial is to the House of Commons, and was sent to Mr. Gladstone for pre- sentation. The answer is simply an acknowledgment of the receipt of the document.

EMIGRATION FROM LIVERPOOL FOR 1871. A return of the emigration from the Mersey during the past year has just been completed by the officials at that port. A considerable increase is manifest in the number of emigrants a3 compared with the year 1870. This augmentation arises principally from the emigra- tion of foreigners, while the number of Irish and Scotch emigrants has diminished. This diminution may, however, be accounted for by the fact that an increased number of vessels sail for Canada and the United States from both the Clyde and the north and south ports of Ireland. There sailed from the Mersey, during the March quarter of 1871, to the United States 77 ships, with 1,G54 cabin and 14,589 steerage passengers, of whom 10,007 were English, 292 Scotch, 2,723 Irish, and 3,224 foreigners, making a total of 16,246. There sailed in the June quarter to the United States 102 ships, with 2,811 cabin and 53,471 steerage passengers, of whom 23,9(;3 were English, 1,131 Scotch, 13,802 Irish, and 17,386 foreigners, or 56,282 total. During the September quarter 94 vessels sailed for the United States, with 5,231 cabin and 34,031 steerage passengers, of whom 21,506 were Eng- lish, 666 Scotch, 6,474 Irish, and 10,616 foreigners, or 39,262 total; during the December quarter 85 ships sailed for America, with 2,940 cabin and 20,158 steerage passengers, of whom 13,033 were English, 394 Scotch, 3,418 Irish, and 6,258 foreigners, or 23,098 totaL During the whole of the past year the total number of emigrants leaving the Mersey for the United States was 134,885, of whom 68,509 were English, 2,483 Scotch, 26,414 Irish, and 37,479 foreigners. The emigration to Canada for the March quarter, so far as relates to vessels "under the Act, was niL In the June quarter there sailed, however, to Canada 23 ships, with 590 cabin and 11,436 steerage passengers, of whom 8,114 were English, four Scotch, 40 Irish, and 3,468 foreigners, or 11,626 total. During the Sep- tember quarter 14 vessels sailed for Canada, with 854 cabin and 6,055 steerage passengers, of whom 4,976 were English, Scotch none, Irish none, and foreigners 1,933, or 6,909 total; during the December quarter six ships tailed to Canada, with 239 cabin and 1,393 steerage passengers, of whom 1,337 were English and 295 foreigners, making 1,632 as the total number. For the year the total emigration to Canada was 2,167, of whom 14,427 were English, four Scotch, 40 Irish, and foreigners 5,696. But one ship sailed to New Brunswick, carrying seven cabin and four steerage passengers, of whom 10 were English and Irish one. During the June quarter there sailed to Victoria one ship, with 53 cabin and 340 steerage passengers, of whom 214 were English, 63 Scotch, 92 Irish, and, foreigners 24, or 393 total during the December quarter another ship sailed, with 37 cabin and 359 steerage passengers, of whom 243 were English, 45 Scotch, 59 Irish, and 49 foreigners. During the year the total emigration to Victoria was 789, of whom 457 were English, 108 Scotch, 151 Irish, and foreigners 73. During 1871 the total number of passengers leaving the Mersey was 155,852, showing an increase over 1870 of 3,154. Of vessels "under" and "not under the Act there is also an increase of 49. 0