The Aberystwith Observer

LONDON CORRESPONDENCE. We deem it risrht, to state we do not at all times identify ourselves with our Correspondent's opinions. The celebration of Twelfth Night" appears somewhat to dwindle in popularity as the years go on, but certain features which attend it in London, social as well as ecclesiastical, will con- tinue to prevent the old festival from being for- gotten. For it is upon the Feast of the Epiphany that the Queen's gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh are offered at the altar of the Chapel Royal, St. James's. This is always a solemn and somewhat striking ceremony. The Bishop of London, as Dean of the Chapels Royal, takes the leading part in the service, and at a stated point, after being conducted by a verger from his own pew to the altar, that official retires and conducts from the Royal pew two officers of the household, representing her Majesty, who, clad in full uniform, proceed up the aisle and, kneeling at the altar rails, present the Queen's gifts in small red bags to the bishop. As many persons as can get into the small chapel are customarily present on these occasions, and they cannot fail to be charmed with the excellent singing of the choir. There is an element of old-fashionedness about the whole surroundings, whether of church music or furniture, for no startling innovations are even to be looked for at a chapel royal. One of the characteristic features of a London day was to be noted by any visitor to St. James's for the Epiphany celebration, and that was the playing of the band in the courtyard of the palace, which was just concluding as the service was about to begin. This musical exer- cise takes place every morning at ten o'clock, and even in unpropitious weather seldom fails to draw a crowd of listeners. No one can quite realise what a number of people reside in London who have nothing definite to do until they go to St. James's Palace a few mornings, and witness the throng which listens to the band. All sorts and conditions are to be found among the crowd and while many of the persons who com- pose it look as if they ought to be at work but do not know where to obtain it, there are a number of others who equally ought to be em- ployed but obviously have no intention of putting themselves cut of the way in search of re- munerative toil. The same sort of thing is to be noted at various other points in the capital where similar gatherings congregate London-bridge, for instance, is never without its crowds of idlers lounging over the parapet, watching the coming and going of the steamers, and obviously purposeless of aim or intent. And in any of our streets, if there is a dog fight or a quarrel between a couple of women, to say nothing of a fire, a crowd seems to spring out of the earth ready to remain any length of time in order to see the finish of the business. Where they come from and what they do for a living is a puzzle. There they are, and there they will always be-that is the only conclusion to which the observer can come. Those who stroll by the Palace of Westminster just now will see that an important addition to the historic hall is proceeding rapidly towards completion. When the old law courts, super- seded by the Palace of Justice in the Strand, were demolished, it was felt that something would have to be put in their place, for their removal exposed to view one wall of Westminster Hall in a very naked and unpicturesque fashion. As is the case in all matters architectural, a dispute as to what was the right thing to put there raged fast and furious for a considerable period but at length it was resolved by the Chief Com- missioner of Works to accept the plans of Mr. John Pearson for erecting cloisters on the site, and it is these which have now progressed so far that the roofing is nearly completed. What will be the use of them when they are ready for oc- cupation is not exactly known, but there are various ways in which they can be put to advantage and in any case, they are so designed that they will not detract from, but rather add to, the beauty of the finest architectural pile which London possesses. Not only children who live in the metropolis, but a great number of those who, at one time or another, have come up from the country, will be mournfully interested in the fact that "Punch," the oldest lion in the Zoo- logical Gardens—and believed, in fact, to be the oldest in Europe — is believed to be dying. He was a noble old fellow, for not only was his head so handsomely shaped as to be a model for sculptor or painter, but he was gentle to a high degree, and he had won the affection of his keeper to an extent which was positively touching. It was with a voice almost broken by tenderness that the keeper told an inquirer a few days ago that all that could be done for the poor animal had been done that they could not give him any medicine, and that he refused to touch even the daintiest food. And so Punch" had to lie on his straw bed, unable to move, and waiting patiently for the end to which old age was surely bringing him. All those who ever saw him in his full time of health and grandeur will agree in regretting that the close of the fine old animal's life has apparently now so nearly come. There was a time when the London appren- tices might almost have been called a power in the land, and in many a romance they have figured with their cry of clubs as the de- fenders of their own privileges and the general liberty of the citizens. But for a considerable period the apprenticeship sytem has been a dwindling one, and in the opinion of many skilled persons this will account for some of the loss of England's manufacturing supremacy. Whether this be so or not, a determined effort has lately been made to revive the system, and, in order to encourage it, an Apprentices' Exhi- bition has just been held at the People's Palace, in the East of London. From the time of its opening by the Prince of Wales to its closing a few days ago, this wras a great success, and it should do much to stimulate the energies of the apprentices themselves. So striking were its effects that the suggestion has already been made to hold similar exhibitions in our largest industrial centres, and if this be carried out, good would be practically certain to result. There is much demand in these days for technical education, and, in the opinion of many, the best form in which this can be administered is by actual service at the bench or in the workshop. And it is just such actual service which the apprenticeship system supplies. The complete destruction by fire of two English theatres within a week has once more drawn attention to the extreme insecurity of this species of property, even when it is officially described to be composed of "fire-proof" materials. It most happily was the case that in each instance the audience had left the building before the conflagration occurred, and the imagination fails to picture the horrors we have been spared by that fact. As was shown most lamentably at Exeter last September, an audience which has lost its presence of mind is almost certainly doomed to destruction; and what large assembly of human beings can be ex- pected to preserve that presence of mind in face of what may seem certain death in the most fearful of all its forms ? Perhaps the only lesson taught by the latest fires is that gas is absolutely dangerous in theatres, and that the electric light will have to be made compulsory. It is not only that gas creates peril by its flame, but that the heat it evolves dries the surrounding woodwork almost to tinder point, and that, therefore, any chance spark is liable to produce a blaze. It is now evident that all talk of "fire-proof" con- struction is worse than useless; it is dangerous because so illusory; and the only thing to be done is to minimise the danger as far as pos- sible by strict attention to the lighting arrange- ments. Absolute safety will never be able to be guaranteed, but experience should teach us how near to it we can approach, and we should profit accordingly. The Times has lately been celebrating its centenary, and a provincial paper has thought that it could not do better than show its readers that it had lived even longer than the leading journal. It has accordingly done so in practical fashion by issuing a fac simile of its issue of a date in January, 1788, and no one can see it without feeling interested in the comparison it affords between both newspapers and news of then and now. Among the intelligence it con- tains is set forth The Flame of Liberty blazes in every part of France." From Vienna we learn that the greatest Preparations for War against the Turks are going on and Every new Occurrence indicated the unsettled State of the Dutch;" while one of the advertisements refers to a Society for the Purpose of effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade." There is one point of resemblance between 1788 and 1888, however, which will come home to the heart of every trader the credit system was obviously as obnoxious then as now and the sympathy of many people to-day will go out to the long-since departed newspaper proprietor who announced regarding his advertisements that ready money is expected with all." A number of proprietors would like to say that to-day, if they could feel sure of being able to stand by the declaration. A. F. R.

THE GREAT FAILURE IN PARIS. With reference to the great failure on the Paris Bourse, the Paris correspondent of the Standard says M. Kaltenbach's failure to meet his engagements caused much excitement, His liabilities were esti- mated at over 15,000,000fr., and it was rumoured that many of the important firms of the coulisse, and even some of the agents de change were so heavily hit that it was impossible to say whether there would not be numerous failures. As is almost invari- ably the case the ffrst reports were an exaggera- tion of the truth. The deficit is, the correspondent is informed by an important firm of the coulisse, about 9,750,000fr. M. Kaltenbach had been speculating during some months for the fall in Rio Tinto Shares, and also in the shares of the Panama and Suez Canals. He did not confine his transactions to the Paris Bourse, but also operated on the London Stock Exchange, where he paid his differences last settling day. It was stated that he had only a few months ago a fortune of something like 50,000,000 francs, and that he has lost the whole of it by these speculations and by speculations in copper, of which he was a seller for a large amount. The consequence of the failure would have been greater if the leading members of the coulisse had not gone to the principal buyers of Rio Tinto Shares, who responded to this step by placing at the disposal of the coulisse 40,000 Rio Tinto Shares, at the price of 550 francs. A GIANT BOURSE GAMBLER. The City correspondent of the Standard says: Kaltenbach seems to have been a giant among Bourse gamblers. Credulous people assert that last year, or at some recent date he was worth £500,000, and that now he has not only lost all that, but is nearly as much to the bad.' We do not believe these figures. Although it is probable enough that the differences in his favour were at one time very large, just as they are now heavy against him, it is most unlikely that he had ever at his command a free fortune the tenth part of that stated. But that he was a giant speculator is proved by the fact that about £750,000 Egyptian United Stock alone was thrown on the market here to-day by his brokers, and he was a large speculator for the rise also in Suez Canal Shares, besides having a heavy account open for the fall in Rio Tinto Shares, and minor gambles in other Stocks. His failure involves quite a number of arbitragists here in losses more or less severe, but no one among them is expected to fail. In Paris the sensation and fright produced by the smash was so great that the coulisse, or outside brokers, shut up shop and stopped business for the day. What the after effects of the failure will be there is not yet known, but here it has left the market distinctlv healthier." According to the City correspondent of the Daily News M. Kaltenbach seems to have been a Bear of 45,000 Rio Tinto shares, a Bull of various foreign bonds, and a speculator in almost everything, not ex- cluding coffee. He is said to have paid £ 240,000 in differences last month, and to be further indebted for 10,000,000fr. He made a fortune in Singapore some years ago, but the copper combination overpowered his resources. The offer of a small percentage to general creditors is talked of.

THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN OF THE FUTURE. The course of development which lies before the general practitioner is a problem which (says the Lancet) can hardly fail to interest the majority of his neighbours, both within and without the pale of his pro- fession, almost as much as himself. Is he to remain as heretofore the man of wide intellignce and of many resources, or is he doomed to labour in a sphere narrowed on every side by the encroachments of specialism, the scene of his former victories divided, subdivided, and allotted to men of one idea ? To the latter suggestion we have no reply but an em- phatic negative. Similar in its purport, we are pleased to observe, is the treatment of this question by Dr. Andrew Smith in an address read before the Academy of Medicine of New York. The present comparative seclusion of medi- cine among the liberal professions he ascribes to a want of public spirit in dealing with many matters affecting the common health rather than that of the individual alone. If it would appear in its natural position as an influential reforming force, a change in this direction is necessary. It must, he assures us, concern itself with a variety of. human interests with which mere surgical skill and the chemistry of prescriptions have little to do. Generality of the broadest kind should characterise the views of its members, whose representative will be found in a family practitioner possessing an ex- tensive knowledge of the causes of disease and the means of its prevention. He is to be a custodian of the health of families, and will occupy with regard to them a position similar to that of the solicitor with re- ference to property. Itshallbehisdutytokaep an exact record of the life-history of his patients,and to guide their course in life in- accordance with the information thus acquired. The scheme is, doubtless, an attractive one: it presents alike to the practitioner and his charge a prospect of life-long mutual benefit, and it promises to science a means of accurate investigation. In discussing the merits of any such project as this, however, we must ask ourselves how far its efficient execution can be relied on; and we are bound to confess that here, it seems to us, the credit of theory has been somewhat too largely drawn upon. It is hardly to be expected that any considerable number of families will give themselves into the hand of a medical adviser to be continuously guided and con- trolled, even in the interest of their physical well being. The question of expense alone must limit the application of such a plan to the case of a relative minority rather wealthy than poor. There is about it, also, too much of the sanitarian, too little of the medical element; and we must remember that, notwithstanding the recent advances of hygiene, the power of therapeutics will not soon, if ever, cease to hold an important posi- tion. While, therefore, we respect the scientific accuracy and the preventive skill of the promised physician, we should ourselves prefer and expect to be represented by one of somewhat more practical, though allied, character. The general practitioner of the future, we consider, should still essentially re- semble his predecessors. More learned, he certainly will be, as well as more skilful in details of practice, because endowed with greater advantages of training but he will also, doubtless, like them, continue to treat the whole man by prevention and by cure, and will be limited in the exercise of his functions only by necessary considerations of time and opportunity.

WHEN may a clock be said to conceal itself?- When it gets behind time. MOST men like to see themselves in print," but women don't. They prefer silk or satin WHY should you never tell a man to take a back seat ?-Because, if you do, he'll be sure to take af-front. How is it you have so many young men call on you ?" asked a jealous girl. Because," was the re- ply, father has the gout in one foot and the rheuma. tisin in the other; besides, we don't keep a dog." ]

AGRICULTURAL ITEMS. IN THE APPLICATION OF FERTILISERS to land devoted to farm crops, it is necessary to obtain first a clear knowledge of what the soil requires, and to find the best market for the supply of the elements that are most in request. As a rule, what are known as strong soils are sufficiently rich in alkalies, and are very often rich also in phosphates, though the addition of calcareous matters is usually beneficial to such soils. Of necessity, chalk and limestone soils are often well fortified in respect of phosphates, but they are apt to be deficient of alumina, sulphur, and silica. When there is clay near at hand it is likely to be good.prac- tice to put clay on the chalk and chalk on the clay and, as a rule, mixtures of soils are immensely more productive than either of the mixed soils would be separately. A hungry sand does not need to be en- riched with silica, for it consists of scarcely anything .else, but so deficient is it of the elements required by plants that it is always a costly business to manure a sandy soil effectuallv. Of all men in the world who need a sound knowledge of agricultural chemistry, it is the light land farmer, the sand dune farmer, the tiller of gravel and silt, who may truthfully speak of his land as a sieve." To such a man knowledge is money indeed. The two most important manures for sandy soils are kainit and superphosphate, the first being the cheapest form of potash at our command, and the second the cheapest and most convenient sub- stitute for guano. POULTRY IN ENCLOSED SPACES should be provided with a rather roomy house, and a yard as spacious as circumstances will admit, for it is most difficult to keep the birds in a really satisfactory condition for any length of time if they have not sufficient room for roosting at night, or enough space for exercise during the day. It is not the less necessary to select a light and open situation for the yard, for poultry will not thrive if they do not enjoy a fair share of light and air and a moderate amount of sunshine. It is not, of course, desirable that these structures should occupy an objectionably prominent position in the garden, but they should, if practicable, face the south, and have a water-tight roof and a dry floor. The floor of the yard must also be quite dry, and a few heaps of ashes or coarse sand placed here and there for the birds to scratch and dust in. Hens that are laying should have special attention in the matter of feeding, and during frosty weather, when the ground is frozen hard, and there is but little food to be obtained in the runs," care must be taken that the whole stock has a sufficiency of suitable food. When kept on short supplies now the birds rapidly fall off in condition, and do not very quickly recover. WINTERING LIVE STOCK is an important matter with all stock-keepers. A bulletin issued last month from the Agricultural College, Guelph, Ontario, by William Brown, C.E., professor of agriculture, gives some interesting facts and experiences in preparation for this branch of farm work. The regulation food for all cattle is prepared thrice a week, and consists of 401b. pulped turnips or mangles, 151b. cut hay, and 31b. of bran per head daily on an average of kind and age. These foods are mixed in a heap about 4ft. deep, and used before much heating or during the sweet stage of fermentation, which is usually when the temperature reaches 70 degs. The nutritive ratio of this mixture is 1-5-9, and the market cost 16 cents per head per day; the cost to the farmer is about 9 cents. Water is given about 40 degs., and the stable is never over 50 degs., with proper ventilation. The breathing space for each animal is about 900 cubic feet. A saving, estimated at 12 per cent. in feeding horses, and 30 per cent. for sheep, was realised last winter with cut hay. The animals cannot leave any amongst their feet, and they eat more of the rougher portions. A 17 horse-power portable engine, with a 20-inch French burrstone mill, grinds 30 bushels of peas or barley in one hour at a cost of one cent per bushel, including every possible cost. The same power drives hay cutter and root pulper both at the same time, and in less than two hours prepares the food named above, being 20001b. hay and 60001b. roots. The cost of this is 55 cents per ton, or If per cent. per head of cattle daily, including 2 interest on cost of engine, fuel, tear and wear, oil, engineer, two hands at hay cutter, two at pulper, and two at mixing the food. THE CATTLE WEIGHING ACT, which came into force with the new year, contains no provision as to the weights to be used, a fact which may cause some confusion, owing to the different weights in use in different parts of the country. Sir J. B. Lawes has pointed out, however, that the legal stone of 141bs. will be the most generally useful, as this will roughly correspond with the value of the animal when weighed as dead meat at 81bs. to the stone as in Smithfield. Moderately fattened oxen or sheep, he says, give 571bs. of carcase for every lOOlbs. of live weight, and 81bs. is 4-7ths of 141bs., whilst 4-7ths of lOOlbs. is 57 l-71bs., or roughly 571bs. MANURES in relation to agriculture formed the subject of one of the most instructive and useful of recent papers read before an agricultural assembly, that of Mr. Edward Luckhurst, a well-known Suffolk land agent, heard at the last meeting of the Ixworth Farmers' Club. Based on the principle that only in the proper preparation of the soil, and ample manuring, can we hope in these times for anything like remunerative farming, Mr. Luckhurst gave several telling facts from his own experience as to how a full supply of manures required by crops under cultivation had effected results. He, how- ever (remarks the Agricultural Economist), com- menced by truthfully declaring that it is of no use to manure until the land has been rid of surplus water. He said he was once asked to inspect a field of wheat having a most unsatisfactory appearance although it had been manured for by 40 cart-loads of farmyard dung per acre. He found that the soil although firm enough at the surface, was in reality water-logged. On the manurial part of the question, he maintained that it is far cheaper to give plant food for farm crops by chemical or artificial manures than by farmyard muck. In proof of this, he had on one occasion a large pasture field about to be laid up for hay, which he divided into two equal portions, to one of which he applied 30 cart-loads per acre of muck in autumn, while to the other he applied a dressing of chemicals in February, consisting of fewt. nitrate potash, icwt. 2 nitrate of soda, fewt. mineral superphosphate, and 2 lcwt. steam bone flour per acre. The effect of the latter dressing was remarkable. Throughout the winter the other portion manured with dung in October had put on a highly superior appearance by being clothed with much more verdure, but soon after the chemical dressing had been applied the portion of the field receiving it took the lead and continued to maintain it throughout the spring and early summer, and eventually yielded a crop of hay twice the bulk of that obtained from the farmyard manure, although the cost of the chemicals was from 23s. to 24s. per acre, and that of the dung computed at 3s. per load, 90s. per acre. Another instance alluded to by Mr. Luckhurst was the treatment of a small seven- acre meadow on the top of a hill some 300 feet above a Sussex homestead, where a dung cart had never gone. This pasture when it came into his hands was so poor as to be practically worthless, yet by having the same mixture of 2J cwt. per acre of phosphates, potash, and nitrogen applied every February, it had been brought up to such a high state of fertility that last year it yielded fully two tons of hay per acre. MB. LUCKHUEST in his paper advised mixtures of chemicals to be employed instead of all nitrogen or all super-phosphate, stating that in general it would be advisable to expend about 20s. per acre for grass, 31s. per acre for wheat, 23s. 6d. per acre for oats and barley, and 43s. per acre for swedes and mangels. In addition to this expenditure for the root crop, he would give to it 14 tons of farm- yard dung per acre which would bring the cost of manuring for roots to about £ 5 per acre. That the crop would be likely to justify this liberal expen- diture, he thinks likely from the circumstance that Mr. S. Sherwood took the first prize at the Fram- lingham Farmers' Club competition for the best three acres of mangels, the manure for which had cost Xo I os. per acre. But the yield was 45 tons of roots per acre which fully justified the outlay. He would give farm- yard manure to the root crop instead of to corn, because dung in the soil during a drought summer has a tendency to retain moisture which might be a great benefit to the young swedes and mangels. Finally, in showing the advantage of a mixture of chemicals, he quoted the Norfolk experiments on Mr. Cooke's barley crop at Flitcham. The application of 3 cwt. nitrate of soda and 3 cwt. superphosphate per acre yielded only a wretched crop, but by the addition of 2 cwt. muriate of potash he obtained 45 bushels more marketable corn per acre. Mr. Luckhurst no doubt proved his point admirably, the only exception we have to make to his conclusions being that in some instances the soil itself may be already full of soluble potash, and in other cases of phosphates, and then it would, of course, be folly to add the particular element already in repletion. Every farmer ought consequently to know his own soil well, by having studied it attentively, or by having derived proof of its composition by chemical analysis. AT the Wisconsin Experiment Station a number of cattle have been dishorned, and Professor Henry, says the Farmer's Beiiew, is perfectly satisfied with the result. He considers winter the proper time to operate, and a carpenter's fine saw the best tool to use. He believes the painfulness of the operation to be greatly over-estimated, as in his experience cattle went to eating ten minutes after the horns were taken off just as if nothing had happened. Instead of being a cruel operation the Professor considers it a merciful one. With calves his operations have not been so satisfactory, some of the horns making an imperfect growth after they were considered eradi- cated. The gouge or nippers made by H. H. Haaf and that made by Miles Rice have been tried, but scurs also grow after their use. The Professor says of his dishorned animals It was remarkable to see how our steers were changed in actions. We had two feeding rooms, each 25ft. by 26ft. outside measurement; in each of these were six steers. Though these creatures had run together from calves, no sooner were they in these comfortable quarters than they began hooking and pushing until the weaker ones of both lots would have next to starved, I truly believe, while the bosses would have gorged themselves on the feed rightfully belonging to their more timid mates. In a couple of days after dishorning, the weaker ones learned that they could not be hurt, and crowded up to the troughs for grain to get their full share. From that date they were like a flock of Merino sheep, and we would no more have thought of tying each steer by itself or putting them into stanchions than we would of putting sheep into stanchions. I fully believe we gained over 50 dollars in the operation of cutting off the horns of the 12 steers pretty good pay for an hour's work. We are not in a position to give advice about dehorning calves, for the reasons named, nor have we operated on dairy cows, though several farmers report that they have dehorned their cows with satisfactory results; but for bulls and steers we are well satisfied that it is a valuable operation and productive of much good, and at the same time one that can be performed by anyone of ordinary intelligence."

MR. S. PLIMSOLL ON IRISH AFFAIRS On Monday evening Mr. S. Plimsoll (formerly M.P. for Derby) addressed a meeting in the Temperance Hall, Derby, on the question of Home Rule. Mr. Plimsoll, who was most cordially received, said that he had no idea whatever, until very recently, of taking any part in the public discussion of the Home Rule question, but recently the acts of the executive Government had rapidly succeeded each other-so utterly repugnant to all one's ideas of justice-not to mention generosity or magnaminity, that he felt com- pelled to face the subject fairly and then decide upon his course. The considerations which had hitherto held him in doubt were these. It seemed to him that there would be great difficulty at the outset to frame such a measure of Home Rule as would satisfy the Irish members and at the same time have any chance of passing through the House of Com- mons. It appeared to him that to pass at all it would have to be so colourless as to leave us with the certainty to encounter further and fuller demands after a short interval. The great difficulty, too, of settling the monetary arrangements between Ireland and England he thought would be very great, such as the appointment of the National Debt, how far Ireland should be required to undertake her own defence, and, if this was not required of her, what part of the cost of the army and navy she ought to bear. Even if these initial difficulties were overcome, the poverty of Ireland would probably in a short time lead to an agitation for the reduction of any amounts which had been agreed upon-even if her inability to pay arose from an unwise fiscal policy, or a defective or possibly corrnpt administration. Nor could he ignore the consideration of the objections used by the opponents of Home Rule, as that the contemplated Irish Parliament might levy duties upon our manufacturers, as Canada and other of our colonies had done-might even, exasperated as she was, seek alliance with France to embarrass England. (Hear, hear.) Then the fact that John Bright disapproved of Home Rule was a most impor- tant consideration to him, for he remembered with gratitude the vast services he had rendered to the nation in years gone by. There was also the difficulty of Ulster, which contained a large number of Pro- testants who were adverse to the legislation. He would tell the meeting how—in his intense desire to escape from the intolerable shame which had been brought upon us all by the recent acts of the Government-he had seen his way clear to dispose of these important matters. As to the first two of these objections, he said at once that he saw no other way of getting over them than in trusting to the statesmanship of Mr. Gladstone—(ap- plause)-and they knew he would not ask their trust if he did not see his way. (Renewed applause.) As to the third objection-the possible future difficulties of Home Rule-they must trust to Providence and the future, and deal with any difficulties as they arise and on their merits. "Be just and fear not" must be their motto. With regard to the fourth objection- that Ireland might possibly levy Protective duties on manufacturers-he had no fear whatever. He would now turn to the important fact of John Bright's hos- tility to Home Rule-a fact so influential with him that more than once when he was mentally deciding for Home Rule his (Mr. Bright's) example prevented his doing so. Most assuredly it did not arise from lack of love of justice that Mr. Bright was not with Mr. Gladstone in this matter, and that he was a tower of strength to the Tories-a tower so strong that it was his conviction his secession alone from the Tories would inevitably shatter the present Government. (Applause.) If Cobden had been living, he thought from a loving study of his life that he would have been on Mr. Gladstone's side. (Cheers.) And he (Mr. Plimsoll) did not despair of seeing Mr. Bright on that side yet. (Applause.) His position must be well- nigh intolerable-he knows that Free Trade is im- measurably more important than Home Rule, for whilst we could conceivably give content to Ireland without Home Rule (especially if they could put aside their religious intolerance against Roman Catholics), Mr. Bright knew-no one better-that a return to Pro- tection as it existed up to 1849 would send enforced idleness, gnawing 'hunger, gaunt famine, fever, disease, and death into the homes of the vast majority of our people. Then again, Mr. Bright's justice-loving soul must be revolted at what was now passing in Ireland. The speaker at some length then dealt with Irish affairs, and said these persecutors were commended to the country as statesmen, while if they possessed any particle of the quality of states- manship, would they insult and oppress our fellow- subjects ? The great and glorious task was in their own hands-to redress the injustice of centuries and to strike down the tyranny of to-day—to obliterate sullen hatred, and cast even the memory of the wrongs into the abyss of forgetfulness-by granting to their brethren in Ireland that control over Irish affairs which they now had over their own. (Ap- plause.)

A HORRIBLE DEATH. Dr. Hunter Hughes has held an inquest at Pentre- felin, near Portmadoc, on the body of Robert Owen aged 83 years. The deceased lived at Mnydd Du Farm, with his son, the tenant, and was accustomed to walk round the barns and outbuildings, and then return to the house. On the day of his death, taking two grandchildren with him, he left the house and got as far as the cowhouse, when the children went back. Afterwards the boys went to see the little pigs in the back yard, and there they found their grandfather lying on the floor of the pigsty, while a sow was in the act of devouring his body. The brute was driven away, and the remains were removed to the house. The sow had eaten the deceased's face, throat, and neck. It had completely severed the head from the trunk, and with its power- ful tusks had also stripped great pieces of flesh off the body. The supposition is that the old man went to the pigsty to see the litter of pigs, and that while there the sow either attacked him, knocked him down, and then worried him to death, or else that he had a fit, and while unconscious was attacked, with the horrible results described. The brute was not known to be more vicious than other sows are when in charge of a litter. The jury found a verdict in accordance with the facts.

Mr. J. A Picton, M P., succeeds Mr. Broadhurst Oft the Royal Commission to inquire into market rights and tolls.

A TEACHER took an apple from a boy during school hours. After a while the teacher ate up the apple, while the pupils were busy with their sums. The lad, noticing this, began to cough. What is the matter with you ?" inquired the dominie. Oh, please, sir, the apple has gone down the wrong way." IF I cannot have the fat of the land, I can take a little lean," said a phliosophical tramp, as he leaned against a lamp-post.

FROM THE "COMICS." [FROM PUNCH."] LONDON IDYLS.—Algernon (the Heir): "Awfully kind of Mrs. Masham to give u s a lift. But it was rather a squeeze, eh ?" Jack the Detrimental (his Yomiger Brother Yes, by the way, talking of squeezes, it struck me very forcibly, driving along, that you'd got hold of one of Miss Laura Masham's hands!" Algernon: "Well, you meddling young idiot! what if I had Jack:" Oh, nothing. Only Pd got hold of the Other, you know TEMPORA MUTANTUR."—" Why change the head ?" asked the Times, in its startling issue on the Cen- tenary Festival Day, Monday, January 2, quoting from the Times (of Times past), or Daily Universal Register, January 1, 1788. Quite so Why change the head" now ? Only, if a title be required, why not' Buckle's History of Civilization 7" A PERFECT CURE.—An impulsive gentleman, who was accustomed on frequent occasions to utter a big, big D," determined to break himself of the habit. He reduced the big D to a little one, and for I don't care one 'D—— he substituted "I don't care one' penny,i.e., "rd." HOW TO GET OUT OF IT. The following hints may be found useful to any shy and self-conscious person who, finding himself at the present festive season involved in a jovial family gathering that is expressing its hilarity by an indis- criminate recourse to the modern surprise" cracker, is determined to escape the temporary humiliation of arraying himself in the paper adornment it contains -Go through your dinner with a frown of melancholy anticipation. When the crackers are at length pro- duced, decline to pull one. If forced to, instantly hand over the contents to your fair neighbour who holds the other end. If these happen to be either a comic pig's head or a roomy bishop's mitre, and she asks you just to try them on, smile benignly on her, and say you couldn't think of robbing a lady." If addressed by your hostess with, "X ow, Mr. Smith, you really must wear something pretend not to hear her, and tell somebody opposite, pointedly, how much you prefer a good old-fashioned Christmas If the son of the house tries to bonnet you with a Turkish cocked hat, playfully pinch his legs and adroitly tearing the offending head-gear in half, laughingly observe that you're sure it wouldn't have fitted you." On the fun getting fast and furious, and everybody but yourself assuming some form of ornamentation, en- deavour to damp it, by audibly remarking to your next-door neighbour that you can't conceive how a set of middle-aged people can make such idiots of themselves." If, notwithstanding this, your host determines to force your hand, and says, Come, Smith, put om something. Why, you're the only one of us who isn't bonneted!" get up then and there, and, giving him a bit of your mind, leave the house with an indignant flourish. [FROM "FUN."] COMMUNICATED BY A CABBY. — Envious Masher: Bai Jove what an awfully swagger moustache you've cultivated, Bob, since I saw you last. Why, it's quite long enough to bite now Self-satisfied Masher Yaas—er—that's just what the deah girls tell me but—haw! —strange to say they don't seem at all frightened of it. A good many bare-faced puppies ought to be muzzled, though BILKINS informs us that a tolerably cheap supper for ten may be easily obtained by meandering round the outside of any market you please, and investing in a prime boned turkey. How do you manage to get your daughters off your hands so easily and so well, Mrs. Worldleigh? warbled Mrs. Simper. By using plenty of soap," replied Mrs. W. THE editor of an American journal recently re* ceived his seventh horsewhipping. Each thrashing has been inflicted by an irate daughter of Eve. Per- haps he'll leave them alone at last. A PARISIAN masher recently ducked a little duck of a girl in the ornamental fountain of the Place du Chalet. The lady had" played ducks and drakes with his money, and then called him a giddy, foolish young gosling. HERE'S a chance for enterprising young men!- The Governor of Culiacan, Mexico, has offered a reward of 10,000 dollars for the head of a bandit named Eraclis, Bernai." The man who secures that head will also pick up a number of good tales warranted to stretch easily, you bet f A PROUD Parisian tradesman recently assaulted a customer savagely because lie persisted in wearing his hat while purchasing several articles in the shop. The marchand must have been mad as a hatter or a March hare at the time. Seasonable festivity, how- ever, may have had something to do with this hattery-battery. If this Parisian idiot visited the west coast of Africa, in all probability lie would be highly indignant and enraged were the natives to assault him on his declining to meander about mit nodtliins on" according to the custom of the country. "YOUR nose is getting really too rosy, Beverly," said the fond girl as she met her lover on New Year's Day. This is unkind, Hortensia," replied the youth; you know how I flush with delight whenever we meet." Then she murmured something about" raw meat" that lie didn't quite catch. It was vulgar of her, wasn't it ? t [FROM JUDY."] YET ANOTHER SILENT SORROW.—She You were sitting down, you say, when I arrived. Didn't you find it very cold ?" He: Well, I found it rather more hard than cold. I had slipped on the ice." A TART ANSWER.—" Wouldn't you take me for a nobleman ?" asked an inflated masher of a girl he had been ogling at a five o'clock tea. Yes, certainly, for the Earl of Stare," she replied, promptly. SERVE HiM RiGHT.—The comic editor who sent back his tailor's bill marked Declined; handwriting illegible," got a county court summons. ODD THOUGHTS FOR ODD FOLKS. By Our Odd Man Out. Here is an odd thought for this cold weather So much the more do you make up your fire, so much the more does it become coaled. A-ha. It is odd that a bad hat when taken to a small and early will sometimes come out as good as new. Does it necessarily follow that you should have dates at your fingers' ends," as the saying is, inas- much as they grow on palms ? Every marriage must begin with a union, but it does not follow that all marriages should end in one. The first rule in arithmetic of a thrifty man is addi- tion, but that of a spendthrift is-division. It is not proper for a good boy to read an autobiography. A pretty young lady may be said, as the slang say- ing goes, to be up to the knocker," when she is really something to a-dore. Odd, is it not, that the honour of knighthood should turn a Christian name into a Sir name ? A barrister need not be on terms of friendship with the prisoner lie is defending because he has a brief acquaintance with him. Although swear words should never be used in polite society, yet even a lady may be allowed to say, Oh, blow the fire [FROM "FUNNY FOLKS."] THE Echo had an article the other day headed,. Winter Trips," and there wasn't a word in it about coming to grief through a slide, or an accumulation of frozen snow on one's boot heel SCIENCE STRUCK SPORTIVF.-The holiday lectures, adapted to a juvenile auditory, which are being given at the Royal Institution by Sir Robert Ball, Royal Astronomer of Ireland, are said to be particularly light and sportive in tone-in fact, it is quite a game of Ball that the youngsters are invited to join in. PIGWIDGEON'S PUZZLE. —" I've got a splendid conundrum to ask you, Fogg," cried Pigwidgeon, elatedly. Why is there a danger of the Lord Mayor of Dublin--now he's got into prison-being mistaken for the Boston Slogger ? Pooh sneered Fogg; as if any ass couldn't guess that thing. Because he's a J. L. Sullivan—a Jail Sullivan, to be sure!" Pigwidgeon simmered down. SPlUNG TIllIE-Leap Year. A DEED OF SETTLEMENT.—The subsidence of houses in the Cheshire brine districts. A NEW weekly entitled Trafalgar Square, made its bow on Saturday. Of course there was a Nelson Column in it. The principal members of the staff hail from Scotland Yard. The news matter is mostly made up of Socials, and the correspondence is done by Specials. AN EVERY-DAY ANOMALY-Working one's self to death for the sake of a living.