County Observer and Monmouthshire Central Advertiser Abergavenny and Raglan Herald Usk and Pontypool Messenger and Chepstow Argus

POLITICAL GOSSIP. IN antioipation of a division of the Tower Hamlets constituency, three gentlemen are named as candi- dates, viz., Mr. Samuel Morley, Mr. Charles Reed, and Mr. John Nolen. THE Star says Mr. Bazley, M.P., denies that he intends to retire from the representation of Manchester at the next election. MB. WOOD, the son of the Colonel Wood who sat for some years in Parliament as member for Middle- sex, is about to contest that constituency in the Conservative interest. MR. EDWARD JAMES, M.P., has written to the Manchester Guardian to contradict the report that he intended to offer himself again as a candidate for the suffrages of the citizens of Manchester. MR. ROWLEY HILL having been invited by the Worcester Reform Association to come forward as a candidate for that city at the next election, has announced his intention of offering himself on Liberal principles. MR. J. J. MEBBiMAN, of London, is a candidate for the representation of Southampton. He is in favour of manhood suffrage with only such limitations as would keep out a nomadic and vagrant population. THE Recordership of Boohester, vacant by the death of Mr. Espinasse, has been given to Mr. Francis Barrow, of the Home Circuit, who was called to the Bar in 1844, and has had extensive praotice in the quarter and borough sessions of Kent. LIEUT..COLONEL WILBRAHAM OATES LENNOX, V.C.; Lieut.-Colonel Gerald Graham, V.C.; and Lieut.- Colonel Anthony Charles Cooke have been appointed Ordinary Members of the Military Division of the Third Class, or Companions of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath. LORD LYTTLETON'S bill for an increase of the episoopate would constitute the county of Cornwall a separate bishopric, 80 miles in length, exclusive of the Isles of Scilly, with 250 benefices and upwards of 360,000 inhabitants. The new bishop would have in his gift 26 livings, of the aggregate value of JB8,000 a year, with 11 perpetual curacies, alternately with the Crown, and worth 41,600 a year. THE pet name given at the olubs to Lord Cran- borne's party, in allusion to the surname recently dropped by one of its most outspoken members, is "The Peacock's Tail." The noble member for South Wilts, Lord Henry Thynne, is said to enjoy the office of whipper-in to the mutineers in the Tory cave. But laugh as they may, it is possible that his functions may be soon exercised over a formidable number, and the tail of the peacook may be openrd out in grandeur, like it does when the bird synonymised develops in all its pride, and causes the exclamation, Is there any more of you ?" IN the course of an eulogy on Mr. Gladstone in the April number of the Westminster Review, we read that the great superiority of a man like Mr. Glad. stone is, that there is no limit to the development of his mind. Had an inferior man written his work on 'Church and State,' he would have remained the eulogist of the Church to the end of his days, for he would have been Unable to answer and perceive the fallacy of his own arguments. His mind could never have ripened so far as to render it clear to him that it was for the benefit of the nation at large that clerical interferences should be restricted within the narrowest limits. Indeed, it is but a year since the question of terminating the disputes about church rates appeared to Mr. Gladstone to be paramount to maintaining what had seemed to him to be a bulwark of the-Church; consequently, he began to labour as hard for a settlement as he had formerly resisted every attempt at compromise." THE INSTRUCTION-A London morning paper pub- lishes the following lines desoriptive of the character of the meeting at Mr. Gladstone's, on Friday :— M.P.'s two hundred and fifty and four, On Friday to Carlton-house. terrace did pour. Qaoth Gladstone, It must be admitted that we Of primary objects have specially three. No. I-A Reform Bill to pass; No. 2— In this very session and third, nought to do To turn out the Ministry ere this be done Of instructions, therefore, I'll mentioB bat one. Last year for rental we firmly stood out, This year for a X5 rating we'll shout, If to this Disraeli declines to agree, He turns the Government out, and not we." An alluvial reformer observed, I fear, To meet No. 3 this method is queer." But he quiokly got snubbed, and all did agree To their ohief's "tweedle-dum" to say "twoedle-dee." MUCH diesatiafaction is said to prevail in West Ham and its neighbourhood at the proposal contained in schedule C, by which the parish is taken out of South Essex and united with a Middlesex borough- the North Tower Hamlets. It is argued that the member taken from Maldon should have been given as a third member to Sou.h Essex, which would then have been represented (including the member for Maldon) by four members, which is as nearly as possible its proper proportion according to popula- tion. The motive for taking 67 000 inhabitants from a constituency of 207,000, in order to add them to one of 311,000, is freely commented on in West Ham and South Essex generally, and confidence is expressed that there is little likelihood of hs so far escaping the vigilance of Parliament as to pass into law. The Inundation at Windsor.-On Sunday the floods which covered the laud in the suburbs of Windsor andIE con had greatly subsided, although there was still much ground under water. The inun- dation has been extensive,in the neighbourhood of Staines and Chertsey, but a few dry days will soon clear the meadows. At Windsor on Friday night a somewhat remarkable ocearreLca took place, close to the Great Western Railway terminus. Exactly oppo. site the "Goswells," and within a few yards of the gasometers, was a stable belonging to Mr Little, coal merchant. This building was com.lefc^ly surroanded by the inundation. About half-past six e clock.flames were observed to issue-from the roof, and assistance was at once procured to put out the fire, which was rapidly consuming the stable, in which, it is said, about 40 quarters of corn were stored. The cause of the fire is curiously enough ascribed to the water from the inundation penetrating to the lower floor, mingling with some lime, and eventually from the great heat generated setting the place in flames.

THE ARTS, LITERATURE, &c. MB. LEIGHTON, it is said, will oontribute ibix pic- tures to the Royal Aoademy Exhibition. THE money raised for perpetuating the memory of the late J. Buller, M.P., has been devoted to the pur- chase of two pasture fields at Crediton, which are to be henceforth called the Buller Park for the people," and it has been decided that the same shall be orna- mentally laid out and planted. THE autograph of Oliver Cromwell, sold at Wor- cester, fetched the high price of six guineas, which, as the signature was merely Oliver P. was at the rate of nearly a pound a letter. Mr. Carlyle may be pleased to know that his favourite, is not, in mercan- tile phrase, depreciated in the market, and that, in an autographical sense, Cromwells are looking up. AT a sale of autographs which has just taken place in New York, one of William Penn fetohed 15 dollars; of Edgar Poe, 11 dollars; of George Washington 25 dollars; of Beethoven, 13 dollars; of Robert Barns, 70 dollars; of Lord Byron, 75 dollars; of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 11 dollars; of Napoleon Bonaparte, 43 dollars; of Marshal Nay, 7 dollars; of Robespierre, 9 dollars; and of Mirabeau, 7 dollars 75 cents. A MEETING of the Cobden Memorial Committee was recently held at Manchester. The total reoeipts have reacaed £ 4,693. To Mr. Marshall Wood, sculptor, X2,200 had been paid; a balance of .£300 remained due to him. Other expenses would leave < £ 2,018, of which sum Xl,250 had been set apart for the chair of political economy, at O wen's College, and the rest .£768 would be expended in prizes for that class. It was resolved that the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P., should be requested to perform the inauguration ceremony, if convenient, on Easter Monday. A VERY interesting exhibition of water-colour draw- ings has been opened at Birmingham, comprising, among other pictures, some fine examples of the su- preme skill of David Cox, of which his Crossing Lancaster Sands" and "Gleaners Beturning" deserve particular attention. Turner is represented by Hastings;" Dyce by one of bis few landscapes; Mr. P. F. Poole by "A Boy and Jackdaw;" the late O. Oakley by "A Gipsy;" Prout by "Trading Vessels setting Sail;" Mr. G. A. Fripp by his" Haymaking, Dinner Time;" DeWintbya "Landscape and Cattle W. Hunt by The Pet of the Village; and Mr. Lin- nell by A Landscape." Among other contributors are Messrs. F. Taylor, G. Cattermole, L. Haghe, F. Goodall, B. Foster, F. W. Topham, and J. Holland. WE understand that Dr. Alexander, Dean of Emly, who is a candidate for the Poetry Professorship at Oxford, is about to publish immediately a volume of selections from his poems and critical essays. THE later numbers of Mr. Walford's 11 Photographic Portraits of Men of Eminence" contain Messrs. W. J. Thorns, George Soharf, J. A. St. John, Dr. William Smith, Prof. Lyon Playfair, Mr. Robert Patterson, Bishop Colenso, Mr. J. W. Baza.!gette, and Sir J. Emerson-Tennant. The biographies are very well done. "NEW AMERICA," by Mr. Hepworth Dixon, bids fair to become the greatest literary success of the day. It is now, within a few weeks only of its first produc- tion, in a sixth edition. The author deserves his prosperity. It is the first full and reliable account of Mormon-land that has appeared in this country. "GREvILLE F. a learned man-in a piscatorial sense-is now writing a series of little books under the title of The Rail and the Rod; or, Touriat Angler's Guide," which, within a certain distance of the metropolis, describes all the spots where the disciples of Izaak Walton love to congregate. The depth of water, the character of the fish, the mode of angling, are all explained; nor are the inns forgotten. The first number of the series is devoted to the Great Eastern Railway. WE have on our table two catalogues of the Paris Exhibition, both claiming to be oflioial, and being, as we infer, really so. One seems to be English-official, the other French-official. The first, which is in four languages—English, French, German, and Italian—is "printed for her Britannic Majesty's Commissioners," and concerns itself only with the English department. The second catalogue, in English only, relates to the entire collection, and is, we should suppose, necessarily incomplete. „ THE life and labours of the late John Campbell, D.D., we learn, are in course of preparation under the editorship of the Rev. Dr. Ferguson, and the Rev. Dr. Brown, of Cheltenham, assisted by his eon. The work, which is largely from the doctor's own pen, and the material prepared by his own hand, will be shortly published.

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. Compound Householders. As some misapprehension seems to have arisen with regard to the exact position in which compound house- holders would be placed under the Government Bill, the Small Tenements Rating Act being left upon its present footing, the Day hastens to point out that none of them could be actually shut out from the franchise at the discretion of any vestry in the king- dom. The Act in question enables vestries to throw certain difficulties in the way of a man's getting the franchise by making him a compound householder. But though it enables them to make him one, it would not, under the Government bill, enable them to keep him one. He could claim to pay his own rates if he chose. The occupiers under X6 would be in a. worse position where the Act was in force than where it was not, because they would have to do something in order to acquire the franchise, whereas the others would have to do nothing. But that is the extent of the grievance. It would probably keep a good many occupiers off the register, and so far the expression is oorrect when it is said that vestries would have it in their power to say that such and such classes should or should not possess the franchise. Bat only so far. Sunday Places of Amusement. The Standard (commenting on Lord Amberley's motion on Tuesday night, says that the question is a far wider and more delioate one than Lord Amberley seems to fancy; and we must add that he appears to be singularly ignorant of the opinions and aims of the gentlemen of whom he is the mouthpiece. He talked of these meetings as religious services, and the objects of their promoters as religious worship. Sarely he cannot have read the titles of these entertainments. Is a lecture upon some secular subject, say a period in English history, or the manners and customs of a strange people, a religious service ? And can there be any worship in listening to a lecture upon such mat- ters ? A visit to St. Martin's-hall may be an excusable way of passing a Sunday evening for people who, under no circumstance, would go to ohurch or chapel, but it certainly has nothing to do with worship. Moreover, his lordship said that it would be doing a great injustice to the persons connected with these St. Martin's-hall services to assume that they would support the opening of places of entertainment on Sundays. Indeed! We had always believed, and we must say we still believe, that the getfcers-np of these meetings are the persons who maintain what little agitation there is left for the opening of the Crystal Palace, and similar places, on the Sunday. Now, the Crystal Palace is a place of entertainment, or it is nothing, and Lord Amberley was unfair to the House -quite unintentionally so, we will not doubt—in dis- guising from it that the attempt to repeal this portion of the Act of George III. is really but a part of a great soheme for completely changing the character of the English Sunday. The National Debt. There can be no doubt that in a year and a half the Amerioan States have reduced their debt more thaI; we hope to reduce it, with the aid of both Mr. Disraeli's scheme and the application of annual surpluses, in 10 years, which does not seem to speak at all well for our relative resources and energies. That we can do little, however, is no excuse for doing nothing; and all the arguments used against reducing the national debt are really arguments which would tell equally in favour of the proposition that there was absolutely no danger in 132 increasing it. If you say that you use money better which you leave to fructify in the pockets of the people," why raiee any revenue beyond what is abso- lutely necessary to keep up the public credit and pay the interest on what you borrow ? The truth is, tnat every diminution of debt is a clear gain at least of the labour wasted in collecting revenue; and, what ia more, every diminution of a permanent burden on the country leaves at our disposal, for future emergencies, a better class of taxes than we could otherwise resort to, if, in time of peace, we never paid off the burdens of the past. If we use every possible remission of taxa- tion in fresh consumption—and that is, of course, the temptation, if we are not reminded by the continuance of the taxation that we have still debts to pay—then when the strain of war or any other calamity comes, the old taxes when put back will not put us in any I better position thai we are now in, but in just the same position, and ve shall have to resort to worse and more oppressive taxes for new resources; while if we have kept up ourtaxation for the payment of debt, the burden of so much annual interest is absolutely removed, and the coitinued tax is so much additional resource to meet the pressure with. Indeed, there can be no doubt that unbss particular taxes can be shown to diminish the accunulative powers of the people in a very disproportionate degree, there is no reduction of the public burdon more advantageous than the reduction of debt. And Mr. Disraeli ought certainly to have the full credit, on which no doubt he astutely oounts, of supporting in this respect the thrifty coun- sels of the leader of Opposition in the face of his own party's open discontent.-Spectator. Turks and Christians. It is altogether idle, and quite too late, to set about seeking to affirm or attempting to prove that Ma. hometan rule is better than Christian, or easing, with Lord Derby, that the position of Crete would not be improved by adjunction to Greece. Attica and Corfu may not be models of good government, but they do not present periodical scenes of massacre. Christian societies and Governments may be slow to attain our status of civilisation; so they proved in the Middle Ages. Still they advance, and are capable of reaching a state that will satisfy the present age. Mahometan societies and Government can never reach that in any amount of ages, and with whatever degree of wisdom in their rulers. To take Christian populations, therefore, from under Mahometan rule is, wherever it is feasible, desirable. That must be done in Crete, and we shall be sorry to see it done whilst England looks on dumb and disapproving. The true difficulty and danger, however, for the Ottoman Empire in Europe is Bul- garia and Thrace. We see that the Porte is making mighty promises. It is to have many assemblies of notables, and the inhabitants of different creeds and communities are to have voice and influence. Let us wait and see, without prejudging. If the Turks can really solve the problem of governing in peace and justice a province of mixed races and religions, let them try once more. And let them have fair time to make the experiment. We must say, we doubt its success. But after the conciliatory spirit the Porte has shown lately, it is, we think, entitled to indulgence, p itience, and consideration. This we say with regard to Bul- garia and the northern provinces of Tarksy in Europe. With regard to Crete, that is another question. There the Porte must needs yield more completely.—Satur- day Review. The Lodger Franchise. The lodger franchise now demanded differs totally from Mr. Disraeli's. Hia was essentially a middle class franchise, contrived as a counterpoise to the depressing influence of the more householders." The lodger franchise now demanded is one necessary for the enfranchisement of the artisans of London. In London, land is too costly for small houses to be built side by side; they are piled one on another. It is scarcely possible for a workman to occupy or pay for a whole house. If he takes it, ib is only to let out the greater part to lodgers. Hence the London artisans are either lodgers or letters of lodgings; and nothing short of a joint occupation or lodger franchise oan ever find out by natural selec- tion those London artisans who ought to have votes. But it is clear that the lodger franchise must have some limitation, or we should have universal suffrage for lodgers. It cannot be a ratepaying limit, for the lodger pays no rates. It cannot be a rateable value limit, because the valuation is made for whole tene- ments, and not for each apartment. It must therefore be a rental limit. And when this limit is being de- ba.ted, it will become clear that the same principles which apply to the franchise of the joint occupier apply as cogently to that of the whole occupier or householder. In other words, the lodger franohise will prove itself to be in complete contradiction with the first franchise clause of the present bill, which enacts household suffrage. It will be evident that household suffrage must not be limited by per- sonal payment of rates, but by the value of the tenement. If the House of Commons can bring itself to avow the conviction that its instinctive vote of the 18th of last June ought to be re- vised in the light of sober reason, this value will be determined by the only perfectly fair standard, the gross estimated value in the first column of the rate- book if not, it must be determined by the inferior, but perhaps sufficient, standard of the rateable value in the second column. When this is once settled it will soon appear that the natural and obvious basis of a Reform Bill at the present moment would be a householder's or whole. occupier's franohise, with the limit of X6 gross estimated rental, or X5 rateable value; together with a lodger's or joint. occupier's franohise of .£10 or possibly X7 rental. The name of household suffrage will then cease to encumber the debate, and silly Liberals will no longer be tempted to drop the substance of Reform in order to clutch at the shadow of democraoy.-The Chronicle.

OUR MISCELJLAM ST. Address to a Friend.-A gentleman in Australia thus writes to a friend in England:- There's a sweet little spot* on the Lea's sedgy shore, Where the waters flow silently all the day long; In the days that are gone it was like a sweet dream To recline on its green banks and hear the bicd's eong. That sweet little spot I rhsll never forget; And oft when alone in the spring of the year, I think, Is the streamlet still flowing there yet r Does the lark's early carol, still waken the ear? Yes, the river still silently flows on the same, And the lark's matin song is still heard as of yore; But where are the friends that in many a game Of frolic and fun we shall never see mora ? You remember those days in the sweet month of June, In the old apple orchard, with pipe and full glass, When our humours with nature accorded in tune, And death was the fate of the eel that dare pass. There was you, there was I, Harry Collier, and Joe, Or, perhaps, Joey Barritt 'tis more propor to say, There was Baisback, and Alley, and well you must know How jolly the morning passed quickly away. There's one wish I must breathe before I conclude That a day may once msre, in the spring of the year, Find Barney and me in our old solitude, With the song of the skylark delighting our ear. E. B. S.. Australia. Ferry Boat, Tottenham Mills. Strange if True.-A lake has been discovered in the State of Iowa, in America, occupying a Burface of 2,800 acres, which is between 2ft. and 3ft. higher than the surrounding country, and surrounded by a care- fully built wall 10ft. or 15ft. wide. When or by whom the wall, which is very old, Wits built, none can dis- cover. The stones of the wall vary in weight from a. hundred pounds to three tons. There are no stones on the land within ten miles around the lake. -Builder. Roasted Priest.-Soon after the little caravan was again in motion, we came in sight of a email village, formerly the stronghold of a notorious robber chiettan, Abo Goosch, whose bold attaoks once made this paelil very dangerous. To extort money he would sometimes capture pilgrim monks, pnt them into a large oven, light a Blow fire, and then send a horseman full gallop to Jerusalem, with a message to the superior of the convent that if such and such a sum waa not sent him, the fire would, within such a time, burn I up, and the good pilgrims b;, roa"lted.- II M'!J Pilgrimage to Eastern Shrines," by Eliza C. Bush. A Skye Terrier.—What a world of bustle and ex- citement is there when a French poodle or a German spitz meets a strange dog: My Maooth terfier simply puts himself in a fighting attitude; 1? tha stranger will try a round with him, he is delighted to be able to accommodate him, if not he evidently regards him as a snob and passes on. Skje, on the contrary, is too well bred even to express surprise; be baa oanght the manners of the drawiog-room, and cats ail strange members of the canine family with an air of jaunty indifference. At the same time, if any of them ventures to growl at hia beard, insinuate that his tail is not tha finest in the village, or indulge in any other of the insulting tricks common amongst batcher dogs: and dogs of the lower orders in genaral, Skye is per- feotly ready for a mill.—Once a Week. I A Subterranean City.—As appears from an < article in the Bussiaa Invalide the subterranean city I found on the banks of the Sir-Darya has been reo 3 peatedly discovered before, but as soon forgotten. It f ia called Yana Kent-that is, Newtown, an'.l supposed I to have been constructed by the Persian tribe, which, under the name of Sartes, even now forms the bulk of the sedentary portion of the population of Tarkistan. Yana Kent, with several oities in that neighbourhood, is believed to have been destroyed by the Tartars on their first appearance in the oountry, and, besides extensive ruins, includes a cemetery at some distance from the buildings. The Kirghisian nomads, now scouring that region, have their own way of solving this antiquarian problem, holding that the town in primeval times was destroyed by the Avenging Spirit to punish the sins of the inhabitants. According to them, these people have been swept away from the face of the earth. Rassian travellers have more than once noticed the spot, but no exca- vations of any magnitude were ever made. Old County Families.-It is curious how the influences of a long desoent affeot all the dependents on such a property. Good easy men, they saunter to and fro from work morning and evening pretty muoh to-day as they did yesterday, and as they fully intend to do to-morrow. Sir Hubert would never dream of dismissing his tenantry, born and bred like their fathers on his estate. Everything on such a place has a tendency to slide into an easy, good-natured kind of groove. The gardeners step into the servanta'-hall and drink beer whenever they like. The quantity of corn and hay need in the stables is enormous. Who ever takes the trouble to inquire into such things? They were always done; and the present generation takes due care to keep up the traditions. The head groom has a house and salary better than most curates. Many governesses would think themselves passing rioh had they but half the money the cook receives for her services. What an enviable post has the village schoolmistress, with her trim house and garden by the side of the park, and ruddy-faced charges, who curtsey and bow to every respectable person, as if this were the first article of their duty to their neighbours. Petted by the ladies from the great house, who so often bring them down oranges and cakes, what a wonderful contrast they present to a London ragged school, with its pale faces and squalid garments!— Once a Week. Children in New York.—" Whom the gods love die young." This saying may serve to console the people of New York just now in connection with some startling information recently received from America. It appears that the number of infants who die in that city is far beyond all our experience, and I that, as regards those at a somewhat more advanced age, the proportion is so annafcaral that the results must be considered quite abnormal. The early death of children is too prevalent among us at home, but our r condition in this respect is not nearly so sad as that of the Now Yorkers. They do not complain that any ) one class in society is more visited than another, but 5 the mortality is general, and their conclasion is that the grim messenger is at work secretly and in some special and peculiar manner. This subject is no new 5 one in Amerioan experience. The aame complaint has I often been made, and various reasons have been sug- gested for the apparent fatality which reigns, and ) many schemes have been proposed with a view to a 3 more hopeful state of things. Bat there is a cause for j these numerous untimely deaths which does not appear 1 to have attracted the attention it deserves. We believe that the great enemy which is engaged in this work of destruction is the milk with which the 3 little onea are fed.—Fraser's Magazine. 5 The Helpless English Soldier.-I happened 3 to be in Alexandria when a small party of English 5 BoldierB-abont 30-under the command of an officer, arrived there on their way to India. They had 3 literally nothing to do in the way of getting themselves ■ transported over to Suez, for, as one of the transit 3 offioiala told me, the correspondence respecting the [ advent of this little body of men-that is, the letters, ■ reports, orders, oounter-ordera, and what not, received • from England about them—would have filled a good- 1 sized wheelbarrow. From the admiral at Malta, from 1 the War-office in London, from the adjutant- general and quarter- master-general in London, from like offioiala at Calcutta, from consuls, vice- > consuls, and consuls-general, heaps of large official r letters were reoeived about these men. From the » moment the steamer conveying them was signalled as entering Alexandria, until they were safely put on board the steamer at Suez—a period of about 48 hours—everything that they could possibly want-to eat, to drink, or to wear—was provided for these men, even to the very carriage of their greatcoats, to say nothing of boxes. And yet a more helpless-hope- lessly helpless-set of fellows, from the officer down to the youngest soldier, it never was my lot to see in any part of the world. They went about Alexandria in a kind of bewildered maze, doing exactly what they ought not to have done, and leaving undone exactly what they ought to have done. They were like so many big children who had lost their way; it waa only when under the protection of some of the railway or other officials, that they looked like creatures with ordinary gleams of intelligence.- Dickens's "All the Year Round A New View of Miracles.—We find in the Bible there is a close connection between the active development of the spiritual and the subjugation of the corporeal life, and the working of miracles. All the prophets led that life, they were given to prayer, fasting, and solitude. It was the peculiar life of Jesus; he retired to the mountains, the deserts, and by-places for prayer, and he attributed the miraculous power to the results of this life. Is it then possible for a, man by strong faith, accompanied by fasting and prayer, in these later days, to regain that close, mys- terious communion with bis Maker whioh should give him a supernatural power ? We reply that we have not the means of answering the question, for the simple reason that we never have an opportunity of seeing it tried. Without wishing to insinuate anything invidious, have we any record in ecclesiastical or other history, of bishops, priests, or men of any class, during the last 400 years, spending whole nights in prayer, or coneeoative days in fasting, Buoh as we read, upon indisputable authority, was the practioe in the olden times of the prophets, and the later times of men who devested their lives to the imitation of Christ. There are plenty of hints scattered throughout the Bible and Testament that there is a mysterious connection yet to be recovered between man and God, if men will only fulfil the required condition, and we repeat that it is not in our power to estimate the results of such a life as we have mentioned-a. life of spiritual discipline, of development of the soul, and subjagation of the body—because we have no examples around us; but we ask, if such life were pursued, what is there to prevent our believing that to some extent the words of our Divine Master, who led that life himself, would yet ba verified, and this sort" would still go out through fasting and prayer.Dublin University Magazine. A Big Leap —Daring the ride that Mr. Smith took with Mr. Villeboie to see the Craven country, they passed the wall of Elcot-park, which Mr. Villeboia said was a great obstacle when hounds ran through the park. Mr. Smith pulled up, as if measuring the height, which was six feet two inches; and being seen to smile, be was tol-l it was impossible for a horse to jamp it, i) either was it neoessary, as there were doors in different places. He said nothing then, but bore it in mind. It happened, however, in the second year of his mastership that the fox led the hounds through this park, and they followed through the holes left at the bottom of the wall for game to pass. The horse- men made for a door but found it locked. Mr. Smith, who was mounted on the General, rode at the wall: but the horse ran his head up to it and then stopped short. He was then taken back about 40 yards, and again put at it, and being well spurred, accompanied by a touch of the whip on the shoulder, he I sprang over, to the surprise, and indeed horror, of the whole field, who thought it an act of madness, as the rider doea now. On reaching the ground on the other side the horse's fore feet gave way, and he carno down on his chest, and his rider's feet being dashed on the ground in the way that gave an awful shock; but the horse rose with him on his baok and he kept his seat for a short time, bat long enough to allow him to stop the hounds. The men in the meantime had forced the door: when they reached him he was unconscious; but they held him on his horse until he got home, when he was bled, and carried insensible to bed. In three weeks he was again in the saddle, when he was told by some of his friends that they had ridden through the doorway which he had cleared. This was certainly a most remarkable leap; but Mr. Smith is so far from being proud of it, that he never mentions it, and when others do he con- demns it as an act of wanton folly, which he would be porry tha.t anyone should imitate. He rode the General for seventeen seasons, and then gave him to an old, quiet coursing friend, who had him for five years, and then found him one morning dead in the stable.—Sporting Incidents in the Life of Another lorn Smith, Master of Foxhoundt.

EXTRACTS FROM PUNCH & cc FUN." --+- TO PARIS AND BACK. 1. I suppose you intend, my intelligent friend, In the course of the spring to run over (It's done in a minute, when once you begin it) To Paris by Folkestone or Dover. Perhaps, by a brief preparation, In elegant versification, I may show you a few of the things you can do, When you're out on your peregrination. II. Let me mildly suggest that the journey is best, If you start when the weather looks shiny; You may feel a qualm, if it's not pretty calm, When the steamer gets out on the briny." Pale brandy—don't venture without it- Will cure you, perhaps, but I doubt it; Or lie on your baok when you feel the attack, And think nothing whatever about it. HI. If, on landing, you feel in the one for a meal, You can get it, of course, at the station; You've a long way to go and the trains travel slow In that lively and go-a-hsad nation. Get the very first coach you can dive at, When Paris at length you arrive at, You'll be perfectly charmed (and a little alarmed) By the pace that those vehicles drive at. IV. Take your caf6 au lait on beginning the day, But fight shy of a solid refection; You can then go and moon about Paris till noon, And indulge philosophic reflection. You're sure to grow fonder and fonder Of Paris the farther you wander: Our sights over here are uncommonly queer To the sights you may see over yonder. T. Don't go to Saint Cloud—you're a muff if you do- There's enengh to be seen in the city; The drama's a sight you should get ev'ry night, For the French (unadopted) are witty. I think I may say in addition (As I've little more space for tuition) That, while you're in France, you should seize on the chance Of a trip to the new Exhibition. A COLLOQUY ON THE CAT. GENERAL JOBBERNOWL. Mr. JONES. Jones. If Mr. Otway's amendment in committee on the Mutiny Bill had been carried, it would have put an end to oorporal punishment in the Army during the time of peace. What then ? Job. Sir, if flogging in the Army were abolished, the Army would be demoralised, and go to the deuce. Can't do without it, sir. Civilians may talk; but we can't do without it, sir—oan't do without it. Jones. As a civilian, of course, I speak with due diffidence. Bat is the British soldier, generally, a fellow that can be restrained only by fear of the lash? Job. Can't do without it, sir—oan't do without it. Jones. But, my dear General, fear—the fear of bodily pain-is that the sort of feeling to restrain a man whose business oonsists in exposing his flesh to be lacerated and his bones to be shattered ? Job. All's one for that; can't do without it-oawt do without it P Jones. Well, I don't know, but I should have thought that a man who could only be got to behave himself by the terror of the cat, must be a good-for-nothing fellow. 0 Job. Can't do without it. Jones. Can't you do without such fellows? Hadn t you better get rid of them ? Are there so many scoundrels in the rank and file of the British Army, that the cat is necessary to keep the Army to- gether ? Job. Can't do without it, sir. Jones. Well, but then, if that is so, the British Army is worse than the British Bascalry, the British Felonry, the British Rogues and Thieves. Among oonviots the oat-o'-nine. tails is reserved for the exoeptional punish- ment of cruel and cowardly garotters. Job. Can't do without it, sir, for all that. Dis- cipline, sir, discipline must be maintained. Can't do WLTLIUUB lb. Jones. Well, it certainly does seem odd to me. Flog- ging is held to be too bad for any bat the worst of criminals, and yet you can't do without it in the honourable profession of arms. Job. No, sir; Can't—can't do without it. Jones. When Mr. Otway lost hia amendment, he made not a bad joke. He congratulated the Govern- ment on the success of their whip." Job. All I can say, sir, is-can't do without it. "AND WHO" AGAIN! We have long been pointing out whither "and which was leading those unhappy scribes who in- dulge in it. Now we have a terrible instance of it, that we olip from the Gourt Circular, by whidfr it is so doubt quoted from elsewhere:- Miss Marie Harris, daughter of Mr. Harris, who arranged the whole business for Mr. Knowles and Mi-ss Southern in Paris, and who is already known to the Paris public for her simple, ladylike style, will be included in the cast of the American Cousin. If Mr. Sothern is surprised to find himself "translated" into Miss Southern, Mr. Augustus Harris will no doubt be equally astonished to find he has been changed by this and-which-ery into his own daughter-for it is he, and not she, who is here described as already known to the Par's public for a simple and ladylike style. INGRA.TITUDE. The ingratitude of the human race Look here:- TO be SOLD, a very superior INVALID CARRIAGE JL Cost, within six months, £ 12. To be sold for four guineas.—Apply to, etc. A carriage bought within six months for twelve pounds, has, it seems, been unexpectedly laid-up, and has become a confirmed invalid. Although, doubtless, it did good service, it is at onoe got rid of at an alarm- ing saonfice. Will no charitable person buy it, if only to send it to some hospital ? LADIES OF THE CREATION V. LORDS. To votes for the ladies when we've once been sohooled, Seats for the ladies Mill must point his pen at: And speed the time when England shall be ruled As Cambridge ia, by Graces of the Senate!" WORD SPLITTING. Had Ministers adhered to dual voting, We fanoy it is every one's belief, That dual had been changed to deuil-quoting A fast expression— as they'd "come to grief."

RECEIVED WITH OPEN ARMS.—The Great Eastern ia to run between America and France during the Paris Exhibition. In order to show how highly the Emperor estimates the Amerioan, it is arranged that the latter shall be conveyed at once from the bosom of his family to the Brest of France. IL Y A CLOSE ET CLOTHES.—After all, Lord Derby, when he makes the mistake of giving X40 a. year to Mr. Young, is only doing with his pensions what he has been doing with his bills—stealing the other side's Clothes. ONE OF THE THINGS THEY "DONT" MANAGE BETTER IN FRANCE.—A Great Exhibition. SPORTING INTBLLIG ENCE.-Should "Boots for the Moors be made of Morocco leather P Increase of Pay to the Metropolitan Police. -On Saturday morning an order was read at all the police stations in connection with the Metropolitan Police, signed by Sir Biohard Mayne, and approved by Mr. Walpole, the Secretary of State for the Home Department, stating that the following partial increase of pay would be made to the Metropolitan Polioe. Chief Superintendent Walker an increase of £ 100 a year, making £ 425 per year; the other super- intendents are to be raised £ 50, making < £ 300; and the commissioners will eelent from the superintendents four to be raised another £ 25 per year, making 43325 per year; 100 inspectors are to receive £ 18 as. per vear increase, and for the present there ia to be an inorease for the first-class spr^eants, who are only receiving £ 1 8a. per week; 200 of the second-class sergeants are to be raised from £ 1 6s. to -fil 8s. The first-olasa constables are to be increased from £ 1 3s. to £ 1 5a.; and the second-class from £ 1 2a. to £ 1 3s. The third and fourth class of constables are not to receive any increase. This increase has caused great dissatisfaction among the sergeants, as the first-clasa constable, who has no responsibility, receives within Is. of what the sergeant receives. Printedahd Published, for the Proprietor, by JAMES HEKRV CIAUK, at his Office Brid.ie-sfreet, Tfak, ia the County oi Konmooth.—Saturday, April 13,1867.