The Illustrated Usk Observer and Raglan Herald

POLITICAL GOSSIP. ♦ THE Right Hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer lately honoured Mr. Begg, of the Royal Lochnagar Distillery, with a visit, and inspected the whole works and operations in the malting, mashing, and distilla- tion as carried on at his works, expressing himself much pleased with what he had seen, as well as with the quality of the whisky manufactured, which he was pleased to taste. THE Britannia, Captain Richard Powell, C.B., training-ship for naval cadets, has taken up her winter quarters at Dartmouth, and is moored just above the Fury. She has on board at present upwards of 200 cadets. The arrival of the ship was hailed with great rejoicing by the inhabitants, and the bells of the church in the town set ringing in token of welcome. Sir Henry Scale has most liberally placed his park at the disposal, of the cadets as a recreation-ground. GREAT ill-feeling prevails between the Pontifical authorities at Rome and the French commander, in consequence of the order of the day which the latter recently issued relating to the gendarme who fired at :an Italian officer. The Papal authorities contend that General de Montebello had no right whatever to demand that the gendarme should be given up, as there is stated to be a convention in existence between the Pope and the French Government expressly stipu- lating that only in the case of a crime being committed against a French soldier should the offender be handed over for trial to a French court-martial. The General, on the other hand, claims, as commander of the army of occupation, to have the keeping of the frontier and all offences of a military nature committed within the military lines under his exclusive control. The quarrel has become so serious that it is believed the Papal Government will require of France the recall of General Montebell o. His Excellency the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland has, during the past week, received a succession of guests at the Viceregal Lodge. Among the visitors have been the Duke of Devonshire and Lady Louisa Caven- dish, Marquis and Marchioness of Drogheda, Earl and ,Countess of Meath, Countess of Miltown and Lady Barbara Leeson, Lord Walter Ker, Lord Richard 'Cavendish, Lord St. Laurence, Lady Caroline and Misses Lasoelles, Hon Mr. Dillon, General and Mrs. Ellice, Mrs. and Miss Jones of Pantgl&s, Sir Leopold McClintock, Colonel Fitzgerald, &c. THERE is a vast deal of information respecting the sanitary condition of the British army, at home and abroad, in the "Army Medical Statistics," lately published as an official blue-book, not only as regards the health but the condition of the troops, the mode of recruiting, the number of rejections, &c. As respects education, it is stated that, taking the whole strength of the army at 205,382, there are 36,263 soldiers unable to read or write, and 10,000 of superior education. Re- cruits are derived from all callings, and range over the whole circle of the arts and sciences, but the great majority, and probably the most useful portion, had been unskilled labourers previous to enlistment; and of these there were 100,976. Out of the recruits in- spected in 1860 the rejections were no less than 256 per 1,000, principally on account of malformation of the cheat and spinal curvature. Only six foreigners, or even British colonists, were enlisted in the army during 1860. REAR-ADMIRAL YELTEBTON, C.B., second in com- mand on the Mediterranean station, has been ordered to Toulon, where lie will take command of a squadron, .composed of ships of the several maritime. States, there assembling, in order to escort the young King of Gsreece to his future dominions. The Imperial Russian corvette Soxall, Captain Aslaubigoff, called at Ports- mouth on Thursday last, on the passage from Cron- stadt to Toulon, to form one of the combined squadron. It is expected that Admiral Yelverton, in lthis flag-ship the Revenge, will winter at Athens. ALTHOUGH he has resigned the office of Attomey- <?r#ueral. Sir William Atherton intends to retain Ms S for the city of Durham. IT has transpired that Lord Palmerston came to town and had an interview of two hours' duration with Prinee Napoleon, who, before he left England, also saw Earl Russell at Woburn; so there is no doubt that, after all, the Prince's mission was political; and we may expect some result from it. A DEPUTATION recently waited on Earl Spencer in reference to encroachments on Wandsworth-common. It was urged by Mr. Buckmaster that the common was highly prized by the people as a place of recreation, and that its inelosure would be a direct injury to the public. Lord Spencer received the deputation favour- ably, and promised to give their representations his best attention. THE Ionian Parliament have voted the annexation of the Ionian Islands with Greece, and passed a vote of thanks to England for her concession to its wishes. There now only remains a few formalities to complete the transfer of the islands from the protection of England to the rule of Greece. IT is announced in the Quarterly Official Navy List" for October, that the new uniform regulation, not having as yet received the Queen's sanction, will not appear in the Navy List' until December next." They will be probably promulgated in the interim, by Order in Council, in the Gazette. THERE are now no less than seven lieutenants plo,ced at the bottom of the list of that class of officers, [ in conscq ience of the many courts-martial that have lately taken place-1-A fact impreQedented m our naval records.- r THE French, authorities have icoeived the thanks of the British Government for the respect shown by them af the funeral at Havre of ithe lata Admiral Was^ing- tqn, our Admiralty hydrographer. The only British officer present at the ■futteral was Lieutenant Brooker, who, being a Knight of the French Legion of Honour, received unusual attention in France. All the ar-tho- rities and persons in the French army and navy salute on all occasions a member of the Legion of Honour. LQ&D LYNDHTRBST has just died in his ninety-second year, and the following members of the Peerage have ,0 reached the age of eighty and upwards: "Viscount Combermere, 90; Earl of Charlemont, 88; Earl of Stair, 87; Earl of Onslow and Bishop of Exeter, So; Earl of Normanton and Lord Brougham., 85; Earl of Radnor and Viscount Gough, 84; Bishop of Peter- borough and Baroness Ruthven, 83; Earl of Craysfort, Earl of Gainsborough, and Lord St. Leonards, 82; Bishop of Ely and Lord Wensleydale, 81; and the Earl of Cadogan, Earl of Crawford, Earl of Rosebery, Earl Poulett, Earl of Buchan, Bishop of Cashel, Lord Glenelg, and Lord Lisle, 80. SPECULATION is rife as to the probable successor of Archbishop Whately in the see of Dublin. The Evenvug Mail notices a rumour that Dr. Verschoyle _is to be elevated from Kilmore to Dublin; that Dr. Fitzgerald is to be translated from Killaloe to Kilmorej and that Dean Graves is to be the new Bishop of Killaloe. Another of the many rumours afloat is that Dr. Fitz- gerald is to be the new Archbishop, and that Dr. Graves is to succeed him in Killaloe. There is a further report, that an English dignitary will be ap- pointed. It is our own conviction that all these rumours are mere surmise. Lord Palmerston has the disposal of the Archbishopric, and he will, doubtless, give full consideration to the case in all its bearings before announcing his decision. MB. DISRAELI is in a state of health that gives his friends much anxiety. Without being dangerously ill, he has lately shown symptoms of failing vigour that, in a man who has scarcely ever known a day's illness, are indications not to be disregarded. Perhaps no man in Parliament has possessed a finer physique than Dis- raeli, and when he is found to be poorly," it is indi- cative of a very great change.

LITERATURE AND THE ARTS. MB. POCOCK is engaged in editing, for the Oxford Clarendon Press, a new edition of Burnet's History of the Reformation," verifying the documents given by Burnet, by careful comparison with the originals wherever they are known to exist. THE recent discovery of seven volumes of MSS. in the handwriting of the celebrated author of the "Mariage de Figaro," in the shop of a London book- seller, is likely to give us considerable insight into some of the more secret social facts preceding the first French Revolution. A REPORT on the Madras Military Fond has just been published, containing New Tables of Mortality, Marriage, &c., deduced from fifty years' experience- namely, 1808 to 1858; with an introductory letter by Colonel J. T. Smith, Actuary to the Institution. To all who take an interest in insurance topics this will prove a most invaluable work of reference. LORD LYTTELTON delivered his lecture on "Some of the English Poets in the Corn Exchange, Stourbridge, last week, which was filled in every part with a nu- merous and appreciative audience. The lecture was delivered under the auspices of the Church of England Young Men's Association, a society of which it is impossible to speak too highly, as it aims at the mental and religious elevation and the social improvement of the young men of this large town. His Lordship was warmly applauded on rising to deliver his lecture, and proceeded with scholastic discrimination to point out the beauties of the English classics, selecting some of the most sublime passages from Milton's "Paradise Lost," and pointin g out with critical acumen what he con- sidered to be the inferior portions of that great work. His Lordship contended that Spenser had rot that legitimate right to be considered as one of England's three great poets, and then proceeded to point out the beauties of several of the lesser but sweeter poets, including Southey, Hood, Burns, and many more of England'smostpopularsingers. Thelecturewaslistened to with great attention and frequently applauded, and at the close a cordial vote of thanks was given to his Lordship for his able and instructive lecture. MR. GLADSTONE has promised to lay the founda- tion-stone of the Wedgwood Memorial, at Burslem, on the 20th inst. The committee of council have con- tributed < £ 500 towards the building. THE Society of Arts have deferred from the present holding an exhibition of the works sent in to compete for the art workmanship prizes offered by the society, as the very extensive repairs now going on in the society's house render it impossible that the articles could be displayed in a suitable manner. THE statue, by Mr. Joseph Durham, of London, of the Prince Consort, was uncovered last week by the Lieutenant-Governor of Guernsey, Major-General Sir M. J. Slade, Bart., who presented the memorial to the chief magistrate (or bailiff), P. S. Carey, Esq., who in his turn gave it over to the people of the island. The statue is situated close to the town church, between the old harbour and wet dock, and bears the following inscription in gilt; on the eastern side, facing the sea (to which the Prince's face is turned) are the words "Albert, Prince Consort," and on the other side is written, "Erected by the People of Guernsey, 1863." This beautiful statue is from the cast of that made by Mr. Durham for the English nation, and is the only one from the original in her Majesty's dominions of the kind-an honour which the inhabitants prize ex- ceedingly.

SPORTS AND PASTIMES. -+, LORD STKATHMOBE has retired from the Turf, and his entire racing stud will be sold at Newmarket during the Houghton Meeting. GLOUCESTER Races, which were to have taken place during the month of November, have been given up, in consequence, to a great degree, of the stewards, the Duke of Beaufort and Earl of Coventry, having withdrawn their names. DURING the last three open fishing days on the river Earn last week, Lord Dupplin and Lord Charles Kerr had some excellent sport frem the bank of Dupplin Castle—killing 13 salmon, 5 grilse, and 19 sea trout. The salmon weighed in all 2171bs., and many of them were clean run. AN influential meeting of the landed proprietors of the County Carlow was lately held in the town of Carlow, for the purpose of adopting measures to pre- serve the salmon in the Barrow and the Nore. A PARAGRAPH last week went the round of the papers to the effect that Messrs Tattersall's establish- ment was about to be removed to the Portman-street Barracks. This was not accurate. A capital site has been secured at Knightsbridge, where, in fact, the building is fast progressing. The offices are already carried to their full height, and the roofs are now being put on. The entire frontage, presenting a very hand- some appearance, will be towards Knightsbridge-green; while the gateway embraces three arches, the one on either side for pedestrians and the centre for horses, with equally convenient distinct access to the offices of the firm and the subscription-room. The latter will be large and lofty, and the stables backed by all the advantages of light, height, and width. Trying as it may be for many an old stager to turn away from the familiar Corner," the new Tattersall's, like the new hotels, will have many a "pull" in the way of due accommodation for man and horse." THE native species of wild cat infests the forests of Germany this year in such numbers that sportsmen, in many districts, complain that there is hardly a hare to be shot. This ferocious little member of the feline race has even committed considerable havoc among the young deer in some parts of the country. The consequence is that regular cat-hunts have been found necessary to thin their numbers. THE FOREST AND MOORs.-Good sport has been got on the Earlof Seafield's grounds at Balmacaan. His lordship was out stalking in Shewglie Forest, Glen-Urquhart, the other day, and brought down a fine stag of ten points, and another party on the moors bagged twelve brace grouse, one and a half brace black game, a couple of snipes, and two hares. On the 30th ult., the Earl stalked and brought down a fine stag of ten points, and Sir Alexander Bonner- man shot a large stag of eleven points. The same day, on the moors, Mr. Biddulph bagged six brace of grouse. On the 2nd inst., Sir Alexander Banner- man stalked and brought down one stag and a fallow buck; and William Tomlin, Esq., shot a stag and one roe-deer. On the same day the Earl of SéáfteJÜ bagged five brace of partridges and two hare's. On the 3rd the Earl of Seafield and party went out in the afternoon, and shot one stag and two roe-bucks. The party found the grouse healthy and numerous, but owing to the wet stormy weather they are very wild. On the Duke of Richmond's grounds of Glenfiddoch and Blackwater, there has also been good sport. On the 28th ult., his Grace shot two fine stags, after having that morning come from the castle, and Mr. Knox killed one of 15 stones. On the 29th, his Grace brought down a stag of upwards of 14 stones. On the following day Lord Hamilton killed four stags, weighing from 13 to 14 stones. On the 1st inst., Lord Hamilton had two of 13 stones. On the following day his Grace had one of 14 stones, and on the 3rd Lord Hamilton brought down two, one weighing 13 stones 121bs., and the other 14 stones 10lbs. IT was a remark of the late Duke of Wellington that those who were fond of field sports, hunting, racing, and shooting, always made the best cavalry officers, as the pursuit of these manly exercises gave them activity, nerve, and quicksightedness, in addition to rendering them healthy, and capable of enduring great fatigue. Carrying out the views of the Iron Duke," the com- manding officers of all our cavalry regiments have always encouraged such sports, and no corps have been more conspicuous in that respect than the 9th (Queen's Royal) Lancers, whose gallant deeds in the Peninsula, at Punniar, Sobraon, Punjaub, Chillian- wallah, and Goojerat, are well known to the world. Last week, the Autumn Sportring Meeting of the 9th Lancers took place on the Brighton Racecourse, which was thrown open to them by the Race Club Committee, the trustees of the race-stand presenting a handsome silver cup, of the value of fifty sovereigns, to be run for. The stewards were Major Johnson, Major Rich, and Mr. Floyd. Captain Mahon acted as judge, Mr. N. Stephenson as clerk of the scales, Mr. Thonger as starter, and Mr. G. Longman, as secretary-all of the 9th Lancers. Nothing could be better than the arrangements, as the most perfect unanimity prevailed throughout. The stewards, who were perfectly au fait with their duties, arranged a capital bill of fare, including three stakes-a plate, a cup, and a match. Their courtesy to their guests and those assembled in the stand was most praiseworthy. Captain Mahon, like a good soldier, never left his post in the judge's stand. Mr. Stephenson attended to the weights, and was as zealous in that department as he is in the riding-school. Mr. Thonger proved, in his person, at least, that military starters are better than civilians, for nothing could exceed his system; while especial thanks are due to Mr. G. Longman for the admirable manner in which he carried out the duties of secretary. The gentlemen jockeys acquitted themselves very well indeed, and, where all rode well, it would be invidious to select any upon whom to bestow the palm of victory; suffice it to say that the riding of Captains Starkey and Erskine, Messrs. Lawrence, Chalmers, and Longman was particularly noticeable. Mr. Lawrence, on Greyfoot, the runaway horse, managed it splendidly, and his riding was the admiration of everybody. With all the strength the gallant officer could bring to bear, he could not stop the wild animal until he had gone, at least, five miles, and an ordinary horseman must have met with a serious accident. The meeting went off admirably, and the amusement of the day was wound up by Carlotta Patti's concert in the evening, which was well attended, and went off admirably. We understand that the officers of the 9th Lancers propose getting up a series of theatrical entertainments for the winter months. The Cesarewitch Prophecies. The writer'to Bell's Life thus concluded his lengthy analysis: "We are inclined to look for the winner among such a lot as Umpire, Limosina, Drummer Boy, and Lioness; and while afraid to put implicit faith in the uncertain Umpire, we must pin our faith to Limosina or Drummer Boy, as the most likely to carry off the twenty-fifth Cesarewitch." Somniosus," in the same paper, places Lioness first and Twilight second.. "Beacon," in the Sporting Gazette, said: Having curtly recorded my impressions respecting all the horses likely to take part in the contest, it only re- mains for me to say that I expect Umpire, Emblem, Myrtle, Limosina, and Drummer Boy will comprise the front rank at the finish, and the last named I consider entitled to the preference, as he has the best of the weights, and his recent running shows that he is in form." The following also appear in the same paper "Rhyming Richard" selects Emblem and Drummer Soy, "with JVTr. Ten Broecfc for a ee location." < £ Birm- ingham" selects Umpire. selects Fantail as the winner, with Jack of Hearts and Blackdown well up. Aladdin thinks that Emblem will win every inch of the way. "Observer," in the Field, said: "I shall conclude my comments on the race by predicting as the winner, Lioness or Limosina, and Blackdown, Myr- tle, and Drummer Boy I shall expect to find close up." Touchstone," in the Era, thus concluded his prognos- tications We shall follow the usual plan we adopt in making a selection for a big race, and believing that all has not been made public as yet respecting the horses trained by Godding, we shall place the first three as under:—Limosina, A. Edwards, 1; Lioness, H. Covey, 2; Umpire, J. Adams, 3. If an outsider upsets our calculations, we shall not be surprised to find it either Agag or Real Jam." "Augur," in the Sporting Life, said: Having from time to time treated upon this handicap, let me remark that, in my opinion, there are only four really in it—Lioness, Drummer Boy, Limosina, and Umpire, and of this quartette my choice must remain as heretofore, for Lioness and Drummer Boy." Tom Noddy," in the same paper, selects Limosina. The Court Journal gave Emblem or Drummer Boy, with Venison for a cockboat, if he should start. "Hotspur," in the Telegraph, gave Lioness and Drummer Boy. The Result of the Race proved that the "knowing ones" were not far wrong in their calculations. Lioness, who started first favourite, was declared the winner. Simosina second, and Jack of Hearts third.

TOPICS OF THE WEEK. THE EARTHQUAKE.—Whether the shock that has lately been felt in England is likely to be followed or not by others, at any short interval of time, it is by no means easy to say. The earthquake of Visp, in Switzerland, in 1855, recurred at intervals, often short ones, for many months, lasting from July, 1855, to February, 1856. The earthquake, again, which travelled up the Mississippi valley in the winter of 1811-12, rather increased in violence instead of diminishing as it went [northward, so that the shocks at New Madrid (the point recently celebrated in the American war as Island No. 10 on the Mississippi) were more frequent and stronger in February, 1812, than the shocks in the lower valley earlier in the winter. As a rule, however, a continued period of shocks is rather rare, and a continued period of shocks increasing in intensity still rarer. Generally the most violent shock is the first felt, so that we may fairly hope that we have not entered on a season of earth- quakes, especially as England is not usually liable to any but the gentlest species of shocks. Mrs. Somer- ville says that 255 slight shocks of earthquake have been recorded in Great Britain, of which 139 took place in Scotland, 14 on the borders of Derbyshire and York- shire, 30 in Wales, and 31 on the south coast of England. At all events, it is certain that the neighbourhoods of mountainousregions are much moreliable to earthquakes than an undulating or level country like England, and that the line travelled by an earthquake is usually parallel to a mountain range like the Andes or the Alps. Thus, in a map lying before us of the regions of Europe particularly liable to earthquakes, certain valleys of the Alps and the Apennines nearly exhaust the number. The explanation of this probably is that earthquakes are most serious where the crust of the earth is thinnest and that the mountain chains having been thrust up through the weakest lines of the earth's crust, usually run along a weak streak. There are some places, even in regular earthquake regions, which are never disturbed by the shocks—the waves in the soil passing there too deep beneath the surface to shake it; and such exempted places the South American natives call bridges" over the earthquake, the tide of vibration flowing under without in any way affectii. g ohem. Such places must mark spots or bands of ex- teptionally thick crust. The volcanoes, on the con- trary, are, doubtless, the chimneys by which the interior gases, whose expansion creates the earth- quake escape-the safety-valves of earthquake. It is a well-established fact, that volcanoes in the vicinity of—or even at considerable distance from— the centre of an earthquake, cease to smoke just befc re the earthquake breaks out;—while during an earthquake the commencement of a volcanic eruption will always denote that the danger of destructive shocks is practi- cally at an end. Thus the West Indian earthquake of 1811-12, which lasted, as we have said, for months, ended absolutely with an eruption of the. volcano of one West Indian island, St. Vincent, in April, 1812, which had been passive since 1718;—and from the moment of its eruption even the earthquakes high up the valley of the Mississippi began to die away. So, again, the great Lisbon earthquake was preceded by a marked and very sudden cessation of the smoke from Mount Vesuvius (which is twelve hundred miles distant from Lisbon), and the great earthquake in Riobamba, Ecuador, in 1797, which extended to our West Indian islands, did not stop till the apparently extinct volcano of Guadaloupe burst out again into activity on the 17th September in that ye&r. In fact, the inhabitants of volcanic countries are always alarmed by the complete cessation of smoke from active volcanoes, expecting it to be followed by earthquake, and always abandon their fears from the earthquake so soon as they see the volcanic safeLy-valvo again fairly open. From all this we may infer that an open volcano relieves the pressure which produces earthquake, but that it also indicates where the crust of the earth is so thin that such a safety-valve is needed. How does this affect the chances of our island ? Only so far as to shew that we are, probably, in no such danger of destructive earthquake as volcanic countries; but that should any fissure, filled with volcanic gases, approach the surface here at all nearly, we should probably suffer more, in consequence of the distance of the nearest safety-valve, than even countries in the immediate neighbourhood of volcanoes. Speaking roughly, we may say that we 4- are about equidistant from the Scandinavian saftt valve at Mount Heola, and the Italian safety-valves at Vesuvius and Etna. If, therefore, the eruptive gases ever approach closely the surface in England, we may, perhaps, suffer even more than Italy from this terrific force, though it would be hard to conceive a more de- structive earthquake than that of the Calabrias in 1783. Lisbon, before the great earthquake of 1st November, 1755, was in a position, as regards earth- quakes, not at all unlike Liverpool. Situated on the sea coast where, cxteris paribus, earthquakes are always more violently felt, and on a tract cf land which is without any active volcano, but which had long been subject to slight shocks of earth- quake, and never before to any severe one, it was very similar in position to Greenock, Chester, or Liverpool. The same might be said of London, the only difference being that its greater distance from the sea and greater distance from any mountain range would pro- bably be slightly in its favour. As a rule, the earth- quakes both follow the chains of hills, and prefer the sea-side, being severest in spots like Lisbon, Caraccas in Venezuela, or the Calabria coast, where the hills end suddenly near the border of the sea. Probably England may never suffer from earthquake as tropical or semi-tropical regions do, where the cracking caused by excessive dryness in the earth's crust is always more or less deranging the internal arrangement of the gases. It is to be hoped, at least, we may never wit- ness in England such a phenomenon as was recorded in Jamaica in 1692, when one of the chasms in the earth swallowed up several persons, but soon reopened to eject their bodies on the top of jets cf water, which threw them to a considerable height aboye the surface. Such freaks of natural violence are with us usually left to the table-turning spirits, many cf whose performances are, indeed, strikingly like the achieve- ments of earthquakes on a diminished scale. Thus, in the earthquake of Concepcion, in Chili (1835). "an angular stone pinnacle was turned half round without leaving its base," exactly as if a party of spirit-ra-ppers had sat round it. Humboldt says that straight avenues of trees were bent-into curved avenues by the same earthquake—a twist on a huge scale. But, for- tunately for us, even earthquakes, which certainly represent the imprisoned anarchy of nature more ade- quately than any other phenomenon, cannot attempt to parallel in England the confessed anarchies of man. Once or twice in a century we are made to feel that only a few yards of solid prison wall separate our civilisation from the most terrible of destructive forces; but many times in every year we are tempted to question the value of that civilisation for the sake of which God has dammed up the central fires of our planet, and "made the round world so fast "that it can at least only now and then be moved.—Spectator. MR. ADDERLEY ON CANADA.—Mr. Adderley has come forward to make the amende honorable to the Canadians, in consequence of the determination which they have evinced to defend themselves and preserves their liberties in alliance with the British Empire. It was exceedingly generous on the part of the member for South Staffordshire to say so much as he has done —for he was in no way called upon expressly to do so, aad had he not been as ready to praise as he is usually averse to censure, he would have remained silent. But having found fault with the Canadians when they 'o manifested a disinclination to adopt measures to pre- serve their independence, Mr. Adderley generously desires, now that the Militia Bill has been passed by a large and triumphant majority, to pay a just tribute to the rising spirit of a great and important colony," which has at length shaken off "the dependent feeling which our colonial policy too much engendered." It is extremely satisfactory that one who has paid so much attention to the policy of our colonial Government should express such opinions as Mr. Adderley has done on this occasion. The people of Canada are determined not only to defend but to tax themselves also for their defence. There is a self-reliant tone about all their late proceedings which is essentially English; and it is noticed by Mr. Adderley as a remark- able fact that "the minority of seven to eighty-eight on the second reading of the Militia Bill, was composed exclusively of Frenchmen." But, as we remarked last week, there was very little doubt from the first that such would be the result of an appeal to the Canadians when they had placed before them the alternative either of preserving their independence or of falling under the thraldom of the despotic lawyers who are trying to insure to themselves permanence of power at Washington. Instead of 5,000 volunteers, and a militia on paper, which was all the force the Canadians had to depend upon two years ago, they will now have 35,000 volunteers fully armed, equipped, and drilled, and 100,000 militia organised in battalions, well offi- cered, and ready at the shortest notice to perform effective service in the field. In addition to this, they will also have a reserve of 200,000 men in case an inva- sion. A people so prepared and determined to defend themselves, assisted as they would be by all the re- sources of England, would be as difficult to conquer as the Confederates; and the Yankees, though they know well how to bluster, will think twice before they enter upon a war of such magnitude as the attempt to conquer Canada would infallibly impose upon them. -The Press. A PLEASING CONTRAST.—Strange but true it is that in the centre of the most civilised portion of Europe, surrounded on all sides by monarchies more or less military, more or less constitutional, there ex- ists at this moment a free and flourishing republic, and, what is more, a Federal republic. This republic, which has survived the vicissitudes of neighbouring empires, and the downfall of ambit'ous and aggressive Sovereigns, is neither very rich nor very powerful. But it is contented, prosperous, united, and ever ad. vancing towards all the beneficent conquests of peace and liberty. Neither pomp nor privilege, nor here- ditary wisdom, nor transmitted superiority, nor the extremes of luxury and poverty are there; neither overgrown parasitical establishments of Church and State, nor a labouring population housed in hovels unfit for beasts, nor a swelling aristocracy of vulgar wealth, nor an ancient nobility descended from pirates; and yet the soil is well cultivated, the people are happy and instructed, and nowhere can we find a higher or purer love of country, or a stronger resolu- tion to defend it inch by inch against all invaders. It appears that even in the Old World there is a possibility for a Republican people to possess all the virtues of Englishmen without the political and social advantages which Englishmen are taught to consider inseparable from monarchical and aristocratic institu- tions.—Daily News.

OUR MISCELLANY. —- Smoking cigarettes, according to the Court Journal, is becoming very prevalent among ladies of the upper circles! How to obtain Eggs—If a piece of raw meat is kept for hens to peck at, they will never break their own eggs; and more than that, they will lay eggs in winter as well as summer. Tears and Laughter.-How near akin laughter is to tears was shown when Rubens, with a single stroke of his brash, turned a laughing child in a paint- ing to one crying; and our mothers, without being great painters, have often brought us, in like manner, from joy to grief by a single stroke. Love in a Cottage.-A young lady who has been married six months says it is all nonsense to talk about love in a cottage. The little rascal always runs away when there is no bread and butter on the table. 'There is more love in a sirloin of beef than in ail the rouea and posies and woodbines that ever grew. The Right Sort of a Wife.-The buxom, bright- eyed, full-breasted, bouncing lass-who can darJl a stocking, mend trousers, make her own frock, com- mand a regiment of pots and kettles, feed the pjgSi, milk the cows, and be a lady withal in company—is just the sort of a girl for a young man to marry; but you, ye pining, lolling, screwed up, wasp-waisted, doll- dressed, pretty laced, consumption-mortgaged, ncT el- devouring daughters of fashion and idleness—you are no more fit for matrimony than a pullet is to look after a family of fourteen chickens. The Maternal Lobster.—The reproduction of the lobster, enormous as it is, would be far greater were not the young destined to become, in myriads I may truly say, the prey of fish of various descriptions, as they are of man. Many fishermen assert that they have frequently seen during the season the old lobsters with their young around them. Some of the young have been noticed at six inches long, the old lobster with her head peeping from under a rook, the young ones playing around her. She appeared to rattle her claws on the approach of the fishermen, when herself and young family took refuge under the rock; the rattling was, no doubt, to give the alarm. This is told by old and experienced men, without the slightest concert or question of collusion.—London Sociciy. "Stonewall" Jackson's Stick.—The following- is vouched for-.—The Rev. Dr. Junkin, General Jack- son's father-in-law, and a Northerner, visited the Confederate hospitals after the battle of Gettysburg. Coming as a Federal clergyman, the wounded Con- federate soldiers would not listen to him. What should he do to catch their attention ? He hit cpo-a a, pious fraud. He had a fancy walking-stick in his hand. Holding it up so that all the ward might see it, he told them it had been presented to him by their beloved Stonewall." The stick proved to be the best of credentials: the wounded men no longer turned a deaf ear to his exhortations, and more than one man down South has cause to be thankful to the Rev. Dr. and his walking-stick. Receipt for Cooking Old Birds.-In the first place, let the birds be kept as long as possible, hung up where there is a free circulation of air, and when picked and prepared for dressing, cover the bottom of a saucepan with slices of good fat English bacon, upon which lay the bird, then add a pint of good strong well-seasoned gravy, place the saucepan upon a slow fire, the caver being on, and let the contents simmer for an hour and a half or two hours, turning the bird occasionally, and supplying- more gravy, if necessary when done let the contents be put away in a dish to cool, to be eaten when cold. Birds dressed in this manner are good hot, but they are far better when cold. Snipes and woodcocks are also excellent v.'hen cooked in this manner, but require much less time. The principal thing to be attended to is the fire, that it be not too ardent or too quick, as the desired result with old tough birds can only be obtained by a slow gradual process. In roasting game, the principal thing to be attended to is continuous basting, in which case the fire cannot be too ardent. Lady-Smoking.—I was surprised to see, whilst travelling, so many elegant young women, evidently of the higher class, availing themselves of the stoppage of the trains to get out and have a smoke. It did not look nice to see them go to work in the methodical way they set about it. Out came a great he-looking' cigar-case and a light-striking machine, and in a brace of shakes those pretty lips were disfigured with a black-looking cigar, from which ascended clouds of smoke, rendering them unpleasant to approach for the rest of the day. However, as their husbands did net appear to object, I suppose no one else need do sO.d. Visit to Russia. A Whale at Peas.-The dinner was a capital one; the Cunard directors are famous for good feed- ing and Judge Tipps, father to my young companion, played an excellent knife and fork. A dish of peas came round, the last of the marrow-fats, the latest peas of summer; and, indeed, I cannot conceive from what remote market the steamboat purveyors had imported them, seeing that Covent Garden had been barren, in respect to this vegetable, for some weeks. I am very fond of peas, and was leioieed to see my ia-voi,trites once again; and I anxiously awaited their arrival. Miss Tipps, Miss Julia Tipps, and Tipps e, as the French would say, had each taken a decorous spoonful from the flying dish, and now the black waiter. was offering the delicacy to Tipps himself, enough being left for five persons at least. What was my horror to behold the Judge deliberately monopo- lise the whole—sweep, as I live, every pea into his own plate—and then turning to me, with a greasy smile, remark, "I guess, stranger, I'm a whale at peas. Black/wood's Magazine. A Tragedy.—A soldier who was recovering from a wound received while serving in the army of the Rhine, was going home to his father's house, on sick leave. He had been repeatedly urged not to go in ad- vance of the escort accompanying the diligence; but at the first glimpse of his village home he had not been able to wait, and had risked the journey alone. A labourer working on the road, seeing him come, seized, a gun which was hidden in the hedge, took aim, shot him through the head, and then began to rifle the. corpse. The report having been heard, the escort, accompanying the diligence galloped up, and the peasant fled with the knapsack and a portfolio, in which there was a travelling pass. As neither he nor his wife knew how to read, they begged a neighbour to communicate to them the contents of the paper, and they found that the dead man was their son. The mother killed herself with a knife, and the father gave himself up to justice.—Life of Victor Hugo. The Solan Goose.-Having a keen appetite, the solan goose is easily imposed upon. I remember on one occasion fastening, by way of experiment, a fish to a fir plank more than half an inch thick, and sending it adrift as a lure. It had not been long out till a wandering gannet was seen approaching. Im- mediately he caught sight of the fish he halted in his flight, and in another moment dashed head foremost with such force as to split the board in two; the bird, harlequin-like, disappearing in the sea as if nothing had obstructed its descent. Often afterwards, on looking at him in my collection, I regretted the unfair- ness of the poor fellow's capture, a broken neck being the result of his hungry plunge. Last summer, when pigeon shooting at the sea caves south of Ballantrae, one of the boatmen informed me of having assistetF, many years ago, in the removal of 128 dead geese from a train of herring nets which had been laying at a depth of 180 feet. The accumulation of birds in the nets, though sunk with heavy weights, had brought the whole train to the surface, by the buoyancy of their bodies, and attracted the notice of the people on shore; and as the nets contained a quantity of herrings, it was conjectured that the geese had been drawn to the spot by their glittering sides, and been tempted to risk their necks in pursuit.—Intellectml Observer. Old Age.—" Yes," said Mrs. Vivian, and I admire the squire as much as his granddaughters; he realises all one's conceptions of a pleasant old age." If old age can be pleasant," said Florence. Not pleasant!" cried Erie; no people, I assure you, enjoy themselves half so much. It has its proper enjoyments-for one thing a triumphant consciousness of having survived other people." "And of having nearly done with a troublesome business," put in the count. Love honour, and troops of friends," suggested Mrs. Vivian ■ does not Macbeth say that ?" Troops of friends," said Florence, bitterly; "that must be a strange sensation; do you know it, Count Malagrida ?" To be sure," said the count, pleasantly. "Friends are of three sorts those from whom you expect something those who expect something from you; and those whom you are watching for the purposes of retalia- tion." Let me get out of the carriage," said Mrs. Vivian, with a groan. "The two last classes," con- tinued the count, unruffled, are what old age abounds in; what is expected of you is—to die; and as to vin- dictiveness, just look at people's wills! Ah said Erie, "that explains what one sees in the Times, Friends will please accept this intimation. Well. said Florence, my complaint against old age is, that it is like the rest of life—so aimless; from hour to hour we ripe and ripe, and then from hour to hour you know the rest." Oh, yes cried Erie, "and thereby hangs a tale-much too grave a one to talk about." You seem resolved," Mrs. Vivian, said, complainingly, to have a most disagreeable conversation; I heartily wish you were all riding." "Well," said Florence, who enjoyed the vein, upon which they had lighted, one age is much the same as another, after all. I declare I see nothing in the world to live for. Why should one exist?" The beautiful and the good," said Malagrida,. with an air of sincerity, are ends in j themselves. — Fi user's Magazine.