The Illustrated Usk Observer and Raglan Herald

L*iri3_OOUET. FE THE Court was held during the past week at Bal- moral. The Queen, accompanied by the Duke and Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Princess Helena, have taken occasional walks and drives in the vicinity, and her Majesty appears to be gaining health and spirits in her Highland home. THE Prince and Princess of Wales are in Denmark. At Elsinore their reception was most enthusiastic and flattering. The Danes appeared to have forgotten their past griefs in loyalty to their sovereign, who came to me6t his daughter and her illustrious husband. As so little has been written about the infant Prince Albert Victor of late, says the Court Journal, it will be interesting to most to leam that he is acknowledged to be a child of remarkable beauty and of singular intelligence. THE Prince and Princess of Wales will be absent about three weeks from the date of leaving England, during which time they will visit St. Petersburg and Stockholm. IT is confidently reported in Court circles that an engagement between the Princess Helena and the eldest son of an illustrious house will soon be publicly announced. GREAT preparations are being made for the recep- tion of the Prince and Princess of Wales for the shooting season, after their return from Denmark. The prosrects of the shooting season on the Royal estate are very good, as there is a great quantity of partridges, an abundance of pheasants, and every variety of game. The very dry season has of course been very favourable to game preserving, and poaching being almost unknown here, the principal enemy which the keepers have had has. been Master Reynard, a' good supply of foxes being preserved by the directions of the Prince. The alterations and improvements which have been and are being made under the direc- tion of Mr. Carmichael, the resident steward, are very inaiked, and have already completely changed the aspect of the estate. The 'plantations, which had become completely overgrown and choked with rank underwood, have been thinned, portions of the park have been raised and planted, and new and excellent roads made. A new and commodious house has been provided within the park for the head keeper, and on the table land before it have been constructed eighteen large pheasantries, each being about fifty feet square, all connected, and forming one large and compact block. The kitchen garden, which has been laid out, and is to supply the Royal table with fruit and vegetables throughout the year, comprises fifteen acres of land, seven of which are completely enclosed with brick walls, that on the north side being of great height, and parallel with it are six large grape conservatories. The new labourers' dwellings, each of which is provided with three sleeping apartments, approach completion, and others are to be commenced. All the old cottages have been repaired, painted, and ingrained. The royal stables have been still further extended, so as to show uniformity of appearance and afford sufficient accommodation for his Royal High- ness's stud. The comptroller's house, which is really a very beautiful mansion, situated in the park to the south-west of the hall, is completed. A model of Sand- ring haITI-hall has been constructed according to the plans of Mr. Humbert, and if they are carried out a splendid palace will supersede the present modest mansion of Sandringham-house. Nothing has as yet w' been decided in the matter; The beautiful Norwich gates and their accompaniments are on the point of completion—the decorator being now engaged in put- ting the finishing touch to them. The Home Farm falls into the hands of the Prince of Wales at Michaelmas. SINCE the departure of her Majesty from Windsor nearly 200 workpeople have been engaged at the castle re-painting and re-guilding the Queen's rooms. The stone-colour which concealed the fine oak-panelled ceiling of the grand entrance and staircase leading to the marble statue of George IV. is being renovated, and other important improvements are going forward.

LITERATURE AND THE ARTS. WE understand that the subscribers to the Liver- pool Sir Rowland Hill gift fund have appointed a com- mittee to decide upon some work of art as an appro- priate testimonial. IT may be mentioned that the sice chssen for the royal pavilion at Perth is the spot on which King Robert III. of Scotland is said to have viewed trie sanguinary battle between Clan Chatt&n ana Clan Kay, commemorated in the Fair Maid of Perth." THE British Museum is becoming greatly enriched by the antiquities found in the course of constructing the Metropolitan Main Drainage Works. Human skulls and animal remains, pottery, Roman coffins, fragments of metal and flint work, as well as a marble sarcophagus, are among some of the recent additions to the traces of the history of the Roman occupation. THE recently-issued report of the Science and Art Department of the Committee of Council on Educa- tion is an interesting parliamentary volume. The third examination of science classes throughout the United Kingdom, under the system instituted by the minute of June, 1859, was held in May, and the fourth examination of teachers in November. The increase last year was considerable in the number under in- struction. In 1862 there were 70 clauses, numbering 2,543, and last year there were 93 clauses, numbering 3,111. The navigation schools have remained during the past year nearly stationary. With regard to art, the National Art Training School at South Kensington has been attended by a total, exclusive of the training and free classes, of 288 students in the spring session, and 382 students in the autumn session, and the total received in fees was £ 1,548 9s. The class of students in training for masterships numbered 47, and that of free students 55. As many as 7,930 children of poor schools in London have been taugnt through the agency of the training schools, and the total number of all classes who have received instruction has been 9,166. The total number of schools of art in the United Kingdom is 90. Three new schools have been opened at Shrewsbury, Perth, and Lincoln, whilst those at Bridgnorth and Reading, which had ceased to receive aid, have, under the new minute, come again into connection with the depart- ment. In the local schools of art 16,480 persons have received instruction during the past year, compared with 15,907 in 1862, whilst in the public schools taught through the agency of these schools, 79,305 children have been taught, being 7,882 more than were so taught in 1862. The report gives a full description of the South Kensington Museum. Gifts of pictures continue to be made to the museum, and the In- spector-General for Art points out the desirability of establishing some definite and concerted principle of action which may be applicable to the modern pic- tures belonging to the National Gallery and that de- partment. The committee consider his suggestion deserves attentive consideration. The committee con- sider that the time has arrived when some system may be usefully established of interchanging reproduc- tions of the most valuable objects between this museum and the museums abroad, and they have taken preliminary steps for carrying out a plan. The public will recollect that the Princess of VVales allowed her wedding presents to be exhibited in the South Kensington Museum. During^ the seventeen ^jays they were opened to the public in April and May, they were visited by 229,425 persons. Sevet al of the days were students' days," when non-students are charged sixpence for admission to the museum, and in that manner < £ 1.254 17s. 6d. was collected, and has been vested to found two scholarships in the French School of Art. Her Royal Highness has graciously consented to their being called "The Princess of Wales's Scholarships."

SPORTS AND PASTIMES. 0 A SALMON was caught this week at Montrose which deserves an obituary notice, as it was a monster unparalleled. It weighed 501bs., was 53 inches long, and 29 inches in girth. It was odd no one thought of it as a fit Royal present. IT is now generally admitted that many of the ladies who are followers of old Izaak Walton are quite as expert in salmon fishing as their lords, Lady Pigott, of Suffolk, ranking the highest in such piscatorial pursuits. PAIITKIEG-ES are plentiful throughout England generally, but, in consequence of the great drought, there is little cover for the birds, and the sportsman has gieat difficulty in getting near to them. In Cornwall they are, for the most part, remarkably fat and strong on the wing. Some heavy bags have already been made, but sportsmen have to act with great caution, owing to the forward condition of the birds. In the east, more especially, the birds are found very strong on the wing, and are remarkably wild, owing to the want of cover. Mr. C. Nunn, of Farnham, near Bury St. Edmunds, bagged forty-one brace of birds and several bares and rabbits in the course of a long day's sport. From Yorkshire it is stated that, as the harvest is not so forward, there has been more cover for the birds. Good bags have been made in this part of the country, and partridges have been selling at 2s. 6d. per brace. THE great Doncaster race meeting has ever been considered only second in importance in the sporting world to the week in which the Derby is run on Epsom Downs, and perhaps there has been as much specula- tion upon the great St. Leger this year as at any former period. The horses which figured prominently in the betting were the first three in the Derby, but Scottish Chief being scratched, Blair Athol and Gene- ral Peel were neck and neck in the estimation of specu- lators. At the last moment the Miner beat the Derby winner at York, who allowed him 71bs. Without taking that into consideration, he was soon quoted at 10 to 1; 7, 8, and even 5 to 1 being taken about him before the day, whilst Ely and Baragah carried heaps of money for their owners and friends. Outsiders were backed at extraordinarily long prices, for it appeared to be a foregone conclusion that the race must fall to the five first-named. The generality of persons well informed in these matters believed the contest for the prize would only be a match between Blair Athol and General Peel. The following were the principal prophesies in the sporting papers Touch- stone," in the Era, was strongly prepossessed in favour of Blair Athol and General Peel, and was the most inclined to Ely, Miner, Baragah, and Coast Guard for the remainder. From the fact of Bara- gah being so recently amiss, and the demonstration that had apparently set in so strongly against him, he did not think him so taking as the other three, one of whom he thought was bound to finish among the lead- ing trio. But he considered they were not so worthy of notice as Blair Athol and General Peel, and he thus anticipated the fiat of the judge Genera] Peel 1, Blair Athol 2, Ely 3. "Stable Mouse," in the same nancr. placed Minor 1, General Peel 2, Blair Athol 3. Observer," in the Field, con- cluded his review of the St. Leger candidates as follows" There will no doubt be important changes in the market before the race comes off, and which may affect the chances of several animals now in the background. But if the cracks of the day' remain in their positions, and run as they did in the Derby, I have a strong prepossession that the increased time, and the change in the course, will be so beneficial to General Peel as to enable him to verify the opinion both of his late and present trainer, of being by far the best three-year old of the season, and the most probable winner of the St. Leger. Next to him I think Miner will be discovered; but in spite of my doubts as to his staying, I should advise my readers to avoid taking any liberties with Blair Athol." The writer to Bell's Life said, "NVe cannot look beyond General Peel, Blair Athol, Miner, Ely, and Cambuscan for the actual winner. The lot is hard to choose between, the first two named being particularly troublesome; and the difficulty may best be got over, perhaps, by sticking to public form' and Blair Athol." "Orange Blossom," ii- the same paper, selects General Peel The Gem," Blair Athol and The Olympian," General Peel. Beacon," in the Sporting Gazette, thought the con- test ought to lie between Blair Athol, Miner, and General Peel; but as the latter had given indications that he was not gifted with the staying powers neces- sary to get a mile and three-quarters, he believed he should see Blair Athol effect the double victory; and that his most dangerous opponent would be the Miner. Rhyming Richard," in the same paper, selects Blair Athol; Cock Robin," Blair Athol; "Birmingham," General Peel; Troubadour," Blair Athol; Sitiens," Ely; PeepingTom," General Peel; and "East Riding," Gen. Peel. Augur," in the Sporting Life, considered the struggle confined to four—Blair Athol, Gen. Peel, Ely, andMinor; and, being bold enough to anticipate the judge, ventured to prognosticate the three first posi- tions as under:—Blair Athole 1, General Peel 2, Ely 3. Orlando," in the same paper, selected Miner. The writer in the Sunday Times, after reviewing the pre- tensions of the candidates, said the field was sure to be selected from the above, but not more than 17 or 18 may run. Of these we have a very great respect for Blair Athol and the overlooked Peon, but we cannot reconcile ourselves to the idea that either of them will make General Peel lower his colours, for he will have much greater advantages in the north than ever he had in the south, where he not only sweated profusely in his preliminary gallop for the blue riband, but was ridden to a stand-still in the race for that much-envied trophy. The result of the race was just as the generality of the prophets predicted, and proves the correctness of the Derby running. Blair Athol" was again first, and General Peel" second.

The Wheat Harvest. Mr. Sanderson, of Manchester-buildings, West- minster, reports to the Times the impressions re- garding the current harvest which four weeks of travel in various parts of the country have left upon him:- Crops have all cut up better than farmers antici- pated, and as the various harvest operations advanced the brighter became the farmers' prospects. Corn in stock gave higher promise than corn growing; the yield on the barn floor exceeded that which the stock led farmers to expect, while the returns-especially of wheat-to the miller are equal to tnose of last year." The earlier sown of the spring crops are generally better than the later. Plants which have fully de- veloped their feeding apparatus in the soil before the drought comes on them are the better able to with- stand it. The following illustration of this is given by Mr. Sanderson :— One half of a field containing 18 acres, which forms part of a highly-cultivated farm in West Kent, wis seeded with black Tartarian oats in the third week of March; the other half of the field, which can- sisted of similar soil, was treated in every manner alike, excepting that it was seeded on. the 20th of April. The result is that the yield of the former will exceed 80 bushels per acre, while that of the latter will not reach 34 bushels. Many similar cases have come under my observation, and, as a rule, an improved system of farming from drainage, deep cultivation, and liberal manuring justifies early seeding."

Gardening Operations for the Week. Bulbs to be planted. Those most important now are snowdrops, crocuses, and narcissus, and hardy border lilies, as these do no good if kept long out of the ground. Pot hyacinths, early tulips, narcissus, bulbocodium, tritonea aurea, ixias, and sparaxis. Cal- ceolarias may be propagated now in quantity; they need no bottom-heat. Take short stubby side-shoots, dibble them into a mixture of leaf, very rotten dung, and about a fourth part sand. They strike quickly, and make fine strong plants in cocoa-nut waste well rotted; so that if the plunge-bed can be cleared out, the rotten cocoa waste will be the best stuff that can be used for them; they will readily root now, and make first-rate plants for next season. Put in plenty of short, stubby side-shoots, and shut up in a frame. Hardy annuals may still be sown to keep over winter. If sown in the open ground, it must be on on poor, hard soil, in a dry position. We would observe that all the really hardy annuals are better from autumn than spring sowings. Hollyhocks to be cut down as soon, as they have bloomed out. Any very choice, from which cuttings are required, to be cut down without waiting for the last blooms to open, as it is important to gain a week or so to get good breaks from the stool to cut from. Auriculas will now need protection from heavy rains. Look over the whole stock, and stir the surface of the soil in the pots and remove dead leaves. If any leaves are damaged, turn the plants upside down and search for insects. If any green fly is visible, shake some dry silver-sand among them and blow it out with force, and the vermin will be carried away. Bedding plants struck now should be potted singly and shut up close in frames. It is too late now to put cuttings in the open border, as the ground is cooling and the plants are getting sappy, owing to the abundance of rain. All the bedding stock that is now well rooted and potted off for winter should be placed out of doors on a hard bottom of stone or slates, to harden for three or four weeks Fuchsias that have gone out of bloom may be cut back to neat shapes, and put in bottom-heat till they break freely; thus treated, they will flower finely during November and December in the greenhouse or con- servatory, with the help of a little warmth. Wall trees only need such care as may be necessary to assist in the ripening of the wood. Where spray-like growth and rank shoots overtop and shade wood selected for bearing, remove it or cut it into reasonable bounds, for the wood laid in needs now all the sun it can get, and is sure not to get too much. Train in regularly, and by all means avoid overcrowding. Hardy fruit to be gathered as soon as ripe, which may be known by the colour of the pips, and by the stalk parting readily from the tree. Gather with great care, and keep apart from the best all that fall in the process. Gather only during dry weather, and store at once; there is not the least need for the "sweating" process usually adopted. The fruit store should be in a dark place, capable of being freely ventilated, yet generally ad- mitting but a trifling current of atmosphere; and it should be cool, and yet safe from frost. Prepare mushroom beds for winter supply. The first thing to be done is to collect plenty of short unfermented dung, or if only long dung can be had, pick out the long straw and lay it in small heaps to ferment gently, and turn it every three or four days till it produces only a gentle heat; then make up the bed. A dry dark shed is as good a place as any, but a better crop and a larger supply may be ensured where the beds can be made 0 7er a warm chamber. Potatoes left in the ground after this time will spoil faster than they grow; get them up and stored; and should you intend to follow the practice of autumn planting, throw out all the middle-sized greenish tubers, and plant them at once, seven inches deep, and the rows not less than thirty inches apart. Cauliflower and broccoli to be planted in quantity for spring use, and rather close, that the plants may protect each other; and in case of hard weather all except the outside rows may escape injury. Recently sown stock should now be in rough leaves, and should be pricked out in frames or small clumps to be covered with hand-glasses. A few of each of the kinds of cauliflower should be potted to keep in frames all winter. Lettuces to be sown to stand the winter, if not done already. Choose a sheltered piece of well-drained ground. Those sown three weeks since to be planted out under walls or in patches to be protected with hand lights.—Gci/rdeners' Weekly Magazine and Floricultural Cabinet. —

Singular Capture of a Pair of Foxes.—As the gamekeeper of a gentleman living not ten miles from Preston was going his round in the wood early one morning last week, he espied a very large dog fox fastened by the neck between two trees growing close together. Although apparently exhausted by his attempts to release himself, the cunning of the animal appeared to have saved its life; for, on the keeper approaching, Reynard did not pull in his head, or try to escape by that means, as it was an experi- ment he had doubtless tried before until nearly suffo- cated. He simply showed his teeth. But the keeper was as cunning as the fox, and, by the help of a fishing net he had in his pocket, he secured his legs and head. Thus captured, his head was easily lifted from between the saplings. Beyond a slight bruise on one side of his neck, the fox had not been injured, although he must have been captive for hours, as he appeared famished. At the hall he was put into a kennel near the stables, with a chain round his neck. On the second morning after his capture, as the keeping was taking him his usual meal, he discovered another fox, of equal size, lying by the side of the prisoner, and the strange animal, on seeing him, darted away. The keeper believed this to be a bitch fox, which would, in a night or two, venture into the kennel again. The following evening he missed two Cochin China pullets and a bantam cock, but the she fox was not in the kennel. On looking inside he dis- covered the feathers of the birds, although the cunning occupant was fastened by a chain. It be- came evident now that the she fox was the thief, and bad robbed the hen roost, and that the prisoner in the kennel had received, at any rate, a portion of the property, well knowing it to have been stolen. A trap was set, and a night or two afterwards the bitch fox was caught in a net, and then the pair were taken by the keeper, and in the presence of the squire and several other gentlemen were suspended by a cord frem an apple tree, as a terror to others of the tribe.

TOPICS OF THE WEEK. GENERAL M'CLELLAN.—The Times, after comment- ing upon the selection of M'Clellan to fill the chair of the Chicago Convention, makes the following re- marks :—We see every reason to congratulate the friends of humanity and of common sense on the reso- lutions arrived at by the Chicago Convention. In General M'Clellan we have, if not exactly a "Young Napoleon," at any rate a man of modesty, caution, and discretion, who has shown himself in the darkest hour of his country's destiny equally averse from a military despotism in his own person and allowing its establishment by others. There is reason to believe that the liberties of the American people are safe in his hands, and that, when every principle of the con- stitution has been trampled under foot by military violence, is of itself no trifling recommendation. General M'Clellan has not proved himself a great soldier, he has not acted in the political struggles of the day with all the vigour and promptitude which, as it seems to us, the occasion demanded; but that he must have played his part with no ordinary discretion and good sense is sufficiently proved by the unanimous support which he has commanded in times so critical and amid opinions hitherto so divergent. It has been so constantly the practice to fill the Presidential chair of America with nonentities thp-t the probability of the election of a person of the calibre of General M'Clellan strikes us as being in itself in the nature of a revolution. The notion that the American Democ- racy should submit to place itself under a leader, and that leader a man of character and ability, unstained by the arts of the demagogue, and trusted mainly for his personal character, is so strange and startling that we really begin to hope the war has taught lessons never learnt in peace, and that in the hard school of adversity the evils engendered by a too luxuriant and exnberant prosperity may have found a remedy. THE PRINCE OF WALES IN DENMARK. — The Danes are a simple, brave, and kindly race. Their very simplicity helps to explain their demeanour at the present moment. Wherever the Prince and Prin- cess of Wales have gone thus far they have found a warm welcome. Should they visit the capital, we do not doubt that natural gosd-feeling and kindliness will triumph over the sullenness of the hour and the admonitions of some of the papers, and that the people of Copenhagen will follow the example of the crowds at Elsinore. But we, in England, must not wonder, nor rail, nor harshly criticise, if, just at this moment, the Copenhagen papers counsel a sullen deportment, and the population of the capital feel inclined to adopt the recommendation. Russia is in favour now in Copenhagen, and will do her best to foster the sentiment of the day. England does not fool jealous in the least. Y. e only hope that the new family alliance which a daughter of Denmark is contracting may not prove even less of a security to the independence of the country than that other alliance of which the Copen- hagen people are now disposed to complain. When the bitterness of defeat and humiliation shall have passed away, the Danes will do justice to the English people. They will admit, perhaps, that it would have been better with them if they had been content to entrust their cause to the support of that moral in- fluence-that power of public opinion—which just now it is the fashion to snoer at and depreciate. Bat the calmer mood which allows a place to such con- siderations has not yet arrived, and was not, indeed, to be so soon expected. In the meantime, let us not be too ready to think the worse of the Copenhagen population, even though their feelings of national disappointment and anger should make them disin- clined for festivity, or for the demonstration of that hospitality which is usually so congenial with their nature.—The Star. HONOUR TO WHOM HONOUR IS DUE.-The Illus- trated London News, after commenting upoa the life and character of Sir George Cornewall Lewis, says:- One cannot but rejoice that those among whom he had his home, and who knew his social as well as his political virtues, have erected a memorial worthy of him, of themselves, and of the city it will hereafter adorn. There was unusual appropriateness, too, in the choice of Lord Palmerston to inaugurate the statue. The venerable Prime Minister first placed Sir G. C. Lewis in high political office, and has probably owed something of his own success to the solid quali- ties of his colleague. In truth, every feature of the ceremony, as well as the statue itself, which was thereby dedicated to the public, struck us as having a remarkable fitness in it, as being in keeping with the character of the man to whose memory it was designed to pay a becoming tribute of honour. The occasion naturally suggests the reflection that in this United Kin gdom of Great Britain and Ireland—indeed, one may fairly say, all the world over-real work seldom misses a correspondent reward. The right hon. baronet could not boast of high social rank. His powers of mind were not extraordinary. Nature had not done for him much beyond what she does for the majority of mea. in middle-class well-to-do life. But, then, he made the very best use of the opportunities and the intel- lectual faculties which he had—undervaluing nothing, wasting nothing of which he would have to give account, and which he might improve by use. And this, perhaps, is the surest road which can be taken to distinction. Few who are resolved to excel ultimately throw away their labour. Sir George Cornewall Lewis's career presents an encouraging example to men whose highest endowment is their capacity and disposition to work. In view of the monument which now adorns St. Peter's-square, Hereford, no English- man can well make light of the rewards of industry; but turning a glance inward from the honoured states- man to himself, he may retire to his home stimulating fresh efforts by a remembrance of the line- "But slow and steady wins the race! THE SHAKESPEARE TERCENTENARY COMMITTEE. -It seems that we have not yet heard the last of the Stratford-upon-Avon Tercentenary Committee and its miserable failure to organise a national festival in honour of Shakespeare. Inexperience, mismanage- ment, and overweening confidence in the ultimate success of the celebration have been followed by their natural results—general discredit and a large deficit in the accounts. The committee, presided over by the local mayor, was impressed with too high an opinion of the importance of the work in which it was engaged, apparently thinking that, as it had, unbidden, imposed upon itself the care of providing a tercentenary festival in honour of the greatest poet the world has ever known, it must necessarily become a national festival -and that. notwithstanding all the unpleasant mis- understandings and bickerings that took place: people from all parts of the country would flock in dense crowds to Stratford at the bidding of Mr Flower and his colleagues. "Too sanguine reliance upon distant help," and inexperience in the conduct of "public undertakings," are, therefore, at the last moment, frankly acknowledged as the real cause why so large a balance as £3,000 should appear on the wrong side of the committee's accounts. Its resources were derived from public subscriptions and the sale of tickets; but that the former would not be large might justly have been concluded from the slow and feeble manner in which the stream of subscriptions flowed into the committee's exchequer. The amount received from that source, for the purposes of the Stratford festival, was not more than £1,567, the whole of which, minus £300, was expended on account of "management," including office and travelling ex- penses, salaries, advertising, printing, &c. The pavi- lion, the contract price of which was to have been £ 1,300, < ost £ 2,000 over the estimate, in addition to £ 1,400 for fittings and decorations. "Refreshment for performers," many of whom gave their services gratuitously, as well as the Shakespearian dinner and the fancy dress ball, are represented in the accounts by the small item of £ 747. In short, nothing that was provided paid. Everything was carried out on the most extensive, if not extravagant scale, but the committee forgot to count the cost, and did not seem- ingly trouble itself about the solution of that very vulgar and unpoetic problem, how to make both ends meet. The result is that some people have to pay the piper to a tune which will not be very agreeable to those concerned.-The Press. »

As Inspector John J. Terry, of the N division, accom- As Inspector John J. Terry, of the N division, accom- panied by Sergeant Gould, 40 N, was passing down one of the alleys allotted to the sale of sheep in the Metropolitan Cattle Market, at an early hour on Monday morning, he accidentally fell over a sheep dog that was lying there asleep, and came heavily to the ground. From his groans it seemed that he had sus- tained some severe injury, and he was taken home in a cab, when he was attended by Dr. Billinghurst, the divisional surgeon. It was found that the unfortunate man had fractured his leg in two places, and had also severely cut his mouth in two places. If he should go on well, the doctor states that it will be quite two or three, months before he will be able to resume his duties.

OUR MISCELLANT. --+- Broken Noses.—An Irishman tells of a fight ;n which there was but one whole nose left is the crowd, and that belonged to the tay-settle." Epitaph on a Miser.- The wretched man who moulders here v Cared not for soul or body lost; V But only wept, when death drew near, To think how much his tomb would cost. Bitter Remark.—Lady Chandos, who was still a coquette in her advanced maturity, came to a party after eleven o'clock. How late you are. my charmer! said the mistress of the house, provokingly. I am quite ashamed," answered her ladyship; but my maid is so very slow; she takes more than an hour and a half to do my hair." Fortunately," ob- served one of her friends, "you are not obliged to stay at home while she is doing it." Difference between Buying and Selling.— An executor not long since had to dispose of certain diamonds. He held the receipts for the money paid for them by the testator. One diamond cost £500 and another £200. Two diamond merchants in Lon- don were separately consulted (without the knowledge of each other), and each valued the diamonds within a few pounds of the same amount. The diamond which cost 1:500 was valued at £ 189, and it was ad- mitted to be a very fine one. The one which cost X200 was valued at £ 70. A Danish Pastor.—The pastor had travelled in distant countries, and, like a man of taste and sense, had surrounded himself in his house with keepsakes and remembrances of the lands he had visited; his walls were hung with good copies of oil pictures, capital old engravings, favourite views of mountain sides, bays, buildings, or popular scenes. His wife could read English and spoke excellent French, to say nothing of Danish and German, which are both to some extent native languages to her. More winning manners I have known nowhere. She has five healthy children, one of whom, the bashful romping, coquet- ting Karl, six years old, won my heart at first sight. The cares of the household, the bringing up of the children, the management of the extensive glebe farm, ecclesiastical and parochial daties, and the supervision of the school, do not so utterly engross the time and attention of this worthy couple as to make them un- mindful of intellectual luxuries and the embellishments of life—a polyglot and eclectic library, flowers, and a piano, upon which the fair lady of the house showed herself not merely a clever, but actually a first-rate performer.—" Invasion of by A. Gallenga. Special Correspondent of the Times. Second-hand Wigs.-What became of the old wigs in former days ? asks a writer in Once a Week. These of course fell from their high estates, were worn threadbare and ragged, fell into holes, were cast off as fashions changed. Yet there was a market for old wigs as for other abandoned garments. There were regular dealers in Rag Fair, as well as peripatetic merchants who called out Old Wigs Old Wigs!" in every street and at every door, as persistently as the better known "Old Clo' purchasers, who still remain, and will probably flourish till tho end of time. There was a ready market for second-hand wigs; sea- faring gentlemen and others much exposed to weather, were often heard to exclaim, Well, the winter's coming on; I must go to Rosemary-lane and have a. 'dip for a wig. This "dipping for wigs" was a simple and primitive sort of art. You paid a shilling, and, in the dark, thrust your hand into a barrel full of wigs and pulled out one. It was a lottery. If you obtained a wig to your fancy, well and good; if not, you paid sixpence more and took another dip; and so on, sixpence each dip, after the first, until you were suited. Hindu Miracles.—As Hunaman was enacting the spy, he unfortunately was made a prisoner, when, as a punishment, his ta.il was oiled, and then set fire to. Attempting to blow out the fire, his face became singed, and permanently blackened; so all his tribe had their physiognomies turned the same colour, which, should any one doubt, they have only to examine the Hunaman monkey, Semnopithecxis enteilus, which, with its black face, may to this day be found along the western Ghauts. After Vishnu, in the form of Rama, had killed Ravana, the wife of the latter came and prayed for a blessing, and he promised she should never be a widow. Then, dis- covering to whom he had made this promise, he directed Hunaman to constantly heap up wood on Ravana's funeral pyre, which he continues until the present time. Until the fire goes out, Ravana's body cannot be considered to be consumed, and, until it is, his wife is not a widow. Should a Hindu be asked for a proof of the truth of this, he directs one to place a finger in either ear, when the noise of the fire still burning may be distinctly heard.—The Land of the Permauls. Another Anecdote of Helson.—The beautiful Emma Lyons—Lady William Hamilton—has been. depicted by a host of aspirants to fame in arc; she has been painted as Venus and Ariadne, as Leda and Armida; she has been portrayed by pen in little less mythological forms, the last and not the least ex- travagant of which has been by Alexandre Dumas, senior. It required the veteran romancer to grapple with that trancendent- and fatal beauty to complete the historic gallery of portraiture. It is many years now (seven or eight, he tells us) since he has laid by that romancer's pen which he could wield with so much skill, and basking, during the greater part of that time under the sun of Naples, he has taken up the most striking episode in its annals as his last con- tribution to historical romance. Nelson's first visit to Naples was made on the occasion of the fall of Toulon, when he was sent in the Agamemnon to announce the fact to King Ferdinand and Qlccn Caroline of Naples. According to Dumas, Sir William Hamilton said on this occasion to his lady, I bring you a little man, who cannot boasto f being handsome, but I shall be much surprised if he is not one day the glory of England, and the terror of his enemies." "How do you foresee that inquired Lady Hamilton. By the few words that we have exchanged. He is in the parlour come and do him the honours of the house, my dear. I have never yet received any Eng- lish officer, but this one shall put up nowhere but with me." And Nelson lodged at the British embassy, situated at the angle of the river and the street cf Chiaia.—New Monthly Magazine. Paper Mattresses and Pillows.—These mat- tresses, when well made, serve as admirable biddings for the sick and infants among the poor, who have often nothing better than sacks filled with shavings to lie upon. They should be made thus?—The paper must be torn up into a basket which will not tip over. It must first of all be folded, and then be torn towards one's self, in the seams, into strips; each strip should be torn into bits no larger than half a. postage stamp. One thing is necessary to be observed in this part of the work-the paper must never be torn double, and each bit must drop separately into the basket. There will be lumps for ever in the pillow or bedding should you neglect this caution. I found out to my cost that, though you may shake the basket of bits, when they are thrown in doubled together they don't divide, and you put lumps into the case of linen or ticking, or whatever you prefer for the same pillow or mattress. No bits with sealing wax or gum upon them, such as some portions of an envelope, should ever be dropped in; neither any coloured paper, because poisons are now and then used in their tints by the manufacturers, in the same way as arsenic is employed in the colouring of green muslin. I have been told by a good authority in the matter that newspaper stuffing is healthy, on account of printers' ink being peculiarly wholesome. For my own part I should prefer a pillow or mattress made one sort of paper, either all newspapers and printed forms, such as circulars and clean old book sheets, or letter paper. Your friends might tear up their letters which they do not wish to preserve, and contribute with advantage to your waste-paper basket.-Once a Week. .— —

A Fashionable watering-place.—Cheltenham is now riling fa.bt, and a full and fashionable season is anticipated. A remarkable instance of the increased value of property at the Spa may be mentioned, .i hundred years ago a field of about three acres, ^situate behind the Plough Hotel, was sold -for £ 1,825. The price kept increasing; and the land which formerly fetched £ 60 an acre, latterly realised the sum of £45J or a portion of ninety square feet. Sudden Death in a Theatre.—On Thursday night a young woman, who was witnessing the per- formance in the Pavilion Theatre, suddenly rose from let-seat and fell backwards, exclaiming, "Ok, my heart." When medical assistance arrived she was found to be dead, and the doctor was of opinion that the deceased had died from disease of the heart. The tody was conveyed to the dead house of the London Hospital to await an inquest.