The Illustrated Usk Observer and Raglan Herald

A CHAPTER ON SHOES. The legend of the Wooden Shoemaker of the Black Forest is one of the popular stories of that picturesque district, where wooden shoes and their makers are held in considerable esteem. Wooden shoes-sabots they call them-are rather rude wear for "our poor feet, and would look oddly in Regent-street, or going through quadrille figures on a carpet; but on rough roads, and for rough weather, they are admirable. The peasants are well used to them; and as for dancing, they can ofer* acceptable homage to Terpsichore in them, and put to shame-on the score of agility, if not of elegance -many a wearer of satin or of patent leather, who has acquired dancing and deportment" of the most re- nowned professors. No doubt the renowned professors would stand aghast at a comparison between their pupils and the rude peasantry of the Vosges. So might the leading boot and shoemakers of Paris and London at the carpenter bootmaker of the Black Forest. What of that P He does his work well; he serves his customers with what they want; he fulfils the duties of his vocation. What more need we re- quire ? Think you the great Saint Crispin smiles more kindly on leather than on wood? I don't. Your opinion may be different, and far be it from me to quarrel with a man for an opinion; but if I know any- thing of the character of Saint Crispin, as seen in the conduct of worthy sons, I judge him to be superior to all prejudices as to class distinction; that he would acknowledge as his disciple little Heelball round the corner, quite as readily as the most learned cultivator of his art-always supposing they were both good and true men. Leather, prunella, calf, French ki<a, or wood- A shoe's a shoe for a that And muckle mair than a' that." All honour to shoemakers-worthy brothers of an ancient guild-noble band of man farriers! They have done good work in the world; applying them- selves to the human understanding on carpet, floor, or heather; glorifying the annals of the past with their brave deeds leaving footprints in the sand of time. If I were not what I am, I would be a shoemaker; X would rap out truest music with polished hammer on well-worn stone; I would fall in love with the bright- eyed girl whose white and nimble fingers bound my work; I would marry her, and rear a host of Crispins. Towards you, Mr. Brogue; I give you the toast- "The last of the shoemaker." No heeltaps! Who was the first of the shoemakers? Benedict Baddouth, one of the most learned men of the six. teenth century (a shoemaker by trade), wrote a treatise on the Shoemaking of the ancients, in which he traced the art to Adam. Adam, he says, was a shoemaker, and Eve a tailoress. Without attempting to follow our authority to Eden, we may readily ascertain that those ancient nations with whom we are the most familiar, were early shod. Sandals were, probably, the original form of foot-gear. The Egyptians wore both shoes and sandals. Those of the priests were made of papyrus, the plant which was applied also to literary purposes, and has given its name to paper. Those worn by the women and the upper classes were made of flexible material, richly ornamented; and a slave was frequently painted on the inside of the sole, to express literally that those in bondage were trodden under foot. The Greeks and Romans who wore shoes, including generally all persons except youths and slaves, con. sulted their convenience and indulged their fancy, by inventing the greatest possible variety in the forms, colours, and materials employed. By a Roman edict, none but those who had served the office of sedile were permitted to appear in red slippers. The Roman senators wore black leather boots, with a gold or silver crescent at the top of the boot. The tragic actor wore the buskin; the comedian, a low shoe or seek. Aurelian, the emperor, forbade any but ladies of quality to wear coloured shoes. Heliogabalus, less kind, forbade ladies to wear their shoes jewelled. The Roman soldiers had their boots studded with iron nails, pointed outwards; and they came to Britain in these boots, expecting to find a' people whose opposition would, in all senses, be bootless. In this, as we all know, they were mistaken. Our ancient British forefathers made a brave resist- ance, and they made it in shoes of cowhide. Speci- mens of these shoes have been discovered in ancient British tumuli. The shoes of the early Saxons were constructed on the model of the Roman buskin; namely, a high shoo or half boot, laced up the front, not unlike the modern Blucher. Wooden shoes were used by the common people; but whether they were made of wood only, or of leather and wood, is a little doubtful. Shoes with wooden soles were, in Saxon times, worn by the most distinguished people; thus, the shoes of Bernard, King of Italy, the grandso,A of Charlemagne, are de- scribed by an Italian writer, as they were found upon opening his sepulchre:—"The shoes which covered his feet are remaining to this day; the soles of wood, and the upper parts of red leather, laced together with thongs. They were so closely fitted to the feet that the order of the toes, terminating in a point at the great toe, might easily be discerned; so that the shoe belonging to the right foot could not be put on the left, nor that of the left on the right." This is all- im.portant-first, because it puts honour on wood as a material for shoe-soles; secondly, because it acquits our great dramatist of the charge of anachronism. You remember the tailor in "King John," eager to acquaint his friend of the smithy with the prodigies of the sky. Hubert saw him— "Standing on slippers, which his nimble haste Had falsely thrust upon contrary feet." Sadly the commentators shake their reverend heads; for rights and lefts, they argue, are of modern date. "Shakespeare," says Johnson, "seems to have con- founded the man's shoes with his gloves. He that is frighted or hurried may put his hand in the wrong glove; but either shoe will equally admit either foot. The author seems to be disturbed by the disorder which he describes." Grandly solemn is the critic- awe-insnir in g Johnson who tells us that the garret is the top room of the house, and the attic the room above the garret! Had he taken the trouble to in- quire, he might have ascertained, not only that rights and lefts were known to the early Saxons, but that they were common at the time of King John, and went out of fashion centuries later. The religious people-bishops, priests, and deacons -those who went on pilgrimages, &o., adhered to aandale- How should I my true love know From another one ? By his cockle hat and staff, And his sandal shoon." The Normans were exceedingly particular as to their ,noes-they were a criterion of respectability. Says Boots at the Swan," First, I looks at his boots." I/hiss is to detect a gentleman; the inquiry might have jeon conducted after the same fashion 800 years ago. Richard Lionheart had his boots striped with gold; John Lackland, his brother, had his boots spotted with golden circles and Henry III. had his boots shequered with golden lines, every square enriched with a lion. In the splendid court of Edward III., the boots and shoes were of the most magnificent character. The clergy even adopted the habit of the laity; and, according to Chaucer, the young priest Absalom had 11 Paul's window carved on his shoes;" that is to say, a device analogous to the pattern of the rare window in the transept of old St. Paul's. Some of the dandies of that day were not content with embroidered shoes, but added gilt pants to them, and confined their pants by gilded chains to their girdles. When long-toed shoes went out of fashion, broad- toed shoes came in, and were worn several inches in width. Shoes during the Tudor period scarcely covered the toes, and their uppers were generally of puffed satin. Large lace roses, sometimes jewelled, were worn in the shoes till the Protectorate of Cromwell; they were mentioned, with other "gewgaws innume- rable," by the anatomiser of abuses, Philip Stubbs. Chopmes, distinguished by their high heels of wood, were very common on the Continent and in England during the reign of James I. They were used in Venice in 1670. The boots of the Stuart period were broad-toed, thick, with clumsy heels, and reaching about to the knee, where the top flaps were turned over, and usually ornamented with lace when used for riding the flaps were turned up, and came half-way over the thigh. The courtiers of Louis XIV. were remarkable for the extravagance of their boots, and for the elegant and costly lace with which they decorated them. Shoes and buckles became fashionable after the Revolution (1688), but heavy boots were still worn for riding. High-heeled shoes were worn by the ladies for three-parts of the eighteenth century. They raised their fair wearers some inches, rendered walk- ing difficult, running impossible—except running into debt. But all this has changed; the shoemakers, of whom it was said that they love to put ladies in the stocks," have grown wise and merciful; have shown both ladies aRd gentlemen that comfort and conve- nience are consistent with the truest elegance; that a high-heeled boot raises no one in the estimation of others; and that a tight shoe, at the best, can but exhibit a narrowness of understanding. But, in talking of shoemakers, we must not forget that they have done something else besides make boots and shoes. Who founded the science of botany? Linnseus—a shoemaker. Who disclosed the beauties and the marvels of antique sculpture P Wincklemann --a, shoemaker. Who was the mainstay of the Society of Antiquaries ? John Bond-a shoemaker. Who wrote the "Farmer's Boy?" Bloomfield-a shoe- maker. Who established the London Quarterly Review? Gifford-a shoemaker. Who founded the Society of Friends ? John Fox-a shoemaker. Who started the ragged-school movement ? John Pounds- a shoemaker. All hail to you, brave sons of Crispin! You have done good work in the world.—From Shoes and Shoemakers," in Cassell's Illustrated Family Paper."

AGRICULTURE. -+- POTATO CULTURE.-Information has been invited from the readers of the Field newspaper respecting that useful vegetable the potato, in answer to which a correspondent says:—" The beginning of March my potatoes were planted in rows three feet apart, and twelve inches between each plant, instead of rather more than two feet between the rows, and ten inches between each plant; and, notwithstanding the late dry summer, I have the most astonishing crop of every sort planted, to the great surprise and admira- tion of various gardeners and others who have come to see them, and who assert that their largest potatoes are not larger than the smallest of mine, as, in fact, there are no small refuse. The pink kidneys are now being dug up, although a week later might be better, as the haulm is still standing three feet long, green and gross, whilst all the haulm in other gardens has nearly disappeared owing to the late drought. On being asked why this plan was adopted, the reasons were-Having always remarked that the outside plant at the end of each row produced a greater crop and finer potatoes than any other, and bearing in mind the Weedon system of planting wheat in three rows three feet apart, I was induced to do go; as by that system, also, in the additional space between the rows there is fresh earth for the next year's crop, where they should be planted; and, at the same time, expecting a dry summer, it occurred to me that the additional foot of e&rth, when the potatoes were hilled up, would prevent the drought from reaching the plant, which on exami- nation during the dry weather was the case; and, as proof, the usual dressing of manure placed in the rows with the potato (contrary to custom) has disappeared owing to the moisture. The land planted is not quite a quarter of an acre, light earth, subsoil chalk, and has been planted with potatoes many years, but never produced half so much as the present, or so fine and clear." THE Ballinasloe sheep fair, says a correspondent, has been most successful, and to the flock-masters extremely satisfactory. On the first day 57,500 sheep were disposed of, a number exceeding by about 3,500 the total sales of the two days last year. For good ewes there were unusually brisk inquiries, and animals answering the description brought from 3s. to 4s. 6d. over last year's prices. Wethers also went up from 2s. to 5s.and were in good demand. There was not in 1863 the extensive demand characterising this fair, and the supply was much larger than was required. The following return of the number sold at each fair for the last five years will show the fluctuation in the sheep department. In 1859 the number sold was 73,761, out of a total in the fair of 94,650. In 1860 the number sold amounted to 76,386, out of an aggre- gate of 81,661. In 1861 there were 70,381 sold out of 75,118. In 1862 there were sold 57,752 out of a total brought to the fair of 71,997, and in 1863 there were sold 53,954 out of 73,494. At this fair there were about 69,848 sheep on the green, of which 66,324 were disposed of, leaving about 4,000 unsold. The actual advance in prices cannot be better represented than by the difference between the top prices obtained now and last year. In 1863 the top price for wethers was £ 3 3s., and at this fair it was X3 7s. 6d. The horse fair is represented to have been one of the poorest, both as regards character and number, that has been held in Ballinasloe for many years. The attendance of dealers, English and Irish, was large, but scarcely any business of conse- quenoe was done. Mr. W. Cage, of Norfolk, purchased thirty at from £18 to Y,30 each; Mr. Collins, of London, bought a dozen first-class animals at very high figures; Captain Norris, also of London, purchased a lot vary- ing in price from £80 to .£120 each; and Mr. Sankey, of Birmingham, was also among the heavy purchasers. To show the decline that has taken place here in horses, I may state that, from recent statistics published on the subject, it appears that the number of horses in the province of Connaught alone in 1862 was 72,976, and that their estimated value was = £ 583,798. In 1863 the number fell to 67,920, and the estimated value to £543,360, showing in one year a decrease of more than 5,000 in numbers, and of more than .£40,000 in value. The total number of horses in all Ireland in 1862 was 602,894, and in 1863 the number fell to 579,179, a de- crease of over 23,000, while the estimated value fell from .£4,823,152 in the year 1862, to < £ 4,633,432 last year. WORCESTEBSHIEE and Herefordshire hops are said to vary a good deal in quality this year. Some are exceedingly fine, but there is a considerable propor- tion of inferior quality, and these ara lower in price, even going so low as J25 to e5 10s. per cwt. Fine qualities, however, fully maintain their value. Pick- ing is now completed everywhere, and an estimate can therefore be made of the produce, which is calculated as slightly in excess of that of last year. The yield has been partial, some plantations coming out very light. THE guardians of the poor for the township of Leeds have just let the contracts for provisions for the ensuing half -year at the following termsBest flour, 30s. per 20 stone of 141b. to the stone; seconds ditto, 28s.; oatmeal, 28a. 6d. per 2401b.; beef, 7s. per 14I.b.; I mutton, 8s. 4d. per 14tb.; malt, 7s. 3d. per bushel. In September, 18631 the contracts wereBest flour, 31s.; seconds, 28s.; oatmeal. 303.; beef, 6s. 5d.; mutton, 7a. 10d.; malt, 7s. Never before have the guardians been able to obtain flour so low as in the g present yea.r. In 1845 best flour was 47s. 6d. per 20 stone, while beef was only 5s. lOd. per 141b., and mutton 6s. 5d. Beef and mutton are now relatively higher in proportion to the price of flour than they ever have been. THE Earl of Leicester, the direct descendant of Coke of Norfolk," discoursed with hereditary vigour, last week, upon steam cultivation, labourers' cottages, &c. The noble earl has set steam ploughs to work upon his vast estate, especially upon. a portion of it which was reelaimed from the sea in 1859, and he stated that the conclusion to which he had come was that on a strong arable land farm of 400 acres or upwards steam cultivation might be profitably | employed, as it secured a great saving in horseflesh, a ) more effectual working of the soil, a certain indepen- dence of the seasons, &c. On light land, on the contrary, if deep cultivation were considered desirable, it could be effected by horses. Adverting i o other topics; the noble earl said he saw perpetually in the Times, when any great atrocity was committed, when cottages were bad, or when anything was done wrong, that "even Norfolk objects to that," as if Norfolk were an. ultima thule in which everything was bar- barous and uncivilised. He held that this was not the case, that the Norfolk landlords and farmers and their wives were as able and as desirous to contribute to the welfare and comfort of all their neighbours and dependents as were those of any county in England. MB. W. ROTHWELL, of the Croft, Warrington, has published a report on the crops grown this season in Lancashire, Cheshire, and North Staffordshire. He says There has been about the usual quantity of corn lost by over-ripeness. Plenty of young corn springing in the stubble. Some much thicker than I the seeding; yet farmers can walk over these fields without thinking of the waste, but would grumble like a bear with a sore head's if the sparrows or game destroyed half so much. mieat will, on the aggregate, no doubt, be a full average crop, but not much fit to grind yet. In the early part of August it was pro- mising for a heavy crop of well-fed grain; but the frosty nights of that month reduced both the quantity and quality. The earliest cut is fine plamp corn. That harvested last will be deficient both in weight and quality. Barley will exceed an average crop, and the earliest cut a fine sample. Oats, on light soils, under good cultivation, and on good loams, will exceed an average; stiff clays, below: also on light soils short of manure. In Cheshire, oats are generally a full crop. Beans are a deficient crop. A very dry summer does not answer well for them. They are not all har- vested yet. Potatoes vary much in weight of crop. Some very heavy, others scarcely worth taking up, but on the aggregate, I think an average crop, and universally good in quality. Little or no disease to be seen yet. Many farmers have begun to take them up for storing, the weather being fine for this work. Turnips, both Swedes and common, have made won- derful progress since the rain came. Where there are sufficient plants, and a proper quantity of manure ap- I plied with good cultivation, there is every prospect of a full crop. But many fields are defeotive in plants. The first crops of clover were light, but the hay of good quality. The same remark will apply to old meadows. Second crops of clover are mostly spoiled in making into hay. I recommend pasturing clover till the latter end of May, and only cutting once for hay. There are many circumstances favourable to this mode of manage- ment. Pastures are getting fresh again, but the season is too far advanced for them getting flush of grass, but if the autumn and winter be mild they will produce more herbage than if the summer had been wet and cold. The apple crop is abundant all over the three counties, and apples are cheaper in many places than potatoes. Damsons are also plentiful, but not so fleshy as in some seasons. Acorns are thick set on most oak trees, but they appear late and not very large. In the township of Hay dock there has been a field of twenty acres of flax this season; a beautiful, clean, full crop. This is the second year flax has been cultivated on the same farm, and with success.

SUICIDE OF A OIllY MERCHANT. On Saturday afternoon an inquiry was held by Mr. John Humphreys, Middlesex coroner, respecting the suicide of Mr. William James Groves, aged forty-two years, a City merchant, lately residing at Chatham- place, Hackney. The court was assembled in the dining-room of the father of the deceased, No. 1, Richmond-terrace, Hackney, where the fatal act was committed. Mr. Charles H. Groves, 1, Richmond-terrace, said that he was a corn factor. His brother, the deceased, was a merchant, principally engaged in the corn trade. Since his death it was found that he was heavily in- volved but as he had never divulged the fact of his difficulties, it was believed that he was prosperous. He had a partner, Mr. Todd, but that gentleman being in New York, the whole weight of the business in this country fell upon deceased. The difficulties, it was now found, were of long continuance. One New York house owed < £ 17,000, which he was long expecting with anxiety, but the money did not come. On Thurs- day evening- deceased came to Richmond-terrace at four o'clock, an hour when he knew neither his father nor witness would be at home. Witness returned home as usual at five in the evening, and found him dead on the couch in the dining-room. On the table lay a tumbler, a large glass jar or bottle containing cyanide of potassium, and two letters. The principal letter was as follows "Corn Exchange-chambers, London, E.C. My mind is going. I cannot bear these troubles any longer. They are great and hopeless. Oh, my poor wife What is to become of her ? I pray God to forgive me. There is great hope in His holy word, Ho that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.' W. J. GROVES. "Break it gently to Helen, and give her this." The witness said that the troubles, referred to in the letter were solely business and pecuniary troubles. The second paper was unsigned, and was as follows:— I cannot pass another day like this. Do not send to Helen until father or Charles can go to her. Send for Dr. Smith. God is a merciful and not a revengeful Judge. I feel at peace with him." The witness stated that he had no doubt that the difficulties and losses arising from the American trade had deprived the deceased of reasoning' powers, and so caused him to destroy himself in a moment of insanity. Elizabeth Mears, servant to Mr. Groves, senior, said that on Thursday the deceased called at an hour when, as a rule, the family were out, and asked if his father was in. On being told that he was not, the deceased went into the dining-room and called for some water and a tumbler, which were brought to him. Witness did not see him again until Mr. Groves, senior, re- turned, when she went into the dining-room and saw him lying apparently asleep on the couch. Finding that she could not rouse him, a doctor was sent for. Mr. F. Niblett, M.R.C.S., said that he was called in to the deceased and found him quite dead, and a strong odour of cyanide of potassium on his lips. There was, in the large bottle on the table, a quantity of the poison sufficient to kill 150 people. In the tumbler was a strong solution of the poison, which, no doubt, the deceased had been unable to finish. Cyanide of potassium was a most deadly poison, and it was at present obtainable with too much facility on .account of its common use in the arts. The deceased gentle- man was a person of scientific tastes, and he was fond of experimenting in chemistry. In that way it was possible that he might have become possessed of the drug in question. The Coroner having summed up, The jury returned a verdict, That the deceased committed suicide by poisoning himself with cyanide of potassium while in a state of unsound mind and the jury desire to draw attention to the danger of per- mitting the indiscriminate sale of cyanide of potassium to unknown persons, and to suggest that, in all cases, the purpose to which so deadly a drug is to be applied should be carefully ascertained." The inquiry then terminated. 4 An Indian God in Birmingharn.-Mr. Thorn- ton, of the Elma, has in his possession the largest copper idol over brought to this country, and one of the modern wonders of the world. Under a shed in his coach yard is no less a personage than the god Buddha, measuring over seven feet in length, and one of the most marvellous pieees of copper casting ever found. Direct from one of the lower rooms of his temple, where he had been hidden away some 2.000 years ago, his godship has been brought to the New World capital of copper and bronze castings. We believe that it is Mr. Thornton's intention to present the image to the town, and it will probably be depo- sited in the Midland Institute. Thus, after a lapse of 2,500 years, Buddha will be enthroned again, in a temple better worthy of him, because devoted to higher and more ennobling pursuits than the one in which he found his first resting place in the temple at Scottangunge, v

Croquet. Captain Might and Mayne Euid Wrote (but poorly indeed) A book upon Croquet, And then did invoke a Lawyer to vex My Lord of S. X. For infringing his right; The infringement was slight, But the lord lost. Yo-a'll guess There were costs in X. S. My lord writes to the Timcs- In the captain then chimes, I And fain up had chawed His opponent the lord, But brought down on his head Lots of new foes instead. r Well, to get at the matter Through clamour and clatter,. Did the lord write the book Whereat Eeid offence took ? Though the credit he got, It seems certainly not! Was the captain polite P Though a Reid he can't write! But the upshot, my readers, is this—vous vous moquest. At a lord and a captain who fight about Croquet!

Riflemen, Form. S" It will be seen by the London Gazette that the 5th Ross-shire Volunteers have been struck off the records of the War-office, and will henceforward cease to hold any number or designation in the county force. These disbandments, it will be observed, are becoming rather frequent-we have three in as many months now. It surely behoves those that take an interest in the movement to keep a sharp look out, and try to organise some combination which shall realise the. bundle of sticks (no offence me^ant to commanding officera) mentioned in the old faole. Singly, and by degrees, the corps can be officially annihilated; con- solidated into a corporation, they can resist the red- tapists. We have for a long time pa,st implored volun- teers to look after the interests of the movement, and shall continue to do so until we see steps taken to prevent this insidious decimation of a noble army by a few priggish Pall-mall clerks. We, therefore, most earnestly repeat the words of the Laureate, and in calling on the volunteers to combine for protection* bid them Form, riflemen, form.

Dreadful to Contemplate! (From an Old Lady Cory-e,pondent.) The Home Secretary is going to demand from the different governors of the gaols in England a return of all the prisoners placed under their care within the last two years. Gracious! London will be deluged with criminals We shall all be garotted 0 SOCIAL SCIENCE.—The philosophers at Bath, who really deserve to have their heads shaved, have been, as usual with them, tempering inferior science with weak sensation. They have been discussing the rela- tive temperatures oi man and woman, and the presi- dent of the section did not think it beneath the dignity of a grave scientific assemblage to twaddle about ladies being more warm-hearted than men." Really after that he should chalk his face, paint a red orescent on either cheek, and open the proceedings with, Here we are again! ADVANCE IN ASTRONOMY.—Among the papers read at the British Association there was one on "The Invisible Part of the Moon's Surface." For all that appears to the contrary, that side of our satellite, at least, may be made of green cheese. A THOUGHT FROM O-JE, Tu B.-Resp(-ct everybody's feelings. If you wish to have your laundress's address, avoid asking her where she "hanga out." CITY INTELLIGENCE.—We read, in a great alder- manic authority, that H a dinner is on the tapis." The tapis alluded to is, of course, Gob'lin ? ORNITHOLOGY.—The bird that possesses the most brilliant plumage of all the feathered tribe is, we believe, the duck o* di'monds. WHY isn't a joint stock company like a watch? Because it does not go on after it's wound up. WHY are Mr. Tom Taylor's original dramas like the flags in Westminster Abbey ? Because they are taken from the French. PARLIAMENTARY.—We know a timber-merchant who aspires to be a member of Parliament. For the -consummation of his wishes, he must, of course, wait till Deal returns one. FOR THE USE OF SCH 001.81—In the heathen times of the ancient principality, the Welsh god worshipped on the top of Snowdon was Ap-ollo. NEW APPOINTMENT.—To the office of astronomer royal, the Earl of Orrery. The Star Chamber is to be re-opened and fitted up for his use. VOLUNTEERs.-Press reporters are to form a new corps; they are to be placed on the same footing as regulars, and will be known as the penny-a-line regi- ment. A WALKING PARADOX.—Mr. Banting has achieved greatness by growing less. NEW NAME FOR THE MEMBERS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM ALLIANCE.—Water babies. A FEMALE DETECTIVE."—A blush. A MARITIME MOTTo.-Husband it. OUR FIRST AND SAXON GREETING TO THE LORD MAYOR ELECT.—" Drink, Hael."

EPITOME OF HEWS I John Bull haa to pay at the rate of 13s. per week ill every convict he keeps under lock and key. The Right Rev. Dr. W. P. Austin, Bishop of Guiana, has left England to take charge of his diocese. Highland tartans are all the rage in France just now. In Paris tartan dresses and tartan ribands are seen on every -side. .A. boy, sixteen yeara of age, was sentenced by the Tenderden magistrates a few days ago to six months' im- prisonment, with hard labour, for stealing six walnuts. The Mayor of Birmingham has handed to the officers of the hospital of that town a cheque for £ 3,000 on account of the profits of the late Musical Festival. The Empress of Austria is said to be an accom- plished and elegartt tEnglish scholar. She takes great interest in the belles lettres of this country. Sir W. W. Wynn and Sir Robert Peel are expecting interesting events in their family circle which will cause great rejoicings in Wales and Staffordshire. A silver cradle, worth £50, has been pre- sented to the Mayor of Basingstoke, in consequence of the mayoress having given birth to a son during his mayoralty. A prebendal stall in Exeter Cathedral has become vacant by the death o w.e J* .William Woodes H-. rvey, -M.A, The deceased gentleman was rector of Truro, and chaplain to Viscount Falmouth.. The list of suicides at the German gambling holls is this year his-her than ever. Half of them are foreigners, whose friends in most cases never learn the fearful end they come to. It is not loyal in the North to call a Southern woman a "lady;" and the Northern journals, in alluding (and bitterly do they allude) to the marriage of Miss Belle Boyd to Lieutenant Hardinge, speak of the bride as "the em&le." A grand review and inspection of all the troops in the Dover and Shornciiffe garrisons took place upan an extensive plateau known as the Round Down, mid- way between Dover and Folkestone, last week, before his Royal Highness the Commander-in-Chief of the Forces. Mr. John Martin, of Kilbroney, has published a letter denying that John Mitcbel, as recently stated, had been conscripted and made to serve in the Confederate army. Mitchel had volunteered as a private into a volun- teer ambulance corps lately raised in Richmond. A grand naval, military, and fancy dress ball is to take place on the 18th inst. at the Brighton Pavilion, to celebrate the re-opening of that place in all its splendour, After the decorating and beautifying process to which it has for some time past been subjected. Extensive additions are being made to'Earl Granville's ironworks at iitruria, by the erection of a large number of puddling furnaces and rolling mills. The new works will occupy both banks of the canal, and are close to the Hanley branch railway. The daughter of one well esteemed by the sporting "Kr->rld—Mr. Dorling, of Epsom, the well-known printer of the racing cards-is announced as married this week, with the usual addition, No cards." Considering papa, it might have been "With the correct card." T he site of an eld house in Bishopsgate-street was sold a few months since for £5,000. The purchaser sold it again, before be had himself paid for it, for £ 10,000; and the second purchaser has just disposed of his interest for £ 17,000. Tourists will be glad to learn that the Brocken, the highest mountain of the Harz Mountains, will, by next spring, be connected by telegraph with Ilsenburg; thus enabling them to ascertain the state of the weather, the friends they are likely to meet there, and the nature of the accommodation they can expect. Great complaints are made by those who have travelled on the London, Dover, and Chatham line on the day of the recent terrible accident that they were locked into the carriages, and for some time were in doubt what their fate might be, through explosion or a coming train, owing to the impossibility of egress. The German journals state that the Emperor of Russia himself solicited the hand of Princess Dagmar for the Czarewitch in an autograph letter, addressed to the King of Denmark. The young Grand Duke has presented to his future bride a pearl necklace and bracelets of immense yalue. The Bishop of Norwich has collated the Rev. Ralph Blakelock, M.A., of St. Catherine's College, Cam- bridge, rector of Gimingham, near North Walsham, to an honorary canonry in Norwich Cathedral. The rev. gentle- man graduated in 1825, when he was 13th wrangler, and he is the author of several mathematical works. The Monitore delle Marche of Aucona states that a few days ago the Italian authorities entered a convent of Franciscan monks, situate between Ascoli and Grottarnare, and after a minute inquiry into circumstances that had come to their knowledge, turned the monks out of the con- vent for having made it a centre of political conspiracy. The balance-sheet in the bankrupt estate of Colonrl Waugh has just been published. The debts amount to upwards of .8333,000, while the assets amount to little more than one-half, or JE186,000, the bulk of which is already in the hands of the creditors. The deficit is set down to legal and professional expenses, farm expenses, losses, &c. It is expected That important and extensive works will shortly be commenced at the Stack, Milford, in order to render that rock a valuable addition to the defences of the Pembrokeshire coast. From the commanding position of the Stack, a better site for a fort could not be elected. An inquest was held in Dorset-street, Eatcliff, on the body of a boy unknown about sixteen years of age, found dead in the Regent's Canal Dock, Commercial-road East. There was no evidence as to the manner in which deceased became immersed, and the jury returned a verdict of Found Drowned. Mr. King, of Avignon, says a southern French paper, lately lost a portfolio containing 100,000fr. A poor man, father of a large family, picked it lilp and returned it to him. Mr. King offered him, as a reward, a. life annuity of 300fr. or 3,000fr. down. The man chose the latter, and invested it in a small, estate, sufficient for his and his amily's support. At Clerkenwell, Mr. J. F. Daniels, of Regina- road Helloway, photographic artist, was summoned by Alexander Lambert Henderson, who claimed the copyright of "Franz Muller's portrait," for unlawful copying and offering for sale said portrait. After hearing the evidence, Mr. D'Eyncourt dismissed the summons, as he didnot think that the copyright was vested in the complainant. An inquest was recently held by Mr. Richards at the Adam and Eve T.wern; Hoxton, on the body of Sarah Ann Reynolds, aged forty-nine, who died from the effects of an over-doae of laudanum. The deceased was a semp- stisoss, and was suffering severely from tic-doloureux, She had taken some laudanum to relieve the pain, and was found dead in her room. Verdict, accidental death. An Italian ship, laden with what is called Shotton gas coal, was much injured by an explosion on Saturday morning whilst lying in dock at Hartlepool. Three men were burnt, the deck wa3 burst open, and the ship took fire. She was towed out, and only saved from destruction by great exertions. Th-a-explosion is attributed to spontaneous combustion. A chark, measuring eight feet in its extreme length, has been caught at the Greesses Harbour, a short distanceirom the shoec, by the crew of a fishing coble. The fish appeared to have „fot entangled in some of the fisher-, men's gearing in the water; and, while in a comparatively helpless state, it was secured by the fishermen and safely landed. It was estimated to weigh about thirty stone. A meeting was recently held at Eevonport where -it was stated that je5,500 will be necessary to liquidate the -expenses that will be incurred by the visit of the Royal Agricultural Society to Plymouth in 1865..Of this sum about £ 5,000 has already been subscribed, including a con- tribution of 100 guineas by his Royal HigKhess the Prince of Wales. On Saturday morning two men-George Hart, thirty-eight, and McCarthy May, thirty, who were proceed- ing aiong; the line of railway for the purpose of posting bills a short distance feim London-bridge, were run over at the jusstion of the South-Eastern and Brighton lines by the eleven o'clock express train frosa Brighton. May .was in- stantly killed, and Hart was so much injured that he expired soon afterwards. Mr. Bethsll, a nephew of the Lord Chancellor, was recently.o!)e of a shooting party formed at Ravenswood- park, near Wellington College, the seat of Captain Sawyer: the young gentleman, when out in the woods, had his left hand severely scattered i>y the discharge of his gun.. Mr.1 Barford a surgaon, was soon in attendance, and it was foaxid necessary to amputee the injured part. Mr. Bethell is progressing as favourably jis can be expected. At a recent IG.-<=' iner of the committee for carry- ing out the project for .establishing a training-ship in the Mersey for the sons of seamen and other boys, Mr. j. J. Bibby, a well-known Liverpool merchant, announced lys intention to give to the extent of £5,000, sufficient for the complete fittiog-up of the ship proposed to be obtained from the Admiralty. The sums already obtained by dona- tion and subscription may thus be capitalised, a,nd an ade- quate yearly revenue will be more easily obtained. The remains of an QdjourxlaliBib, Captain Andrew Torrens one of the principal shareholders and for many vears resident manager of the Globe newspaper, were re- moved on Monday from the office of that journal for inter- mitto KeS'sal-green Cemetery. The captain, who was seventy-six years old, had served some tune in a regiment of the line, and seen much service. lie was a courteous and worth gentleman, much likea by those who knew him, or served under him. During the past week property valued at from jE650 to £ 7u0 has been destroyed by fire in Cornwall. At Penzance a fire taoke out in the workshop of a Mr. Williams, £ ai inetmaker, &c.; damages £ 300, not insured. Farm Premises were burnt down at Bodriggy, Farm Hayle; damage, JR150 not covered by insurance. Four cottages, barn, stable, ten tons of bay, rick of oats and barley, and several articles of furniture, were burnt at Pondurrow Farm, Camborne; damage about £ 200, not insured, A man, apparently fifty years of age, leapt over the parilpet of the centra arch of Westminster Bridge, last weekf On the alarm beiaf raised, Hemy Phelps, piers- but fe^eSl^Hew^taton to where, despite the efforts of the surgeons of that m statu tion. he expired in about twenty minutes.; Kiss Florence Nightingale has written to Sir Harrv Verney, Bart., M.P., her brother-in-law, mumatmg thS ft is heTintention next season to present tne 3rd Bucks tBuckingham M^d Winslow) Volunteer Rifle Corps with a niece of plate, to be competed for upon such terms as they mav arrange Lady Verney, anxious to manifest her lri- the volunteer movement, has also aetermmed to- offer a silver cup annually to-be shot for by members of the Isame corps.. As Sersreant Thome, one of the City police force, who has not been more than six months promoted to the superior office, was attempting to cross Cneapside, near Bow P S, tV other day, he was knocked down by the horses beloSng to a ctto omnibus, and trampled upon. He was so sSlly injured that it was found necessary to remove Mm at once to St. Bartholomew's Hospital, where he now lies in a critical state. The reports from the districts of Blackburn, Burnley, Middleton, and their immediate neighbourhood, of persons out of employment are very unfavourable.. In some of them the distress is heavier tnan it has-been since the beginning of the cotton famine, and. m all the authori- ties have been obliged to put in force those extraortoary means of relief which were adopted during the height of the crisis. We understand (says Hera/path) that the arrangements between the Great Eastern and Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Companies is that the application to Parliament for the coal line lost last session is to be renewed, and to be prosecuted vigorously next session and that the exnense of the application ana cost of construction, tfan act SobWM is to be borne equally by the two com- panies, the object being a future amalgamation of, the two great lines. j About 4,000 miners assembled at a mass meet- in°- at Oldbury tohear a statement from the deputation with reference to the interview with Lord Leigh, the lord-lieu- tenant of Warwickshire. After hearing the explanations of the deputation the meeting passed resolutions pledging the men to hold no more interviews with the masters or media- tors or arbitrators of w-iy class or name, but that the men should remain out till they were sent for and given their wages:" In addition to the renovation and beautifying the interior of the Temple Church, which has just been completed, the benchers of the Inner Temple are making great improvsments; the interior and exterior of the hall and library are being redecorated, and the nrst-named build- in°- ventilated on an improved principle. An immense stack of°buildings, faced with white stone, has been erected on I the vacant ground beyond Crown-office-row, facing the I Temple-gardens and Fig-tree-court. The buildings are j very extensive, and are intended for chambers. r