The Illustrated Usk Observer and Raglan Herald

THE COURT. THE Court during the past week has been held at Balmoral. The Queen has taken her accustomed walks and drives in the vicinity, and we are pleased to hear that her Majesty is stated to be in the enjoyment of excellent health. THE Prince and Princess of Wales have, been feted everywhere, both in Denmark and Sweden. The Court Journal says :—OBe of the most interesting fea- tures of the visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales to Copenhagen was the interview between the aged Landgrave of Hesse and his granddaughter, the Prin- cess Alexandra. He is said to have enjoyed the plea- sure, so rarely granted, of caressing a great-grandchild -the little Prince Albert Victor standing to him in that relation. IF King Christian of Denmark has been somewhat unfortunate as a monarch, he has great reason to con- gratulate himself upon his success as a father. One of his daughters will, in all human probability, be Queen of England, and now another of those Danish roses is betrothed to the Crown Prince of Russia. The thunder of 101 guns has announced the fact to the citizens of St. Petersburg, and the electric telegraph has now announced it to Europe, The throne of Greece, a prospective share of the thrones of England and Russia, are great prizes. WE understand that her Majesty has given a suite of rooms at Hampton Court Palace as a residence to Miss Baily, sister of Dr. Baily, the physician to the Queen, who lost his life by a railway accident. THE Queen has ordered a dress from Honifcon of the same pattern as the design which won the prize, and was drawn by Miss Marryat. The design was forwarded to her Majesty, who, in reply, expressed great interest in the system of encouraging art designs by offering prizes.

LITERATURE AND THE ARTS. -+- A PORTRAIT of the Earl of Rosebery has just been placed in the County Hall, Linlithgow. It will be remembered that on the retirement of the noble earl from the office of lord-lieutenant last year, a number of his admirers subscribed for the portrait in order to show the high esteem in which he was held in the county, and for the able manner in which he had dis- charged the duties of lord-lieutenant for the long period of twenty years. The County Hall has lately been repainted, and the portrait of the noble earl adds greatly to its adornment. His lordship is represented in a sitting posture, and the likeness is admirable. MR. MUNRO'S edition of "Lucretius" is about to be issued from the Cambridge University Press. MESSRS. CASSELL, PETTER, AND GALPIN are be- times with their Illustrated Almanack for 1865. This is incomparably the finest edition of this favonrite Sixpenny Annual ever published. The same firm have also announced an illustrated edition of Gulliver's Travels" in penny numbers, uniform with" Cassell's Illustrated Robinson Crusoe." The publishers remark 0 '.r that, although" Gulliver's Travels" has long since taken its permanent place as a great standard book, they hope to place it now within the reach of every one, in such a form as it has never yet been produced. The child and the artisan, content to take the narra- tive in its obvious sense, will find it interesting as a, fairy tale or romance; while the profnsion of illus- trations which will adorn every number will and greater vividness to the wonderful adventures cnd the strange history of Gulliver. In addition to this, how- ever, for those who care to dive deeper into this volume, annotations will be provided, explaining the hidden allusions to persons and to things; bringing out its deeper meaning; exhibiting its bearing- socially, politically, morally. IT is strange how many English poets have in the present century lain down in foreign countries to die. Shelley and Keats are buried in Rome. Byron died in Greece. The summer visitor to Boulogne, who turns aside into a quiet street beneath the old ram- parts, comes upon the house where Thomas Campbell breathed his last. Elizabeth Barrett Browning is buried in Florence the Beautiful, and now Walter Savage Landor lies dead in the same famous old city. IN the course of the current month, the first volume of "A History of the Sepoy War," by Mr. Kaye, will be published. The author has had at his disposal abundant materials, public and private, of the best hhid, including the entire Indian correspondence of 1:<! late Lord Canning, the correspondence of Sir John Lawrence, Sir James Outram, and others of the chief actors in the great events described in the pages of the worlc. EIGHTY-ONE magnificent painted windows have been placed in Glasgow Cathedral within the last eight years. THE la,rge industrial palace in the Champs Elysees, Paris, is now open to the public, who are invited to inspect an exhibition of domestic furniture, bronzes, glass, porcelain manufactures, &c. As Birmingham contains amongst its population numerous artists, no one need be surprised to hear that it is proposed to establish a permanent Art-gallery in that town. Pictures are to be removed at the time of sale, and contributors are to have the option of re- placing their unsold works at pleasure. IT behoves the antiquarian, says a contemporary, to become more and more cautious in receiving the accounts of workmen who make marvellous, antiqua- rian finds in strata quite unlikely to contain them. At Driffield, Yorkshire, deep as the chalk which should have lain there for nearly all ages, a man said he had discovered a human hand, the impression of a humaa face, and alse an instrument for casting fibulas. It has cost the learned some time to reooncile the matter, but all three finds have been discovered to be mere modern inventions of a similar scientific character to the jaw of Abbeville, which for a time puzzled the antiquarian. W A have also heard that some of the figures sold to visitors at Thebes as antiquities have been made m Staffordshire and shipped to curiosity dealers in this ancient city. These frauds, it seems, are not confined t(o) foreign productions, for the old workers of Chelsea and Worcester ware have found many imitators, but their fraudulent "marks" are not difficult of detec- tion. The detection of spurious old" Wedgwood is, however, more difficult, that honoured name being still continued on the Etruria productions. Greek and Roman glass and coins and medals are also cleverly reproduced to meet the requirements of collectors of antiquities.

SPORTS AND PASTIMES. -+-- THERE will be a general meeting of the Jockey Club at Newmarket on Wednesday in the Second October Meeting, after the races, says a sporting contemporary. The following notices'of motion have been given:— BV Count Batthyany—(1.) "That the power of the starter to take the horses behind the startmg-post shall be so defined as to prevent his making the horses run a greater distance than that prescribed by the conditions of the race." (2.) "That the clerks of courses shall be recommended to have their posts so marked that no doubt can arise as to which is the proper starting-post for any race. By the Duke of Beaufort-" Th at in all races advertised by authority of the Jockey Club the penalty sometimes imposed on the second horse in the Derby, Oaks, or St. Leger shall be omitted, and that the stewards of Doncaster and other principal meetings be recommended to adopt a similar alteration." A TRIAL match took place on the Roodee, at Chester, last week, between Miles, the champion pedestrian, and Mr. Lyons, a gentleman amateur, of Liverpool, who carried off the two-mile walking match prize at the Manchester Athletic Festival, at Old Trafford, At Chester the trial was over a two-mile course, and Mr. Lyons was to receive two minutes' start of his opponent. About half-past five both men were at the scratch, and Mr. Lyons was quickly despatched. He wss at his work in a moment, and by the time Miles got away he had placed a distance of 560 yards be- tween them. The champion then went with a firm and beautiful stride, his style and fairness of walking being very muefe admirfed. Each party was escorted round the course by a number of people, who cheered them most vociferously, and when Miles had completed his one mile it was found that he had gained twenty- five seconds upon the amateur. The champion only continued the contest for another half-mile, when, finding his efforts to overhaul his opponent fruitless, he gave up the contest, and walked leisurely in. Mr. Lyons went at a good rattling pace throughout, and was received very warmly when he had finished by the assembled crowd, having completed his task in fifteen minutes five seconds. For some time past Mr. Lyons hR,g been under' the careful training of Miles, having been matched for £ 100 a side to walk the celebrated CaDtaln Machell, about the 27th of this month, at Newmaiket. MR. W. B. D'ALMBIDA, in speaking of boar hunting in Java, says :-When we were in the jangle we dis- mounted, and left' ur horses with the grooms, direct- ing them where to wait for us. Our host now posted us in different directions, so as to meet the game as they were driven towards us ky the men. As, by this arrangement, we were each left alone, and far from one another, I took the precaution to place myself immediately before a large tree, to avoid any chance of being suddenly attacked from behind for I was com- pletely hemmed in by trees, which, like a curtain, hid from my view everything beyond their narrow limits. I had not long waited in this position before the sound something approaching called my attention, and warned me to be ready. Crash! crash ""went the warned me to be ready. Crash! crash ""went the dried and withered leaves under the stealthy tread of some animal. Now for a tiger thought I, deter- mined to be prepared for the worst; but no—out rnshed a fierce boar, his back bristling with rage, and his tusks ready to tear whatever came within his reach. Now I have him thought I; and with the delight of a sportsman, but with rather too much of the excite- ment common to novices in jungle sport, I fired, strik- ing the animal in the hind-quarter, and making him sfa^ger under my shot. Then drawing my dagger, I stood ready to defend myself, expecting that the ferocious animal would rush headlong upon me. As I was left unassailed, I concluded that ho was sagacious enough to consider discretion as the better part of valour," for when the smoke cleared away he was gone! I walked to the spot, and found a pool of blood, by drops of which I traced a zigzag track for a short distance. I SIR GEORGE WOODWARD has been entertaining a largeshootingparty at his seat, Madby Park, near Cuck- fieid,Sussex—inalndins'Lord Guillamore, SirL.Benson, Admiral H. Terry. Hon. G. Dunkellin, Hoii. P. P. Smith, Mr. Theo.'Strelch, Mr. H. Montgomery, Capt. Gillespie, and Mr. R. Seymour Stewart-since the shooting season cemmenced. On Monday Sir George, with the whole party, had a splendid day's pheasant shooting, bagging 364 pheasants and 23 hares, 12 brace of partridges, and a jack snipe. The pheasants are in fine condition, and there seems to be no lack of them I on the estate. t I WHEN pheasants begin to fall to the detonating tube the gazehound" onoe more enters the lists against "poor puss," and the tinted woods again re-echo to the huntsman's cheery voice, we know that the legitimate turf campaign is waning fast. The leading patrons of horse-racing generally close their. books for the season when the two great sister handi- caps, the Cesarewitch and the Cambridge, have been decided. The first of these took plaoe this week, and caused as great a sensation as any race which has pre- ceded it. The following were the prophecies of some of the leading papers:—Bell's Life said the task of sum* ming up for the Cesarewitch was not a very easy I one, even if they depended upon Mail Train and I Gratitude to beat the unknown school, and Thalestris and Suspicion, those who could be measured on public performances; but as they must usaerta preference, it should be for this quartette, their greatest faith being in Gratitude and Mail Train. The. Era took Gratitude, Suspicion, Mftil Train, and Thaleatris to beat the field, coupling the latter with the first. men- foiled to actually win, as "they had a great pull in age and weight." The Sporting Gazette was -of opinion that the rase would fall to Gratitude or Mail Train, and next to these they expected to see IJady Hylda, the Calista colt, and Beatrix. The Sporting Life stood' Gratitude and Cathedral; and the Field the former and Mail Train. The Morning Post gave Mail Train, hoping h9 would be a follower of the same school as Dulcibella, Hartington, and Lioness. The Court Journal gave Thalestris and Gratitude. The Morning Advertiser Calista colt; and the Sunday T'imes Gratitude. The result of the race will prove that the majority of the prophets were not far wrong in their calcula- tions. Twenty-nine horses came to the post, but Thalestris caught the judge's eye first, Gratitude being second.

Past Harvest and Coming Winter. Mr. Meohi, writing from Tiptree-hall to the Agri- cultural Gazette, says :—" Our harvest was completed before the 1st of September. As to finding food for my stock during the approaching winter I see no difficulty I have, therefore, my full and usual number of live stock. My mangels are good and my hay abundant—thanks to irrigation. Of Swedes I only grow a small acreage, and they will probably be two- thirds of a crop. These fine rains have now reached the subsoil, and the temperature being so high greatly favours the more complete growth of our root and green crops. On cold clay soils in our I southern counties we should always make a mangel crop our main dependence, for reasons which I will some day give in a separate paper. The mangels can endure a higher and drier temperature than turnips. My usual mode of winter feeding stock with pulped roots and pulped green crops mixed with chopped straw of every kind, and a considerable proportion of cake and meal with (for growing animals) malt combs and bran, will. I think, be largely adopted this winter. At most I never exceed one bushel of roots per day for each bullock. This season half a bushel will be about the quantity. Let these who are deprived of roots consult Mr. Horsfall's able papers (Royal Agricultural Society's Journal, vols. 17 and 18), and they will see how easily roots may be dispensed with by the use of a little linseed oil or linseed. I find half a pound to one pound of linseed meal always very useful when fattening bullocks. Let us always bear in mind that selling ccrn off the farm impoverishes it, whereas by selling it to our cattle, the bulk of it remains with us as manure. Again, if we are to fertilise our farms, let us feed with something that was not grown on our own farm. When will farmers learn the value of bean straw, chaffed and moistened by hot water, as a feeding stuff? This winter ought to teach every one the value of straw for feeding purposes. My old friends of the London Farmers' Club will no longer laugh at me for suggesting the use of straw in feeding, for straw chaff is now becoming the order of the day. For our ewes malt combs, bran, a-little cake, and pea straw, will carry them well through the winter, especially with a pint or half a pint of Indian corn. When corn is cheap and meat is dear we ought to make plenty of the latter. By-the by have any of your correspond- ents found that cotton-cake- is apt to make the wool come off the sheep in the spring ? I have heard of such cases, and fancy that mine were slightly affected. With regard to the crops hereabout, we consider wheat an average in quantity and good in quality; better than average on the cold clays, and rather under on the warmer or mixed soils. Barley almost everywhere over average. Beans and peas a very poor crop. (Mine are good.) Oats considerably under ave- rage. Clovers and grass hay a very small crop. Mangel half a crop, generally much improved by the rains. Turnips quite a failure, past redemption; rape only just coming up. Every one hoping and preparing to have a, crop of some sort of spring food. I have a good crop of mangel, plenty of clover hay, and some good growing cabbages, thanks to irrigation. Owing to the low price of barley and revett wheat, much of it will be used for cattle and stock feeding, especially as roots are so snort a crop.- The Gardeners' Chronicle, in giving instructions for the ensuing week, says:—" If not already done, lose no time in getting tender plants under protection, a kind of work the omission of which may peril the welfare of valuable stock that cannot be readily replaced. Where pits or frames are at liberty, or can be made so, by rooting up the remains of exhausted cucumbers, melons, &c., there is no absolute necessity for station- ing every plant precisely where it is to remain through the winter. Protection of this sort for a short period, indeed, will contribute more than housing to the pro- duction of sturdy and well-ripened wood, possessing a greater tendency to blossom, and more capable of enduring a severe winter. In such places they must be secured from the depredations of the earth-worm. This is easily accomplished, especially where the frames are raised above the common ground level, by a good soaking of lime-water, followed by a coating of cinder-ashes, three inches in thickness."

Flower Garden and Plant Houses. As waa stated last week, alterations of grounds and planting of evergreens should new be carried on with despatch, while the soil is in good condition for opera- tions of this kind; the drier mould is when placed round the roots of newly planted shrub a (provided they are judiciously watered in) the sooner they will emit fresh roots. Mulching is, however, requisite to keep out frost, and earlier in the season to prevent evaporation. In greenhouses and conservatories climbers, at least some of the most rambling, will now want a, smart dressing where they obstruct light in any material degree. Such < as flower on the young wood, and which are now in a ripening condition, or approaching a state of rest, may be pruned in close. Others, such as the late blooming passifloras, combretums, echites, ipomceas, stephanotis, thun- bergias, mandevillas, &c., which are still thriving, must be regulated with a more gentle hand, cutting away merely barren shoots, and drawing the re- mainder into somewhat closer festoons, in order to throw sunlight into the interior of the house. AZALEAS. -Keep these in an even condition with regard to water at the root. Stake or tie out if neces- sary, and do all that can be done to keep the plants clean, and to maintain them in good health. CAMELLIAs.-Thin the blossom-buds if too thick, and sive the plants plenty of air while the weather is favourable. CINERARIAS.-Those intended for late blooming will do very well in a cold pit if the weather should not prove unfavourable. Cuttings may still be put in, or young plants may be raised from seeds. The last will prove useful late in the season. Plants struck early may now require a shift. CHRYSANTHEMUMS.—These, though apparently lat.e this season, will soon be the chief feature of attrac- tion in-doors, and where largely grown will require at- tention. They are very impatient of a close rather warm atmosphere, and if under glass and the house contains plants requiring this treatment, the chrysan- themums should as far as practicable be placed in the coolest part, where air can be given freely on every favourable opportunity for except they can be pretty fully exposed to air their foliage soon gets attacked and disfigured by mildew, especially if the plants are bushy and well grown. See also that they are kept well watered at the root. HEATHS—If such things as pelargoniums, cinera- rias, and calceolarias must be wintered in the same house with these and other hard-wooded plants, they should be kept as much as possible by themselves, as they will require a somewhat closer temperature than hard-wooded plants, but where circumstances admit of it, heaths especially should occupy a house or pit by themselves. They seldom succeed well if associated with soft-wooded plants. PELARGONIUMS.—Of these there should now be a fine stock of healthy plants. Pinch out the centre of young stock in order, to induce dwarf and bushy growth. Give any that require larger pots a shift, and water carefully when required. Keep down green fly by repeated fumigations. Fancy varieties require to be kept a. trifle warmer than ordinary kinds. — Why cannot two bishops row in the same I beat ? Because they are in different sees. Pert.—"Mamma," said a little girl, "can a door speak ? Certainly not, my love." Then why did yon tell Anna to answer the door thia morning ?"

TOPICS OF THE WEEK. -+-- THE PRINCE OF WALES AND THE VICEBOYALTY. -The idea of utilising the English Princes as they rise to manhood seems to have taken a strong hold on many minds. Lord Derby avowed two or three years ago that it was one of his dreams to see them all Viceroys, and the response from the other side of the House was far from unfavourable to his dream. "Á Colonist" in a pamphlet before us argues vehemently in favour of the election or appointment of one of them to the throne of the Canadas, and, changing kingship into hereditary viceroyalty, that solution of the Colonial puzzle might have its recommendations. The main difficulty would be to induce men born to the position of Princes Arthur and Leopold-for Prince Alfred has, as the public always forget, a Duchy of his own not yet mediatised—to accept a rank at once so doubtful, so onerous, and so distant. The most serious demand comes, however, from Ireland. The Irish have caught at a suggestion that the Prince of Wales if resident for three months in Dublin might be either an excellent substitute for the Viceroy or still better Viceroy for himself, and every Irishman who makes a speech reiterates warm approval. The strong monarchical feeling of the country, which has shown itself time and again during the worst periods of Irish discontent, is fixing itself upon this proposal, and we should not be surprised to find the odd cry of "Wales for the Irish" change into a serious popular demand. It does not seem, if the prince be willing, a very unwise proposition. There is no doubt in the first place that Ireland has some just ground of complaint in the course pursued, partly from policy, partly through accident, by the reigning House. Ever since its accession it has treated the island as if it were a colony, has visited it at long intervals, has been received on every occasion with enthusiastic respect, and has steadily avoided refining for more than a few days at a time. Till the inven- tion of steam and railroads there was a reason for this apparent slight; it was inconvenient that the Sovereign should be so far absent from the centre of business, and the arrangements made while he was in Hanover would have been almost indecorous as prepa- rations for a tour within his own dominions. The king, too, when iu the islands at all, lived usually in London or its neighbourhood, and the prior claim of the capital was acknowledged without any serious heartburning. New facilities for locomotion have, however, removed the physical difficulty, the Queen resides habitually in the northern or southern extremity of Great Britain, London does without a Court with half-chagrined pla- cidity, and Ireland asks a little sorely why it is always avoided, why the Sovereign should make a home in the Highlands and never see her third kingdom, and the heir fix himself in an out-of-tae-way corner at the eastern extremity of Great Britain. It is felt to be useless, as well as unmannerly, to impor- tune a lady naturally attached to a spot where the happiest hours of her life have been spent; but ube Prince, it is argued, might reasonably show towards Ireland the countenance which has made the Queen mistress of all Scotch hearts, and which wmuld in Ireland re-awaken the sentiment of personal loyalty which her people understand so much better than loyalty to an institution. The feeling is so much the deeper because Irishmen are not-so much annoyed at the refusal of rights of which their demagogues talk so much, as at the air with which those rights, some- times more than those rights, are usually conceded. Ireland is the poor relation, to be helped and excused, sometimes even to be petted, but maàe to feel that she is the poor relation still. That is the position from which her people desire to escape, and which the resi- dence of any part of the Royal family would do much to end.-Spectator. THE ARCHBISHOP OF YORK ON FEMALE EDUCA- TiON —Amongst all the speeches made at the late Social Science meeting at York the address of tne Archbishop of York bore away the palm and met with the most general approbation. It obtained the suf- frages of the large majority of the men, and won, with. out a dissenting voice, the hearts of all the women present. No other result could be expected. If it be hard for the sterner nature of the bolder sex to resist the voice of flattery, how much more difficult must be the task even to the strong-minded women accustomed 'to mix in debate and to read papers from the platform. The Archbishop of Y ork had the tact to hit the passing feeling of the moment, and received his reward in the plaudits of those assembled. How pleasant must the words pronounced almost ex cathedra have sounded on the ear of the lady essayists thronging the festival con'oert-room at York:—"Woman is equal to man! Yes, but equal by being herself, and not a pale copy of him. But is this so ? Will the dictum of the Arch- bishop pass beyond the complimentary allusions of a public address to an assembly, a large portion of which were of the fairer sex, and endure the ordeal of a stricter and more dispassionate investigation ? One almost of higher authority than the late President of the Educa- tional section at York (with all deference be it spoken) has given a different verdict Though both Not equal, as their sex not equal seemed: For contemplation he and valour iorm d: For softness she, and sweet attractive grace: He for God only, she for God in him. It is an oft-repeated truism that it has been the privi- lege of Christianity to restore women to the rank de- signed for them by the Creator. In Christian lands they cease to be the slaves, the sport, or the plaything of mankind, but are elevated to their true dignity as 'the partners and helpmeets of men. These very re- cognitions of equality are at the same time wisely tempered for the peaceful regulations of married and domestic life with the acknowledgment of a due pre- cedency and a prescribed subordination. There is one remark in the address of the Archbishop which appears to be yet more open to an erroneous interpretation. What can be the meaning of the expression the mys- terious union of two which has arisen by degrees from mere instinct' to a mutual education of two souls for God?" It cannot be supposed that so ortho- dox a theologian and so zealous a champion of the Church of England would wish for one mo- ment to ignore the Divine origin of marriage, or to forget the assertion of the Book of Com- mon Prayer that "it was a holy estate instituted in the time of man's innocency." Yet are the words here used capable of this sinister exegesis. The description i of marriasre. to which we may infer the words to allude as a mysterious union, arising by degrees irom mere instinct to the higher condition of a mutual education," is a form of speech not quite admissible from the mouth of the highest dignitary of the Church, and scareelv to fee excused in an address so elaborately prepared as that read by the President of the Educa- tional section of the late Social Science Congress. The conclusions arrived at by the Archbishop on the sub- ject of female education will recommend themselves to universal acceptation. A womanish man or a mannish woman are creatures equally abhorrent. There is a too common tendency among the younger portion of the softer sex to ape the customs and to adopt the words of men. This error must be protested against .-A vamadifld. in the Reeuring to our maidens of the upper and middle classes that suitable education which shall "be proper to them, to their constitution, their mental gifts, their work in the world.Press. THE ROYAL SOVEREIGN.—There is no possibility of denying that the Admiralty has achieved a. very original feat, and displayed its independence in an extremely striking manner, by putting the Royal Sovereign out of commission. But if it should happen hereafter that this vigorous decision may have to be reversed, and that the despised turret-ship may be found to deserve yet another trial, it is difficult to see what the Admiralty will have gained, in prestige or otherwise, by its unaccountable .perversity. We do not look upon the proceeding with any serious alarm, because it may safely be predicted that the Admiralty will know how to tack when it feels the breath of the wind to which it ordinarily is content to yield. There will be nothing at all surprising in the announcement, at some no distant date, that the board has gone about, and reconsidered its determination, and that the Royal Sovereign is to oe sent to sea again. j.m» would be quite after the Admiralty manner; and though the freak of the board may involve all the cost of dismantling and recommissioning the ship, no one will know how large the needless expense will have been, and the serious danger of interrupting the most important experiment now going on in the navy will sooner or later be averted. It will be curious to watch whether gentle autumnal breezes will suffice to waft the Admiralty into this happy coutse, or whether Captain Coles* experiment is destined to lie becalmed until a good Parliamentary gale shall fill its sails again. That the original idea is already felt to have been a blunder is apparent from the semi-official ex- i pianation volunteered in the Times. After all that was said about the excellence of the hull of the Royal A overeign when complaints were made that a new ship was not built to test the cupola principle, it is. amusing to be told now that the vessel was never n«&aut ta go to sea, and is only an improved harbour battery—& sort of development of the old Trusty and Glutton. class. If this were true, it was useless to commission, the ship at all. The defence, indeed, only throws back the fault to an earlier stage of the proceedings. The vital point to be ascertained is, whether sea-going ships can or cannot be constructed to carry the heaviest class of guns. The Admiralty hag been boasting for years, while the Royal Sovereign was being slowly rebuilt as a turret-ship, that this problem was in. ceurse of solution and now, when tie ship is finished, it is coolly announced that no iiiten,tior, ever existed of trying the experiment at all. It in to little purpose that big gans are made if we have no ships to carry them at sea, and if the Royal Sovereign has not been constructed for that purpose, the sooner the Admiralty commences th-è long-delayed experiment the better; will be for the safety of the country. — Saturday Review.

OUR MISCEXiiiHT, In a discussion with a terri JW -nrer, a toper asked, "If water rots your boons:, wt&at effect must it have on the coat of your si ma' 1 29: A country girl, in speaking of the polka, says that the dancin' was nothin', bat the inggin* was heavenly." A livery-stable keeper would new/ let a horse go out without requesting the lessee 1101, to drive fast. One day a young man called to get a turn-out. :;o attend a funeral. Certainly," said the stabler; but," he- added, forgetting the solemn purpose tor which the young man wanted the horse, don't drive fast." Why, jest look here, old fellar," said the somewhat excited young man. I want you to understand tha.t I shall keep up with the procession JJ J:, Mils the horse! Florence Nightingale.—I YíelJ rownmber her in days gone by, visiting the cottageu or tke peer when- ever illness was there, and doing all she ooald to soothe and bless the sufferers. There is ono cottage by the road-side, and overlooking a good part of the Hoirst and the scenery beyond, where, Ipng before she became known to the world, a poor old relative of mine, a chronic invalid, delighted iu nothing so ah as talk- ing of the way she visited and made inquiries about her without fuss or unwelcome freedom, and when any of the poor neighbours got hurt in the quarries or mines, she was always one of the first to -1 offer them genuine help and solace.—Spencer £ c<JJ$ Bays in Derbyshire. A Javanese Matrimoniat Among the many odd customs which distinguish the, Chinese of Java is one which would stadIA the young ladies of England. Beneath the windows of their houses is often to be seen an empty flower-pot, "lying horizontally on the portico roof." Its position, cannot be accidental, because it is seen in so many easea. Nor can it be looked upon as a religions symbol, for then there would probably be one on each house. It is nothing more nor less than a matrimonisi advertise- ment, the plain English of which is, "11 young lady is in the house. Husband wanted." — i -ic London, Quarterly Revie w for October. Epitaph.-In Beddington Church, as you walk round the aisles, you will see on the walls tablets to many members of the Carewe family, and several to those of the Bridges. Sir Henry Bridges, wEo lived at Beddington House, died so recently as 1861, and is buried in Ewell Churchyard. The Ewell Powder Mills were his property. His descendants inhabit a mansion in Beddington. The north aislo of the build- ing is rather narrow, and the row of pillarsi pertaining to it looks unnecessarily near to those ci tne nave, but our friend tells us that the owner of «ho land that lies on the outside of this north side would not suffer an inch of it to be sold that thebuikhag might be carried farther out, so they cub their eoat according to their cloth. On the north wall there is a curious enitaph. It is that to Thomas Greenhili; born arid bred at'Oxford University, some time fellow of Mag- dalene College, steward to Sir Nicholas Carewe, Knight. Died, aged thirty-three, 1634" Under thy feet interred is here A native born in Oxfordshire, First Oxford life and learning gv?c, Surrey, to him, his death and grava He once a hill was fresh and green, •- Now withered, is not to be seen. Earth in earth shovelled lip io sb .-t, A hill into a hole is put; But darksome eartk by power divine, Bright at last day thes,m may shine. An Inebriated Goose.—A brief history of Old Tom," a London goose of credit and renown," may not be uninteresting to our readers. Ton was hatched at Ostend, and having shown extraordinary sagacity at an early age, was trained by M. Blaney, his owner, to act as a decoy goose, and to lead his more simple brethren to the wharf whence they were skipped for the London market. We are sorry to say, then, that Tom was a deceitful bird, but he at iengtri got his deserts, for, by some mistake, he was one day shipped off himself, and consigned, with the rest of the flock, to the care of Mr. Grover, of Leadenhail Market. Tom no sooner appeared in the market than his extra- ordinary character became known, and his tricks and comicalities made hin a general favourite. He would answer to his name in the goosish dialect, and by a brisk clapping of his wings, and he would follow his friends like a pet dog. On his original master coming to London, some time ^ttcrwards, Tom recognised him, and M. Blaney was so mash delighted to see his old servant that he offered, if Mr. fl-rrtvftr would keen him. to pay all his expenses. An honest biographer should never conceal the faults of his hero, lest he should unwisely set up an example of unattainable perfection; we are. therefore, constrained to say that Tom kept bad company, and reil into tip- pling habits. He was accustomed to strut with great dignity into the Rose and Crown every morning, and ask, like any other customer, for his dram of mountain dew. By the time he had gone the round of the urns in the neighbourhood, he would occasionally show himself the worse for his potations, and it was neces- sa-ry to take him into custody on the police charge of being drunk and disorderly." This way of life in- jured Tom's health, and at length he was found dead in his nest, having lived thirty-seven years. His body having been duly embalmed, a.nd placed in a deal coffin, lay in state on his master's stall for some days, two favourite geese dressed in crape dcing duty as mutes at the door. Sic transit gloria mundi.—City Press. An Ugly Habit She's Got .—A very old and poor woman called on him one day, and desired par- tioularlyto speak with him in private. Her counte- nance denoted much mental perturbation, and a sigh or two gave warning of the afflicted nature of the coming discourse. "Well, my dear," said Father Matthew, you seem disturbed; what ia the matter ? Oh then, your reverence, it's my habit' that's troubling me, and I came to ask your reverence what; would you advise me to do with it ? Your Inabit,, my dear ?" Yes, indeed, your reverence, thu, Ih-abit, -it won't let me rest easy with thinking what I'm to do with it." "Why, my good woman, what is the matter with your habit,' and what can I possibly do for you f Well, your reverence, here's the way it ia—Ihave had the 'habit' for a long time, for you know, one must always be prepared, and shore we don't know the moment when our hour may com? and your reverence, I tried it on the other night, and -(here a sob choked her utterance) and-and-van- reverence—it's too short!" This sad announcement was followed by another burst of emotion. But, my dear, what P" Oh, your reverence I hadn't a wink of sleep for the whole night with thmKmg of it -and the disgrace of it!" The matter was becoming serious and poor Father Matthew was quite bewil- dered. What could he do with her, unless give her money to purchase a new habit ? But no; it was not money, but advice, she required-not a new habit" but to know what to do with the habitr to which she had been accustomed, and which she associated with the happy ending of her life. A- bright idea struck him, which, with as much gravivy as he could summon to his aid, he imparted to his anxious applicant, who seemed to hang in suspense on his very look. Well, my dear, that being the case, I recommend yon to put flounces to it. The old lady grasped at it with avidity, and gratefully thanked fas reverence for his suggestion, and declared she would go home that moment, and carry it into immediate execution. She left her adviser with a benediction, and an assurance that she was now happy in her miRd The reader will best judge of the nature of the sug- gested addition, when it is stated that the habit re- ferred to was a kind of shroud, in which devout people, belonging to certain lay orders, or religions societies, were laid out or waked" in when deML— father Matthew; a Biography.