The Cambrian

GEORGE ELIOT. Dead Is she dead? And all that light extinguished 1.. T Mend your words, Those gropings of the blind along plain paths Where all the Heavens are shining Know you not, Though the Eternal Luminary dips Below our cramped horizon, leaving here Only a trail of glory, he but goes Todawnonotherandneglectedworlds, Benighted of his presence ? So with Her, Whose round imagination, like the sun, Drew the sad mists of the low-lying earth Up to her own great altitude, and there Made them in smiling tears evaporate. Announce the sun's self dead, and o'er him roll An epitaph of darkness then aver She has to set for ever. Think it thus, If for sweet comfort's sake. What we call death Is but another sentinel despatched To relieve life, weary of being on guard. Whose active services is not ended here, But after intermission is renewed In other fields of duty. This to her Was an uncertain promise, since it seems, Unto the eye of seriousness, unreal. That, like a child, death should but play with life, Blowing it out. to blow it in again. This contradiction over, now she stands Certain of all uncertainty, and dwells Where death the sophist puzzles life no more, But with disdainful silence or clear proof Confutedisforever. t let our loss By others' gain is mended not, and we Sit in the darkness that her light hath left. Comfort our grief with symbols as we will, Her empty throne stares stony in our face, And with a dumb relent!essness proclaims That she has gone for ever, for ever gone. Returning not. How plain I see her now, The twilight tresses, deepening into night, The brow a benediction, and her eyes Seat where compassion never set, but like That firm, fixed star, which altereth not its place While all the planets round it sink and swim, Shone with a steady guidance. 0 and a voice Matched with whose modulations softest notes Of dulcimer by daintiest fingers stroked, Or zephyrs wafted over summer seas. On summer shores subsiding, sounded harsh; Listening whereto, steeled obduracy felt The need to kneel, necessity to weep. And craving to be comforted a shrine Of music amt of inseme and of flowers. Where hearts, at length, self-challenged, were content Still to be sad and sinful, so they might Feel that exonerating pity steal In subtle absolution on their gilt. Dead? Xever dead That this. man's insignificant domain, Which is not boundary of space, should be The boundary of life, revolts the mind, Even when bounded. Into soaring space Soar, spacious spirit unembarrassed now By earthiy boundrit s, and circle up In the Heaven of Heavens, and take thy place Where the Eternal Morning broadens out To recognise thy coming Realm on Realm Of changeless revolution round thee roll Thou moving with them, and among the stars Shine thou a star long looked for or upbuoyed Beyond the constellations of our ken, Traverse the infinite azure with thy heart And with love's light elucidate the Spheres While we, below, this meek ligation pour. Minglfd of honey and hyssop, on thy grave December 29,1:80. ALFRED AUSTIN.

Varieties, &r. The best of ends—Large dividends. A little four-year-old boy the other day confused his mother by making the following inquiry .'—"Mother, if a man is a mister ain't a woman a mystery?" Mr. Smith," said a lady at a fair won't you please buy this bonnet to present to the lady you love ?' 'Twouldn't be right," said Mr. Smith I'm a married man." A Church in a country village recently circulated a paper among t^e congregation asking for contributions for the pur- pose of paying the organist and a boy to blow the same The Xew Way of Putting it.-Fare-What another shil- ling?" Cahhy-" Yes, another bob; and I'll have it too. You don't come none o' your 'Griffith's valuation'' over me." Seaside Whisper.—Lady in black satin to a lady in cream tulle—"Of course her watch-chain is very heavy. Her hus- band keeps a sausage shop and so she wears heavy links to keep hèr in min,1 of the trade." Scene—A public-house bar. First customer, adding some water—"I wunner, John, ye can tak' whuskey without water Second customer, turning to the publican—" He sharely thinks Mr. Gunn, ye dinna ken yir trade Advice of an old cab-driver to his successor—" Always know the exact hour of the train your passenger wishes to take. Reach the station at the very last moment, so that he cannot dispute with you, whatever price you ask." Bertie had a half a biscuit buttere and a whole one un. buttered. He gave Grade the whole one and kept the buttered. A remark being made about his giving the larger pie"e. Gracie said, "Yes, he gave me the biggerest and kept the butterest. An old judge of the Xew York Supreme Court, meeting a friend in a neighbouring village, exclaimed, Why, what are you doing here?" "I'm at work, trying to make an honest living," was the reply Then you'll succeed," said the judge, for you'll have no competition." Etiquette in a Xntshell.— On receiving an invitation to dinner —go. On being asked to take wine—take it. What to do on your health being proposed—bolt. If one lady refuses you for a square" dance—go the "round." If cards are proposed, be ready to make one not more. What to remember" on leav- ing—the servant. A doctor, passing a stonemason's shop. called out, Good morning, Mr. D. Hard at work ? I see you finish your grave- stones as far as In memory of,' and then wait, I suppose to see who wants a monument next?" Why yes replied'the old man, "unless somebody's ill and you are doctoring him then I keep straight on." ° This inimitable order was given recently by a well-known member of the Kildare Club, Waither. get me a glass of pure spring wather." The unction with which the words pure spring water" were enunciated would have delighted the ears of irancis Murphy ut jnst as the waiter had "ot well awav to the ether end of the room this addendum was made- And waither, just put two glasses of Irish whisky in it." Mistletoe Mem?.-If, when having caught yonr young ladv she says, Oh, Mr. Blank, how can yon immediately show her. When, having done your duty, she Simpers, Isn't it too bad just remark it was only one, and make up the quan- tityas requested. If she should then exclaim "She wouldn't have believed it of you," apologise that you are not usually so bad. but (here suit the action to the word) Christmas is a cheeky sea sou. A minister who had been reproving one of his elders for over- indulgence, observed a cow go down to a stream, take a drink, and then turn away. There," said he to his offending elder, is an example for you the cow has quenched its thirst and has retired. "Yes," replied the other, that is very true But suppose another cow had come to the other side of the stream and had said* Here's to you,' there's no saying how long they might have gone on." ° At a dinner party, the conversation turning upon the intro- duction of many unnecessary passages in the marriage service, the host referred to the absurdity of a man who had no pro- perty whatever gravely declaring that he endowed his bride with the whole of his possessions. "Xow when 1 married said he. I hadn't a shilling in the world B^t chimed his wife, 'you had your splendid talents." "Well but I didn't endow you with them," was the smart rejoinder An American contemporary says that probably the worst blunder ever made by the telegraphists was one that occurred in the case of a St. Louis merchant, who, while in New York received a telegram informing him that his wife was ill He sent a message to his family doctor asking the nature of the sickness, and if there was any danger, and received promptly the answer. No danger. Your wife has had a child. If we can keep her from having another to-night she will do well The mystification of the agitated husband was not removed until a second inquiry revealed the fact that his indisposed lady had had a chill." A n ble lord, as proud and fond as a man should be of his beautiful young wife, was just about rising to speak in a de- bate, relates a contemporary, when si telegram was put into his hands. He read it, left the House, jumped into a cab, drove to Charing Cross, and took the train to Dover. Next day he returned home, rushed into his wife's room, and, finding her there, upbr'iiuGcl the astonished l&dy in bo mpjisiirpd t^rms She protested her ignorance of having done anythlug t! Ed him. "Then what did you mean by your telegram ?" he asked "Mean? What I said. of course. What are you talking about?" "Read it for yourself," said he. She read—"I flee with Mr. X. to Dover straight. Pray for me." For the moment words could not come then, after a merry fit of laughter, the suspected wife quietly remarked-H Oh, those dreadful telegraph people No wonder you were out of your mind, dear. I telegraphed simply, I tea with Mrs X., in Dover-street. Stay for me WIDOWS—Long before the immortal Mr. Weller warned his son Sam against widows, the wiles of those crafty campaigners in the fieUU of Hymen had stirred up envy and uncharitable- ? \n of the!J spinster sisters. At so remote a period as 1733, now one hundred and forty-seven years ago, sixteen maidens of Charleston presented a supplication to the Governor of South Carolina invoking his aid against the de- vices of those who had enjoyed the fruits of matrimony- and had buried their husbands. Thus the document ran The humble petition of all the maids whose names are underwritten. Whereas we, the humble petitioners, are at present in a very melancholy disposition of mind, considering how all the bachelors are blindly captivated by widows and WP are there- by neglected in consequence of this, our request is that vour Excellency will for the future order that no widow Tjrpsnmp to marry any young man till the maids are provided for or pise to pay each of them a fine for satisfaction for invadm"- our libertips and likewise a fine to be levied on all such bachelors as shall be married to willows. The great disadvantage it is to us maids is that the widows, by their forward carriage, do snap up the young men, and have the vanity to think their merit beyond ours, which is a great imposition on us, who ought to have the preference. This is humbly recommended to your Excellency's consideration, and hope you will permit no further insults. And we poor maIùs, in duty bound, will ever pray." It might exercise the logical powers of a casuist to decide whether a widow is better advised to re-marry or to remain single. In the one case it may be argued that she proves how highly she estimates the c m-nubial lot. When she links herself a second time in the bonds of matrimony, it is a token tnat her first experience of that life was happy. In the otuer case, that is to say, when she declines to exchange toI>ms- !t may be urged that she shows f,. her he art Lnrts ?hm.-ehlory of her husband and thinks, thns^n Hit ctnnot l)ereplaced. But, in any Hr^lriv^ Put ontIle wedding complished widowhood are p^erred^to "th™ °- *C" charms. The question is unsettled nnd settled. But bachelors will run after the wiilw •!y-eV! ] fe ued, so long as the widows have fortunes Bach!) t0 selfish The customs of Arcady have faded into dreamland notes. U nwailays Wln^ hl3 ai'rows with five-pound

It is better to suffer than to lose the power of suffer- ing.— La ndor. Whoever is disloyal to truth is the same falsehood to also.—Montaigne. The maintenance of truth is rather God's charge, and the continuance of charity ours.— Whichcote. Faults seen through passion appear much greater to us than they really are, as bodies do, being seen through a mist. —Montaigne. It is better for us that there should be difference of judgment, if we keep charity; hut it is most unmanly to quarrel because we differ.— Whichcote, Independency may be found in comparative as well as absolute abundance; I mean where a person con- tracts his desires within the limits of his fortune.— Shenstone- There are those whose secret life is a blank. They have no real life but that which is lived (as Scripture expresses it) in the sight of this sun.' Feeling is for them fancy—sympathy sentimennt—weeping, a thing for women. They have no intercourse, no communication, with God—no time for self examination no plain straightforward dealing with conscience, as concerning the life past, the life that is, or the life that shall be. 0, we know so well the excuses for all this—we have made them a thousand times—count us not cold or unreason- able, if we say that they will not abide the judgment. We may dislike solitude now—most of all, that solitude which is the consciousness of a Presence—but remember the saying, 'I must die alone,—nothing can be taken, no one can go, with you. then—ought we not to practice for that loneliness? ought we not to people that void world now, with the reality, at least, of one Friend, one Com- forter, one Father ? Quite opposite to these are they who have no life but the secret—the life hidden with Christ in God-we:could wish them none other. But there is a a secret life hidden nowhere and in no one-a life of tears and remorses and spectres and phantoms—of graves and worms and epitaphs—of buried joys and extinct vol- canoes—of disappointed self and God forgotten. And then it is a life all unwholesome and morbid—and any publicity, almost, were better than solitude. Let them come forth. Let them look upon the woes of others, and see if they cannot feel and cannot help. One honest humble ministry to one life outside theirs, might send them back to a chamber no longer of gloom—to a chamber bright with Christ's sympathy, illuminated with the very light of God. Finally, let our religion have its aspect of severity. If we are not called—few of us are so—to judge others, at least let us judge ourselves. Let us never make excuses for sins done long ago, or done in ignorance, or done in passion. Joseph's brothers had many excuses. It was very provoking to have a spoilt and an upstart and a precocious brother, a brother who dreamed him- self master, and fancied his father his suppliant. It was so easy just to get rid of him—to put him out of the way—the pit was so tempting, the Midianite caravan so opportune. But their sin found them out, for all that— in want, in shame, in remorse, in degration; those dreams of the brother came literally true—we might punish, we could not defeat them Let us judge our- selves, and we shall not be judged.' The tenderest men of all are thesevorest with themselves—they know how to pity, who know how to repent.—Dean Vang/ma in The Day of Rest."

--+- DOGS.—History has preserved the names of other than human celebrities. Many a gallant steed has been recorded on the roll of fame from Alexander's Bucepbalus down to the recently notorious Bend Or. But dogs have been yet more favoured. What a list of real and mythical canine heroes have come down to us from the most remote age The ancients had their fabled Cerberus, and Homer has immortalised the faithful dog of Ulysses. Luath, and the famous dog the Highland proverb associates with his master— If it is not Bran, it is Bran's dog," and King Lud's lazy hound, who leant his head against a wall to bark," all belong to the realms of tradition. Gelert, the trusty dog so rashly slain by his master under the mistaken idea that the animal had killed the infant he was in reality protecting, may be an historical personage; but if so a good many faithful dogs met a similar fate for we find the same legend in other besides Welsh traditions. The dog of Montargis" used to be a favourite piece for represen tation by strollingactors. But leaving these traditional dogs, how many real animals are familiar to us ? Scot was a professed dog lover. Hardly any of his works, prose or poetry, fail to give a dog among the diamatis personaz. Bevis in Woodstock," Lufra, in The Lady of the Lake," Wolf in The Abbott," are all described as carefully as any of the human characters in the novels. Readers of Scott's life are familiar with his own favourite dogs, the living models from which his fictitious ones were described. Maida, the ornament of Abbotsford, and Camp, his first favourite, who died in 1809, and on the day of whose demise, the poet sent an excuse to dinner he was to have attended on the ground that he had just lost a dear old friend." Byron expressed a more cynical sentiment in his epitaph on his favourite Newfoundland, Boatswain :— "To mark a friend's repose these stones arise I never knew but one—and here he lies." More tenderly has Elizabeth Barrett Browning written of her favourite spaniel, whose devotion to her sick couch she has so feelingly described in one of her poems. Cowper has recorded the name of his dog Beau in one of his works, The dog and the Water-lily." Macaulay is almost the only literary man who writes of dogs in an unsympathetic spirit, and there is a passage in one of his letters recording how he rejected the advances of a kindly cur who wished to accompany him on a walk—basely "dodging" the poor animal round the railings of a square—which must lower the great historian in the eyes of professed dog lovers. The attachment felt by the majority of people for dogs is hardly to be wondered at. Dogs alone, of all the animal creation, forsake the com- panionship of their own species for the companionship of man. To be with his master is a dog's summum bonum of happiness. Their disinterested attachment and unswerving fidelity have been sung by the poets from Homer to the American who touchingly remarks:— When fickle friends and fickler fortune fails Dogs, unfickle still, for you will wag their tails." Nothing you do will alienate the affection of your faithful dog. Bill Sykes. rumn as he is, can possess a true canine friend as well as the best of mankind You may make shipwreck of your worldly prospects, and your faithful animal will cling to you, like the faithful little dog of Mary, Queen of Scots, which was found nestling in her gown after her execution. As a companion a dog is admirable. Everyone who is given to sedentary pursuits ought to keep one. The necessity for giving exercise to his favourite would prove a most healthful practice for many a literary man. Miss Mitford has charmingly described the delights of a country ride with a dog as a companion. The delight of the creature at getting out is pleasant to watch. If his master is disposed to conversa- tion, how thoroughly the animal will enter into his views, with what joyful alacrity he will dash after sticks and stones, returning with wild gambols and joyous barks. If, on the other hand, the master is engaged in his own reflections, the dog has too fine a sense of good breeding to obtrude his attentions. He will find amusement for himself in hedgerows and ditches; poking his nose inquiringly amid heaps of dead leaves, dashing impoteutly after sparrows which he never comes within a yard of; all the while ready to rush back with joyful alacrity to his master's side thoroughly disengaged, and ready to enter into any scheme propounded to him. People who can keep dogs and do not, certainly miss a great amount of enjoyment. The intelligence of dogs has long been a marvel and a perplexity to all who study them. Wonder- ful are the stories related of what may be termed the reasoning faculties of dogs. They certainly reflect, and their memory is better than that of many human beings. Every dog owner has tales to tell of the marvellous doings of his favourite. Each dog has assuredly a separate character. There are truthful dogs and un- truthful dogs, selfish and generous ones, dogs that are passionate but forgiving, dogs who will sulk over an injury. Some are jealous to excess no two dogs are quite alike. Dogs who habitually associate with their owners are generally far more intelligent than animals less favoured with the company of their betters, as Captain Dalgetty (in the "Legend of Montrose") com- plains that his new horse is less cultivated in his social qualities from being left entirely to the care of grooms." For this reason a modern French writer advises people who think of keeping a dog to buy a young one and train him themselves, when they will be able to watch his character expanding day by day." We have heard it contended that a purer attachment exists between a mongrel and his owner than any other dog, because hand- some dogs may be kept from motives of ostentation, while love alone binds a master to an unattractive cur. We doubt the soundness of this reasoning, however. Bon sang ne peut mentir" is true of dogs and curs of low degree are sometimes given to petty vices from which their better-bred brethren are exempt. A detest- able type of dog is now happily nearly extinct. We allude to the "lap-dogs" of the last century; fat asthmatic, pampered creatures, nuisances to all but their foolish owners, who crammed them with dainties fit for their children. Such an animal is described in the Rape of the Lock," when Belinda enumerates among other calamities— Poll sat mute, and Shock was most unkind. Some owners of dogs are proud of the tricks performed by their favourites. Others (we think reasonably) allege that the animal's natural ways are far more amusing to watch than any artificial lessons. Nearly every possessor of a dog secretly believes his pet to be endowed with certain peculiar and especial virtues. It is a pity that a dog's span of life is comparatively short. Some ancient animals linger to sixteen or seventeen years, but, as a rule, they are melancholy objects in their latter days. So active a creature suffers greatly when unable to move about readily and it seems truer kindness to end an old favourite's life than to permit it to drag out a weary and painful existence. Scott ingeniously suggests that it is, after all, a good thing our canine pets do not live longer, for if we suffer so much in losing a dog after ten or thirteen years' acquaintance what would it be if they lived to double that age P (letter to Miss Edgeworth, Lockhart's "Life.") Dame ou, tlv ^rnerS !wS t1he s^ect les8 tenderly, for she be sent-1869 g aUainS nine years should To the tanner, For the best hound man ever had At nine years old he is full bad. I Have him to the tanner" is rather a callous way of dismissing an old favourite. Honourable sepulture is rarely refused to the remains of the pets, unless their owners prefer making them ghastly mummies in glass: cases. The old Norse kings admitted their dogs and horses to share their funeral pyres, and expected to meet their faithful followers again in the halls of Valhalla. Many a dog has had an epitaph written over him, and not a few of us can say with Scott that we lost a dear old friend" when our faithful animal slept with Lauth, Bran, and other celebrated hounds."—Globe. 1

"FROM WANT OF THOUGHT." By Mrs. Ellen Ross. "Evil is wrought from want of thought as well as from want of heart."—THOMAS HOOD. John Cuthbert had his shop set out in the most tempting and brilliant style which his own and his assistants' in- genuity could devise, and very satisfied was everybody concerned with the effect produced. It was a large grocery and provision shop in a. small town in the north of England-a shop which eclipsed all the other shops in the place in its extent and the variety of its commodities and John Cuthbert was recognised by all his fellow-townsmen as the leading tradesman of Keeley. He had a large and well-furnished house his wife and children dressed like gentry," the townsfolk said and they pronounced him what be really was—the most prosperous man in the town. He and his family bore unblemished characters out- wardly they kept all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless." John was a churchwarden, was on the Board of Guardians, and was looked upon as an up- right, fair dealing, and humane man. His wife was affable and kind to her humble neighbours, and good to the poor and his seven children were growing up in an exemplary manner. John was an energetic and devoted business man, and he took an honest and laudable pride in buying and selling. Just now at Christmas time he was quite enthusistic about the arranging and decorating of his large shop and the admiration which his efforts awakened in the passers-by, who stood gazing and gazing at his grand display ere they went on their way, pleased him immensely. About two years previously John Cuthbert had availed himself of the "privilege" held out to grocers of obtaining a license for the sale of winas and spirits; and now in his Christmas display these viands figured most prominently. They were in rows in the forefront, they were grouped in masses behind tempting pyramids of plums and currants, and decorated with the gayest of his Christmas wreaths and bonquets. They were ticketed at prices to suit all purchasers, and were evidently considered by John to be a most desirable and necessary part of the Christmas cheer which he had provided for his numerous customers. Mrs. Cuthbert was not often seen in the shop. She was an excellent housewife, and she considered it her best policy to look after house and children, and to leave the shopkeeping entirely to her husband and his young men. Just now she was busy with the arrangements for a grand party which her children were to have on Christmas Eve, and she was almost as pleased as they were them- selves in preparing for an evening of joyous excitement. But when her husband came to call her into the shop to see his window dressing, to which he had just put the finishing touches, she left her goodies to the servant, took off her kitchen apron, and went, trim and cheerful, into the shop to admire her husband's taste and skill. She looked round with an appreciative eye, and could suggest very little in the way of improvement, when asked to do so. The rows and groups of bottles with their murderous contents gave no offence to her eye, nor to her moral sense. Yet she was a woman with a tender conscience and a sympathetic heart, who would not knowingly and wilfully do an injury to any creature. If evil were being done by the pushing of the sale of those deadly drinks within their walls it was all through want of thought rather than through want of heart on her own and her husband's part. Having finished her survey of the shop, Mrs. Cuthbert was about to return to her kitchen, when her eye fell upon a young servant girl, who was one of the few customers then in the shop. One of the assistants had just placed before her a bottle of gin and a bottle of brandy, which she was transferring to a bag which she carried under her shawl. "Well, Susan, how is your mistress to-day?" asked Mrs. Cuthbert, kindly. "She's but poorly, ma'am, thank you," said the girl in a nervous manner, and reddening as she spoke. Will you tell her that my children are very deeply disappointed that she cannot let Alice and Mary come to their party; and ask her, Susan, with my compliments, whether she will not alter her decision, just to please the young folks all round." The asssistant had now moved away to another cus- tomer, and, leaning across the counter, Susan replied in a. confidential whisper, and in a distressed manner, "Oh, please, ma'am, the little girls are quite broken-hearted about not coming. But what can anyone do ? They've no clothes fit to go to a party in and there's nobody to see after them, nor set a stitch for them, even so much as to mend their stockings and sew on their buttons. And Missis she seems to be getting worse and worse. She promised my mother when I came to her that she would never let me darken the door of a public, seeing I was brought up teetotal; and she hasn't either but isn't it just as bad her sending me here every blessed day for drink, until she's nearly ruined herself body and soul? And Master goes on about the grocery bill, just as if I was wasting things in the kitchen, which I never do and the fact is we're all just as miserable as we can be through this stuff. I hate to fetch it for her, but if I didn't she'd send the dear children, and I try to keep it from them as much as I can." Susan spoke in a quick, excited way, and finished with a little sob and tears in her eyes. "I'm very sorry," said Mrs. Cuthbert with heartfelt concern. "The home must be very wretched, Susan. But does Mrs. Stevens really drink much ?" "Why, that dreadfnl, ma'am, that you'll see whether she won't be sending me here again either to-morrow or next day." And will she have drunk those two bottles of wine ?" "Not wine, ma'am, but spirits, and very soon they'll be finished, I can assure you. It's dreadful to see her carry on sometimes, just like a raving mad-woman, and the dear children are frightened to death at her. No, indeed, there won't be any Christmas fun for them, ma'am, so they needn't Be thinking about parties or any- thing else that's pleasant." Susan turned away with a heavy sigh, and Mrs. Cuthbert said, "I had no idea she was in such a bad state, Susan, I am very sorry." Susan went her way, with the deadly stuff hidden under her shawl that was marring happiness and wrecking the home of this Christian grocer's neighbour. And as Mrs. Cuthbert's eye fell on the shining, decorated groups of bottles set out in such tempting array, a chill fear struck to her honest heart that she was not altogether guiltless in the matter of the ruin of this weak neighbour of hers. She turned away with a sigh, which was like an echo of Susan's, and went back to her pleasant household duties with a somewhat heavy heart. That evening when alone with her husband she told him what had passed between herself and Susan. Kind- hearted John Cuthbert looked much concerned, as he replied, "I have noticed that for some time drink has been the heaviest item in their account; but I had no idea it was all consumed by that miserable woman. Dear, dear What a pity it is people can't be moderate John felt secretly uneasy about the matter; but the next day the tide of business flowed so strongly that all thought of unhappy Mrs. Stevens and her wretched home was swept away. Mrs. Cuthbert, too, was able to shake off the painful impressions made upon her mind, for she was so busy amongst her joyous children making pre- paration for their Christmas festivities. But a cloud was already gathering over the brightness of her life. On the day before Christmas Eve a telegram came to her from a young niece, her only sister's eldest child, begging her to come at once to see her mother, who was dangerously ill. It was brief, as these messages of ill-omen generally are, giving no particulars, and leaving the imagination to torture the heart of the startled re- cipient. Mrs. Cuthbert consulted with her husband, and hastily decided to go. Calling her eldest daughter, Mrs. Cuthbert said, "lam called away to go to your Aunt Lyon, who is dangerousiy ill, Mabel. But all things are ready for your party to-morrow evening and I think you will manage very well without me, and I hope you will enjoy yourselves." "Oh mamma!" exclaimed Mabel, "What a shame that you shouldn't be with us Couldn't aunt wait till after Christmas for you ?" And such a long way to go from home just now; right down to Hampshire. It's quite dreadful." "There are things more dreadful than losing mother just for two or three days, Mabel; and I don't like to hear you talk selfishly," answered Mrs. Cuthbert very gravely. I do not go for my own enjoyment, but for the good ef others, and I think I should be spared cheerfully." Mrs. Cuthbert soon realised that there were indeed things far more dreadful for a family of children than losing their mother for a few days, than even losing her by death. For when she arrived at her destination late that night she found her sister's home a scene of the wildest distress and confusion. To her astonishment and horror, she found her suffering from delirium tremens; her distracted husband and frightened children helpless with dismay. "Delirium tremens/" echoed Mrs. Cuthbert, when informed of her malady. Why, I thought that only came through drink." "It is drink that has done it, Mary," answered Mr. Lyon, sadly. Your sister is a. confirmed drunkard, I am sorry to tell you." "And why have I never known this" she asked, bitterly. I might have done something to prevent it; I little thought when she told me in her letters that she was ill and wretched that it was anything more than her ordinary weakness and nervousness." But you remember, aunt, that in the summer when I wrote to you I told you I was sure mamma was taking more to drink than was good for her," said Alice Lyon, a fair, intelligent girl of sixteen, who stood by sobbing. "Yes, and I wrote back immediately to warn her against it," said Mrs. Cuthbert. "But if I was told no more, how could I gather from that that she had become a drunkard ? Let me go and see her." She has been unmanageable all day, but the doctor has got her to sleep now, said Alice, and we are hoping that when she w^kes up she will be better. I will take you to see her, aunt. Mrs. Cuthbert went sadly up the untidy, dusty stairs and into the disorderly bedroom, which all loudly pro- claimed its mistress's deficiencies, and was such a con- trast to her own neat and well-kept home. There, sleeping the drunkard's unrefreshing sleep, lay the wreck of her dear and only sister, guarded by a powerfully- built hired nurse. Mrs. Cuthbert sat down and gazed at the unconscious form, at the shockingly marred face which was once so comely, and as she quietly wept she thought of her miserable neighbour, Mrs. Stevens, and wondered whether her home was as wretched, and her family as despairing, as these were. We must try to save her yet, Alice," she said, thinking cf what had been accomplished here and there by some of her temperance friends, with whom, however, she had but little sympathy. "Others have been saved and restored who had sunk as low as this and why not she ? surely 13 ter we caB do 80mething to save her, What can we do ?" asked Alice, sadly. Talking and pleading are no good, and we can put no restraint upon her. If we could lock her up in a temperance I asylum she might come out quite cured in the course of a year. But the law won't allow us to do that to save her and it seems to me there's no other way. Temptations are multiplied for poor weak creatures, but no new way of escape is provided. It is very hard and very wrong," added Alice, with vehement bitterness. "I want to know all about her; let us go a way and talk," said Mrs. Cuthbert, rising and taking her niece's hand. They went into the next room, and there Alice told the sad and common story of her mother's decline and fall. She had always been accustomed to take drink by her doctor's advice, but in what is called strict moderation. Being of a. nervous temperament, and not robust in health, she took to resort to it in fits of mental depression. "But how did she get it?" asked Mrs. Cuthbert. Did your father allow her to have large quantities in the house?" "No, aunt. At first nothing extra came into the house. But she used to go out and get glass after glass of wine at the different confectioners' shops. Then, worst of all, our grocer that we have dealt with for years must needs go and transfer himself into a publican, to tempt his customers. He took out a license, and sent out his wine and spirit circulars roundjthe town. This is what I consider completed poor mamma's ruin. She would hesitate to send to a public-house day after day for the dreadful stuff; but she has had no hesitation whatever in ordering any amount from her respectable grocer. Oh, I feel he has got something to answer for in putting this new temptation in the way of weak people like poor mamma! He had a good business before. Why did he want to increase it by doing this, which means ruin to his neighbourhood ? I told papa more than once that he ought to take his custom from him and give it to one who is simply a grocer, and not publican. And now things have come to this dreadful pass, he is going to do so. And I think that nobody who has any concern for his fellow-creatures should encourage a grocer who sells drink. He is a perfect curse. In one way he does more harm than a publican, because he catches respectable wives and mothers, who would not like to buy drink in any other way. I wish all good people would leave the grocers who have licences, and let them know the reason why. Perhaps it would open their eyes to see the deadly mischief that they are doing, though possibly without meaning too." There was a silence after this, for Mrs. Cuthbert could not speak. She felt as if an arrow had struck to her heart. A suspicion seemed to dart across Alice's mind, and she exclaimed impetuously, I do hope uncle will never be tempted to get a license to sell these things in your shop, aunt. I should feel sure that some dreadful judgment would come upon him for it, if he did." Mrs. Cuthbert burst into tears. "The judgment has come, if we deserved one," she sobbed. We have had a license for about two years, Alice but it never struck me that we were doing a wrong and dangerous thing." Alice's fair young brow darkened, and she gazed sternly at her aunt's bowed head. And has it never come to your knowledge, aunt, that you have been doing harm to any of your customers ?" she asked, in an unsteady voice. One sad case has lately come to my knowledge," said Mrs. Cuthbert. And do you think that one is the only one ?" asked Alice. And even if it were, is not one enough to have ruined ?" Isn't it enough for our grocer to know that he has been the means of completing poor mother's ruin, and spoiling for ever the happiness of our home ? Surely one is enough. Oh dear! how ever could good uncle John find in his heart so turn drink-seller "We have done it thoughtlessly my child," answered Mrs. Cuthbert, very sorrowfully- "But I had no idea till this hour what ruin through drink really meant. It has never come home till now when I see my dear sister a wreck, and the house so utterly miserable. But I do hope it is not a hopeless case, Alice. We will hope that the mischief may be undone." No, it can't be undone, aunt. It may be patched up; we shall see. But when I think of one and another in the town who went right to destruction, in spite of every thing done to save them, I have a horrid fear that mamma is also to be one of these who can't be restored." No, no, don't say that, Alice sobbed Mrs. Cuthbert. She must be restored I will take her back with me, and try everything to save her." To a shop stocked with wines and spirits responded Alice, with bitter sarcasm. "Ah, yes!" exclaimed Mrs. Cuthbert, with a little gasp, as if she had received a sudden blow. No you must leave her to us, and we must do the best we can," said Alice. "See what a Christmas we shall spend. I suppose Cousins will have a very grand time in your happy home." "But I shall never know another hour's happiness until your home is made happy, my dear child, and my neighbour, Mrs. Stevens's home, too," said Mrs. Cuthbert, with deep emotion. What a Christmas those poor little Stevenses will have I could never have imagined the half if I had not come to this desolated place. But now I have been bitten, I can feel for those who are suffering." Next day a fresh revelation was made to her when she beheld her sister shaking from head to foot like a palsied person, and wailing and imploring for drink. When at length the dismal Christmas and New Year had somehow been got through, Mrs. Cuthbert went back to her home a sadder and a wiser woman. Before the next Christmas came round, Mrs. Lyon was sheltering in her sister's home, to see what a change there would do towards perfecting the restoration already begun. But ere she came the shining rows of bottles had all dis- appeared from honest John Cuthbert's shop, and when next he decorated his place for Chistmas there was nothing displayed which could ruin the souls of his fellow- townsfolk. We will be satisfied with legitimate profits from a legitimate trade," said this worthy grocer. It was not in my heart to do wrong to my neighbours it was all from want of thought. But now conviction has come to me; I will respect my conscience, and cease to do evil knowingly. If John Cuthbert required any recompense for the sacrifice he made in giving up his license, he had it in peace which a conscience void of offence afforded him. I will keep myself guiltless of the ruin of my neigh- bours," he said. And a blessing came to him for this resolve.

The friends of Mr. Spurgeon will rejoice to hear that he has undergone a very satisfactory medical examination at the bands of Dr. Jervis. Though his health, from a local affection, is far from being good now, the doctor certifies that the constitution of the rev. gentleman is thoroughly sound. Mr. Spurgeon is at present suffering from lumbago, and has been strongly advised not to overwork himself. CURIOUS STENOGRAPHIC BLUNDERS.—Several years ago an eminent lawyer employed a stenographer to take testimony in an important case. The transcribed minutes astonished him. A patent" upon which much depended in the suit was converted into a potentate a solid frame was turned into an isolated farm the fur- naces of this country" were turned into the "Fenians of this country;" "clerks and barterers" were made into "clocks and barometers;" and the question, "Were you in the habit of visiting the house P" was written, Were you in the habit of fastening the hose?" An attorney asked a female witness how she came to be employed by the plaintiff, and she answered, I say a sign in the win- dow. 'Female clerks wanted here. The blundering reporter rendered it, Family colour wanted here." A minister, preaching a sermon on the life of a gentleman named Samuel, quoted, And buds and blossoms in the dust." He was delighted to read in the next issue of the paper, "And buds and blows Sam in the dust." An orator referred to the different religious sects or denomi- nations "going for one another" throughout the country, and said, Here we have one sect persecuting another," and was so reported, but the transcriber rendered it, Here we have one sick person feeding another," and so it appeared in the morning papers. THE BEAUTIFUL IN NATURE AND IN ABT.—Mr. Gambier Parry says :—" Regarding fine art in its highest sphere, what is its province ? What is it that makes it precious to the education of youth, and the occupation of old age ? It is this: it cultivates our higher faculties to study, to know, and to love that which lies deeper than the artist's touch, and reaches further than all his perspective; it trains us to listen to the silent teaching of all around us, which is more precious to the ever- lasting soul than all the science in the world. Fine art acts upon the world by the production of things of beauty, and when beauty is rightly understood to be indeed a divine thing, the artist can have no higher I aim, and look for no higher inspirations. Imitative art is only good when it produces what is beautiful. Con- ventional art is only good when it works upon the lines of beauty. Beauty is not material. Material may be beautiful, i.e., full of beauty but beauty is a thing of intelligence. There is an inspiration in it which gives it all its force. Nature not only fills the artist's eye, but whispers to his poet soul. She charms him with the attraction of an inexhaustible sympathy; she en. trances him with an appeal which only the spirit's ear can hear. An art student must be Nature's adoring pupil. The intellectual use of beauty is to train heart and mind away from material to that which makes mate- rial precions. Without it material is base. Such is the cold and lifeless clay before it comes to the potter's bands but it comes from them a work of art,—a thing of beauty in its individual sense, a thing of art, as the work of his cunning fingers; but a thing of beauty because it is the embodiment of his thought and feeling, the lasting record of the happiness of the heart and mind which produces it. Is it not, then, easy to per- ceive the use of beauty in all human life, and espe- cially in the crowded competition and struggling trouble of modern days ? Just as the heart of the poor potter who produces that lovely vase may have been heavy and half-broken by personal sadness or domestic anxiety, but in the enthusiasm of his work all that was relieved and forgotten. Both eye and heart were charmed by the thought of beauty which engrossed them and the poor artist (for such he was), forgetful of self, forgetful of trouble, and all else beside his work, would at last cut his vase from the wheel; and, with a sparkle in his eye and music in his heart, he would hold it up and say, That's done,—and God bless its beauty If this be true of the individual, so it is with the many. It is the freshness of Nature's beauties which relieves the mind and restores brightness to the eye of those who seek, by change of scene, consolation in sickness and sorrow. Nature is all beautiful. But is any part of God'a nature without its use ? Is not the outward clothing and inward expression of beauty so inex- haustible that the whole universe seems to have been conceived with the idea that material itself was subordi- nate to beauty, and created for the very purpose of its embodiment and expression ? It is ths great function of fine art to interpret to the world the language of that Divine voice, which by beauty speaks in everything to show the life which breathes from every object of the world around us and thus to enlighten the dull eye, to awaken the dull ear, to that which is capable of bright- ening man's life by all that the blessed God has spread lavishly around him for that very purpose. And it is the great end of fine art, by embodying this life, by interpreting these divine inspirations from all that is above, below, within, and around us, to offer its pre- interpreting these divine inspirations from all that is above, below, within, and around us, to offer its pre- cious ministry to the world for enlightenment, the consolatioo, and the happiness of mankind."

GLAMORGANSHIRE EPIPHANY QUARTER SESSIONS. The Epiphany Quarter Sessions for this county were opened at the Town Hall, Cardiff, on Monday, when the magistrates assembled for the despatch of county business. Mr. R. O. Jones, the chairman of quarter sessions, presided. Mr. J. C. Fowler, vice-chairman Mr. H. H. Vivian, M.P.; Sir Joseph Spearman, Messrs. W. Gilbertson, R. H. Rbys, C. W. David, Colonel Franklen, T. Penrice, T. Sheppard, F. G. Evans, R. W. Llewellyn, J. Blandy Jenkins, J. S. Corbett, O. H. Jones, Colonel Turberville, J. Ware, Rev.C. R. Knight, Howel Gwyn, T. W. Booker, G. T. Clark, G. Phillips, Graham Dornford, Dr. Lewis, G. Lewis Clarke, Major Lee, H. J. Evans, W. Rees, Dr. Thomas Evans, Drt Paine, Jonas Watson, J. C. Richardson, J. H. Row- lands, J. T. D. Llewelyn, Henry Jackson, and R. F. L. Jenner. THE FINANCE COMMITTEE'S REPORT. The bills of general expenditure for the quarter have been laid before the committee duly certified by magistrates or the county officers. They amount to £3,966 14s. 2d., of which the sum of £1,612 9s. is in re- spect of expenditure or additions to the Lunatic Asylum, and is chargeable against the Lunatic Asylum capital account. The committee recommend payment of these bills, with the exception of a bill amounting to £13 15s. for advertising, as to which the Clerk of the Peace is to communicate with the publisher of the newspaper in question. Having estimated the probable receipts and liabilities of the county for the coming half-year, the committee recommend that a rate of id. in the £ be ordered. The committee understand that the com- pletion of the contracts for the purchase of additional land for-the asylum may be expected shortly. They recommend that the stock now standing in the names of trustees on behalf of the Police Superannuation Fund be ordered to be sold, and the county borrow upon mortgage at the rate of 3i per cent. the entire amount (estimated at about £6,500), that after such sale will stand to the credit of the fund in the treasurer's books, to be paid by an annuity extending over 30 years, for the purposes of the asylum. The committee recom- mend the court to resolve to pay such sums as may be necessary for the admission into industrial schools of all children who may be committed thereto in the county. The auditor laid before the committee a state- ment of the fees earned by the several justices' clerks, the committee recommended that the salary of the clerk to the justices of the Kibbor division be, with the sanction of the Secretary ef State, reduced from £200 to £150, and that the other salaries remain as at pre- sent. The committee draw the attention of the court to a communication from the Local Government Board ex- pressing their intention of creating a new parish out of a part of the parish of Llangadock, in Carmarthenshire, known as Lampeter Bach, and in annexing it to this county. The committee append a scheme prepared and recommended by the Chief-constable for the alteration of the weights and measures inspection districts." The quarter's expenditure was stated to have been £ 3,966 14s. 2d., of which the amount of £2,426 16s. had been incurred for the maintenance of lunatics, for reformatories £100, pensions, salaries, etc., making up the balance. The several committees for the county were re- appointed. On the Cardiff County Gaol Visiting Com- mittee, the name of Mr. O. H. Jones was substituted for that of the Hon. W. Bruce; and on the Swansea House of Correction Visiting Committee the name of Mr. F. A. Yeo was substituted for that of one of the members who had died during the past year. On the motion of Mr. W. Gilbertson, chairman of the finance cummittee, seconded by Mr. Penrice, a county rate of !d. in the £ was ordered to be made. On the motion of Mr.W. Gilbertson, the stock stand- ing in the name of the trustees on behalf of the police superannuation fund was ordered to be borrowed by the county at the rate of 3| per cent., to be repaid by an annnuity extending over 30 years, for the purposes of the County Asylum. A communication was read from Mr. Stockwood, the clerk, with reference to the recommendation of the Finance Committee to reduce his salary, laying before the court a number of statistics, and asking that the question of the reduction of his salary should be adjourned till the Easter Sessions, when he should be able to furnish the court with other statistics showing the amount of fees paid by him for some years. The Chairman remarked that a portion of the Kibbor division had been absorbed by a re-arrangement of the district; and, after a short discussion, the recommenda- tion of the committee was adopted. CHIEF CONSTABLE'S REPORT. The Chief Constable reported that the county con- stabulary was in an efficient state. He recommended that Sergeant Watkins, who had been lingering on in consumption during the last six months, be super- annuated. The number of persons apprehended during the quarter were 2,641 males and 2,335 females; 306 convicted for trial at quarter sessions, 16 at assizes, 6. ANNUAL RBPORT OF THE COUNTY ASYLUM. The committee reported that on the 11th December, 1879, the date of their last annual report, the asylum contained 306 males and 255 females, total 561, and there were boarded in other asylums 10 males and 65 females, making a total on the books of 316 males and 320 females, in all 636 patients provided for by the county. To-day there are resident 312 males, 267 females, total 579; and non-resident there are 20 males and 70 females, and in all 332 males, 337 females, total; 669. There has been an increase in the year ef 16 males and 17 females, total 33, which is a little over the average increase of recent years. The health of the institution has been very satisfactory, the mortality low, and no epidemic of any kind has prevailed. The filter- ing beds and settling ponds, after much delay, were recently completed, and water is now obtainable from them in almost unlimited quantity, and, as proved by analysis, of very fair quality. It must, however, be kept in view that the source of supply, the river, is liable to dangerous pollution at any time, and is already the carrier of sewage from the Tillages above, so that the visitors only regard this as a temporary provision, so far, at any rate, as drinking and dietetic purposes are concerned; and they consider the scheme of getting water from the Bridgend Company a prudent and a desirable one, but until the county completes the purchase of land for the proposed extension at Pare Gwilt, which must also be supplied from the same source, they are unable to proceed further. The hospital for infectious diseases is nearly completed, and when ready for occupation will afford good accommo- dation for a number of working patients until provision is made elsewhere. The Commissioners in Lunacy, who visited the asylum on September 17th and 18tb, made some recommendations which the visitors will shortly consider. Of the inmates they report' The behaviour of the patients during the time we were in the wards was most remarkable, in neither division was anyone excited, and no person addressed us except in quiet tones,' Your committee, before bringing their report to an end, feel bound to express their satisfaction at the manner in which Dr. Pringle, the medical superintendent, has managed the establishment, and the attention he has paid to the welfare and comfort of the large number of patients entrusted to his charge under difficult conditions, the asylum having, during this time, always had to accommodate more patients than it was intended for, or is capable of conveniently holding." The Chairman considered the question of the water supply to the asylum a serious one, as the present source was subject to pollution, and typhoid fever might be brought down to a large number of persons. He suggested that it was desirable to obtain at once a pure supply of water, and that the committee should at once place themselves in communication with the Bridgend Water Supply, with the view to obtain a supply of water at once from them. He did not see any reason why the matter should be delayed. Colonel Turbervill explained that the committee were not anxious to make any alterations in the present source of supply until the alterations proposed in the extension of the buildings were completed, as it was ne- cessary to know for what number of inmates the supply would be required. The water now used had been analysed several times, and found to be very satisfac- tory. Of course there was the liability of typhoid fever breaking out in the valley above, and the water supply conveying it to the asylum. He also referred to the desirability of their prov ding, in some more satisfactory way than was at present done, for the dis- posal of the sewage matter from the asylum. The report of the committee was then adopted, and with it a resolution to raise on the mortgage of the county rates a sum of money, not exceeding £16,000, for the purpose of extending the asylum. EXTENSION OF THE COUNTY. The visiting committee drew the attention of the court to a communication from the Local Government Board, expressing their intention to add to the county of Glamorgan part of the darish of Llangadock, Car- marthenshire. Mr. J. T. D. Llewelyn pointed out that the district proposed to be added to the county was a small one, with a very sparse population. Mr. Vivian, M.P., said he had had some conversa- tion with Mr. Strick, who was interested in the ques- tion, and he believed that all those persons who were interested in it were opposed to the proposed change. With whom the suggestion originated he do not know. The Clerk of the Peace: It originated with the Llan- dovery Board of Guardians. Mr. Vivian considered the matter a rather vexed question at present, as those interested in it did not de- sire the change. He knew very little on the subject, exoept what he gleaned from the conversation he had with Mr. otnek, and which must be regarded as a kind: of ex parte statement. The subject bad come upon them somewhat unexpectedly, and he did not think it would be wise to express an opinion upon it at once. Mr. Rhys thought they oufliht to have a return of the population, the rateable value, &c., before they deter- mined upon taking any action. Mr. G. T. Clark was of opinion that they ought to have more information on the matter. The parish could be added to another poor law union without altering ^■=————i i— the boundary of the county, and he had a very great objection to altering the boundary of the county. Dr. Lewis It might affect the representation of the county. Eventually it was resolved that the Clerk of the Peace should write to the Local Government Board, requesting them not to take any action in the matter until the next session. In the meantime the magis- trates would obtain further information upon the ques- tion. MAGISTRATES AND JUVENILE OFFENDERS. The Chairman said at the last quarter sessions a let- ter was read from the Home Secretary, requesting their opinion as a court of quarter sessions upon the treat- ment and punishment of juvenile offenders, and the Clerk of the Peace was requested to communicate with the clerks of the different petty sessional divisions of the county to obtain the opinions and suggestions of the magistrates of these petty sessional divisions, the whole of the returns to be sent to the vice-chairman, who was desired to draw up some resolutions embody- ing those views. Mr. Fowler referred in detail to the answers he had received. On certain points the views of all agreed, but on others there was a difference of opinion. There was a uniformity of opinion as to the desirability of ex- tending the power to the magistrates for whipping male juvenile offenders under a certain age. There was a difference of opinion as to the use of workhouse schools as a place of temporary detention, to avoid the impri- sonment of the juvenile offender. He collated all these views, and proposed a series of resolutions to be sent to the Secretary of State, as embodying the views of the whole of the magistrates. These were that, in the opinion of the court of quarter sessions, it was unde- sirable that children under 12 years should be com- mitted to prison. That parents or the custodians of juvenile offenders under 12 years of age should be liable to a penalty if it were proved before a court of sum- mary jurisdiction that they had been guilty of culpable neglect of these children. That a court of summary jurisdiction should have power to order whipping of all male offenders for any crime to any offender up to 16 years of age. That it should be optional and at the discretion of the court of quarter sessions whether a boy over 12 years of age should or should not be im- prisoned prior to being sent to a reformatory school. Other suggestions were made by Mr Fowler. Mr. G. T. Clark said that the subject was a very important one, and be considered that it would be de- sirable that the subject should be adjourned, in order that it might be further considered. The Chairman was of opinion that in that case it would be necessary to take a short adjournment to discuss this matter thoroughly. Mr. J. T. D. Llewelyn mentioned that he had received a copy of a pamphlet by one of the managers of the reformatory schools, embodying a number of valuable answers to the questions put by the Home Secretary. The question was then adjourned for a fortnight, copies of the resolutions of Mr. Fowler, and the pam- phlet referred to by Mr. Llewelyn to be sent to each of the magistrates. On the motion of Mr. Fowler, it was a!so resolved that magistrates be authorised to contract with indus- trial schools for the maintenance of children found wandering, not having any homes; found destitute frequenting the compmy of reputed thieves charged with any offence punishable with imprisonment, and under 12 years of age, and not previously convicted of felony. He mentioned, in moving the resolutions, that the managers of such industrial schools as the Havan- nah Ship School declined to accept children of this character unless the magistrates paid a sum of 2s. per week in addition to what the managers received from the Treasury towards the maintenance of such children. This, up to the present time, the magistrates had not tho power to do. ENGLISH HIGHWAY ACT. A proposition was made by Mr. Penrice that the management of the county roads should be assimilated to that under the Act in force in England, but as there had been for some time discontent respecting the opera- tions of the Esglish Act, and as it was thought that the English Act would shortly be altered, the proposition was negatived when put to the Court. The question of altering the boundaries of the pre- sent districts for inspection of weights and measures was deferred to the adjourned sessions. The Court then rose. It was stated that the calendar contained only the names of 19 prisoners, a smaller number than has been known at any quarter sessions since 1870. TUESDAY. The court of quarter-sessions for the County of Glamorganshire resumed its sitting on Tuesday morning at 10 o'clock, when Mr. J. C. Fowler delivered the charge to the grand jury. CROWN COURT. [Before Mr. R. O. Jones, Mr. C. W. David, and Dr. Paine.] BREAKING INTO A COUNTING HOUSE AT LLANGYFE- LACH. —Samuel Rees, 57 years of age, described as a labourer, pleaded guilty to breaking and entering Mr. John Glasbrook's counting-house, at Llangyfelach, on the 21st October, 1880, and to stealing the sum of 6d. therefrom. He was sentenced by the Court to four months' imprisonment with hard labour. A SAD STORY.—Esther Ann Williams, a respectably dressed young woman, apparently about 18 years of age, pleaded guilty to obtaining two pairs of boots from the landlord of the Oxford Inn. Windsor-road, Neath, by false pretences. Mr. Bowen Rowlands, who appeared for the prosecution, stated that the prisoner was left an orphan, that she had worked and kept herself respect- able, at the same time bringing up her brothers and sisters in a creditable manner. It appeared that the prisoner used the name of a lady at Neath to obtain the boots, and she now handed in a statement to the effect that she intended to repay the amount. The chairman said, tak. ing all the circumstances of the case into consideration, and believing that it was for the best, the prisoner would have another chance in life. She had heen already severely punished for her conduct by being brought up before the magistrates, aud having to stand in the dock that day, and the court had therefore decided that one day's imprisonment, which practically meant that she would be discharged, would meet the case. The prisoner, who seemed in a very depressed state of mind, was there. upon discharged. THE DOCTOR AND HIS SERVANT.—Eliza Nicoll Morris, 27 years of age, a married woman, who was out on bail, was indicted for stealing a box and other goods, the pro- perty of Dr. Morgan Williams, her master, at Cardiff, on the 16th December. Mr. B. Francis Williams appeared on behalf of the prosecution, and Mr. Bowen Rowlands defended. The Chairman summed tup, and in the course of his remarks said that the jury might find that there were grounds for reasonable doubt as to the whole of the articles alleged to have been stolen, with the exception of the curtain, which, according to the police officer, was admitted to have been taken. It would be for the jury to consider whether she took it as a perquisite, thinking it of no value, or whether she took it with a felonious in- tent. The jury, without leaving their box, returned a verdict of not guilty, which was received with applause. The prisoner was discharged. STEALING MONEY.—Richard Lytton, 28, a ship's cook, was charged with stealing a certificate and £2 5s., the property and from the person of Carl Henystrom, at Car. diff, on the 28th December. Mr. Foa appeared to prose- cute, and Mr. B. Francis Williams defended the prisoner. The jury returned a verdict of guilty, and the prisoner was sentenced to three months' imprisonment with hard labour. No TRUE BILLS were returned in the case of John Edwards, charged with obtaining £20 by false pretences from Michael Lazarus Marks, at Swansea, on the 15th June, 1880 of William Clark, 39 years of age, described as a butcher, charged with embezzling the sum of jS18 13s. 2d., the moneys of Eliza Stanley, in whose service he was at Swansea of Mary Ward, 25, and Ann Harris, 38, women of ill-fame, who were charged with stealing JE6, the moneys of William Berg, at Swansea, on the 14th of December. SECOND COURT. [Before Mr. J. C. Fowler and Major Lee.] ASSAULT AT ABERDARE.—John Davies, 25, fireman, was charged with unlawfully assaulting a young woman, named Elizabeth Jones, with intent, at Aberdare, on the 23rd October last. Mr. Thomas W. Lewis prosecuted. There seemed no doubt that an indecent assault had been committed. The jury found him guilty on this count, and he was sentenced to 12 months' hard labour. FALSE PRETENCES AT CARDIFF.—Patrick Magrath, a fireman, was indicted for, by false pretences, obtaining from Christina Talboy certain goods and moneys, the property of James Edward Talboy, at Cardiff, on the 14th December last. The jury, after a short deliberation, re- turned a verdict of not guilty. UNLAWFUL WOUNDING.—Robert Jermyn, 28, sailor, was indicted for unlawfully and maliciously stabbing and wounding Florence Crowley, at Cardiff, on the 1st Decem- #er)i J /i UI?n prosecuted, and Mr. David Lewis de- ienaea the prisoner. Tne jury retired, and after an ab- sence of half-an-hour, returned a verdict of not guilty. STEALING FOWLS.— Charles Asgar, hobbler, was in. for stealing eight tame fowls, the property of Williams James, at Cardiff, on the 24rd December last. Mr. B. Francis Williams prosecuted, and Mr. T. W. Lewis defended the prisoner. He was found guilty, pre- vious convictions were proved, and sentence deferred. LARCENY AT PORTH.—Thomas John Jones, a respect- able-looking young man, was charged with stealing £2 2s. from the person of Rowland Rowlands at Porth, Rhondda Valley, on the 11th October last. Prisoner was found guilty, and sentenced to six months imprisonment, with hard labour. STEALING A RUG.—Rachael Sprudd, a married woman, was found guilty of stealing a rug, the property of Mr. Samuel Raed, of the Canal Wharf, Cardiff, on or about the 6th November. A previous conviction was proved. —Setence deferred. The court then rose.

The Cape Mercury says that according to Mr Sortes the late Premier, there are now about 11,000 men called out for active service, and taking into account all el- penses, the cost per man cannot be set down at less than a pound a day or about £ 1,000,000 per quarter. And those best able to judge affirm that the war will last from one to three years. If it continues one year, the expenditure will reach £4.000,000; if it drags out three }u ^11 amount to £ 12.000,000.! The Mercury asks y'bat is this expenditure for ? Apparently, it remarks, to show the world that the Cape Colony is able to con- quer territory which has been, and must continue to be, a.draio on the Colonial Treasury.