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REPLIES. RRCITATIOXS. ft YnleM I an1(Qt,ery No- WHAT H0 NUSTAken, "M'CARTHY" will ^EM01.Y !J ^ANTS in Stokes' little book on VPQBLIGHZI', 0RT, English as She is Wrote Y -Routledge). JS THIS « A ARTHUR MEE. I?"NOT A P Bachelor's Soliloquy," required 5 AUTHOR I AM ignorant as to "N(I IT in my scrap book:— HIEPEI'F"'1 ^'NS AN old bachelor is, A^J1 BITTER ANC* I)I3 rueful phiz, 'he PA-FL r night when the fierce winds blow TT ERI his fir • S COVEREC* with blinding snow, B 8,IPS RE,,13 ?UT< AQD in shivering dread HO D sheets of his lonely bed. LIOSP WS UP his toes, all encased in yarn bi.18 his head 'neath the chilly bedclothes HOSE °SE AN(1 '"3 TOES> encased in yarn "^EN JJ- ^A>* N°T chance to get froze, JJ FENO^G AND I,E BLOWA» »ND says that he WITHAL EAITL1 ever suffered such woes; PR,SG S AUD WIUL OLL'S tries hi* limbs to dis- that ?" his »lnmv?ec -1,is ■\0CB nor hi8 nose may be froze, 11 THA mber ir, silence the bachelor goes. E morn when the cock crows, and the sun has JJ JWST rose, bene;tli the bedclothes pops the bachelor's !:IGliIe, YOu m-AY suppose, when he hears how the wind bl"W.°, 4" the in!iowr, all FR°Z!?' why back 'neath the c)o, heg TE'!OW'8 N03E' FOR FUL1 WEL1 H6 knows, that bed lie rose, to put on his clothes, That he'd surely be froze. BOOKWORM. X8 TV (Query No. 48.) T0 PO Parody COM us requires? — or not to pop-is the question. H SIJI«U ,4s EAS»er for a MAN to suffer AST« "'•"SEDNESS the rubs of fortunp, BRTRDEPREU-V S'RL 10 SLIARE ,LIS troubles, 2° end them ? To woo, to wed— ALLTI331^ A form to say he's free I\ ^18 I"8 A bachelor, poor man, T> —tis a consummation D T BE ■WISHED! To woo, to wed— IU THE '1^ Ah, there's the rub: ei> h# ,,Inarr'ai;e state what cares may come 5* makJ? ■lalcen to 'dmselfa wife K&KN,. NI? PAUSE. There's the respect TLI' WLLO WOU^K HAVE 90 LON" A '^E' TH'^TTOIIVU., 0,0 WASHERWOMAN'S crimes, PAN»R I186' the stockings full of holes, 4H!« S WITLI A AAW-LIKE edge, -^EPER'S SINS> TBE cat's misdeeds, WSF HF^POR^0" OF bis brandy, v Dlair, 1)is qQiatus make "NG? Who would chambers CH! TH^D ^RET A SOLITARY life, NN ,1°USETA(FA-1 OF EQDLESS tradesmen's bills C PLNE EXPENSES from whose doom 'th» "^ES K;'<,CAPES) puzzles tbc will, fly TO OTV° RAL^ER bear the ills he has ^^I^^NCEM8 LHAT I,RE WOR9«- TK^Q# WE C a coward of a man, A.HFL ICCON^6 MUST desperate flirtations 4I'» 100 °FTEN end in smoke, I^EU .^PP^ENTLY of granite, brit 6 CRUST OF APP!E PIE« 'S an "action BOOKWORM. STRONG MEN. 4K11 «< (Qaery No. 40.) FTCO^ I860 TI?^S BONDER Book," published VVP^NT 0F' RFRE WAS a long and interesting H BE DEV I1"' WINSHIP A"D THE MEANS B? zia,e dtveloped enormous strength. y. ARTHUR MEE. DtTJiATION OF DREAMS. I™* foIl. (Query Ko. 47.) is from a recent number of que a<Jazine ■— how long a dream lasts has 4 JTISI .N scientific circles of late. "'Possible for even science to grve THN ITY IIRA*ER TO the question, and in all **RY IN VARY 'N P0IUT of duration £ UIWV,CEITAIN ORCO AND vividness. It seems •WEVER> that most dreams are "EI 1' ^HO H,7RY ^"RATION. In proof of this, Dr. TO# HJ 8 FF*VCN_ naueh attention to the sub- JC"H-^FTER "owing story from his experi- STPNE*CM9LVE bodily fatigue and A day NTCH MYSELF LN A NOT disagreeable kind, I ATLD RITO ,*?ED after I had wound up my BEAJRIP00 L1 ON THE night-table. Then 'I 'P. > °* th« K* burning lamp. Soon I found J 'WAG §B sea on board a well-known °UD, TOEARD S,,N young, and stood on the look- V'HW I FLOATERI ROAR TI,E water, and golden 1 DI(J ROUND me. How long I so R6 R "^HEN VI BUFC S0EMED A very long ?*|T^UNTRY scene changed. I was in AND MY long-dead parents came *'RU, TOOLC ME to church, where the R*«R6 WNT,^ED. I was delighted, but at the J' PRIFL.F E(^ TO 866 M? W'*E AR,D children » CO,3HL NM°UNTED the pulpit and preached, J?*>V THE N» UN<^ERSTAND what he said for the 3 «OIJ KW JAD> which continued to play. I ^RCH band, and with him ascended TI *TO<3; BUT BGAIN the scene was D N of being near my son, 1 N °^CEJ. TAN 6»rly-known but long- >«N L OUSHT, to explain that •NRGEON during the manoeuvres. 12*4' A?* WHY the major should look so | A CA*>OON TE C'ose in my ears an unex- J.8°unded. Terrified, I was hurry- ^^L^NOA K0KE UP AB(^ noticed that the HAD its cause in the opening JJ'F 1 BAN V0F ^R°U«H someone entering. >HEN THROUgH AN eternity in my *»K 'AUEN °' £ E^ AT MY watch I saw that M ASLEEP not more than one minute shorter time than it takes to ""ton! INTERESTED, [ BY StilfJIDE. k V .n^6^. NO- CO »■ specially provided for •«« policy. Generally »P<«AK e at ail affect the in»« I ir.ee 444 "FEA STED for a stated p,-I ,d.; Qf "hh, howeyer, varies con- siderably. Thus, the Royal Exchange condi- tions state that suicide, death by duelling or by the hands of justice will not invalidate insurances which have been in force thirteen months/' The Imperial has the same i,ui, P. to suicide, but has [abolished as absolute the restriction as to duelling and execution whilst the Liver- pool and London and f:l!ol.>e and the United Kingdom Temperance bar suicide claims during the first- twelve months only. The Scottish oftiees mostly set the limit at 11'e years, but in some oases give surrender values before then; and the Scottish Widows' reserves the right to pay either in part or in full even during the probationary five years. These restrictions do not, as a rule, apply to I insurances by one party on the life of another, or to policies transferred by deed of assign- ment. Cardiff. CLERK.

HAVING LAIN FOR MONTHS IN AN OPEN GRAVE," Our readers wi!! remember the thrilling chapter ("Recalled to L; fEl," VIi hich begins Dickens' "Tale of Two Cities?. Case? occur in a different tJcld which in interest and surprise almost equal that of the Bastile prisoner. What the secret of life is and how it can be reached and effected by any agent within the present knowledge of man is the most exciting problem to be solved by the human intellect. Leaving out of the account the instances belonging to what is called the age of miracles, we may take it for granted that there is no well- authenticated case of a person actually dead being restored to life. But there are cases stopping just short of this point which may inspire our wonder only in a less degree. We cite the following facts as an illustration:- Several yeirs ago a woman—MM. William Crocker, of South I7nrmiugton, Nova Scotia- b-gan to fail in health. Her symptoms puzzled her friends and herself. She bad a good deal of headache, a bad taste in the mou'J), and cold hands and ieet. Her skin took cn a kind of yellow or coppery appearance, and she grew dull, sleepy, and indifferent to things that had alwaye before interested her. When walking she would occasionally be observed to stagger and catch hold of the nearest support to keep from falling. She was often sick, and vomited without apparent cause the bowels were costive and irregular. There was much heartburn and palnitation, and a frequent rising of hot and offen- sive gas into the throat and mouth. In the autumn of 1884 she broke down completely. She complained of a sharp, cutting pain around the heart, and drew her breath with difficulty. There was also a pain on the right side, and great dis- tress and weakness low down in the small of the bick. The lady was placed under the care of the best local physician, who Examined her carefully, and said her case was likely to prove a hard one to deal with, and gave her but small encouragement. "All we can do," he remirked, "is to try what remedies we have, and hope for the best." But his utmost efforts for three months produced no favourable results. Her appetite was altogether gone, and haw she lived was a wonder. She had now become so nervous and excitable that she was afraid of the least noise, as a child is nfter the firing of a gun. Even the sound of common conversation nearly sent, her crazy. She h"ci been plump and of good weight, but now her flesh was gone, and she looked like the mere ghost of the nobly-developed woman once the envy of so many. Seeing that no bmeet came of the treatment she was receiving, another physician wae employed, who Put, all Ili.,3 skill into the case for four months and in all that time she neve; slept once, except under the influence of opium. Her condition wis such ferTenlIy deskei:> lo die, and her t I agrCed 11 the 0Q]y "lief she had the s.)ghte3t reason to hope for Onro in a whi'e however, the progress %i her'difeaS aCaied fir a'( w^manPaC?' all dUnn° UlCS° Periods thC faiiin« woman was able to rend for a few minutes at a time. It was on one of these occasions that she took up a newspaper, nnd wluie glancing wearily at its columns her eye fell upon an article describ- ing a medicine called Mother Seigel°s Curative Syrup. VVithout any special confidence in the statements therein made, she, nevertheless, sent to St. John's and bought a bottle, preserving what she bad done a secret from the physician. On taking a dose or two of the preparation she was astonished and delighted to find it bad an imme- diate effect. In a few days she could sleep withctit the opium, and felt for the firat time for months a natural craving for food. What, she ate stayed on her stomach, and gave her scarcely any distress. Filled with new hope and confidence she now avowed what she had done, discharged the physi- cian, eent to Halifax for six bottles more, an 3 used it steadily through the entire winter of 1384-5. She improved rapidly, and in a few week-, to quote her own words, I felt as though I had come back to life, after having lain for months in an open grate." By the time spring opened she was able to do all her work. She is now sixty-three years old, enjoys life, and has every prospect of attain- ing an advanced age. In a recent letter Mrs Crocker tells her story with an enthusiasm almost too warm for cold type, and says she swes her restoration from the very door of the tomb to the mysterious power of the medicine "he saw described in the newspaper. Lc501

LIBELLING A PHYSICIAN. At the Mansion-house on Tuesday Mr. Jerome Hopkins, described as a musician, appeared to a summons charging him with having libelled Dr. Thomas Boor Crosby, a physician, of Gordon- square, and a member of the City Corporation.— Mr. Bodkin, who prosecuted, said that at the close of 1888 Mr. Hopkins, who was an American, culled upon the doctor and informed him that he was about to introduce an opera from the States, and he asked him to be good enough to patronise it. Dr. Crosby allowed his nnme to be used, and the defendant told him he would be entitled to any tickets be might require at half-price. The doctor, however, never ordered any tickets, nor used any, and just before the date fixid for the opera to be given he withdrew his came as a patron. This incensed the defendant, and he demanded a guinea, the price of four 10s. tickets, and because Dr. Crosby refused to pay thit sum, he entered upon a course of libels by letters and post-cards, and continued to send them until qiaile recently. In one of them he used the epithets" blackgllard," "cheat," and "liar"; he threatened to expose him in a book of "London Experiences," which he said he ".vas about to publish in Amc-rica and he coupled him with Pontius Pilate, Judas Iscariot, aDd Robespierre. He also brought an action against the doctor in the City of London Court to recover the guinea, but he was non-suited, and had to pay the costs. The libel for the publication of which the present summons was granted was upon a post-card. There was a skull and cross- bones, and the<e words 11 Sir,—My numerous other debtors are beginning to pay up. Don't you think you would be a wise man to send me that £ 3 12s ? I have been very patient. VVitli 'gentlemen's' names Crosby loves to appear, So that nobody seeing dare venture a sneer But when asked to pay, he answers, S*i fear! Not a penny nor guinea for you, do you hear ?' —Respectfully, J. HOPKlNs.The doctor, counsel proceeded to say, had no vindictive feeling against the defendant, and he would even accept an apology rather than proceed against him further in a court of law.—Defendant said be would r, fuse to apologise.—Sir R. N. Fowler Very well, you will be committed for trial, and I shall take your own recognisances to appear

DEATH OF LORD LOUTH. The II Press Association'' Cork correspondent telegraphs that private advices received in Cork on Wednesday afternoon state that Lord Loutb is dead. His lordship, Randal Pilgrim Plunkett, was four- teenth baron and was born on the 24th of September, 1868. If the late Captain Plunkett, divisional magistrate, had lived he would have succeeded to the title. Captain Plunkett's son will I now inherit the title.

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MEN WHOM I HAVE KNOWN. [By Charles Wilkins, F.G.S.j TALIESIN WILLIAMS v" Ab Iolo Morganwg"). Everyone has heard of Io!o Morganwg," a much-doubted, very able, and unjustly suspected man. The "Iolo" manuscripts, published by the Welsh MSS. Society, and his poemp, published by himself, remain, notwithstanding doubt and suspicion, the treasured heirlooms of Wales, and the keener the investigation made the stronger becomes his reputation. Iolo was a pleasing versifier and an enthusiastic patriot, a good anliquary and historian. Born in the Vale of Glamorgan, trained up ai a stonemason, he rose to distinction as a bard, and, after passing some years of his life in London, travelled about Wales, gleaning the collection of liisiloric facts and traditions which are now associated with bis name. Recollections of Taliesin, My earliest recollections of Taliesin are of a strongly-built, stern-faced mao,tho leading school- master of Merthyr Tydfil. He walked with a sedate, dignified gait, as became the man in whose mind was stored so much learning, and his favourite attitude was with his thumb in the arm of his waistcoat, his fingers exposed and expres- sive in their movements. He had come from Neath, where he had also been a schoolmaster, but the greater prize of Merthyr tempted him thither. He was a severe disciplinarian, and believed that the grammar and the cane were natural associates. If a boy had any capacity he brought it out, and it is a remarkable fact that most of the men of the district who became eminent had their tuition in his school. In boyish parlance, the school was known as Tally's," and a good school it un- questionably was. One of his old scholars—now a justice of the peace tor the county-tells i-ne, as an illustration of his rigid discipline, that directly the clock struck for school his ponderous watch Wiis brought out and placed on the desk, and every boy coming in late had to go up, rezid aloud the time, and take the punishment. Just as John Thomas (" Ieunn Ddu "), the echoolmastei of the people," was occupied during hours of tuition in versifying or in musical composition, and William Morris in news- paper correspondence, so "Tally" was not so wrapt up in schooling as to be oblivious of other things. The special bias of his mind was Welsh history and antiquity. He had inherited the Druidic leanings of his father, II lolo," and believed that it was his mission in life to hand down all that" lola" had collected. Or, again, he, too, was versifying and anon compiling his" Colyn Dolphin," or the equally interesting Card'iff Castle." Lord Aberdare as a Translator. One of liis ablest productions was an ode on the British Druids, a translation of which won the £10 prize at the Gwent and Dyved Royal Eisteddfod of 1834. And who do you think was the trans- lator ? No other than Lord Aberdare, then Mr. Henry Austin Bruce I give a few lines of the ode. By them readers can judge of the poetic abilities of Taliesin and of the translator:— DEHWYDDON CTN CRED. X Duw byw Ceidwad y byd! ein breiniwr, A 13renin y Gwrynfyd nilfw Iorhael rhoddwr o hyd l'n cynnal awr ac ennyd, Rho ffynniaut, a Ilwyddiant tlawn I'm cynnyg a'iamcanfon Eneidia'r gercid-iiid yw'r gwaith, Fy Rl)i. oiici gwegi gwagraith Lle tia L,Lit Litw'li IlywiaNv lits Y;i feunydd giwys i'l fynwes, Dyro'n fael hael dy heuliad, J'il nwyfawl des Nefol Dad, Tel y canwyf fawl cynnar Hen DUerwyddou gwynlon gwar. TRANSLATION. Thou living God whose gracious caie survey* This rolling planet and Thy creatures' ways Who lov'st to bid each fear, each sorrow cease, To bless each passing hoar with smiling peace, Inspire my venturous song, and oh impart The power to raise the mind, to warm the heart. Breathe through my glowing veins Thy seraph flame, And gild with victory my lowly name, For vain were human wisdom, vain the mind, Inspired by genius and by loved refined, Dirt Thy reluctant hand, all bounteous Sire, Withhold a epark of Thy celestial fire. 011 may, that spark descend! may it diffuse A genial vigour through my faltering muse, And light the shadowy past, what time I trace The mouldering records of the Druid race. His Poem on Cardiff Castle. In 1827 Taliesin published his "Cardiff Castle," a poem with explanatory remarks and historical extracts. It was first" spoken" by one of his pupils Ilt an annual reciiation, and was received with so much approval that he gave it a larger audience. An idea of 'te character will be gleaned from the following extract:— F'uhamon's race have-paned away And Cardiff's ancient towers obey The high-born Smart's gencrotissway. In him fair honour's graces shine, The 8tuar' of the mighty line. A Vine renowned for axes long. An ancient line whence Kings have sprang To grace a re-.aj throne. Long be their coarse from age to age, Their praise the theme of bard and sage. For virtues all their own." The historical extracts and comments at the end of the work axe highly interesting. In these things Taliesin followed the track of his father, 1* 1010," who gives in his poems some of the gleanings, antiquarian and historic, of his life. 'faliesin'e Doom of Colyn Dolphin was another of his poetic efforts. This recounted the raid of a pirate on the Glamorganshire coast and his doom. About this time Taliesin had achieved a large measure of popularity, and was looked up to in the early eisteddfodau as a chief: the mantle of "Iolo" had descended upon him. For his father's historic and antiquarian fame he had the greatest reverence, and no one dared question it. He refers to him in his preface to his Cardiff Castle" as my highly-gifted father." His announcement of his death is unique :— The master mind whose intellectual energies had, entirely untutored, and in defiance of severe difficulties and discouragements, advanced to high literary attainments, became released from its mortal" frame and returned to the great source of genius." "Taliesin" and Thomas Stephens, There was a "new comer" in the so-called village of Merthyr, but then fast becoming the largest town in Wales, in the person of Thomas Stephens, who was one of the first to question a good deal of the accepted traditions of the bardic school, and who, while he had some respect for the plodding industry of 11 had little for his son, apart from his being an able schojlmaster. Taliesin and Thomas Stephens were literary antagonists, as the newspapers of their day often bore witness. In the Monmouthshire Merlin I remember some exceedingly trenchant letters bearing the well- known character of Thomas Stephens' style, which roused Taliesinrs ire to an ungovernable extent. The letters were anonymous, but Taliesin knew the peD," and, putting on his hat, strode indig- nantly to Mr. Stephens' shop, and, walking in, said I demand, are you the writer of the letters signed so-and-so ? Stephens, looking scornfully and turn- ing on his heel, rejoined, I wish to hold no personal intercourse. If you have anything to say to the writer in question you must address your,"tif to the editor/ of the paper," and dis- appeared, leaving Taliesin ready to immolate everybody. Stephens had no opinion of Taliesiu's literarv ability, and once told me that be believed that tbt letters presumably written by Taliesin were written by his wif, who was a lady of culture and of masculine deportment. Some little excuse must be made for literary rivalry and for the fact that Stephens and Taliesin were trained in different schools of thought. His Literary Work. If Taliesin had simply been a schoolmaster he would have attained distinction by his successes in that direction, and if be had never done any- thing besides the collecting and editing of his father's manuscripts, this alone would have gained him a high position in the rank of Welsh scholars. As one of the editors of the Welsh MSS. Society, he was instrumental in giving the world several works of great value. He was a number of the committee which published Liber Lanitttensu or the Hoofl of Llandaff. This work, by Teilo, was translated by the Rev. W. J. Kees. The second work. issued while lie ,A, on the committee, is one now of great rarity smf v ihie. This was Lewfe DUDfl'S tltraldu VuitaiiQA tJ Iforksw edited fey Meyrick. The third issue was the famous f, Iololl manuscripts, and Taliesin edited these with remark- able devotion down almost to the day of his death, when they were left unfinished. But, fortunately for Welsh scholars, the work was continued to a completion by other editors, and was successfully launched. r" The succeeding editors, while endorsing a great deal of Taliesin's efforts, yet differed from him on others, and this they told the public. In their opinion his vinws on Welsh prosody were not well founded. In his interpretation of Beitroy as B-ttavia they also thought him wrong, and sug- gested Pictavia as Scotland. Especially did they I iliink him wrong in identifying cairns or tumuli as the burial-place of criminals, I mention these, not to point to any speck on the fame of Taliesin Williams, but as an illustration of the differences which have always existed between the bards. "CyfKnach y Beirdd." I must not omit arefereneetotitis work of "Iolo's," which his son, in conjunction with Walter Davies (11 Gwalter Mechiin"), published. This valuable exposition of the ancient Welsh metres and the principle of versification was one of the last legacies of "Iolo," but left unfinished after his death. Taliesin was author of the Cbelbren v Beirdd, a history of the bardic alplvabet, pub- lished by Rees from his famous Llandovery press. This is said to be "Ab lolu's masterpiece. In it he shows, with a good deal of reasoning power, that if true, as hinted,that "Iolo" had invented the alphabet, he must also have invented a targe portion of Welsh literature with which the Coelbren is indissolubly linked. The very last manuscript which "Ab Iolo"eom mented upou was that in ttye "Iolo" manuscripts page 494, referring to Owen Glyndwr and the Norman knight Sir Lawrence Bcrkrolles. Taliesin s numerous admirers now scattered over the country, many in the sere and yellow leaf of 112e, wil1 be glad to possess one fact of interest coo- cerning the eminent bard—that he was one of the founders of the Cymmrodorion Dirwestol, which placed eisteddfodau on a new and permanent footing, and which brushed away from the old in. stitution many abuses and causes of socia demoralisation. The End, J Taliesin was a distinctive man, and one who made his mark amongst his generation. He was more the student than the rambler, as bis father was, and did not attain that worthy* old age, but died, somewhat suddenly, in harness on February 10,1847, aged 59, Ivaving been born in Cardiff in 1787.

THE PENNY POSTAGE JUBILEE. LONDON, WEDNESDAY. To-night a dinner attended by various chief officials, put and present, of the postal depart- ments of London and thi provinces took place at the Holborn Restaurant, in celebration of the jubilee of the penny postage. The chair was occu- pied by the Postmaster General (Mr. H. C. Raikes, M.P.),and the vice-chair by Sir Arthur Blackwood, K.C.B. (Secretary of the Post Office). Amongst the .numerous company were the following ex- Postmasters General:-Sir Lyon Playfair, M.P., and Mr. G. J. Shaw Lefuvrc, M.P. The CHAIRMAN, in proposing the health of the Queen, said be ventured to thiuk that although the inception of the penny postage did not exactly synchronise with the commencement ot her Majesty's reign, yet, the lialf century of progress they were met to celebrate coincided so nearly with the more than 50 years during which the Queen had reigned as to establish something like a-special connection between the toast and the occasion which had brought them together. (Cheers.) He could not but believe that the Queen had been no unmoved spectator of the pro- gress of this great department, which indicated, perhaps, more than any other, the wonderful march of civilisation under her refgn. (Cheers.) The CHAIRMAN gave the toast of the evening, The Poet-office." At the outset he announced the receipt of a congratulatory telegram from the Postmaster-General of Egypt and also one from the Postmaster-General of Germany. He said that the subject of their celebration on that occasion, although it seemed in the first instanco inconsider- able, had really been one of the greatest of the peaceful revolutions of this century. (Cheers.) They were familiar with the circumstances under which Sir Rowland Hill commenced his crusade for Post-office reform. Most of them knew that 50 vetiri ago the charge for a letter within the British Isles was multiplied by the distance which it had to travel. It was the courage, tenacity and inventive faculty of Sir Rowland Hill that demonstrated that the distance travelled was almost an infinitesimal element in the cost of the transmission of a letter. That was the great point that had to be estab- lished. Sir Rowland Hill, who was what would be called an outsider, had grasped that fact, which at that time had not become patent to the officials of St. M.irtin's-le-Grand, and by his eloquence brought the country to his side. WeH, his scheme was adopted, and tha volume of postage instantly increased by leaps and bounds. The revenue, as was expected, in. the first instance declined. From that time the progress had been continuany increasing, until at the present time the letters that were carried represented 42 letters per annum for each head of the population whereas at the time before the penny post was instituted it was only three. The actual volume of letters carried was twenty times what it was fifty years ago. He was speaking only of letters,because there were the subsidiary services of post-cards, circulars, book post, and parcels post, which swelled up the totai from 1,500 millions to 2r300 millions odd of missives. (Cheers.) It was a striking fact that during the two years with which he had been connected with the postal adminis- tration the increase in the despatch and re-ceipt of letters in the United Kingdom bad been no less than 172 millions; that was to say, in tlicw t mn years the increase had been twice the wh-le number of letters which were posted in the yen- 1840 (Cheers.) At the present moment there w -r 18,000 post-offices in the United Kingdom, as well ;s 20,000 other receptacles for letters, and the force that now carried on the postal service of the country con- sisted of 58,000 established officers and 50,000 other persons employed in the service of the l'ust. office. (Cheers.) Thanks, therefore, to the patient research and heroic persistency of Sir Rowland Hill, this department had become the most important department of the State. (Cheers.) Talk of armies, why, the numbers ever which he was for the time being the commander-in- chief—(cheers)—were more numerous than any regular forces which the Secretary of War could show within the compass of her Majesty's dominions the Beets over which the Postmaster- General exercised control were vaster and more efficient than any which obeyed the bidding of the First Lord of the Admiralty. (Laughter and cheers.) Twenty years later than tire penny-post came the savings' bank. The result of that institution, by which the Post-office became the banker of the poor, was that at the present moment the deposits amounted to sixty-two millions of money, and by recent legislation, as brokers for the labouring classes, they had invested not less th in four miliions of money in the public funds of the country. (Cheers.) Ten years later came the telegraphs. That enormous new department was added to the control of the Post-office. The number of tele- grams sent in the last financial year amounted to 57,000,000, and the revenue, which when he came into office, in 1886, showed a deficit of 1145,000, mainly in consequence of the sixpenny telegrams, had shown in the List year a. surplus of more than I 180,000. (Cheers.) Then they had also the development of the money order system, and, as showing the use made of postal orders, he mentioned that last year 39 millions of money were transmitted by that means. Then they had the parcels post and the introduction* of parcels coaches, which effected a saving; to the country. The right hoo. gentleman concluded by asking the company to drink the toast of the Post-ofRee as one of the first civilising agencies of our century, and as en.bodying year by year, one after another, all those peaceful revolutions which make the happy history of man. (Loud cheers.) j Mr. ARTHUR PEASSON and Sir ARTHUR BLACI- WOOD replied to the toast. Other tonsts followed.

RUSSIAN INFUTISXA —The treatment fur this fast. spreading epideniio II quintne and warmth. The most pleasant and canvenient for of taking quinin* b Gwilyia Evans Quisles Bitten, a pleasant tenia, and never gives headaebe. S1275 IMPOWTAST NCTKm.—C0*fidentuit Athtet fsee per post to all weak ami follteff health, with tore ot (trengtb and vitality, Fifty year*' experience la Nervous Ailments. Mdvesv Mr. Hnrei) i, Fitzatten- sqnspo, Sfcsflteld. Form ef Correspondence Free. Write to day. StJHH CORI lor Worms in Children, Keraick's ▼er«t»WfWcn# Lezesma- PaB direettoar «itli eacb boi tM. anil 14,1M. CM* t&62t

A HARD-WORKED OFFICIAL, y,; [By CLUBBIIE.] .r A noteworthy personality just now is 81# Arthar Blackwood, the secretary to thaf General Post-office, and his position is oid that becomes increasingly important. He if immediately related to the Blackwood barO- netcy, and was born on the 22nd of May, 1832, being educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. He held a post in tb. commissariat during the Crimean War. and was financial secretary to the Post-office tront 1874 until 1880, when he ynts appointed! secretary. He married in 1858 the widow of the sixth Duke of Manchester, and is related to the Earl of Dufferin.

PATHETIC SEQUEL TO AM I ATTEMPTED SUICIDE. At West London Police-court on Wednesday Miriam Fettling was charged with attempted ?UK cide bycuttinghei throat with a Carving knife afietf hearing that her father and mother had drowned themselves in the Thames. Prisoner's injuria* wars only slight. Her husband was called aocf said his wife, unknown to him, bad borrowed .£30 on a bill of sale to start her father wrtft a horse and cab. The money lender'* man came down to levy the monthly instal- ment of £10, and the difficulty of meeting it preyed on the old people's minds, causing them fo drown themselves. Mr. Plowden, the magistrate, dwelt on the painful features of the case, and ex- pressed a hope that some of those who read the facts would come forward and help the peer woman to tide over her great misfortune. Be gad her a sum of money out of the poor-box, ai;4 allowed her to go away with her husband.

NEWSPAPER TRADITION. It is tritditional in a newspaper office that ifyoa want to save a man's life you have only to wria his obituary. So perverse is Fate that the moment you have had the biographical sketch put into type, the subject begins to improve, and finally gets well. The obituary of the late Empres* Augusta had been ready for press more than fir# years in the office of a contemporary. John Bright was kept alive for two years at least by the elo- quent obituary pens of London journalists :ltli the chief hope for the life of the little King 1 Spain expressed in newspaper circles lies in tfes fact that some of the most pathetic articles evee written by mortal journalists have been put into type on the death of the infantile monarch, about whose life so much solicitude is felt throughout Europe -.Yew York Herald.

ALARMING RAILWAY COLLISION. Early on Wednesday an engine and fifty cdd wagons leaving Mexborough for Doneasttr rao into a siding through the driver mistaking tits signals. It crashed into a passenger van and left the metals, ploughing up the permanent way fr some distance. The engine was embedded for three feet. Had it proceeded a few yards further it would have fallen into tha river. A portion oi the signal-box was torn away, and the signalman leaped out in order to escape. The driver stuck to his engine, but the fireman jumped off. The main line was temporarily blocked.

PREVENTION is BETTER than CURB. Zl\ nil 1 EPLDKXIC the bEd way to ensure HEALTH AND HAPPINESS Is to keep tha syetem clear by the timely and reguitf use of KATK'/T WOKSDKIX'S PITXS. They have been ilmd all over tha world far nsariy 180yearr, AND th»y «i MM finest Mediate* before tha puMfa tar raga!Md»2 tit* system, keeping the liver In order, bracing op the cerr*. promoting the circulation, and restoring to strong robust health. They purify the blmd n a wild bes effectual aperient they have no equal; UM am lndi- gestion, heidache, dyspepsia, constipation, bile, ner- vousness, 4c. They are Invaluable to lkdl". oil they correct all Irregularities, remove all obstructions, acil restore to complete health. Of all Chemists, prka la. lid. ,2a. 9d" tnd tt. 6d, p-r box. Lc338 DANCER HEED THE NOTE OF llARIDNG BEFORE IT IS TOO LA'Í'E. LOOK OUT FOR THE DANGER SIGNAL In churches &nd pxlbfuj ossciitttKca half the people lLè""J;ndWiIëre the constitution. is ii64 al.thtkd. is an hereditary taint, tioii are sown. S&>p it "it o^it* may get beyond conjroi. Ton need SCOTT'S EMULSION ALMOST EVERYBODYIT. » •- jt- In the autumn, after the enervating months of the summer, t!êY£ttèI1?- requires just the luting. and faiiy properties of "the Oil combined -frith the bracing and tonic of the Hypophosphites. IT IS A MARVELLOUS FOOD MEDICINE, IT WILL CURE TOTJR HEAL THE SORENESS ÓF TFFL TLJRGS, GIVE YOU STRENGTH & FORTIFY YOUR SYSTEM AGAINST FURTHER ATTACKS. It is recognised by the medical pro- fession in CONSUMPTION, EMACIATION and WASTING in CHILDREN, aa entirely superior to plain Cod Liver Oil oroMr remedies. AU Chemists can su pply it at 2s. 6d. A 4s. 6d. FITS, EPILEPSY OR FALLING 61CKNE86, GIDDINESS, 8EifSAlTGNS, AND FAUST*. I will demonstrate to thewhole world how that most dreadful of all plaint-s "Er-k)wy," which bat been hitherto considered IncuraMe, pa be permanently cure4 (without the ehance ef fallire). All afflicted may write wjth mJ hop* and confidence tokhe Secretary, Bnrweod? Hooae, Burwood-Biaee, Hvdo Park, London. He will y°«, free charro. full instructions tor care, ana advice on diet, Lc558 THE IIA(IIC- BE". IKAJPZST, OSLi REMEDY. JfEYBH JAII6. O. s Obstrut efew h*m &BY ftuft. No Plit. or Pewrifu >• them. Worth Two Guineas a Box. Jtemeasber, ia*y are NOT woleas PennyroyAi, Steel, Bitter Apeie, X he pit-it, free. Is. 3d., 2s. 9<1., 4s. U., okua U-a. t ifcx.S3ai! TH03CA860, US. Westarimter BriJee. read. London, ot order of any Cliemiet> LCCM