Monmouthshire Merlin

THE MAIDEN'S LOVER. Woo me not with sighs and tears, „ Woo me not with vows," she said, Tell me not of doubts and fears; Deeds, not glowing words, I wed. "Passion-pale I see tbee stand; Let Love speak, but not in signs Passion but unnerves the hand, "Drains the heart to wet the eyes. Who would win me must have won Rule right royal o'er his heart; Wholly true, from sun to sun, So he'll love me not m part. Who would win me, must have found, "For his deep and manly love, Other vent than empty sound- Yows protest but do not prove. I. Nobly as old legends tell, "Rode the knight from land to land, II Sin and wrong before him fell, II Conquer'd by his stalwart hand. « Glorious legends, were they true! I- Make them true if me you'd win- Win for me and thee a new Triumph over death and sin. 44 If thou languish at my side, I shall mock thee in my scorn "Up, be doing-so thy bride On I pass till Death's dark morn. If around thy spirit gather Kust of sloth and lustful ease, "Though I love thee, I would rather Thou wert dying on my knees." Swift he turned—that flashing face Woke a new-born love to life; Then he knew her, all her grace: Won her nobly tor his Wife. —Cornhill MagazineJor June. C. U. D.

RAIN. WHF.V, breathing balm o'er flock and fold, Low winds bring sweetness from the south, When still the winter-toucht and old October biteth in the mouth- I stand beside my cottage door, And see above me and before, Across the skies and o'er the plain, The shadows of the Itain. 0 watch them blown from hill to hill, O'er lonely streams and windy downs, From thorpe to thorpe, from vill to vill, And over solitary towns; Like stragglers from the skirts of Night, Slow-squadron'd by a wind of light, Torn down to music as they roll, Sobbing as with a Soul I Across the skies and o'er the plain, Below the silence of the spheres, The hidden Angel of the Rain Is sighing with a sense of tears: And list'ning to her voice it seems Some fancy muffled up in dreams, Some shapeless thought our visions keep, Moaning thro' shades ot Sleep! I hear the voice and cannot doubt The wisdom of the thought I win- That all the changeful world without Must type the changeful world within Nor may the poet fail to gain One hint of kindred with the Rain, Type ofa life whose hopes and fears Are rainbow'd out from tears I For, standing now between the shower And sun, I glory to behold The Rainbow leave her cloudy bower, Transfigur'd in a mist of gold: 'ans Her trembling train of clouds retreat, The Earth yearns up to kiss her feet,- She wears the many hued and gay Robe of the unborn May! —Athenaeum.

True goodness shines most when no eyes, except V those of Heaven, are upon it. There is none made so great but he may both jrted the help and service, and stand in fear of the unkindness, of the meanest of mortals.—Seneca. THE LEAST TASTE IN LIFE.—" Why, lie is six feet high and she is the smallest woman I ever saw. What a queer taste!" Yes," said Jerrold, and only a taste n A NEW READING,—Bryant says that the groves were God's first temples." A good many romantic young lovers unquestionably find them delightful meeting houses. What a fine head your boy has said an admir- ing friend. Yes," said the fond father, "Jies a chip of the old block—ain't you, my boy ?"—" Yes, father, teacher said yesterday that I was a young blockhead." „ INFLUENCE OF Music.-An excellent clergyman possessing much knowledge of human nature, in structed his large family of daughters in the theory and practice of music. I hey were all observed to be exceedingly amiable and happy. A friend in- quired if there was any secret in this mode of educa- tion. He replied, When anything disturbs their temper, I say to them singand if I hear them speak against any person, I call them to sing to me and so they have sung away all causes of discontent, and every disposition to scandal." LIGHT LAND.—An auctioneer was selling a lot of laud for agricultural purposes. Gentlemen, said he, "this is the most delightful land. It is the easiest land to cultivate in the country its so light-so very li"ht. Mr. Parker here will corroborate my state- ment • he owns the next patch, and will tell you how easily' it is worked." *es, gentlemen," said Mr. Parker, it is very easy to work it, but it's a plaguy sight easier to gather the corps." ATTENTION TO DIET.-If you wish for anything like happiness in the fifth act of life, eat and drink about one-balf what you could eat and drink. Did I ever tell you my calculation about eating and drink- ing V Haviu" ascertained the weight of what I could li^ upon so as to preserve health and strength, and what I did live upon, I found that, between ten and ■event, of^e, IW-^ me in 1* -d »efh J T* value of this mass of nourishment I considered to be worth seven thousand pounds sterling. It occurred to me that I must, by my voracity, have s arve o death fully a hundred persons. tf J calculation, but irresistibly true. an .V your waggons would require an additional horse each .—letter of Sydney Smith. nprhaDS thev are Men often say "no trust," and p^&aps tney are right. But nature demands the fullest trus w seek her gifts. It is all trust, when the seedI^sown that she will surrender it again all trus grain is green, that the harvest will not^ that the sweet influences of the Pleiade shed, and the singing birds return. n A TART REPLY.-When Lord Ellenborough was Lord Chief Justice, a labouring bricklayer was once brought into court as a witneso. When he came up to be sworn, his lordship said to him, Really, witness, when you have to appear before the court, it is your bounden duty to be more clean and decent in your appearance." « Upon my life," said the witness, if l°rti&hip comes to that, I'm thinking I'm every bit as well dressed as your lordship." What d° you ^lrasked his lordship, angrily. "Why, laitn, said the labourer, "you came here in your work clothes, and I m come in mine." An EdUAli DIVISION OF Property.—A ragged Irish emigrant was l"Jul%' ,s.lroi'ely in favour of an equal division of laud of adop- tion. "Well, suppose such iv.sl0n were to take place," said his opponent, y?u think would fall to your share W iy, i «jont know v ,» j-eDlied Teague, but 1 should suppose some- J like 2000 dollars, more or less. Well, what ig lute aKJuu uu ortj0n when you had would vou do wi h y ]/ru the man that would it i asked the other. vv 'v > r • |.mari ,« spend it, would I not !"rejoiiie d do' next ?" when that was gone, what wouiu 3 demanded the other. MVhat woj what returned the equalising philosopher. 3amther should I do, my jewel, but be after, having division!" •, "John," inquired a dominie at a hopeful Pupil, what is a nailer ?" A man who makes nails, said John. Very good. What is a tailor ?" One who makes tails." Oh, you stupid fellow," said the dornini biting his lips a man who makes tails!" Yes, master," returned John, if the tailor did not put tails to the coats he made, they would be all jackets! Sit down, John; you're an honour to your maternal parent."

PROGRESS OF THE SICILIAN REVOLUTION. Intelligence under date 22nd of May from Messina, 20th of Mav from Palermo, 21st of May from Mar- sala, and 20th of May from Catania, announces that at Messina and Catania order was maintained, but everything was ripe for an outbreak in case Garibaldi succeeds in entering Palermo, of which there was scarcely a doubt. The last accounts left him marching upon Monreale, where the Royalists bad concentrated their forces, including the garrison at Palermo, and where he was looked for on the 22nd. His force was then estimated at 15,000, but, according to a report which had reached Messina, it is said to have been subsequently swelled to 40,000. According to an intercepted despatch from the General commanding the Royal forces at Alcamo, these, out of 5,000, lost 2,300 in killed, and of the wounded no mention is made, for, as the the insurgents have "No quarter!" for their war-cry, this column in the returns is unne- cessary. The Amphion steam-frigate had embarked the money, securities, and valuables of the British residents at Palermo, and the Hannibal screw steam line-of-battle ship, bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Rodney Mundy, was to receive these residents on the 20th of May. A letter from Messina of the 19th, in the Siecle, says:—"The news brought by the English steamer Corinthian, which left Palermo yesterday evening, differs entirely from that given by the Neapolitan Government in two despatches, which announce the complete defeat of Garibaldi and of his filibusters. The battle fought at Calata Fimi was a disaster for the Neapolitan column sent against the insurgents. That force, composed of between 4,000 and 5,000 men, is said to have lost in the affair of the 16th its cannon and baggage, and to have had a great num- ber of killed and wounded. The men were pursued with the greatest vigour, and their retreat, when near Alcamo, became a complete rout, and the scat- tered remnants of the force fled by the Partinico road to Palermo. On the 17th only about 975 of the fugitives had re-entered Palermo, and several of them afterwards died from fatigue on reaching their quar- ters. fihe Neapolitan Colonel Donato, who was taken prisoner on the 16th at Calata Fimi, is said to have died there on the following day. The greater C, y part of the Neapolitan column being dispersed, and wandering about without shelter and without food in a revolted country, cannot fail to fall into the hands of the insurgents, by whom they will be treated with ^The^atrie says "On the 21st the volunteers of Garibaldi, who were masters of all the communica- tions from Marsala to Alcamo, directly threatened Palermo. Independently of the principal corps, which is organized in a completely military manner, and has a squadron of cavalry and four pieces ol mounted and harnessed artillery, the insurrectionary forces are composed of irregular troops, formed into moveable columns for the purpose of carrying on a guerilla warfare; their line of attack extending, if necessary, from Castelvetrano to Tanica, three miles from Carini. These columns hold in their power the land road which unites Trepani to Palermo. The former of these two places can no longer be re- victualled, except by sea. It is stated positively that on the 17th and three following days there were a great number of partial landings. They took place on the part of the coast extending from Cape Boco to the river of Girgenti. This part of the south-east coast has always been favourable to smuggling, and, conse- quently, to clandestine landings. The insurrection had thus received, at the last dates, a considerable quantity of stores, and has now all the arms and ammunition necessary for forming fresh corps of native volunteers. General Lanza landed at Palermo early in the morning of the 20tli, and immediately had his proclamations posted up. During the day he held a council of war, and strongly reproached his prede- cessor for the incapacity which he had shown, and for the fault he had committed in not having fortified and strongly occupied the two defiles of Calata Fimi, both of which might have been easily defended. General Lanza has adopted the only military measures in his power. He has concentrated his army under the walls of Palermo, has erected redoubts on the heights which command the roads, and arranged his troops in such a manner as to be able to give battle with his whole force. These arrangements are irreproachable in a n military point of view, but they do not prevent the General from finding himself surrounded by almost insurmountable difficulties, as the whole city of Palermo is in favour of the insurrection. The steam- vessels Ercole, Vesuvio, Fulminante, Veloce, and Misene had arrived at Naples from Palermo, having on board a number of families, who were leaving Sicily in consequence of the state of affairs in the island. Among the passengers on board these vessels was the Prince de Castelcicala, late Governor of Sicily, and his family; and the wife and family of General Letizia. The Fulminante brought in tow the Piemonte steamer, one of the vessels which landed the volunteers at Marsala. There were seized on board of her a quantity of rice, sugar, coffee, wine, tents, 500 muskets, and two pieces of artillery, which there had not been time to land. There was also found in one of the cabins the flag presented to Gari- baldi by the ladies of Genoa, and which had been for- gotten on board At the last dates perfect tranquillity prevailed at Naples, but the greatest gloom was caused by the events in Sicily." Intelligence from Marseilles dated 23rd May, says the packet which left Naples on the 22nd instant, has arrived, and brings letters from Palermo dated the 21st instant, which states that the anxiety was in- creasing, and that the popular passions were inflamed. On the evening of the 20th instant, several shots were fired from the balconies ia the Rue Toledo, The police returned the fire and wounded some persons. Strangers had taken refuge under their national flags. The authorities had ordered the doors of the public buildings to be built up to half their height. There was a panic among the public func- tionaries, and the director of the official journal bad taken to flight. The churches were opened on Sun- day, but remained deserted. Yesterday the fire of an insurgent bivouac was seen on the heights sur- rounding Palermo, and it was asserted that a battle had taken place. The population were anxiously expecting tlie result, wincli was not known. The greater part of the bankers and Neapolitan merchants have sent their money and valuables out of the kingdom. Advices from Messina to the 23rd ultimo, state that a gloomy tranquillity prevailed. Emigration continued. The Governor of Malta, who had arrived at Marseilles in the Indian mail steamer, leaves this evening for London. A telegram from Palermo, dated the 23rd ult., 10 p.m., received at Paris on the 25th, announced that the"' troops of Garibaldi were in position near Palermo. Twenty thousand Neapolitans occupied the heights which commanded the town for two miles round.° An attack was momentarily expected. telegram from Naples of the same date says— Garibaldis troops are six miles distant from Palermo, and occupy the heights surrounding it. An engage- ment has taken place, but without a definite result. The insurgents have maintained their positions, and the Royal troops have re-entered Palermo. Several Neapolitan vessels of war have arrived before Palermo, aud a bombardment was feared should a rising take P^cs in the city Another telegram from Naples (dated 26th May) says This morning the insurgent bands were attacked beaten, and driven from a strong posi- insurtnt f0' 110w occupied by our columns. Ihe intd ,greal 'rs pfa»°a "fiile 48 Ne»I»litaii deserters were fired at that Palermo would soon surrender A proclamation "i\ ^rts Of the to6! posted up in all parts of the town, aiinouncino, the victorious march of Caribildi, and that Sicily would soon become inde- pendent. It also added, "Even the Neapolitan police are beginning to desert their masters; and terminated with Viva il Re Emmanuel I" Viva Garibaldi I" The official Gazette of Turin, dated May 25, con- tains a despatch, dated the 24th ult., which confirms the encounter of Garibaldi at San Martino with Bava. rians in the service of the King of Naples. Garibaldi had approached nearer.to Palermo, the heights around which were occupied by the insurgents. An attack was imminent. General Lanza had demanded an armistice of Garibaldi without effect. An Austrian flotilla, composed of three vessels, arrived at Naples on the 21st. A despatch from Messina, dated the 21st ult., states that an insurrection had broken out at Paterno, Aderno, and Brancovilla. TRIALS WITH THE WH1TWORTH GUN. On Saturday morning some interesting experi- ments were tried off the Nore, in the presence of the Lords of the Admiralty, with a view of testing the penetrating powers of Mr. Whitworth's 80-pounder gun against the resistance offered by the thick iron sides of the floating battery Trusty. Several such experiments have been lately tried against this vessel both with the Armstrong gun and the ordinary smooth-bore 68-pounder, the results of which have all shown in a. greater or less degree that the floating batteries are, as a general rule, impervious to the heaviest shot, even at a point-blank range of 200 yards. With the smooth-bored 68, when used close, the dent made by the shot in the armour-plate has varied from 1 to lj and 2 inches in depth, and where three or more shots struck the same place, the plate has been shattered to pieces, and the huge oak tim- ber framing of the vessel behind the armour consi- derably started and shaken. No shot, however, has been forced into the body of the ship. With Arm- strong guns the conical shot has very nearly passed through the four-inch iron slabs; but in no one instance, we believe, has it completely done so, and all the experiments with these latter rifled guns have entirely failed to send a projectile through into the body of the vessel. By some this want of success has been attributed to Sir William using the pointed conical shot, instead of a flat-fronted projectile, act- ing, like a punch, with equal force over its whole sur- face. Last year Mr. Whitworth reluctantly con- sented to rifle one of the ordinary cast-iron guns on his hexagonal principle, and with this, using a flat- headed shot of 701b., he managed to force the mis- sile completely through the four inches of metal, though he failed to pierce the woodwork, without which no effect could be produced by any shot. In the course of these latter trials Mr. Whitworth's cast- iron 80-pouuder gun burst to fragments, and, as the trial was not considered by Mr. Whitworth to be as satisfactory as he could wish, he applied to the Admi- ralty to be permitted to make a fresh trial against the Trusty with the 80-pounder of his own manu- facture, with which such astonishing results of range and accuracy were obtained during the experiments at Southport in February last. Permission for this trial was at once accorded, and those plates of the Trusty which had been much injured and broken by some recent experiments with Armstrong's cannon were remoyed, and replaced by fresh slabs of the finest wrought iron, 41 inches thicii, and in every other respect equal in manufacture to the armour- plates which are being made for the Warrior at the yard of the Thames Shipbuilding Company. The Trusty, thus protected, and with a white target in the centre of each plate as a mark to fire at, was moored almost abreast of Sheerness. The first shot was fired with a 121b. charge of powder by Captain Hewlett, after some careful watching and adjustment of the gun, in order to counteract the rolling of the vessel. It struck the Trusty with a terrific bang," which all heard on board the gunboat, though, as on these occasions a mass of wrouglit-iron splinters generally comes back like a shower of grape humming through the air, all have to keep under cover till the danger from such mitrailk has passed. The smoke, having cleared off', showed a clean hole apparently right through the Trusty's side. A boat was at once despatched to the vessel, and the result of an examination showed the shot had struck on the edge of two plates, passing clear through the 4g inches of wrought iron, and starting both plates l £ inches in an outward direction. After passing about 11 inches into the oak, the head of the projectile glanced against a massive bolt; which turned it up at a right angle to its former course, where it relnained buried in the framing between the plates and the inside of the ship. Had it been a shell, and burst in this position, it would have ripped the plate off or blown the main deck timbers in. The next shot was fired with a 14lb. charge by the gunner on board the Carnation, who took a most accurate aim, and hit the small white target full in the centre of an armour-plate. This went completely through the side into the main deck of the Trusty, The hole it made in the plate was a clean hexagon, precisely the size of the shot. It passed not only through the wooden side, but through one of the ribs of the ship, tearing and smashing the iron knee, and covering the main deck with splinters of wood and iron. The shot, when found, was so hot that no one could touch it. It scarcely showed any sign of damage beyond being compressed to about an inch shorter, and con- sequently increased in its diameter at the head by about half an inch. At this period of the experiments the Lords of the Admiralty arrived, and unfortunately, owing to a mistake with regard to the elevation of the distance- sight, and perhaps some anxiety to avoid hitting too low, the shot passed clear over the vessel. The fourth was also bit very high nevertheless, though the gun was trained aft and the shot therefore struck obliquely, it passed through the iron and sides, and struck the end of a deck beam, in which it buried itself. The fifth shot, again, pierced through the ¡ centre of a plate and into the main deck of the ship, driving before it a mass of splinters and an immense iron bolt, which, from the position in which it was found-among the fragments of wood on the main deck, had evidently been dashed through and whirled about with a force only inferior to that of the pro- jectile itself. STATISTICAL ATTRACT.—Every year there is prepared by the Board of Trade, and laid before Parliament, a series of tables, chiefly relating to finance and trade, entitled The Statistical Abstract for the United King- dom;" it has just been issued, completed to the end ot 1859. Extending, as it does over 15 years, it gives a bird's-eye view of the state of our affairs for that period and it is a prosperous year that has now been added to the hat. Never before in the history of this kingdom was the value of the exports so great, nor the prcduce of the Customs and Excise never did so much raw cotton come in, or so large a quantity of the manu- factured goods go forth never was so large a sum depo- sited in savings-banks never were there so many births, and never (in England, at least) so many marriages. It is not so pleasant to add, as we believe we may, that never in time of peace was the naval and military expenditure so high. This telltale list shows that only I seven years ago it was but two-thirds of the £ 25,908,543 which it required in 1859, and which is to be exceeded in 1860. The real value of the exports last year was £ 155,643,590 (of which £25,203,161 was the value of foreign and colonial produce), and of the imports £ 179,334,981. We exported cotton manufactures of the enormous value of £ 38,744,113; woollen manufactures (a greater value than ever before). £ 12,053,708; linen manufactures, £4,604,587; iron and steel, £ 12,315,317 coal, £3,269,9ï5; apparel, £ 6,473,353. The quantity of cotton goods we manufactured and then exported exceeded 4,000,000 yards a-day. That we may not want hands to weave and spin, the women of Great Bri- tain bore above 2,000 children a-day (796,290 in the year); but death struck down above 1,300 a day (503,003 in the year), and reduced the natural increase to little more than 800 a-day, not reckoning Ireland, the numbur of whose births and deaths is unknown. Among the present sovereigns of Europe, three only have been crowned solemnly and according to ancient usages-the Queen of England, the Emperor of Russia, ( and the King of Sweden. MILITARY ORGANIZATION. A Select Committee is now inquiring into one of the most important subjects which could engage the attention of the Legislature. One-fifth part of the whole revenue of the country is expended upon the Army. On the efficiency of that army may depend at any moment the reputation, the security, or even the existence of the nation. On the administration of that army depend the destinies of more than 200,000 soldiers, whose lives in peace no less than in war may be sacrificed by defective management. In point of fact, the army is literally what it is some- times termed—an establishment." It is an estab- lishment of enormous size, prodigious cost, and infinite importance, embracing necessarily a variety of departments, and demanding incessant supplies. Now, what, if this were a private establishment, would be considered the first and most indispensable condition of its efficiency ? What point would be insisted on as the first requisite of success? Un- doubtedly, a good system on which the whole machine should be worked. Compared with this the mere details, however important in themselvt-s, would be utterly insignificant. What ought to be the machinery for putting the army in r, motion, directing its operations, and turning it to the best account as an instrument of national power? That is the question to which the attention of the Com- mittee on Military Organization is now addressed, and let no one suppose that the inquiry is unneces- sary or premature. Not only would it be hard to certify that the existing organization of the army is the best that could be devised, but it would be by no means easy to define it at all. Authorities are not agreed as to the actual division either of power or responsibility, still less as to the form which such arrangements ought to receive. Many great changes have been made of late years, but whether they have been carried to a sufficient extent, or always in the right direction, is uncertain still. r, To understand the paramount interest attaching to these questions, it is only necessary to recall the circumstances attending the collapse of our military system in the Crimean War. That collapse origi- nated in defects of organization alone. Be it remembered that in 1854, when hostilities broke out, the administration of the army had, in all the most obvious points of detail, been greatly improved. The condition of the soldier, the character of his equip- ment, and the terms of the service generally, had been materially reformed. The Estimates had risen even as early as 1853 nearly 50 per cent. above the standard of 1835, and after the spectacle of the Military Encampment at Chobham most people imagined that the army had been really brought again into good working condition. How sadly we were deceived, and how utterly defective our system still remained, we need not be at the pains of u relating. All we wish to remark is, that the whole of that grand and apparently excellent machine was ruined for mere want of organization. Good weapons, good soldiers, good regiments, good artil- lery,—all the seeming ingredients, in short, of a good army, went for nothing, because good primary organi- zation was lacking. Those very battalions which, as they stood on Chobham common, appeared the perfection of military manufacture, were left to perish helplessly on a foreign soil for want of direc- tion and administration. Such an example is quite enough to show the momentous significance of the questions to which we refer. Have we got now, in 1860, that organization for lack of which we suffered so terribly in 1854 ? Does there exist between the Horse-Guards on the one side, and the War Depart- ment on the other, that unity of authority and com- pleteness of responsibility which are indispensable conditions of effective administration ? Unless these questions can be answered in the affirmative, all our minor reforms will be lost; our Armstrong guns may be buried in the mud of some new BaIaHava our Enfield rifles may drop from the hands -of our famishing troops; our Military Train may only render our helplessness more conspicuous, and the £15,000,000 to be voted this session, may be as much misapplied as the XiO,000,000 of 1853.— Times. DEATH FROM POISON ADMINISTERED BY A PHYSICIAN. An inquiry took place at Brompton, on Monday last, into the circumstances attending the death of Mr. A. P. Fowler, of Chatham. Mr. Hawkius, Q C., instructed by Mr. G. B. Acworth, attended to watch the case on behalf of Dr. W. Burton, who, it was alleged, had negligently administered poison; and Mr. Wates, solicitor, on behalf of the friends of the deceased. Professor Taylor, of Guy's Hospital, had also been brought down to give important evidence. Miss^M. S. Nelson, who was on the point of being married to the deceased, stated that she nursed him during the day all through his illness, and adminis- tered the medicines ordered by Dr. Burton. On the day before his death he appeared to be much better, but after taking some pills ordered on Wednesday morning, he gradually became worse, and died about eight o clock in the morning. On Dr. Burton being sent for to see the deceased just before his death, he admitted that he had given him an overdose of opium. Dr. Burton, on being examined, stated that be had been attending the deceased for about a fort- night, and treating him for rheumatic fever, the pains of which were very severe. He occasionally gave I him anodynes to relieve the pain, the draughts being composed of half a grain of acetate of morphia and half a drachm of tincture of henbane. On the even- ing before his death he visited him, when he urged him to send him another composing draught, but witness thought it better to send him three pills, each containing half u grain of opium. On seeing him again at one o'clock on Wednesday morning, he found that the opium had not had the least effect on him, and he then gave him some pills, each com- posed of one-third of a grain of morphia, one to be taken every hour. Four pills were administered to him, when witness was sent for at seven o'clock, and found deceased dying. Antidotes were admi- nistered, and the usual means adopted, but deceased never rallied, his death being undoubtedly occasioned by the effects of opium given to relieve pain. Dr. Martin, a physician, who who was sent for to visit the deceased before he died, said he fully approved the treatment of Dr. Burton, which was perfectly right. Professor Taylor said the case was one of a very extraordinary character, as the deceased had only taken a grain and a-third of opium, spread into four different doses, whereas, four grains, taken at once, was the smallest dose known to kill a man. The average dose of opium usually given to an adult Y.a ~om a Srain to two grains. The deceased died from an accumulation of opium in his t system. In his opinion, Dr. Burton had exercised great caution in giving the small doses he did, when other practitioners would have exceeded them. The jury immediately returned a verdict, That the deceased died from the accumulated effects of opium, admi- nistered to him for the treatment of rheumatic fever, and that we consider, from the medical evidence which has been produced, that Dr. Burton was jus- tified in following out the treatment in the way he did, and exercised more than ordinary skill." THE CONSTITUTION IN DANGER !—At a crowded meeting, held at Fend all's Hotel, in London, a Consti- tutional Defence Committee has been formed to resist the encroachments of the Peers. Mr. James White, late M.P. for Plymouth, was requested to act as permanent chairman, and Mr. William Ilargreaves was elected treasurer. Subscriptions amounting to nearly JEKJO were announced in the room. An executive committee was appointed, which will sit daily. Mr. H. Brookes was appointed to the office of secretary. At a subsequent meeting of the executive committee it was resolved to hold meetings in each of the different boroughs of the metropolis, and to enter into communication immediately with various towns m England south of Birmingham A si miar committee has been constituted in Manchester' EnglanaT C°rre3P°ad Wlth towns i& th/uo«h o*

DR. CUMMING AND THE PROPHECIES.-On Tuesday and Wednesday the Rev. Dr. Cumming, of London, delivered lectures on prophetic subjects at Birmingham, The subject of the first lecture was the Prophecies of Daniel. The rev. gentleman avowed his belief that the present dispensation would cease in the year 1867, but he did not believe that the earth would be annihilated, but rather that it would resume its proper and resplen- dent position in the scheme of creation. Wednesday's lecture was devoted to an exposition of the Apocalypse. THE IRON TRADE.—The staple of this district, the Iron Trade, is not in a satisfactory position, for although a large amount of business is being done, there is a dropping tendency, and a general languor and dulness characterize the trade. At the end of last and the beginning of this year an almost universal impression prevailed that iron in the spring of 1860, in sympathy with other trades whose improvement it generally follows, would realise better prices. These hopes have proved signally delusive, and we imagine the present dulness has arisen more from the natural-reuction occasioned by that disappointment than fiom any diminution in the demand. The business now doing is doubtless of a heathy character, much ot the requirement being for itumediate consumption hut at the same time it is °o be feared that in this district at the present time the trade from11 th«8if8fac!°ry lone t0 those engaged in it, arising rom the fact that the prices of labour and of raw «tS thfn fl ° m P''°P°rtion t0 lhat the finished article than the natural average. With respect to raw Tre like 'v toWh?r' U'T are ludlcatiou8 tha* ^sier prices J'y 11A™ U 88 lhe lrade txPerience8 a tresh nf?h DOt ap £ ear P^bable but the state of the labour market does not indicate any prospect of immediate reduction in its price. In estimating, there- fore, the probable future of the trade, we should say that little or no alteration in the price of iron is likely to occur either one way or the other for some time to come. It is announced that the corps of the division of General Bazaine, which have arrived from Italy, will make their solemn entry into Taris ca J une 1, A GANG OF BURGLARS CLEVERLY CAUGHT. A few days since three men and three women named respectively George Williams, James Cooper' John Jones, Mary Anne Waldron, Emma Forde, and Sarah Johnson, were charged before a metropolitan magistrate, the first three with burglary and robbery, aud the women with receiving the produce of the robbery, well knowing it to have been stolen. A widow, named Wharton, carries on business as a milliner in Union-street, Kingsland, and she closed her shop and retired to rest between twelve and one o'clock on Friday night. At three the next morning, she was awoke by an unusual noise, heard a voice say Come in," and on getting up and looking through a glass door dividing her shop and bedroom, she saw a light burning on the counter, and also saw that her shop had been stripped of almost everything it had contained. She quietly got up, and on opening the street door saw Williams listening at the shutters, and on calling him a villain for robbing her, he muttered something and ran away, All capture or recovery of .1 y property seemed hopeless, but a constable named Fitzgerald, on duty in the Kingsland-road, happened to catch sight cf Williams and Cooper as they turned out of Union street, with three women slightly in ad- vance of them, and a man like Jones a yard before the women; and, knowing the desperate character of Williams, he suspected a robbery, and on looking down the street found the prosecutrix standing at her door in her night dress. From her he learnt that her shop had been entered and plundered, and he imme- diately pursued Williams and Cooper, both of whom he grasped by the neck, one in each hand, and held till two other officers came up, to whom he delivered them, and then pursued the four others, who disap- peared down a court. Here he lost them in one of the houses, but got the help of two more constables and, selecting one house, for a reason of his own knocked repeatedly without avail, but on threatening to burst the door in, the woman Johnson looked out of a window, and then admitted them. Waldron next appeared, said she was the landlady, and asked what they wanted; but on telling her they wanted three women who had just come in she denied that any women had eutered. On looking into a room on the ground floor, however, they found six new bonnets and a variety of caps and other articles upon a table, and on going upstairs they found the woman Forde getting out of bed, indignant and confused at being disturbed, There was evidently another person in bed who was not a woman, and on the officer pulling down the bed clothes he found tne prisoner Jones, affecting to be sound asleep, bift partially dressed. The officers then waited in the passage while the women all put on their clothes, and then searched the place, discovering sixteen silk handkerchiefs thrown into a box, together with all the other property stolen from the milliner's shop, and, in addition, a lady's dress and petticoat, concealed beneath some dirty clothes. This dress and petticoat were also Mrs. Wharton's, and, as she said, must have been stolen from her bedside without her knowing it, but when stolen there were live halfcrowns, a florin and 4s. 6d. in other silver in the dress pocket, and' just this amount and description of coins was found upon Williams. A quantity of tools, the evident pro- duce of some other robbery, were also discovered, and the whole of the prisoners and property were transt erred to the station, but not without a violent resistance on the part of Williams, who threatened to run Fitzgerald through with a kmfe, and menacingly said to the prosecutrix, If ever 1 live to come out, I will wait upon you." luspector Wiseman identified Williams and Jones as well-known thieves, repeatedly convicted; and Bendail, the gaoler, gave the same character of Johnson. The prisoners were remanded. GARDEN OPERATIONS. PLANT DEPARTMENT. -CONSERVATORY, &C. The conservatory should now be thoroughly relieved of all superfluous stock, for the reception of which Tiflany houses will be found extremely useful. No- thing, therefore, will be required 111 show houses or structures of that kind but to carry out a cleanly system of cultivation and to introduce specimens in flower from other houses or pits. Keep the atmos- phere as moist as circumstances will admit. Ventilate thoroughly, and shade with thin canvas during bright sunshine. Attend to plants for autumn and early decoration, such as Japan lilies, chrysanthemums, scarlet salvias, tree caiuatious, and things ^of that sort. Give them plenty of pot room, good rich compost, a moist atmosphere, and plenty of space for the proper development of tueir branches and leaves. Selago distaus is a useful plant which must not be forgotten; it flowers freely and requires nothing beyond a cold pit to grow in. Epacrises, winter z, blooming heaths, and cytisus should likewise be cultivated in quantity, for few plants surpass them for winter decoration. The atmosphere of plant houses can scarcely be kept too moist at this season; therefore, sprinkle every available surface frequently, and syringe growing stock lightly twice a day during bright weather. FLOWER GARDEN AND SHRUBBERIES.—Should the weather become dry and warm all newly bedded-out plants will require daily watering. The benefit of little basins round each plant will then be readily seen. Let the young shoots on all old fuchsia stools be thinned out to five or six. Attend diligently to standard roses; constant disbudding is necessary at this period; also keep down suckers. Let every attention be paid to propagating reserve stock to fill gaps, and let that already rotted, or the remains of store pots, have kindly cultivation forthwith, ill order to be ready to fill blanks. They should be kept in a shady border by themselves. HARDY FRUIT AND KITCHEN GARDEN.—In order to have a good and constant supply of Endive a sow- ing should now be made. Endive is generally sown too thickly. Another good sowing should be made in the first week of July, and a third towards the middle, after which the plants will not attain full size. As soon as the plants are a few inches high some mow the tops of the leaves off with a scythe, cutting about one-third of the leaves awav. This they do to stiffen the plants and cause more heart to develope itself; it also enables them to bear trans- planting better. A good breadth of dwarf and com- pact cabbages may be sown for early coleworts; also a bed of horn carrots. This is a good time for a liberal sowing of autumn turnips the Dutch or stone are useful sorts for the kitchen garden. Prepare for leeks by heavy dressing of manure, also for celery. If the weather should become dry, water late cauli- flowers abundantly, also lettuces for salad. Mulchi trees that have been recently planted. COTTAGERS' GARDEN.—Early potatoes will be late this season but as soon as they are fit for use and up let the ground be immediately cropped with winter greens. Ihe early ulm savoy, Brussels sprouts. and above all, green and cottagers' kale should be amongst, the foremost to claim attention. A bit of the early potato ground when cleared should be sown with turnips. Celery and leek ground may be got ready. Leeks well grown and large are most useful in a cottager's iaun y. Blanks among late potatoes should be filled up with transplanted cabbages. A A\ ONDERFUL PiuNCE.—After the review on Friday, an inteiestiog incident occurred, which produced a very pleasing impression on all who witnessed it. The Em- L press and the Prince Imperial remained some time on the course after the Emperor's departure, and when th& Prince had dismounted irora his pony and was walking along, the people approached to take a nearer view of th,& Imperial party. The young Prince was the object of especial notice, which became quite enthusiastic when the Prince, seeing a nice little ooy about his own accompanied by his father aud mother, people of working class, stopped short, and then, as if moved by aa irresistible impulse, went up and kissed the boy most affectionately. All who witnessed this little scene were greatly moved with this proof of kind-heartedness in the young Prince, and expressed their delight by loud acclamation, ° 1 v'