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CITY CORRESPONDENCE. -0
CITY CORRESPONDENCE. -0 IT is not very often that a judge is condemned in costs in the very court over which he presides. This rather novel experience has come to the Judge de Paix, or County Court Judge, of Commentary, near Montiucon. The Judge, M. Bouchard, had a dispute with his baker about an account, and the baker took out a summons against him. When the case came on for hearing M. Bouchard stepped off the Bench, and begged his substitute to decide it. The substitute did so, and the result was that the Judge was ordered to pay the amount in dis- pute, together with the costs of the proceedings. A CORRESPONDENT says the appointment ot jjord Elgin to the Viceroyalty of India naturally calls attention to the large nümber of high offices in our colonies and dependencies that are at the present moment held by Scottish peers; and, curiously enough, these have been given their ap- pointments by both Unionist and Gladstonian Governments. For, while in the instances of Lord Elgin and Lord Aberdeen, Mr. Gladstone, under Her Majesty, has conferred the appointments, Lord Salisbury was responsible for the gift of Colonial Governorship to Lord Kin tore, Lord Hopetoun, and Lord Glasgow. MARCELINE MASHATUltFSKI, from Tula, Russia, followed the murderers of his half-brother, who was killed at that place on 10 Oct., 1889, over the world. After being misled on many false scents for nearly five years, and having unheard of difficulties, he came up with them in Buffalo, New York. The assassins, who where stopping at a small hotel in Maple-st., are the murdered man's widow and her paramour. Mashatuffski, who was provided with the necessary papers, communicated with the chief of police, and the guilty couple have been arrested at their hotel. They will be sur- rendered to the Russian Government. THERE has been lately a growing number of large landed property sold by private treaty. This, a correspondent assures us, does not warrant the conclusion that the hammer is going out of fashion and that there will by-and-by be no such thing as an important estate auction. The auction sale is still as indispensable as ever, for if it does not obtain a purchaser at once, the attention which the sale necessarily creates in the first instance is the cause of inquiries and visits which often end in ousiness. Almost, every landed estate that has changed hands privately of late has been sub- mitted to public competition from the rostrum a few months before. FRIENDS of the children of the poor are begin- ning to bestir themselves in view of the hardships which winter invariably brings. Free breakfast and winter dinner funds appeal to an almost universal sympathy. For a bazaar in their aid at Kensington Town Hall early in December there is an imposing list of patrons, Princess Christian, the Duchess of Edinburgh, the Duchess of Teck, and the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz are at their head. Seven other duchesses, eleven marchionesses, about fifty countesses, and other titled ladies, have given their names to the pro- t'ect. Active preparations are being made for the tazaar, which M ill open on the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th of December. Contributions are being sent to the hon. sec., Mrs H. Meyer, 12, Elm Park- gaidens, S.W. THE Hereditary Prince of Coburg (better known to us as Prince Alfred of Edinburgh)—who has now completed his nineteenth year—gi^es great promise of Incoming a capable man His dis- position is remarkably conciliatory his tact and good feeling are so great that it is sometimes a surprise to those intimately acquainted with his family to know whom lie inherits them from. From an early age he has been accustomed to military pursuits, while at the same time he has been diligently instructed in history, politics, and the art of governing, with the view of fitting him for the position lie will one day held. He is de- votedly attached to his eldest sister, the Crown Princess of Ron mania, and he feels the loss of her very keenly—the more as he has never shown any inclination for female society outside his own family. Some day lie will be one of the wealthiest Princes in Germany GEX. SIR EDWARD Su.CY SMITH, the new eolonel of the Royal West Surrey Regiment, had one misfortune during his brilliant career—he missed the Crimean War. Yet he saw active service forty nine years ago in the Southern Con- can and Sawant Warree country, and in the forc- ing of strong stockades and the capture of strong forts proved himself a brave and zealous young officer. Ere the Crimean \Var broke out, too, he served in the K.tttir War of 1851-52, and fought with particular valour in the Fish Rivet bush. Be- yond that he accompanied an expedition to the north of the Orange River. When eventualities actually broke out in the Crimea he was serving as Deputy-Ad infant-General to the forces in Soutit Africa. He held the S1.me position in Ire- land during the suppression of the Fenian out- n 1-1 break. The most interesting portion of his career was perhaps in the Mauritius, where during 1870 and 1871 lie twice acted as Governor. The General is a fine specimen of a British officer, whose pleth- oric manner never conceals the goodness of his heart. A SHREWD man and an able ruler is the South African chief Khama, who has shown himself so conspicuously practical in the assistance he volunteered to the Chartered Company in their campaign against the Matabele. But his friendli- ness towards the English in Africa is no new tiling. He very early in his career perceived the value of civilised neighlwurs. Probably the fact that his own territory is comparitively limited and that such powerful chiefs as Lobengula showed little disposition to be considerate towards him, quickened his perceptions in this direction. It is certain, horrever, that- he hailed the steady advance of the English in Africa Avith satisfaction, and was greatly plea-u with the establishment of their protectorate in Bechuanaland. It was, too, by his assistance that the settlement now estab- lished in Mashonn!and became possible. He is understood to lie of the Semitic race, whose repre- sentatives, scattered all over Atrivi. have always been able to more than hold their own. THE not inappropriately named cabman Cheat- ham, has been caught after al, It will be remembered that he was lately charged with felony at Worship-street for having appropriated a 95 note by a peculiarly discreditable tn-ic. The prosecutor gave him the note to change, he professed to he unable to change it, and seeming to hand it back, immediately drove oft What he had handed back proved to be a piece of news- paper he had disappeared with the note. He was traced, and brought before the magistrate, but it was decided that. as the note had been voluntarily placed in his hands, lie had acted merely as a "fraudulent bailee/ He was accordingly discharged, though not without a stain 1 on his character. Tile police, however, took the matter up. brought him again to c mrt, by sum- mons, under their own Act. and succeeded in gett-in- him sent to prison for two months with hard laltonr, and in having his licence revoked. Cosfident of impunity, after his first appearance before the magistrafe, lie made no attempt to return the note, attended the Court with a light heart, and had the impudence to object to the Proceedings as vexatious." Vexing at least, he has a right to consider them, by this time.
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The Cambridge l- niver-ity Freshmen number 878 against Si hist Oetolnir. 0- The election of the new Master of Baliol has been fixed for Thursday. November 9. The Chinese are in the habit of working ninety* six hours a week, including Sundays. There is a considerable dearth of officers in the Volunteer regiments of Yorkshire. The demand for London music-hall artistes is growing not only in the colonies, but in America. Father Stanton, of St. Alban s Holborn, is the guest of the Prime Minister at I-lawarden Castle. 41 A communication from Chicago mentions that natural gas is now being led into that town by piping 12o miles long. co Fines ti 30 6s. were imposed by Mr. Newton, at Marlborough Street Police Court, London, a few dr-vs ago, on Heinrich Stromberg, proprietor of the Iiiterii.'iti Tailors' Employes' Club, Poland Street, Oxford Street, for selling Deer, wine, and tobacco without a licence. Richard Rimmer (45), clerk in \he employ of theSouthportCoriK>ration,has commuted suicide by taking a large dose ot croton oil. He was ad. mitted to the Southport Infirmary, buvjn spite of medical assistance he died soon afterwards. He had been depressed for some days. On Wednesday two men, named William Sher- wood and Thomas Williams, were brought before Sir Nelson Rycroft and Mr. Arthur Wallis, \t Basingstoke, charged with stealing apples from a garden at Strathfield Turgis. They pleaded guilty, and were sentenced to twenty-one days' imprison- ment each with hard labour. Some ;EI,5W or 92,000 is all that is now required to complete the sculptures of the Wellington Monument after the designs by Alfred Stevens. The monument is now safe on the site for which it was intended in St. Paul's, and it is believed the am all sum neccessary for the completion of the fine sculptures will soon be forthcoming. At the Croydon General Sessions there was but lopri-nerreturned for trial, and inasmuch as the lecntrix was dead, and one of the p oeeo ill no evidence could be tendered. --mtion of the Recorder, the Grand the bill of indictment, and the ac N&axsed.
----TORCS OF THE WEEK. ♦
TORCS OF THE WEEK. ♦ FROM the census tables relating to the islands in the British seas just published it appears that the population of the Isle of Man in 191 was 55,608, of whom 20,239 were males and 29,379 females, and the total increase on the previous sensus was 2,050, or 3.8 per cent. The popula- tion of Jersey was 25,918, of whom 11,900 were mainland 14000 females and the total increase on the previous census was 2,073 or 4 per cent. The population of Guernsey and the adjacent islands were 16,889 and the total increase was 2,459 or 7 per cent. OWING to the present commercial relations be- tween Germany and Cussa, German trade in the latter country is suffering terribly, and large orders for goods are placed in England, Austria, and other countries. In the negotiations now going on at Berlin for an adjustment of the diffi- culty, it is thought to be highly improbable that any important concessions will be made to Ger- many, as they would be contrary to the economic policy of the Russian Finance Minister, while the Russian harvest lias not turned out so good as was expected. If any concessions are made, they are expected to come from the Czar, and not the Finance Minister. A TERRIBLE ballooning accident is repoited from Piedmont. An aeronaut named Charbonnet, who was married on Thursday, subsequently as- cended in a balloon with his bride, with the in- tention of making a wedding trip in this manner across the Aips. The pair were accompanied by another aeronaut to assist in the navigation of the balloon, and the start was made under favourable circumstances but in the evening, when in the vicinity of Ceres, north of Turin, something went wrong with the balloon. It descended to the earth with great velocity, and finally stuck the ground with terrific force. Charbonnet was killed on the spot, and his wife and the assistant were both seriously injured. IT is rather hard upon an excursionist who has taken a ticket foi Barnsley to be carried on to Mexborough, and there compelled to sleep, or rather endeavour in vain to sleep, in the railway station. Such was the fate of Mr. George Simmons, a retired publican, in common with several fellow- excursionists. Nor does the mishap seem to have been their fault; for it was proved that their car- riage had not pulled up at any platform,and more- over that the united efforts of the party were inadequate to open the door. Mr. Simmons has sued for damages in the Barnsley County Court, and has got a verdict ? but instead of tne £ 2 he claimed he has been awarded one shilling, which certainly seems inadequate. THE French Government has, through its representative at Berne, long supported the scheme for a Simplon tunnel to place France in more direct communication with Italy than either by the Mont Cenis or St. Gothard tunnels. The difficulties, a Paris correspondent says, have been rather military and politicai than technical, but it seems they are at length overcome, the Board of the Jura Railway having adopted the Simplon scheme with the approval of Colonel Runsli, the military delegate ot the Swiss Federal Council. The estimated cost is £2,160,000. The tunnel is to go through the mountain near its base. A single-guage tunnel will be first made and then a second one parallel to it. Should the scheme succeed trains will run under the Simplon in about seven hours. THE wisdom of the Bengal peasant cultivators finds expression in proverb, of which a collection has been made by a Balm in the Agricultural Department of that Province. His appreciation of the outwardly revered Brahmin betrays itself incidentally in the maxim, Rain and inundation disappear when south winds blow, like the Brahman as soon as he has received his fee." Other Bengal rural aphorisms are Have the land which receives the washings of the village, and the bullock which walks fast, and marry the girl whose mother is good." He who works in the field himself with the labourers gets the full protit; he who being unable to work himself supervises the working of the labourers, gets half the profit he who orders the labourers from his house does not get enough to eat." IT has frequently been observed that public benefactors often have no other reward than the consciousness of their good deeds. The inhabit- ants of the little town of Loschwitz, near Dresden, are determined that no reproach shall be levelled against them in a matter of this kind. Their burgomaster is a worthy man who has ruled over them with signal ability, and who in particular has succeeded during his tenure of office in con- structing a bridge over the Elbe at a place where several previous attempts to do so hm-1 fa,ilud. The Communal Council have assembled in solemn deliberation to consider what reward to offer to their distinguished fellow-citizen, and the upshot is that he has been officially informed that in re- cognition of his services he will be permitted to cross the bridge as'often as he likes without pay- ing the halfpenny toll. THE Hausa Association, which was founded some time since in memory of the late Rev. John Alfred Robinson, thewell-known Church Mission- ary in Western Africa, have issued a prospectus descriptive of the objects and methods of theAsso- ciation, which aims at continuing the work of Mr. Robinson, mainly by providing for a scholarly and scientific study of the Hausa language. Hausa has been described as the lingua franca" of the Central Soudan, extending from the Sahara to the Pagan tribes near the Gulf of Guinea, and from the Egyptian Soudan to the French colony of Sengal The greater portion of this region has lately been secured to British influence by treaties and international agreements. It is estimated that not less than fifteen millions of persons speak the Hausa tongue, and many of these can read and write it in a modified form of Arabic char- acter. ( HIXA appears to be pre-eminently one of those countries which cannot be recommended to the cyclist, for a tour. Mr. Frank Lenz, the American cyclist, who is on his way round the world, and who according to the latest mail advices, had ar- rived in Calcutta, has been giving a full account of his encounter with the infuriated mobs at Shashe where an attempt was made by Chinese lal»onrers with rakes and hoes to kill the "foreign devil." He escaped almost by a miracle, with only some bad bruises. Then there is the the nature of the country to be taken into account. It can hardly r ,¡id, in fact, that Mr. Lenz rode through China on a bicycle at all. Between Icbang and the Indian frontier he had to walk and have his machine carried, and this was the case in many other regions so that out of 2,884 miles of Chinese territory traversed, no less than 1,880 were covered on foot. Two famous Parisian prisons will shortly cease to exist. They are the Roquette, near Pere L;u "ai»e Cemetery, and the prison of Ste. Pelagie w 'i: :fs sorrowful souvenirs of the Reign of Terror. The Government intend to build a large prison in their stead, a littl e way out of town, at rresnes, on the Sceauv Railway. The ^Roquette prison is chiefly known as the place outside which the guillotine is erected whenever there is an exe- cution in Paris. It lie" as most visitors to the French i-ai)ital are aware, in a narrow street lead- ing to the Pere Lachaise Cemetery. It was there in the quadrangle, that the Archbishop of Paris and his brother hostages were shot by order of the Commune in 1771. Upon an iron grating on the door of the cell in which the Arch);ishopwas oon- iiucd for forty days before his murder, lie wrote in dmik the w(;rtis" n crnn, Ave! Spes unica." They are still legible. It was in Sainte Pelagie that the Ia*t batch of suspects during the Reign n? Terror heard the joyful news of the downfall of iiobespierre. There is a tradition that they first guessed how matters were going outside by hear. illg" a gaoler say X ow then Robespierre," as ho gave a samge kick to a dog.
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It is s':»t-?d on good authority that Mr. H. L. h M.P.. does not intend to seek re-elec- >r North Deny at the next general t-.tA-uutt. The magisterial decision by which a Lurgan Loyalist was fined 40s. for cheering Lord Salisbury has been reversed. The Duke of Devonshire has given a site valued at £ 6,000 for a new church at Eastbourne. He has also subscribed £5,000 towards the same object. A Renter's telegram from the Congo anncrnees the death from dysentery ot Captain Piedbceug, who was in temporary command at Stanley Falls. The late Miss Gordon has left to the British Museum various memorials of her brother General Gordon, including his diaries written at Kbar- toum. Captain Valentine Gumev, a survivor of the Balaclava charge, died on Thursday in a New York hospital. The Bishop of Bedford is still seriously ill, and h been prohibited by medical oiders from doing an) work for three months, fil.lie neighbourhood of Intersburg, in Germany, wolves have appeared in large numbers. Several farm proprietors have had their sheep destroyed. The Whiter examinations of candidates for admis- sion into tb* Society of Accountants and Auditors (Incorporate^ are announced to be held in London I and Manchester on December 4, 5, and 6. The Queen has forwarded through General Sir TI F. Ponsonbv, G.C.B., her annual subscription r\;to tV"s Arrrv avv Pensioners' Employ .tv. of wbieb Wk^fajesiy II patron.
NEWS IN BRIEF.
NEWS IN BRIEF. Madame Nordica has been engaged to sing at the Bayreuth Festival next year. Mr. Sam Woods, -II.P., is confined to bed, his indisposition having assumed a serious character. The Gardening and Forestry Exhibition at Earl's Court, was closed on Saturday night after a run of six months. On Saturday Mr. Joseph Leigh, M.P., laid the corner-stone of a Welsb church in Welling- ton Street, Stockport. During her season at the Royalty Theatre Miss Annie Rose intend- to bring out a new comedy by Mr. Paul Meritt, entitled Fairy Fingers." The Duke of Cciinaught has approved of the autumn race meeting of the Aldershot Division being held on the 23rd and 24th prox. The new church of the Sacred Heart, High Street, fiattersea, was consecrated on Saturday by the Roman Catholic nislJop of Southwark. St.rawberries have been gathered at A ddiscombe road station, Croydon, from plants which bore a good%crop in June. A new eye infirmary, which has been erected at a cost of £ 7,«X>0, was opened at Sunderland by the Marchioness of Londonderry. At the Harvest Festival service at-St. Saviour's Church, Preston a man named John Hindle sud- denly fell back in his seat and died almost in- stantly. Berty Grey, a driver in the Army Service Corps, Aid ershot, blew his brains out, owing, it is stated to his sweetheart rejecting his prooosai of mar- riage. The workshops of the Wagons-Lits Company at St. Denis were burned down on Sunday. No one was injured. The loss is estimated at 2,000,000 francs. Mr. Victor Stevens has secured from Sir Augustus Harris the sole rights of Venlis: and mtends to tour with the burlesque when occasion serves. The grocers of Poole and district have decided to abolish Christmas-boxes, and any grocer break- ing the agreement is to pay £(I to the local hospital. Mr. T. P. Lewis, M.P., for Anglesey, is still confined to his bed at Bangor suffering from extreme debility. Owing to his advanced age some anxiety is felt. Sir Augustus Harris has found time, amid his multifarious duties, to write the libretto for a new opera which is being composed by Mr. E. Bach. The period is that of Charles 1. The Lord Mayor has invited most of the leading composers md professors of music in London to a banquet in honour of music at the Mansion House, on the 6th of November. The death is announced at Penzance, in his forty-third year, of Mr. Frederick Richard Stokes, M.A., secretary to the Benevolent Society of St. Patrick. The Bishop of Peterborough has subscribed :CI,OW, and the Duke of Rutland £500, towards increasing the incomes of poor benefices in the Peterborough diocese. The company engaged for the season which Mr. Charles Hawtrey hopes to commence at the Tra- falgar Square, includes Miss Vane Featherstone, Miss G. Esmond, and Miss Larkin, Mr. W. F. Hawtrey, and Mr. Arthur Playfair. The Duke of Cambridge has selected Lieuten- ant-Colonel G. A. W. Forrest, formerly of the Hampshire Regiment, for the post of Commandant of the Duke of York's School, to succeed Lieuten- ant-Cclonel J. N. Fitzgerald, decased. Mr. Wharton, M.P., charging the grandJpry at Durham Quarter Sessions, commented on the number of indecent cases. They were, he said, a disgrace to the county, and the law needed strengthening as regards this class of crime. An important consignment of hackneys has just been purchased from Mr. Bnrdett-Coutts's wrell-known Brookfield Stud, for Hungary, con- sisting of fourteen pedigree mares and a hackney stallion, at a total cost of £ 5,000. The Strand Theatre was reopened a few days ago by Mr. Edouin with the long-expected new adaptation entitled "The Lady Killer," together with the new Musical Absurdity" called Binks, the Downy Photographer." In consequence of the "command" perform- ance of Diplomacy," to be given on the 26th inst. at Balmoral, Mr. Efare has to delay for a few days his reopening of the Garrick. This is now ar- ranged however, for the 30th inst. At Thirsk, a few days ago, Thomas Tweedy, brewer was ordered to pay S24 Is. for falsely label- ing as Guinness's extra stout some of that article which he had adulterated with water to the ex. tent of about eight gallons in thirty-six. The monastic buildings at Wye, Kent are to be adapted, at a cost of about E4,300 to the purpose of a southestearn agricultural college, themainten- ance of which has been undertaken by the county councils of Kent amI Surrey. Mr. Goodier, a native of Manchester, who re- cently died from cholera at St. Petersburg, was superintending work at a cotton mill, having been in that city nine months, and that he died a few hours after being admitted into the hospi- tal. The Rev. Henry Venn, late vicar of St. Mic- hael's, Sittingbourne, has declined the offer of the vicarage of Minster, in Thanet, in favcur of that of Walmer. The living at Minster, the value of which is set at £ 700 a year, h as now been vacant some months. Miss Nadage Doree, a young American actress who distinguished herself in Mrs. Langtry's com- pany at the St. James's has taken the Opera Com- lque for a season, and will re-open it early in Nov- ber with a new comedy of the class now styled somewhat enigmatically as Society." The Church in British North America has created the Sees of Rupert's Land and Ontario into archbishoprics, and Dr. Mackay (a Scotch- man), Lhe Bishop of Rupeit's Land, is to be Primate of All Canada. Dr. Lewis (an Irishman), the Bishop of Ontario, married Miss Leigh, the founder of the Gill's Homes in Paris. The latest disinfectant is common soot. It is said to be a great germ killer, to absorb foul gases, and to be a preventive of cholera. It is superior to charcoal, as it contains some of the unOxydised hydro-carbons formed in the smoke trom burning coal, and among them creosote, which is the great germ destroyer. The police captured 1,625 stray dogs in the streets of London during last month. Of this number 1,222 were conveyed to the home at Battersea, whilst 104 dogs were restored to tlieii owners. During the above period 123 persons, in- eluding 5 policemen, were bitten by dogs, and 14 dogs were killed, 1 of which was found to be suffering from rabies. The Earl of Leicester has presented £ 2,000 to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, in addition to a previous endowment of £15,000. Mr. W. Waring, of Tayerham Hall Norfolk, has trans- ferred to the hospital £ 1,000 of railway stock. The hospital has become a reversionary legatee to the extent of £1,000 under the will of the Rev. W. F. Thursby, deceased. A horrible discovery has been made at Anger- bnrg in the course of some excavations which are being carried on beneath a church there. The workmen came across a small walled in space in which they found a human skeleton, a broken chair, ana the remains of a helmet and a pair of boots. The walls bore marks as of finger-nail scratches, and there was only too much evidence that some person had been walled in alive. During the performance the other evening at Bootle of W ombwell's Menagerie, Mr. John Singleton, manager of the Salisbury Hotel, enteroo the lion's cage for a wager. While in the cage he opened a bottle of champagne and smoked a cigar. He was loudly cheered, and on emerging from the cage was handed the amount of the stakes (1:541) by Mr. Lewis, manager of the menagerie. The Public Health Committee of the London County Council have decided to recommend the purchase from the Government of 10 acres of the rear portion of the Millbank Prison site, at the sum of £ 2,500 per acre, for the purpose of erecting thereon artisans dweltings. About three-quarters of an acre is proposed to be set apart fcr an open space, and the Council's architect has submitted a plan as to the disposition of the buildings, show- ing accommodation for 3,700 persons in five-storey blocks. A vehicle, while passing a level crossing at Bruchl, near Bonn, was run into by a passenger train from Cologne, and three of the occupants were killed, and two others injured. At Mold, Flintshire, Joseph and William Jubb, father and son, iron merchants, Sheffield, were committed for trial, charged with conspiring to defraud the Sandicroft Foundry and Engineering Company of £ 65. The extraordinary outbreak of diphtheria at Festiniog still causes considerable alarm, and all the schools in the town are closed for a fortnight, to prevent as far as possible a further spread of the disease among the scholars. Herr Barnay, .the well-known German actor who is proprietor of the Berliner Theartre in the German capital is suffering from a severe attack of sciatica, and has gone to Wiesbaden for a few weeks. Miss Maud Stanley, of Mr. Arthur Roberts com- pany, has been engaged by Captain Wombwell for a long provincial tour at Christmas. As a contralto vocalist this lady is a pupil of Signor Odoardo Barri. The Rev. J. Holmes, vicar of Swineshead, Lincolnshire, has been appointed a cannon of I Lincoln Cathedral. This is the first time there has been a resident canon in the parish of Swineshead.11 since the Reformation. u" ;■
CUTTINGS FROM BOOKS.]
CUTTINGS FROM BOOKS. A TLME WOLF.-A lady near geneva had a tame wif, which seemed to have as much attach- ment tl its mistress as a spaniel. She had occa- sion to leave home for some weeks. The wolf evinced the greatest distress after her departure, and at first refused to take food. During the whole ;ime she was absent he remained much dejecte On her return, as soon as the animal heard hr footsteps, he bounded into the room in an ecstsy of delight; springing up, he placed one paw oiLeach. of her shoulders; but the next mo- ment htfell backward, and instantly expired. STEAJNG A KING'S TREASURY. In the early priod of our history, it was customary for the kings of England to keep the treasury within the- precincts of the Abbey of West- minster In 1303, during the absence of Edward the First in Scotland, the door of the apartmett in which the treasure was kept was found t( have been forcibly entered, the chests and cofers broken open, and treasure to the amount, it was computed, of a hundred thou- sand pomds was found to have been abstracted. Suspicioi at first fell on the ecclesiastic estab- lishment and the abbot, forty-eight monks and thirty-tvo other persons connected with the abbey, were arrsted by order of the king, and sent to the Towff. They were subsequently tried by the king's jutices and acquitted. The real perpetra- tors of th daring robbery were never discovered. AN OJLICING AUTHOR.—The following is an incident n the late Anthony Trollope's life. He was in -he small coffee-room of a wayside inn, warming his back at the fire after the manner of EnglishnEU. Two youths of the true novel-read- ing age vere seated at an adjacent table discussing mutton-ciops, but still more eagerly discussing the merit) of Trollope's novels of the Barsetshire period. Their summing-up was decidedly favour- able and aulogistic, save on one point. They both agreed ir declaring themselves heartily sick and tired of "that eternal Mrs. Proudie." At this juncture, with a gesture of his arm, Trollope interrupd by saying, "Gentlemen, I happen to be the aithor of those novels, and I have over- heard all you have said and now I'll tell you what I'll do—I'll go home and kill Mrs. Proudie I" And he vas as good as his word, for, in the very next number of The last Chronicles of Barset, she died suddenly of a fit of apoplexy. SPANISH ETIQLETTF. -Philip 111. was gravely Beated b) the fireside. The fire-makers of the court hac kindled such a vast quantity of wood that the monarch was nearly suffocated by the heat, an< his grandeur would not suffer him to rise rom his chair; the domestics could not pre- sume to alter the apartment, because it was against the etiqtte. At last the Marquis de Portal ap- peared, aid the king ordered him to damp the fire but he excused himself, alleging that he was forbdden by etiquette to perform such a function for which the Duke de Nosula ought to be called upon, as it was his business. The Duke was out. The fire burned more fiercely, and the king encored it rather than derogate from his dignity. But his blood was heated to such a degree tlat erysipelas of the head appeared the next dav which, succeeded by a violent fever, carried lim off in 1621 in the twenty-fourth year of his agl The palace was on fire a soldier who knew tliit the king's sister was in her apart- ment, aid must inevitably be consumed in a few momentsby the flames, at the risk of his life rushed in and b'ought out her highness safely in his arms; bit the Spanish etiquette was here Wofully broken iito The loyal soldier was brought to trial, and as it was impossible to deny that he had altered the royal apartment, the judges condemned him to death The Spanish princess, in consideration of the circumstance, condescended to pardot the soldier, and very benevolently saved his life. "Los1 LOVELIESS." "Lost Loveliness" is the title sf a picture in connection with which a very pretty story is told. It was painted by an English srtist, and is the portrait of a very beauti- ful lady well known in fashionable circles, whom the painter presents in the following remarkable manuer She stands looking at her reflection in the mirror. Her own face and figure are an accu- rate representation of her very striking beauty. Perfect features, wonderful eyes, and hair, and complexion, shoulders and bust of rare and matchless loveliness. But in the glass all this beauty is reflected as though years had passed over it and dulled the eyes, lined and withered the features, and whitened the hair. The sad face retains, however, a remarkable spiritual loveli- ness. Hearing of the picture, though its exist- ence was meant to be a secret, the lady in question sought the artist's studio, and finally succeeded in seeing "Lost Loveliness." Tears filled her eyes and streamed down her cheeks, but she held out her hand to the artist and said: "May I be like that, indeed! You have painted a soul." And' she purchased the picture at a high price, and, it is said, spends hours in gazing at it. LOVE-MAKISG IN MAJORCA. I have seen a faithful swain brimming over with fond emotion, >»alf-oueu shutter above a florious bit of trellis-work; tall, straignt, Ills ands clasped, his hair thrown back in poetical impassioned ecstasy. In passing, the shutter has been gontly but cruelly closed, so that the fair and frail oie behind is hidden. Not for me is a view of her sparkling eyes and glowing cheeks. At sound of my retreating footsteps the shutter has be-n gently opened again. How do I know ? Why, I have basely looked back. And perhaps I have'basely wished that I But no; I have wishes nothing but constancy to the vows; of this Homeo and Juliet, with whom I have no concern. This has been at ten o'clock, and at two in the morning I have again come upon the same scene with a slight difference of attitude. The actors are the same. Four hours of rapture and rhapsody four hours of devotion and four hours of paradise. Romeo is now upon his knees, making his last fond protest of eternal fidelity, promising to be there the next night at the same hour. His attitude may be somewhat ridiculous, but it is romantic. In the last moment of agonised parting they are absorbed in each other, and neither tear my footsteps nor see my shadow on the wall. I might be a ghost, and as I pass I have a full viev of Juliet. Truely she is lovely, with raven hair and glowing features, and large, dark flashing eyes. My night's rest will be dis- turbed. Who would not fall in love with her ? Who woild Hot envy that Romeo ? If I were a eouthernjr I should stab him dead and take his place. Being a northerner I only feel that I should Ike to do it. I don't do it.—Argosy. A CUhous DKEAM.—It is said that Professor Agassiz lad been for two weeks trying to decipher the som«what obscure impression of a fossil fish on the stone slab in which it was preserved. Weary md perplexed, he put his work aside at last, aid tried to dismiss it from his mind. Shortly \fter, he woke one night persuaded that while aslsep he had seen his fish with all its miss- ing features perfectly restored. But when he tried tohold and make fast the image it escaped him. levertheless, he went early to the Jardin des Plaltes, thinking that on looking anew at the impession he should see something which would pit him on the track of his vision. In vain-t4 blurred record was as blank as ever. The nestnight he saw the nsh again, but with no more satisfactory result. When he awoke it dis. appeared from his memory as before. Hoping that the sanu experience might be repeated, on the third iaight he placed a pencil and paper beside his bed before going to sleep. Accordingly, towards Horning the fish re-appeared in his dream confusedy at first, but at last with such distinct- ness that he had no longer any doubt as to its zoological character. Still half dreaming, in perfect tarkness, he traced these characters on the sheelof paper at the bedside. In the morning he was mrprised to see in his nocturnal sketch features vhich he thought it impossible the fossil itself should reveal. He hastened to the Jardin des Pla»es, and, with his drawing as a guide, succeeded in chiselling away the surface of the stone, unler which portions of the fish proved to be hiddei. When wholly exposed it corresponded with hisdream and his drawing, and he succeeded in classing it with ease.
UNANSWERABLE.
UNANSWERABLE. The following was overheard in a north-country school :— Irate schoolmaster (to schoolboy playing the fool) Jones, stop playing at once. Why will ou be such a baby ? Jones I am very sorry, sir. It is not my [anlt. I was born one you know."
SHE PASSED.
SHE PASSED. What did Noah live on when the flood had subsided and his provisions in the ark were ex- hausted ?" asked a Sunday-school teacher of the lass one Sunday. I know, squeaked a little girl, after all the others had given it up. Well, what?" inquired the teacher. Dry land, said the child wisely, and the, inswer passed.
A GOOD REASON
A GOOD REASON When the Welsh Land Commission was taking ividence at Swansea the other day. one of the wit- aesses was asked if the Ground game Act was any good in his district." No good at all," was the reply Dc the farmers refuse to avail themselves of It? No it isn't that." Are not the provisions stringent enough ?" No it isn't that either." Well, what is it then ? There's no game there."
- BEGGING TO BE EXCUSED.
BEGGING TO BE EXCUSED. They were having a spelling lesson in school, and the little scholars were all arranged in front of the teacher, spelling away for dear life, trying to see how near they could get to the head. The word chimney was given out to a little black-eved girl, who had been spelling words correctly throughout the morning, but she missed this one by inadvertently leaving out the H h." Quick as a wink, the little boy next her pounced on the word, and spelt it correctly. "You may go up one, Johnnie," said the teacher. I don't want to," whined Johnnie, getting ready to cry. My mother would whip me if I did, because I'd get all over soot." t,
THE TENDER PASSION.
THE TENDER PASSION. A funny story is going the rounds of the Parisian clubs anent two French noblemen and a favourite singer. The Frenchmen were suitors of the lady, and both seemed to be equally esteemed by her. Mdlle. B--glories in the possession of auburn ringlets. Her admirers each begged a tress of her hair in exchange for a lock of his own, to which the charming creature readily assented. Without touching a single hair of her head, the singer cunningly managed to effect a change of parcels by which each gentleman received a curl of his rival's capillaries. The count now wears the baron's hair next his heart, and the baron sleeps with the count's lock under his pillow.
HE DIDN'T TAKE IN THE SITUATION.
HE DIDN'T TAKE IN THE SITUATION. Two Highlanders were visiting an English church for the first time. < They had not been long seated when the organist began to play a lively voluntary. This was some- thing quite novel in their church experience, and they listened with open-mouthed astonishment. One of them was shortly roused from his blissful reverie by a gentle tap on the shoulder. Turning round, he saw a handsome lady (the owner of the pew) who smiled very graciously upon him and wished, of course, to be allowed to pass, to her seat. He did not, however, take in the situation, but at once whispered to her Na, na, mem, tak me mate here he will be a better dancer than me."
AN UNEXPECTED RESPONSE.
AN UNEXPECTED RESPONSE. Dr. Douglas was once astounded at the sudden and somewhat remarkable effect a sermon of his on economy had on an old lady who was a member of his congregation. A few days afterwards the old woman stopped the doctor on the street, and said, "Doctor, that sermon of yours on the subject of economy was the TWMrTXlv. i j duty of being economical, and I concluded to prac- tise as well as believe in your advice." I am glad to hear that you are pleas4 What have you done, if I may inquire ?" I have reduced my donation to the church from f5 to £2." The best part of the story is that the old lady was really in earnest, and thought she was simply doing her duty.
AN EIGHT-HOURS DAY ARGUMENT.
AN EIGHT-HOURS DAY ARGUMENT. Many working men who live at a distance from their employment are compelled to leave their homes very early in the morning, and as they rarely get back again until late at night, they scarcely ever see their children. A man of this sort was hurrying"aivay to work the other morning soon after six o'clock, when he found his little boy, who had arisen before him, playing outside the front door. The father told the child to go in but the youngster refused, whereupon the man boxed his ears and proceeded to his work. The child naturally ran indoors howling. He met his mother on the stairs. What's the matter ? inquired the good lady. Man hit me," blubbered the youngster. What man ? The one that stays here on Sundays."
'TWERE ONLY DRIPPIN'!
'TWERE ONLY DRIPPIN'! The vicar of a parish not many miles from a well-known fashionable town, was recently preach- ing a charity sermon, and in the course of hie remarks he rebuked some of his parishioners, who, he thought, simulated distress for the sake of ob- taining assistance they did not really require. As an illustration of this weakness, he men- tioned that during one of his pastoral visits he entered the cottage of one of the supposed delinquents, where he found everything neat and clean, and what was more, a large plateful of buttered toast before the fire. "Yes," he repeated emphatically, "buttered toast; and did that," he asked, look like want ?" In the brief pause that followed this outburst of energy, a voice indignantly responded No, 'tweren't nutter neither; 'twere only drippin' The effect of this correction upon pastor and flock was simply indescribable.
- .A HINT TO MALE READERS.
A HINT TO MALE READERS. Finding it impossible to see the stage while the lady in front of him wore her large hat, Jones, in his most insinuating manner, asked her to remove it. 0 Take off my hat she exclaimcd why, what impudence Of course I won't take off my hat." Very well, madam," said the man I beg your pardon for asking the favour, but I rather think you will." f When the curtain rose on the eecond set the ownei of the beribboned and heavily-trimmed structure heard hoarse cries, such as Take it off, you chump!" "Remove that bat there!" Take it off take it off." It is quite needless to say that the bat immedi- ately landed in the lady's lap. The gentleman leaned towards her, thanking her profusely; and the poor, imposed-npon woman probably never found out that the man had put on his own silk hat, and that all the horrifying yells were aimed at him
SARDINES.
SARDINES. There's no humbug about these sardines," said Brown, as he helped himself bo a third plabeful from a newly-opened box they are the genuine article, and came all the way from the Mediterranean." "Yes," replied his econo- mical wife, "and if you will only control your appetite they will go a great deal farther."— Brown did nob ask for any more."
PREPARING FOR A HOLIDAY.
PREPARING FOR A HOLIDAY. "Going away this summer?" he asked as they met on the Campus Martius for a moment). Well, I've made a tttirt towards ib." Selected the place ?" No; borrowed twenty pounds ab ten pet colob I Now then, Jane," said an author to his see- vant, what are you burning off my table, there?" Ie Only the paper what's written all over, air I ain't touched the clean." Sam," said a lady to a milk-boy, 14 I gaeea from the look of your mitk. that your mother pat dirty water in it." "No, she didn't," re- iplied the boy for I eeed her draw II clean Out of the well 'fore she imb ib in."
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FAILIKO MfTBOtrtiAS POWEB.—Quibeine and Iroa Must&ina. injcroasoe. develops strength* Pepper's- Quinine and bontihe beet <
Advertising
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--------CONFESSION OF MURDER.
CONFESSION OF MURDER. Joseph Evans was charged at Liverpool on Mon- day with having, according to his own confession, murdered Charles Boyle, a shipmate, at New Orleans, five years ago. The two men quarrelled while on a vessel, and the accused (so he states) threw Boyle overboard. Police inquiries have led to the discovery that Boyle was missed, and that his body was afterwards found in the river at New Orleans and buried. Evans was remanded
--JABEZ BALFOUR.
JABEZ BALFOUR. At Oxford on Saturday Mr. George W. Wreford, of Old Bond Street, London, was summoned, as the official receiver in the bankruptcy of Jabez Balfour, for the poor rates on the property owned by Jabez Balfour, at Burcote. Mr. Wreford at the previous hearing disputed his liability, but now admitted it, and an order was made for the rates and costs. Mr. William Whitehorn, the owner of The Croft, at Burcote, which was occu- pied by Jabez Balfour, was summoned for the poor rate on that property, and disputed his liability on the ground that it had been unoccupied. The magistrates considered the occupation proved, and made an order for the rate and costs.
"-DISCOVERY OF ANCIENT COINS.
DISCOVERY OF ANCIENT COINS. While one of the ploughmen employed by Mr. Towus, Kinghornie, was working in a field known as the Chapel Field, near Bervie, he uncovered an earthenware pot of urn containing a great number of silver coins-about 500—in splendid preservation, the bulk of them consisting of Edward II., and probably some of Edward Ill., the remainder being those of Alexander III. of Scotland. The various coins of Edward have been struck in London, and from at least seven different dies. The most of the London-minted coins ap- pear scarcely ever to have been in circulation, as the edges of the coins are sharply turned up. There are some other coins from other mints—viz., Dublin and Waterford, and also Bristol. These have the head of Edward in a triangle on the reverse. These coins are considerably worn, although in good preservation. The coins ot Alexander are in nearly as good preservation as those of Edward, and, like them, have been struck from two or three dies, but are of much better workmanship. The Scottish coins must have been struck some time between 1250 and 1279. The jar containing the coins was found in stiff red clay at a depth of about eight or nine inches below the surface, and had been deposited near the chapel, which was erected by David 11, in commemoration of his landing from La Rochelle at a cove near where the chapel stood, along with his English Queen, on the 4th June, 1342. The King crea^ Bervie a royal burgh on the night of his arriva*
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= :>u rojt AN IDOL.— Among the important objects forming part of a collection o» Burmese, Indian, and Japanese eltrios sold u1 auction recently, was an Indian ldol of som* value and celebrity, stated to be representative of a deity to whom Hindoo wojne1 paypeculial worship, and known acf the ong,lnal "Lingbain » d god," to whose shrine at ^hi thousands oj "j Hindoos of every rank jour^d yearly from ali parts of India to pay thai' devotion, for a period J covering about 1,000 ^&til about the yea n 1193, when the Moham'f?^! conqueror Kutb-ud-J& din, having wrested lPlDl bom the HimW W. destroyed the twe^ Seven Hind<^ The relic consist of a solid gold, around which wØre placed nine geuis ruby, sapphire cWysberyl, coral, peart* cinthine garP" yellow sapphire, and Si Round the apex Was a plinth set with dial and on it tOPax shaped like an horseshoe centre of whicfi was an enormous cat's-eye s Cu-< ing uP t. The idol, which is two a11d-. quarter belies high, was knocked down to do or for £ 2,450. It is said to have been secreted b1 the consort of Bad Shah Bahador Shah, the last king of Delhi, when that monarch was • exiled to the Andaman Islands. Strictly speak- ing, and assuming to be genuine, it was nothing Blore than a charm or symbol. The Linga wor- j ship is one of the most popular of the rites o1.t the Sivas, and the Siva Purana names twelvc- Lingas, but there is no Lingam God. Still ther< seems to be no reason to doubt its antiquity, aiid in the chequered annals of gems there aTe prob-1 ably few more curious stories* not even thoa* 4 which surround the Koh-i-noor and the Orlof L diamond of the Russian Imperial sceptre. PICKING UP LIVE RATS. —- An Americaz. £ j recently backed himself to pick up and pidce i^il an empty barrel one hundred live rats in an hoaiv | In an 8 feet square pit, surrounded by a 4 fte|. high fence, he essayed the task, got well oittert^, and lost his wager, though he made a gallaa# attempt to win it. He got eighty iuto the jj barrel, but gave up the job when he found t he had only got seven minutes wherein to c the remaining twe¡a.hr ft"??™' anuM
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God retches us good things by our hands. By holding a very little misery quite close to our eyes we entirely lose sight of a great deal of comfort hyond, which might be taken. If yot cannot be happy in one way, be so in another This facility of disposition wants but little ad from philosophy, for health and good humoui are almost the whole affair. There is a proposal to break up the Bath Wesleytn district and absorb its circuits in the neighbouring districts. The greater part would go to Bristol district; but the Weym«uth, Dor- chester. Blandford, and one or two other circuits are likely to be united to Portsmouth district. London dramatic critics often complain that more than one first night" is fixed for the same evening. In Sydney no fewer than five first per- formaices were lately given at the different theatre in the city on the same evening, Saturday, 2nd of September. Pubic holidays are observed for curious reasons in some of the Australian colonies. For instance, in Adelaide September 1st was made a public holiday in recognition of the anniversary of the birth )f the Duke of Edinburgh and of the eight hours )rinciple. Mr. Woolner's marble bust of Lord Tennyson has teen presented by its owner, Mr. Charles Jenner, of Easter Duddingston Lodge, near Edin. burgh, to the poet's family, and is shortly to be placed in Westminster Abbey as a memorial. It represents Lord Tennyson as he was at the age of forty-eight In theLothians, in fields where oats, just before being cut, happened to be to any considerable ex. tent shaken bv the wind, there is now a second crop «{jEQm three to four inches long. This is a very rase thing in Scotland, and is a remarkable proof at the Hold-fashioned" character of the eeacoo,
NO DIFFICULTY THEN.
NO DIFFICULTY THEN. A minister in the north of Scotland, who was never too ready in paying his debts, but very fond )f a joke, meeting a fool he was in the habit of teasing, asked him how the potatoes were selling in the moon just now. Oh, very cheap, and plenty of them," replied ;he~fool. But don't you think," said the minister, that :here might be a difficulty in getting them down ?" Nae fear o' that," answered the fool. Send ap the money, and they'll soon send them down."
FATAL SCRATCH WITH A RUSTY…
FATAL SCRATCH WITH A RUSTY NAIL. An inquest was held at Southport a few days afto relative to the death of Peter Quinn (o'j), labourer, who died at Southport Infirmary on Saturday from the effects of blc £ d-poisoniri.r.J On Saturday week the deceased, while chopping fire- wood at the Imperial Hotel, slightly scratched his thumb with a rusty nail. Next day the hand commenced to swell, and the unfavourable symptoms increased until death supervened. A verdict of Accidental death was returned.
DOCKYARD WORKMEN
DOCKYARD WORKMEN It is satisfactory to find that the alarming rumours circulated in Chatham which had the appearance of authenticity, as to the discharge during the approaching winter, of several hundreds of the dockyard workmen are devoid of founda- tion, and that only a very small number, if, in- deed, any, will have to be discharged. The rumour appeared to have originated from the comparative slackness of work in the dockyard consequent on the completion- of the Howe and other vessels. As, however, a large ironclad ship, the Majestic, is to be commenced in Chatham Dockyard, there is every reason for anticipating that there will be ample work for the whole of the hands in that establishment.
I KILLED AT A WEDDING PARTY.
KILLED AT A WEDDING PARTY. A muynreiia (Cuuniy All mm; currespunaeni; telegraphs that a fatal accident occurred during some wedding festivities at Mount Hamilton, near Clough. The wedding party were leaving for church, and a large crowd had assembled, some carrying firearms, with which to fire a sort of fel de joie. A farmer named Taylor, residing at Bally wenny, was in the act of preparing a revolver to join in the shooting, when it appears the revolver accidentally went off, and shot his nephew Francis McCarroll, who, as one of the spectators of the event, was standing in the avenue of his mother's house. Y oun McCarroll bled profusely, and died ten minutes later, before Dr. Wallace Lavin, who had been hastily summoned, could arrive. Taylor was arrested, and remains in custody.
ROBBERY OF BONDS.
ROBBERY OF BONDS. Orlando Banyard aged 19 years was tried at the Canterbury Quarter Sessions a few days ago on a charge of perpretrating a robbery of bonds and valuables during the visit of Sanger's Circus to Canterbury recently. The prisoner was servant to Mr. Sanger, and it was alleged that his employer found him tampering with the lock of a box con- taining jewellery and a large quantity of railway stock certificates. He was discharged, but it was discovered some days later that the alleged theft had taken place, and Banyard was arrested at Birmingham, where he applied for an advance of £ 100 upon some of the scrip. Property valued at £ 1,500 was recovered. The Recorder, in passing sentence, observed that as Banyard's position was one of trust the case was a serious one. As it ap- peared to have been his first offence the sentence would be one of five months' hard labour.
-----ATTEMPTED WIFE MURDER.
ATTEMPTED WIFE MURDER. Martin King, collier, of Haydock, near St. Helens, was remanded on Monday on a charge of attempted wife murder. The prisoner ana his wife were walking home from Earlstown late at night, and on reaching a lonely part of the road King, it was alleged pushed his wife over a wire ience into a field, ana despite a desperate struggle dragged her towards a ditch sonm. yards away. He drew a large dagger knife from his pocket and plunged it into her neck, just below her right ear. The woman's cries attracted some men who were passing, and the husband decamped, leaving his wife lying in the ditch. The doctors found the woman in an extremely critical condition. The police, who scoured the district during the night, apprehended King on Sunday. The victim is in a dangerous condition. The crime is attributed to jealousy.
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At Bromley, Kent, James Arthur plater, headmaster of Foot's Cray National School, was fined 33s 6d, for excessively beating a scholar aged 12 years who had disobeyed him. A man apparently about 35 years of age, thin and well dressed, cut his throat in the lavatory at the King's-cross Great Northern station with such determination that he died very soon after- wards. Green peas have been gathered from several gardens in East Kent. The seeds were sown in the spring, bet owinltl" the drought there was a failure of the crop, since the rains, however, the pods have developed.
rIlE GHOST OF H.UILET'S FATHER.,
rIlE GHOST OF H.UILET'S FATHER. Kemble, in the zenith of his fame, played Hanv let at Newcastle, when Bensley, who was the leading actor of that company, had the honoiu to be cast the Ghost. Rouble's high popularity made him of course a vast bugbear in a country theatre, and Bensley was much annoyed at hav- ing to second the greatness of such an artist, i- Accordingly he studied the part of the Ghost, having got but short notice, in great tribulation, if; almost up to the hoar of performance amazingly f tormented by an apprehension that the ft "a I would in some way or other injure his reputa- tion. When the time came for dressing Bensley's fears were not abated. He put on the Ghost's leather armour, which fitted him hor- ribly swearing by turns at the Ghost, the ] armour, and the manager and all the while, at intervals, repeating fragments from his part as to his accuracy even in the text of wh^alrtw was by no means entirely satisfied- At length the curtain rang up, and it occurred to liensiey that a modern draught, taken i. time, might give him firmness and thereupon—still repeat* ing his part at intervals —he summoned the call- | boy to his aid. "Boy" (calling*, "mark me (repeaHn if ever thou didsfc thy uear father love (this was out of the character.) "I am not in the habit of taking strong liquors on nights when I perform but, prithee, go to the public- house at next door and get. me a glass of brandy and water." When the brandy and water came, the first scene of the play being going on all this while, Bensley, who had still the book in his hand studying, drank it ofl at a single draught but as he set the empty glass down, to his surprise, and rather indignation, he perceived a strong red sediment lying at the bottom of it. Bensley was not a man to be trifled with. He imme- I diately sent the glass back to the Crown, from whence it came, desiring moreover to know what the landlord meant by otfering him so filthy a potation. Within the next minute he was called to go upon the stage and, still grumbling about the liquor and the character, he walked down stairs, and made his entry as the buried Majesty of Denmark; bat no sooner had John Kemble, < with Angels and Ministers of grace defend us started on one side, than his eye caught the landlady of The Crown in the wings on the other, wringing her hands, and throwing her per- son inti dreadful distortions, and calling on him for heaven's sake o come off. Bensley made op his mind that the woman, as well as all the rest of the world, was frantic, and went on with his part as well as he could, it being in that scene only dumb show, beckoning and signing to Hamlet very solemly with his truncheon, and Poking i cannon-balls the other, was. at the wba e.a-jo vu^iierous" as to be heard almost at the ack of the gallery. At length the time of exit came. What tne-, madam, is the matter with you 9 x i" The matter !— Oh, Mr. Bensley Oh, for- give me-on my knees- miserable sinner that I am 1 11 Why, what in the name of the fiend ails the j woman?—get up." j "The glass—the brandy and water—the glass —red arsenic—oh, sir, you are poisoned Poisoned » Oh, yes oh, forgive me! My eldest daughter set the glass on the shelf, with red arsenic for the rats I mixed it in the dusk- there was no candle-oh, on my knees As the written part dropped from Bensley'* hand the scene had shifted, and Kemble added himself to the party. Come Bensley the stage is waiting." ;i "Sir, I can't help that; I'm poisoned." Oh, poisoned Nonsense !—the people, my dear sir, are hissing in the pit. "Sir, I—what can I dot—I tell you I'm poisoned—I'm in the agonies of death." Well, but my dear Mr. Bensley, if you are i poisoned, you can play this one scene. What g are we to do ? I And in the end Mr. nemDie, who did not know M well what it all meant, absolutely hurried Bensley on the stage, and they began the scene together, Bensley playing the Ghost under the full conviction that in five minutes he should be a ghost in earnest. The play, uu&r these auspicious circumstances, proceeded — Ham. Whither wilt thou lead me ? Speak, IT go no farther T v i Ghost. Mark me (aside) 1 beueve I aba'n't r. be able to go much farther; J Ham. Alas, poor Ghost ? • if Ghost.. I am thy father's spirit, (aside) ,0h» that horrible brandy and water I am dying. Ham. (aside) Nonsense—stay a little you'IJ descend directly. Ghost. (aside) 1 can't go on Ham. (aside) Then you had better go Off- I'll apologize. Mr. Kemble then came forward and told the house that Mr. Bensley was suddenly indisposed. In the meantime a surgeon was sent ror, who amined the poisonous glass, and declanyi—••Jfafc whatever it contained, it was iun<M:r arSeJllJ. In the end the call-boy was again jitoflaced, it turned out that the peccant vessel -VAs apt the landlady's of The Crown at all, but that the messenger had himself carried a *°r the brandy and water with him from the theatre, f and had moreover accidentally taken that whicB contained the rose-pink mixed to make "blood' £ the murderers in the ensuing pantomime. s — = k