The Brecon Reporter and South Wales General Advertiser

POLITICAL GOSSIP. MR. O'HAGAN has become an Irish judge; Mr. Lawson succeeds him as Attorney-General. THE Papal Court has taken vengeance on Cardinal d'Andrea by stopping his pay. When his deputy made the usual quarter-day's application he was told that the Cardinal must come to get his money himself. IT is asserted that the Emperor is studying hard at the relations between the Church and the French Government, and that his address in a few days will contain the result, in a rather forcible way, of his investigations. £ A CONGRATULATORY address was last week pre- sented, through Mr. Eastman, the American consul of Bristol, to Mr. Abraham Lincoln, on his re-election as President of the United States. The address ema- nated from the Bristol Emancipation Society, and its framers declare that resolutions in accordance with its tenour have been on several occasions adopted by large majority of votes by Bristol citizens in public meeting assembled.. THE special correspondent of the Telegraph thus writes from Dublin:—You are are already aware that in Cork Dr. Lyons has definitively and positively re- signed, and that Mr. N. D. Murphy is up on the Liberal side. His address, however, is not thought satisfactory by some of the Liberal party, and a re- quisition is in course of signature to John F. Maguire, M.P., to transfer himself from Dungarvan to Cork. The feeling of the constituency is said to be strongly in Mr. Maguire's favour, and a popular subscription has been set on foot to defray expenses in the event of his coming forward. THE appointment of Serjeant Sullivan as Irish Solicitor General is announced, and Sir Colman O'Loghlen, M.P., who was first spoken of for that offioe, is to be made a serjeant-at-law. The fact of Sir Colman being in Parliament has, it is added, pre- vented his becoming law adviser to the Castle; and it is annoanced that that post, formerly filled by Ser- jeant Sullivan, will be assigned to Mr. Barry, Q.C. All the papers are speaking in the highest terms of the new judge, Mr. O'Hagan. THE Liberal electors of the borough of Woodstock have the greatest confidence in the return of their re- presentative, Mr. Mitchell Henry, the gentleman who offers himself to oppose the interests of the Duke of Marlborough, who will support Mr. Barnett, of Glympton-park, in the room of Lord Alfred Churchill, the sitting member. The residents of the town of Weodstock and Kidlington are almost unanimously in favour of Mr. Henry, but the borough comprises a large number of surrounding villages, where the duke's influence, if called to bear upon the election, would be very considerable. THE Mayor of Salford has received the following letter from Mr. Massey, M.P.:—" I think it right to give you the earliest information that I have accepted the appointment of financial member of the Council of India, and, consequently, that my seat in Parliament is at the disposal of my constituents, Although you have been my political opponent, your opposition has been so entirely free from personal unkindness, that I hope I may be permitted to consider you as one of my private friends." The announcement of Mr. Massey's retirement from the representation of Salford has been followed by immediate steps with a, view to the elec- tion of his successor. A meeting.of gentlemen con- nected with the Liberal party has been held. Several names were mentioned, among others that of Mr. Benjamin Armitage, who, it is believed, would meet with very general support If he could be induced to come forward as a candidate. A REQUISITION to Captain the Hon. F. A. Stanley, son of the Earl of Derby, asking him to become a can- didate for the borough at the next election, and signed, by 1,522 of the electors of Preston, about two-thirds of the entire number of voters, was taken to Knowsley, the seat of Earl Derby, on Thursday, when Captain Stanley expressed his utmost willingness to accept the proposal, and expressed his great pleasure at being asked to do so by such a very numerous body of the electors of Preston. The Liberals say they are pre- pared to prove that several persons in Preston signed the requisition because they understood it to be in favour of Lord Stanley, and not his brother. The Liberals intend to bring forward Mr. G. Melly, of Liverpool, in the place of Mr. C. P. Grenfell, who will not seek re-election. Sir T. G. Hesketh will be again put up- in the Conservative interest, and it is understood that the struggle will lie between the hon. baronet and Mr. Melly.

LITERATURE AND THE ARTS. -+-- MR. BRODIE, R.S.A., is to send to the Royal Academy Exhibition, shortly to open at Edinburgh, a bust of the Lord Justice Clerk, a bust of a lady, and an emblematic figure of Faith, for a monument. THE City Press says:-A handsome full-length portrait of our philanthropic fellow-citizen, George Peabody, Esq., will be presented to the London Cor- poration, at the next meeting of the Court of Common Council, by a gentleman well known in the City. A LARGE part of the collections illustrative of building materials and construction, recently exhibited in the temporary iron building at South Kensington, has been removed to the -South Arcades overlooking the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society, where it will be again exhibited to the public, and the usual facilities for study and comparison afforded as soon as the necessary arrangements can be made. DOM FERNANDO of Portugal, the father of the reigning King, has just sent to the ooeiety of; Aqua- fortistes a proof etching, exhibiting great ability. It represents a funeral oration pronounced by a cat over a deceased brother; around the bier is a crowd of other cats expressing their grief in various ways some wipe their eyes, some look upwards with r .sign a. tion, while others seem transfixed by despair, but all stifle their sobs and listen to the orator, who is seated with intense gravity on a tub. The subject strange one to select for the purpose, but the exeo tion of the work proves Dom Fernando to be a true artist, possessing much comic ability. THE Executive Committee of the Dublin Inter- national Exhibition are already commencing the or- ganisation of their arrangements for the musical part of the opening ceremony, which it is intended shall even surpass the success of that at the first Dublin Exhibition in 1853. The organ is being built by Messrs. W. Hill and Son. The orchestra will be arranged on the plan tried at Birmingham. There are to be about 1,000 performers under the direction of Mr. Joseph Robinson. Vocalists will be invited from the choirs at Liverpool, Manchester, Birming- ham, Leeds, Bradford, and other northern towns within easy distance of Dublin. THE tenants upon the Crome estate have entered into a subscription for the purpose of having an equestrian portrait painted of the noble owner of it— the Earl of Coventry. The Hon. Henry Graves is the artist engaged, and the portrait, when finished, is to be presented to the Countess of Coventry. THE forthcoming Exhibition of the Royal Academy romises to be of unusual interest, judging by the character of the pictures now on the easels of those artists to whom, in general, we owe the most attrac- tive examples. Mr. E. M. Ward has a fine subject in hand; so also has Mr. Thomas Faed, the new Acade- mician. Mr. Frith's picture of the Royal Wedding, is likely enough to be the main attraction of the year. Mr. Hook has, for a time, at least, deserted the coasts of Cornwall and Devonshire and the lanes of Surrey, in favour of Cocarneau, on the south-west coast of Brittany; in the nooks and deep sea-wors inlets of this part of France, the artist has not failed to discover materials somewhat like those with which he has made us familiar, but sufficiently different to impart a now charm to his works. THE Poet Laureate is a candidate for election into the Royal Society. His name was amongst those read at the recent meeting of the society. The first Thurs- day in March is the last day on which certificates can be received for the present session. THE Sultan of Turkey, according to the Frcmice, has given orders for the translation into the Turkish lan- guage of the Emperor Napoleon's Life of Cassar" as soon as it appears. Messrs. Cassell, Petter, and Galpin, the publishers of the English translation, have written to inform a London contemporary that the work will be entitled "A History of Julius Cassar." M. PEOUDHON, who died in Paris last week, was a working printer; he bound up for his own use a hand- some Bible, doubly interleaved throughout, and he has been for years in the habit of writing his own reflections upon these sheets. It is probable that these commentaries will be published among his post- humous works. IT is said, says the Spectator, that the weight of paper written upon at the Mathematical Tripos Examination at Cambridge, in the eight days, is about eight stone—say the weight of an ordinary woman. There is something almost sad in the thought of the scribbled outcome of two or three hundred racked and anxious brains being preserved only for bedmakers to light examiners' fires with, or, at best, to be used on the clean side for pupil-room scribbling-paper. THE Study of the Human Face," by Thomas Woolnott, Esq., historical engraver to the Queen, has just been brought out. The object of this volume is to rectify the mistakes, rather than to dispute the efficiency of more comprehensive works, by simply introducing no more heads than would be marked by the effects of those tempers and dispositions with which they are associated. The work is illustrated by twenty-six .full-page steel engravings, ably and care- fully executed, each accompanied by appropriate re- mark upon the details illustrating the character which the respective forms indicate, such as pride, obstinacy, cunning, conceit (grave), conceit (gay), sagacity, deceit, malignity, &c. &c. &c. The author says, "A man may travel from Dan to Beersheba, and yet not see so much of the world as the skilful physiognomist in walking from St. Paul's to the Exchange, and that, too, without travelling expenses."

SPORTS AND PASTIMES. 41 MR. ALFRED SrEE is endeavouring to make the Med way a salmon stream again. He has already pro- cured 3,000 salmon ova, which have arrived in good condition, and have been placed in the fish-breeding house. "NEIIW," the correspondent of the Morning Tele- graph, writing of Breadalbane and Broomielaw, described them as the Malton dark-'uns but the printer, in-error, designates them the "Malton don- keys The compositor, on its being pointed out to him, exclaimed, Nemo me impune lacesset," for which prompt reply he received the order of the Thistle. His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales heads the list of subscribers to the Grand National Hunt Steeple Chase, at Weatherby, on Wednesday, March 29th. There are already sixty-two subscribers, and, besides the Prince, the list includes the names of twenty-five noblemen and four baronets. Six couple of young hounds, selected from the best blood in England, arrived a few days ago at Prince Napoleon's new hunting establishment near the forest of Villefermoy, which the Emperor has lately made over to him. In one week four out of the six couple have died, in spite of all the care Delamotte, first huntsman to the Prince, has bestowed on them. CALLER Ou.-This celebrated mare has already paid forfeit for the Chester Cup, and it is stated on good authority that her brilliant turf career has terminated, and that she will next season be put to the stud. Her retirement will leave Queen's Plates more of an open question than during the past three years of the mare's extraordinary career. It may be mentioned that Caller Ou won no fewer than twenty-nine Queen's Plates from three to six years old, viz., one in 1861, three in 1862, fifteen in 1863, and ten in 1864. Fisher- man's scoring in Queen's Plates was twenty-six, obtained as under:—Five at three years old, ten at five years old, and one at six years old. Rataplan, the next high scorer, won twenty-one of her Majesty's Plates, as under:—Nine at four years old and twelve at five years old, so that Mr. I'Anson has beaten both those celebrities. ON Sunday the severity. of the frost had rendered the ice in the various parks tolerably firm up to twelve o'clock on that day, and a. large number of skaters and sliders were' enabled to indulge in their favourite exercise. Skaters and sliders mustered strongly on the ornamental water in Regent's-park, and on the long water and round pond in Kensington-gardens but the Serpentine, owing to the weakness of the ice, was comparatively deserted. It was calculated that upwards of 100,000 persons entered the enclosure in St. James's-park alone between two and four o'clock. In Hyde-park and Kensington-gardens the banks of the Serpentine on both sides were filled by a dense mass of people. TEACHING LADIES TO SKATE.—A correspondent of the Field writes as follows: Having just been skating for the first time this winter, and having some hope that now that the frost has come we may have some more of it, I am induced to write you a few lines on the teaching of ladies. Last wihter I was favoured with the opportunity of supervising the earliest at- tempts of several young ladies, and the experience thus acquired has somewhat modified my previous views. For instance, in teaching boys I had been accustomed to tell them to keep their .toes a little more outward; with ladies, I find, the opposite in- struction is more necessary: they seem all to have been so thoroughly drilled by the dancing-master into walking with their toes out, that in skating the tendency is to keep them too much turned. Another great fault is keeping the heels close to- gether; the consequence is, that when told to take a forward step, say with the right foot, the heel ) of the right passes close to the left, and the foot is set down on the ice with the full inside forward, and therefore on the outside edge of the iron. No doubt this is the glissade' of the dancing-master; but, with skates on, its result is usually a glissade of a less elegant kind. The toes should be turned out only so far that the two feet form an angle a little more acute than a right angle (anything beyond that is unsafe and bad). Let the beginner stand on the ice with her feet in that position, but the heels three or four inches apart. Let her then lean slightly forward, and try to walk, moving each foot alternately, but at first lifting the foot very little indeed, and moving it forward only a few inches. For the first half hour she may have the support of one hand from her teacher or a friend; after that it will not be necessary, and she will be better without it. The lesson is not to be hurried; no attempts at royal roads, no lugging about between two skaters, no stieks all these are real hindrances, teach bad habits, and give dependepce in place of in- dependence. The learner must beep in mind always the return to the correct position of the feet, strive to keep her ankles stiff, and her feet from sliding. If she feels imminent, instead of making frantic efforts to save herself, let her rather subside as easily and gracefully as she can. Such efforts to save, at least with a beginner, usually cause a severe fall, instead of an easy one. To try to keep the skate from sliding, is, of course, just trying to keep it under command. The skate sliding is the ultimate end, and it may therefore seem strange to give directions to strive to prevent it; but the gliding will come of itself soon enough, and what is wanted at first is control over the skate. Most beginners commence with a little push from one foot, and a little slide on both then another little push (generally from the same foot), and another little slide, and so on—a thoroughly bad way of learning, though of course it can be acquired that way; and the bad habits can afterwards be got quit of with care and attention, but it is far better to avoid ever having them. By the mode I have indicated, if it is faithfully and patiently acted upon, a better result is obtained in a far less time. I have known more than one young lady in a. couple of hours learn to stand with perfect confidence, and move about by herself —slowly indeed, but without much nek of falling—and in a very few days' trial move quite freely and safely, and strike with the even alternation of fost which is absolutely necessary to graceful skating. Always lean a little forward; that makes falls both fewer and easier. Walking about in skates on a carpet or lawn (avoiding gravel walks or anything to injure the edges of the irons) is very good practice for learners to keep the ankles stiff; but it is rather uninteresting, and it must not be expected to teach anything else whatever beyond the one point of stiffness of ankle, though that is a considerable one. These instructions, though directed to young ladies, are equally the best for boys.'

TOPICS OF THE WEEK. THE MALT TAX.—The only serious obstacle to re- duction of the malt-tax duty that men not intent on compelling reduction of rent as a panacea for all troubles will, we think, recognise, is the financial one. Will not the collection of two-thirds of'the malt-tax cost as much as the collection of three-thirds ? That is, we fear, quite certain, but then it is true also of all customs duties not entirely abolished. Will not a reduction of the malt-tax reduce greatly the return from spirits, and so cost the exchequer too much? That seems to us, we confess, more than probable, but it must be remembered that, if the man who drank spirits took to beer instead, tho revenue would lose very little, and the rebuperative power of this tax is as yet almost an unknown quantity. Of course any such reduction must be accompanied by a revision of the licensing laws. So long as a few score brewing firms arc; enabled to maintain a monopoly of the right to retail beer so long will beer remain dear, let the malt. tax be reduced as much as it will. Fifty or sixty families, by combining, could, as matters stand, almost put the amount of the reduction into their own pockets, but that very pleasant arrangement is not one that can last. The prop of the monopoly is the tax, which makes it almost impossible for small capitalists to enter the trade, and that gone or sensibly reduced, competition under limited liability will very soon force the great firms, who have hitherto sold their shares as if they had been landed estates, into an open market. It may be clear to the Chancellor of the Exchequer that the loss from the spirit duty would be unbearable, and we are quite ready to trust Mr. Glad- stone on the point, but weteubmit it is there, and not in any fanciful class interest, that the true hitch occurs. If the money cannot be spared without too much risk the farmers must submit, but to tell them that they are not to be relieved because industry has the first claim is worthy of Tory politicians; but the doctrine, and in most cases the practice, is to con- sider the nation before any class whatever. If by cheapening beer lands now worthless can be made profitable, as the farmers say, every class in the na- tion, from the landlord who takes the rent to the cotton-spinner who buys unadulterated beer, will be equally benefited .-Spectator. THE BISHOP OF LONDON'S FUND.-The Board of Management of the Bishop of London's Fund has issued its first report. Including all the contributions received since its first institution, a year and a half ago, the sum has reached one hundred thousand pounds sterling, asked for by the Diocesan. The pay- ment, by one contribution, of many of the more costly donations has considerably assisted in procuring these results. The real trial of the success of the appeal awaits the conclusion of the second year, when these larger sums will disappear from the account. If there be any failure in the amount of the subscriptions, it will not arise from lack of efforts on the part of the Bishop and of his Executive Committee, who proved themselves, during the last twelve months, unceasing in their applications to the clergy and churchwardens of the diocese for their aid and assistance. As the result of these importunities they obtained the sum of nine thousand pounds by offertory collections. The proceeds of the fund hitherto subscribed have been so far dis- tributed and forestalled that only twenty-two thousand pounds remain undisposed of; and the fifty new districts proposed to be formed under the auspices of a com- mittee, appointed for the selection of the districts most requiring help, are compelled to wait the prospective replenishing of the fund. Whatever be the cause— whether the objects of the fund are too diverse, or the proposed estimate of one elorgyman to two thousand persona be too high, or the wants pointed out be sus- pected of exaggeration—it cannot be disguised that this appeal has not received a general and willing sup- port from the wealthy capitalists and extensive em- ployers of labour in the metropolis. If this had been the case there would have been no difficulty in obtain- ing the annual sum asked for by the Bishop, without resorting to the clergy and churchwardens, and re- quiring collections from parishes, many of which are already overburdened with a full complement of de- mands for their own parochial wants. An ex- traordinary effort should be conducted to a suc- cessful end with its own special machinery, without any intrusion upon existing charities. Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Canterbury, and other important towns can meet liberally and cheerfully large calls upon the employers of labour. London would not be surpassed or outshone by any provincial capital if its residents were once thoroughly aroused to a conviction of the necessity and of the advisable- ness of the appeal presented to them. The Bishop of London has yet to learn the secret by which he may win the full sympathy of the great body of the laymen in his diocese to a hearty co- operation in his plans.— Press.

HINTS UPON GARDENING. — — Sow a little of every kind of kitchen crop, and a few main sowings of beans and peas. Early crops of radishes and lettuces may be got on slopes, with the help of a few reed or straw hurdles, to give shelter from east winds. Put on a good breadth of young lettuce on a gentle hotbed, for planting out a few weeks hence. MELONS to be put out on their fruiting beds as soon as they have filled 48-sized pots with roots. They are too often starved in pots, under the fallacious notion that when planted out they will soon recover; they should be kept in vigorous growth from the first, and when turned out have an ample and healthy foliage. In making up the fruiting bed, use very little manure. The dung. bed should be in a sweet condition to give a lasting and steady heat, and the soil for the surface should consist chiefly of rotted turf and loam inclining to clay. NERIUMS require to be started in a brisk, moist heat, and to have abundance of water as soon as the sap is fairly in motion. See that they are free from scale and all other vermin. Old plants should be shakep. out and repotted in equal parts peat, loam, leaf-mould, and rotted cow-dung. Short cuttings root quickly in phials of water. ORANGE TREES to be well cleaned before new growth commences. Top-dress with fat dung, and give the roots a good soaking with tepid water. ORCHIDS will in many cases require to be repotted, after which they must have the warmest end of the house. Those that do not need a shift should have a little of the old surface material removed, and its place supplied with fresh; at the same time make fastenings safe, and repair blocks and baskets. PEACHES and other orchard-house trees will set their fruit more freely if there is a good breeze through the house every day; the atmosphere, at the same time, to be kept as dry as possible. Those that have set their fruit may have liquid manure. Peaches that have set fruit to be thinned partially, so as to leave room for another thinning. Cold draughts or ex- cessive damp may cause the fruits to fall. Keep the temperature steady, and give air freely on fine mornings. Start another lot by syringing the trees frequently, and giving their roots a good soaking with warm water. Pot up maiden trees for fruiting next year; use strong turfy loam, with nodules of clay and a small proportion of rotten dung. Ram in the stuff as hard as if for a barn floor. Leave two inches of clear space at the top of the pot for a mulch of fat dung, and give a good soaking of water. Put the trees in the orchard-house or a cool pit. it is not well to force them into growth immediately after being newly potted. RANUNCULUSES AND ANEMONES to be planted now in beds of sound loam, well drained and well manured. Place the roots claws downwards, two inches deep. The safest method is to open trenches, which are to be sprinkled with coarse sand, on which the tubers are to be placed, and then covered with the soil that was taken out. ROSES may be planted now to advantage, and plan- tations that need trenching and manuring may be lifted for the purpose. We are advocates for lifting roses annually, and ours are now undergoing the pro- cess. Put stakes to all newly-planted standards, as if they rock about in the wind they may suffer so much injury by straining of the roots as to die in the course of the spring. Be in no haste to prune roses yet; a. few for early bloom may be cut back, but the general stock should remain unpruned a few weeks. RHODODENDRONS.—Treat the same as directed for azaleas, but less heat will suffice to bring them out. The Sikkim rhododendrons will do best in the camellia house, or in a lean-to with north aspect. STRAWBERRIES coming into fruit need abundance of water, and occasionally liquid manure. Give as much air and light as possible to ensure well-flavoured fruit, and those that set heavy crops thin to a moderate number, or the berries will be small. VINES started now will not need so much caution as to raising the temperature as those started in Decem- ber and January, as there is now more solar light, and vegetation is active. Use the syringe freely among vines newly breaking, but sparingly or not at all to vines in flower. This is a good time to put in eyes for raising a stock of pot vines. The best plan is to put the eyes singly in a mixture of turfy loam and leaf-mould, and plunge the pots in a bark bed or dung frame, with a bottom heat of seventy to eighty degrees. Vines in the early house to be thinned as soon as the berries are of sufficient size. Tie in the young shoots, and remove laterals early, so as to ac- complish the pruning as much as possible with the finger and thumb. Be particular to lower the tem- perature at^night. Very many of the failures in grape growing arise through too high a night temperature. Gardener's Weekly Magazine and FloricidturaX Cabinet.

OUR MISCELLANY. -+- Home and Friends.— Oh there's a power to make each hour As sweet as heaven designed it; Nor need we roam to bring it home, Though few there be that find it. We seek too high for things close by, And lose what Nature found us; For life hath here no charms so dear As home and friends around us. We oft destroy the present joy For future hopes-and praise them; Whilst flowers as sweet bloom at our feet If we'd but stoop to raise them! For things afar still sweeter are When youth's bright spell hath bound us; But soon we're taught that earth hath naught Like home and friends around us. The friends that speed in time of need, When hope's last reed is shaken, Do show us still, that come what will, We are not quite forsaken. Though all were night, if but the light From friendship's altar crown'd us, 'Twould prove the bliss of earth was this- Our home and friends around us. -S-undcy Times' Contributor. Comic Epitaphs.—In Tiverton Church:- Ho! ho! who lies here ? 'Tis I, the Earl of Devonshire; With Kate, my wife, to me full dear, We lived together fifty-five year. That we spent we had; That we left we lost; That we gave we have." In the old Church of All Saints, Newcastle, is found the following Here lies poor Wallace, The Prince of good fellows, Clerk of Allhallows And maker of bellows. He bellows did make till the day of his death, But he that made bellows could never make breath." Practical Criticism. A Yankee, who lately went to see Macbeth, gave the following as his notion of the tragedy: After having witnessed the per- formance, from what I could make out of the play, I don't think Macbeth was a good, moral character; and his lady appeared to me to possess a tarnation dicta- torial temper, and to have exceedingly loose notions of hospitality, which, together with an unpleasant habit of talking to herself, and walking about en chemist, must make her a decidedly unpleasant com- panion." Title of Majesty.—We believe Henry VIII. was the first English Sovereign who was styled "His Majesty." The titles of English Sovereigns have undergone many changes; Henry IV. was His Grace;" Henry VI., "His Excellent Grace;" Edward IV., "High and Mighty Prince;" Henry VII., "His Grace," and "His Highness;" Henry VIII., first "His Highness," and then "HiA Majesty." "His Sacred Majesty was the title assumed by subsequent Sovereigns, which was afterwards changed to Most Excellent Majesty." Table-Rapping Dupes.—Table-rapping was a marked improvement on. table-turning^ and has gradually grown into a kind of spiritual institution. Although it dates from remote antiquity, its earliest professor of nota in this country was an American lady, Mrs. Hayden. An alphabet was placed in yonr hand; you passed your fingers slowly along it, and marked the letter when there was a rap. The result was the promised revelation. She failed completely with the writer of this, who took care not to pause or hesitate at the required letters during the operation; and as he walked away with his introducer, a clever and eccentric peer, he observed that it was unlucky the spirits would not attend. But they did," was the reply, only they were lying spirits "—forgetting that the sole proof of their presence was the veracity of their communications. On our remarking recently to a lady convert that Mr. Anderson's rapping at St. James's Hall was much superior to Mrs. Hayden's, or Mr. Home's, she replied, Oh, yes, but that, you know, is only conjuriDg.Fraser's Magazine. Chinese Hawking.—Hawking is one of the amusements of the north of China. This forenoon Dr. Lamprey, of the 67th Regiment, who has some knowledge of the language, went out with about a dozen Chinamen on the plain beyond Sang-ko-lin. sin's Folly, as the fourteen miles of earthwork investing the walled city are now called. They extended them- selves in line at certain distances from each other, and as soon as the Chinese greyhound started a hare the hood was removed from the hawk, which one of the men carried on his wrist, and it shot off after the hare —soon hovered over it, and descending with force, fixed its talons in his back. The sportsmen then made all haste up, otherwise the hare would soon have been picked to pieces. As an illustration of the unacquaint- ance of the Chinese with the use of firearms for the purposes of sport, Dr. Lamprey could not persuade them to take a shot at anything with his gun, and he describes their astonishment as something intense when he managed to bring down a quail flying, and the impression made was so great, that they men- tioned the occurrence to every one they met, and drew attention to the wonderful weapon by whidh the feat had been effected. Britsh Arms in Chvaa and Japan." by D. F. Rennie, M-D. Esquimaux Dexterity.-On his way to the ship he discovered a seal hole, but, being hurriGd for time he merely erected a small pile of snow near at hand' and squirted tobacco-juice as a mark upon it. On his return he readily found the hole by this mark, and though he felt the necessity of hastening on to our relief, and had received instructions from the captain to hurry forward, yet he determined to try for the prize by spending the night in attempting to gain it. Accordingly, binding my shawl and various furs around his feet and legs, he took his position, spear in hand, over the seal-hole. This hole was buried in two feet of snow, and had been first detected by the keen sagacity of one of the dogs with him. Ebierbing, while watching, first thrust the spindle shank of the spear a score of times down through the snow, until he finally hit the small aperture leading through the ice. It was a dark night, and this made it the more difficult, for, in striking at a seal, it will not do to miss the exact spot where the animal comes to breathe—no, not by a quarter of an inch. But, to make sure of being right when aiming, Ebierbing put some dark tuktoo hair directly after it, and thus, after patiently watching the whole night long, he was re- warded in the early morning by hearing the seal blow. In a moment more he captured it by a well-directed aim of his spear.-Life among the Esquimaux. Does Ice Sink p-What becomes of this ice? Had one lain in wait for it two hundred miles farther south, it is doubtful if he would have seen of it even a vestige. It cannot melt away so quickly; a day amidst it satisfies any one .of so much. Whither does it go? Put that question to a sealer or a fisherman and he will answer "It sinks." But replies that cheerful and confident gentleman, Mr. Current Im- pression, "ice does not sink; it floats. Gravescience too, says the same. I believe that ignorance is right J ) for once. You are bccalmed in the midj-t of floating ice; the current bears you and it together, but nwtfc morning the ise has vanished! You rub your eyes, but the facs is not one to be rubbed out; the ice was, but the facs is not one to be rubbed out; the ice was, and isn't there No evidence exists that it can tty like riches, therefore I think it sinks. # I have seen it, too, not indeed in the very act of sinking, but; so water-logged as barely to keep its nose out A block, four cubic feet in dimension, lay at a sv>V:equer;t time besido the ship, and there was net a partion bigger than a child's fist a.bove water. Watching it again, when it has been tolerably well sweltered, you will see air-bubbles incessantly escaping. Evidently, the air which it contains is giving place to watev. Now, it is this air, I judge, which keeps it afloat, and when the prooess of displacement is tufficiently gone on, what can it do but drown, as men do under the circum- stances ? This reasoning may be wrom;, but the fact remains. The reasoning ia chiefly a glie-s; y(.t. till otherwise informed, I shall say the ice-It, get full of water and it goes down.—Atlantic Monthly. Interments near the Prophet.- The greater number of the bodie-, brougb-L to Kerbelah ar3 simply carried into the mosque, laid down en the tomb cf Hosein, and then brought out and buried anywhere in the cemeteries or in pita dug for the purpose. It is quite sufficient that a corpse be near tht of the Pro- phet to be ass cited that on the last day the saint will take it, reunited to the seul, uader his protection, and lead it to the joys of everlasting happiness. A small tax is levied at the gate by the Turkish Government upon every coffin brought into the to vn, and nume- rous are the attempts made by pious yet economical sons and brothers to defraud tho revenue of the sum thus raised. A snort time before the period of our visit, a. man who was known not to belong to the town was observed by the acituto sentry bringing in a bag cf barley, which the up- right soldier, who suspected a trick, and wliom nothing but a bribe could corrupt (in this case the delinquent was too poor to offer one), insisted on examiEing, Underneath a covering of barley was found the skeleton of the bearer's father, which ho was thus placing surreptitiously, and without paying the usual tax for such a benefit, usder the guardianship of the saint. A double fee was at once demanded from the detected cheater of the Sultan, but whether his piety and affection stood such a test we were not informed. But few bodies are admitted into the town at a time, as they arrive at some periods of the year in such numbers that, if all were permitted to enter together, disease might ensue, and in addition the streets would be too thronged for passage. A thousand sometimes arrive by a single caravan, which is also accompanied by a vast number of devotees, making a kind of minor hadj, or pilgrimage.- Journey fro in London to Persepolis.

A BEAR HUNT. Koojesse was steering, when, suddenly taking up my spy-glass, and directing it to some islets near Oopungnewing, he sried out, Ninoo! Ninoo! This was enough to make each of the boat's crew spriag into new life, for of all game they delight ia, Ninoo is the chief. They started ahead with fresh vigour, the women pulling hard, but as noiselessly as they could, and the men loaded their guns ready for the attack. I relieved Koojesse at the steering oar. WAe,-o we first saw Ninoo we were about two miles distant from him, and I could perceive this "lion of th9 North" lying down, apparently asleep; but when within half a mile Ninoo saw us, raised himself upon his haunches, looked around, then fixedly at us, and off he started. Immediately the men becau to make some most hideous noises, which arrested Ninoo in his course, and caused him to turn round. This was what we wanted, to gain time in the chase which had now begun. But Innoo was not so easily entrapped. His stay was only for a moment. Off he went again, flying over the island, and quickly disappearing. Then, with a strong pull, and a firm, steady one, the boat was sent swiftly along. Presently a point of the islet where he had seen Ninoo was rounded, and again we beheld him far ahead of us, swimming direct for Oopungnewing. This enoouraged the Innuits. They .renewed their shouts without intermission. Every now and then the object of our pursuit would wheel his imge forpi around, and take a look at hispursuers j and now the chase became very exciting. We were gaining on him. Ninoo saw this, and therefore tried to bafíie ua. Be suddenly changed his course, and went out directly for the middle of the bay. In an instant we did the same, the old crazy boat bounding forward aa s-wiftly as our oarsmen could propel it in the heavy sea that then prevailed. But we could not gain upon him. He seemed to know that his life was in jeopards, and on he went without any more stopping, when he heard a noise. The "voice of the charmer" no longer had charms or aught else for him. He had to make all speed away; and this he did at about four miles per hour, striking out more and more into the open ba. Once he so changed his course thl1. by some dexterous movement of ours we succeeded in cutting across his wake, and this gave ns an opportunity to fire. We did so, but only the ball of Koojesse's gun took effect. Ninoo was struck in the head, but the poor brute at first merely shook himself, and turned his eonrse frsm down the bay in a contrary direction. The shot, however, had told. In a moment or two we could see that Ninoo was getting enraged. Every now and then he would take a look at us and shake his head. This made the Innuits very cautious about lessening the distance between him and the boat. Again we fired. One or more shots took effect. Ninoo's white coat was crimsoned with blood about his head, and he was getting desperate. Hia movements were erratic, but we finally drove in the direction of Oopungnewing, our policy being to make him tow his own carcase aa near the land as would be safe to prevent his escape, and then to end his life. This was accomplished when within about one-eighth of a mile from the island. The last shot was fired, and Ninoo instantly dropped his head with- out making another motion. We now pulled to him. He was quite dead, and we at once took him in tow by fastening a walrus thong around his lower jaw, its huge tusks effectually serving to keep the noose from slipping off. Thus we towed our prize along, until, reaching the land, we hauled him on shore, and made our third encampment upon the south-west side of Oopungnewing Island.Li-fe with the Esquimaux.

0 Desertions from the Army of the Potomac. —A letter from the army of the Potomac, dated Jan. 9th, in one of the New York papers, says: Yesterday four executions took place here, three being shot to death and one hung-the latter for deserting to the enemy. All who are found guilty of this crime are hanged, while those guilty of simply deserting are shot. The people of the North have very little idea of the large number of desertions daily occurring from our ranks, the majority of whom, being substitutes or conscripts, go over to the enemy and claim the benefits of the order issued last summer by Gen. Lee, offering them subsistence and transportation tc enable them to reach their homes. A day or two since, no less than forty men are said to have deserted from one regiment alone; and scarcely a night passes during which a number arb not found misaing. We certainly lose ten for every one we get. On the 23rd ult. a de- serter was shot, whose pardon arrived the day fel- lowing." John Brown.-If ex-Governor Wise, of Virginia, who approved John Brown a death sentence, could now enter the parlour of his own family mansion on the east branch of the Elizabeth river, about 6 miles south of, Norfolk, he would see there a photograph, handsomely wreathe, in laurel, of the man whose soul is marching on. Wise's farm has been confis- cated by the Government, and several schools for con- trabands are located upon it, the teacherfe occupying the house as a residence, and making this appropriate decoration in the Darlour.-Anti-Slave.)-y Standard. An Eccentric Letter.—The following curious communication was sent last week to the treasurer of the Alliance, in Manchester: A gentleman, who perhaps to some people may seem a little odd and eccentric in his notions, is desirous of devoting to his country's good th £ sum of fifty-five pounds sterling'- Like most other Englishmen—in many respects—he is proud of his nation's name; and though he has con- siderable respect for her Majesty's Chancellor of the Exchequer, he, nevertheless, feels a preference for the Executive of the United Kingdom Alliance for the Suppression of the Liquor Traffic; that is to eay, he has a crotchet somehow that this body of gentlemen may be able to spend the sum alluded to in a better cause than even the advocacy of cheap wineshops. The amount is herein enclosed, and a due acknow- ledgment of the same in the AlHatice Arelts of Satta- day next will very much oblige yours, very sincerely,— One who wishes to See the Day when Drunkenness shall be Blotted from the Escutcheon of Britain."