The Western Mail

COAL MINING IN SOUTH WALES. (Written expressly for the" Wesfem Mail," by a Mining Engineer.) HOUSE COAL COLLTUIES. IN THE EHONDDA VALLEY. The inclination of the coal measures in this section of the valley is generally south-east; it is not, however, uniform, and varies in every colliery. The supply of coal is got principally from the No. 3 seam, which has long been cele- brated as a house coal throughout Wales; the Darrendu and No. 2 scams also produce excellent house coal. The feeders of water are not large at any of the collieries, a small engine sufficing for drainage purposes at each colliery. Fire-damp, though it is not produced so freely as in the steam coal collieries, is emitted in considerable quantity in No. 3 seam, requiring attention in its management; ventila- tion, in every case, is produced by furnace power. The tieior{li:i; :n!'ny Più:¡r xtd up the valley as far as Bwllfa level, comprising Bwllfa, Llwyufria, Dinas, Cymmer, Llyncelyn, Coedcae, Troedyrhiw, and Great Western collieries. No. 3 seam is got at Hwllfa level to the extent of 150 tons per day; blr. Fothergill is lessee of the royalty, and the coal is used at the Abernant Iron Works. At Llwynfria (the Glamorgan Coal Company's colliery), No. 3 seam is extensively worked from the depth of 160 yards; the steam coals are also sunk to here, the 9-teet seam recently sunk being about 400 yards deep. At Dinas (Messrs. Collin and Hunt's Colliery), No. 3 seam is got by level. It was also, owing to a large fault, found and worked in Dinas upper pit, but is now exhausted in that quarter. The gas produced from the Abergorky seam is conveyed in pipes up to the top of the pit, and has burnt there for many years. No. 3 seana is worked at Mr. Insole's Cymmer colliery to the extent of 3?O tons per day, from the depth of 100 ya?ds. The winding engine has two 25-inch horizontal cylinders, 'lhfc:IY!kenf¡::lt¡:n ;tf drum, round wire rope, slide valves. A small engine, with two 9-inch sets, pumps from the bottom of the pit-one lifting and one forcing set. A trial pit is sunk to the Aber- gorky seam in the mine, from which gas is continually emitted, and is conveyed in pipes to the top of the pit. It is utilised there for lighting. There are 46 coke ovens at Cymmer and 70 at Dinas, using the small of No. 3 scam. At Llwyn Celyn, No. 2 seam is worked and raised by water balance. The water is pumped up again by the agency of a water-wheel. At Coedcae colliery the depth to No. 3 seam is 120 yards. About 350 tons per day are got. The winding engine has two 25-inch horizontal cylinders, rfntrk:nlir action, 2ft rope o:, cIn(: rope. A small engine now pumping waterfrom the bottom of the pit was formerly used for hauling underground in its present position. There are 67 coke ovens here. At Troedyrhiw about 200 tons per day are raised from No. 3 seam by water balance. No coke ovens here. GREAT WESTERN COLLIERY. I This colliery is situated one mile above Newbridge, or Pontypridd; the coal at present is got exclusively from No. 3 seam, but the Forest-vach and No. 2 seams have been worked to some extent formerly. The depth to No. 3 seam is 150 yards. There are two oval pits, both downcast, and one upcast, used exclusively for the furnace, all sunk to No. 3 seam. No. 2 pit is 16 by 12 feot, No. 3 pits is 15 by 10 feet, and 45 yards distant from the other. The upcast is circular in section, and about 3U yards from No. 3 pit. WINDING AND HAULING ENGINES. The engine at No. 3 pit has two 25-inch horizontal cylinders, 4-feet stroke, direct action, slide valves, 9-feet rope rolls, flat wire ropes. The engines at No. 2 Pit pumps water at present, but has raised coal at this pit from the Forest-vach and No. 2 seams, pumping water at the same time. These seams are at present dormant, and the engine pumps water only about six hours per day; it has one 30. inch vertical cylinder, 9-feet stroke at each end of the beam, the beam resting on the wall of the house; a connecting rod at the outer end of the beam communicates motion to the spur wheel and pinions, motion reduced 2 to 1 for tho rope rolls, which are 10 feet in diameter, and 11 to 1 for the pumping apparatus the latter consists of a crank, connecting rod, and two bell cranks placed over the pit, which raise the water in two sets of pumps, lifting alternately by 9-ineh and 10-inch buckets with 6-feet stroke. There are four boilers in all, two tubular and two plain hemispherical. No. 3 engine draws with two bands, each carriage running on three wire-rope guides. An underground hauling engine is placed in No. 3 seam, 400 yards along the level north-west from the pit. It has two 14-inch horizontal cylinders, 3-feet stroke, two drums 8 feet diameter, cog- wheels 2 to 1, one tail and one main rope, 1 inch thick; two boilers, one in use. The boilers are built in a chamber ad. joining the engine, the smoke and steam from them being con- ducted by a separate return to the bottom of the upcast beyond the furnace. UNDERGROUND WORKINGS IN GREAT WESTERN. The first branch from which coal is got commences 60 yards on the level from the pit, proceeds about 500 yards to the rise or south-west, crossing a dip fault of 18 yards, and then proceeds on tho level course to tho left, 560 yards and more, where cross headings branch off to the rise again, extending about 200 yards from the level. Tho cross headings are usually driven in pairs, 3 yards wide each, 10 yards pillar between them; the stalls are driven on the level course on each side; those on the left out of tho main cross-heading are turned 3 yards wide at first, and gradually widened out to 8 yards, the pillar between the st.alls bein! 12 yards of coal; those on the right hand, from the airway parallel with the cross-heading, are turned the full width, 8 yards, from tho first. Section of the No, 3 seam taken in this district:—rock, 15 yards thick cliff, from 3 feet to 15 feet; impure coal, 6 inches holing; good coal, 3 feet 8 inches; underclay not hard. The holing is made in the bad coal at the top, and when a parting occurs about one foot from the bottom of the seam, the upper part is broke off by wedges, and the bottom Lone foot—h also got by wedging; if there is no parting then powder is required. There is no underclay taken Hp in this district: the coUiera; are paid. Is. 8d. per ton for mixed coal; all the ?f.si that is available for filling up is that got from the boliog; this is gobbed at one side of the stalls next the road, and forms an air-tight partition, by which the air is conveved into the face of each stall, and returns behind it into the next. Canvas brattice is required in the narrow plnces. Naked lights are used throughout this pit. The trams for carrying coal in this district hold 7 ewt. of coal, have flanged wheels running on bridge rails, 20-inch gauge. Tho trams are taken out f the tall% by boys to tf:' horse station; the horse8 ued are about 12 bands igh;ther(Ads are made of a height to suit them, out to the bottom of the dip-GO yards from the shaft before-named-wherl) they are placed on trolleys, two trams on each. These trolleys have tram wheels running on tram plates, and on these the 7 cwt. trams are taken up the pit and to the screen. It may be observed that the other part of the pit is laid with these now almost obsolete tram plates, commencing at the pit and extending along the level to the engino, and beyond. The trams running on this road hold 28 cwt. of coal; the whonls are 22 inches diameter; THE ENGINE PLANE. The incline or engine plans commences at the engine and extends to the rise, or south 30 west, 1,300 yards, in a perfectly straight line: 10 trams are A'awn in and out by the engine with tail and main ropea und two drums; the inclines rises about three inches per yard at the bottom and at the top; in the middle of it there is about 300 yards nearly level. There are two bmnches to the left on the plane, and two to tho light; the plane lit some of these points is level the trams are drawn into the branches by horses, the full trams brought out to the same position, to bo started back again by the. engine. One of the branches has a back shunt for the empty trams, and a road lower down for letting out the full ones, requiring a chain to pull back the ropes by means of the engine. The return sheave at the top of this inclinQ is nine feet in diameter, horizontal, about four feet from the ground, and the tail rope is carried on sheaves about four feet from the ground along the plane. WORKINGS ABOVE. TIIE INCLINE. The cross-heading is extended 400 yards beyond the sheave in tbe same line at the further purt the dip is the contmry way, and it again rises near the face sharply, in the usuo,¡ direction. There are three cross-headings in tlperatiou in tbis didrict at the top of the incline; tho trujns from three cross-headings unite and join into oilo at certain intervals; the cross headings have stall., fjii each side, on tho level course, as described before. T,ie stalls in this district arc 12 yards wide; the pillars tJt coal between, 13 yards; the stalls are driven CO yards in length, the bot- tom is cut in the roads for height, and the roof is S:1111101.te,1 almost whol1y hy timber, in the absenco of filling-np mate- rial. As soon as the stalk are driven to their length, the pillars are worked back towards the cross-heading; the pillar-work is wholly dependent on timber for its support. The large truu are here filled in the stalls and brouhtout by horses, and on the engine plane. A door is required at tZe entrance of each stall on the left, and a partition of small coal in each, and a similar arrangement is required in each stall on tho right. The safety of the mine is thus de. pendent on e:tch being in proper or( ? er and Po":t;on. A split 0p,Air is taken to each cross-heading; and at the top of each it is (livided again to circulate through the stalls on each side. C.ting coal costs Is. IOd. per ton in these stalls. The gauge of the tram road is 3 feet 2 inches. Supposing it were practicable to work this seam by lonz, wall, instead of the stall and pillar system adopted and described above, the advantages rewlting from the long- wall plan would be greater safety, Jess loss of coal, less ti.- ber used, nnd a grcator proportion of large coal obtained to secure these results, the roads should be 12 or H yards I apart to furnish more fiiling-up material, instead of as now, 25 yards apart. VENTlLATlOX. In this pit a separate split of air is apportioned to each cross-heading, which, divided again at the top, circulates up and down in each stail; this air is afterwards made to traverse the old cross-headings, all of which, as a rule, are open-air courses, owing to the roof being usually a good one, and small pillars of coal being left for their support. The total air in circulation in the workings is stated to be 25,400 cubic feet per minute, and 4,000 feet more to the boiler fires, which does not pass over the furnace, but by a separate return to the upcast. The furnace is 9 feet wide by 6 feet. This colliery has been in operation 18 years; during that time only one explosion has occurred of any moment, whero two persons were burnt, though not fatally. When we reflect that a neglect of any single part of the system of ventila- tion that has bsan described would cause an accumulation of firedamp, there is some credit due to the overlookers of ¡ the mine for attention to the ventilating arrangements. There are three men employed in this pit as firemon-fo in cleaning the roads, and two in repairing and timbering the roads. These nine are all the off-hand men employed underground. There are 19 horses underground. The Cymmer colliery oxplosion, which occurred 14 years ago in the No. 3 seum, caused the loss of 114 lives. This disaster, in all probability, arose from a deficiency of venti- lation and not attending to the complete circulation of air through abandoned stalls and workings. An cxplosion at Dinas colliery is also recorded, previous to that of Cymmer, whereby 14 persons were killed. Since the Cymmer explo- sion in 1855, two of the colliers were appointed out of the body of workmen to examine the workings of the Great Western eveiy month. They travel the airways and aban- doned levels and headings, in company with the principal fireman. This they do-withont any recompense from the owners of the cofliery-for their own satisfaction. DARREN-DU SEAM. This seam is worked by Messrs. Hollwey and Co., up the hill, near to the Great Western Colliery, and produces good and clean burning house coal. The produce from the level is sent down an incline 400 yards long, on a steep gradient, to the Taff Vale Railway. The upper series of coal scams found here arc as follows:—Pennant rock, Darren-du seam, 1 foot 10 inches; Pennant rock, intervening strata, 120 yards N'?. 1 Beam, 2 feet 6 inc b es; intervening strata, :f':Js ].;o:eseVh 2 seam, 6 2 if:V isv:cir:i strata, 7 yards; No. 2 seam, 2 feet 6 inches: intervening strata, 80 yards No. 3 seam, 3 feet 6 inches. There are 130 coke ovens erected at Great Western Colliery. No. 3 coal is used; the other coals, up to Darren-du, are inferior for making coke, and, excepting No. 2 seam, little used for that purpose. EDUCATION OF MINERS. There is no provision made by the owners of this colliery I for the education of the children of their workmen. In addition to the observations given under this head in last week's Westcrn Mail, I consider the ad- dreasgivenby Sir William Armstrong in presiding over the annual meeting of tbe Northern Union of Mechanics' Institutes at Newcastle recently, well worthy of record. He expressed surprise that mechanics' institutes failed to lay hold of working men, and attributed this to the want of edncation amongst them. To men who can neither read nor write these institutions have no attractions. He thinks there is no question which can engage the attention of Parliament of such vital importance as that of a national system of rudimentary education; even if it went no further than the thorough teaching of reading and writing it would confer inestimable benefit upon the people. Sir William advises all large firms to do as he has done-efitablish mechanics' institutes, with schools attached, so that in the schools the children might learn, and in the institutes the men might find intellectual amusement and obtain culture. The amount of the schooling might be taken out of the -'a wages. c -ti,el,y few bl. to ed ad :ri"s :,eB. ea:.mi:ver::efBarethebl:s a mechanics' institutes being f n appreciated by those for whose benefit they were desig:el

THE PROPHET ZADKIEL. I Our old prophetic friend Zadlriel is in the field again. As it is part of his business to take time literally by the fore- lock, he begins operations for 1870 in September, 1869. By this plan Taosze materially enhances the value of his pre- dictions. Those who have neglected the warning of the last number bad better examine the list of fulfilled predic- tions at the end of the almanac, and note how foolish crowned heads have been in not seeing to their nativities in time. The Queen of Spain was warned that Mars was inimical to her; and so it turned out. The Conserva- tives of our country received due notice that the Sun was in Aries; and not having made preparations for the event they were overthrown. If people defy Saggitarius or Virgo, and even turn their backs upon Taurus or Leo, what are they to expect? The Ram is the astrological ruler of Great Britain. Zadkiel watches his course through all the starry flocks and herds, and warns us when the heart is exposed to malign influence of attrac- tions. Last year a sketch of this Ram was given, and over his head was drawn a church steeple, surmounted by a weathercock. Could any hieroglyphic be plainer than this? "It denotes," remarks the prophet Zadkiel, great changes in the Church of this country; which, let UB hope, will lead to peace and the inereme of true religion." A list of lucky and unlucky days would be imperfect with- on a spec i fication in detail of the misfortunes which may affiict those who are ignoiant of offending destiny. Zadkiel particularises in the most courageous manner. For example, on the 1st, Gth, 11th, 16th, 20th, 29th of January, deal with merchants, bankers, or clergymen; begin new undertakings. On the 5th, 24th, 29th, woo, marry, engage female servants, visit or invite friends, and so on. On the 4th, 9th, 19th, 23rd, deal with farmers and old folk." "Fanners and old folk;" this is a strange conjunction, and seems somehow disrespectful to the agricultural interest. But Zadkiel must speak the truth as he finds it, and if the Bull and Aquarius will come to cross purposes it is no fault cf his. Thefarmera and the old folk must take care of themselves. We find that in February Saturn will square the sun in the figure of the Imperial Prince," and as Mars is going through the ascendant let him (3Iars) beware of colds, and keep his chest dry and warm; also let him avoid some rather serious hurt or accident to his leg about tho time mentioned. In March, Victor Emmanuel (if alive) is likely to be in a bad way, and all owing to the same pernicious star. Jupi- ter, by moving in Taurus, seems well disposed to Ireland; | but Uranus, by retrograding in Cancer, brings strange aiiii sudden mi?hi f on Holland, Scotland, and Manch ester. "Those born on 15th February will prosper in all Venus matters about the 15th of this month," which gives them exactly a month and a day to improve the privileges granted by a fading custom to the votaries of St. Vafaitine. April promises to be lowering and dark. Xar4 squares Uranus, and there is turbulenco on that account in England. During May, Ireland is expected to be troublesome, but Venus is kind to that countvy in June, while we suffer from the possession of Gemini, and are promised exciting scenes for which the firemen are told to be prepared. Zadkiel himself will be ex- posed to danger on the fifteenth, so that we trust he will not be found far from a fire-engine. We do not preten,l to discover the use of that machine for averting Saturnine influence (as house-burning is not mentioned), so thp: it may refer, for all we know, to spontaneous com- loustion, a proper and decorous fashion for a wizard to depart this T?fei.. Passing on to October, we are informed, "This month will witness some remarkable squabbles among Churchmen, in which the spirit of Christian charity will play a very subordinate part." Both the Prince Im- peritd 'nd the Prince of Wales are exposed to perils in :;be. thÎ/E:egm1::r:ht itlie: ;uil at Jupiter, Uranus retrograding in Cancer, and Saturn entering Capricorn from an une.?put(?d quarter, a complete Irish shindy will take place in the skies, .(I we shall all be in danger from ill-health, grief, losses, crosses, &0., but "from these and all other such evils," concludes Zadkiel, "good Lord deliver us! auti Gotl save the Queen." -Dail,y News.

Dr. Lankester, on Thursday, held an inquest on a young woman who had died from tight lacing. The foot and mouth (lisewt) has now attacked the pigs, and amongst these animals the epidemic is very prevalent in the counties of Middlesex and Surrey. Upwards of 50 of the clergy in two of the deaneries in Kent have met tho Archbishop of Canterbury to discuss the question of the expediency of the parochial meetings of clergy and laity for discussing diocesan mutters. SAD CASE OF DROVING.—On Thursday afternoon a son of Mr. Russell, the editor of the Scotsman while attem t. ing to cross the Ettrick by some stepping stones missed his footing, and was carried away by the swollen river and drowned. A meeting to inaugurate the Clyde Industrial Training Ship Cumberland was held on Wednesday on board that vessel. The Earl of Glasgow presided, and aiviOpg the speakers were Mr. John Burns, the Hon. Arthur Kinnaird, Mr. Daglish, Mr. Holmes, and the Dean of jfcfyon. Mr. S. L. Price, the provisional office Up;ai<ktor of the Albert Life Assurance Company, h? ?t put forth an ;;isn¿'ssJiûhcC:¡ rt1l'@i Cl?rk in Chancery, in which he states Utt 'he order to wind up the company, made by .i),IJ?rJaiiie?;oyithol7thinst., do, ".I dispeue with Pac ncce,;?ity of the payment of the reneval prelUL1S, "'Dr1 policy-holders are requested to take notice that in default of such payment thcir policies will lapse. Father Hyacinthe, whose letter is just now creating great interest, was born in 1827, at Orleans, finished his studies at l'au, and when quite young gained distinction by writing some poetry, which is said to havc been very remarkable. He entered St. Sulpice at eighteen, and was ordained at the end of four years of theological study. Soon afterwards he taught philosophy at Avignon and theologv at Naut^. After ten years' ministry in the chur,,h of St. Sulpico, he ;eheilni¡::l¡t:'u an d oen{ lÙt ? 1864, preaching first at the Ml\Ùdd¡¡ü, and. then at Notre Dame, and at once gaining high distinctiou by his eloquence and the broadness of his views.

A BABBAKOUS ACT.-A man named Eouland has just been arrested at Lomle, in France, for throwing a little girl, aged five, into a roservoir, in which she remained twenty.fonr hours before she was discovered and rescued. Although injured she is not considered in danger. The motive for the barbarous act is not stated. IVORKINI? MEN- ON OUR CoMMEiiciAr, POLICY.—A meeting of working mn was held in St. Luke's, Lonln on Thursday evening for the purpose of taking ilto con: sideration the present critical state of the Wintry, the depression of trade, and the general want of employment, consequent on the importation of foreign manufactured goods, IUlIl to agree to a petition t'1 The presented to the next session of Parliament for a commission of enquiry as to the working of our commercial policy. A decision which is 8f*.i\ to affect the votes of S00 claim- ants was ven ill t)*.6 City of I.anion Registration Court on Thursday. 1\,n occupier claimed a vote for a counting- house eonsisi-ng of two rooms communicating internally witUflach other, and entering from a common door on the Stairs, for which he paid a yearly rent of £(;5. This claim was objected to hy Mr. Harper (for the Conservatives), on the ground that the premises were not structurally sepa. rated from the rest of the building. The revising barrister 1,0)11 that there ws a sulficient peverancc to entitle the claimant to a vote. Mr. Harper applied for a case for the Court of Common fleas, which the rcvisiag barrister granted.

I THE RARE OLD IROX AXD STEEL WORK l'OUXD IN miilVL. ? hen the South Staffordshire Exhibition was opend i. umverhampton, we brielfy noted that re \vn< -h a ol'l'tion of jron and 8tc,1 work of rarc ii.crit. w¡¡idl )nl bevu hteraliy found in Bristol hy Mr. Knpt rl RYtfi.. whra he visited that eity to inaugurate arbitra* i-m i, in the build- iug iii.it' aJio art i c l es had, lor a *»: 1 *1 ii• tiiuc remained .xtou-^J away iu the possession < f Mrf'iy?)ie'i' tor, f T?, t, ),y f it 1,l I. lo,i,i?ly 11.1,pily l?i., f, his chvice led to the preservation of the treasure, f»r it is nothing less. *»Ir. Fry believed that the rciun-ns urn.-t be m,eritoriou? but nutiJ he showed 4heni I![ little opi,,iiui! tli,,i? they- ;crt! io t!,itt ?t once pronounced them. We have le.cntlv bkcn tt.'p to obtain from our representative in WoIvlrhuuptui \i critical de,cription of the chief "pccimens in Mr. J'ry'a cou. tnbution; uud here it is :— AN APOSTLE LOCK. tue prllleipalloek m íLlô collection is the choicest rx- ample of ivomvork in tlw exhihitiou. It contains ,¡¡¡ elabo- rately carved figure of St. Peter under a canopy on one side, and of St. Francis, likewise under a canopy on the other; whilst the escutcheon is formed of the initial ll^nre of a mitred abbot, as is indicated by the fact of the oro>k r of the abbot and the mitre lying by the side of the ),¡, iug figure. The charming effect of this canopy a",1 figur," work has never been excelled in ao small a space. But besides the intrinsic beauty of the lock it.-elf, the associa- tions give it an additional interest. From the figures with their respective emblems, and from the fact that the dog of St. Dominic is introduced into the lower part of the lock it is evident that this lock belonged to an abbey of the Domini- can order. It was probably the lock of the reliquary—the figure of the nbbot represcnting the donor of the precious con- tents of thecasket which the lock secured. Then there w, an additional security which the image of the Abbot, together with the patron saints, St. Peter and St. Francis, and the torched dog of St. Dominic gave in pious ages, against the deeds of the plunderer, for to have violated such a fasten- ing would have been to add sacrilege to theft. For sOUle timc the lock remained in the Exhibition as it had rtmaillotl in the possession of its owner, securely fastened. Very many efforts, without resortiug to force, had been made to open it, but the prohleDi was not to be unravelled even by the modern locksmiths. The key-- itself, we may remark, one of the most exquisite pieces of workmanship of its class that we have secn-ww there to be used, but the difficulty lay in removing the escutcheon for the introduction of the key. One day whilst experts were trYIIl!; to open the lock, a bystander was there taking special interest in the work. He was not a mechanic, and after u time desired to be allowed to take it in hand. He was ùh. served to place the tip of his second finger upon what ap. peared to be a small rivet, whilst, with the end of his thumb, he gently touched the hand of the praying Abbot. TLU j was the .f O,en sesame." The cscatcheon flew from the position it had occupied for many a long month, the key was introduced, and, the works yielding, the f"stenlng h",1 I hen wrested of its secret. The bystander wng the nreeentor priest of the Homan Catholic church in Wolver- hampton. A VENETIAN INKSTAND. In the same case there is all inkstand which has "een produced by tha Venetian artist entirely in Martelly work, cut from solid steel, with, as its cover, a vase-shaped top. This is a most interesting production from the city of a hundred isles" it is most gracefully shaped, but in all probability has not received the final touch of a work man. IT-ION CASKETS. With these two articles there are se,er<11 caskets of a strength which seems to represent the most perfect security, although some of them do not pretend to beauty of workmanship. But of all tho caskets we have lately seen commcnd us to what appears to be at first sight a rather rustvdooking iron book. Upon more minute examinat i on we find it book-shaped case for holding a missal. It is of the finest Spanish workman,bip. damascened in gold of an Arabesque pattern, sufficiently perfect to be still traced, and affording altogether an ex- quisite example of the taste of those workmen who, keeping the third commandment literally, would do nothing which might have the semblance of creating any graven image. A SKI'LRL('HKAL CHALICE. Another case of Mr. Fry a rare collections contains two examples of Chinese work, more interesting to metallurgist* than to artists. It embraces fine examples of the modern, deposit work, with a chalice probably made for sepulchral uses, at a time when the Church was not rich enough to immolate a piece of the precious metals whenever a prie.. t was buried. A CRYSTAL CUP. In conclusion, let me mention a crystal cup with a mr rtal shaft 0" pedestal of Venetian manufacture, maniff stly dating from the best period of the Venetian art. It if un. touched by the hand of the restorer; and is evidently u perfect as when it left the. bench of that glorious art work. man. who could take his inspiration from the blue A driatic which was shining under the windows of his works* nop.

ATTEMPTED MURDER OF A S WEET. HEAhT. Thomas George Davis, 1, labourer, of Bro mley. Kent, wa? on Mouday night arrested on a charge of having at- tempted to murder his sweetheart. Frances Sarah White- man. 17, by tiring a 10ade.1 gun at her. It appears from the depositions of the poor girl that he haf i been keeping company with the prisoner four years, ? nd recently her father, who keeps a suiall inn, had quanv iled with the pri. soner, aud she had not spoken to him for some days past until Monday la-t, when lie was witb he • n greater part of the day at the garden where she wa& em piovod, and he re- ::I:ï h:'e' in Ih :r A? al?out t (I to eight they were in a neighbours gnriicn by theii)seli?? Md"riaoMrh&d?gunmhuLa'td. fuey had been talkin together a short time, wh<jn she wanted to get away, but be w\¡j her to #&it little loner. he asked him to fire his gun olf in ths i air, but he would not do so, but kept pointing it at her, and she pushed it away. He was about two yn rds from her when he again pointed the gun at her and ti red The charg" e struck her in the left breast, and the tire lr., a the muzzle of the gun set light to her dress. She stpt»gr -red backwards, but did not fall, arid the prisoner took hiy gun by the barrel as if to strike her with the butt-eud 'of the piece; hut, hearing the approach of the person to v hom the garden belonged, the pr i soner ran off. The fim o F the poor girl 'lthe,, ,m ?.- tinguishw by the I= r :fe,r; ;1 more assistance having arrived she was w ried indoors, the blood from the wound flowing profti,?oV. Dr, Baly was quickly in attend- ance, and succceded, at length, in stanching the blood, when it was found that the whole charge of large shot had lodged in the left breas t. Information was at once given to the police, and prisoner was apprehended in a small beershop in the neighbourhood, where he had order'd some beer, and told two companions what he had done. Some powder and caps were found in his possession, but up to the present the gun has not been found. Prisoner e.hibit, the it,?t indifference as to the conseqiienew to himself or the injured girl, of whose recovery thC;5 little, if *aiiy, hope. Thomas George Darir 21, charged with attempting to murder his iweeth rt Frances Ann Whittington, by firing a loaded gun at W on "Iowhy night, was brougbt up on Tuesday before- t'"e Bromley w.ucistrute*. Inspector How, who has charge of the ease, said he only proposed to call suilicient evid&u',e to justify a remand. W. F. Bcebr Esq., surgeon in practice at Bromley, tie. posed that Itr, Was attending the wounded girl. The poor girl was in an extremely dangerous and critical state, and he considered it very doubtful whether she would re- cover. Prise ncr took no apparent interest in the proceedings. Wh'en the poor girl's depositions were read ovet to the priso'aer, he said it was true-be shot her, but he did so ae* citif ntaHy. He was remanded for a week.

The Koslon Journal says that drunkenness is just as common iu the streets of that city as ever, and that intoxi- cating liquors flow just as freely a when there was no law tQ restrain their sale. HAKD TO PLEASE.—Grimaldi was once hissed at Sadler's Wells, after singing his celebrated comic ^ong of'' Tippit}". witchet," and he appealed to the andienee. "He ha I nodded," he said, "frowned, sneezed, chokcd, gaped, cried, grinned, grimaced, and hiccoughcd; he had dorit all that could be done by brow, chin, cheeks, eyes, nose, awl mouth, and what more did they want r"—1" Why, we want, yawned a lan¡rui,1 voice from the pit, "we want" nlW feature." IMPORTATION OF LIVE STOCK.—The importation ot live animals into this country, stimulated by our high prre» And by an abundance of hel'hage au,1 othtr food for ti-e Continental herds awl flocks, is said to be rapidly r- covering from the effect of the restrictions imposed by the Privy Council in consequence of the cattle plague." Taking the last issue of the trade and navigation returns of the United Kingdom, we find that in the seven months of this year ending 31st July, 117,879 oxen, bulls, and co, were brought into this country against 51.3S4 in the correspond* ing period of 18f>8, and 84.769 in 1807. Sheep importations, too, have much increased, for in the seven months en<1:!1g' July, 1869, 478,201 animals were landed at our wharycs, against 208,176 in the same period in 1868, aad J.Ti,l' Jll 1867.—Chamber of Aijricidtvre Journal. THE ART.G ii- r.-fhe art-gift itself is only the rfu). ot the moral character of generations. A b, WOlllaJl may have a sweet voice; but that sweetness of voice comes 01 the past morality of her race. That she can sing- with it at all, she owes to the determination of laws of music hr the morality of the past, livery act, every Lif virtue and vice, affects in any creature, face, voice, power, and vigour and harmony of invention fit once. Per- severance in rightness of human conduct venders, after a certain number of g'nerttion?, human art possible1: o"* r^r ,in clouds it. be it ever so little a one and ?it v.cions living and following of pleasure render, after :i c-rtam number of generations, all art impossible. *i»>n are h< 7* by the long-suffering of the laws of nature: and mi>tr,kc. ill a nation, the reward of the virtue of its sir* for the issue of its own sins. The time of their visitation will c ane, and that inevitably; for it is always true that if the fathers have eaten sour gi'.tpes, the children's teeth ftrel:t on edge. And for the individual, as soon as "ou have learned to read, you may, as I said, know him to the heart s core, through his art. Let his art-gift be ever so great, and cultivated to the height by the schools of a great race of men. and it is still but a tape,try thrown over bis own ¡"im: au,1 inner soul; and tlie bearing of it will show int'aL.biy wh- thiTit hangs on a man, or on fv skeleton, It you art: <um-oyed, vou may not see the d'tfrrenee In the fall of the folds at hrst, but learn how to look, and the folds themselves will beconui transparent, and you shall see through them the«.eatus shape, or the divine one. making thu ti>-u • it as a cloud of light, or a* a winding-sheet.—-Int Ii: oJ the A. I by John B¡;sl;ill, LL.D.

A HOLIDAY SAIL IN THE BRISTOL CHANNEL. (From the Daibi News.) THf: PROPOSAL. Do comc to sea somehow and somewhere, and help me tG blow these miserable I,ondon cobwebs out of my bruins, these foul street smell, out of my nostrils, club gossip amI drawing-room small-talk, and th,? clatter of lobbies, out of my ears, and all the smoke and noise, th? splendour and havoc of thia atrocious citvout of my sou l Tis not?n'ea to every man with a hcMrt and a stomach for the ?ta to keep a Zael,t, First Lo, (I f the A, and to ?,o cl--is- Mginimironet?tfri?ateatthehe:tdffttcombmed squadron. A week on bot!? a Y?cht in the Solent has its d??,?b a,kE?. IU,?l?,s your fricmj has a tolerably strong will of his own, there is apt to be a chronic difficulty in getting under weigh; and to be on board from morning to night, and at anchor, is a recreation scarcely less fatiguing than to spend ail day at the club-house. Still as I stood on West- minster hridgoeyesterday-not, as the poet says, at midnight, but at noon-andgazingon the turbid tidal water as it festered in the sunshine, the longing to be anywhere, anywhere, out of the horrible crowd of one's fellow creatures for ever seething in this vast human cauldron, became so irrepressi- ble, that ItS soon as I get back to my den, I scrawl you this petition. How and when and whither shall we go ? Let us do a3 we have done before, and get one of our old friends, the pilots, to pick us up and take us to ths Westward. Say the wore, and I'll write to our veteran shipmate the dock- master lit X., and beg him to engage and crew. On 3loii(lziy weelt we will run Ao ? .I Monday week we will run fyvfo Vatchet, join our ship, slip down Chp;iQej with tbc evening tide. Meanwhile jot*- 0 justice id Your ancient reputation as chief of the ▼ictualliug department, and prepare a hamper that will keep all hands alive and kicking for a fortnight, in case we should be swept out too far in t¿IC Atlantic, or wrecked on some undiscovered island. I don't forget your wonder- ful sea pies. your curious curries, and y<wr other amazing culinary improvisations; and I know I needn't hint at a cask of cider, at three sorts of grog, or at the fried onions, for when we are well out of sight of land. On Saturday evening I will make my number at the rarsonage, aim sit under you, my pastor, brice on Sunday. ACCEPTANCE AND PREPARATION. Such was the preface to a most unfashionable holiday tour. liv return of post came a word from the Ptirson- <• All right, as the French say, old boy; you get the hot and I'll victual her; for the rest, your prescription will Buit my complaint as well as yours." So a letter to our ancient comrade, the dockmaster, brought me three days' later a reply, written in a fine Roman hand and in Tery choice English, informing me that he had secured a smart, fast, and wholesome little cutter, called the lone, belonging to brothers C- pilots, and that for Xi per day boat and crew woulll be at our disposal, and would ap- pear at the rendezvous at Watchet at the appointed time. Accordingly the Saturday following found me at the Par- sonage. But all the week long what a delightful foretaste of the pleasure to come! What a sense of elation, of emancipation, of independence Surely, as one advances in years the true secret of life is to have something to look forward to. Even an omnibus driver consoles himself with looking forward to his hurried meal, his pipe and chat, and his Suiitlit3- 0ff." Had our coming cruise been round the world, we could scarcely Imye made more comprehensive and elaborate preparations. If I did not make my will it was because my will was not worth making, and my whole real aUQ personal estate not worth the most affectionate survivor's affidavit. All my testamentary disposition con- "istcd in ?? vague hope of my nearcst friend's escaping the ;uss and cost of an undertaker, by my never coming back to be buried. But I made a funeral pile of many a drawer- ful of letters, and paid off long arrears of fond and trivial correspondence, without giving any other reason for this sudden conscientiousness than that 1 was going out ot town, and had a moment to spare for the unfulfilled offices of friendship. Send me 110 letters" were my last words: and if anybody calls say you don't know where I'm gone- possibly ??l, in a balloon, but not a 4'eaptive" one. My f;, n)l io' :bYr.I;);iiY' ilolii, mainly composed of flannels and tarpaulins. My destina- tion by beyoud cravats, and boots, ami hats, and other such frivolities of good society. My worthy host and comrade met me at the station; lie was in the highest feather, and its fresh as a four-year-old. The prospect of a cruise had restored his youth also, and he looked as if he liad no other responsibility in this world than that of vic- tualling our expedition. "Wife and cook," he said, have been as busy as bees, and the missus has really surpassed her,elf. A bit oi prime corn beef, a knuckle of pickled pork, a leg of mutton cut up and curried, an omnium gatherum pie, a sack of Tripoli onions, a ditto of 4 spuds,' two huge home-made loaves, tea, coffee, cocoa, and condiments, a cask of cider, a bottle of rum, one of brandy, and two of Irish whisky—to be drunk on the premises-we shan't quite starve. We'll lity in biscuits, crockery, knives, forks, and spoons, the latt thing on Monday." That evening, after dinner, we at-IDY host, his pleasing wife, a neighbour who looked in, and the present hitorioapher-tastilg the sweet evcniug air on his lawn, looking over one of the -diet "allPYs in England, sailing n)??r again many a 0'  dear 0]<1 1 wn t  the ?u'?f ?gone y'caM 6-? ?' .?'? ?? ???? SeH'rn and on the edge ?' the ?ark Mue Western Ocean, .1??l wondering ?hcre we shJuh bd ou,?;el,e,  thH time Tuesday night. One great object of the expedition was already attained for me. London and all its hfe and strife were clean out of mind. Our faces were set towards the Western horizon, and all our thoughts were out or sight of land. The Parson left us early, however, to mend his spiritual net. for Sunday, and for the next twenty-four hours his simple pious heart and oul were out of sight of laud also but in a very different sense. On Sunday night, however, after the day's work was well done, supper over, and just as we were going to bed-H. Come here," id the Parson, let us see how the commissariat looks. And sure enough, there were all the good things in a row on the store-room shelves, except the leg of mutton, which was to be roasted in the morning. Up betimes. The Parson going his rounds in the parish, and the present writer, bouud away on hospitable thoughts intent, to improvise a sort of farewell picnic feast at our port of departure. THE SAIL FROM WATCHLL. Our boat was to be in the hay by a p.m.; we couia au go down tùgethtr by train in time to have a ramble over the cliff- to put our luggage aboard, celebrate a tea and prawn fCR,t-fer Watchet is famous for its prawns-at the little in i, take leave of our charming company at the station and then to our ship, up stick and off, by the light of the moon. All this programme was most punctually fulfilled The pic-nic, or rather the prawn feast, was a success of good appetites and good spirits; and our pilot cutter made her appearance off the harbour, with a stupendous Aug fyin?t her main." There was a lively tumble of a sea as we rowed out to the Hihone" as our craft was called by the gallant fellows who welcomed ns and I must own that the general impression on the minds of the ladies was one of compassionate astonishment at our notion of II week's pleasure. To our own eyes, the look of the Hi- hone," as she curtsied gracefully at her cable, looked promis- ing enough and though our pilots were got up as much like landsmen as possible, and might have been butlers, or en. gine-drivers, or field preachers in plain clothes, there was something about them that convinced us they were thorough seamen in di?uise. At nine o clock we were !): down channel throush the shU n?ht dwh i sUvery moon track, with a light fair wind, and a gentle followiug sea. Before we turned in very r,?Iiiet ltly ,tt". am we were alr??tiy on the be.?t of terms with our ship s 'P'I);eli fn the pilot, 1s \'e;r1 oi:t: I and thc boy Lorenzo, whose piping 'reb)e warMmg senti- mental ditties, helped to ;lï linf¡eùIÅdhg as:I I had not visited a Londoner's piUpw for many a month. If anybody snored, it was the snore of a good conscience and a g ",d digestion. Awake at seven, we tumbled up on deck, fin(i found we were close upon a noble headland, a bright blue sky overhead, a gentle breeze, and a quiet lapping sea. An hour later we hove to off Ilfraoombo, thanking Ollr stars, as we dashed into an ocean bath, that we were not in fashion- able lodgings. Away went our punt with the Parson, to buy fresh cream and butter and herrings for breakfast, while I reduced my costume to the simplest elements, and listened to a popular performance on the concertina as we stood off and on, the ladies on the beach gazing wonderingly to sen-I ward, entranced by the siren sounds of "Not for Joseph. After a hearty breakfast we shaped a course away for lundv, and we now told our men that though we ha'll engaged their boat and their services, they were free to do their business as if we were not on board, and to look out for ships coming up Channel. However, as the wind was falling light and our spy-glasses could make nothing out on the horizon, it was unanimously resolved to catch a dish of whiting for dinner. So we edged away into that snug nook, Lee Bay, where we found three boats .1.?,,Iy busy with their lines down, and apparently driving a brisk trade. One "WI\, a pilot like ourselves, the other belonged to the shore. With four lines down for an hour and a half it was a neck and neck race between us. Two dozen and a half speedily rewarded our exertions, and Lorenzo the melodious was set to work to get our spoils ready for the frying-pan. Then, as the breeze began to freshen, up anchor, and merrily away. Well off the lano1, we put on spuds (some in their jackets), in the boiler, skinned and cropped our "Tripolis," and laid the cloth below. Now for the "litUn fish ? Where arc the,, ? Only half a dozen to be found. The rest bail been washed off the taffrail into their native element again. The disappointment was keen, but not intolerable, and we fell back on our curried mutton and, putting Lorenzo at the helm, piped all hands to dinner. It was now that we found our men were teetotallers, who would not touch even a glass of cider. Somehow or other we felt a little hurt at this extreme sobriety on the part of our comrades. Yet their virtue had its compensations. A CHASE AFTEl. A HOBBLING FILOL. After coffee and cigars on deck a bright look-out was kept and we discovered several sail to the westward, some of whom proved to be going down Channel; some mere coasters; but two or three likely-looking customers; and our present business was to cut them off. Ah but one of them ii, barque with a pilot on board, and his boat tollow- in" astern. Another is a ship without a pilot; but there conies a Pillman out of Lundy Roads, to pick her np. A third is a large brig. An Italian, I fancy, sir; bound to Cardiff or Newport; if you ha' 110 objection we 11 get a little nearer acquainted with her." The sun was going down in all his glory in the west, and the water was a path ot goid as we bore away to intercept the brig. As soon as we came within signal distance iiii(I hoisted our pilot flag, the brig, instead of holdirg on her course, and signalling to us that fhc was provided with a pilot (there was 110 boat with or Dear hcr). changed her holui a point or so to the north, and WII evidently trying to get out of our way. This manoeuvre astonished and amused us immensely. The idea of a pilot's chasing a ship like a pirate was something wonderfully strange to our simple minds. 4 Why, if he is a foreigner coming up Channel, he must surely want a pilot, if h0 hasn't got one." Oli lear no, sir, he don't want i'x. The mar. who has CLtr.e of hi/* knows better, lie mut take us if we can catch Lim but he would rather keep one who'll taka bint np for half the money he must pay us, and run the risk." II And who or what is the man r" Why, sir, be a one of them deputy-pilots, as they call themselves. They ve no liceaca and no character (except what they've lost) and this is their regular trade-to knock about the mouth of the Channel aud pick up stray foreIgners, and drive a bargain with them. I can see him pacing the deck along of the skipper; he knows what we are, sure enough, and what we are after; and you'll ee that when we get dose (as we shall, if this breeze stands) he'll disappear down below like a shot; for he's no sort of right to be there, and the skipper can't refuse v$." The chase now heame exciting, and un hour later we had got within hail of the brig the "deputy" had disappeared, !i our flag was in the wind, an,1 our chief pilot was hailing her through a speaking-trumpet, "Where are you bound tor" The brig stood on under a press of sail; a fine, heavy, wholesome-looking craft, high out of water. There was a dog barking at us with all his might from her quarter; and seven or eight swarthy faces grinning over her side. A }¡,mdsomc, thickset, youngish mun, evidently the skipper, eyed us hard for a minute or two, and then sang out. lifting his broad felt hat, ''CardeciT." "That'll do," answered our pilot, returning his courteous salute, "r Jl be with you in a second." The brig was laid to. "I'm sorry to leve you, too, gentlemen, but it's a job worth having, and if all goes well I shall be down to Coombe by the steamer on Thursday again. I'll just get my kit while the punt's put in the water." Five minutes later our puntwfls alongside the brig, and our pilot clambering over her sides like a cat, touching his cap to the skipper, who came for- ward and shook hands. "Square almy." The hrigwas on her course again. "Good bye, gentlemen; you'll be in Lundy roads îù-night" A mutual wave of the hand, and before our supper was on the table below the Italian was but a cloud in the distance, and we were skimming through the peaceful moon-track, the haze of the high light of Lundy beckoning us on. A WELSH PILOT'S FAKEWELL TO AN ITALIAN. It was an hour after midnight before we got under the Island; and as we came within gunshot of the anchorage there was a sudden flash of lights in the gathering dllrkLlCss in the S.W.. then a nause, and then II "eeon,1 flask. "What's that?" "An outward bound with a pilot on board who has not his boat with him and wants to be put ashore." Well! can't we take him off? Answer his lights, and we'll pick him up in no time," There was the long black shadow of a barque hove to not half a mile off. We sailed up within earshot, and hailed. A voice, with a very Welsh accent, "Can you take me off? We are in a hurry; and I don't know where my boat is got to." "Aye, aye; wait an instant." Away went our punt with the boy again, and back with a shrewd, round, sunburnt, jovial Welshiiian-wc, could hear him leavetaking as he stepped out of the barque—another ltalim-atnd before he was on our deck the barque was but a shadow of the night. How our new friend grinned from ear to car when he found what a strange sort of pilotboat he had hit upon! We gave him o a hearty welcome, told him we could shake him down for the night, and meanwhile a glass of grog round, and a yarn or two, would do no harm. He was so full of yarns that it was not very easy to say good night to him and when he did turn in he snored like fifty troopera. At seven a.m. be was snoring still, but be .:tlci::el:;tdfoe:r it'tk :es fi;:t\i)} the cutter, and the Par50n from the other, before I could ask them how they had slept. Ah! how he walked into the corn-beef for breukfast-that Welshman! A day of him, sir, is better than a week, I think," was Lorenzo's cynical remark as he cleared the breakfast-table. What was to be the programme for the day p the Parson would stroll over the island, and the Welshman would bear him company. I would stay on board the cutter, get her under weigh, and jog about oif and on till the afternxm. An excursion, meanwhile, with a band, came in from Ilfracombe, and a hundred passengers wont ashore in boats, and streamed up the cl¡1I. The Parson and the Pilot were seen coming down to the lauding-place at a most incon- venient moment. Wo could see them laughing till their sides shook. What at ? Our pilot had bronght out a Hix.hooter pistol, and was blaÚng away at a Murr, who waited fr the f.-?,, ducked hi?, head under :tc; ffwte'f;rt,¡:J' omin h\eb8tm: scrmtion. The cutter was performing figures of 8, aud all manner of strange evolutions after the Murr—and that was the spectacle we presented to gods and men ou the island. The Welshman's chaff was terrible, and when I suggested that he was mistaken in supposing we had fired at the Murr, and that we had only fired toirarJ.s the bird to frighten it away, and prevent it from being run over while we were practising our evolutions and frying the cutter's steering qualities, the Parson's burst of Homeric laughter fairly extinguished us, and we were fain to set about pre- parations for dinner with more than ordinary intensity, to give ourselves a countenance. As soon as dinner was des- patched (on deck) we stoollaway towards the Mumbles, on the Welsh coast, to cut off a likely foreign brig or two we had made out as soon as we cleared the Island. Two of these brigs we found to be Frenchmen, bound into Swansea, from Cherbourg aud from Brest; another was a north- countryman. Neither, of course, would suit our Welsh. man, who wanted to go up Channel. So we went about, and stood away for Hartland Point. THREE TIMBER LADEN SHIPS. I "I There's three ships <luc from Quobec, and I do believe that's one of them," said our pilot's brother, as he swept the S. W. horizon with the glass. "Well, let's catch one of them. Either will suit you, I suppose, Mr. Fluellcn." It was beginning to blow fresh now ;.the little cutter was tear- ing through the water, and throwing it over her face and neck (and ours too) pretty freely, as we drove her under her whole mainsail and a second jib. Three great hulking ships were rolling majestically up Channel, like alder- men after a city feast, under every stitch of canvas, and two of these were the expected Quebecers-jolly old sea tubs, built long before the age of clippers. We were very yoon near enough to speak them, and it was pleasant to note the cheery faces of the homeward bound as they shouted to us over the bulwarks. The second of them was an old acquaintance of the Welshman's, and when he hailed the saptaiii by name, and asked him for a "lift" up Channel, the hospitable skipper shouted, Come on I'll take a pull on my sheets. The ship was headed to the wind, our punt was out-we gave the Welshman a fine glass of grog--lie thanked us "with effusion for our hospitality, dropped into the boat, and next moment was mounting the good old ship's poop, wildly gesticulating <»ood-byes; Our punt was hauled on deck; and with two reefs in our mainsail, and a third jib, wo "let fly" and stretched away for the coast of Devon. BETWEEN BIDEFORD BAY AND LUNDY. That afternoon and evening was spent in a series 01 Jong tack between Bideford Bay and Lundy, chasing every ship we could see, speaking some of them, showing our heels to many pilot boats, and every now and then in a sudden squall dipping our lee rail, and drenching all hands with something more than spray. That was perhaps the crown- ing moment of our cruise; we were all in the highest spirits ami 1 can unhesitatingly declare that London and London people and things were no more to ine that afternoon than forgotten dreams. An hour after sunset found us snug at the anchorage we had left in the morning, but surrounded by a fleet of pilot boats driven in by bad weather. It blew hard that night, and while the galley fire was blazing, we sat ul) late into the night, and turned in in charity with all mankind. Next morning was as bright and soft as May. All the ugly clouds had vanished, the glass was rising, and to wind- ward all the sky was blue. We'll make a holiday of it and go a fishing. Bath and breakfast over, we proceeded to sea-et our lines and tackle and bait in order, and make the best of our way for the English land, a little to the east Of Mort? Point, let go our pickaxe, ,.d o,?t with .11 or ]i,Iih o:¡i- leMo cr.c;I' flh ¡;:te:J1 ti than we had done two days' before, and what was better, we took good care not to lose our spoils, but put them in ?hepauat once and devonrml them then and there; and then to Ilfracombe to look for our Chief. As we were ùdging round into the pool there was the Pilot standing on a rock, and watching us with all his eyes—he had come down by the morning's steamer from Bristol, having lett the Italian at Cardiil. Skipper," I said, "you had mac- caroni for supper on Moiitlay, ch ?" "1 CR, sir, and a precious old fowl with it, all in a mess together. That evening the Parson and his comrade retired to rest at an inn on the quay, but went on board their craft to sup. THE DELIGHTS OF THE CUCISE. We had reason to congratulate ourselves on navmg come into harbour; it blew half a gide all night, and, though the sky was hard acd clear in the morning, there was plenty of sea outside. Determined to do our duty like Britons to the last, we were a speck on the horizon by nine a.m., and reaching across Channe) in search of ships. After seounng from coast to coast in ?in, we relapsed into fishing, and towards evening, with a fair tide, beat back to Ilfracombe. Capstan-hill was thronged with groups of variegated but- terflies, in most bewitching hats and muslins, and, as we performed a series of short tucks close under the hill, and from time to time disappeared in a cloud of spray, we could see through our glasses that we were unintentionally afford- ing these" delicate creaturs" au agrceable illustration of the snare mnri moono. As we rounded the entrance of the little harbour in company with three or four other pilot boats, we must have looked like a lot of salted her- rings but I can answer for my comrade's feelings and my own-we never felt in better or happier condition. All the London cobwebs and all the parish cackle had been blown out of our eyes and cars. Alas in this life, the moment of one's highest enjoyment is dashed with the pre- sentiment of change. "When Othello landed at Cyprus and met his bride, after her stormy voyage, his absolute con- tent "nUed him with the feeling that it could not last. To-morrow was to be the last day of our cruise—the grip of the world was to be upon our shoulders once more. As wc moved slowly out of harbour, under a glorions sunshine, we cold see the white horses' manes cresting the distance likecUtettf f¿. hO'h:ie:eâ ;t tS2h" nel, and it was at least an hour before the steam-packet bound to Bristol could shn);e us olI. We hugged that lovely coast from Ilfracombe to Lynmouth, and from Lyn- mouth to Porloek, and fr om Porioek to Minehead; every headland and every noolf in the cliffs and every glimpse of distant moorJallll rccalKng to us happy days and joyous expeditions and hospitable welcomes. At the hearts of all of it. there was a longing, lingering sadness, and we tried in vaiu to cheat it by tules of the Exmoor wild stag hunting, of many a cruise in many a boat in the good old time. off Minehead the wind fell, and it seemed a chancc whet her we should reach our destination in time to catch tha last train. So, to put the best face on it, wo cried with -one accord, Let us get our last dinner ready: the last o7 the beef—of the curried mutton-the Tripolis- the spudf. &-c.-Put it all in the pot together. This was a health1 diversion to dejected ?piit?;. We were bat six milea irom our port of departure and return, when a voico from, below sang ont-" Dinner all ready, gentlemeD. W"ll, then. down jib am1 foresail and let go her anchor; let v? be as jolly as we can under the circumstances. Nr, sooner ?id thn done. and all hands fell to upon the fn?ents of the feast. How did you like that pie, Tom Well, pir, it WM very good, but 1 don t like unite so many bicitel." I "How about the nury.?" "?hats that, sir P "Why, the mntton." "0! the yalleT vitlels well, sir, if you'll 'scuse me, I don't wholly relish 'em, somehow." "How do you like the marmalade and the jam, Lorenzo?" This was the unkindest cut of all- Lorenzo blushed crimson-for, to say the truth, be hAd en- joyed stolen interviews with these delicacies, and we had ? fc?und those ?tores diminish with extraordinary rapidity. THE CLOSE. It was now time to make our last start, and to pack up our traps. All that was not consumed of tho food we left for the ship, and all our sea toggery, our" oils," and our sou'westera we distributed to our pilots. But the two re- maining bottles of grog," and the unexhausted caok of whitt will you do with them," we said, "if we leave them behind?" "Hea Ye 'em overboard, for sartain wa wouldn't keep a drop at any price." So we could only pack up the grog bottles again. And I shall not easily for. get my friend the parson's face as he seized the cider cask, took out the spigot, and let the precious liquor ooze over the cutter's side into the sea. Every drop that trickled away into the deep seemed to be a drop of his own blood. Perhaps, however, this sharp agony was a relief to the pressing sorrow of the approaching separation. 1Ve were now off our port, and though there was not water enough to float us, a tremendous surf was surging over the har- bour's mouth. Evidently it was impossible to land in our punt. We made the attempt, and were glad enough to get back safe to the cutter. Then we hoisted a flag and stood in as close as we could. Pi-esently a heavy four- oared gig appeared coining out towards us. As she swept alongside the coxswain said, Very iucky you didn't try to get in in your punt there's a sea like a house there when the tide first makes; we can just get in now in this boat." Once more, then, good bye, my lads, and good luck to the lone wherever she goes! Wc shall often think of you under Lundy, of the long, drear winter nights, when the wind and sea are raging. "Aye! it ye! gentlemen, it's not all pleasuring for us, sure enough! Good luck to you, gentlemen, let us hope we shalllllce again." We kept our moistening eyes fixed on the cutter till, as we shot through the harbour mouth, the kind faces and the hearty greeting of the good friends who had taken leave of us only five days before (it seemed a yp,ar !), recalled us as from a dream to the realities of our habitual existence. "How burnt and bronzed you are: well. W/lere nave you neell ne have been watching you for hours! Let us see the test of the lone!" We looked around, and lo! tl. lone had al- ready spread her wings, and was vanishing into the dim grey distance, like a bird.