Monmouthshire Merlin

MISCELLANEA. 4 An hotel for coloured people is projected at Wash. Ington. Count Bismarck sends two sons to the University Of Oxford. Mrs. Bloomer is the Mayor (or Mayoress) of Council Bluffs, Iowa. At Michigan city, a clergyman makes his pastoral calls upon a velocipede. The Irish Church Bill, as amended on considera- tion, now contains 71 clauses. The Southern papers chronicle a murder in Geor- gia under the head Scalawag killed." Tamberlik, the well-known tenor, has just set up a large manufactory of fire-arms at Madrid. It is said by more than one of L,rdaussel I's friends that he never admits the TÙJte¡.; to his house. Lord Mayo has, at his Own ext)ense, it seems, sent au elephant to tle Dublin -ical Gardens. Zoo,,L the titte an<^ Peticotdiac Monthly" is 0 as eet published in New Brunswick. 8titnh'oTirf9TnaI0ns Calcutta have endowed an in- ttiasons r uca^nS> children of indigent Free- A magnificent collection of etchings by Albert Uurer, has beeu made in the rooms of the Burling- ton Club. The Rev. Thomas Davies was watching two young street musicians in Chester the other day when his pocket was picked of £ 25. Charles Cadwallader, an engineer on the Central Pacific Road, has sounded the Donnor Lake to the depth of 1,600 feet without finding bottom. Mdlle. Beatrice will shortly make her appearance at the Britannia Theatre, and will be supported by several members of the company at the Princess's. In addition to jBlOO already given by his firm (the Cunard Company), Mr. Charles MacIver has for- warded to the Committee of the Liverpool Seaman's Orphan Asylum a cheque for £ 1,000. Schumann's music to "Manfred" has been per- formed at Darmstadt, not with the usual connecting text, but with the entire Byronic poem divided among the various dramatis personce. An unpublished Symphonic concertante," for violin, tenor and violoncello, by Mozart, recently discovered in the Mozarteum, was played at Salz- burg at the last concert of the institution. We understand the Duke of Portland is to expend considerable sum in the improvement of the Har- bour of Lvsbter, so as to afford additional security to dipping and boats frequenting the port. On Monday, the Welsh Presbyterians, who have «een holding their annual meetings in Liverpool, erminated their proceedings by devotional exercises In the Philharmonic Hall, which was crowded to excess. The Brisbane Courier, thinks the probabilities are that before very long the whole of the Australian colonies, with the exception of Western Australia Europe. tele«raPUic communication with Madame Carvalho, since the departure of Mdlle. Nilsson from Pans has re-appeared in « Faust," at the Grand Opera. Le Prophete" is to be repro- duced immediately, with M. Villaret in the chief character. The Marchioness De Caux (Adelina Patti) has taken up her residence in Cumberland-terrace, Regent's Park, and made her appearance on Saturday °night at the Royal Italian Opera as Amiua, in La Son- nambula." Shakspere's birthday was celebrated in Leipzic by an extraordinary performance of his "Midsum- lner Night's Dream," Mendelssohn's music being in this case as much cared for as the drama of our national poet. The death of Mr. Toulmin Smith will not stop the publication of his "English Guilds" for the Early English Text Society. His eldest daughter, who for many years helped him in his work, will complete the book. Herr Joachim played at the last concert given by the Philharmonic Society of Hamburg, bringing forward, however, nothing which is not known to an English audience. Herr Wachtel has been singing In the theatre of the same city. A New York physician reports a curious case of a dog, which had just died, having fresh blood passed into the carotid. The dead animal was thus revived, stood on his feet, wagged his tail, and lived over twelve hours, when he died again. FLIGHT OF A UNIVERSITY OFFICIAL. — Consi- derable excitement has been occasioned at Oxford .sudden flight of the Chief Proctorial officer of .|yer8ity, a mau named Soanes, who is char- AV/io" *or £ eries of a very serious character.—The CarcJ6 an<t Navy Gazette believes that Mr. des' if made some small step towards a very B Vu10 °kjec'k—the permanent preservation of the n ith cemeteries in the Crimea. Application has een made to Paris to ascertain what the French have done. Exeter must now be added to the spirited towns which have adopted the Free Libraries Act. The Mayor and Town Council took lead in the matter, and the resolution to found a Devon and Exeter Museum and Free Library was supported by four-fifths of the assembled ratepayers. The earliest novelty at the Holborn Theatre, under i Mr. Barry Sullivan's management, will be a new tragic play by the author of London Poems." Mr. Robert Buchanan is already known to playgoers by his tragedy of the The Witch-Finder," produced come some years ago at Sadler's Wells. Ruby Valley, in Nevada, is so called on account of the immense number of rubies found in thousands of the mountain streams flowing through it. These gems, though very beautiful and perfect, are too atnall to be merchantable, the largest being only as large as a pin head.-New York Tribune. The Army and Navy Gazette states that the court- martial on Captain Neame, of the 2ud battalion 10th Foot, has resulted in the acquittal of that offi- Cer of the scandalous element in the charges against him, and a verdict of guilty of unbecoming Conduct with the sentence of a reprimand. It is rumoured that it is the intention of the Queen to visit the Isle of Mau some time in the month of August, and that Mr. Goldie Taubman lias offered, or will offer, his mansion at the Nunnery to Her Majesty during her stay,which it is expected will be for two or three days.-Mvna' ¡.; Standard. The celebrated Complaynt of Scotland, A.D 1548, is to be re-edited for the Extra Series of the Early English Text Society next year by Mr. James A. H. Murray, the writer of some able papers On the Dialects of the Southern Counties of Scotland, their History and Affinities," for the Philological Society. "Lea Premieres Armes de Richelieu" has been revived at the Theatre Dejazet, with Mdlle. Dejazet in her old part of Richelieu. The reception awarded the modern Ninon on her re-appearance was as warm as any she can have known in her palmiest days, if, iudeed, with her, any days have been more palmy than the present. The number of pictures sold in the galleries of the Royal Scottish Academy during the recent exhibi- tion, amounted to 155, against 188 last year. The purchases made by the Royal Association for the Promotion of the Fine Arts number 39. The total value of the sales amounts to £ -1,860, exclusive of the pictures sold which were not priced in the cata- logue. The value of last year's sale was £ 5.678- Thespian boards are emulated in India. We learn that the Theatre of Calcutta, which is a temporary building of iron, has been entirely pulled down and packed away, with a promise from the proprietor to re-open in November with a stronger company from England and from that new dramatic centre Austra- lia. As to the opera, Signor Cogli has done so well that the committee have determined to have next cold season a stronger company of 12 vocalists, 18 ohorus-singers, and an orchestra. The Constantinople correspondent of the Pall Mall Gazette writes that the Viceroy of Egypt, after leaving Vichy, is expected on a visit to the Sultan. Arrangements are being made at His Highness's palace of Tchermigan, on the Bosphorus, for his re- ception. The Viceroy's splendid steam yacht, the Mahrousaie, is going back to the Thames to be lengthened about 50ft. to give her increased cabin accommodation, and also to have more boiler power added to her. Plans have arrived from England for a very magnificent large steam yacht for the Sultan, to eclipse anything ever yet built, both as to speed and costliness. The works on the various new palaces are being pushed on, We understand that David Henderson, fisherman, accused of child murder, is to be removed to a. lunatic asylum. It is believed, however, that he is nJW" so.n6.—hern hiisian Mr. George Clarke, who threw himself unon the Hijrh Level Crystal Palace line on Friday before an approaching train, died on Sunday afternoon in Thomas's Hospital. He was. it appears, a master carpenter at Peckham. ACQUITTAL OF YOUNG CHALONER FOR THE MUR- DER OF WHITAKEB.—QUEBEC, May 5th,-The tn8; for murder of H. J. Chaloner, who shot Ensign Whi- taker for seducing his sister, terminated last night. The jury were locked up till this morning, when ttiey seturned a verdict of not guilty. Chaloner was loudly cheered outside the Court-house. ACCIDENT ON THE DUBLIN AND BELFAST RAIL- WAY.— The night maii train, which lel't Dublin at í 30 on Friday evening, when it arrived near Porta- down, ran off the line. The guard and a letter-sor- ter in the posb-offiee van received slight injuries. Fortunately, the passengers all escaped. It is stated that the accident occurred from a stone being placed on the line* but this report wants confirmation. KILLED BY SWALLOWING A SHRIMP.—An inquest -vaa held at the Southampton Infirmary, on Friday afternoon, on the body of Fanny Haynes, aged ten months. It appeared that a day or two previous ohe child's mother had partaken of shrimps for tea, and deceased was given a small portion. She was suddenly attacked with a fit of coughing, which continued till she became black in the face. She was taken to the Infirmary in a dying state from suffocation, and the resident surgeon immediately performed an operation on the throat, and inserted a silver tube for her to breath through. This gave temporary relief, but the child died next morning. A post-mortem examination showed that portions of a Sil imp covered with shall had become lodged in the air-pipe of the right lung, sufficient, the doctor said,to cause death. A verdict of "Accidental death" was returned. ATTEMPT TO MURDER A FATHER.-At the Bir- mingham Police-court, on Monday, George Page was charged with threatening to murder his father, Mr. Page, landlord of the Soho Tavern, Handsworth. On Saturday night the prisoner, who is of a very violent temper, came into his father's house much the worse for drink. His father reproached him, and the young man rushed upstairs, returning in a few seconds with a large carving knife and steel. He called out in the most horrible language that he would have his father's life, and rushed at him. Mr. Page, senior, had just time to run up to a room, and lock himself in. The infuriated young man followed and attempted to burst open the door. Ho succeeded just as the father made his escape by the window. The prisoner then attempted to stab Elizabeth Nash, the housekeeper,.but she also made her escape. Page continued in the house in a furious state, doing con- siderable damage to some furniture and plate-glass windovts. He was with difficulty secured by the police. He was ordered to find substantial sureties or go to gaol for six months. MORE PROSECUTIONS OF BETTING MEN.—At Marlborough street, on Saturday last, Mr. William Miller, the landlord of a public-house in South-street, Grosvenor square, London, was charged on remand with permitting his house to be used as a betting. house, and four men named Rose, Puokeridge, New- sam, and Field-two of them gentleman's servants, and the other two servants out of place—were charged with using the said house for the purpose of bettmg. A policeman said that in October, 1859, Miller was fined at that court £ 20 and costs for allowing gambling, and 5s for car l playing The house was well known as a betting house: book makers used it to bat on horse racing. Hardly any- body want there but betting men and gentlemen's servants. Complaints had been made of servants biing taken to the house to make bets. Mr. Newton thought all the defendants had acted prudently in withdrawing their plea of Not guilty." No one could doubt that the offence had been proved, Miller must pay a fine of £ 50 Field would be dis- ci rled, and the other three defendants must pay 20s each. I GUNPOWDER EXPLOSION NEAR KENDAL.—DES- TRUCTION ov EIGHT POWDER MILLS.—About eleven u'clock on Saturday night last a serious explosion of gunpowder occurred on the premises of the New Sedgwick Gunpowder Works, near Kendal, causing the destruction of eight powder mills, together with the machinery and a large quantity of guupowder. Two workmen, named George Metcalf and James Tomlinson, the only persons working on the premises were engaged with their work, each man being in separate mills, when they were alarmed by hear- ing a report of an explosion proceeding from an adjoining powder mill, in which no one was work- ing. The men immediately endeavoured to make their escape, but, unfortunately, the fire spread to the mill in which Tomlinson was working, so that it also exploded before the poor fellow could make his escape. He was severely burnt on his head, face, and other parts of his body, and is now lying at Sedgwick in a precarious state. The explosion is supposed to have been caused by the friction of some part of the machinery in the process of mauufactur. ing, thus causing ignition. The damage to the pro. perty—not insured-is estimated at E600. ACCIDENT TO THE MANCHESTER AND LONDON EXPRESS.—On Monday afternoon an accident oc- curred on the North Staffordshire Railway, near the station at Stoke-upon-Treut, which created consider- able alarm at the time, and caused much damage, although the personal injuries are not thought to be of any very serious character. It appears that the London and North-Western express train leaves Man- chester at twelve o'clock at noon, running over the North Staffordshire line from Macclesfield to Staf- ford without stopping between those stations, except at Stoke-upon-Trent. On Monday the train was about ten minutes late. A few minutes after its arrival a local train, running from Stoke to Newcastle and Silverdale, was being shunted, near the ticket plat- form, when one of the carriages got off the line, and the express, which does not stop at the ticket plat- form, like ordinary trains, ran into it, and scattered a considerable portion of it into fragments in all directions. Every carriage in the local train was I more or less damaged, but fortunately the train con- I tained no passengers. The passengers in the express 1 train (who were very numerous) were much alarmed, and many of them were bruised, but none of them received such injuries as to necessitate detention at l Stoke-upon-Trent. THREE MEN BURIED ALIVE IN A BOG.-On Satur- day, a labourer in the employment of Mr. M'Keown of Beirobbin, near Dundalk, named Peter Conlan, was brought to Louth Hospital, suffering from a terrible wound in one of his legs, and very much ex- hausted by a profuse loss of blood. It appears that Conlau, with Patrick Arlutegart and Peter Lynch, fellow-labourers, was cutting turf down in a bog- hole, not less than twenty feet deep when one of the banks gave way and tumbled upon them. Fortun ately other labourers were at hand, who proceeded to dig them out as fast as possible. Conlan was first extricated from his perilous position, and it was found that the calf of one of his legs was half cut through, and hung nearly off. A young man named Patrick Rourke then took off the kerchief from his neck,and tied it very tightly round the leg,above the wound, thus stopping the bleeding and the wound was subsequently attended to by Dr. Callan, of DUL| dalk, who put ten stitches in it, each an inch apart. It seems that Conlan had his foot on the slane when the bank fell, and before they began to dig around him a man saw the slane, and pulled it out, thus in- advertedly inflicting the large wound referred to. M'Integart and Lynch, who were prostrated under the bank of turf with the wounded man, escaped unhurt though the bank was several tons weight.- Dublin Express. SUFFOCATED IN A TURKISH BATH.-An inquest was held at Leicester on Sunday, on the body of Albert Samuels, a carpenter, aged thirty-seven, who waB found early that morning suffocated in a Tur- kish bath, situate in New street, Leicester. The de- ceased, who resided with his father, the manager of of the baths, it seems retired to rest about half-past ten o'clock on Saturday night. Towards one o'clock in the morning, Mr. Samuels, sen., heard some one going downstairs, but took no notice of it. On get- ting up at a quarter to five o'clock, lie proceeded to the sweating room," for the purpose of opening the place. It was with some difficulty that he opened the door, on account of one of the wooden beds" or benches being against the inner side. On open- ing the door, deceased was found to be lying on the couch with his head against the flue. He was quite ing the door, deceased was found to be lying on the couch with his head against the flue. He was quite dead. Dr. Blunt was called in, and found that the "sweating room" then showed 142 degrees of tem- perature. It was thought that deceased on Saturday night had forgotten to put into the bath a bag of horsehair, for the purpose of destroying the moths in it, and that he went downstairs early on Sunday morning to put it in prior to the opening of the baths, and that when in the sweating room he either fell down in a fit, or, being drowsy, fell down and was so suffocated. A verdict of "Death from suffoca^ tion" wm letoroea, Wolves are still caught in Illinois and Wisconsin, One Bridget Hogan made her 130th appearance be. fore the Limerick magistrates on Friday for drunk. enness. She was sent to gaol for a month. Her Majesty has contributed £1°,0 towards the fund for enlarging the National Sanatorium for Consumption and Diseases of the Chest at Bourne. mouth. RECOVERY OF STOLEN PLATE.—Some two months a^o, a large quantity of plate was stolen from Castle Irvine, County Fermanagh, a beautiful mansion, the property and winter residence of Henry M.D Arcey Irvine Esq. Anxious and continued searches were made 'in vain, but on Wednesday, while some la- bourers were DIGGING in Jintona bog, t LEY came upon the missing plate, all being recovered save one- half of. a lame. silver shield. ILLNESS OF THE HiMPEBOB OF KUSSIA.—Accord- ing to accounts from St. Petersburg, the continued indisposition of the Emperor Alexander is beginning to cause uneasiness to his medical men. His Majes- ty, it has been stated, was a few weeks back cross- ing a bridge in an open carriage with his eldest son when the horses took fright, and dashing across the footpath were only prevented by the parapet from failing with the vehicle into the river. The shock was, however, so violent that fears were entertained that the Emperor might have suffered some internal injury, and since the accident he has been unwell. The belief is that the Czar will try a cure at ono ol the German watering places. A CHAPTER IN EMIGRANT LIFE.—At the Hul] Police Court on Saturday, a Swedish woman, named Eva Svensdater, 22 years of age, was charged on remand with concealing the birth of her male child. It seemed that the woman had sailed from Gotten- burg on board of the s.s. Albion, of and for Hull about a fortnight ago, with many hundreds of emi- grants who arrived in Hull en route for Liverpool. A day after the Albion arrived in Hull, the men, on taking out the cargo, discovered the body of a dead child lying in the hold. The body was given to the police, but the emigrants had left Hull for Liverpool. Detective-Sergeant Smith left Hull for Liverpool, with a warrant for the apprehension of the woman, whom he was successful in taking into custody, and in bringing to Hull. In reply to the Police Court Interpreter, Dr. Jacobsen, the prisoner said that she had been confined of a child at sea on the voyage to Hull, but it was still-born. At the'in- quest the jury returned a verdict of found dead with marks of violence on it, but that there was no evidence to show if it was born alive or not. After the evidence had been gone through on Saturday, the prisoner was fully committed to York Assizes to take her trial on a charge of concealment of birth. MUNIFICENT BEQUESTS TO THE CHURCH OF SCOT- LAND, &C.—The late Mr. Robertson Chaplin, of Col- lision, who died at his residence, Colliston House near Arbroath, on Saturday last, has bequeathed the following sums to schemes connected with the Church of Scotland :—Society in Edinburgh for the benetit of the Sons of the Clergy, £5,000; Endow. ment Fund (Angus and Mearns District), 92,000 Foreign Mission Scheme jE2,000 Education Scheme £ 1,000 Home Mission Scheme, £1,000. There are also the following charitable bequests :—Blind Asy- lum, Nicholson-street, Edinburgh, £ ,1000 Arbroath Infirmary, £ 500 Arbroath Industrial School, £ 500 Arbroath Abbey Charity School, £ 500 Arbroath Clothing Society, jE500 Arbroath Female Benevo- lent Society, £ 200 Poor of the Parish of St. Vi. geans, Arbroath, £200. Mr. Robertson Chaplin, who has made these large bequests, died in his eighty, fourth year, and on Friday his remains were buried in the Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh. In early life he was a Brazilian merchant, and, on the death of his brother, Mr. Thomas Robertson, accountant, in Edin. burgh, lie, as cousin-german to the late Mr. George Chaplin, of Colliston, succeeded to that estate. He then assumed the surname of Chaplin. The estate of Colliston anciently belonged to the Abbey of Ar- broath and the Chaplins had derived their name from one of them having been chaplain to the abbot. The deceased Mr. Robertson Chaplin was a liberal supporter of oliaiities in the district in whioli he resided, and throughout the county. Under the entail this estate of Colliston now goes to Dr. Chap- lin Child, of Cheltenham, formerly of Edinburgh.— Scotsman. A GREAT PROJECT.—The Municipal Council of Bordeaux have now under consideration a scheme which may, with little hesitation, be pronounced as having for its object the grandest, most important, and most economical work that has ever been pro- posed for centuries, and it is one, moreover, which especially interests the commercial world of Great Britain. The project is simply the cutting a great ship canal from the Bay of Biscay to the Mediter- ranean The proposer, M. Staal de Magnoncourt, estimates the cost of the work at 442,000,000f., less than £18,000,000 sterling, and the time necessary for its completion at six years. It would form a direct line of communication with India by the Isthmus of Suez, and save the whole circuit of the Portuguese and Spanish coasts in the case of ships from England or any of the northern ports of Eu- rope. It is very probable that England might derive some benefit commercially from such a scheme, but it is also probable that the possession of Gibraltar might not prove so valuable as it is at present as- sumed to be. As regards the practicability and the comparative economy of the project there cannot be a doubt. Lot any one cast his eye over the map of France, and lie will see that if a straight line be drawn from Bordeaux through Toulouse,it will touch I the coast of the Gulf of Lyons not far from Perpig" nan. From Bordeaux to Toulouse the Garonne is a navigable and busy river, so that over two-thirds of the lino it is only a question of widening and cor- recting a waterway already in existence. From Toulouse to the Gulf of Lyons there exists the Canal du Midi, and by means of these an immense traflio is carried on between the southern and western de- partments of France. The line of water exists al- ready all that is required is to deepen aud straigh- ten it; and if this could be done iu half the time mentioned at double the cost it would be the most economical piece of work perhaps that was ever execu ted.- T he Engineer. UNVEILING OF THE OASTLER MONUMENT AT BEADFOBD.—The bronze monument erected at Brad- ford to the memory of the late Mr. Oastler was un- veiled on Saturday by the Earl of Shaftesbury, who, when Lord Ashley, was the friend of Oantler in his exertions for ameliorating the condition of the fac- tory operatives. Mr. Oastler, who died at Harro- gate in 1861, was interred in Kirkstall Churchyard, and in the church there is a beautiful stained glass window to his memory. Soon after ltis death, how- ever, a strong feeling was manifested in the district which his labours had so largely benefitted, that some more public and appropriate memorial should be reared to him. At a meeting convened by the late Mr. William Walker, at the request of a depu- tation of working men, and held at Brighouse, on Saturday, September 14th, 1SG1, it was resolved to erect a suitable monument to perpetuate the memory of Mr. Oastler, and that an appeal be made to the factory operatives of the United Kingdom, and to the public generally, for subscriptions and contri- butions. The movement was started under very influential auspices, a large number of noblemen and gentlemen having expressed their approval of, and desire to co-operate in the object. An execu- tive committee was appointed. At a meeting held on the 4th of July, in 1863, the model for a statue, furnished by Mr. J. Birnie Philip, of London,, was selected as the m ost suitable one, and he was commissioned to execute it for the sum of a thousand pounds. Mr. Oastler is represented in the act of making an appeal on behalf of the factory child- ren, two of whom are grouped at his side. The group is of bronze, and is placed on a pedestal of polished red and grey granite. The enrichment of. the cornice is incised and gilt, as also the inscription which runs as follows :—Oastler. — Born at Leeds, December 20, 1789.—Died at Harrogate, August 22, 1861.—The figure of Mr. Oastler is dressed in an or-; dinary frock coat, with trousers, and gaiters covering the boots. The likeness is considered to be very good. The factory children are attired—the boy in corduroys and smock, and the girl in a striped dress, with pinafore in front, and they both wear Yorkshire clogs. The group was cast at the works of Messrs. H. Prince and Co., Southwark, and the total weight of the bronze is upwards of three tons. The pedes- tal came from the works of Messrs. D. H. and J. Newall, of Dalbeattie. The cost of the pedestal, &c., was £500. On Saturday afternoon there was a vast procession of factory workers from Bradford and the surrounding districts, carrying various large banners and flags, and accompanied by numerous brass bands which met the Earl of Shaftesbury in Peel Park, and an address referring to the beneficial results of fac- tory legislation, and to his lordship's great labours and sacrifices in the cause,was then presented to him. His Lordship, and those composing the procession, then marched to the monument in the centre of Bradford, where the ceremony of unveiling the statue was performed amid great cheering. Speeches were delivered by the Earl of Shaftesbury, Alr, JTorstW. 1aI,f.¡ Mr, WI Eeuaad, AND MR, Miall, The fasting girl at Ulverston, after having ab- stained from food since lass October, has now com- merced to both eat and talk. She haf, according to report, been twenty-fiva weeks without any solid food passing her lips, and sixteen without having her lips £ .v.en.moistened. ifr. Jenzsch, of Gotha, has for somo years past de- voted himself to what he calls microscopic .itixlo- gical researches, and now announces that in various kinds of crystalline and volcanic rock he has disco- vered minute animal and vegetable forms in prodi- gious numbers and in a fossil condition. Some of these minute creatures he describes as having been petrified in the midst of their life functions." Among them he finds infusoria and Rotiferso, inter- mingled with algae, and he infers their formation in a large expanse of stagnant water. By the publi- cation of a small book on the subject Dr. Jenzsch offers means for testing the accuracy of his conclu- sions. Which of our geologists will undertake to crack this elaborate nut, and te.l us whether it con- tains a digestible kernel ?—Athenusum. The Scientific American says:—"It has recently been found that what is called charged tiik is very liable to spontaneous combustion. This article, some of our readers are aware, consists of silk which, after having been exposed to the operations of bleaching, cleansing, &c., and losing considerable weight, is brought back to its original condition by the addi- tion of certain astringents, such as catechu, gall nuts, aud various salts, especially the sulphate of iron, by which means an increase in weigiit from one to two or three hundred per cent. is sometiaies effected. When dried, at about 212 deg. or 225 deg., this silk has been known to take fire spontaneously as soon as the air had access to it. The result ap- peared due to the rapid absorption of moisture and attendant oxidation." INTERESTING GATHERING.-The New YorkTimei reports that the ladies of the Sorosia" Club, at New York, gave a dinner, or, as it was styled, a tea, On the 24th ult., at Delmonico's to some fifty or sixty gentlemen, more or less connected with the press. For four hours speeches were delivered continuously by about a score of the ladies, none of the bearded guests being permitted the pleasure of speechifying. Some of the speeches were exceedingly pretty and piquant, while others were of the thoughtful and earnest order. The self possession of the orators- some of them damsels of twenty and others matrons of fifty—was quite remarkable. There is promise of an enormous addition, in the near future, to the already terrible multitude of American orators. As a sign of the times, the "tea" of Saturday was a remarkable affair. SOMETHING LIKE A WIFE.-Very recently the ship Chieftain reached this port from Calcutta, hav- incr been safely piloted across two stormy oceans by a woman. Captain Macguire was prostrated with fever at Calcutta, and was unable to assume com- mand, and tne mates were inexperienced and in- competent but his wife, who accompanied him, took his post, and filled it bravely. She made all the observations herself. She kept the log-book. She was on deck all hours of the day and night. She watched the barometer. She noted the shift- ing cloudsand varying breezes. But in the midst of her multiform duties she was unremitting in her attention to her husband. In the sick chamber she was soft, soothing, and tender on the deck she was stern, unyielding, and peremptory. The sailors were disciplined and obedient, the weather favour- able, the voyage short and prosperous. This was being strong-minded to some purpose.—New York Round Table. THE ALABAMA QUESTION.—It has been reliably uscertaiued that the instructions of this Government to Mr. Motley do not suggest any mode of adjusting the pending questions between the United States and Great Britain, nor do they require him at pre- sent to propose the re-opening of negociations for the settlement of the Alabama and the other claims. Our Government will act with the deliberation due tj tliii important subject, and carefully avoiding cmse of offence, while firmly presenting the Ameri- can side of the question to Her Majesty's Govern- ulant., when oeoasfou shall requiru. Nu one connec- ted with the Administration, iucludiug the Presi- dent, nor does the British Minister, apprehend any injurious consequences from the almost unanimous rejection of the Alabama claims treaty by the Se- nate, and this is stated on the authority of ueutie men who, fearful of serious diiiicuities, made special and private inquiries in official circles, and thus sa- tisfied themselves of the truth of this statement.— Philadelphia Public Ledger, May 3rd. OUR FORTIFICATIONS.—The Times says the sum actually expended, and expended, as we are now told, with good effect, upon these national defences, amounted at Midsummer last year to no less than £ 5,118,tS38. We have said that the moral to be drawn from this story is not encouraging, and iu proof of our words we will merely ask the reader to recall the arguments of the great military contro- versy during the last six months. As far as such views are concerned, we might just as well have pitched our five millions into the sea at once. Not the slightest heed was taken of these fortifi-ations, or their place in the system of our national defences. Except on a single occasion, we doubt if they were so much as alluded to. The whole thing was al- lowed to drop out of mind, and we were called on for fresh levies and new establishments jutt as if no defensive works had ever been thought of. These fortifications, we had been assured, would enable us to economise our power, to make uur land forces go as far as possible, and to offer the most formidable not to say insurmountable, obstacles to au illvader. They are now not even included in the account, or honoured with so much as mention. If our tieets should be defeated and the command of the Channel lost, the enemy, it is said, would throw his hosts upon our shores, and there would be nothing to st. p him for a single week. The war would be "shoiL s iarp, and decisive," and the only chance for us is to maintain a standing army of about half-a-miiliou of men, so distributed between active and reserve forces that the whole body might take the field at twenty-four hours' notice. That is all we have got for £ 5,000,000 actually spent, and some £ 3,000,000 Of expenditure in prospqet. The cry is as loud after all We have done as if we had done nothing at all. Smce the alarm was first sounded we have increased °jlr ^ahd forces in mere numbers just eighty-fold— other improvements considered, we may say a hun- ured-fola. Gunboats, turret-ships, allll torpedoes would render a landing on our shores infinitely more hazardous than formerly, and yet-just as in 1849, so in 1859, and just as in 1859, so in It.69—we are ?S(~ribed as witiiout any security against invasion. that is not a story without an end, it is one wTith a very unpleasant conclusion. TUFI QUEEN'S GIFT OF BALMORAL BURSARIES — We have reason to believe that the Queen has ap- propriated £2,500 of the profits arising from the sale j ,he Leaves from a Journal" to establishing eciiool and college bursaries for the benefit of well- aeserviug scholars in the district round Balmoral, ihe deed of gift is dated the 14th inst., and pro- ceeds on the recital that Her Majesty, being de- sirous to commemorate the happiness enjoyed by ourselves and our dearly beloved Consort, his Royal Highness the Prince Albert, at Balmoral, in some manner that may benefit the people of the district around our castle and estate of Balmoral, in the uni- ted parishes of Crathie and Braemar, in the county of Aberdeen," "has resolved to establish certain bursaries (to be called < the Balmoral Bursaries ') in connection with the parish school of Crathie and the school of Girnock, and the University of Aber- deen respectively." It creates a trust of the endow- ment fund in tHe persons of the Keeper of the Royal rrivy Purse and principal of the University of Aoer- deen for the time, for the payment of three or more Dursanes of £5 each per annum to scholars at the parish school of Crathie, or at Her Majesty's school at Uirnock, and of three bursaries of £ _5 each to students who shall attend the University of Aber- deen. The bursaries are to be enjoyed for a term Of not more thau four years each, but on the direc- tion ot the patron the trustees may pay to a bursar, on his quitting the university, £ 25 towards his outfit or his advancement in life. The bursars are to be selected from the families or relatives of those who are or have been servants, retainers, tenants, or cot- ters upon the estates at Balmoral, Abergeldie, orBirk- han, and, failing these, from the families of persons living in the united parishes of Crathie and Braemar. The patronage is vested in Her Majesty and her suc- cessors in the estate of Balmoral. The deed contains a power of revision by Her Majesty at any time, or at certain intervals by the patron and trustees for the 1,1 ™6 so as to meet any alteration either with avail- fnnds, or in the circumstances of the country, or the class of persons intended to be benefited." An important and admirable feature in the endowment is a declaration that "the bursaries are not to be given in connection with special education for any profession, in the choice of which the bursars shall be quite free, the object being to assist in pro- curing for the bursars the means of a thoroughly souud general education of the best kind which the .pah school and univerj$ity respet;tivoly pan Afford," Two good readers have been added to the list of those who are seeking the public ear. Mr. Henry IToll, who will be remembered by plavgoers as the graceful jeuiio hotnme of tho Haymarket made an appearance at the Westbourne Hall, on Tuesday evening. Mr. Sydney Abbott made his first ap- pearance on Saturday evening, at the Gallery of Illustration. His style is fresh and natural. A clock which has just been completed for the Cathedral of Beauvais contains 90,000 wheels and indicates, amongst many other things, the days of the week, the month, the year, the signs of the Zo- diac, the equation of time, the course of the planets, the phases of the moon. the time at every capital in the world, the moveable feasts for 100 years, the saints' day, &c. Perhaps the most curious part of the mechanism is that which gives the additional day in leap year, and which consequently is called into action only once in four years. The clock is wound up every eight days. The main dial is 12ft. in diameter, and the total cost exceeds £8000. THE QUEEN TRAVELLING BY RAIL. — The two saloon carriages, which have been specially built by the directors of the London and North-Western Rail- way for the use of the Queen while travelling to and from Scotland, were used for the first time on the journey from Windsor to Balmoral, on Friday and Saturday. Her Majesty and Princess Louise occu- pied the new saloons,which were placed in the centre of the train. Immediately in the rear of the Queen's carriage was the old saloon formerly used by the Queen, and now Eet apart for the accommodation of Prince Leopold. In a carriage next to Her Majesty were Princess Beatrice, her governess, and maid. The saloons behind that of Prince Leopold were for the Duchess of Athole, Lady Susan Melville, the Hon. Miss Macdonald, the Minister of State, General Grey, Lord Charles Fitzroy, Dr. Hoffmeister, Mr. Sahl, the railway officials, and Prince Christian's attendants. Her Majesty's dresses, ladies' maids, pages, upper servants, and domestics rode in the front carriages of the train, which, besides the engine, consisted of 15 vehicles. BURNING OF THE CLIPPER BLUE JACKET.-On Monday a telegram was received in Liverpool from Queenstown announcing the burning at sea of the clipper Blue Jacket, Captain White, whilst on a voyage from New Zealand to London. The telegram runs as follows :—Pyrmont, of Hamburg, just arri- ved. Inlat. 50 S., long 54 W., she picked up, on the 16th March, Captain White, first officer, seven of the crew, and all the passengers of the ship Blue Jacket, of Liverpool, burnt March 9th, thirty-seven in number, in one boat. Two life boats missing, in charge of second and third officers, with thirty-one men. The steward, fourth officer, and one passen- ger died shortly after getting on board the Pyrmont. Four thousand sovereigns were saved, 4,000 were in each boat missing, and 48,000 lost in the vessel." A further desratch adds the vessel was bound from Lyttleton, New Zealand, to London, with a cargo of wool and a large amount of specie. The Blue Jacket was, we believe, built at Boston, in 1854, especially for the Australian emigration trade. She was 1,442 tons register, and was considered one of the finest clipper ships of the White Star line although her sister ship, the Red Jacket, was at one time looked upon as the best ship in the fleet. The Blue Jacket was owned in London. SERIOUS RIOT AT LEA BRIDGE.—A brutal assault on a policeman took place at Lea Bridge on Sunday night. There had been a disturbance amongst a crowd of drunken navvies, and a man named Smith Laving made himself prominent in resisting a police- man who tried to disperse the crowd, the officer took him into custody. Two other policemen came to their comrade's assistance, and they proceeded to take the prisoner to the police-station, one of them, named Ward, walking a short distance behind the others to keep off the mob who followed them, shout- ing and yelling. Suddenly a man in the crowd took a large brickbat from under his coat and threw it at the policeman Ward's head. It struck him on the back of his head, and he fell insensible to the ground. The other policemen were unable to ren- der him any assistance, as their prisoner was making desperate struggles to escape. The'wounded police"- ms n was conveyed to a neighbouring public-house, and a surgeon sent for, who found that the back of the man's helmet had been completely smashed in, aud the back of his head laid open by a fearful wound, producing concussion of the brain. The man who threw the missile is said to be an old of- fender, "well known to the police," but be has not yet been apprehended. A RAILWAY TUBE UNDER THE SEVERN.-We understand that an effort will be made next session of Parliament to bring to a practical issue the im- portant question of shortening the railway distance between South Wales and London. Between the dock at Lydney and the intended new basin of the Gloucester canal at Berkeley Pill, it is intended to construct a subway by sinking in the bed of the Severn an iron tube, and then to connect the mouth thereof with the railway running east, to a junction with the Midland and Great Western at Stonehouse, and the railway running west, connecting the sub- way with the Midland at Thornbury, the South Wales Union at Pilning, and the Bristol port and pier at Avonmouth. By means of the eastern branch the mileage, it is stated, from South Wales to Lon- don will be shortened by 17 miles, and by the West- ( ern fork the South Wales coals will finit new markets both at the Gloucester basin and Bristol docks. The opposition which sent the compromise bridge scheme to the "Tomb of the Capulets" will, it seems, be turned in the present instance into support, the project having been put forward by some of the promoters of the bridges for which bills were passed in the 1865 session. It is expected that this new. idea will be ushered into the committee-room as a doviat'on of the authorised Severn junction bridge. — Bristol Post. TEMPERANCE DEMONSTRATION IN LONDON.—A grand temperance procession and demonstration tock place on Monday, comprising all the metropolitan temperance societies, who, with banners and bauds began to assemble in Lincoln's Inn Fields, as early as nine o'clock, where they were marshalled by Messrs. Kayne, Holloway, Hurst, Hawkins, and Car- ter. The procession, which was headed by the moun. ted representatives of London and provincial temper- ance societies, was numerous, no fewer than 50 socie. ties contributing to swell the ranks. It left Lincoln's lun Fields about half past ten a.m., and proceeded along Great Queen street,Long Acre, Bow street,Wel- lington-street, Strand, Pall Mall, St. James's-street, Piccadilly, Kinghtsbridge, andBrompton, en route for Beaufort House. The different societies were all well supplied with banners, and most of the members ore stars or sashes, and other ornaments A large number of carriages, wagonettes, carts, and cabs c jntaining committees, delegates and representatives brought up the sear. Ou arriving at the Beaufort House grounds, entertainments and meetings were given and held at different hours in the afternoon, and the bands of music played at intervals. Oppor- tunities were abundantly scattered about for sign- ing the pledge, and refreshments in the shape of tea and coffee were provided for those who chose to pay for them. The whole demonstration was ter- minated by an ascent of fire balloons at eight o'clock in the evening. This demonstration may be fairly looked upon as a success as regards the procession. MR. REVERDY JOHNSON ON THE RELATIONS BETWEEN ENGLAND AND AMERICA.—The Mayor of Southampton has received the following letter from Mr. Reverdy Johnson, in reply to an invita- tion to a banquet before his departure from that port for America :-London, May 15th.—Sir,—The hospitality of the inhabitants ot Southampton, ten- dered me in a banquet to take place on such day as I might name, prior to my departure from England for America, I would gladly and gratefully accept if I could. But my engagements are such that I find it impossible to do so. From the moment of my arrival in your country to the present time I have used my best efforts to cultivate in your people a friendly feeling for the United States, and I have reason to believe in this I have not failed. The pre- sent invitation confirms me in this opinion. I shall leave England with the conviction that the people and her Government consider that a war between the two countries would be as dire a calamity as could befall them, and this, I have no doubt, is also the conviction of my government and the people of the United States. For a few days, owing to re- ceut occurrences to which it is only necessary to allude, apprehensions were entertained that such a misfortune might occur. These, I am gratified to find, already cease to exist. I shall retnrn, therefore to my home with the assurance that the amicable relations between the two nations are not to be seriously disturbed. This not happening, the career of both will necessarily be more prosperous in the future than it has been in the past, and the cause of free government be placed upon a firmer founda. tion than ever. With my best wishes to you, Mr. Mayor, and to your corporative authorities, for the honour they have offered me,—I remain, with high regard, your obedient servant, Signed, REVERDY JCHNSON."