STAGE AND STUDIO.

[Br EtnxftK-]

- PrvscTi represented the Royal S^orCzbo^ 11 P there , ni;ermenfcof „ t r~« TTlmar has taken the ,nSt^S m (nowmMel ; place of Mi|S^o " Ruddigore,"

D,-j o ave the Queen" has been trans , and was sung at every Itotefn the United Kingdom during Se jubilee celebration. Mrs Scott Siddons is about to revisit Africa The agent of a Boston cntertam- Sbarean has concluded a contract with Efar 100 iwatab, commencing in October the composer of the well-known SS 'admired "Stephanie» gavotte, ! Jffhfc out a« the WalhaTa Theatre in Kan g_oPeretta entitled " Pentecost ab Florence," Miss Louise Pomeroy is to appear in a JplaynextsoasoninthcStates. _ During EJast season she has been paying with J£ her comedy-drama " Adirondacks " S Sr own verLn of "Lady Audley's Secret." A Union of Neglected Composers has been formed in Paris. It ought to bo very Ktrone in point of membership. YV c shall Slave fUnion of Neglected Poeto. Its numerical strength would be perfectly appalling.

There is an orchestra of 120 convicts at \oumea, New Caledonia. The conductor, *ho is working out a life sentence, was a member of the orchostra at the Opera m Paris, and was sent to Noumea for murder.

Bill? Emerson, the negro minstrel, is one of tho richest men on the stf\ge, according to the "Philadelphia Times," who snys that he has a property in San Francisco which is assessed for over 100,000d015., and Jlrs Emerson has property worth over half a million.

Another American prima donna lias just come to the front. This is Mdlie. Adiny, vho has jusfc been engaged at the Opera in Paris, She made her debut as Ghimene in Massenet's opera "Le Cid," and the press describes her as a valuable addition to the staff of the Opera.

j The municipality of Bologna offers a prize of L2OO for a grand opera. The com petition is restricted to Italians under 30 years of age who have studied at a conser vatoire, of under some well-known com poser. It is difficult to see the wisdom of tk restriction as to study.

' JoKf Hofman, the nine-year-old Polish pianist, made his London dtbut on June 9, at (he Prince's Hall. He is a round-faced, ruddy-cheeked boy with a prodigious memoty. He has a charming touch, and almost the tone and power of a man, and even if he were a grown artist, he would stiU fa considered a clever pinnist. His improvisation was, however, a failure.

. A wiiter n'lio borrows my vom de plume wntributes a two-column article to " The Magazine of Music" on " Music in Auck land." He is to atrabilious critic, and cvi dently esteoma himself a veritable " whale " in musical criticism. His character for exactness may be fairly gauged by ,the statement that the chorus of the !Cioral Society consists of 220 voices, andby his inclusion of Beethoven's " Mount ioiOlircs" in his list of works performed ,by the Society "within the last few years." p» critic's knowledge of his subject jteing therefore so very profound, my pdere may easily possess their souls in [patience as he lashes out with his tail in (tlis furious style: — A propoa of the .Choral Society, "the chief weakness is felt in the solo sinking, which is lament ably inadequate, although an occasional praiseworthy effort can be recorded." How magnanimous ! " The public is in ™t position which renders it necessary to take whatever is offered, and be thankful, »that finished renderings of the master pieces of choral art are out of the question." Singular that so fastidious a virtuoso can «found in such a benighted and dull community! The PonaonbyChoraland Phil ™onic societies " so far have not sur ged in entitling themselves to any par ticularly prominent position, chiefly be- Mttse of the evanescence of their oonstitu '»?!, which appear to be continually lan pnshing and reviving under fresh aus pices/ Ah "evanescent constitution" wich is " continually " performing the "NMleof "languishinß apd reviving" is ««r all something to be proud of. Like f^am s talking ass, it is unique. In fact, «'a just one of those things that no fellow

.J? im Noting the " critic." "As Wk • Yo)m h§re.are chiefly remarkable °r their mediocrity as to quantity, quality, J wjrbj fattVu has been said else -3 * due *°the relaxins «!..* i" ,' ■" ' As may be imagined, it h ndai>d of arfcistic excellence is not getting, unless it be the depths of gwrnce winch it exhibits of all things 2*WV T1 * most "surprising" Sffif 00'*h« " its beautiful'mixture of «¥>or. How can a standard of excel- GiLW"^ elBe' exhibifc de Pths of ffE te^P- Once more into *&S - J,^ 1' *ffcer Jew the same •ffi. 7- 18 e^lblted almosfc everywhere, iC«iV> W* and Public the same •*filS«PS lbltad> all their "nojtant,! -n , Thls P^oious sentence i Uustr tes . author , s S»4h !f fundamental principles" of fcep-fTF' ,Like the 'f mobled Cotu? ai? let|" "fche craclesfc •fumlamenfcal Principles of ButW v 2 an u ,^ od-very good indeed. ■^SfJS ™ls»PleDcfeccritio run a- P*"** from vf ' °hoioe specimens of »WS jSS^Wmewn, but I pass 6.11^1^ m<»'e tit-bits of ***** here t?"? the'neinbers of the brity S^ >ethe. m a more tlia" local *" D°t shZ dk° lti '• bnt 80 far Auckland tollspicDoß3 abiHtv°'^ SeS a comP oser of > ?*/ critics are y locally fr"*l into J an-Cl being o^worlT eCStasi(^ Mr bveid-drnf- u Par»pectablfl«', ' Bamls as a whole

DRAUGHTS.

PROBLEM No. 2.

BySlvH. D. Lyman, Washington, U.S. Black.

White. Black to play and win.

The following game was played in the Auckland Draughts Glub Room, between Mr J. Kelly and Mr R. Battersby :—

Game : No. 4 "Cross." Battcrsby's move.

*6-10 loses. +16-19, 24-15, 6-10, 14-7, 2-18, 28-24. W.W. Jl9-15, 11-18, 27-23. Drawn.

The following is another of the games played between H. Henderson, Auckland, and A. Craighead, Canterbury.

Game No. 5 : " Single Cokxek."

Craighead's move.

The following game wns played in 1876, between Mr Wylie and Mi- Yates.

Game : No. C. " Souteh.

Yatcs's move.

For the benefit of our renders who are unacquainted with book play, we give one of the openings known as tho " Old Four teenth." It i3 by having a knowledge of how to open a game that you will develop a strong position.

"Old Fourteenth."

1 i-15 This is a strong move for Black. 23-19 The same can be said of this tor the

White. 8-11 A usual reply to 23-19. 22-17 Plotting for cross-cuts and ex changes. 4- 8 Thia move defines what is known as

the " Old Fourteenth " game. 7-13 Giving White a powerful position. 5-18 A common and the most likely

move. 24-20 Tempting Black to move—ll-15. 28-24 27-24 would most likely lose. 8-11 Supporting the men on 15 and 18. 26-23 White has now a very strong game.

CORRKCTIOK.

In game No. 1 published last Saturday, from 42nd to 46th move, should have been as follows:-22-17, 26-30, 19-16, 11-15, 16-11, continuing the game as published.

The following table gives the result of ,he Auckland Draughts Club Handicap :—

The President. (Mr H. Henderson) was handicappcr, and having presented one qf the prizes, only competed for the sake of practice Tho first; prize was a dr»u.gh,tr board inlaid with Ne\v Zealand woods, the second was a set of ivory draughtsmen, and the third Gould's book of problems,

THE NEW WONDERLAND.

Tho Mai-vela of the Waiotapu Val'ey.

(By a Recent Visitor.)

Skate© at the dinner table of that most comfortable' of hotels, the Palace, at Rotorua (of winch Host Macrae, the hero of Wairoa, is proprietor), discussing the flavour of -well-cooked pheasant, our con versation was naturally about this splendid bird—the sport it afforded in the field, and the further pleasure it contributed at the table, when our host broke in with "talk about pheasants, why Galatea swarms with them." This, indeed, was pheasant news to me, for having carried my "Greener" , 540 miles through New Zealand without firing a shot, I was inclined to think the boasted plethora of game a hoax. So our route would be through the now famous Waiotapu Valley. It did not take three of us long deciding on making the trip. . Later in the eveningl Mr Taylor, the affable and clever guide agent for the Waiotapu Valley, offered ■to join us, j and was gladly welcomed. Next morn ing we started on our journey, leav ing Whakarewarewa on our left, and following the Taupo Road through the' HemoGeorge, a little further on we branch to the left, following a new road lately surveyed by Mr Blythe, and now being constructed under the supervision of Mr Morgan.

Arriving; at Mr Blythe's camp, in his absence >to wero warmly weioomed by Mr Morgan, and as time would not allow of a thorough inspection of the valley that day, we contented ourselves with a closer in spection of the marvellous Maungaka karamea, which at a distance is certainly a marvel of colouring, not to bo reproduced on canvas.

The next morning we were early astir, and visited the Green Lake, on the waters of which were several hundreds of " grebe," but owing to its being Sunday, we could but look on and wish. After breakfast, leaving the camp, and travelling about a mile down the Tanpo Road at about 10 chains from the road line we arrived at the Point Cauldron. Further on we reach the mud volcano, the most perfect cone in existence, filled to the brim with boiling nrid, and tlirowing tip bubbles charged with an oil which shows us a black speck on each bubble. The volcano, as measured by Mr Blythe and staff, is ten feet high and thirty feet across at top. At a little dis tance from this is a small volcano, quietly working up mud of a snowy whiteness. Next we passed a hot blue lake and mud cone, and following down a hot water creek, arrived afc the Yellow Spring, a de posit of almost pure sulphur ; a most beau tiful and unique sight, surrounded as it is by a silicate formation resembling coral of a greenish hue. The deposit is ten feet high and twelve feet across at base, and is situated immediately below a sleeping geyser. Leaving this wo pass many pools of black, green and blue shades, which would well repay visiting. Later on we arrive at the banks of the Waiotapu River, the xater rushing madly over the ruJDS of a broken terrace, on the' top of which are two small cones most per fect in shape. On carefully making our way through steaming holes and pitfalls, we arrive at a pit some ten yards across and tv/elve feet deep, having a larsre deposit of. sulphur on its eastern side, the sun shining on it giving it a very fine appearance. The ground about here is v'iry treacherous, and should not be ♦traversed except in company with a guide. Around here are very fine sulphur deposits, and pure sulphur specimens several pounds in weight cm be procured. The ©arbh in this particular spot is very richly coloured, and by merely disturbing the surface fresh colours are brought to view. Next to claim our attention is the Hot Lake, some 50 yards across, the waters of which have a bitter, raw taste, which cling 3to the mouth for some time. The water, when disturbed with a stick, Bends up innumerable air bubbles, resembling forated waters when uncorked—an astonishing effect. Waltzing around the margin of the lake, each foot step produces a hollow sound.

The New Terrace. At the north-eastern side we cross the overflow, and are reminded of its tempera ture by the howling of onr dogs, which j compels us to return and carry them over. Some 30 yards away a dark hole is emitting sounds like a mighty throb, and now we reach the terraces (kotore kai a moa). At first sight, and to one who saw the White and Pink Terraces six years ago, this one is disappointing, being of a dull grey colour, but it has many beauties which charm you.on acquaintance. In one place, where broken, it proves to be only, some three or four .inches thick, and mainly com posed of the many-coloured clays. to be found in this district. At the lower portion of the terrace the silica has formed itself into myriads of pearls, which has a marvel lous effect. Farther down the gully is the Primrose Falls, some 16 feet in height, and quite unique. It is caused by a sulphurous deposit, and is beautifully smooth. Some person had taken the trouble to write his name and dwelling-place here, but one of our party defaced it. Fortunately, the falls do not solicitate like the lost Pink Terrace, or we should be inflicted with names which are not known outside of the neighbourhood in which the perpetrator dwells.

Leaving here and turning to the right some 50 yards brought us to the Alum Cliffs, so called because of the amount of alum contained in the clays. At the foot of these cliffs, and on the near side of a pool about 20 yards across, is a small sandbank, in the centre of which is a sight which can not be seen elsewhere, namely, a boiling sulphurous pool 18 inches in diameter, the water being pure yellow. About a quarter of a mile from here is a hot lake, which as yet has not been pro spected, and which time would not allow us to visit.

Retracing our steps, we recroes the river on a natural bridge formed of earth, under which the boiling water seethes and hisses, arid arrive at Crater Flat, so called owing to the number of pits. Passing between two holes we learn the one on our left is christened The Mystery, owing to the noises it gives vent to, without any apparent cause. For some seconds a low growl is heard as of a watch dog, growing louder and louder, uqtil it reaches a harsh, loud roar, reminding us of the roar of an enraged lion, and causing our flesh to creep. This place is well named the "Mystery," and has a great effect on the nerves. The hole on the right is the Yellow Chimney. A double waterfall of hot water was the next point of interest. The two streams are about 20 yards apart, and here we enjoyed an unusual luxury by bathing under it, a most delightful sensation. About 50 yards higher up the stream another waterfall ocours. Continuing our course we arrive at the Coral Basin and Blue Bath. The Coral Basin is a lovely little pool, six feet in diameter, and filled with water, and of unfathomable depth. Down one side there is a beautiful deposit of sulphur, which gave rise to its name ; next we are confronted by a mud geyser, throwing up the mud some 15 feet in height. Immedi ately adjoining this is a black sulphurous lake surrounded by small mud cones, similar to the Porridge Pots of Roto mahana, One, curiously enough, has taken the shape of a hupre tea pot A Hfctle further'cn we reach a pale green pond about 40 yards in circumference. About three yards away ia a small hole, into which Mr Morgan three days previously had put a bird^ n.ej>fc, and it already showed a sulphurous coating. The Bubbling Lake, with Pink Crater at head, was thfc ripxfc sight. The lake is about two chains wide and five chains long, and on its hot surface fchb curious sight of two widgeon. Qirtalgifog wriwjmtiy waj to be

seen. The Capt. Blythe ngawha was next passed, and we arrived at Young Tikitera, the devils' cauldron on a small scale.

Te Wai o pareauru, a seething cauldron partly covered with a black scum resembling the scum on Laughing Gas Pool, was the last of the sight-seeing. We heard that a confiding dog only a few days previously had mistaken this scum for terra iirma, and leapt on it. As lie sank beneath the scald ing water one yell testified to his agony, and no trace of him was seen again. Mount ing our horses, we bid adieu to Mr Morgan, deeply grateful to him for his trouble in guiding us to the different points of interest, and were informed by him that we wore the only tourists who had seen so many of the wonders. Shortly afterwards we crossed the extensive Kaingaroa plains, which hus bandry, assisted by chemistry, will some day convert into a mine of wealth for the colony. Hundreds of wild horses roam on these plains, and could afford excellent sport to young men who have a few days to spare and are in want of a good hack. That evening Ye reached Galatea, and enjoyed some grand shooting for sevei'al days afterwards, travelling beyond the old mission station at Ahikereru, formerly the residence of • the late Rev. Mr Preece. During the flight of Te Kooti, he is said to have slept one night in this house on his way to the Waikato. The house is now being demolished by the Maoris and taken to build whavos at their settlement a short distance away.

We returned homo thoroughly pleased with our sport and trip, and a full deter mination to repeat it at first possible oppor tunity.

Pigeons as War Messengers.

Some interesting facts are <riven in the ■' Cornhill" in regard to the use of the pigeon as a war. messenger. Within the past few years the war authorities of the chief European nations have given much consideration as to the advisableness of again utilising pigeons as carriers of mili tary despatches. It was only by means of these birds that Paris received news from the outside world during tho many weeks of the siege of 1870-71. The pigeons selected for the return journey to the capital were taken by train in the early morning to the furthest point north that could be reached with safety, and thus the distance they had to fly was leducedas much as pos- Biblo. From 18th November, 1870, until Paris capitulated,on 28th January following, London was in communication with Tours by msans of a pigeon post, and during that period 48 day and 1,186 night mails were despatched by winged messengers. Within the three months that tho French Govern ment was at Tour?—from the middle of September to 11th December-219 pigeons were tossed, the average number liberated on each occasion being 5, all of which carried copies of the same messages. The majority of these birds were lost through! lack of training, weather, etc., but some copies of every despatch reached Paris. By the introduction of the system of micro photography,it became possible to compress the matter of the despatches into a very small space. The massage wasphotographed by the microscope on one side of a very thin fifriij of collodion ; and as each pellicle contained on an average some 2,500 des patches, it became possible for a pigeon to easily carry a dozen, of these pellicles, which represent 30,000 messages. During the memorable siege of Paris, 150,000 official and 1,000,000 private messages, or notices of money orders, were carried into the city, the value of the money orders so transmitted being L7,G00. The Germans

were among tho first nations to establish military pigeon lofts, and their system is now the most complete in Europe. The larger fortresses, like Metz, Cologne and Strasburg, each have from 400 to 600 well trained bird^ ; and the annual vote of credit for pigeon purposes in the military budget is L 1,700. Registers are kept, giving full particulars concerning all the oirds—the numbers stamped on them, their age, sex, colour, distinguishing marks, and the different places from which each has flown, together with notes on their rapidity and reliability. In France the vote of credit for the pigeon lofts is L 4,000. Ten stations have birds trained from Paris and important towns at great distance communicate with the capital by intermediate stations. The census taken last year showed that in Paris alone there were 2,t500 birds available, of which 1,780 had been thoroughly trained and might be relied upon as likely to " home. Russia has recently voted a sum of L 2,000 for the maintenance of military pigeon lofts, it being thought that in Afghanistan and other distant parts pigeons might, under certain circumstances, be the best means of securing the maintenance of communication. In England, in January of last year Captain Alfatt, R.A., brought the subject before the United Service In stitution, and in the following April he, with the consent of the Commander-in-Chief, employed pigeons as messengers, andduring the Easter military manoeuvres, fully de monstrated in what way, even privately, trained birds might be made to render in valuable service to a defending army.

Russian Operations in Aus tralian Waters.

A correspondent signing himself "L. G." writes to the "St James Gazette "as follows: —

" The coolness of the Russians in making plans of our new' forts at Singapore and in openly surveying the ports under our pro tectorate in Borneo, is in keeping with the systematic reconnaissance of Australasia. which they have been carrying on for many years. It began in 1867,^when a Russian man-of-war spent several months in Hobson's Bay, the gulf at the head of which is Melbourne. After they s had surveyed its coast and mastered the intri cacies of the navigation through the Heads they ostensibly took their departure ; and it was not till after some considerable time had elapsed that they were discovered at anchor In Western Part —a bay of which the then uninhabited shores run to within 20 miles of Melbourne, and which has always been considered from a military point of view as the most vulnerable spot in the neighbourhood of the capital. " Early in 1872 Russian ships made an exhaustive survey of the southern coasts of Tasmania, especially of the estuary of the Derwent, upon which stands Hobart, the chief town of the island. At that time, although already admitted to be one of the most important strategic positions in the (South Pacific, Hobart was absolutely defenceless; and even now, although the Tasmanians have spent money in batteries and guns, it is far from being in a position to offer any effective resistance to heavily-armed rcruisers. Since then a Russian warship of some kind or other has generally been hanging about Australia. When questioned as to their intentions, the officers blandly reply that they are pursuing the science of surveying, in which they can have no better instructors than the English, whose soundings on the Admiralty charts they are humbly verify ing. Not content with studying the ports of the different colonial capitals, i>he Russians have thoroughly visited all the smaller seaport towns where the British navy never touch, and thus possess more local knowledge than our own naval officers. " In 1882 there was a AUiscovite squadron of three heavily-armed swift steamers, ex- Atlantic liners, in Australian waters. They bad announced their intention of paying a visit to the capital of South Australia. Adelaile is on a gulf, the entrance to which is protected by the natural breakwater of Kangarpo Island. The navigation on either side is not of the easiest; and most strangers prefer bringing tbeir ships through the

shoals of St. Vincent's Gulf 'slowly and by daylight. The lighthouse-keepers were on the look-out for the squadron, but the Rus sians, selecting a very dark night for their arrival, slipped past unperceived, and, steaming at their hardest through these un familiar waters, had anchored before dawn off Glenelg, six miles from Adelaide, to the astonishment of the inhabitants of that fashionable -watering-place. '' The officers of the local militia duly entertained the Russian visitors, and after a sufficient expenditure of champagne, 30 far succeeded in unloosing the tongues of some of the younger guests that they con fessed they were studying Australia from the point of view of the next war, and deciding which of the seaport towns it would be most easy either to ransom or to destroy. Ths British squadron, they boasted, could not catch them. 'We know the speed of every one of your ships on the Australian station, and could run away from any of them. Our policy will be to hang about your coasts, burn your wool ships, and capture the gold on board the P. and 0. and Orient steamer?.'"

HORRIBLE TRAGEDY IN IRE LAND.

A Boy Tarred and Burned Alive.

A correspondent gives an account of a horrible occurrence which took place at Monasterevan in connection with the re joicings of the Nationalists over the release of Father Ryan. He says that after pre senting Father Ryan with an address, they had a bonfire lighted in his honour in a gaJrden in the main street. While the bonfire was Hazing and an effigy of Judge Boyd was being consumed some one in the large crowd that had collected pulled out a round iron hoop that had been stuffed with straw and was dripping with boiling tar and paraffin, which fell over a lad of 14, knocking him down, and the boiling tar ran over his head, and down his throat. The excited crowd, thinking the boy one of the fallen limbs that had fallen off the effigy, kicked and jumped on him, yelling all the while with demoniac glee. The boy succumbed a few hours after ho was l'escued.

NEW YORK'S WIRES.

Miles of Metallic Strings That Tray-

orae tho City,

There are about 20,000 miles of telegraph and telephone wires in New York city. Of this number the Western Union Telegraph Company operates and controls more than 5,000 miles, 500 miles of which are already placed in conduits underground. The same company operates over 430,000 miles all told. Its wires, if stretched in one con tinuous line, would go around the globe neaiiy eighteen times, and they would reach from the earth to the moon and almost back again. The 20,000 miles of wire in this city would make over 2,220 parallel lines from the Battery to Harlem river, and over double that number from the East to the North river at the greatest width of Manhattan island.

This length of wire weighs comparatively little. The wires of the Western Union Company vary in weight from 330 to 650 pounds.per mile. Taking the smallest pized wire as a basin for calculation, one ton of metal would make thirteen and one third miles of wire, while 2.000 tons would bo sufficient to stretch around the world, with plenty to spare. The cost of the wires is about 6 cents per pound. They are very durable wlien • stretched through an open country, lasting from twenty-five to thirty years. Atmospheric changes affect them but little* Repairs are chiefly made in towns where chemical substances are used for manufacturing purposes, tho smoke from the factory chimneys being very de structive to tho metal.

An Eccentric Will.

Probably the most remarkable will «ver made was drawn Up by Alderman Hartman, Pittsburg, on Thursday, 17th February, 1877. The testator. Ambrose Retharge, who is 52 years of age, after disposing of 10,000dols. in real estate, directs as follows : —" I direct that my body be taken to St. Michael's Church, and after the proper religious services are performed, that it be given in charge of my family, who will convey it to Samson's crematory and there hatfo it buroed to ashes, the ashes to be put in a small bottle and given in charge of the German consul in Pittsburg. This gentleman will then forward my ashes to the consul in New York, who will give them in charge of the captain of the German steamer Elbe, who will place them securely in his ship for the ocean voyage. When at mid-ocean 1 direct the captain to request one of the,passengers to dross in a seafaring suit and ascend with my ashes in his hand to the top of the topmost mast, and after pronouncing a last benediction, to ex tract the cork from the bottle and cast its contents to the four winds of heaven. 1 direct also, that this bo witnessed by all passengers on board* After the Elbe has completed her trip and returned again to New York, I want a full statement of my death and the scattering of my ashes in mid-ocean pub lished in the Pittsburg papers, so that my friends in this city shall know my burial place."

Women at Breakfast.

Perhaps there is no better tesfc of a woman's health and beauty than her appearance at an early breakfast table. She is then more as nature made her than at any other period of the day, when art has been brought in with a view of heightening her charms. If she has slept well, it argued, to some ex tent, a sound nervous system^ and the effect is seen in the brightness of her eyes and the tone possessed by the muscles of the face and neck. Her move ments are full of grace, for her limbs have been refreshed and strengthened by repose, and her mind is clear and bright, for it also has rested, and there have been no bad dreams to exhaust her nervous system and ■ make her limp and haggard. Her intelligence is then at its maximum, and eh© feels the mental recklessness that is bo generally the result of sound, healthy sleep, and that is only a natural elaticJn of the emotions; pleasant, doubtless, for her to exhibit it, but far more pleasant to those to whom it is manifested. If, on the contrary, she hag slept badly, or has suffered from nightmare, in consequence of a feeble digestive pystem, her eyes are weak, dim, and watery, her face is flabby, her head appears to be held unsteadily on her shoulders, for it droops on her chest, or bobs helplessly from side to Bide, complexion is dull and blotchy, red where it ought not to' be red, and pale where it ought not to be pale. Her expression is indicative of the dis comfort she has undergone during the night, her movements are either painfully Blow, or aggravatingly brusque, her intel lect shows stupidity, her emotions are torpid, her perceptions dull. While the woman that is in good physiqal health ex hibits all the beauty in the early morning that her features are capable of expressing, the one whose organic "life is deranged is at this period of the day at her worst, There is no better test of a Woman's health than her ability to eat a heaity breakfast, and it might always be said that her physical beauty is in direct proportion to the amount pf beefsteak or of HiufetQn she can put into herself afe thjs meal, Certainly, pretty women can always eat a hearty breakfast,

A FAITHFUL DOG.

Remarkable Illustration of Follow Sympathy Among Animals.

An eminent physician tells of what he him self witnessed during.the illness and after the death and burial of a favourite collie o* his own. The dog was sick to death, and was taken to die quietly in the country, where the mother of vaiious puppies of the same breed was bringing up her family Directly the sick dog was taken down the bitch went to lie by his side, and never left him for the four days that he survived.— could not, indeed, be tempted away from his side. After his death his master had pa grave dug for him, in which he was laid amidst a sliower of primroses, with some little ceremony. The female jumped down into the grave, and licked the poor old dog's ear, and was fol lowed in so doing by all the puppies—all his own children—while two dogs of a different breed stood, one on each side of the grave, wagging their tails, but showing no wish to descend and take leave of him in this fashion. Then the bitch leaped out of the grave, followed by all her puppies, rushed into a neighbouring field, and began circling round and round it in a wild gallop of apparent delight. And the interpretation put upon this fidelity and farewell of hers, followed by this burst Of exuberant spirits, by the master was : " Duty fkst and pleasure afterwards." The nursing and the farewell were duties which had been discharged with all due tenderness ; but once dis charged, the mother saw no reason why she should not take a thorough good romp With her children. " Dead was dead, and gone was gone;" mourning was not part of her conception of the exigencies of the situation. Now, was that, or was it not, a true interpretation of what passed through that collie's mind ? If not, what was it that made her lie for four days by the dying dog, and then leap into the grave and give his ear a lick ? Perhaps the notion of duty never entered her head ; it may have been sympathy ; real trouble at seeing her old companion in so much trouble that kept her at his side. But, then, what took her and

all the puppic3 into the grave ? That was not sympathy. Was it a sense of propriety; a feeling of what was due to the head of the family; a last recognition of what he had been and was to be no more ? If so, would not that imply a sort of conventional sense of status and dignity, a feeling of decorum: a recognition of appropriate ness of a certain kind of demeanour to a certain kind of occasion, and a sense, too, of the weight of those obligations and of relief at their discharge, as ex pressed by the subsequent gambols with her offspring ? If all that might be really inferred, what germs of an advanced civ ilisation would not be contained in the character of such dogs as these ? But who can judge how far it is Bafe to go in interpreting by our human analogies what takes place in the heart of a dumb creature?

The Landslip in Switzerland

The Geneva correspondent of the " Daily News," writing on the 7th June, says:— "My telegrams will have informed you of one of those terrible disasters, which, un-1 fortunately, are too common in Switzerland, and which has thrown a gloom over the beautiful and picturesque Schachenthal. The latter begins at Altdorf, made famous by the traditions of William Tell, and runs for about ten miles almost due east, where the valley ends. But thence there is a mule track over thfc Klausen Pass to the baths of Stachleburg. The first village in the valley is Burglen, where Tell is said to have been born. The house of his birth was standing a few years ago, when it was replaced by a chapel, which is filled with frescoes illustrating Toll's life. Although there are many houses and chalets scattered about the hill sides, the next village of im portance is Spiringen, 5 miles from Altdorf. About a mile further is, or was, a tiny ham let called Hellproechtig, and 2 miles further is the last and highest village in the Thaal. It is called Unterschachen, and is 3*347 feet above the sea. Between this village and Spiringen, on the south side of the valley, is a mountain) or rather range, called Spit zen, the highest peak of Which is nearly 5,000 feet. From the northern flanks of this mountain has fallen an enormous mass of rock entirely burying the hamlet of Hell proehctig, together with ten of its inhabi tants ; wounding and maiming many others, and destroying several herds of cattle. The debris, moreover, has dammed the stream of the Schachen, and formed a great lake, and has covered with rock and earth an extent of ground roughly estimated at a square mile. The slip did not take place all at once; there were, in fact, a series of falls, the first occurring at half past three on Sunday afternoon, between Biirgien and Spiringen. This fall shook the nouses in Altdorf as if by an earthquake, and the enormous cloud 'of dust that was

raised spread over that village, to the great consternation of the people, and led to the first report stating the landslip had occurred at Altdorf itself. An hour later an entire

flank of the mountain seemed to topple over on to the doomed hamlet of Heliprcechtig.

Reports describe this second fall as truly awful, an eye witness stating that it seemed as if the end of the world had come. The

roar caused by the falling rocks resembled

several batteries of artillery, and a panic seized upon the unhappy people, who were for a time utterly bewildered by the semi darkness caused by the huge cloud of chok ing dust. Many animals seemed to go mad with terror, rushing about in blind fury, dashing against the rock, and falling over the precipice. Nor were the people much better, for men, women, and children—the

halt, the lame and the blind—rushed out of their houses in deadly fear, but knew not

where to fly for safety. The roai con tinued as other masses of rock came down

while detached pieces of several tons weight hurtled through the air and buried them selves deep in the ground. To add to the horror was the darkness of night. When

the dust had partly cleared it was seen that the disaster, while bad enough, was not so bad as it might have been had the masses of falling rock come down either on Spirigeh or Unterschachen, each of which villages numbers over 1000 inhabitants,and the nouses being close together, the loss of life would have been fearful.

Citrus Fruit in Cold Storage.

The Riverside (California) "Press and Horticulturist" of May 28th said: Mr Stovva reports 15,000 boxes of oranges and about 2,000 boxes of lemons in good con dition at the Cold Storage Works in this City, fruit was placed in cold storage from one to three months ago, and is to day as perfect as when taken from the orchard. It has decreased in bulk some what, but is still of perfect flavour and condition. This is all Riverside fruit. The lemons will be placed on the market during June and July, at good figures; and the time is now at hand when a lemon orchard will be one of the best properties in Southern California. There are about 200 boxes of the, Riverside Washington navels now on hand, which are being sold for £2 per box. There is more of this fruit in the Chicago market, and the market're ports froth that city, quoting navel oranges at £1 per box, refer., to the Australian navels from the coast valleys.

The Japanese.Government have decided to establish a mußical conservatoire, and the most promising students will be sent to prowaute their studies in Vienna

What the Monks Thought of the Queen.

By.a Carthusian Moxk.

The following extract from a letter of a Carthusian monk to his niece in Scotland, relative to the late visit of the Queen to La Grand Chartreuse, is published by the " Pall Mall Gazette." This monk is writ ing from another Chartreuse, but as his prior was at the Grande Chartreuse when the Queen visited it he is able to give the Carthusian view of the Royaivisit. It will be noted that he contradicts what has teen stated by several journals - namely, that the Queen was admitted by special per mission of the Pope :— From the days of St Benedict such a thing as a monastic rule about the admission I into, or the exclusion from, cloistered monasteries of either sex has never been heard of in the Catholic world. There is and always has been a law—a general law— a law made not by either monks or nuns, but by a general council of the Church of God about that very important matter. That law forbids, under pain of excomuni cation, the admission of men into the con vents of cloistered nuns, and the admission of women into the monasteries of monks who live secluded from the world. The reason why that law was made is simply this : If men were now and then admitted into the cloisters of nuns, ov if women were free to enter the houses of secluded monks, temptation to sin could not be avoided within, and both suspicion and scandal bo speedily produced outside '.the walls. Bui) the lav/ very expressly excepts both bishops and crowned heads. Bishops are always aged men; they lead saintly lives, and when any of them presents himself before the gate of a convent the whole community is assembled to receive him. The move ments of crowned heads are always public, their high position leaves no room for temptation within the cloisters, and their visits to those places are always accom panied by the pomp and the circumstance which become their great dignity, and which exclude the possibility of affording any food for either suspicion or scandal. It is quite true, then, that the foot of an ordinary woman or of an ordinary lady has never crossed the threshold of the entrance gate of the Grande Chartreuse ; but during the last 800 years a great number of Queens have visited and dined in the grand old monastery. Queen Victoria had a perfectly legal right to be admitted into the old cloisters, and to be conducted through all the cells, and to be shown everything which she wished to see from the top to the bottom of the aged pile. But to be received into cloistered convents, kings must be actually reigning ; and to be admitted into the monasteries of the same kind, queens must be actually reigning; so that, were her Majesty of England to abdicate to morrow, and knock jusb the next day at the old gate of La Grande Chartreuse, or at that of any of the House of the Order, she would not be allowed to cross the threshold of any of them. Her Majesty remained in the monastery about four hours. She did not dine, be cause no notice of her visit had been sent beforehand to the Father-General, and so there was no time for preparing o dinner for the Royal party. But the modest Queen partook very heartily of a collation, which was composed of chocolate, biscuits, jellies, and confectioneries of various kinds. She did no more than that.. She inquired of the rev. father if any of her good people from any of the three kingdoms were among his children of the Grande Chartreuse ; and having learned that there was a young and amiable Englishman actu ally in the community, she at once ex pressed a wish to visit him-in his own little .cell. (I do pot k,now the family name pf. the young man,, but he is a convert, .{^Sia the son of an English Protestant clergy man.) Her Majesty was forthwith grati: fied. The Father-General was her pilob though the obscure windings of the cloisters. The young son of St. Bruno receivedhis Sove reign with great ease, modesty and polite ness. The good Queen was quite charmed. She sat down upon an old straw chair close by him, and chatted with him maternally for nearly half an hour. She piously re commended both herself and her faithful subjects to his good prayers ; and she was so highly pleased with his edifying conver sation that she went the length of request ing him to give her a little "souvenir" which would enable her, after her return to England, to recall to her mind the pleasiire she derived from her visit to him and the Grande Chartreuse. He was the first Eng lish cloistered monk to whom her Majesty had ever opened her royal lips. The young son of St. Bruno at once presented to her a small silver crucifix of very ancient date and very fine workmanship. It was the only thing of any value that he had in his cell. The Queen did not kis3 the image of her crucified Redeemer, but she gracefully accepted it, placed it in her pockets, very affectionately bade farewell to the young convert, and in a very short time afterwards she departed from the venerable cradle of the Carthusian order.

A Bigf Aerolite.

The Chicago "Inter-Ocean's" Evausville (lnd.) special of June 12th says: An aero lite of vast dimensions fell this morning near St. Joseph, about ten miles from this city and about three miles from the nearest railway station. It was a little after seven o'clock when the residents of the locality were startled by a sharp, quicK sound, sim ultaneous with a severe jarring of the earth. It was first thought to be an earthquake, but a farmer soon brought intelligence that some great projectile had burst through space and imbedded itself in the woods near by. The neighbours proceeded to the spot and found the facts as stated. The aerolite in falling came in contact with a huge oak, which it denuded with its branches as completely as thoughit.had been struck by a hurricane. Passing downward in a slightly slanting course, it buried itself in the earth to the depth of at least fifteen to eighteen feet. The sandy sides of the hold made by the meteoric stone had caved in upon it, leaving it buried out of sight. Several fragments of the stone lay scattered about, andnotonly those, but the whole atmosphere about the place, was impregnated "with the smell of sulphur. The meteoric fragments were of a dull greyish and dark colour, indicating a combination of obsidian, tractile and pum ice. They will be sent to tho Smithsonian Institution. The depth to which the aerolite had im bedded itself will involve a vast amount of labour to bring it to light, btit this will no doubt be done, not only for scientific pur' poses, but to satisfy the curiosity of the multitude who will vi3it the place during the next few days. From the great orifice made by the stone and the depth to which it has gone, it is estimated tfiat it cannot) weigh less than two tons.

A New York Cathedral.

The Protestant Episcopal Ghurch of the United States is preparing to build a cathedral in New York city, to be called St. John the Divine, which will be four times the size of St. Patrick's Cathedral,, now the largest church in New York. It is to be raised at a spob lying to the west of the Central Park, and will cost 10,000,000 dollars.

THE AUCKLAND EVENING STAB, SATURDAY, AUGUST 13,1887.

3



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POVERTY AND SUFFERING. — "I Was drag:g*'d down with debt, poverty, and suffer ing for years, caused by a sick family and large bills for doctoring, which did them no good. I was completely discouraged, until one year ago, by the advice of my pastor, I procured Hop Bitters and commenced their usa, and in one month we were all well, and none of us have seen a sick day since; and I want to say to all poor men, you can keep your families -well a rear with American Go.'a Hop Bitters for less han one doctor's visit will cost* I know iv"—A Working Mait. Read,