A Stranger Within Our Gates.

The " Daily News " gives n translation of the third letter sent by a Sinhalese work man at the Exhibition to hia family at Colombo. It is as follows :- " I font you n letter by last mail. I find the postage is a heavy account, 'Every letter coats me Sd, and this must loe paid out of my money. I must teJX 'you that wo got a aalary hero. Thofxj -who nro in charge of us are very kind o^d good to v.-». We are regularly supplied with all the provisions for our oatin>j, but we are obliged to cook them for eating at our own oxponse. We roccivo at the rate of £1 a head as salary from this place ; but what ia this? It is not onough for cur potty expenses. In this country one must np.vo plenty oE money. Without money ono cannot eco tho many wonders of this country. Thoro aro ho many places to sco, but tho Engiish aro very clover. Every thing is shillings and pounds—no pence aro charged. I muot now relate about tho tailor' shops. Thore are so many of them, and such largo ones. It ia vory curious -if you order a coat or a suit you aro charged a good sum; but if you purchaao a roadv made coat or suit you can got. it ohoap. l 0 tho shops thoro aro always vca'ly-mado suits of all kinds,_ principally woollen. Tho charge for a pair of trousers, coat, and waiat coat is from 20s to 30s. In Ooylon the cost of tho cloth ODly would exceed this amount. and the tr.itoi's charge was 12s for only making, Tho English ponplo are very much afraid of tho oast wind. This begins, I am told, in lho beginning of November' and ends about tho end of April. During this time tho water freczos everywhere. The degreo of cold is indescribable. Tho human body becomes dry, and in sorao porsoue tho limbs gqt swollen. This is what is called go-.it—somuthing like co phantlep;. Even wood cracks and does much damage. Tho doors of tho houses nro always closod. The housoa ara built in such a way as to keep out tho wind altogcthir. Then each man puts on three or four suita of clothos made c.t thick woollen. Now I como to understand why tho tuilors and emigrants who go about the streets of Colombo put on euch thick coats and trou eers and wear thick boots. Nobody von turosto got out of doors about this tiruo. He will Eurcly get sick und die. Poor people sometimes rlio indoors, for they can not get employment. Thoro is nothing more dreadful during this eoaeon. Tho air is dry and tho place dark aud gloomy. All the water in the pipes thon gets frozon. You must know that owing to this a spare pipe is always attached. In this hot water is pumped, and then the frozen water in tho next pipe is dissolved and discharged. We were able to eeo tho sun after tho 2S)th June. I think the sun is furthor from this place than from Cey'on. I ana told that wo cm only foo tho sun till tho end of September. By degroes we are getting longer nights. They say in December we will get very Ion" nights and very short days. Wo have been having rain those many days. It is not so strong as in our country, A very strong shower here would not bo as strong as a slight drizzle in Ooylon. liven tho thunder is not so loud here. It is eomething like tho distant thunder we hear sometimes. Peoplo in this country ara much afraid of thunder. I hoar when it thunders here thcio 13 always some great accident. Tho hot reason begins aboutthe end of June and onds towards theend of August. The hootisnoarly equal to the heat during our Lent season. We feel now as if something is being drawn inside our bodies. Most of the common people generally wear light garments made of white cloth. Lords and ladies now run away from hero. They aro afraid to stop, because everything becomes damp and they catch cold, which kills thorn. Some go fishing, some shooting, and £0 on. They fay they go travelling, but this is tho reason they run away. This is a very curious country. You feel so sick when it gota dark. It must be owing to this tho people go to theatres and hotels. I told you in ono of my letters that the houses aro cix stories high, aud some below the ground. I havo since seen that the out side walls only are built of bricks. Tho inner compartments aro Eoparated by planks. All tho wood work hero is real—tha wood that packing cases are made of. Thero is no other timber used in hou3CP. In all the | gardens I hoar this is tho tree planted. Fires in houses aro of common occurrence. This must bo owing to the timber used which easily catches fire. 1 went and had . a ride oq the eteambcat, Wo started from Charing Cross. There are so many ot them. So many people go by steamboat. lam told they mostly go to work and also return by boat. Your lako boats aro nothing to these. Every thing is co clean and nice, and poople could bo seen eating and drinking and laughing and talking and smoking. I wanted to go and see St. Paul's Cathedral again, and 1 did so. By steamboat it ia about eevei; miles from here. I gave you an account of my previous visit. Tho whole church is full of angels, and under- | ground I havo seen the tombs of several piiuces, all mado of marblo. I told you I went to see tho Zoological 'Gardens'. What have you seen ? I havo eeon all the animals in creation, whether liviDg on land or in water. The people of this country havo no religion. Thoy will keep and hoaour and rovere pictures, but when you speak of religion they get very angry. They at odco begin to curso and swear. Their religion consists in eating, drinking, and leading a bad life. You will not believe me, but it is the fact that although you see women dreseed so nicely and good-looking they ara the worst women of the place and the greatest rogues. I bear some of tho people are bo poor they are obliged to take to thieving, and that there are places where they are first taught how to rob haadker chiefs. The men are worse. Life is of no consequence to a low class European. He goes with a revolver in hi 3 pocket, and will not be afraid to shoot a policeman if interfered with. There aro a good many watchmakers' shops in London. These aro principally kept by poople from tho Con tinent. The charges ore vory low. In Colombo they charge R2-50, but hp^e good work could begot done for la 6d. The girls of this cla=s only are bothering to como to Coylon. They are good-looking but poor. When in Ceylou I always thought that the Quoenonly lived on raspberry jam and goose berry jam and tinned meats, as the Euro peans ODly used those instead of our curry and rica and jack, mangoes or rambutans ; but I now find that it was not so. Sho eats the best in tho land. Last week more than 4,000 lords and ladies came to the Courts in the night. There was a largo ball, and the Indian Court was lighted up very nicely. Even the Indians lighted their bazaars. I was very grand. I was told the Prince of Walea also came thore. Tho English are very cunning. I borrowed 2s from a friend, but I did a job for him Even then he aeked for his money. There is an old Singaleso saying, " Giviug ie but giving in Vain, if you give to take again " This at once came to my mind. I only meption it to show how clever some people aro. 1

Payment to Members

Members of tho British House of Commons uaed to receive wages from their constituen cies ; country members or knights of the shire tour shillings, and borough members or burgesses two shillings per day. Id an "Essay on tho Polity of England," published in 1875, tho author wrote: " From tho first introduction of citizens and burgesses into Parliament to tho 22nd Edward IV. (that i% upward of 218 years), so little was tho distinction, or honour, of being a representative sought for, that in nil tiiut timo thoro wero only two or three instances of controverted elections Towns frequently paw with indifference tho privilege taken from them by the sovereign, aud given to others, lot tead of giving a great price for a seat in Varliameut, as is now -frequently the practice, co small was the value at which tho privilege was for merly estimated by tho poreong elected, that they roceived wage 3 for their atten dance ; and tho electors, so far from covet" ing the tight of election, frequently looked upon it as a burden to pay wages for what thay deemed no advantage, and petitioned to bo relieved from it." The custom of paying members continued up to the Re storation. Andrew Marvell, M.P. for Hull, during the reign of Charles IT., received6s Scl a day during the session, beside 3 numerous presentsfromhisconstitutente. He U believed to have been tbo laat member of Parliament who recieved remuneration f*r his services. Occasionally electors were able to strike an economical bargain As an instance, wo ore told that John Strango, member for Dunwick in 1643, agreed with tho prudent burgeaeee of that town to take hla wages in "red herrings." We are farther informed that "in (he same reign the citizen? of Your beingnnxiou! that the dignity of that ancient corporation should be properly re presented, unanimously agreed that their members should ba allowed four shillings a day if they kept a house in London during the session, but only two ihillings if they rreat to board:

BORN DRUNK.

Strange Afttlßs of a Child of Respect able Parents.

The infant son of a well-known citizen of WostSold, N J , though but just large enough to walk and talk, appeare and acts like an intoxicated person. A local physician, in conversation with a " World " reporter, gave a history of the case. It SS6M9 that the parents wore very exemplary young paoplo, and be^ao their married life without a c'.oud to dim their future. No ono in the town had battor habits than tho young husband, but some months after his marriage ho lapsed a littlo from tho path ot strict toinparanco. One wintor evening the man wont from his homo ostensibly " to watch with a sick member of the village lodgo." tla really visited Sam Goschilk'a tavern. Tho trust ing wife discovered at nine o'clock that her husband had lorgotten to purchase meat for tho breakfast and sho wont to tho market. A stormy wind was blowing and the snow was falling, but as sho passed tho hotel tha sound of a man's voice in song came to her oars. Sho lUtenod but a moment. Thoro was no mistaking hor husband's voice, and, scarcely knowing what sho did, fhe looked in at the bar room window and savr her husband thore in a state of boa?tly intoxication.

Somo time after this littlo episode a son was born to iho parents-a tine, healthy infant, blight and comely. Kevoral months later, when ths child bo^an to walk and talk, thoy took him to the physician. Tho littlo ono could not walk without stagger ing hi a most ■unseemly and ludicrous manner, and could not lisp baby words without a strange hiccough and hesitation. The doctor, avorring that if he had seen such symptoms in an adult ha should havo pronounced them duo to intoxication and nothing else, with little difficulty obtained an account of tho unfortunate maternal impression that provoked tho peculiar malady with which the child ia afflicted. No line of medicil trcr.tmont could ho of use in puch a c.ise, and reluctantly tho physician gave up tho infant boy to onduro his et? angel y miserable life

" There is nothing liko catalepsy about tho case," tho doctor explained. "Thero iR no healthier child in town. As near as I can explain, iho child has muecles and np.rvos in that condition of aelion which its father shaded when tho mothoi's im pression of his intoxication waa tecoiv«.d. There aro no fits or convulsions, though a tromor is ulwaya prepcnt. lr> fpitc of this fact thero is no mental weakness. Thero ia no co-ordination in tho movements of the lon or limb?, and tho hinds r.ro almcs1; as bad off His gait is heavy and insecure, a regular drunken rot I or stagg.jr. A' to his speech, it, is not only incoherent and rambling, but he has all the phonomor.:i of exhilaration or excitemont oharoctiristic of tho oarlier stages of in toxication. His ideas seem to How rapidly, and all of tha sotiaoa aro wonderfully acutj ; but there are tha muscular tremblings and tho actual shambling pait of tho drunk ard."

"Is recovery to be hoped for?" tho re porter asked.

"No," thj docf.er answered. "It ia a hopeless ca»e ; impossible to euro. That boy, if he lives, will have tho continue! ap pearance of drunkenness and it cannot bo helped. Ho is? drunk, naturally drunk, and though ho miy bee- ma a great scholar he will never outgrow this malady." The parent.-" of the unfortunate child aro vory sensitive nbout tho condition, anil dv not p-rmit visits from strangers. It hac, however, bosn arrange! that the parents fhall take him before a spooialist in nervous diseases, that thero may be a localisation of the ma'ady if possible. It is a vory case, and among it* features is the odd fact that alcohol in any form and in any quantity acts on tho child as a poison.

Sensational Crime on the Confluent of Europe

The class of men who live on the vratfes of vice 6! abandoned women, though startlod for a time by tho promulgation of the recent law ogainst thfin, appear to have again taken heart. A few weeks ;igo a carpjuter happsned to bo in a wineshop in tho Avenuo d'Orleans rather late, and got into conversa tion with two individuals, to whom ho offered a glass, and whoa paying for ie let them fee tho contents of his well-tilled purse. Scarcely had h6 pone outside, when at a signal given by a whittle, two women camo up, t ok him by tho arm, and finally got iiini into the Impasse dv Maine, when they held him tightly by tho arms whilst two wen, who had followed him, tare* a rnpe round his neck, and triud to strangle him. Fortunatoly he hud just time tj shout for help, and some paseera-by, hear ing hU ciios. ran up, whon tho whole baud took to their heel?. After a long search, they have j:ist been arrested at Montrouge. The tv-'o men ajo named Eugeno Lerouvillois and Raorces Champion, both only 10; the "iris ..ro Julia Huloieo Jean and Caroline Despres, n«ed 16 and 17 respectively. Another affair of this kind took place. At 2 o'cl< ck in tlio morning three policemen in plain clothe?, who were on duty on the boulevard de Menilmontaur, heard cries of distre a proceeding Tfroni the Ruo Ober katnpf. They went to the spot and saw two men, of whom ono, who had been thrown down *>y the other, had just stabbed his ad versary in three places. They arrested them And took them to the lock up, whore the wounded man gave his name as Edward Pratt, 35 years of age, and his addreaa at Uo, KueduChemin Vett. The other was a man named Arthur Renard, 30, a hawker, liwng in tho Kue Rationale. Kenard stated that in the Rue OperkampF, two women ac costed him and tiitd to drag him to their lodgius, and that on his refusal to accom pany them, several men had attacked him. Kenard has been kept in confinement for further investigation. Pratt, who ia sevordy wounded in tho left arm and right breast, was sent to the hospital. The "Figaro's " correspondent in Belgium in a ktter, narrate! tbe details of a horrible crime which haß shocked tho inhabitants of tho villagß of Lichtaert in la Gampine. Durirg tho night tvo women - Madame Verschuerer.a widower.and her daughter— who were both deaf and dumb, were murdored in their own houae, and tha polico can get do clue to the murderers These two unhappy women, surp ised in bed, had evidently struggled with the courage of despair, for tbe mother had fallen in the middle of the road at the side of tha house. The daughter had also been able to fly, and, although mortally wounded, reached a neighbouring farm, where she expired on tho dooratep. No robbery having been committed, the public and the authorities are lost in conjectures as to the motive f it the crime. The "Figaro "correspondent wntOß from Auriilac:-All tha country papers for the laefc two years have been publishing the robberies and acts of violonce committed by a formidable bandit named Laurent, alias Jesus Christ, who has appeared suc cessively before all the assize Judges, and before the jury of Rioin aud Bt. Flour, and teen condemned to thirty-six years' im prisonment with hard labour. Laurent is 2S years of age and rathor short in stature, but of uncommon etreDgth and aghty. Ho declared to the jury at St. Flour a few months ago that fie would soon ettect his escape from gaol, and ho has kept his word, since it is now announced. me report of his being again at large has caused no lit*lo excitement in the department of the C»nlal, and especially in those districts which have already been the theatre of tho exploits o F this dangerous malefactor. Another correspondent of the saino piper writing from Annonay, says :-A suicide, committed in a dramatic manner, shocked greatly several passengers by the tram which started from the St. Rambortd Albon station for Annonay Ton minutes after its d<-p»rtHre the train reached tho viaduct over tho Rhone near Poyraud, when sud denly the door of a compartment of a third class carriago was opened, a young woman throw herself out at the same moment, and, after turning several somersaults in the air, fell into the water, which ia very deep at this spot, where there are rapid currents In her boxes papers were found, from which it was aFcortainod that her name was Antoin ette Gamier, and that she was a school teacher at Coux in the Ardecbo The cauee of this suicide is unknown.

HER PA'S BOOT.

Her fairy form, Her mod eat Has. Her charming air. And winning grace Kncbantedall Ihn lads in town Ar d each onn love' 1* Jemima Brawn. frhe oft w.hs railed Tne village pride. An', for h;:r live T lona hirt r,igli'-.d. I ssid I'd know No■j.-.y in lite Til she'd Umehtd q'lit* rd, and said *OJi 'a "aDd referred me to He: pi. His manner was both rndo ' Androign-'nrtwhsnfeeßpokehiatouea Woro Kruff. I asked him thon in accents Bland^o give to me bladaughter b hand. For answer he gave me hi? foot inoased Within this co w hide boot.

Tragic Death.

Dv Diplock held an inquest in the High Road, Kilburn, England, on Jean Emilo Duplantlov, and Frenchman of independent means, described as an agent for Paris goods, who waa found dead with a penknife pene trating his heart. Ann Duplantier, wife of the deceased, s-iM she resided in Cambridge Road, Kilbura. Deceased wns 75 years of age. For a con-iderable time ho had boen a sufferor from dropsy. He complained of a difficulty of breathing and witness applied a poultice to hia chest. He was thon eit ting in hia chair Witness went out of tho room to get a handkerchief, and upon her return sho fnund her husband had fallen to the floor. Mr T. Morton, surgeon, deposoi that ho was called to tho deceased, and found him doad. At flrft witness thought that death was fromnntu-ul causes ; but on moving the body, hediscovortd the blade of a penknife penetrating the ribe in the region of the heart. The knifo wns sticking in the wound when witness saw it. Tho wound was in the mot vital part of tho body, and was the causeofdeath. MrMullar, surgeon, said that the doceaeod underwent nn opera tion some timo ago Lately ho bad been very lowspiritod. After a short delibera tion the jury returnod a verdict of " Suicide whilst of unsound mind."

Siberia as a Penal Colony.

SOME statistics recently published by the Russian Government havo raised doubt 3, oven ia the official circles, a 9 to the expedi ency of maintaining Siboria aa a penal colony. It. appears from those statistics that the number of convicts and exiles sent to Siberia from Russia itself botweon 1754 and ISSI was little short of a million, tho oxilos alono numbering 750,000. From 1523 to 1832 the number of parsons ovilod was 95.725, from 1672 to 1312, 101,238, and from ISG3 to 1873, 14G.358. Tho condition of tho exileß is very bad, and, as their gale aim is to get back to Russia, the iiiim bar of thoso who got away ia very much larger, amounting during tho last twenty years to 21 per cent, of tho total number in exilo. In 1870 it was ofliciully stated than in the Government of Tomsk, out of 2S 828 exiles, 9,7'21>, or more than a third, had fled. So in tho Government of Tobolsk, out of the 51,122 exiles who had been sent there, only :H,2!)3 were actually resident there in 1575. Most of the exiles aro in tht-ir prime, and this ronders it all tho more difficult for them to accommodate themselves to a fresh modo of life. Womon form but a fifth of tho wholo number of exiles, End na most of them aro over 40 thoro is little chance of thoir marrying ; while, for the matter of that, marriage is forbidden dur ing tho first five years of exilo. Moreover, thero is little encouragement given tho exiles to sottlo down into good colonists, ac tho natives take every possible advantage of them, and tho relations botween tho two divisions of tho population are very un friendly. According to tho official statis tics, two thirds of tho crimes in Siberia nro committed by exiles, and this fuct seems to have stiuck tho Government at St. Petersburg, and to have boon ono of tho motives which has led to tho formation of a Spociil Committee to inquiro into tho whole subject.

Mr Samuel Morley's Will.

Pkoi'.ate wos recently granted of the will (dated 12th August, 1881) of Mr Samuel Morley, late of Hall Place, Loigh, Kent. Tho porsonalty was sworn as of the value £467,474 7s 3d by tho oxecutorp, Mr 3. Hope Morley and Arnold Morloy, eons, and John Morloy, tho brother of tho testa tor, who leaves to hia widow an immediate legacy of £M) 00, the interest forlifo of a sum of £25,000 (of which she has a disposing power as to £5,000), and an annuity of £5.000, with the use of tho testator's houses, which aro to bo maintained for twelve months by tho executors. Subject to his mother's interest therein, the eetato of Hall Place and the contonts of tho mansion aro left to Mr S. Hope-Mor ley, the eldest son, and legacies of £25,000 each to him and tj his brothers. Mr Howard and Mr Charles Uope Morley. To theeo three sons ia abo left tho test-itor'a iotcrest in the businesses of hia firm in London and Nottingham, subject to the payment there out of his capital uithin eight yearn by in Btalments of .£50.000 a year, with interest Tor his daughter Mary, Mr Morley leaves in trust £50,C00, for Mrs Washington £30,000 (in addition to hor marriage settlement of £20,000). To each porson, not being a do mestic servant, who has boon fourteen year.-- in the employment of Meswa Morloy in Wood street or at Nottingham thero is a logacy of £19 10a ; to each who ha% beon loss than fourteen ami more than aovon years £1515=i; and lees than foven but of more than threo years, £!0 lOd. All tho testator's usual snbecripiions to reliaious and charitablo objects to be paid up to tho 31st of January uitt, aud all the "moral obligations " which ho may havo incurred by undertaking to as sist in building "chape's or other place? for public worship," schools, and other objects of a religious and educational character aro to bo fulfilled by hia executors, subject, in all Cife3 to the site for any such proposed build ing having been provided or paid for by ione ether person or persons, or some cor porate body. A sum of £3,000 is to be paid in three yearly instalments of £1,000 each to Mr Morloy's son in-law, Mr Herbert Wilbraham Tayler, by hia fon, Mr Henry Hope-Morley, to maintain the ministry of six chapols built by the testator at Leigh, Hildenbornugh, and elsewhere, noar his estate in Kent. Subject to the foregoing, and tbo payment of legacies of £500 each to his three executors, the residue of the real and personal estate is left in equal shares to all tho tostator's 'ons.

Fechter's Trade with a New York Thief.

This story of Fechter is told in Louis Englo'a " From Mozart to Mario ":

Wearing a largo paste pin, ho had gone down near tho East River, where at that

time a number of roughs w> re always ready to cut off your throat for half a dollar if they thought they were likely to find any thing worth taking on you. This pin, a theatrical diamond of excellent French imitation, attracted a thief's attention, and be stopped Fechter and roughly asked the time, with the evident intention of peeing whether he could lay hold ot a watch Fochter *aid he did not know, and ordere3 him to go his way, whereupon the negro—a tall, powerful man-laid hold of him, but Fechter, well veraed in the jew de la savate, got the man under in no time, when, to the rather unpleaeant surprise of Fechter, a big clasp-knife appeared on the scene, and he thought discretion the betteu- part of volour- ~. -j « i_ ± " Listen to mo, my nwn," he eatd, what is the good of your shedding blood and get ting a homp cravat ? I have no money and no valuables ; what do you want I" " Your pin," paid the man, " nnd I'll have it if I swing for it." '• You shall," eaid Fechtor, " only I don't caro to go home with my scarf open as if I were drunk! If you will let mo havo nny other pin, you may have mine without a struggle." " Agreed," said the negro, and he took cut a rather tasteful turquoise and_ cameo pin and put Fechtor's diamond (?) into his noektie. I leave my readors to judge what bis feel ings must bave been when next day he came to ascertain the value of his " honestly" acquired eolitairo for which ho had given n pin worth at least ten timos the price of tho stone for which ho narrowly escaped be coming a murderer.

A Bishop "Breaking the Pledge."

Bisnor Mooriiousk caused come amuperaont a few weeks pro at the meeting at Man oheßter of tho Church of England Temper, ance Society, by a sketch of his experience aa a teetotaller. He said that many year s ago he signed a conditional pledge. He went on very well until towards the close of the second year, and then he broke down utterly. His doctor told him he would either"have to giva up half his work or take come light stimulants with his principal meaU. It was ridiculous to think of giving up half his work ; therefore he tried the stimulus, and ha never had the symptoms again. He supposed he was one of the thou sands who had not the power of easily di gesting great masses of food, and could not cn^ago in relive mental labour without nervous excit.rmenfc. Thousand-! of men rloing the creator part »f the intellectual work of England belonged to thoeainoclasa, .and it would bo monstrous for the™ men either to commit suicide or give up half their work, so they were bound to take the stimulus. He, however, observed a rigid role—never to drink alcoholic liquor except i-.t meal times.

DAVID KENNEDY.

The Scottish Minstrel.

On tho l:-!'.h of October, 18S(1, there passed away, far from hia nativo land, ono whoße name will long bo remembered " whorever Scotchmen gather." David Krnnody was a Scottish patriot, who sang our conga not only in "tho land of the mountain and tho flood," but abo ia tho vast colonial em;.ire ovor which the sun never eels His career was a singular ono—eventful, aspiring, and almost romantic Like many notablo Scotchmen, David Kennedy waa the son of humble parent*. Ko was horn f tho "fair city of Por'h " on 10th April, 1825, j aud it may bo roni. mborud that in hia en- 1 tertainment ontitled "A Nicht wi' the[i Jacobites " ho lot hia alliance so for into* his history as to toll thorn with honoet prido that one of his forbeirj took part wltb Bonnie Prince Charlie In his chivalrous rebellion of '43. Like his distinguished prodece-sor, John Wilson, ha was oarly in life apprenticed to a trade, and rho employ ment he ongagod in waa that of a house painter. Loavinf; Perth nearly thirty years ago, ho camo to Edinburgh, whero he waa appointed proceatdr of Nicoleon United Presbyterian Church, of which Dr. Jatnioson, the compiler of tho well-known Scottish dictionary, was formerly the pastor, but which was then under tho ministry of Dr Johnston, who waa reckoned one of tho lights of tho Secoesion. Ken nedy to tho end was deeply ait-ichod to this church, attended ita services with great regularity, and, wo believe, gave many substantial tokens of his interest in its wellboingi At some kind of social gathering—wo believe In Iho colonial —hn told hi? audience that ho started life with a strong determination to succeed, and no wo find that on coming to Edinburgh ho paced himself under Mr Edmund*, a well known musical mistor, and aleo took other mcana of cultivating tho musical art. Ho ap poarod as ft Scottish Mnijor at many local entertainments, and, fliHi.d by his euccofß an a singor at tho Barns Centenary Concct at Liverpool in 1859, ho shortly afterwards bocamo tho wandoring minstrol whose rendering of " tho auld Scotch sangs " in tho " braid Scottish tonguo" has delighted co many of his countrymen in every part of the globe.

We well remember tho first timo we heard him. It was in Burna'a town of Ayr, woll on forfivo-and-twenty years, Mr Land, a littlo clean-shaven man (who, wo think, formerly went ou tnur with Wilson),acted aa accom panist Konnody, who was solo vocalist, looked then a strong, fresh eomploxioued man, with bushy whiskers, and rather under middle height. Howaaposeoasod ofastrong tenor voice of grot cnmpaae, and fang amongst other aont'« ''The Standard on the Braoso'Mar," " Willie'." flano to Molvillo Castlo, ' "Clot up and Bar tho Door," and his own favourito, " Alfctor Mac-ilistor." Ho chatted freely with tho people—told them stories -just aa hodid till tho laat, and had the singular faculty of taking tho audi onco into his confidonco Herein perhaps lay tho real element of Konncdy's remark able fmccess. He know how to humour hia audience. Ho appeared to have a wido knowledge of human naturo, and know what to say and how to say it. Trifling though tho ineidont wa?, wo romomberon one occa eion, just boforo boginning to ning, wo think, " Cullorllcrrin," he told his audience that he had recently been at Wick, and in com pany with hia colloaguo. Mr Land, had gone fora walk before breakfast, and s^en beauti ful fresh herrings brought frr.m tho boat?. This had vory little to do with Scottish song, but it was a " touch of Nature," and helped to draw tho sympathy of his nudionco, who felt that they had beforo them not the stereotyped, atarched-up artiulu staring at his roll of mutic, and stlHv bowing his slondor uckuowlodgmente to tho-people whom ho condescends to untcrtaio, but a man who was, aftor all, as one of thomserve?.

Soon afterwards ho made ono of his lengthened tours In Anarica, and whon wo next hoard him, agnin in a Scottish pro vincial town, he was accomnanied by two of hia daughters and two of his sons, all of whom were very young. Tho young laiica wero now hia accompanist?, and hia boys took' a small part in tho singing, ono of them giving an Iri."h eong, " Pat Malloy."

Kennedy's success in the colonies was oven more remarkable than it was in thfl old country. His concerts ware tho gathering pines of many Scottish.people, who liad long boforo left tho land of their fathois, and many touching memories were awakened there of tho "auld hauio " and friondnof boyhood. ThecnthueUamntniany of these ineotings was almost unbounded, and amply demonstrated tho influence »f song upon tho Scotch race. Tho people often came long distances to hear their countryman, and wo remeir.bor a story he used to tell about two men who came to hear him sing in ono of his Canadian tours. In the front soafc at ono of his ennccrts ho saw two big farmers—to qu->to Ko.mady's words—"men with great big Dr. Begj^-lika head*, wi' plenty accommodation for infor ■nation." They eat without a smile till ho sang "A man's a man for a' that," and a genial expression camo over their counten ances when they heard of tho day " When man to man tho world o'er Will brdthtrß bo, for a 1 tha*.. At the end of the entertainment ono of them wa» heard to say, "I cam' many n lang mile on Sabbath to hrar that man sing the Psalms o' Bavut" (Kennedy bad been precenting Fomowhere), "and this nicht I'vo come mrmy a !nng milu to liftr him sing the Hangs o' Burn?, and I'm tlii'ili ing that on tho whole King Dnvut hid rather tho heels o' Kobbie Burn*."

Nor woro tho lessons of his foreign travel loat to the world. He frequently alluded in hi? entertainments to his experiences i» other lands. We remember when ha was visiting a email Border to >vn, that ho guvo a short address at tho conclusion oi his concert on " Emigration," and he threw out some valuable hints to young men, winding up his observations by giving them a kind of moral exhortation, saying that if they remained for the rest of their lives in their own town, where everybody knew his neighbour, "tho foar of God mioht n*' keep them riclif, but the foar o' man may bo help "

Tho next timo wo heard Kennedy was in tho Music Hall, Edinburgh, übout coven years ago. What a change !Ho waa such an eld, gray haired man that we rhould not have known him He was now supported by three ot his eons and three of his daughters, and gave his cntertainmont on titled "A Nicht wi' the Jncobites"-a concert in which Kennedy was perhnp3 seen at his best. As we have eaid, he was of Jacibito extraction, and their songs eeemed to inspiro him Beginning with a spirited rendering of " Bonnie Dundee," in a chorus of which the family joined, he told in sone, with remarkable fidelity, tho ptory of the Jacobite risings of 1696 and 1745, in troducing such exquisite ballads " Wae's Me for Prince Charlie," " Bonnie Prince Charlie," " He's o'er the Hills " while amplo justice wa' done to such humourous songs as " A wee, wpo German Lairdio," "Johnie Cope." and " Hanie cam' oor Guidmau at c'en," all of which were reudered by the old man himself.

And here, porhaps, we should note Ken nedy's singular versatility. He could sing a pathetic song, such as tho " Land o1 the Laal," with great tenderness, while he could render a humourous ballad, as the " Laird o' Cockpen " or "The Weary Pund o' Tow," with the most happy effects. Hie aim was always to extract the meaning of n song, and for this end ho often dramatised what he sang. Nor was ho less successful as a reciter. No one who ever heard him give "Tarn o' Shonter" or the " Address to a Haggis " cm forgot the striking dramatic effects which he produced. But thou.'h Konncdy cnjoyod co much public favou . his domestic life was in 1/itor years eadly dou-Jod by a terrible calamity — threo of his family boin<: killed in the con flagration of a theatre at Nico. This must have told on the health and the spirits of the old man, though it nays much for his pluck that he afterwards undertook another tour in Amerira, a.nd aVo sung in many towns in great Britain and Ireland with the old fire. lie was again on a Canadian tour when he died. It is a satisfaction when a hard worker dies in harness, and such a death was the fate of David Kennedy. Anyone who saw the Btout, country-luoUiog man walking alonn- the streets would have thought that he had attained the allotted three-scoro years and ten, but he wa* hardly sixty-two whon death overtook him at Stratford. Hia fanvly brought home his body across the broad Atlantic to his own city of Edinburgh, where he wna known ao -noli : and from'his hn.i«« ir. M .jrWd Road f-.ev followed in I ho funeral proce=einn *" N>B Gran.2o Oemoterv (pist Ihrce wtok^ nf'or be hRd stint; r is UM *oop) n;my wKo know him, not'so much ns a great vocklM, but as a genial friend whose sunny nature and open heart made him as welcome in the home as his versatile talents had made him on public platforms in all parts of the world.—"People's Friend."

Some Wholesale Hangings.

The hanging of four men at once ia not (says the Melbourno '' Telegraph ") with out parallel in Australian history ; in fac ■, it ia a comparatively trifling affair beside tho executions which occurred in Sydney between IS2O and IS4O. Tho bad laws of a worse governed ponnl settlement conduced rnther to crime than to prevent it, and tho list in tbo;e yoara was appalling. A gallows was erected at the corner of Park and Oastleroagh-streets, in August, 1821, and hangings on it fir some time were almoet of =j weokly occurrence. In fact, so unimportant ; did the punishment become that no record ij seeme to hnvo beon kept, or, if so, it wan I lo3t many years ago. In August, 1821, twenty-six mon wero charged with a serious oltonce ; of their numbo^ nineteou wore oxecuted the_ day after they wora found guilty. Perhaps it is aa well tint their names liHV'3 been buried with them, for tho mo*t patient search faila to give any cluo as to who they wore or fdr what they di d. In October, ISS2, tho same gallows served for tho execu tion of thirty-four men for buehrauging. They wero not all of tho eamo gang, bu; had bean capturod during tho preceding month, mainly owing to tho endeavouis of an ox-convict, who, after enrolling himself in the police force, became famous for hi.s bravey and success in securing highway robbers. All of those thirty-four wer<i given into custody by him, and they wero hanged in batches of five during the first diya of tho month. Their names also hivo passed out of mooiory, A terrible crime, for which eight men wero hanged togothor on the gillows referred to, was an attack by a numbar of aligned oonviot servants belong ing to Mr Henry Dangar, of Myall Creek, on a camp of aboriginals Thoy caught thorn asleep, and sotting on men, women, and children alike, killed twenty-eight in a few momentI. Thoy wero all captured, and, on boing tried, acquitted j b«t at a subse quent trial, the lir-t not being deimel satisfactory, they wero found guilty, and by Mr Chief Justico Dowling sentenced to death. Thoy wero h-insed on tho ISth of Decembor, 183 S. Hitchcock, Poole, Riloy, Porry, Jones, and llyan wero tho 'names of six assigned servants of Major Mudie, who occupied Castle Forbes station. For an act of insurrection (hey wero all hangod on 12th Decembor, JS34. Whon Fonleuced thoir spokesmen said thoy did not dony tho oll'onco, but wero drivon to it by cruolty and tyrnnuy. In diana'ion was manifested on all hauds at the men's do.-ith, and an inquiry into tho way convict eorvants woro treated at the station rosulted in Majir Mudio's namo boing removed from the list of justices of tho poaco. Tho "Jew Boy'« g'uig" was led by ono Edward Dairs, and consisted of himself, Kobort Chilly, Jamos Evorott, John Shoa, John Marshall, and Richard Olanvillo. Thoy took to tho Hunter Kivor district, and committod several rnurdoru and othornctaof violence. Thoy|worc handed together outeido Iho wnlle of Dttilinghuret gaol March lb\ IS-tl. On Thursday after noon, March 20, 1857, ono of tho most daring attempts to obtain their liberty wua made by tho convicts of tho penal hulk. Success, in Ilohson's Bay. O*ing to some corap'ninta on tho scoro of provisions, Mr John I'rico, tho inspector of psual establish ments, visited tho hulk, and while discuss intr tlio trrievnioßC, ho w-is suddenly fo*. un,-in, kno'kedd w.l ly -iHo.vfrora ashove1, and iinmediatcly eurroundod and nttaoked on every Me, tho convicts jumping upon him aid peltine him with stones. A young man namod Wilson, who interfered, i\a< Himilnrlv' treated, and tho gang knocking oil' (heir ironp, made for Williams town On March 27. Mr Piico died of hi? injuries, loaving a wifo and large tainily. Tho cxeitomont ciuccd was intense. A numbar of BoHiors heavily armed wero ordered out, and the sloop Victoria, wuh hor cuna phooted, lay alongpldo the hulks, to bo roady to chock any further outbreak. At tho iiiquo-t which was held, a vordict of wilful murder was returned against tho following convicts :—Thomas Mnloney, Henry Smith, Thomas WUilnms, Kichard .loncp. Francia Brnoigan. John Younf, John William', Henry Smith, Kiclm.d Rryai t. William Jono?, Crown, Joino- Andorsot), John Chalßoy. James Kelly and Daniel Donovan. All the prisoners were captured almost directly after tho murdor, and their "trial bpforo MrJustieo Barry occupied several days, the public nnnifosting thn ureatcist interest. At tho ond Thomafl Williams, Thouwa Malonoy, Trancis Branigan, Wiilinm Bourne, Binhord Bryant, and John Chosley wero found guilty, and hangod. Tho Sullivan murders in New Zoiland in 18(56 horrified all Au* tralia. The gang coneiiited of Thomas Kolly, alias Noon ; John Joseph Sullivan ; Kichurd Burgess, alial Hill ; and Philip Levy. On July 12 of that year they attacked four raon, named Mat.ldou, Kemp thorn, Dudloy, and Do Pontiors, who wero crossing tho jMaungatupu mountains on their wav to Nol?on. Tho murderers terrified the country for a timo, but wore ovcn'u.V.ly captured ; and Sullivan, by turni g Quoon'n cvidonco, managed to Eavo his li:"o, although ho was found guilty and Fentor.ced to d^ath. Tho othora were banged.

An Ossified Human Heart.

AN item that appoired recently in a public journr.l, staling that pctrifkd human fiend is unknown to tho Fcion'ific world, attracted the at tention of a prominent farmer residing ten miles from San Francisco, ramod Dnn. Carr Mr Carr owne a musoum containing over a thousand geological specimens, and ulso several potrifications, tho most remark ublo b ling an alleged petrified human heart. t;Uon from tho coffin of a woman in the Trey Grove (III.) Cemetery. The cemetery -,vtiß Incited over a be/l of limestone, and was removed so that the stmo could bo quarr"ed. It is at thin point that tho Trent in limestone outcrop*, nnd tho neigh bourhood is rich with fi'S'il remains. Mr Ciirr says ho stands ready to cotnbit tho whole scientific world in tho allesation that (hero i 3 no potiified human flesh. The specimen has tho shape of tho human hoirt, and if of a very dark red colour, and Carr .«;iyß ho is willing to make affidavit that, he found it in n coffin as above ptated, and, moreover, that ho know tho fair owner in her lifotimo. Mr Carr being requested to procure tho opinion of pbjsioians and sur geons a= to the character of hia specimen, obtained certificates from many of tho lead ing physicians of La Sallo County.

A Romantic Story.

A SINGULAR tale U that narrated by their clerk for tho information and consideration of tho guardians of the city of London Union. A wnroan handed ovor her child ta tho cara of an inoxporienced flower girl while she and her husband repaired to Brighton .Although the girl appears only to have known the parents by eight, and was not aware either of their roaidunco, their cireumstftneep, or tho possible integrity of the transaction, she ngrood to take tho child on the payment of ton shillings for a fortnight's maintenance and tho verbal assurance that thoy would eeo her again at the expiration of that tims. Shortly after she had assumed the charge ehe sought relief by handing it over to the custody' of tho relieving officer. When bills wore issued for tho discovery of the parents, a philanthropic lady entered into negotiations with a view of adoption, which, happily for tho mother, an it subsequently transpired, were not, completed. On the return of the parents from Brighton, tho mother sorrow fully eought hor child, for a timo in vain, but, eventually meeting, quite by accident, the girl to whom she had entrusted it, wan' informed whoro it could be found- Romann: al?o nttacho* to the mother's married lifo. Sho had Fecreily married .1 clerk in a city bank, who was dciven to conceal tho fact of hia marriago both frnm hi? own parents and the bank authorities. Tho marriage ceremony had, moreover, to bo performed a sacond timo in a church to correct a se-ious local flaw at the first cele bration beforo the registrar. The purport of the application to the guardians was to O3tablifh the mother's claim to her loßt. infant, and to restore tho unconscious waif of the workhouse to the custody of its lawful nareuts.

Tourist (in want of light, to tipsy strageler): Got a match ?—T. S : Plentieh. (Hands out- sev fc ral)-T. S. (explaining): They hicnito on the boxch.--T : Awfully fhnriV:*. Wherft'o the bnx ? T S : That's •.vash I want to know-losh it yes'bday. Central Station Information Office—vnie outside the window : " Whon does the four o'clock train leave for Manchester?"— Voice inside the window: "Threo-sixty."—Voico outsido (muttering): " I knew there was do dependence to be placed on • these time-tables."

In the Gale.

I had an oxporienoo in crossing from Bou logne to tfolkestone tiio other day. It was an unxioua moment when tho train from Paris drew up alongside the quay close to tho spot whero the steamor was rather un oaaily floating. But there waa not much timo for consideration. Tho sailors, wear ing oilskin coats and overalls, were hard at work getting the luggage on board, and, if we intended "going on," now was tho moment for follow Ing our boxe*. Some Of us looked at Iho purpb mist just boyond the head of the pier, and made toward tho town on the other aide of tho harbour ; tho rest stunlblod down the ladder and found ourselveo on tho wet acd slippery deck.. Wo were not vory numoroua ; but we had ladies and children amongst ue. Some of 113 now wont into the cabin, some on to the uppsr dock ) the wisest ro inamed between the paddlo boxea on deck. I, aa an experienced voyageur, seated my self on a chair wnich I had wedged close to tho arm of a bench just in front of tho mid ship private cabin. One lady, who had only croaaed the channel or.co before and then on a fine day, exproesod her pltasuro at the change in the weather, aud announced hor intention of keeping quite well until she reached England, " aa it all depended upDn will,and she was determined not to bo eick." Another person of the same sex was confident. Sho asked a sailor "whether it was likely to bo rough," and received in reply a very decided tflirmativo. However, ehe derived somo comfort on learning that it was "not a gale," but only " dirty weather.'1 Tlio boll rang, the ladder was removed, a couple of seamon let down apieco of canvas on tha port sida, and then with a bang and a leap and a rattling we wore off and in for it!

I closed my eyes, and clung to the arm of live bench ; for I felt that my body waa boing tossed about in a most eccentric fashion. I heard voicea—one asking mo if l required an oil-kin coat, another proffering mo something I immediately refused ; anU then I was left in peace A fearful rush of wator, and some giggling from a young lady ; ond tho giggling became another moan. Knowing how important ifc was to mo to keep calm, I tried to sleep, and did my best to irangine that Iho noieo of clash ing crockery was simply the tinkla of neighbouring tea-cups. An American had seated himself on the bennh boeide me, and, to my dismay, I heard him giving up his place to a lady, Then tlioro was a raoro terrific crafh than over, and I opsnod my eyes to find that the fem;d9 with tho great powor of will waa being assisted by a sympathetic tar to ti?e from a recumbent position, unconsoiously as sumed, and that sho waa imploring to bo talton downstairs " It rejoiced me to bco her disappear, I looked round about me Just before mo were a newly-married couple and an old gentleman, seated un easily upon frail arm-chairs. Another crash; and tho three wero jerked from their boats and foil, flipping in much confusion towards tho tide of the voeral. The bride waa picked up, and with the aas-irft anco ot a tailor (w'.io I fancy owed mo a grudgo for refusing his ptollered gifts), seated next to mo. Her ghastly hus band (whoso chair was broken in tho collision) was placed opposite her, ptanding with his back to an iron partition. The old gentleman was tied with a ropo to a pillar. The American obaotved that "it was a veiy (mo tea, and ho had noticed nothing bettor on tho Atlantic " Hoaring this, I vonturt'd 1o if'ance at the ocon. find found fur tho first timo in my life that I was trav elling through wavt.B " mountains high.' It realiy was very grand ; but. having once coon thn »ight, l'mma to tho immediate de cision that I should never cure io look upon tho like again. There was a terrible lurch, and I felt a fcoblo but persistent hand clutching at my coat eleeve. It wa? the bride, who was doing her best not to tumble over mo. Until that moment I had imagined mysoM a courteous man, and it was only chon that I realised with a blush my natural, or unnatural, felfishnesa, "Madame," I paid, "if you will take my advice you will go below." The poor woman moaned, find continued clutching at mo, and then in broken accents appoaled to tier husband. "Oh," she exclaimed pite ousiy, "he wuntp to send me away ! — Dan t lot him." Her ecarcs'y better-half (tho poor fellrw waa terribly ill) could not epc-.k ; but ho gaZod upon mo with cfcoco lute-coloured orbs, raiciog Ilia hand in feeblo expostulation. Another man carried the bride away, and onco moro 1 tried to dczo.

F,ut what hucoo-s in that could bo hopud for, since I had to cling likes grim death to tho :irm of the bench and hear tho crash of crockery, and Iho crashing and the rushing of the water ? Thia went on so it seemed to mo—for hours and hours. At length I heard a eoaman tuning some poor creaturo closo to mo that "ho wa-i obliged to go away now, and would ho please to remem btr him?' I opened my eyes —to a con fiii-ion worse than ever. Most of tho piSEongerd h".d disappeared below, but tho American v.-a=> still there, but now tied to tho iron pillar, anrl bending down was looking through opera-glasses at a largo ship ckso to tho shore that wa» dancir.g about liko a cork iv the trough of a wator fall. "Wo shall get info tho harboir, I think," said ha, and a few minutes later (but such minutos !) wo wero silo nlongsido tho landing staco. I shall novor forget the faces of my fellow pasaergors .13 we crawled up tho steps lead ing to tho upper deck. Misery was Btamped on nearly every countonanca. The ladies (with an exception hero and there) were utterly indifferent to nppoarancoa. In the pelting rain wo gave up our tickets and pv-ro<l on In the pior Even hero we wero not fafe, for tho soa followed us up, actually da=hiiig over tho carriages of tho train that was wailing to toko us back to town. As wo landtd we saw the grinning faco, of a largo number of Fuikoetone visitors. Ono of these, a plump maiden vith ro-

pul.-ivoly red cheeks, exclaimed, " I am so glad wo-camo ! This is delightful!"— Lc-ttor in tlie " St. James's Gazette."

November Marriages In Holland

Of (he twelve months in the year Novem ber is reckoned in certain villages in Hol land to bo by far the most important. The

four Sundays of this month are known re ppectively as Review SuDday, Decision Sun

day, Purchase Sunday, and Possession Sue bay, names which sufficiently explain the purposes to wh'oh each is put by tho young people. On Review Sunday the unmarried girh and young men attar the morning ser vice walk up and down, staring at one an other to their hearts content. Having mudo up their minds whom to select on the following Sunday, tho youths with the po litest bows imaginable saluio tho fair ones, and judge from the way in which their courtesy is responded to whether success or defeat is to be their lot, Tbo third Sun day i< devoted to tho less romantic task of obtaining the eonssnt of tho parents and arranging in business like fashi )ii the de tails of the marriage settlement. The stern hearts ot those in authority having been satisfactorily subdued, all the follow ing week the parfon is busy at marrying, but not until P. ssession Sunday comes round are the happy betrothed permitted more than an utfectionate gize, or at most a tender equoezo of the hand.

Barnum, Lord Shaftesbury, and Converted Papists.

An amusing opnodo of this subject was tho receipt of a loiter from un agent of Mr Burnum—tho American showman—a letter that greaUy tickle-d tho humour of lord Shaftesbury, who had a kcon rclHi for a joke.

" Mr Barnum's As;eiit to T ord Shafteebury. Manchester, March 24th, 1553.

My Lord,—As I atn aware your lordship is always actively engaged in a holy warfare against the Roman Catholic religion, and tho mainstay of the con vet ta from that faith, I calculate it is highly probable that Rosa and Francesco Madiai are likely to come under your lordship's patronage on their arrival in the country. As agent for Mr Barnum, whose name, I presume, is not unknown to your lordship, I respectfully beg to bo informed whether it is posaible to enter into an engagement for those inter esting people to exhibit themselves in our United States after tho London season, as I have no doubt they would draw far nudie^ces in our northern States, whero the Protestant feeling runs strong, and wo aro pretty aiivo lo procweninsa in this country. Mr Barnum would act liVirrally by .these grind people, nnd grcal; yood may ba done. —I have tho honour to bp, my lord, your lordship's obedient sesvant, "John Haij, Wilton." —From " The Life and Work of the Seventh Earl of Shaftesbury."

A CHARMED MOUSE.

He Expires Under tna Rhapsody of Manic,

It limy not bo generally known that music kills mice. A party of throe gentlemen were enjoying a musical oveningj two beitg porformera and the third maiely a jistsnor. The violinist played a random improvisation while actual conversation was going on, when a email mouse waa observed to run from a dark room into the one where the party sat. There wa3 no desire to harm the little croaturo, and ho was allowed to have hia way. The violinist stopped hia playing, and the mouae immediately disap peared. Tho gentlemen had heard stories of tho aniica ot so - callod " musical laice," though they believed none of them, and it waa roeolved to try if something could Kot be done with the mouee, which aeemod to bo attracted by tho violin. Accordingly the violiuiat again began to play, auo> the trio were eurpriaed to ccc the animal again appear almost im mediately. Coming to a spot a few feot away from tho player, ha lay down on the floor, hia nose between hia forefeet, and remained thus perfectly motion less In a minute cr two the violin* iat atopped playing. The mouse did not move, end was watched in silence. An attempt to rouse him by a gentle touch with the violin bow did not dis turb him in the least, and it was found that ho could be handled quite roughly without any effect. His oyua were open, and the quick vibrations of hia sidoa in breathing were very t-lain, but he seemed to bo utterly unconscious. Ho was placed upon the floor, and in a ehort time eeemed to revive slowly. He began to walk about with apparent difficulty, tottering and unsteady. Be gradually recovered until ho appeared almost in his proper con dition, when tho music waa again begun. The first position waa resumed nt exactly the aaine spot The player tried^all manner of music, plaintive and gay, piano and forte, low and high on the strings, all kinds of trilh and double stops nud corda, but without any apparent effect. Ho played for several minute?, whon suddenly the mouse a form seemed to be convulsed throughout. Ho foil over upon hia sido, and after a few alight kicks became motionless again. It was ovor with him. The music was stopped, and every efibrt waa made to resuscitate tho poor victim, but neither fresh air nor any other raeuns of restoration within the range of the party's experience accomplished any thing.—" Bow Bells."

The Great Ice Age.

At the inaugural meeting of tho London Ins: itution lecture season Sir Robert Stawell Ball, F.R.S., Astronomer Royal of Ireland, uolivered an addrosa in which he introduced a limelight photograph oi the Cloghoora Stone, in the Kenrdaro Kiver. This Etone woighod over 100 tons, and Was composed of material very different from the river bed iteelf. It was only a Sample of many huge stones callod boulders with which the geologist was very familiar. This particu lar boulder must have travoSed a distance of at least '22 miles, and the question naturally arose, How did it reach its present position in the river ? We wore often perplexed to understand how, without the aid of modern machinery, tho great stones Ciirnpoeing the pyramids ot Egypt woro conveyed from their natural quarr'es ; but we had in the case of tho Cloghoora Stono an enigmastill more per plexing, for this stone was 50 time 6 the weight of tbooa composing the pyramids. Happily, the probleitt had been solved, and thero could not now bo the elifldow of a doubt that the ice did it all. In what was termed tho great ice age gigantic masses of frozen water flowed from tho mountain like a mighty rivor, breaking off acd crushing in their couree those gigantic boulders. Those rivers of ice, termed glaciers, moved very slowly from tho mountain tops down tho "alleys to the rivers. What was known as "Humboldt'a glictor" wasaleo exhibited on tho screen, as an illustration of Alpmo rivers of concealed snow, quite analogous to Irish specimens. Th*t adventurous traveller Mark Twain thought it a pity such modes of locomotion could not be utilised in the coM regions of Switzer land and Italy in our o=ra time?, lhe worst of it was that, as Aga3siz demonstrated by co m:my conclusive measurements, tho pace of these trainswas soawfullyslow. (Laughter.) The Irish Astronomer Rojsl then passed from our northern latitudes to say some thing about tho glacial regions of the south ern hemisphere; of which, howovor, he owned that comparatively very little is known. Tho Antarctic parallelisms and their bearings upon tho problem under treatment urgently needed tho investigations of a competent scientist, anl theio were other parts of our terraqueous globe of which the same thing might bo said. He had planced over the main faota, and had en deavcured to say something to tho point en all the countries illustrative of the pho nomena of glaciation. The survey showed beyond tho possibility of rational doubt that timo had wrought wondeis upon them all. Many, many age 3 ago Greenland was as green ac IroUn), although now clad in seemingly eternal snow. But myriads of yoars the ice plough was grinding as in a mill its solid rocke, and pulvcriecd them. The icy ocean was 500 foot thick, and if we compared that enor mous weight with, say that of tho Great Pvramid'B base ploughing through tho sands of Egypt, wo might form eomo faint notion of the tremendous forces at work during all the time that tho onco temperate vino lauds of Pennsylvania, and still more of circum polar North America, were plunging deeper nnd deeper into the snowy abyss. The soil disintegrated by tho eternal grind grew thicker with every year's layer of the drift, and the boulders left by the process marked alike its source and its all sweeping might. A pair of the most striking photo graphs reflected on the screen represented Clew Bay, with which the lecturer said hie studies had mado him perfectly iamilia.r. Tho boulder clay of that inlet of the S6a, whoso very name recalled that peculiar clayey formation, seemed to convey in struction. Tho next illustration focussed in one comprehensive map the Northern circum-polar regions, including the British Isles and the adjacent North European countries, as well as tho Eeptontrioual coasts of Belgium and France. The lines of the old ice grind traversed the w hole. Trans atlantic parallels to this impressive ice chart were alluded to by the lecturer, as also other analogies. The speaker^ then discoursed of the successive swinging backwards anrl forwards of the colossal pendulum, which arres'ed the cosmioal variations of'climate throughout the lapse of period", each embracing several hundred thousands of yeara. The new astronomy was first suggested by Mr Croll (whoee name was cheered to the echo), tho author of "The Astronomical Theory of the Great Ice Age." The audience were invited to consider what would follow from the sun's dipping into an ice bath for untold Up«es of timo. The result must necessarily be its cooling down at last to the tempera ture of spice— i.e., about 300 degrees below zero. That was the woret that could happen to ue. Such an ice age would be no triflo Hr.nee the interest attaching to a proper dis cussion of the astronomical rationale of the glacial revolutions to which our planet has been, millions of ye*rs ago, and must be again, subjected Glimpses were giv. nto the audience of seeming voiifieations of old Greek myths and of the predictions _ of modern astrologers. Voltaire's anticipation of a new deluge in his own time was not for gotten any more than tho Toulou?e ship wright's forethought, who built an ark as a shelter against the threatened catastrophe.

Lord Palmerston's Revenge.

The following anecdote is related ot Lord Pahnorston :—He waa travelling north on ona occasion, and purchased a third-clas ticket, lit bi% cigar and entered the coach. Ono of the employsea called th 9 attention of the manager to the fact, remarking: •' What shall we do if Lord Palmerston rides third-clasa 1 Everyone will follow suit, and t,o first or second-class tickets will be sold." The manager thought a moment, then took two third-class tickets, handed them to two chimney-sweeps standing on the platform, arid ushered thorn into the coach where Palmerston eat. Palmerston looked up and immediately comprehended the position and the motive. Arriving at the next station, he purchased two firat'class tickets, took the sweeps out and ushered them into the first class coach. The retaliation was not appreciated on the port of the railroad managers.

Firafc Customer to (bjrber): " Havo you got anything that will take the curl on'- af hair, barber?" Barber:" You bet. That electrical elixir of mine will do it." Second Customer (to same barber) : ''Haye you got anything that will make hair curl, barber 3' Barber: " You bet.' That electrical elixir o' mine will do it like a charm."

ALLEGED WIT.

A theological student being urged by some young ladies to join in a quadrille' declined ; and turning to a lady near byl asked, with rather an imposing air—"Do you think, Mra L ,tbat a man ought to dance who expscts to fill the pulpit ?'' The lady replied, " I don't see why he should not, provided he has grace for both."

How it' Was. —"How is it nono of my con tributions are ever used t" asked a would be contributor of an editor. " You must be mistaken. Do you writo on one Bide of the paper only?" "Certainly." "Then it's all right. We Write our editorials on the blank side. Never be tfraid of your contributions not being used."

A St. Helens youth, receiving a severe horsewhipping from a young woman whom he had jilted, rather congratulated himself than otherwise, remarking that if she treated him co when they were not married it was impossible to tell what he would suffer at her hands after marriage,

The fashion in American socioty is a white cord, which is Buddenly handed to a narrator and inscribed :— I ah Something of a Liak. Myself. In speaking of o learned sergeant who gave a confused, elaborate, aud tedious ex planation of Bomo point of low, Cnrran ob eerved, " That whenever the grave counsel lor endeavoured to unfold a principle of law he pat him in mind of a fool whom he once saw struggling a whole day toopen an oyster with a rolling pin."

A gentleman complimented a lady on her improved appearance. " Yon are guilty of flattery," said the lady. " Not bo, 7' replied the gentleman, "for I vow yon are as plump as a partridge !"' " At first,"said the lady, "I thought you guilty of flattery only, but now I find you are actually mak ing game of me." The Lay of the Last Minstrel.— Out West a boy of fourteen years old having been sent to fetch n music-book,'returned and placed an egg on the music-etaud. On beiog asked what that was for, he replied than it was the "lay of the last minstrel," and that the composer was singing in honour of her production in the fowl houee

"What a terrible storm at sea theres been," observed an Irish soldier, whose education bad not enabled him to distin guish tho bottom from top of the news paper. "Storm at sea?" inquired his messmates, " where do you find that T " In this newspaper, faith,' replied the Irish man; "sure the ships aro all upside down."

A Yorkshire newspaper, wishing toinform its readers that the "Courier of Lyons" and " The Ladieß* Battle " will be performed at tho theatro on such a night, says:—" The first piece will be ' The Courier of Lyons," after which will ba prodnsed (at the special request of a patroness of the Scarborough Toetotal Society) 'The Ladies' Bottle'" At a private party an " extra " maid of Erin was engaged by the hostess to assist the "regular" in aaseing round tho cako and ice cream. The "extra hand," to whom this sort of thing was quite new, got rather excited, and bustled to and fro with considerably more energy than grace. When about retiring, alter going the round of the room, tho suddenly stopped, and, pointing to a portion of the company in another room, innocently inquired of the " regular " housemaid, loud enough for the whole company to hear—" flev ye fed them over there?" She disappeared dowastaira amid laughter 80 loud that it must have troubled her sleep for a fortnight.

THE HAND TO HOLD.

On, " the hand that rocka the oradle Is the hand that rulea the world ;" And the hand that feels a buzz saw la the hand that will get hurled; And the hind ihat shirks the Bhovel Is the hand the farmer hlrei; Acd the hand that fools with matchss 7s,tho hand that kindie: fires; Atd the hsnd that Dicks v p horseshoea In a smithy -will get hot; Bat tao hacd fiat holds four aces Is the band that" bcoops tho pot," Bo noble I nnd the noblen- 88 that liss In other men. sleeping, but nevor dead, Will rise in mojeUy to jneet thine own; Then wilt thou see it gleam in many eyes. Then will pure light aroand Ihy path be shed, And thou wilt never m rs ba Bad and lone. James Russell Lowell.

Yankee Trade.

" I calcclath I couldn't drive a trade with you to-day?" said a true specimen of a Yankee pedlar at the door of a merchant in St. Louis.

"I calculate you calculate about right, for you cannot," was the sneering reply. "Wall, I gaosa you needn't got buffy a bout it. Now, hero's n dozen real genuine razor strops, worth two dollars and a half; you may have 'em at two dollars. " I tell you I dont want any of your trash, so you had batter be going." "Wall; now, I declare 111 bet you five dollars if you make me an offer for-tbem aro strops ; we'll have a trade yet." " Done !" replied the merchant, placing the money in the hand of a bystander. The Yankee deposited the like sum; when the merchant ottered him a couple of cents for his strops. " They're yourn," said the Yankee, as he pocketed the stakes But lie added, with apparent honesty, " I calculate a joke is a joke; and if you don't want them strops I'll trade back." The merchant's countenance brightened as he replied, "Your not such a bad chap, after all. Here are the strops— give me the money." "There it i?," said the Yankee, as he received the strops, and passed over the couple of CQDts "A trade's a trade, and now you'ro wide awake in earnest. I gueee the next timo you trade you'll do b little better than to buy razor gtropE. And away he went with his strops and his wager, amid the shouts of the laughing crowd. .

Major Browns Coon Story.

" I was down on the crick tbia morning," said Bill Gates, " and I seed any amount of coon tracke. I think they're ogoin' to be powerful plenty thie Eea3on."

"Oh, yes," replied Tom Coker, "I never beam tell of tke likea before. The whole wooda is lined with 'em If skins ie only a good prico thia season. I'll bo worth some thin' in the spring, Euro's you live, for I've jest got one of the beat coon hogs in all Illinois." " You say you never beam tell o the like o' the coons?" pat in Mojor Brown, an old veteraD, who had been enjoying his tobacco in eilence fot the last half-hour. " Why, you don't know ennything 'bout em. If you'd come here forty years ago, like I did, you'd a thought coons ! 1 jest toll you, boys, you couldn't go amisa for em. We hardly ever thought of -peatorin' em' much, for there ekins weren't worth a darn with us— thafc ie, we couldn't get enough for' em to nay for the skinnin'. I recollect one day I went out a bee hunting. Wai, arter I'd lumbered about a good while, 1 got kinder tired, ar*d so I leaned up agin a big tree to rest. I hadn't much more'n leaned up afors eomethin' give me one of the 'llfiredest nipe about the seat o'my britchesl ever got in my life. I jumped about a rod, and lit a runnin and kept on a runnin' for over a hundred yurda ; when think, etz I, it'B no use runnin', and I'm anako bit, but runnin' won't do enny good. So I jes^ stopt, and proceeded to examine the wound. I soon seed it was no snake bite, for thar's a blood blister pinched on mo about cix inches long. Think, siz I, that rether gits me. What in the very deuco could it a bint Arter thinkin' about it a while, I concluded to go back and look for.tho critter, just for the curiosity o' the thing. I went to the tree and poked the weeds and stuff all about:; but darned the thing could I Bee 1 Party soon I eeos the troo has_ a little split arunnin' along up it, and st I gits to lookin' at that. Dreckly I Eeoa the eplit'Open about half a inch, and then ehct up agin ; then I sees it" open and shot, and open and f>het, and open and ehet, riyht alomr as regu lar as a clock a ticking. Think, sez I, what in a 1 creation can this mean ? I know'd I'd get pinched in- the split tree, -but what was makin' it do it ? At first I felt orfully scared, and thought it must be somethin' dreadful; and then agin I thought it moutn't. Next I thought about hants and ghosts, and aboud a runnin' home and sayin' nothin' about it; and then I thought it couldn't be enny on 'en, for I'd never hearn tell o' them a pesterin' a feller, right in open daylight. _ At last the true blood of my ancestors riz up in my vein?, and told me it 'ud be cowardly to go home and nov .find out what it was ; so I lumbered fur my axe, 'tnrmined to find null a!! abiuh It. or bib*.-up. When I-got b.cW, I lot en to <hs tror, and purty toon it cum dowu mi 1 tmatbeii into flinders—and what do you think ? Why, it was rammed and jammed smack full of coons from top to bottom. Yes, eir, they'B jammed in so close that every time they-breathed they made the splitl open.'-'

SELECTED POETRY.

OUR CHILD KINGDOM.

Oh! what a realm is oara in childhood * day». Kre lhegreat world hath wonus—whilstthe boh Of life hath scarcely touched, or crushing toil Revealed how hard and narrow are tho ways i Whsrein most tread. Tho fair sun's lustrous rajs ' Then light our fclDgdom—and our KlßdßOmo Pienso hither, thither. In their fresh surprise; Each volce.eachtone.eacn. fancy whispers praise; v et darker times come o'or us, and our orqwn lies ia the dust; as men have done, we do- Till the man dies within in - wo pursue The tbinas that othere value, and alone Uncrowned, bowed down, In age at length wo Grasping the dußt which mocks ua—in our ha —E. H. Gulliver.

LOST LOVE.

(Wmtteh for Music). How bright, how brief, my own swo«th»art, Was Love's resplendent day; How hard the Fate that bade us part To meet no more for aye! Can Love survive the stern decrca That bids two kindred Boula By raging tide he sundered wid» Like cold opposing poles? Dear love, lost love— Sundered by leagues of sea. No more, ah, no more. Wilt thou come back to mo: But love Uke ours can never die, Whate'er may come between; It mocks tho pow'r of Destiny To alter what hath been. The poles shall yet feel tropic glow ; .. , Eo, with us parted twain, A purer clime, a happier time. Shall link our lives again 1 Dear lore, true love. Why should I mourn for thee J Some time—somewhere— Thou wilt come back to me 1 John I* Kbijlt.

A LA MODE.

All a la modi - not beef alone or fish, Or any other tort of savoury awn; _.„_ Not breeches, coats, or dresses-what we wear. Though in the passing fashion <£ey too Bbare, Short; lon*, full, skimpy, or the Lord knows As changeful as the wind in style or out; Sot chains and tables, couches, pictures, rooms, ugs. carpets, cupa and eauoera, pistes and

broom?* Each has its rtiizn, lasting a year or two; Then, forafreak. discarded, out they go _ And something new comes in. Ah! suohis life. We ch»nge the out oi all thinga-savea wife. But worse than tbis-for. after all, withplatters The eliipe or colour really little matters— We chanse ounfelves-wei must, bo o la mode. Acting not aa we like, but like the crowd. Wherever Fashion blows we set our faoe, And t ike her ao our guide in every case. Tis tbua we form our life-believe and talk Just like the rest, and ape them in our walk. Afraid to call our very soul our own, Lest for our rashness we should stand alone. What if we do 1 We must, if we Be true; For each man la himself, nor am I you. What i£ we do 1 1 Bay- are ODe and aU Sent hare to carry cut a funeral? No more—to bury with a feeble face _~„__ "The salf"—where Fashion points itl resting Than set°upon that self a ponderous torab • Here Hes, without a hope, till crack of doom AU that makes man superior to a slave Conaigred, for safety, to an early grave. Natnrj laughs this to acorn— variety Lena's beauty to her work by land and sea,. She decks the earth with colours-hill and rate Scatters by turns with power prodigal, I,est sameness pall: the very leaves possess Each its own type Of perf ct loveliness Differing amid then- uciflon. Yet we. The Mendicants of Fashion, all agree, And feign our happiness In outtlngdown Whatever growth may chance to be our own. We think and talk and worship to B crowd. And by battalion? proclaim aloud The latest Shibboleth—to serve our stead Or 'neath an echo hido an empty head. Think for thyself—'tis better to be wrong; - ' Than play the cuckoo to a thoughtlesß throng; For honest wrong oft leadeth toilbe right. And men who think will find at last the light; Bat he who like a fool says " yeß " or "no." Because he boars his neighbours mumbling so— Who begs their sophisms, and without a doubt. Repeats tho oreed, whioh they m»y chanoe to

What ahsll wo Bay of him ? He's false to Qoa. Although, no doubt, quite strictly a la mode. EOS.

FROM SUNRISE TO SUNSET.

" Utfulaor, teneria gui radial aenis Momenta rapitur, nuUaque non dies FormosispoliumcorporisalistuM. Seneca. Tho bird gang free and joyous in the early summer morn. As Phoebus' steeds began their-course on By evening, caged and fettered, in his loneliness The singer saw tho sunlight leave the Bky.

The flower bloomed in beauty in the twilight of Rejoicing that the shades of night had fled; In the tvriught of the even there .was lying on the lawn' ' ' , ~ A flower, faded, withered, sere, and dead.

The child, with exultation, hailed another morn ing's birth, , ... Not dreaming sempiternal night was near.; When western clouds grew crimson, silenced was the childish mirth, . ■ A little corpse lay cold upon the bier. •

No one knowetli in tho morning what the even-v ing clouds may bring; . Let us pluck the fragrant bloisoms while they Let ub feast upon the present ere it melts like scow in spring, . . . - And our happy days are buried in the past. O. E. Hugo.

IN A GARDEN.

Baby, sec the flowers! . .. ■. - —ISiby sees Fairor things than these. Fairer though they bo than dreams of oure. Baby, hf ar the birds! —Baby knows Better conge than those Sweeter though they sound than anr words. . • Baby, see the mcon —Baby's eyes Laugh to wet-h it rise, Answering light with love and night with noon. Bo by, hear the seal —Babj'sface . Tokens graver grace. Touched with wonder what the sound maybe. ' Baby, see the Btir i —Baby's hand Opens, warm aivl bland. Calm in claim of all things fair that ore. Baby, bear the bells! ■':''- ; —Baby's head Bows, as ripe for bed, Now the flowers curl round and close their cell?. Baby, flower of light. Sleep, and see Brighter dreams than we. Till good-day ehall smile away goodnight * —Algernon Charles Swinburne, in "English Mazazine"far December.. . ■■ ■ -

Women of the Harem.

A Brief Glimpse of the Peculiar Fureota of tbo Orient.

One of the conditions upon which A woman enters the harom is that she gives up all family ties and connections with the outside world. While polygamy is permitted in Turkey, not more than fire per cent, of His Majesty's Moslem subjects have baremp, Gen. Wallace depicted in a humorous vein the curiosity of American women to visit harems. They always have a great'desire to ccc the poor creatures at home, and de vise come means to raise them from their degraded condition. After a" visit many ladies change their minds about the fear* ful fate of the Turkisn women. The Turkish ladies assemble in a common recep tion room richly furnished. They are atteri ded|by a throng of ."laves, white and black, who do their every bidding. The mistresses of these harems wear costumes which tbo speaker, after apologising for his deficiency •on the subject of feminine apparel, under took to describe. Their closing is of tie richest material. Of the general intelligence of the;e women their American sisters wbo have seen them do not epeak in flattering terms. The conversation between the Turkish women and their visitors nearly al ways runs about tbia way:

"Where are you from?" inquire the' luxurious wives of the Mahometans.

" From America." "Where is Ameiica?" " It's over the ocean.' "Doyou ever go over there without wearing veils? Aren't you ashamed before the men ?" "We don't pay any. attention to the mon." It is the genoral opinion that ladies* of the harem are prisoners. This is merely a delusion. Every Turkish woman has, her own quarters and her own slaves to wait upon her. She can take a lide whenever she wishes, and she wears what she 'pleases without interference. The Turkish head dress is, with due dference to the styles of Paris and New York, the most' becoming of any in the world. It makes the home liest wotsen handsome and the handsome angelic. The Turkish women are. next to our American women, the most beautiful I h»ve ever seen. Glimpses of them can be caught on Fridays, the Turkish Sunday, or from their carriages. They do their own shopping. It is theirs to buy as '.' they please and their husbands to pay for it. V 'It is Inconrec^to say that there is no home- . life among tho Turks. Laying aside the tie cf husband aiid-wife, there remains that al most as dear—parent and • child. The residents of the harem, which means a sacred or secret place, are passionately, de voted to their children, upon whom they can ohower all the tenderness of woman's na-

THE AUCKLAND EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, JANUARY 22, 1887.

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