The Sun. — London, England, 1870-02-22 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT HOUSE OF LORDS.--MONDAY. Their lordships assembled forfora feW minutes, but Ile business transacted was not of the slightest importance, and the House adjourned at twenty minutes past five. HOUSE OF COMMONS.—Mormay. The Speaker took the chair at four o'clock. NEW MEMBER. Mr. Norman Grosvenor took the oaths and his seat for the city of Chester, in the room of Earl Grosvenor, ele vated to the Upper House as Marquis of Westminster. PRIVATE BILLS. The following bills were read a second time :—Birming ham and Staffordshire Tramways, Caledonian Railway (additional powers), Caledonian Railway (Tavy Ferries and Land at Dundee), Elland and Brighouse Road, Leeds Tramways, North British and Edinburgh and Bathgato Railway Companies, North British Railway (general powers). North British Railway (Tay Bridge), and Ship ley Gas. BRADFORD AND HUDDERSFIELD ROAD BILL, The second reading of this Bill was opposed by Mr. Knatchbull Huggesson, on public grounds, and also by Colonel Ackroyd, who respectively moved and seconded its rejection. Rejected accordingly. THE RECEPTION GIVEN TO RETURNED FENIAN PRISONERS. Sir G. JENKINSON gave notice of his intention to put questions to the Government having regard to the demonstrations made in Dublin and Cork on the arrival of Fenian prisoners. He should ask whether• those demonstrations were of a character condu cive to peace and order and to the pacification of Ireland ; whether the cost of the transport of the pri soners in question from Australia to this country was de frayed by themselves, or would have to be borne by the taxpayers of England ; whether a report in the Globe of a banquet at Dublin, at which Mr. Butt, Q.C., was pre sent, was correct, and if so, whether the language made use of by Mr. Butt was not such as to require the atten tion of her Majesty's Government. (Laughter.) INDIAN ARMY PENSIONERS. Colonel SYKRS gave notice of his intention, on Thurs day next, to ask the Under Secretary for India whether he would bring in a bill to place the officers of India draw ing pensions upon the same footing as pensioned officers at home. THE FRENCH TREATY. Mr. NEWDEGATE gave notice that he should ask the Conservative member of Manchester whether he in tended to proceed with his notice having reference to the French Treaty. THE PRISONER ATKIN IN WARWICK GAOL. Mr. NEWDEGATE gave notice that on Friday next he would call attention to the case of the prisoner Atkins, now in Warwick Gaol. FLOGGING GIRLS IN FACTORIES. Mr. STAPLETON asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his attention .had been called to a paragraph hi the Times of February 14th, headed "Factory Discipline." being the repor cf a case decided upon on Saturday, at the Ilford Petty Sessions, in which Hannah Andrews, a girl aged 15, employed in the Barking Jute Factory was plaintiff, and Mrs. Ann Mills, the forewoman of the factory, was defendant, in which it was stated that the girls were em ployed at separate frames in parties of four and five each, and the girl who is last in finishing her work at any particular frame receives ten or a dozen strokes with a two-foot strap, the end of which is cut into strips, so as somewhat to resemble a cat-o'-nine tails ; that the girl Hannah Andrews having on Tuesday been last at her work, on two occasions received fifteen strokes the first and ten the second time. Mr. BRUCE said he had made inquiries, and must 'say that flogging, whether it amounted only to three br four strokes, and not to fifteen or sixteen, was altogether illegal. As to the conduct of the magis trates, it was hardly the thing to require him to express an opinion upon it. GREENWICH HOSPITAL. Mr. W. JACKSON asked the First Lord of the 'Admiralty if any mode and proportions had been settled for the distribution of the annual sum of £4,C00 which, in the last session, was fixed should be divided among the merchant seamen, who had contributed to what is generally known as the " Greenwich Hospital Sixpence Fund," and how soon the appropriation of the money would commence. Mr. SHAW-LEFEVRE said no person who was not at least 70 years of age had any chance, at present, of re ceiving a pension. LICENCING AMENDMENT. Mr. CARTER asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he was able to name a day for the introduction of the Lice acing Amendment Bill. Mr. BRUCE said he hoped to be in a position to brin in a bill on the 4th March. UNSEASONABLE SALMON. Mr. 31ALCOLIVI asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it was lawful, under the Act 24 and 25 Vic., c. 109, s. 14 and 31, for a justice of the peace to empower by wa7rant any inspector to seize and open boxes, which there was probable cause to suspect of containing foul or unseasonable salmon while in transit under the care of railway or other carriers. And whether, in the event of its being illegal for a justice so to empower an inspector, he is willing to extend the power granted to the Customs' officers under the Act 26 Vic. c. 10, from the 2nd February to the 30th April. Mr. BRUCE answered that with regard to the first part of the question, that it was not lawful. With regard to the second part of the question ha had no objection to extending the time for the capture and sale of salmon from the 2nd of February to the 30th April, WICK HARBOUR. Sir R. ANSTRUTHER asked the Secretary to the Board of Trade whether any report had been received by the Board of Trade as to the nature and extent of the damage done to the harbours now in course of construc tion at Wick and Anstruther by the recent gales ; and if he would state from what funds the cost of such damage would be made good. Mr. LEFEVRE said the harbours in question were not under the control of the Board of Trade, but the work 'executed had been performed by the Wick Harbour Com- mission. THE DOCKYARDS. Lord JOHN HAY, in the absence of Lord Henry Lennox, asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether the discharge of men from her Majesty's dockyards in the inclement weather was to continue. _ _ Mr. CHILDERS said he had made inquirywhether any of the men had been disccrged under insufficient notice, and he found such was not the case. The reduction had been a necessity, but steps had been taken to render the necessity for continuing the discharge at the lowest rate possible. THE EMBANKMENT. Mr. LOCKE KING asked the First Commissioner a Works why the subway at the foot of Westminster Bridge had not been connected with the 'Embankment or Cannon row, and whether it was now intended to be kept for the sole benefit and exclusive use of the Metropolitan Railway. Mr. AYRTON said the railway company had bought the land, and with them rested the work of making the connection, but such an arrangement had not yet taken place, and the Metropolitan Board, who had constructed cthe Embankment were in communication with the railway company on the subject. • 'WATERSIDE MARKETS. Mr. SAMUD-A. asked the Vice. President of the Council if, before the Government approve of the site that may be selected by the Corporation for the waterside market for foreign animals, means would be taken to ascertain the views of those interested in the trade, and to insure a sufficient extent of accommodation being provided. Mr. FORSTZR said the duty of making these markets did not rest with the Government, but with the corpora tion. Certain privileges had been given to that body, and if the Corporation did not provide the necessary accommodation within the required time they would lose those privileges. The Markets Com mittee had been in communication with his department, and had submitted a site for the market, and the Govern ment did not disapprove of it. lie would name the spot, but a, the matter was still under negotiation, he thought he bad bettei not. ORANGE FREE STATE, Mr. GILPIN- ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, if it be true, as stated in the South African papers, that the provisional treaty between Sir Philip Wodehouse and the Boers of the Orange Frce State, by which a friendly tribe of natives had been de p-ived of a considerable extent of territory, had been sane tioned by her Majesty's Government ; and, if so, what provision had been made by Sir Philip Wodehouse for the protection of those who are thus driven from their homes ; and if there is any objection to lay a copy of the treaty and correspondence upon the table of the House. MONSELL said he had laid papers on the table that evening which would give the ftilk,t information on the subject. He might say t:: at Sr P. Woodhouse had used his utmost exertions to get tl a 1::' et terms he could for the conquered Basutos, and he had, he thought, been most successful. RELIGIOUS TESTS. Mr_ HARCOURT asked the First Lord of the Tres. bury whether, now that the .Land Bill and the _Education Bill had passed through their first stages, he was in a position to name an early day for the introduction of a bill reps4l religious tests in the tirive.rsisk.s. Mr. GLADSTONE said it was not in his power at present to do so, but as soon as he had an opportunity of proceed ing with the ulterior stages of such a bill, he would do so. LOCAL RATES. Major DICKSON asked the President of the Poor-law Board whether, in the measure preparing to extend the incidence of rating, it was intended to make properties used for public purposes assessable to local rates. Mr. GOSCHEN said as it had oozed out that such a provision would be in the bill, he would make no secret of the matter, but say at once such was the case, but he hoped he should not be asked to place the details before the House. THE WHITWORTH GUN. Sir JOHN HAY asked the First Lord of the Admiralty, if he would lay upon the table of the House a report of the Chief Constructor of the Navy, recommending the adop tion of Whitworth guns for the armament of the navy, and the remarks of General Lefroy thereon. Mr. CHILDERS said the report alluded to was con fidential, and•therefore he could not produce it. TURNPIKES. Sir G. JENKINSON asked the Under Secretary of State for the 'lmo department whether he intended to carry out during the session, and if so when, the pledge he gave on the 23d of July last, on his requesting the withdrawal of the resolution respecting the hardship and injustice in ; flitted on the ratepayers of certain parishes by the present system of the partial abolition of turnpikes ; on which oc casion the hon. gentleman appealed to him to withdraw his resolution. Mr. HUGESSEN said the Government had given their attention to the subject, as promised, but the Irish Land Bill, the Education Bill, and other matters at pre sent stood in the way of proceeding with such a measure. LOCAL TAXATION. - - Sir MASSEY LOPES asked the President of the Poor Law Board, when he proposed to introduce his promised measure for extending the incidence of Local Taxation. Mr. GOSCHEN could not name a day, but no delay should take place in the matter. COURTS OF JUSTICE. Mr. HEADLAM asked the First Commissioner of Works whether he would undertake to lay before the House the plan of the proposed courts of justice as soon as the same is settled, and before any contract for exe cuting the work is made. Mr. AYRTON said he should be happy to comply with the request of the hon. member. MINES REGULATION ANifINSPECTION BILL. Mr. BRUCE moved the second reading of this bill. In doing so, he mentioned that the loss of life was very much less now in proportion to the quantity of coal raised than it was years ago. Between 1850 and 1860 the loss of life was one to 67,000 tons of coal raised. Between 1864 and 1868 the proportion was one to 93,000 tons of coal, and during the year 1868 one to 103,494 tons. So that, however lamentable was the loss of life at the present time, it was not so great as in years past. There werb altogether throughout the country 350,000 colliers. The design of the bill was, as far as possible, to remove the causes of danger to the persons who were engaged in tne raising of coal. Any system that might be devised would nat have the effect of wholly preventing accident. But unquestionably' the danger might be very greatly mitigated by proper regulations. The first provision of all was the supply of schools, so as to increase the intelli gence of those engaged in work attended with such danger. A great many accidents, he shewed from a report of Mr. Dixon, were due to the ignorance of colliery viewers and managers in discarding the rules laid down for the proper ventilation of the mines, and other regulations against accident. The present law with regard to the education of those engaged in this under ground work was that no child should be allowed to enter a colliery unless he was 10 years of age, and not then, unless he could produce a certificate that he could read and write. In the event of his being unable to produce such certificate, his parents had to give an under taking that for two days a week, and at least three hours a day, he should attend school. That provision he Mr. Bruce) considered altogether inadequate. (Hear, hear.) He showed that it was inadequate by quoting statistics having reference to Scotland, and he asked what must be the state of things in England if such a state of things was possible in Scotland where the veneration for learning was so profound. The right hon. gentleman then reviewed the history of the efforts made by hon. members towards legislation on the question. Next, he contrasted the education of collier children in England with those of Germany, and in doing this he related that Mr. Sandford, colliery inspector, when travelling through Germany, had accosted a band of children, and placed in their hands a volume of the German poet, Schiller, Only one of them could not read the volume, and defective eyesight was the cause of that one's inabi lity. He (Mr. Bruce) begged hon. members to reflect and aak themselves if, out of a dozen English boys picked up in the same casual manner, there would not be more thaa one unable to read a volume of Shakspere. Ten years of age he considered too young for a boy to be allowed to go down the shaft of a pit for the puroase of heaving coal. He had therefore fixed the age at 12, and a provision was made that boys between the ages of 12 and 16 should not work more than twelve hours a day, one hour and a half of this time being allowed for meals and rest. There were other provisions, and one amongst them was with respect to the weights and measures. It was proposed that payment should be made to the men according to weight, but it had been thought that was not a matter to be dealt with by Par liament. The other part of the bill, although there were many matters that would call for discussion when they were considering the details of the measure, contained a very important enactment, and that related to the subject of ventilation. By the present law it was laid down that all measures of ventilation should be deamed to have been taken if it was shewn that all precautions " under ordinary circumstances " had been observed, but by the bill he had now the honour of introducing it was proposed to leave out those words, and to insert instead a provision which would set out that all that was possible to be done bad been done. with respect to ventilation, if it could be shewn that " all reasonable precaution had been taken." (Hear, hear.) This had been objected to, as throwing additional responsibility on the masters, but he did not see there was anything objectionable in the provision, but he thought it a safe and wise provision to embody in the MR Then, again, there was another matter of importance, and that was the subject of arbitration ; and an alteration had been made in the plan that had been in practice in some places—namely, to appoint five persons, to whom all questions in dispute should be submitted, but the Government thought that the present measure should revert to the old-fashioned mode of proceeding, and that was that each party should name its own arbitrators and own umpire, whose decisions should be looked upon as binding. Another recommendation of the committee was that with respect to the inspection of the mines, it was proposed that there should be a thorough inspection every three months, but such a recommendation had not been adopted because, whilst it would occasion the appoint. ment of no less than 200 additional inspectors it would not give any great additional security, because accidents in most cases are occasioned through imperfect ventilation, and in spite of all the precautions that would be laid down when such inspections took place. The best thing the Government thought it possible to provide against was divided authority, and under these conditions the Govern ment had not embodied the recommendation of the com mittee to which he had just referred in the bill. He had not the slightest objection to the appointment of addi tional inspectors, if it were shewn to be necessary ; but what he desired most to do was to make it imperal tive on the masters and owners to do all that was in their power to secure the safety of those engaged in working in their mines. It there was any neglect on the part of an overman or a viewer, he should be subjected to the same penalties as the men. (Hear, hear.) While on this part of the sub ject, the right hon. gentleman mentioned an instance where, through a viewer disregarding the warnings of the men employed in a pit, an accident occurred, and over 100 persons were killed. Both master and man being placed on the same footing, there would be a healthier feeling between them. In conclusion. he hoped the bill would be speedily passed, and that it would contribute to the object they had all so much at heart. (Hear, hear.) Dr. LYON PLAYFAIR said that although the acci dents in collieries did not involve a much greater loss of life than what occurred in the streets of London, in conse quence of an over-crowded traffic, yet they excited a much more active sympathy. He was glad to learn that the inspectors were not to be matei ially increased, nor the responsibility of colliery owners in any way diminished. He explained, scientifically the causes of accidents, and asked hon. members if they could be surprised at the petition of miners throughout England, that all overmen, agents, Scc., Ehould be subjected to a scientific examination previous to being placed in charge of the lives of hundreds of pit workers. The whole of the Commissioners appointed by this House to inquire into the subject had reported that it was useless to expect any diminution in the number of pit accidents unless recklessness and ignorance were made, on the part of both superintendent s . and men, to give way to .--tre and intelligence. The bill was wisely drawn, calculated to do much good. But while xannortina the hill. he +b.f ;+ IHE SUN, _ LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 22, 1870. not give those educational securities which tile mining population had a right to expect. Lord ELCHO said he was exceedingly glad to hear the provisions of the bill the right hon, gentleman had sub mitted to the House. It contained provisions that ,could not but work well for the benefit of all concerned, and he was glad that the subject of arbitration has met with the utmost attention, because ha knew how beneficial arbitration had been, both as regarded the employer and the employed. The provisions of the bill with respect to the employment of children and young persons were not quite so satisfactory as he could wish, because it was not set out clearly and distinctly the number of hours such young people should be employed during the day. The bill set out that no children between the ages of 12 and 14 should be employed more than 12 hours at a time in a 'mine, allowing one hour and a half for meals. 10 hours elapsing between leaving and resuming work ; but by the bill as it was at present it was passible to get 84 hours instead of 74 out of the workers, a proposal which he was sure was not the intention of the right hon. gentleman. There were some who thought that eight hours were quite sufficient for young children to be employed in mines, and much discussion had taken place on that point, but a compromise had been come to which he thought was both wise and considerate. It was that children from 12 to 14 should work for fifty hours, those aged from 14 to 16 should work fifty-six ; but in no case should the hours of children of 12 and 16 be so extended as to interfere with their having twelve hours from bank to bank : that was twelve hours above ground. He thought the compromise a wise one, and he had no doubt he should not have to urge the right hon. gentleman very strongly to give that compromise his most favourable consideration, with a view of introducing it in his bill. He did not quite agree with the provisions respecting penalties, and with respect to in3pectors he thought it time that these officials should be called by their proper name, and that was accident in quirers, because it was a farce to imagine that they made minute and searching inspections of mines. The fact was twelve men could not do the work, and therefore the Government would have to do something more than was embodied in the bill. The hon. member for Edinburgh had an actual proposal with respect to these inspectors, and he had no doubt when the subject came to be discussed something more satisfactory than the proposal in the bill would be eventually arrived at. He advised the House to do one of three things, carry into effect a proper inspection, no matter what it cost, or change the name of inspectors, or supersede the inspec tors by carrying out the proposal of the hon. gentleman who had just spoken, namely, to take measures for educating viewers, overmen, and other persons in charge of mines. Lord MILTON and Mr. PEASE offered a few re marks, the latter taking especial care to prove that colliers were not the ignorant and rude race which they were popularly supposed to be. It had been said that most of the accidents that took place in mines occurred through drink ; but, from his expe rience, he was certain such was not the case. In com mittee he should move, notwithstanding his general approval of the measure, certain amendments, which he trusted would make the bill more effective. Mr. LIDDELL generally approved of the bill. Mr. Lancaster, Mr. Elliot, and Sir George Grey expressed satisfaction at the introduction of the measure. Mr. BRUCE briefly replied, and trusted that the House would be ready to go into committee on the bill by Friday, the 18th of March. The bill was then read a second time. The Friendly Societies Bill, the Coinage Bill, the Sayings Bank Bill, and the Evidenco Further Amendment Act (1869) Amendment Bill—which respectively stood for second readings on the notice paper —were postponed till a future day. Mr. GOSCHEN mcved for a select committee to inquire and report whether it be expedient that the charges now irc posed on the occupiers of rateable property for various local purposes should be divided between the owners and the occupiers, and what changes in the constitution of local bodies now administering rates should follow such division. Sir M. LOPES moved, as an amendment, that it was more advisable to postpone the appointment of a select committee until the Government had announced the details of their promised scheme for dealing with the general question of local rating. Mr. GLADSTONE said that the motion for a committee was not intended to impress any one with the view that real property was to be made a subject of greater taxation than personalty. He declined, however, to agree to the amend ment. The amendment was withdrawn, and with some verbal alterations the motion for a select committee was agreed to. Leave was granted to Mr. LOCKE to bring in a bill to amend the laws relating to smoke nuisances in the metro polis, so far as they relate to bakehouses. The House then adjourned. L 1.5.7 FOR THE USE HF VISITORS TO TILE METROPOLIS. MUSEUMS. Antiquarian— Somerset House. Admission by application to the secretary. Botanic - Royal Botanic Society of London. Regent's. park. Admission daily by orders from fellows. Royal Gardens, Kew. Open daily, 1 till 6, free. British—Great Russell-s reet. Open free on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Frida s. 10 to 4; summer months 10 till 7. Closed Ist till 7th January, Ist till 7th May, and Ist till 7th September; al o on all ttkanksgiving days. City—Guildhall. A collec on of antiquities, etc. Daily 10 till 5. Geological - Jermyn street. Open daily (except Fridays) free. India—lndia Office, Charles-street. Asiatic natural his tory, antiquities, (kn. Open free on Mondays, Wednes days, and Fridays, and on Thursdays by orders. King's College— Strand. Anatomy and curiosities. Daily 10 till 4. Patents—South Kensington. Models and ihventions. Op •n free daily. Royal Institution--21, Albemarle-street. Various objects. Daily, 10 till 5. Royal Military Repository—Woolwich. Models of forti fications, cannon, and warlike appliances. Daily, 10 till 4. Royal Polytechnic Institution-309, Regent-street. Scien - tific, with lectures. Open daily, till 10 p.m. Is. Soave's-13, Lincoln's-inn-fields. Antiquities, curiosities, and pictures. Open Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fri days in April, May, and June ; and Wednesdays, from February to August. Admission on application to the Curator Society of Arts—John-street. Adelphi. Inventions, pic tures, curiosities &c. Daily: admission by menlber's order. South Kensington—Cromwell-road. Open on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Saturdays, 10 till 10, free; on other days 10 till 4,5, or 6. fid. Tower of London—Ancient armour, &c. Open daily, if till 4. ls. LITERATURE. MR. HUGHES'S ALFRED THE GREAT. Exactly a thousand years ago a great disaster befel this country, and the Christian faith seemed to have perished in Eastern England. Fierce battles had been fought in ssincolnshire between the heathen Danes and the Christian Saxons, and the latter, terribly outnumbered, had been completely defeated, and their chief, Edmund the King, also to be the martyr, was taken, tortured, and put to death. Not only was East Anglia for a time lost to Christendom, but Wessex lay open to the Pagan foe. It was at such a gloomy time that the greatest of English svereigns came to the throne a few months later in 871. Alfred the Great was born at Wantage 849. He was the youngest child of Ethelwulf Osberga. His father, the son of Egbert, being hindered from making a wished-for pilgrimage to Rome, sent Alfred there when the child was only five years old. Leo IV. adopted him as a son, and anointed him King of the West Saxons. He had for fellow pupil a beautiful and clever girl of 14, named Judith. A few months later his father arrived at Rome, and converted his son's fellow-pupil into a step-mother. Shortly afterwards Ethelwulf died, and his widow was in the same year married to her step-son Ethelbald, Alfred's brother. This " fair, frail, fascinating" Judith had many other matrimonial adventures, and from her descended our own Queen Victoria, for to her son by a third husband Alfred gave his daughter to wife. The pair were the ances tors of Matilda, and it is through her that our sovereisma trace their descent from Alfred the Great. Bishop Asses, his biographer, tells us how that - Findmg that the carnal desires, and proud and rebellious thoughts, which the devil, who is ever jealous of the good, is apt to breed in the minds of the young, were likely to have the mastery of him, he used often to rise at cock-crow in the early morning, and repairing to some church or holy place, there cast himself before od in prayer, that he might do nothing contrary to Hi s h o l y w i ll. But finding himself still hard bested, he began at such times to pray, as he lay prostrate before the altar, that God, in His great mercy, would strenthen his mind and will by some sickness, such as would be of use to him in subduing his body, but would not shew itself outwardly, or render him powerless or con temptible in worldly duties, or less able to benefit his people. For King Alfred from his earliest years held in great dread leprosy, and blindness, and every disease which would make a man useless or contemptible in the conduct of affairs. And when he had often and with much fervour prayed to this effect, it pleased God to afflict him with a very painful disease, which lay upon him with little respite until he was in his 20th year." When he was about to be married, he prayed that this sickness might be taken away and exchanged for some other. As he rode away he felt himself cured. In the midst of the marriage revelry he was attacked by a sudden and violent pain, which no physician could ever under stand. He was subject to it until his 44th year. Ethelwulf had done his best to break up the kingdom which his father had founded, by dividing it among his eons. Happily the younger ones were not self-seekers, and they did not press their claims. By a series of events, resulting in the death of the elder sons, Alfred came to the throne, as we have seen, in 871. But, before this, he had had to fight for his inheritance. While still a bride groom, he was summoned to the help of his brother-in law, the King of Mercia, against the Danes. A great famine and a great pestilence visited the land in this same year 869. The following year saw the death of King Edmund. Very shortly afterwards the Danes made a bold attempt, and seizing the delta which is formed by the Thames and the Kennet at Reading, threw up entrenchments close to the present racecourse, and little later a great battle was fought, which, after the tide of victory had ebbed and flowed, left young Ethelwolf dead on the field, and Alfred compelled to retreat. He fell back with his broken bands to Wantage, and encamped on the range of the White Horse at Ashdown. Hither the Danes followed him, and here one of the most eventful of English combats was fought. The Pagans occupied the higher ground. But they could not resist the impetuous onslaught of the Christians. They gave way and fled, and terrible was the havoc wrought in their ranks. But the loss was not on their side only. Alfred's brother Ethelred was among the slain, and Alfred himself thus, at the age of 23, ascended the throne of his fathers just at the time it seemed tottering to its fall. At first, as the chroniclers tell us, he lost heart. In the eight pitched battles he had fought with the Danes the flower of the West Saxon youth had fallen. The other kingdoms of which he was over-lord, had ceased to exist, except in name, or lay utterly powerless like Mercia, awaiting their doom. Kent, Sussex, and Surrey were at the mercy of his enemies. Lon don had been pillaged, and was in ruins. Even in Wessex proper, Berkshire, and Hampshire, with parts of Wilts and Dorset, had been crossed and recrossed by marauding bands, in whose track only smoking ruins and dead bodies were found. These bands were now striking further into the south-west than they had ever struck before. If the rich lands of Somerset and Devon were to be saved, it could be only by prompt and vigorous action. An ordinary foe would have been utterly routed by such a defeat as that at Ashdown. Not so the Danes. It was necessary to fight them again and again. One great battle was fought near Wilton, and the Saxons, victorious at first, were lured to defeat, as they had been at Reading, by the feigned flight and the real ambuscade of the enemy. That year saw nine battles fought in the country south of the Thames. Wilton probably was the last, for soon afterwards peace was made between the two peoples. Unfortunately, the Danes were always ready to break the most solemn engagements, if a favourable opportunity for doing so offered, and in 876, what Mr. Hughes calls " the second wave " of inva sion rolled over the land. This time the Danes were be sieged in their camp at Wareham, and their King, Guth rum, was compelled to open negotiations. Alfred made him swear upon all the relics most sacred in Danish eyes that he would not again break the peace, but would quit the King's country, and give hostages. He even gave hostages. But neither oath, relics, nor hostages could bind Guthrum. The Danes stole out of the camp by night, marched to Exeter, got possession of this Western capital, and there bid defiance to the Saxons. They beleagured the place,, but, though provisions were running s h or t , t h e Danes did not care ; the Exe was open, and a powerful fleet was on its way to relieve them. That fleet shared the fate of the Spanish Armada 700 years afterwards. It was utterly dispersed and destroyed by a great gale. So Guthrum was obliged to come to terms, and had to leave that part of England and retired to Gloucester. Alfred in this matter chewed great want of prudence. He trusted to the oath of a perjured man. Guthrum was to perjure himself a second time. A powerful fleet of the Northmen appeared in the Bristol Channel, and the Danes, hearing of this, grew restless, and longed to ravage the rich, and as yet unplundered, county of Devon. The D an i s h camp at Gloucester broke up, crossed the Av on a t Chi ppen h am, North men's n o d r en's fleetmmarchedrapiywestwards. At th e same t i me t h e landed on the coast of Devon. "And now at last the courage of the West Saxons gives way. The surprise is complete. Wiltshire is at the mercy of the Pagans, who, occupying the royal burgh of Chip penham as headquarters, overrun the whole district, drive many of the inhabitants beyond the sea for want of the necessaries of life, and reduce to subjection all that remain. Alfred is at his post, but for the moment can make no head against them. His own strong heart and trust in God are left him, and with them and a scanty band of followers he disappears into the forest of Selwood, which then stretched away from the confines of Wiltshire for thirty miles to the west. East Somerset, now one of the fairest and richest of English counties, was then for the most part thick wood and tangled swamp ; but miserable as the lodging is, it is welcome for the time to the King. In the first months of 878 Seiwood Forest holds in its recesses the hope of England." - It was during this, the longest period of Alfred's mis fortunes, that there occurred the incident of the cakes. Food at that time was difficult enough to get, and the neateherd's wife may well be pardoned her petu lance. It was now time to do something, or to throw up the game. So Alfred betook himself to a little spot, two acres of hard ground in extent, and surrounded with marshes and with brakes. This spot he named Etheling's Eig or island; Athelney, as it is now called. Here he was safe against attack, and he opened communications with a few trusty followers who had not, even in this hour of distress, lost heart. A tryst was appointed for the second week in May, and he was met at Brixton Church, on the east of Selwood,by men of Devon, Somerset, Wilts, and Hants. A few days later a great battle was fought at Ethendune (probably the village of Edington), and a great victory was obtained. This time Guthrum fell wholly into Alfred's power. Once more Guthrum sued for terms, and once more Alfred granted them. In fulfilment of them, Guthrum and his family arrived a little later at Wedmore, in Somerset, and were baptised. The Witenagemot had been summoned thither and with their advice that treaty was drawn up which, according to some writers, marks the beginning of English history. In one sense of the word, English history did not begin even then ; for Alfred acknowledged Guthrum's right to the kingdom of East Anglia, and, indeed, one h ilf of England. This peace lasted, though not without occasional out b •eaks, for fifteen years. It left Alfred free to chew that he was even greater as a legislator than he had shewn him -8 31f as a warrior. He had to . almost reconstitute his king dm, so greatly had it been disorganised by the Danish invasions. How he did this Mr. Hughes tells in a series of chapters entitled "The King's Board of Works," "The King's War Office and Admiralty," " The King's Justice," "The King's Exchequer," and" The King's Church." " The Bawd of Works" rebuilt London. That is to say, it was rebuilt by the foreign masons and mechanics whom Alfred had in his pay. Saxons, Angles, and Danes thronged to it indiscriminately. A Danish colony settled on the south side of the river and built Southwark (Syd Virke, the s iuthem fortification), where one of the principal streets, Tooley-street (a corruption of St. Olave's street}, still bears the name of the patron saint of Norway. They had also another settlement just outside the city, and the momory of their chief burial place is preserved in the name of St. Clement Danes. " The King's War Office and Admiralty " provided that one-third of the available f.)rce of the kingdom should always be made ready to act against the enemy at a moment's notice, and built ships which were higher, longer, and faster than the Danes. " The King's Laws," or " Alfred's Dooms," as they were called, were based upon the Mosaic law, with such modi fications as the progress of time and society demanded. In order to establish " The King's Justice," Alfred caused the aldermen and earls, who had (somewhat like our own country gentlemen of the present time) administered the law without being acquainted with it, to be taught to read, and dire were the groans and grievous were the sighs which these brave fellows raised as they puzzled over the alphabet. We have not space to notice the rest of Alfred's good deeds ; how freely he gave of his exchequer to the service of God ; how zealous he was to build churches and monas teries ; how earnest in promoting learning ; how true a friend he was, how able a scholar, how loyal a neighbour. Tile time was at hand when Alfred would once more have to slew how powerful a foe he was. In 603, Hasting, who is said to have been born in Champagne, and to have joined the Danes from lust of plunder, did, after ravaging various parts of Europe, land in England. For three years there was fighting between Alfred and him. Thanks to Alfred's organisation, Hasting was always worsted, and in 697 he with difficulty found his way back to France. Four years later Alfred died. We know not the cause or the place of his death ; nor are we certain where he was buried. His last will was worthy of him, the greatest of kings, greater even, so high an authority as Mr. Freeman declares, than St. Louis, than Charlemagne, than Edward 111., or than William the Silent. The life of this noble king has now been well set forth by Mr. Hughes, and if at times the biographer inclines too much to the " gushing " style of his friend, Mr. Kingsley, he has yet produced a volume which is well worth studying, and which we rank with Mr. Farrar's " Seekers after God," as the best of Mr. Macmillan's ' Sunday Library." HORNE'S DEATH OF MARLOWE. The admirers of " Orion" and " Cosmo de Medici " will welcome the reappearance of " The Death of Marlowe," which has been long out of print. The tragedy is very brief, even though it has been extended since its first appearance. The plot is extremely simple, the characters are few. Three figures in fact monopolise the scene, the others being mere accessories. Yet out of these slender materials Mr. Horne has constructed a veritable ,ragedy, such a tragedy, one of his literary friends not inaptly observes, "as Kit Marlowe himself might have written of the violent death of some other rgreat and wayward genius, had the idea struck him." The dramatist leaves his tragedy to tell its own moral, contenting himself with sketching in sternly simple outlines the story of a life full of promise suddenly cut short in an unseemly riot, of great talents whose work is left half done, and high aspirations degraded by unworthy associates. The history told in the " Death of Marlowe" is one that meets us at every page of the chronicles of genius, and one of which, in spite of all warnings and examples, the world will probably yet see many versions. Mr. Horne has proved his dramatic power more than once. He possesses those elements which our modern play writers generally so sadly lack, concentration, vigour, and vitality. It has been one of the charges against him that his lan guage bore too great a resemblance to the old dramatists, but if these were wanting in some qualities indispensable to success in the nineteenth century, at least their audiences did not have to complain of feebleness, tedium, or want of purpose. In the play before us we have, like Marlowe himself, a little too much of the company of Jacconot, which is oppressive ; yet the author, by the perpetual presence of the unwelcome Jack o' Night, shews us vividly the depths into which the poet's misguided fancy leads him. The slight outline of Cecilia, the unhappy heroine, and cause of the disaster, is sufficient to prove that Mr. Horne in a more ambitious work would well supply those softer touches which are not always within the reach of him who paints the darker shades of humanity. The favourable reception of " The death of Marlowe " will, we hope, encourage its author, now that he has concluded his wanderings in the antipodes, to try his skill on a work of a more elaborate character. HAMERTON'S PORTFOLIO. We fear that neither Mr. Sydney Covlin's eulogium nor Mr. Burne Jones's own sketch will make the majority of art lovers really love Mr. Burne Jones's art. His friendly critic admits that he does not paint every-day nature, but urges that he paints the quintessence of nature when nature is loveliest ; and that to ask " why does not this gentleman drop his affectations, and paint real nature and real life ?" is precisely as if one who did not know what stinging was were to be taken to hear a Nilsson for the first time, and to say " confound the woman ! why does she make that noise instead of talking like you and me." This is neatly put but it seems to us very wide of the mark. Mr. Jones's forte is not loveliness but ugliness, not nature but conventionalism—the conventionalism of the middle ages. It is simply absurd to speak of the dis located limbs and the impossible attitudes in which media val glass-painters and Mr. Burne Jones delight as either beautiful or natural. No maker of penny Dutch dolls would venture to give one of his productions such a foot as Mr. Jones has given to his CEnone. Mr. Hamerton pursues his canoe voyage down the unexplored Avroux, and very charming are the etchings with which he illustrates his letter-press. Charming, too, in another way, is the lithographic view in three tints of the staircase of Jean Cousin's house at Sens. Mr. F. T. Palgrave, who fluttered the Volscians of our last International Exhibi tion, by his trenchant hand-book, has an article on the Louvre collections. THE AXPOSITION OF CATHOLIC ART. ROME,. Feb. 12. The Exposition of Catholic Art which the Pope opens on Tuesday, the 15th, can be easily found in the common maps of Rome. It occupies the great cloister of the Carthusians, behind the im mense Church of S. Maria degli Angeli, and close to the temporary station which is the terminus of all the Roman railways. The cloister, the monas tery, the church, and the station are all within the thirty acres of stupendous ruin formerly the Baths of Diocletian. They lie beyond an open and ele vated region, destined to be new Rome, and laid out already for streets and boulevards. I may add that the site is near the Praetorian Camp. Within a stone's-throw both of the railway station. and the Exposition is Villa Grazioli, where Dupanloup lives and where Keats died. The Bishop of Orleans only shares the house with half-a-dozen other lodgers. The cloister, from which the poor monks arc driven by the invasion of science and art, was designed by Michael Angelo, with Doric columns and arcades, and is a hundred yards every way, so that the whole space actually covered by the Expo sition, exclusive of offices and approaches, is 10,000 square yards, or two acres and a quarter. In the centre is a fountain and four cypresses planted by Michael Angelo ; one of an immense size and hardly past its prime ; a second as large, but going ; a third once larger, but now a wreck ; and the fourth younger by two centuries. Round these trees a beautiful little garden has been laid out, with beds, walks, and an open-air altar for ceremonials. Round the garden, and radiating from the centre, are 16 spacious and lofty halls, with a circular promenade running through them, receiving their light from above. Each hall is more than 60 feet loug, about 50 feet wide at the end near the clois ter, and 25 feet at the end near the central garden. A few of these halls are divided, with a view to more wall specs. The four halls that communicate di rectly with the cloister have also doors and windows looking upon the cypresses. The whole structure has been brought well within the open space, and several yards clear of the cloister, so as to leave room for passages, refreshment-rooms, and gardens in the corners between the outer square and the inner circle ; there are also refreshment-rooms, walking-grounds, and space for everything in the surrounding world of ruins. It will be sLen that the plan is very simple ; but it has two great de fects, if defects they be. All the halls are alike, and there is no such thing as a right angle or two parallel lines n the building, excepting, of cjurse, the outer wails, which follow the line of the clois ters. Fontana made a plan which \would have given more variety, and also more picturescpie effects. It includA a wide circular colonnade round the garden, four large rectangular halls, and eight more is long but not so wide, and also four semicircular hails, each with a radius of 50 feet. The differ ences in favour of his plan appeal so strikingly to the imagination that the rejection of it has been set down to a want of Court favour. For my part, I cannot help thinking that the plan adopted, not withstanding a certain monotony, is the better, and certainly the more convenient, of the two. The circular colonnade round the small garden would have had too small a radius for a promenade and too many side openings for any other use. It would also have wearied one at last of the fountain and cypresses. In the plan adopted, which is that of Professor Virginio Verpignani, the promenade has a larger radius, and takes 1 cope through the middle of the halls containing the objects exhibited. Upon the who's‘, the structure has sroeg family resemblance to those of London and Paris, and the scene to-day did just re call the recollections of Hyde Park and South Kensington. The exhibitors were all busy, some opening packages with fear and trembling, some conferring with very polite officials, some running here and there for counsel or aid, and one tall, elderly artist, in a frock caat, perched on steps, was delicately filing a crown of thorns. The Zoteives were working everywhere as if tie fans of Rome depended on it. One poor lad wa, in a fainting fit as we entered, and remained so long insensible that 1. hope it was no worse with him. But there were not many things of great bulk. As my friend and 1 neark.d the scene of aciion a large body of men were movingan immense block of white marble, Coll tai ning at least 400 cubic feet, and therefore weighing near 20 tons. As this is one of the marvels of old Rome —in the Colonna Gardens there is a block of marble from the Temple of the Sun, weighing wore than a hundred tons—l was curious to see how it was lone. The block was on a sledge, which moved over cross sleepers, the surfaces of both of them hardened and smoothed by use. Every hundred yards the men took up the paved road and fixed in the ground a very strong windlass. It must he slow work, and only possible with hard roads. We were disappointed. The block was not for the Exposi tion, but a studio, where it would be good for a hero or a saint 15ft. high. I don't know whether I have succeeded in bringing the Exposition building before you. Imagine the " Tom Quad" of Christ Church at Oxford, with its cloisters as originally intended, filled with glass roofs and wooden parti tions. The halls are spacious and airy, the light pleasant and cheerful. It did occur to me that it was all promenade, and consequently all motion, and that there would be no retreat from the stream. I must also say that, for a month or so, I would advise anybody who can catch a cold not to remain more than twenty minutes at a time in Michael Angelo's cloister, or more than five minutes in that most stupendous, most magni ficent, and most perishingly cold of all cel lars, the adjoining Church of St. Maria degli An gell. Westminster Hall could stand easily under that enormous vault, and there would be room to drive a carriage round it. But for the cold it might be a cavern iu an iceberg. The Exposition is about half filled, and no more. They have had to wait for possible contributions, which have not come, and will not. The pro gramme itself is very restricted. This is a Univer sal Exposition of the Fine Arts, and of the Catholic industries, in their present state of progress, and so far as they have some special bearing on the (Ecumenical Council. Of course the Expositio,, shares the fate of the Council, having no more friends, and at least as many enemies. At a very early day it occasioned a passage of ameaLies be tween Italy and Rome. The people here sent cir culars to the clergy and others throughout Italy inviting them to send objects for exhibition. There upon the Italian Government sent counter circu lars, not exactly prohibiting, but quietly suggest ing that home was notoriously selfish and dis honest, and was now also very needy. She did not want other cities to have any art treasures, and it was also certain the I.l;xposition was only a design for getting teem into her hands, when beyond a doubt she would ship t hem off to foreign countries. and pocket the proceeds towards the expenses of ,rie Couucil. The Pope's people replied chat the Italian Government was only true to its own char acter and practice in discouraging religious art ; that notoriously it took no care of what it had, and that it had destroyed more than the barbarians ever had done in Italy. Everywhere the most beautiful works of art had been demolishe 1, sold for a trifle, or thrown away. Lieraries, MSS., and archives had been soft! for w ate piper ; sacred itnagrs robbed of jewels and sent to tile curiosity shops ; the illuminations and arabesques cut out of the missals, which were left to rot in corners; whole galleries of pictures had been sold by auction for a few sous a piece to persons who ripped out the can vas and only wanted the frames. How all this may be I know not, for how could I pretend to say that on any given occasion it is Rome that speaks the truth, and .not the other side? however, there is not much from Italy here. The most conspicuous contributors are Lyons (I think first and foremost), Paris, Malines, hatisbon, Tournay, Mon tpellier, Co logne, and the Rhine. There is a great show of church ornaments, sacred vessels of all kinds, candelabra, shrines, coffers,yeetinents, wax candles,aud every kind of thing one sees in these churches; indeed, more than one sees at Rome itself. Collected, as they are in the Exposition, they surfeit with their gorgeousness. There:are models of churches—a very large and beautiful one of St. Peter's itself ; there is a great number of splendid new works from the press of Didot and other Great French and German pub lishers, with beautiful illustrations, and magnificent bindings. But the rule of selection must have been relaxed sometimes, for there is a Greek Thesaurus in nine volumes, Plolenzy's Geography, Virgil, Horace and Anacreon, and books of maps. There is a Dictionary of time Fine Arts, Guillaboud's Ancient Monuments, and, from Didot's press, I be lieve, a facsimile publication of a MS. from Mount Athos. There is also a French translation of the New Testament, handsomely got up, and very popular in France. The rule restricts to modern works; but there are some inediwval bronzes, wood work, majolica, old German coloured glass, plans and drawings of the Catacombs, and, iu fact, what ever is likely to interest anybody. The Exposi tion was announced, to illusrate the progress of Catholic science as well as art, but as nothing appears under that bead in this building, I presume that it is to be looked for in due time from the Council Hall. The Roman jour nals, indeed, talk of a new discovery which is to make forgeries and interpolations impos sible for the future. They say nothing of one for the detection of old forgeries and interpola tions. There are a good many church mosaics, such as the medallions of Pope's heads. One thing every visitor will notice and examine. It is a Lord's Supper, about two yards lung, and one high, in square tesserte, of- a good size. The effect pro duced is miraculous. Though done with such in convenient and intractable means, it has the deli cacy and expression of a picture. The faces show through the hard lines of the tesserm as through a screen. Of course, the work would defy any amount of damp. But I grieve to say, first, that the work is priced —very likely underpriced--at £l6O ; secondly, that the marvel is one I should not care to possess. It does not strike ; it does not please; it is only most curious and incredible. The Pope contributes three tiaras—that presented by Napoleon 1., that by Queen Christina, of which I saw the first appearance in St. Peter's twelve years ago, and that by the Palatine Guards ; also some chalices in rock crystal, and historic vest ments and ornaments, such as the Dalmatic of Charlemagne and the Cross lately presented by the Marquis of Bute. It is necessary co hasten over the ground, for there remains the sculptures and the pictures. The former have one or two of the halls, and also share with the pictures the four hundred yards of cloister wall. We must bear in mind that the sculpture must be strictly Catii , )lic. The most striking objects are a set; of pairs —the IVisz; and Unwise Virgins, Joseph and Potiphar's Wife, the Saviour and Judas, the S tviour and Pontius Pilate, and the Saviour and Pius IX. The Wise Virgin is not content with refusing her oil bottle ; she won't let the other even take a light of her. Potiphar's wife does not look so bad a woman as she ought, nor Joseph so good PICTURE GALLERIES. Bridgewater Gallery—Cleveland -square. Cards to view may be obtained from Mr. Mitehell, Old Bond-street. British Artists—Suffolk-street. April to July. ls. Masters, June, July, and August. is. Buckingham Palace Pictures. —May be viewed by an order from the Lord Chamberlain. Cartoons of Raphael—South Kensington Museum Mon day, Tuesday, Saturday, free ' • other days, 6d. Grystal Palace—Sydenham. Modern Pictures and Sculp ture. Is. Dulwich Gallery—Dulwich. Chiefly Flemish and Dutch Pictures. Open free daily, except Friday. Flaxman Gallery—University of London, Gower-street. Foundling Hospital—Guildford-street. Open Mondays, 10 till 4. Gallery of Ancient Masters-49, Pall. ls. Greenwich Painted Hall— Greenwich. Mondays and Fri days Free : other days, 4d. Guildhall—City. May be seen on application to the hail keeper. Hampton Court Palace.—The galleries are open free Gaily except on Friday. Monument—Fish -street Hill. Every day. 6d. National Gallery—Trafalgar-squarl. Open free, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Sat4rdays. Trinity House— Trinity-square, Tower-hill. Models of lighthouses, &c. Daily, 10 till 4. Tussaud's Waxwork-58, Baker-street. Open daily till 10 p.m. is. SUBURBAN PLACES OF RESORT. Cremorne Gardens—Chelsea. ls. Crystal Pa!ace Park—Sydenham. Open daily, Is.; Satur days, 28.6 d. Greenwich Park Greenwich. ()nen feAs Hampton Court Gardens.—Open free daily. Highbury Barn and Gardens Highbury. 6d. and is by refreshment tickets. Kew Gardens - Kew. Open free, daily at trim o'clock Richmond Park—Richmond. Open free, daily. Rosherville Gardens—Gravesend. Open daily. 6d. Royal Horticultural Gardens—Kensington. Admission by members' order. Windsor Great Park—Windsor. Open free. Windsor Castle may be visited on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fri days, by t' - ‘—rts obtakable at the Lord Chatnberlains Office, in the Castle. Bank of Engla-d Returns. An Account, tursuant to t cap. 82, for the week ending :be Act 7th and Bth Victoria Wednesday, Feb. 16,1870. P &FITMENT. ISSUE DE Notes issuod £33,815,030 Governmt. Debt. 11,015,1('i Other Securities 8,08.1,900 Gobi Coin anti Bullion Silver Bullion X 33, 815,050 BANKING D. £33,815,050 Proprietors' Capi tal £14,553,000 Rest Public Deposits (including E xchequer, Sav ings' Banks, Commissioners of National Debt, and Div. • IPARTMENT. Governtnt. Seen ritics(including Dead Weight Annuity) 114,331,314 Other Securities 17,783,223 Notes 11,274,285 Cold and Silver • Coin Accounts 9.391155 Other Deposits 16,542,989 Seven Days and othor Bills 457,439 ---- - .£44,333,105 £44,339,105 a man. Pilate reminds one of an Italian statesman whose portrait I have seen. Iu the remaining pair the Saviour seems straight from the Resurrec tion, while the Pope is iu his most gorgeous vest ments; the Saviour is commanding him tostrengthen his brethren. To my - own taste fe,Aing there is something very painful in the representa'.ton of the Saviour hi_ the wo.ler., sculpture and paintings here. _ _ hardly venture to describe it, still less to pretend - - to analyse it. While it is less and less human than it is in the old masters, it is also less and less vine, so that I don't know what it is coining t 9 ' Surely, better nothing than gaunt, dropping, long" drawn pictures, whica as much as possibe n l23° nothing. All Italians, and Romans among thew' look at Madonnas with a re tl, though possibly mixed, admiration ; fur the truth is, the Madonna of Art is a healthy, natural, simple, kind-healt ea , woman. Are artist s an d t h e i r emp l oyers a f i aA the images and. pictures of the Saviour being garled with a mixture of feelings ? If s), d ia ry: reason aeainst any representation at all, 11w. giving it a grim, ghastly, aud scarecrow-leolce sociated with the fleshly realities one secs in it ' to these pictures. He s .tes anything but a 1" 1- etker of our nature. Well, I Inns' leave this ; 0111 ' repa, , entationB I speak of happen to constitute almost half the sculpture. There is a Sent, 1 -1 the by, who has made his own bed, anti des ttl'° ° ; atal it is a bed of thorns. The pictures a re chiefly modern, but there remain two sides of the cloister to be filled, and I foresee that the lioasal Princes will have to contribute a good deal fr° °l their ries to make up for the absence of It" 1. There are a great number of large pictures rc presenting Jesuit Fathers, and other holy—t ° sometimes very heavy and not very pleasant-loo k ' ing--emen, lifted off their teet during their ' 1 ev Lions, and wa,fte t to Christ on the cross, or up- 10 1 beam of heavenly light, or at least off the g rotto' we tread on. 'l'here is a picture of martyrs 1 1 prison waiting th e i r turns f or death, whic h please many who may be unmoved by the more ambitious subjects. The few pictures al" ready there from the Old Masters I leave to the critics. There are half a dozen small pictures wil l° I looked on with the more interest that I W ye wished to see the subject, and shall not. "I'lleS 31 '" views of Monte Casino, the great Benedictl ue t monastery between this and Naples, and no do t° they are put here to plead silently for the pres et ; vation of the monastery. There is a vast quaati t l of tapestry, good, bad, and indifferent, but go od for lining walls, mode ra ti ng t h e li ght, and keep i ng °IIt draughts. One thing I had forgotten --a most 1111- portant personage. In all this glass, china, scu l i r Lure, and other fragile matters, there is the univer sal cat. of the house. It is a most mischievous an active beast, and ha s d one a f ear f ul amount °f damage; what is more, it h as a poc k et like a Cbriw, tian, and appears to b e l av i s h o f i ts money. '; name is Victor E mmanue l . I t i s stated, on i a f3 lible authority, that it has bribed the servants the Messageries Itnperiales, and the servants a n . porters of all the railways and all the p a cket eou l a panics trading to Rothe--nay, the very carriers O s ' carters in the city it se lf —to handle as roughlY they can all the packages directed to the catheli Exposition. Under its i ns ti gat i on they have tur ned these things up s ide d own, rolled them along the o ground, thrown th em d own f rom piers ani vans, drenched them with salt water, and irreP i , rably injured most of them. The floors of the position, so I read, though I saw it not, are streW% with broken a rms , l egs, an d h eads, the victims of tbl creature's malice. A box of glass, worth £ 20011 : Catholic G ermany, having to pass through 1, euteieion of this formidsble monster, upon he' ll °, opened here was round to contain 'waling bu t worthless debris. Nobody doubts who has done it all. But one cannot help asking,—How is it that tii" special powers which have worked so many tn iracl ° for Rume, on a ny or no occasion, have faded berj! this emergency? Why did they not lift these h°" c i . ft out the ground, waft th em over a ll o b stacles , and even carry th em t h roug h t h e a i r to the Holy C i ty? Wny have they all ow ed t h e enemy of mank i n d to 5 do all this mi sc hi e f ? I s h e i n the Exposittan , smile say he is on a still holier flour, in the v eil sanctum sanctorum of the Council, breaking every thing to pieces th ere , an d turning everything °I), side down ? This reminds tne of another subject. It model of the memorial of the Council of the Vaticil now in• the cour se of construction. It is a tall 31) . 0 iiand,om e d es i gn. R ound the base arc lour angel/a ugures, one holding the cross, another the hall 3 % crossof earthly an d h eaven l y d om i n i on. The two ot ber have open Bibles ou their knees, which, however: they are not reading, for one is gazing at souietliw,b above, arid the other a t somet hi ng below. At e top is a handsome young girl, somewhat strolib minded, holding a sword, with which she has il l decapitated au ug l y monster w i th a long tail, stil l wreathing and t urn i ng t h e st i ng towards hcr, Ai3 with the usual claws and bat's wings. A € l °l heads, thou g h separated b y the one successitlf stroke, still show in death their wonted fires c o envy and m a li ce . T wo are human—that is, is' heads, for the sculptor has not hit on the idea °, two faces on one head. One is the head of a pilaf ° sopher ; the other, enveloped in a light fold, is tb English ideal of a widow, but meant, I suppose' for Sin. It i s sa id t h at at the present pace of a ff a lr' the memorial will be finished long before the Coull cil has done its wor k , j ust lik e the Boulogne pillar to commemorate the invasion and conquest of 140 l land. To say nothing of modesty, would it not 13e common prudence to put off the execution of the memorial till something has been done at lea st ostensibly worthy of it? THE MIGRATION OF FiSii.—Attention has r e ' cently been directed to the appearance of a new and 51101 fish in the waters of Lake Outario, Seneca Lake, ti% other lakes, in the interior of New York State. Specinl l were sent to Pr o f essor Agassiz who pronounced the to be a "f res h wa t er a l e wife," t but did not a tt em pt to ° G count for its pr e s ence i n the Lakes. It, however, was sor e posed that the fi s h h a d come i nto the lakes from ,t' Atlantic by way of th e St. L awrence, an d this theory „0 been confirmed, as Professor Seth Green has just discu. vered the same fish in Chesape a k e B ay , w h ere it .01g known under different names; at Baltimore, as br i shad or mud sh a d, an d at Norfolk as the gizza h o ' e shad, from its havi ng a muscu l ar stomach like gizzard of a bird. Professor Seth Green is satisfied that the fish in the New York lakes are of precisello the same species as those in the Chesapeake Bay and /1 0 made their way up the St. Lawrence and then by the Ca nals and rivers i n t o th e i nterior lakes. S e n e ca Take abounds with shoals o f th ese fish, weighing nearly tf.a pounds. On th e i r fi rst appearance, in 1867, they wed very small, and escaped the meshes of the nets, but 0° they are taken in abundance. LAD v EltrisEmENT. J—Avoid Medicines they always aggrail chronic complaints : b u t D u Barry ' s delicious health reston - Revalenta Arabica Food, which yields three times the nourf; s , mentor the best meat, saves 50 times its cost in other remed . ,`' d and invariably restores perfect digestion, strong nerves, 5c 1 "..,, lungs, healthy liver, pure blood, refreshing sleep, functional '; gularity, anti energy to the most disordered or enfeebled. We e tract a few out of the 68,000 cures:—" The Pope's health r estor 6 o 6. by Du Barry's Food. C ure N o. 68,413. " Rome, July 21, 15,, —The health of the Holy Father is excellent, especially abandoning all other remedies, he has confined himself en tire l to Du Barry's R eva l enta A ra bi ca Food, of which he censu W e a plateful at every meal. It has produced a surprisingly b eti e l flcial effect on hi s health, and his Holines s canno t p ( - rai se this e],c.iree lent food too highly. F rom t h e " Gazette du Midi, July 25 C u re No. 58,216, of the Marchioness do Brehan, of seven years' live r complaint, wasting away, debility, nervousness, with a nerv oil d palpitation all over, b a d di gest i on, constant sleeple ss ness, ai l `; the most intolerable nervous agitation.. " Cure No. 1,771; I ) °r i ,.. 9 ' Stuart do Decies, Lord Lieutenant of Waterford, of many Ye a dyspepsia. No 19,832: " Fifty years' indescribable agoey fro dyspepsia, nervousness, asthma, cough, constipation, flatulen.g spasms, sicknes s , an d vomiting.—Maria Joly.--Cure 46,270: Mr. James Roberts, of Frimley, Surrey, of 30 Y (9 " ,; . c - 1 diseased lungs, s pit t i ng of blood, liver derangement, I'4 partial deafness, I mportant Caution.—Beware of the 11 0 ' s unsavoury and more than sloppy imitations to which, with authority. Baro n Li e bi g ' s name is most audaciously attscll In tins, at a d; Ilb 2s 9d ; 2lb I s 6d ; slb lis ; 12 lb 2 2 ° . 24 lbs 4 s . — k I SO U BA.RRY'S RDNALENTA RABICA CHOCOLA' POWDER is packed in tin canisters : for I.f cups at 2s, for 24 cups at 3s 6d, f or -8 cups at 6s, tor 288 cups at 30s, for 576 cups at ' —being about one pe nn y p er cup . Th e 30s and 15s tins are „t free of carriage in England on receipt of Post Office order. d ARRY Do BARRY and Co., No. 77, Regent-street, London; a .° all Grocers and Chemists. The very extensive Distillery now being erected at Belfast, with all recent improvements for the manufacture ° I Irish whisky, by Messis. DUNVILLE & Co., who have gail' ed a world-wide celebrity for their fine old Irish whisky, is to 1 " called "The Royal Irish Distillery." HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. Morning. Evening / TUESDAY... 33 min past 6 0 min past / WEDNESDAY 25 mi n past 7 52 min pas t 9 THURSDAY 25 min past 8 5 min post ,0 Flan A r......... 45 m i n past U.... 30 ruin 1 lost 1311-1711 S. CALDEcoTT -On the 2lst inst., at Yew House HoddeS don, llerts, Mrs. Henry Caldeeott, of a daughter. MIDDLETON—On the 21st inst., at 33, Berkeley scinarot ' Mrs. Charl es Mi ddleton, of a son. MARRIAGES. HARRIS —SAMS—OR the 19th inst., at St. Saviour's, Hane; hill, Alfr e d H o b ert Harris, of High-street, 80r0w,411 t , Annie Eliza, eld es t d aughter of the late Joseph Saul t-1 E6q., of Acre-laue, Bi ixton. D EA T lIS. HAnnisox— On the 19th inst., at 15, Sutherland-plac e, l'iudico, Win. Currio Harrison, Esq., egad 76. Snow; —On the 19th inst., at Mickleover House, Derby, Oilley Shore, Esq., of Meersbrook, aged 73. London : Printed and Pu7)lisntA by WILLIAAI ANDRE • • of No. 12, Strand, Printer, at Tut; Sox o. 1i t, :•tran", in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the County of Aliddlese%"" Tuesday, February 22, 1870. vali ren, leap thin K O, Tli (lan Pri tha *~',~ P .rt F gamc of nqtri Pray are a, JOll2l and Man TIPSS °the fess Wet bin, est:, Os( and Lac Car