The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-05-21 00:00:00

Eittraturt, POETRY. PARALLEL OF TEE SEXES. Man is daring, strong, presuming, Woman weak, mild, unassuming ; •Min in actions great and shining, Woman suffers unrepining ; Man is doomed abroad to roam, Woman's 'vantage ground is home ; In man's speech convic:ion From woman's tongue persuasion flows; To feeling heart man's claims arc few, Whilst woman's melts like solving dew; Man would misery ,vert, Woman sorrow cheer, divert ; Men po•sess a judgment chaste, Women modesty and taste ; Of juticc man's th' adopted child, As woman is of mercy mild. SELECTIONS A RIBBON DEED OF BLOOD. (From Carleton's Traits and Stories of the Irish Peasantry.) The night was still stormy, hitt without rain ; it was rather dark, too, though not so as to prevent us from see ing the clouds careering swiftly through the air. The dense curtain which had overhung and obscured the hori zon was now broken, and large sections of the sky were clear, and thinly studded with stars that looked thin and watery, as did indeed the whole firmament ; for in some places black clouds were still visible, threatening a conti nuance of tempestuous weather. The road appeared washed and gravelly ; every dike was full of yellow wa ter ; and every little rivulet and larger stream dashed its hoarse murmur in our ears ; every blast, too, was cold, fierce, and wintry, sometimes driving us back to a stand still, and again, when a turn in the road would bring it in our hacks, whirling us along fcr a few steps with involun tary rapidity. At length the fated dwelling became visi ble, and a short consultation was held in a sheltered place, between the captain and the two parties who seemed so eager for its destruction. Their fire-arms were now loaded, and their bayonets and short pikes, the latter shod and pointed with iron, were also got ready. The live coal which was brought in the small pot had become extin guished ; but to remedy this, two or three persons from a remote part of the county entered a cabin on the way side, and, under pretence cf lighting their own and their comrades' pipes, procured a coal of fire, for so they called a lighted turf. From the time we left the chapel until this moment a profound silence had been maintained, a circumstance which, when I considered the number of persons present, and the mysterious and dreaded object of their journey, had a most appalling effect upon my spirits. At length we arrived within fifty perches of the house, walking in a compact body, and with as little noise as possible; but it seemed as if the very elements had con spired to frustrate our design, for on advancing within the shade of the farm-hedge, two or three persons found themselves up to the middle in water, and on stooping to ascertain more accurately the state of the place, we could see nothing but one immense sheet of it—spread like a lake over the meadows which surrounded the spot we wished to reach. Fatal night ! The very recollection of it, when asso ciated with the fearful tempests of the elements, grows, if that were possible, more wild and revolting. Had we been engaged in any innocent or benevolent enterprise, there was something in our situation just then that had a touch of interest in it to a mind imbued with a relish for the savage beauties of nature. There we stood, about a hundred and thirty in number, our dark forms bent for ward, peering into the dusky expanse of water, with its dim gleams of reflected light, broken by the weltering of the mimic waves into ten thousand fragments, whilst the few stars that overhung it to the firmament appeared to shoot through it in broken lines, and to be multiplied fifty-fold in the gloomy mirror on which we gazed. Over us was a stormy sky, and around us a darkness through which we could only distinguish, in outline, the nearest objects, whilst the wild wind swept strongly and dismally upon us. When it was discovered that the com mon pathway to the house was inundated, we were about to abandon our project and return home. The Captain, however, stooped down low for a moment, and, almost closing his eyes, looked along the surface of the waters ; and then, raising himself very calmly, said, in his usual quiet tone, " Ye needn't go back, boys, I've found a way; jist follow me." He immediately took a more circuitous direction, by which we reached a causeway that had beers raised for the purpose of giving a free passage to and from the house, during such inundations as the present. Along this we had advanced more than half way, when we discovered a breach in it, which, as afterwards appeared, had that night been made by the strength of the flood. This, by means of our sticks and pikes, we found to be about three feet deep, and eight yards broad. Again we were at a loss how to proceed, when the fe: tile brain of the Captain devised a method of crossing it. " Boys," said he, " of course you've all played at leap frog ; very well, strip and go in, a dozen of you, lean one upon the back of another from this to the opposite bank, where one must stand facing the outside man, both their shoulders agin one another, that the outside man may be supported. Then we can creep over you, an' a decent bridge you'll be, any way." This was the work of a few minutes, and in less than ten we were all safely over. Merciful Heaven! how I sicken at the recollection of what is to follow! On reaching the dry hank, we pro ceeded instantly, and in profound silence, to the house; the Captain divided us into companies, and then assigned to each division its proper station. The two parties who had been so vindictive all the night, he kept about him self; for of those who were present, they were only in his confidence, and knew his nefaricus purpose; their num ber was about fifteen. Having made these dispositions, he, at the head of about five of them, approached the house on the windy side, for the fiend possessed a cool ness which enabled him to seize upon every possible ad vantage. That he had combustibles about him was evi dent, for in less than fifteen minutes nearly one-half of the house was enveloped in flames. On seeing this, the others rushed over to the spot where he and his gang were standing, and remonstrated earnestly, but in vain ; the flames now burst forth with renewed violence, and as they flung their strong light upon the faces of the foremost group, I think hell itself could hardly present anything more satanic than their countenances, now worked up into a paroxysm of infernal triumph at their own revenge. The Captain's look had lost all its calmness, every feature started out into distinct malignity, the curve in his brow was deep, and ran up to the root of the hair, dividing his face into two segments, that did not seem to have been designed for each other. His lips were half open, and the corners of his mouth a little brought back on each side, like those of a man expressing intense hatred and triumph over an enemy who is in the death-struggle under his grasp. His eye blazed from beneath his knit eye-brows with a fire that seemed to he lighted up in the infernal pit itself. It is unnecessary, and only painful, to describe the rest of his gang ; demons might have been proud of such horrible visages as they exhibited; for they worked under all the power of hatred, revenge, and joy ; and these passions blended into one terrible scowl, enough almost to blast any human eye that would venture to look upon it. When the others attempted to intercede for the lives of the inmates, there were at least fifteen guns and pistols levelled at them. " Another word," said the Captain, " an' you're a corpse where you stand, or the first man who will dare to spoke for them ; no, no, it wasn't to spare them we came here. No mercy' is the pass-word for the night, an' by the sacred oath I swore beyant in the chapel, any one among yez that will attempt to show it, will find none at my hand. Surround the house, boys, I tell ye, I her them stirring. ' No quarther—no mercy,' is the ordher of the night. Such was his command over these misguided creatures, that in an instant there was a ring round the house to pre vent the escape of the unhappy inmates, should the raving elements give them time to attempt it ; for none present durst withdraw themselves from the scene, not only from an apprehension of the Captain's present vengeance, or that of his gang, but because they knew that even had they then escaped, an early and certain death awaited them from a quarter against which they had no means of defence. The hour now was about half-past two o'clock. Scarcely had the words escaped from the Captain's lips, when one of the windows of the house was broken, and a human head, having the hair in a blaze, was descried, apparently a woman's, if one might judge from the pro fusion of burning tress s, and the softness of the tones, notwithstanding that it called, or rather shrieked, aloud, for help and mercy. The only reply to this was the whoop from the Captain and his gang, of " No mercy — no mercy !" and that instant the former, and one of the latter, rushed to the spot, and ere the action could be per ceived, the head was transfixed with a bayonet and a pike, both having entered it together. The word" mercy' was divided in her mouth ; a short silence ensued, the head hung down on the window, but was instantly tossed back into the flames ! This action occasioned a cry of horror from all present, except the gang and their leader, which startled and enraged the latter so much, that be ran towards one of them, and had his bayonet, now reeking with the blood of its innocent victim, raised to plunge it in his body, when, dropping the point, he said in a piercing whisper, that hissed in the ears of all : " It's no use now, you know ; if one's to hang, all will hang ; so our safest way, you persave, is to lave none of them to tell the story. You may go now, if you wish ; but it won't save a hair of your heads. You cowardly set ! I knew if I had tould yez the sport, that none of you, except my own boys, would come, so I jist played a thrick upon you ; but re- mimber what you are sworn to, and stand to the oath ye tuck." Unhappily, notwithstanding the wetness of the preced ing weather, the materials of the house we re extremely combustible ; the whole buildin g was no w body of glowing flame, yet the shouts and shrieks wi thin rose a wfully above its crackling and th e voice of t he storm, for the winds once more blew in gusts, and with g reat v i o l e nce. The doors and windows were all torn open, and such of those within as had escaped the flames rushed towards them, for the purpose of further escape, and of claiming mercy at the hands of their destroyers; but whenever they appeared, the unearthly cry of " NO MERCY" rung upon their ears for a moment, and for a moment only, for they were flung back at the points of the weapons which the demons had brought with them to make the work of vengeance more certain. As yet there were many persons in the house whose cry for life was strong as despair, and who clung to it with all the awakened powers of reason and instinct. The ear of man could hear nothing so strongly calculated to stifle the demon of cruelty and revenge within him, as the long and wailing shrieks which rose above the elements, in tones that were carried off rapidly in the blast, until they died away in the darkness that lay behind the surrounding hills. Had not the house been in a solitary situation, and the hour the dead of night, any person sleeping within a moderate distance must have heard them, for such a cry of sorrow rising into a yell of despair was almost sufficient to have awakened the dead. It was lost, however, upon the hearts and ears that heard it : to them, though in i jus tice be it said, t o on l y compara ti ve l y a f ew o f th em , t ap peared as delightful as the tones of soft and entrancing music. The claims of the surviving sufferers were now modi fied ; they supplicated merely to suffer death by the wea pons of their enemies; they were willing to bear that, provided they should be allowed to escape from the flames ;- but no—the horrors of the conflagration were calmly and malignantly gloried in by their merciless as sassins, who deliberately flung them back into all their tortures. In the course of a few minutes a man appeared upon the side-wall of the house, nearly naked •, his figure, as he stood against the sky in horrible relief, was so finished a picture of woebegone agcy- nd supplication, that it is yet as distinct in my me I a if I were again present at the scene. Every zu r I now in motion by the powerful agitation of his su Z ngs, stood out upon his limbs and neck, givin g him an appearance of desperate strength, to which by this time he must have been wrought up ; the perspiration poured from his frame, and the veins and arteries of his neck were inflated to a surprising thick ness. Every moment he looked down into the flames which were rising to where he stood ; and as he looked, the indescribable horror which flitted over his features might have worked upon the devil himself to relent. His words were few : _ " My child," said he, " is still safe, she is an infant, a young crathur that never harmed you nor any one—she is still safe. Your mothers, your wives, have young innocent childhre like it. Oh, spare her, think for a moment that it's one of your own : spare it, as you hope to meet a just God, or if you don't, in mercy shoot me first—put an end to me, before I see her burned !" The Captain approached him coolly and deliberately. " You'll prosecute no one now, you bloody informer," said he : " you'll convict no more boys for takin' an ould gun an' pistol from you, or for givin' you a neighbourly knock or two into the bargain." Just then, from a window opposite him, proceeded the shrieks of a woman, who appeared at it, with the infant in her arms. She herself was almost scorched to death ; but, with the presence of mind and humanity of her sex, she was about to put the little babe out of the window. The Captain noticed this, and with characteristic atrocity, thrust, with a sharp bayonet, the little innocent, along with the person who endeavoured to rescue it, into the red flames, where they both perished. This was the work of an instant. Again he approached the man : " Your child is a coal now," said he, with deliberate mockery ; " I pitched it in myself, on the point of this,"—showing the bayonet—" an' now is your turn,"—saying which, he clambered up, by the assistance of his gang, who stood with a front of pikes and bayonets bristling to receive the wretched man, should he attempt, in his despair, to throw himself from the wall. The Captain got up, and placing the point of his bayonet against his shoulder, flung hint into the fiery element that raged behind him. He ut tered one wild and terrific cry, as he fell back, and no more. After this nothing was heard but the crackling of the fire, and the rushing of the blast : all that had pos sessed life within were consumed, amounting either to eight or eleven persons. When this was accomplished, those who took an active part in the murder, stood for some time about the confla gration; and as it threw its red light upon their fierce faces and rough persons, soiled as they now were with smoke and black streaks of ashes, the scene seemed to be changed to hell, the murderers to spirits of the damned, rejoicing over the arrival and the torture of some guilty soul. The faces of those who kept aloof from the slaugh ter were blanched to the whiteness of death : some of them fainted, and others were in such agitation that they were compelled to lean on their comrades. They became ac tually powerless with horror : yet to such a scene were they brought by the pernicious influence of Ribbonism. It was only when the last victim went down, that the conflagration shot up into the air with most unbounded fury. The house was large, deeply thatched, and well furnished ; and the broad red pyramid rose up with fear ful magnificence towards the sky. Abstractedly it had sublimity, but now it was associated with nothing in my mind but blood and terror. It was not, however, without a purpose that the Captain stood to contemplate its effect. " Boys," said he, " we had better be sartin that all's safe ; who knows but there might he some of the sarpents crouchin' under a hape o' rubbish, to come out and gibbet us to-morrow or next day : we had better wait awhile, anyhow, if it was only to see the blaze." Just then the flames rose majestically to a surprising height. Our eyes followed their direction ; and we per ceived, for the first time, that the dark clouds above, to gether with the intermediate air, appeared to reflect back, or rather to have caught the red hue of the fire. The hills and coun'ry about us appeared with an alarming dis tinctness : but the most picturesque part of it was the ef fect of reflection of the blaze on the floods that spread over the surrounding plains. These, in fact, appeared to be one broad mass of liquid copper, for the motion of the breaking waters caught from the blaze of the high waving column, as reflected in them, a glaring light, which eddied, and rose, and fluctuated, as if the flood itself had been a lake of molten fire. _ Fire, however, destroys rapidly. In a short time the flames sank—became weak and flickering—bye and bye, they shot out only in fits—the crackling of the timbers died away—the surrounding darkness deepened—and ere long, the faint light was overpowered by the thick volumes of smoke that rose from the ruins of the house, and its murdered inhabitants. "how, boys," said the Captain, "all is safe—we may go. Remember, every man of you, what you've sworn this night, on the book and altar of God—not on a heretic,' Bible. If you perjure yourselves, you may hang us; but let me tell you, for your comfort, that if you do, there is them livin' that will take care the lase of your own lives will be hut short. After this we dispersed every man to his own home. Reader,—not many months elapsed are I saw the bo dies of this Captain, whose name was Patrick Devann, and all those who were actively concerned in the perpetra tion of this deed of horror, withering in the wind, where they hung gibbetted, near the scene of their nefarious vil lainy ; and while I inwardly thanked Heaven for my own narrow and alinost undeserved escape, I thought in my heart how seldom, even in this world, justice fails to over take the murderer, and to enforce the righteous judgment of God—that " whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall Lis blood he shed." *„.. This talc of terror is, u❑fortunately, too true. The scene of hellish murder detailed in it lies at Wildgoose Lodge, in the county of Louth, within about four miles of Carrickmacross, and nine of Dundalk. No such multitudinous murder has oc curred, under similar circumstances, except the burning of the Sheas, in the county of Tipperary. The name of the family burned in Wildgoose Lodge was Lynch. One of them had, shortly before this fatal night, prosecuted and convicted some of the neighbouring Ribbonmen, who visited him with severe marks of their displeasure, in consequence of his having refused to enrol himself as a member of their body. The language of the story is partly fictitious ; but the facts are pretty closely such as were developed during the trial of the murderers. Both parties were Roman Catholics, and either twenty-five or twenty eight of those who took an active part in the burning were hanged anti gibbeted in different parts of the county of Louth. Devann, the ringleader, hung for some months in chains, within about a hundred yards of his own house, and about half a mile from Wildgoose Lodge. His mother could neither go into nor ou ,- . of her cabin, without seeing his body swinging from the gibbet. Her usual exclamation, on looking at him, was—" God be good to the sowl of my poor marthyr ! " The peasantry, too, frequently exclaimed, on seeing him, " Poor Paddy ! " A gloomy fact that speaks vclumes ! ARTESIAN WELLS. — Olympiodorus, who flourished in the sixth century, relates that wells of two, three, and five hundred feet deep were pierced in the Oasis, and that the rivers of water which gushed forth, served to water the plains. In Italy too, among the ruins of the ancient town of Modena, lead tubes sixty or seventy feet deep have been discovered, the only use of which appears to have been to penetrate below the bad and unwholesome water of the surface, into the limpid and pure bed be neath, by which the mo d ern town to this present day is supplied. The most ancient Artesian well in France is at LiHers, in Artois, in the convent of the Chartreux ; it dates from 1126. Stuttgard also contains some ancient Artesian wells. Shaw, who was in Barbary in 1727, in speaking of the villages of Wadreag, in Sahara, says, " The inhabitants procure water in a singular manner. They dig wells 100 and sometimes 200 fathoms deep, and never fail in finding a great abundance of water. For this purpose they remove different layers of sand and gravel, until they find a kind of stone, resembling slate, and which they know to be exactly above what they call Mahar fah' el Erd, or the sea under the rock, a name which they apply to the waters in general. This stone is easily pierced, when the water rises so suddenly, and in such great abundance, that they who descend to effect this ope ration are sometimes taken by surprise and drowned, al though they endeavour to escape as quickly as possible." About the end of the 17th century, Dominic Cassini con structed an Artesian fountain at Fort Urbain, the water of which played fifteen feet above the earth ; or if led by a tube, it ascended to the summit of the houses. These facts, therefore, establish the antiquity of the art.— London Polytechnic Magazine. CRIME IN LANCASHIRE.—It has long been known, that in consequence of the relaxation of the severity of our criminal code, and the astonishingincrease of serious crimes which cannot be passed over, a vast number of criminals are now disposed of i n the police courts, and ne ver appear in the criminal returns at all, who, twenty years ago, were deemed felons of the very highest class, and visited often with death, always with transportation. It was stated in parliament as a subject .of complaint against the Lancashire magistrates, that during the insur rection of 1842 in that county, nearly ten thousand per sons were imprisoned, and let go aftera short c9nfine ment, without ever being brought to trial.. During the disturbances in the same year, in LanarkshiTe and many other counties of Scotland, (especially.Ayrshire, Fife, and Mid-Lothian,) the accumulation of prisoners was so great, that not only were none detained for trial but those against whom the evidence was altogether conclusive ; but that great numbers were remitted for trial before thesumpaary i tribunals, and escaped with a month or two of mprison ment, who had committed capital crimes, and a few years before would infallibly have been transported for fourteen years. We are getting on so fast, that nothing is more common now than to see hardened criminals, both in Eng land and Scotland, disposed of by the police m agistrates, and for capital crimes received a few months' imprison ment. Their names and crimes never appear in the re turns at all. There is no fault attaches to any one for this seeming laxity. The thing is unavoidable. If the class of cases were all sent to the higher tribunals which formerly were considered privative to them, the judges, were they twice as numerous as they are, would sit in th e criminal courts from one year's end to another, and the jails would still b e c hok e d up with untried criminals, numbers of whom would linger for years in confinement. Blackwood. THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. PUBLIC WORSHIP AT SEA.—It is a fine spectacle to see a ship's company assembled at public worship. Every feeling mind must rejoice to see the deck of a large vessel covered with her crew, in the humble attitude of devo tion ; surrounded by the boundless ocean, the foundation of their august temple, and the cerulean expanse of hea ven, its magnificent canopy ;—to see them in the midst of this unstable element, when separated from their friends, adoring the universal Friend, and Father of the creation, who maketh the clouds his chariot, and walketh upon the wings of the wind, who raiseth the tempest, and saith to the raging waves, " Peace, be still !"—Forbe's SAGACITY OF FOXES.—Foxes utter most expressive sounds, and their young are perfectly acquainted with them. They vary their tones according to circumstances. Sometimes they bark and yelp, and at others are said to utter a melancholy cry like that of a peacock. They have also a peculiar cry when suffering from pain, but they ne ver utter any, even in the agonies of death. A celebrated poacher and taker of foxes, now engaged in a better call ing,informed me that when he has been in woods at nightthe howl of foxes would sometimes be incessant. At that time the cubs would come fearlessly out of earths ; but if the old ones, aware of his being in the wood, uttered a pecu liar and sharp scream, they immediately retired into them, and nothing would then induce them to come out. He told me that he has been for hours in a tree, waiting to see if the cubs would come out, and fall into a hole he had dug at the mouth of the earth and baited with a fowl; but they never Stirred if once they had heard the scream of the old foxes. His only chance of taking them was by poisoning the old ones, which he did with arsenic, rubbed into the paunch of a fresh killed animal. When they were dead, hunger at length drove the cubs out, and they were either taken in nets or the pit-fall. When he bad accidentally secured a young fox, without destroying the parents, these, on hearing the cry of their cub, would come almost close up to him, evincing the greatest anxiety and distress, and uttering plaintive cries. Indeed the af fection of foxes for their young is quite extraordinary, and the person I have referred to assured me, that when they have considered their cubs to be in danger, or the place of their retreat to have been discovered, they have conveyed them to considerable distances in their mouths. Foxes have so much sense, that when infested with fleas, they have been known to cover themselves with water, except their head, in which place the fleas generally took shelter, and from whence they were readily shaken off. In doing I this they retreat gently backwards into the water.—Jesse's I Country Life. POLITENESS REWARDED.—WeII do I remember the lecture on good manners that Brummell gave to a young gentleman at Caen, who had justly laid himself open to censure, by the omission of an act of courtesy that Brummell considered due to a lady near whom the youth was standing. " Civility, my good fellow," observed the Beau, " may truly be said to cost nothing ; if it does not meet with a due return, it at least leaves you in the most creditable position. When I was young, I was acquainted with a striking example of what may sometimes be gained by it, though my friend, on this occasion, did not, I as sure you, expect to benefit by his politeness. In leaving the Opera one evening, a short time previous to the fall of the curtain, he overtook in the lobby an elderly lady, mak ing her way out to avoid the crowd ; she was dressed in a most peculiar manner, with hoop and brocade, and a py ramid of hair; in fact, she was at least a century behind the rest of the world in her costume. So singular an ap parition had attracted the attention of half-a-dozen ' Lord Dukes' and Sir Harrys,' sitting in the lobby : and as she slowly moved towards the box-entrance, they amused themselves by making impertinent remarks on her extra ordinary dress and infirm gait. Directly my friend caught sight of them, and saw what they were after, he went to her assistance, threatened to give them in charge to a Bow-street officer, and with his best bow offe r ed h er his arm. She accepted it, and on the stairs he inquired whether she had a chair or carriage, at the same time in timating his willingness to go for one. ' Thank you, Sir, I have my chair,' replied the old lady, ' if you will be only good enough to remain with me till it arrives.' As she was speaking, her servants came up with it ; and making the cavalier a very stately curtsey, she requested to know to whom she had the honour of being indebted for so much attention. My name, madam,' replied the stranger, as he handed her to her chair, ' is Boothby ; but I am usually called Prince Boothby;' upon which the antiquated lady thanked him once more, and left. Well, from that hour Boothby never saw her again, and did not even hear of her till her death, which took place a few years after, when he received a letter from her lawyer, announcing to him the agreeable intelligence of her having left him heir to several thousands a-year ! Now, my good sir," said Brummell to the abashed but youthful delinquent, " for the future, pray remember Prince Boothby."—Life of Brummell. CROSSING THE DESERT.—Our baggage having been sent before us to Suez, on camels, we prepared to cross the desert.—The uninitiated reader will doubtless picture to himself a complete Oriental cortage, such as we will find in the illustrations of the works of Buckingham and Burkhardt, turbaned travellers, long strings of camels, rude tents, guards bristling with arms, a flaring sun, draught, privation, a single palm-tree, a pyramid in tie distance. Ah, nous avons change tout cela ! Thanks to the exertions of the British agents and associates who make it their business to promote the intercourse with India, there is little difference now between travelling seventy miles over the post-road in England, and going over the same space of ground on the Isthmus of Suez. Forty vans, each drawn by four good horses, and driven by an Egyptian jehu, carrying from four to six inside and none out, transport the living contents of two crowded steamers accross the arid and desolate plain which divides Cairo from the Red Sea. Some of the vans have arched roofs like the common waggons, waterproof and painted green. They are all light, but very strong, and' capable of hearing, without damage, the violent collisions with lumps of stones and rock to which they are exposed in some part of the road. The passengers sit, omnibus fashion, at the sides of the vehicle, entering at the back ; an arrangement which is unavoidable from the height of the wheels (a single pair,) which reach half-way up the body of the van. The seats are carpeted, and the whole thing is roomy and commodious. At the end of every ten or twelve miles horses are changed at a sort of road-side stable-inn, erected for the purpose ; at two or three of which the traveller gets a good dinner, or breakfast, or a luncheon, of good bottled ale with tea or coffee if he prefer them. Midway, and at the halting place about twenty miles from Cairo, there are divans or sofas, all round the chief apartment, and bed-rooms for ladies and married people. At one of these it is as well to sleep for a few hours, for sixteen hour's continual travelling in the vans will be found de trop by people unaccustomed to great fatigue. From all this it is obvious that the day has gone by for grand desert, or, as they call, overland pre parations. Let the traveller, therefore shun the tempt ing advertisements of outfitters and guide-books. All the urgent recommendations, that people should provide themselves with camel-saddles, canteens, bottles of water, parasols, braces of pistols, green veils, carpets, &c., are superfluous. Dress yourself lightly for the day, carry a cloak or great coat for the night. Put a tooth-brush, a clean shirt and a couple of dollars into your pocket, and you are completely equipped for a trip.—Stocqueller's Hand-Book of India. MORE HINTS TO MAKE HOME HAPPY.—TO WIVES. Your first consideration before marriage was how to please your lover. Consider any such endeavour after marriage to be unnecessary and ridiculous ; and, by way of amends for your former labour, let your sole object be to please yourself. Be at no pains to look well of a morn ing. A long toilet is tiresome; particularly when it is cold. " Taking the hair out" occupies nearly ten mi nutes ; come down to breakfast, therefore, in curl-papers, also in a flannel dressing-gown, and, unless you expect callers, remain in dishabille all day. Husbands are no bodies, and comfort is to be studied before appearance. But are you to neglect your attire altogether ? By no means. Indulge your taste in dress to the utmost. Be always buying something new : never min d the ex p ense of e i t n as window, belongto o husbands.order it. s h o l u f l d y o a u s i s l k e e r a a shawlmus lin your eye, desire it to be sent home. Does a o i f t e r . a b tah o P te n t a rr t e m a t t ribbon, a jewel, strike your fancy, purchase it instantly. If your husband is astonished at the bill, pout ;if he remonstrate, cry. But do not spoil your finery by domestic wear. Reserve it for your promenades and parties. It is the admiration of society you should seek for, not your husband's. Be constantly seeing tables, chairs, window curtains and other furniture which you like better than your own, and insist upon their being got. Want to get rid of your old piano, and have a new one. If your husband keeps a carriage for you, desire a better ; if he does not, and cannot afford it, complain. Whenever your desires exceed his means look unhappy, and hint how much more advantageously you might have married. Never smile and hope for better things, but make your husband feel as keenly as you can the inade quacy of his means to support you. Practice, however, a reasonable economy. Take every opportunity of mak ing a cheap purchase, and when asked of what use it is, reply that is " a bargain." Enjoy ill-health, be very nervous, and, in particular, subject to fits, which you are to fly into as often as your husband is unkind ; that is, whenever he reasons with you. Make the most of every little ache or pain and insist upon having a fashionable physician, There is a something very elegant in illness ; a prettiness in a delicate constitution : affect this attrac tion, if you have it not ' • men admire it exceedingly. Put yourself under no re s t r aint in your husband's pres ence : sit, 1011, or lie, in just what way you like, looking only to the ease of the posture, not to its grace. Leave niceties of conversation and sentiment to the single never mind how you express yourself : why should wives be particular ? When your husband wishes to read or be quiet keep chattering to him ; the more frivolous and un interesting the subject the better. If he is disposed for conversation, be dull and silent; and whenever you see that he is interested in what he is talking about, especially if he wishes you to attend to him, keep yawning. There are two ways of discharging your household duties. If you are languid and listless. you may let them alone: if not able, you should be continually turning the house topsy turvey, under pretence of setting it to rights. You can either let your servants do just as they please; or you may be continually in the kitchen, looking after them. lookingthe laundressto ylu or, r husband'sif.you mastsh In the latter case, scold them frequently, and in an audi ble voice, so as to be heard up-stairs. Never think of parties ; and, especially in winter , ar p t h e e r intend your washing in person. and have frequent water eabnluwdt always ons his linen , have leave ientehn: th at csluo t o s dried before the parlour fire. If your husband has to go out to a business dinner, or to the play, never let him have the latch-key ; and, should he, on any occasion, stay out late, send the servant to bed, sit up for him yourself, and make a merit of the sacrifice to " the wretch." Have a female confidant, who will instruct you in all the ill qualities of husbands generally, and will supply any deficiences in the above hints. In conclusion, bear these grand principles in mind —that men must be crossed and thwarted continually, or they are sure to be tyrants—that a woman, to have her rights, must stand up for them — and that the behaviour which won a man's affections is by no means necessary to preserve them."—Punch. RAILWAY COMMUNICATION', &c.—lt is now about 50 years since an act of parliament was passed in this coun try against the use of forest timber for the purpose of smelting iron. The reason for such legislation was, of course, to protect the forests of the island, necessarily limited as compared with those of the wide continent, from total destruction. The result is, that England is in debted for all her steel to foreign countries, the smelting of iron by means of coal effectually disqualifying it from being made into steel of superior quality. For the supply of iron for this purpose, Sweden now enjoys almost an en tire monopoly, and is likely long to possess it, although in one of the most recently settled British colonies it appears that extensive iron sands abound, of equal capability with the produce of the finest mines of Sweden. But it Eng land cannot compete with other countries in the produc tion of the basis of steel, she not only excels all countries in the steel she manufactures, but in the production of iron itself for ordinary purposes ; and therefore, in the production of perhaps the most useful of all the elements of commerce and civilization, she defies all competition. English manufacturing greatness is built on an iron foun dation, and now, with iron steamers and iron railways, England is foremost among the civilized nations in the means of foreign and internal intercommunication. Bel gium, however, and Austria and France tread closely in her footsteps, and national and individual speculation will soon connect all points of Europe by a network of rail roads.—London Polytechnic Magazine. THE PRINCE REGENT AND BEAU BRUMMELL.--BTUM meI had a collection chosen with his singular sagacity and good taste ; and one of them had been seen and admired by the prince, who said, "Brummell, this box must be mine ; go to Grey's and order any box you like in lieu of it." Brummell begged that it might be one of his royal highness s miniatures ; and the prince pleased and flattered at the suggestion, gave his assent to the request. Accord ingly the box was ordered, and Brummell took great pains as to the pattern and form, as well as with the miniature and the diamonds round it. When some progress had been made, the portrait was shown to the prince ; who was charmed with it, and suggested slight improvements and alterations, and took the liveliest interest in the work as it proceeded. All in fact was on the point of being concluded when the scene of Claremont took place. [Where this writer describes the quarrell as originating through the prince preventing Brummell from joining a party, on the plea of Mrs. Fitzherbert disliking him.] A day or two after this, Brummell thought be might as well go to Grey's and enquire about the box ; he did so, and was told that special directions had been sent by the Prince of Wales that the box was not to he delivered : it never was, nor was the one returned for which it was to have been an equivalent. It was this, I believe, more than any thing besides, which induced Brummell to bear himself with such unbendinc , hostility towards the Princ e of Wales. He felt that he had treated him unworthily, and from this moment he indulged himself by saying the bitterest things. When pressed by poverty, however, and as I suppose, somewhat broken in spirit, he at the latter period recalled the prince's attention to the subject of the snuff-box. Colonel Cooke (who was at Elton called " Cricketer Cooke, " afterwards known as Kangaroo Cooke,") when passing through Calais, saw Brummel, and told him the story, and requested that he would in form the Prince Regent that the promised snuff-box had never been given, and that he was restrained to recall the circumstance to his recollection. The regent's reply was, —" well Master Kang, as for the box, it is all nonsense ; but I suppose the poor devil wants a hundred guineas, and he shall have them ;" and it was in this ungracious manner that the money was sent, received, and acknow ledged.—Memoir of Beau Brummell. MARIA CHISTIANA AND HER HUSBAND.—The man ner in which her connection with Munoz commenced, has been thus related to me :—A retailer of tobacco and snuff in the insignificant town of Torrejon, about ten miles from Madrid, having some money and a great deal of vanity, and being able to show, by sufficient documents, his descent from certain hidalgos of Castile, nothing would content him until he had procured the enrolment of his son among the royal guard of nobles. His neighbours laughed at him at the time, but in the sequel the tables were turned, and the laugh changed sides. It happened some short time after the death of Ferdinand VII. in the winter, I believe, of 1834, that news was brought to Ma drid that the queen's favorite summer retreat at La Granja was on fire. The news reached in the evening, and Christiana insisted on setting out immediately for the scene of destruction, to ascertain with her own eyes the injury inflicted on a spot she loved so much. La Granja is seventeen Spanish leagues from Madrid, crosses the Sierra de Guadarrama, which, it was explained to her majesty, would at that time be impassable for the royal equipage, owing to the snow ; but no obstacle or argu ment could induce her to change her mind, and the royal cortege was soon on the mountain road. As was ex pected, the queen's carriage broke down, and her ma jesty was in some danger until she was pulled by a strong arm through the carriage window, and found herself re posing on the bosom of young Munoz, the tobacconist's son, for it was be who had been lucky enough in being the first to extricate his royal mistress. Having neither for tune nor education, Munoz had hitherto remained un noticed among the guards ; but, dating from this fortunate incident, his career from rank to rank was wonderful, and soon began to excite suspicion. He had a handsome per son, and it soon became obvious to all that he had won the affections of Maria Christiana. A country curate, without learning or abilities, but, who belonged to the same lucky village of Torrejon, now made his appearance in Madrid ; and people stared with astonishment when they saw him, in a few days, raised to be priest of the privileged church of Buen Sucesso, canon of Toledo, dean, if I remember rightly. of Ovideo, and elevated to other church dignities which I do'nt recollect. Peorle now said that Christiana was married to Munoz, and that the curate from Torrejon had been sent for, as a confidential person, to perform the ceremony. The queen-regent was so blinded by her affection as to take the handsome guardsman out with her in her carriage, and madly expose herself, with out any restraint, to public obloquy and indignation. When the intrigue thus got publicity the exasperation of the people was the greater, on account of the disastrous consequences of the amours of the Queen of Charles IV. with the infamous Godoi ; and, for four years, Munoz was obliged to remain in the closest confinement in the Palace of La Granja, making use, as it is supposed, of a subterranean passage to go from the palace to a kind of f r o o r y al he c f h e a a u r e m d i e t r h e w e , fa c h e e r o e f he every spent p a his n days arda seens that by n of ano one, a n s e sassin. Such was the feeling that existed against him among the people at large, that it would have been deemed a most meritorious act, and the wiping out of a stain of national infamy, to take away his life.—fiarverty's Wan derings in Spain. EAST INDIA COMPANY. A brief sketch of the origin and constitution of the East India Company will not be an uninteresting subject to our readers at the present moment. The first adven ture from England to the East Indies took place in the year 1591, and the first charter was granted in 1600: a second charter was granted in 1609. An English fac tory was established at Calcutta 1690, a new company was established in 1698, and a union of the companies took place in 1702, which was confirmed in 1708 by act of parliament, 6th Anne, cap. 17, and the differences between the companies were referred to the arbitration of Lord Godolphin. Their trading ca pital at that time was £3,200,000. In the year 1730 the company surrendered their claims, to be a body poli tic and corporate, to have perpetual succession, and the exclusive trade to the East Indies, and subjected their claim to be redeemable or determinable by parliament. This was effected by 3d George 11., c. 14. The first ter ritorial acquisition made by the company was the town of Calcutta, which they purchased in 1698, where their factory was first established. In 1756 Calcutta was captured by Serajah Dowla, and 146 British subjects were imprisoned in the Black Hole, of whom 123 perished in one night. In 1757, Calcutta was re-taken by Colonel, afterwards Lord Clive, who with 3,000 defeated the Soubah with 50,000 at Plassey. By this victory he acquired the terri tory of Bengal, and in 1765 he obtained the Dewanny by an imperial grant, which constitutes the company receivers of the revenue of Bengal, Bahia, and Orissa. In 1773 the celebrated India Bill passed (13 George 111., c. 63) which recites "that whereas the several pow ers and authorities granted by charters to the united com pany of merchants of England, trading to the East Indies, have been found, by experience, not to have sufficient force to prevent various abuses which have prevailed in the government and administration of the affairs of the said united company ;" and enacts, " that there shall be a Governor General and four councillors for the Govern ment of the presidency of Fort William, in Bengal, and gives them the power of superintending, and controlling the other presidencies; and appoints Warren Hastings to be the first Governor General, to continue in the office five years, unless recalled by His Majesty, upon re presentation made by the Court of Directors, and by this act a supreme court of judicature was established at Cal cutta. _ _ _ _ _ In 1783 the Board of Control was established by 24 Geo. 111., sec. 2, c. 25, which was authorised and em powered, from time to time, to superintend, direct, and control, all acts, operations, and concerns, which in any wise relate to the civil or military government, or reven ues of the British territorial possessions in the East Indies. The territorial possessions in India, with the exclusive trade, was continued from time to time by acts of parlia ment until the year 1813, when, by 53d Geo. 111., c. 155, the trade of India was opened to all British subjects, with the exception of the trade to China, which was reserved to the Company, and possession and government of the British territories in India were continued in the com pany for a further term. In 1833, the act under which the company is now constituted was passed (3 and 4 Wm. IV., c. 85.) This act recites that the company have con sented that all their territorial and commercial, real and personal assets and property whatsoever should, subject to the debts and liabilities then affecting the same, be placed at the disposal of parliament ; and that the company had also consented that their right to trade for their own profit in common with other British subjects be sus pended during such time as the government of the said territories shall be confided to them. By this act, passed ten years ago, the government of the territories is con tinued to the company till April 30, 1854, but in trust for the crown of the United Kingdom, and discharged from all claims of the company to any profit therefrom to their own use, except the dividend of £lO 108. per cent. on the amount, at that time, of their capital stock, By this act it is also enacted, that all vacancies happening in the of f ice of Governor General of India, shall from ti me to time be filled up by the Court of Directors, sub ject to the approbation of Her Majesty. Her Majesty.is also empowered to dismiss or remove any person holding any office or employment, or commission, civil or miiitay, under the said company in India. The Court of Directors of the company are also em powered to remove or dismiss any of the officers or ser vants of the said company at their will and pleasure. GENERAL MISCELLANY. All the London police in South Wales were last week ordered home. The Gazette, of Friday last, announces the appoint ment of Sir Thomas Freemantle to the office of Secretary at War. The prisoner Dalmas, charged with the murder at Bat tersea, underwent a final examination on Tuesday last, and was committed for trial. An old beggar, of Yorkshire, has just succeeded to a fortune of £95,000 by the death of a nephew, who went out, some years since, to India, and recently died intes tate. Messrs. Bright and Sons are erecting a new cotton mill, to be 309 feet song, 75 feet broad, and five stories high, at Cronkeyshaw, near Rochdale. The Lord Mayor of London, on Wednesday last, gave a grand banquet to her 'Majesty's Ministers at the Mansion House. The company amounted to nearly 110 persons. LAUNCESTON ELECTION.-Sir Henry Hardinge, the Governor-General of India, has issued his address to the electors of Launceston. announcing his retirement from the representation of that borough. Admiral Bowles has personally addressed the electors. The Morning Herald states that it is confidently ru moured in the legal profession that the venerable Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, Sir Nicholas C. Tindal, has expressed his resolution to retire from the bench on the termination of Michaelmas Term next. THE WEATHER.—There was rather a heavy fall of snow in the neighbourhood of Sheffield on Friday morning. There was also hail in Manchester. In the neighbourhood of Birmingham there was heavy and continued rain for several hours. A novel wager between two Canterbury gentlemen was made a few days ago—the one betting the other £lO he would produce a workman which should sharpen 1980 hop-poles in ten hours. A large concourse of persons assembled. No less than 2041 poles were sharpened in 7 h. 40 m. A deputation of West India proprietors and others, consisting of Lord Sandon, Sir John Rae Reid, the Agent for Jamaica, Mr. John Gladstone, Mr. Marrs at, Mr. Neil Malcolm, Mr. Chlery, Mr. M`Gregor, Mr. Miles, M.P., and Mr. Davidson, had an interview with Lord Stanley at the Colonial-office on Wednesday. The Marchioness of Blandford, eldest daughter of the Marquis and Marchioness of Londonderry, was brought to bed of a son and heir, at the Marquis's house, Wilton crescent, London, yesterday morning week. The Mar chioness and the young Earl of Sunderland are doing as well as possible. SHIPWRECKS.—The Spanish brig Cam pechano, from Liverpool to Manilla, with a cargo of piece goods, valued at from £30,000 to £40,000, was totally lost on the sth of December, on the MonJufar shoal, in the Straits of San Dernardino. Four of the crew were drowned. The Eliza Stewart, laden with teas and piece goods, has been lost near Amoy, but no particulars have been received. NATIONAL EDUCATION.—The contributions received for the establishment of schools for the manufacturing and mining districts, amounted at the close of last year to the sum of one hundred and fifty thousand pounds. In the twenty-three published lists of contributors there are 896 subscribers of £5O and upwards, and 8,879 of sums under £5O, thus showing the total number of contributors up to the present time to be 10,000. REPRESENTATION OF KILMARNOCK.—BV the death of Mr. Alexander Jobnston, M.P., of Shield Hall, Roth say, which took place on Thursday, the 9th instant, at Rothsay, a vacancy occurs in the representation of the Kilmarnock District of Burghs. Mr. Johnstone, a Whig, was returned for the District in 1841, by a majority of only eleven votes over Mr. Colquhoun, the previous con. servative member. The glovers of Leicester recently " struck" for an ad vance of wages, asking for an addition of 2d. per pound upon 40-cotton Berlins and shades ; 2d. per pound upon 30-cotton Berlins and shades ; and Id. per pound upon 20-cotton Berlins. The masters met this demand half way, and the increased price commenced on Saturday week. Some of the hands have acceded to the price, and others have left the town for Nottingham. STEAM•BOILER EXPLOSION.—On Sunday week the boiler at Sharp's Mill, at Bradford, suddenly burst, scald ing six msn, three of them so severely that two died shortly afterwards, and one lies without hope of recovery. An inquest was held on Tuesday last, on the two:deceased, when, it appearing that the owners had put more power on the boiler than it could safely carry, they were severely censured, and the jury laid a deodand of £lOO on the engine. Sir. Henry Ha rdinge, the present Governor-General of India, was Aide-de-Camp to Sir John Moore at the battle of Corrunna, Jan. 17, 1809, and was close to the lamented General when a cannon ball carried away his left shoulder and part of the collar-bone, leaving the arm hanging by the flesh. Sir John Moore was Aide-de-Camp to Sir Ralph Abercrombie, at the battle of Alexandria, March 21, 1801, and caught the noble hero in his arms after he had received his death wound. THE WEST INDIA MAILS.—On Friday a notice was issued of an alteration, the effect of which will be, to make the postage of letters between this country and Berbice one shilling and twopence for half an ounce, and so on in proportion, an internal postage of twopence being added to the packet rate of one shilling. The next mails for Madeira, the British and Foreign Colonies in the West Indies, Venezuela, Mexico, Honduras, Havana, Bahamas, Chagres, and New Granada will be made up on the morn ing of the Ist of June, to be forwarded via Southamptln. CAPTAIN PIDDING'S CHINESE OLIO AND TEA TALK. —A very interesting and cheap weekly periodical, abound ing in useful information relating to China, considered politically, commercially, historically, and philosophically. Whilst it cannot fail to be acceptable to the general read er, it must be peculiarly valuable to persons connected with the tea trade, and for their use it will be specially adapted. The merits of the work, so far as the present number enables us to judge, will ensure a wide circula tion. MR. O,CONNELL.—At half-past five o'clock on Tues day morning, the agitator arrived in Liverpool, by the mail-packet from Dublin, and immediately p rocee d e d to the Adelphi Hotel, where he breakfasted, and then started by the quarter to eight a.m. first-class train for London, with the view of attending in his place in the House of Commons on the same evening. He was unaccompanied by any of the members of his family, and was merely at tended by his servant. The repeal rent, on Monday, amounted to about £4OO. NEW OBLITERATING STAMP AT THE POST-OFFICE.-- A new-invented obliterating stamp is now in use, of a circular form, and bears in its centre the number of the post town whence the letter is despatched. This stamp enables the duty of the inland office to be more expedi tiously performed, as the postage frank is obliterated by the country postmaster, thus securing the vast body of correspondence intended for delivery in the metropolis from being delayed by the process having to be gone through in the London office. THE DUKEDOM OF SUSSEX.—The following is the minute of the proceedings, as entered in the Lords' Jour nals, on the subject of the petition of Sir Augustus d'Este, the son of the late Duke of Sussex, and claimant of the title and dignities of his royal parent :—" The petition of Augustus d'Este, claiming to be Duke of Sus sex, Earl of Inverness, and Baron of Arklow, for leave to lodge cases, considered; and the standing order, N 0.128, also considered, and dispensed with ; and leave given to the petitioner to lodge the said cases." The committee for privileges has been appointed to meet on Thursday, the 23rd instant, to investigate the claim thus set forth. THE WEATHER IN SCOTLAND. —From all parts of the country, the accounts are most cheering, and the infant crops are said to be making rapid progress. In every res pect the present season bears a strong resemblance to that of 1841, so much so that even the retarding effects of March, are not visible, the excellence of April, and what has already passed of May, has brought the crops as far as if they had been in the ground a fortnight earlier. Even the hill farmer is sharing bountifully of the fine weather, which is already visible upon his sportive lambs, enjoying as they do warm days and nights, and dry bed, and the ewes have a rich supply of suculant herbage. THE FORCE OF CONSCIENCE.—About nine years ago, Byam Green, a gamekeeper in the service of a Miss Lloyd, of Hintles ham Hall, Essex, had his brains dashed out by one of a party of poachers. A man, named Chalker, was apprehended, tried, and executed, for the murder ; but be died protesting his innocence. A short time since William Towns, a soldier in the 21st Fusileers, stationed in India, confessed that he was the murderer, and that he was present at the execution of the innocent man. He stated that he could get no rest day or night, and that the face of the man was continually before him, haunting him even in his dreams. UNUSUAL PROFICIENCY.—Mr William Peel, third son of the Premier, and mate of the Excellent, has been appointed Lieutenant, after having gone through the course of instruction given in that ship, and passed the probationary examination, with a degree of credit before unheard of—nine hundred and ten is the number which marks the utmost possible proficiency in gunnery, and Mr. Peel obtained nine hundred and eight ; 27015 the highest number for navigation, and he obtained 260; 14 months is the time allotted for the course—it never was before accomplished under nine months—Mr. Peel passed the examination in five months and four days. MURDER OF A NEW-BORN CHILD. — On Monday even ing, an inquest was held before J. Hargreaves, Esq., Co roner, and a respectable jury, at the Police-office, Black burn, on view of the body of a new-born male child, which was found concealed in the water-closet of Mr. Briggs, chemist, King William-street. The jury returned a ver dict of wilful murder against Mary Davies, the mother, who was a servant in the house, and let the child fall into tf t o h u rn e at s tw l eoopw-yocemaanras, woman I s nh s en aofl d uw e ne l a i a v tki e c r i e na dst intellect, lue lt e is state d h mt: andsh ehtwa:a t tsbo a ese t tanh t i d h ec e ott oi u nm n fib f ena o eyo r de - f tbheiesnmaenlahnoenheoslt and y transaction. well-behaved girl, HORRIBLE MBRDER NEAR COVENTRY.--Scarcely had the intense excitement following the murder of Mr. Goldsby's infant daughter subsided, than the inhabitants of Coventry were again thrown into a state of great con sternation, m consequence of intelligence having reached the police station of another cold-blooded murder, upon the person of a w eaver, named H enry Cl ew l ey . A n in quisition upon view of the body was held at the Red Lion, Sowe, on Saturday last, when several witnesses were ex amined, from whose evidence it appeared, that while the deceased was walking quietly home, be was attacked by a man named George Skelsey, who knocked him down and kicked him in the most brutal manner. The jury, after a consultation of not more than a minute, returned a ver dict of " Wilful murder" against Skelsey.—Banbury Guardian. May 21, 1844. AN Uscossctous HIT.—At the uproarious Anti- Slavery meeting, on Friday, at Exeter Hall, a pause fol lowed the speech of Mr, F. Buxton, when the audience becoming somewhat impatient, the chairman arose, and, with a gravity that must acquit him of anticipating the inference that would be drawn, craved patience, observ ing that Mr. O'Connell was about to address the assem ' bly—but the collection of money must be first made.' The proper application was instantly made, and a roar of laughter followed. A second burst was excited by an e xplanation (not, however, from the chair,) that as Mr. Bright was to follow Mr. O'Connell, it was necessary to make the collection before the member for Durham should clear the room. SHAMEFUL ATTEMPT TO PERVERT JUSTICE.—In the House of Commons last week Mr. F. Shaw read an ex tract from a private letter which he had received front Chief Justice Pennefather, and which he hoped the Chief Justice would excuse him for reading, as he (Mr. Shay?) thought it important that the house and the public should know the fact. It was in the following words :—" This motion is in its character quite in keeping with much that has preceded it. I have during the course of these trials since their commencement received letters of violent abuse, and very serious threats and menaces, both towards myself and my family. Public insult has been offered to me in my judicial capacity ; but of none of these have I made any complaint ; it could have no effect on me in the conscientious discharge of my duty, though I feel the pre judice and injury which are offered to the administration of justice." LAUNCH AT WINDERMERE.—On Friday, the 3d inst.► a very interesting scene took place on the beautiful Lake Windermere. Messrs. Gibson arid White launched two splendid pleasure boats, for the passage between Amble side and Newby Bridge. They were built by a young man of the name of Watson, on whose skill they reflect great credit, for they are superior to any of that class of boats previously on the lake, and are adapted for the ac commodation of a great number of passengers. Many of the inhabitants of Ambleside assembled to witness the de parture of the boats to Newby Bridge, the boats them selves being filled with invited guests. The Ulverston Brass Band met them at the Ferry Inn, where a great many boats, with flags and banners, joined the procession• Guns were fired and flags hoisted at Fell Foot and other places, and upwards of 90 persons were entertained at dinner at Newby Bridge, by Mr. Wbite.—Kendal Mer cury. STATE OF STOCKS.—The Standard of Wednesday has the following in its city article :—A rather curious inci dent has occurred in the Stock Exchange this mornin g . One of the jobbers wanted the loan of a single thousand Consol Stock, and on application to no less than FORTY FOUR individuals of the fraternity he could not find one able to accommodate with the amount. This is a clear proof of the state of the market, and also of the purity of the house, and shows the reason why the Three per Cents are at par. We have seen when the state of the Stock Exchange would have supplied a million of Stock in five minutes from one-tenth of the number of jobbers• So completely is the stock now, however, absorbed in bona fide investments, that the daily purchases made on account of the Commissioners for the Reduction of the debt, and the Savings' Banks, have to be made up by sub scriptions amongst the whole lot of jobbers. It has in deed been matter of surprise for some time past where they have obtained the stock to supply them, as there is certainly not a corresponding amount of public sales. THREATENING LETTERS TO SIR ROBERT PEEL AND LORD ELlOT.—William Toole, an Irishman, was placed before the magistrate at Bow-street on Friday. H e had been taken into custody the previous evening, in White hall-gardens, for having uttered some vague threats ag ainst Sir Robert Peel. It appeared that the prisoner had be longed to the horse patrol, in Ireland, but had come over to England in hope of bettering his condition, but being unable to obtain employment, he had suffered great priva tion. Several threatening letters to Sir Robert Peel a nd Lord Eliot were found on his person and at his lodgings• It appeared evident that want and disappointment had affected his mind, and though he appeared very calm he confessed that such was the case. He produced several documents testifying to his excellent character; one from Alderman Darley, of Dublin, and another from the Re corder of that city. He was ordered to find bail, himself in £2OO and two sureties in £lOO each, for his future good conduct. He has subsequently been removed to Totbill fields Prison. IRISH SOCIETY.—The supporters of the above associa tion, established for promoting the education of the Irish peasantry through the med;urn of th 3 vernacular language of the country, held their twenty-second annual meeting on Tuesday afternoon, at Hanover-square. George Finch, Esq., presided. The report stated that in the King's County district, notwithstanding the hostility of the priests, the progress of the society, and consequently cf scriptural instruction, had much advanced during the past year. In that district alone were no fewer than 8,000 scholars, one of whom had been found in pos s e s si on of a repeal card, to the movement. A favourable report was also made of the state of affairs in Donegal, where against threats of violence and punishment the tea c h e rs were resolved to proceed. The Society's Schools in Drumclair, Cork , Kerry, and other parts of the country, were also in a very satisfactory condition. The'schools in Ireland numbere d altogether 797. containing 17,301 scholars, of whom 1,2 35 were adults. The total income of the society during the past year amounted to £4,107 13s. 6d., a sum exceeding the expenditure by £l2l Gs. 11d. to attend a repeal meeting, or to be in any wa y favourable GENERAL POST.OFFICE.—The amazing increase in the daily duty of the general post.office is manifested in every department of that gigantic establishment. So greatly is it felt in the newspaper office, that the authorities have been compelled to resort to every practicable means of assisting the executive officers by the introduction of mechanical contrivances to lighten the labour of the department. From the bulky size and weight of the double papers, and their greatnumbers (now nearly 100,000 per night,) it is found necessary to make them up in immense sacks, which, (the men being unable to carry them) are wheeled upon a tram way, suggested by Mr. T. B. Cook, assistant-inspector in theletter-carriers' department, to the floor of theomnibuses , whence they are taken to the termini of the several rail ways. Since the reduction of rates on foreign, colonial, inter-colonial, and inland letters, the number both inwards and outwards has materially increased. The three first classes per annum amou n t to 8,583,040 an d the Ulla" d letters to 209.611,505. Since the increase of the delive ries of London local letters on the Ist of May, the duty has been extraordinarily pressing; and, notwithstanding the liberal addition made by the noble Lord (Lonsdale) at the head of the establishment, all classes in the district service complain of being overworked, and several of thou are away from duty on the ground of illness. The deli veries from the provinces by themid-day mail also continue to increase, and the money.order service has increased to,. 25 times what it was b e f ore th e re d uc ti on o f th e r ate of poundage.— Times. TERRIBLE CONFLAGRATION.—On Saturday week, fire broke out at a baker's shop in George's-court, LYnl e Regis, and by means of a furze stack quickly caught the George Inn, which, with several adjoining houses, Wer e soon burnt to the ground, the inmates having barely time to escape with their lives. Everything being exceedingly . dry in consequence of the long drought, and a fresh breeze springing up at north-east, the flames spread with the greatest rapidity, and quickly crossed the streets to the opposite premises, when the Victoria Inn and the adjoin ing premises fell a prey to the devouring element, th e whole of the fur n it ure an d s t oc k b e i ng en ti re l y cons umed' Nothing could now arrest the progress of the flee: l % s t Both sides of Coombe-st r e e t b e i ng on fi re , th e grea te ' e consternation and alarm prevailed. The scene beean l truly awful, as several ho uses caug ht fi re a t o nce, an d , women and children were seen running about the stree ts in a state of distracti on , en d eavour i ng t o sav e some por tion of their goods. The wind had now carried the flames to the stables of the Cups Hotel, which, being all thatched, burned with the greatest fury, and soon communicated to the dwelling-house, and the whole of the extensive pre mises of the head inn in the town were soon reduced to a heap of ruins, with barely sufficient time to save the horses and different vehicles in the yard. Meanwhile the fire continued to proceed through Coombe-street, the houses on each side being entirely destroyed, as far as Mr. Munden's on one side, and the Crown Inn on the other—both being preserved by pulling down a house between each and the fire. The custom-house and sever ral other buildings were afterwards destroyed. In the afternoon the wind gradually subsided, and the p r ogress of the flames was f or t una t e l y arreste d. Th e amount or damage done is i mmense . Th e l ower par t o f the town presents a scene of destruction and desol a tio n never wit nessed here since the memorable fire of Nov. 5, 1803 ' when the whole of Millgreen was destroyed. About forty houses have now been burnt down, amon g st which is the head inn, and five other public-houses. The greater Par,;' we believe, are insured ; but many have lost their el whilst vast numbers had their goods torn to pieces an lost by removing to a place of safety. THE FACTORIES BILL.—On Friday the Factories J , -; amended by the Committee, and on the report Was printed. It cont a i ns seventy-four clauses with four se'Pri dules. The act i s t o come i nto operat i on on the fi r st October next, except an y prov i s i on w hi c h i s ot b ei l' especially mentioned. N o I nspector to act as a M a gi.' trate, Inspectors to enter factories and schools at a ny time to examine any re g i s t r i es , & c. A n off i ce i n Lona° or Westminster is to be provided for the use of insP e i c ; tors and for the pre serva ti on o f f actory recor d s ; and servants to be appointed for the office. Persons ginning to occupy a f ac t ory to sen d not i ce t h ereo f to t t ' e "a office of inspecto rs ; C er tif y i ng surgeons to b e appein,rbe by the inspe c t ors ; f ees t o b e fi xe d b y inspectors. .`• certificates of age, &c. to apply to only one factory , It o may be annulled by the inspectors. Machinery, t° o f guarded, and factories kept clear. Notice to be gto n t be any accident. Certifying surgeons to examine into b t cause and extent of accidents. Actions may be bronft._ on the report of an inspector, for bodily injuries frorn o w o 7; chinery. Clocks to be provided for regularity in W e t of and registers to be kept in every factory. An abstra tor p the act, and notices to be hung up in every Is ° r i e s, Children at eight years old may be employed in tlict ° to but not to work more than seven hours a day ; to 13_1 a school. Young persons to be restricted to ten hn u . day. Lost time may be recovered. Work to eens_v i to Saturday at half-past four o'clock. One hour at Al eatt s ell' be given as meal time, half holidays allowed, an % t i oe of dance of children at school. Inspectors to give nu 4 to dangerous machinery. All complaints under this :t w o be preferred within two months. Proceedings tob_ row. i before justices. Power given to distrain geode t oo ,pe. ries belonging to persons convicted. Inspectors, ' o f a ge• tent witnesses. Surgical certificates to be ton. c hit- Penalties for infringing the act—on parents alio" Tonal dren to be employed contrary to the p r ovisions. 4 day ties to be applied for the establishment or f a ctoriessupo e : s chools for the education of children employed nterp re Appeals allowed in certain cases. A very long ialed and tation clause is set forth. Act may be aoPe c_ti"'- i r ed amended. In the schedules the various certificates cog are set forth, and directions given to carry the g ment measure into operation. •