The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1865-10-10 00:00:00

fiennal Neivss.

IN Bath the present average at death is thirty-six and
a fraction. In 1845 it was 31.
Ka. DUNCAN IrDoua.tu., Perth, has been appointed
bag-piper to the Prince of Wales.

PROFESSOR LONGFELLOW has lately completed an
English blank verse version of the "Divine Commedia"
of Dante.

THE Quitzti has intimated her desire to witness Mr.
Gale's invention for rendering gunpowder non-explosive
and explosive at pie .sure.

THE RE-UNITED STATES.—Colonel North (to Colons
South)—" WaL Brother; Guess we oouldn't both win:
sc let's shake bands, and just liquor up."—Punch.

IN London on Thursday, Frank Bell, a boy aged 13
years, in a fit of passion, hanged himself to his bedpost
because his mother had sent him to his room for dis-
obeying her.

THE post of instructor in field fortifications at Chatam,
held by the unfortunate Major De Vere, has been con.
ferred on Lieutenant-Colonel W. 0. Lennox, V.C., who
is now at Aldershot.

Tanya bridegrooms and one "beet man "were fined at
Liverpool, on Wednesday, for (staying on their wedding
festivities with too much vigour. The bridegrooms
spent their nuptial night in prison.

'raw Pall Mall Gazette says that "grand-going"
horses are difficult to procure at any price, and that for
a well matched pair 300 to 1,000 guineas are not
umsually paid.
TIDS Telegraph pronounces the list of names
(published originally in the America journals, and since
in this country) of purported holders of Confederate
loan stook a "fiction."
A. Vows FROM ma Itisacr WORLD.—We have re-
ceived, says the Kent Herald, • fine specimen of the
death's-head moth from a gentlemen resident at Black-
heath, who captured it in his garden. He states that it
emitted, on being caught, a shrill cry, and lived several
days in his possession.

CHEAP ESTIMATE-OF LlFE.—Thiree persons have been
rescued during the bathing season from positions of
danger while bathing from the gentlemen's machines
at the Wish, Eastbourne, who respectively tendered to
their rescuer the sums of 55., 2s. 6d., and Bd. The
eightpenny gentleman could not have entertained very
exalted ideas of his own worth I—Surrey Standard.

THE WELTHER DURING OCTOBEIL—Mr. Plant, the
weather profit, says :—"I venture to say that in this
very month (October) we shall, in my opinion, have
direful storms, gales, frost, and such depression of
temperature, that before the end of the month we shall
pram from summer temperature to that of mid-winter.
I expect very little autumn weather this month."
A CUNNING Doo.—A carious fact has occurred in an
isolated country house in the neighbourhood of Toulon.
A person eying from the epidemic came to seek an asylum
there, and was perfectly well received by the occupants ;
a watch-dog only, after having smelt at the new comer,
left his master and took up his quarters in an adjoining
house. On the following night the guest died of cholera
and the dog returned.

THIS TESTIMONIAL TO COLONEL higiIIIRDO.—It is in-
tended, agreeably with Colonel id'hfurdo's wishes, to
devote the fund subscribed by volunteers and others to
the rebuilding of Rose Bank, the destruction of which
by fire, together with his retirement from the post of
inspector-general, was, it will be remembered, the oc-
casion of the subscription being raised. The rebuilding
is now in a forward state.

THZ LOST ATLANTIC CABLZ.—The Madras, which
arrived at Quebec September 19, passed on the 29th
of August a large buoy, which appeared stationary, and
Is supposed to have been left by the Great Eastern to
mark the position where the Atlantic cable was lost.
The Shippow Gazette says that if the position of the
buoy observed by the ship Madras be correctly given, it
had drifted 166 miles from the spot where it was origi-
nally placed 21 days before.

DREADFUL ACCIDENT TO A VOLUNTZER.—Sergeant
Wm. Brand.field, of the Royal Engineers, Chatham,
drill-instruotor of the Tower Hamlets Volunteer En-
gineers, has lost his life while engaged in showing the
mode of forcing a stockade. He had placed a chaise of
five or six pounds of powder In a bag, and had token
every precaution to prevent accident; but the instant
the fusee was lighted the charge ignited, and the ser-
geant's head was blown off.
THE Pope has recently fulminated the major ex-
communication against Freemasons. Thereupon the
Made remarks What intere6t can the church of Rome
have in thus exposing the impotence of its spiritual
oh.stisements, and the complete indifference with which
modern society hears the rumbling of the church's
thunder? What man will give up the title of Free-
mason, or who will hesitate to become a member of
lodge through fear of excommunication r
SOCIAL SCIENCE. —The annual meetings of the Social
Science Association are being held at Sheffield this year
and were opened on Wednesday evening by a long and
elaborate inengaral address from the president, Lord
Brougham. The address was much in the usual style
of the social science orations of the learned lord, and
was a huge centime' patAerunt of topics—political,
literary, social, and scientific—on slid which his Lord-
ship expressed his opinions. Lord Brougham is mid to
ibe n excellent health, and reported to have read his
address with clearness and emphasis. The meetings of
the various sections will occupy about a week.

TEI 00117EDERATI COTTON LOAN—The Meriting
Star a few days siooe re-printed from the New York
Herald an alleged list of subscribers in England to the
Confederate Cotton Loan. The list included the names
of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Laird, of
Birkenhead, Mr. Bereeford Hope, who was set down
for £40,000, the editor of the Times, 210,000, Mr. G.
E. Seymour, stock broker, London, £40,000, the Hon.
Evelyn Ashley, £5OO, &c. All have published dis-
claimers. The Hon. Evelyn Ashley, writing to the
Times, says :—Struggling like a minnow among the
Triton subuiribers to the Confederate Cotton Los*
enurnevated by the New York Herald, and republished
in this country, I see my name. The sums are skilfully
proportioned to the reputed means of each, and to me
is allotted only the modest sum of £5OO. On the
principle, however, of first introducing, to shiver this
fictitious edifioe, the "thin" end of the wedge, which
better men will drive home, I beg leave to state in your
eolumns that at no time had I any share, interest, or
concern in it.

MIOZ SPINNING TARN BY MACHINZBY. —A gentleimus
Scin timid has trained a oouple of mice, and invented
machinery for enabling them to spin yarn. The work is
done on the treadmill principle. It is so constructed
that the common house mouse is enabled to make
atonement to society for past offences by twisting and
reeling from 100 to 120 threads per day. To complete
this the little pedestrian has to run 10i miles. This
journey it performs every day with ease. An ordinary
mouse weighs only half an ounce. A halfpenny's
worth of oatmeal at is. 3d. the peck serves one of these
treadmill culprits for the long period of five weeks. In
that time it makes 110 threads per day, being an average
of 3,850 threads of 55 inches, which is nearly nine lengths
of the reel.. A penny is paid to women for every cut in
the ordinary way. At this rate a mouse earns 9d.
every five weeks, which is one farthing per day, or 7s. 6d.
per annum. Take 6d. off for board and is. for machins
cry, there will arise ffs, clear profit from every mouse
yearly. The mouse employer is going to make appli-
cation for the lease of an old empty house, the
dimensions of ithioh are 1001 t. by 50ft. and 50ft, in
height, which, at a moderate calculation, will hold
10,000 mouse mills, sufficient room being left for keepers
and wine hundreds of spectators. Allowing £2OO for
rent and taskmasters, £lO,OOO to erect machinery, and
.C5OO for the intend, there will be left bile.lloo of
£2,300 per annum,