The Press.
London, England, 1855-09-15 00:00:00

(-4 tt _l-xtvgg.

LONDON, SATURDAY, SEPT. 15, 1855.

POSTSCRIPT.

THE FRENCH LOSSES AT THE CAPTURE
OF SEBASTOPOL.

The Moniteur of yesterday announces that Marshal
Pelissier, in a telegraphic despatch dated September
11th, informs the Minister of War, that about 4,500
wounded, of which number 240 are officers, have
gone to the ambulance.
As regards the number of dead killed on the field
of battle, it has not yet been possible to get an exact
return, but it is the opinion of the Commander-in-
Chief that it does not exceed the ordinary propor-
tion, that is to say, about one-third of the number of
the wounded.
At the celebration of the Te Deum on Thursday
the Archbishop, addressing the Emperor, said .
" Sire,—The national joy is increased by the thought
that Heaven after all these triumphs prepares for
you in addition domestic joys, which will be so much
more delightful to your heart as they will be also for
the public good."
The squadron of the Cent Gardes is, it is said,
about to be augmented, so as to form almost an or-
dinary squadron. As, however, it would be too diffi-
cult at present to recruit all the men amongst non-
commissioned officers, as the first time, they will be
taken from amongst the best cavalry.
A telegraphic despatch from Admiral Bruat an-
nounces that the Milan and the Cato have destroyed
in the Sea of Azoff, between de Temriank and Dolga,
43 fishing establishments, 127 boats, many thousand
fishing nets, great quantities of salt, and a vast
number of casks.

Preparations are being made at Compeigne for the
reception of the King of Sardinia ; the gardeners are
employed in decorating the flower garden, and
placing orange tubs along the grass•plots. Work-
men are also employed in the interior of the palace.
The Emperor Alexander will be at Warsaw on the
22nd or 24th inst. The Count Nesselrode accom-
panies him, and it is supposed that an interview will
be arranged with the King of Prussia.

A letter from Naples of the 4th inst., says :
Within the last few days the police has extended its
unlimited power into the very bosom of the army. Not
content with having exercised it up to the present hour
secretly, by means of the well•known Carol:ague, it has
lately obtained permission for the arrest of Cavelier Afflitto,
of the Ilorse Body Guard, on the ground of his having
worn a hat of the Italian fashion ! A royal order was
thereupon communicated to all generals in command, ;hat it
was the Sovereign's will that the army should be bound to
respect the decisions of the police as much as any simple
citizen.

THE gross total receipts of the county treasurers
in England and Wales for the year ended Michael-
mas-day, 1854, amounted to 1,549,9311., and the
gross total disbursements to 1,396,358/. Of the re
ceipts, 883,6561. accrued from county and police
rates. Of the expenses, 340,3751. was appropriated
to gaols and houses of correction, 185,1071. to the
prosecution of prisoners, and 78,6591, to lunatic
asylums, besides many other items. The total as-
sessment for the county rate in England and Wales
areounts to 811203,08511

THE PRESS.

THE QUEEN'S DESPATCH TO GENERAL
SIMPSON.

Lord Panmure has addressed the following tele-
graphic despatch to General Simpson :
War Department, Sept. 12
The Queen has received with deep emotion the welcome
intelligence of the fall of Sebastopol.
Penetrated with profound gratitude to the Almighty,
who has vouchsafed this triumph to the allied army, her
Majesty has commanded me to express to yourself, and,
through you, to the army, the pride with which she regards
this fresh instance of their heroism.
The Queen congratulates her troops on the triumphant
issue of this protracted siege, and thanks them for the
cheerfulness and fortitude with which they have encoun-
tered its toils, and the valour which has led to its termi-
nation.
The Queen deeply laments that this success is not with.
out its alloy in the heavy losses which have been sus-
tained; and, while she rejoices in the victory, her Majesty
deeply sympathises with the noble sufferers in their coun-
try's cause.
You will be pleased to congratulate General Pelissier, in
her Majesty's name, upon the brilliant result of the assault
on the Malakoff, which proves the irresistible force as well
as indomitable courage of our brave allies.

PAarmuaz.

THE RIGHT HON. VISCOUNT DUNGANNON has been
chosen as a repreantative peer for Ireland, in the
room of the late Earl of Caledon.
EARL GIFFORD, son of the Marquis of Tweeddale,
has offered himself as a candidate for the represen-
tation of Totness. He entertains the same political
opinions as the late member, Lord Seymour.
THE most intense excitement prevailed throughout
the metropolis and its suburbs on Tuesday, in
consequence of the news of the fall of Sebastopol.
The bells of the various churches pealed forth in
succession the entire evening, and the National
Anthem and " Partant pour la Syrie" were played
in all the theatres amid hurricanes of applause,
being redemanded with a vigour not to be mis-
interpreted, and with an eager display of patriotic
feeling. The arrival of the tidings was bailed with
similar enthusiasm in every town throughout the
kingdom and in Ireland.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL SIR GEORGE BROWN, G.C.8.,
at present visiting his brother, Mr. Peter Brown, of
Linkwood, near Elgin, in Morayshire, was entertained
at a public banquet in his native town, Elgin, on
Tuesday evening. The provost, or mayor of the
burgh, occupied the chair, and was supported by his
Serene Highness the Prince Edward of Saxe Weimar,
the Duke of Richmond, the Earl of March, Mr.
Cumming Bruce, M.P., Sir A. P. Gordon Cumming,
of Altyre, Admiral Duff, of Drummuir, &c. The
attendance at the dinner was limited to about three
hundred gentlemen of' the town and neighbourhood,
the extreme number for whom accommodation could
be provided. Additional zest was given to the
enthusiasm of the meeting by the receipt, a few
hours before the hour of dinner, of the intelligence
that Sebastopol had fallen. This news was brought
from Aberdeen, and was announced from the top of
the coach by the passengers, amidst much cheering
and general enthusiasm.
A LARGE quantity of articles from the Kertch
Museum have found their way into Southampton.
They consist mainly of ancient coins, pottery ware and
glass, and metallic vessels. The pottery and vessels
are specimens of vases, lamps, bottles, pitchers, tear-
vessels or lachrymatories, of Etruscan, Greek, Roman,
and other ancient workmanship.
THE satisfactory appearance of the vineyards in
the provinces of Asti and Alessandria has lately led
to a reduction of thirty per cent. in the price of wine,
and the grapes themselves are sold at a low price.
MR. JAMES C. THOMPSON, an American, has re•
ceived an offer to assume the chief-engineership of
the Russian navy for three years, at a salary of
6,000 dollars per annum, in consequence of the re-
signation of Mr. Chambers, a Scotchman, who had
held that position for the past eighteen years. Mr.
Thompson was for five years first engineer of the
steamer Pacific, of the Collins line. The office is a
very lucrative one, in addition to the salary.
A PROJECT has been submitted by Signor Bonelli,
of Turin, to the Governor of Malta, and by him to
the British Government, to execute in two months,
at the expense of 10,0001., the junction of Malta
with Cagliari by one of the telegraph cables of his
own construction. Lord Panmure has received the
proposal most favorably, and has requested of the
governor to be informed, without loss of time, what
portion of the estimated amount would be contri-
buted by the island treasury, in the event of the pro-
posal being sanctioned by the authorities at home.
Signor Bonelli has also proposed a more extended
plan of operations by continuing the chain to Candia,
and from thence two branch lines—the one to the
Dardanelles, the other to Alexandria, in Egypt. This
latter course would, it is estimated, require 60,0001.,
and six months' time.

The telegraphic connection between Constanti-
nople and Paris and London is complete, the line
between Shumla and Constantinople having been
opened on Oa }oth.

SATURDAY,

MISHAPS TO THE ROYAL, TRAIN.

THE train which conveyed the Queen and Royal
Family from London to Edinburgh on the 6th inst.
met with a series of mishaps, which not only re-
sulted in compelling her Majesty to change carriages
before she reached her destination, but unhappily,
also, in the loss of life. Notwithstanding the extra-
ordinary precautions taken to prevent even the
slightest casualty, it would seem that shortly after
the royal train left the metropolis it was found that
some of the axles of the carriages, especially one of
the last break-van, were not in a satisfactory state.
When the train arrived at Peterborough, one or two
of the axle-boxes were washed out. At Grantham
matters were found to be worse, and a man wag then
stationed on the footboards of the train in order to
grease the axles as it was running. At Retford a
telegraphic message was sent to Doncaster to have a
fresh break got in readiness. At Bawtry the train
was delayed five minutes to allow the axles—all of
which were overheated more or less—time to cool.
On reaching Doncaster the last break of the train
was exchanged for a fresh one, and this operation
was not unattended with inconvenience, for the
people assembled at that station, not having antici-
pated this stoppage, besieged the state carriage as
soon as the train pulled up, and climbing upon
engines and tenders which happened to be standing
on the sidings on each dank of the train, and
within a foot or two of the windows of the royal
saloon, indulged their eager curiosity without stint or
scruple. After leaving Doncaster and getting rid of
the allhut-ignited break, the state of the axles of
some of the other carriages was sufficient to excite
the liveliest anxiety of the officials in charge of the
train and to require the most constant vigilance. On
approaching Darlington one of the greasers sta-
tioned on the footboards of the train unfortunately
came in contact with the girder railing of a small
culvert bridge; the collision knocked him off the
train, and he was so crushed and mutilated in his
fall that he died soon afterwards. At Darlington
her Majesty, Prince Albert, and the Princess Royal,
who occupied the principal state carriage, were under
the necessity of abandoning it, and proceeding for
the remainder of their journey in one of the blue
saloon carriages occupied by some of the younger
branches of the family. It was found that the
heat of the axles was so great as to endanger the
safety of the carriage. The real cause of these
untoward incidents is involved in some mystery.
The state carriages, which have not been used since
last September, appeared to be quite safe, in every
respect, on their trial journey from London to the
Great Northern Company's repairing depot at Don-
caster, and back again. It is a very unusual cir-
cumstance for an axletree to overheat itself in so
short a distance as that in which the occurrence
was first observed in this case ; and it is a still more
rare circumstance for several axletrees of one train
to overheat in the course of one journey. The grease
used was of the best quality, the same, it is said, as
that used during the royal journey to Scotland last
year. The end of the axle of the break cast off at
Doncaster was nearly worn away; the apertures of
the brasses through which the grease should
descend were stopped up by the fusion of the metal,
after which, of course, none of the grease could get
to the axle. The unfortunate man whose life has
been sacrificed was a resident of Doncaster, and has
left a wife and three children.

An accident occurred a few days ago to five men
belonging to the artillery corps before Sebastopol,
which furnishes an illustration of the carelessness
and reckless indifference to danger which soldiers
fall into from daily and nightly exposure to peril.
Happening to see a ten-inch unhurs.t shell, with the
extinguished fuse in it, lying in his path as he was
returning from the trenches, an artilleryman carried
it up to the camp, and shortly after, aided by a com-
rade, began to gratify his curiosity as to the compo-
sition of the contents of the shell, by hammering
away at the fuse. Before the poor fellow bad
given many blows, the shell exploded, killing him-
self and his comrade on the spot, and severely
woundiqg a couple of men who stood by looking on.
It would seem as if war-life tended to make soldiers
as much children in point of prudence as sailors
have long been; for accidents are stated to be of
almost daily occurrence, solely through an utter
want of caution and needless self-exposure on the
part of those on whom the mischief falls.
THE EARL OF DUNRAVEN, brother-in-law of Mr.
W. Monsell, has seceded from the Established
Church, and become a devoted member of the oppo-
site faith. The Limerick Reporter states that the
event has been long expected, and adds that the
noble earl returned from Kerry to Adare-manor on
Friday, and on Sunday morning heard service in the
chapel of Adare, the place appropriated to the
Christian Brothers, with whom he partook of the
communion.
THE Venice Gazette observes that the Papal See
has no nuncios at present in Spain, Sardinia, 50...
zerland, Brazil, and New Grenada,

I

SEPT. 15, 1855.

Xatu alo Volta.

JANE GIBSON, a Scotchwoman, until recently a nurse
in St. Thomas's Hospital, was charged at Southwark
l'olice-court with having in her possession an immense
quantity of property belonging to the Crimean Hos-
pital and the Patriotic Fund. The prisoner has been
apprehended by a constable named Smith, who
searched her lodgings, and found four boxes, con-
taining a large mass of articles which had evidently
belonged to the hospital service or the Crimean Army
Fund. On being questioned, the woman asserted
that the property had been given her. It was stated
that in December last she accompanied Miss Stanley
to Constantinople, and from thence to Scutari and
Balaklava, and remained at the latter place until
June last, when she was discharged for drunkenness,
and sent home in disgrace. Soon after her arrival in
London she obtained a situation in St. Thomas's
Hospital, but returned to her drunken habits, and a
short time since she was dismissed :
Mr. SECKER : What property did you find in her room?
Constable: When she opened the boxes she first pulled out
tw t very tine linen shirts. I asked her where she got them, as
they evidently belonged to some military officer. She replied,
" Oh, Miss Nightingale gave them to me." After that she col,
!acted herself, and said they were her husband's, who went with
her to the Crimea. I believe she has no husband. She next
took from the box three Hue new linen sheets. Those she said
belonged to herself, but I have reason to believe they belong to
the camp hospitals. I next found a book entitled " Memoirs of
Father Ripa's Travels in China." It is marked officially on the
titlepage, " Australian Royal Mail Steam-packet Company,"
and underneath that " Presented to the Royal Patriotic Fund
for the use of the Sick." She said a soldier gave it to her.
Prisoner Yes, sir; I got it at Balaklava to read on my
voyage home.
I have an immense quantity of others of a similar
nature, and others published by the Society for the Diffusion of
Christian Knowledge, which have been sent over to the army in
the Crimea, but L have not them in court. I further searched
her boxes and found two large linen tablecloths, one marked
" 5.0.8." and the other marked " B." One chemise marked
"7 8.," one " E.5.E.," one " E. 5.5.," and one " E.S.E." I asked
her where she got these things from, and she said that Miss
Nightingale. Miss Bracebridge, and Miss Stanley had given them
to her. I also found a large thick flannel shirt marked " A.W.,
No. 2 ;" three napkins marked " F.A.5.1.Z., 36, E. 24, 1842." Two
pair of army hospital shoes marked on the soles with the broad
arrow, quite new. In another part of her room I found a feather
pillow marked "Scutari Hospital, from Finsbury-square."
Prisoner: I got that given to me at Balaklava, when I went to
attend the sick and wounded there. As to the shoes, they were
delivered out to me by the purveyor at Balaklava, for my own
use, as well as a pair of thick Russian boots, to stand the in3le-
rneney of the clizrate. In fact all the things were given to me.
Miss Bracebridge was very kind to the nurses, and when 1 was
coming home she told me to take anything I wanted. I accor-
dingly took them. Miss Bracebridge ordered her housekeeper to
give me a good supply, and she gave me the flannel, sheets, and
table-cloths. Miss Stanley gave me the others, and saw me pack
up my boxes and go on board ship.
Inspector Moore: The prisoner told me that if the goods were
wrung Miss Nightingale gave them to her. We have nearly a
cartload of property in the station-house of a similar description
to those produced, and I ask for a remand to enable me to com-
municate with the Government and Mrs. Sidney Herbert.

The prisoner was then remanded for a week.
Ar the Petty Sessions held at Stony• Stratford,
Buckinghamshire, yesterday week, a man named
Levi Henson was charged with firing off a gun within
eighty feet of the turnpike-road. The evidence was
very conflicting. The defendant was employed in a
field, and had been ordered by his master to shoot
the birds if they touched the wheat. He had, it ap-
pears, shot a jay, and his master, having measured
the ground, found that the spot was above eighty feet
from the road. The magistrate, however, told the
defendant that he stood convicted " upon the clearest
evidence they had ever heard," and fined him It.,
with 17s. Bd. costs.
Tae. Tribunal of Correctional Police of Brussels
was last week occupied in the disposal of a case of
much interest to shareholders in Anglo foreign rail-
way companies, and more especially to three gentle-
men well known in business circles in the city of
London—namely, Mr. John Ashwell, Sir William
Magnay, and Mr. John Masterman, directors of the
Luxembourg Railway, on the charge of swindling.
Mr. Ashwell alone appeared, the other two gentlemen
being tried by default. The substitute of the Procu-
rier du Roi explained that the charge was based on
the allegation that the three gentlemen had appto
priated the greater part of 10,500 shares, and of a
sum of 35,750 f. which had been confided to them for
secret services, in promoting the interests of the
company, or, to use the expression employed, " in
procuring influence in Belgium." In support of
the charge, it WAS stated that Mr. Ashwell, for his
part, had received 0,500 shares to distribute on
behalf of the company, but that a long time after-
wards he was found to be in possession of most of the
shares, and receiving the interest on them. It was
also alleged that the sum of 35,750 francs had been
confided to him for the same purpose, but that he
could only account for the employment of 2,000 f. of
IL As to Sir W. Magnay and Mr. Masterman, it was
asserted that they had severally received 2,000 shares
on behalf of the company, but, instead of distri-
buting them, had retained them in their own hands,
and had received interest on them. It was further
alleged that the grant of the shares and of the
35,750 f., instead of being regularly mentioned in the
books, was recorded under the head of "purchases
of land," or of "engineering and law expenses."
Finally, it was stated that, in obtaining shares and

THE PRESS.

money for secret purposes, the defendants had de-
ceived the shareholders, inasmuch as no secret ne-
gotiations were necessary, either to obtain the con-
cession of the railway from the Government, or to
procure from it the guarantee of a minimum of inte-
rest, which was subsequently accorded. Mr. Ashwell,
in answer, declared that he had distributed the
greater part of the shares confided to him in a manner
which he thought calculated to promote the interests
of the company, and that the remainder were kept
in reserve to be distributed as occasion might re-
quire. He could not, he said, without violating
confidence, state to whom the shares had been
given, but amongst the gentlemen who had received
some for services rendered were M. Drouet, who bad
1,000; M. Pierre, member of the Chamber of Depu-
ties, who bad 100; and M. Perrot, proprietor of the
Independance Belge, who had 150. As to the charge
that he had received the interest on the shares, he
admitted that it had been paid to him, but only on
behalf of the owners. With respect to the 35,750 f.,
be declared that he had employed the greater part of
the sum, and that the portion unemployed had been
returned to the cashier of the company. Lastly, he
showed that all that he had done had been approved
of by the directors and sanctioned by the share-
holders at their general meeting; also, that when
complaints had been made by some of the share-
holders, a special committee was appointed to
examine into the whole matter, and that it had
approved of what had been done. On behalf of Sir
W. Magnay and Mr. Masterman no defence whatever
was offered. In the course of the proceedings, it
was stated that what the defendants were accused of
doing was constantly done in England—namely, on
the formation of a railway company, to distribute
shares or money amongst the owners of land through
which the line is to pass, and to persons who might
be in a position in any way to promote its interests ;
and it was added, that the cost of such distribution
was always entered in the accounts as "parliamentary
expenses." The Tribunal decided that, as the acts of
Mr. Ashwell which were complained of took place
more than three years ago, they were covered by
prescription, and that the complaint against Sir W.
Magnay and Mr. Masterman was not sufficiently
proved. The complaint was consequently dismissed.

THE CASE of MR. T. W. LAWFORD, nephew of Mr.
Edward Lawford, late of Drapers' hall, and solicitor
to the India Company, was finally adjudicated on
Monday in the Bankruptcy Court at Bristol. The
debts of the bankrupt amounted to 60,0001., and the
assets scarcely exceed a shilling in the pound. His
first deficiencies occurred between the years 1840
and 1849, when, as solicitor and farmer, he became
insolvent to the extent of 12,0001., but their subse-
quent growth seems to have been accelerated by the
facilities of the loan system carried on by various in-
surance-offices, several of which are understood to
have suffered heavily. At the commencement these
loans were contracted apparently to enable the bank-
rupt to struggle on with his speculations, Mr.
Edward Lawford, the uncle, being security ; but
subsequently they seem to have been made indiscri-
minately for the purposes of nephew and uncle, until
at one time they reached a total of 80,0001. Of this
amount 36,0001. only was repaid, leaving 44,0001.
due at the time of bankruptcy in September last.
The operations of the nephew were of a singular
and varied character. Without any knowledge of
agriculture, or the possession of capital, he embarked
as an experimental farmer on the largest scale, and
likewise engaged in speculations for hatching
chickens by steam and supplying London with
grapes from Carmarthenshire. He was therefore
gazetted as a market gardener; but he had also
joined a mining concern in Prussia. No books were
kept, and the transactions of the two parties were
evidently carried on without any view in prospect but
a hopeless stoppage whenever the arrangements with
the insurance companies could be kept up no longer.
According to a statement made to the Court, the in-
come of Mr. Edward Lawford was at one time
18,0001. a year. The Bankruptcy Commissioner,
who had been greatly pressed by favorable memo-
rials on the bankrupt's behalf, arrived at the conclu•
sion, that his errors " were caused rather by an over-
sanguine temper and extreme infirmity of judgment
than by want of rectitude," although it was felt to be
a ditty to suspend his certificate for twelve months,
and to order that it should then be of the lowest
class.

THE CHAIN OF EVIDENCE has at length been Com-
pleted in the case of Messrs. Strahan, Paul, and
Bates, for the misappropriation of certain securities
intrusted to their safe keeping by one of the cus-
tomers of the bank, Dr. Griffith, and all the three part-
ners were on Wednesday fully committed to take
their trial at the ensuing sessions of the Central
Criminal Court. The bail has been extended from
3,0001. to 5,0001., and the personal recognisances of
each partner to 10,000/.

Sr. PETERSBURG JOURNALS announce that an Exhi-
bition of Fine Arta will be held in that capital this
year, in spits of the War.

CAPTURE OF THE GREAT AMERICAN
SNAKE.
THE Buffalo Daily Republic gives a curious account
of the capture of a huge aquatio serpent, whose pre-
sence in a lake near a place called Perry Village had
for a long time formed the subject for much specu-
lation. The narrative is contained in a letter from
that village, dated August 13th. The writer says .
This part of the country is wild with excitement. The
immense snake is at length captured. Daniel Smith, an
old whalemau, came here about two weeks since, after
hearing of the appearance of the creature, and had the
good fortune to see him. He immediately sent to New
York fur an old shipmate and his " irons," and on Friday
last both arrived with everything necessary to catch a
monster. Many strangers stopping at the Walker-house
laughed at them for their pains; but they kept on with
their preparations, in spite of sneers and jeers. Boats
have been stationed all over the lake for upwards of eight
days, and the two whalemen had a sharp look-out kept all
the time, besides watching themselves.
On Sunday he came to the surface, displaying about
thirty feet of his long, sinuous body. On Monday morn-
ing everything was on the alert. About nine o'clock the
animal moved his appearance between the whaletnen's boat
and the shore, revealing twenty or thirty feet of his length.
He laid quiescent upon the surface, when the whalemen's
boat made slowly towards him, Mr. Smith, of Covington,
poising in the air a patent harpoon. When they had got
about ten feet from the animal, the iron whistled through
the air and went deep into his body. Inja moment the whole
length of the monster was lashing in the air. at a bound re-
vealing his whole enormous length. Then he darted off
in another direction towards the upper part of the lake, the
suddenness of his movement almost dragging the boat
under water. Line was gradually given him, and after the
space of half an hour, it was plain that his strength was
almost exhausted. The whalemen then came ashore and
gradually hauled the line in, amidst the wildest excite-
ment and tumult ever known in the vicinity of Silver
Lake. Four or five ladies fainted upon seeing the mon-
ster, who, although ashore, was lashing his body into
tremendous folds, and then straightening himself out in
his agony, with a noise and power that made the very
earth tremble around him. The harpoon had gone en-
tirely through a thick muscular part of him about eight
feet from his head.

The snake is fifty-nine feet five inches in length, and is
a most disgusting-looking creature. A thick slime covers
his hideous length, a quarter of an inch thick, which
after being removed, is almost instantly replaced by
exudation. The body of this creature is variable in size.
The head is about the size of a full-grown calf's ; within
eight feet of the head the neck gradually swells up to the
thickness of a foot in diameter, which continues for fifteen
inches and then tapers down the other way, constantly in-
creasing in size, however, as it recedes from the head,
until the body of the monster has a diameter of over two
feet in the centre, giving a girth of over six feet. It then
tapers off toward the tail, which ends in a fin which can
be expanded in the shape of a fan until it is three feet
across, or closed in a sheath. Along the belly, from the
head to the tail, are double rows of fins, a foot in length—
not opposite each other, but alternately placed. The head
is a most singular affair. Tho eyes are very large, white,
staring, and terrific. Attached to the edge of the upper
and lower lids, which are like those of a human being, •
transparent film, or membrane, is seen, which, while it
protects the eve of the animal, does not interfere with its
vision. He has no nostrils or gills, apparently. The
mouth of this serpent, or whatever it may be, is under-
neath—is almost a counterpart of the mouth of the fish
called a sucker, possessing the same valvular power pursed
up—but it can be stretched so as to take in a body of the
diameter of a foot or a foot and a half. No teeth can be
discovered. A hard bony substance extends in two parallel
lines around the upper and lower part of the head. His
colour is a dusky brown on the sides and back, but under-
neath the belly it is of a dirty white. It is sinuous like a
snake, but has along its back on each side a row of hard
substance, knob-like in shape—the largest raised four
inches from the surface of the body, extending from head
to tail.

The animal still has the harpoon in him. He lies in
the water, an ingenious contrivance of ropes having been
placed on him while he was on shore, keeping his body in
a curve, preventing him from getting away or proving dan-
gerous. He can use but his head and tail, with which he
occasionally stirs up the water all about him for rods. He
keeps his head under water except when he rears it up as
if looking around, and presents a most fearful aspect.
When rearing he expands his mouth, and exhibits a cavity
blood red, moat terrible to look upon. As he does this,
air rushes forth with a heavy, short puff.

SIR JAMES HUDSON, British ambassor to the Court
of Turin. has sent 500 f. to the committee of the fund
for the Piedmontese troops in the Crimea.
THE Neptune, 120, Captain Hutton, and the St.
George, 120, Captain Eyres, C. 8., have sailed from
Portsmouth, their destination being the Bay of
Naples. The ships, however, will proceed to Lisbon,
where they will salute the King of Portugal, in
honour of his Majesty having attained his ma-
jority.
DIE. accounts from the northern provinces repre-
sent the harvest as having made immense progress
during the past week. In the south it would appear
to be nearly complete. The estimates which are
formed as to the expected yield are very conflicting,
but there seems to be no reason for apprehending
that it will in any district be much under the
average, while in some it is spoken of in the most
sanguine terms.