The Sun.
London, England, 1864-05-10 00:00:00

UST.

Liverpool Cotton Market—This Day,

Market greatly excited. Sales about 20,000
bales, at -} to 4 above Friday. Imports, 6,317; pre,
viously, 8,049.

APPEAL IN CRIMINAL CASES.—This bill is ap-
pointed to be read a second time in the Commons on Wed-
nesday, when the Solicitor-General will move its rejection.

THE EASTERN FISHERIES.—The spring mackerel
fishery has just commenced off the east coast. The spring
herring voyage is being prosecuted with success by the
Lowestoft boats, so far as the catch is concerned. Prices
have ranged from 9d. to ls. 3d. per 100 (132). The supply
of trawl fish brought into Lowestoft last week was limited.
PUBLIC.HOUSES AND REFRESHMENT HOUSES:—
Sir G. Grey's Bill for closing the houses of licensed
victuallers and refreshment houses within the metropolitan
police district between 1 and 4 a.m. has been printed and
issued. It forbids the keepers of these houses to sell "any
article whatsoever" within the prohibited hours, except to
persons lodging in the house, The Bill extends to frebmen
of the Vintners' Company.

" TWO" A PENNY ! AND £53 for " ONE."—A copy
of the first edition of Shakspere's works was sold this week
for £53. By way of contract we may mention that an en-
terprising publisher is issuing Shakspere's plays two a
penny.

A NEW DISCOVERY IN PHOTOGRAPHY.—Mr.
Everard has invented a process by which any part of a pho-
tographic negative can be intensified or lightened.
THOMAS HENRY MAUI:ISLAY, THE EMINENT EN-
GINEzR, so noted for the construction of marine engines,
and especially of late for the magnificent powerful ones of
our great ironclad ships, has died during the past week. His
age was 72 years.
A NEW LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEIGH.—Mr.
James Augustus St. John, whose " History of the Four
Conquests of England" was published some two or three
years ago, is engaged on a " Life of Sir Walter Raleigh,"
based in great part on original documents.

" OVER" THE PHILOSOPHER'S " STONE ?"—On
Di! that Lord Overstone's fortune is estimated at five mil-
lions sterling.

The Moniteur publishes Imperial decrees convok-
ing the electors of the third circumscription of the
Gard on the 29th and 30th May, to elect a deputy to the
Legislative Body, in piece of M. Ernest Andre, deceased ;
also, the electors of the eecond circumscription of the same
departments on the same days, to choose a representative,
the previous election having been annulled,

ROBBING THE DEAD.—Yesterday Maria Read,
aged 53, and her son Henry, were tried on an indictment,
charging them with stealing a considerable sum of money
the property of Joseph Rankin. It appeared that Rankin
lodged with the elder prisoner, and for some time had been
confined to his bed. He was a person of very penurious
habits, and after his death it was alleged that the prisoners
had stolen a large sum of money which he kept in a
box near his bed. The representative of the old man, when
she came to take possession of the property, found only
about £l2 in money, although it was known a much larger
sum had been in his possession. The female prisoner had
been seen in possession of a Bank of England note
for £2OO, which it was alleged belonged to the deceased.
The jury acquitted the son but found the mother guilty.
Sentence was deferred, in order to give Maria Read an
opportunity of giving further information on the matter if
she felt so disposed.
A PERSIAN SNAKE CHARMER.-0a the Bth, a
celebrated afsngar, or snake charmer, named Mirza
Kasim, came to exhibit his skill. He produced three boxes
containing some 20 snakes in all, and told us that except
one they were all.tlfas vipers. The exception was a thin
snake, about a yard long, with remarkably large eyes. He
called it chirya mar, sparrow killer. The vipers were, some
of them, four and a half, perhaps even five feet long, of a
grey ashen colour, with black blotches and the belly red,
likecopper. He handled them all with great confidence,
slipping his fingers along their bodies and grasping them so
that they could:not turn their heads. Presently he opened
the mouth of one of the largest and showed its fangs—.
crooked teeth half an inch long. These distilled poison,
which ho received on the blade of a knife till there was about
a quarter of teaspoonful. A little of this dropped on the ground
but he put the rest in his mouth and licked the knife. He
then took a fowl and pulled the feathers off the wretched
bird's thigh, and then suffered the snake to bite it. I
watched his proceedings carefully, and I think—but am
not certain—that the snake whose poison he swallowed
was the one that bit the fowl. However that may be, the
leg of:the poor fowl swelled instantaneously, and it raised
it incessantly as if in pain, Once it clucked a little, but
soon became giddy, and rolled oft the platform into the
garden below. It was quite dead in a few seconds under
the minute. The bitten part became black. I noticed
that the assistant who held the snake seemed afraid of it,
and threw it down hastily after it had made the bite. In
fact, so alarmed was he that he threw it close to one of Mr.
Abbott's children, who displayed more courage than the
snake charmer, and did not attempt to retreat. Mean-
time Mirza Khan himself was no whit &discon-
certed, and took up with perfect sang froid the reptile
that had shown itself so venomous. I said, " Yt.u.
are an afsungar, a sorcerer, if you have the wel-
fare of mankind at heart, utter a spell that all the snakes in
Persia may die at once." "Nay," replied he, "not so; for
should the snakes die, how should I get my bread ?" He
then showed me his diplomas of investitude as snake
charmer, signed by the Murehids or spiritual guides of the
profession, and dated 17 years back. He next offered to let
the snakes bite two boys he had with him, about 14 years
in.terp,osed. This
old, who advanced rather reluctantly to be operated upon,
we bad.
and bared their arms for the bite. Of course
no in-
sefinaitsitttafiome::::::
tention of allowing such a cruelty, but I suffered.tn! Mirza
well
to take out the chiramar, or thin snake, with which he pro..
cproesaetdurteovinasflipertobthabelywovuennotaniesd I then s
A I felt sure that the
charmer would neither himswelaf have
t.,
the vipers, nor would have dared to
ninsi
about
one on his slaves
five kira nut 4s 9d for his
or apprentices. I paid him
Three performance,years, with
Residencew hi hinhpe
The Stock Exchange Committee have appointed
Thursday, the 12th inst., a special settling day in
the 7,000 new shares of the Metropolitan and Pro..
vineial Bank (Limited), which are not to bo marked
at present; and Friday, the 13th instant, a special
settling day in the shares of the following com-
panies:—Telegraph Construction and Maintenance
Persia.
(Limited), National Financial (Limited), and Con-
tinental Union Gas (Limited), all to be marked. In
the last-named instance, however, the settlement
applies to bargains effected on and after the 2Sth
April, the date of delivery of the allotment
letters.

About £200,000 in gold was taken into the Bank
yesterday.
The directors of the Bank of France have raised
their rate of discount to 8 per cent.
An American paper states that in the spiritual
circles of New York there is getting to be quite an
excitement about a new medium of a somewhat extraor-
dinary character. No one knows where the modern en-
chantress comes from or how she acquired her art. But all
devout believers say you may take a lock of any one's hair
and lay it on her magic table, and forthwith the deviner of
secrets proceeds to give a detailed history of the life of the
person from whose head the hair in question was lopped,
and to mark out his future career.
Persons in debt may obtain instant protection against
imprisonment or seizure of their goods, and an entire release
from all debts and liabilities without publicity, by application
to Messrs. -Marshall, solicitors of the Court of Bankruptcy,
Charges uuder X. 5 payable by easy instalments. Offices
(established 1830),
gate-street, Bank,—,AD VT.
12,llatton-garden. City branCh 6,1100 r ,