The Sun.
London, England, 1864-10-07 00:00:00

A STEAM VESSEL ASHORE IN THE RIVER.—Lsat
night a large steam vessel was proceeding down the river,
when by some means at present unexplained she ran ashore
near the pier at North Woolwich. Measures were being
taken last night to extricate the vessel from her present
posi.ion at the next high tide.
A notice was issued from the General Post-office
yesterday to the effect that extra mails for Madeira, the Cape
of Good Hope, and Natal will be made up at the General
Post-office on the morning of the 15th inst., for conveyance
from Southampton by the steamship Anglican. The letters
forwarded by this opportunity will be liable to the usual
packet rates of postage.
A letter from Hamburg, in the Irreutz Zeitung
of Berlin, says :—" The advertising sheet of Ran-
ders publishes a notice from the head of the police to the
effect that, by order of the military governor of Jutland,
sportsmen are forbidden to sheet in that province for the
present season. All persons infringing this order will be
liable to imprisonment and to have their arms confiscated.
A Roman Catholic mission has been established at Flens-
burg, with funds raised by subscription at Munster, and
the cures of the diocese of Osnabruck have engaged to pay
a yearly sum of 600 thalers (3fr. 70c. each) for the support
of the head of the mission. The Catholic clergy of the
diocese of Munster intend to establish a similar mission at
Newmunster, in Holstein."
MARRYING AGES.—The recorded statistics for
three years of the ages at which people marry in
England and Wales present some interesting and curious
subjects for remark, The registers from which the fol-
lowing statistics and observations are drawn are those for
1859, 1860, and 1861. Marriages are rec)rded from 15 to
80 years of age. Up to the age of 20 a much greater pro-
portion of women are married than men; but after that
age more men are married, and a much greater proportion
of old men between 50 and 80 than of old women. Dur-
ing the three years in question there were 78 girls
married at 15 years of age, but no males ; and while 17
youths of 16 years wedded, there were 637 girls of the
same age who took the step, The greatest number of both
sexes marry at 20 years, but more of the ladies. At 25
and 30 the proportion is greater of the men ; but after 30
the number falls to half, and up to 50 men seem to get
regularly less and less inclined to matrimony, but they con-
tinue to marry up to 80 years. The greatest number of
women marry at 20 years; at 25 there are fewer by more
than half ; and five years morn reduces the proportion
considerably more than half again; but at 35, 40. and
45, the numbers fall off more regularly. For example, in
1861 there were married at the age of 20, 48,495 men and
50,646 women; at 25, 26,478 men and 20,673 women; at
30, 10,621 men and 7,840 women ; at 35, 5,464 men and
4,252 women; at 40, 3,649 men and 2,875 women. Thera
were 119 men married at 70 years of age, but only 21
women ; 30 men at 75, and 3 women; 8 men of 80 years
old, but 2 women ; while in the previous year, 1869, there
were 10 octogenarian gentlemen wedded, and only 1 lady
of an equal age. Tho total number married of each sex in
these years were-1859, 102,549; 1860, 106,386; and 1861,

04,694.
" THE SCOTS IN FRANCE."—Some gentlemen in-

terested in this subject embraced the opportunity of
the learned author, M. Francisque Michel. of Bordeaux,
passing through Glasgow, on Tuesday, to present him with
a copy of " Chalmers' Caledonia"— a rare and valuable
book, and one likely to be of use to him in his study of
Scottish history. The party met in the Bedford Hotel,
when Councillor Arthur, as chairman, presented the book
on behalf of himself and the other subscribers, accompanied
by a few appropriate remarks on the subject of M. Michel's
literary labours and the peculiar connexion of them with
Scotland. The learned gentleman, who was quite unpre-
pared for the object of the meeting, acknowledged the corn -
pliment in suitable terms, and expressed the hope that he
might have some future opportunity of meeting his Scot-
tish friends.—Glasgow Herald.
ANOTHER ABSCONDING BANKRUPT.—At the
Leeds Town Hall, on Wednesday, Mr Jennings, collector
for the Leeds New Gas Company, applied for a distress
' warrant against William Marsden, iron merchant, Old
Brewery-yard, for arrears of gas rates amounting to up-
wards of £3. Mr Jennings stated that Mr Marsden had
become bankrupt, and had absconded on Thursday last. It
was understood ;he had sailed for America in order to join,
his brother, John W. Marsden. The warrant was granted.
THE SUSPENSION OF MESSRS. FLETCHER AND
CO., CORN MERCHANTS.—The creditors of Messrs.
Fletcher and Co., corn merchants, Manchester, held their
second meeting yesterday at the offices of Messrs. Hall and
Janion, solicitors, when a revised balance sheet was read,
showing the estimated liabilities— £143,175 ls. Bd., and
the assets £66,850 lls. 4d. An offer of Os. in the pound was
made by Mr Moss, the principal, payable in three instal-
ments at four, eight, and twelve months. A resolution was
unanimously agreed to, appointing three of the creditors to
investigate the accounts and report to a future meeting, to
be called at their instance.
THE MISSING CHORISTER.—The lad, Henry
William King, one of the choristers of St, Paul's Cathe •
dral,who has been missing since Saturday last,when he re-
ceived the sum of £3 15s. as his quarter's salary, was dis-
covered on Wednesday. The greatest anxiety has been
experienced for the boy's safety, both by the parents and
the masters of the school, by whom every exertion was
used to discover his whereabouts, the result of which, we
are happy to state, is that he has been handed over in
safety to his parents, the affair having been solely the re-
sult of a boyish freak.
A BAD DEBT.—Good Queen Bess, when she
vssited Worcester, borrowed £2OO of the Corporation, which
still stands as a bad debt on the town books.
A silver cradle,worth £5O, has been presented to
the Mayor of Basingstoke, in consequence of the mayoress
having given birth to a son during his mayoralty.
A YORhSIIIRE HERMIT.--In the East Riding of
Yorkshire there dwells a man of property, who, front

some cause or other is in a degree emulating the character
immortalised by Dickens in one of his Christmas numbers
of " All the Year Round." He lives in a large old man-
sion, into which no feet are allowed to encroach. his food
is loft for him in a sh,:d ; and last year's crop; are out, in
the fields yet; the hay rotting in cocks, uncut ; and the
rye grass standing in one field about aft. in height.—Nciv-
castle Chronicle.
A communication from Copenhagen says :—" No
one knows how the Oldenburg Government has been able
to procure one of the rare copies of the opinion of Dr Oster-
wald, on the legitimacy of the Royal line. It is on this sub-
ject that a statement has been male that the Grand Duke
of Oldenburg had been authorised to make researches
among the archives of Denmark, to justify his right to the
succession of the Dttelaies,''