The Sun.
London, England, 1863-08-14 00:00:00

The Price of Gold.

The quotation of gold at Paris is about / per mine pm., and
the short exchange on London is 25.25 per Ll sterling. On
comparing these rates with the English Mint price of 123
17s. WO. per ounce for standard gold, it appears that gold is
nearly 3-10ths per cent. dearer in London than in Paris.
.13y advises from Hamburg the price of gold is 425 per mark
and the short exchange on London is 13.51 per £1 sterling.
standard gold at the English Mint price is, therefore, about
5-10 the per cent, dearer in London than in Hamburg.

THE Kreuz Zeitung is described by the Spectator
as the largest-sized of all Berlin newspapers, being
of about the same shape as the London Observer, and
printed on better material than all the rest of its contem-
poraries. It has also the advantage over them in paint of
literature, being at this moment the most readable journal
in tho kingdom. Though high conservative, its tone is of
the most lively, and there are flashes of humour in it
worthy of Punch. At present it is the only Zeitung which
indulges in the luxury of political leader a, which, if they
are not distinguished for elt gance of style, deserve praise for
brevity of diction. The .Kreuz Zeitung approves of the doings
of Herr von Bismark; but by no means fawns upon the r re-
miel,but merely patronises him with an air of benign grace.
It is easy to read between the lines of every number the ever
recurring phrase, " You, Bismark, are intrinsically a fool,
a mere Landjunker, anl a tool of that parvenu Napoleon ;
but we will make use of you to the best of our power, and
while doing so will .at you on the back," The following
is a sample in the best manner of the Kreuz Zeitung, being
the concluding part of a leader on the Polish war of inde-
pendence which appeared last Sunday :—" The struggle in
Poland is but a repetition of the old battle fought in the
valley of Rephidim. He will be the conqueror in whose
favour hands are uplifted by Aaron and Hur ; he who
fights with holy arms for holy goods." See Exodus, c. 17.
The Kreuz Zeitung is fond of quoting Scripture, and more
than once has compared Napoleon 111. to Amalek.

With regard to the wine supply and the vintage
of the present year, it appears from a communica-
tion from a well-informed correspondent that the sanguine
expectations of an abundant vintage, which the spring
gave promise of, are doomed to disappointment as regards
some of our principal wine sources, from the long continu-
ance of scorching heats ; these have been perhaps the
most severe in Spain. The report from Xerez de le.
Frontrera is, that "the scarcity of rain since the spring and
some strokes of oidium have much crimpled and paralysed
the growth of the fruit; and again, the constancy of Afri-
ca n easterly wind and the intense heat have parched and
burned up great quantities, so that the premised abun-
dance is converted into what can now be but a scanty vint-
age for 1863."
DEMOLITION OF BLACKFRIARS PlM—Yester-
day morning a large body of workmen commenced
the demolition of the steam-boat pier at Blackfriars—one of
the most convenient on the Middlesex side of the river—
in order to make room for the bridge which the London,
Chatham, and Dover Railway Company are making over
. . _

the Thames, and the road which they intend to continue
across Ludgato•hill. At the time the men left off work in
the evening nearly half the pier was gone, and by the time
the present week closes it will have disappeared altogether.
Prior to next Spring a new pier will have been erected near
the same spot to meet the convenience of steam-boat pas-
sengers, and to afford a direct communication with. the
Farringdon station of the Metropolitan Railway.
THE VORACITY OF THE LlKE—as described b)
Mr. Cholmondeley Pennell in his recent work
called the "Angler-Naturalist" His informant in regard
to the following incident being the father of the boy thus
attacked by the pike :—" One of my sons, aged fifteen, went
with three other boys to bathe in Inglemere Pond, near
Ascot race-course, in June, 1856; he walked gently into
the water to about the depth of 4 feet, when he spread out
his hands to attempt to swim; instantly a large fish came
up and took his hand into his mouth at far up as the wrist,
but, finding he could not swallow it, relinquished his hold,
and the boy, turning round, prepared for a hasty re-
treat out of the pond ; his companions, who saw it, also
scrambled out of the pond as fast as possible. MY
\
son had scarcely turned himself round when the fish
came up behind him and immediately seized his other hand,
crosswise, inflicting some very deep wounds on the back of
it; the boy raised his first bitten, and still bleeding, arm,
and struck the monster a hard blow on the head, when the
fish disappeared. The other boys assisted him to dress,
bound up hie hand with their handkerchiefs, and brought
him home. We took him down to Mr. Brown, surgeon,
who dressed seven wounds in one hand ; and so great was
the pain the next day, that the lad fainted twice; the little
finger was bitten through the nail, and it was more than
six weeks before it was well. The nail came off, and
the scar remains to this day, A few days after this occur •
ranee, one of the woodmen was walking by the side of the
pond, when he saw something white floating. A man, who
was passing on horseback, rode in, and found it to be a
large pike in a dying state; he twisted his whip round it
and brought it to shore. Myself and my son were imme-
diately sent for to look at it, when the boy at once recog-
nised his antagonist. The fish appeared to have been a
long time in the agonies of death, and the body was very
lean and curved like a bow. It measured 41 inches, ana
died next day, and, I believe, was taken to the Castle at
Windsor.' There can be no doubt (Mr. Wright adds) that
this fish was in a state of complete starvation.lt well fed,
it is probable it might have weighed from 30 to 40 lb."
DANGER OF CHILDREN PLAYING WITH LUCIFER
MITCILES.—On Wednesday firemen on duty at the Crystal
Palace were called to extinguish a fire raging in the grounds
of Mr. D. Child, a carman, situate in the lied-road, Gipsy
Hill, Upper Norwood. The engines were drawn out of the
Palace and taken to the spot, when it was found that some
children whilst playing with lucifer matches had set firo to
a stack of hay. The firemen, however, managed to confine
the fire to only one stack. Mr. Child was not insured.
BOAT RACE FOR £3oo.—The pair-oar race be-
tween Henry Clasper and Geo. Strong and Matthew and
James Taylor, carne off on Tuesday, on the Tyne, and was
won by the Taylors by four lengths. The stakes were L5O
aside, the course from the High Level Bridge to the Mea-
dows Rouse, a distance of one dud three-quarter miles.
The Press of Vienna characterises in severe terms
the unwillingness of Prussia to attend at Frankton
and signalises that course as a fresh effect of the
Unfortunate duality which e.Litts in Germany :
" Prussia bisinarkised," it says "is opposed to
any federal reform, and with the view of leaving
the door open to the restricted Germany-party,
King William refutes to be present. How could a
President of the Council who deprives his country of
the Constitution which it possessed, and who declared
that if Austria did Lot withdraw from Germany
Prussia would unite with the Emperor Napoleon and
thrust her out of doors, reply etherwite to the Aus-
trian iivittition?''