The Sun.
London, England, 1863-02-26 00:00:00

From Anioy and Fuhchan there is no news.

MYSTERIOUS DEATH. —On Tuesday afternoon
Mr. John Humphreys, the coroner for Middlesex.
held an Lquest at the Black Horse Tavern, Kingsland-
road, Shoreditch, respecting the death of a female, un-
known, who was found dead in the Regent's Canal, near
the Kingsland-road Bridge, Shoreditch. under very strange
circumstances. The evidence proved that deceased was found
by William Gardener, a labourer, on Saturday morning
last, floating in the water off Messrs. Ricketts' coal wharf,
Kingsland. Police-constable 73 N was called, who, with
assistance, got the body on shore. when Dr. Griffith, the
divisional surgeon, examined the deceased, who had been
immersed about a fortnight. The deceased was only par-
tially dressed, and had a gold brooch in the front of her
bosom. She was without a gown, and it was supposed that
the deceased had walked into the water while labouring
under an attack of somnambulism. The deceased's under-
clothing was very good, and it was the opinion of the per-
sons at the workhouse that she must have moved in a re-
spectable sphere of life. There was nothing found in the
deceased's pockets to lead to her identity, nor was any
money found in her possession. The jury, after a brief
consultation, returned an open verdict of found dead in the
Regent's Can al ; but how, when, and by what means she
came into the water there was no evidence to prove.

COTTON SUPPLY ASSOCIATION.—At the usual
weekly meeting of the executive committee of this
association, held at Manchester on Tuesday last, applica-
tions for seed were received from Egypt and from Queens-
land, and were acceded to. Samples of very good, useful
cotton, were submitted to the committee from the island of
Nevis, from Cuba, and from Peru. A report on the cotton
trade of Greece, received from the Foreign-office, was road,
which stated that the production of cotton in continental
Greece in 1862 was nearly double what it was
in 1861. A letter from Buenos Ayres, urging the
expediency of encouraging British emigration to that coun-
try, with a view of extending the cultivation of cotton there,
was also read. A memorial was signed and forwarded to
Earl Russell praying for the appointment of a Consul at
Rabba, at the confluence of the Niger and the Chadda,
where a large trade may be expected with the countries
lately opened up by Dr. Baikie and other explorers. It was
determined to hold a public meeting in a few weeks, under
the auspices of the association, to consider the question of
cotton supply, and what measures it would be advisable to
take.

BILL RELATING TO BILLS AND NOTES PAYABLE
ON VIE 7TII MARCII.—The preamble of this bill,
just introduced into the House of Commons, states that it
is apprehended that on the occasion of the Princess Alex-
andra of Denmark passing through the metropolis there
will be so great a concourse of people as to materially in-
terfere with the transaction of business. The first clause
declares that all the provisions of the Act 7 and 8 Geo.
IV., and 6 and 7 William IV., with respect to bills of ex-
change and promissory notes payable in the metropolis,
shall extend and be applicable to the 7th day of March,
186 4, as if the said 7th of March wore a day appointed by
her Majesty's proclamation for a day of thanksgiving. .13)
the second clause, the neutral charges occasioned by the
act, through the non-payment of any bill on the day pre
ceding the 7th March, shall not be thrown on the acceptors.

HER MAJESTY.

WINDSOR CASTLE, Feb. 25.
His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, at-
tended by Major Teesdale, arrived at Windsor
Castle, yesterday, from Althorp Park.
The Rev. Dr. M'Leod arrived at the Castle on
Monday and left to-day.
The Countess of Caledon has succeeded the
Dowager Countess of Mount Edgcumb as Lady in
Waiting.

THE PRINCESS ALEXANDRA.
COPENHAGEN, Feb. 25, Evening.
The departure of the Pr ncess Alexandra is appointed to
take place at three o'clock to-morrow.

Her Royal Highness will be accompanied by her father,
Prince Christian of Denmark, attended by Adjutant Hitt-
meister Castenschjold, and her mother, Princess Louise,
attended by Countess Revcntlow ; her brothers, Prince
Frederick, attended by Adjutant of the Artillery Captain
Lund; Prince Wilhelm, attended by Marine-Lieutenant
Chevalier Funck ; and Pri .ce Waldemar; and her sisters,
Princesses Maria and Thyra.
Her Ro) al Highness's suite will also include General
Oxholm and his lady, together with Prince Frederick of
Hesse, brother of Prince Louis of Hesse, attended by
Chamberlains Roepsdorff and Oei tzen.
The wedding present of his Majesty to the Princess
Alexandra is a necklace, containing 2,000 brilliants, and
118 pearls, the two largest of which were exhibited in the
Interxational Exhibition, near the Koh-i-noor. The fac-
simile of the Dagmar cross, attached to the necklace, also
contains a fragment reported to have belonged to the true
cross, with a piece of silk taken from the grave of King
Canute, the patron saint of Denmark.

SACRED HARMONIC SOCIETY.—To-morrow even-
ing Handel's great choral oratorio, "Israel in Egypt," will
be performed under the direction of Mr. Costa.

DRURY-LANE THEATRE.—The last morning
performance of this pantomime took place yesterday
at this theatre, and was signalised by an acs of kindness
and liberality on the part of Mr. Falconer, the lessee. ''his
gentleman invited the aged inmates of the Licensed
Victuallers' Asylum, 140 in number, to attend on the oc-
casion ; and they accordingly availed themselves of the
treat thus offered them, appearing to enjoy the entertain-
ment exceedingly. Previous to their visit, they were boun-
tifully regaled by Mr. Edward Weston, at his music hall
in Holborn, the repast being provided at his sole charge.
Their Royal Highnesses the Prince Leopold, the Princess
Beatrice, and Prince William of Prussia, attended by
Lady Caroline Barrington, the Countess Buhl, and the Hon.
Colonel Liddell, honoured the evening performance with
their presence.

EGYPTIAN HALL—The popular and attractive
entertainment, given by Messrs. Yates and Power
for many weeks past with undiminished effect, has been
recently embellished with several new and striking
additions, Mr. Harold Power's admirable rendering of
Levasseur's "Postillon de Ma'me d'Ablon" is received
with expressions of unmistakeable mirth ; and a variety of
new anecdotes, in which "Jack Bagot" is the principal
figure, aro told with ample dramatic spirit by Mr. Edmund
Yates. A clever patter song—glibly written and sung with
marked humour—concludes the second part of " The In-
vitations," which have yet in perspective a long career of
success.

"I WASH MY HANDS OF Jr !"—This same wash-
ing of hands has always seemed to us so difficult an
operation that we have often wondered how people came to
take up the phrase, especially when we remember its asso-
ciations. Pontius Pilate, so far as we know, was the origi-
nal proprietor of the patent; and his success was hardly
such as to encourage imitators. Whenever we hear of a
person washing his hands of anything, the points on which
we feel assured are—first, that they are unusually dirty;
and next, that he is not likely to mend the matter by the
process.—. Saturday Review.
NEW BATH THEATRE.—The new theatre erected
on the site of the old building, which was burnt down
in March last, is nearly completed, and will be opened on
Wednesday next, March 4. The old structure could
li,krdly have been surpassed in the excellence of its
acoustic properties. Tho new building has been raised by a
company enrolled under the Limited Liability Act, and the
cit,zens of Bath have subscribed the whole of the capital
of £12,000. The cost of the erection and accessories
will be about £lO,OOO. The works have been executed
under the superintendence of Mr. Phipps, architect, whose
designs were chosen from among those of several competi..
tors. The stage has been constructed by Mr. Sloman, of
Her Majesty's Theatre. The decoration has been executed
by Messrs. Green and King, of Baker-street, London, and
the new act drop has been painted by Messrs. Grieve and
Telbin. The directors have appointed as lessee Mr. Chute,
who has held the Bath and Bristol theatres for several years,
The theatre will be opened with the performance of Shakes •
peare's " Midsummer Night's Dream."
IRON SHIPBUILDING ON THE TYNE.—Messrs.
Palmer Brothers, of Jarrow, have n 3 less than
20,000 tons of iron shipping on hand. One of these vessels,
a screw steamer of 2,686 tons burden, will be launched in a
fortnight ; the others are in various stages of progress. The
ship nearly ready for launching is the Georgia. She is one
of ten which Messrs. Palmer are commissioned to build for
Messrs. Fernie Brothers, of Liverpool, and which are meant
to bring cotton from New Orleans. Another clipper ship of
1,100 tons is being built for Australia; and other four
are for the Mediterranean ; one of them will be 1,500
tons, and the others 900 tons each. Three of these are for
a London firm, and one for a house in Genoa. A screw
steamship of 2,000 tons is building for Messrs. Wilson,
Chambers, and Co., Liverpool, and will form one of the
White Star fleet trading to Australia. The other vessels are
principally building for the coasting trade.

HISTORY OF THE POTATO.—The potato was in-
troduced from America by Sir Francis Drake in
1586, though Sir Walter Raleigh has generally the credit
of its first introduction. It is also frequently represented
that it was for a long time cultivated in botanic gardens as
a curiosity, and with little or no knowledge of its value as
an article of food. But there happens to be evidence that
though many years elapsed before the potato was known
generally amongst the people, it was soon put to its proper
use by those who could command supplies o: the novelty,
Amongst these. there is one fact worth mentioning, and
that is that when Queen Elizabeth received intelligence of
the destruction of the Spanish Armada in July, 1588, she
had cooked potatoes on her table, which was in less than
two 3 ears from the date of its introduction. No doubt they
were for a long time considered rare delicacies. Shakspeare,
in " Troilus and Cressida," speaks of "a potato finger"
(Act V., s. 2), and in the " Merry Wives" Falstaff invokes
the sky to " rain potatoes and hail kissing comfits" (Act
V., s. 5) ; and these are the only occasions in which the
word occurs in the whole of the works of Shakspeare. They
began to be cultivated as a food for the people in Ireland in
1610, and in England 1650 ; so after all the potato may be
said to have been in cultivation little more than a century
in th's country. It is rather curious that in a work entitled
" A Treatise on Foods," by M. Louis Lowery, published in
1704, the potato is described under the name of Helianthe-
mum tuberosum _Talcum, the " Fower of the Sun," a native
of India—in other words, as identical with the Jerusalem
artichoke, but assigned to the wrong hemisphere, which
opens a question for people who like " notes and queries"
when and how the word "potato" was definitely attached
93 a proper name to Solanum tuberosum.—Gardener's
Meekly Magazine.
PASTORAL STAFF OF THE BISHOP OF CENTRAL
AFRICA.—Tne revival of church architecture has
necessarily drawn attention to the habiliments of its three-
fold order of clergy, and, consequently, to the furniture,
so to speak, appertaining to them ; and, as an illustration
of advance in the right direction, we have lately seen
a pastoral staff just completed for the Bishop of Central
Africa, who was consecrated on the 2d inst in Westminster
Abbey. The staff is constructed of ebony, ivory, and
silver, and its total height is sft. 9in. The crook is of ivory,
an irregular octagon in section, about 10in. long, and 51in.
wide, gradually diminishing in size from the commencement,
and ending in a flowing leaf, in the eye of which is a six-
foiled conventional flower, 31in. m diameter, formed in
hammered silver, having two similar faces, in the centre of
which are large and beautiful carbuncles, On three faces
of the crook are likewise carbuncles, gradually diminishing
in size towards the end, to the number of 27, set in silver
mountings. The crook springs out of a silver cap, octa-
gonal in form, and Bin. high, enriched with stiff leaved
foliage, where it joins the ebony staff, all the other parts
being hammered out. Moulded and chased with geometrical
patterns and the sacred monogram, thus covering the entire
surface. The diameter of the octagon at its largest part
being nearly 3in. ; 11 carbuncles are set around, and the
centre is formed by a diamond of great value, surrounded
with 18 smaller ones. The ebony staff is llin. between the
cap and boss, or knob, which is of silver, and about 3ft.
between it and the spear point, likewise formed of silver,
and both constructed on other parts. The whole of the
silver is parcel gilt. The stiff separates into three pieces,
fitting into a case constructed to receive the same. The
staff was designed and superintended in its construction by
Mr. Withers, architect, the manufacturer being Mr. Keith,
the well known chip ch plate worker. Both designer and
manufacturer have worked con more, the price charged by
Mr. Keith being barely sufficient to cover his outlay, but
his fame will not suffer by the work, and the only regret is
that such a piece of work should pass from among us into
the wilds of Attica. The staff is given to the bishop by an
old clerical friend. The bishop's Episcopal seal was likewise
designed by Mr. Withers, founded upon ancient, models,
and very well executed by Mr. Miming. We believe We
are correct in stating that Mr. Keith is now engaged upon
the manufacture of a staff, under Mr. Butterfield's super-
intendence, for Bishop Twells, who was consecrated on the
same dap.—Building Newt.