The Sun.
London, England, 1863-12-16 00:00:00

cold, as it were, gradually paralyzing me, so I took a good,
roll in the snow like a dog, and it is wonderful how that
refreshed me. I luckily had lots of tobacco for chewing
but no matches. I did not feel hungry, and a handful of
snow every now and then slaked my thirst, so I had no fear
on this account. My whole life, as I thought, depended
upon whether or not I could hold on till morning, and keep
myself from being frozen; for now I dare not rest for five
minutes, or I would have scraped a large hole in the snow
and crept in; but every time I rested I felt that queer
drowsiness coming over me, which I knew was the precur-
sor of sleep."

He afterwards learns that Galton, in his " Art of
Travel," declares that men may live many days
buried in a snowdrift. " Had I known this," says
the escaped traveller, "I should have suffered no
more anxiety on the night in question than I had
ever done when bushed in Australia." However,
he finds for his consolation that every peasant whom
he consults on the matter says that the traveller's
only chance of life in such an emergency is to
keep going." Happily our author acted upon this
providential impulse, although his condition was
pitiable in the extreme.

" My gloves had frozen as stiff as icicles. The cold seemed
eating into my very marrow. My feet, notwithstanding
all the exertions I was making, were completely paralysed,
and appeared to hang on my legs like two lumps of lead;
moreover, they felt as if they had swelled to double their
natural size—my boots, which had frozen as hard as iron,
held them like two vices, and the pain was dreadful. My
senses seemed going; I was becoming light-headed, and
when I rose again (for I dare not lie long) I reeled like a
drunken man. A kind of languid indifference was now
stealing over me; I seemed to care little for life, and, al-
though I was determined not to sink as long as I could
flounder on, all probability of my now holding out till
morning seemed so hopeless that I almost longed for the
moment to come when I should fall exhausted in the snow,
and bury the agony I was then suffering in sleep, although
it might be the sleep of death."

Ultimately, it is needless to say, he reaches home,
and is none the worse for the adventute, saving only
intense pain in the feet. The whole description,
which reads like truth, is extremely interesting.
Many other adventures are recorded in these pages,
especially in the chapter on " The Mammalia of the
District," the pursuit of which put to the test the
author's capabilities as a sportsman.

The Desk book of English Synonymes. By John

Sherer. Groombridge.

This little volume is designed to afford assistance
in composition, and it also aspires to be a work of
reference requisite to the Secretary and indispen-
sable to the Student. The preface explains to us
that " of all the synonymes of which the work is
composed there is shown either their true meaning,
their proper application, or whether they are used
in a good, bad, or indifferent sense. In many in-
stances their relative strength is determined, as well
as their opposites given, as sow is the opposite of
nzgh ; mean is the opposite of noble," &c. While
this compilation is an evidence of the author's in-
dustry, we hardly think it is likely to be of great
practical utility. By the student and the lover of
dictionaries and derivations, it will be examined
with interest, but regarded rather as a matter of
inquiry and curiosity than as an authority. The
majority of the definitions consist (perhaps neces-
sarily) of "a distinction without a difference."
Many of the explanations are correct enough, but
with many others we are inclined to differ. For
example, here is a nice series of distinctions for the
most part sufficiently exact
ABASE, HUMBLE, DEGRADE, DISGRACE, DEBASE.—
These rise upon each other. The modest abase themselves
by not insisting upon their rights ; the penitent humble
themselves by confessing their sins; the noble degrade
themselves by associating with their inferiors, disgrace
themselves by acts of meanness and irregularity, and debase
themselves by profligacy and vice. In the literal sense,
abase is to lower or depress, to throw or cast down, and is
applied to the person's rank, office, or condition of life.

And here again are a number of most arbitrary ex
planations that we cannot at all regard as defini.
the

DESTINY, FATE, LOT, Doom. —Destiny is used in regard
to one's station or walk in life ; fate, in regard to what one
suffers ; lot in regard to what one gets or possesses ; doom.
is that portion of one's destiny or fate that depends on the
wilLof another. Destiny is marked out.

Some of the writer's comments are sufficiently in
genious, and others are somewhat surprising.

Delarue's Red-letter Diaries for 1864.

Following closely upon the beautiful red-letter
diaries contained in their annual issue of russia lea-

ther pocket-books, the Messrs. Dolarue's Red-Letter
Diaries upon various larger scales, and published
exclusively as Diaries pur et simple (and not as
mere accessories to dandy pocketbooks) have just
now come to hand. They are exquisitely " got
up," and are altogether as compact and com-
plete as could well be. They are stored from
cover to cover with every kind of information
that could reasonably be looked far in pub-
lications of this character. The letterpress is

(as it has been during saveral years past) printed in
the loveliest cerulean blue ink. The Diary
being, in each instance, as the title in-
dicr.tes, red-lettered. Mr. Warren Delarue's
wonderful Negative of the Moon, as photographed
by bim on the 11th September, 11h. 20tn., 1859

(the moon being then aged 14.8 days), here again
appears prefixed to each of these Diaries as a Fron-
tispiece. The contents will also be found to have
been very carefully edited by Mr. Glaisher, of the
Royal Greenwich Observatory. Whatever size
may be selected, according to the fancy or whim of
the purchaser, the beautiful finish of each publica-
tioh will be as visible in that size as in any of the
others. They are all of them, as the homely phrase
has it, as like as two peas, the only difference
being that they fire variously grown, some larger,
some smaller, but all of them otherwise identical in
tbeir excellence.

Sir Joseph Paxton, M.P., and his

Constituents:

COVENTRY, TUESDAY NIGHT.

This evening Sir Joseph Paxton addressed his
constituents in the Corn Exchange, and the large
hall was densely crowded, it being estimated that
over three thousand persons were present. It was
generally expected that there would be some die.
turbance at the meeting on account of the course
which Sir Joseph took in Parliament in supporting
the French treaty, but with the exception of a few
Morganites and Trehernites here and there in the
crowd who contrived to render the first portion of
the proceedings inaudible the affair passed off most
successfully. Sir Joseph spoke for upwards of an
hour, justifying the course he had taken in regard
to the treaty, and afterwards touching upon the
question of the American war and European poli-
tics. He concluded by asking the electors whether
they had ever known him deviate since he had been
their member from the liberal scheme of policy
he enunciated on his first introduction to the city.
On the chairman (Mr. G. Flint) calling for a show
of hands from those who approved Sir Joseph's
address, about three-fourths of the great assembly
responded. Sir Joseph was afterwards escorted to
the Castle, the Liberal head-quarters, by his friends
and supporters, amid the cordial cheers of the
electors and not-electors.

MUSKETRY INSTRUCTION OF THE ARMY.—The
total number of men under instruction was, in round num-
bers, 124,000 out of a total strength of about 142,000.
COUNT DE CHRISTEN, who was included in the
amnesty signed by the King of Naplea, has arrived at An-
cona to embark for France.
THE RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR in Franco has been
invited to Compiegne.
A FRENCHMAN, M. DESBABOLLES, has made a
sensation with a book on the art of divining character by
the hand.
THE SALARY OF -THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF
INDIA, which is the highest in the gift of the Crown, is
£30,000 a year, exclusive of allowances,. which may be esti-
mated at £lO,OOO. R.
TUE DisruTE BETWEEN MFE CUTER AND Mr.
ti rELIS has been amicably arranged, and there will be no
more cash for the lawyers in this matter.
'DIE AUTHOR of " The Heir of Redelyffe" will
commence a new story, entitled 4. The Clever Woman of
the Family," in the January number of the Churchman's
Family Magazine.

THE SWEDISH ARMY, according to the Minister
of War, General lioutersliold, numbers :iO,OOO men, and
the reserves, first and second call, 91,000 men ; 60,000 men
could be placed on a war footing at a very short notice, as
ho had everything ready equipment or could get
it at once. for their