The Sun.
London, England, 1862-10-15 00:00:00

LITERA7 URE.

TVinffred'a Wooing. By Georgians. M. Craik.
1 Vol. Smith, Elder, and Co.
Although this tale is destitute of pretension, it is,
nevertheless, so agreeably written, and the princi-
pal characters are so natura]Jy drawn, that it can-
not fail to please. Winifred, the heroine, is the only
daughter of a supposed rich banker, who ruins him-
self by mining specuirAtions, suddenly dies, and leaves
her and her aunt 'without provision. Her engage-
ment with the rich, dull, and selfish Sir Charles
Sinclair is broken off in consequence, and she is
forced to take theiplace of governess. A Mr. Ber-
tram, however, an old acquaintance of her father's,
but on whom she, in herprosperous days, had some-
what looked down upon, from the fact of his
being an iron founder, now proves a firm
frier.d. Her prejudices against him gradually
melt away, and his " wooing " eventually
cornea to a happy termination. The work derives
its charm in no slight degree from its delicate hand-
ling. The gradual change in Winifred's character
is very happily expressed, and the tale is calculated
to increase the author's reputation.

THE LATEST YANKEE INVENTION.—The NeW
York correspondent of the Morning _Herald writes :—The
celebrated English executioner will probably read the fol-
lowing with surprise The sheriff then drew the black
cap over the prisoner's eyes, and descended the gallows
stairs. The drop fell as he reached the bottom stair—
time 1 21. Toole fell five feet with great force, enough to
break his neck. As he fell he was seen to raise himself,
by muscular contraction, twice—but very little. A
shudder followed, and all was over." The fact is, we
have got a wonderful invention for hanging a man
genteelly. It is the invention of a Yankee lawyer. The
upper cross-beam is 15 feet high ; is this is a sheave, over
which the rope rolls, the end being fastened to the right
hand timber, on which the cross-beam rests. The platform
is seven feet in height. and may be ascended by a flight of
stairs. It swings on hinges, the forward part resting upon
a slight block, well greased, which is pulled out by an iron
lever. This lever is worked by a rope, which is attached
to it, and also to the bottom stair. One end of this stair
rests upon a block. The executioner goes up to adjust
the cap, an assistant slips out the block, and when
the executioner comes down the lever is worked by
his weight on the stair, the bolt is drawn suddenly, the
platform falls, is caught by two springs in the rear, and the
convict is swinging by the neck. The fall is Eft. For the
amusement of Toole, who was hung a few days ago for kill-
ing a keeper in the prison where he was a convict, the
Sheriff, a few hours previous to the execution, tested the
new model, and,
as the Herald says, " with a 2001 b. bag of
sand. The fall is 6it., and the platform, bag, and all came
down with a crash that sufficiently attested the working
qualities of the machinery."

THE RECENT FIRE AT THE LIVERPOOL WORK-
HOUSE.-At the meeting of the Liverpool select vestry, held
yesterday, a long report was read from one of the commit-
tees, exonerating the authorities of the workhouse from the
blame attached to them by the water committee of the
corporation in regard to the water supply for the building
in case of fire. The report stated that the authorities had
done all that lay in their power to meet the requirements
of the case.

FORGIVENESS OF INJURIES.—So an amnesty is
granted to Garibaldi. Very good. In England, when we
have trodden on. the toe of a great man, we beg his pardon.
In Italy you pardon him when you have shot him in the
ankle.—Punch.

REFINEMENT OF THE COARSER CLASSES.—W:
are authorised to state that all candidates for the position
cabman, omnibus conductor, and railway official, ought 17:
be required to pass an examination in language an d mom'
hers, satisfactorily testing their qualifications for einplo3„.
ment in the Civil. Service.—Punch.
.--A farrier is
A QUESTION FOR CATTLE CLtoUhB
:ve discovered
the neighbourhood of Lyons is said to
which consists in
expeditious m'athod of fattening
perhaps the good done by this
mynahs is more apparent tha
giving them. cod-liver
substance in Pht-s-zswiil show whether its adrainistratiO
real; but experience arrest tho conoumption of butch
tenda:to pronaots 0r
meat.--41/001