The Sun.
London, England, 1862-11-20 00:00:00

VARIETIES.

Why is a man's coat larger when he takes it out of
a carpet bag ? Because he finds it in creases,
Speaking of cheap things—it costs but a trifle to get a
wife, but doesn't she sometimes turn out a little dear ?
Girls intending to be boysterous should take lessons I A
female recruit in Rochester, N Y., was detected by trying
to put her trousers on over her head.

" Is it not astonishing," said a wealthy individual, " that
a large fortune was left me by a persm who had only seen
me once P" "It would have been still more astonishing,"
said a wag, "if he had left it to you after seeing you
twice."

The report of the Trust and Loan Company of
Upper Canada for the six months ending the 30th of Sep-
tember states the available balance to be £14,705, out of
which a dividend is recommended at the rate of 8} per cent.
per annum, less income-tax.

MATRIMONY.—The following capital parody of
Hamlet's soliloquy is from the Knickerbocker Magazine
for October :
To wed, or not to wed—that is the question ;
Whether 'tis happier in the mind to stifle
The heats and tumults of outrageous passion,
Or with some prudent fair in solemn contract
Of matrimony join. To have—to hold—
No more—and by that "have" to say we end
The heart-ache, and the thousand love-sick pangs
Of celibacy—'tweie a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. In nuptial band
'l'o join till death dissolves—ay, there's the rub;
l'or in that space what dull remorse may come,
When we have taken our solemn leave of liberty,
Must give us pause. 'There's the respect
That slacks our speed in suing for a change.
Else, who would bear the scorns and sneers which bachelors
When aged feel—the pains and fluttering fevers
Which each new face must give to roving fancy,
When he might rid himself at once of all
By a bare Yes? Who would with patience bear
To fret and linger out ail puzzles
oui nszegzllteehslife,
ei
lwlsil we,
have
l
But that the dread of something yet untried,
Some hazard in a state from whose strict bond
others
antherc
release,
DeathTA.hu adnf:
fly
yny o c
makes lt
us
which we fancy greater 1)
rather
mjeiatildonsies
This last reflection makeswuisthsldow and wary,
arnedadeftairletshoughts
lO'ifllciunrgtatihne-Ideucbtuioreuss,
Which to avoid, the lover
Extravagantly great, entailed'
And, miserable, dies B 4 QVZo:ll3lw.heiscill;Lion,

THE SOCIETY OF ARM.

The first meeting of the 109th session of this so-
ciety was held last night at its house, John-street,

Adelphi.

Si; Tnos. PHILLIPS, F.G.S., chairman of the
council, presided, and the list of proposed new mem-
bers (200 in number) having been taken as read,
he proceeded to read the annual address—a docu-
ment of great length—which, after referring to the
loss the society had sustained by the death of their
president, the late Prince Consort, and the steps
which had been taken to provide a memorial of the
Prince in the shape of a marble bust to be placed
on a pedestal in the large room, expressed a hope
that the Prince of Wales would consent to the re-
quest which had been made, that he would honour
the society by accepting the office of president.
Among other members of the society deceased dur-
ing the past year were Mr. James Walker, civil
engineer ; Mr. J. Errington, civil engineer ; and
Dr. Hamel, of St. Petersburg, Conseiiler d'Etat
Actuel de S. M. l'Empereur de Russie, correspond-
ing member. A brief obituary notice of each Was
given, and the next topic treated of was the Exhi-
bition of 1862, as compared with that of 1851 and
1855. It might be confidently expected that the
recent Exhibition would not be less fruitful than
its predecessors in those lessons which contribute
to beauty of design, to an appropriate selection
of, material, to excellence of workmanship
and to economy of labour—all of which enlist the
aid of science and art in the pursuits of industry.
The number of visits paid to the Exhibition, be-
tween the Ist of May and the Ist of November, was
6,200,000; an approximate estimate of the income
gave money paid for admission £400,000, as against
£423,792. The claim on the commissioners for the
services of the police force exceeded £19,000, a
subject which ought to be brought under the at'
tention of the Home Secretary. In other Euro-
pean countries industrial exhibitions have been un-
dertaken at the risk of the Government, and with-
out asking any, Government aid or public subscrip-
tions it might be fairly asked that police authori-
ties should undertake the preservation of public
order. (Hear.) Sir Thomas thought the commis'
sioners had experienced but scant justice from some
of the organs of public opinion. The final local
examinations, conducted by the council in institu-
tions connected with the society, were conducted at
81 different places; and the reports of the exami-
ners indicated an improvement in the quality of the
papers:worked on some important subjects; but
the number of artisan and handicraftsmen student°
presented no substantial increase. The endeavour°,
which had been made to prolong the school-life el
the children of the labouring poor had met with but
partial and limited success; and it might be doubted
whether the tendency of late years had not been t°
accelerate the removal of such children from school
to work. After referring to the exertions made 131
the society to obtain copyrights in works of fine
art,and the success which had attended these alert°
by the passing of the act of last session, the chair'
man referred to the cotton manufactures, and the
distress caused by the failure of the cotton supPli
from the States of America. The society had ever
since 1845 laboured earnestly to a waken public at'
tention to the danger of relying upon one source of
supply, and had perseveringly directed it to the
capabilities of India, Egypt, South Africa, an:
South America to grow cotton for the English
market. Our colonial possessions had attracted
large share of the attention of the society. For
p
many years the council had collected and diffused.
accurate information on the roducts
and re-
sources of countries, many of which are peopled by
men of our own race and language spread over a
large surface of the globe. The growth of these
colonies during the last ten years, in every element
of prosperity, was remarkably illustrated during
the late Exhibition. The lease of the house ia.
which the meetings of the society had been held,
for the last 100 years had been renewed for 35 year!
on favourable terms, and the council suggested 010
alterations must be made in the building to render
it more adequate to the wants of the society than It
has recently been found. After noticing other
points, the address thus concluded f—" May our
labours be directed to the advancement of science,
and its extended employment in the pursuits Of
industry, and to the cultivation of the arts which
minister to human happiness, and thus, in the lan'
guage of Lord Bacon, we shall best advance the
glory of God and the welfare of man's estate.
(Loud cheers.)
The CHAIRMAN then presented the medals
awarded. at the close of last session, as follows
:-
To Dr. F. Crace Calvert, F.R.S., for his paPel
" On Improvements and Progress in Dyeing an
Calico Printing since 1851." The Society's silver
medal.
To E. C. C. Stanford, for his paper it on the
Economic Uses of Seaweed." The Society's silver
medal.
To James Morris, for his paper " On Mauritius;
its Commercial and Social Bearings." The SocietY
silver medal.

Vice-Chancellor Sir PAGE WOOD moved the
thanks of the meeting to the chairman for his el
cellent address. It was the fourth he had delivered
horn that chair, and at a period of such activity
in the history of the society most thankful sh°tio,
they be that they had a chairman of such uhtisP-
ing energy and perseverance in diffusing that 113;f
telligence throughout the country, the results
which were so beautifully described by Lord Bac°
in the closing passage of that address. (Cheer
the
Some discussion took place as to the policy ef
society with reference to the Albert memorial, *01;
terminated in the unanimous adoption of the g10ti...%