The Sun.
London, England, 1846-10-16 00:00:00

BONDHOLDER.

City, Oct. 13, 1846.

WEYHILL HOP AND CHEESE FAIR.—In the Farn-
ham-row there were the extraordinary number of 4,207
pockets, and in the Hampshire country-row 4,522 ditto.
On Monday but few were sold. By five o'clock yester-
day there were not more than 600 to 700 pockets sold in
the Farnham-row; and less than 500 in the country ditto.
Farnhams made from 71. to 71. 15s. Wu heard of two
or three choice samples making 81., but the general price
may be quoted at 71., and below that price the growers
must come if they intend selling. In the country-row
the prices were considerably lower, according to where
they grew. Some sold at Si. 10s., while others made 20s.
per cwt. more ; the prices may,therefore, be fairly put
at from 5L up to 61. 10s., and from the few yet sold and
the many remaining to sell, lower prices must be sub-
mitted to. There was a less quantity of cheese pitched
here yesterday than has been known for 27 years past,
the whole not amounting to 200 tons. The prices were
as follows, being from ss. to 6s. per cwt. under the
prices made at Reading fair :—Best old Chedder from
70s. to 755. per cwt. ; Somerset, 68s. to 70s. ; double
Gloucester, 60s. to 655. ; single ditto, 545. to 58s. ; Wilts
and Dorsets, 58s. to 635. ; second ditto, 50s. to 545. ;
skim ditto, 305. to 365.

EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERIES AT NINEVEH.—Mr
Layard, an English gentleman, has for the last twelve-
month been pursuing the track—first laid open by M.
Botta—at Nimroud, near Mosul, on the Tigris. His
excavations have not only settled the precise position of
Nineveh—the very existence of which had become little
better than a vague historic dream—but have brought to
light some of its buildings, sculptures, and inscriptions.
According to accounts received at Constantinople some
months since, and communicated in the Athenreum of
Saturday last, Mr. Layard had discovered an entrance
formed by two magnificent winged, human-handed lions.
This entrance led him into a hall above 150 feet long and
30 broad, entirely built of slabs of marble, covered with
sculptures. The side walls are ornamented with small
bas-reliefs, of the highest interest—battle sieges, lion
hunts, &c.; many of them in the finest state of preser-
vation, and all executed with extraordinary spirit. They
afford a complete history of the military art amongst
the Assyrians ; and prove their intimate knowledge of
many of those machines of war whose invention is
attributed to the Greeks and Romans—such as the
ba4tering-ram, the tower moving on wheels, the cata-
pult, &c. Nothing can exceed the beauty and elegance
of the forms of various arms, swords, daggers, bows,
spears, &c. In this great hall there are several en-
trances—each formed by winged lions or winged bulls.
These lead into other chambers, which, again, branch
off into a hundred ramifications. Every chamber is
built of slabs covered with sculptures or inscriptions,
whence some idea may be formed of the number of ob-
jects discovered—the far greater part of which, in fact
nearly all, are in the best preservation. Mr. Layard's
excavations have been hitherto confined to a very small
corner of the mound, under which these antiquities have
for ages been buried ; it is impossible to say what may
come out when they can be carried forward on an ade-
quate scale.

A DAMPER TO ELOQUENCE.—Amusing scenes
occur occasionally in grave assemblies. During the
late session of the New Hampshire Legislature a newly-
fledged orator rose to make his maiden speech in the
House of Representatives. A Bill had been biought in
to tax bank dividends, and, watching his opportunity,
the debutant addressed the Members :—" Mr. Speaker,
"
the gentleman from Dover who introduced this Bill does
not seem to be aware of its inevitable results. He
would strip the widow." (Roars of laughter, and cries
of " The widow, who ?""What widow ?" Not in
this public hall, I hope," &c.) As soon as the tumult
had subsided in some degree, and the orator could make
himself heard, he indignantly proceeded :—" Gentlemen
need not think to put me down by clamour. Is there no
sympathy here for the widow and the orphan ? I say,
Sir, this is worse than stripping. Put on this tax, and I
say you drive the widow to her last shift." Here the
clamour became so great that the speaker, despairing of
a hearing, resumed his seat. It was almost ten minutes
before the House could transact its regular business.—
New York Taper.

SWANSEA AND MUMBLES OYSTER FISHERY:—
The commencement of the oyster fishery, in Swansea
bay, has been more successful this year than known for
many seasons, and notwithstanding the large number
almost daily caught, such is the demand for these oysters
at Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, and other large
towns, that they readily sell on Swansea quay for one
shilling and sixpence per long hundred. This is a great
blessing to the hard-working poor engaged in these
fi,heries (some of whom have lately been getting as
much as 21. per week) at a period when provisions are so
dear.— Welshman.